BIO OF A FIRST-CLASS DAD
Gen. 17:5
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: THE DEFINITION OF BARBECUING
It’s the only type of cooking a "real man" will do. When a man volunteers to do the ’BBQ’ the following chain of events are put into motion:
1. The woman goes to the store.
2. The woman fixes the salad, vegetables, and dessert.
3. The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils, and takes it to the man, who is lounging beside the grill.
4. The man places the meat on the grill.
5. The woman goes inside to set the table and check the vegetables. She comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning.
6. The man takes the meat off the grill and hands it to the woman.
7. The woman prepares the plates and brings them to the table. After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
8. Everyone praises the man and thanks him for his cooking efforts.
9. The man asks the woman how she enjoyed "her night off." And, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there’s just no pleasing some women.
B. ABRAHAM: FIRST-CLASS FATHER
1. What would you say if I told you there was a man who had more than a million children? Gen. 17:5, God changed Abram’s name to “Father of Many Nations” (Abraham).
2. Rom. 4:16 says Abraham is the “Father of us all.” That’s another way of saying Abraham was a First-Class Dad!
3. WHY DID GOD ENTRUST HIM WITH MILLIONS OF DESCENDANTS? HE HAD GREAT CHARACTERISTICS.
4. What made Abraham such a great father that God would speak of him so highly? We’re going to consider three of his characteristics as we look at the “Bio of a First Class Dad.”
I. A MAN OF LEADERSHIP
“8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” Heb. 11:8-10.
A. TOOK LEAD IN THEIR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
1. 1 Cor. 11:3, “But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” Man is to be head of his household. Just as Jesus is Prophet, Priest, and King to the Body, so a husband is to be his family.
2. Ex. Of Priestly Function: Ex. 12:3; “Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.”
3. Who selected the Lamb? Who killed it? Who was responsible for putting the blood on the doors? The Fathers are to be the priests of their family.
4. God needs Men in this hour! Our sons need to see men being men. [Genuine, strong, true, noble.]
5. The Gender lines are being blurred today and causing confusion to the next generation. God help us restore God’s intended order!
B. ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR CHILDREN
1. Eli was rebuked for not correcting sons, 1 Samuel 3:13.
2. Ladies, if the father is negligent, the mother must take spiritual responsibility. Ex. 4:24-26. Moses wouldn’t circumcise his son, so Zipporah did it.
3. SPRITUAL TRAINING. Gen. 18:17-19 says, “Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
4. It was Abraham’s dependable training which made him eligible to be “Father of Many Nations” and “Exalted Father.”
C. HE SHOWED LOVE TO HIS SON
1. God testified, “Your only son Isaac, whom you love” Gen. 22:2.
2. Many sons have never heard their Fathers say, “I love you.” There’s nothing wimpy about it. It’s a father’s duty and privilege to love his kids.
3. How do you spell “LOVE?” T.I.M.E. The average child spends 25 minutes a week in close interaction with their parents and 25 hours in close interaction with the television!
II. A MAN OF FAITH
A. WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN
1. He lived in a corrupt environment. His father and extended family were idolaters. He came out of Mesopotamia, which was dominated by astrology and idolatry, and following God’s direction, separated from his family and moved to Canaan land/ Palestine.
2. We too live in a corrupt world and must separate from it to live for God.
3. Abraham wouldn’t take any reward from the Sodomites. He refused to be tainted by the godless world around him.
B. ILLUSTRATION
1. J.C. Penney worked for a dishonest grocer. The grocer “cut” expensive coffee with cheap stuff. Penney bragged about it to his Dad.
2. His dad said, “I want you to quit that job. I’d rather have you unemployed than dishonest!”
3. J.C. got into “dry goods” and made a fortune, pioneering the store which still bears his name. He became a devout Christian and big supporter of missions!
C. HIS FAITH LED TO ACTION
1. Abraham packed and called up the moving company. “Where to mister” they asked. “I don’t know. Just go ‘that’ direction! (It took faith to do such a thing!) His extended family probably thought he was nuts!
2. If we really have faith, we’ll live the Christian faith before our kids. You can’t fool them! Our kids know us better than we know ourselves. Our priorities are very clear to them; they can tell if God’s at the top of our list or not.
3. A good father is a role model for his kids. A minister was asked, “How can I train up my children in the way they should go?” He answered, “Go that way yourself!”
4. LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON. ILLUS.
a. A “Christian” father and son went into a restaurant and sat down. The waiter came over and asked the dad, “What would you like to drink?” The man answered, “I’d like a beer.”
b. The waiter turned to the boy and said, “What would you like to drink?” The boy answered, “I’ll have the same as Dad.”
c. Instantly the father said, “Give me something else to drink!”
III. A MAN OF PRAYER
A. BUILT ALTARS
1. He built altars to fellowship with God. Almost every place he lived he built an altar.
2. As fathers, we too should “build altars” for our families to establish daily family devotions.
3. Later his son Isaac reopened the wells that Abraham had dug, representing that Abraham’s spiritual discoveries.
B. PROLIFIC PRAYER
1. His spiritual career was crowned by his marvelous intercession for Lot. Abraham obviously had a close relationship with God because he was called “The Friend of God.”
2. 2 Chronicles 20:7, “God…[gave] it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?”
Isaiah 41:8, “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend.”
James 2:23, “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham…was called God’s friend.’”
C. CHRISTIAN ACTIVISM
1. When Dr. Richard Halverson was the U.S. Chaplain, he spoke before a group of evangelicals who had expressed their anger…irritated that Congress had not acted with a strong initiative to restore prayer in schools.
2. Dr. Halverson asked those who were clamoring for prayer in schools, “How many of you have prayed with your children this month, outside of church?”
3. Nobody raised their hand. Halverson said, “Spiritual initiative starts in the home, not on Capital Hill.” We can talk about prayer, but until we do it, that’s all it is.
4. Outstanding pastor, Charles Parkhurst, related how he often heard his father pray in church, in their family’s altar time, and at the table.
5. But it was only when he heard him praying aloud on his knees in the barn that he knew the reality of prayer and of his Dad’s spiritual life.
6. Our kid’s need to see the genuineness of our experience with God!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Some scientists were studying the plant-life in the Swiss Alps, when one scientist slipped and fell to a shelf about 50 feet below and was knocked unconscious.
2. A young Swiss teenager was selected to be lowered down because he was the only one light enough. His job would be to render first aid.
3. When they asked him if he would be willing to be lowered, he said, “Yes I will, but only if my Dad holds the rope!” [There was a relationship of trust there!]
4. DADS, YOU’RE HOLDING THE ROPE FOR YOUR KIDS! Their lives are depending on you. They are trusting you to pull them through!
B. THE CALL
1. I’m asking you to recommit your life to Christ, so you can be a better Dad. We can’t afford to fail them.
2. God wants you to:
a. Strive to be more like Jesus;
b. Spend more time with your kids;
c. Make it your goal to nurture them into the best people they can be.
3. ALL DADS COME FORWARD & PRAY. (Let’s represent God to our families).
