A Father's Anointing

A Father’s Anointing

Scriptures: Matthew 1:18-20; 24-25; 13:54-55a; Ephesians 6:4

Introduction

Twenty-two years ago I became a father for the first time. I was scared, nervous, apprehensive, confused and excited all at the same time. Here was this baby that had my DNA within her body and now I had the responsibility to teach her things only a father could ‘potentially” teach. Just thinking about it made me think “What was I thinking?” I did not know jack and there was little that I thought I could instill in her at that time. Five years later I became a father for the second time. I was not as scared, nervous, apprehensive, or confused, but I was just as excited. Although I did not know a lot, by this time I had a few years of fatherhood under my belt so I figured I did have some things I could teach my second daughter.

I love being a father. Living in a house with all females (besides the dog who shares my traumatic experiences) is interesting. Being the father of two daughters is like going to the dentist and getting a root canal complete with the laughing gas. There are moments when it hurts to see some of the things they do but there are other times when you’re laughing so hard you forget the pain. (I guess it can be said for every father whether you have daughters or sons.) My wife tells me that my daughters have me wrapped around their fingers, but I deny that and really do not believe it because my daughters told me that it was not true. I have been told that my daughters can get almost anything from me. Again, I strongly deny that because my daughters have asked for things and I have said no – sometimes. Although there have been times when I felt like an ATM machine, there have been many other times when I have felt like the most important man in their life – which should be right since neither of them are married. There have been times early on when I had to make emergency runs to the store for those embarrassing check out moments at the register that today doesn’t even bother me. All in all I would not trade my daughters for anything.

My feelings for my daughters are not unlike every good father’s feelings for their children. Although fathers are vastly different from mothers and show emotions and feelings differently, it does not mean that the emotions and feelings are totally absent. A father walking in his anointing is a powerful force within the home and even though we rarely get it completely right everyday, the grace of God allows our family to make special considerations for us. They accept our quirks, our misguided judgments (pranks) – like playing “pull my finger” with their kids. They accept our moodiness and times of stress. They accept our failures and offer us a hand to help us back up. They accept the fact that we can be emotionless during the “touching” scene of their romantic movie or over overjoyed and screaming when that touchdown is made. They accept the fact that although we are different from other fathers, we are theirs. This understanding keeps us trying harder and harder each day to become better.

As I was working on this message earlier in the week, I came across an article in the USA Today newspaper. The article was titled “Dad’s Pregnancy Hormones” and was written by Liz Szabo. In the article she covers those exact initial feelings I had when I received the confirmation that Nikki was pregnant. Here is what the article said: “Although men may not be aware of it, they actually undergo hormonal changes as they prepare for fatherhood…..At first those hormones tell them to panic, or at least pay attention. Levels of a stress hormone called cortisol tend to spike about four to six weeks after men learn they’re going to be fathers, subsiding as the mother’s pregnancy progresses….About three weeks before the baby arrives, levels of testosterone, sometimes called the ‘male hormone’ associated with competitiveness, aggression and sex drive, fall by roughly a third…so a baby is more likely to survive if Dad is at home to help…..” The article says more, but I wanted you to understand how God designed men. He designed us so that when we discover that we are going to be a father, our hormones change so that we can become more nurturing, supportive and caring in order to help take care of the baby and increase their chances of survival. Fathers play a vital role in the development and well-being of a child and this is what I wish to speak to this morning.

I. To Instill A Sense of Purpose