So as I said, I did want to preach a Father's Day themed message today.
And as that passage was being read there in Genesis 18, you may notice that
when the Lord comes and visits Abraham and, you know, he again reinforces
the promise that they're going to have, him and Sarah, they're going to have a child and Sarah has a laugh
because they've gotten old. Of course, by this stage
Abraham already had his son Ishmael. But I want you to notice there in Genesis 18
verse number 19, just as God is speaking to the angels that are with
him, this is what he has to say about Abraham. And I just felt what God
has to say to his heavenly host about a man can be very interesting
and a real insight into, you know, what God truly feels about this man
Abraham. And we know that Abraham is our father in the faith.
He's a godly example. And look at verse number 19. God says
for I know him that he will command
his children and his household after him and they
shall keep the way of the Lord and do justice and judgement
that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him.
So he said at the beginning there for I know him that he will command his children
the title for the sermon this morning for Father's Day is
He Will Command His Children. You notice that God, you know, is
uplifting, you know, he's upholding Abraham before the heavenly
hosts and the thing that comes out of God's mouth is he will command his
children. You know what a father is? A father is a commander.
A father is a leader. You know, the father is the boss. The father is
the head of the home. He's the head of his wife and he's the head of his family.
You know, the Lord loves it when parents or when fathers take command
over their family. And this is something he is exoting Abraham
for. You know, this is why Abraham is known as the father of faith. Not only because of
his faith on the Lord God, but also the great godly example he sets
him as an earthly father. And you know what's amazing about this? As I said
Abraham has only had Ishmael. Ishmael is still a very young boy.
The promised son, Isaac, is still not born and yet God knows
because obviously God knows the end from the beginning. You know, God is outside of time.
He knows, he says he will command his children and his household.
So it's not just the family unit that he has within him, the children that he has
but also the household. We know that Abraham was a very rich, a very wealthy
very prosperous man. God had blessed him greatly.
Abraham had many servants under him. In fact, not only that
he also looked after his nephew Lot. And we know that even though Lot lived quite a wicked life
living in Sodom and a very poor example as a Christian, at the very least
he was saved. The Bible calls him just Lot and no doubt he got saved because
of his uncle Abraham. And so Abraham took care of his household.
Whatever it is that God had given him, whatever servants, whoever was under his
authority, whoever he had command over, he made sure that he commanded
his children and his household well. And God looks upon
that and as I said exalts Abraham highly
because of the way he's doing this. And so if this is what God has to say about Abraham
and we know that Abraham according to this is a good father
a very great father to be commended in such a way, then we ought to be like Abraham
in the earthly sense as well. We talk about being Abraham in the spiritual sense
as a father of faith, but we should as fathers also reflect upon Abraham
why is it that God could say such great things about him. You know if God were to speak to his angels
about you, about how you lead your household, how you
perform as a father, what would God have to say about you? I hope he would say
the same. That he would command his children. I hope that's the same. And if that's not
the case, well we need to make those changes in our life and find ways that we
can start taking command over our children and over our household.
And so the reason this is so important brethren is because
you know when we have children, you know we're given children
at such an early age, such an innocent age, right. They're born from the mother's
womb. They don't know the difference between right and wrong. You know you don't need to teach
your children how to do wrong. It comes naturally. They're born with a sinful
nature unfortunately. We're all born the same way. You don't need to teach your children
how to steal, how to lie, how to cheat. You don't have to teach them that, okay.
That comes naturally. What you do have to do as a father of course is teach them the right way.
Teach them what is true. Teach them to do the right things.
And so the very first you know reflection
that little children have of a father is yourself.
You know men. Men that are fathers. You know whether you're a biological father or whether
you know for whatever cases you might be a stepfather, whatever
situation you find yourself in, you know you've been given that authority and the
very first view, very first understanding of God as a father comes from
looking at their earthly father. And so this is a very sobering
thought, you know. How you act as a father is going
to affect the way they look at God the father. You know if you show them
love and nurture and care, they're going to think of God the father as that nurturing
loving care. You know fathering, you know person that I can go to for care.
You know if you as a father you know just talk down on your kids and make them feel
stupid and you know you just yell and scream at them and they
feel, they don't feel valuable, they don't feel important in your eyes, well they're going to grow up thinking
that God the father doesn't think very highly of them either. And so it's a very sobering
thought when you think about the first interaction with a father is yourself
and then you know Lord willing they get saved at an early age you know for your guidance
then they can see God the father as their
father, as their eternal father. And usually the timing of that is
perfect because that's around the time when children start to see the faults of their
fathers. You know so my question to you is you know how
accurately do you reflect God? When we look at the qualities of God as a father
in the Bible, how accurately do you fit that description that we see
in the Bible? Now can you please turn to Matthew chapter 7 please
turn to Matthew chapter 7 and verse number 7. Matthew chapter 7
and verse number 7
because it's not just my opinion you know to say that
you are an early reflection of God, the Bible also compares
the earthly father with the spiritual father in certain passages but look at Matthew chapter
7 verse number 7, Matthew 7 reads
Now before I keep reading, little children as they grow up
they become very inquisitive, they've got a lot of questions, a lot of questions
about life and you know sometimes as adults we might think those
questions are very simple and maybe you've answered those questions in the past
and you know you just feel like I don't have time to answer these questions
but notice what Jesus Christ is saying, if you come and you ask, if you come and you seek
if you come and you knock, if you go to the Lord and you're asking questions
that you are going to receive those answers, that's how God the Father
is with his children and let me encourage you because I've been there brethren, I've been there
where I'm tired, you've worked hard, you just want to rest
you kind of don't want to put up with the noise of the kids, they're coming, they want to interact
they want to ask questions and you put it off, well at that point just remember
God the Father, what if God the Father put me off, what if I have questions and I have
needs and I have concerns and I go to God the Father and before
him in prayer and God says not right now son, I don't have time, I'm too tired
how would you feel about that, how would you feel if God responded to you in that way
God is there ready to hear our prayers, ready to hear our concerns
our questions, well then that's how we ought to reflect to that same personality
that same love and care and attention ought to be how we treat our children
I know it's hard dads, I know it's hard, you know God the Father is perfect
God is without sin and so it's a very high standard that we're aiming to reach
so let's never get to a point where we become complacent and think well we're just a great father
no if you compare yourself to God the Father you fall well short, okay
and we should continue striving to improve ourselves as godly parents
let's keep going, it says here in verse number 9
so if your son is hungry or children are hungry and they ask for food
which of you would actually give him a stone? God is saying none of you
would do that, I'm sure, I have no doubt there are wicked
dads and parents out there that just live to make
their children miserable, no doubt about it, where if they see their children are hungry
that they would literally give them a stone and mock them, I mean I hear stories
about this in this wicked world, but you know what Christ is appealing to just
the average father out there, at the very least he's appealing here to
Christian fathers, saved fathers, you know, if your children go hungry
are you going to give them a stone? You go of course not, if my children are hungry, you know what
I will bend over backwards, I will go work that extra job, I will take on that second
job if I have to, you know what, I would rather go hungry than let my children
go hungry, I'm sure any loving father will take that approach
then it says verse number 10
will he give him a serpent? So the same idea there, will you give him something that will hurt him
or harm him? Verse number 11, if ye then
been evil, hey what does Christ say about us? If ye then
been evil, obviously we're not perfect, obviously
we have a sinful flesh as well, obviously we're selfish, obviously
we don't always perform to the right perfect standard as
God the Father does, but if we, being evil, even if we with a sinful flesh
are able to do good things for our children, that's what it's been referred to here
if ye then been evil know how to give good gifts unto your
children, how much more shall your father which is in heaven
give good things to them that ask him?
And so brethren, you see how Christ compares the earthly father
with the heavenly father, and he uses the example, you know, a child
comes to the dad seeking help, seeking something to eat, the father's going to
step in and provide, well that is the stepping stone for a child, that
I see my father as a provider, you know, and that's how you ought to be, a loving father
providing, listening to their questions, listening to their concerns
and that's going to help them reflect upon the greater father in heaven
and appreciate him for who he is, so please remember your position
in your family, you know, especially if you have little children, you are a reflection
of God the Father, not only are you a reflection of God the Father
with coming and providing good gifts, but if you can turn to
Hebrews chapter 12, turn to Hebrews chapter 12 and verse number 7
Hebrews chapter 12 verse number 7, there's another time when the Bible compares the earthly
fathers to the heavenly father here, in Hebrews chapter 12 verse number 7
not only does God the Father give us
good gifts, but when we're disobedient
we're also punished by God the Father, he also brings the chastisement
he also brings the correction when we sin against the Lord, Hebrews chapter 12
verse number 7 says, if ye and you are chastening, God
dealeth with you as with sons, for what son is he
whom the father chasteneth not? Again, just a general question
what kind of father does not correct their kids when they do wrong?
Well you say, well Pastor Kevin, right now in 2021, I guarantee you
there's a great many fathers that do not correct their children when they do wrong
and absolutely that's the case, that's why so many kids are selfish
they're loyal, they're brats, you know, they don't know how to receive a negative word
you know, I've been an employer, and it's hard sometimes as an employer
to give your employees negative feedback, okay, to tell
hey, you're not performing to the right level, why? Because so many of the employees
now, the generation, you know, the millennials, the millennial generation
they've never received correction, they've never been told a bad word, they've been told they're
perfect, they've been told they all can be astronauts, and they've all been told
they can be the President of the United States, why would you want to be that guy anyway? I mean look at his education level
okay, look how bad that guy is, I mean I don't want to be the President of the United States
anyway, they get told you can be anything and anything you want
and you know, no one should put you down, and you know what, sometimes you do need to receive correction
I remember being an employer and just being afraid to give my employees a negative
report because I don't know how they would react, because many times they would just
overreact, they would not know how to receive correction, and why is that?
Because they've been brought up, and look, sometimes people blame, they'll say oh this generation
yeah this generation's bad, but it's the previous generation that brought them up to be this way
okay, so something you need to understand is
the generation is a reflection of how the previous generation brought them up
but, you know, God, basically the question is, you know, of what son is he whom
the father chastened of night, in other words, every godly father, any normal father
that has any sense of love and concern for his children is going to chasten
or correct their child when they do wrong, look at verse number 8
but if ye be without chastisements, whereof all are partakers
then are ye bastards and not sons. So the Bible's saying here
if you don't get corrected by God, you're a bastard and not his son. We know that when we're
saved, we're born into his family, we're born again, and for as many as
received him, to them gave him the power to, let me just read that again
for as many as received him, to them gave him the power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe in his name. So if you've believed on Jesus Christ, you've become a son of God
you know what that means? That means when you disobey God, you're going to be corrected.
And praise God when you are corrected because you can turn around and say, well thank God I'm not a bastard
thank God I have a heavenly father that corrects me, and you know what
when earthly fathers do not correct their children, do not discipline their children, you know what they're saying
about their children? They're saying, well they're not my children, they're bastards.
Chastisement is an important part of being a father. Look at verse number 9, it says
For we have had fathers of our flesh
which corrected us, and we gave
them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto
the father of spirits and live? So notice there now
once again God uses the analogy or the comparison between an earthly father
and the heavenly father, the father of spirits, and the Bible says here when we correct
our children, when we discipline them, when we take out that rod of correction
when we apply them, it says, and we gave them reverence. It helps your children
revere their father, revere their parents, give honour
and respect unto the parents. You know if you withhold chastisement
you withhold correction, you're going to cause your children to not revere you
to not respect you, to not honour you, and they will be
very hesitant or even completely disobey
your commands. And again you're a reflection of God the father. If you raise your
children to disrespect you, to not follow your instructions, to not follow
your commands, to not follow your ways, well how do you think they're going to view the heavenly
father if they get saved? Well they're going to carry out the same process.
They're not going to revere their heavenly father, they're not going to follow their heavenly father's
ways, and they're going to cause a destruction in their life
when they walk in other ways. And so fathers let me just remind
you, you are a reflection of God. You know your actions
reflect God's actions. If you provide for your children's needs,
if you satisfy their hunger, if you keep them from harm, if you correct
them when they do wrong, then that's going to help them understand who God the father is
once they do become saved. And again our heavenly father is one
that listens to requests. We can come before him at any time,
any moment. You can wake up in the middle of the night and God is not sleeping.
You can wake up in the middle, doesn't matter what, 2am, 3am in the morning, bow your head
and pray to God and you can be sure that God the father will hear you. God will always
give you time, we also need to give our children time.
And as I said it's the father's job to provide and I'll quickly
read to you from 1 Timothy 5.8 which says,
But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own
house, he have denied the faith and is worse
than an infidel. You know as a father it is so important that we provide for
our families. The Bible tells us if we do not provide for our family, we have denied
the faith and is worse than an infidel. You say what's an infidel? An infidel
is an unbeliever. Now obviously there's nothing you can do to lose your salvation. This is
not saying you've lost your salvation. It's not saying that you're never a believer. It just
says you're worse than an unbeliever. Because even unbelievers know
they ought to go and provide for the family, work hard and be that
help for the family. And so if a godly man is doing these things
he's worse than an unbeliever but it doesn't mean he's not saved. It's just something
because again it's that reflection of God. If we are not providing
for our own, we're raising our family to think that God the Father is not someone
that provides. So please keep in mind that reflection, that
image that you are of God the Father. And the other
advantage of being a father is, I don't know about you but
when I was a child, I thought my father had no faults.
I don't know if all kids feel that way but I felt that way. I felt that
my dad was the strongest man alive. And my dad is pretty strong
because he's been a mechanic and worked hard. He's pretty strong but he's not the strongest man
on the earth. I thought my dad was the wisest man on the earth.
I thought even when there were issues and as a child you'd see different wars on the news
and different problems. There's always problems on the news. There's always
something falling apart if you watch the news. But I always felt safe. I just thought well
I've got my dad. My dad knows what's going on. My dad's going to protect me. My dad's
going to keep me safe. And so as a little
child you grow up thinking your dad is the greatest. And
as you mature, this is why it's so important for children, I grew up in a Christian
home to get saved at an early age. Now I don't believe you should pressure your children.
At some point your children will, as they hear the gospel, as they hear the Bible, they come
to church, they think about God. At some point the fear of God is going to fall
upon them. At some point they're going to want to ensure they don't go to hell and they'll be asking
those questions. You know, mum, dad, what do I have to do to be saved? What do I have to do to make
sure I go to heaven? I don't want to go to hell. And you know, if you
grow up in a Christian home, they'll come to that understanding, you know, five, six,
seven years old. That's what I've experienced. Even four years old for one of my kids.
And the advantage to that brethren is that we're not
perfect parents. We're not perfect. I'm not a perfect father.
You're not a perfect father. I don't care what you think about yourself. You're not perfect.
We make mistakes. And you know, when they get saved though,
when they get saved at an early age, not only do they have an earthly father, they now have
a heavenly father that will help in your life. Not only do they have the instruction
of the parents, now they have the Holy Spirit living in them that will guide them
into the truth of God's word. And so, you know, the best thing we can do is just
teach our children the best we can and when we have faults and we have failings,
that's where I expect God, the Father, to step in and make sure that our kids
don't learn our bad habits or learn our bad ways, okay? And so
one thing, you know, as kids develop, I'm sure you've all experienced this, you know, you've all
thought your father was the greatest. At some point you realize, hold on, my father does
have faults. My dad does fail. My dad isn't the strongest.
My dad isn't the wisest. And then you become a teenager. And you might think
at that point my parents just don't understand me. They've got a different lifestyle
and, you know, you just start to notice the differences
and, you know, you don't have that same level of reflection upon your father. But here's the thing.
You know, if you got saved at an early age, you will always have the Heavenly Father.
It doesn't matter how many mistakes your earthly father makes, you will have a Heavenly Father
that makes no mistakes, that is always perfect, that always handles you in the right way.
And so that's the advantage, you know, fathers, for a period of time
for a brief few years, you are that reflection of the Heavenly Father. You know, you get
your children saved and now they can have their eyes on the Heavenly Father and
it's okay if they see your mistakes. It's okay if they see your cracks and your problems
because then they know we're just human beings. We're all sinners.
We all need the Lord, you know. And one thing that I've said
at times and, you know, it's just something that's imprinted into my mind is that one time
as a child, I don't remember how old I was, when I did think my dad was the greatest,
smartest, strongest man alive, when I walked into his bedroom and I saw him on his knees
praying with the Bible open, maybe weeping from memory if I got that correct,
and just thinking, wow, my dad needs God, you know, wow, my dad's on his knees
reading his Bible, my dad needs God, he must be going through some anguish,
some problems, and I just thought, wow, I thought he was the strongest man alive,
but now I realize if my dad needs God, then surely I need God as well.
Then God is the one that I need to set my eyes upon. And so please,
fathers, don't forget that you are, for that brief period of time at least,
for a few years when you're children are young, that reflection of God, please use that
to teach your children to know more about their heavenly father.
Now, when Abraham, sorry, when God speaks of Abraham
back in Genesis 18, verse number 19, the first thing he says to the angels,
he says, for I know him. Genesis 18, 19,
for I know him. My question
to you, brethren, is how well can God say about you, I know him?
I know him. Now, of course, we know that God knows everybody.
Sinner, saved, unsaved, God knows all of us, of course.
Okay? You might say, of course, God knows me, yeah, God knows you, but why would God
pause to his angels and say, but Abraham, I know him?
You know why? Because God knew Abraham intimately.
God knew Abraham very well. They had a close fellowship.
And brethren, you know, it's important for us to be known of God. Fathers, we need to be
known of God. We need to develop a close relationship with
God the Father. If you can please turn to Hebrews chapter 11.
Turn to Hebrews 11, and while you're turning to
Hebrews 11, I'll read to you from James chapter 2.
You turn to Hebrews 11, I'll read to you from James chapter 2.
And James chapter 2, verse number 23 says,
And he was called the friend
of God. He was called the friend of God.
Boy, have you got friends? You know, I don't have that many
close friends as I used to have. Right now, I've got my family, my priorities have
changed, right? I am friendly with a lot of people, but I don't really have
that same close friendship that maybe I used to have when I was a single man.
I had my friends, my buddies around me. But I want you to notice that Abraham
is called a friend of God. God says, I know
him. And brethren, you know, if we're not in fellowship with God,
if we're not picking up our Bibles and hearing what God has to say to us, if we don't
spend time in prayer and we spend time with God, you know, I recommend that
every man, every father, everybody, in fact, should take at least ten minutes,
fifteen minutes every day where they just find a quiet time to pick up
God's word, read a passage of Scripture, sing a song unto the Lord,
pray unto the Lord, and spend time with your friend. You want to be friends with God?
We ought to be. Abraham was a friend of God. If we want to be the best fathers
we can be, then we need to develop a friendship with God. We need to learn
from God. He's the ultimate Father. We need to make sure we set the Heavenly Father
as our example, that we're close to Him, that we, you know, imitate
some of His personality, that we may be able to share that with our children.
You're in Hebrews 11, look at verse number 8. Hebrews 11,
verse number 8, what kind of friend are you if you don't spend any time with God?
You know, if you spend no time with someone you call a friend, can you truly call them a friend?
But Hebrews 11, verse number 8, not only
was Abraham a friend of God, but Abraham sought to dwell with
God. In Hebrews 11, 8 says, by faith, Abraham,
when he was called to go into a place which he should after
receive for an inheritance, obeyed and he went out
not knowing whether he went, by faith he sojourned in
the land of promise, as in a strange country,
dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him
of the same promise. Now, before I read verse number 10,
I find it interesting that a lot of dispensational Zionist believers
think that, like, the Middle East, like Israel, the Holy Land,
the land of Canaan, is like this pinnacle for the Jews.
You know, that's God's land for them, that's what they're all about.
You know, God's promised them that land, it's their land.
And yes, Abraham was called into that land, the land of promise,
but notice what he says, he sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country.
So, yeah, okay, God wants me here, but he just said, you know, this is a strange country.
You know, dwelling in tabernacles, what's a tabernacle? It's like a tent.
You know, he wasn't fixed upon bricks and mortar, he wasn't overly concerned about
being there for a long period of time, he didn't care if he had to pick up his tents and move.
Okay, we veers with him of the same promise, but look at verse number 10,
why was he like this? Because it says,
You know what, yeah, Abraham was promised that land, he had dwelt in that land, he was in tents there,
but really, yeah, he had to live somewhere because he lived on the earth, but his focus
was in heaven, his focus was in the heavenly city, the heavenly Jerusalem,
whose builder and maker is God. What are some builders today,
what are some well-known builders? What are some companies, do you guys know?
Masters and Homes, what other ones?
Multiplex, yeah, Abraham wasn't interested in those builders.
He wanted the builder and maker, which was God.
He wasn't concerned with this earthly, you know,
earthly houses. He wasn't concerned with earthly land.
Yes, he had to live somewhere. I'm not saying it's wrong to own a piece of land, in fact it's good.
I'm not saying it's wrong to own a house, in fact it's good. But you know what, your heart,
your mind, your eyes ought to be on heavenly Jerusalem.
It ought to be in the presence of God. You know, you ought to be thinking about
eternal matters. As you live out your life, you ought to not think about
how much prosperity and wealth can I have upon this earth, but how much
prosperity and wealth can I have in heaven. That ought to be your lifestyle.
And let me just repeat once again, it's not wrong to have possessions.
Abraham was an extremely rich man. You know, he had gold and
silver and cattle and servants, man-servants,
maid-servants. He was very, very wealthy.
Very wealthy. In fact, he couldn't even live in the same place as Lot because
their shepherds were having a fight because they didn't have enough land for all
their possessions. You know, God allowed Abraham to be very prosperous on the earth,
but notice, Abraham really at the end of the day didn't care about it. His eyes was
in heaven. His eyes were on eternity. And so, fathers, we need to remember
that, you know, sometimes we focus on our children, we say, well, we want our children to
you know, be set for life. We want our children to have a good job. I'm not saying
any of these things are wrong. But more important, more important than that is
I want to make sure my children are saved. I want to make sure my children love the Lord.
I want to make sure my children read the Bible. I want to make sure my children follow the ways of the Lord
and do well in life. You know what? I'd be
happy for my children to be just lower
middle class people. You know, I don't want my children to be poor and suffering
and going without. But you know what? I don't care if they're, you know, if they've got a job
and they can provide for their family and they do okay. Maybe they struggle from time to time to
pay the bills. I mean, so what? You know, I'd rather that and they love the Lord.
That and they're soul winning. That and they're going to church and they're reading the Bible
then my children to be extremely wealthy, you know, and have no
problems on this earth. You know what that wealth's going to do? It's going to drive you away from the Lord.
You know, it's very hard for men to manage wealth and manage
the Lord. You know, this is why you either serve one or the other. You serve Mammon or you serve
the Lord. I would much rather my children, you know, have a poorer
life on this earth as long as they love the Lord and they're saved and they're going to heaven.
That's vastly more important. Eternal matters are vastly more important.
And so you can see that not only was
Abraham a friend to God, he wanted to be with God. He wanted to be in heaven.
And so we need to develop as fathers a healthy relationship with God.
The Bible reading, the time of prayer, drawing near unto God.
In James chapter 4 verse 8 it says, draw nigh to God and he will
draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands ye sinners and purify your
hearts ye double minded. We are double minded. We are double minded.
We love the things of this earth. We love the prosperity of this earth.
And then we love the Lord as well. That's being double minded. You know, draw nigh to God
he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse ye hands. How do we draw nigh to God?
Cleanse your hands ye sinners. Purify your hearts. We need to overcome our sins.
We need to stop giving into the temptations of our hearts and draw upon the Lord.
And of course prioritize the kingdom of God.
But the next thing that Abraham, sorry that God says about Abraham, not only for I know
him, he says that he will command his children. That he will command
his children. And so being in command is being the boss.
And Abraham is praised for taking command. You know we live in a
society that hates men. Honestly, you
watch the news, you watch Hollywood media or
shows or whatever it is, they're constantly bagging out the man.
You know I used to watch the Simpsons. Let me just confess a sin to you guys.
As a child I used to watch the Simpsons and while it was funny
you know the main character, Homer Simpson, the father, is portrayed as a complete
buffoon. A complete idiot. And you know what? Society kind of looks at
men like that. Just complete buffoons, complete idiots.
And there's a real hatred, there's a real agenda in the world today
to diminish a command in man. A man that's in charge.
But this is something that God praises Abraham for. For taking command of his children.
Command of his household. Including all his servants.
And God expects the father to be in command. And you say
well how do I know? How well am I commanding? What is that measure? How can I best
measure that? In my opinion the best measure of that is
to look at your children. How well do your children obey?
In churches there are all types of families. All
variations of families. And you know over time
you can't hide whether your children are obedient or disobedient to you.
Because things happen in church and sometimes a father or mother
needs to call a child over or tell a child stop doing that.
And you know it's not like you're prying into people's lives. I mean it's just you're just in
church and you're just observing. You're just there. But you'll start to notice where children
are just rebellious. Where a parent might tell a child to stop
and they continue being rebellious. They continue not listening to the parents.
A father calls the child and the child doesn't come.
Or maybe they do come. But they come with a sour face, an angry face.
And that's a great measure for you to determine whether that father is in command.
You know if you see a father call out his child and the child comes
the father tells the children to stop and they stop. And they've got a happy face and they're doing well
and it doesn't matter what mum and dad says. I'm going to obey and they're still happy anyway.
That tells you basically that father is in command. He's got good control of his kids.
And he loves his kids and his kids love him.
But when you see the other way. You see parents calling out their kids and they're just not listening
and not obeying you know and at that point you can say
well this father is not in command. I thought he was. I thought he was in command
but look at the way his children act when his father calls him.
Well that person is not in command. And you know this is something we need to fix.
I'm not trying to point out people's faults. We all have faults. I have faults. We all have faults.
The point behind this is if you can honestly say father
that when I command my children they don't listen.
You know I need to say to my kids alright I'm going to count down. I'm going to give you to the count of three.
And then they do it at the count of three. Well they need to do it at the count of one. In fact you need to do it before you even count.
As soon as you give the command your child ought to be obedient.
And again just because they obey they might have the sour face and the sighing and the moaning.
Well that's something you need to work on as well. You know making sure your children obey
the first time but with a happy face. And you know
I'll be honest I can't say that always happens in my life. You know these are things we need to work on.
We need to raise our children to follow our commands.
You know as a father with eleven kids one thing that I've learnt
through the process is that I was much more strict
and severe with my older kids. You know with my four older kids I was
much more strict with their upbringing than the younger kids. You say why did you get soft?
No I didn't go soft. One thing we observe with our kids
you know is that if you get the oldest one obedient and
serving and happy the second child is automatically
not just going to receive the correction from parents but they're going to
observe their older siblings and they're just going to naturally fall in line.
And if the next one comes along and they see two of their siblings being obedient
doing the right things again they're just going to naturally follow the example of their siblings.
And so the strictness or the amount of effort
you put into raising your older kids you won't need to put that same level of
effort into your younger kids as long as you've raised them the right way the older kids in the right way.
If you've not raised your older kids the right way and they are stubborn and rebellious
and you know they don't listen to parents well don't you know don't be surprised when the younger
kids come along and they also mimic the actions of their older siblings.
So just something that I've observed in my life I hope
that's something you kind of think about as well you can sit up. You know maybe my older kids
are going to hold it against me one day in fact sometimes they do. Oh you wouldn't allow us to do this
or that but you let the little ones do it. Yeah but you know they've learnt now.
They've gotten the understanding and it's true but you know that's just part of life you know it's part of life
and learning as you sort of observe. You know it's the same thing
as you know if you've got a church and you've got mature Christians in the church
well naturally those that are maybe younger Christians not being saved so long they might look up
to the older Christians more mature Christians and sort of pattern their life after that mature
Christian okay that's how it is okay but if you have a church with a whole bunch of
new Christians carnal Christians it's going to be difficult to get to the point
where they're sort of faithfully following the commandments of God all right.
So Abraham is praised for taking command and
fathers you need to take command of your family okay take command
and the next thing that he says about Abraham he says
So when we talk about a way we're talking about direction not only is it your job to
be the boss and to command but it's your job fathers also to provide direction
a way a direction the way of the Lord and the Bible
tells us in Psalm 119 verse 105
the Bible says
So fathers we need to know this Bible very very well
if we're going to teach our children the way of the Lord we need to know what this book says
okay it's not about how much you know I need to watch the Dr. Phil show
and I've got to watch the Supernanny to know how to raise my family
and I don't know what I don't know see I don't watch TV these days I don't know
who else is out there I'm sure there are other experts out there right now telling
you how to do things I'm sure there are many books out there that are teaching you
how to live your life but this is the book you need this book has all the
instructions all the directions that you require
that to teach your children the right way to teach them the way of the Lord
it is a lamp unto your feet
you know when I was in my late teens
or even early twenties I was never into music I was never really into you know
all the modern music anything like that I'm not really a
musical person to be honest with you but anyway
when I would take my first jobs I could actually have headphones on because my job was
very mundane you know very repetitive I didn't really need to think all that much
and instead of listening to music I would listen to talkback radio
just to do something right just to hear something and
when I would listen to talkback radio it really was helpful to me in that time in my
life because I got to learn about you know they would interview
different people different just different people with different philosophies
to life different beliefs not just beliefs in religion but just beliefs in general
of how what the world is you know different world views
things that were contrary I guess to what I had heard in the Bible and I always
I thought it was interesting right there is a danger to you know to consume that information
because if you're not close to the Lord you're not a solid Christian you might be tempted
into thinking wow there are other ways of life you know but you know I was really quite
you know I was very solid in the Bible in that period of time I was really a strong Christian
and I would listen but it really opened my understanding to the world to the greater world you know the different
ways of politics and governance and
it really just opened my understanding of the world in a whole and
every time I would hear things I would look at things and say well they spoke
like this and there are some elements that are biblical truths I can see that
and that's where they seem to succeed and there are other aspects that are completely foreign to the Bible
and you know I think it's interesting to see
how there are so many ways in fact the Bible tells us that there is a
broad way that many follow but that leads to destruction and there's
a very straight and narrow way which is the way of the Lord which obviously leads to eternal
life and this is you know it's so important
that we understand and one thing when I was listening to all those
voices and all those opinions I realized that people just do not have
a solid foundation they're speaking from the heart
they're speaking from the experiences sometimes it's gone well sometimes their life
has failed in some different areas but they never really had solid truth
the biggest advantage we have as Christians is we have truth
we have God's truth nothing changes here
philosophies, ideas, beliefs in the world they're constantly changing
they're constantly evolving people are constantly trying to find the best way to
live life but the best way to live your life is just to follow God's word
you know the closest example we have to that is Solomon in the book
of Ecclesiastes where Solomon gets to this point where he just tries
different things in life tries to find happiness in wealth and happiness
in false religion or you know just the philosophies of this world
but he ends up back to the beginning and says no you know what the only thing
that works in life the only thing that gives satisfaction is Lord
God and to follow his commands it's the same sort of philosophy the same sort of
thought process we have God's word we have his way
and let me just encourage you fathers you know the way you lead your family
please take God's word okay you know you don't need to follow the
generations that have gone before you you don't have to follow the traditions that you may have
from the countries you've grown up in or the families you've grown up with
you take God's word look at God's principles you know God is not this hard task
master you know as long as we keep away from sin God
gives us a lot of variety a lot of freedom in how we choose to live our
lives so long as we've not sinned against him if we follow God's way
you know this is what God is going to uphold you or uplift you exalt you
as a father if you're directing your family in the ways of the Lord
Christ says in John 14 verse 6
I think you might still be in Hebrews please turn to Hebrews 11 and 11
Hebrews 11 and 11 not only is the way a direction
but the way we saw there was Jesus Christ our faith in him and we need to
ensure that our family also grows in faith you know as fathers
we're the spiritual leader in our house we ought to be encouraging you know
our wives encouraging our children to read the Bible
and you know if you don't have this already in place in your family house
please try to spend time with the family together will you read the Bible
together will you sing a song of praise unto the Lord
together if you can do it daily great you know if you can just do it once a week great you know
just develop a habit in doing it on a regular basis with your family
Hebrews 11 and 11 you know Hebrews 11 is the chapter known
as the hall of faith we're talking about faithful Abraham here we're talking about how great of a
father he is but notice how he raised his family in Hebrews 11
and 11 it says through faith also Sarah Sarah was his wife
herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered
of a child when she was past age because she judged him faithful
who had promised you know Sarah Abraham's wife said
you know God is faithful God promised we're going to have a child we're going to
have a promised seed and because she remained faithful to God
she was able in her old age to conceive seed and fall pregnant
and give birth to that promised child but why was Sarah that way
because she was married to a faithful man a man who commanded his family
you know Abraham was someone who loved his wife and was able to help
increase the faith of his wife look at verse number 20 drop down to verse
20 Hebrews 11 20 it says by faith
Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things
to come Isaac is also called a man of faith by faith Abraham
blessed Jacob and Esau his children concerning things
to come see Isaac had a great understanding of future events
he had a great understanding of prophecies because he was raised in a
Christian home you know the faith that Abraham had was passed down to Isaac
and Isaac also knew the Lord God himself
Abraham I hope you can see is a great example of a godly faithful father
that not only had his own journey with God but he brought his wife and his
children along with him as well
the next thing that God says about
Abraham
it says here for I will know him and he will command
his children and his house after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord
and do justice and judgment and do justice
and judgment you know as fathers we ought to do
justice we ought to know the difference between right and wrong
again where do we get that from we only get it from God's word it's the only way we can
get it and we also should be people that pass judgment
what's the difference between justice and judgment justice is understanding
what is right and wrong judgment is carrying through
you know the reward whether that reward be good or whether that reward
be some level of punishment but we need to make sure we have the balance
of both you know there are some people that will
judge but will not judge
with justice we have many examples
our law today if you were to murder someone in Australia
you would not receive the death penalty now judgment would be passed
you know if you get found guilty but you'll most likely just rot in jail
for 20 years that's the kind of judgment that will pass but you know what it's not
justice justice is you know life for life
a murderer according to the bible ought to be put to death
so you need to understand yeah judgment has been passed in that example but justice
has not been done let me give you another example where someone can be
just but they don't pass judgment okay and this is
the example and I come across this quite a lot where Christians
know the bible very well they know doctrines very well they know what is
right and wrong but they don't apply in their own life they don't
pass judgment upon themselves they don't pass judgment upon their family they don't
pass judgment upon the scenario and they kind of have this sort of split life
where they know what is right and wrong but their earthly life
the life that they live does not reflect the bible at all they pass
poor judgment even knowing what is right and wrong they have the justice in
the heart but poor judgment okay we need to make sure
we have justice and judgment this is the example of Abraham
this is what God reflects upon in Abraham's life
and so what I'm trying to say brethren is that
you know if God is someone that is just as fathers we need to be
just as well you know what if our kids do well
you know and we can recognize that well we need to acknowledge that they've done
well okay and if our kids do wrong we need to acknowledge that they've done
wrong and then we need to pass judgment you know if my kids do well
I like to reward them and maybe buy them some chocolate
or something right something that they will like you know you know maybe a toy
maybe you know just you know maybe go a little bit
budget for their birthday presents you know if a child has done really well you know we want
to reward them we want to recognize them but when they do wrong we also need to make
sure we pass the right level of judgment for the wrong they've done
you know one small example that I'll give you
is that you know my kids obviously they're
not perfect kids my kids make mistakes my kids are sinners just like any other child
and they need to be disciplined well if my
kids come to me you know and they just tell me the truth
dad we did wrong I did wrong I messed up here obviously
justice would say yes you've done wrong you've done wrong here you need to learn from
this and then I need to learn to pass judgment right but if my kid tells me
that they've done it themselves they're seeking my mercy how many times have I
disobeyed God how many times have I sinned against God and I've appealed to God's
mercy and I feel like he's gone easy on me why because God can see that
broken contrite heart and his justice says yes you've done wrong yes you
deserve to be punished but you're not going to be punished to the same level of
punishment that you would have received had you come to me you know had you just had a
hard heart and not received the correction and so we need to think about
our kids you know when our kids are our kids learning
are they taking responsibility even when they do wrong when that happens I
truly believe you should be a lot more merciful to your children than they were
if they got found out they try to hide the wrong that they've done okay or
they're not taking the correction then you're going to want to pull out that rod of correction and
sort it out you know if my kids lie to us
they generally receive a much harsher punishment than if they just told the truth
okay so justice being just knowing what is right and wrong and
judgment being you know having fair judgment in the scenario
will help you be a strong and a father a father that
reflects God the father you know can you please turn to 2 Chronicles
we'll end on this passage 2 Chronicles chapter 1
2 Chronicles chapter 1 verse number 7
while you turn to 2 Chronicles chapter 1
you know the best way again to judge
is to see what the Bible says if God is for it you be
for it if God is against it you be against it
okay that's the best way that's the best way to know how you ought to live your life
and to raise your family but 2 Chronicles chapter 1 verse number 7
tells a story about King Solomon
and you know Solomon was taken
you know became king after his father David David
very famous king very famous warrior people loved David
okay and they got Solomon coming in and taking over the kingdom
and you know what we're not going to be taking over the kingdom of Australia
or anything like that okay but our families are just as important
you know as far as we're to be in command we ought to be the king in the household
that is our kingdom it might be a small kingdom but it's a
kingdom nonetheless okay and it tells here in verse number 7
in that night did God appear unto Solomon
and said unto him ask what I shall give thee
and Solomon said unto God thou hast showed great mercy unto
David my father and hast made me to reign in his stead
now O Lord God let thy promise unto David my
father be established for thou hast made me king over a people
like the dust of the earth in multitude
look what Solomon asks from God give me now wisdom
and knowledge that I may go out and come in before
these people for who can judge this thy people
that is so great so fathers let me just say this to you
I know you're not managing a kingdom right now you're not managing an entire
nation you still need the wisdom of God you still
need the knowledge of God you know what and I'm I guarantee
there's nothing more God wants to give you than great knowledge wisdom and
understanding so you can be the best father you can be
I think many times we just fail to go to God and ask for wisdom you know we just
think more highly of ourselves we think we can manage situations
in our own strength for our own understanding you know what we need to bow our heads
go to God God please give me wisdom give me knowledge you've given me this wife
you've given me these kids Lord it's a great responsibility I'm in
command I've got authority here I'm responsible for what takes place
but Lord I'm also a sinner and I need your help
you know if we go to God with our humble heart I have no doubt God will bless
you with great wisdom and knowledge of how to lead your family
verse number 11 and God said to Solomon
because this was in thine hearts and thou has not asked
riches, wealth or honour nor the life of thine enemies
neither yet has asked long life but has asked
wisdom and knowledge for thyself that thou mayest judge my people
over whom I have made thee king wisdom and knowledge
is granted unto you and I will give thee riches and wealth and honour
such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee
neither shall there be any other after thee
sorry neither shall there any after thee have the like
so you can see Solomon what a great example of Solomon here
following after his father's steps here asking God for wisdom and knowledge
and God says wow you know he's so amazed that you know he saw that in the heart
of Solomon and brethren I know that's in your heart I'm sure it's in your heart
that you want great wisdom and knowledge to raise your children to love your wife
to be that leader and you know what a leader is when we talk about commanding your
children it's not just I'm the boss you do what I say a commander
is also a leader you lead by example
you know many times I see parents say to the kids you know
do as I say don't do as I do are you guys familiar with that statement
do as I say not as I do well that's horrible I know that's the
way of the world okay but no we ought to say to our kids do as
I say and do as I do that's how we ought to be as Christians we ought to be
setting that example a leader sets the example a lead
a leader is the one hey this is what I'm doing be like me
that's how it ought to be you know sometimes we have that situation where parents think
or dads think well I just command I just tell them what to do but they don't have to
I don't have to set a good example I'm the boss I've got the authority yeah you do have
the authority you do have the boss you are the boss and you know your kids should obey you but
really they're going to grow up thinking that you're a hypocrite you know and again
you're a reflection of God the father and if they think that the earthly father is a hypocrite
what are they going to grow up thinking about God the father you know so be mindful
how you reflect to God in your life you know I want you to be like Abraham
where God can say about you that I know him do you have that fellowship
with God the father that he will command his children do you command your children are you
the boss in the house that he will keep the way of the Lord are you
walking in the ways of God and leading your family in that path are you someone that does
justice and judgment do you have a good balance of these two things
and if you do then you can be like Abraham you can be someone
where God turns to the angels in heaven and say boy have you considered
you know my son you know Les or Daniel or Anthony
or whoever else they might be you know have you considered how they live have you looked
at how they command their children have you looked at how they keep the way of the Lord have you
looked at how they do justice and judgment to be honest with you if God brought
up my name in heaven I'd be a little bit embarrassed because I'm not that great
so what do we learn we learn we need to work on these things okay it's not about
putting us down and thinking we're horrible dads if we fail in these areas no we're constantly
growing we're constantly learning we're constantly maturing in the Lord we need to make sure that
we work on these things in our life we develop these things you know it takes time
it takes time you can't think that overnight you're just going to be the best father in the world
no put these things into practice maybe there's one of these areas that you can say
well you know what I'm not practicing justice and judgment the right way maybe
work on that area right now okay you know taking everything on board at once is going to be overwhelming
just do one thing at a time God says for I know him how well do you know God
how well does God know you are you a friend to God maybe that's an area that you need to work on
right now okay it's one thing at a time the Christian life is line upon line
precept upon precept you know please don't feel like you need to rush into this
otherwise you could really harm yourself and harm your family okay let's pray