THE HEROIC FATHER

TO BE A FATHER WHO

• ADORES YOUR WIFE AND CHILDREN
• CELEBRATES THEIR LIVES  WITH  PRAISES
• AND CAUSES THEM TO PROSPER IN JOYOUS, GODLY CELEBRATION…

 

BLESS FATHER GOD

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
Hebrews 1.9

Beloved: this is what it all comes down to for the American family (of which I am one) – AND –  for families throughout the globe! Each and every man, married or not, is to follow the way of the LORD God Almighty. America has been blessed because this country was founded on honoring the LORD God Almighty, by loving all men and serving to the point of willingness to die for the righteous cause…

TO OUR BELOVED ISRAEL THE LORD SAYS:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
Deuteronomy 6:4-6

TO THE CHURCH THE LORD SAYS:

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40

TO THOSE OUTSIDE HIS COVENANT THE LORD SAYS:

You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.  You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
James 2:20-24

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9

 

The LORD our God is one! These commandments He gave Israel are to be cherished also by the Church because Jesus did not abolish the Law: He is the fulfillment of it:

 

Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down)  “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).  But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”  that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.  As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:4-13

 

The Law is good when one uses it correctly. Those who love Truth love righteousness and want to do right. As the first-mentioned Scriptures says of the godly man.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
Hebrews 1.9

In the context of this first chapter of Hebrews, God is speaking about Jesus Christ – and, because we are to follow after Him. We are to love what God loves and hate what God hates.

The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk.  They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.  We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,  for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
1 Timothy 1:5-11

 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.             Matthew 5:17-20

 

The reason families fail is because families sin – or are sinned upon. Divorce is not sin – Father God would never have allowed Moses to institute sin.

 

Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” “What did Moses command you?” he replied. They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”  “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied.  “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Mark 10:2-9

AND: Joseph had in mind to divorce Mary quietly because he was righteous (thinking Mary was pregnant without being in the covenant of marriage.) Not all divorce is the result of both people being unwilling to stay in the marriage covenant: romantic love. Some might not believe this, thinking it silly – but love is a choice. Romance is a very specific biblical love. The first, of course, was Adam and Eve. As you read Genesis God created them in His own image, very cute! Very precious! And, it must never be forgotten – mankind is dearly loved! So, it is very clear the man and the woman are the very start of the family and God wants them to have children! Another blessing to cherish!

As families begin their household together based solely on God and His ways, they are to follow after peace; and it is the father who is to be the head. Beloved, the man is to be the spiritual leader of their household.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her  to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,  and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.  However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Ephesians 5:21-33

 

What does Ephesians 5:21-33 say in bullet point?

• Each person is to submit out of reverence for Christ, to Him and to each other
• Wives are to submit to their husbands as they do to the Lord (of course – this means the husbands are to be led and to lead through the Holy Spirit and not by the enemy of all souls!)
• The Church – all Christians – are submit to Christ and His ways
• Husbands are to love the women they have chosen to marry – to treat her just as tender and dearly love as God, Himself does
• Wives are to respect their husbands

 

Families make up Israel, the Church and the world. As I have told my brothers I minister to in prison: “Sometimes a man has to just be strong enough to tell his wife –  ‘No!'” This is exactly what Adam should have told Eve. If he had to do it over again – are you not fully persuaded he would? Duh?!

Godly men have to start with honesty – Truth. The first step to being a godly man is to admit you have fallen short – you have sinned – you have told God “No!” to His will – and “Yes!” to yours. How stupid, how ludicrous – yet all have done this – save One – Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God that through His eternal covenant those who call on the Lord will be saved and those who stay in the Lord will be saved: but if they shrink back the Lord will take no pleasure in him.

Beloved, it is the husband and father who is to be the first to lead by example. It is that husband who has this honor. The Bible is so precious and awesome – for it is the Living Word. Not only does our dear LORD give us examples of godly men (and women) but it also shows us how not to be. Truly, everyone who sins is without excuse.

My next prison ministry teaching is going to be about Joseph, son of Jacob, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. You will never read of him blaming God or hating – anyone! He is a foreshadowing of Christ and like all, he sinned, and needed the Savior. The Bible does not tell us what sins he committed, but all have – except Jesus. Joseph is one of the prime examples of a godly father and one worth studying and emulating. Even so, Jesus is our perfect example. However, Joseph is testimony that those who go through more than tough times are completely able to not just survive – but THRIVE because of his love for God AND man. Take it to heart!

 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
Genesis 39:2

 

I charge you fathers, all fathers, be with the LORD, and you will be a successful man, a successful husband, a successful father by the grace and mercy of the One who gave Himself up for your household!

 

 

SCRIPTURAL TRUTHS FROM THIS “JOY STORY”

Genesis 2:18, 20-22
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s rib and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

Proverbs 18:22
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.

Proverbs 4:1-4
Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother. Then he taught me, and he said to me,  “Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live.

Proverbs 20:6-7
Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find? The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them.

Isaiah 54:13
All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace.