4 - A Father To You Series

4 - A FATHER TO YOU - “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? FOR WE ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD. As God has said: (1) “I will live with them and walk among them, and (2) I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and (3) I will receive you.” And, (4) “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.””

??2 Corinthians? ?6?:?16?-?18? ?NIV??

How many of you here today have or had a father? Good. Just checking. How many of you have been a father at least once? How many of you have experienced GOD being a FATHER to you? Because our God is a promise-making and a promise-keeping God and He has promised I WILL BE A FATHER TO YOU. But are you letting HIM FATHER YOU?

Some men have fathered children they never end up caring about. Some men have fathered children and have never been given the chance to be a father to those children. Some men have fathered and had the great opportunity to be a representative of God to their children in loving them, providing for them, guiding them, enjoying them, and discipling them.

I have a distinct memory on one occasion needing disciplined by my father. It was on a Sunday. I needed the spanking I received. I remember crying it out in my room on my bed, and then when I came back out my dad was sitting on our recliner and I felt compelled to go and sit …on my dad’s lap. He accepted me, wrapped his arms around me and held me close. And he said over me, “Even though I discipline you, you still want to be near me.” As if he was discovering something himself.

In Hebrews 12:5-7, …5have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6For the Lord disciplines the one He agape-loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?

These words come from Proverbs 3:11-12 are repeated from the Beginning of the bible to the end:

Deuteronomy 8:5 - So know in your heart that just as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

Psalm 94:12 - Blessed is the man You discipline, O LORD, and teach from Your law,

Psalm 119:75 - I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

Proverbs 3:11-12 - My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, and do not loathe His rebuke; for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights.

Lamentations 3:39 - Why should any mortal man complain when punished for his sins?

Revelation 3:19 - Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.

Many people today watch as their children make bad decisions over and over again because the children never accepted the discipline they were given. They never accepted the boundaries and adapted their actions, they never stayed on the right side of the LINE and listened to where they were to stand. INSIDE the line you do well to stay, OUTSIDE the line are consequences. If you cross that THAT line, the consequences are meant to NOT be pleasant, to not be what you like. It is intended to be that way so you learn to NOT cross that LINE!

I am just going to be straight with you, our American society today HATES discipline. Not only do they NOT want boundaries LINES drawn, they want to inflict punishment on those who make them.

Mark Lowry, singer and comedian who traveled with the Gaither Vocal Band for quite some time, shared that when he grew up and went to school, if he ever got in trouble at school, his parents had a 2 for 1 deal that happened. If he got in trouble at school, he’d get in trouble at home. Which also meant if he got a whack at school, he’d get one at home.