Gtcotr/ss062021
John 14:8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied."
Today is Father’s Day in America. It’s the day we set aside each year to honor the fathers in our lives. There are adoptive fathers, stepfathers, biological fathers, foster fathers, and spiritual fathers. There are fathers of our nation, fathers of our faith, fathers of higher education, and men who are known as fathers for almost every other facet of life.
Fathers come in many sizes, shapes, and kinds. There are well-known fathers and unknown fathers, there are good fathers, bad fathers, indifferent fathers, absentee fathers, and fathers who teach us what we should do as well as fathers who teach us what we should not to do.
Being a father is not always easy but, in some instances, being a father may be the most like God any person could achieve on earth. However, the moment a man decides he is going to be a father is only half of the equation. The other half is when someone to whom you have decided to be a father chooses you to father them.
What a joyful day it is when someone chooses God to be their heavenly Father. Even though God is perfect, yet sometimes it takes time for others to realize just how much He cares. This morning we are going to use a passage of scripture from the Gospel of Luke to rehearse what a godly man can do in the time between deciding to be a father and actually becoming one. In other words: What do I do until they Choose Me.
We
will build today’s lesson on the fact that:
· God wants to be a Father.
You know, being a father is a choice. God could have cast Himself in any image: as the sun, the moon, fire, wind, a bull or whatever He wished. There would have been no wrong way for Him to portray Himself. However, He chose the image of a Father. The Apostle John refers to a father 111 times in the Gospel of John alone.
Let’s look into the Gospel of Luke now, chapter 15. We will begin reading in verse 11 and discuss some of the Godly attributes of a good father.
Luke 15 NKJV
11 Then Jesus said, “A
certain man had two sons.
12 And the younger of
them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to
me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.
13 And not many days
after the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and
there wasted his possessions with prodigal (riotous) living.
14 But when he had spent
all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.
15 Then he went and
joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to
feed swine.
16 And he would gladly
have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him
anything.
17 But when he came to
himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and
to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to
my father and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before
you,
19 and I am no longer
worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’
20 And he arose and came
to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and
had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
21 And the son said to
him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer
worthy to be called your son.’
22 But the father said to
his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his
hand and sandals on his feet.
23 And bring the fatted
calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry:
24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.”
5
Attributes of a Godly Father
1.
Respect for evolving family relationships
a. V 12
b. As our children and
our family grow, we must adjust ourselves to meet the evolving criteria of that
growing relationship.
c. Different seasons demand different perspectives.
Galatians 4
1 Now I say that the
heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave though he
is master of all,
2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.
d. Children are not meant
to remain children forever.
e. While we are waiting
on our children to recognize and respect our contributions as a father, we
should also recognize and respect the fact that they are growing up and
experiencing life themselves. Life is throwing never before encountered
temptations their way.
f. Family relationships grow and evolve. Children become responsible for their own lives at some point. If we wish them to continue to respect us, we must at some point begin to respect them.
2.
A reputation for being kind and generous to others
a. V 17
b. Not only to the family
but to servants, employees, and strangers as well. This son knew his father to
be a just and kind man.
3.
Approachable
a. V 18
b. Accessible and
approachable with any problem.
c. Not judgmental,
critical, condemning or rejection prone.
4.
Unashamedly Compassionate
a. V 20
b. Strong enough to show
his love.
5. Forgiving
I
full well imagine the father forgave his son long before the son returned home.
Forgiveness and restoration are two different things. Restoration often has to
wait on change.
·
Forgiveness
is by grace …
· Restoration is work.
All God wants is to be a Father. And, before God’s Son was born, God chose a man to be the earthly representation of a father to Jesus. It is evident from creation that God values the role of a father in the life of every child.
I applaud so many of you men who at some point decided to be a father and have been doing a great job at it and have gained the respect and honor of your children. Keep up the good work. I pray for the men among us who are following God’s example of fatherhood and have children who are currently refusing to be fathered. Don’t quit … don’t give up. Be like the father of the prodigal son who must have prayed for his son every day and stood watching and waiting for his certain return.
Then, for the men who have children who are desperately waiting for you to decide to be their father, I beg you in the name of Jesus, make that decision today.
Just because a man grew up without a godly father in his life does not mean that his children have to experience the same deficit.
Men, you have the potential to be the perfect father God chose for your children, your biological children; your adopted children; and the spiritual children God intends for you.
And to the families, honor the fathers among us as gifts from God. Pray for us – we need it – being an earthly representation of God is not always easy.
You
can read the rest of that story at your leisure and as you do, see if you can
find some other redeeming qualities that make a man the father God intended him
to be. And remember men:
·
Fatherhood
is a choice – It’s not just a name on a birth certificate.
·
Relationships
are meant to grow and change. It’s healthy …
·
Build
a reputation for being kind, generous, and just.
·
Always
be approachable. Don’t say “I told you so.”
·
Express
your love in ways that are meaningful to others.
·
Forgive
– and when necessary – work hard to be restored.
