FATHERS OF THE HEAVENLY FATHER
HUMOR:MARRIAGE JOKES
1. Marriage made in Heaven — So is thunder in lightening!!
2. Love is a dream — Marriage is an alarm clock
3. A honeymoon is a Short Pause - between - I Do and You Better
4. Lady went to get a divorce—
Lawyer: “Do you have ground?”
Lady: “About 2 acres”
Lawyer: “Do you have a grudge?”
Lady: “No we have a carport”
Lawyer: “Does your husband beat you up?”
Lady: “No I get beat up for him everyday”
Lawyer: Screamed- “Lady what is your problem!”
Lady: “ Oh that is easy- We just can’t communicate.”
TEXT: EPH. 6:1-4; EPH. 5:1, 21-33; TITUS 2:1-15
INTRO: HOW CAN YOU BE A GODLY FATHER? ANY ONE CAN FATHER A CHILD!!
I. BE AN IMITATOR OF GOD. (Eph. 5:1)
Ephesians 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
Does anyone remember who Jim Anderson was on television in the late 50’s and early 60’s? He was the wise father, played by Robert Young, on the show "Father Knows Best".
On this show it seems that the father always knew what was right.
He always made the right decisions. He always knew what was best.
Fathers and mothers are very often wise, very often right, and very often they know what is best.
I have discovered over the years that my own dad and mom are very often wise, very often right, and very often know what is best! I am appreciative for the upbringing and the continued support that my parents have given me.
However, Jim Anderson on television was not perfect.
Dad Davis is not perfect.
Your father wasn’t or isn’t perfect.
As a father, or in any other way, I’m not perfect.
In reality fathers do not always know what’s best.
That’s because we all have a faulty human nature.
Everyone of us is a sinner! That means we are fallible.
I have good news! There is a father who always knows best.
The father who always knows best is our Heavenly Father.
Because He is God, He is always right, always accurate, always loving, and always knows best. He is far superior to any of us
human fathers or mothers.
Isaiah 55:8-9 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Determine that He is to be your only example of how to be a Father.
II. ASSUME YOUR GODLY POSITION AS HEAD OF THE FAMILY. (vvs.21-24)
Ephesians 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Ephesians 5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Implies responsibility, not rulership.
Means to provide;
To make Biblical decisions;
To protect.
III. LOVE YOUR WIFE. (vs.25)
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Your relationship with your wife affects how you function as a father. (love = good, fighting = bad)
2. Again, our example: Christ. Love your wife as much as you love yourself.
3. Wives are to love their Husbands. Titus 2:1-5
Titus 2:1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
Titus 2:2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
Titus 2:3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
Titus 2:4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
Titus 2:5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
IV. PROPERLY RAISE YOUR CHILDREN. (6:4)
Explain "provoke." You have the responsibility to teach them the ways of God. (salvation, relationship and responsibility to God, right and wrong)
1. CRITERIA FOR AN EFFECTIVE GODLY FATHER -Titus 1.5-9
A father must be blameless as a manager of his children for God.
A father must not be arrogant but sensitive in leading his children to make good decisions, not forcing on them his own ideas and opinions.
A father must not be quickly angered hut in control of his own spirit, demonstrating the fruitfulness of the Spirit-filled life before his children.
A father must not be bonded to booze but spend instead long periods of time with Christ so that it is evident to his children that Christ is the greatest influence in his life.
A father must not be quarrelsome but tender and compassionate toward his children so that they might see the love and patience of God through him.
A father must not be a lover of money but one who finds contentment in God’s provisions so that his children might learn to appreciate eternal values more than temporal pleasures.
A father must be hospitable and enjoy opening his home and heart to his children’s friends so that they will he attracted rather than repelled by his attitudes and beliefs.
A father must he a lover of what is good in his children and offer gentle correction of their faults so that virtue is cultivated and error is diminished.
A father must be in control of himself so that his children know that the fruit of the Spirit is present in his life.
A father must he just so that his children can understand right from wrong by his personal lifestyle.
A father must be holy so that his children can see and follow his love for Christ and his hatred of sin.
A father must control his sexual desires so that his children can respect him and have a model of purity to follow into adulthood.
A father must hold tightly to the faithful Word so that he may he able, by healthy teaching, to encourage proper behavior and to correct improper behavior in his children.
2. TWENTY WAYS TO ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO USE DRUGS AND BECOME HOODLUMS,TRAMPS AND REBELS.
1. Never eat together as a family.
2. Never have weekly, monthly, or annual family outings that they can look forward to as a family unit.
3. Talk to your children, not with them; never listen.
4. Punish your children in public, and never praise them or reinforce their positive behavior.
5. Always solve their problems; make their decisions for them.
6. Leave the responsibility of teaching morality arid spiritual training to the schools and the church.
7. Never let your children experience cold, fatigue, adventure, Injury, risk, challenge, experimentation, failure, frustration, discouragement, and so on.
8. Threaten your children (e.g., “If you ever try drugs or alcohol, I’ll punish you”).
9. Expect your children to get A’s in all subjects in school.
10. Always pick up after your children, and don’t encourage them to accept responsibility.
11. Discourage your children from talking about their feelings (anger, sadness, fear, etc.).
12. Be overprotective, and don’t teach your child the meaning of the word “consequence.”
13. Make your children feel that their mistakes are sins.
14. Put your children off when they ask “Why’?” and tell them, “Because I said so,”
15. Lead your children to believe that you are perfect and infallible.
16. Keep your home atmosphere in a state of chaos.
17. Never tell your children how much you love them, and never discuss your feelings with them.
18. Never hug them or display affection in front of them.
19. Always expect the worse, and never given them the benefit of the doubt.
20. Don’t ever trust them.
A wise Father once wrote "An Old Soldier’s Prayer" -
"Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory. "Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know Thee... and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
"Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high, a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
"And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of
humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too
seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom and the meekness of true strength.
"Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, ’I have not lived in vain.’ "
-General Douglas A. MacArthur
4. EXAMPLE OF A FATHER WHO LOST THE
RESPECT FOR HIS CHILDREN.
Genesis 19:12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
Genesis 19:13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.
Genesis 19:14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
