Father’s Day 2021
A Tale of Two Fathers
Scriptures: Romans 5:19; John 8:44, 10:10; Second Corinthians 6:18
Good morning New Light – it is good to be home! Happy Father’s Day fathers! This is your day and the message this morning is about fathers. When you read the New Testament there are several instances where Jesus told parables. A parable is a short simple story intended to illustrate a moral or religious lesson. Well this morning I want to tell you a parable. The title of this parable is “A Tale of Two Fathers.”
We all have a good understanding of the word “father.” It is defined in the dictionary as “a man who is the parent of a human being, or a male animal that has produced an offspring.” The dictionary also includes a reference to God being called a Christian’s Father and the title given to those of a religious order. But I want us to think about the definition of a man who is a parent. A father, by definition, is the male of the relationship that provided the sperm necessary to fertilize the female’s egg to produce a child. Physically that is the only role the father plays in the physical development of the child prior to childbirth. And, for some fathers, that is the only role they will ever play in the development of the child – period. And that my friend brings us to this tale of two fathers. One father is good while the other father is not only “not so good” but actually the worst father ever! This message could have been titled “The Worst Father Ever” but I did not want to spend the entirety of the message on this father.
If I were to ask you to name some characteristics of a good father, you would probably list things like caring, compassionate, loving, present, knowledgeable, supportive and protective. He would be someone you could depend on to be there for you when you needed him. He would be there to teach you right from wrong; to celebrate your successes; to pick you up when you fall; to comfort you in your distress. All of these characteristics are indicative of a father who cares about his child. Now what about the characteristics of a bad father? Well, I’m guessing you would say the opposite of what I just said about a good father, and you would be correct. But what if the attributes of a bad father went further than those things? What if this father was so bad that his motivation was to make sure his child was as bad and as broken as him. He did not care one iota about the child or their wellbeing. He did not care that his child did what was right; but he rewarded them for doing what was wrong. This father celebrated the failures of his children – not their successes. Can you imagine a father like this? In this tale of two fathers I want to talk about the bad father – the worst father ever – first so that when you leave here today the last memory you will have will be the qualities of the good father. Now I told you I was going to tell you a parable, but sadly, this is not a parable – this is the truth. It is as true in the natural as it is in the spiritual and it’s the spiritual fathers we will be looking at in this tale of two fathers.
The first father we will examine is the worst one ever. His name is Satan. If you recall Romans 5:19 says, “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” The first father we will look at is devious, cunning, and heartless. He does not care about his children. If you are wondering why I say that Satan is a father, I will clear this up in a moment. But what I want you to see first is that, in the beginning, he was not a father. Prior to Adam’s sin he literally and figuratively had no children. But he had many followers – the angels in heaven who rebelled with him against God – but he had no children. Once Adam sinned by rebelling against God, he opened the door for Satan to have children via sin entering into this world. By disobedience many were made sinners and these sinners are referred to as having Satan as their “spiritual” father. Those who accept Christ shift from having Satan as their father to having God as their Father. Let’s see what the Scriptures say about Satan as a father and I think you will agree that he is not the father you would want showing up at your high school graduation or walking you down the aisle when you get married. He is the type of father that no one, other than his most devoted children, would ever claim as “dad.” He is the worst father ever! Let’s start with the eighth chapter of the book of John.
In this chapter, the Jews began to question Him about His Father. Jesus tells them that because they refuse to believe in Him that they would die in their sins. What He was telling them was that He was the only way to salvation. As they continued to press Him on who His Father was Jesus spoke about God being His Father and the truth of that would make them free. Well this offended some of the people and they responded with the fact that they were Abraham’s descendants and had never been in bondage, which was not true. Remember Pilate? At that very moment, they were being ruled by Rome. Then Jesus makes this statement; “34…..Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin. (One point I want to make before I continue, in the Greek, the word “servant” in verse thirty-four means “slave” and this is used throughout this passage. This is important because being a servant was a job. A slave was in bondage and had no freedom whatsoever. This is the image that Jesus is painting of the religious leaders.) 35And the servant abides not in the house forever: but the Son abides ever. 36If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. 37I know that you are Abraham's descendant; but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38I speak that which I have seen with My Father: and you do that which you have seen with your father.’ 39They answered and said unto Him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said unto them, ‘If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. (What was the work that Abraham did? When you read the fourth chapter of Romans, you will see that all he did was believe God. Jesus is telling the religious leaders, if you were Abraham’s children, you would believe My words just like Abraham believed God’s word.) 40But now you seek to kill Me, a man that has told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. 41You do the deeds of your father.’ Then said they to Him, ‘We are not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.’ 42Jesus said unto them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of Myself, but He sent Me. 43Why do you not understand My speech? Even because you cannot hear My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, (What Jesus said was true of every man, woman and child on earth, not just the religious leaders. No one at that time, other than Jesus, had God’s life living in them.) and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:34-44)
Have you ever heard the saying, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”? It’s a phrase that is typically said in connection with children who show qualities or talents that are similar to those of their parents. Sometimes at the bottom of an apple tree (or pretty much any fruit tree for that matter), you might see the fruit it produces laying on the ground. The fruit falls off the branches and drops to the ground, but it remains close to the tree it came from. This natural occurrence eventually turned into a metaphor and now today, it means that a person “is not far off from how their parents are.” Well Jesus said something very similar in John chapter eight. Jesus makes it clear that those who live a life of sin are a slave of sin. And, if you are a slave of sin, then your father is the devil. Spiritually there are only two fathers and the one we serve is the one we have chosen as our father. You see, this is the one situation when everyone gets to choose their father and align to a family. Now some of the characteristic of this father is he lies; kills; places his children in bondage and these are just a few of his characteristics. But even with these Jesus said that the children of this father would do whatever their father does. Let’s examine a few more examples of the characteristics of this father.
John 10:10 says, “The thief comes not, but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” The devil is described as a thief whose only agenda is to steal, kill and destroy and his children (who are really slaves), do the same things he does. Remember, an apple does not fall far from the tree from which it grew.
Second Corinthians 11:13-15: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” These verses describe the false prophets and ministers who transform themselves into servants of Christ but are not. Again, this scripture really demonstrates how the devil’s children act just like him and there will be times when we will not be able to tell them from God’s children. What we should understand is that Satan approves of any and everything his children are doing that goes against what God says.
First John 3:8 says, “He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his nature remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever does not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loves not his brother.” John describes one of the differences between the children of God and the children of the devil and it comes down to how they act. One sins without repentance because it’s their lifestyle and the other doesn’t. One of the defining traits of a child of God is their love for one another and a child of the devil cannot love because their father does not love. Let’s look at one final Scripture pertaining to this bad father and it relates to his final destination. If your father is the devil then you will spend eternity with him. You cannot have one father while you are here on earth and attempt to choose another father the after death. Turn to Revelations chapter twenty and we will begin reading at verse 10.
Revelation 20:10, 12-15 says, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever…..12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13And the sea gave up the dead who were in it; and death and hades delivered up the dead who were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Satan and all of his children will be cast into the lake of fire where they will remain for eternity. Again, once we take our last breath we will not be able to choose a new father at that point.
What I have reviewed thus far are the characteristics of the worst father ever! This father does not care about his children and actually looks forward with pleasure to their destruction. He does not provide for them nor does he love them. His relationship with his children is one of servitude where they exist to serve him and when their service is completed they will reside in the lake of fire with him. He definitely does not have their best intentions at heart. It goes without saying that a good father is the opposite of this one. These characteristics are very familiar to you so I won’t have to spend a lot of time explaining them. As I review them I want you to ask yourself this question: “Why would you choose the worst father ever if you had the option to choose the best Father ever?” Let’s start with John 3:16.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Our good Father loved us before we were lovable. He loved us enough to send His Son so that through His death we could request and receive His adoption of us. We could request life versus death. He is trying to save us not destroy us. As a matter of record the Bible says God “…..will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (First Timothy 2:4) Does this sound like the father whose desire is to steal, kill and destroy? Peter said “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. 7Casting all your care upon him; for He cares for you.” (First Peter 5:6-7) The bad father definitely wants us to humble ourselves before him, but not so that he can exalt us. Peter says God will not only exalt us, but He will do so because He cares for us! I want a Father who cares for me!!!
Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 8For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. 9Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father Who is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?” (Matthew 7:7-11) Jesus said that if fathers in the natural know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more is God willing to do for His children? The worst father ever just takes, but our good Father gives. Finally, look at what John said in First John chapter three.
First John 3:1-2 says, “Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew Him not. 2Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” I want you to imagine something. Imagine having a promise from your father that one day you will see Him fully as He is and you will be just like Him. What He has planned for you is so wonderful that your mind is not able to compare anything to it. Imagine the joy He has in anticipation of you receiving what He has prepared for you out of the love that He has for you. This is the Father that Christians serve. They are so enveloped with love from Him that it flows out of them. And we have only touched the surface. John tells us that God has bestowed so much love upon us that we are called His children. He has adopted us because He loved us.
A tale of two fathers. I want you to process slowly this next statement that I am going to make. Imagine two fathers standing side by side. You already belong to one father who hates you. This father can’t stand the sight of you and only gets pleasure from being in your presence when you are suffering and he sees the pained look on the face of the other father who would love to have you. Both fathers stand their waiting patiently for your final decision – to stay with the one who hates you or take a chance on the other one who could possibly love you more than you can ever know. Now listen closely. The worst father ever had you because of something someone else did. You had no choice initially and that’s why the Bible says you were a slave to sin. You know what he is about based on how he treats you and how you see his other children act. He only wanted you so that the other father could not have you. Imagine belonging to a father who only wants you so that someone else could not have you. He cares nothing about you and has no desire for anything that would benefit you. Although this is the father you belong to now as you stand before the two of them, you have a choice. You can choose the other father. Let that sink in New Light. For the first time in your life, the choice of father is not made for you! You can choose! You can choose the one who wants you because he already loves you. You do not know everything about him, but his other children look peaceful and loved. How easy would it be to choose someone who loves you already versus the one who has you and hates you?
This is the choice everyone must make. We have made our decision – we have chosen God by accepting Jesus as our personal Savior. Some have chosen the devil as theirs – both by default and on purpose. Some chose him willfully because they like what he offers while others are choosing him by default by rejecting the gift that God has made available to everyone to become His sons and daughters. As I stated earlier, this choice will be made by everyone and every person will live with the father they choose while on earth. We cannot have Satan as our father here and then expect to choose God after we die because we do not like the home we will share with Satan. God has prepared a place for us with Him, but He has also prepared a place for Satan and his children. Trust me when I tell you the place that God has prepared for His children is much better.
So let me close with a message to all the fathers. If your children were to be asked which father your behavior most aligns to, would it be the good Father or the worst father ever? The Bible says that we will be like our father – so how we act will demonstrate which father we are serving. If we are serving God, our children will see us serving God and will have a higher chance of walking in our footsteps and choosing Him also. They will see a father who loves them and wants the best for them. If your child cannot say this about you then you need to look in the mirror and ask yourself why. Our opinion of the type of father we believe ourselves to be only matters if our children are in agreement with that assessment. They know if we love them. They know if we want the best for them. They know if we are willing to protect them and support them when needed. Likewise, they absolutely know when we are not willing. So fathers, if the apple truly does not fall far from the tree of its origin, what tree are you currently lying under?
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
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