GEN.18:19 "GOD’S IDEA OF A GREAT DAD"
INTRO: We live in a day when we need good male role models. * It’s getting hard to find good,
Christian males who are worth looking up to! * In our day, the bad father is not hard to find!
* However, finding the man who stands out as an example of what a good father ought to be is
hard to track down. * About 3500 years ago, God looked down on Abraham,
* and declared him to be a good father! * Today, we are going to look at the life of Abraham,
* and see God’s idea of what makes a great father.
A) It seems to me that men have forgotten what it means to be men!
* I say that we need some real men who are not afraid to be men.
B) Do you remember when men were men? * Remember when you could tell by looking?
* Remember when men knew who they were; liked who they were; and didn’t want to be
anything but what they were?
C) Remember when it was men who boxed and wrestled and bragged about how much they
could bench press?
* Remember when it was the women who wore the makeup, earrings, and the bikinis?
D) Remember when it was the men who took the lead in a relationship, and who made lifelong
commitments, and treated a woman like a lady?
E) We need fewer spineless wimps who’ve never cut themselves loose from mama’s apron
strings, and MORE clear-thinking, hard working, straight-talking men who,
* while tender, thoughtful, and loving, don’t feel the need to ask permission to take charge!
F) I’m convinced that most single ladies would love to have men like that to spend time with,
* And most wives long to have men like that to share life with!
* And children especially like having dads like that!
G) In the life of Abraham, we find a man who represents what God is looking for in fathers,
* and in men in general. * Let’s look at the qualities that define God’s idea of a great dad:
(1) A GREAT DAD IS A MAN WHO IS IN LINE WITH GOD’S PLAN!
* Abraham was called at the age of 75 to leave behind home and family and set out for God!
* As far as we know, there was no hesitation on the part of Abraham!
* He simply responded in faith to God and set out to follow Him!
A) There is no greater blessing than for children to be surrounded by men who have God’s
call upon their lives. * I’m not talking about the call into the ministry,
* but to men who have heard God’s call to be men of the cross, men who are not afraid of
their faith and who are not ashamed to say to the world, "I’m a child of the living God!"
B) I am convinced that every Christian man has a call of God upon his life, especially fathers!
* This call implies two great truths: (1) That there is a personal relationship with God!
* Abraham knew God in a personal way. * He was called "the friend of God."
* Every child deserves a saved father! * Salvation and the church isn’t just for women,
* children and preachers! * It’s for men who want to be real men!
* (2) That there is a personal responsibility before God! * Every man in this building,
* but especially fathers, have a great responsibility before the Lord!
C) We are responsible for training our children in the way of God!
* We are to teach them about Jesus, the Bible and the will of the Lord!
* They need to learn about prayer, salvation and a close walk with the Lord from their dads!
* Listen dads, God will hold us accountable for the way we train our children!
D) Men need to be aware that what our children see us do, they are apt to do as well!
* Illus. of man walking in the snow to the bar and his little boy following in his steps.......
E) Dads, men, are you leading the children who are looking to you, in the right way?
* Remember; what they learn from you determines what they believe about God, Jesus,
* the Bible, the church and spiritual things. * Are your steps leading in the right direction?
* Are you fulfilling God’s plan for your life? * A great dad is ... in line w/ God’s plan!
(2) A GREAT DAD IS A MAN WITH A GRACIOUS PERSONALITY!
* Remember the incident that happened between the herdsmen of Abraham and those of Lot?
* In Gen. 13, Abraham was willing to allow Lot to take his choice of the land and Abraham
would be content with whatever was left over. * What a gracious personality!
A) In Gen. 21, there was a conflict between Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael.
* Again, Abraham displayed a gracious spirit and in spite of what were very difficult circum-
stances, he sought to be kind and generous to everyone involved.
B) Here is the one area where I feel I have made the most blunders as a father!
* I would like for my children and family to remember that I was kind, gracious, generous,
* and loving. * However, I know, with deep regret, that that has not always been the case!
C) What is so scary is that children retain so much of their parent’s personality and
characteristics. * As my kids watch me be a father before them,
* they will remember how I reacted to certain situations and they will probably react much
the same way when they are raising their children!
* God help us to have the right spirit about us as we parent these blessings God has dropped
into our lives! (Illus. of boy sent to bed for swearing - teach that boy a lesson)
(3) A GREAT DAD IS A MAN OF PRAYER! * Abraham was a man of prayer!
* This is seen in that every time Abraham moved, he erected an altar, and there he sacrificed
and prayed! * Abraham prayed about many things, and one of them was his children!
A) There is no greater blessing that children can have than to know that their father is praying
for them! * Fathers should make it a practice to pray for their children daily!
* Pray for their salvation, their protection, pray for them that they will be used of the Lord
for His glory! * Let them know that you are praying for them!
CLOSE:
A) Men, look into your hearts today! * Are you saved? * Have you placed your faith in Christ?
* If not, then there are children in your life and others around you who deserve better than
you are giving them! * Why don’t you come to the Lord today and get things settled.....?
B) Fathers, are we what God wants us to be today? * When we are the men we can be,
* our children will become the children they should be!
C) If God were to weigh us men here today in the balances of fatherhood and manhood,
* how would we do? * Would we be found wanting?
D) If so, there is a remedy in Jesus! * It may be too late to undo every wrong done;
* but it is never too late to become the man God wants you to be!
