Ephesians 6:1-4
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
First and foremost, we want to give thanks to our Heavenly Father, one of the greatest Fathers of all. Although we will poke fun at our earthly fathers’ we at the same time will give honor to them and God.
A small boy said, "Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day, only you don’t spend as much on the gift."
And I say, "What gift?"
Mark Twain said, "When I was a boy of 14 my father was so ignorant, I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man learned in 7 years."
Popular comedian/entertainer Bill Cosby wrote, "Now that my father is a grandfather, he just can’t wait to give money to my kids. But when I was a kid and I asked him for 50 cents, he would tell me the story of his life. How he got up at 5 a.m. when he was 70 years old and walked 23 miles to milk 90 cows. And the farmer for whom he worked had no bucket, so he had to squirt the milk into his little hand and then walk 8 miles to the nearest can. All for 5 cents. The result was...I never got my 50 cents.
"But now he tells my children every time he comes into the house, ’Well, let’s see how much money old Granddad has for his wonderful grandkids.’ And the minute they take money out of his hands I call them over to me and I snatch it away from them. BECAUSE THAT IS MY MONEY."
Someone wrote these humorous words entitled, "The World According to Dad." These are words that most dads have said at some time or another to their children.
• This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.
• Bring back all the change.
• How should I know? Ask your mother.
• I’m not made of money!
• When I was your age, I walked 5 miles to and from school each day and it was uphill both ways.
• You are going and you will have fun!
• Who’s paying the bills around here, anyway?
• If you break your leg don’t come running to me.
• Don’t put your feet on the furniture. Your mother will kill you.
• Get down before you kill yourself. On second thought, go ahead.
• Be quiet! Can’t you see I’m trying to think!
• Why? Because I said so!
• If you don’t quit that I’m going to call your mother.
• Just wait till you have kids of your own.
• I was not asleep. I was just resting my eyes.
Being a parent and a father can be an interesting and trying experience.
Someone said, "Parents spend the first part of a child’s life urging them to talk and walk, and the rest of their childhood telling him to sit down and keep quiet."
Father said to his daughter, "What’s wrong, Judy? Usually, you talk on the phone for hours. This time you only talked for 30 minutes. How come?" Judy replied, "It was the wrong number."
A son wrote home to his dad. He said, "Dear Dad, please let me hear from you more often, even if it’s only in fives or tens."
Brethren, like I said earlier, we are here today to remember the Lord and honor our earthly fathers. We need to do both.
I want us to think about three things for which we should say, "Thanks, Dad!"
1. Thanks for material provision
2. Thanks for faithful instruction
3. Thanks for godly illustration
Thanks for Material Provision
Now we may look at this in a bit of humor, but it is commanded of us fathers to care for our families.
But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
1 Timothy 5:8
Wow! That is powerful. If a father does not provide materially for his family (food, clothing, shelter) then he has denied the faith of Christ and is worse than unbelievers. Why would such a father be worse than unbelievers? Because even unbelievers provide for their families!
My dad was killed when I was 2 years old, so I do not have any stories to say about him. But I do know this, He remained the man of the house for some 18 years before I was born, there caring for my mother, brother, and sisters. This, at a time when it was said that Black fathers abandoned their families, mine hung in there for all those years. Who knows, if his life had not been taken, he might have been here today listening to me thank him.
From what I am told, while my dad was alive, there was always food on the table, clothes on our backs, shoes on our feet, a roof over our heads, beds to sleep in, and a warm home, all thanks to my father’s provisions. Even after his death, his social security benefits took care of us.
What about your father? Did he provide for you? He probably did, and you need to thank him for it if he is still alive. If you had a single mom, who functioned as mom and dad give her thanks. But in all cases, give thanks to God that he did!
The Allied soldiers gathered many hungry, homeless children after World War II and placed them in large camps. The children were abundantly fed and cared for. However, at night they did not sleep well; they seemed restless and afraid. Finally, a psychologist offered a solution. After the children were put to bed, they each received a slice of bread. If they wanted more to eat, they could have it, but this slice was not to be eaten — it was just to hold. The slice of bread produced marvelous results. The child would go to sleep, subconsciously feeling there was something to eat tomorrow. That calmed the child.
In Psalm 23 David says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Instinctively, the sheep knows the shepherd has made plans for its grazing. He knows the shepherd has made ample provision, so he will lie down in peace, with the piece of bread in his hand.
Thank God! And thank God for all the fathers who provide as best they can for their families! Thank you, Fathers!
Thanks for Faithful Instruction
From our Scripture we find in verse 4 “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”
Another Bible translation puts it this way: "Parents, don’t be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct them about the Lord."
And another translation says it this way: "Don’t keep on scolding and nagging your children, making them angry and resentful. Rather, bring them up with the loving discipline the Lord himself approves."
I made a note to myself at the birth of my first child that I would always answer their questions. Sometimes the answer blows their minds, or it makes them wish they never asked, but I am determined to instruct them so that they do not go out into this world without the proper knowledge.
(Tell story of Aria asking questions on the bus)
Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
I am very proud that we have an environment in our home where my children are not afraid to ask questions and talk about things that are important to them. We have had endless discussions and debates on some of the following topics:
• Time travel
• Black holes
• Quantum Mechanics (although they did not know we were talking about it)
• God, Jesus, and how they need to pray more
• Falsehoods their teachers are presenting to them
• My life
• And girls
And like many parents, I am sure I said, "I don’t care if everybody’s doing it, you’re not going to."
So, fathers continue to instruct and guide your children. You will be surprised that they may listen. And the things you tell them they may not understand until they are 20+ years old.
As fathers we spend a great deal of time correcting our kids but remember to take time out to tell them of some of the right things they have done. Teach them that a father can tell his kids he loves them.
Brethren, faithful instruction is important, but we must be careful how we deliver it. All criticism and no praise are not good.
Here is the sad confession of one father. "I took my children to school but not to church. I taught them to drink but not of the living water. I enrolled them in Little League but not Sunday school. I showed them how to fish but not to be fishers of men. I made the Lord’s Day a holiday, rather than a holy day."
"I taught them the church was full of hypocrites and made the greater hypocrite of them, me.
"I gave them a color TV but provided no Bible. I handed them the keys to the car but did not give to them the keys of the kingdom of God. I taught them how to make a living but failed to bring them to Christ who alone can make a life."
Brothers and sisters, you need to thank your father for the faithful instruction he gave you in life...for all the good advice. And especially if that instruction included the Lord!
Thanks for Godly Illustration
By this, I mean a godly illustration for life. Or a godly example for life…are you being a godly example?
Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 11:1.
Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Please note: Paul did not say, "Do everything I do." He said, "Do everything I do which is Christlike." Or follow the example of Christ. Paul was not perfect, and neither are we.
Brethren, there are some things that I have done in life that I do not want my children to do. I am sorry when I have given them a bad example. But I have also done some good things, some godly things, some Christlike things, which I hope they will copy from my life. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS BEING, loving people!
One man said, "When I was a teenager, Dad would come in my room and say, ’C’mon, kid, let’s go.’ "’Where to?’ ’Lucy’s.’"
"Once a month Dad would visit Lucy Butchko, a woman whose body was twisted and pinned into a wheelchair by arthritis. He would reach his big arms around her frail body and lift her out of the wheelchair and place her in the front seat of our brown station wagon. Then he would fold the wheelchair, throw it in back, and drive Lucy to the monthly Communion service for shut-ins. Dad was a Vice President of a publishing company who shuttled shut-ins."
"Later, while in the hospital, trying to recover from a massive heart attack, Dad found out that a family down the street didn’t have enough money to buy groceries. So, he wrote them a check. IT WAS THE LAST THING HE EVER WROTE, AND A LASTING LESSON."
Brethren, all I can say is, WHAT A FATHER THAT MAN WAS! And what a great illustration of Christ he was to his son!
Here is another. One man said of his father, "Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me. There were 8 children, all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn’t have a lot of money. Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean.
"The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, elephants, and other acts they would see that night. One could sense they had never been to a circus before. It promised to be a highlight of their young lives. The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be.
“The mother was holding her husband’s hand, looking up at him as if to say, ’You’re my knight in shining armor.’ He was smiling and basking in pride, looking at her.
"The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly said, ’Please, let me buy 8 children’s tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus.’ THE TICKET LADY QUOTED THE PRICE. The man’s wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, and the man’s lip began to quiver. The father leaned a little closer and asked, ’HOW MUCH DID YOU SAY?’ The ticket lady again quoted the price.
"The man didn’t have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his 8 kids that he didn’t have enough money to take them to the circus? Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. (And we were not wealthy in any sense of the word) My father reached down, picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, ’EXCUSE ME, SIR, I BELIEVE THIS FELL OUT OF YOUR POCKET.’
"The man knew what was going on. He wasn’t begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking, embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad’s eye, took my dad’s hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with quivering lips and a tear streaming down his cheek, replied, ’THANK YOU, THANK YOU. THIS REALLY MEANS A LOT TO ME AND MY FAMILY.’"
Brethren, the man telling the story about his father, said, "My father and I went back to our car and drove home. We didn’t go to the circus that night, but we didn’t go without."
What a father that man was! What a godly illustration of Christ! Thank God for all fathers who have been godly illustrations, godly examples to follow!
