DAD: Man of the Home
Ps 128
INTRO: Top Ten Ways to Intimidate Your Daughter’s Date When He Comes to Pick Her Up: Richard V. obviously hasn’t done any of this.
I must have Others listen & learn
10. Sprinkle some dust on your daughter before she leaves. Explain, “It makes fingerprinting easier.”
9. Challenge him at arm wrestling.
8. Introduce him to your good friend Tony Soprano.
7. Answer the door wearing a police swat team uniform.
6. Casually show him your collection of five shrunken heads, then yell up to your daughter, “Number six is here!”
5. Come to the door bare-chested. Do a lot of flexing.
4. Introduce him to the family by calling each family member to the living room using a whistle, then making them stand at attention and salute.
3. Have the funeral home director over to measure the young man.
2. Answer the door in a straight-jacket.
1. As they leave, speak into a walkie-talkie: “Subject is wearing khakis and a blue polo shirt, driving a green Ford.”
**Another list A survey of elementary children was conducted a few years ago which indicated the ten most appreciated qualities for Dads:
1. He takes time for me.
2. He listens to me.
3. He plays with me.
4. He invites me to go places with him.
5. He lets me help him.
6. He treats my mother well.
7. He lets me say what I think.
8. He’s nice to my friends.
9. He only punishes me when I deserve it.
10. He isn’t afraid to admit when he’s wrong.
*Normal childhood? In a New Yorker magazine cartoon, a young child interrupts his dad’s reading of the evening paper with a question: “Dad, am I experiencing a normal childhood?” We dads might ask ourselves, “Am I a normal parent?”
1. We as Christian parents don’t want to be normal as in the
world’s standard of normal.
a. We want to be different unique even abnormal If our homes
are to be biblically based it will be different from the world
2. As a child I did NOT grow up in a Christian home
a. So when it was time for me to have my own home
1. Raise my children, I had not experienced a Christian home
2. I have tried to be different than that of my own upbringing in many ways
a. There was new vocabulary, no cussing, no drinking
b. new priorities, Prayer, Church and the Lordship of Christ
3. Yet there has been times I have reverted back to the way I was raised
a. Instead of reasoning, biblical guidance for direction I would bull
my way with the power & authority of a Big man & the Father figure
3. Men We have a lot of learning to do to be the fathers we
need to be, should be & God desires us to be
No amount of success in this world can compensate for failure in the home
4. What are our priorities for our children & grandchildren?
B. Do a quick study of 3 bible Dads
1. There are a lot of subjects I could use
a. mistakes bible dads
1. Lot chose wrong
2. Eli taught wrong
3. Samuel didn’t learn from Eli’s mistakes
4. Isaac had his favorite
b. Some Good Bible Dads (none perfect)
1. Abraham the father of the faithful
2. Job blessed God & bless His children
3. David was loyal even to a fault
4. Solomon had much wisdom to teach
5. Jairus was a desperate father
6. The Prodigal’s unconditional love
7. God the Father
2. But I chose 3 others for the traits they displayed in their life
a. Joshua, the leader
b. Joseph the Silent one
c. the Jailer the Repentant one
I. Joshua the Leader Father Joshua 24:14-18 v15
A. He is determined to do it right
1. Thankful for Dads that in spite of the temptations of success, the
opportunities to mix up the priorities & could give in to all the
psychologist who tries to tell us their opinion of the right way to be dad
a. Chooses to follow the beat of a different drummer,
1. They choose to follow heaven’s example
2. Joshua is ready to stand up against the odds and do what is
right, no matter what others think or say
a. that crowd may include his own family
b. to go against traditions, habits & community
3. He had his house unified, committed and ready to go where
the Lord led
B. Joshua took his responsibility as priest of the home seriously
1. As Abraham exerted His faith over his home
a. Joshua did the same
2. As Job prayed for His family
a. Joshua is seeking the Lord’s blessings for his household
3. As Jacob commanded his household to put away idols
a. Joshua is committing his home to ONE Lord
C. Joshua wasn’t depending on a village or his nation or the
government to raise his family
1. He knew that was his God given responsibility & right
Ps 127:3 Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.
De 4:9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
Dt 6:7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Eph 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
a. Neither is the church to do all the spiritual training..
1. We supplement, we encourage & assist parents ie… dads
2. Men: When we lead our families to follow the Lord
a. Our wives and our children will yield to your leadership
1. Blessings & happiness will come
III. Joseph the Silent Dad Mt 1:18-25
A. Remember a word Joseph the husband of Mary said?
1. Of all the individuals in the bible, you’d think we’d hear a
quote from Joseph
a. Not a quote is recorded. No he wasn’t mute but God saw
to it none of his words were recorded
2. Think about what any dad says Joseph probably never had to say these to Jesus, maybe his brothers
“Ask your mother.”
”Don’t worry; it’s only blood.”
”Do I look like I’m made of money?”
“I’m not sleeping; I was watching that show.”
”I’m not just talking to hear my voice.” ”A little dirt never hurt anyone; just wipe it off.”
”We’re not lost!”
”No, we’re not there yet.”
”Don’t make me stop this car!”
· This is going to hurt me -- more that it is going to hurt you.
· Be quiet, I’m trying to watch the game
· Bring back my change
· What do you think I’m made of?
· You want me to take you where?
· You ya’ll don’t understand, when I was your age I walked five miles to and from school and it was uphill both ways.
· Turn them lights off -- you don’t pay no bills around here
· Why -- because I said so
· And last but not least -- shut up before I give you something to cry about
3. When the angel Gabriel speaks, Joseph listens & obeys
4. At the Inn that night of Jesus’ birth no doubt he had to
speak *Come in,….dump=barn A Sunday School was putting on a Christmas pageant which included the story of Mary and Joseph coming to the inn. One boy wanted so very much to be Joseph, but when the parts were handed out, a boy he didn’t like was given that part, and he was assigned to be the inn-keeper instead. He was pretty upset about this but he didn’t say anything to the director.
During all the rehearsals he thought what he might do the night of performance to get even with this rival who got to be Joseph. Finally, the night of the performance, Mary and Joseph came walking across the stage. They knocked on the door of the inn, and the inn-keeper opened the door and asked them gruffly what they wanted.
Joseph answered, "We’d like to have a room for the night." Suddenly the inn-keeper threw the door open wide and said, "Great, come on in and I’ll give you the best room in the house!"
For a few seconds poor little Joseph didn’t know what to do. Thinking quickly on his feet, he looked inside the door past the inn-keeper then said, "No wife of mine is going to stay in dump like this. Come on, Mary, let’s go to the barn." -And once again the play was back on track!
B. A Just man Righteous, devout to God and God’s word
1. A man of integrity, always wanting to do the right thing
2. Find’s out his girl friend, sweet heart, bride to be is pregnant
a. Being engaged was same as already married to the Jews
1. Could divorce her, put her away to lesson the scandal
2. Could even have her stoned
b. Think of the communities reaction, His embarrassment
1. He will be considered the guilty, though he isn’t
3. Joseph kept his word, married, took whatever the
community dished out
a. He accepted the humbling circumstances surrounding
Jesus’ birth
4. Though he is of the royal linage of King David
a. Humility is his great attribute
5. When life gives us a nasty slap, we cry out why? Why me?
a. That still small voice speaks, “Trust me!”
b. God’s messenger spoke, saying all of this is of God
1. Joseph, believe, He trusted & obeyed
C. Joseph went on, loved Mary, they had more children & a
happy home
1. Though Jesus was not his, he loved him & raised as his own
a. Paul’s words are exemplified by in Joseph
1Cor 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
2. Joseph became the earthly father of the Messiah
a. He named Him as he was charged, Jesus “Savior
3. We don’t know much about this man, How tall or what he
looked like
a. When he died or some of the words he said
b. But we know He humbled himself to accept the call of
God in his life to be a father to the Son of God
1. Each dad has a similar calling to be a dad to one created in God’s
image
III. A Jailer who Repented Ac 16:25-34
A. Unlike the first 2 men, here is a man who lost control & is
hopeless
1. Family man w/ a miserable, thankless, dangerous job
a. Keeper of the local jail
1. All day around low life, prisoners, crooks
2. If any escaped, it could cost him his life
b. Job full of stress
2. New & strange prisoners Paul & Silas Christian missionaries
who had delivered a young girl from the bondage of demon possession
a. This upsetting her master had Paul & Silas beaten &
imprisoned
1. Not your normal run of the mill thugs
b. At midnight these 2 men who are in stocks in a dank dark
dungeon in stead of cussing, rioting, or even sleeping
1. Are having a prayer & praise meeting
2. God Hears their prayers & Praise & loves it
Ps 42:8 [Yet] the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song [shall be] with me, [and] my prayer unto the God of my life.
Ps 135:3 Praise the LORD; for the LORD [is] good: sing praises unto his name; for [it is] pleasant.
3. So did the prisoners & the jailer.
a. Their hope, their joy their message sunk in
c. God opens the prison doors with an earthquake
1. The Jailer fearing the prisoners have escaped
2. Comes running in ready to kill himself, He knew his life wasn’t spit
a. His whole life.. come down to this, defeated, destroyed hopeless
3. But it in actuality was only the beginning
a. Paul yells out, don ‘t hurt yourself, we are still here
4. v30 How can be saved, what must I do?
a. No greater or important question a person can ask
1. Didn’t have to ask what must I do to be lost or go to hell
a. that is already settled. We are all sinners, lost & undone
b. We need the answer of life, of hope of eternity heaven
5. The answer to his question and all who seeks God’s heaven
a. Not obey the 10 Com. Not join the church, not “let us
prisoners go. No turn over a new leaf, Not get in touch with your
spiritual self
b. Real simple, but many miss. “Believe” in Jesus v31
1. Turn from your sins, quit trusting in other gods or what ever it is
you are trusting in
2. Turn to Jesus that’s the ticket!
c. And all your sins are washed away, forgiven name written
1. Leave this world, heaven now your destiny
B. Extra Bonus Promise to the Dad
1. And thy house. God impressed Paul to give this promise to
this man
a. Jailer if you are willing to make this Life-changing
decision your wife & kids will see what a difference Jesus
makes & they will get saved also
2. He does, He accepts Christ as his Savior right their in that
dungeon. He gets saved
a. What a difference Jesus makes
1. Like psalmist said the jailer can now say Ps 40:2-3 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, [and] established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, [even] praise unto our God: many shall see [it], and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
3. Here is a man that his whole life looked like a failure
a. but with a decision to Trust Jesus changed not only his life
1. But also his family
b. Can’t you imagine, how the stress level dropped
1. There was joy, peace & happiness in that home
2. All because a Dad chose Jesus
4. No Doubt the ladies can have great influence in a home
a. Even the children can touch the parents to Eternity
b. But None like DAD, When a Dad, the man of the Home
takes the leadership
1. Makes that all important decision to put Christ first
2. He influences everybody. All are positively blessed
CONCLUSION
A. Dad will you be a leader? To make a stand like Joshua
1. lead your home to follow the Lord, no matter what
B. Dad will you trust & Obey personally even when it might
cost you?
1. Will you accept the honor of being a Godly father like Joseph?
C. Dad is Jesus your Lord & Savior today?
1. Where will you spend eternity?
