Good Good Father
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
Intro:
First, I would like to give honor to all the dad’s that are here today or listening to this message online. You have been given a tremendous gift and responsibility from God to parent a child and we appreciate you.
3 Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.
4 Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.
5 How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.
We are truly blessed by the Lord to be parents. Amen.
There is no mistaking the impact that a dad has on the life of a child.
A University of Pennsylvania study indicates that children who feel a closeness and warmth from their father are twice as likely to enter college, 75% less likely to be incarcerated and half as likely to struggle with depression.
Another study which span 26 years found that the number one factor in whether or not a child developed empathy for other people was Father involvement.
Inside the church the impact of a loving Dad is no different. According to data from Promise Keepers and Baptist Press, if a father does not go to church, even if the wife does, only 1 child in 50 will become a regular church worshiper in adulthood. However, if a father does go regularly, regardless of whether the mother does, then approximately 70% of their children will attend church as adults. Even if the father attends irregularly approximately 58% of their kids will attend church regularly as adults.
Another study found that when the father is the first person in a household to become a Christian that there is a 93% probability of everyone else in the household attending as well.
I only share these facts to say this. Fatherhood requires self-sacrifice but the impact of doing it God’s way will literally changes many lives. So be encouraged this morning and don’t grow weary doing good.
The topic of Fatherhood and how it relates to God is so rich and full we could go in many different directions but today for the sake of time I want to speak about just a couple of characteristics that make up a great dad based on the scripture.
A Concern for Spiritual Health
A Concern for Spiritual Health
By far the most important characteristic in being a good Dad is to be concerned with the Spiritual Health of your children.
I know that God has called me to be a Pastor. There is not a doubt in my mind that my calling is to love, lead to Christ, baptize, disciple, train and serve the people God gives me all for His glory.
But above all of that I want my kids to know Jesus.
The Bible teaches us that the Spiritual order of life is God first, then Spouse second, then Children third, then ministry or work fourth and then ourselves.
The difficult part about this is that our kids just like all other humans have free will.
So how can we influence someone in the ways of Jesus when at the end of the day they have the free will to accept or reject it.
The simple answer is to demonstrate our faith to our kids and pray for them.
6 Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.
So, what is the right path on which to direct them?
It is that Jesus loves them and paid the price on the cross for their sins. And that if they put their faith in Him that heaven will be their home.
Teach them how to pray and pray with them often. Also teach them the scriptures from birth or even while in the womb.
Let us learn from our forefathers who used the old family Bible to teach their kids to read.
If our kids, see us reading our Bibles then they are more likely to do the same.
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it
15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
God is concerned about our spiritual condition above all else including our comfort. It is in fact so important that He gave that which was most important to Him so that we can be forgiven of our sins.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Scripture is clear that we need to be teaching our children about Jesus, salvation, prayer, and the scriptures from birth and throughout their lives. That is the best thing we can do for them as dads. Amen!
Desire a Meaningful Relationship With Our Children
Desire a Meaningful Relationship With Our Children
This one may sound obvious but next to being concerned for their spiritual health the next most important thing in being a godly day is to make a time investment for our children. And more importantly do it willingly and cheerfully not just out of obligation.
It is extremely easy for any human especially young people to tell whether they are wanted.
Throughout their different stages of development it may be easier or harder to enjoy the time with our kids but whether it is the beautiful babies, the terrible twos, the fun-loving kids, the rebellious teen, or the grown adult it is critical for our kids to know that as their dads we enjoy being with them.
The Bible teaches us that God not only desires a relationship with His children while we are alive on earth but at the end of days, we will all be together with God for eternity.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
All healthy relationships require a time investment to remain healthy and as a dad it is no different with our children. So let’s make sure we focus on spending our free time with them and include them in our activities, when possible, rather than seeking activities to make time away from them.
Take it from a man who has grown up kids and kids still at home the more independent they get your desire will be that you had more time with them not less.
Be Loving
Be Loving
Another character trait of a being a good dad is to be loving.
Most Dads can easily admit they love their kids. Even some of the toughest guys I have met can save they love their kids and that is great. What we want to focus on is the knowledge that love is not a noun, but love is a verb. Meaning that love is not what we say but rather it is what we do.
The Apostle Paul pens a definition of love in
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is He replied in
36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Some encouraging news is that being a loving Dad can be simplified into treating our kids the way we would want to be treated if we were them. That doesn’t mean spoiling them, but it does mean being mindful of their feelings and demonstrating the patience, kindness, godliness, and other qualities that scripture defines as love. We are to lead them but serve them and that balance can only be found by the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.
Being a dad is hard work and finding the balance of structure and fun can be tough. But with a focus on doing all things in love not just with words but also by our actions it reinforces to our kids just how important they are to us.
Being Faithful
Being Faithful
Another important quality we must possess as Dad is that of faithfulness. The Bible teaches us that faithfulness means being steadfast, dedicated, dependable, and worthy of trust.
With our modern busy lives, it can be difficult not only to make quality time with them but also to not over promise things to our kids.
We can have the best of intentions and then life happens and our plans with them can be put on the back burner.
As adults we understand these things but for our children, they can become damaged when we don’t follow through with what we promised or if our busy lives leave little or no time for them.
A pre-covid study concluded that modern families enjoy just 38 minutes of quality time together on the average weekday.
That makes it even more important to be faithful and dependable with the time and plans we do have with them.
Otherwise, instead of us pouring into them it will be the world influencing them which will not be a godly influence.
There are many examples in scripture of God’s faithfulness. For example:
8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
The Lord is always faithful, dependable, and there when we need Him. That is the gold standard of the faithfulness we should have for our children.
Protector
Protector
As Dads we need to be the protectors of our kids.
There is so much out there in today’s society that can damage them and it can seem overwhelming at times. The anti-Christian rhetoric in schools, movies, music, and social media is rampant.
Then there are online predators and sex traffickers seeking to entice and destroy our kids.
That’s in addition to the dangers that our kids and young adults have faced for several generations like low self-esteem, bullying, depression, eating disorders, traffic accidents, drugs & alcohol, violence, sex out of marriage and many more.
The devil is a liar and a coward and is trying everything he can in these last days to destroy our kids and unfortunately in many cases he is hurting them.
So how in the world can we keep them safe?
Simply put we cannot without the power of the Holy Spirit.
We need to pray over our kids and teach them how to do battle in the supernatural when they are old enough to understand.
Yes, we need to be engaged in their lives and check their phones and have structure in their lives. Absolutely.
But when fighting the devil, they need to know they have authority over him.
We need to teach them that the power of the Holy Spirit in them as children of God gives them power greater than that which is in the world.
We need to let them know that if they are weak, then God is strong and when we cry out to the name of Jesus something powerful happens in the supernatural.
That the mood shifts because the demons know that now things are serious because they have just crossed a line with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
At the name of Jesus there is authority and as believers we have the right to exercise that authority.
We need to teach our kids that the supernatural is not some kind of manmade idea but a real thing.
The Bible says that God is a Spirit, and we are to worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
We can also read many times in the Bible about God’s strength and protection of His people.
A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.
1 I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!
3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.
5 The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.
7 The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.
3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
Hallelujah! God Almighty faithfully strengthens and protects His people! Amen! He doesn’t let us stumble. He protects us when we sleep. He stands beside us as our protective shade and keeps us from hard both now and forever. God the Father is a perfect Father, and He protects his children!
Dads, for us the same should be true. What I am saying is be smart in the natural. Watch your kids and do not let bad things be poured into them as much as you can control. Be ready to fight for them if needed in the supernatural and the natural.
But above all this seek the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit to do in the supernatural what we cannot do in the natural and teach your kids the same.
Conclusion
Conclusion
In closing, being a dad is one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences a man can have.
Being a godly dad requires much sacrifice, but the rewards cannot be measured.
Christ gave His life for the world and when we dedicate our lives serving our children it brings honor and glory to God the Father. And we can walk with dignity knowing we are honorable men.
So today I want to honor all the men who are doing their best and encourage them that the Lord sees what you do and when you do it His way is incredibly pleased.
Happy Father’s Day
And remember our joy is found in Jesus!