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

Okay guys, please go back to Genesis chapter 18. Genesis chapter 18. So as you could see from the Bible reading that this was the story of Abraham, the Lord coming down to Abraham, you know, reinforcing that he's going to have a child, you know, the Lord, and I believe that's the Lord Jesus Christ that makes an appearance there, to Abraham with two of the angels. Later on, you know, he explains how he's going to destroy Sodom. He's going to destroy that wicked city for the homosexuality. I mean, there's great sin in that land, and we know that one of those major sins was the sins of homosexuality. That's where we get the whole word sodomite from. It comes from Sodom and Gomorrah, and God went to destroy that wicked nation. And obviously those two angels, they're the two angels that went down and got, you know, just lot, you know, out of that place. Yes, he was saved, but he was a very backslidden Christian. But what I want to take out of that passage there is in verse 19. Look at Genesis 18, verse 19. And, you know, we think about Abraham as, you know, the father of faith. We think of him as one of the great men of faith, and that is true. You know, we can look at Father Abraham and see him as a great man of faith, but what we see here is that God himself calls him a good father, just a father of children. And even before, this is even before he had Isaac, before he had children, God knew of him that he would be a good and faithful father. Look at verse 19. Jesus, I believe this is Jesus speaking. For I know him, speaking of Abraham, this is God speaking to the angels. For I know him that he will command his children. The title of the sermon this morning is he will command his children. He will command his children. Let's finish reading that. And his household after him. And they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him. So the first thing I want to bring to your attention there is that God himself endorses Abraham. And what does he endorse about him? His fatherhood, that he's going to be a great father. He's going to be able to command his children, all right, and his household. Not just his children, but all the servants that he's going to have, all the people that are going to be serving him. He's going to be a commander in chief, if you will. And as we think of Father's Day today, if you're a father today, you are a commander of your family. God wants you to be someone that commands his children well. And what a blessing to think that God is endorsing Abraham to the angels. And God does speak of his children to the heavenly hosts. When we see in the book of Job, when the sons of God come and appear before God, and Satan tags along, what does God say to Satan? He says, hey, have you considered my servant Job? It's an amazing thing that God in heaven with his heavenly hosts speaks about his believers. And specifically, you see that he wants to speak of men of faith, and men that make good fathers. I'd be a little nervous if God mentions in heaven, have you considered Pastor Kevin? Have you considered Kevin? I'd be a bit nervous about what he'd say. But hey, he does speak of his people. It's an amazing thing, and we see that Abraham is endorsed by God, even before being a father. Obviously, the Lord knowing the beginning from the end, or the end from the beginning, I should say. And so, the first thing I want you to see there at the beginning is, for I know him. He says, I know Abraham. I know him pretty well. I know him well. And these are just some things that I'm going to be building up to the point. Knowing him, that he will command his children, they will keep the way of the law, and do justice and judgment. I mean, these are great qualities of a man, great qualities of a father. And, you know, can God say the same about you, fathers? When God looks down at you and looks down at your life, do you think he can say these words? He commands his children that he keeps the way of the Lord. He does justice and judgment, and I know him. Do you have that relationship, that fellowship with God as well? And so, we're going to be looking at these points. And obviously, I'm focusing on father today, but I believe this sermon can be applied for anybody as well. But primarily here as a father. So, the first thing I want to talk about, fathers, today, and something that you need to be thinking about as fathers, is that you are, to your children, an early reflection of God. Because we know once we become a son of God, a child of God, he becomes our Heavenly Father. Now, when a child is born into a family, you know, newborn there, Adrian, he doesn't know a single thing about God. He doesn't know a single thing about the Bible. Except hopefully, while he was in mother's womb, he heard some good preaching. He heard some singing of him. Hopefully, that's instilled in him to some extent. But really, his first ideas of what God is like is going to come from his father. It's going to come from me. Just from those early stages, knowing what a father is like, knowing what the purpose of a father is, and the goodness that comes from the father, is going to be his first thoughts of what a father is. And that, you know, eventually is going to bring him to understand what it means to have a Heavenly Father. Okay? So, you know, please understand, you know, you're not just the head of your wife and the head of your home, but for young children, you're that first early reflection of God the Father. You know, it's a sobering thought. Okay? It's a sobering thought. Now, you know, children will call you father, will know you as their father for many, many years. And the truth is, you know, if you've been a good father, you've been there, involved in the life, don't, I mean, I've thought this about my father. Don't children think that their father is like the strongest man on the planet, the wisest man on earth? That's what they think, right? Because while they're little, you can pick them up easily. You pick them up in one arm, you pick another one up in another arm. They think, wow, they're holding two human beings. They must be, you know, massive and muscular and strong. They think highly of their father. Okay? And again, I'm just talking about here, good fathers, you know, biblical fathers. You know, they're going to think you're a wise man. They're going to have problems, and you're going to have solutions for them. Or they're going to have done something wrong, thinking they got away with it. You know, kids think they get away with it, but parents, especially mothers, you know when they've done wrong, right? And when they find out that Dad knows about the wrong that they've done, they're going to think, they're going to think, man, that's a wise man. How did he know that? You know, I thought I got away with it, you know? So all these thoughts about a father are eventually going to lead them to understand their Heavenly Father. Now, as the kids grow up, as kids grow up, they're going to notice your faults, aren't they? They're going to notice your weaknesses. They're going to notice your failures. They're going to be like, Dad, you know, you used to be funny, but now they're just those boring Dad jokes. They're not funny anymore, right? You're not going to have that high position in their eyes. You know, they're still going to see you as a father, but now they're going to realize, well, you know, he's a human being as well, you know? But by then, by then, the hope is that you've taught them about God. The hope is that now that they, you know, hopefully they are saved at an early age, and instead of their eyes being on their biological father, you know, their eyes then become on God the Father. You know, they realize, yes, even though that Dad has failures, yes, even though that Dad is not always just and makes mistakes, but I know, you know, I have a Heavenly Father in Heaven, you know? And one of the advantages of having your children saved at an early age is fathers, we are going to make mistakes. We are going to do wrong things. But if they've got the Heavenly Father, you know, He'll make things right as well, you know? It's not just us raising our kids, but we'll have the Heavenly Father also directing our kids' lives to the Holy Spirit that indwells in them. So you can see how fathers are a very early reflection of God to little children. And that makes your position as a father really, really important. Because if you're a bad father, you're not commanding your children, you're not taking charge, you're not teaching them spiritual things, then that's going to reflect badly, eventually, on what they think about God. You know, these things have a way of, you know, reflecting badly, you know? If you're a poor father, that is. I'll get you guys to turn to Matthew 7. Keep your finger there in Genesis 18. I don't want you to lose that spot there. Please turn to Matthew chapter 7. Because I just want to show you how the Scriptures also compares, you know, the earthly father with the Heavenly Father. Matthew 7, verse 7. Matthew 7, verse 7. Jesus speaking here. He says, So this is Jesus speaking, hey, you have a need, you have requirements, you need guidance. Ask the Father, ask God the Father, and He will make those things available to you. And then look at verse 9. So here, now, he's paralleling, you know, the Heavenly Father with the earthly father. He says, look, earthly fathers, if your sons come hungry asking you for bread, aren't you going to give them that bread? You're not going to give them a piece of rock to eat, okay? Because even earthly fathers love their children. Even earthly fathers, you know, even poor earthly fathers, you know, have a heart to look after their kids, want the best for kids. They might, you know, especially an unsaved, worldly father, he might not know how to go about doing it. But within his heart, he wants to see his children succeed. You know, even an unsaved, you know, worldly father, but how much more a saved spiritual father will want to look after their children, provide their needs, feed their belly, okay? And he uses that parallel there. Verse 10, or if you ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? Are you going to give him a serpent that can harm them, bite them, kill them? No, you're going to look after your kids, right? Not just fill their bellies, but you don't want harm to come to them, okay? Verse 11, if ye then, speaking of us fathers, being evil, you know, we're not perfect, we do wrong, you know? We being 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? So we see how even Jesus Christ uses that parallel of the earthly father being a representation to their children of the heavenly father, okay? Fathers, we give gifts to our children, we nourish them, we feed them, we look after them, that is going to eventually project their thoughts of God the father, okay? So we see here, and by the way, while I talk, just turn to Hebrews chapter 12, please, Hebrews chapter 12. We see here the parallel of a father that rewards or gives good gifts to their children, you know, and God the father will do the same for us. I mean, we've been praying for a building as a church, haven't we? We've been praying for God to lead us somewhere still in the clown area that we can meet and not have to worry about how many hours, you know, we're approaching the time we need to close up, or having distractions of, you know, when we meet at the rugby league, rugby union club, all those distractions of the games they were playing. We're praying for that, and we see on Father's Day, you know, our heavenly father has provided us a beautiful building. He's given us this beautiful gift because we've been asking for it. It blows my mind sometimes, just the perfect gift that God gives us, but it's not just the gifts of the father. Look at Hebrews 12 verse 7, Hebrews chapter 12 verse 7, and this is a bit that we probably don't like that much, but if ye and you are chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. So God's going to chasten all of us if we disobey, and then he keeps going, For what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastiseness, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, now he compares to the earthly father. Furthermore, 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 he says, look, even earthly fathers, and by the way, this is important, because society today is saying, hey, we shouldn't chastise our children. We shouldn't correct our children. It's going to destroy their personality, character, social skills. No, he says, look, earthly fathers, you ought to correct your children. Why? Because they give you reverence. If you want respect from your children, if you want reverence and honor from your children, you need to correct them. You need to correct them when they're wrong. You need to chastise them when they're wrong, when they've done wrong. If you skip that part in their growth, they're not going to respect you. They're not going to honor you. They're not going to give you reverence. But you see how, because of that, God the father also applies the same principle. When we do wrong, he chastises us. And why? Just to destroy us? No. So we can get right and respect him, to give him reverence, the reverence that's due. So we see how important the earthly father is. He does truly give a representation of God the father, whether that's the nice way, giving good gifts, or whether that's being, you know, getting that snack on the bottom, you know, getting that chastisement. Okay, now, we'll move on from there. I'll get you guys, please, to turn to... Well, actually, no, I won't get you to turn. I'm just going to quickly read to you from this, just applying that same principle of the father being the one that has to provide and give gifts to the family there. I'll just quickly read to you from 1 Timothy 5-8, which says, But if any provide not for his own, and specially of those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. An infidel is an unbeliever. So, fathers, we're given the responsibility of raising our children, providing for our families, going to work, getting a paycheck, being able to put a roof over their heads, being able to provide the needs of the family. If you don't do that, you're worse than an infidel. And I think we understand this a little bit more, yes, because you don't look after your own household, but we also understand now because that gives a bad reflection to who God is. If you as a father are not providing for your family, then your children are going to grow up thinking that God the Father doesn't provide for us. You know, I can't go to God the Father for my needs, okay? Now, I'll get you guys please to turn to James 2. James 2, verse 23. And while you're turning there, I'm just going to read just again from Genesis 18 and 19, when God says about Abraham, for I know him, for I know him. You guys are turning to James 2, verse 23, for I know him. Now, obviously, the God of the universe knows everybody, okay? Whether you're saved or unsaved, obviously, He knows you. He knows who you are, okay? His omnipresent, His all-powerful, His all-knowing, okay? But it's very specific here when God Himself says, I know that man, okay? When I know him, this is more than just knowing that you exist, okay? This is a personal knowing of Abraham. Now, if you look at James 2, 23, look what it says here. And the Scripture was fulfilled with saith, Abraham believed God, and He was imputed unto him for righteousness, look at this, and he was called the friend of God. Abraham was God's friend. That's why God could say to the angels, I know him, he's my friend. You know, and what are friends? You spend time together, right? You communicate with one another. You share things with one another. And fathers, if Abraham is being endorsed by God for being a good father, and he says that I know him, that means we need to be friends of God, okay? We need to have a close fellowship with God the Father. We need to be opening the Word of God, reading what He has to say to us, praying to Him, you know, pouring our hearts out to God. We need to, because look, we're the heads of our home. If our families fail, it's on us. And we need God the Father more than anything. You know, it's a huge responsibility that God has given us to look after our families. You know, the more time you spend with God, the more you'll be able to say to the heavenly host, I know him, you know, I know Jason, you know, I know Rob, you know, and so on. I know Callan, you know. That would be such an honorable thing for God to say that about you. But He says that because Abraham was His friend. Abraham was His friend. And we need to, we also need to be friends of God. Now, spend time in fellowship with God. Quiet time. You know, get some time alone with God. If you're too busy, you know, find a good five minutes, a good ten minutes. Be a friend. You know, if you, you know, you meet someone and you don't spend any time with them, you can't really call them a friend, can you? You know, you need to be spending time with God. This is such an important quality that we have. Now, if you guys can turn to Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 8. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 8. Speaking of Abraham again. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 8. The Bible reads, By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should often receive for an inheritance, obeyed and he went, not knowing whither 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. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. So what did we learn about Abraham here? Was he looking for the temple thing? Was he looking for the earthly thing? No, he was looking for that heavenly city. You know, that new Jerusalem, that heavenly Jerusalem. He wanted to dwell with God. His heart was to dwell with God forever for all eternity. He had truly set the kingdom of God first and his righteousness. We see the heart of Abraham. He's happy to dwell in tabernacles. Unfortunately today, and I've been caught in this, sometimes we're looking for the earthly. We're looking for that nice house. We're looking for somewhere where we can be stable. And there's nothing wrong with having a house. I'm not saying that. But we need to make sure that our priority is ultimately to be dwell with God forever. We see his heart. His heart wasn't just fixed on the temporary, but also on the eternal things. Dwelling with God forever. He wanted to be with his friend. And that's why we see by faith he was able to leave his family. He was able to leave his former land because he trusted God. Trusted God like a faithful friend. His eyes were upon the eternal and heavenly things. So let me just encourage you, fathers, spend time with God. Be reading your Bibles. Be praying. And I think if we're all honest, we're going to admit there's been days where we've not picked up God's Word. There's going to be days that we've not prayed. There's going to be situations where we probably should have called on God to help us. And we refuse to do that for whatever reason. That's not how you would treat a friend though. If we want to be a friend of God, then we need to make sure we spend time with him. I'll just quickly read to you from James 4-8. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your heart, ye double-minded. If you want God to draw close to you, fathers, you need to draw close to him. You need to take that step as well. And prioritize the kingdom of God. The other thing that's said there in Genesis 18 about Abraham. It says that he will command his children and his household after him. He will command his children and his household after him. So, be the boss. Be the commander-in-chief of your family. Be in charge. That's your rightful place as a husband, yes, but also as a father. Your children ought to obey you. If they're not obeying you, if they're disrespecting you, if you've asked them to do something and they've delayed it for whatever reason, or have talked back, hey, that's time for correction. They need to revere you. Abraham was commanding of his children. And all his household, all his servants were in obedience to Abraham. I'll give you some thoughts here. I firstly found as a father of now number 10 that I was more strict with my first few kids. I was more strict with Isabelle and with Nicholas. And maybe one day they're going to hold that against me. But the reason I don't have to be as strict with the younger children is because I don't need to drive as much discipline as I did with the older ones. Because as the younger ones come through, they also see their older siblings. They see that their older siblings obey. They see that their older siblings sit still. They see that their older siblings respect and obey mom and dad. And so just naturally, as they grow up and see that, they're going to start putting those things into place as well. I'm not saying it's not important for the younger ones. All I'm saying is they're going to not just learn from mom and dad, but if you've raised your older ones well, they're going to learn from their older siblings. That's very important. Obedience is definitely the measure of how well you're doing as a father. Just think about it. I don't know what your homes are like. Fathers, if you ask your kids to do something, do they do it straight away? And you say, well, no, no. You need to work on that. And if they do it straight away, do they do it with a happy face? Or do they do it with a frown? If they're doing it with a frown, that needs correction as well. They need to have the right attitude when it comes to obeying their father. Just like obeying God. If you ask for something and see His commands, we ought to do it. And we ought to do it with a right heart. We ought to do it with an obedient heart. Not grumpy and not upset. And don't worry kids, your sermon is coming one day. Children, obey your parents. That's coming. Don't worry. Obedience is the measure. A child who loves their father, a child who reveres their father, is more likely to love God. More likely to revere God as well. Because it's just a natural progression. That natural step that takes place. And also, when it takes command, that means you're the leader. You're the leader. It's one thing to be the commander, it's something else entirely to be a leader. I've met a lot of people, especially in the workforce, that are managers, that have high positions, but are poor leaders. A leader is someone that takes charge. They lead other people. And sometimes you tell your kids, look, do what I say, but don't do what I do. Now the reason you say that is because you know you're a poor leader. You know if your kids emulate it exactly the way you are, they're going to have failings. And you don't want that. So you say, look, just do what I say instead of do what I do. And one thing that I noticed with having children, especially the first few kids, I thought I was doing pretty well as a Christian, I thought I was being pretty faithful to God, until I started to see my characteristics within my kids. Or sometimes, let's say we had television, watching television, I'd be so programmed and the advertisements come on, and I wouldn't even think twice about it. Because you grew up your whole life watching TV, there's ads, there's that kind of music, there's women dressed inappropriately. And if you've been watching TV your whole life, you don't really pick up on those things. But obviously we're raising our kids not to desire the world's music, we're teaching our kids to desire the word of God, to dress right, not to lust over women and all those kind of things. And then eventually my kids watched the commercials, and they're like, Dad, why are you watching that? That's evil, that's wicked. And I'm like, oh yeah, of course it is. Of course it is. It's such a good thing to have kids, because they come with those fresh pair of eyes, and then they'll see the inconsistencies of your life. They'll see those bits, and you better fix that at that point. Otherwise you're going to come across as hypocritical. So it's important for you to be the leader. Be the leader, and you're going to learn a lot about yourself when you have kids, because you'll see the same mistakes they make are the ones they've copied off you. And that's a bit of a shameful thing. The next thing God says about Abraham, He says, they shall keep the way of the Lord. Shall keep the way of the Lord. What does that mean? He's that spiritual head, right? Abraham's that spiritual head, the spiritual leader. He's able to teach his family the ways of God. And even his nephew, Lot. Remember Lot came along with Abraham on his journey, and yes, we know Lot was a worldly man, a worldly Christian. Lot was seeking the world water plains of Jordan. He was seeking to go into that city of Sodom. Eventually he became well known in that city. Obviously he probably had a lot of friends, but his faith was strangled there. Lot was not a faithful believer, but had it not been for Abraham, I don't think Lot would ever have gotten saved. I truly believe it was Abraham's influence to Lot that eventually got him to be saved. And so, look, Lot wasn't even his child. It was his nephew. And a good father, you'll be able to influence not just your children, but your relatives. The people that you come in contact with. And be that leader. Lead them in the way of the Lord. Psalm 119, verse 105, you don't need to turn there. It just says, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. If you want to keep the way of the Lord, you're going to need to build your life on this book, on this word here. This is a light to your pathway. This is a book that you need to get your head into. This is a book that your kids need to see you reading and studying. And I think I gave you guys this example before, but it's just stayed in my mind forever. And look, my dad's not, you know, he's saved, but he's not the most spiritual man out there. Okay? He's not like we need to make every church service. You know, for him, you know, attending Sunday service was sort of sufficient. He wasn't too concerned about going to every church service. But still, you know, he taught me things of the Bible. But one thing that had remained in my mind forever, it's locked in there, it's seared into my mind, is, and I told you guys before in another sermon, just walking into his bedroom one day, just, I can't remember why, and seeing my dad on his knees with the Bible open and praying, I think he was crying. And I don't know why. I don't know why, but that has stuck in my mind. Just seeing my dad in the word of God. And as a child, I remember just thinking, boy, back then I was like, my dad's the strongest, wisest, smartest man I know. No one's better than him. And then to see him in that position of weakness, calling upon God, you know, with the word of God. And I'm like, wow, if he needs God, then I need God. And if my dad is so strong, needs him, then I definitely need to know the word of God. I definitely need him. So that stayed in my mind. And so it's so important, our fathers, for your children to see you in the word. You know, for you to open the word of God and teach your family. You know, and you say, I don't know much. Well, teach them what you know. Teach them what you know. You know, guide them. You know, it's going to stay with them forever, those kind of things. And of course, you know, they shall keep the way of the Lord. John 14 6, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Okay, what's another way that we can understand keeping the way of the Lord? Yes, you know, being licensed by the word of God, but also teaching your kids, getting your kids saved, teaching them the gospel. Okay, there's some crazy ideas out there about kids. And I'm hearing this more than once, more than, you know, is that you shouldn't teach the gospel to your kids. You shouldn't teach them to get, like you shouldn't teach them the gospel. You know, you shouldn't get them saved at an early age. I mean, this is coming from the independent, fundamental Baptist world. Okay, I'm hearing it more and more. Don't teach your kids the gospel. You know, because what some of these people are experiencing, they're seeing kids in their church grow up in church, you know, having, you know, prayed a sinner's prayer or whatever, you know, that you want to call it, you know, pray the prayer, you know, being saved, then they grow up and they rebel, rebel against the parents, rebel against the church, and they're out of church. You know, and what they're saying is, well, then they're looking at that situation and going, well, maybe they're not even saved. Maybe we've given them this false sense of assurance of salvation. And so, hey, don't tell your kids about the gospel. Don't teach them until they're in a state of such sinfulness and wickedness and they can come and call upon the Lord out of that sorrow of sin. I'm seeing that coming more and more and more. But it's such a wicked thing. It's such a wicked thing. What did Jesus say? What's the kingdom of heaven like? It's filled with little children, you know. Look, it's a child's heart that is ready to receive the gospel, okay. And you say, why? Because they trust their parents. They trust their father. You know, the father, the parents have raised them, have nurtured them. So when mum and dad come with the word of God and say, hey, son, hey, daughter, this is how you get saved. This is how we avoid hell. You know, this is what God has done for us. He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross, be buried those three days, rise again from the dead. He's done this for us. You just need to place your faith upon Him. Children are more likely to receive the word of God right now, okay. And they'll have the Holy Ghost living in them. And they'll have God as their father. I mean, it's awesome. You know, it's the best thing because now at a young age, they can serve God and start laying up those treasures in heaven forever from a very early age for those of you that got saved later in life. Don't you wish you got saved earlier? Don't you wish you started earlier serving the Lord and caring about the things of eternity? You know, hey, we can give our kids that head start. Get saved early, serving the Lord, laying up treasures in heaven, okay. I mean, why would you be lying to gospel? I mean, I can just imagine my kids growing up and being like, why didn't mum and dad ever give me the gospel? Maybe they don't even believe it themselves. Maybe it's not that important, okay. It's a crazy idea that's coming out of this don't tell your kids the gospel. You know why? It's this whole repenting of sin. You know, because it's like we know the drug addicts that got off the drugs. We know they're saved because they got off the drugs. But our kids, you know, who got saved at four, five, six years old, you know, they weren't in jail. They weren't drug addicts and drunkards. So we don't know if they're saved because how do we judge their previous life to their new life? The reason why you know they're saved is because they put their faith on Jesus Christ. That's why you know, okay. And look, if they rebel and they go into the world, it's a bad thing, okay. But how much worse did Lot do? And he was still saved. He was still just Lot, okay. That's not what we want. That's not what we want. But I'm just saying, hey, worst case scenario, if that happens, hey, at least they're saved, okay. They might not have much in heaven, but you know they're not going to be spending eternity in hell, okay. So God knew that Abraham would keep the way of the Lord. He would keep the way of the Lord. Actually, are you guys in Hebrew? If you're in Hebrew, go to Hebrews 11, Hebrews 11 and 11. Hebrews 11 and 11, because obviously we know that Abraham was the father of faith, okay. And we can see this play out, you know, in the New Testament. You know, God's saying that he will keep the way of the Lord. Look at this in Hebrews 11 and 11. It says, through faith also Sarah, that's his wife, herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful to that father. So we see Sarah, she's called out in this chapter, what do they call it though? The Hall of Faith, that's what they call it. In this chapter of the Hall of Faith, we don't just see Abraham being called out for his great faith, but also his wife Sarah, right? She was full of faith. Why? Because she judged him, judged God faithful who had promised. She said, look, God had promised me this child and she did have a laugh of it, you know, at some point, but she did also have great faith that God would come through, that God will come through. And obviously, why? Why did she have this great faith? Because she was married to Abraham, okay. Abraham was teaching his family. Abraham was increasing the faith of his family. Look at verse 20, look at verse 20, Hebrews 11-20. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. Isaac, the son of Abraham, is also in this chapter, this Hall of Faith, if you will. Okay, so we just see, you know, I don't want to talk too much about that, but we just see that Abraham's family is a faithful family. Abraham's family believed and trusted in God, that the promises that God had said would come through this family lineage, okay. That's coming from Abraham. If Abraham was an unfaithful man, if Abraham was a poor father, there's no way he would have been able to influence his family to be named in this chapter with him, okay. And I'll just quickly read to you this as well, Proverbs 22 verse 6. Train up a child in the way he should go. And when he is old, he will not depart from it. You know, I'm holding on to that promise, you know. I'm not expecting necessarily that my kids are always going to be perfect, you know. But I'm hoping that the teaching we instill in them as a child, you know, even if they go through some of those rebellious years, hopefully it's not too bad, all right. But even if they do, when they get old, when they grow up and mature, they'll come back to the things they learned as a child, okay. They shall keep the way of the Lord, said God of Abraham. Keep the way of the Lord, okay. So no matter how hard things get in your family, hey, just maintain the way of the Lord. Keep teaching your kids the way of the Lord. Keep showing them the Bible. Keep training the child, you know. Tell them about the world. You know, don't raise them in this bubble. Just protect them, but warn them about the world and how evil and wicked the world is. How having ungodly friends will influence their lives. And cause them to... Was that a knock? No? Okay, you know, just be leading them, guys. You know, teach them about the world. Warn them about the world, okay. I wouldn't say, you know, close it all off to them. Let them see how wicked this world is. Take them door to door scolding with you. They can see how the world is trusting in their own good work, or they're trusting in their false religions to go to heaven. When you take them soul-willing, they'll see these lost people. And actually, and hopefully in their hearts, they'll be burdened to grow up and be soul-winners themselves. Okay, teach them the way of the Lord. Now the last thing that he says in Genesis 18 about Abraham, he says that... Let me have a look at that again there. What verse was I reading from Genesis 18? 19. Yeah, that's right. 19. He says this, For I know him that we will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment. Justice and judgment. Fathers, this is a quality you must have. Okay, you must be a just father and you need to pass right judgment. Fair judgment, okay. And, you know, being a father, having kids, it'll teach you. It'll teach you as you have kids, as they do wrong, you know, you need to pass judgment. And sometimes when you have multiple kids, you're not always going to know who did wrong. Now let me tell you something. I'll give you one tip here. We've taught our kids, we've taught our children not to punch their siblings. Okay, not to hit their siblings. And any time we would see our children raise their hands to one of their brothers or sisters, they've copped it, they've copped it well, okay. Now we've instilled that into their lives. So, if I do see, if I do see one of them hit their sibling, I know the reason they've done that, because they know they're going to get smashed. They know they're going to get it. But I know that they're not, I know that the person they hit isn't innocent, okay. The reason why they raised their hand to hit their sibling is because there's no doubt in my mind that their sibling was egging them on, was annoying them, was trying to get them angry and upset. And so more likely than not, they're both going to cop it, okay. They're both going to cop it, okay. So, as you become a father and you have more kids, you're going to grow in judgment and justice, okay. And this is such an important thing. Can you guys return to 2 Chronicles please, 2 Chronicles in the Old Testament, 2 Chronicles chapter 1. 2 Chronicles chapter 1. So, let me just quickly cover those two words, justice and judgment, okay. So, justice always comes from the word just, okay. So, as fathers, we need to learn how to be just. We need wisdom to raise our children, okay. That's where the wisdom comes from and then judgment is passing judgment. Once you've decided on the scenario, you need to decide what is the right solution to this problem, okay. And if it's discipline, you know, how harsh should that discipline be to my family, okay. But, you know, it's possible to pass judgment without being just, okay. It's possible to pass judgment without being just, okay. Because you can pass judgment and be corrupt. I mean, there's a lot of corruption in the police force. There's a lot of corruption in our justice system, okay. They do pass judgment. You know, a murderer, you know, doesn't get away scot-free if they're brought before the court. Judgment is going to be passed, but is that judgment just? More often than not, it's not. In fact, it's always not in our nation because the just judgment for a murderer is to be put to death according to the Bible, okay. So, I just want you to understand, yes, you can pass judgment, okay. I've done my job well. No, hold on. It's judgment with justice, okay. And it's possible to be just and know what's been done wrong but not carry out judgment. That's just as wrong, okay. Both of these two things come together. You guys are in 2 Chronicles chapter 1 verse 7. 2 Chronicles chapter 1 verse 7. And this is the story of Solomon being put, you know, as the king of Israel. Taking on that authority, taking on that ownership and following after his father's footsteps, King David. You know, and King David was a great king, you know. And I kind of feel sorry for Solomon at this stage of his life. Because he's thinking, man, I'm being given this massive responsibility. You know, my dad won these great battles, these great wars. You know, has raised up the nation of Israel under his leadership and now that's been passed down to me. But look at verse 7. In that night did God appease 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. 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? Now just pause there for a minute. Fathers, I truly believe we need to be like Solomon here, okay. Yes, we don't have the multitude like it says here, like the dust of the earth necessarily in our family. But you still have an authority over this institution that God has given you, your wife and kids, okay. You have an important and enormous path to carry out, okay. I wouldn't say it's any less than looking after a nation. You're still looking after a group of people. You still want them to be godly people. You still want God to be involved in your family's life, okay. We need to go to God and say, God, such a great responsibility you've given me. Please give me, just like Solomon asked, wisdom and knowledge. God, I know you want me to raise my kids in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. But I'm a weak man. You know, I'm a sinful man. I have failings in my life. And I need you, Lord, to give me this. And I truly believe, fathers, this ought to be a prayer that we, you know, bring before the Lord. To give us wisdom for our families. You know, I'd be so disappointed if my kids, you know, go into the world, live like the devil. I'd be so disappointed if my marriage falls apart, if, you know, if my kids grow up hating the things of God. I mean, it's such a failure. Such a failure, right. So, you know, we need to make sure we hold our status as a father, as a husband. You know, as a high status. It's a high calling that God has given us. You know, and we need the wisdom of God. Solomon needed it, okay. Solomon needed it. We need it. Look at verse 11, 2 Chronicles 1.11. And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life, but hast 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 thee, and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, and as none of the kings have had, sorry, have had, that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the light. Okay, so we see God is so impressed by Solomon's request. You know, he's not asking for the riches. And fathers, what are you seeking in life? Are you seeking the riches? What's your priority? You know, is it making money, is it the riches, the wealth, honour, you know, having, you know, being popular, you know, in the world, you know, nor the life of thine enemies? Are you asking God to destroy my enemies instead of loving your enemies, you know? Or are you asking God for wisdom and judgement? You know, is that what you're asking for? You know, wisdom to raise your family. Now, if you're asking that from God, if that's what you're seeking and searching for, God's going to be impressed. God's going to be impressed. And hopefully he's impressed to the point where in heaven he can say, I know him, you know, I know him, he's my friend, he's seeking after my ways. You know, fathers, it's Father's Day today, you know, we should honour fathers, you know, but please, you know, never underestimate your position, never underestimate your family, you know, and what God has given you. Please look after your wife, look after your children. Open the Word of God with them, hopefully daily, open up the Word of God yourself, read it. You know, fellowship with God, become a friend of God. You know, command your children, take charge. Don't let them command you. That's what I see happen in families across this world. I see parents running around chasing their children, you know, children going, Mom, can I go here? Dad, can I go there? Can I do this? And the parents kind of been afraid, if I don't do that for my kids, they're going to hate me. No. You know, you say, no, we're not doing that. They ought to be like, well, that's fine. You know, we've a happy face to accept that. You know, you ask them to do something, you know, they ought to be obedient and do it immediately. Okay, not talk back to their parents. You know, not talking back to the parents, don't accept that, Dad. You know, otherwise you're going to raise them to talk back to God. They're going to read something about, you know, God commencing the Bible. Like, nah, I'm not doing that. You know, no, don't raise your kids like that. You know, you've been given a massive responsibility and do justice and judgment. You know, get wisdom from God, get wisdom from the Word of God and apply that to your family. Okay, let's pray.