Fathers, Faith and Family

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Fathers, Faith and Family</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id523.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pursuing Personal Purity"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id525.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Love, Work and Boundaries"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>“Fathers, Family, and Faith”</B></div> <div> <B>Father's Day, June 18-19, 2005</B></div> <bR> <div>      One startling bit of research conducted by the Christian Business Men’s Committee found the following: When the father is an active believer, there is about a seventy-five percent likelihood that the children will also become active believers. But if only the mother is a believer, this likelihood is dramatically reduced to fifteen percent. (Bible.org, Keith Meyering, in <I>Discipleship Journal</I>, issue #49, p. 41.)</div> <div>      Husbands and fathers make the biggest difference in the spiritual environment of the home. They have the biggest impact on the spiritual and relational tone and atmosphere in the home. And the quality of our homes, our marriages, and our families has a major impact on the quality of our culture and civilization. </div> <div>      The overall spiritual and relational health of the family demands that fathers be at their best, consistently.  To be a great father, start by becoming a great man, which means be a growing man. (Great advice for moms and singles, as well). </div> <div>      Three simple ingredients for a great home and family (this is not an exhaustive list).</div> <bR> <div> <B>1. Tend to yourself and your character.</B></div> <div>      In 1 Timothy 4:16 (NET), Paul told Timothy, “Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach.” That advice was for a pastor, but it is great advice for fathers as well. You cannot be a great husband and father without being a man of character. And being a great person doesn't start with your circumstances, it starts with your character.</div> <div> <I>     </I>Last week we looked at <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=1Thess+4:3-8" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>1 Thess 4:3-8</U></A>. God's will is that we are set apart for him, pure and holy. We are avoid sexual immorality. If we are believers in Jesus, we are called to be people of character, of holiness. We are commanded to control our bodies, which includes also our minds and hearts (1 Thessalonians 4:4). 2 Corinthians 10:5 says “we [are] take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Hebrews 13:4 says, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” </div> <div>      How do we handle the temptations we face (from immorality, to anger or unkindness, to selfishness, to unforgiveness) and grow in our character?</div> <div> a. You have the power to choose your response in the moment of temptation (it is a brief window). (And by choosing your actions, you develop habits, which define your character, which map our your destiny as a human being.) </div> <div> b. You have the power to guard the influences you allow in your life. (Proverbs 5, 7 –don't go near the house of the immoral woman, don't go down her street – that is what the fool does).</div> <div> c. You have the power to open up your life to other men who can hold you accountable (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Heb+10:24-25" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Heb 10:24-25</U></A>).</div> <div>      Where does the power come from? <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Phil+2:12-13" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Phil 2:12-13</U></A> tells us God works in you through the Holy Spirit. John Ortberg in “Flow” describes learning how to surf. You can learn a lot about surfing, but you cannot learn how to make waves.  You can learn how to depend on  God's power, but you cannot create waves of God's power. They will be there; will you get into them?</div> <bR> <div>      Next, we focus on some positive actions  - because we deal with negative tendencies and impulses by replacing them with positive actions.</div> <bR> <div> <B>2. Serve and love your wife.</B></div> <div>      One of the basic foundations of a solid marriage is mutual service and love expressed toward one another. And the husband sets the tone and the atmosphere in the home.</div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Eph+5:25-35" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Ephesians 5:25-35</U></A> – Love your wife, like Christ loves the church and gave ....</div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=1Cor+7:1-7" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>1 Cor 7:1-7</U></A> – Meet the needs of your spouse, because you belong to each other, not merely to yourselves.</div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=1Pet+3:7" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>1 Peter 3:7</U></A> – Live with your wife in an understanding, considerate, flexible way. She shares humanity and spiritual life with you, she is your partner.</div> <div>      We can help to meet the emotional, relational desires of your spouse by paying attention to the “Five Love Languages”– words of affirmation, quality time, giving / receiving gifts, acts of service, physical touch. These are practical ways to communicate love and value. Your spouse probably will respond to a couple of these more than others. Figure it out and communicate love in action through words of affirmation, quality time, giving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch.</div> <bR> <div> <B>3. Encourage and train your children (</B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Eph+6:1-4" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>Eph 6:1-4</B></U></A><B>).</B></div> <div>      Keith Hernandez was one of baseball’s top players. He is a lifetime .300 hitter who has won numerous Golden Glove awards for excellence in fielding. He’s won a batting championship for having the highest average, the Most Valuable Player award in his league, and even the World Series. Yet with all his accomplishments, he has missed out on something crucially important to him—his father’s acceptance and recognition that what he has accomplished is valuable. Listen to what he had to say in a very candid interview about his relationship with his father: “One day Keith asked his father, ‘Dad, I have a lifetime 300 batting average. What more do you want?’</div> <div> His father replied, ‘But someday you’re going to look back and say, “I could have done more.”’” (The Gift of Honor, Gary Smalley & John Trent, Ph.D., p. 116, Bible.org).</div> <div>      Your kids need your instruction and training, but above all else, they need your encouragement.</div> <div>      Someone wrote, “As I was driving home from work one day, I stopped to watch a local Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first-base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was. "We're behind 14 to nothing," he answered with a smile. "Really," I said. "I have to say you don't look very discouraged." "Discouraged?" the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face. "Why should we be discouraged? We haven't been up to bat yet."”</div> <div>      If your kids believe in themselves, keep believing in them yourself. If they don't believe in themselves, you believe in them anyway. And see what God does in them.</div> <bR> <div>      Gary Ezzo wrote, “I once asked my daughter Jennifer what she thought were the biggest problems fathers have with kids. She said, “Dads have too many “tomorrows.” You know, “I’ll play with you tomorrow, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She was right. Dad, be there now for your children, building quality and quantity benchmarks of trust. Don’t wait until tomorrow—or you’ll end up wasting too many todays. (Gary Ezzo, Men of Action, Summer, 1996, p. 11)</div> <div>      Do the right thing for your family today. Do the right thing tomorrow. And before long, you will be doing the right thing for a lifetime.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2005, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>