FATHER’S DAY 2001
INTRO.- It’s Father’s Day and someone wrote, “What my dad taught me.”
- My dad taught me about religion - “You better pray that stain will come out of the carpet!”
- My dad taught me about behavior modification - “Stop acting like your mother!”
- My dad taught me about time travel - “If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”
- My dad taught me about logic - “Because I said so, that’s why.”
- My dad taught me about the circle of life - “I brought you into this world and I can take you out!”
- My dad taught me about the weather - “It looks like a tornado swept through this room!”
Hopefully, our fathers did teach us some things about life, some good things!
ILL.- Comedian/entertainer Bill Cosby said of his father, “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 he worked for had no bucket so he had to squirt the milk into his little hand and then walk 8 miles to get a can. And 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.”
ILL.- Erma Bombeck said these words about her father: “One morning my father didn’t get up and go to work. He went to the hospital and died the next day. I hadn’t thought that much about him before. He was just someone who left and came home and seemed glad to see everyone at night. He opened the jar of pickles when no one else could. He was the only one in the house who wasn’t afraid to go into the basement by himself.
“He cut himself shaving, but no one kissed it or got excited about it. It was understood when it rained, he got the car and brought it around to the door. When anyone was sick, he went out to get the prescription filled. He took lots of pictures . . . but he was never in them.
“Whenever I played house, the mother doll had a lot to do. I never knew what to do with the daddy doll, so I had him say, ‘I’m going off to work now,’ and threw him under the bed. The funeral was in our living room and a lot of people came and brought all kinds of good food and cakes. We had never had so much company before. I went to my room and felt under the bed for the daddy doll. When I found him, I dusted him off and put him on my bed. He never did anything. I didn’t know his leaving would hurt so much.”
Any time we lose someone we love, it hurts. Some of you still have your fathers and some of you don’t.
Today, we need to remember and appreciate our fathers the best we can. And if your father is still living then somehow you need to try to express that appreciation.
PROP.- I want to share some Scriptural thoughts from the book of Proverbs in an effort to honor our fathers.
1- A FATHER’S COMMAND
Prov. 6:20 “My son, keep your father’s commands and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” Keep your father’s commands. It seems to me that a father should have a few commands for his children.
ILL.- A mother named Jennifer Mangan wrote these words about her daughter Caetlin who is 14. “She reads the Bible, wears T-shirts that proclaim ‘I believe in God’ and writes down Scripture passages for friends who need encouragement. She is an honor roll student and holds admirable goals for her future. Caetlin also loves watching music videos and television programs such as ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Friends.’
“Since I’ve written newspaper articles about television for the past ten years, I thought I had a handle on what my kids were watching. I felt my endless commentary (that’s polite for nagging) about appropriate and inappropriate programs had sunk in. But somewhere between ‘tween’ and ‘teen’ I lost control of the remote control. I remember walking into our rec room one evening and finding Caetlin laughing along with the laugh track of ‘Friends.’ ‘What are you watching?’ I asked, even though I recognized the program immediately. ‘It’s ‘Friends,’ Mom. There’s nothing wrong with it,’ she said defensively.
“I sat down and watched the episode with Caetlin. The central plot of the show glamorized the premarital affair between characters Monica and Chandler and emphasized the specifics of their sex life. ‘You shouldn’t be watching this,’ I said. ‘Oh, Mom. It’s funny. I don’t take any of this stuff seriously,’ my daughter replied.
“At that moment, I realized all my warnings and fiery commands forbidding offensive programs had been shoved aside by peer pressure and teen curiosity....”
DID YOU NOTICE? That mother said, “You shouldn’t be watching this.” That was her fiery command. I have known some mothers like that and some fathers. God bless ‘em.
And, of course, we know the whole reason behind our commands even if the children don’t. IT’S BECAUSE WE LOVE THEM! It’s because we care about them and we want to steer them in the right direction in life! Certain commands are necessary in life!
ILL.- It’s like what some parents have said to their children. “What part of the word ‘no’ don’t you understand?”
It is not wrong to tell your kids “no” in regard to certain things. In fact, if you don’t tell them “no” to certain things, beginning early in life I question your parenting skills!
ILL.- I remember one thing that my dad used to me (and I hope to my brother and sister too). He would say, “Do not talk back to your mother.” THAT WAS A COMMAND TO BE OBEYED!
And if it wasn’t, we weren’t. Weren’t what? We weren’t going to like what we were going to get. And it wasn’t something good, believe me.
Commands are necessary for proper living. God has given us plenty of commands in His Word. If they aren’t good for us then why did He give them to us? And they are also necessary for every father to dish out to his children.
Thank God for our father’s commands. Thank him for his love.
2- A FATHER’S GENEROSITY
Prov. 11:25 “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” This verse could refer to any man, single or otherwise, but I want to apply it to fathers. Blessed is the father who is generous to others! He will prosper. He will be blessed.
ILL.- Michael W. Smith is a very popular contemporary Christian soloist. Here is what he said about his father. “WHEN MY DAD COMES UP missing at a dinner party, I always know where to find him: in the kitchen. He’ll be in there, apron around his waist, washing dishes. That’s just one example of his servant’s heart. Serving seems to come naturally and effortlessly for my father. I remember one time he was working in the garage and he saw an elderly lady carrying a bag of groceries by our house. He immediately went out to help her. Time and again, I’ve watched him drop whatever he was doing to help someone carry a bag of groceries, fix a car or repair a broken appliance. I hope someday I’ll be as good at serving others as he is. If that happens, I’ll have to say, ‘I learned it from my dad.’”
I would say that Michael W. Smith has a generous and blessed father! You see, not all generosity comes in the form of money. Sometimes it comes in the form of serving others, which is exactly what Smith’s dad did. And what a tremendous example he was to his son!
ILL.- I remember one time when my truck-driving father was building a room onto our old house in Webb City, MO. Dad was truck driver, not a house builder. But he did what he had to do, like most fathers did long ago and like some still do. In fact, dad would do things I wouldn’t even dare to try, because I don’t think I could nail two boards together and get them straight.
One day while dad was framing that room a neighbor man came over and offered to help dad. And help him he did and all day long. I don’t remember if he came back and helped more or not, but he was a generous man, just like Michael W. Smith’s father.
My dad didn’t pay him for his work, but I’m sure that he got paid for his work. GOOD DEEDS HAVE A WAY OF COMING BACK TO YOU.
“A generous man will prosper.” A generous father will prosper. He will be blessed.
ILL.- One of the best stories I’ve ever read about a father’s generosity is this. 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."
“A generous man will prosper.” I am sure that in some way at some time that father prospered greatly. God bless all generous fathers.
3- A FATHER’S GOD
Prov. 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Prov. 16:3 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”
These are two of my favorites passages in the book of Proverbs and they speak of the person who walks by faith in the Lord and commits everything to the Lord in prayer. And this is the kind of person that all fathers should be.
ILL.- R. A. Torrey, a minister and writer, received a letter one day asking him to call on the woman principal of a school. He went to see her. During the conversation, she said, “I don’t believe anything. I don’t even read the Bible because it seems wrong for me to read it and disbelieve everything in it.”
After she had talked for some time about her disbelief, tears came to her eyes. Dr. Torrey asked her why she was crying. She said, “Oh, there is one thing I can’t get over, and that is my father’s life. He was a minister of the gospel, and whenever I think of the life he lived, I feel there must be something in Christianity. I can’t get over his life.”
A father doesn’t have to be a minister of the gospel to trust in God and live a Christian life.
ILL.- Several years ago, on a rainy August day, two young climbers decided to scale the highest summit within Switzerland —Mount Dom. Though they were young and relatively inexperienced, the two men felt confident in their mountain climbing abilities. Too confident, in fact. For despite deteriorating weather, they boldly went forth from the tiny village of Randa at the base of Mount Dom. Their goal—a halfway point called the "High Hut" where they would spend the night before tackling the icy summit the next morning.
The two moved quickly up the forested trail as the rain continued to fall and soon soaked through their inadequate clothing. At 6:00 p.m. the rain suddenly turned to snow. The trail before them became increasingly difficult to follow and they became lost. By 8:00 p.m., night had fallen. It was pitch black, they were soaked, shivering, and heading toward hypothermia. Then, just when their situation was becoming desperate, something miraculous happened.
Out of the darkness, a tiny light began to flicker. Even at a distance, the faint glow shone as bright as a lighthouse beacon to those two shivering, frightened young men. Where did it come from? Before retiring for the night, the Dom’s "High Hut" keeper did what he always did; he placed a kerosene lamp next to the door just in case a beacon might be needed by anyone lost on a dark, stormy night. His simple action saved two lives.
This true story isn’t just a warning for climbers; it should be call to action for every father. Our children start out with great hopes of reaching high places, but they are walking right into the growing darkness of a fallen world.
If left to themselves, even the most confident children will stumble into that world unprepared and destined for disaster.
Ps. 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
Our children need fathers and mothers to show them the light of Christ to guide them and keep them safe and warm, both now and forever.
ILL.- It has been determined that when both parents are faithful to the Lord and active in the church, 93% of the time their children will remain faithful. When only one parent is faithful and active, 74% of the time the children will remain faithful. When both parents are reasonably faithful, but inactive, 53% of the time the children will be faithful. When both parents attend only occasionally, only 6% of the time will the children remain faithful. Thank God for all the fathers and parents in this world who live by faith in Christ!
CONCLUSION-------------------------------------------
ILL.- Chuck Swindoll, preacher and writer, said these words about his father. “My dad died last night. He left like he had lived. Quietly. Graciously. With dignity. Without demands or harsh words or even a frown. He surrendered himself into the waiting arms of his Savior. As I stroked his his hair from his forehead and kissed him goodbye, a hundred boyhood memories played around in my head.
- when I learned to ride a bike, he was there.
- when I wrestled with the multiplication table, his quick wit erased the hassle.
- when I discovered the adventure of driving a car, he was near,encouraging me.
- when I got my first job (delivering newspapers), he informed me how to increase m subscriptions and win a prize. And it worked!
- when I mentioned a young woman I had fallen in love with, he pulled me aside and talked straight about being responsible for her welfare and happiness.
- when I did a hitch in the Marines, the discipline I had learned from him made the transition easier.
“Last night I said goodbye. I’m still trying to believe it.” God bless you, fathers! And God bless you all for remembering your father, past and present!
