Intro:
Good morning and Happy Father’s Day. Every 3rd Sunday of June our world celebrates the manhood of every father in the world. We celebrate their genuine love, their sacrifice to establish their own family and the good examples that they showed that mold us into responsible adults. We have our own experiences with our earthly fathers and it reflects on how we call them like most of us we call them “papa or short-term paps”, “daddy or dad”, “tatay, tay or itay”, “amang o ama”. Although it has the same meaning to all of us.
One of the important characteristics our father has is being sacrificial and sustaining. He is unsusceptible to any discouragement that would lose their hope especially when it comes to family. He will remain to be the last man standing within the family. Since our theme for this month is “Unshakeable Hope” with a theme verse found in 1 Corinthians 15:58 which says “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
And so today, I have chosen 3 fathers in the Bible whose lives were great examples of being steady, immovable and an example of being worker for God whose works will never be forgotten by his family and by his God. Today we will know those who are…
Unshakeable Men Ang Di-Matitinag na mga Lalaki
1 Thessalonians 2:11-12
11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deal with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
ASND “Alam ninyong katulad ng isang ama sa kanyang mga anak ang turing namin sa bawat isa sa inyo. Pinalakas namin ang loob n'yo, pinayuhan at hinikayat na mamuhay nang karapat-dapat sa Dios na humirang sa inyo para sa kanyang kaharian at kadakilaan.
Though the Apostle Paul has never been a father who has his own children, his disciples within his influence considered him as their father in faith and not in flesh. For Paul, the influence of being a father is someone who is encouraging, comforting and urging to live a godly life, which is the primary requirement for godly works. We need good examples of being steady in their faith, immovable in his principles and available for God’s works. In short, we need unshakeable men and women of God whose hopes are high despite of all difficulties and trials in life that come along their way.
So, the question is “Who are these unshakeable men with full of hope in the Bible?” This question can be answered immediately by those major Bible characters we know like Abraham, Noah, David etc. But I could give 3 unnoticed fathers in the Bible but have major learnings and contributions to our faith.
1. Joseph (the foster father of Jesus) – the protective father mapagtanggol na ama
Surely one of the most underrated fathers in the Bible was Joseph, the foster father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We knew Joseph as the one who taught Jesus’ carpentry and the basic teachings of the law of Moses when he and Mary went to the temple for Him to be dedicated. We saw Joseph as the Bible calls him as a “righteous man”. And Jesus must have loved his earthly father for his quiet strength, honesty and kindness.
Yet Joseph went through great difficulties to protect his wife Mary and their baby Jesus. To whom did he protect his family from?
a. From public judgement – Joseph protected his wife Mary from public disgrace as he decided to cancel his marriage to Mary secretly after finding out that she is pregnant.
Matthew 1:19 “Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.”
Did he plan to divorce her because he wanted to save his own life from being unlawful by marrying an adulterer? Absolutely not. But instead, he was thinking of Mary.
Application:
Fathers will always protect the dignity of their own family. Family’s name is so important to our Filipino culture. And on the other hand, we are so proud if one of our family members is succeeding and excelling. How much more our God who is so protective to His own children.
Matthew 7:9-11 “9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
b. From King Herod – Joseph was commanded to go to Egypt when an angel warned him about the plan of killing his son Jesus. And after living there until the time when King Herod was already dead, he was again commanded to return to Jerusalem and live in the town called Nazareth. We can read all of these happenings in Matthew 2:13-23.
For Joseph, to see his family live peacefully, he is willing to sacrifice in transferring from one shelter to another in order to save their lives. Joseph and his family are the 1st TNT (tago ng tago) in the Bible.
Application:
I remember many of our countrymen choose to live and migrate for the sake of their family’s welfare. It’s difficult to know another culture, new language, another new sets of friends etc. But fathers will have to sacrifice this in order to protect their own family from starvation and to seek greener pasture.
c. From the worldly standard – Joseph managed to protect his family by religiously follow the law and see to it that everyone is following it including his son Jesus. But there is once incidence that happened when the boy Jesus was nowhere to be found while they were on their way back home to Nazareth. He immediately went back to find him!
Luke 2:44-46 “44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.”
Joseph and his company needed to travel back to Jerusalem for another 1 day and after 3 days he found Jesus in the temple. Why did he do that when in fact his Son is God and can take care of Himself? Because Joseph knew it’s not yet the right time and Jesus might be influenced by this world.
Application:
Fathers will never allow many wrong values and cultures to influence their own family. So may I remind all our children that we parent, always want the best for our children, the right timing, the right friends, the right partner, the right education.
Can we reflect our earthly father is similar to Joseph? How many times have our fathers protected us from any harm? It is our natural instinct to protect our own family, especially the kids.
Deuteronomy 1:29-31 “29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”
God will go with us in all our battles and how delightful to see that we also have our fathers to support us on these battles. They won’t carry us literally but they will carry some of our burdens until we reach our success in life.
Proverbs 14:26 “Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.
ASND “Ang taong may takot sa Panginoon ay may kasiguraduhan at siya ang kanlungan ng kanyang sambahayan.”
We have a refuge (kanlungan) in our parents who is trusting God who is our fortress (tanggulan). The mere presence of a father is already a protection for their children.
Illustration:
David Elkind, a psychologist, tells the story of visiting his middle son's nursery school class, at the request of his teacher. She wanted him to observe a "problem child" in the class.
While he was there, he caught a conversation between his son and some other boys. Their conversation went like this.
Child A: "My daddy is a doctor and he makes lots of money and we have a swimming pool."
Child B: "My daddy is a lawyer and he flies to Washington and talks to the president."
Child C: "My daddy owns a company and we have our own airplane."
Then David Elkind's boy said, "My daddy is here!" And he proudly looked in his father's direction.
Dads, our presence means more than anything else to our children - more than our money, more than our position at work, more than the toys we buy them. Our time means more to them than anything else, because it says, "We care."
Joseph is a man of character by being righteous and protective to His own family. He has this unshakeable hope to find peace and order in their lives. Finally, when Jesus was on His public ministry, somehow, he got the character of Joseph of being protective. Look how He protected His disciples from Satan (the story of Peter being proud), from the people (Peter denied Jesus 3x), from being lonely (Jesus endorsed Mary to John) and from this world (Jesus prayed to His Father to protect His own people).
2. Jairus – the providing father. Mapagbigay na ama
Again, another underrated father in the Bible is Jairus whom we can see in the 3 epistles of the Bible (Matthew, Mark and Luke). What did Jairus do as a father that he was mentioned in the 3 gospels? It is by being a provider not just financially but most of all morally, socially, and spiritually. First, we need to know who Jairus is. Let us read…
Luke 8:41-42 “41 Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house 42 because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.”
Who is Jairus?
a. He was a synagogue leader or ruler. As a synagogue leader is much like a worker or a leader in a church. He did ceremonial duties in the temple; he assigned those who were going to read the scriptures and speak as well. He probably heard about Jesus that once visited the temple and heard Him teach. He was a very respectable man.
b. He was also a father who has dying daughter and hoping to invite Jesus to visit her and heal her.
We only have this information about Jairus but the effect of his actions led the 3 writers of epistle to include his story so that we can learn from him being a providing father.
What did Jairus provide for his family?
• Their spiritual life. Being a leader in the temple provides a spiritual ambience to their own family. Jairus was a respectable man in and out of the temple because he walked what he talks and talked what he walks. He knew where to see Jesus at the time of need.
As a father, we are the pastor or the leader inside our house that enables us to lead our family closer to God and not the opposite of it. We should be the no.1 influencer spiritually to them.
Proverbs 4:1-4
“1 Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.
2 I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.
3 For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother.
4 Then he taught me, and he said to me, “Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live.”
One of the 10 commandments is to honor our parents so we can live a long life. That is because of our parent’s wisdom coming from God, their experiences and their obedience.
• Their social life. Jairus also provided the right way of living with others as well. The fact that he was a respectable man, he has his own followers or friends to assist and support him. In fact, we can see in Luke 8:49 “While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”
It’s normal for people to show care and love for leaders who are truly living a righteous life enough to follow and show support to them during times of trials. And as a father, we also wanted to show this to our family. How do we choose our own friends, our own values on spending time with our family?
Sadly, if we fail to show them the right social life as a Christian, we will end up just like the 2 wicked sons of Eli the high priest during the time of Samuel. The story is found in 1 Samuel 2:12-25 and we can see how wicked they grow despite that their father is already a priest then. To summarize that story, we can see that…
- Hophni and Phinehas together with their father Eli worked as priest in the temple.
- The 2 wicked sons of Eli would steal the Lord’s offerings of the other worshippers in the temple by taking the best part of the meat they need to offer.
- The 2 wicked sons would sleep with those women-servant taking advantage of them because of their position.
- The 2 wicked sons would not listen to their father’s advice that led them to their own destruction.
Illustration:
JUST WATCH!
A young boy looked up at his grandfather and wondered aloud, "Grandpa, how do you live for Jesus?"
The respected grandfather stooped down and quietly told the boy, "Just watch."
As the years went by the grandfather was an example to the boy of how to follow Jesus. He stayed rock-steady in living for Him. Yet the grandson often lived in a way that was not pleasing to God.
One day the young man visited his grandfather for what both knew would be the last time. As the older man lay dying, his grandson leaned over the bed and heard his grandpa whisper, "Did you watch?"
That was the turning point in the boy's life. He understood that when his grandpa had said, "Just watch," he meant, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." He vowed that from then on he would live as his grandfather did - striving to please Jesus. He had watched, and now he knew how to live.
Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
ASND “At kayo namang mga magulang, huwag kayong gumawa ng mga bagay na ikasasama ng loob ng mga anak ninyo. Sa halip, palakihin ninyo sila nang may disiplina at turuan ng mga aral ng Panginoon.”
Proverbs 22:6 “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
ASND “Ituro sa bata ang tamang pag-uugali, at hindi niya ito malilimutan hanggang sa kanyang pagtanda.”
• Their salvation. Jairus was so passionate to bring Jesus to their house in order to heal his daughter but Jesus’ intention is to let this people knew about Him. In the 2 epistles of Mark and Luke, Jesus gave Jairus and his wife not to let anyone knew of the healing that occurred. But in Matthew 9:26 “News of this spread through all that region.” And that began that everybody knows Jesus’ healing power.
The best gift we can give to our children is the salvation of their own soul. It is not automatic that if we are a worker or leader in the church our family is already saved. Unless we bring Jesus to our house and let our family come together with us in the church to worship God.
For Jairus, he had an unshakeable hope of raising his daughter to life. He showed them how to live the right spiritual and social life which led them to have an encounter with Jesus and saved them.
The last unshakeable father is…
3. Job – the prayerful Father. Mapanalanginin na ama.
He may not be underrated Bible character but his actions towards his family, his fight, and his foe catch God’s eyes to include his life as one of the major books in the Old Testament. Just like Jairus, we must know briefly who Job is.
a. Job is righteous man.
Job 1:1 “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.”
b. He is also wealthy.
Job 1:3 “and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.”
c. He was a father of 10 children.
Job 1:2 “He had seven sons and three daughters.”
Seemingly Job was living in a perfect world in today’s settings. But everything was tried and God allowed misery, pain, sadness and loneliness which fell on Job’s perfect world. In Job 1:6-22, the tragedy of his perfect world collapses on him. It started when Satan challenged God to test the faithfulness of Job by allowing disaster come to Job’s family and wealth by killing them and destroying it and soon in the next chapter his health also was stricken with a disease. But what Job’s reaction to all of this is our emphasis.
Instead of cursing God and be desperate, Job…
A. Prayed for his Family –
Job 1:4-5 “4 His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
Honestly, how many of us are still praying for our family’s welfare? Here comes Job before the disaster has stricken his life, he was well known to be the number 1 prayer warrior of their own family. With his wealth, influence and a healthy life, Job knew how to acknowledge the source of all his blessings – it is God Himself.
Don’t we ever think that because of our own strength that we can be successful and achieve the best in this world? As a father we should be an example to show our family in acknowledging God’s blessings in us.
Illustration:
WHAT GOD LOOKS LIKE
A preacher once asked the preschoolers in Sunday school to draw pictures of God. He intended to use them as an illustration for his Sunday sermon. Toward the end of class, the children were excited to show him their work. They came up with rainbows and men with big hands. Finally, the preacher’s daughter showed him her picture—-a man with a suit and tie on. "I don’t know what God looks like," she said, "so I just drew my daddy instead."
B. Prayed for his Fight.
Job 1:20-22 “20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Here we can see how Job responded to his battles. When he found out that his ever-loved children were wiped away together with his wealth and servants, he did not curse God but instead, he dropped to his knees, tore up his robe and shaved his head as a sign of grief. He was visibly crying to God and unashamedly he showed to his wife his misery.
Fathers are not superman with no emotions. Instead, they are the most kind-hearted human beings behind those muscles and height. It’s not our weakness to show that we grieve for our own hurts and pains but fathers can be objective in their points of view in life. Look at Job, he did not curse God even on the second beatings that he received when he got boils all over his body. His wife may be subjective by mocking him “curse God!” in Job 2:9 “His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he remained faithful to God by saying in Job 2:10 “He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
Job’s unshakeable faith to God opted Him to look on the brighter side of life while he was in misery and in pain.
Illustration:
BUILD CHARACTER INTO YOUR CHILDREN
David Kraft was a big, strong man -- all muscle. At the age of 32, he was six feet, two inches tall and weighed 200 pounds. He had been to seminary and ended up working with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, because of his athletic background.
Then he was diagnosed with cancer. It wracked his body, and over a period of time, he dropped from 200 pounds to 80 pounds.
When he was about ready to pass from this life into eternity, he asked his father to come into his hospital room. Lying there in bed, he looked up and said, "Dad, do you remember when I was a little boy, how you used to hold me in your arm close to your chest?"
David's father nodded. Then David said, "Do you think, Dad, you could do that one more time? One last time?"
Again, his father nodded. He bent down to pick up his 32-year-old, six-foot, two-inch, 80-pound son, and held him close to his chest, so that the son's face was right next to the father's face. They were eyeball to eyeball. Tears were streaming down both faces, and the son said to his father, "Thank you for building the kind of character into my life that can enable me to face even a moment like this."
Men, I dare you to be that kind of father (or grandfather) to your children. Dare to build into them the kind of character that will enable them to face anything in life. Then you will be a real leader, not only in your home, but among your peers, as well.
Lastly…
C. He prayed for his foe.
Aside from misery caused by his lost health, wealth, and family; Job’s life was full of mockery because his so-called friends who were supposed to support him started to ridicule him. Instead of raging revenge against his friend, God healed Job after a long discussion with Him. After He rebuked Job because of his doubts with God, He rebuked Job’s friends in chapter 42 because instead of helping Job absorb those pains, they were the ones causing Job’s added misery through their mockery of him. So, Job was commanded by God to pray for his foes.
Job 42:8-9 “So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.”
After Job’s prayer, God blessed Job and returned all the lost wealth to him 7x more. He restored His health and his family by giving him the same number of children and they were the most beautiful in the whole land. His blessings went up to his 4th generations until he died with full contentment and satisfaction.
Do we want our prayers to be answered? Then let us settle the matters with our foes by praying for them and after that God will release His blessings towards us so long as we let God settle it for us. For Job, his unshakeable faith to God enabled him to be blessed more after a hard-fought battle.
Conclusion:
Who are these unshakeable men that everyone of us must learn?
1. Joseph the protective father -his unshakeable hope is to find peace and order for his family
2. Jairus the providing father – his unshakeable hope is to raise his daughter to life
3. Job the prayerful father -his unshakeable faith enabled him to be blessed more after a hard-fought battle.
Some years ago, in a military academy, the students mutinied, probably a reaction to the hard demands of such an environment. The students had struck in everything: lessons, study hours, drill. When word reached their parents, the students began to receive telegrams, which the principal had in his possession. These messages were like a telescope through which one could look into the various kinds of boy’s homes and the parental relationships connected with them.
One father wired his son, "I expect you to obey." Another said, "If you are expelled from school, you needn’t come home." Still another said, "I’ll send you to an insane asylum if you are sent home." Another said, "I’ll cut you off without a penny if you disgrace the family." But the best message was couched in these laconic words: "Steady, my boy, steady! Father." Now there was a man who believed in his son.
Probably there is no greater influence upon a young man than a father who respects the spirit of his son and treats him like a man.
As a father, we will all grow old and soon be with God. But the values, culture and character we leave with our family will always be our legacy. So why not worship God and show to our family what it likes to be an unshakeable man in God’s glory!
Sing “Hanggang Mayrong Himig”
Nais kong umawit, O Dios para Sayo
Upang maipadama ang pag-ibig ko
Nais ko'y Ikaw ang maging bukang bibig
Ang pangalan Mo ang laging maririnig
Koro:
Hanggang mayrong himig
Hangga't ako ay mayroong tinig
Aawitan Ka, pupurihan Ka
Pagkat mahal Kita
Hanggang mayrong himig
Hangga't ako ay mayroong tinig
Aawitan Ka, pupurihan Ka
Pagkat mahal Kita
Pagkat mahal Kita
Nais ko sa puso Ikaw ang taglay
Habang ako'y may buhay ilaw Mo ang syang gabay
Sa paglakad ko ang nais ko Ikaw ang kasabay
Ang lahat sa aki'y Sayo'y ibibigay
