What does Paradise – Fathers – Stewardship make?
The Hawaiian Islands could be called paradise and that is why it is Hawaiian Sunday today. I want to share with you about paradise and what it means.
Beautiful beaches, warm blue water washing up the shore. Maybe there is a soft breeze blowing your hair as the warm sun dances off your body.
You could be thinking about the snow piling up in the mountains with blue skies and the sound of skis cutting through the snow.
Different people have different ideas of the location of Paradise.
Strong’s Greek translation says; Paradise is a place of future happiness.
Future happiness, that means that they don’t think that we are not living in Paradise.
Genesis 2:8-10 (NIV) Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.
This sounds pretty much like paradise to me, but we have all heard that there are no free lunches. . .
Genesis 2:15 (NLT) The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.
Work it, tend it, care for it, so no matter where we are or what we are doing, there is some kind of work to do.
God has placed in us a desire to do something, we can’t just do nothing; just sitting watching TV is doing something.
So paradise involves some kind of effort being exerted. And science says that if there is energy exerted, that is called work. So running down the beach in Hawaii is work. That is a job that I would volunteer for.
Some would say that having a good mate and a family would be paradise.
Colossians 3:17 (NIV) And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
SO FATHERS –
Just to remind us that God the Father is a father also and He followed the same guidelines as the ones He gave us.
Genesis 2:1-3 (NLT) So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.
So now we have paradise, we have God the Father creating paradise for us. To create is to exert some energy which will require rest afterwards.
So if God recreated everything; that means that He owns everything and just like Adam, we are put in charge of caring for it, which brings us to stewardship.
STEWARDSHIP –
"God's ownership and our stewardship ought to be acknowledged, for we shall be held personally accountable to God for the exercise of our stewardship. God, as a God of system and order in all of His ways, has established a system of giving that acknowledges His ownership over all human resources and relationships. To this end all His children should faithfully tithe and present offerings for the support of the gospel.— Church of the Nazarene Manual 2009-2013"
Malachi 3:6-10 (NIV) "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' 8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
But stewardship is not just money, it is obedience to His word, to care for what He has given us, wither it is a job, the house, the church and without a doubt, the people He has placed in your life. The family, the children, the spouse and even your parents are a part of the work that God has blessed you with.
James 2:21-26 (NLT) Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
The Father’s faith was put to work to strengthen Abraham and Isaac’s worship of God. Rahab’s actions, her works, showed her faith in the God Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Now what does Paradise – Fathers –
Stewardship make?
To have all three, puts you in God’s good graces,
and that my friends is a
Paradise that can be enjoyed NOW.
Quotes from Sermon Central -
Fathers and their prayers and wishes
A quote from General Douglas MacArthur about seeing his children as a blessing, and not a burden:
“By profession I am a soldier and take pride in that, but I am prouder—infinitely prouder—to be a father. A soldier destroys, a father builds. The one has the potentiality of death; the other embodies creation and life.
“It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battlefield, but in the home, repeating with him our simple daily prayers.” (Borrowed from The Kennedy Commentary by Dr. D. James Kennedy)
• • •
Gen. Douglas MacArthur wrote this prayer for his son. He prayed: "Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, & brave enough to face himself when he is afraid. One who will be proud & unbending in honest defeat, & humble & gentle in victory.
"Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds - a son who will know Thee, who is the foundation stone of knowledge. Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease & comfort, but under the stress & spur of difficulties & challenge.
"Here let him learn to stand up to the storm. Here let him learn compassion for those who fail. Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high, a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men, one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
"And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor so that he may always be serious but never take himself too seriously. Give him humility so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, & an open mind of true wisdom, & the meekness of true strength.
• • •
Some months ago I heard a touching story about a humble, consecrated pastor whose young son had become very ill. After the boy had undergone an exhaustive series of tests, the father was told the shocking news that his son had a terminal illness. The youngster had accepted Christ as his Savior, so the minister knew that death would usher him into Glory; but he wondered how to inform one in the bloom of youth that he soon would die. After earnestly seeking the direction of the Holy Spirit, he went with a heavy heart through the hospital ward to the boy’s bedside.
First he read a passage of Scripture and had a time of prayer with his dear child. Then he gently told him that the doctors could promise him only a few more days to live. "Are you afraid to meet Jesus, my boy?" asked his devout father. Blinking away a few tears, the little fellow said bravely, "No, not if He’s like you, Dad!"
