(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

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