A Father’s Heart
Opening Illustration: Skit Guys – Things Dad’s Don’t say! 2 parts
Happy Father’s Day!
Introduction:
Today is Father’s Day – a day to recognize and honor our Father’s – this means our spiritual fathers, adopted fathers, step fathers, father figures and of course our biological fathers. This day for some is a time of rejoicing and for others a time of sorrow or grief. Why? For some they will think of their fathers who have passed on from this life to the next. So, the heart ache that they are not here with you sinks in again. Others will think back to the pain and hurt their fathers unleashed on them as children and that hurt will resurface in their wounded hearts and minds on Fathers Day. Some will hurt because their father where absent from their lives and their fatherlessness childhood impacted them traumatically. So, Father’s Day brings a variety of mixed emotions for different people.
So today I want to address a father’s heart!
Thesis: A Father’s heart has the power to bring renewal to those who need to be refreshed from the trials of life and pressures of life. A Father’s heart can also bring trauma, pain and loss to people. Jesus had a deep connection to God the Father and it was a strength and boost for what He faced. Jesus came to reveal God the Fathers heart to this broken world and reveal to us God the Father wants a personal relationship with us.
When I use the term “A Father’s Heart” – I think of three types of Father’s Hearts which impact children and people today:
1. The heart of God the Father!
2. The wicked heart of the Father of Lies!
3. The heart of a natural father!
These three types of hearts have impacted billions of people I the world today either negatively or positively. Let’s look at each one.
1. The heart of God the Father.
Jesus references Father God over a 100 times in The Gospel of John.
His relationship with God the Father is portrayed by John as intimate and personal – John also makes note that Jesus’ whole mission was to reveal to a broken world the Heart of The Father – everything He did, the miracles, the forgiveness, the teachings revealed Father God’s heart to a lonely world filled with evil.
Listen to these few passages from John – Jesus closest friend and disciple.
Scripture Texts:
John 8:54-56: “Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.””
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https://www.bible.com/111/jhn.8.54-56.niv
John 10:25-30:
“Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.””
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https://www.bible.com/111/jhn.10.25-30.niv
John 15:9-15:
““As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
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https://www.bible.com/111/jhn.15.9-15.niv
John 15:20-25:
“Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’”
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https://www.bible.com/111/jhn.15.20-25.niv
John 17:1-5:
“After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”
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https://www.bible.com/111/jhn.17.1-5.niv
John 17:20-26:
““My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.””
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https://www.bible.com/111/jhn.17.20-26.niv
Thought: Jesus showed us through John’s Gospel how to address God the Father and how to connect with Him. He also revealed to us the endearment term “Abba” which is to be used in addressing God our “Papa” – if you understand who you are in Jesus Christ you will understand why Jesus told us to address God as “Father” and “Abba. ” We need to know as a born again believer you are a child of God – He is your Father – you are a part of God’s family.
You could say Jesus had one neat and cool dad!
One Neat Dad from a Treasury of Bible Illustrations:
Did you ever notice in the TV family The Walton’s how the father was always available; or in Little House on The Prairie, how Laura’s dad was always there for the tight squeezes? Contrast these situations with the modern dad who is gone from morning to night. Things have certainly changed since the 1930s and the earlier house on the prairie days, maybe too much. Years ago, Dr. Charlie Shedd held a contest called “One Neat Dad.” He asked contestants to send in letters recommending their dad for this great honor.
Here’s a list of the ten most appreciated qualities for “One Neat Dad.”
1. He takes time for me.
2. He listens to me.
3. He plays with me.
4. He invites me to go places with him.
5. He lets me help him.
6. He treats my mother well.
7. He lets me say what I think.
8. He is nice to my friends.
9. He only punishes me when I deserve it.
10. He is not afraid to admit when he is wrong.
Qualities one to five are versions of the single word, “time!” Spell it—listen, spell it—play, spell it—help me, spell it—jump in the pickup … it all comes out in the same four letters, T-I-M-E. Time was the most appreciated trait of “One Neat Dad”!
Jesus had a Father who spent time with him and did all the things revealed in this survey except point 10. Jesus was not fatherless as many are today in this broken and twisted world. Over 25 million are considered fatherless today in our American society and it’s become a pandemic.
The epidemic of fatherlessness is worse than the COVID pandemic – killing more people – stealing their souls and leaving them wounded and broken – it’s is infecting and destroying families, decimating children, impacting society negatively – and it’s ripping the core of Families apart – it’s also dividing and destroying the society we are living in.
Show video from Fathers.com and the ignored crisis across America and the media.
Today schools, the media, and government are seeking to dismantle the Biblical family created and designed by God.
2. The heart of the Father of Lies.
John 8:42-47: “Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
https://www.bible.com/111/jhn.8.42-47.niv
So don’t listen to the lies from this father – the father of lies – His name is Satan – The Devil – He says fatherlessness is no big deal – you don’t need a father – his premise is get you too believe fathers are not necessary – and in turn he also convinces many you don’t need Father God either – you can live without him – achieve success in life without him – this is one of the big lies of the Devil being promoted through secular media today – and its being pushed left and right on media sources today!
Share about watching the History channel this week and it’s promotion of the LGBT pride movement and now even Hallmark channel is pushing the LGBT agenda – their goal is intimidating you to embrace their twisted belief system for family and relationships. But it is not Biblical nor approved by God – just read your Bibles it’s very clear from Genesis to Revelation.
Romans 1: 18-32
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”
??Romans? ?1:18-32? ?NIV??????????????
https://www.bible.com/111/rom.1.18-32.niv
The wicked world system headed up by the “father of lies” is creating more and more heartache in families, crisis is society, and trauma to families by getting people to abandon the ways of God.
The father of lies has spun the following lies to deceive people and dismantle biblical family and a Christian belief system in our country.
• He has convinced people that we are not a nation under God.
• He has convinced people that free love and sexy was the way to happiness.
• He has convinced the world to do away with biblical marriage and just live together.
• He has convinced the government to abandon prayer in school and outlaw the 10 Commandments.
• He has convinced people that kids and teens will have sex no matter what so don’t preach abstinence hand out condoms.
• He has convinced people to work on Sundays and not honor God.
• He has convinced people that GOD is okay with living a life of sin.
• He has convinced people that drugs were what they needed to be happy.
• He has convinced people that abortion was a great way to do away with unwanted babies.
• He has convinced people that being Gay is good and cool.
• He has convinced people that God made a mistake in creating them male and female.
• He has convinced people that there are no absolute rules in life.
• He has convinced people that God is dead.
• He has convinced people that the truth is evil and evil is good.
• He has convinced people that dads were not necessary and a mother and father were not necessary to have a healthy and whole family.
3. The heart of our earthly fathers and father figures.
Fathers.com states the following about the necessity of father’s being dads to their children:
Studies have conclusively shown that children who receive higher levels of attention and interaction with their fathers are healthier and better adjusted than children without fathers or with dads who are uninvolved. According to a 1990 study, children with highly involved fathers are:
• More confident and less anxious when placed in unfamiliar settings,
• Better able to deal with frustration,
• Better able to adapt to changing circumstances and breaks from their routine, and
• Better able to gain a sense of independence and an identity outside the mother/child relationship.
A Harvard university study spanning twenty-six years adds several more benefits for children of involved fathers:
* They are more likely to mature into compassionate adults.
* They are more likely to have higher self-esteems and grade point averages.
* They are more sociable.
Most of us will not be greatly surprised by these statistics. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to understand that involvement is critical. Asked for a quick answer on how to improve a father's relationship with his children, any reasonable man will almost certainly say, "Spend more time with them." The simple, instinctive reaction of a committed father is to be involved in the lives of his children. Involvement is so basic that you can't even be an average dad, let alone a good or highly effective one, without it (From Fathers.com)
I. A Father’s number one responsibility is to be there for their children like God the Father was there for Jesus and is there for us today in the same manner He was for Jesus.
a. If you recall the headlines a few years ago in 2002 about the Washington shooter – people were being shot randomly – it turned out that the shooters where and older man named John Allen Muhammad and juvenile Lee Boyd Malvo.
i. They randomly shot 8 people – 5 were killed.
ii. The Shooters are arrested October 22, 2002
1. They are also connected and convicted of 10 other shootings in which 5 people were killed in other states.
2. Muhammad was executed 11/10/2009
3. Lee was sentenced to life in prison and is eligible for parole next year.
iii. Roland Warren with fathers.com said it was another crime of fatherlessness Lee the juvenile said, “He knew I had a hole in my heart because of the pain and trauma of my fatherlessness home, he exploited my weakness and got me to kill as a fatherly figure.”
b. Parenting is to be the number one job for parent’s and this especially holds true to dad’s too. If the Devil can convince you that dads are not necessary then it’s easier to convince you that God the Father is not necessary
i. Quote: “Any man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a dad.”
ii. The term “Abba” as used by Jesus reveals we have another Heavenly Father who loves us and wants a relationship with us – “Abba Father.”
c. In showing us how to pray Jesus first two words are “Our Father” – see Matthew 6:9-13.
i. Let’s look deeper in the term “Abba” and do a word study - What "Abba Father" should mean to us.
1. The cry of Abba Father is a cry of choice. It’s addressing the Father of Creation and choosing to make him our father.
2. Father, my Father.
a. Crying Abba Father is bowing the knee of our heart in devotion and submission to the one with the rightful authority of our souls trusting in his love — like Jesus.
b. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15, NLT).
c. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6, NLT).
3. When we cry Abba Father, it’s evidence of the spirit of God within us because of Jesus and it’s a term of intimate indearment.
a. From https://www.christianity.com/wiki/god/what-does-it-mean-that-god-is-our-abba-father.html
d. It’s important to follow God ‘s design for Biblical families and have godly fathers and mothers.
i. George Barna in his book Revolutionary Parenting states this, “A final condition for success that we discovered is that those who produce spiritual champions embrace parenting as their primary job. The nature of who their children will become assumes such importance that these parents recognize that their career is a means to the end of raising progeny who please God.”
1. He adds, “(This) Combined with the realization that effective parenting is conducted ‘in the moment,’ this means that parenting is their full time job; the job they get paid to do is simply an addendum to the most important work they will do in life” (24).
a. So, understand parenting is your number one job!
ii. The Treasury of Bible Illustrations share this recent research with us about the amount of time father’s in America spend with their children:
1. A nationwide survey was taken recently to determine how much time fathers were spending with their children. The results were astounding. Fathers with children between the ages of 2 and 12 were spending 12 minutes a day with their children. Twelve-minute dads contribute greatly to 12-year-old delinquents. But not all dads are 12-minute dads. A busload of dads and sons left a church parking lot for an overnight camping trip. The dads represented various vocations, but they all had one thing in common: they did not want to be 12-minute dads. You cannot substitute a popsicle for pop himself, though both may have their places. Whether it be a car or a candy bar, a fishing rod or a hot rod, you cannot substitute these “presents” for the “presence.” America is standing at a crossroads of history; our very survival as a nation may depend on the presence or absence of masculine leadership in millions of homes; leadership in the form of loving authority; leadership in the form of financial management; leadership in the form of spiritual training and leadership in maintaining good marital relationships.
e. Fathers.com shares this insight about absentee father’s as presented by Henri Nouwen, a parish priest and author, he accurately predicted in the seventies that the coming generation would be known by its sense of inwardness, convulsiveness, and fatherlessness. Consider the legacy of the disappearing father. Fatherlessness, either through physical or emotional absence, has had the following effects:
i. Fatherless children are more likely to commit crimes and engage in substance abuse. A 1994 report from the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services found just 12 percent of the delinquents in state custody were from a two-parent family. A 1980 study of female delinquents in the California Youth Authority found just 7 percent came from intact families.
ii. On average, fatherless children score lower on tests and have lower grade point averages. Family scholar Barbara Dafoe Whitehead says, "Even after controlling for race, income and religion, scholars find significant differences in educational attainment between children who grow up in intact families and children who do not."
iii. Children in father-absent families are five times more likely to be poor and ten times more likely to be extremely poor.
iv. Adolescents in mother-only families are more likely to be sexually active, and daughters are more likely to become single-parent mothers. But the poison goes even deeper. "Broken homes contribute to as many as 3 in 4 teen suicides and 4 in 5 psychiatric admissions." The statistics can try to measure the tragedy, yet they can never capture the personal pain of thousands. Such as Cathy. One of Cathy's earliest memories was climbing up into the window seat of her bedroom and waiting for the lights of her father's car to pull into the family's driveway. She remembers both fear and longing, a sort of sick feeling. Fear, because he was loud and drunk and often abusive with her and her mother. Longing, because . . . well, just because he was her daddy. "I remember just wanting to crawl up in my daddy's lap and just feel safe," she says. "He never let me do that." Cathy is now thirty-eight and struggles with her own identity and feels worthless.
f. Once again Fathers.com shares the statistics from some of their studies on the Effects of Father Absence:
i. Millions of father-absent or father-neglect families carry on successfully. But few would say that they would not be stronger by having two caring and cooperative parents. The importance of fathers to the well-being of children is clearly shown by the variety of negative effects experienced by children of father-absent families, as reported by research.
1. - Half of the mother-only families live below the poverty line.
- The income of mothers in single-parent families one year after divorce is 67% of what it was prior to divorce, while income of divorced men falls to around 90% of pre-divorce income.
- Mother-only families move more frequently than two-parent families, subjecting the family to more adjustment stress and less stability in neighborhood relationships.
- Adolescents from mother-only families are more likely to be sexually active, and daughters are more likely to become single-parent mothers.
- Adolescents report receiving less help with homework and make decisions under less parental supervision in general than do adolescents from two-parent families.
- Adolescents in mother-only families report being more susceptible to peer pressure than adolescents in two-parent families.
- Adolescents in mother-only families are more likely to commit delinquent acts.
- Children from mother-only families did less well on standardized tests of cognitive development. Their difference in comparison to children from two-parent families was even greater on teacher evaluations such as grade-point averages and reports of behavioral problems in schools and with peers.
- Absence from school was higher for children from mother-only families.
- Girls from mother-only families are more likely to become depressed during adolescence and also express more aggression than other girls.
- Young adults who grew up in mother-only families were more likely to drop out of high school.
- Young adults who grew up in mother-only families have lower earnings; girls are more likely to receive welfare.
- Young adults from mother-only families are more likely to divorce.
- Young adults from mother-only families are more likely to commit delinquent acts and to engage in drug and alcohol use than offspring from two-parent families.
2. This author adds – “Three theories attempt to explain the negative effects from mother-only families: Economic deprivation, differences in parental values and childrearing practices, deprivation in neighborhood stimulation and support. All help to explain some aspects of the differences, but the basic fact is that FAMILIES WITHOUT A FATHER PRESENT SUFFER MANY AND GREAT DISADVANTAGES.”
T.S. – Father’s need to understand that the best gift you can give to your children is time because it is the most valuable commodity you can give. Father God gave Jesus all the time in the world and never left Him except at the cross when Jesus bore our sins. So, father’s be present with your children and be men of honor for the sake of your families.
II. Father’s need to be men of integrity and honor for their families.
a. Men of honor have the following character traits and attributes:
i. This means that they are men of integrity.
1. Definition: Moral soundness; honesty; freedom from corrupting influence or motive; used especially with reference to the fulfillment of contracts, the discharge of agencies, trusts, and the like; uprightness; rectitude.
ii. This means that they are spiritual leaders.
1. They are individuals who lead by serving their family and they point their family toward Father God and His ways.
iii. This means that they are men of righteousness.
1. They have right standing with God.
iv. This means that they are Christ like.
1. They seek to become more like Jesus every day and develop a relationship with God the Father.
v. This means that they are excellent role models.
1. A Christian’s Reputation from a treasury of Bible Illustrations:
a. The story is told of Gordon Maxwell, missionary to India, that when he asked a Hindu scholar to teach him the language, the Hindu replied: “No, Sahib, I will not teach you my language. You would make me a Christian.” Gordon Maxwell replied, “You misunderstand me. I am simply asking you to teach me your language.” Again the Hindu responded, “No, Sahib, I will not teach you. No man can live with you and not become a Christian.” Gordon Maxwell’s reputation as a Christian preceded him. His very lifestyle attracted people to Christ. And so it was with the Apostle Paul and his two missionary companions, Silas and Timothy. Saint Francis of Assisi captured their philosophy of evangelism when he said, “It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless we preach as we walk!”
vi. This means that we are the ones worthy of respect.
1. A Treasury of Biblical Illustration shares this though about The God-Image in Fathers:
a. It has been said a child is not likely to find a Father in God unless he finds something of God in his father. A Bible school teacher asked her class to draw a picture of God for her. A little boy finished first and said, “I drew a picture of my daddy because I don’t know what God looks like, but I know what my dad looks like.” (What a great responsibility we fathers have). It is so important for us to be the kind of parents that will make our children want to honor their father and mother (Eph. 6:1-4).
vii. This means that they are ones who live a life worthy of distinction and admiration from others.
1. John Dresher, in his book, If I Were Starting My Family Again, Abingdon (1979), lists a number of things he would do differently if he had a chance to perform the duties of fatherhood all over again:
a. I would love the mother of my children more.
b. I would listen more.
c. I would seek more opportunities to give my child a sense of belonging.
d. I would express words of appreciation and praise more often.
e. I would spend more time together with the family.
f. I would laugh more.
i. Father God did this with Jesus.
b. I want to share a story of a man who became known as one of the greatest founding father of our nation - but lately the media is giving him a bad wrap.
i. George is known as a man who possessed all the qualities we have explored above.
ii. George Washington – the father of our nation.
1. George Washington was a general who led the Continental Army--the first army of the American Colonies--in the French and Indian War, and then in the American Revolution. He later made his mark as the first president of the United States of America. As father of our country, George Washington is one of our greatest heroes.
iii. Let’s look at 7 ways that this great leader impacted others and this nation as a General, President and family man.
1. President Washington was a Man of prayer.
a. His 1st point of action is recalled by a few of his fellow soldiers and closest friends and family: He was a man of prayer!
b. The U.S. Capitol has a private chapel for congressmen in which there is a stained glass window showing Washington at Valley Forge Praying. The glass window is entitled ‘Washington’s Gethsemane” (Eidsmoe, 113).
c. In the winter of 1777, at Valley Forge a man by the name of Potts observed General Washington praying earnestly to the Lord for his army, and for wisdom and direction. It is recorded by Potts, ‘If George Washington be not a man of God, I am greatly deceived-and still more shall I be deceived if God do not, through him, work out a great salvation for America (Weems, Life of George Washington published 1800).
d. There are numerous references to Washington being a man of prayer.
e. General Hamilton referenced in his writings that Washington’s regular habit was being on his knees in prayer (Eidsmoe page 136)
f. It is stated by his family that the he always said grace before a meal and if a clergy was present they were asked to pray (Eidsmoe, 136).
g. His stepdaughter Nelly Custis told historian Jared Sparks, “When my aunt, Miss Custis , died suddenly at Mount Vernon he knelt by her and prayed most fervently, most affectingly, for her recovery…” (Eidsmoe, 141)
h. She also noted, “It was his custom to retire to his library at nine or ten o’clock where he remained an hour before he went to his chamber. He always rose before the sun, and remained in his library until called for breakfast. I never witnessed his private devotions. I never inquired about them…His life, his writings, prove that he was a Chrisitian. He was not one of those who act or pray, ‘That they may be seen of men.’ He communed with his God in secret (Eidsmoe, pg. 141).
c. George Washington was a man of action because he faithfully attended church on Sunday. This is his 2nd point of action. The only times he missed was if some important national business came up of if weather did not permit.
i. Nelly said, “General Washington had a pew in Pohick Church, and one in Christ church at Alexandria. He was very instrumental in establishing Pohick Church…his pew was near the pulpit… (Eidsmoe, pg. 1400).
ii. George Washington not only attended church, but he encouraged - even ordered - his soldiers and officers to do the same.
1. He knew that if his army was not in tune with God the Father then they would lose the battle to the English.
2. He wanted an army of Christians devoted to the Lord and giving him his due honor on Sunday because he knew then he had an advantage over the enemy.
3. He was an avid Bible reader he knew that if God was 1st in the nation’s life - then blessings would come on the nation. If he was not first and instead was ridiculed and blasphemed then cursing would come on the nation and its army.
4. Deut. 11:26-28: “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.”
5. He knew the value of attending church faithfully.
a. He wanted what was best for his family, his nation.
6. It is said that if he could not make a church service due to weather or because of US business he would have a service right where he was.
7. Rev. Lee Massey stated this about him after his death:
a. I never knew so constant an attendant on church as Washington, and his behavior in the house of God was ever so deeply reverential that it produced the happiest effects on my congregation, and greatly assisted me in pulpit labors…
8. He honored God on the Sabbath! The result was God honored and protected him through battles and service to his country.
d. George Washington also knew the value of fasting combined with prayer. His 3rd point of action was he was a man who knew how to fast.
i. On June 1, 1774, as the Colonies were seeking God’s will as to whether they should make a break with England George entered this in his diary, “Went to church and fasted all day.”
ii. He knew that through the discipline of fasting he could receive direction for major decisions he had to make.
1. Both in Battle
2. In leadership of his army
3. In personal decisions
4. In decisions related to the United States
e. George Washington was also a man who knew the importance of giving thanks to the Lord for His blessings. His 4th point of action was he called for national times of Thanksgiving to be given to God.
i. He was a man who knew the value of thanking the Lord for his divine protection.
ii. He probably read these Scriptures and allowed the Lord to show him the value of giving thanks for God’s blessing.
1. I Chronicles 16:8: “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.”
2. Psalm 100:4: “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
3. I Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
iii. He issued a National Day of Thanksgiving on Oct. 3, 1789.
1. “Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, humbly implore his protection and favor…”
iv. He did the same Jan. 1, 1795, “It is an especial manner our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God, and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experienced. Deeply penetrated with this sentiment, I, George Washington, President of the United States, do recommend to all religious societies and denominations, and to all persons whomsoever within the United States, to set apart and observe Thursday, the 19th day of February next, as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer….”
v. He at many points in his leadership challenged and created national or local days of giving thanks to the Divine Protector for His blessings.
f. George Washington was a husband who prayed and had devotions with his wife Martha. His 5th point of action was he had regular devotions with his wife Martha and stressed private devotions to his step-children.
i. Eidsmoe notes, “Many accounts establish that he and his wife, Martha, engaged in regular private devotions.”
ii. George knew he had to lead his nation and his army but he also knew the importance of having devotions with his wife. He set aside time in his busy schedule to have devotions with his wife. Even as President of the United States.
iii. His devotions consisted of prayer and Bible reading. He highly valued the Bible as the source for religious belief and principles to live by (Eidsmoe, pg. 139).
iv. He not only had devotions with his wife but he bought Bibles for his step children in 1761. He ordered Bibles and prayer books for his children so they would grow in their relationship with the Lord (139).
g. George Washington was a man of few words but when he did speak on the subject of faith - he stressed the importance of it for life. His 6th point of action is expressed best in instances when he challenged his soldiers to make sure they were in the right position with the Lord prior to battles.
i. Henry Muhlenberg, pastor of the Lutheran church near Valley Forge and one of the founders of the Lutheran Church in America stated:
1. I heard a fine example today, namely, that His Excellency General Washington rode around among his army yesterday and admonished each and every one to fear God, to put away the wickedness that has set in and …to practice the Christian virtues. From all appearances, this gentleman does not belong to the so-called world of society, for he respects God’s Word, believes in the atonement through Christ, and bears himself in humility and gentleness…(Federer, page 641, America’s God and Country).
ii. Washington’s prayers reveal a man of conviction and what he believed. Eidsmoe notes, “The prayers show the recognition of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, ‘My only Savor,’ whose blood was shed on the cross ‘for me,’ respect for God’s ‘holy word,’ a desire to be more like Jesus, a recognition of personal sin, a desire to be delivered from the ‘cunning of the devil, or deceitfulness of sin,’ acknowledgement of need for the ‘means of grace,’ prayers for the rulers of church and state, and watchfulness for the ‘coming of the Lord Jesus’ and the time when ‘the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall arise and stand before the judgement seat…’”(131).
h. George Washington did not just attend church, he was involved in his church. His 7th point of action was he was a church officer in his church and served his church like he did his country – with dedication and commitment.
i. He is noted for being a giver and a servant leader.
ii. He is reported to have been very helpful in planting the Pohick church.
iii. President Washington died in 1799 and on the back of his tomb is inscribed this verse, “I am the Resurrection and the Life; sayeth the Lord. He that believeth in Me, though he were dead yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die” (John 11:25,26a).
1. On the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. on its metal cap at 555 feet is etched these words “Praise be to God!”
2. Along the stairway of the monument the following verses are carved into the tribute blocks: (From Federer page 665,666).
a. “Suffer the Little Children to come unto me and forbid them not; for such is the Kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16).
b. “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6)
c. “Search the Scriptures” (John 5:39; Acts 17:11)
d. “Holiness unto the Lord” (Exodus 28:36; 39:30; Zechariah 14:20).
e. In God we Trust!
f. God and our Native Land
g. May Heaven to this union continue it beneficence.
iv. This man was a great father to many and to this nation yet he never had any children of his own.
1. His two step-children came to him when he married Martha whose previous husband and the children’s father had died.
2. The MountVernon.org website states the following about Martha, “Upon first meeting Martha Washington in 1777, the Marquis de Lafayette described her in a letter to his wife as "a modest and respectable person, who loves her husband madly." By that time, George and Martha Washington had been married for 18 years -- and their marriage was to last another 22 years, until George Washington's death in 1799.”
3. The website also noted the following about Martha, “She was born Martha Dandridge in New Kent County, Virginia, on June 2, 1731, the eldest of eight children in a respectable family of modest means. At the age of 18 she married Daniel Parke Custis, 20 years her senior and heir to a huge fortune. After 7 years of marriage, Custis died, leaving Martha with two young children and a vast estate to manage. Charming and vivacious, she was suddenly the wealthiest widow in all of Virginia -- and an excellent "catch" for the right suitor. A year and a half later, on January 6, 1759, she and a dashing, young French and Indian War hero by the name of George Washington were married at Martha's home in southern Virginia. Shortly afterwards, Martha and her two children, Jackie and Patsy, moved to Mount Vernon.”
4. George Washington the father of this nation never had children of his own biologically but he fathered his two step children and many others in the beginning of this nation and he made a difference in their lives.
T.S. – Fathers need to be men of honor like George Washington was for America and protect their families and their nation from dishonor. Father God protected Jesus and directed Jesus throughout His life. Fathers also need to be their children’s best teachers.
III. Father’s need to be their children’s most influential teachers and God the Father is to be our most influential teacher. Jesus revealed Who His teacher was - It was God’s Word and Jesus followed it completely.
a. This means they teach the spiritual truths of God to their children, so as to save their lives.
i. They teach them the truth of Scripture everyday to their children.
ii. Jesus did this for God the Father – through his teachings – he spoke what the Father directed him to speak and teach.
1. Deut. 6:4-8: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
2. Ephesians 6:4: “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
3. Colossians 3:21: “Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.”
b. This means that they prepare their children to die – Jesus knew that He had to die because the Father told him so – Jesus also taught his followers what it means to live and to die in relationship with God the Father.
i. We all need to teach our children how to die and that if we were to die tomorrow that they would be ready spiritually to meet the lord.
ii. The worst disservice a person could do to their children is to never teach them about salvation and eternity or death and life.
c. This also means that they must discipline their children when they are wrong. Paul and Jesus talked about how God does this that he disciplines his children see text:
i. Hebrews 12:7-11: “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
1. Teaching is not just words but it also includes actions toward children who need to be corrected.
2. Teachers always correct their children or students and let them know when something they believe is true is not or is incorrect.
ii. Parents today need to quit being their children’s friends and start being their loving teachers and parents.
1. I Thess. 2:11-12: “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.”
d. From A Treasury of Bible Illustrations: Father’s Day: Fathers and mothers have the greatest opportunity as teachers of anyone in the world. You see, that boy or girl in the home has the chance to see if Father and Mother really believe and practice what they teach. A father who says he believes in Sunday school, and then does not go himself, is teaching by his actions that he really does not feel it very important. A father who teaches love and tolerance to all and yet maintains a critical attitude in the home toward his brothers and sisters in the church is doing a wrong to his children which never in this world can be undone. It is pure poison to the mind of the child, and will most certainly be a stumbling block in the way of the child becoming a Christian. A father who says he believes the Bible to be the greatest Book, to be God’s Word to us, but leaves it on the shelf to gather dust while he spends hours with the newspaper, magazines, radio and television is in reality saying, “Children, the Bible is not too important. You should read it if you have any extra time.” Which one of you had not heard a little boy step proudly forward among his playmates and declare, “I KNOW that’s so because my Daddy said so!” He has confidence in you, dear Dad, and the things which he sees you put first in your life are going to stand out as mighty important to him, too. Is your prayer: “Lord, fit me to be loved and imitated by my children”?
Conclusion and Summary:
I. There 3 father’s hearts impacting our society today.
a. The heart of God the Father
b. The heart of the Father of Lies
c. The heart of earthly fathers and father figures.
II. Father’s need to make sure that they give their children the time they deserve. God the Father was there for Jesus and He is there for us too today if we are believers.
III. Father’s need to be men of honor for their families. We need to be upright and godly and honor our Heavenly Father like Jesus did.
IV. Father’s need to be their children’s best teacher in life and especially in spiritual truths. God the Father is the ultimate teacher of truth and we need to learn from Him through the teachings of Jesus. Jesus taught us about the Fathers heart for us and we need to know we are children of God and not children of the Father of lies.
Altar call: Call up dad’s to have their children and others pray for them.
Wish everyone Happy Fathers Day
