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["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day, for this Father's Day specifically. Lord, I just pray that you would put in us to think of our fathers, whether that be from a carnal sense or those that we can look to as a great example here in the church, just as being a father, both in a spiritual sense to get others saved and in a carnal sense on how we should lead our families. Lord, I just also pray that you'd be with us for this service today, that you'd fill Brother Oz with your spirit and that everything would be done decently and in order. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. All right, for our next hymn this morning, turn if you would to 375, Work for the Night is Coming. Hymn number 375375, Work for the Night is Coming. ["Work for the Night is Coming"] We'll sing there starting on the first. Work for the night is coming, Work through the morning hours. Work while the dew is sparkling. Work mid-springing flowers. Work when the day grows brighter. Work in the morning sun. Work for the night is coming When men's work is done. Work for the night is coming. Work through the sunny noon. Fill brightest hours with labor. Rest on shore and soon. Give every flying minute Something to keep in store. Work for the night is coming. When men's work no more. Work for the night is coming. Under the sunset skies. While their bright hints are glowing. Work for daylight flies. Work till the last beam faded. Faded to shine no more. Work while the night is dawning. When men's work is o'er. All right, great singing this morning. If you need a bulletin, raise your hand nice and high and we'll come around and get that to you. Again, just want to say Happy Father's Day to all the fathers here with us this morning and excited to hear the preaching this morning and this evening. It's been a great weekend. We're kind of coming to the climax or the end of that, so I'm glad to see everyone here. On the front, we do have our verse for the week. We are memorizing 2 Timothy 2, so I encourage you guys to keep up the hard work there. We have our service time. So many times, nursing home ministry there on the inside, along with our church stats for the month and year. Continue to be in prayer for our expecting mother, Miss Ferb. Our next 5th Sunday fellowship is going to be this coming Sunday, June 23rd, and the theme for that is foods that start with C. That is a potluck-style fellowship. She'll encourage you guys to stick around for that after the evening service. June 15th, this past Saturday, we were in Stillwater. We did so many marathon, and we did have 25 soul winners out and 17 salvations, so praise God for that. Let's go ahead and get a good round of applause for that. And thankful for all the hard work that went into that for you guys in taking time out of your Saturday. And then, of course, today, we have Brother Oz here and his family, and he's going to be preaching for us both in the morning and the evening. And in between services, we are going to do the yearbook pictures and also before the evening service if you can get here early enough and then after the evening service. Now, I do want to make an announcement regarding this because I was able to talk with our photographer, and he was saying that if everything about your picture that you saw looked great except the lighting, that can actually be fixed. So the lighting is something that they can adjust. We just got the raw version of that. So if you were happy with the picture outside of just the lighting, then you don't need to take another picture today. Outside of that, if you would like to, of course, you certainly can, and I encourage you to do that. And then directly after the evening service tonight, we are going to have Father's Day floats, so stick around for that fellowship. We have tons of root beer and vanilla ice cream from Brahms, right? So you only get Brahms in one place in the U.S., and that's in Oklahoma. So you've came to the right spot today. For that, please stick around after the evening service for that fellowship. June 29th is a baby shower for my wife here at the church at 2 p.m. And then July 5th, we are going to do an Oklahoma City baseball club game. That is at Bricktown. If you're not familiar with that area or if you've never been to a game in Bricktown, I can give you all the information on where to park, things like that. I'm really excited about this. We were able to reserve the deck in right field, and so there's going to be all-you-can-eat food, a minimum of 40 people. I think we've got like 35, 36 signed up. So if you want to invite more people, feel free to do that. And what's great about it is it's an open deck area. So for those of us that have kids, you know, sitting through a nine inning game can be pretty strenuous. For kids, it gives them the opportunity to kind of get up and freely move around. There's also a lawn area in right center field that can go sit in the lawn and hope for a home run baseball. It's going to be a great time. I'm really looking forward to it. So please, if you have anybody that you would like to invite, feel free to do that. And then last but not least, August 15th through the 17th is our men's conference. This has kind of been a tradition of Steadfast Baptist Church and Pure Words. And so it's always a great fun for the men to get together and spend some time and hear some great preaching and participate in some great singing. And so I encourage you to, if you can, take off for that. You won't be disappointed. August 15th through the 17th. Well, that's all the announcements I have this morning. So with that, we'll go to our next song, hymn number 406 in our hymnal, Who is on the Lord's side? Sing it out hymn number 406. All right, hymn number 406. 406, who is on the Lord's side? We'll sing there starting on the first. Who is on the Lord's side? Who will serve the king? Who will be his helpers? Other lives to bring. Who will be the world's side? Who will face the foe? Who is on the Lord's side? Who for him will go? High, high, world of mercy. High, high, grace divine. We are on the Lord's side. Savior, we are blind. Not for weight of glory. Not for crown and palm. Enter we the army. Praise the warrior song. But for love that claimeth lies for whom he died. He whom Jesus nameeth must be on his side. By thy love constraining. By thy grace divine. We are on the Lord's side. Savior, we are blind. Jesus, thou hast bought us. Not with gold or gem. But with thine own lifeblood for thy diadem. With thy blessing filling each who comes to thee. Thou hast made us willing. Thou hast made us free. By thy grand redemption. By thy grace divine. We are on the Lord's side. Savior, we are blind. Fierce may be the conflict. Strong may be the foe. But the king's own army none can overthrow. Round is standard ranging. Victory is secure. For his truth unchanging makes the triumph sure. Joyfully enlisting. By thy grace divine. We are on the Lord's side. Savior, we are blind. Amen, good singing this morning. As the offering plates are being passed around please turn if you would to John chapter number five. John chapter number five. John chapter number five. Bible reads, after this there was a feast of the Jews Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda having five porches and these lay a great multitude of impotent folk of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water for an angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the water. Whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there which had an infirmity thirty and eight years when Jesus saw him lie and knew that it had been now a long time in that case he said unto him, will thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, sir, I have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the pool but while I am coming another step it down before me. Jesus saith unto him, rise, rise, take up thy bed and walk and immediately the man was made whole and took up his bed and walked and on the same day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured is it the Sabbath day? It is the Sabbath day. It is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, he that made me whole the same said unto me take up thy bed and walk. Then asked they him, what man is that which said unto thee, take up thy bed and walk? And he that was healed wish not who it was for Jesus had conveyed himself away a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple and said unto him, behold, thou are made whole, sin no more, lest the worst thing come upon me, come unto thee. The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus which had made him whole and therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus and sought to slay him because he had done these things on the Sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, my father worketh it too and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him because he not only had broken the Sabbath but said also that God was his father making himself equal with God. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, the son can do nothing of himself but what he seeth the father do, for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the son likewise. For the father loveth the son and showeth him all things that himself doeth and he will show that him greater works than these that he may marvel. For as the father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the son quickeneth whom he will. For the father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgment unto the son that all men should honor the son even as they honor the father. He that honoreth not the son honoreth not the father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him and sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is past from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the son of God and they that hear shall live. For as the father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the son to have life in himself and hath given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the son of man. Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming into which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth they that have done good under the resurrection of life and they that have done evil under the resurrection of damnation. I can of mine own self do nothing as I hear I judge and my judgment is just because I seek not mine own will but the will of the father which hath sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that bears witness of me. I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. He sent unto John and he bare witness unto the truth but I receive not testimony from man but these things I say that he might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light and he were willing for a season to rejoice in his life. But I have greater witness than that of John for the works which the father hath given me to finish the same works that I do bear witness of me that the father hath sent me. And the father himself which hath sent me hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you for whom he hath sent him he believe not. Search the scriptures for in them he think he have eternal life and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me that ye might have life. I receive not honor from men but I know you that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my father's name and ye receive me not. If another shall come in his own name him ye will receive. How can ye believe which receive honor one of another and seek not the honor that cometh from God only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the father there is one that accuses you even Moses whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses you would have believed me for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings how shall ye believe my words? Let's pray. Amen. Good morning. Happy Father's Day to everyone. It's great to be in Oklahoma this weekend. Real quick if you're a father in the room this morning will you please stand real quick? Your father will you please stand? Let's give a round of applause to all the fathers in the room. God bless you guys. Thank you. You may be seated. You know it's great not only to have fathers in our lives when we're living in a day when many people are purposely not having children but what a blessing to have a father that's actually in church this morning. That's actually in a good church this morning. If you are a child of that father you know you should thank God this morning. Thank God this morning that you have a dad in church. And we're going to be preaching a Father's Day sermon this morning. We're in John chapter number 5. Let's start reading in verse number 19. Verse number 19 the Bible says, Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do. For what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. Now there's a truth that we just see in life and that we see constantly in the Bible that sons and daughters, children, are often very much like their father. And recently a few weeks ago my dad came and visited me from Idaho and it was the first time that my wife had actually spent a long amount of time with him but she just kept saying, wow, you're so much like your dad. You have so many characteristics of your dad. The way you talk, the way you carry yourself, your mentality is so much like my dad and that is true of most of us in this room. And that's even true of Jesus Christ. Look at the last part of that verse again. The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do. For what things soever he doeth, these also do the Son likewise. You know, Jesus Christ, all the works that he did was just like what his father did. All the words that he said were just like the words that his father said. And even in our lives, children often act, look, dress, talk, just like their dads do. And today in America, we have an epidemic of either fatherless homes in America or maybe there is a father in the home, but the father is not giving a very good example to their children. And the truth is, is that your children will likely end up like you dads, whether you're a good example or a bad. And this morning I want to do a little bit of a Bible study and I want to show you this principle in the Bible. Like father, like son. That's the title of my sermon this morning. Like father, like son. There's examples of this in the Bible, just plenty of examples, both good and bad, where you have a good dad and the son does that which is right. Or you have a bad dad and the son does that which is evil. Why? Because like father, like son. Let's look at some good examples first. First of all, is of course Jesus and God the father. Of course, when it comes to the father-son relationship, the best example we have is that of God the father and his son Jesus Christ. God the father is a perfect father. He's a perfect example and what's great is Jesus Christ is a perfect son. So this is just the best example you could possibly get. But look at John chapter number 5, look at verse number 17. It says, But Jesus answered them, My father worketh hitherto and I work. So notice, the work that God the father does is the same work that Jesus Christ is doing. And we even see this carnally all the time in our lives where it's very common for a son to choose the same profession as his father. To do the same type of work with their lives as their father does. Why? Because like father, like son. Go to Luke chapter number 2, Luke chapter number 2. Luke chapter 2. Once you get there, let's start reading in verse number 42, the Bible says, And when he, Jesus, was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. But when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. So parents, you know, if you've ever lost your children, don't feel too bad, even Jesus' parents have done this. I haven't done this yet, thankfully, it's something I dread, but hey, it may happen, it happened to Jesus' parents. But look at verse 46, And it came to pass that after three days they found him in the temple, I love what Jesus is doing here as a child, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking questions. Hey, that's a good example for you children of how you should be as a child, desiring to learn, desiring to be amongst the wise. Verse 48, And when they saw him, they were amazed, and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou dealt thus with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And then I love what he says here. And he said unto them, How is it that ye have sought me? Whist ye not that I must be about my father's business? Like father, like son. When it came to the work that Jesus Christ was doing, when it came to the mission that he had in his life, what was Jesus going to dedicate his life to doing? It's the same thing that his father did. It's the work of God. It's the kingdom of God. And it's not a coincidence that Jesus Christ is doing this. This is his father's business. And so just realize, fathers, that the example that you set in every area of life is likely to be followed and emulated by your children, even to the very job you work off in cases. And here we see Jesus following his father's business. Go back to John chapter 5, John chapter number 5. John 5, look at verse number 30 when you get there. John 5, 30. I can of mine own self do nothing, as I hear I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not mine own will, but notice, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. Again, we see an example of Jesus Christ following in his father's footsteps. Go to Hebrews chapter 1. I'll read for you John 12, 49. Jesus said, for I have not spoken of myself, but the Father which hath sent me, notice, he gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak. So notice, Jesus, he follows the work of his father. He follows the will of his father. He follows the commandments of his father. He speaks the same words as his father, but this is not the only similarities between Jesus and God the Father, because look at Hebrews chapter number 1, verse 1. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his sons. We're talking of Jesus, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world, who being the brightness of his glory, and notice, and the express image of his person. Not only does Jesus have all these character attributes of God the Father, he even looks exactly like God the Father. This is why Jesus could look upon people and say, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. It's not saying that Jesus is the Father. It's not teaching some weird Pentecostal, modalism doctrine. No, he's saying that Jesus Christ looks exactly like God the Father. Who would raise their hand today and say that they look similar to their father in some way? Pretty much everyone, right? You're adopted or something. If you don't, you might want to start asking some questions because everyone pretty much looks like their father in some way, shape, or form. When I look at my children, you can definitely tell two of them take more after their mom and two of them take more after me. The ones that get worse sunburns are the ones that take after me. I'm sorry, children. I wish you got your mom's blood on that. Northern European blood just burns so bad. Let's look at a lot of different examples in the Bible. The first part of the sermon is just a study. We'll make an application at the end. But go to Genesis chapter number 17. Genesis chapter number 17. So we see, like father, like son, with Jesus and God the Father. But there's another father-son where we can get this example, and that's Abraham and Isaac. Abraham, of course, was a righteous man. Abraham was a godly man, and God blessed him and made a pact or covenant with him in Genesis 17, verse 1. It says, It says, And what this is referring to is spiritual lineage. See, today, us as Christians, we are a chosen generation. We're a peculiar people. We are God's chosen people. We are a spiritual nation by believing in Jesus Christ. And so, in a sense, Abraham is our father spiritually. And Abraham had a great faith in God. Abraham believed God, Romans chapter 4 tells us, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. And you know what we have done? Those of us that have put our faith in Jesus Christ, we have believed in God, and it's accounted to us for righteousness. So, in that sense, like father, like Abraham, like sons, like us, we follow in his steps as well. Verse 5, Notice, Verse 7, Go to Genesis chapter number 26. So, here we see that God himself appears to Abram, and he makes a covenant with him. He tells him that his seed is going to be blessed, that many nations are going to come of him. But let's see if his son has any similarities in his life. His son, Isaac, here in Genesis 26, verse 1, it says, Isaac went up to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, unto Gerar. And notice, And the LORD appeared unto him, just like he did to his dad, again, like father, like son, and said, Go not down into Egypt, dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of, sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee and bless thee, for unto thee and unto thy seed will I give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swear unto Abraham thy father, and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and give unto thy seed all these countries, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. So here we see an example of Isaac following in his father's faith. And this is a sobering reality today to realize that many children just here in this world will follow after their father's faith. You know, for me, I did not grow up in a Christian home. I was the first person that I know of to get saved in my family. My dad grew up in a very just atheistic home that didn't care about the things of God, and I would look to myself as kind of being the exception. The reason I know that is because I know that my grandfather grew up in an atheist home, and I know that his grandfather grew up in an atheist home, and I know that his grandfather came from Norway, which is like a complete just godless place. Christianity really isn't thriving there. And so in my family, I just see generation after generation of unsafe people, right? And so why is that? Well, because generally speaking, like father, like son. Now, of course, there's exceptions to this, but just realize that if you want your children to be saved, well, you better set the example of having faith in God. You better be the one modeling faith in your children's lives because here we have Abraham, the father of faith, and what happens to Isaac? He follows in those footsteps. God appears to Abraham. God appears to Isaac. God makes a covenant with Abraham. Sorry, yeah. Abraham, God then makes a covenant with Isaac. It's just a common theme we see in the Bible. Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11, the great hall of faith chapter. Look at verse number 17. It says, By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called. You know, of course, we know that Abraham had faith in the context of believing in God for salvation, but Abraham also had great faith in just demonstrating his ability to obey God's commands and to trust the Lord for what God says for him to do. And we see that his son actually also is a great man of faith and a great man of faith in that sense as well. Look at Hebrews 11 verse 20. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. So both of these men are in the hall of faith and are being praised for the great faith that they had. Because think about it. It had to take a lot of faith for Abraham to be willing to sacrifice his son Isaac. But sometimes I think we overlook how much faith it took for Isaac to be willing to be sacrificed by his father. I mean, couldn't Isaac have just tried to run away and just run through the mountains and just like... He didn't even try that. He trusted his father. He trusted God. Where did he see that example? In his dad. He saw his dad being a great man of faith. He saw his dad believe on the Lord. He saw his dad trust in the promises of God. And so Isaac also was a great man of faith. It didn't happen by accident. He was following the example of his dad. Let's talk about another father-son relationship here. Go to Genesis 31. Genesis 31. Think about Jacob and Joseph. Father-son combo here. And there's a lot of similarities between these men. Here's one. Both are favored by their family members. Jacob is favored by his mom. And Joseph's parents obviously favored him over his brothers. And that caused his brothers to get envious. Both were exiled. You remember Jacob's on the run from his brother Esau. And Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers. So there's some similarities. Both had dreams that they interpreted. Both were given dreams from the Lord. And both became great men of power through their faith. Jacob is the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. Joseph ends up becoming the second in command over all of Egypt and basically saves a great multitude of people alive. I mean these are a lot of similarities between these two. And again we see this principle throughout the Bible. Like father, like son. Often carnally speaking and spiritually as well. But look at Genesis 31 verse 41. It says, Thus have I been, this is Jacob. Thus have I been 20 years in thy house. I served thee, talking to Laban, 14 years for thy two daughters and six years for thy cattle and thou hast changed my wages ten times. So what's happening? Jacob, he makes a covenant with Laban and Laban's mistreating him. He's not appreciating him as a worker. He's going back on his word. He's changing his wages. He's being a bad boss, right? Look at verse 42. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked thee yesternight. And so what happens is we see that Jacob is a man of integrity. He's a man that works hard even when he's being mistreated. He's a man that's trying to bless his boss and to increase his boss's business. And what happens is God blesses him. Even when people are trying to harm him, Jacob is blessed by God. Jacob is delivered. Well, can you think of a situation with Joseph's life, his son, where the same thing happens? People want to harm him. His brothers sell him into slavery. They leave him to die in a pit. He gets thrown into prison. He works up the ranks in the prison and gets promoted to leadership. He has a psycho woman trying to lie about him, saying that he basically tried to force her carnally, which was a lie, and God allowed him to escape that situation, and he just kept rising against adversity all the way to the point where Joseph was second in command of all of Egypt. Just like his father overcame adversity because of the blessing of God, Joseph did the same thing. Where do you think Joseph saw the model of faith and integrity from? From his dad. Why? Because like father, like son. Let's look at a different example. Go to 2 Samuel 7. How about King David and King Solomon? These are men that have a lot of similarities in their lives as well. 2 Samuel 7, verse 1. And it came to pass when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies, that the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. You know, here we see that David clearly has a desire and a care for the things of God. David's not selfish. He sees, hey, I'm doing well. I'm blessed. I'm living in a nice house. But he notices that the ark of God is not being taken care of the way that he thinks it should. It's just kind of giving us an insight into David's heart. Verse 3. And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with thee. And it came to pass that night that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shall thou build me an house for me to dwell in? Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. So here we kind of see that this isn't even something God told David to do. And Nathan kind of jumps the gun. Nathan's just like, Yeah, do what's all in your heart. But then God says to him like, Hey, I didn't even ask you to do this. This isn't even something I really commanded you. But skip down to verse number 12. It says, And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels. This is talking about King Solomon, his son. And I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Like father, like son. David had a desire to do a work for God. And as we've already talked about, a lot of times children follow in their father's footsteps, even when it comes to work, business, serving God. And here David wanted to build the temple of the Lord. He couldn't. But who is going to build it? His son. Why? Like father, like son. Go to 1 Chronicles chapter 22. 1 Chronicles chapter 22. 1 Chronicles 22 verse 1. Then David said, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering of Israel. And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel. And he set masons to hew rot stones to build the house of God. And David, notice this word, prepared. Iron in abundance for the nails of the earth. Iron in abundance for the nails of the door of the gates. And for the joinings and brass in abundance without weight. Also cedar trees in abundance for the Zydonians. And they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David. And David said, Solomon, my son, is young and tender. And the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding, magnifical of fame and of glory throughout all the countries. I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death. This is kind of a side note, but I love David's attitude here. He knows that he can't build the temple. He's not going to be the one that's known as the person that built the temple. He's not going to get really the glory or the fame for that. But he genuinely wants his son to do it. He cares about the work of God being done. He's not in it for himself or his name. He just wants it to be done. He wants his son to do it. So instead of just getting mad or bitter that God didn't allow him to do it, he spent his life making preparation for his son. Why? Because he knows that like father, like son. His son is likely to follow in his footsteps. So what he did is he set the example and made preparation for Solomon to have the tools he needs to build the temple. And you know, that is something that we need to keep in mind as fathers. You know, we're going to have goals. We're going to have desires as individuals, as a church. We're going to want to do great things for the kingdom of God. But look, not all of those things are going to pan out in our life. We don't know what is and what isn't. We're going to put our hand to the plow. We're going to work as hard as we can. We're going to try to get as much done as we can. But at the end of the day, it's up to God to prosper our work or not. But even if we don't accomplish all that we want to, you know what we can do? We can prepare for our sons and our daughters. We can make preparation for them and give them the tools they need to build the house of the Lord. What's an example of this? We need to give them the tools of how to preach the gospel. Let's make preparation. Let's train the next generation and say, hey, here's the tools that you need to build the kingdom of God. Here's how to preach the gospel. Here's how you mark out your Bible. Here's the verses you turn to. Here's some soul-winning tips. And this applies to just everything in the work of God. We need to be training the next generation to make preparation for them. Why? Because like father, like son. If we fail to do that, it's very unlikely that they'll be the exception. Exceptions are exceptions because they're rare. The rule is that our children are going to be like us. So we need to make preparation for them. Look at verse 6. Then he called for Solomon, his son, and charged him to build an house for the Lord God of Israel. He's commanding him. This is what you're going to do, son. Just like God the Father commanded Jesus and he did it, David's doing the same thing to his son Solomon. Verse 8. But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly and hast made great wars. Thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. Behold, a son shall be born to thee who shall be a man of rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. He shall build an house for my name, and he shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever. Now, my son, the Lord be with thee, and prosper thou, and build the house of the Lord thy God, as he hath said of thee. What a great father David was. Despite his faults, despite the fact that he had serious issues in his life, you know, he prepared for his son Solomon and he commanded him to do the work. And what happened? Solomon did build the temple of the Lord, and God did bless Solomon, and Solomon was king over Israel during the most prosperous phase of the entire nation's history. It was when they were the most at peace, it was when they were the most financially wealthy, it was when they were the most safe from all their enemies, and why is this? Well, it's because of the leadership, partially, of King David. Like father, like son. Here's another example. Go to Numbers chapter 13. Here's another example. Caleb and Othniel. Now, Othniel is not Caleb's direct son, it's his nephew, but Caleb is definitely a father figure to Othniel, and we'll see that this principle definitely applies. You remember Moses tells the children of Israel to go into the promised land and to spy out the land to bring a report back? Look at Numbers 13 verse 25. And they returned from searching of the land after 40 days, and they went and came to Moses and to Aaron and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran and Kadesh, and brought back word unto them and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him and said, We came unto the land, whether thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it. So they're bringing back the report, they're saying, hey, it's a great land, here's the milk and the honey, I'm going to show you the fruit of it. Verse 28. Nevertheless, the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled and very great, and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south, and the Hittites and the Jebesites and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and by the coast of Jordan. So notice these people that are bringing back the report, they're saying, yeah, it's a good land, but look at all these problems, look at all the reasons why we can't do it, these people are too strong, their terrain is set up where it's going to be hard to invade these people, this is too hard to do, Moses. Verse number 30. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses. He's saying, hey, chill out for a second, and said, let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it. Now that's the right attitude. Caleb knows, hey, who cares about their geographical terrain? Who cares about how big these people are? We have the Lord God of Israel on our side. We have the God of the universe on our side, let's go in immediately and just take this thing over. Because Caleb's confident in the Lord, he's a man of courage, he's a man of strength, and he knows that the Lord is going to deliver them. He wasn't afraid. Look at verse 31. But the men that went up with him said, we be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. They're looking at things carnally. And they brought up an evil report of the land, which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, the land through which we have gone to search it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature, and there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants. We were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. And you know, this is the mentality that so many people have today, where they're looking at everything carnally, they only see problems, they only see obstacles. You know, especially even in church now, so many churches today are just wanting to go liberal, because they say, oh, look, you know, you can't reach people with the King James Bible. The giants are in the land. It's too hard to beat the giants with the King James Bible. Hey, it's too hard to build a church today in 2024 with hard preaching. You need to tone down the preaching a little bit so that we can conquer the giants. Hey, you know, you need to bring in the smoke and the light. You need to have the liberal music up here. You need to have the dancers up here. Otherwise, we're not going to be able to take over the land. Look, that's garbage. That's the common mentality. That's the mentality of people that are thinking of things carnally that don't trust in the Lord. I saw this one pastor, calls himself a pastor. I don't even know if he was ordained, but his name is John Lovell. He's also a gun influencer. You know who he is. I listened to a sermon of his, and he said this. He said, I guarantee you that no one is reaching Gen Z with the King James Bible. Well, hey, my name's Dylan Oz, and I'm a Gen Z preacher up here with the King James Bible. I was reached with the King James Bible. What are you talking about, you coward? Why would we change the King James Bible? No, you know what? We just need to have the attitude of Caleb that it says, hey, we're well able to do it with this book right here. It doesn't matter what the giants say. It doesn't matter how many people are in the land. It doesn't matter the obstacles. This book has power. And you need to stop looking at things through a carnal lens and saying, oh, people are too afraid of the Vs and Thows. No, this is a spiritual book with power. And yes, you could reach Gen Z people. Raise your hand if you were born between 1997 and 2000. I think 11 is what it is. OK, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. I got you right. OK, 11. There we go. Twelve. Look at that. What are you talking about? This church is full of people that are young people that love the King James Bible. You're just too weak to go out and use it. You're just afraid. Just admit it. You're just a coward. And guess what? Like father, like son, your kids are not going to be using the King James Bible if you don't. Most likely they're not going to be the exception. Most likely they're going to follow in their father's footsteps. Now look at Othniel, which is his nephew. But hey, this this principle definitely applies. Well, before I get to Othniel, let me let me show you one thing real quick. In Numbers 14, 24, it says this, But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereto he went and his seed shall possess it. Notice God blesses Caleb for being a man of courage. And we have so many people today, even in churches, that are not men of courage. We have men behind the pulpits that are afraid of the giants of the land. And especially in this month, the month of June, how many pastors are going to get up and just not say anything about the fact that our nation is just falling into hell with this sin of sodomy. And not only are we just falling into the sin of sodomy as a nation, but we have churches that are actually propping it up and saying it's good, and saying that we should love them and saying that we should welcome them into church. You know, instead of going into the promised land and destroying the Anakims and destroying the Canaanites and destroying the Perizzites, they're saying, Hey, come into our camp, Philistines. Come into our camp, Canaanites. No, they need to be driven out of the camp. We need to go and destroy them spiritually and not just be afraid of them. And how do we do it? We do it with the sword of the Spirit. We do it with Leviticus, 2013, that if a man lies with mankind as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. That's what the Bible says. And you know what? I've been learning German lately, and I love the German Bible because in Leviticus, 2013, it has a big exclamation point right after Leviticus, 2013. It's like, yeah, you know, everything in German sounds mad, but they wanted you to get extra mad when you read Leviticus, 2013. Like, I kind of want to write an exclamation point in my Bible right there. Do it. But look at Othniel in Judges, Chapter 1. Othniel, Judges, Chapter 1. Judges, Chapter 1, verse 10, And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron. Now the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba, and they slew Shishai and the high men and Telmei. And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Deir, and the name of Deir before was Kirjath-Sefer. And Caleb said, He that smiteth, hear Jath-Sefer, and taketh it. To him will I give Axah my daughter to wife. And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it, and he gave him Axah his daughter to wife. So we see, you know, Caleb gives this challenge saying, who's going to take this city? Who's going to take it over? And his nephew, Othniel, says, I'll do it. He's a man of courage. Where do you think Othniel saw that courage in his life? He saw it in his uncle. He saw it in Caleb. Why? Because like father, like son. Or in this case, like father figure, like son. It still applies. So we've gone through some good examples. We've shown you that when men do that which is right, oftentimes their children will as well. But you know what? The converse of this is also true. That oftentimes when men do wickedly, when men are living wicked lives, when men don't follow the Lord, the same thing with their children. Or the sins that men struggle with, often their children struggle with as well. Let's go through Genesis chapter 20. Let's talk about Abraham and Isaac again. You know, these men both symbolize a good example and a bad example. Why? Because human beings are complex, right? We're sinners. We're not just black and white. We've got to be feeding the Spirit every single day because if we don't, we will be sinners. We have the old man. There's nothing special about us. What's special is the Holy Spirit in us and the God that we serve. Look at Genesis chapter 20 verse 1. So what do we have in this story here? Basically Abraham just lies. I mean this is just a flat out lie and he says that his wife Sarah is actually his sister. I don't know what kind of weird logic he was going with here to think that that was going to keep him safe or to keep her safe. It's just a weird thing to do. Never do this, please. But it is a sin that he committed and isn't it funny how his son did the exact same thing. Look at Genesis 26. Genesis 26 verse 6. Again, like father, like son. We have the father lying about his wife saying that he is his sister and his son does the exact same thing. Where did he learn that example from? He learned it from his dad. And so just think about this because of course this applies in a positive way like father, like son. Your good traits are hopefully and probably will be followed by your children but so will your negative traits. And so this is really the part that we need to focus more on is eliminating the sins in our lives because our children are likely to follow in our steps. Let's look at another example. David and Solomon. First Chronicles chapter 3. Again, these men also picture a good example of this and a negative example of this. First Chronicles chapter 3 verse 1. So notice anything weird about this passage? It's listing his children. Well, here's what's weird about it. They're all of a different woman. It's just like, oh, you know, he had this child of this woman. He had this child of this woman. This child of this woman. That's a problem, David. God desired and designed marriage to be between one man and one woman. I know that's a controversial statement today in 2024. You know what? That is true. And God is against polygamy. God's against bigamy. God's against all this kind of stuff. But here we have King David who, yes, was a man after God's own heart but he still was a sinner. And what was he wrapped up in? A lot of polygamy. Now, I wonder how Solomon followed in his footsteps here. Go to 1 Kings chapter 11. 1 Kings chapter 11. You know, maybe you've heard this statement that what the parents do in moderation, the children will do in excess. Where does that come from? Okay, well, look down at your Bible at 1 Kings 11, 3. This is Solomon. It says, and he, Solomon, had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. Why? Like father, like son. You really think that Solomon would have had a thousand women that he was with carnally if his father wasn't a bad example in that respect? If his father didn't commit adultery at Bathsheba, his father wasn't into this weird polygamy. And we see what David did, which I wouldn't say what David did was in moderation because there should be no moderation of sin. But comparatively to Solomon, you could say it was in moderation because what Solomon did is he just went way off the deep end. And you've got to keep that in mind. You say, you know, oh, I can handle this in my life. Yeah, I know it's a sin. Yeah, I know it's not the best thing. But, you know, I'm not letting it take me over. Okay, even if that was true, which that's a prideful thought to even have, will your children be able to be strong? Will your children be able to handle it in their life? Chances are they will not. Chances are they will see the example that you're setting in your life, both good and bad, and will likely follow that. And you see this all the time. Dad's an alcoholic. Son becomes an alcoholic. Dad smokes cigarettes. Son grows up to smoke cigarettes. Dad gets divorced. Son gets divorced. Why is it we have so much divorce in our country today? It's because that our forefathers have really just dropped the ball on that issue. I mean, the last several generations in America, marriages have not been a good example in our country. I mean, if you look back at like my great grandparents, that was like the last generation that was a good example in marriage. My grandmother was born in, my great grandmother was born in 1927. She was with her husband until he died. And most people of that generation were that way. But then the baby boomers came, they started becoming liberal, and they didn't teach their children the importance of staying married until life. So then you got Gen X, and they're getting all divorced. Then you got millennials, and they're getting tons of divorce. And then you got Gen Z, and divorce is still rampant in my generation too. Why? Because like father, like son, both in the good and in the bad. Let's look at another negative example. Go to 1 Kings chapter 14. 1 Kings chapter 14. Let's look at Rehoboam and his son Abijah. Rehoboam and his son Abijah. 1 Kings 14, 21. And Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was 40 and 1 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned 17 years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Nama and Imanitis. And Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed above all that their fathers had done. For they also built them high places and images and groves on every high hill and under every green tree. You know, where did he learn this? He learned it from his father, Solomon. Because Solomon, his heart was turned away by his wives, and he started to finance and support false religion in the nation. His son does the same thing. What about Rehoboam's son? Look at 1 Kings 15. 1 Kings 15, verse 1. Now in the 18th year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat reigned, Abijah, over Judah. Three years reigned he in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Maacah, the daughter of Absalom. And he walked, notice, in all the sins of his father which he had done before him. And his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. So we see Solomon, Jeroboam, and then Abijah. You've got three generations of following false religion or supporting false religion in a sense. Why? Like father, like son. Let's quickly look at a few more examples. Go to 1 Kings 22. 1 Kings 22. Let's talk about Ahab and Ahaziah. And by the way, you're going to see that phrase a lot. If you read the Old Testament, you're going to see that phrase a lot that he did, you know, wicked like his father had done. Or he walked in all the evil ways of his father. You see that all the time. Why? Because the Bible is constantly, constantly explaining this theme, like father, like son. Look at 2 Chronicles 21. Let's talk about Jehoram and his son Ahaziah. Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and slew all his brethren with the sword, divers also of the princes of Israel. I mean, that's just wicked, disgusting. Look at 2 Chronicles 22, verse 1. 2 Chronicles 22, verse 1. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king, in his stead. For the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned. Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri. Notice he also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, where his mother was his counselor, to do wickedly. Like father, like son. And it's not Mother's Day, but hey, also like mother, like son, too. Just realize that this sermon doesn't only apply to the men in this room, it also applies to the ladies. And realize that just parents in general are the ones setting their example for their children, and your children will follow in your sins. Oftentimes, fathers and mothers, why? Like father, like son. Last example here, I'll show you. Go to 1 Kings 15. 1 Kings 15. 1 Kings 15, verse 25. And Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa, king of Judah. And he reigned over Israel two years. And notice, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin, wherewith he made Israel to sin. So far, I hope you've seen that this is just a proven fact in the Bible. Like father, like son. God wants us to get this through our heads. He shows us example after example after example, both positive and negative, that children will often follow in their father's footsteps. But the second part of this sermon that I want to go through this morning is this. What about you, dad? What about you? You know, just realize that your kids are going to turn out like you. Would you be happy if your kids were just like you? Because chances are, both the good and the bad, your children will often be just like you. Are you happy with that right now? Would you say, would you say, I would love it if my kids turned out like me? I wish my kids would turn out better than me. Or are you saying, wow, I really don't want my kids to be anything like me. Wow, I really don't want my kids to do the things that I do, to say the things that I say, to live my life in the way that I'm living. You know, you've got to realize that when it comes to parenting, is that you shouldn't look at it as that you're raising children. You should look at it as that you're raising adults. You're raising servants of God. You're raising the next preachers in churches. You're raising the next soul winners. You're raising the next ushers. You're raising the next musicians. You're raising the next parents. And so many parents today are just looking at their jobs. So many fathers today are looking at their children and saying, oh, I'm just raising kids. No, you're raising adults. And chances are that the adults that they will be is just like you. So think about it. What example are you setting for your children? Hey, like father, like son, if your children were just adults today, how would they act? If they were just like you, how would they be? You know, what example are you setting, fathers, when it comes to church attendance? Go to Hebrews chapter number 10, Hebrews chapter number 10. What if your kids went to church with the same frequency that you go to church? What if your kids went to church with the same level of sincerity and soberness and gravity that you treat church? Look at Hebrews chapter 10, verse 25. It says, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching. God doesn't want us to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Church is one of the most important things in our lives. And I just, I cannot believe how as our country just gets worse and worse by the year, some people just never wake up. Some people will just always be Sunday morning glories. Some people will just never realize how important church is. But let me tell you something. If you are the type of person that goes to church once a week, if you are a morning glory, a Sunday morning glory, just realize that your kids will probably not be in church at all, because you're showing them that it's not that important. And guess what? Like father, like son. And look, you want your kids to grow up and be godly and to be spiritual, you want your kids to go to church, but you don't go to church. You are out of your mind. Look, and I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings in here, but look, if you've got kids that are getting older, that are almost adults, they're on the verge of making the decisions for themselves in their lives, and you're not taking it seriously to be in church on Sunday morning, you are crazy. Don't come crying and complaining in five years when your sons or your daughters are pregnant outside of wedlock, they're whores, they're just stupid people that don't care about the things of God. Look, pray for my kids, they're wayward. Yeah, I'll pray for your kids, but you know what you should be doing right now? Is getting them in church every single time the doors are open. And don't expect your children to grow up and to be godly when you yourself aren't. And for no other reason why you should be in church every time the doors are open, why you should be a godly person is for your kids. Look, I hope that you have a sincere relationship with God. I hope that in your heart, dads, that you want to be here this morning. I hope that you want to open up your Bible every day and read it, but look, even if you don't, even if you know that you're not that spiritual, can you at least just put on a face and an example for your children? Can you at least just be a good enough dad to model for them that church is important, even if you're selfish and wicked in your heart? Just model it for your children at least. And it's just like the worldly influences on our children and on young people today have never ever been stronger. And just to see the apathy of fathers in America, just to see the apathy of dads that are actually so deluded in their mind and so prideful that they think that their children are going to turn out good because they show up to church once a week, you are insane. You need to be around God's people every single time you can. You need to be doing spiritual activities every single time you can. And your children are likely not going to be the exception. They will likely be the rule. It will likely be like father, like son. What example are you setting for your children when it comes to soul winning? 2 Corinthians 4, let's start reading in verse 1. It says, Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. The Bible says that if our gospel is hid, it is hid to those that are lost. And if we, as soul winners in this room, if we all die without teaching the next generation of soul winners to take it seriously, to be effective soul winners, then the gospel will be hid to people that are lost. And if dads don't do their job by training their children to be soul winners, there will be people that will spend eternity in hell that could have been saved if your children turned out right. So what example are you setting for your children when it comes to soul winning? Do you even go soul winning? I bet you there's some people that go to church and they think soul winning is good. They're for the church program, going soul winning. And they probably want their kids to be soul winners. But you don't go soul winning! You are crazy if you think that your children will be the exception. If you think that just because your children hear good preaching from Evangelist Fur, or from Pastor Shelley about the importance of soul winning, you know what it really comes down to? It comes down to like father, like son. And while I want good preachers, I want good pastors, I want good examples, you know what dad? You are the pastor of your own home. You are the example to your children. But so many dads today, they think, oh yeah, of course I want my children to be soul winners, but I'm not going to do it. You fool. You selfish fool. Your children are not going to be soul winners if you are not a soul winner. What example are you setting for your children when it comes to prayer? The Bible says pray without ceasing. Does your children even know that you pray? Do you ever pray with your children? Do you ever pray as a family? Do you ever pray a simple prayer before a meal? Do your children see an example in their life of someone that prays? Not just the preacher when he closes his sermon. Not just the song leader when he kicks off the service. But do they see their dad who they love and who they admire and who they want to follow? Do they see dad praying? Does dad lead the family in prayer? Because like father, like son. If you don't pray, you better believe that your children are not going to pray either. What about the example fathers, what example are you setting in your work ethic? Go to Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter number 3. Colossians chapter 3, look at verse 22. Colossians 3, 22, it says, Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service, as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. Do your children see a dad that's a good worker? Do your children see a dad that follows the boss's instructions, that wants the company to succeed, that wants to help the work that he's doing? I've seen this really stupid video passed around recently, and it's like this guy that works at IKEA. Has anyone seen these weird reels? It's like this guy that works at IKEA, and people come up to him and they complain. Hey, something's dirty over here. Or hey, do you guys have any more of this in stock? He basically just complains. And this worker, this whole account is dedicated to making fun of customers that actually want customer service. And he's saying like, I just work here. Do you think I actually care about the company? Some of you have seen this. And I've seen Christians passing this around and laughing at this garbage, and I'm thinking, what a shame to the testimony of Christ. I mean, are we just communists now? I mean, is America just a completely communist nation now where we just want businesses to fail? Do we just want the places that we work just to suffer just because we're not the owner? We're just the employees? You know what? Shame on you if you like that video. Shame on you if you think that video is funny. It's not funny. It's really stupid. And you know what? Your children are going to see that example. Oh, yeah, Dad just makes fun of the customers. Dad just doesn't think that the customers matter. Dad doesn't really care if the business does well or does poorly. He's just trying to draw a paycheck. You know what? That's a terrible example that you're setting for your children. Oh, Dad just doesn't listen to what the boss say. He just does his own program. He's just a rebellious worker. Well, that's what you could have to look forward to with your children. That's what they'll follow. Go to Colossians Chapter 4. How about this? Dad, what example are you setting for your children in the way that you speak? What example are you setting to your children in the way that you treat people? Look at Colossians Chapter 4, Verse 6. It says this. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man. You know, I love that we as Baptists, we love hard preaching, and we love it when someone gets behind the pulpit and rips face. But let me tell you something. There's a difference in preaching the Word of God and preaching against sin and just how you treat your everyday person out and about. You know, we should be people where our speech is categorized as that which is graceful. You know, here's an example I see of this. Like, who's ever seen someone just mistreat a waiter or a waitress? Man, that just pisses me off. It's like, what is the point of just being a jerk to someone just for the sake of being a jerk to someone? That's not a good example to set to your children. The example to set to your children is that you treat people with grace. You speak kindly to people, even out soul winning. Look, we're trying to get people saved. We're trying to put a good taste of God in these people's mouths. It's not our job just to go around just rebuking everyone we see and just screaming at everyone we see. And someone's not saved so you're a reprobate. Go to hell. No. No, set an example of kindness. Set an example of grace, okay? Yes, we preach hard against fags. Yes, we want them executed by the government. Yes, there's like 2% of the population that we hate. But guess what? We love 98% of people. We should love each other. We should be gracious with each other. We shouldn't be jerks with each other. Just because we have different positions and gifts in the church doesn't mean we could treat other people like garbage. Let's be kind one to another. Let's be gracious one to another. Why? Because like father, like son. You're a jerk. You're just blabbing off your mouth to the waitress and the waiter because you're so large and in charge. You're so alpha. You're just so mean to everyone. Wow, man, you're so cool. You're so cool. And guess what? Your kids are going to be little jerks just like you. And I'm not impressed. I actually think it's pathetic. I actually think it's very weak. What about this, fathers? What example are you setting for your children and how you treat your wife? Go to Ephesians, chapter number 5. Ephesians, chapter number 5. Ephesians 5. Look at verse 25, it says, Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself the glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. Just realize this, the type of marriage you have, fathers, very likely will be the type of marriage that your children has. You get divorced, your children will likely get divorced. You treat your wife like garbage, your children, that's the example that they have to look up to. They say, oh yeah. You know, think about the ghettos of America. Oh yeah, I saw dad beating mom. And what happens? They grow up and beat women. Where do they learn that from? Like father, like son. And while there's probably not that extreme of an example in here, at least I hope not, but yet in Christianity and in good churches, there are husbands that are crappy husbands. There are husbands that treat their wives like garbage. Look, sir, yes, you are in charge. Yes, you are the authority of the house. Yes, you are to lead her. Yes, at times you may need to correct her. You are in charge. But that does not mean that you should treat your wife like crap. That does not mean that you should not value her, that you should not cherish her, that you should not be gracious to her. I mean, think of Jesus Christ. We're to love our wives like Christ loved the church. What did Christ do? Did he just come here and just scream orders and bark around? No, he actually came and died for us. He actually lowered himself. He actually put his needs way below any of us because I'm pretty sure he didn't want to get brutally tortured on the cross and killed and to descend into hell for three days and three nights. I'm pretty sure he didn't want to do that. You know why he did it? Because he loved us. And so you want to set the right example for your children. Treat your wife well. Sacrifice for her. Be tender towards her. Look, men, I hope you're so masculine. I want masculinity back in America. I want some type A guys around here. But look, you need to know when to be soft with your wife. Let me just tell you a funny story where I'm just going to tell myself a little bit. Recently, me and my wife had a date. And the entire date, I gave her a history lesson on the bombing campaigns of World War II. And we got halfway through the date, and I'm just like, what am I doing? She doesn't care about this. I'm just like, all right, you're going to listen. Let me explain to you the differences in strategy between the US and England when it came to the nighttime raids versus the daytime raids and the civilians, Pforzheim, Hamburg, different bombing camps. And she's just like, man, this sushi's so good. I need to realize, you know what? No, I need to engage with my wife here. I need to love her. I need to talk to her about things she wants to talk about, not just go off on history lessons on World War II. Hey, dudes, let's go out to lunch. Let's talk World War II, all right? I'm not saying you can't teach your wife about history. But you get what I'm saying, right? Be tender with her. Get down on her level and value the things that she values. Why? Because if you set that example, your children will likely follow in that step. And we want to be like Father, like Son. Here's another thing. Go to Hebrews chapter 13. You know, how do you treat the pastor, fathers? How do you treat the authority of the church? Look at Hebrews chapter 13. How do you treat the evangelists of the church? Hebrews 13 verse 17, it says, notice, Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account that they may do it with joy, and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you. And this is an unpopular Bible verse today, but the Bible teaches that the pastor is the one in authority in the church, and that if you are a church member, you are to submit yourselves to them that watch for your souls. Why? So that they could do it with joy. And people that just want to, you know, rebel against the pastor, and just talk trash about the pastor, and just be a thorn in his side, look, the Bible says that he's doing it for your benefit. And that's the weird thing. It's like, we in the new IFB, God's blessed this movement with good pastors. I would say the best pastors in the world. And so, shouldn't you, as a father, model respect and reverence for the pastor for your children to follow as well? Rather than just talking crap about him, or being rebellious against him. It's like, look, dads, if you want to lead your family, and you want to be obeyed by your wife and your children, you're probably thinking, hey, I've got my best, I've got my family's best interests in mind. I want the best for my children. I want the best for my wife. And so when they rebel against you, or they don't disobey, isn't that frustrating? Because you're thinking like, look, I'm making this decision because I love you. I'm making this decision because I know it's best for you, because I want to lead you the right way. And when you're rebelled against, it's just frustrating. Well, I would imagine it's probably the same way as pastors feel. Because they're here with the word of God, they're here with a mission to spread the kingdom of God, to work alongside Jesus Christ in building the church, in reaching souls for Jesus Christ. That's their goal. Their goal, these good men, it's not like the false prophets out there that all they care about is money, like Kenneth Copeland, or like Joel Osteen. Look, these men that are pastors in the new IFB, they care about the work of God. They're doing it for the right reasons, and it would behoove you to obey them. And it would do you well to get on their program and to follow them, and not to just be a thorn in their side and constantly rebellious. And here's why. Like father, like son. You want your kids to grow up and just be rebellious to the pastor? No one wants that. But how are you, dad? Because this is just the delusion of man, where man thinks in his mind that he can get away with things, but his kids will be fine. No, you don't go to church, your kids probably won't go to church. You don't pray, your kids probably won't pray. If you're not a soul winner, your kids probably won't be soul winners. You don't read the Bible, your kids probably won't read the Bible, and so on and so on and so on. So look, this Father's Day, let us men that are fathers in this room, let's take an account of our lives and say, where am I at? Am I leading my children well? If my children grew up to be just like me, would I want them to be that way, or would I be disappointed? And hey, I'm sure there's things that every single person in here can work on that we talked about, including myself, and we need to work on those things all the time. Why? Because like father, like son. Let's pray. Lord, thank you so much for being a great father to us and for always giving us the greatest example we can follow. I pray that you please give the fathers in this room strength and grace to lead their families in this difficult time. I just pray that every person in here would have a heart that truly desires to serve you, and that we'd be good examples for our children, for our wives, for church members, and for the world. And please bless this church. We love you. In Jesus' name, amen. We'll sing there starting on the first. We'll sing there starting on the first. We'll sing there starting on the first. We'll sing there starting on the first.