Someone noticed ... that the word "father" appears in the dictionary ... just before the word ... "fatigued" ...and just after the word ... "fathead."
So, ... to all of us fatigued, ... fathead fathers, ......Happy Father's Day! (Long Pause)
Today is Father's Day, ... and let me wish a "Blessed Father's Day" ... to all the fathers and grandfathers ... who are here today. (Pause)
Indeed ... It is Father's Day, ... and the very first national celebration ... of this day .... was on June 19, ... 1924, ... via a proclamation ... of President Calvin Coolidge.
But it all came about ... due to the efforts of a woman named ... "Sonora" Smart Dodd.
Sonora was sitting in church in 1909 ... listening to a Mother's Day sermon .... when the idea of Father's Day ... first came to mind.
Having been raised ... by her father, ... after her mother's death, .... Sonora wanted her father to know ... how special he was to her.
For all his sacrifices .... for being, .... in her eyes, so courageous, ... so self-less, ... and so loving.
Through her efforts, ... in 1924 .... President Coolidge ... designated the 3rd Sunday of June ... as "Father's Day."
And our nation has been celebrating it ... ever since. (Long Pause)
There is a wonderful wisdom saying .... in the Book of Proverbs: Hear God's Word: BIBLE ..."Bring up a child in the way they should go ......and when they are old ...they will not soon depart from it". END (Proverbs 22:6)
We love our children and grandchildren .... yet sometimes ... they turn away from us... and from God.
Sometimes they journey on roads ......that we do not understand ... or roads ... that we do not approve of.
Yet in the end ... if our hearts are open ... if the foundation is well laid ... we see them return ... much as the Prodigal Son ......returned to his father.
This seems to be ... the record of things.
If the door is open, ... they will normally pass through it. (Pause)
I am convinced ...that part of the problem we have as parents ......is not that we necessarily have difficult children ......or difficult grandchildren ...though there are times ... that can be true.
I am convinced ......a portion of the problem ......is that we as parents ......often do not know the way ......our children should go.
BIBLE ..."Bring up a child ... in the way they should go ......and when they are old ...they will not soon depart from it". END (Proverbs 22:6)
More importantly ... even when we know the way ... we as parents and grandparents ... so often fail ......to live it.
So, ... our children become angry ... distant ... alienated from us ... and from God.
So, ... what is the way?
Bear with me ladies ... as I speak to us men... for a moment.
Well .... As men ... as men under the Lordship of Christ ... we must ... actually live .... Godly lives.
We must keep promises ... concerning our relationship ... to the Lord.
We must keep our promises ... in our relationship with our family... and our relationships ... with others.
We must be mature in the faith ......and be the spiritual head of the family ......as God .... has called us as men ....to be.
We as men ... must commit ourselves ....to building strong biblical marriages ......and support the mission of Christ ......with our time, .... With our talent ... and with our prayers.
As men of Christ ......we must devote ourselves ...to demonstrating the love of Christ ... not only in our home ... but in our community community.
Hear God's word from 2nd Corinthians:
BIBLE "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has ... passed away; ... behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of ... reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ ... God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us ...the message ... of reconciliation." END (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)
We are what?
We are A new creation called to ... reconcile with others ... to forgive others ... as we want to be forgiven ... by the Father. (Matthew 6:12)
As men of Christ ... we are to live moral ... and virtuous lives ......based on ... Scriptural principles.
And The result will not only be the renewal of our own lives; ... It will bring renewal to our families, ... to our churches, ......to our community and ultimately ......to our world.
And it is working ... it is working because the secret of all successful marriages ......... of all successful parenting...... always rests ... in two sets of hands.
First and foremost, ... in the hand of God ...... and secondly ... in our hands.
If we allow those hands ... (Clasp them) to be linked together ...... the results are ... incredible.
Lives are changed ... Lives improve... Families are healed.
If we lead godly lives ... then the odds are ...that our children ...will also live ... Godly lives.
Now ladies you can know join in the hearing.
Many of you are aware ... that there are times ...when we men ....do not always say what we mean, ... So, please allow me to translate ......for your future benefit:
When a man says, "IT WOULD TAKE TOO LONG TO EXPLAIN"
Well .... He generally means: ... "I have no idea ... how it works."
When a man says: ... "TAKE A BREAK HONEY.... YOU ARE WORKING TOO HARD"
He really means: .... "I can't hear the Television ... over the vacuum cleaner".
When we say, ...... "I HEARD YOU."
It generally means: .... "I haven't the foggiest clue ...what you just said ...and I am hoping desperately ...that I can fake it well enough ...so that you will not tell me again ... that .... I never listen to you,"
When a man says, "that's not what I meant."
He means: "If something I said ......can be interpreted two ways, ......and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, ......I meant the other one.
Am I speaking the truth here ladies? Is there an Amen!! (Pause)
Next to a man's personal relationship with God, ... we as men ... should portray ...a deep love ... for our wives.
Paul shares what a godly Husband should be like to the believers gathered in Ephesus, BIBLE "Husbands, love your wives, .... just as ... Christ loved the church ...and gave Himself up for her." END Ephesians 5:25
No matter how men try to escape it, .... the fact remains ... that ultimately .... we do control our time .... and how we spend it.
I can state ... without reservation .... that being a good father ... and being a good husband ... is one of the most challenging responsibilities ... a man will ever face.
And most men .... even those who may have had a poor or harmful experience with their own father ... Want to be a good father ... to their children and grandchildren.
But to be a good father ... you need a model, .... an example ... that you can pattern yourself after.
Where do you find ... such an example?
Where do you look ... for such a father?
Is there such a thing ... as a perfect father?
Well ... The answer is Yes, .... Let us see what we can glean about being a father .... by looking at God the Father, .... the perfect Father. (Pause)
Beloved It is so important ... to watch our words.
In the letter to the Believers gathered in Ephesus the apostle Paul challenges us, BIBLE "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, .... but only what is helpful ... for building others up ... according to their needs, ... that it may benefit those ... who listen." END Ephesians 4:29
In Ephesians... and again in Colossians ... Paul shares the word .... that he received from the Lord ...concerning children and their parents.
Here God's Word: BIBLE "Fathers, do not provoke your children - do not exasperate your children - instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord" END (Ephesians 6:1-4)
These words... are surely inspired.
Do not provoke, ... do not exasperate your children ...... do not break your promises to them ... do not neglect them ... or mindlessly indulge their every whim ...so that they lose ... all respect for you.
Instead .... bring them up in the training ...and instruction .... of the Lord. (Long Pause)
Someone once said, "A boy loves his mother, ... but in the end will follow his father."
Parenting is never easy.
It is not easy being a father .... It is not easy being a mother ... they both have incredible challenges ...... incredible pains ... as well as ... incredible joys.
Beloved, ... God loves ... God deeply loves ... His children.
And as fathers .... And as grandfathers ... We also should portray this complete love ... this spiritually inspired love ... to our children ... and to our grandchildren.
God the Father Loves His Children ... and He is also quick to .... encourage His children. (Long Pause)
I learned that ...as a parent ... the hard way.
As a father ... you want the best for your children ... you want them to succeed.
To succeed ... at everything they do.
Kristin ... our first born .... was extremely motivated.
When she was told ... there was something that she could not do ... or could not .... accomplish.
Well ... she would ... press on ... and do whatever it took ... to make it happen.
Then I would encourage her ... and praise her ... after she accomplished the task.
I tried this same approach ... of negative challenges ... with our second child.
Our son Justin ... through grade school had wonderful report cards.
When 7th grade ... junior high came ... his grades began to slip ... and I would ride him ... and challenge him ... to do better.
And to be honest ... I became extremely critical ... of his commitment ... to his schoolwork.
And my relationship with Justin was not good and had deteriorated greatly.
At the end of the school year ... my wife Lee came to me ... and said ... you need to get right with your son.
You need to spend time together ... and work this out.
So that summer ... we spent a week together in Canada fishing.
Something we had done as a family ... in the past.
I know Lee was praying for both of us ... during that week.
And one evening ... while I stood under the stars looking toward the heavens:
God made it clear to me ... that as a father ... and as a follower of the Christ ... I Am called to be a light of encouragement ... especially to my family.
Justin and I had a wonderful time together in Canada ... it was a week ... with my son ... that I will always cherish.
Lee shared with me ... a few days after we got home ...that she had asked Justin ... how things were ... with your Dad?
His response was ... "Dad's my best friend". (Pause)
Beloved ... Each child ... and each grandchild ... is a gift ... and each is very different.
Justin ... needed an encouraging father ... and with encouragement ... he did well.
We need to be ... we must be ... a light of encouragement ... and a light of encouragement ... to the world. (Pause)
We are to be a people of reconciliation and be obedient to our Lord's command to his followers:
Hear our Lord's Words: BIBLE "Be merciful ... even as your Father (in Heaven) is merciful." END (Luke 6:36)
Some time ago ... I heard a touching story .... about a humble, ... consecrated pastor ... whose young son had become.... Extremely ill.
After the boy had undergone an exhaustive series of tests, ...the father was told the shocking news... that his son ... had a terminal illness.
The youngster knew Christ ... as his Savior ... and his Lord, ...so the minister knew ...that death would usher his son ...into Glory.
But he wondered how to inform one...... in the bloom of youth ... that he soon .... would die.
After earnestly seeking the direction of the Holy Spirit, ......he went with a heavy heart ...through the hospital ward ... to his son's bedside.
First .... he read a passage of Scripture.... and had a time of prayer .... with his son.
Then he gently told him .... that the doctors could promise him ......only a few more days.
"Are you afraid to meet Jesus, my son?" ...asked his devout father.
Blinking away a few tears, .... the little fellow said bravely.
"No, ... not if He's like you, Dad!" (Long Pause)
(Slow) O' Beloved, ... the best thing that we can do for our children ... our grandchildren ... is for each of us ......to personally be right with God ... and to walk in the way ... of the Lord.
To never be satisfied ...... but to continually seek to be transformed .... into the image of Jesus.
To finish this marathon of life ... the race laid before us ... and Beloved ... may you finish it well.
Amen!
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