A Great Dad
There once was YOUNG MOTHER WHO WENT DOWN TO THE NURSERY AT A HOSPITAL AND FOUND HER YOUNG HUSBAND PEERING DOWN AT HIS NEWBORN BABY WHO WAS ASLEEP. THE MOTHER COULD TELL HE WAS CAPTIVATED BY THE SCENE AS HE STOOD THERE LOOKING AT THE SLEEPING INFANT. SHE WAS SO TOUCHED THAT FINALLY SHE TIPTOED UP BEHIND HIM AND SLIPPED HER ARM THROUGH HIS AND SAID, "HONEY, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT?" HE SAID, "I JUST CAN’T UNDERSTAND HOW THEY’RE ABLE TO MAKE A CRIB LIKE THIS FOR $89.95." (Stever Malone--SermonCentral.com)
Fathers are interesting creatures.
Here are the TOP 4 THINGS YOU’LL NEVER HEAR DAD SAY
4 Here’s a credit card and the keys to my car. GO CRAZY!!
3. Your mother and I are going away for the weekend. You might want to consider throwing a party.
2. Whaddya wanna go and get a job for? I make plenty of money for you to spend.
1. Well, how ’bout that? I’m lost! Looks like we’ll have to stop and ask for directions.
There has ALWAYS been a great need for Dads.
• We may think they’re weird because of what they wear
• Or their lack of emotions.
• But Dad’s are essential in our homes today.
• So with this being said
• What does the Bible tells us about what makes a great dad?
1). A great dad loves his children.
Psalm 103:13, “As a father has compassion on his children…”
• The word compassion is a word that means to love deeply & to cherish.
• Dads are to cherish and nurture their children.
• Mom’s you aren’t off the hook.
• You are to love your kids too.
• But, far too many dads aren’t doing this.
2). A great dad is fair to his children.
Ephesians 6:4, “And now a word to you fathers. Don’t make your children angry by the way you treat them.
The NIV translation says don’t exasperate your children.
• Don’t wear them out. Don’t nag them. Don’t make them hostile.
• Treat them fairly but that doesn’t mean you don’t discipline them.
• We just don’t unfairly punish them.
• We have to be reasonable.
• We all know that as kids we are going to do things that they’re asked not too.
• And from a kids point of view I am not saying your not allowed to get angry
• But if we do something that deserves being grounded or spanked
• We have to take our medicine.
• Even if we don’t like it.
3). A great dad takes the time to train and instruct his children.
Let’s look at the rest of the Ephesians 6:4 verse. “Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction approved by the Lord.”
• What kind of instruction? Moral and spiritual instruction.
• A better way to say this is to teach them absolute truth.
• To Teach them the difference between Right and wrong.
• Good and evil. Heaven and hell. Morality & Immorailty.
• Children, as long as you live in your parent’s home your response should be this: “ I am going to obey you.”
• I may not always like it, and I may not agree with it.
• But I’m the child, and you’re the parents.
• I want to please and obey God by obeying, you.”
As we look at these three responsibilities
• Do you see why it is so important that Dads be the kind of dads they were meant to be?
• We have a generation of children who don’t know there right from their left
• Because they didn’t have any fatherly influence in their lives
• Father’s who loved them, treated them fairly and taught them right from wrong.
• We have to many young people who have a distorted view about God
• Because their relationship with their earthly father was so messed up.
• It is hard for them to see that God is loving and patient and merciful.
Transition: One of the greatest characteristics I love most about God
• Is that He is a Father to me.
• You and I have two fathers.
• Our earthly father and our Heavenly One.
• So Here are some truths about God being our Father.
He will always be around.
“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father…” (Isa 9:6)
• God’s not going anywhere.
• Our Heavenly Father will always be there / He will always be around.
• He’ll never walk out on us or He’ll never die.
• He is our constant hope.
• And when we are alone we can trust in Him.
B). He is a Father to the fatherless and defender of widows
“Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—this is God, whose dwelling is holy.” Psalm 68:5
• The words Fatherless & orphan are used 10 times in the Bible.
• The word Widow is used 11 times in the Bible.
• Almost every time these words are being used they are in the context of God either looking out for them or he is giving instruction not to mistreat them.
• God has a special place in his heart for children that live a fatherless home.
• There are Single moms who may not be widow’s but their husband isn’t around.
• And these Moms need to understand that they have a Great heavenly father in their corner.
• And as a church we need to remember this.
• Unfortunately, in a lot of ways single moms and fatherless homes are looked down upon.
• As a church we need to embrace God’s love and concern in this area.
C). He loves you and I just as much as He loves His Son Jesus.
“I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are—I in them and you in me, all being perfected into one. Then the world will know that you sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love me.” John 17:23 (NLT)
• The first word that Jesus uses in the next verse is “Father.”
• Jesus uses the word Father six times in this chapter.
• That’s how much God loves every single one of you.
• He loves us as much as He loves his Son.
• Even when he disciplines us.
D). We decide whether He will be our Father or not.
• In one sense He has every right to have ownership in our lives.
• Because after all, He created us.
• But He will never force His way to be our Father.
• He will never take you to court to make you recognize His Fatherhood.
• We must choose whether or not we will allow him to be our father.
“Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. John 8:43 (NIV)
We can’t depend upon anyone else’s relationship with God.
• Just because our parents believed in God doesn’t make us a believer of God.
• The religious people in this chapter thought that just because they had the right Ancestors they were accepted.
• Jesus changed all that. He said if God were your Father you would love me.
To know Jesus is to know God the Father.
So What does all of this mean to us?
• Today as we celebrate this fathers day
• First we see that Dad’s & wannabe dads: you are crucial in the life of our children.
• Second we learn that the ultimate example of fatherhood
• Is found in our Heavenly Father.
• If we really want to know how to be a father—
• We need to model our Heavenly Father.
• And finally even if our father is not around you we see that we’re still not alone.
• “My father and mother walked out and left me, but God took me in.” Psalm 27:10 (the message)
May this Father’s Day be celebrated with a whole new perspective this weekend.
