GOOD GOOD FATHER by Pastor Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson
Introduction: This weekend I’m preaching the second message in our new series on the Trinity called “BATTLE OF THE GODS.” We’re going to focus on the nature of the first person of the godhead – God the Father. The message is titled “GOOD GOOD FATHER.” It will not only help us understand God the Father better but also help all men who are fathers to have a better understanding of their role.
John 5 19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. 20 For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.”
Bridge: Where do you think most people in America/West get their understanding of what it means to be a father/dad? Television. Would you agree that the image and respect for fathers has been steadily declining since the early days of TV? We’ve come a long ways since Jim Anderson on “Father Knows Best” or even Carl Winslow on “Family Matters.” For the past 20-25 years fathers on TV are portrayed more and more as incompetent, clueless, out of touch, wimpy, rude, crude, and everything that is contrary to what a dad is supposed to be. It’s as if the definition, the position, or the calling of fatherhood is being redefined. Today’s message will help us become better fathers ourselves to our children by patterning ourselves after God the Father.
Some Questions: What comes to your mind when you think of God the Father? What do you think about the relationship between God the Father and God the Son? I know these are some deep questions about the Trinity that you may not have examined before but here are some questions closer to home. Men – What is your understanding of being a good father? Do you think you’ve been a good dad? Ladies – don’t think that this message is only for the men. Some of you have been interfering and sabotaging the role that God has called your husband to play and it needs to stop. Children – some of you have been bitter with your dads for the right or the wrong reasons. Today God wants to bring healing in your relationships. Are you saved? Have you been to the Son?
Let’s answer the question – “What does it mean to be a ‘Good Good Father’ like our Heavenly Father?”
I. BE THE INITIATOR AND THE PATTERN SETTER.
19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”
Background: In this verse Jesus not only gave us a glimpse into His relationship with His Father but also laid out a general principle regarding fatherhood. I know some of our translations have the Son and the Father capitalized as if Jesus was only talking about the Trinity but many scholars believe that it could also be “a typical son” with a small “s” and “a typical father” with a small “f.” In other words, what Jesus was saying is that both in the Trinity as well as in everyday life it is the Father/father who is the initiator and the pattern setter for the children to follow. Listen again – “the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”
Men – If you are a father, just like God the Father in the Trinity, you have been assigned by God to be the initiator and the pattern setter in your house. You’ll have to learn from God the Father what it means to be a good initiator and a good pattern setter in your home. Just the way God the Father decreed to create the world and initiated the plan of salvation for sinful humanity, you have to be the creator and initiator of all good things in your family. Unfortunately, in many homes, it is not the man but the poor wife who is playing the initiator and pattern setter for spirituality and everything positive while the man is busy chasing the dollar or sprawled out in front of the TV or out in the garage messing with the vehicles or feeding some habit or hobby. Men – the status of your home is contingent on you. Someone might say – “I’ve tried but it’s always a fight.” I understand that sometimes it can be that way but you can’t give up. Just as a drill sergeant cannot give up on his troop and a coach cannot give up on his team, you cannot give up on your role as the initiator and pattern setter in your household.
Where do you begin? The first place to begin is by rejecting bad patterns of fatherhood in your life. Men – we admire certain men in our lives. Sometimes it’s through personal relationships like fathers, grandfathers, uncles, bosses, supervisors, superior officers, teachers, instructors, coaches, etc. These are people in our lives who have helped us and made a big impact upon us. We respect them and we try to do everything like them, even how we raise our children. If they were wonderful fathers, then great. If not, that can be a huge mistake. Sometimes these men are not personally related to us. We admire them for being successful businessmen, athletes, actors, musicians or some superstar. We idolize such men to the point of emulating them in how they raised their children. We feel that we have to do everything just like them. Now if they were wonderful fathers, then wonderful. If not, that can be a huge mistake. Also, please don’t listen to every parenting seminar and bible study that comes along. Some are unhealthy, legalistic, and unbiblical. In recent years we have seen the fruit of some of this mess.
Application: Men – Are you being the initiator and the pattern setter in your home? You want your children to be good, are you following Jesus Christ? You want the children to be in church, are you in church? If you make fun of the church members and constantly criticize the pastor, don’t expect your children to do any different. Are you following God the Father as your pattern or do you have the wrong pattern?
II. SHOW LOVE IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
20 “For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself does…”
Background: You may not know that this is the second time in John’s Gospel that this statement is made. The first time was in John 3:35 “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.” The first one in John 3:35 is about trust and the second in John 5:20 is about knowledge. Something more interesting here – two different Greek words are used for love in these two almost identical statements. In John 3:35 the word for love is “agapan” and in John 5:20 the word for love is “filein.” Any significance? In the first one the Father is telling the Son that He loves Him enough to trust everything over to Him. In the second one the Father is telling the Son that He loves Him enough to reveal everything about Himself to Him. I know some of y’all are wondering – “What does all this mean?” Just like God the Father showed love towards His Son in different words and different ways, so also we can show love to our children in different words and different ways. Men – There is no set way to show love to your children as long as they know you love them.
Illustration: After Rebecca was born I was scared to death about being a father. Even though I had a good father, I also saw that he was not always perfect. Also I had seen many not so good fathers. I wanted to be the best dad that I could be to her and for any who would come after her. So I began to check books out of the library and buy books on being a good father. Even though I was young, only 21 years of age, I could tell that many of the books were only promoting certain personality traits of the writers rather than the core values of fatherhood. For example, some portrayed dad as being a super masculine outdoorsy type, laying down the law for his kids, making them toe the line. Others portrayed dad as a counselor who is always sensitive to the emotions of his kids and understand where they were coming from. Which one is a better father? Neither. You need both. Sometimes you have to lay down the law and other times you have to sit there and listen. Some men are gruffer and others are mellower. Being gruff does not make you a bad father and being mellow does not make you a good father. These models are more personality traits rather core values. The main point is that as fathers we need to show love in different ways as the occasion demands.
Application: Do you understand the love of the Father towards the Son? Do you show love to your children in different ways as the occasion demands? Are you holding on to some grudge against your father because he did not follow a certain trait, because he did not show up for every game you played? Did you forget that he was there when you had your wreck? Did you forget that he was there when you were sick?
III. RAISE YOUR KIDS TO SURPASS YOU.
20 “…and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.”
Background: This is a deep statement here. What Jesus is saying here is that the Father has done great things but now He wants to show His Son even greater things so that the onlookers would marvel. The Father raises the dead and gives life to them but the Son will give life to whom He will, dead or alive. In other words, it is one thing to bring a physically dead person to life. It’s quite another to bring a physically living but spiritually dead person to life. Listen 3 verses later to John 5 24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.” Isn’t God the Father so humble and generous?!! He didn’t limit the work of Jesus but He gave Him the authority and power to surpass Him.
How did Jesus handle all this authority and power? 30 “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” In other words, the Father honored the Son by giving Him greater authority and power and the Son in turn acknowledged how much more He was depended on the Father.
Application: What would happen if our families were to operate by such divine principles? What would happen if fathers all across America began to model themselves after our Heavenly Father? What would happen if children began to honor their fathers as God the Son honored His Father?
Our culture is struggling with the absence of fathers in the home. Many homes have fathers but they are not leading, as they should. Sometimes they are not being allowed to lead. Dads need to declare with Joshua in Joshua 24:15 “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
For those whose fathers checked out, God the Father stepped in for you. Forgive those who failed and look to your Heavenly Father.
Are you saved? You cannot come to the Father unless you come to the Son first
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