It’s Father’s Day 2016!

“ ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

–Deuteronomy 5:16 (ESV)

Today we give honor to the men who were a blessing to their children. We are blessed as we do so.

These are men who have provided the support that their children needed in order to grow into a fullness of life. These men were willing to come alongside the mothers of their children and to give of themselves. They lovingly invested their time, talents and treasures in the lives of their children as they lovingly invested in the lives of the mothers of their children.

There has been a shift in the role of fathers. That is what we will address today.

For many reasons, fathers have fallen out of sync with the purposes of fatherhood. In some cases, they have been pushed aside. The importance of fathers has been all but erased as women reached for their own identity in this society. What has also happened as a result of this is that men have been given permission to set aside their duties as fathers.

Many excuses are being put forth for fathers to abandon their responsibilities to their children. Let me say this: NOONE has responsibility for a man’s children, but him. Their mother has a role, but it is NOT intended to be exercised outside of the bonds of a marriage that is centered in Jesus. Here’s one of the passages from the Bible about what fathers can do:

Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

–Matthew 7:9–11 (ESV)

One of the things this tells us that father’s do is to determine how to give “good gifts” to their children.

The Greek word for father is pater, derived from a root word that means “nourisher, protector, upholder.”

To father a child means to accept responsibility for and to provide leadership, guidance, and protection for his children.

une Hunt, Biblical Counseling Keys on Parenting: Steps for Successful Parenting (Dallas, TX: Hope For The Heart, 2008), 2.

Now some of us have been abandoned by our fathers. What I would like to share with you today is that you can take hold of the hand of the Father of all fathers! If you have made the choice to accept Jesus as your Savior, you will NEVER AGAIN be abandoned. You are God’s child:

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

–Romans 8:16–17 (ESV)

Let that soak in.

First, you need to remember who God is. He is the creator of the ENTIRE Universe! He is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. He causes the stars to hang in the heavens. He keeps the sea in its place. He placed this planet in just the right place for humanity to be able to survive and to thrive.

YOUR FATHER IS THE GREAT I AM!

Now think about what it means to be a child of the Living God. I am not referring to that generic title that many who do not know Christ use for all humanity. They say we are all children of God because of the fact that He created Adam and Eve and we are the descendants of His creation. This verse from Romans 8 and many others refer to God’s children as those who have accepted the gift of salvation.

We are brought with a price. Jesus gave His life so that we could become Children of God. Some have rejected His precious gift, but many have not! Even if our earthly fathers have abandoned us, we are no longer orphans:

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

–John 14:15–18 (ESV)

If you are like me and you did not have a father that loved you and gave you all that a father is supposed to give to his children, don’t let that keep you down. Remember this:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

–Romans 8:28–30 (ESV)

If you have accepted the gift of salvation in Christ, you can walk in your identity as a child of God! You have been identified by God! Romans 8: 28 says that even your abandonment can work out for your good if you love the Lord are among those called for His purpose. One of your purposes is to be a child of God! You are to be conformed to the image of the Son of God!

Be healed!

~pk