Honor Our Fathers

Today’s message summary of June 17, 2018 from Pastor Gus Brown:

For some of us, Father’s Day is not a great day.  It can be a painful day because of the hurt that has taken place for many people.  If you were to go to a mall, for example, and listen to the conversations of some of our young people, you would hear something that would provide clues as to how fractured some families really are.

If it is at all possible, perhaps a message like this one is to provide wise counsel to young men that will become fathers one day.  It is a message of learning about respect and honor for fathers and fatherhood.

Many of us do not have a good outlook of our fathers.  There have been fathers that are certainly flawed, but they are merely instruments of those who brought forth life.  Your real Father is your heavenly Father.

The Lord tells us to honor our fathers.  It does not have qualifications based upon what the father has done.  It is more about respect and obedience to God.

Ephesians 6:2-3

Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land.

This honor given to the father is beneficial to the children who practice this.  Dads are often looked upon as being harsh disciplinarians.  They often had to do things that kept them away from home in order to make ends meet.

When I look back on my dad’s life, he always provided for our very large family.  When my dad could not make my basketball games, Mr. Castillo, who lived across the street, would step in and be my surrogate dad.  My dad, however, did set the example for me and my family in how he loved mom and took care of us.

Honoring dad helps to remove any anger or difficulty that you are experiencing.  Honoring dad starts the healing process.

Honoring dad helps you to move forward and adds to your life.  Worry, anger and hatred will effectively impair how you are living.  A person’s past can hurt, damage or destroy your life and its future.  Forgiveness prevents this from happening.

A father’s knowledge of God will allow him to understand that God has a plan for his children, as well.  The father is an instrument to bring you into this world, and he can help or hinder God’s plan for you.  If he knows the Lord, he can show you how to make and fulfill commitments, show love and love his wife, and be an example of all of those things before you.

Jeremiah 29:11-12

For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

God has the ultimate plan for your life–not your earthly father.  A lot of fathers may simply state that “I made it, and you can make it.”  Your heavenly father wants you to be successful and to have hope for the future.

Your earthly father is not perfect.  All men have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23).

Fathers cannot lead if they have not been led.  They cannot legitimately live as fathers if they were brought up in a chaotic environment.  They rely upon wisdom–preferably godly wisdom–from their own fathers.

Don’t forsake learning from a godly father.

Proverbs 4:1-13

Listen, sons, to a father’s discipline,

and pay attention so that you may gain understanding,

for I am giving you good instruction.

Don’t abandon my teaching.

When I was a son with my father,

tender and precious to my mother,

he taught me and said:

“Your heart must hold on to my words.

Keep my commands and live.

Get wisdom, get understanding;

don’t forget or turn away from the words from my mouth.

Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you;

love her, and she will guard you.

Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom.

And whatever else you get, get understanding.

Cherish her, and she will exalt you;

if you embrace her, she will honor you.

She will place a garland of favor on your head;

she will give you a crown of beauty.”

Listen, my son. Accept my words,

and you will live many years.

I am teaching you the way of wisdom;

I am guiding you on straight paths.

When you walk, your steps will not be hindered;

when you run, you will not stumble.

Hold on to instruction; don’t let go.

Guard it, for it is your life.

 

Fathers, your children open the door for you to be a part of their lives when they get older.  This is a blessing.

Man, in his flesh, cannot effectively build a family without God.  The importance of the Lord’s involvement in how fathers raise their children is evident:

Psalm 127:1-5

Unless the Lord builds a house,

its builders labor over it in vain;

unless the Lord watches over a city,

the watchman stays alert in vain.

In vain you get up early and stay up late,

working hard to have enough food—

yes, he gives sleep to the one he loves.

Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,

offspring, a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the sons born in one’s youth.

Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them.

They will never be put to shame

when they speak with their enemies at the city gate.

 

God put a seed in man to create life.  It is to be done responsibly.  The man has to be raised by God, as well.  A father has to be there for his children.  In order to give the child proper counsel, he has to learn and receive counsel from his father and fatherly figures.

The Holy Spirit is there to help men grow up from being boys to becoming men.

The children within the passage are like arrows (Psalm 127:4-5).  Arrows have to be handled with care when learning archery.  You have to be able to master the bow and arrow properly in order to be successful in hitting your target.  Fathers need to be able to guide their children in such a way that they will be successful and, in turn, honor their parents.  They must be guided and trained in order to face the enemies of life and overcome adversity.

A father is someone who must be able and faithful.

He must be faithful to his parental family in order to be faithful to caring for his own family.  If he is not faithful to God or to his wife, he won’t be faithful to his children or to any meaningful responsibility.

He must be faithful in making time for his children.  Many children are searching for some male figure in their life because some dads are unavailable.

Just as a father should be accessible, God always makes time for us.  He is always present.

Fathers should be there with their children as often as possible.  (It is not something that is to be put off for the mother to do.)

Children may not be everything that a parent would want them to be, but a father should always be present to encourage them in whatever they are doing.  Jesus Christ encourages all believers to go forth and spread the gospel and reminds of His presence at all times.

Matthew 28:19-20

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

A good father will learn from their own children by listening to them.  Listening helps you to learn who your child is and how to give direction.

Dads and grandpas, you are ‘the encouragers.’ You bring hope to many.  As a father, you build hope and teach your kids to live the impossible dream!

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.

God is constantly encouraging us, and fathers are to do the same for their children.

Fathers are to exercise their authority with humility and discipline over his children.  Rules are a part of life.  Jesus shows the example of obedience by following the words of His heavenly Father.

Hebrews 5:7-10

During his earthly life, he offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was the Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered. After he was perfected, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, and he was declared by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.