How Can We As Fathers Answer The Calls Of Our
Children?
Luke 11:9-13
Luke 11: 9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek,
and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth;
and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he
give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children:
how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that
ask him?
Intro: How do we rate as fathers? How well do
we do our "jobs?" Do we meet the needs our children try to place in front
of us? Are we approachable as fathers? Are we the right examples in our
children's eyes?
Children covet, chase, claim, and compete for our time. Are we there
for them to find us? Are we there for them to gain what they so very much
want from us as fathers?
To begin today, I want us to recall (or look ahead) and…
Hear the different calls our children have, some of
them are…
Early on..
-
Calling of necessity - hunger
-
Calling out of pain - hurts
-
Calling for love - holding
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Calling for answers - have to know
-
Calling for help
Later they begin…
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Calling for example
-
Calling for participation and time
-
Calling out of frustration - Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:21
Eph 6: 4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but
bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Col. 3: 21 Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest
they be discouraged.
Finally as they mature they are…
-
Calling for importance (in your life)
-
Calling for stability (in their life)
-
Calling for others to see (you care) - (maybe a bit of a brag on their
part, but OH WHAT A BRAG! "My dad thinks I am important!")
After hearing some of the calls that are made by our children,
I want us to quickly take time and …
Consider and categorize the different types of calls…
-
Calls that need attention
-
Calls that need answering
-
Calls that need discussion
-
Calls that need new questions answered (spend the extra time)
-
Calls that need less than an answer, than they need notice (just spend
time)
SO ALL THEIR CALLS ARE IMPORTANT ENOUGH FOR US TO ANSWER!
use Ill. #73 - Fathers
After spending time considering the different calls made by
our children, then we need to do the important chore of deciding how we..
Answer the different calls
First…
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Answer the calls passionately - care about your children!
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Take time - Answer soon
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Gladly (w/o grumbling)
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Be honest
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With patience
-
Without Ridicule
We also need to…
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Answer the call purposefully - Make a difference in their lives!
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Strengthen
-
Differently
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Hands on - Give them the answer
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Hands off - let them discover the answer
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Help them solve and encourage growth
-
Continually (like a restaurant we go back only if they continue to strive
to stay good)
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With determination to help - not just meet requirement as father
And importantly we need to…
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Answer the call properly - You can help direct their lives!
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Openly (in front of others to convey their importance)
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Lovingly (as if they are the most important person, item, game, etc.
in your life)
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Wisely (with godly wisdom- pray to be a better father)
-
Model by our life (By pointing to Christ for help)
Gary Marcum - East 38th Street Free Will Baptist Church
- 061800am - Father's Day