FAMILY
Part 4-Fathers that can lead
Genesis 6,7,19
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Pastor Brian Matherlee
THE FATHER’S DAY TOP TEN LIST OF
THINGS YOU’VE BEEN ITCHIN’TO SAY FOR YEARS NOW...
We often hear "the rules" from the feminine side. Ok
- well now hear the guys’ side - it’s only fair - - realizing of course that Father’s Day is the only day of the year we could get away with it!)
#10 Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.
#9 Shopping is NOT a sport, and no, we are never going to think of it that way.
#8 Sunday = sports. It’s like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
#7 “Yes” and “No” are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
#6 Check your oil! Please, check your oil!
#5 Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all past comments become null and void after 7 days.
#4 If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.
#3 If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing’s wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
#2 ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.
#1 Christopher Columbus did not need directions, and neither do we…
Three boys in the schoolyard were bragging about who had the better father:
The first boy says, “My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a poem, and they give him $100.”
The second boy says, “That’s nothing. My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a song, and they give him $1000.”
The third boy says, “My Dad is ever better than that. He scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, calls it a sermon, and it takes 6 or 8 men just to collect all the money!” (sermoncentral.com)
Today, let’s look at two families that chose two very different paths and consequently had two very different outcomes.
Story of Noah (Genesis 6-7)
Story of Lot (Genesis 19)
What tools did Noah use that Lot did not?
1. Righteousness vs. Recklessness
a. The Bible points out that the entire world was wicked but Noah was a righteous man.
i. He stood in stark contrast to the culture.
ii. He stood alone in his task
iii. Because of his testimony his entire family was saved.
b. We discover that Lot chose to live in a wicked city and was very much at home there. In 19:1 we see him sitting at the gateway of the city.
i. Because of this his testimony had no validity (v.14)
2. Obedience vs. Hesitation
a. When God told Noah what to do—he got busy. (Gen. 6:22-“Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”) THE STORY IS TOLD OF A FATHER OF 5 WHO CAME HOME WITH A TOY, HE SUMMONED HIS CHILDREN AND ASKED WHICH ONE SHOULD BE GIVEN THE PRESENT. "WHO IS THE MOST OBEDIENT, NEVER TALKS BACK TO MOM AND DOES EVERY THING HE OR SHE IS TOLD TO DO?" HE INQUIRED. THERE WAS SILENCE, AND THEN A CHORUS OF VOICES: "YOU PLAY WITH IT DADDY!"
b. When God told Lot what to do, he hesitated. (19:16-“When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.”)
i. Why do we hesitate?
There was a little boy who was caught in a fire at home. He could not get out of the burning house. He climbed up out onto the roof of the burning home, and began to cry for his father’s help. The father looked up at his son from the ground, and told him to jump. “I can’t see you though daddy, how will you catch me?” said the son. The father said, “I can see you”. Without further hesitation the boy jumped into his father’s arms.
What helped Noah obey was the final critical component of a father who leads his family well…
3. Trust vs. Compromise
a. Noah trusted and built the ark; got his family on board
i. Consequently the Lord blessed Noah and his family.
ii. Noah had to face ridicule (for decades); he had to stay on task; he had to persevere in the midst of all kinds of difficulties.
b. Lot begged for a compromise and fled to a small town originally tagged for destruction
i. Lot was told about the impending destruction and instead of doing whatever he could to get his family far away, he sought to bargain with the Lord.
ii. Lot was lackadaisical about putting some distance between himself and sin.
iii. Consequently Lot’s family was torn apart and his daughters committed sin that those in Sodom and Gomorrah were well known for.
iv. Compromise didn’t deliver him the way God intended. God wanted Lot and his family to flee over the mountains—probably close to Abraham. It was more than getting them out of Sodom & Gomorrah…it was getting them back to himself.
v. When we are convicted of sin or led to flee the scene of temptation and compromise we should get as far away from it as possible!
vi. At the Linville Gorge there is a sign that warns visitors not to climb on the rocks by the river just before it plunges over the falls. It explains that many have unwittingly been swept away and plunged to their death because they played with danger.
Conclusion
Righteousness, obedience and trust in God are 3 critical components of fathers who lead their families down the right path.
INFLUENCE
There are little eyes upon you.
And they’re watching night and day;
There are little ears that quickly
Take in every word you say;
There are little hands all eager
To do anything you do;
And a little boy who’s dreaming
Of the day he’ll be like you.
You’re the little fellow’s idol;
You’re the wisest of the wise,
In his little mind about you,
No suspicions ever rise;
He believes in you devoutly,
Holds that all you say and do,
He will say and do, in your way
When he’s a grown-up like you.
There’s a wide eyed little fellow,
Who believes you’re always right,
And his ears are always open,
And he watches day and night;
You are setting an example
Every day in all you do,
For the little boy who’s waiting
To grow up to be like you.--Author Unknown
