Showing them how to Live!
Genesis 7:1, 7
Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567
On the sixth day humanity was created in the image of God, a little lower than the angels and our Creator said it was a “very good” (Genesis 1:27-31; Psalms 8:5)! If we fast-forward just ten generations, we are told that “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart became evil, all the time” and God said He regretted that He ever made human beings (Genesis 6:1-8)! So, God sent a flood and destroyed all the inhabitants of the earth except Noah and his family (Genesis 6-9). I would like to say we learned from God’s discipline and now His righteousness is anchored and reigning supreme in our hearts but that is certainly not the case! With every 68 seconds an American being sexually assaulted, every year 1.6 million people losing their lives due to violence, global divorce rates close to 50%, and number of people living for Jesus dropping about one percent per year while atheism is growing by that same rate; one cant help but agree with the late Billy Graham, “if God does not soon bring judgement upon America, He’ll have to go back and apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!” While many people of this world are heinous in God’s sight because they are “gossips, slanders, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, boastful, with no love or mercy (Romans 1:30); they are equally heinous because they gladly revel and rejoice in the carnal pleasures of this world (1 John 2:15). While based on a worldly definition many of these people might be called atheists, and since God has given them over to their reprobate minds this is partially true (Romans 1:28), they are in many ways far from atheists for they worship more gods than any Roman every did … enslaved by one for each carnal pleasure that their depraved minds crave (Hebrews 12:1)! It is no wonder Apostle Paul wrote “there is no one righteous, not a single one” (Romans 3:9-20)!
A Profound Witness
This fallen world in which we live that is not our home (Hebrews 13:14) dads, is precisely where we are called to raise our children in the Lord’s ways! This is a daunting task for how does one compete with the 500 plus channel television set, interactive life of video games, the “worlds” of the internet, numerous sexual partnerships, and phones that make chatting and selfies a 24/7 reality … especially considering on average fathers get between 4 and 7 hours per week to spend with their children? Despite the ridicule that Noah likely took for about a century while building the ark he never stopped witnessing to the wicked generation of his time. Though his pleas mostly fell on the blind and deaf ears of his pleasure seeking, wicked generation, to his delight Noah’s wife, children and their wives chose to enter the ark (Genesis 7)! Dads it is possible for you to teach your children about God but like Noah it will require great sacrifice and faith! Your children will not come to God out of compulsion but are more likely to see your “minority” stand of refusing to join the pleasure seeking ways of this world to gladly submit to your Creator as a great light shining light in the utter darkness of the world in which they live! To truly let your light shine tell your children about the laws God has written upon your heart by being a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1; Deuteronomy 6:4-9) that has unspeakable, unbreakable faith and joy in His grace, mercy and forgiveness, both in the good but bad times as well! Dad you also need divine help to effectively witness to your children! So, wear out your knees with intercessory prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) that the “mysterious power, quiet, silent, omnipotent” voice of the Holy Spirit might penetrate even into the darkest and stoniest parts of your children’s hearts and reveal to them the Treasure and Pearl (Matthew 13:44-46) that you found and worship as the one and only true God (Exodus 20:3)!
Voluntary Submission
For your children to truly see the Light of your living sacrifice, in all your ways voluntarily and joyfully acknowledge Christ’s right to rule over your heart! To keep your witness from becoming a hypocritical, pharisaic exercise of futility dad you must refuse to compromise and indulge in the ways of this fallen world. Noah was not forced into the ark but joyfully entered and gladly surrendered his future to the Creator who sustains all life (Colossians 1:16)! Despite likely harsh criticism and the constant temptation to participate in the pleasures of this world, Noah kept his feet firmly planted in God’s will and as a result had a profound witness to his children. Likewise dad to convince your children that God’s ways are greater and better than worldly pleasures of a self-seeking heart, you simply must show them your undying love and faith in the Lord who reached down and saved the worm and dust of the earth you are (Job 25:6; Genesis 2:7), not because God had to but because He loved too (John 3:16)! Show them what it is like to walk by the still waters, talk with and receive peace and assurance from one’s Creator. Whenever possible let them see you make major life decisions on your knees. In bad times especially let them see that your obedience to the Lord is not based on ease of life but faith that God only does good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28)! In your heart dad revere the Lord and always be ready through the power of the Holy spirit to give your children concrete examples of your love for the Lord (1 Peter 3:15). Remember dad, your children are unlikely to give up the carnal pleasures of this world until they see something infinitely better within you the living, unspeakable joy of your faithful obedience to your Lord, Savior and King!
Treasures Stored up in Heaven
The day that Noah and his family entered the ark was more important event in human history than the raise and fall of the empires that ever existed! In Genesis we are told that Noah took seven pairs of clean, one pair of unclean animals and enough food to sustain them and his family for just over a year into the ark! Despite knowing the lack of room likely meant most “earthly treasures” would have to be left behind to be destroyed by the flood, Noah and his family obediently and gladly entered the ark! Dads if you want to impress upon your children the infinite value of God’s love then let them see you store up treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy (Matthew 6:19)! Tell your children why you seek only for your soul the Bread of heaven and His commands that are not burdensome but a source of great joy (1 John 5:3)! They need to hear that God is your portion (Psalms 16:5-11) not because He has bought you lavish self-seeking, pleasurable, carnal gifts that never satisfy and are only temporary, which of course He has not, but He is your portion because He purchased you at the price of the atoning sacrifice of His very own Son (1 Corinthians 6:20)! Tell your children while some freedom and “foolish” treasure was lost when you “denied yourself, took up your cross and followed Jesus” (Matthew 16:24); the eternal life and the spiritual blessings’ you have received from the Creator are beyond words and measure! There is nothing more joyful and peaceful to look into the eyes of one’s Redeemer and not find condemnation but acceptance and adoption into God’s glorious kingdom and family (Romans 8:1-17)! Above all tell you children in giving up what they cannot keep they will gain what they cannot loose, i.e., running the race to one day not only receive many crowns of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8) but also an eternal walk in the restored Garden of their Lord!
Getting Close to God
Since you are unlikely to be able to share what you do not have it is imperative that you never stop growing in your love and faith in God! As the spiritual head of the household (Ephesians 5:21-33) you have an obligation to God be a good witness to your children by drawing nearer to and humbly walking with Him (Micah 6:8)! Having one foot in Satan’s and one in God’s kingdom, through lukewarm rather than sacrificial living, will not only displease God but also make the truth by which you were set free seem of little worth in your children’s eyes! If you think even for a moment that you can be a “transient Christian,” taking up the faith to receive the blessings but not adhering to the truth in which they reside, then your children will only get to see your filthy rags of righteousness rather than the glorious, majestic face of the sinless Lamb of God that genuinely loves and wishes them not to perish! May you hunger for the word of God and let it fill your soul so full that every compartment of your life is in total submission to the One who loves, forgives, and redeems you! May you in the midst of the greatest storms of life be seen by your children rejoicing, for what God lets one lose is nothing compared to what one has already gained in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Though the Lord promises none shall pluck you from the Father’s hand (John 10:28), may this not spur you onto sin so that grace might abound (Romans 6) but may you rejoice in your eternal security and walk in the footsteps of your Lord no matter what cost! Above all follow the words of Jesus who said, “let your light shine before others (your children especially) so that they may see your good deeds and glorify the Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16)!
Living the Word through Obedience
No greater witness can be obtained than one who seeks and unquestionably obeys the will of God! Noah and his family did not concern themselves with the mysteries of when the flood would start, how long it would last or when it would recede but instead trusted and obeyed God’s will for their lives! Dad, do not fall into the Devil’s trap that gets you thinking that your ways and thoughts are God’s ways and thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9) but instead in humble submission cry out “Abba Father, I need You” to show me what is “Your good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2)! Pray that God will help you with your unbelief and teach you to stand on His promises and when needed to hide beneath His wings! Ask God to help you to no longer crave the self-seeking pleasures of this world so that you might have both feet of devotion in His kingdom. Dads the more you draw nearer to God through strict obedience to His will and word the more your light will shine and be a glorious witness of the One who purchased your very life! Above all dads do not stop going to church every time it is inconvenient for in doing so you will show how little God’s commands mean to you and lessen the value in your children’s eyes the Pearl and Treasure you have found in the field! Also, dad give God command over your family’s financial well being for it is here that Satan lures away so many fathers to chase after the things of this world! Dad in all things let your children not only see you read God’s word but obey it (James 1:22-25) for His words, the power of His Spirit, and the justification of His Son has set you free (John 8:31-32) not to indulge in the sin that used to entangle you (Hebrews 12:1-3) but to serve Him with all your heart, mind and soul (Luke 10:27)! And when things get tough, and tribulations threaten to overwhelm your soul pray these words of God in front of your children to show them whom is the source of your strength, protection and peace.
We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May Your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in You.
Psalms 33:20-22
The Best Birthday Gift Ever!
The best gift dad you give to your children is to point them to Jesus through your every word, thought and deed! Noah chose to go against the majority, reject worldly mocking and in faithful obedience entered the ark of God’s protection, peace, and rest and to his joy his whole family joined him! Dad to become an effective witness to your children you simply must make God the top priority in your life by becoming a living sacrifice that always go against the majority by rejecting the ways of this world! Show your children through your faith and prayers on knees worn out that God is your portion forever and ever! Dad I cannot guarantee if you witness and train your children in the ways of God through your words and deeds that they will one day seek, find, and bow their knees to He who bought them at a price! While they were physically born of you and your wife’s choice of union (John 1:12-13), to be born of the water and spirit (John 3:5) is not the parent’s but the child’s decision to make 100 percent on their own! Like Noah’s children they must choose to gladly give up what they cannot keep, their worldly lives, and receive what they cannot loose, eternal salvation with the Lord! Dad your role as the spiritual head of the household is to let your Light shine to the best of your ability so brightly that the television set, video games, internet, numerous sexual encounters, non-stop texting, and material possessions of this world become utterly worthless to your children in comparison to the Pearl and Treasure you found in His word and now lives in your heart! Never stop being a living sacrifice of witness to your children and never give up praying that the seeds of righteousness you have been planning in their hearts will one reap the harvest of them being adopted by the heavenly Father who is always waiting with open arms to eternally receive by faith and grace them into His family! May God strengthen, guide, and build you up for this tremendous task assigned to you of being a dad to HIS children!
Sources Cited
James Montgomery Boice, Genesis: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998).
C. H. Spurgeon, “A Family Sermon,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 23 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1877).
