Responsibility of being a Father
Deuteronomy 6 (KJV)
4. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
As father's we have a great responsibility to teach our families to love the Lord. God gives us the key ingredients to accomplish this purpose. Intertwined in this is teaching them to love, respect and follow God's Word. Notice three things that are vital to teaching our families to love Him.
J. Wilbur Chapman often told of the testimony given by a certain man in one of his meetings: "I got off at the Pennsylvania depot as a tramp, and for a year I begged on the streets for a living. One day I touched a man on the shoulder and said, 'Hey, mister, can you give me a dime?' As soon as I saw his face I was shocked to see that it was my own father. I said, 'Father, Father, do you know me?' Throwing his arms around me and with tears in his eyes, he said, 'Oh my son, at last I've found you! I've found you. You want a dime? Everything I have is yours.' Think of it. I was a tramp. I stood begging my own father for ten cents, when for 18 years he had been looking for me to give me all that he had."
What a wonderful illustration of the way God longs to treat us, if we will only let Him.
I. We need to Talk Of God's Word
A. We need to take the time to talk with our families of the things of God
(Prov 22:6 KJV)Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. "Train up a child"
1. Dedicate or set aside for God's purpose.
2. We must have clear cut objectives of what we plan to teach them
3. We must create a strong desire for spirituality in there lives.
B. Some principles of Training
1. Training is more than teaching.
a. Teaching deals with the mind
b. Training deals with the will
c. Training is not only TELLING them what to do, but SHOWING them how to do it.
d. Training is bringing our families to the place that they are
accustomed to dong right habitually, willingly and happily!
2. Prevention is better that Cure.
This means start early and stay on the job constantly! Be aware of what is going on around us and
our families.
3. Habit precedes Understanding! It seems that when children get into their teen years they start to question the things we have taught them. This is the time that those things are being weighed. They are deciding if these will be THEIR convictions also.
4. Example is better than Precept.
Actions speak louder than words.
5. Love that Draws is better than Law that Demands!
II. We need to Do God's Word
A. Pray FOR our families. Pray WITH them
B. Praise is very important
1. Praise God!!!
2. Praise your Wife and Children.
This teaches them to be grateful
a. Listen to them. God listens to us! He even asks us to bring our needs to Him!
b. Spend enjoyable time with them!
C. We need to BE God's Word
Matt.12:34-35 "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things." Prov.4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
1. We Must be saved!!!
2. We Must have the "Great" commandment firmly placed in our hearts.
Matt.22:37-38 "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. "
3. As we love the Lord we become more like him.
As we become more like Him, more of His love and action show up in our lives.
4. When our families see that the Lord is REAL to us they begin to realize just how important it is to also love Him and this is what being a father is all about!!!
In the parable of the prodigal, Jesus pictures the father waiting patiently for his son to come home. In the parable of the ninety and nine he pictures the shepherd leaving the flock in search for the one lost sheep.
J. W. Stevenson in his book, God, In My Disbelief tells how Dr. Christopher, an old minister, had gone south to London to seek for his son who had dishonored his home and left father and mother.
"There was no address to guide him. Only after many days was the name of the street discovered; and when the old minister, with his white hair, stood at the end of it he knew it was beyond him to go from door to door of its length. But a street musician came by just then and Dr. Christopher stopped him. Did he know an old tune, one that had been a favorite in the home when the children were young? Would he walk with him along the street as he played? And he told him why."
"So they went slowly, the street musician and the old minister with his hat in his hand so that his face could be seen, taking this last slender chance to find the son who had no use for him; seeking him who had no understanding of the love in his father's heart."
God bless you and yours!
