Be A "Taker!"

Be a ¡§Taker!¡¨

Various Scriptures

Father¡¦s Day, June 15, 2003

Introduction

Well, it¡¦s Father¡¦s Day. The day of the year when the Father is supposed to relax, watching his favorite John Wayne movie, or catching the Twins¡¦ game on TV.

Normally on Mother¡¦s Day we tell about how wonderful mothers are, and on Father¡¦s Day we talk about how Dads are falling short.

Not today, guys! Today I want to give you some ideas on how to be the best father you can be, in what I hope will be a practical way.

We¡¦re going to look at a number of Scriptures this morning to glean some principles that I think will go a long way to helping us become men who have a love for Christ that overflows into our families.

And while most of my comments this morning will be directed mainly to dads, let me be quick to say that almost everything I say this morning is applicable to every person here, man or woman, married or single, childless or ¡§child-full,¡¨ okay? Okay.

When we talk about being a good father, we generally talk about what we can give ¡V things like time, energy, whatever. But today I want to tell you that to be a good father, you need to be a taker. The Bible says that we need to take some things if we want to be successful.

My hope is that by the time we¡¦re done today you¡¦ll take these things to heart and also to action. And if you do, I¡¦ll make you a promise. Your family will reap the benefits, and you will reap the benefits of a grateful and loving family who sees a hero in their dear old Dad. Let¡¦s get started, shall we? The first thing we need to take is¡K

1. Take Courage

If you have your Bibles handy, I would like to invite you to turn with me to Matthew 14. Matthew is the first book in the New Testament, and if you are using the Bibles in the seats, our passage can be found on page ________.

MT 14:25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It’s a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid."

28 "Lord, if it’s you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."

29 "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

From this passage I want to invite you to take courage, especially by taking two specific actions:

„X Try something new and risky.

Disclaimer: I¡¦m not saying to do things you are not physically capable of handling. For instance, most guys my age and above have no business on skateboards. Not only do we lack the coordination, but we look really goofy.

I am also not advocating things like risky business and investment schemes. I am talking about doing something that disrupts your current lifestyle.

Here¡¦s why: too many times we find ourselves living in comfort zones that keep us trapped. We get so used to living our lives the way we do that to consider doing something else is tantamount to blasphemy.

So try something new. Maybe it¡¦s exercise. Maybe it¡¦s reading something different than you¡¦ve ever read before.

Grab a book to read out of pure enjoyment instead of all the books on Christian living or Bible study you¡¦ve been reading. Maybe read a Louis L¡¦amour book. Or how about reading the Bible in a different translation for your devotions?

I don¡¦t know what it would be for you, but let me encourage you to try something substantial. Something that¡¦s going to cost you something in terms of time and convenience.

There¡¦s a risk when you try something new. You might just fail. In fact, I honestly hope that you do fail sometimes ¡V not in a sense of immorality, but in other things.

For instance, I¡¦m of the opinion we need more Christians in public office. Maybe you feel the same way and decide to run for a local office. What if you lose?

Will your children see that you¡¦re gracious in defeat and that you still value yourself as a child of God when things don¡¦t go your way? I hope so.