“My father”

 

1)      Jesus said a number of interesting things while He was on the earth.

2)      One of the interesting expressions He used was “My Father.”

a)      More than 40 times in the gospels we find these two words being joined together.

b)      Today is father’s day, and we want to look at the words “my father” in the book of Matthew.

 

3)      What kinds of things are associated with these two words?

4)      What was Jesus teaching when He said “My Father?”  What lessons can we learn from these two words?

5)      Our study begins in Mt. 7:21.

a)      This verse occurs towards the close of the Sermon on the Mount.

b)      Here Jesus spoke of doing the Father’s will (being obedient to the gospel).

c)      Our Lord said many people will not have heaven as their eternal home.

d)     Some who planned on being saved will be rejected by God and this will be quite a shock.

e)      The Lord’s warned about this and explained why this is the case in the 21^st verse – READ

 

6)      When we look at earthly father, we find that they often have a “will.”

7)      There are things that men want to accomplish.  They see things that need to be done.

8)      God wants men to be the leaders in their homes and families, and being a leader often means having a plan.

9)      When men fulfill the role God has given them, they are fulfilling their divine role.

10)  God intended for men to be respected and honored in their household.

 

11)  Sometimes a husband’s plan is not all that great.  In fact, a man’s plan can sometimes be downright bad.

12)  Wives may point out some of a plan’s flaws.  Sometimes children see some problems with dad’s plans.

13)  As a good leader, dad will need to make some adjustments from time to time.

14)  He should be wise enough to know that not all of his plans are 5 star ideas.

15)  If a man is a leader in his family, and that means leading with and through love, that is right.

16)  We can see the importance of the father’s leadership in the home by looking at the spiritual realm.

17)  God the Father has devised a plan to save us; we can obey that plan and be redeemed.

18)  We of course have the option of choosing some other plan and be lost. 

19)  God has the one right plan and when we follow it, we begin to see all the advantages of this choice.

20)  When good fathers function in a similar way, it is right to commend and appreciate them.

 

21)  Jesus went on to say that if we choose to obey God’s will, there will be some consequences.

22)  Next on our list of references is Mt. 10:32.

a)      Jesus said if we “confess Him before men, He will confess us before “His Father” in heaven.

b)      One day the saved will be recognized and “defended” if you will by the Lord.

c)      Sometimes we need defending, perhaps before an earthly father.

d)     Throughout life a father often has some things brought to his attention.

e)      It may be bad news.  It may be good news.  It may be a request for help or an expression of thanks.

f)       Sometimes a father will defend the one he loves. 

g)      Sometimes a father will need to reprove someone he loves.

h)      Earthly fathers deal with both good and bad things, just as the Heavenly Father does.

i)        Jesus said that those who obey the Father’s will one day be “confessed” before His Father.

j)        This will be a joyous event.

k)      Coming before the heavenly Father will be part of the final judgment.

l)        Some will be “blessed of the Father and be allowed to spend eternity in heaven.”

m)    According to Mt. 10:33, others will have different fate– READ.

n)      Earthly fathers know they cannot be just and good if they have an “anything goes” policy.

o)      They cannot uphold wrong or evil and be called just.

p)      God the Heavenly Father functions in this manner as well.

q)      God is a being of love and He wants the best for all peo0ple.

r)       2 Pet. 3:9 tells us that He does not anyone to perish.

s)       Along with God’s love there is also God’s justice.

t)       Deity will have to turn away some people from heaven.

u)      There are those who refuse to follow the Father’s will, so heaven cannot be their eternal home.

v)      Love cannot and will not set aside the need for perfect fairness.

 

23)  Knowing that God will send away people He wishes would be saved is a fact that can help us.

24)  Fathers make some choices and decisions that are sometimes very, very difficult.

25)  Being a dad is not always a pleasant task.

26)  Who can understand hard decisions?  God can.

27)  Our The Heavenly Father reminds us that earthly fathers must sometimes do some difficult things.

28)  God will get no joy from saying that or turning people away, but this is what He will do.

 

29)  Before marriage, a young man may think that marriage and being a father are easy.

30)  It does not take long to figure out that things are not quite as simple as one thinks.

a)      When a man marries, his life changes.

b)      Someone said in a male’s average bathroom there are six items:

c)      There is a toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, a razor, a bar of soap, and a towel .

d)     In the average bathroom of a lady, there are 337 items.

e)      Furthermore, a typical man cannot identify more than 20 of those 337 items.

f)       People make jokes about men, women, and marriage.  Getting married is serious business.

g)      It is something for grownups; it takes work and maturity, especially for men.

 

31)  It has been said that a woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

32)  Men on the other hand never worry about the future until they get a wife.

33)  Men get married and the will be called on to make some hard choices.

34)  When children disobey and rebel, fathers are faced with making some choices.

35)  Eph. 6:4 says that men are to “nurture and chasten their children in the Lord.”

36)  This is a lengthy process that requires work.  Sometimes men make thorny decisions.

a)      Not long ago I spoke with a preacher who was speaking of a grown child.

b)      He told of a time when a decision had to be made—a very difficult decision.

c)      He had to decide whether to allow or prohibit something and it was not an easy judgment to make.

d)     Fathers make plenty of mistakes, but many of them try very hard and deserve appreciation.

 

37)  Our modern world makes parenting a difficult job.  Mothers also do not have an easy time of things.

38)  Being a child is not all that easy in today’s world.

39)  Being a dad—and we mean a good father—is certainly a very difficult task.

40)  Dads have many responsibilities, and some of their tasks are specific to them.

a)      A mother once came to Jesus with a request.

b)      She said she wanted her sons to have a prominent place in the kingdom (Mt. 20).

c)      Mt. 20:21 says she wanted “one on the right hand” and “one on the left.”

d)     Jesus said (Mt. 20:23) that the Father had “prepared” these places for specific people.

e)      The Father was the one who had made the decision and already arranged things.

 

41)  In a home God intended for the male (husband) to be a key figure in keeping things on track.

42)  A man can provide and supply a lot of what is needed to provide a good environment for a family.

43)  Just as God the Father has prepared and arranged things, so men have a similar responsibility.

44)  This is typically requires a good bit of work, and it is on-going task.

a)      Teresa and I have two birdhouses not far from our house.

b)      The houses are of an average size, and each house is literally packed with sticks.

c)      There are so many sticks there does not seem to be room for a bird to get into the house.

d)     I do not know if the sticks were brought by a male or a female.

e)      A conservative estimate would be a minimum of 100 sticks per house.

 

45)  Each stick had to go through a single small hole.

46)  A bird had to fly around and find sticks that were small enough and short enough to be used.

47)  Then they had to come back to the house and work the sticks into the hole.

48)  They also had to arrange the wood in such a way where numerous other sticks could be added.

49)  Sticks are literally packed into these birdhouses.

50)  Hours and hours of work must have gone into the process.

51)  If someone ripped out the sticks, I think the birds would probably repeat the process.

a)      God the Father has invested so much time in building a spiritual family.

b)      Eph. 3:11says this spiritual family was His “eternal purpose.”

c)      God has gone to great lengths and great expense to be a loving and perfect father.

d)     No man will ever be as good as God, but men can be fine fathers.

e)      Men can build, work, and fulfill a key place in their household.

 

52)  Our world has, for several years, attacked what the Bible calls a family.

a)      Our lawmakers struggle to define what a family is.  State laws may change the definition of family.

b)      God’s word is clear on what a family is, and how it should function.

c)      Men have a key part in the process in the family unit.

d)     Their work may not always be noticed.  Some of what they do may be to go at a very slow pace.

e)      Many years may be involved in getting children where they need to be.

f)       At some point someone may come along and tear down some of what a man has tried to build.    

g)      A father’s children may not understand or appreciate what he is doing.

h)      Sometimes being a mother or father is a thankless job.

 

53)  God is our on-going example.  There are many times when He is not thanked.

54)  There are many who do not care what God has done or pays no attention to Him.

55)  Some try to attack what God or what He has done, but God continues to be a father.

56)  This is an important for us to follow.

57)  Our world has a lot of dads that simply walk away from a situation.

58)  This is not God’s plan for fathers.  Men are to stick with it and it is thus right to honor them.

 

59)  Towards the end of Mt. 26 we find Jesus praying.

60)  The specific verse I have in mind is Mt. 26:39 and this is a familiar passage.

a)      Jesus said “My Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me.”

b)      Jesus was at a crisis time in His life.  For a long time He knew the cross was coming.

c)      Now that time had come and He was crying out to the Father.

 

61)  Here is another practical point about men.

62)  Men can be a great resource.  Earthly dads should be a source of strength in their families.

63)  They should be a source for their wife to lean on and find support.

64)  Jesus found comfort in the words “my father” and today many earthly fathers still offer great aid.

 

65)  God created marriage (a male with a female) and said it was “good.”

66)  Our world does not always believe that, but Christians are not interested in pagan ideas.

67)  We do not want the ideas of men that conflict with the word of God.

68)  God’s word tells us that a marriage (one man/one woman) is the best way to rear children.

69)  Our scripture reading was Mal. 2:14-15 and God made this specific point in those verses.

70)  Having a mom and a dad is God’s ideal arrangement.

71)  It was the means God was going to use to produce a “godly seed.”

72)  In this type of home children have two people they can turn to (mom and dad).

73)  Many often think of mom as being a good source to talk to, and often that is the case.

74)  Dad can also offer a lot of strength and hope.

a)      Sometimes a child may call back to their parents and say, “I want to talk to mom.”

b)      The next time they call, they may say, “We need dad.”

 

75)  Jesus saw the Father as a great source of support and help and earthly dads can function in a similar manner.

76)  When earthly fathers offer support and help, it is right to thank them.

 

a)      Our final text is found in Mt. 26:53.

b)      The time had come for the Lord to die.

c)      Peter was ready to defend the Lord’s physical life so he took out a sword and used it.

d)     Because of Peter’s actions a man’s ear was cut off.

e)      Jesus said in Mt. 26:52 that Peter was to put away his sword.

 

77)  Mt. 26:53 says – READ

a)      This is a great passage for father’s day.

b)      Jesus said He could beseech the heavenly Father for aid, and assistance would come.

c)      This aid would not be just a little help – thousands of angels would be sent.

 

78)  One of the things that we can think about on this father’s day is how dad may have helped us.

79)  It may have been something he did in person. It may have been via a phone call or e-mail.

80)  Good dads try to help their children as well as others.

81)  Some have not had good earthly fathers and that is sad.

82)  Our world has been affected by sin and there are many terrible consequences from sin.

83)  Whatever the relationship with our earthly dad, there is a perfect Heavenly Father that love us.

84)  Have we responded to that love?