A Father's Final Words2
06/17/2007
A FATHER’S FINAL WORDS!
1 Kings 2: 1-3
**In his book “Fatherhood”, Bill Cosby wrote, “Now that my father is a grandfather he just can’t wait to give money to my kids. But when I was a kid and I asked him for 50 cents, he would tell me the story of his life. How he got up at 5 a.m. when he was 7 years old and walked 23 miles to milk 90 cows. And the farmer for whom he worked had no bucket, so he had to squirt the milk into his little hand and then walk 8 miles to the nearest can. All for 5 cents a day. The result was that I never got my 50 cents.”
“But now he tells my children every time he comes into the house, “Well, let’s see how much money old Granddad has for his wonderful grandkids.” And the moment they take the money out of his hands I call them over to me and I snatch it away from BECAUSE THAT IS MY MONEY!”
**As you probably already know, being a man and being a father can be an interesting and trying experience.
**Some one said, “Fathers spend the first part of a child’s life urging them to talk and walk, and the rest of their childhood telling them to sit down and be quiet!
**One son who was in college wrote home to his dad and said, “Dear Dad, please let me hear from you more often, even if it’s only five or ten.”
**One day a lady left her baby daughter with her husband while she did some work in another room. The husband got engrossed in the ball game that was on television and forgot about his baby girl until he heard a series of thumps, followed by a horrendous cry. Instantly he knew his baby girl had fallen down the steps.
**Being a quick thinker he called out to his wife, “Honey! Come quick! Our little girl just took her first 24 steps!”
**Yes, Dads are very special people to their kids and as such we have a powerful impact on our children’s lives (one way or the other) and as a result society is impacted as well.
**A recent survey has revealed that:
25 million children do not live with their fathers!
63% of youth suicides are from fatherless family households!
71% of high school drop outs are from FFH!
75% of all the youth in chemical abuse centers are from FFH!
85% of youths in prison are from FFH!
**And some people say DADS are not important! I say DADS are very important! Now any man can produce kids, but it takes a special man to be a real father!
**I want to talk with you today about A FATHER’S FINAL WORDS TO HIS FAMILY! If you knew that you only had one more conversation with your son what do you think you would say to him?
**I call your attention to a conversation between David and his son Solomon. David is the King of Israel and as such he is the most powerful man on earth.
**None of that really seems important to him at the moment. You see David realizes that this is more than likely the last conversation he is going to have with his son and so what is he going to say?
**What would you expect him to say?
**Son, make sure you keep an eye on Saul’s family, they have been nothing but trouble to me in the past!
**Son be sure to utterly destroy the Philistines, they are a dangerous people!
**Son, I have always wanted to expand the kingdom to the south . . . there is some really choice land down there.
**Son, how about getting some revenge on Goliath’s family, he really hurt my feelings when he called me those names and said those bad things about us!
**NO! David did not spend any of his time talking about any of those kinds of things! David had three things that he wanted to say to Solomon before he died.
**The first thing he said to him was Solomon you need to:
I. BE PREPARED FOR DEATH!
I Kings 2: 1 As David’s time to die drew near he charged Solomon his son, saying I am going the way of all the earth . . .
**David had something that not all of us will have.
**David had some kind of idea that his time to die was near!
**Everyone has an appointment with death but everyone will
**not know when that appointment will occur!
**In golf you have something called mulligans but not in death
**In golf you might get an extra chance to get the shot right
**but not in death, so we need to be prepared before it occurs!
Hebrews 9: 27 and in as much as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment!
**When a person dies there are only two places you could end up! One is a place of Everlasting Joy and the other one is a place of Everlasting Judgment!
II. BE STRONG IN THE LORD!
1 Kings 2: 2 I am going the way of all the earth, be strong therefore . . .
**Do not be strong in the WORLD
**Do not be strong in YOUR own EYES
**Do not be strong in the EYES of OTHERS but rather
Ephesians 6: 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might!
**This world is a HARD place to live, so be strong in the Lord!
**The devil is a strong and deceptive enemy so be strong in the
Lord!
**Life is full of troubles and there is but a step between you
And death so be strong in the Lord!
**David had one final piece of advice for his son Solomon. He
Told him to Be PREPARED for DEATH and to Be STRONG
In The LORD but he also told him to:
III. BE A MAN OF GOD!
I Kings 2: 2 Be strong therefore AND show yourself a man!
**What does it mean to “be a MAN”? There are a lot of opinions about what it means to be a REAL MAN but what does God say that a REAL MAN is?
**For one thing being “a man” is the opposite of being “a child”! Listen to the words of the apostle Paul:
1 Corinthians 13: 11 When I was a child I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child, when I became a man, I did away with childish things!
**How does a child talk, think and reason? A child is basically SELFISH: Give me this, I want that, This is mine
**A child basically thinks in SMALL terms. A child’s world is basically his or her size. A child can comprehend and manage small spaces and small plans. “Are We There Yet”?
**A child THINKS and REASONS in IMMATURE ways. For example a child THINKS and REASONS like this. A child thinks that IF YOU DIDN’T SEE ME DO IT THEN IT DIDN’T HAPPEN!
A child is RELUCTANT to SEE and FACE the HARD TRUTH about much of ANYTHING!
**A child basically wants his life “comfortable” and “easy” and if LYING, STEALING or CHEATING makes me temporarily comfortable or it makes life temporarily easier then it’s O.K. to by a liar, thief and a cheat!
**However a MAN takes RESPONSIBILITY for his ACTIONS!
**A MAN can SEE the BIG PICTURE!
**A MAN realizes God has a Purpose and a Plan for his life!
**A Man of God is FAITHFUL!
Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the FAITHFUL God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments (Deut 7: 9)!
**Faithful to his GOD!
**Faithful to his WIFE!
**Faithful to his FAMILY!
**Faithful to his CHURCH!
**Faithful to his EMPLOYER!
**A Man of God is DEPENDABLE!
A righteous man does what he says he will do, even to his own peril!
**A Man of God is TRUSTWORTHY!
**A Man of God is RESPECTABLE!
**A Man of God is a PROVIDER!
**A Man of God is HONEST!
**A Man of God is OBEDIENT!
**Think about some of the Bible’s Godly Men:
NOAH: The Scripture says he was “a just and righteous man, blameless in his evil generation” and he walked habitually with God (Genesis 6:9).
He comes home one afternoon with architectural plans in his hands and tells his wife that he has had a visitation from the Lord Himself. The great I AM has commanded him to do something that has never been done before and He has not given him a budget and no real understanding of its purpose!
Then he tells you that after this building project is completed that you and the kids are going on a cruise with him but he can’t tell you where and for how long (smile)!
ABRAHAM: He was commanded by God to leave a comfortable home and a comfortable life and to go to a place that you have never heard of and you will receive your directions on a daily basis!
MOSES: What would it be like to be married to Moses? Moses is gone for days at a time up on a mountain and when he comes down he wears a veil. When he is home he has the task of leading a people to a land that has been promised to them but they are stiffnecked and hard hearted. They complain about God and Moses.
DAVID: He is a man after God’s own heart but he has a problem with faithfulness to you. He commits adultery with a beautiful young married woman named Bathsheba and has her husband killed to try and cover up his affair.
**All of these men had one thing in common They were flawed individuals who were chosen by the flawless God!