Qualities I Like In Men and Fathers
Rom 5:1-4
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1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; (NAS)
Introduction
Did you know that the phone calls on Mother’s Day out numbers the calls on Father’s Day. For the Father’s among us there is good and bad news. The good news is that calls to father on Father’s Day are increasing faster that the calls to mom on Mother’s Day. The bad news is that many of the calls on Father’s Day are collect calls.
What kind of men do you like and respect? I want to share on this Father’s Day the kind of men I like and respect. These men have spiritual qualities that set them apart for the crowd. The stand out even in a crowd of Christian men. The qualities I think are most important are not limited too but include the following.
1. A Man With . . Calmness.
2. A Man With . . Character.
3. A Man With . . Conviction.
4. A Man With . . Communication.
1. A Man With . . Calmness. Rom 5:1-3
.
A. This Calmness comes from . . Peace with God. v 1
1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
B. This Calmness comes from . . Position In Christ. v 1- 2
1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God
C. This Calmness comes from . . Persevering. v 3
3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
Illustration
In the Convention Sermon this year at the Southern Baptist Convention the preacher shared this illustration. He told about Fred Craddock who while lecturing at Yale University told of going back one summer to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to take a short vacation with his wife. One night they found a quiet little restaurant where they looked forward to a private meal—just the two of them.
While they were waiting for their meal they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting guests. Craddock whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn’t come over here." He didn’t want the man to intrude on their privacy. But the man did come by his table.
"Where you folks from?" he asked amicably. "Oklahoma." "Splendid state, I hear, although I’ve never been there. What do you do for a living?
"I teach homiletics at the graduate seminary of Phillips University." "Oh, so you teach preachers, do you. Well, I’ve got a story I want to tell you." And with that he pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with Craddock and his wife.
Dr. Craddock said he groaned inwardly: Oh no, here comes another preacher story. It seems everyone has one. The man stuck out his hand. "I’m Ben Hooper. I was born not far from here across the mountains. My mother wasn’t married when I was born so I had a hard time. When I started to school my classmates had a name for me, and it wasn’t a very nice name. I used to go off by myself at recess and during lunch-time because the taunts of my playmates cut so deeply.
"What was worse was going downtown on Saturday afternoon and feeling every eye burning a hole through you. They were all wondering just who my real father was.
"When I was about 12 years old a new preacher came to our church. I would always go in late and slip out early. But one day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. I could feel every eye in church on me. Just about the time I got to the door I felt a big hand on my shoulder. I looked up and the preacher was looking right at me.
"Who are you, son? Whose boy are you?’ I felt the old weight come on me. It was like a big black cloud. Even the preacher was putting me down.
But as he looked down at me, studying my face, he began to smile a big smile of recognition. "Wait a minute," he said, "I know who you are. I see the family resemblance. You are a son of God." With that he slapped me across the rump and said, "Boy you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it."
The old man looked across the table at Fred Craddock and said, "That was the most important single sentence ever said to me." With that he smiled, shook the hands of Craddock and his wife, and moved on to another table to greet old friends.
Suddenly, Fred Craddock remembered. On two occasions the people of Tennessee had elected an illegitimate to be their governor. One of them was Ben Hooper.
Application
Calmness finely came to that boy as he realized he was God’s child. He had accepted Jesus as Lord but still allowed things of the flesh to haunt him.
I like a man who is at peace in his relationship with Christ and allows it to show in every avenue of his life. He makes a good Father
2. A Man With . . Character. Rom 5:4
4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
A. Character that is . . Proven. v 4 a
1. Character is not Instantaneous.
B. Character that is . . Progressive. v 4 b
1. Proven Character progresses to hope.
Illustration Topic: Character Index: 4289-4300 7/1989.3
The words that house speaker, Jim Wright, quoted upon his resignation, really hit home;
Horace Greeley had a quote that Harry Truman used to like: "Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer today may curse tomorrow, only one thing endures -- character."
Illustration from Charles Swindoll
The World Needs Men …
1. who cannot be bought;
2. whose word is their bond;
3. who put character above wealth;
4. who possess opinions and a will;
5. who are larger than their vocations;
6. who do not hesitate to take chances;
7. who will not lose their individuality in a crowd;
8. who will be as honest in small things as in great things;
9. who will make no compromise with wrong;
10. whose ambitions are not just their own selfish desires;
11. who will not agree just because everybody else does it";
12. who are true to their friends through good and evil.
13. who are not afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular;
14. who can say "no" with emphasis, although all the rest of the world says "yes."
Adapted from Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, pp. 107-8
Application
I like a man with a proven Character. He makes a good Father
3. A Man With . . Conviction. Col 4:12
Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. (NAS)
Rom 14:22 The faith which you have, have as your own
conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. (NAS)
Illustration Conviction versus Preference
The difference between a conviction and a preference, according to the U.S. Supreme Court. A preference is a very strong belief, held with great strength. You can give your entire life in a full-time way to the service of the preference, and can also give your entire material wealth in the name of the belief. You can also energetically proselytize others to your preference. You can also want to teach this belief to your children, and the Supreme court may still rule that it is a preference. A preference is a strong belief, but a belief that you will change under the right circumstances.
Circumstances such as:
1) peer pressure; if your beliefs are such that other people stand with you before you will
stand, your beliefs are preferences, not convictions,
2) family pressure,
3) lawsuits,
4) jail,
5) threat of death; would you die for your beliefs?
A conviction is a belief that you will not change. Why? A man believes that his God requires it of him. Preferences aren’t protected by the constitution.
Convictions are. A conviction is not something that you discover, it is something that you purpose in your heart (cf. Daniel 1, 2-3). Convictions on the inside will always show up on the outside, in a person’s lifestyle. To violate a conviction would be a sin.
Illustration Battle Is Your Calling
When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling, and peace has become sin; you must, at the price of dearest peace, lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy, with all the fire of your faith. - Abraham Kuyper Source Unknown
Application
I like men with convictions. He makes a good Father
4. A Man With . . Communication.
A. Communication with His . . Family. Eph 6:4
And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (NAS)
Illustration
At the beginning of this decade David Popenoe wrote an article entitled "A World Without Fathers." He gave some rather depressing statistics then: In just three decades, from 1960-1990, the percentage of children living apart for their biological father has more than doubled, from 17% to 36%. It is now estimated that by the turn of the century, 50% of all American children may go to bed at night without being able to speak to their father.
So how are we doing? I am sad to say that I found at least one source which confirmed David Popenoe prediction.
In an article entitled "Fathering Fatherless America" Dr. Scott J. Larson reports: One in two children now grow up without a father in the United States, and in our inner cities only one in five children live with their father. A whole new mission field has developed in America: Fathering fatherless kids.
1. In today’s world we man need to extend our concern over to children who do not have a live in father.
B. Communication with His Friends. 2 Tim 4:5 (NAS)
But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Illustration
Paige Patterson the President of the Southern Baptist Convention has the life style of a soul winner. I rarely hear him preach that he does not include a personal illustration about leading someone to salvation.
In his Presidents Address this year he shared when he was a child he would see his mother watching television and weeping. He asked her "why are you crying mom?" His mother replied "son those people would not act like that if they were saved. I am weeping because they don’t know Jesus."
Application
Paige Patterson is a man of communication. It was passed on from his Mom and Dad.
Qualities I Like In Men and Fathers?
1. Man With . . Calmness.
2. A Man With . . Character.
3. A Man With . . Conviction.
4. A Man With . . Communication.
They Make Good Fathers
For More Sermons by James McCullen go to: www.preachhim.org
