OceanSide church of Christ

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WHAT THEIR CHILDREN SAW

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   What is a father?

1.     One who begets

2.     A male parent

3.     One who performs the duties and tasks of a male parent

 

B.    A father is one who is being watched closely by the beautiful eyes of his child(ren).  What children admire:  provision, strength, abilities, protection, integrity, wisdom, time, and spiritual example.

 

C.   I do not live in each of your homes.  I don’t know what your children are seeing in your homes each day.

 

D.   There are some Biblical characters who had children.  Because of what is written about them, we know exactly what their children saw.

 

I.           NOAH:  A Father Separate from the World

 

A.   What did Noah’s children see in him?

1.     One who built an ark according to God’s specifications (Gen. 6:22).

2.     A preacher of righteousness (II Pet. 2:5).

3.     A man whose faith saved his family (Heb. 11:7).

 

B.    They saw a man who was separate from an ungodly world.

1.     The description of the world in Noah’s day.

a.     Genesis 6:5

 

And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

 

b.    Genesis 6:11

 

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

 

2.     Genesis 6:8 begins with these words:  But Noah

a.     “But” is a conjunction of contrast.

b.    Noah’s life stood in stark contrast to the world.

 

C.   This should be said of every Christian father.

1.     Romans 12:2

 

And be not conformed to this world:  but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.

 

2.     Some men aren’t that separate from the world.  They believe that “real men” smoke, curse, drink a beer or two, tell dirty jokes, view a little pornography, and cheat on their wives from time to time.

a.     Such men do not really love God (I John 2:15).

 

If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him.

 

b.    Such men are the enemies of God (James 4:4).

 

…friendship with the world is enmity with God…whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

 

3.     Fathers, we exhort you to be Noah’s of the 21st Century.  Let your children see that you are separate from the world.

 

II.         ABRAHAM:  A Man Who Worshipped God

 

A.   What did Abraham’s children see in him?

1.     A man of great faith (Rom. 4:20).

2.     A man who obeyed God (Gen. 18:19; Heb. 11:8).

 

B.    His family also saw a man who worshipped God.  Several times in Abraham’s life we read of his building altars to the Lord.

1.     Shechem (Gen. 12:6-7)

2.     Bethel (Gen. 12:8)

3.     Mamre in Hebron (Gen. 13:18)

4.     Mt. Moriah (Gen. 22:9)

 

C.   Christian fathers need to be worshippers of God.

1.     John 4:23

 

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth:  for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

 

2.     There are two places where fathers need to erect their altars.

a.     In the home.  (Sidney Shelton’s father made all in the house read two verses per day in daily devotionals.  They read the Bible through five times during his years at home).

b.    In the church (The little boy who father wanted him to go to church, but who would not go himself.  “Dad did you go to church when you were little?”  Dad says:  “Yes.”  As the boy left for church, he said:  “Yep.  Probably won’t do me much good either.”)

 

D.   Fathers teach your children the importance and the joy of worship.  Let your children see how you do it in both your home and in the worship services of the church.

 

 

III.       JOSIAH:  A Man Who Respected God’s Word

 

A.   The days of the kings were a roller coaster ride for the southern kingdom called Judah.

1.     Most of the kings were evil.

2.     Occasionally, however, one came along who honored God.  One of these kings was Josiah.

 

B.    Prior to Josiah’s reign, the Word of God had been misplaced.  Hilkiah found a copy, and it was brought unto King Josiah.

1.     Two verses:

a.     II Kings 22:11

 

And it came to pass when the king heard the words of the book of the law, he rent his clothes.

b.    II Kings 23:2-3

 

And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great:  and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.  And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book.  And all the people stood to the covenant.

 

2.     What followed were Josiah’s reforms in Israel.  All of his actions evidenced that he had a deep reverence for the Word of the living God.

 

C.   We need fathers today who are like Josiah.  Their children see that their father loves, honors, respects, and obeys the precious Word of God.

1.     Psalm 119:117 should be one of their foundational passages of life.

 

Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe:  and I will have respect unto they statutes continually.

 

2.     A dad who respects God’s Word will read it, study it, live by it, and teach it to his children.

 

IV.        JAIRUS:  A Man Who Sought Jesus to Heal His Daughter

 

A.   Mark 5:22-23

 

And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jarius by name, and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, and besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death:  I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she might be healed, and she shall live.

 

1.     The little girl was very sick.

2.     She was at the point of death.

3.     There was no man who could heal her.

4.     Jesus had the power to heal.

5.     Jairus sought out Jesus and brought him to his house to heal his daughter.

 

B.    Spiritually, fathers today need to do what Jairus did for his twelve year old daughter.

1.     As children grow up, they will be infected with the disease of sin (Rom. 3:23).

2.     Spiritual death is their end (Rom. 6:23).

3.     They need Jesus to heal them.

a.     And you hath ye quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1).

b.    …by whose stipes ye were healed (I Pet. 2:24)

c.    Neither is there salvation in any other (Acts 4:12).

 

C.   According to Mark 5:41-42, Jesus healed the damsel.

1.     He can heal our children also if we bring Him to them (Luke 4:18; I Pet. 2:24).

2.     We do this by teaching them about Jesus and His plan of salvation in His Word (Rom. 1:16; I Thess. 2:13; Heb. 4:12).

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   Fathers are still very important components of godly homes.

 

B.    We need fathers who are like

1.     Noah:  Separate from the world

2.     Abraham:  Worshippers of God

3.     Josiah:  Men who respect God’s Word

4.     Jairus:  Men who bring their children to Jesus to be healed