Attributes of a Godly Father
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I believe this sermon must since it is about the Attributes of a Godly Father start off with a Dad Joke.
Four expectant fathers were in a Minneapolis hospital waiting room, while their wives were in labor.
The nurse tells the first man, "Congratulations! You're the father of twins!"
"What a coincidence! I work for the Minnesota Twins baseball team!"
The nurse returns and tells the second man, "You are the father of triplets!"
"Wow, what a coincidence! I work for 3M Corporation!"
The nurse then tells the third man that his wife has given birth to quadruplets.
"Another coincidence! I work at the Four Seasons Hotel!"
At this point, the fourth guy faints. When he comes to, the others ask what's wrong.
"What's wrong?! I work for Seven-Up!"
Dad’s come in all different shapes and sizes and all types of characteristics. Today we will explore 3 attributes of a Godly Father. How does our Heavenly Father act and how can we follow His example? We will be in 3 separate passages in the book of Exodus this morning. If you have your bible please turn with me to Exodus 14:28-31
28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’ ” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.
9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”
11 But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” 14 And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
Today through these 3 passages you will see 3 attributes of a Godly Father and the example we all should follow. First you will see that a Godly Father Protects. Second, you will see that a Godly Father Provides. Third, you will see that a Godly Father Persists. While we may never reach the level of Fatherhood that God does on a daily basis for us it is something we must strive for. Lets start back in Exodus 14 Where we see that a Godly Father Protects his children.
A Godly Father Protects
A Godly Father Protects
Certain Native American tribes had a rite of passage for their teenage boys. At age 13 a boy would be blindfolded and led to a certain spot in the woods. He would be forced to sit down while the men of the tribe returned to their camp. The boy would be required to sit all night with his blindfold in place. He was forced to listen to the frightening sounds of the night. Once he felt the warmth of the sun as it rose in the east, he was allowed to remove his blindfold. The first thing he saw when he removed it was his father sitting across from him. The boy's father would sit with him all night, protecting him from the animals of the wilderness, yet he was not seen by his son.
Protection for our children is a given expectation of fathers. A Father should embody a selfless attitude that would drive him to lay his life down to protect his children. In Exodus 14:28-31
28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
We are introduced to the great power that God will use to protect His Children. We see that God drew an entire Egyptian army into the middle of the Sea then dropped the water on them to protect His children. God would empty an ocean to protect us. We are called to be protectors as fathers.
Growing up in our early ages my family lived in a part of Baker County called Taylor. In this area we were quite a way from the rest of civilization, in fact the closest Walmart was a 20 minute drive away. being this far out there was not much for us to do except to explore the woods. The kids on our street as a matter of fact when we knew there would be visitors from out of town coming in for one of the neighbors or someones relatives coming in to stay we would line the street as they came in with our shirts off covered in mud with war lines under our eyes and sometimes even a dead squirrel if we had one just to freak them out. Surprisingly not many visitors stayed long. My parents would be talked to by the other neighbors about our bad behavior at least once a week. So yes we were popular from a young age. I remember one day we were playing at the pond on the other side of my parents property and we were getting in the water like we were not supposed to do. My dad had been looking for us and finally found us. As we were in the water I remember my dad jumping in the water and pushing us out of the water. We were not quite sure what was going on but simply believed we were in trouble and while that was the case there was also a danger we could not see. My dad saw a water moccasin and literally put himself between us and the danger to protect us.
This is what a father does for his children, he protects them. The Scriptures tell us how we can protect our children.
To Protect our Children we must
Lead them in righteousness
6 Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
We must Be courageous and strong
13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
We must teach them to trust in the Lord
26 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence,
and his children will have a refuge.
A father must protect his children physically and spiritually. A father does not simply protect his children but he also provides for his children.
A Godly Father Provides’
A Godly Father Provides’
15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’ ” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.
God protected the children of Israel but He also provided for the children of Israel in ways that they did not deserve and could not understand. The children of Israel did not deserve the provision of God they had complained and whined and spoke ill of the Lord. Sound familiar? If you have had kids for any amount of time you have fallen victim to the same treatment. You work hard you pour yourself out for them and what do they do? They tell you that you don't even care because they cannot have a third ice cream cone at 10:30PM when they should be asleep. As a parent though you still provide for your children no matter how ungrateful they may be at times. We see this same attribute with our Heavenly Father.
“It may be hard on some fathers not to have a children, but it is so much harder on children not to have a father.”-S.D. Gilbert
Why is this? It is because a Father is called to provide. We are to share with our children the same attitude that God shares towards us.
31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’
9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
18 “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 20 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.
Fathers are to provide for their children both physically and emotionally but so much more spiritually. We are called to love as God has loved us. God does not simply protect, and provide for us, He also persists in His desire for our love.
A Godly Father Persists
A Godly Father Persists
In the history of the Israelites you saw God Protect them, you see God Provide for them, but you also see God Persist for them.
9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”
11 But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” 14 And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
God relented from destroying the Israelite because He wanted a relationship with them. The Israelite continued to chase after other Gods and to turn from God. God would work a miracle and they would chase after statutes. The Israelites chased after everything but the relationship with their father. Some of you in here had relationships that are strained or broken with your children and as a father and a believer that must be repaired. The Father is the example and the one who chases the relationship. The children will continue to make mistakes and will continue to take the relationship for granted but you fathers are called to be the living example of God to your children. If your child and you are not talking because of a fight then repair it. If you have given up on your kid, get involved again and tell them that you are not going to stop until they get the help they need whatever that help is. Be the overbearing father who calls every day to check on your child. One day they will be grateful for this but not only will they be grateful for that they will learn to be persistent for their relationships in their lives that they are called to. Lets look to the scripture and see how God is with us.
8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
17 The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
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.
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Time and time again God rescued the Israelites and God sent His son to restore all of creation to a relationship with Him. This example is the example that all fathers are called to live. You fathers are called to protect your children, to provide for your children, and to persist in your desire for a relationship with your children.
Maybe you are in here today and your earthly father fell short, that sucks and I am sorry for that. There is however a heavenly father who has protected you, provided for you, and persisted in His desire for a relationship with you. You can have that relationship with the perfect father today. Maybe you are in here today and you are a father who has fallen short of Gods call for a father, welcome to the club. It is not time to give up lets repent of this and work together towards being better fathers. Today we honor fathers but in truth we reflect on how much we have to grow to try and be like God is to us. Today there is truly one father who deserves all the honor and that is our father Abba. Join me at the alter this morning to say thank you to our Father, join me in your seat if you cannot make it here. Take time to honor our Father this morning.