“The High Value of a Good Father”
Father’s Day
6/19/22
Proverbs 17:6 ASV “Children’s children are the crown of old men; And the glory of children are their fathers.”
Notice that while grandchildren are a CROWN to a grandfather, fathers are the GLORY of their children!
One meaning of the word “glory” is “grounds for boasting.”
Basically, a child wants a father they can brag about!
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But let’s be honest—being a dad is not easy, and we guys know instinctively we need all the help God can give us!
ILLUS: Three young fathers were in the waiting room. The FIRST was told that his wife gave birth to twins. He was amazed and said,
“I play ball for the Minnesota Twins.”
Later, the nurse came out and told the SECOND man,
“Congratulations, you are the father of triplets.” He said, “That is amazing! I work for 3M.”
The man next to him fainted. When he woke up they asked, “What’s wrong.” He said, “I work for 7Up.”
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Now, before American culture redefined and recast DADS as sort of bumbling, clueless dupes with zero wisdom as they are on so many sitcoms, there were actual hit songs bragging about dads.
Paul Peterson’s hit song from 1963 entitled, “My Dad” says:
My dad, now here is a man,
To me he is ev’rything strong; no he can’t do wrong,
my dad,
My dad,
now he understands
when I bring him troubles to share;
Oh, he’s always there, my dad
Paul Peterson was bragging on his dad, who was his glory.
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But maybe you didn’t have a dad like that.
Father’s Day may instead bring mixed feelings to you because your dad was abusive, or had an alcohol or drug problem, or ended up in prison, or simply walked away.
One man poignantly writes, “I did not have a dad for most of my childhood. He was off somewhere losing his business and chasing women. I have only a few memories of the time he was at home. I hang on to every one of them.”
—Or perhaps you lost your dad to death early in life and grew up without him.
If that’s you stay tuned, because at the end of this message I’m going to tell you about an incredible Father in heaven!
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But first, let’s see what the Bible says about the high value of fathers.
The word “mother” occurs 363 times in the Bible—while the word “father” is mentioned over 1,300 times.
If anything is mentioned 1,300 times in Scripture, you can know that the subject is very important to God and to you!
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A father is more than a male that sires a child.
Any MALE can sire a child, but it takes a MAN to be a good father!
Sadly, we live in a nation plagued by fathers of the absentee kind, and I personally believe this is the reason for much of America’s crime and chaos.
Let me read you a few statistics from secular sources that speak volumes about the importance of dads.
In reading these I am not condemning dads, but highlighting the incredible importance of fathers!
• The US Dept. of Health/Census reports that 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes.
• 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes.
• 85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes.
• 80% of men with anger problems come from fatherless homes.
• 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes.
• 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes.
• 70% of youths in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes.
• 85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes.
And a recent study conducted at our own TCU found that girls whose dads were absent during childhood were more likely to be sexually promiscuous later in life.
With every one of their sexual trysts they were in search of the male connection they never had with their dad.
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In Malachi 4:6, God promises to send Elijah the prophet back to the earth (figuratively speaking), “And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
Notice—when dad’s hearts are turned away from the children, and the children’s hearts from the dads, it brings a curse on the earth!
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So let me take this special day to share a few keys to being a good father:
I. Good dads DECIDE to keep on being good dads
There are several stages in your child’s life where you as dad must make the crucial decision to keep on being a dad.
—Stephen Covey writes that every day all across America, fathers drive home from work having made the decision whether or not to put on the “dad hat” when they get home…some do and some don’t.
Covey says we dads must routinely decide, “Today, I am going to re-enlist to be dad!”
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For instance, when you first bring that little bundle of joy home from the hospital and they cry all night, every DAD must say,
“It’s not all on my wife; it’s time to put on my ‘dad hat’ and go change the dirty diaper and rock them to sleep.”
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Then when Christmas rolls around and you’ve purchased that little tricycle they asked for.
And on the box it says, “Minor assembly required.”
And you get it home to find out they lied!
There’s an instruction book an inch thick on how to put it all together, so you breathe deep, put on the “dad hat,” and wade in, finishing somewhere around sunrise.
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Then when they reach those perilous teen years and the little bundle of joy you brought home now has facial hair (if it was a boy),
a deep voice,
a hairstyle you can’t unsee,
and he is struggling with some of life’s deeper issues like
sex,
faith in Christ,
the right kind of friends,
future career choices and so on—
You’ve got to decide yet again to put on the ‘dad hat’ and be there.
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And then should they go astray, make some bad or even terrible decisions, disappoint and hurt you, anger and frustrate you, you still never put down the ‘dad hat.’
As the prodigal son’s father stood with eyes peeled toward the far country in hopes of spotting his wayward son coming home, he never took off his dad hat.
When his son’s familiar form appeared in the distance and haltingly made his way to him, the father took him in his arms and received him home with acceptance and joy.
Bottom line: Once dad, always dad! And it’s a daily choice!
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Then secondly,
II. Good fathers walk with Christ for their children’s sake
It’s not the ONLY reason a man walks with Jesus—we first and foremost walk with Him because He’s our Savior and saved us, and we want to obey Him.
But every wise father knows that the eyes most closely watching the authenticity of his walk are his kids.
So for the sake of his keen-eyed little observers he lives for the Lord.
Jesus said this in His high priestly prayer for His disciples: “As you sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”—John 17:18-19
Catch that? I lived a sanctified life for their sakes!
Jesus knew that character is CAUGHT more than TAUGHT.
The disciples listened to Jesus teach all the time—but they also closely watched his:
decision-making,
how he handled stress,
how he handled adversity,
how he treated others,
how he cared for his mother,
how he prayed…
Jesus’s entire way of life was carefully observed by the twelve.
So for their sakes, we dads must walk our talk before our children!
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Finally,
III. Good dads speak a blessing on their children
The tragedy of our generation is that many fathers are dying with the blessing for their children still inside of them.
Dads, you are empowered to be a blessing!
A blessing on our children is comprised of:
A Spoken Message
Attaching High Value to them
Picturing a Special Future for them
Notice how God’s people in the Bible spoke blessings over their children!
Rebekah’s father and family spoke a blessing over her before she was taken to be Jacob’s wife:
Genesis 24:60 “Our sister (acceptance and belonging), may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands (a blessed future); And may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them (a powerful purpose).”
Isaac spoke a blessing over his son Jacob, “May God give you plenty of rain, good crops, and wine (a blessed future). 29 May the nations serve you and many people bow down to you. Whoever curses you will be cursed. Whoever blesses you will be blessed (purpose and protection).”—Gen. 27:28–29
Hebrews 11:20-21 tells us, “By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to the future. By faith, Jacob…blessed each of Joseph’s sons.”
In each of these blessings we see the father attaching high value to his children.
“You will be a blessing wherever you go, you are chosen of God, you are mighty in Him and will do mighty things!”
They spoke PURPOSE over their futures—you’re not just here on earth by evolutionary happenstance, but you are called, chosen, set apart to be a blessing and to glorify the name of the Lord on the earth!
A spoken message
High value
Divine purpose
This is the blessing Bible parents spoke over their children!
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Now, in talking about dads today I want to close with a quick look at the greatest dad of all—God.
In Christianity, God is known as “God THE Father, God OUR Father, and God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Bible says the moment a person turns to Christ as Savior, a Father/child relationship begins.
It says in Romans 8:15, “For you have not received a spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of divine adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (NKJV)
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So on this Father’s Day I want you to know:
If you have had an honorable, Christ-loving, ‘there for you’ father, you are greatly blessed.
And if you didn’t have a father who was approachable, loving, or present—then God, as your Heavenly Father, is waiting to more than make up for it!
LET’S PRAY