Father's Day

[0:00] And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things.

[0:12] However, they did not all heed the glad tidings. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report? So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

[0:26] Beautiful passage, and you can see the natural train that develops how that each thing is dependent upon that which preceded it. And I've always been somewhat struck by verse 15, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things.

[0:49] I have never thought of feet as being particularly attractive. I don't know about you, but actually mine are, well, I won't even try to describe them.

[1:02] It would just be, you know, embarrassing and discouraging to you. But it's one of what the Scripture calls our uncomely parts. Feet just don't do anything for me.

[1:16] They're nice for getting around. We couldn't do without them that way. But when you think in terms of feet being an essential part of the vehicle, if you will, that delivers the gospel, that makes feet beautiful.

[1:38] In fact, it makes every single toe beautiful, right down to the little pig that went to market. Makes the whole thing beautiful, just because of what is conveyed.

[1:52] So feet are a really blessed thing. We don't think of them as too attractive, but they get us where we need to go. And it's a wonderful text.

[2:04] Beautiful feet. Okay. Without any further elaboration, have you any questions that have been ruminating in your mind or any comments that you would like to make?

[2:15] The last few sessions we've had. Yes. Oh, okay. All righty. Thank you.

[2:29] And if you have a question or comment that you would like to make, please feel free to raise your hand. And are we all wired here and ready to go?

[2:42] Good. Thank you. We spent, I think, four Sundays on the subject of the gospel and the ongoing nature of the gospel and its perpetuity and so on.

[3:00] Okay. Nathan? Sure. So I have several questions, but I'll start with one. I was actually at work, and there was a copy of the Dayton Business Journal, and there was actually an article in there from a professor at Cedarville, and he was recommending in there that you should not discuss religion at work.

[3:22] It's a bad idea. And so I just wanted to get your thoughts on that. What are your thoughts on work and sharing the gospel in the workplace? Well, I can see two viewpoints about that, and I don't want to waffle on this, but the gospel, its importance, its urgency, and the dire straits of people who are without it are certainly to be taken into consideration.

[3:52] And I do not know that there is any time or place where it is inappropriate to share spiritual truth. But I would offer this one caveat, if I may, and that is if you are being paid by an employer to produce a certain amount of work for which he is paying you, then you have a moral obligation to fulfill those contractual demands, whatever they are.

[4:26] And while there may be opportunity, and there often is opportunity, during what we would call small talk or talk in the break room or something like that, to pose a question or to make a comment regarding spiritual substance, I certainly don't see that as inappropriate.

[4:45] But if it would involve engaging someone in a lengthy conversation of give and take and whatnot, while you are supposed to be gainfully employed, producing something that your employer is paying you for, then actually you're fudging on the job.

[5:02] You're not really putting out that for which you are being paid, because your employer is not paying you to communicate religious information, what we'd call religious, what the world would call religious information.

[5:14] Your employer is paying you to do the job that he's paying you to do. So you have a moral obligation to fulfill that, I think, first of all. But at the same time, that certainly does not negate the possibility of opportunities for passing comments or something like this, or say something, hey, that's a really good question.

[5:34] I wish I had time to develop that and give you my ideas about it and what the Bible says about it, but I really can't. However, I would like to meet you after work. Or could we do lunch on Saturday and talk about this, or something like that?

[5:49] I think that would be more honoring to the Lord, because there is the urgency of the gospel, that's true. But at the same time, you need to be attentive to the fact that you have a moral obligation to your employer to produce what he is paying you to do.

[6:06] And if you're going to spend your time otherwise, then you're cheating your employer. John has a comment or question in the back. I was saved at work, and the guy that led me to the Lord led several other guys there to the Lord.

[6:27] One guy, Ray Jones, went on to become a pastor, and he was the hardest working guy in the group. And he would never fudge on his responsibilities, and everyone looked up to Gene and respected him.

[6:43] So on the job, preaching the gospel has resulted in my salvation. Yeah. Okay, I appreciate that very much.

[6:55] That's good. It's good to know. You know, the best witness, the best witness that a Christian employee can be at the job site is to do your job to the extent of your ability and produce as consistent output and product as you possibly can, and nothing speaks volumes more to other people.

[7:25] than your integrity in the workplace like that. And that's very important. Appreciate that, John. Thank you. Other comments or questions? Anyone up here? A couple weeks ago, I spoke up and said, I'm not a religious person.

[7:46] And a couple people in my office said, oh, yeah, right, which I kind of take as a compliment. But I said, no, I don't have religion. I have a relationship. And it kind of opened up the door, which reminds me of the book that George provided called Tactics.

[8:01] And what he says is you need to put a stone in your shoe. So, and that's kind of what I was doing, even though I hadn't read the book yet. But I have read it since. If you haven't read it, it's great.

[8:11] You might have to read it more than once. But it's a great tool. And it takes the fear out of witnessing. And I think the workplace is fine. I agree with you. You can't carry on the conversation for a long, long time.

[8:23] But you can make people think. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Okay. I think your dad has a comment or question up here. Here. Up here.

[8:35] You do. Okay. I'm a dad. So I was looking back over my notes.

[8:48] And I'd like to summarize things. And you basically gave three points that were necessary for salvation. And that would be contrition or realizing the results of our sin. And then confession, which was repentance, changing our mind.

[9:02] And then putting our confidence in Christ or our commitment. And your point was that the third one was an exercise of the will. And the first two are an exercise of the mind. Did I summarize that good?

[9:13] Yeah. I think that's pretty accurate. So I'd just like your comments on how that applies to young children. Because in our experience, it seems like that third part, that act of the will, it's difficult to judge whether that's really true in a young child.

[9:32] Because they don't even have a sense of reality versus fantasy in many cases. And so just how would you suggest or advise presenting the gospel in a continual manner?

[9:46] And I'll just give you my testimony. So my dad very much focused on you need to pray a prayer, you need to pray a prayer. And it resulted in a lot of confusion. So that's kind of a little background. And just if you could comment for just a moment on the children, bringing our children to salvation.

[10:01] Yeah. Well, that is a very important issue. And it's a very delicate issue. And one of the things that makes it so difficult is that children develop in their ability to perceive and understand things at a completely different rate.

[10:19] We cannot say, well, every child at age one knows this. At age two, they know this. At age three, they know this. And those of you who are parents know that it doesn't work that way. That children have different ways of developing.

[10:32] And some start out very slowly. And then all of a sudden they make quantum leaps and do a whole bunch of catching up. And then sometimes they start out kind of fast and kind of taper off.

[10:42] But that's all different with different children. And this is one reason why I think parents need to be especially sensitive to what their children are able to understand.

[10:54] And probably the most, I would say, probably the most effective way that you as a parent can determine at what level your child is or their ability to understand is by formulating.

[11:09] And I would suggest that you just take a few minutes and put these down on paper. Formulating a list of questions that you would like to pose to the child.

[11:19] Because in my estimation, that's the only way that you can really determine their level of understanding is their answers to these questions. And I think maybe with each child, it would be a little different.

[11:32] That's why it kind of needs to be personalized with the child that you're dealing with, boy or girl. And try to get a grasp for what they know or what they understand or what they don't.

[11:48] And work from that. Because only in that way can you even gain an appreciation of where they are. And children, by virtue of their being children, are very much subject to manipulation.

[12:05] It's just part of childishness. It's just part of being inexperienced. The tendency is, well, you can take a three-year-old child and tell the child that the moon is made of cheese.

[12:23] And he will log that as a fact because his dad told him. And his dad knows everything, you know. And that goes with being a child.

[12:33] For an adult, we would call it gullible. But for a child, we would call it childlike reasoning. You know, Jesus said, except you have faith and become as little children, you shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven.

[12:49] He was talking in a kingdom concept. But the idea is simply this. A child tends to believe what a person in authority tells them.

[13:00] And all that text is saying that the Lord used is that we need to be like. We need to be childlike in that we are willing to believe what the authority tells us.

[13:16] And that's on that basis that we believe God and what he has said. So childlike faith might not seem very attractive for one who considers themselves an adult.

[13:29] But it is actually a virtue when it comes to believing and accepting what the one in authority tells us. And I would just, in dealing with children, I would be very, what shall I say, I would not be aggressive in pursuing this.

[13:53] You need to be attentive. And this is where it really gets difficult because you as the parent, you understand what's at stake. And they don't.

[14:04] And you care a whole lot more about them and their eternal future than what they do. They don't even know such a thing exists from a child's standpoint.

[14:15] So you need to be very guarded and make sure that you are not manipulative and suggestive, overly suggestive, so that the child picks up on a sense of what it is you want them to do.

[14:30] And they make that decision, quote, unquote, because this is what dad said or this is what mom said. And sometimes it can be a decision that is not based on sufficient information.

[14:45] They just don't understand. They aren't able to grasp. I don't know how many people I've heard over the years say, well, I thought I was saved when I was four years old at my mother's knee.

[14:57] But when I got to high school or attended this Youth for Christ or whatever, I heard the gospel and I discovered that I didn't really know what it was all about.

[15:07] And I thought I made a decision. And it was good faith. And the mother or father, you know, had every intention of leading them to Christ and thought they did. But later it just turned out that they didn't.

[15:18] They just did what mom or dad wanted them to do because that's the nature of children. So that's the thing that parents have to really be sensitive to and guard against. There's a difference between presenting the gospel to them in a way that they can understand and presenting the gospel in such a suggestive manner that you actually end up unintentionally manipulating them into making a decision.

[15:43] And in fact, it isn't a genuine decision at all. So probably the ideal, in my estimation, the ideal would be for parents to conduct the home life and to create the kind of atmosphere and environment in the home life that will automatically, by its existence, tend to create questions and comments in the life and mind of the child so that they come to you with questions.

[16:24] And that's the ultimate way, rather than you going to them. And when they come to you, you know that there is an interest there that is piqued or they wouldn't be coming to you and asking about that.

[16:38] So that's, to me, that's the ultimate. Is that at all helpful? Nathan, and then up front here. Yeah, that's great.

[16:50] I love that discussion. You know, when it comes to my kids and the gospel, just continually presenting the gospel. Just on a regular basis. Not taking it for granted that my kids always understand.

[17:03] Because as young kids, they'll understand little bits. But the older they get, they're able to absorb more of that message. He's constantly presenting it before them. But related to that is the same question with our kids, but extrapolating it to others as well.

[17:21] Asking people to make a decision. We've talked about kids. And when we kind of ask them to make a decision if we do that. But also with adults, people that we're sharing the gospel with.

[17:31] I've heard some people say, well, you should never ask somebody to make a decision because you might create a false convert. You know, they might feel pressure and not be ready or something like that.

[17:42] Do you have any thoughts on when it might be appropriate to do so? By the way, you mentioned Charles Finney last week or the week before. And he's kind of one of the ones that really kind of pioneered this whole idea of presenting a call of salvation in services and asking people to make a decision.

[18:01] Which I think is really a positive thing. But I can see the other side, too, in that there might be some manipulation with people, especially with all the music today. And people create kind of an emotional atmosphere.

[18:13] And it might be negative in some ways. So what's your thoughts on that? Yeah. Well, the public invitation and the decision can be exactly what one person needs.

[18:26] It kind of gets them off the dime. And it helps solidify their decision. Someone else, it's a turnoff. You know, they view it as a negative.

[18:36] They view it as an attempt to manipulate. And they don't want any part of it. The beautiful thing about the whole aspect of salvation is God reads the heart.

[18:50] He knows what the desire of the individual heart is. And he's able to interpret that, even though the owner of it might not be able to ably express it. God reads the heart. And he knows what the intent is.

[19:03] And this is why I say there is no formula to repeat. There is no Christian mantra. I know some feel that there is. The publican's prayer, God be merciful to me, a sinner.

[19:16] You know, the sinner's prayer. But I think that it needs to be made clear to people that it is a definite decision that is made.

[19:31] And it is an act of the will that makes that decision. And the best way that I have found to illustrate that, that everybody I think can identify with, is the marriage altar.

[19:43] When a husband and wife are standing there at that altar, or to be husband and wife, and they are asked, will you take this man? Will you have this woman?

[19:54] What is that? That it is a definite, specific act of the will. And if you stand there, mute. Everything's going to come to a screeching halt.

[20:09] They're just waiting for the expression of the will. I will. Or I do. And if that doesn't happen, then the commitment isn't there. And then the bride runs down the aisle in tears, or whatever, you know.

[20:22] That there needs to be a direct decision. And that is the response. Faith is the response to what God has done in Christ.

[20:33] And the whole gamut of things that we've talked about, the repentance, the change of mind, and the confession. Someone says, well, we're not saved by confessing our sin.

[20:45] Well, you need to understand what the word means. The word confess. If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin. If you confess your sin, all that means is that you agree.

[21:01] That's what the word confess means. Homologeo. It means to say the same thing. God says thus and so is sin. And you agree. You've made a confession.

[21:12] That is a confession. You agree. And that ties in, again, with understanding the necessity of our sinfulness. Because apart from our sin, who needs a Savior? So all of these things work together.

[21:25] And as I've said, God reads the heart. And he knows what the intent of the heart is. And I remember, I don't want to bore you with this, but 1956 on December 8th, the day that I was saved, the first prayer I ever said in my life, that was not, now I lay me down to sleep.

[21:46] And I, to this day, I have no idea. I cannot recall what I prayed. Because I wasn't used to praying at all, you know.

[21:58] And I don't have any idea what I prayed. But I know this. I meant business. I meant it. I meant what I said. And it was kind of interesting because after the pastor who led me to Christ, he prayed.

[22:12] And we stood up. He shook my hand. And I remember, I didn't know what else to say. So I just said, well, is that it? Is that it? You know, is there something else we're supposed to do?

[22:24] Is that it? And he said, Marvin, did you really believe what you said in your prayer? And I said, yes, absolutely.

[22:34] Sure. Yeah, I really believe that. I mean, the idea of trying to con God, it never occurred to me. Yeah, I believe that. And he said, all right, then. God has saved you.

[22:44] I said, that's good. He turned to the barber and he said, you come back at 7 o'clock this evening and I'll marry you. He said, okay, great. So there again is a case of God reading the heart.

[22:58] You know, I didn't, I didn't, all I did was, all I did was acknowledge what I was and what I wanted and what I needed. God read that.

[23:08] And he'll do that for you, too. Anything else, anyone? Yes. Last week at the end, the way you worded that, you talked about, you know, because of what's been given to us, you know, have we lost that?

[23:21] And a lot of people don't talk about that gift that you get when you are out there working, like being a doer of the word. And I don't do it for my salvation.

[23:31] I get that. But a lot of people don't talk about what we get back from that fire that we have inside from knowing from what we did get. And that, you know, like sometimes you can read scripture or you can even teach it different people or preach.

[23:45] And sometimes you'll get it here, but you don't get it here in the heart. I mean, you can get it in the head like an encyclopedia or a dictionary, but it just doesn't resonate with me sometimes.

[23:56] And I tell you what, though, once I really got a fire inside of me knowing what was given to me, there was a lot of things that made sense and I can't explain it. That's why, you know, different things about the Lord, I was like, wow, there's the only way I could have got this is because of the Lord.

[24:09] But we don't, you know what I mean? Nobody really talks about that as much, what we get back when we give. I know some people say pay it forward, but it doesn't matter what you do. I mean, you know, you don't have to do what I do or other people do.

[24:21] But when you give back and when you really do give what you've been given, it does something to you inside. I think I want more humility by doing what I was doing than what you could have set up or taught, you know, what you could have taught me or me reading that scripture.

[24:37] And we just, you elaborate on it more, but it just, man, what you get back from it. I mean, it just, you know what I mean? Yeah, you're absolutely right. And it is just part and parcel of the gospel.

[24:49] And I don't think, as we pointed out in an earlier message, I don't think there is anything that leads to or that causes one to render service unto Christ and unto the body of Christ than having a profound appreciation of what they possess in Christ, of how much they have been forgiven and provided for in Christ.

[25:15] It is out of our sense of gratitude and appreciation that we serve the Lord and serve the Lord's people. And those who are not inclined to service, not interested in it or what, it's difficult for me to believe that they really have a good, firm handle on what all they possess in Christ.

[25:38] Because if they did, that, you're talking about giving back, that wants to seek an outlet, not in payment, and not in payment, but in appreciation for what you have in Christ.

[25:55] Joe? One thing you said there, I think we have to be careful of. We kind of sometimes expect that person to do this service or that service.

[26:07] And it's God that directs what service they should be doing for him. Absolutely. Sometimes we judge because they're not doing the service that I want him to do or I expect him to do.

[26:20] It's what God wants him to do. So we've got to be careful we don't judge. You know, God has not called us to be anybody else's Holy Spirit. And that means that if you've got to be in your bonnet about a certain thing or a certain ministry or whatever, and you're pursuing that, and you're trying to enlist others in it, and for some reason they aren't jumping on board and getting with you on this, you know why that is, don't you?

[26:50] Well, they're just not very spiritual. Well, we'd like to think that sometimes. But people have different abilities, different interests, different callings, different capacities, different burdens for different things, and we need to respect that in the body of Christ.

[27:06] And what turns on one person? Now, we've got this fair ministry coming up. And there are a number of people that are quite excited about going out there and manning this booth and giving out literature and talking to people about the Lord. And there are other people who say, I don't want to do that at all.

[27:22] I don't want to do that. That doesn't mean they're not as spiritual as those who do. It just means that they have a different calling, a different makeup, a different capacity. And we need to be able to appreciate the differences and rejoice over the differences.

[27:37] Not say that everybody's got to have the same thing, the same drive and the same interest that I do because people are different. And let everybody have their own thing.

[27:48] And, you know, a lot of stuff is done. Maybe even most of it. Most of the things that are done for the Lord are done in a closet, in secret.

[28:02] And there's not outward show or revelation. And it's not the kind of thing that would light up people and say, wow, so-and-so is doing this and this and so. Most things that are done for the Lord are just nice and quiet and behind the scenes.

[28:18] And they just go on just plugging in day after day. A mother in the kitchen preparing a meal for her children.

[28:30] You don't think of that as serving the Lord. Well, I can't think of anything more legitimate than something like that. That's serving the Lord. But we tend to dismiss that stuff because nobody's going to write about that, you know.

[28:43] So we want to elevate certain things and we just sometimes lose respect for the common things.

[28:54] And yet it's more the common things that go on all the time that don't get the recognition or the notice. And it is just as legitimate and just as acceptable to the Lord as the things that are high profile that get a lot of recognition.

[29:09] Yeah. Okay. Anything else? We'll have to, maybe this will be our last comment or question, but go ahead. When I think about appreciating what God has done for me when I got saved, I mean, and I was saved as a young child too.

[29:30] But I kind of try to think of it in a way as a physical death. Like if I was drowning in a lake and I really feel like I'm, this is my last breath, I am not going to make it.

[29:48] I'm actually really, really going to die here. And then someone pulls me out and saves me. I think of that as, boy, if that happened to me, I would really want to say I'm going to live the best life I can.

[30:04] I'm going to be so good. I'm going to do everything I can to be the best kind of person I can be. Instead of throwing away that life, especially if somebody risks their life to save me.

[30:16] And here, what if that person died? Just like Jesus did. If they died to save me in that water. And then it's like the biggest kind of respect I can give that person is by living the kind of life they would want me to live.

[30:34] And I don't know. I just kind of, I don't know why drowning must be the kind of death that I think would be so horrible. But I keep going back to that in my mind when I think about how much I appreciate what God's done for me.

[30:49] Because when he saved me, now it makes me just, like you said, so appreciative and humble that he did that for me. I've got to do the best I can. And when we don't know what to do to serve God, you know, he's given us all a gift.

[31:04] And if we just can figure out what that is that we're really good at and use that for him in some way. And if you don't know what the way that is, just ask him and he'll bring it to you. He'll help you with that.

[31:15] And it might be something that you think is really small. But it can be really big in someone else's life and planting a seed for them of bringing them along and saying, yeah, I want to be that kind of person.

[31:29] Thank you. Thank you. Well, again, that's an expression of appreciation and gratitude. If there's anything that ought to be thought of as an oxymoron, it would be an ungrateful Christian.

[31:41] There ought not to be such a thing as an ungrateful Christian. Because once we understand what we have in Christ, it ought to just swell our hearts with gratitude.

[31:51] And like the little song goes, after all he's done for me, how can I do less than give him my best? After all, he's done for me. Well, thank you for your kind participation.

[32:04] And I appreciate that very much. And we're going to ask the Craig sisters if they'll come now and render a selection of music. And then after that, George will have some comments for you for the balance of Father's Day.

[32:17] Okay, we'll do that.

[32:29] I asked the children to sing a song for Father's Day. And it really comes from a verse in Proverbs. And they sang it before here, I think, maybe last year. But I asked them to sing it again because it really captures what the Bible teaches about the role of a father.

[32:46] So I'm going to talk today some about what the role of a father is from the Bible. What the biblical role is and what we should be doing in our homes. I asked them to sing first.

[33:02] I am my daddy's boy and now I pray When I might go to meet like him someday My dad is faithful, his heart is true Dad, are you listening?

[33:29] I love you The glory of children His father He is the strength of our home Father, we need you And love you Walk by our side Counsel and guide Show us the way of the Lord Dad, you have been with us all through the years Faithful in happy times Faithful in tears You serve a real God Taught us to pray Dad, are you listening?

[34:21] Dad, are you listening? Thank you today The glory of children is father He is the strength of our home Father, we need you Father, we need you And love you Walk by our side Counsel and guide Show us the way of the Lord Walk by our side Counsel and guide Show us the way of the Lord So this message started with an article that I emailed to Pastor Marv

[35:29] And I want to start by reading a portion of it Because it really captures the essence of what we're going to talk about In Luke 1, 16 and 17 it says And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children And the disobedient to the wisdom of the just To make ready a people prepared for the Lord About ten years ago a major denomination conducted a survey Which estimated somewhere between 50 and 80 percent of young people in the church Walked away from the faith after leaving the home of their parents As you can imagine these numbers would send leaders of churches into a panic They started studying and discussing how to reverse the current of young people Leaving the church when they left the home However, the problem is not a church problem primarily The battle for the hearts and minds of these young people was not lost in the church

[36:29] It was lost in the home The church can do very little to reverse this trend on its own No matter how good of the curriculum or how good the programs are The church will not reverse this trend unless they focus on building And repairing and strengthening the family Several years ago there was a story of a greeting card company Decided to run a promotional campaign In which they provided free cards for Mother's Day to prisoners It was a smashing success in which the hardened prisoners sent cards to their mothers And the greeting card company received all kinds of positive press Which turned into millions of sold greeting cards Well, it was such a success The company was anxious to repeat the promotion in June for Father's Day Makes sense, right?

[37:16] Well, they provided the same free postage and free cards for the prisoners to send out However, this time very few cards were sent The prisoners did not have the same loving relationship with their fathers And the promotion failed This is illustrative of the bitter relationship that exists between so many fathers and sons Fathers, we spend a lot of time at work, in our businesses, and on our phones, on our hobbies When we are drawn away from our children That they need us The love of a father towards his child is so powerful Especially when they're young God uses fathers to help children understand how God loves So I want to talk today About the most important accomplishment of a father See, father is a specific role of man

[38:16] Of a man And roles are not interchangeable A mother cannot be a father to their children Only a father, only a man can be a father And the father role is a role that cannot be outsourced We outsource a lot of roles I outsource auto mechanic most of the time We also outsource butchering and other things like that That most of the time we don't want to do But there are some roles which are not to be outsourced God has appointed you to be a father if you have a child And this is at all ages Father's role is to be a provider and a protector and a teacher and an example And there's an interesting word for example To be an example to someone is to be a role model And we talk about that It's talked about in athletics today But it's not talked about in parenting today There are many facets to a father's role

[39:19] But I want to emphasize one aspect That I think is primarily overlooked in our culture today You see mothers Mothers shape the emotional mood And the I'll just say the emotional mood Of the family or of the home Especially a mother that's in the home full time That home has the feeling that is generated The emotions that are generated by the mother But fathers serve a different role And I briefly mentioned this a few weeks ago Fathers role is to shape and define the culture of the family You see fathers are called to be the leaders in the home Who sets the culture in a company?

[40:06] It's the president or the CEO He's the one who's responsible to set the culture of a company And the same is true in the home So we need to define what culture is I have a couple definitions to try to capture this idea The characteristics The culture is the characteristic features Of everyday life Shared by a group of people That's what culture is It's just what It's what you're about Culture is a collection of values and beliefs And the social expression of that And so when you come to our house It will be impossible to miss That we are a Christian family Because how we interact And what our house actually looks like It is obvious That we are Christians Because of our family culture And so fathers Instead of abdicating their leadership role to others

[41:08] Fathers should seize the opportunity And create in their homes A culture of truth That's what we need We need to develop this culture And that will lead to a father's greatest accomplishment The greatest accomplishment a father can have Is to pass on truth to the next generation He can raise his children so that his children know what is true Believe what is true And live what is true That is the primary role of a dad We must possess the truth If we're going to pass it on And if we're going to accomplish this mission We need to have a solid foundation And so I want to use The analogy Or the picture Of a four-legged stool A four-legged stool Provides a solid foundation No matter which way you lean You're going to be supported on that And so two of these pillars Are going to be visionary

[42:09] We have to know where we're going And then two of these pillars Will be more application So that's what we're going to talk about today We're going to talk about four pillars For a strong foundation For strong families And here's the point We need to focus on what's really important That needs to be the focus of our homes Now I'll say before I start I recognize that a lot of the fathers here Have adult children instead of young children My boys are all young Most of my girls are under 18 Wouldn't be considered officially adults yet But this is true for all fathers And let me say this For fathers who have adult children Never underestimate the power of repentance For things that you did that were wrong Never underestimate the example of a father Everyone wants the acceptance of their father

[43:10] No matter how old they are No matter what the past is The relationship God made that relationship hardwired in us And so take to heart the things that I'm going to say And don't think Well if I don't have children in our home It just doesn't apply to me We either know people who are fathers Or we have children that are fathers Or we are fathers ourselves And so everybody here knows somebody who's a father And so you can encourage people along these lines Even if you're not a father yourself The first stool The first pillar For strong foundations Is family discipleship And this comes right from Ephesians 6 4 Ye fathers provoke not your children to wrath But bring them up in the nurture And admonition of the Lord Now I've heard many messages On the Greek meanings of those words And it's important It's important to understand it But I want to try to focus on the big picture What does it mean to bring them up in the nurture And admonition of the Lord And this is it boils down right to this Okay You teach the truth

[44:12] In the context of daily life This is not about Having a classroom Where I teach the Bible to my children Although you may do that sometimes But this is about teaching the truth In the context Of relationship And so I want to share with you An illustration That helps to drive this home Think of it as the DNA of influence If we want to have influence on other people DNA has two strands Okay So I want you to think of the two strands of DNA One is being truth And the other is being relationship And if you make connections Between those two strands You now strengthen the structure By itself One strand is pretty floppy The other one is pretty floppy But if you tie them together It's now a strong structure Almost a ladder Where you can You make connections between the two So my child knows Well this isn't just some idea that's true This is an idea that's true And is lived out

[45:13] In people's lives That I care about There's nothing that destroys The context of truth More than hypocrisy People will reject things that are true Because they know somebody's a hypocrite Who says they believe it That's the stupidest reason To reject something that's true But we do it all the time If it's true It doesn't matter whether This person's a hypocrite or not But it's so hard To overcome That stigma of hypocrisy So in the context of daily life It's so much more important Than just saying something is true You have to show them That it's true That's what family discipleship is about And if you practice family discipleship That way You will develop godly character in your child Your children will grow up Believing what is true Because they will see it reinforced Throughout your life And throughout the people around That you bring into their life

[46:14] They will see That Christ actually makes a difference This is not just something For after I die This is something throughout life So the first pillar Is one of family discipleship And this is started By the dad Especially sons Will usually reject this If their dad is not on board And so we tend to You know The stereotype of mom Bringing people to Sunday school class And dad stayed home And watch the game That is so destructive Dad you need to be There Telling your children And showing your children What is true So that's the first step The second step Is to have Possess Live by A biblical World view Proverbs 1-7 Says The fear of the Lord Is the beginning of knowledge But fools despise Wisdom and instruction So it's all about definitions A world view Is the lens Or the filter

[47:15] By which you interpret The world That's what a world view is And so if you look at the world Through the lens of the Bible You understand Why things are really Why things really are The way that they are Why man is a sinner Is a biblical world view issue And so are many other things And so we need to understand That the fear of the Lord Is the beginning of that If we do not Teach and live out Biblical world view In front of our family Then our culture Will determine the world view Your children Think back to the article They leave the faith Outwardly When they go off to college They left the faith inwardly When they started to think For themselves Which happens sometime Around 12 or 13 They start to make decisions For themselves You can't avoid that It's going to happen And if you aren't Giving them a biblical way

[48:16] Of looking at the world They're going to look at the world The way everyone else does We all want to be part of something And so if my heart Is to the world Then that's the way I'm going to look at the world That's the way I'm going to look at life That's what's going to Influence my decisions And so once they leave the home Then they leave the faith But it didn't start When they left the home It started years before So 2 Corinthians 10 4 and 5 Has a little bit of a strategy For how we're to combat this For the weapons of our warfare Are not carnal But mighty through God To the pulling down Of strongholds Casting down imaginations And every high thing That exalteth itself Against the knowledge of God And bringing into captivity Every thought To the obedience of Christ Now you notice What the focus here is The focus is not On what you're doing The focus is on How you're thinking And our thinking Is dependent on

[49:16] How we're looking at the world If we look at the world Like our culture Looks at the world Then we're not going To think biblically There's no way That you can do that We have to make sure That we are viewing things Viewing life The way that God views life Because that is reality That is reality Just think about All of the health advice That science has put out Over the past 30 years We were just commenting On this the other day You know eggs were bad Now eggs are good And eggs are bad You know the truth is What the truth is What our assessment Of the truth is Varies But the truth Doesn't change You know eggs Are either good or bad I personally think If they're dark colored They're good And if they're light colored Probably not as good We were talking about Saturated fat You know And just all those things What leads to heart disease That's changed drastically Over 30 years Our understanding of that But the truth didn't change

[50:18] It was just how we viewed it Okay well we've got something That tells us How to view the world That doesn't change That is reliable Because it came from The person who created The world Okay That's why we need A biblical world view So those are the vision ones Dads we need to pay attention To these things Are we discipling our children And are we teaching them How to think biblically If we don't do those two things They will probably end up Following the world I say probably because Everybody's different Right But when you look at statistics When you look at the whole I tell people It's not like I have Eleven chances To get it right I have one chance Eleven times That's what it is And I'm not willing To take a risk That I lose one child To the world None So that's why This is important That's why I care about it Number three Is education based This is finding the best teachers In the best books

[51:19] And this comes from Luke 640 Luke 640 says The disciple Is not above his master But everyone that is perfect Shall be as his master And the application here Is that we become Like those Who are teaching us The people that we're listening to The influences The information That we're bringing in That's what we become And so We want to apply A couple life principles In our life So in our home We try to apply this Okay One Is something from I don't know It might have been The 60s or 70s I remember my dad Saying this So Maybe you guys can relate A lot of you Are the age of my dad Would be Okay Garbage in Garbage out Right You remember that So if you put garbage in You shouldn't expect Anything but garbage out And the other one is That you reap what you sow But a lot of times You don't reap Until years after The sowing is done So then it's important To make sure

[52:19] That you reap You sow the right things Based on the example And the advice of people Who have gone before us So we want to fill our home With good resources And every once in a while I'll bring one here to church But I have I have a list of 50 books That each one of my children Will read Before they leave our home And they're all On different topics Because I want them To know How to think And I've tried to boil it down To things that I think Are really important For them to know Like about racism And about abortion And about how to think Reasoning Logic Things like that Tactics is one of the books That's on the list I want them to know How to ask questions To converse with people We practice that here Every week I'm sure you recognize it Right My children I'm like Go talk to people Ask them questions Find out what makes them tick And so I want my children To make choices in life Based on a long term view

[53:22] It's not instant gratification Most of life If it's instant gratification It's actually Most of the time harmful Right The good choices in life Are those that take time To develop The fruit that we get From that And so Fill your home With Christian resources And that's going to be Highly dependent On your personality A lot of science resources In our home I love science So we have a lot of that In our home A lot Talk about creationism And origins Love that topic But also Equip your family To counter The lies Of the world If you do not do that They will Follow Or fall into traps Of thinking like the world It's so easy to do So best teachers Best books Best resources Provide for the education Of your children From a biblical world view

[54:22] In a family discipleship context That's what's necessary And then number four Is to worship God With your life James 1 22 to 24 Says Be ye doers Of the word And not hearers Only Deceiving your own selves For if any Be a hearer Of the word And not a doer He's like unto a man Beholding his natural face In a glass For beholdeth himself And goeth his way And straightway forgetteth What manner of man He was So you see the application Right It's like you go to the mirror And you look at yourself And you see your hair Is all messed up And you just go and forget it You know And then people look at you Like you're weird Because you didn't comb your hair That's really what he's talking about Is you look and you see something And then you just forget about it And go on So when we look at our life Through the mirror Of God's word And then we promptly forget About what we saw And we go on And live like the world That's not worshipping God With your life So I want to talk about How we grow in wisdom And this was mentioned In the question and answers

[55:23] So we've talked about this In our life There's knowledge There's understanding And there's wisdom Okay And knowledge is facts Okay So knowledge is just You know something You know How many people are there in Ohio That's knowledge Understanding Is the meaning Of the facts Okay So when you have understanding That's like Oh I get it Oh that's why that's important Okay That takes a little bit More understanding It does It takes understanding To understand something Right That's a bad definition But understanding Is the meaning Why is something important Wisdom is something More than this Wisdom is actually Application In your life Of the understanding Of the knowledge That you have That's wisdom And so when we Grow in wisdom Growing in wisdom Simply means Living out What you say You know is true That's what Growing in wisdom

[56:23] And the more We live out The truth The more wisdom We possess That's what it is So when the Bible Says The fear of the Lord Is the beginning Of wisdom In other places It says The beginning of knowledge The fear of the Lord Is the beginning Of wisdom When we live life According to his word We are living With the fear Of the Lord That's what it means To have the fear Of the Lord To live your life In the way That God wants That's the fear Of the Lord So the proper Response to truth Is to live In agreement With the truth So if we say We believe something And we don't Do it It's hard To make a strong Case that you Believe it Really It's hard To make a case You really believe Something if you Don't do it That is the point In James So I want to say When we live With the fear Of the Lord

[57:23] That is Worshipping the Lord Worshipping Is not Only Singing And that's Kind of Our culture Is kind of Boiled worship Down to singing Singing is good We like singing Right But singing Isn't even A fraction A small fraction Of what worship Is Worship is Honoring the Lord With your life And that's what I want to talk about For us Just a second With dads We tend to think Of life as Secular And sacred So if a person Is like a pastor Or a missionary Well their life Is sacred But if I am An engineer Or a plumber Or an electrician Or whatever You want to put there Well that's A secular job Let me just use That nomenclature Okay There's no Secular and sacred Divide in the Bible There's none 1 Corinthians 10 30 Whatsoever you do In word or deed Do all To the glory Of God Okay So when you do math

[58:24] Do it to the glory Of God Right And doing things To the glory Of God Is living in the Fear of the Lord Which means Your life Is dictated By what you believe Is true As long as That's in agreement With the Lord So when I go out And I throw a ball With my boy I am doing A sacred Function I am binding A relationship With my boy So that he'll Listen to me And he'll Honor me And he will Respect what it is That I have to say If the only time I interact with him Is when I open the Bible And the rest of the time I forget about him He's going to reject What I say That is true Because he sees A hypocrite That's what he's Going to do And that is a recipe For disaster In the home Strong families Are going to have These four pillars They're going to be Family discipleship Lived out With a biblical World view It's going to be

[59:24] Education focused We educate our children From the moment They are born This is not A schooling issue This is a life issue And then Worship the Lord And we've got to Understand what Biblical worship is Biblical worship Is living with The fear of the Lord So passing on the truth Requires education I really like This definition Of education And I came up As I was preparing this I came across this I want to share it With you This is the kind Of education Required for family Discipleship Okay The physical Emotional Spiritual And intellectual Training Of our children For worship Relationship Work And discipleship In this life And for eternity That's what it takes To be a parent That's what it takes To be a dad Who's going to Raise up children For the Lord The physical Emotional Spiritual And intellectual Training Of our children For worship For relationship For work And for discipleship In this life

[60:25] And for eternity You see What is our Educational focus In our culture It is intellectual Only It is intellectual Only Spiritual And emotional Education Is so much More important I would rather Have a godly Person A godly Child Who doesn't Know much Than a Professor Who is a Fool That would be Such a heaviness To our hearts It would be Such a heaviness You know Not all children Are the same We've already Talked about that Today Not all children Are the same Not all children Are going to Get a PhD Or be what We would call Smart But every Child can Love the Lord Every child Can What are we Spending our Time on When we're Educating our Children What is our Focus on And so our Focus needs to Be on the Most important Stuff And we are

[61:25] Going to Communicate what's Important to our Children by how Much time we Spend in our Life And in their Life That's what We're going to Communicate So fathers Are you Using your Position That's your Role And your Relationship To influence Your family Towards the Truth And I want To say that Every father In this room Can do that At some level They can do That even if They haven't Done that in The past Passing on the Truth to the Next generation Is a lifelong Endeavor It's for all Ages And it's Something that You can Encourage other People to Do I met a Man last Year And I had Read a book That he had Written years Ago And it was So neat To meet him You know Because I Considered him Somewhat of a Spiritual mentor Even though I Never met him I sat down And within One minute He said What are you Doing with Your children With the Bible Tell me What you Do for Devotions Wow Who talks Like that You know So I'm

[62:25] Trying to Change our Thinking Guys we Get together And say How are The reds Doing Is it Going to Rain Next week Boy It's hot Out there Those are Good Not bad But that's Not what's Really important Right Men We need to Start talking About things That are Important We need to Encourage one Another In the Things of The Lord So I'll Talk just A quick Testimony Here about Bible So we're Starting our Summer study A few weeks Ago And last Year if you Remember My children Would recite Scriptures to You And There was One guy John Who would Listen to My boys John Jordan And they Loved reciting To John Because John And just Listened to Him Then he'd Say well You know What that Means And he'd Give them A message About each Verse And so They said Well we Don't get As much Done When we Talk to John But it Sure is Nice They're Encouraging My boys You see My boys Need to Hear the Truth From people Other than Me

[63:25] It's Important That they Hear it From me But that's Why the Church community Is important You see The church Cannot raise My children To be Godly Young people You can't Do that As a church All you Can do All the Church Is to Do Is to Support Families As they Do that Mission It's the Family's Role It's the Father's Role To lead That Effort And that's What Father's Day Should be Talking About Dads What are We doing What are We doing Dads We need To develop A culture Of truth In our Home And if This I'll Close We need To care About The Truth How many Dads You know Just don't Care They don't Care about What's True They're Too interested In Whatever Hobby They have We need To care About the Truth We need To teach The truth But most Importantly We need To live The truth In our Lives That is Worship And that's What we need To be About So I

[64:25] Hope That I've Encouraged You and Challenged You To Maybe to Do something Different than You're doing Maybe to Keep doing What you're Doing But Do something For the Lord With Relationship To your Own Family And with Other People's Families So Thanks for Your attention We're going to Close in Prayer And then You'll be Dismissed Lord I Pray that You will Just Help us To see And think Clearly About this Issue of Fatherhood Because we Are not Getting A clear Picture From the World About what Fathers Should be About The only Way We Can Do that Is to Keep our Mind and Focus on Your word And I Pray that That will Be the Focus of Our lives Especially us Dads that Are in the Trenches That are Every day Facing the Challenges of Childhood Raising

[65:26] Children And just All the Things that We're Thinking About Help us To stay Focused on The goal And the Goal is To pass On the Truth To the Next Generation We want To raise Godly Children Because they'll Grow up to Be godly Adults who Will influence Others Our influence Will go Far beyond Our immediate Family So I pray That you'll Just help us To do that Thank you For this Church And I pray That we As a Church Will develop This culture Of discipleship And encouraging One another Help us to Do that Lord According to Your word In Jesus Name Amen