More Like Christ

Today, is Father’s Day “Happy Father’s Day!” I thought I’d start out today by sharing a few precious dad moments.. Moments that would only happen to a dad and only a dad would appreciate…

PRECIOUS DAD MOMENT #1

One night a wife found her husband standing over their newborn baby’s crib. Silently she watched him. As he stood looking down at the sleeping infant, she saw on his face a mixture of emotions: disbelief, doubt, delight, amazement, enchantment, skepticism. He would stand back, shake his head and say, "Amazing," while smiling from ear to ear.

Touched by his unusual display and the deep emotions it aroused, her eyes glistened as she slipped her arms around him. "A penny for your thoughts," she whispered in his ear.

"Isn’t it amazing!" he replied. "When you take the time and really look close, how can anyone make a crib like that for only $45.99!"

PRECIOUS DAD MOMENT #2

A Pastor once told this story… “As ham sandwiches go, it was perfection. A thick slab of ham, a fresh bun, crisp lettuce and plenty of expensive, light brown, gourmet mustard. The corners of my jaw were aching in anticipation,

I carried it to the picnic table in our backyard, picked it up with both hands but was stopped by my wife suddenly at my side. "Hold Johnny, (our six-week-old son), while I get my sandwich," she said.

I had him balanced between my left elbow and shoulder and was reaching again for the ham sandwich when I noticed a streak of mustard on my fingers. I love mustard. And I had no napkin. So I licked it off.

It was NOT mustard. No man ever put a baby down faster. It was the first and only time I have sprinted with my tongue protruding. With a washcloth in each hand I did the sort of routine shoeshine guys do, only I did it on my tongue.

Later my wife said, "Now you know why they call that mustard ’Poupon.’"

PRECIOUS DAD MOMENT #3

Children will surprise you writes Scott Taylor. A few years ago on a lazy Saturday morning my son Philip, then 5, invited himself into my bed. After about 5 minutes of intense tickling, wrestling and laughing, we collapsed together on the now cover-less, pillow-less bed. It was just a few seconds later that he raised his head from my chest, looked into my eyes, and said, "Dad, your the bestest Daddy in the whole wide world." And then, before I even had a chance to sample this precious morsel of parental affirmation he added, as he lay back down beside me, "And you’re a bugar-head!"

As a father of 5 children, I can tell you that there have been a lot of precious dad moments. And yes, some that were not so precious at the time, but we can look back and laugh about now. It is amazing and humbling to think, that God has entrusted me with the lives of Jonathen, Isaiah, Makayla, Naomi and Caleb. I am looking forward to the many more “Precious Moments” that He allows us to have together.

Meat:

This mornings message is entitled “More Like Christ”. Because this should be the ultimate goal for us as Fathers… and I realize that I am not just speaking to fathers this morning, so this should be the ultimate goal for us as followers of Christ… To be more like Him.

Open your Bibles to Ephesians 5… (Read vv. 1, 15)… So our daily walk should reflect that of Christ…

Christ is said to be our Prophet, Priest and King. Those are the main points on your outline this morning…

Considering these 3 offices, or titles…

Jesus: Came to us to show God to us and as such He is our Prophet.

Jesus: Seated at the right hand of the Father, intercedes as our Priest

Jesus: King of kings and Lord of lords - as head of the Church, He is certainly our King

These three great offices were delegated to Him by God the Father…

Since this is Father’s Day and fathers and families certainly are related items, then how can we apply this truth to the family and specifically to the role of the father in the family?

In the family, as well as in all of life, Jesus serves not only as our power to do “the right thing,” but also as our pattern of “what to do.”

You should still be in Ephesians 5… Look at v.25 (Read)… In this we see a parallel relationship with Christ for the role of the husband.

The question is; Is there a parallel relationship for the role of the father?… I would say “Yes!” The Christian father, in the home, stands in a parallel relationship to his home and family as Jesus does to the Church: as Prophet, Priest, and King. (SLIDE)

Role Of The Father As...

Lets look at the Role of the Father as a…

1. Prophet

What is the role of a prophet?… The standard answer that we typically hear is that a prophet is a…

1.1 Fore-teller

One that can fore-tell what is going to happen… Should fathers be in the fore-telling business? Can you predict the future and tell me what is going to happen?... Yes, you can!

Now, before I get fired, let me clarify… I am NOT talking about seeing the unknown and knowing the unknowable… But some times fore-telling is simply stating the obvious. It is the ability to see what will happen because you have “been there - done that” or you know what has happened to others in the past. It is the ability to apply mature judgment and predict the outcome before it happens and in doing so can save your children and yourself from a world of grief.

Anyone that has worked with wrenches before, I am sure has at one point or another, exhibited the role of a prophet. You are working on your car, lawn equipment, stuff in the house… whatever the case may be… you find a rusted bolt that just does not want to come loose. You start to apply more pressure on the bolt and suddenly you become a prophet… a thought pops into your head… “this is gonna hurt”… and just as soon as that thought was there, boom! the wrench slips, your knuckles are now bleeding, and you express your thoughts about the whole situation in your own Christian way…

Fore-telling is the ability to apply mature judgment and predict the outcome before it happens…

The father says to the teenager: If you get drunk or high on drugs and drive your car under such a condition, you can kill yourself or someone else and you will cause unimaginable grief to yourself, to us and to the family of the person you run into. Parents may say: If you run around with the wrong crowd you will eventually regret it - it may even ruin your life.

It is a father’s responsibility to warn his children by way of predicting what will happen if certain practices are followed. If you have ever learned a lesson the hard way, then you are in a good position to prophesy to your children. However, you don’t have to experience everything in order to know what is right and what is wrong based on the probable outcomes. You can also teach your children by using examples of others that have made unwise choices.

Besides fore-telling, there is also...

1.2 Forth-telling

In relationship to the church the prophet declares God’s message to the church. In doing this, the prophet is a representative of God. How does such a role impact what the father does in the family?

The use of the term “Father” as applied to the Creator of all things creates a word-association relationship between God and earthly fathers, especially in the minds of young children. People involved in counseling with children tell us that many children form their initial basic impression of God from ideas related to their earthly father or a father figure in their lives. This impression can be either positive or negative.

This means that it is easier for someone to see God as a loving Father, if they themselves have had a loving father figure while growing up. On the flip side of that, it is easy for an individual to have a tainted or harsh view of God as a Father, because of the bad relationship that they had with their own earthly father...

This is why it is so important to share the love of Christ with everyone… even those who feel that they are unlovable.

In a real sense, we are all representatives of God.

2 Corinthians 5:20

2 Corinthians 5:20 NKJV

20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

As God’s Representatives, we are to be teaching our children the ways of God. Teaching them Biblical principles, teaching them what a God honoring marriage looks like, teaching them to be respectful of others…

Proverbs 22:6

Proverbs 22:6 NKJV

6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Turn with me to

Deuteronomy 6…

in Deuteronomy 6, Moses is at the end of his life and is giving instructions to the Israelites before they enter into the Promised Land… (Read vv. 1-6)…

Moses says twice “Hear oh, Israel” The word “hear” carries with it the idea of “heeding” or listening with good intentions or simply paying attention. It does you no good to listen if you are not paying attention. If you are in a Sunday School class or in a training course or even in church and the teacher or professor is lecturing, or the preacher is preaching, then what would you be doing if you were paying attention? (Taking notes, Filling out the outline, underlining in your text book, or your Bible…)

In our nation, the proclamation of the word of God is readily available to everyone. Maybe half the people hear it. Maybe half those who hear it actually listen. Maybe half those who listen really learn it. Maybe half those who learn it actually live it. So far, I’m down to about 6 percent of the population. Maybe that is why Jesus said “Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life and few are those who find it.”

Moses goes on with his instructions… (Read vv. 7-9)… If the commandments of the Lord are upon our hearts, then they will be a natural part of us rather than something we have to think about almost as an afterthought.

If the way of God is seen by the way we live our lives, then we will imprint our children with this way. It will be what we talk about, it will be the things to which we relate and interpret everything we encounter in business or in pleasure and in the daily routines of life.

Lets move on… Lets look at the Role of the Father as a…

2. Priest

How is the father in the family like a priest?… As our High Priest, Jesus offered up a sacrifice of Himself and He intercedes for us.

As a priest, the father is called upon to make

2.1 Sacrifices for his Family

How does he do this?

As a father there are certain things you may be required to sacrifice for your family. Fathers do not have the freedom to do just anything and everything they could do before they had the responsibility of a family.

I saw on Facebook Marketplace yesterday, someone is selling their sand rail dune buggy. His reason for selling… “Our Family is growing”.

As fathers we make sacrifices for our families on a regular basis… Motorcycle or tuition for the kids to get a Biblical education… Nicer Truck or redo the bathroom… Nice lawn or let the kids ride their bikes… Money in the bank or make sure there is enough food in the house to feed 5 growing children… You get the idea… We make sacrifices for our families...

A Priestly Father also…

2.2 Intercedes for his Family

This is done by bringing family needs in prayer before God and claiming God’s protection and blessing upon his family. Obviously, he cannot do this without faith.

There are examples in Scripture of fathers exercising faith on behalf of their families. But one of the best examples is seen by the Passover observance. We wont turn there now, but it is found in Exodus 12.

It was the father’s responsibility to kill the sacrificial lamb and to sprinkle its blood over the door of the home. By this act of faith and obedience he obtained the protection of God for his entire family, as the Angel of Death passed through the streets... A father’s faith and faithfulness will do wonders for his family.

A more dramatic example of this is seen in the New Testament in Mark Chapter 9 where the father of the demon-possessed son said to Jesus “If You can do anything . . . help us.” But Jesus turned around and said to the boy’s father (Why would you question My ability - you have seen the miracles - there is no need to doubt My ability. The real question is “can you believe.”) “If you can believe, all things are possible.” The child’s deliverance hinged on the father’s intercession of faith on his sons behalf.

There was a night, almost a year ago, that I interceded for 14 hours on the behalf of one of my boys… and he is here today, to tell me to get over it...

A father’s faith and faithfulness will do wonders for his family...

And finally this morning… Lets look at the Role of the Father as a

3. King

Don’t get to big of a head fellas… this does not mean that you can go home and say “Woman, I am the King of this house, where is my dinner?” … The queen of the house might look at you and say “Yes, And what would the King like for his last meal?”…

The father in the home exercises a role of king in that he is to govern his family on behalf of Christ. We know that this is not a dictating, overlord position; but, we are talking about true …

3.1 Genuine Leadership.

This involves taking risks and living with the consequences and making hard decisions… taking initiative – everything that is involved in being a leader. In describing the qualifications of a leader in the church, to Timothy, Paul specified that he must be “one who rules his own house well.”

You see, the home is the proving ground for the life and ministry of every man. Lets face it: If our relationship with Christ does not matter at home, it does not matter at all!

We may have achieved success in business or popularity in the country club.

We may be president of the bank or of the service club.

We may be the world’s greatest hunter or achieve an impressive score at golf.

But does it really matter? Is that what really counts?

Is that how God will measure our success when there’s nothing left to count?

Closing:

I’d like to close with this poem. I am not sure who wrote this, but I believe that Dr. James Dobson uses it in one of his books…

I may never be as clever as my neighbor down the street,

I may never be as wealthy as some other men that I meet.

I may never have the glory that some other men have had,

But you know one thing, I’ve just got to be successful as these little fellas dad.

There are certain dreams that I cherish, that I’d like to see come true.

And there are things that I’d accomplish before my working time is through.

But the task my heart is set on is to guide these little lads

And make myself successful as those little fellas dad.

Oh, I may never come to glory and I may never gather gold,

And men may count me a failure when my business life is told.

But if he who follows after shall be Godly then I’ll be glad

‘Cause I’ll know I’m been successful as those little fellas dad.

It’s the one job that I dream of, it’s the task I think of most,

For if I fail these little fellas I have nothing else to boast.

For the wealth and fame I’d gather, all my fortune would be sad

If I failed to be successful as those little fellas dad.

So on this Father’d Day, remember our task of becoming more like Christ each and everyday. Dads, grand-dads, uncles, and friends… make sure that you are fulfilling your own personal roles of Prophet, by being a fore-teller and a forth-teller… your role of Priest, by sacrificing and interceding for your family… and your role as King, by being the leader that God would have you to be.

Remember the words of Moses

Deuteronomy 6:6–9 NKJV

6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.