A Man Is The Sum Of His Relationships

Sermon preached by Pastor Larry on June 20, 2004

Title: A Man is the Sum of His Relationships

Text: Eph 6:4 et al

Introduction

1. Happy Father’s Day!!

• As I was praying and thinking about this special service…

• And thinking about what Father’s Day means to me…

• And what I feel like I need to hear as a father and as a man…

• I’ve come up with a sermon written for 1 person…

• Myself…

• You can all leave now…

• and I’ll just preach to myself for the next 20 minutes…

• (Just kidding!!!)

2. I want you to listen in, as I preach to myself…

• And perhaps the Lord will use this to minister to you as well.

• I have come to the conclusion that a man is the sum of his relationships.

• If you add up the quality of a man’s different relationships…

• The sum will equal the quality of the man…

• So I would like us to look at our different relationships…

• Evaluate the quality of each relationship against what God’s plan is…

• And see what kind of men we are.

Read Text:

1. A Man’s Relationship to His Children.

A. First of all, let’s look at a man’s relationship to his children.

• If it wasn’t for this special relationship, we wouldn’t be celebrating this special day that we call “Father’s Day”

• So, it’s a good place to start.

• Men, look at your relationship with your children…

• How are you doing?

• Do you spend time with your children?

• Do you express your love to your children?

• In word? In touch? In guidance?

• Do you provide guidance wrapped in love that draws them closer to the Lord?

• Or do you provide guidance that is wrapped in harshness that pushes them away?

• Paul speaks to fathers along these lines when he says, “fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Eph 6:4 (NKJV)

• Do you, as the manual says,

• “teach them early the fear of the Lord,

• watch over their education, that they not be led astray,

• direct their youthful minds to the Holy Scripture

• and their feet to the sanctuary,

• to restrain them from evil associates and habits;

• and as much as in you lies, to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”?

B. Fathers, God has entrusted those children into your care…

• they are an eternal, living soul…

• are you doing everything in your power to encourage them to follow Christ?

• I realize that children have to make up their own minds…

• And their choices are their own…

• But that doesn’t absolve of us from doing everything we can to win them to Christ…

• As long as both of you and your child are living.

C. So if a man really is the sum of his relationships…

• How are you doing in this area?

• Evaluate yourself…

• Better yet, let the Holy Spirit speak evaluate you according to God’s plan for you as a father.

2. But there are other relationships we need to look at…how about a man’s relationship to his parents?

A. Scripture tells us to “Honor your father and your mother”

• What is your relationship like with your parents?

• Do you honor your parents?

• Do you love your parents AND let them know that you love them?

• Do you pray for them?

• Sometimes, relationships between parents and children can become strained…

• Sometimes, the relationship can become so broken that the parents and the children are no longer even speaking to each other.

• On occasion, people have come to me describing a terrible relationship that they have with their parents or their children.

• They will share a long list of perceived offenses that have driven a wedge into that relationship.

• And they will ask me something like, “Do I have to reach out to my (dad, son, daughter, mom)…

• they are the ones who offended…

• let them apologize to me”

• And my answer is usually something along the lines of…

• “you will be judged by God based upon your own actions…

• Your (mom, dad, son, daughter) will be judged by God according to their actions…

• You just make sure that you have done EVERYTHING THAT YOU POSSIBLY CAN…

• So you can stand before your Maker…

• And God won’t say to you, “you should have done more””

• I understand that it takes 2 people to reconcile…

• But I also understand that if just ONE is willing to humble themselves…