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HAPPY FATHER'S DAY—2009
The Men's Thesaurus (men don't always say what they mean) –
When a man says "IT WOULD TAKE TOO LONG TO EXPLAIN"
He means: "I have no idea how it works"
When a man says "TAKE A BREAK, HONEY. YOU ARE WORKING TOO HARD''
He means: "I can't hear the game over the vacuum cleaner"
When a man says 'THAT'S INTERESTING DEAR.'
He means: "Are you still talking?"
When a man says: "IT'S A GUY THING"
He means: "There is no rational thought pattern connected with this, and you have no chance at all of making it logical"
When a man says "CAN I HELP WITH DINNER"
He means: "Why isn't it ready yet?"
When a man says "UH HUH, SURE HONEY," or "YES, DEAR"
He means: Absolutely nothing – It's a conditioned response.
When a man says "YOU KNOW HOW BAD MY MEMORY IS."
He means: " I can remember the theme song to 'Hogan's Heroes', the phone # of the first girl I ever kissed & the vehicle identification numbers of every car I ever owned – but yes, I forgot your birthday"
When a man says 'OH, DON'T FUSS, I JUST CUT MYSELF. IT'S NO BIG DEAL"
He means: "I have probably severed a limb, but I will bleed to death before I admit I'm hurt, so get over here and help me!"
When a man says 'I CAN'T FIND IT.''
He means: "It didn't fall into my outstretched hand, so I'm completely clueless"
When a man says "I'M NOT LOST. I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE.''
He means: "No one will ever see us alive again."
When a man says "I don't think I can go today."
He means: Shopping is NOT a sport, and no, I am never going to think of it that way.
When a man says, "I don't remember saying that."
It's because he means: "Anything I may have said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all past comments become null and void after 7 days."
When a man says, "that's not what I meant."
He means: "If something I said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, I meant the other one.
If your husband says, "honey, what color is this?"
He means: ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. I have no idea what "taupe" is.
--Author Unknown
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FATHERS
Ezekiel 22:30 "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none."
When Ezekiel was instructed by God to speak these words to His people the nation was falling apart from within. Its rulers were oppressing the people by robbing them of their substance through confiscation and violent means that left many families fatherless. The priests were erasing the lines between what God called holy and profane. What once was considered evil was being re-defined as good and good was becoming evil. Injustice was the common experience of the common people. The law of God which was designed to protect against such abuses was being ignored. There needed to be a new generation of men who had the good sense to see that all this was leading to the destruction of all institutions—the home, the temple, the community, and the nation.
God is again looking for godly men who are ready to carry out their duties of representing the Lord's interests in the home, in the church, in their communities, and in the nation. In order to do this, men must get back to the basics of their biblical responsibilities.
The most successful father have learned to do at least three things well:
I. They Have Learned to Lean on the Lord
Proverbs 3:5 (NIV) 5Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
A. For Salvation (Eph. 2:8, 9) This is necessary to establish a relationship with the Lord.
We men are bad about trying to be "in control"…to "make things happen" "to fix what's broken". And yet, there is no way we can fix ourselves when it comes to our sinful condition. We must, like everyone else, trust in Christ and not ourselves.
Children have that attitude of trust, even male children…but something happens to us once we begin to feel even the slightest amount of thickness in our "peach fuzz!" But there are some things that only God can fix.
B. For Strength (Isaiah 40:30, 31)
Isaiah 40:29-31 (NIV) 29He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30aEven youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
The strength needed to live up to the responsibilities that have been entrusted to men is immense. Many men just give up because the task is so demanding and just walk away from their responsibilities and many others are tempted to. We cannot do it alone and when we are tired and see no way to carry on, we need to turn to the Lord for the strength He promises to give.
C. For Supply (Phil. 4:19)
Philippians 4:19 (NIV) 19And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
The key to having all that we need is to seek to live as a righteous citizen of God's kingdom and then He will supply every need we have day by day.
Matthew 6:28-34 (NIV) 28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
D. For Soundness (Reasoning/Wisdom, James 1:5)
James 1:5 (NIV) 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
God does not demand that men have all the answers to every problem. But He does expect for men to know where to go for wisdom and to always utilize godly wisdom in every decision he makes not only for himself but for all those that God has placed in his care.
II. They Have Learned to Lead and Be Led
A. Lead Their Families (Ephesians 5:23)
Ephesians 5:23 (NIV) 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
Headship isn't being the big boss…it's loving leadership. God is no respecter of persons…women are equal in His sight.
In God's wisdom he has given each family a head…for anything with two heads is a monster! But this is not a privilege as much as it is a responsibility! The hardest thing a man will ever do will be a good husband and a good Father to his children.
It is so easy to put other things first, as these two examples from God's Word indicate.
1. Eli could minister in the temple but could not minister to his sons (1 Sam. 3:13).
1 Samuel 3:13 (NIV) 13For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible,£ and he failed to restrain them.
2. David could lead a kingdom and lead men into battle, but could lead his children, (1 Kings 1:5, 6).
1 Kings 1:5-6 (NIV) 5Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, "I will be king." So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. 6(His father had never interfered with him by asking, "Why do you behave as you do?" He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)
B. Be Led by the Spirit (Gal 5:16, 17; Gal 2:20)
Romans 8:13-14 (NIV) 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Men, we must let our flesh be led by the Spirit or our flesh will lead us!
III. They Have Learned to Love
A. The Necessity of Love to a Father's Success, 1 Cor 13:1-3
If you are not fathering in the spirit of love, then you are not fathering. You may be present and you may be in control, but you're not representing the Lord in how He wants to see your family grow in all ways godly.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NIV) 1If I speak in the tongues£ of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,£ but have not love, I gain nothing.
B. The Necessity of Loving Your Children
1. It is necessary to discipline your children if you love them, Heb 12:5-6.
Hebrews 12:5b-6 (NIV) 5b "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
Ephesians 6:4 (NIV) 4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
2. It is necessary to lavish love upon them in order to model the measure love God gives to His children
1 John 3:1 (NIV) 1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
C. The Necessity of Loving Your Wife
Ephesians 5:25-28 (NIV) 25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing£ her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
It is to be a . . .
1. Sacrificial love. (Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her.
2. Sanctifying love. (Helps her to become the woman God intends her to be.)
3. Seamless love. (He who loves his wife loves himself)
4. Sexual love.
1 Corinthians 7:5 (NIV) 5Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self–control.
D. The Necessity of Loving the Church, Romans 12:10-16.
God has ordained that the Church be the where we worship and fellowship for each others' mutual spiritual growth and development. Fathers should especially recognize the importance of exposing their children to truths they may not get anywhere else.
Romans 12:10-16 (NIV) 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Conclusion
Men if you are willing to constantly progress in your willingness to lean on the Lord, lead and be led by the Spirit of God, and to love God, your family, your church and others; then you will be the kind of man that God can trust to have stand in the gap for Him to protect those things that He holds dear.
Ezekiel 22:30 (NIV) 30"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.
