BANNER OF HOLINESS MINISTRIES
Dr. Levi Howard Wright, Pastor
“Fathers Where Are You?”
Genesis 3:7-15
[7] And the eyes of them both were opened, and they
knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves
together, and made themselves aprons. [8] And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. [9] And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? [10] And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
INTRODUCTION
In our text this morning we see Adam and Eve as they face a great crisis in their life in the Garden of Eden. God had placed them there and commanded them to not eat from the Forbidden Tree in the midst of the garden.
Because of there disobedience and rebellion against God’s command to not eat of the Forbidden Tree, we see that their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves clothing or aprons.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the
garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
“And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the
garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
Because it’s Father’s Day I want to focus on the Subject: “Fathers Where Are You!”
Like Adam many fathers have gone into hidding and are not living up to their God ordained responsibilities. Many fathers are hidding from their families and from God and as the results both their homes and families are dyfunctional and in ruins.
In Genesis 1:26...... God said, Let us make man in our
image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
God put an emphasis on leadership and dominion. How
many of you know when God repeats himself, he is trying
to get something across too us? As Fathers and Men of
Godly Character, God wants us to have leadership and
dominion over our homes and over our families.
How many of the men here Today, are waiting for me to
pull out a message on dominion from Ephesians 5, where it says,....."Women, submit to your husband."? Let all the men in the house say Amen. Now that you have said Amen and .... now that we agree..... on leadership and
dominion.... get ready, because I am setting you up, for when you are the head of something, you are responsible for your Headship.
[9] And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto
him, Where art thou? [10] And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. [11] And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? [12] And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. [13] And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. [17] And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.”
FATHER STOP PASSING THE BUCK......
When things are going well, everyone want to take the
credit, but when things are not going well, no one want to take the blame. Adam blamed Eve.... Eve blamed the
Serpent, but God gave Headship over the family to Adam... therefore Adam was responsible for his wife Eve, because God gave the command to not eat from the forbidden tree to Adam
We have a crisis in our homes, because Fathers have failed and disbeyed God. Fathers when our homes goes into ruins......The one to blame for the home going bad is the man..... not the woman.
Today, men are allowing women to have the authority that was given to them by God. Every year, 100,000 men walk out on their families and home and many of them never say good-bye, leaving over 1 million children in single family homes.
Fathers leadership in the family is very important, because weak homes build weak churches and weak nations.
Statistics
At the beginning of this decade (the 90’s) 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.
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.
The lack of attentiveness to children’s needs by fathers has produced great changes in the American home.
Fathers spend an average of only 38 seconds a day being
totally attentive and 20 minutes being partially
attentive to their children’s needs. Associated with these changes are the rising teen-age suicide rate, which
has tripled in the last 20 years, and the increasing incidence of delinquent behavior, which will bring one of
nine adolescents into the U.S. courtroom this year.
Dr. Seymour Diamond, M.D., in Homemade, October,
1982.
Fathers Where Are You........
Because the Fathers has failed........ the Church.... has a caling to Father the Fatherless......
Because the Fathers has fail...... in Los Angeles today,the largest numbers of prostitutes on the streets are young teenage boys.
In 1 John 2:13-14 ........
I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him
that is from the beginning.
I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one.
I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have
known him that is from the beginning.
I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
These words were inspired by the Holy Spirit..... sent from the Heavenly Father with love. God is speaking to fathers today, reminding us of our God given responsibility to be the leader of the home
1. FATHERS WHERE ARE YOU.... WHEN IT COME DOWN TO BEING..... A GOD’S APPOINTED
The fathers were addressed because they were the leaders at church and at home.
It has always been God‘s order that the men.... the fathers be leaders......
Not dictators; not harsh, mean, overbearing tyrants
ruling with a rod of iron.
But...... -gentle, loving, caring, example setting
leaders.
The word “Father” - comes from the greek word “Pater”
which has three meanings......
1-nourisher or provider..... 2-protector..... 3-upholder
We are facing a dilemma in our society - that God given
role is being neglected by men.
Many of the problems we see today is a result of men not
assuming their godly leadership position.
*25 million children (36.3%) do not live with their
fathers.
*40% of children in fatherless homes have not seen
their father’s in a least 1 year.
While 50% of children who live without their fathers
have never stepped foot in their father’s home.
*63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes.
*85% of children that exhibit behavior disorders are
from fatherless homes.
*80% of rapists are from fatherless homes.
*71% of high school drop outs are from fatherless
homes.
*75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse
centers are from fatherless homes.
*70% of juveniles in state operated institutions come
from fatherless homes.
*85% of youths in prison are from fatherless homes.
*70% of teen pregnancies are from fatherless homes.
*72% of Americans polled recently said the physical
absence of fathers is the most serious problem facing
America’s families.
I want to take a look at God’s design for Fatherhood and I want every father to ask himself..... “How am I measuring up to my God’s given responsibilities?”
2. FATHERS WHERE ARE YOU WHEN IT COME DOWN..... TO BEING A PROVIDER FOR YOUR FAMILIES.......
It is the primary responsibility of the man to be the provider of his household. Even though I am a minister and a pastor, my first and highest calling is to my family.
God created man first and gave him dominion over the
earth.
When God cursed Adam for his sin, He reinforced that
responsibility.......
In Genesis 3:19..... In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
If a man fails to provide for his family, he has failed God in the worst way.....
In 1 Timothy 5:8...... But if any provide not for his
own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath
denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
Our society is plagued with fatherless families, families with Dead-Beat Fathers.... who will not provide for their own.
Boys who want to prove their manhood but don’t want
the responsibilities that go along with it.
Single mothers are working 2 or 3 jobs just to provide
for their children while the kids are left to themselves.
Grandparents are raising grandchildren because their
kids are having babies they can’t take care of.
3. FATHERS WHERE ARE YOU WHEN IT COME DOWN TO....... BEING A PROTECTOR OF YOUR FAMILIES....
Until recently protecting the family was the primary
responsibility of the men.....
Today we have the military for national defense and police forces for civil protection.
The greatest danger to our families are not flesh and
blood..... but the spiritual forces of darkness and evil....
Many people think an unseen enemy is an unreal enemy
that don’t posing a threat.
It is the power of the enemy.... working through people
that we must protect our families from......
In Ephensians 2:2 ... the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
Many fathers do not take this issue seriously and fail to protect their children from evil influences.
They do not fight for the spiritual welfare of the family.
4. FATHERS WHERE ARE YOU WHEN IT COME DOWN TO....... BEING AN UPHOLDERS TO YOUR FAMILIES......
To uphold means to stand up for something, keep up a
standard, enforce the rules.
Our society is severely lacking in fathers who stand up
for, enforce and uphold godly, biblical values and
principles.
Our society is severely lacking in fathers who are loving and caring disciplinarians, who will instill within their children respect for the laws of the land, other people and themselves.
Our nation is lacking in fathers who teach their kids to pray, teach them the principals of God’s Word by living it themselves and take their kids to church rather than sending them to church.
Our nation is filled with children...... running the
streets.....getting involved in gang violence....experimenting
with drugs and alcohol.... and experiencing sex because
either dad isn’t there or dad just doesn’t care.
Boys are growing up not knowing how to be men because
they have no example to follow....
*88% of drunk drivers are men.
*83% of people arrested for serious crimes are men.
*85% of all murders are committed by men.
*A man is 25 times more likely to end up in state
prison.
*Men are more likely to have ulcers....... to die from
cancer..... pneumonia.... liver disease.... strokes... hardening
of the arteries and..... heart failure.
*75% of all suicides are men.
CONCLUSION
Fathers Where Are You? ....... Men Where Are You?
Thank God for the men and fathers that are doing all the right things.....who are doing their best to fulfill God’s greatest call upon their life..... who are providing, protecting and upholding their families......
May God bless those fathers who are...... and convict
those who are not.
For the fathers who have done their best and your
children have chosen the wrong direction..... put your
children into the hands of the Heavenly Father.
Most importantly fathers remember, we will answer to
God for the job we do.
“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15
Amen...Amen...Amen...
Evangelist Cry Ministry
Dr. Levi Howard Wright, Ph.D
1060 Red Hill Road
Huger, South Carolina 29450
(843) 336-3034
E-Mail: Levicry@Homexpressway.net
