God Calls Men to be Spiritual Leaders
Psalm 78:1-8
Thanks to Mother’s Day we have a special day we celebrate the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. The idea of honoring fathers began in Spokane, Washington when Sonora Smart Dodd heard a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909.
Sonora was raised by her father after her mother died and Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter a courageous, selfless and loving man.
Since her father was born in June, she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June 1910.
President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day in 1924.
God’s Word Calls Men to be Spiritual Leaders in the home. Psalm 78:3-4 “What we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us, we will not hide them from their children. We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power and the wonders he has done.”
The greatest legacy a father can pass on to his family is a spiritual legacy -- A legacy that honors Jesus as Lord and keeps the commandments of the Lord.
Psalm 78:5-6 “He (God) decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.”
In my own family on my mother’s side Biblical teaching has been passed to five generations, my great grandfather, my grandfather, my mother, myself and my children who are now passing on Biblical truth to their children the sixth generation to carry forth the teachings of God’s Word. On my Father’s side as far as I know I started a spiritual legacy for my family, my children and grandchildren.
You may have had the privilege of receiving a Biblical heritage passed on to you, or you may have the opportunity to start a Biblical heritage for your family. The sooner you start the better.
What spiritual legacy will you leave your family?
# You might leave the church today, drive to your home, pull into the driveway and notice activity in your neighbor’s yard. You see a giant earthmoving backhoe excavating enormous shovels full of dirt. You go over to your neighbor and ask, “What are you doing?” And he says, “Well, you know we really think we need to add on to our house.” So you ask, “What are you adding on?” He says, “I’m not really sure yet. We’re just going to kind of dig the hole and see what happens’’ You say, “Well what kind of plans do you have?”
“Well I didn’t really draw up any plans?” “Do you have a building permit?” “Well I didn’t know I had to get a permit.”
“You don’t have any idea what you’re building? Or what you are going to do?”
“Well, I thought I’d just come out here, dig this hole, and kind of wing it from there.”
What do you think of that kind of planning? I’m afraid that’s the way many people plan for their family. I’m just going to wing it and see how things come out. Like one couple with two small children who were not going to church. They told me that when their children were old enough to decide, they can attend church if they wanted to.
To leave a spiritual legacy and become a Spiritual leader in your family it must be intentional. Dads, take the lead. Be a spiritual pace setter. To all our single moms we encourage you to take the lead.
Spiritual leadership doesn’t happen without a commitment and a decision. Joshua said in his farewell address to Israel that whether the families in Israel followed the Lord or not, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15
God instructed the children of Israel and every parent to pass on Biblical truth from one generation to another. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
God works in many ways to carry out His will and His way. My mother modeled for me the Christ-life life and I said yes to the Lord. At age 62 my mother passed away. That following year my dad came to faith in Christ and endeavored to live the rest of his life with simple Child-life faith. I had the privilege of baptizing my dad in 1981.
I learned from my mother Christian values, but I learned from my father the joy of sports, hunting and fishing and outdoor activities. Most men have it in their hearts to be like their own good father, or the good father they never had. Will you have a “hands on” or a”hands off” policy for your family? My dad had a “hands off” policy for his children. He didn’t get involved in their school activities or give them an occasional hug or word of encouragement. My policy was a “hands on” policy for my children. I got involved in their school activities, even coaching an elementary basketball team that included my two sons. I tried to demonstrate hugs and words of encouragement and praise on a regular basis.
A “hands on” policy means dad spends quality time with his children. One young son asked his father, “Daddy, how much do you make an hour?” With a timid voice and idolizing eyes, the little boy greeted his father as he returned home from work.
Greatly surprised, but giving his boy a glaring look, the father said, “Look, sonny, not even your mother knows that. Don’t bother me now. I’m tired.”
“But Daddy, just tell me please! How much do you make an hour.” the boy insisted.
The father, finally giving up, replied: “Ten dollars per hour.” “Okay, Daddy. Could you loan me two dollars?” the boy asked.
Showing his restlessness and disturbance, the father yelled, “So that was the reason you asked how much I earn, right? Go to sleep and don’t bother me anymore.”
It was already dark, and the father was meditating on what he said and was feeling guilty. Maybe, he thought, his son wanted to buy something. Finally, trying to ease his mind, the father went to his son’s room. “Are you asleep, son?” asked the father. “No Daddy. Why?” replied the boy, partially asleep.
“Here’s the money you asked for earlier.” “Thanks, Daddy!” the son said, while putting his hand under his pillow and removing some money. “Now I have enough! Now I have ten dollars!” The father gazed at his son, confused by the meaning of what he had just said, when the boy continued, “Daddy, could you sell me one hour of your time, please?”
Every father has someone in his shadow. The attitude of most boys is this, “What’s goes for my Dad goes for me.” Little feet are following in our steps. The question is: where are we leading them?
#Video – Like Father like Son
Mother becomes the dominant influence when father is absent.
Many of you are mothers who are single parents. Father is absent in the home. With God’s help you can raise well balanced children. It wasn’t easy for my mother. For all practical purposes my mother was a single parent though married since my dad was gone more than he was at home. Millions of mothers have done an admirable job of overcoming serious limitation and obstacles. God has promised special help and blessings for homes were dad is absent.
Deuteronomy 10:18, “God defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.”
Psalm 68:5 “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.”
The Lord promises to give special blessing to families with an absent father. At just the right time in my life a Sunday School teacher served as a positive influence on my life during my teenage years.
God uses Grandparents to serve as a positive influence on their grandchildren.
Since moving to California in 1997 we have had our grandchildren come stay with us for a couple of weeks. We wanted to give our encouragement and support to our children. We are carrying on the tradition started by Carollyn’s parents. Her parents lived on a farm with riding horses and lots of chores that needed to be done plus a large above ground swimming pool. Every summer they had our children visit for a week or two.
No grandchildren? Consider coming alongside a family that has children and needs a special boost. Use your creativity and give a helping hand.
Men are called by God to give spiritual leadership in the home. Our goal is to leave a spiritual and Biblical legacy for our children. When Dad is absent, Mom must step into the leadership role.
God created men to be men of strength both tough and tender.
I learned from my dad that men are not feminine in character.
Jesus demonstrated true manhood. Jesus was both tough and tender. Many pictures of Jesus don’t do him justice. The portraits make Jesus more like a shampoo model than a man. His long hair is waved and feminine.
Hollywood often portrays Jesus as some kind of space cadet. He is pictured so mystical and other-worldly that He doesn’t seem real. Jesus often comes across as the “Gentle Jesus meek and mild pale Galilean.”
Jesus demonstrated his strength of manhood when he marched into the temple courtyard with a whip and overturned the merchant’s tables and chased them and their animals out of the temple area.
We see the manly strength of Jesus as he is whipped and as he suffered on the cross.
We see the tender side of Jesus as he feels the emotions of the weeping friends of Lazarus who had died. Jesus joins them in weeping for his friend.
Job is a man we highly admire for his staying power. He went through all kinds of testing and pain and stayed true to the Lord. His manhood and faith in God did not reside in
What he owned
The size of his home
His amount of investments
His achievements
In people he knew
In what model of donkey he rode
Of his status in the community
Job demonstrated his strength and faith in God in good times and in bad. He was a man that kept his promises.
Real men do have a tender side. It is hard to see some men portrayed by Hollywood as having a tender side. Can you picture John Wayne changing a diaper on a baby? Or Clint Eastwood “cooing” to a toddler?
Real men do have a tender side. Real-life hero General Norman Schwarzkopf was interviewed by Barbara Walters following the Desert Storm Gulf War. In the course of the conversation about the war, something touched the big man and his eyes glazed over and tears formed. Barbara Walters asked, “Why, General aren’t you afraid to cry?” Without hesitation Stormin’ Norman replied, “No, Barbara, I’m afraid of a man who won’t cry.”
Some of you may have witnessed the NBA championship when the Chicago Bulls won their fourth NBA basketball championship. Michael Jordan fell to the floor and buried his face in his hands.
Why was Michael Jordan, one of the greatest athletes in our generation, weeping? Was he happy or sad? No, it was Father’s Day. Three years earlier Michael father was brutally murdered. Not long after that terrible event Michael retired from basketball. He tried his hand at baseball but three years later returned to basketball.
Prior to that championship NBA game on Father’s Day Michael Jordan said: “It would be very gratifying, a tribute to my father and the motivation he has provided. Even through he hasn’t been around, that’s part of my motivation every day, to go out and make him proud.”
When the Chicago Bulls won, Michael was weeping as he thought of making his father proud of him.
It means a lot for sons to feel their fathers are proud of them.
That theme with an interaction between father and son is seen in the film, October Sky. The year was 1957 and the place was Coalwood, West Virginia. The goal of every father in Coalwood was to have his son follow in his steps and help mine coal.
October Sky is about one young man, Homer Hickam who had a dream to climb out of the black hole of a coal mine. Homer convinced three of his friends to join him in learning all they could about rocketry. The NASA legend Dr. Wernher von Braun was Homer’s hero.
October Sky portrays a young man’s search for purpose in life and wanting to get his father’s approval.
Homer’s father thought that all his experiments with home-made rockets were a waste of time. Homer so wanted his father to be proud of his work in testing rockets.
His father did attend a national science contest in St. Louis to witness his son receiving first place His father saw different people shaking his son’s hand and noticed that one of the people who greeted his son was Dr. von Braun. Homer didn’t realize it until Dr. von Braun had disappeared into the crowd.
At home his dad mentioned that Homer had shaken the hand of Dr. von Braun and didn’t even know it. Homer says: “Look, I know you and I don’t exactly see eye to eye on just about everything. But Daddy, I’ve come to believe that I’ve got it in me to be somebody in this world. And it’s not because I’m so different from you either. It’s because I’m the same. I can be just as hardheaded and just as tough. I only hope I can be as good a man as you are. I mean, sure, Dr. von Braun is a great scientist. But he isn’t my hero. As Homer Hickam looked deeply in his father’s eyes, his dad finally got it—he was Homer’s hero whether he deserved to be or not.
I like action packed movies. I like to watch Chuck Norris use his martial arts talents on Walker, Texas Ranger. Chuck Norris testifies that for years he was part of the Hollywood lifestyle that was far from God. A Christian friend confronted Norris about his faith in God. Norris told him that he had experienced success but was still unhappy and had a huge hole in his heart.
His friend introduced him to a woman who was a committed Christian. Gena read the Bible every day and encouraged Chuck to read God’s Word. Gena would read the Bible to Chuck. On one occasion when they were reading the Bible “The Holy Spirit took hold of him and said, “It’s time to come home.” “I did commit my life to Jesus and the most amazing thing happened: The hole in my heart was healed.”
Men are called to be spiritual leaders. Like Chuck Norris do you have a hole in your heart this morning? Only God can fill the void in your heart and life. Surrender to Jesus.
You can have a Christian home.
A Christian home is one
Where family prayer is daily said,
God’s Word is regularly read,
And faith in Christ is never dead—
That is a Christian home.
Where father, mother, sister, brother,
All have true love one for another
And no one ever hates the other—
That is a Christian home.
Where the family quarrels are pushed aside
To let the love of God abide
Ere darkness falls on eventide—
That is a Christian home.
Where joy and happiness prevail
In every heart without a fail
And thoughts of God on high set sail
That is a Christian home.
Where Jesus Christ is host and guest,
And through whom we have eternal rest
And in him are forever blest—
That is a Christian home.
This week meditate on Psalm 78:1-8 and determine to use creative ways to teach Biblical truths to your children. Plan to leave a spiritual Biblical legacy for your family.
