Dead-Eyed Dads

From The Book of Psalms. So if you would if you would go ahead and turn to the Book of Psalms, and I'm going to try. To get set up up here. The Book of Psalms And we're going to look at Psalm 127 so you can go ahead and and turn there if you would like. I'm 127.

All right.

Okay Psalm 127 this morning and I want to bring a Father's Day message and I have entitled this. What America needs today more than anything? Is a group of what I call dead-eyed Dead's we need to be dead. I dad's ice America's greatest need I believe right now. Now I think all of you would agree that Satan has Unleashed an all-out war on the family. It's just an all-out war and when I say family I'm talkin about the institution of family as God instituted it here and in Genesis first few chapters, but I'm talking about your family specifically. There's an all-out war going on now this week is I was studying And and let me just say here that the war Satan uses people and he uses secular humanism. And not only that he uses what I called the radical feminist movement. And ever since the 1940s, there's been a movement going on. That wants to feminize America. And wants to feminize men now. Let me read you a couple of quotes. I'm going to read you one that was written in March of this year and it was written by Man by the name of Neil Burton. He's a medical doctor. He's a psychiatrist. He's a philosopher his he says and he says he is a wine lover who lives and teaches in Oxford England after you hear this quote. You're going to think he loves wine more than he loves his vocation. But let me let me tell you what he says here and he's talkin about the marriage ceremony of a woman and a man in this is what he says. The marriage ceremony itself is sexist Beyond parody the bride appears in a fuzzy white dress that symbolizes her virtue and virginity and everyone keeps on her barking how thin and beautiful. She looks her father walks her down the aisle. To give her away and she passes like property from one man to another the minister who is traditionally and still usually A man gives the man permission to kiss the woman as if that's in The Minister's Authority and the woman has no voice over on the man kisses. The woman is pissed at the reception only men are given to speak while the bride remain seated and Silent as a snowflake yet for that woman will adopt the man's name as will their eventual Offspring despite all this the wedding day is said to belong to the woman this would you believe is her day? Now that's the feminists of the 21st Century. Now let me read you what and some of you may have heard this woman's name. How many is ever heard of Gloria Steinem and cut grass sign them was the voice of feminists in the 60s and 70s. She still alive today. She's 86 years old and it one time she was a former Playboy bunny. And this is what she said about the feminist movement in 1971 about 50 years ago. Now listen to this marriage has existed for the benefit of men and is a legalized sanction control of women. The end of the institution of marriage is a necessary condition for the liberation of women. Let's do away with marriage and then she goes on to say this it is important for us to encourage women who are married to leave their husbands. We must work to destroy a marriage the nuclear family must be replaced with a new form of family where individuals live together to meet the need of the people that listen to this. There must come a new way of looking at children children must be seen as a responsibility of the entire Society rather than parents another way another words. That's the way of saying it takes a village to raise a child. It takes everyone just another way of saying that marriage as we know it. Is obsolete well, this is been going on since the 1940s and 1950s. Now if you just look back at what Gloria Steinem said in the 70s and then what the other gentleman said just a few months ago, you'll see that it seems that the secular humanist and the feminists are winning. Does it not just look at our family's just look at what we're doing today in America, not only legalizing same-sex marriage, but allowing same-sex couples to adopt children. To raise children as two men or two women Satan has Unleashed and all out war on the family. Well what we need to do today. Is we need to see what God says about all of this. Now. What I'm going to say today is that we need. We need some Deadeye dad's is exactly what we need. Now. I'm going to turn here into my Bible. Psalm 127

and just give me a moment to get here. So I'm 127.

And I'm going to begin reading. We were read verses 3 through 5. That's what we going to try to cover this morning. So Psalm 127 verses 3 through 5 in this is what the Bible says lo children are Heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man. So are children of the youth happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them full of children. They shall not be ashamed but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. So here the Lord is saying That fatherhood is kind of like an Archer. And so what I want us to do this morning is I want us to look at how fatherhood is like an Archer and the same things that apply to the Archer or Plies to Dad's as well. So this is what the Lord is saying here. He saying children, you're the arrows. Dad. You're the archers dad's are to be Mighty Warriors. And children are to be the arrows in the hand of the father. And here's the implication and this is what I want to try to show you today. That when dads in America learn to shoot straight the kids are going to hit the mark. When dad's learn to shoot straight the kids will hit the mark you see an arrow is no more effective than the author who shoots it and the bow is not much better than a man that holds the bow in his hand friends lesson. We have enough drop out dad's in America. We have enough delinquent dad's in America. What we need is we need some Deadeye dad's exactly what we need now. That's the background. And we're going to talk about this morning dads who shoot straight and kids who hit the mark now three things. I want you to learn about this. We have three points that I want to share with you today. And the first point is this the Archer must be strong. The Archer must be strong. Now. You have to be strong to pull back a bow some bows or said it 60 65 70 pounds. I had a boat once where they didn't have what they call now let off. So in other words, it's when you pulled it back you were pulling back about 80 lb and then when you got it right here, you were still holding 80 lb and you just had to hold it and shoot matter fact. I brought my bow this morning. I want to show you my boat. Here is my bow. Now this is very hard to pull back. Now what I'm going to do is I'm going to lay my bow down. And I'm going to put this this little release here and I'm going to put it on the string and I want to show you how hard this is the pullback. Here's my quiver. That's what holds my era years my air. I'm not going to put it on the screen. But I want to show you this is a modern bow. I want to show you how hard this is to pull back. So if I'm going to shoot something I've got to go.

there but now I have some Led off I could stay here all day and hold this bow just like this so hard at all, but it's very difficult to pull the bow back now. The Lord says that we need to be Mighty Men Mighty Men Mighty archers. He says no matter how find the arrow is no matter how strong the bowl is. It takes an incredible amount of skill to shoot that. You can just pick up a bow with that shouldn't that doesn't look like that would be hard. It's hard to pull back. You have to have an arrow rest for the arrow. You have to have a site to look at some people have three pin some people by 5 p.m. I shoot with one pan always shot with one pint but you have to have a site to look through you have to have things on there that will dampen the sound so it won't make so much noise. You have to have a really good aim, you have to have straight arrows. You have to have the feathers on the Arrow put on just right so that the arrow will fly, right? There's got to be a smooth. You say it takes skill it takes practice and it takes determination to be a good Archer. We're praying and say it takes the same thing to be a good dad. You know that it takes the same thing to be a good dad. Now. I want to tell you something to be a good man in our culture is difficult.

To be a good husband in our culture is even more difficult. But to be a good dad is the most difficult thing of all it is really difficult. Now, there's certain reasons. Why On airome. Mrs. Target the arrow may be crooked the target may be moving if you shooting outside the wind May blow you have to take him to a fight the wind and and how you aim that could happen and because of this though that does not diminish The Archers responsibility. It really only increases it brand lesson in this story hear the Archer. That's the dad. The arrows are the children. God has given us children like arrows and what is my responsibility as a dad? What is my responsibility my responsibility is to shape and to sharpen those arrows. And after I do that my responsibility is when my children get old enough is to shoot them out into the world and to shoot them at the enemy. That's what our responsibility he says in verse 4 or as arrows are in the hand of a Mighty Man. So are the children of one youth the Archer must be strong now, we're not talking about physical strength here. Although it took a little physical strength to pull out out. What we're talking about. Here is spiritual strength. Dad need to be spiritually strong if we going to shape and sharpen the arrows we're talkin about spiritual strength and any can qualify for that. So number one the arrow or the Archer must be strong number two. If we going to be dead I dance if we going to be that. The arrow must be straight. So the Archer has to be strong but the arrow has to be straight now children are not born straight arrows. Y'all know that don't you I mean, you know Pixar Antero Twigs or not their children are not by Nature straight arrows. They probably wouldn't born too long before you knew that we have to make them into arrows and you cannot shoot straight. You're not going to be a dead-eye dad if the arrows are crooked and so what is your job as a dad is shaping and is sharpening is shooting arrows that God has put in your hand and is one of life's most difficult ass and I think that's the reason we have so many drop out dad's you see the problem in society is not juvenile delinquency. The problem is the delinquency of dads. That's the problem. Did you know? then in the African American community that 77% of all children are born without a father in the home. I just think about that 77% Did you know that in New York City? Did he see if you see an African American woman pregnant? That she's more likely on her way to the abortion clinic then to the delivery room. The African American percentage of abortion in New York City is higher than the percentage of births. I think about that. Sprint we have a whole generation a whole race of people. That their family Dynamic has been destroyed. Had just been destroyed. You see the problem is Dropout dads who failed to do and to be what God has called them to do. That's the problem. Now. Let's look at some verses look at Ephesians chapter 6 and I think we can put these up and I look at this and you fathers provoke, not your children to wrath but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord now that word training their means discipline and admonition mean just the teaching of the Lord his law and his preset and then look at Colossians 3:21 what it says fathers do not provoke your children lest. They become discouraged. You see when the arrows are in your hand. There's going to come a time when those arrows are going to be out of your hand. We only have those arrows just for a short time. They're in our hand and Friends while we have them we had better make sure that we learn to shoot straight As dad's so a lot of us today what we want to do. Is we want to give that responsibility to someone else? So you have a small child and they come into your bedroom at night and I say daddy will you read me a bedtime story? Where are you can't do that because you work 14 hours that day and you're tired and you say when no Daddy can't do that. Just sit down and read yourself or something like that with r and let me tell you something that you have something in your home. That is a far better Storyteller Than You Think You Are. And that is the TV. And they'll sit in front of that TV and the TV will read them bedtime stories. Now, do you want your children listening and watching TV or you say they come and ask you if something you say why I don't know. I can't remember what that is go to school tomorrow and ask your teacher. I mean that's what they're there for there to teach our children. Do you want public education to teach your children from 8 to 3 Monday through Friday. Do you want them to be the ones teaching them about sex education and answering all their questions rent. Let me tell you what public education will do with your little girl. They'll take her to Planned Parenthood and set up for her to get an abortion, but they can't give her an aspirin or tylenol if she has a headache. And I don't even have to tell you about it. Is that who you want to turn your children over to you want to pay someone to mow your yard and to wash your cars when you could be allowing your children to do that and you could give them maybe a little while and let them know learn about a worth ethic or you going to let the coach teach them how to hold a bat or throw a baseball or shoot a basketball or dad will you teach me how to swim though? I have to work. I don't have time to go to Hawaii. I'll set you up. They have swim classes at the Y the why I can teach you how to swim dad. Will you teach me how to drive a straight drive now? I can't do that someone at school or ass when you know, one of your drivers ed teachers or something like that. And then when you get the high school that got guidance counselors, you know, just let them talk to him and tell him maybe about their future and what they want to do friends list. children do not need Slot machine dad's where they just come and pull the handle and get out a $20 bill. They need dads and there's no way that you can pay somebody else to do what God wants you to do. We need to be dads who shoot straight. We need to learn to shoot straight. The Archer must be strong spiritually strong that arrows must be straight. Well, how do I shape and sharpen arrows? How do I shape and sharpen my children? Well get out of pencil. This is not in the bulletin because I didn't have enough room to put it in the bulletin, but I'm going to give you some things here what you need to do to shape and sharpen your children your arrows number one begin early. Now when you have a twig, you can begin the shape it why because it's soft that twig is soft and is pliable. That's the reason the Bible says in Proverbs 22:6 train up a child not an adult train up a child in the way that he or she should go little children can be shaped and molded so very easy. Well, why why is it so easy? Why should I begin early? Let me give you a few reasons. Number one is the Curiosity factor and we can we can put these up the Curiosity factor is very high. How many you remember your children coming to you saying? Why daddy? Why mama? Why why why is this? Why is just question you to death about why and we get so irritated we so, I don't know just you know, we just don't want to answer the question friend. That's the teaching moment right there. Don't say stop asking why allow them to ask why kids are curious and that's the best Thai To learn so we have the Curiosity fight and I'm the one that memory Factor people say would look short and can't memorize well, let me tell you this. By the time they're two years old. They can they've learned a foreign language patting. They can speak language. It didn't take them for two years and they can go ahead and speak their memory fat. Yes children to memorize and then there's the trust Factor little children trust. They will trust their parents. They'll trust about anybody whatever you tell them. That's the reason the Bible says that adults have to become like little children if we're going to enter into the kingdom of God. We have to trust like a child. The trust factor is high when they're young and then the humidity Factor Little children aren't too proud to ask why they're not too proud to ask for advice. They're not proud at all. They are very humble. They have an innate ability to believe that's why you have to start soon because tomorrow that child is not going to be asking why. When I get about 16, maybe they're not going to be quite as humble as they used to be. So you have to start young number don't know what the number is but next be created. Be creative and listen to what Deuteronomy 6 & 7 says chapter 6. We're not going to put this on the screen. But listen to this and these words which I command thee this day shall be in your heart not just in your head now, but in your heart. I shall teach them diligently until I children and shall talk of them. Shall talk of them when. Cities in the house when you walk Us by the way, when you lie down when you rise up do you see that is in your heart for the for the dads in the parents? And it's just bubbling out where does all type of ways to teach that we don't want to ram something down our children's throat. Like they're taking cod liver oil or something like that that we don't want to do that but family worship doesn't have to be this ordeal where you're fussing and fighting the whole time. Most of your teaching is not done in family worship. You say when is it done? When you rise up when you lie down when you go out when you come in as you walk as you talk you going to be sharing with the Lord you'll be sharing with your little girl in the kitchen at the oven. You may be sharing your little boy outside mowing the yard. It's not just at Family Worship. It's at all times you're teaching and training your children. So you have to be creative at that. the next one work to build character work to build character. What is character what character is in integrity? And who's teaching your son or daughter Integrity? Well what some things that we need to teach them this that we would call Integrity. Well, let's look think of these word content looked courage discernment friendliness fairness gentleness generosity honesty humility kindness obedience orderliness patients self-control thankfulness wisdom thriftiness. Could I go on just on and on and on we'll get that you going to let the schools teach them at you think they're going to learn that at school know they're going to learn you just do everything you can for yourself. You be the top dog. You be the big cheese. You're the one who climbs the ladder to the top. It doesn't matter who you step on Friends. Listen, if you going to be a dead-eye dad, you need to build character and when you compliment your children, Complement of my own their character quality sometime when they're honest complemental when they're kind complemental when they say. Yes, ma'am or yes, sir complemental for doing that don't complement. I'm just for the homerun not just for the good grades. Not just how many pounds I can curl a compliment real-time how many pounds he can curl but we have to do more than that compliment them on their character qualities next one learn to set limits. Do you know children like limits my parents? So I'm not going to put any limits on my child. I'm going to let them do what they want to do. What what did the first two children in the Bible? Do Adam and Eve? What did God do did he put lemons on them? Yes, he did. And what did they do? They push back? Well your children when you put limits on them, they may push back but if you put no limp, no limitation implies to a child that you're rejecting them a child wants you to put limitations on them. They may push against it but yet it if you have no limitation that just means mom and dad really don't care about me. They must not ever think about me every child needs some type of limits next. assign responsibilities One of the greatest abilities is responsibilities give your children regular work assignments teach them that there is a link between success and work make them complete the job give him money for doing it give them an allowance and let them know what it means to earn money and teach your money management teaching how to give and how to save and how to spend teach response-ability next. Have a happy home. Now what we're talking about here is not only should Archer be strong, but the arrows need to be what they need to be straight and Friends listen. Your home out to be filled with laughter your home out to be the happiest place in town matter fact, it should be so happy that your children ought to want to bring their friends to your house. Because it's fun there if it's a happy home, I don't care how much money you have or how to find your home is if there's no laughter in your home. That is a tragic thing. That is a tragic thing your home out to ring with laughter. And if your home is a happy home, you have a greater chance of your family surviving next talk about God at home. Just let let the kids see God at work in your life. And in the family the home, this is the classroom. This is it that somebody's going to say what no eye care. I'm the church where I send them to church they can hear about God. They're okay. We're going to hear about God for about 2 hours a week and then the rest of the time they going to hear Antigua, they're going to hear secular humanism. They're going to hear radical feminist is what they're going to hear on TV on the internet listening to their friend stop. That's what they're going to be around. You think to two hours a week is enough. You need to talk about God at home. McCall's home is the classroom home is the laboratory and they're going to see God and how you worship this church attendance mean anything to you or can we just go once in awhile with kids are going to notice that how often they go to church and how important church is there watching you and your time and we need to show children that God is indeed a reality in our lives. And then lastly let me just say this cover your kids in prayer constantly pray for your children. Not if you're the Arthur and the children are the arrows the bow is prayer. You need to pray for your children. And that's what sends them forth when you release those arrows. It is your prayers that do that a father without prayer is like a Archer without a bow. I can tell you I'm an argument. I don't have a boat. I'm not much of an Archer. So you need to pray for them regularly and the children know when Mom and Dad pray for them and no matter how dark it gets or discouraging. It may be no matter how difficult the times just keep on praying never never never stop praying for your children and what I'm saying here this morning is the Archer needs to be strong. The arrows need to be straight. And that's how you shape and sharpen arrows. Well, there's one more and we're going to close. And that is simply this. The Archer needs to be strong. The arrows need to be straight. And then lastly the aim must be sure. The aim must be sure not told you at the beginning that there's enemies against the home secular humanism radical feminist. How are we going to take the institution of the family back with here's how you do it. You do it with your kids with your children how we going to shoot down the ideas of Gloria Steinem. You going to shoot them down with your arrows because you have straight arrows and because you are a spiritually strong Archer and you going to have a short rain. That's how you going to shoot down the lies of the enemy. They're going to tell your children that lie or school or somewhere but your trailer there, they're straight see and there and their dads he was a he was a author who was strong and they're straight kids and they're going to be able to say no. No. That's a lie. That's not the truth. That's not right. Let me tell you the truth that my father told me. Let me tell you the truth that that my mother taught me from the word of God friend so often we try to keep our children from the enemy and what we ought to do is aim at the enemy and let that are fly. We need to train up children in a way where they can speak out against this ungodliness in our nation. We need young people to stand up and to hold up and to speak up. That's why we need so we out to a minor children at the enemy. This is what he says in verse 5. He said he'll speak to the enemies at the gate. That's what he's talkin about here. We just don't raise our children just so they can live in safety and Harmony, we raise them to be arrows to go out against the enemy. What did Jesus say? He says you are to be a light and white in a dark world now some of these arrows and mine doesn't have it. But some of these areas you can get a light on the end of Arrow so that way when you shoot it it is if it's if missed the Mark or something like that the light will light up when it's dark or whatever and you can see you can see where your arrow is. Well, that's what it's called on Luminox. Well, that's what our children are there Luminox. We oughta shoot them out into the world. And so the world can see the light of the Gospel you see Parents more than anybody else will determine the direction of their children. The aim must be sure that look at what 3rd John chapter 1 verse 4 says and we going to put it up here. I have no Greater Joy. Then to hear that my children walk in the truth dad's you want your children to walk in the truth. You want your children to know the truth? You want your children to live the truth? And if that's the case you are aim must be sure. You have to have a desire a name before you release the Arab friends. Listen, that's why he says blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. Well, we don't keep them in the quiver do it. We shoot our arrows or not to be collected there to be projected. And that's what we do with our children. Our job is parents is to work ourselves out of the job. Just what we do you see when the Archer pulls out bow back that arrow is there and it's straight. You have to get your aim. But then there comes a time when you have to let go.

Made it hard to let go of your children. Hard to let go is hard to release it's kind of like we're ready set aim. You sure you ready? You sure you're ready ready set aim, you know, I just can't release it fan the longer you aim. The more time you give you a CORI to get away. Do you know that sometimes you just have to release it? I was thinking other day about my two boys Jacob. He got had a job down there Rocky Mount now. He took a job in Henderson. So he lived in Rocky Mount, and then now he's moved back and he's living at home. Will Craig was at UNC Pembroke and he was living down there but now because of covet his back at home. So Martha and I we have both boys back to home while I was thinking myself. We didn't shoot errands. We threw a boomerang in a cup and then come right back to us. You don't we have to release those hours. I think we released the boomerang or something, but you see there comes a time when the children are in your hand when they were young, but friend there's going to come a time when they're out of your hand. You have to release them into adulthood. You have to shoot them. Well, Let's conclude with his let me just say several things. Let me sum it up number one. Dad, here's what you need to do. Ask God. To make you a Mighty Man. Ascot cuz you can't do it yourself. Now I giving you all these things you how to shape and sharpen the air but you can't do it on your own. Jesus said without me you can do nothing take your Bibles and just look at what verse 1 of this song say, yes. Unless the Lord builds the house. They labor in vain who build it. And you have to ask God to make you a Mighty Man. Number to you need to get to work shaping and sharpening your arrows. number three you need to work on your skills. You saw what I had on my bow. You have a site pain. You have things that dampen the noise you have an arrow rest that your arrow has to sit on you have to pull back. You have to hold it steady your aim better be sure. You need to get busy working on your skills at being an Archer. It takes time. It takes practice. It takes determination and number four. What is your aim for your children? What kind of success do you want? You know your children could grow up to be a Successful Failure. That's possible. Do you spend time with them or you giving all that work that God has called you to do or you giving it to the professionals to raise your children praying. We need to raise our children and we want our boys and girls to grow up to be great men or God in their own generation. Now, you may say well I had children but they're long gone now, they're in their thirties forties 50 years old and I have to say I let the arrow go in the air didn't go to straight it missed the Mark or friends. Not too late. One thing I figured out when I started shooting my bow is that you can retrieve lost arrows. You know that I used to shoot and I couldn't hit the target. I had to go out there in the woods and look around and finally, I found it under some leaves. They're stuck in the ground. You can retrieve lost arrows and what you need to do. You need me to go to God and say God and mercy, will you give me another chance for my children and just continue to pray for them? When we are dependent upon almighty God we don't need in our nation today any more Dropout dads. We don't need any more delinquent Dad's friend when this nation of ours when the dads of this nation learn to shoot straight. The kids will hit the mark. Amy

so the kids will hit the mark when we learn to shoot straight. We don't we won't have an invitation because of covid-19 going to put everybody together. But just think about this message today. You want to be a dad idea Archer must be strong arrows must be straight. The aim must be sure. Let's pray father. We thank you and praise you and love you today for your word. And Lord we thank you for each dad this here today. Lorde Minneapolis would have to say well, I'm just not a dead-eye dad. I just I'm just not very I'm not a very strong Archer Lord help us to be spiritually strong men Lord, help us to shape and sharpen our arrows that you've given to us and Lord May our children grow up to be great men and women of God in their own generation and Lord help us to have a purpose help us to have a name for him Lord that we know that sooner or later. We're going to have to turn them loose in this world help us to shoot them straight at the enemy and may they be strong and spiritual and may they be able to stand up and to tell this world may they be a light in this dark world and made a spread the gospel like no other generation has force in Christ's name. I do pray. Amen.