My Two, or Three Dads
Ephesians 5:25 - 6:4
Giving honor to father’s and mothers is biblical.
Today we are giving honor to father’s.
TOP 10 THINGS YOU’LL NEVER HEAR A DAD SAY
10. Well, how ‘bout that? I’m lost! Looks like we’ll have to stop and ask for directions.
9. Now that you’re thirteen, you’ll be ready for unchaperoned car dates.
8. I noticed that all your friends have an attitude. I like that.
7. Here’s a credit card and the keys to the car. GO CRAZY!!!
6. What do you mean you wanna play football? Figure skating’s not good enough for you, son?
5. Your Mother and I are going away for the weekend. You might want to consider throwing a party.
4. Well, I don’t know what’s wrong with your car. Probably one of those doo-hickey thingies—ya know—that makes it run or something. Just have it towed to a mechanic and pay whatever he asks.
3. No son of mine is going to live under this roof without an earring. Now quit you belly-aching, and let’s go to the mall.
2. Whaddya wanna go and get a job for? I make plenty of money for you to spend.
1. What do I want for my birthday? Aahh—don’t worry about that. It’s no big deal. (Okay, they might say it. But they don’t mean it)
What Is A Father?
A father is a thing that is forced to endure childbirth without anesthetic.
A father is a thing that growls when he feels good…and laughs very loud when he is scared half to death.
A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child’s eyes. He is never quite the hero his daughter thinks he is…never quite the man his son believes him to be…and this worries him, sometimes. So he works too hard to try to smooth the rough places in the road for those of his own who follow him.
A father is a thing that gets upset when the first grades in school are not as good as he thinks they should be. He scolds his son…though he knows it is the teacher’s fault.
Fathers grow old faster than people. Because they, in wartime, have to stand at the airports and wave good-bye to the uniformed son that flies away to face the unknown. And while mothers can cry where it shows, fathers have to be brave and beam outside…while quietly dying inside.
Fathers have very stout hearts; so they have to be broken sometimes or no one would know what’s inside.
Fathers are what give daughters away to other men who are not nearly good enough…so they can have grandchildren that are smarter than anybody’s.
Fathers fight dragons…almost daily…..They hurry away from the breakfast table…off to the arena, which is sometimes called an office or a workshop. There, with callused, practiced hands, they tackle the dragon with three heads: weariness, work, and monotony. They never quite win the fight, but they never give up. Knights in shining armor—fathers in shiny trousers: there is little difference, as they march away to each new workday.
And when a father who knows the Lord dies, I have an idea that after a good rest he will not be happy unless there is work to do. He will not just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he has loved and the children she bore. He will be busy there, too—repairing the stairs…oiling the gates, improving the streets..smoothing the way.
Dad Is Destiny
A cover article in the February 27th issue of U.S. News & World Report concluded that: More than any other factor, a father’s presence in the family will determine a child’s success and happiness.”
Nearly two out of every five children in America do not live with their fathers.
Quotes
“Committed fatherhood would do more to restore a normal childhood to every child, and dramatically reduce our nation’s most costly social problems, than all of the pending legislation in America combined.”—National Fatherhood Initiative.
If fathers took their roles that God gave them serious, we wouldn’t need laws that ban guns- we wouldn’t need curfews in our towns, etc.
“The most urgent domestic challenge facing the U.S. at the close of the 20th century is the re-creation of fatherhood as a social role for men.”—David Blankenhorn, Institute for American Values.
We need fathers that will take their God given places according to what God’s word says and not according to what Hollywood says.
A good father does these basic things: provides for his family, protects his family, and gives spiritual and moral guidance.
This is where Ephesians 6:4 comes in: (Fathers, do not exasperate your children……instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Someone once asked their daughter what she thought were the biggest problems fathers have with kids.
She said, “Dads have too many ‘tomorrows.’
And she’s right….I’m guilty of that myself.
You know, ‘I’ll play with you tomorrow, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.’”
As Dads , we need to be there now for our children….no matter how old they are…….We need to be there for our wives…..
Our grand children, brothers and sister….as men…we need to be there for our nieces and nephews…our friends….
We need to be building quality and quantity benchmarks of trust.
Don’t wait until tomorrow—or you’ll end up wasting too many today’s.
Maybe if a dad had not put his child off and spent more time with him there wouldn’t be any dead children in Columbine Colorado.
Maybe if dads took more time with their daughters there wouldn’t be so many teenage pregnancies.
Maybe if dads spent more time with their sons their sons wouldn’t be getting teenage girls pregnant.
You say, but Pastor,……I have to do what you said……“Provide for my family.”
What good does it do to spend all your time working?
When you are worried about your job…your family is ending up on the rocks?
If you will put God first, family next, then God will take care of the provision.
Ephesians 5:25 - 27 Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…..to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,……and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Now…before a few of us get excited…this does not mean that we have total authority over our wives…..
Just because it says we are the spiritual leader…does not mean we are the house leader.
A small girl was asked about who’s the boss in her family…she said…”My dad wears the pants in the family….my mom tells him which ones to wear.”
Family Worship
1. If both parents worship on a regular basis….there’s an 80% chance that kids will worship God regularly as an adult.
2. If only your mother worshipped regularly with you, there’s only a 30% probability that you’ll worship regularly as an adult.
3. If only your father worshipped regularly with you, the likelihood that you’ll worship regularly as an adult increases to 70%!
Fathers have an enormous impact on their children’s faith and values.
One of a Dads most important ministries is worshipping with your kids!
Devil or Santa
Two first graders were overheard as they left Sunday School class, “Do you really believe all that stuff about the devil?”
“No, I think it’s like Santa Claus. It’s really your dad.”
There are a lot of dads that will treat their family great when they are around people.
They act like saints, even angels.
But at home, when nobody is around, where the rubber meets the road, they treat their families like the devil would.
A small boy said, "Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day, only you don’t spend as much on the gift."
Bill Cosby wrote, "Now that my father is a grandfather he just can’t wait to give money to my kids. But when I was a kid and I asked him for 50 cents, he would tell me the story of his life. How he got up at 5 a.m. when he was 70-years-old and walked 23 miles to milk 90 cows. And the farmer for whom he worked had no bucket, so he had to squirt the milk into his little hand and then walk 8 miles to the nearest can. All for 5 cents. The result was...I never got my 50 cents.
"But now he tells my children every time he comes into the house, ’Well, let’s see how much money old Granddad has for his wonderful grandkids.’ And the minute they take money out of his hands I call them over to me and I snatch it away from them. BECAUSE THAT IS MY MONEY."
Here are some Dad quotes from the book “The World According to Dad."
These are words that most dads have said at some time or another to their children.
- This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.
- Quiet. I’m watching the ball game.
- Don’t forget to check the oil.
- Bring back all the change.
- How should I know? Ask your mother.
- I’m not made out of money!
- When I was your age I walked 5 miles to and from school each day and it was uphill both ways.
- You are going and you will have fun!
- Who’s paying the bills around here, anyway?
- If you break your leg don’t come running to me.
- Don’t put your feet on the furniture. Your mother will kill you.
- Get down before you kill yourself. On second thought, go ahead.
- Quit playing with your food.
- Be quiet! Can’t you see I’m trying to think!
- Why? Because I said so!
- If you don’t quit that I’m going to call your mother.
- You better get that junk picked up before your mother comes in here.
- Just wait till you have kids of your own.
- I was not asleep. I was just resting my eyes.
Both parenting and fatherhood can be a real trial. And yet a real blessing.
We are here today to remember the Lord and honor our earthly fathers. We need to do both.
Lets say thanks to dad "Thanks, Dad!"
I. THANKS FOR MATERIAL PROVISION
I Tim. 5:8 "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
Wow! That’s powerful.
If a father does not provide materially for his family (food, clothing, shelter) then he has denied the faith of Christ and is worse than unbelievers.
Why would such a father be worse than unbelievers?
BECAUSE EVEN UNBELIEVERS PROVIDE FOR THEIR FAMILIES!
I don’t know if my Dad is alive or dead….
But one thing is for sure ….when he was around…he provided….
He was a carpenter…what ever we needed he built….
He taught me how to live through hard times…
We were poor….there were plenty of times when we had Mayonase sandwiches….
We always had food on the table and clothes to wear…
DID I THINK MY DADDY PROVIDED FOR ME?
Sure, I did. I honestly don’t remember missing out on anything.
WHAT ABOUT YOUR DADDY?
Did he provide for you? He probably did and you need to thank him for it if he’s still alive. Or at least, give thanks to God that he did!
Thank God! And thank God for all the fathers who provide as best they can for their families! Thank you, Fathers!
II. THANKS FOR FAITHFUL INSTRUCTION
Eph. 6:4 "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."
"Parents, don’t be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct them about the Lord."
Eph. 6:4 Paul said, "Don’t keep on scolding and nagging your children, making them angry and resentful...."
ILL.- Here is the sad confession of one father. "I took my children to school but not to church. I taught them to drink but not of the living water. I enrolled them in Little League but not Sunday School. I showed them how to fish but not to be fisher of men. I made the Lord’s Day a holiday, rather than a holy day."
"I taught them the church was full of hypocrites and made the greater
hypocrite of them and me.
"I gave them a color TV but provided no Bible. I handed them the keys to the car but did not give to them the keys of the kingdom of God. I taught them how to make a living but failed to bring them to Christ who alone can make a life."
Brothers and sisters, you need to thank your father for the faithful instruction he gave you in life...for all the good advice. And especially, if that instruction included the Lord!
1- Thanks for material provision
2- Thanks for faithful instruction
III. THANKS FOR GODLY ILLUSTRATION
By this, I mean a godly illustration for life. Or a godly example for life.
I Cor. 11:1 Paul said to the Corinthians who were his children in the faith, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."
Please notice: Paul didn’t say, "Do everything I do." He said, "Do everything I do which is Christlike." Or follow the example of Christ. Paul wasn’t perfect and neither are we.
Brethren, there are some things that I have done in life that I do not want my children to do. I’m sorry when I have given them a bad example. But I have also done some good things, some godly things, some Christlike things, which I hope they will copy from my life. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING BEING; loving people!
ILL.- One man said, "When I was a teenager, Dad would come in my room and say, ’C’mon, kid, let’s go.’ "’Where to?’ ’Lucy’s.’"
"Once a month Dad would visit Lucy Butchko, a woman whose body was twisted and pinned into a wheelchair by arthritis. He would reach his big arms around her frail body and lift her out of the wheelchair and place her in the front seat of our brown station wagon. Then he would fold the wheelchair, throw it in back, and drive Lucy to the monthly Communion service for shut-ins. Dad was a Vice President of a publishing company who shuttled shut-ins."
"Later, while in the hospital, trying to recover from a massive heart attack, Dad found out that a family down the street didn’t have enough money to buy groceries. So he wrote them a check. IT WAS THE LAST THING HE EVER WROTE, AND A LASTING LESSON."
Maybe you’re thinking to yourself….”My Dad was never around when I was growing up….”
My Step Dad raised me….
I was born to my father….I was raised by my step dad….and was created by my Father in heaven.
Everyone has a Dad….When you feel abandoned by your earthly Father…your heavenly Father….is always with you
Just Like You
There are little eyes upon you, and they are watching night and day;
There are little ears that quickly take in every word you say;
There are little hands all eager to do everything 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 grown up to be 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.
