Godly Fathers, The Missing Puzzle Piece

I sit here on this Father's Day grieving, angry, and, if I’m honest, fighting off bitterness. This is because of the continually shocking exposures of prominent pastors, men, and their sexual sin. The most recent being Robert Morris.

Read the entire article here:

https://julieroys.com/robert-morris-admits-moral-failure-claims-sexually-abused-12-year-old/

This is just one of many examples of why we need godly men again. The main reason sin abounds in the church is the lack of men of God—men of character who won’t capitulate when temptation comes their way.

God Himself Highlights The Importance Of A Father

Proverbs 23:22-26

22 Listen to your father who gave you life,

and do not despise your mother when she is old.

23 Acquire truth and do not sell it—

wisdom, and discipline, and understanding.

24 The father of a righteous person will rejoice greatly;

whoever fathers a wise child will have joy in him.

25 May your father and your mother have joy;

may she who bore you rejoice.

26 Give me your heart, my son,

and let your eyes observe my ways;

Carefully read the passage from Proverbs. Meditate on each line. Even as I’m writing this, I’m praying for every single one of you reading this.

For the man who isn’t a good father right now, now is your time to repent.

Malachi 4:6

He will encourage fathers and their children to return to me, so that I will not come and strike the earth with judgment.”

For the man who struggles every day to be a good father but feels weighed down by the many cares of this present age.

For the wife and mother, please encourage your husband; you don’t know what your man goes through on a daily basis. The enemy wants to take him out, and there is no such thing as too low or too despicable for satan. Be his helpmate; if correction is needed, do it with gentleness and from a place of godly love.

My fellow fathers know that our children are watching us, and we have a more profound impact than we think. Read that last verse from the passage in Proverbs:

26 Give me your heart, my son,

and let your eyes observe my ways;

See how Solomon writes, under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, tells his son to watch him. What a statement! Once that is echoed repeatedly in scripture.

1 Corinthians 11:1

Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

James 2:18

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works.

Clearly, God says that our actions are far more important than our words. We are known by our actions. In fact, Jesus repeatedly used the phrase, “I know your deeds,” when addressing the churches in Revelation.

Fathers, our children will become like us for good or bad. Here are some numbers to back up that statement:

https://nickcady.org/2016/06/20/the-impact-on-kids-of-dads-faith-and-church-attendance/

From: The Impact on Kids of Dad’s Faith and Church Attendance

“Another study revealed that when the father is the first in the family to come to Christ, 93 percent of the time everyone else will follow.”

https://www.deseret.com/2016/6/16/20590370/a-father-s-faith-how-modern-dads-impact-their-children-s-religious-views/

"Your kids are watching you through the corner of their eyes. They're absorbing all kinds of interactions — parents with each other, parents with visitors, parents in supermarkets — all of the time," said Ross Parke, author of "Future Families: Diverse Forms, Rich Possibilities." "These (observations) are of central importance in terms of the passage of normals, mores and lessons."

https://www.deseret.com/2016/6/16/20590370/a-father-s-faith-how-modern-dads-impact-their-children-s-religious-views/

The numbers and facts don’t lie, fathers, we matter! We matter so much that we can impact our children’s salvation! Let that sink in. The eternal state of our children depends very much on us.

For a more in-depth article on the numbers, read here:

https://www.christianpost.com/news/fathers-key-to-their-childrens-faith.html

I fully believe that sexual predators have arisen in our churches because churches don’t stress the importance of fathers. God does so repeatedly throughout the holy scriptures, yet why are our pulpits largely silent on this?

Here are some more scriptures where God speaks about the importance of fathers:

PSALM 78:5

God commanded our fathers to teach our children about Him so the next generations may know God and His mighty acts.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9

6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 7 and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up. 8 You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm and fasten them as symbols on your forehead. 9 Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates.

Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Living Out Godly Lives As Fathers

We must then answer the question, what do we do about this?

Firstly, we need the fear of the Lord back.

Proverbs 9:10
The beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord, and acknowledging the Holy One is understanding.

Psalm 33:8

Let the whole earth fear the Lord. Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him.

Psalm 34:9

Fear the Lord, you chosen people of his, for those who fear him lack nothing.

Sin flourishes because the fear of the Lord is no longer valued. The fear of the Lord is exactly that. God tells us that He is both kind and severe, a consuming fire! God warns us that we will all be judged by Him one day.

Fathers, God holds us accountable for the spiritual welfare of our children. That is no light thing. If you were to stand before God right now, what would you be able to say to Him when He questioned you as a father? What kinds of questions would God ask you? Would God ask you why you never prayed with your children or took them to church?

We must take God at His word when He tells us:

Ephesians 6:4

4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Do you want to keep your children from being ensnared? Walk in the fear of the Lord!

Proverbs 14:27

The fear of the Lord is like a life-giving fountain to turn people from deadly snares.

Satan would like nothing more than to ensnare our families with sin that lasts generations, and only the fear of the Lord will prevent that.

The fear of the Lord is one of the greatest gifts God gives to His children apart from salvation. Fathers, why wouldn’t we want to give our children such great gifts?

Then, let us lead the way and set the example daily. The fear of the Lord will drive us to pray! The fear of the Lord will encourage us to live holy lives free from the perversion of sin.

The fear of the Lord will have us flee from sin and temptation! Instead of sticking around, we will run with all our might to keep from falling into sin.

The fear of the Lord provokes us to put on the whole armor of God daily and fight the good fight of faith for our families.

Secondly, we need to start as fathers is a place of humility.

James 4:6-7

6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” 7 So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Humility is essential to living a victorious lifestyle and setting the example for our children. If we want to truly make it through all of what life throws at us and lead our children well, we must get low.

We must let the realization settle in that our fathers have a tremendous responsibility given to us by God, and we will only be successful if we are humble.

We are to instruct, raise, protect, and serve our children.

There is a very real enemy out there who wants nothing less than to destroy families. Fathers, we are the first line of defense. If we fail and fall, then so will our families.

Secondly, we need

Thirdly, we need God’s wisdom.

James 1:4-5

4 And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything. 5 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.

Notice how endurance and wisdom are connected. If we are to endure, and if our children are going to endure when the wolves are howling at our door, we will need God’s wisdom.

God’s wisdom will direct our steps so that we can lead our children through the minefield that is life. We will never be able to see all of the mines that satan has laid in the path of us and our children; only God fully knows. Why wouldn’t we want to depend on His great wisdom?

The ways for satan to get at our children have grown exponentially in recent years. We don’t know what other children may expose them to. We don’t know the sexual predators lurking inside many churches. God’s wisdom will help us to set guard towers against such things.

God’s wisdom will help us answer our children's tough questions and provide winning strategies before the battles come their way!