Sermon – Father’s Day
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Faith Temple Church – Sioux Falls, S.D.
Pastor Jeff Hayes
Title: “Father’s Day”
Help from the Sermon:
Father’s Dayby SteveShepherd
Scriptures: Ephesians 6
Ephesians 6:1-3
INTRO.- ILL.- A small boy said to his dad, "Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day, only you don’t spend as much on the gift."
The Father responded: "What gift?"
ILL.- Mark Twain said, "When I was a boy of 14 my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to the 21, I was astonished at how much the old man learned in 7 years."
Don’t You Love Children!?!?!?!?!
A little pre-school girl was at the doctor's office. When the doctor was listening to the little girl's heart through a stethoscope, he asked her, "Who do I hear in there? Is Donald Duck in there? Is Barney in there?"
The little girl corrected him very seriously: "No! Jesus is in my heart; Barney is on my underwear!"
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ILL.- Someone wrote these humorous word entitled, "The World According to Dad." These are words that most dads have said at some time or another to their children.
- This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.
- Don’t forget to check the oil.
- Bring back all the change.
- How should I know? Ask your mother.
- I’m not made out of money!
- When I was your age I walked 5 miles to and from school each day and it was uphill both ways.
- You are going and you will have fun!
- Who’s paying the bills around here, anyway?
- If you break your leg don’t come running to me.
- Don’t put your feet on the furniture. Your mother will kill you.
- Just wait till you have kids of your own.
- I was not asleep. I was just resting my eyes.
Father here… could probably add a couple of quotes to this list.
Being a parent and a father can be an interesting and trying experience.
ILL.- Someone said, "Parents spend the first part of a child’s life urging him to talk and walk, and the rest of his childhood telling him to sit down and keep quiet."
ILL.- Father said to his daughter, "What’s wrong, Judy? Usually you talk on the phone for hours. This time you only talked for 30 minutes. How come?"
Judy replied, "It was the wrong number."
ILL.- A letter from a college student to his parents read, "Please send food packages! All they serve here is breakfast, lunch and dinner."
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ILL.- Another son wrote home to his dad. He said, "Dear Dad, Please let me hear from you more often, even if it’s only a five or a ten."
Both parenting and fatherhood is a real blessing.
PROP.- I want us to think about some of the things for which we should say, "Thanks, Dad!"
1- Thanks for material provision
2- Thanks for faithful instruction
3- Thanks for godly illustration
I. THANKS FOR MATERIAL PROVISION
Down To Earth… How Can A Father Provide For His Family!
It’s More Than Money Or Possessions!
Proverbs 31 tells about the value of virtuous wife and mother. One woman has taken those thoughts from that chapter and applied them to her husband and the father of her children:
Who can find a virtuous man? For his worth is far above chocolate.
The heart of his wife safely trusts him; for he will not mess around with bimbos.
He does her good and not evil all the days of his life.
He seeks motor oil and socket wrenches, And willingly works with his hands.
He rises while it is yet night, And makes coffee for her household, and feedeth the cats.
He considers a stock and buys it; From his profits he invests in a mutual fund.
He girds himself with sensitivity, and learns the art of listening.
He perceives that his benefits are good, and his lamp does not go out by night unless – of course - his Beloved desires his presence.
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He extends his hand to the poor, Yes, he reaches out his hands to the needy.
He is not afraid of snow for his household, For all his household is stocked with batteries, a kerosene heater… and kitty litter for icy spots
He takes an interest in the laundry, and yea, can wield an iron and the can of spray starch and his socks match.
He remembers birthdays and writeth his own cards, and helps with the Christmas shopping and wrapping.
He watches not over-muchly of sporting events, And does not eat the potato chips of idleness.
His children rise up and call him Daddy, especially when his wife is down with the flu;
His wife also, and she praises him saying "I can’t believe you did the dishes all by yourself."
Charm is deceitful and hunkiness is passing,
But a man who fears the LORD, he shall be praised.
Let his works praise him in the women’s group.
II. THANKS FOR FAITHFUL INSTRUCTION
Eph. 6:4 (NIV) "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."
Amplified Bible Ephesians 6:4 - :Father, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger (do not exasperate them to resentment), but rear them (tenderly) in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.”
ARE YOU A COACH OR A CRITIC?
General Douglas MacArthur: “By profession, I am a soldier and take great pride in that fact. But I am prouder, infinitely prouder, to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build. The father only builds, never destroys…It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battle, but in the home.”
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a. Rome had a law called patria potestas, which meant “the father’s power.”
b. Men who were Roman citizens were given absolute property rights over their families.
c. By law, the children and the wife were regarded as the patriarch’s personal property, and he could do with them what he wished.
d. A displeased father could disown his children, sell them into slavery, or even kill them if he wished.
e. When a child was born, the baby was placed between the father’s feet. If the father picked up the baby, the child stayed in the home.
f. If he turned and walked away, the child was either left to die or sold at auction.
g. Seneca, a contemporary of the apostle Paul, described Roman policy with regard to unwanted animals: “We slaughter a fierce ox; we strangle a mad dog; we plunge a knife into a sick cow. h. Children born weak or deformed we drown.”
i. The Bible calls Christian fathers to a different standard. Just as it was revolutionary for dads to lovingly lead their kids in the first century, faithful fathers today who do not exasperate their kids are counter-cultural.
j. Our kids are not property to own but image bearers of God who need to be managed and trained.
k. Dads, we are called to provide a proper nurturing environment where our kids can grow up to love and serve Christ. Our primary responsibilities by which our fathering will be judged are set forth in Ephesians 6:4.
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II. Thanks For Faithful Instruction (cont.)
According to Ephesians 6:4
1 Avoid Exasperation
a. The Greek word translated “exasperate” means “to rouse to
anger” or “to enrage.”
b. This warning is calling us dads to avoid anything that will
eventually break the spirit of our children.
c. Paul puts it this way in Colossians 3:21: “Fathers, do not
embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.”
d. There are times when kids become angry due to their own
selfishness or immaturity.
e. Are you a coach or a critic???? (A Critic will produce
exasperation in a child and in anyone else)
2 Provide Nurture
Ephesians 6:4 b “ but rear them (tenderly) in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.”
The word “but” shows a contrast between what we should not do and what we are to do.
a. Here’s the first thing we are called to do: provide nurture. The NIV translates this verb as “bring them up.”
b. This is the same phrase that is used in Ephesians 5:29 referring to the husband’s role of “feeding and caring” for his wife.
c. Men, we are called to nourish our wife and children by sharing love and encouragement in the Lord.
d. Notice also that we are to “bring them up.” We are to bring our children up because they will not get there by themselves. (Bring them Up Don’t put them down)
e. Dads, we are to take an active role in shaping the character of our children.
f. Proverbs 29:15 says, “A child left to himself brings shame to his mother.”
John MacArthur puts it this way: “What ruins most children is not what their parents do to them, but what they do not do for them.”
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II. Thanks For Faithful Instruction
According to Ephesians 6:4
3. Provide Discipline
Ephesians 6:4 b “ but rear them (tenderly) in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.”
Ephesians 6:4b (Amplified) but rear them (tenderly) in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.”
a. The next thing Paul challenges us to do is to provide
discipline for our children.
b. This word is translated “admonition” in some Bible
translations it carries with it the idea of a rebuke or a
warning.
c. Literally ADMONITION, means to “place before the mind.”
d. Have the child “Think about it”
e. Time out!
f. As a child, swat on the rear end, caused me to think about
it.
g. Hebrews 12:11 speaks of God’s loving discipline in our lives by showing how beneficial it really is: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
h. It’s important to understand the difference between discipline and punishment.
i. The purpose of punishment is to inflict penalty and focuses on the past.
j. The purpose of discipline is to promote growth by looking to the future.
k. Dads, our kids are looking for us to train them and love them by disciplining them.
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III. THANKS FOR GODLY ILLUSTRATION
a. By this, I mean a godly illustration for life. Or a godly
example for life.
b. I Cor. 11:1 Paul said to the Corinthians who were
his children in the faith, "Follow my example, as I
follow the example of Christ.”
c. Please notice: Paul didn’t say, "Do everything I do." He said, "Do everything I do which is Christlike." Or follow the example of Christ. Paul wasn’t perfect and neither are we.
d. Dads and Moms Can We Ask Ourselves The Question How
Would Jesus Do This?
e. Because I Have Children Watching Me!
f. ILL.- One man said of his father, "Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me. There were 8 children, all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn’t have a lot of money. Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean.
"The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, elephants, and other acts they would see that night. One could sense they had never been to a circus before. It promised to be a highlight of their young lives. The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be.
“The mother was holding her husband’s hand, looking up at him as if to say, ’You’re my knight in shining armor.’ He was smiling and basking in pride, looking at her.
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"The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly said, ’Please, let me buy 8 children’s tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus.’ THE TICKET LADY QUOTED THE PRICE. The man’s wife let go of his hand, her head dropped and the man’s lip began to quiver. The father leaned a little closer and asked, ’HOW MUCH DID YOU SAY?’ The ticket lady again quoted the price.
"The man didn’t have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his 8 kids that he didn’t have enough money to take them to the circus? Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. (And we were not wealthy in any sense of the word) My father reached down, picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, ’EXCUSE ME, SIR, I BELIEVE THIS FELL OUT OF YOUR POCKET.’
"The man knew what was going on. He wasn’t begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking, embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad’s eye, took my dad’s hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with quivering lips and a tear streaming down his cheek, replied, ’THANK YOU, THANK YOU. THIS REALLY MEANS A LOT TO ME AND MY FAMILY.’"
, the man telling the story about his father, said, "My father and I went back to our car and drove home. We didn’t go to the circus that night, but we didn’t go without."
What a father that man was! What a godly illustration of Christ to his Son! Thank God for all fathers who have been godly illustrations, godly examples to follow!
CN. -One Father’s Day, Every other day for the kids!-that’s ok