Fathers: Men of Destiny

Introduction:

A father was trying to teach his 5 year old son the rudiments of baseball but his son was not the most athletic kid on the block. After trying to catch a ball and only succeeding in dropping it and in getting hit in the head by the tossed ball, the dad decided to switch to hitting the ball. He showed his son how to hold the bat on his shoulder, then tossing the ball in the air with his other hand, then swing at the ball and hit it. He then handed the ball and bat to his son, “Now you try just like I showed you.” The boy eagerly tossed the ball into the air and took a hard swing and missed. “Try it again son.” And the boy did, over and over and over not one time coming any where close to hitting the ball. Finally, after over 20 swings the little boy looked at this dad with frustration and disappointment. The Dad though was smiling and beaming as though his son was Babe Ruth. The dad placed his hands on his little boys shoulders, looked into his eyes and proudly said, “Son you are one great pitcher.”

That was a pretty great dad. I believe that the greatest dads are dad who look to God’s word for the guidance they know they need to raise their children and care for their families. Among the many things the Bible teaches us about the role of men and fathers is this priniciple, Fathers are men of destiny. These men, by doing what they are called by God to do, can shape and change the future. That makes them Men of Destiny.

I like this little saying, One hunded years from now it will not matter what kind of car I drove. What kind of house I lived in. How much money I had in my accounts, nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be better because I was important in the life of my child.- Unknown

This morning let’s look at three men, three fathers who understood that through fatherhood they were men who shaped the destiny of their children and through their children the destiny of their worlds. Let’s look this morning at three men of destiny, Adam, Joshua and David.

Adam: Destined to Love - Genesis 2:23-24

And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Adam Loves Eve.

When Adam saw Eve, he realized that his life had found its purpose, God’s purpose for him and for marriage and the family.

He had other responsibilities; other important tasks given by God for him to do. He was to tend and keep the Garden, he had to name all the animals, he had to build a place to live. But in seeing Eve, he realized that God put them together to complete in each other what was missing. All the things that he was called to do were going to be accomplished better with his help meet, the one fitted to him, the wife who completed him.

Adam realized that loving Eve was his destiny.

Dads First God Given Destiny is to Love Your Wife.

You should work at loving your wife a little bit more each day and each night before you lay down you should ask yourself, “How did I show my wife I loved here today?” And if three or four things don’t come to mind then you’re not working hard enough at it.

Tell your love in Words

“Tell your wife you love her and let the children hear it”

Sneak up behind her nibble her neck and say “I love you.”

I’ve got to be careful or I’ll start to embarrass my wife.

Joke about old man and woman on porch swing.

Show your love in Deeds

“Show your love in public and noisy ways.”

Talking about flowers, which men don’t understand but women love to receive. This is another reason to give them. It shows your love.

Prove your love through Leadership

“Be the husband, the leader of you family, that God created you to be.”

There is no more powerful way of saying I love you than to be the leader of your home.

Preserve your love by making your wife your greatest priority

“Let her know she is your first priority on earth.”

Only your relationship with God is greater than your relationship with your wife.

Illustration: Can You Love Your Wife Too Much

A man once approached the great preacher and scholar, Harry Ironside and told him, “I love my wife too much. I am afraid I have place her on a pedestal and that it may be a sin.”

Ironside asked him, “Really? Well let me ask you, do you love your wife more than Christ loved the church?”

The man though and then said no of course not that would be impossible. Ironside then took his Bible turned and read from Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Then he smiled and looked at the man and said, “Well that is the limit to which we may go.”

Transition:

It is your God given destiny to love your wife and on this earth, the only love that is greater is that given to the Lord. Next, Fathers, it is your destiny to lead your family.

Joshua: Destined to Lead - Joshua 24:14-15

Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Joshua Leads By Serving God

Joshua was the greatest leader of Israel, second only to Moses and from the beginning of the Exodus which Moses led, it was Joshua who was the war leader. Joshua served God by serving Moses. In in that service to God, he learned to be a leader.

It was Joshua who went halfway up Mt. Sinai with Moses.

He was the war captain of Israel, fighting in the front lines of every battle.

He was the man who brought down Jericho the strongest, oldest fortified city perhaps in all the world.

Because of his faithfulness in serving, he rose to leadership of Israel.

It was Joshua that brought the people across Jordan. Under his leadership, they conquered the promised land. And under his guidance that land was divided between the 12 tribes of Israel.

During the Exodus from Egypt and the forty years in the wilderness that followed, there were many who complained, grumbled, rebelled and tried to seize leadership from Moses, but Joshua was always faithful and God rewarded him with leadership.

Dads, Your Second God Given Destiny Is To Lead Your Family by Serving Him.

God has called fathers to be the leaders of the home. 1 Corinthians 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

But that most important, most sensitive and careful leadership is learned and earned through following and serving, in the same way Joshua followed and served Moses, you must follow and served God.

Without the willingness to serve, you will never be the leader of your family that God destined you to be.

Destiny of All The Serve Who They choose. And let me warn you, God’s Word teaches us that it is the destiny of all of us to be servants, but it is our choice as to who or what we will serve.

John 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

2 Peter 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Fathers one of the responsibilities of your destiny as the leader of your home and family is to teach this truth.

You become a servant, a slave to who or what you give yourself to. Your children need to know that they will serve whatever they yield themselves to, that can be God or it will be Satan and this world. There are no other choices.

And Dads, that is a lesson that can only be taught by example. If you want freedom for your children then lead by your example in service to God.

Illustration:

Four pastors were discussing the merits of the various translations of the Bible. One really loved the King James because of its lyric, beautiful English. Another liked the English Standard Version because it was a word for word translation that included all the latest ancient scripture discoveries. The third pastor liked the CEV, a contemporary version because of its modern, up-to-date, hip vocabulary. (He was obviously a philistine.) The fourth minister was silent for a moment, then said, "I like my father's translation best."

The other three were surprised and said they didn't know his father had been a Bible scholar and translated the Bible. "Oh, absolutely," the pastor smiled, "He translated the Bible into his life and then into mine. That was the most powerful translation I ever experienced"- modified from Eleanor Doan in Seasons of Motherhood: A Garden of Memories (Victor Books).

Transition:

Dads are Destined to love, Destined to Lead and finally, dads are destined to Leave.

David: Destined To Leave - 1Kings 2:1-4

Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

David Leaves Solomon With The Desire For God

It is easy to see that David was a man of destiny.

His story has all the elements of great narrative. He was anointed the future king of Israel while he was only a unknown, young shepherd boy. While still a young man, he stood face to face with Goliath, the most fearful, powerful warrior in all of the region, then defeats him with only a sling and faith in God. He withstands slander and persecution from his own king and when that king dies becomes the king God destined him to be. As the King of Israel he conquers the enemies of his nation and builds the greatest kingdom outside of Egypt in all the middle east. So great a man of destiny was David that from that time forward all other kings would be from “the throne of David.” When Jesus comes to rule and reign on the earth the Bible says he will sit on the throne of David. That is how great a man of destiny was David.

Yet with all that David was and did, there was something he could not accomplish, he could not build the temple of God. If the temple was to be built then it would not be through David but through his son, Solomon.

In this passage, David now on his deathbed knows he is leaving this world, the destiny of all mankind, knowing this is his final destiny David seeks to inspires Solomon to be a man of God, a man of destiny as he was. David tells Solomon three important points for being a person of destiny.

First, Prove yourself a man vs. 2. “Be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man.”

Second, Prosper by obeying God vs. 3 “keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself.”

Lastly, Protect your heritage vs. 4 That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

Solomon heeded his father’s words and fulfilled his own destiny by building a temple that rivaled the wonders of the world and becoming one of the greatest kings of Israel in his own right. When the temple was finished Solomon prayed and the Word records that the Shekinah glory of God filled the temple with smoke and fire, the symbol of the presence of God.

Dad, Your Final God Given Destiny Is To Leave Your Children With a Desire for God.

Dads, our final destiny is that we will leave this world one day and only those things we leave in the lives of our family will remain. You cannot have a better goal to leave with them than the ones David left with Solomon. The three goals, three inspirations he left are the same three things you must leave for your children.

Tell them and show them that they must, Prove who they are. Your child but also God’s child. Tell them that true prosperity is only possible by seeking and serving the Lord and that they have a duty to protect their heritage, the family heritage you are leaving them with but also the heritage the must pass on as a part of God’s family.

Fathers it is you destiny to make your children people of destiny as well. God’s word emphasizes this over and over but it is especially clear in …

Deuteronomy 11:19-21 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.

Fathers, leave your children with the desire to know and serve God, that is your greatest call to destiny.

Illustration:

Picture of Daddy

A Sunday school class of first-graders was asked to draw a picture of God. When the pastor stopped by to inspect their work, the children were happy to show him their drawings. One had depicted God in the form of a brightly colored rainbow. Another had drawn the face of an old man coming out of billowing clouds. And there was one rendition which looked a lot like Superman. But perhaps the best was the one proudly displayed by a girl who said, "I didn't know what God looked like, so I just drew a picture of my daddy."

Fathers, what do our children, our grandchildren see in us? Do they see our God, our love and service to Him in us? Do they see Men of destiny?

Conclusion

A Father’s Prayer

Dear Lord, as I sit beside the bed of my child and watch their sleep, I am overcome by the blessing you have given to me. How can something this precious be placed in my care? How can this beautiful creation look at me with eyes so full of admiration and wonder? How can I live up to the task of not losing that innocent beauty to a world that seeks to destroy it?

Lord, the time I have is so limited and cluttered with demands and deadlines. Yet when the deadlines pass I can't remember why they were so critical. While at my feet a child looks up and asks me to play ball or be their horsy, look at their latest crayon masterpiece or just hold them in my lap. Their Daddy is the most important thing in the world to them. When will I realize that they must be the most important thing in all the world to me?

Lord, I know that someday they will walk away, no longer a child but a young man, a young woman. I understand I must release them either to You or to this world. Will I have been the father you wanted me to be? Will that child see in me the loving hand, the words of wisdom, the inexhaustible love of you, their Heavenly Father? Help me to make the time to show my children your love for them through me. Oh, my God if only one task I accomplish before my life is over, please let it be that my children will know You through me.

I ask this in the name of your own Son. Amen - DKM 1993

Monday, June 21, 2021