Keep your finger there in 1 Kings chapter 2 and also turn to Psalm 119.
This is where the primary passages are that I'm going to be teaching from this morning.
Once again, Happy Father's Day to the fathers.
You know, you've been given a wonderful responsibility to be in charge of a family unit.
You know, to be the head of your wife and to raise those children and nurture and admonition of the Lord.
But one thing that you need to understand as a father, especially if you want to be a biblical father,
you know, it's no different to if you have any kind of authority.
You know, even myself as a church pastor, you know, the world, when we look at the world, the unbiblical world,
they look at authority as a position where you get served.
And yes, there is some service in that regard.
But you know, when it comes to God's word, if you're going to take a position of authority, you become the servant.
Alright, there's a reason why a church pastor is called a minister,
not because they're being ministered to, but because they're doing the ministry.
Okay, you know, preaching God's word is ministry.
You know, I was here on Thursday, flew back on Friday, flew back home on Friday, came back on Saturday last night.
You know, and someone said to me, I don't know how you do it.
Well, I mean, because I'm the servant is the reason why, because I'm serving, I'm doing the ministry.
And you need to remember that, fathers, yes, you're in charge, you call the shots, you make the decisions.
Okay, God holds you responsible for your family and for your children, but it's your job to minister.
You know, when Christ, hey, when you think of Jesus Christ, we want to serve Christ, we know of his authority,
we know that his God manifests himself in flesh.
Alright, but you know what, he came and he made himself a servant.
He came to serve, in fact, he gave his life, his whole life that sinners may be saved.
This is true authority in the Bible.
Okay, yes, you've got the authority, but you're there to serve, not there to be served.
Now, when we look at this passage here in 1 Kings chapter 2 verse number 1,
we have King David who begins to instruct his son Solomon.
Alright, his son Solomon is going to be the one that takes over as the king of Israel.
And because it is Father's Day, I want to have a Father's Day message here.
And you know, one thing that I've discovered being a father, well actually before I became a father,
is when I became a husband, is that I started to understand my responsibilities to take care of my wife.
Okay, and then as I had children, I understand my responsibilities to take care of my children.
You know, the more you have your family, the lower in priority you become to yourself.
Okay, when you're a single man, all you care about is yourself.
Not because you're selfish, it's just what you know.
Okay, but as you start to take on responsibilities of people,
you start to care about their success more than your own success.
You know, I'd rather my children have a great and successful life, a godly life,
than what I achieved in my life.
Now, I do want to serve the Lord, I want to have a good life,
but I'd rather see my children have a better life than me.
Okay, and this is the same heart that King David has for Solomon.
You know, King David was one that went to war.
You know, he was a warrior, you know, his big battles against Goliath and the Philistines and the surrounding enemies.
You know, he was constantly at war.
He was a great king, but he was able to give Solomon a kingdom of peace.
You know, a kingdom that was rich and powerful and mighty.
This was something on David's heart to give to Solomon.
You know, David did not want Solomon going to war, being in constant battle, constant fear of his life.
David wanted Solomon to just be a successful king, you know, a godly king that would lead that nation into greatness.
Alright, so we see the words that David gives to Solomon here in 1 Kings chapter 2 verse number 1, which reads,
Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, Sain.
And so, David gives Solomon a charge.
The title for the sermon this morning is, A Father's Charge.
A Father's Charge, alright.
King David's about to give Solomon some really great instructions.
This is what you need to do, Solomon, to lead a successful life.
And if you're a father this morning, you need to learn to give your children a charge, alright.
Look, as families, we don't just coexist.
You know, we don't just exist under one roof.
Okay, we want to be influential to one another, right.
One thing that saddens me the most is when you see families, husbands and wife,
they live under the one roof, but they have separate lives, right.
The man does his business, that's my life.
My wife does her business, that's her life.
And there isn't this unity, this one-flesh approach when it comes to marriage, okay.
We need to remember that, hey, we're here, we're here to influence one another, we're here to support one another,
we're here to help one another.
And when it comes to my children, and fathers, your children,
your desire is that your children will be successful, they will love the Lord, they will do the best they can in their life.
Okay, again, David has that approach.
He gives his son, Solomon, a charge.
And parents, you need to charge your children.
You need to give them direction, you need to give them motivation.
You know, I remember going to, you know, school and high school, finishing year 12,
and just not knowing, okay, what do I do with my life?
Like having no direction.
And, you know, sometimes you think the school system, the teachers there are the ones that are going to give you some direction to life,
but I had none, right.
I mean, I had godly parents, but, you know, I just didn't know what the next step in life was.
How do you make that next step?
What do you have to do?
You know, David's concerned and thinking, you know, Solomon needs direction here.
You need to work out what you need to do, Solomon.
And so, parents, we're responsible to helping our children from children to adults to being successful in their life, okay.
Please remember this in your father's day.
Now, hopefully, fathers, hopefully you get honored today.
Maybe some of you had breakfast in bed.
I don't know, gifts, cards, hugs and kisses.
I don't know, I hope you receive some honor, okay.
But I'm not going to be preaching about the honor of the father right now.
I'm going to be preaching, fathers, you have a responsibility towards your children, okay.
You have a responsibility.
Now, let's get going there, verse number two.
What is this charge that David gives Solomon?
He says to Solomon, I go the way of all the earth.
David says to Solomon, look, Solomon, I'm going to pass away.
Alright, the first thing that we learn here, fathers, that you need to teach your children about death.
You need to teach your children that one day you're not going to be here holding their hand, giving them direction, you know.
One day they're going to have to step out on their own.
They're not always going to have dad and mum there to help them and support them.
I know that's a sad thought, but it's a reality of life, okay.
You can't always have these people that are going to look over you.
One day you're going to be the guy, one day you're going to be the one that's trying to influence others, you're not necessarily going to be the one that gets influenced.
This is so important that you teach your children that there is death, okay.
You know, I talk to some parents and they do not want to tell their children about death, which I find so unusual.
Because when it comes to church, yes, we have a life to live and I hope you live a life that's abundant and praising God, but there's something more to life.
Right, this life is a vapour. It's here one moment, it's gone the next.
Okay, we're here some 70 years, 80 years, 90 years, 100 years, but there's still eternity to be thinking about.
And that eternity is not some dream, it's not some spiritual thing or some figment of our imagination.
There's a reality that this soul and spirit is going to live beyond this physical body.
We need to teach our children there is death, there's life, enjoy your life, but there's more to life than we have today, there is eternity.
Keep your finger there please, and go to 1 Peter chapter 1.
Go to 1 Peter chapter 1 in your New Testament, 1 Peter chapter 1 verse number 3.
1 Peter chapter 1 verse number 3.
Brethren, if this was all we had, a good 50, 60, 70 years, and many people don't even get that, I would not even be in church this morning.
If that's all it was. I mean there are so many other things that I'd be looking at and going, man, every day that I live is one day less than I have.
And you know if I just believe when we die we just get buried and we just become fertilizer for the worms and for the plants,
I'd be doing so many more things than being here this morning in the house of God.
But the fact is I know there's an eternity, I know one day I'm going to stand before our Lord God, and I want Jesus to say about me,
thou good and faithful servant. That's what I want. I want to go into eternity with a smile on Jesus' face.
And 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 3 says,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I want you to notice that Jesus Christ has a Heavenly Father, the Lord God.
And the moment that you've trusted Christ for salvation, what is salvation?
Salvation is a free gift. God the Father sent the Son to die in our place.
He took on our sins. He took on our judgment. The wrath of God fell on Jesus.
So we would not have to be punished by God for the wrong that we do.
Jesus Christ took all the punishment. He died on the cross, was buried, rose again three days later,
showing that He has victory over death, over the grave, over sin, over hell.
He resurrected, brethren, and through that resurrection one day we are promised to also experience that resurrection of the body.
Salvation has been completely paid for in Jesus Christ.
It's not based on how good or bad you are. It's based on the goodness of Jesus Christ.
We don't go to heaven because we're good people. We go to heaven because of the goodness of Christ.
His righteousness and all the bad things that we've done was put on Christ when He died in our place.
We enter heaven because of the righteousness of Christ.
The first thing you need to think about, yes we're honoring fathers, but if you're not saved this morning,
if you don't know for sure that you're going to heaven when you die, you need to sort this out.
You need to make sure that you make God not just the Father of Jesus, but that you make Him your Heavenly Father,
that you become a child of God, that you trust Christ for salvation, and then you receive that free gift.
You can be sure that no matter what happens, you will go to heaven when you pass away.
No matter what happens, you have a Heavenly Father right now.
You need to believe in Christ. You need to be saved if you're not saved.
It's free. It's not going to cost you anything. This church cannot save you. This pastor cannot save you.
It's only what Jesus Christ has done for you that saves you.
So we've got to teach our kids. There's more to life.
We want to be saved. We want to be in heaven. We don't want to be in hell.
We don't want to suffer in eternity in the wrath of God.
People have this idea, I'll just go to hell with all my mates.
You won't even see your mates. The Bible says that it's out of darkness.
It is a place of complete darkness. It's a place of fire and burden and torture for all eternity.
You really want to be there? Okay?
And some people think, oh, yeah, because Satan's down there and Satan's torturing people.
No, it's not Satan. When Satan is cast into the lake of fire, he'll be tormented day and night forever and ever as well.
Satan does not ignite the fires of hell.
The fires of hell is the anger and the wrath of God, of Almighty God, for rejecting his son.
The free gift of salvation.
Anyway, 1 Peter 1, verse 3, let's keep going there.
Blessed be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy have begotten us.
That's basically to give birth to us again unto our lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
So, brethren, you need to be born again. The moment you believe in Jesus, you receive a second birth.
Not a birth of this physical body, because that body was born from Mum and Dad, or Mum, I should say, really.
But then we have a second birth, a spiritual birth, the moment you've trusted Christ for salvation, you are born again of the Spirit.
When this body dies, this body will go to the grave, this body will be fertilizer, but my soul will go to heaven because of that new birth.
Let's keep going there. Verse number 4.
To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, look at this, reserved in heaven for you,
who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.
God can't wait to reveal to you what eternity is going to hold.
Look, it's inheritance incorruptible.
You know, when you're a child of a physical Mum and Dad, and they pass on, they'll usually pass down their inheritance.
Well, God is telling us that when we pass on and we go to be with God in heaven, that we're going to receive an inheritance from God.
In fact, we're joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Everything that the Father gives to the Son, the Son is going to share that with us.
We're going to be partakers of that inheritance.
So Brethren, why do we care about this life so much when it is so short, we have eternity to be thinking about,
we need to lay up our treasures in heaven, not so much on this earth.
Listen, we need to get through life. We need to work a job, we need to save up, we need to pay the bills, we need to look after our families.
I understand all of that, but when it comes to our riches, we want to make sure that they're placed in heaven because that's where eternity is going to be.
It's incorruptible. That's going to be our life forever, living with our Lord God forever in the new heavens and the new earth.
So this is what we need to teach our children. Yes, children, I want my children to get a good education, I want them to have good skills,
I want them to do well in the job, I want them to be paid well, I want them to look after themselves and one day their own families,
but more important to me is that their eyes are on eternity, they're thinking about eternity, they're thinking about their treasures that are laid up,
and their inheritance that they would receive the moment they trust Christ as their saviour.
Alright, if you can go back to 1 Kings chapter 2 and verse number 2, so David says to Solomon,
I go all the way on the earth, I am not always going to be here. The next thing that he says in verse number 2 is,
be thou strong therefore, be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man.
Hey, we need to teach our children to be strong, to be strong people. Alright, listen, the Simpsons, I grew up watching the Simpsons,
and you know what character they use to define the Christian man? Some faggoty Ned Flanders, softly spoken, who's tread upon,
who's weak and hopeless, right? He can't even instruct his own family, alright, I mean this man is hopeless.
That is not a Christian, okay, a true Christian is someone that is strong, okay, saying physically strong,
if you want to be as strong as Les, go for it, but more important, more important is that you're strong in God's word,
okay, and we need to teach our children to plant their feet in God's word. The world is constantly changing,
the opinions of man are constantly changing, alright, what is right is wrong tomorrow, and what is wrong today is going to be right tomorrow.
Okay, if we teach our children to listen to what society teaches, they're going to be unstable, they're not going to be strong,
they're going to be weak, they won't know what to do, they're just going to be listening to the government and to the teachers,
and whatever else the world is saying to judge their life, hey, but we need to make sure that we teach our children God's word.
You stand strong in God's word, because God's word never changes. Listen, it's 2022, it's been 2000 years since Christ came to this earth,
and there are people still preaching God's word. Why? Because it's timeless, it doesn't change.
You know, the lessons of God's word today were applicable 100 years ago, and they're still going to be applicable 100 years from now.
Okay, you want your children to be strong, teach them to stand on God's word. Not only that, it's okay, like I told you,
we have a flesh, this flesh is going to perish, this flesh is not going to heaven in its current state, okay,
we need a resurrection for that to happen, okay, this flesh gets weak, this flesh gets sick, alright,
this flesh likes to sin, this flesh likes to do things contrary to God's word, alright,
but one thing you need to understand is that our strength does not come from ourselves, but it comes from the Lord.
I'll quickly read to you from Psalm 28 verse 7, it says,
It says,
You know what's a sure sign of strength in the Christian? It's not that you're never weak, because we are all weak, okay,
but that when you're weak, you go to God and you get the strength of God. He's strong for you, here's your shield, here's your protection,
hey, you just make sure you stay close to God and you'll be stronger than you've ever been.
The Bible also says in 2 Corinthians 12 10, this is the words of Paul, he says,
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities. Paul says, hey, I rejoice when I'm sick.
Say, why would you rejoice when you're sick? That's when you're weak. Okay, but he says,
No, I take pleasure in my infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake.
Then he says these words, for when I am weak, then am I strong.
He says, look, the weaker I get in his flesh, the stronger I become.
It's because he's trusting the strength of the Lord. The Lord's strength is getting him from place to place.
Okay, brethren, yes, be strong, but teach your children to be strong in the Lord, in his word.
That's where true strength comes from. Okay, so that's what he's instructing his son.
Solomon, I'm going to pass on. Think of eternity. There's more to life.
Hey, but you've got to be strong while you're walking this earth.
Then he says, and show thyself a man. Okay, no gender bending.
None of this, oh, we don't know what we are. What's a woman? I don't know what a woman is.
This ridiculous, you know, teaching that's coming from society.
All right, listen, as soon as that child is born, the medical professional, the doctor,
looks at that child, okay, it takes him less than half a second, and he says,
this is a boy, or this is a girl. Okay, that's how easy it is.
And he says to Solomon, look, show yourself a man.
Listen, fathers, we need to teach our boys to be men.
Okay, now while they're children, let them be children, but teach your boys to be men.
Hey, teach your girls to be women. Okay, teach your children that there's man and there's woman,
and that's how God's created things to be. Yes, it's binary, not it's non-binary rubbish, it's binary.
Boy and girl, man and woman. All right, and teach your children, yes, it's fun, it's good to be children.
You know, I personally, I don't like it when Christians try to make their little children like adults.
Okay, I think that's kind of weird. Let your children be children.
They're still developing, but through that development cycle, you want them to become strong adults.
Okay, you want your boys to be men, manly. All right, hey, you're going to one day take a wife,
you're one day going to have children, you're going to have to lead your home.
You know, something has happened in the past 30, 40 years, I don't know exactly when,
definitely the last decade, something has happened, and the boys are becoming weak and soft, okay,
and the girls are becoming more masculine, okay, more outspoken.
You know, that's not how God's created things to be. If you're a husband, you're the head of your wife.
Okay, you're the head of your wife. But the Bible says husbands love your wives.
You're the leader, but you're not to lead like a dictator, you're to lead with love.
Okay, Jesus Christ is the head of this church. Christ is not some dictator, okay, he leads us with love.
He's merciful, he's gracious, he gives us time to learn and to make changes.
Husbands, remember this with your children, don't have some great, amazing standard for them
that you can't even reach, help them in their journey, okay.
It takes a good 20 years for your child to become an adult, you've got that time,
you've got a good 20 years to teach your children how to become adults.
Don't try to make them adults when they're 5 years old or 10 years old,
or get frustrated when they're 15 years old and they're silly teenagers and make mistakes like we all did.
Don't get mad at them at that, just teach them direction, give them direction
and understand when they kid that adulthood, if you've done things right,
if you've taught them God's word, you've taught your boys to be men,
you've taught your girls to be women, they're going to turn out just fine.
Okay, but you teach them, alright, and we need more men today.
I'm not saying your gender, I'm saying that dads, you need to tell your kids, your boys,
hey, work hard, provide, don't quit, okay, look after your family,
you serve your family, you lower yourself, make sure your family has everything they need,
we need more men like this, we need much more men like this in this current generation.
Okay, I don't know what's happened, none of these Ned Flanders things, okay,
I don't like going to some church and it's all Ned Flanders, I don't like it,
I think it's weird, I think it's weird, okay, no, we need to tell our boys,
show yourself to be a man, okay, teach them manhood.
Alright, so that's verse number 2, let's go to verse number 3.
1 Kings chapter 2 verse number 3.
What's the next thing that he says to Solomon?
Verse number 3, and keep the charge of the Lord thy God.
So he says, son, look, I'm going to give you a charge, son, I'm going to give you some advice,
some direction, but then he says, hey, the next thing you need to do though is keep the charge of the Lord.
Hey, you need to listen to what God has to say to you.
Hey, it's one thing that we can teach our kids to a certain level, to a certain extent.
Okay, but we're not as righteous or as perfect as God.
Okay, God can truly teach your children.
This is why it's important for them to be saved at a good early age, alright,
because then at some point they're going to see fathers, all our cracks, all our hypocrisy,
okay, they're going to see that we're not these perfect men.
Hey, but if they're saved, then they can say, okay, my mum and dad, they're not perfect,
they make mistakes, but I can still turn my heart and mind toward our Lord God, alright.
I mean, there are so many, when I talk to people in churches, they did not have good fathers,
or their fathers were not around, or they don't even know their father.
Alright, that's sad, I'm really sad when they hear that.
But if you're saved, you have a heavenly father, a father who loves you, that cares for you,
who's going to give you a charge, who's going to give you direction.
Again, it's found in his word, alright.
So David says, look, alright, I've given you direction, but really,
you need to start paying attention to what God wants from you, okay.
Do what God says, follow his charge in your life.
And let's keep going, it says, what is his charge?
Let's read verse number three quickly.
It says, to walk in his ways, that's number one.
To keep his statutes, that's number two.
And his commandments, that's number three.
And his judgments, that's number four.
And his testimonies, that's number five.
As it is written in the law of Moses, hey, read your Bible, Solomon,
start figuring out what God wants in your life.
Okay, turn to the scriptures.
Why? Say why?
That thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself.
David says, Solomon, I just want you to do well in life.
Dads, don't we want our children to do the best they can?
Alright, so what do they need to do?
They need to turn to God's word, okay.
Listen to what the father has to say, their heavenly father has to say to them.
And they do it.
And brethren, you do what God says, you will prosper in life.
I'm not talking about financially though, that could be a blessing from God.
It could be that way, okay.
I'm not saying, you know, we're not some charismatic, you know, you've got this prosperity gospel.
But you're going to have a good, happy life.
You're going to have good relationships.
You're going to have strong marriages.
You're going to have children that respect their mum and dad, alright.
I'd rather be poor, but live a happy life than be excessively wealthy
and people just use you for your money, alright.
No, we want to live a life that is pleasing, that is joyful, okay.
And that isn't measured by your bank account, okay.
But the charge of the Lord, we saw five things, what are the five things?
To walk in his ways, to keep his searches, to keep, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies.
Yeah, five things, okay.
So let's talk about what those five things are.
Now when it comes to all these things, hey, it's all found in the scriptures.
As we saw there earlier, it's all found there in the law of Moses.
But what are these things?
And let me just guide you in some of these thoughts, okay.
What does it mean to keep his statutes?
What does that mean?
Well, actually, no, sorry, the first thing there was to walk in his ways.
Let's start there, sorry, I skipped ahead.
To walk in his ways, what does that mean?
Alright, if you can keep your finger there and turn to Psalm 128.
No, actually, you know what, I told you to keep your finger in Psalm 119.
So go to Psalm 119, verse number 3.
Go to Psalm 119 and verse number 3, please.
To walk in his ways, alright.
So, look, we all have a way that we want to live, okay.
Now you can, the moment you've trusted Christ for salvation,
you have the assurance of salvation, you can choose to live however you want.
You can live your way if you want.
Nothing's going to stop you from going to heaven.
It's a free gift, alright.
But if you want to live your way contrary to God's word,
you're not going to have a good life, I promise you that.
You're going to have unnecessary problems, I promise you that, okay.
But the instruction is we need to walk in God's ways.
Meaning to say that, you know what, God, I'm not going to go my way anymore,
I'm going to go your way.
God, I'm not going to fulfill my will in my life,
God, I'm going to fulfill your will in my life, okay.
That is the way, that is the change that we need to make in our spiritual life.
Look at Psalm 119, verse number 3.
The Bible says, they also do no iniquity, that's no sin, no iniquity,
they walk in his ways.
So what does it mean to walk in his ways?
Well, not doing iniquity, okay.
This flesh wants to sin, alright, this flesh wants to sin.
That's why you still sin, okay, that's why you're not perfect people.
That's why you're still hypocrites and all that kind of issues, okay.
And me too, alright, this flesh wants to sin.
But you know what, when we sin, we're not walking in God's ways.
Please remember that.
Yes, understand you're a sinner,
understand you're going to keep sinning until the day you die, okay.
That's the reality, but don't get comfortable in that thought.
Say, Lord, I have sinned, help me overcome this sin.
Lord, I want to walk in your ways.
Obviously, walking in his ways would not be sinning, okay.
So brethren, we need to overcome the sins in our lives, right.
They also do iniquity, a walk in his ways.
Let me read another passage to you in Psalm 128, verse 1.
It says, blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord, that worketh in his ways.
Hey, if you walk in God's ways, God says you're going to be blessed.
He's going to look down upon you and give you great blessings.
Because it says in verse number 2, you say, in what way am I going to be blessed?
It says this, for thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands.
He says, look, I'm going to make sure when you go to work,
you have enough to provide for yourself and your family.
That's the blessing if you walk in his ways.
And then it says, happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
I want to live a happy life, I really do.
I've said it before, I'd rather live 50 years, 50 happy years,
than 100 sad years of life.
I'd much rather live 50 years of happy life.
His life was cut short.
Well, if you had a really great life,
I mean, he's probably lived a much better life than a lot of people.
You want to have a happy life, a blessed life, walk in his ways.
Do what God's asking of you.
That's giving up your will and saying,
God, I'm not going to fulfill the lust of this flesh.
I'm going to walk in accordance to what you've asked me in your word.
The next thing that we learn is the statutes.
We saw that word.
What is a statutes?
If you read through your Bible,
you're going to constantly see these words as statutes.
Well, think of the word status.
It's kind of the same root word, your status.
You say, what is a status?
It's basically your position.
When people think about your status in life, they go,
it's the kind of education you receive,
the kind of job that you work,
whether you're a homeowner or if you're renting,
you've got a different status in life.
That's not really what God's – yes, it is your position,
but that's not really what God's speaking about here.
Status will stand in where you stand.
It's basically this.
The statutes of the Lord is to know God's standards,
to know where God stands on certain issues.
Who told you we live in such a weird world?
I mean, you know how weird it becomes when you can't even –
I've already mentioned it, right?
When people don't even know what a woman is,
when people don't even know what a man is.
That's how weird our world has become,
things that even a little child is able to figure out, okay?
Things that are just so –
Stupid.
Well, stupid.
Yeah, it is stupid,
but things that should be so easy, right?
This is mum, this is dad, this is a girl, this is a boy.
Listen, when society can't figure this out,
you know we've gone a really bad way, okay?
One of the most basic things.
But you know what God's standard is?
One man, one woman, married till death do us part.
That is God's standards, okay?
This world is getting worse.
This world is confusing us.
Well, not confusing me anyway, as long as I say God's word.
If I'm watching the Hollywood movies
and I'm listening to the psychiatrist and the therapist and the whatever, right?
Yeah, I'm going to get confused in this world,
but if we stay in God's word, hey, we'll know God's standard.
We know what is right, we know what is wrong, all right?
So we need to teach our children to know the standards or the statutes of God.
You're there in Psalm 119, look at verse number 5.
Psalm 119, verse number 5.
It says, oh, that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes.
And it says, look, Lord, please direct me in your way to keep...
I want to know what your standards are.
I want to stand right there with you, God.
I want to love what you love, God.
I want to hate what you hate, God.
I want to get angry about the things that you get angry about, God.
I want to stand exactly where you are.
Hey, that's knowing the statutes of God.
Look at verse number 12.
Verse number 12 says, blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me thy statutes.
Listen, we need to go to God and say, God, listen, I'm living in 2022, Lord.
This is a weird world.
Sometimes I don't even know what's right and wrong, Lord.
Can you teach me your statutes?
Please tell me where to stand on this doctrine, on this issue.
Lord, help me to make a stand.
Look at verse number 23, Psalm 119, verse number 23.
It says, princes also did sit and speak against me,
but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.
What's it saying here?
Princess, authorities, government authorities, right?
They turn against God's word.
They turn against God's people.
They mess God's standards.
Every time they pass new laws, you wonder what in the world are they doing?
Euthanasia, right?
Let's let people commit suicide legally.
What in the world is wrong with you?
God has given someone a life.
It's precious, right?
It's God's business to give life and to take away life.
Right?
I mean, you think about everything that happens, right?
Just abortions, babies being murdered in the mother.
I mean, think about that.
Just think about that for a moment.
Like, we're so used to abortion being part of society,
we probably don't even think about it, okay?
But every day you've got hundreds of babies in Australia
being taken, ripped out of the mother's womb, piece by piece.
God's given them life.
Like, what in the world?
Like, this is the world we live in, my brethren, okay?
And I know we're products of this generation, this society,
and sometimes we don't even think about it.
But when you really stop and meditate on it, man,
what in the world is going on in this world?
We need to stand on God's standards, all right?
We need to understand that princes, authorities,
they're not going to stand where God stands, all right?
But you better, as God's people, as God's children,
you better make sure you take a stand,
a strong stand where God takes a stand.
Drop down to verse number 71, please, 71.
Psalm 119, 71.
It says this, look at this.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
that I might learn thy statutes.
Reverend, you need to be afflicted from time to time.
You know, when you go through problems and trials and difficulties,
God's allowed you to go through that so you can learn his statutes, yeah?
You know, it's a learning time.
Don't whine and complain when you're going through problems.
We all go through problems.
And don't have the attitude, it's just me going through problems,
we all go through problems.
Even the person in this church that you look around and you go,
man, she must have no problems, or she must have no problems.
You just don't know about it, that's all.
We all have problems, okay?
We all have troubles, we all have difficulties.
But listen, when we experience that, hey, get excited,
because it says it is good for me to be afflicted,
so I can learn the statutes of God.
Say, Lord, what are you trying to teach me through this trial?
Where are you directing me?
You know, what is it in my life that I need to fix
in order to stand where you stand?
That's the approach that you need to have.
Hey, that's what we need to teach our children.
You know what children always say?
Oh, it's not fair, it's not fair.
Listen, when you have 11 kids, you're going to hear that a lot.
It's not fair that this, you know, you let my sibling do this,
and you let, you know, I was 15 years old when you allowed me to do that,
and they can do it when they're eight years old, how fair is it?
Okay, life is not always fair.
It's good for you to be afflicted, teach your kids that.
Okay, because you know what?
You know what society tells them what's good for them?
They'll say, it's good for you to be offended,
because if you get offended, then you'll get your way.
That's ridiculous. Isn't everyone always offended this day?
The snowflake generation.
Listen, just preaching God's word is going to be offensive to this world.
You know what? I've given up trying to be a pastor that just preaches nice things.
I mean, I gave this up when I started being a pastor, okay?
Because no matter what you're teaching God's word,
it's going to offend someone.
So you might as well just tell people what God has to say.
Okay, and let people get offended. I don't care.
You know what? It's not against me.
If you have an offended attitude, it's against the Lord God and his word.
I'm just a minister. I'm a minister. I'm a servant.
I'll tell you what God says. That's what God says.
Now it's between you and God.
You're going to get mad at anybody, get mad at God then.
Let him sort you out.
A statue's of the Lord, but it's good for you to be afflicted.
Don't whine. Don't have this snowflake offended attitude.
Don't teach your kids this.
You know, I truly believe that our children, if they just grow thick skin,
and they learn that affliction is okay,
that they're going to do so well in this world.
Okay, I'll tell you why. Because I've been an employer.
I've employed many, many staff.
And man, they get offended over every little thing.
The best employees are those that just take it.
Okay, you know what? I had a hard day, but I'm just going to push on.
Hey, my supervisor had some harsh words to say to me because I've been slacking off.
They go, you know what? Yes, sir. I'll do exactly what you need to do.
You know what? It's those people that get the pay rise.
It's those people that get the promotions.
They do better in life than the snowflake offender generation
that this society is trying to teach our children to become.
Hey, we need to teach our children once again to be men, to be strong.
Okay, to be strong in the Lord.
So we saw what statutes are. What about commanders?
Sorry, commandments.
You know, we also saw that we're to follow God's commandments.
Well, when you think about the word command, you know,
we're talking about the idea to commandeer, all right?
So, you know, if you're in the army, you might be commandeering a tank, for example.
That means you're the tank driver.
You tell the tank where it's moving.
You tell the tank, well, you don't really tell the tank, right?
You press the buttons or whatever it is, right? You pull the levers.
You know, you make that tank shoot when it needs to shoot, right?
You're in charge. You're commandeering that tank.
You know what? We need to learn that God is our commander, all right?
He tells us. You say, yes, sir. You know what?
You read God's word. You say, yes, sir, I'll do that, commander, okay?
That is what the idea of commandments.
God has told us, thou shalt not, or thou shalt.
You say, yes, God, I'll do that.
You know what? If you're in the army, all right, and you're just a soldier,
you listen to what your commander says.
You know, you're not there questioning, well, I don't think so, commander, you know?
Because, you know what? If you take that attitude, you're going to lose the fight, right?
That rebellious spirit.
Listen, I'm not saying I'm the commander. I'm not.
I'm just a preacher of God's word.
You take the commandments of God, and you say, God, yes, sir, I'll do what you've asked me to do.
Okay, you be a soldier. You know what? Even if it doesn't make complete sense to you,
if it's in God's word, it's black and white, you do it, and I promise,
it's going to work out well in the long run for you.
Even if it didn't make sense at the beginning.
Why? Because Bible says that we're to act upon faith.
You know what? Many times, you're not going to fully understand things in the Bible,
especially if you're recently saved, or especially if you're not even a Christian.
You're going to see things in the Bible and go, that's weird, all right?
But we're commanded to step out in faith, okay?
What pleases God? Our faith.
And I promise you this, the moment you apply faith in the commands that God has given you,
and you do it, it's all going to start making sense to you.
It makes sense after you've applied the faith, okay?
I mean, when you think about the father sending the son to die in your place,
I mean, listen, to most of the world, that just seems kind of weird.
Foolishness.
Yeah, the foolishness of preaching, all right?
That's what the world thinks of, right?
But listen, what do we do?
The Bible says that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
You want an increase in your faith? Listen to God's word.
Do what God says, you'll increase in faith.
But then it all starts to make sense to you.
It makes sense to me that the father would send the son to be my substitute, okay?
That I needed someone that is righteous without sin, all right?
That I could only enter heaven through righteousness,
the righteousness of God and not the righteousness of man.
It makes a lot of sense once you apply your faith.
You know, someone, I was preaching the gospel to someone at the door
just a week and a half ago, and they said,
look, I just don't have a lot of faith.
I know what you're saying is true, I just don't have a lot of faith.
Well, you know what?
Just take what little faith you have and put it all on Jesus,
because all you need is the faith of a mustard seed.
Okay, that's all you need.
You need to put it all on Jesus though.
And the moment you've done that, you know, you've received salvation.
So commandments, which is the commandments of God.
You're in Psalm 119, please turn to verse number 6.
And again, I guess this sermon is general for all, okay?
But the main purpose of this sermon is fathers,
teach your children these things, okay?
You say, well, I bring them to church.
Okay, that's great, okay?
But they're only going to hear a crazy preacher preach at them for an hour,
two hours, maybe three hours if you go.
Oh no, you didn't do three services here.
All right, you have some crazy preacher preaching them for two hours in a week.
Listen, there's 24 hours in a day, seven days a week, okay?
The greatest influence on the children's life are the parents, fathers.
You're going to have more influence on your kids than this crazy pastor, okay?
So don't think it's just bringing them to church and they'll be just fine.
You need to teach them God's word, okay?
You teach them.
Common deal, Psalm 119 verse 6.
The Bible says,
Reverend, we don't just pick and choose.
I like these ones.
I'll do this one.
You know what?
No.
What's going to help you to be strong, not ashamed?
Is when you say, you know what, God, I'm going to believe it all.
I don't care what the world says.
I don't care how weird I look in the eyes of the world.
God, I'm just going to believe everything you say in God's word, in your word.
For all the commandments you give me, I'm going to respect them.
Yes, they're hard to follow, God.
It is hard.
Help me when I struggle, but I'm going to respect them.
I'm going to say, Lord, this is your word.
This is your direction, wife.
I'm going to do it.
Help me achieve that, Lord.
You know what?
The moment you start taking that attitude, you will not be ashamed.
You will stand strong for the Lord, okay?
But you've got to accept it all.
There are too many people that say, well, that's not for you.
Oh, that was God in the Old Testament, you know?
God's changed.
No, God says, I change not.
Jesus Christ is saying today, yesterday, and forever.
God does not change.
But too many pastors behind the pulpit, that's how God thought about that before.
And now God's had a change of heart.
It's ridiculous.
It's ridiculous, you know?
I mean, man changes, society changes, but of course our Lord God never changes.
Can you please go to verse number 10?
Psalm 119 verse 10.
Look at this.
With my whole heart have I sought thee.
Oh, let me not wander from thy commandments.
Brevin, so what's the reality here?
We wander from God's commandments, okay?
So what do we learn there?
If you say, look, I don't want to wander from God.
I don't want to walk away from God.
I don't want to grow cold toward God.
What do you have to do?
At the beginning of verse number 10.
With my whole heart have I sought thee.
Listen, you have to give your whole heart to God.
Say, God, let me love you the way I'm meant to love you, okay?
Listen, this idea of the whole heart has to do with how much you love God.
And one thing you'll learn in the Bible, okay, is keeping God's commandments
and His love are basically the same thing, okay?
You know, the more you love God, the more you're going to keep His commandments.
Someone that is constantly keeping the commandments of God, trying to live the life that God wants.
You can say about that person, he loves God.
You know, Jesus Christ says in John 14, 15, if ye love me, keep my commandments.
You're in Psalm 119, look at verse number 32.
Let me show you this again.
Psalm 119, verse number 32.
I will run the way of thy commandments when thou shalt enlarge my heart.
Brethren, maybe you are cold toward God.
Maybe, you know, maybe you don't love God the way you know you ought to.
And it's hard for ourselves to actually do that.
You know, you need to go to God and say, God, enlarge my heart.
God, help me to love you more.
Okay, when the disciples will struggle with faith, what do they say?
Lord, increase my faith.
There's a limitation when it comes to man.
And when you're limited, when you're struggling, you go to God and say, God, you help me.
God, I'm not loving you.
I'm not keeping your commandments the way that I know that I should be.
Can you help me love you?
Look at verse number 60.
Psalm 119, verse 60.
I made haste and delayed not to keep thy commandments.
Actually, I'll touch upon that in a moment.
I had one more thought that I wanted to give.
You know, sometimes you hear of Christians that are not faithfully serving God.
They're not in church.
They're not doing what they know they need to be doing.
And people say, well, okay, you know, but they love God.
No, they don't love God.
They love themselves.
Okay?
Or they love the world.
All right?
So what is salvation?
Is salvation keeping the commandments?
Of course not.
Salvation is free.
Okay?
Once you're saved, you need to learn to love God more.
To love Him with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your might.
Okay?
We need to love God.
You know, if you're struggling to keep His commandments, you need to love Him more.
All right?
You know who loves God?
Those that are in church this morning.
Those that are trying to live a righteous life.
Those that are reading their Bible.
Those that are directing their family in the ways of the Lord.
Those are the people that love the Lord.
They read too many stories.
Oh, they're not in church.
They've not been in church for like, you know, five years, but they love the Lord.
If they loved the Lord, they'd be in His house.
They'd be exactly where God wants them to be.
Okay?
So please remember, brethren, that, you know, your measure of God's love is based on how well you're keeping His commandments.
Okay?
How well are you keeping it?
Are we all keeping them perfectly?
Of course not.
Okay?
Because our love is not perfect.
Okay?
We still have the flesh.
The flesh loves itself.
The flesh loves the world.
Okay?
We need to learn to walk in that new man, the born-again spirit that God has given us.
It's that new man that loves the brethren.
It's the new man that loves the Lord God.
Verse number 60 again.
Verse number 60.
I read it earlier.
I made haste and delayed not to keep Thy commandments.
What else have we learned, brethren?
When you learn the commandments of God, make haste.
Do it straight away.
Listen, if you've learned something from God's Word today, do it today.
Make the change today.
Don't say, I'll do that next week, pastor, or I'll do that next month or next year,
or in five years' time, I'll do that.
Listen, you're going to forget tomorrow.
How many of you guys truly remember last week's sermon?
All right?
It fed you.
It fed you something at that time, but listen, I don't even remember.
Some people come up to me, do you remember that sermon you preached?
I'm like, I don't know.
I can't remember that.
The sermon I preached, I can't even remember.
Okay?
Because we forget.
Okay?
There's only so much we can have in our minds.
Reverend, the only way you can make changes and keep the commandments of God is as soon
as you're challenged, as soon as you learn it, you make haste to do it.
Okay?
Or you're going to be like that forgetful hearer.
Okay?
You know, it's meant to look in that glass, right?
And, you know, not to be a hearer only, but a doer of God's Word.
Otherwise, you'll forget the way that you look.
All right?
We need to make sure we apply it immediately or you'll forget.
The next thing that David instructed Solomon were on the judgments of God, right?
The judgments.
So what's a judge?
You know, a judge is someone that makes decisions.
Okay?
It's how you pass judgments.
You know, we make, I don't know, I remember hearing that basically on an average,
and look, I'm probably completely wrong in this number, but it's something like this.
Okay?
I remember reading an article that said, you know, the average human being makes like,
I don't know, 10,000 decisions a day.
Something like that.
Okay?
And listen, when you've got to make 10,000 decisions, you know, you're passing judgment.
You're deciding whether, you know, it's like, all right,
well, I have breakfast this morning.
Okay?
That's one decision.
What am I going to have for breakfast?
Okay.
You know, now you're making another decision.
Am I going to put yogurt on that Weet-Bix or am I going to put milk on that Weet-Bix?
That's another decision, right?
I'm talking about, like, we're just constantly making judgment.
Now, look, obviously there are some things that are just insignificant, like making breakfast.
Okay?
But there are other decisions that we make in life that are very important.
It's going to shape the way that we live moving forward.
We need to make sure that we pass the right judgments.
Hey, we know what God says, and we do exactly what he says.
All right?
Look at verse number 30, Psalm 119, verse 30.
The Bible says, I have chosen the way of truth.
Thy judgments have I laid before me.
Listen, when we make a judgment, we need to base that in truth.
Okay?
I think you guys know me now as a pastor.
I want the truth.
Not only do I want to preach the truth, not only do you want to be in a church where you hear the truth,
but in conversation, in our communication, it needs to be true.
Okay?
Because it's only when we receive the truth that we can make a correct and righteous judgment.
Now, what's wonderful about being a Christian is that we don't always have to make judgments in of ourselves.
There are many things that God's already judged upon, decisions that God's already made,
and we don't have to make that judgment anymore.
All right?
Does God want us in his house?
Does he want us at church?
Of course he does.
You don't have to decide whether you're going to be in church this morning.
Okay?
You say, I kind of did.
All right.
You don't have to because God's already made the decision for you.
Okay?
So when it comes to things like that, all right, you just say, God, you've made the decision.
I'm going to follow exactly what you say.
Look, if we're going to make judgments based on truth, who is truth?
Jesus.
Jesus Christ is the truth.
He's the spirit.
You know, we are the spirit of truth.
God's word is truth.
All right?
Who's going to make the best decisions for you is God.
All right?
So when God's made a judgment, you just say, yes, that's it.
That's my judgment too.
Okay?
Because I know it's right.
All right?
And you just do exactly what God's asked you to do.
Look at verse number 62.
Verse number 62.
It says, at midnight will I rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.
So what's going on?
Hey, give God thanks.
He's given us so much direction in life.
He's told us what is right.
Hey, son, daughter, as you grow up, make sure you give God thanks.
Right?
Be thankful.
Right?
No one likes spoiled children that never turn around to mom and dad and say, oh, thanks.
You know what?
No.
Be careful with your children.
Teach your children to be thankful for their parents, for their life, for the possessions
they have.
Okay?
Teach them to be thankful to mom and dad.
Okay?
And then that will help them, instruct them to be thankful to God for everything they've
got.
Man, I despise whining and complaining.
Like I said, life's not fair and blah, blah, blah.
You know, God does not want us to be murmurers, complainers.
All right?
He's given us so much.
You know what?
I truly, I've said this before, I just truly believe the fact that we live in Australia,
we should be able to just turn around to God and say, God, thank you.
All right?
I mean, this nation is so far from God, doesn't have a fear of God.
Hey, but you know what?
I'm not fearing for my life every day of my life.
Okay?
I'm not wondering what I'm going to have for dinner tonight.
Okay?
The pantry's probably full.
There's a lot to thank God.
You know, you can work any kind of job in Australia and you're going to get some, a
decent wage.
All right?
Decent, and people still complain about their wages.
Remember the soldiers that came to Jesus?
Or was it to, no, sorry, it was to John the Baptist.
And he says to be content with your wages.
Stop complaining.
All right?
I mean, I guess the world doesn't change though.
All right?
But you know what?
We need to learn how to be thankful for the judgments that God has.
Let me keep, let's go to verse number 75.
I'm going to speed up a little bit.
Verse number 75, it says, I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou
in faithfulness has afflicted me.
That is again, right?
If you're being afflicted by God, if God's stepping in and passing judgments and making
your life a little difficult, don't complain to God.
Again, what do you say?
Look, Lord, I know that thy judgments are right.
Lord, my life is hard right now because you've passed right judgment.
I deserve to be chastised today.
Amen.
All right?
Just take that attitude.
I tell you, it's going to change your life.
Instead of whining and complaining, say, thank you, Lord, I know your judgments are right.
I know there's something to learn through this experience.
I know you're shaping me.
Right?
Fathers, when we discipline our children, we're not trying to destroy our kids, are we?
When we discipline our children, we're trying to teach our kids.
We don't want to discipline them.
We want them to do better.
Right?
We want them to improve.
It's no different with God.
God disciplines you.
It's to profit you.
It's to make you better.
It's to make you more like Christ.
And once again, it's good to be afflicted.
It's good.
All right?
It's right when you're going through difficulties.
Verse 160.
160.
The Bible says, thy word is true from the beginning, and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever.
I've already told you that God's word never changes.
His judgments will endure forever.
What God has decided to be right or wrong will still be right and wrong five years from now, a hundred years from now,
long gone, we're in the grave a thousand years from now if the Lord tarries his return.
Okay?
That his judgments stay true.
So it's wonderful about being a Christian.
Okay?
We can be unmovable.
We can be strong.
Nothing will change us because we're basing ourselves in the judgments that God has given us in his word.
Go to verse number 46.
Psalm 119, verse number 46.
The next thing are the testimonies.
We saw that, you know, Solomon, David's asked Solomon to listen to the testimonies of God.
What does testimony mean?
Well, it's like to testify.
Okay?
To give witness, to give evidence, to give proof.
That's the testimonies of God.
I need to speed up.
I'm going a little bit long.
But let's very quickly, verse number 46.
It says, I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings and will not be ashamed.
I will speak of your testimonies.
You know what we should be speaking about?
What God says.
You know what we should be doing after church?
Talking about God's word.
Talking about God's testimonies.
Not about which team.
I think Liverpool and Everton drew last night.
Okay?
But that's not what we're talking about after service.
Amen?
We're here to talk about, you know, the Lord's testimonies.
What did God say?
That's what we need to be speaking about when he comes.
That's what I want to say.
Listen, when we come to church, we're around God's people.
You're not around God's people every day of the week, are you?
You know, you can be talking about Liverpool and Everton tomorrow, if you want, with your
work colleagues.
All right?
But when we're in the house of the Lord, we want to be speaking of his testimony.
You know, God wants to speak of his testimonies.
Preaching is doing that same thing.
Whoever's preaching behind this pulpit, they're taking the witness of God and saying,
hey, this is what God said.
This is what God testified of.
That's our job.
When we go soul-willing, we're doing the exact same thing.
You may never stand behind this pulpit, but one thing you definitely can do is tell others
how to be saved, to tell others what Jesus Christ has done for them, to tell them that
salvation is free, okay?
The moment you're doing that, you're giving, you're bringing forth the testimonies of
God to the hearers, to other people that are hearing you.
Verse number 119.
Psalm 119, verse 119.
Okay, 119, 119.
The Bible says, thou putest away all the wicked of the earth like dross.
Therefore, I love thy testimonies.
Listen, God's going to destroy the wicked, okay?
You say, well, I don't see it happening.
Don't forget, hell is eternity.
Torments forever and ever, okay?
God will destroy the wicked.
These are his testimonies.
This is why when we go and preach the gospel, we tell people, listen, if you stay on this
path, okay, if you think it's your good works or your religion that saves you, you're
going to end up in hell, and we don't want you in hell.
God does not want you in hell, okay?
You're wicked.
You're a wicked person.
We're all sinners.
I'm a sinner.
You're a sinner.
We've all done wrong, okay?
Again, we need the righteousness of Jesus to go to heaven, all right?
So we tell people about hell, okay?
And that should spark a good, healthy fear of God because they've gone too long hearing
that God is some Santa Claus that doesn't hurt anybody, that God doesn't chuck anyone
in hell.
They do it themselves.
No.
God's the one that puts people in hell.
Again, hellfire is the wrath and judgment of God, okay?
So we need to tell people, hey, look, the wicked will be destroyed.
These are the testimonies of God.
And then we give them the gospel.
The gospel means good news, glad tidings.
We tell them, hey, but God sent his son to die for you, okay?
That if all you need to do is believe on him, accept, trust his death, burial, resurrection,
you know?
Call upon the name of the Lord and thou shall be saved.
Salvation is so easy.
Amazing, all right?
If there's anyone here that doesn't know if they're saved and going to heaven, please
speak to me straight after the service.
It's the most important decision you'll ever make.
Verse number 157.
Actually, you know what?
Let me fast forward a little bit now.
All right.
The next thing that I want to talk about, let's go back to 1 Kings chapter 2.
1 Kings chapter 2, verse number 4.
1 Kings, 1 Kings chapter 2, verse number 4.
Just going to skip like half my notes, all right?
But verse number 4, let's keep going there.
It says that, so this is the reason why you need all these things, the statutes, to walk
in his ways, know his judgments, okay?
All these things.
Verse number 4.
That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me.
Sane.
So David's saying to Solomon, look, God said these words to me.
I want these words to continue in you, okay?
And what is this?
Sane.
Look at this.
And parents, dads, pay attention.
If thy children take heed to their way, if your children listen to how you're directing
them, if your children listen to not just the father's charge but God's charge in their
life, it says, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,
there shall not fail thee, said he, a man on the throne of Israel.
God promised David, all right, if your sons and your sons' sons continue to love me,
continue to walk in my way, there will still be a king in Israel till this day.
Now let's talk about earthly Israel right now, okay?
Is there a king on earthly Israel today?
Is there a king that's followed the lineage of David?
No, of course not.
At some point, okay, in fact, it was soon after Solomon, all right?
When the kingdoms were divided, northern kingdom of Israel, the southern kingdom of Judah,
okay, and then we've got all kinds of problems that the Israelites had to go through, okay?
But this is a promise of God.
Dads, if you want your children to do well in life, okay, help them, okay?
Teach them God's word.
Make them listen to what God has to say, to receive the instructions.
Dad, you've got this authority.
Please, take, you know, use the time.
You know, today is one less day that you have your kids than yesterday, okay?
Every day that goes by is one less day that you have to influence your children, okay?
Now, look, you know what?
If you've seen my kids, you know, I was talking about this with my mother-in-law.
You know, there are some pastors that basically they lock up their kids, as it were, right?
They give them no freedom.
They're more worried about what the congregation has to say about their children, okay,
than the children actually, you know, being happy, being free, and also having a healthy fear of God, all right?
My main concern with my children, okay, sometimes they say to me,
Dad, I kind of feel like, you know, we're pastor's kids.
We've got to be perfect.
I say, no, kids, you be kids, okay?
There's no office of the pastor's kids, okay?
There's no office of the pastor's wife.
My wife is Kevin's wife.
My kids are Kevin's kids, okay?
They're not holding the office of pastor's kids, all right?
Hey, you be normal kids, okay?
You don't be this stuck up, nose up, you know, restricted kid that can't have any freedom or any fun.
But listen, I want you to have the fun.
I want you to have freedom.
I want you to enjoy your life.
I want you to be children because you can't go back, right?
I mean, no one likes a 40-year-old man that's still a child, okay?
All right?
But you know what?
You need to hear God's words, okay?
You need to listen to mom and dad.
Hey, you need to be disciplined when you do wrong.
You need to know what God says in his word so you can walk accordingly.
Hey, you need to know that if you want to have a good and happy and successful life,
you need to do exactly what God asked from you.
That's important.
And dads, we're running out of time, okay?
Tomorrow is going to be one less day that you have with your kids than you have today.
So use it wisely.
It's Father's Day, you know?
You know what?
Father's Day, give your kids a charge, but I'm giving you a charge this morning, okay?
Fatherhood is so important.
You'll be gone.
Isabelle's 17.
I don't even know what happened.
I keep telling Isabelle, man, I remember when you were like two weeks old.
I held you in my chest and you just fall asleep.
Like, that was like yesterday.
Like, honestly, that was like yesterday.
Now she's 17.
Okay, I don't know.
What happens?
I don't know, okay?
How many more years do I have with her?
Probably not many, okay?
I hope she finds a good husband one day.
That's it.
It's all over, okay?
At least I've got another 10 to go.
Hopefully I've learned the lessons, the mistakes that I made with Isabelle.
But, you know, we only have a limited time is what I'm saying, fathers, okay?
You've been given such an important responsibility.
You want your children to serve the Lord.
You want your grandchildren to serve the Lord.
You want your great-grandchildren to serve the Lord.
Then you need to start teaching the next generation, okay?
So they don't.
Then they need to teach the next generation.
And so on and so on and so on, okay?
And you can have a family lineage that continues serving God, walking faithfully in His word,
but it comes down to you, okay?
If you just neglect this part in your life, what do you expect?
Okay, your children will go into the world, okay?
They might be saved.
You say, well, at least they're saved, okay.
But your grandkids are going to be saved, you know?
And then what happens, you know?
It's so hard, right?
It's easier to destroy a wall than to build a wall, okay?
So we need to make sure, listen, if you are in church this morning, you're a father,
you've been given a great honour, great responsibility, happy Father's Day.
I don't want to scare you.
I want you to enjoy fatherhood, okay?
But being part of being a father is to raise the next generation to love the Lord, okay?
To love the Lord.
And, you know, again, you know, there is no earthly king,
but we know that Jesus Christ will be ultimately the fulfilment of that promise, okay?
That Christ will be the king, right?
He's the root and the offspring of David, okay?
And why, you know, not only is Christ the king of Israel, the king of the Jews,
as it was when they put him upon the cross, but he's our king.
He's the king of kings.
He's the king of kings, okay?
When we say king of kings, we're talking about even gentile kings.
We're talking about all authorities and powers that exist.
Christ is the king above all that.
He's the king of kings.
He's the Lord of lords, all right?
Yes, and it's great King David and King Solomon.
These were great men.
But you know what? We need to teach our kids, all right?
You know, some men can be great, pastor can be good sometimes, all right?
Not always, all right?
But the king that you need to place in your heart is King Jesus, all right?
That's the one that you look up to.
You know, dads, we do our best.
We need to teach our kids what we're sinners to.
What we're going to make mistakes to.
We're not always going to be fair, okay?
We're going to forget things, okay?
But you need to set your heart, not man.
Not man in your heart, you need to set Jesus in your heart, okay?
Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you.
I've said it many times, I'm probably going to fail you as a pastor, okay?
I'm probably going to offend you at some point.
I'm going to upset you at some point.
I'm probably going to say something stupid and hurt you, okay?
Not that I want to, but we're human beings, all right?
And listen, if I fail as a pastor, I hope I never fail.
Please pray for me that I don't fail.
But if I ever fail significantly as a pastor,
I don't want you giving up on Christianity, okay?
So, oh, the pastor failed again, what's the point?
Well, if you have that attitude, it's because you set man in your heart.
I'm just serving you, I'm just a servant, okay?
We're here to serve Jesus.
You put him first, he will never leave you, he will never forsake you.
He will never fail you.
He's given you salvation, okay?
You don't have to wonder, what if I lose it?
You cannot lose it, okay?
Because Christ has paid for all of your sins.
He's done everything necessary for you to be saved.
He will never fail.
This pastor, other pastors will fail you, okay?
But we teach our children, hey, you set Jesus as your king.
You look at Christ, expect men to fail.
And it's bonus when they don't fail, but expect them to fail.
But make sure your heart and your mind and your eyes are always set on Jesus, okay?
That's if you want to have a successful Christian life, okay?
You look to Jesus Christ, you look to our Lord God and not to men.
Alright, let's pray.