Essential Duties of a Father

I have to tell you that when I

put my message together this morning, one of the things I always do is I tuck

the text into where I'm going to be preaching.

And this is Father's Day, and I happened to look down later and realize that I'd put it into Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

And if you are thinking we're going to be in Ephesians chapter 6 this morning,

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

there's a high probability that unless I default to that, we won't get near it.

I want you to turn your Bibles this morning to Deuteronomy chapter 6.

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

And I want you to join me in prayer.

Father God, we pray this morning to ask that the Holy Spirit,

who our Savior told us, would be given to us as a gift,

as an enabler,

to abide with us,

to help us comprehend the beauty of the Scriptures,

to help us grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus,

to help us sing,

to help us be godly fathers and mothers

and godly young people and godly witnesses

in a wicked and perverse world.

Lord, we pray this morning that

our helper

would do just that

and help us

to perceive

beautiful things in the Word

that we might delight

in your wisdom,

that we might have a reverence and fear

for your person,

that we might have a humble desire

to grow to be more

like the Lord Jesus,

and that each of us,

recognizing that

you have appointed

specific tasks,

would be humble to receive

the direction that you have for us

in the arena

of life that you've placed us.

and Lord,

I do pray

that at the conclusion of our time

of studying the Word together,

that the thing that would be recognized

is the evidence of the ministry

of the Holy Spirit.

and I ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

As I take up Father's Day

this morning,

I think of the fact that

it's a day that's important.

It's a day that

really has

far more significance and weight

than you may realize,

and I have to confess

that I remember

when I first discovered

that I was a father,

I really had not given much thought

to the responsibilities

that went along with it.

Judith and I got married

June 27th,

and three months later

she came to me

and she says,

Honey, guess what?

And I had no idea

that what she was going to tell me

is that I was going to be a father

in nine months or so.

In fact,

Heather,

my oldest daughter,

was born

on our first anniversary.

anniversary.

And I had to learn

very quickly

to keep

a year's gap

between Heather's birth

and our anniversary

because I remember

at one point

actually going to preach

at a youth conference

and I ended up

getting the dates

rather mixed up

and it caused

a lot of anxiety.

But my wife

came to my aid

and she

let everybody know

publicly

that we had

a full year

of marriage

behind us

before Heather

had been born.

I had no idea

what went into

being a father

and the truth

of the matter

is that

I really

only afterwards

began to think

seriously

of what God

had to say

about the responsibilities

and studying

and it was an arduous

and has been

an arduous journey.

I can tell you

that I am not done

being a father.

I am father

to four children.

I am grandfather

to I think

am I right

thirteen

Heather

Todd

I don't know

I've got plenty

of them out there

so it's like

but we

are very thankful

for the blessing

of taking the word

of God this morning

and opening it up

and looking

and I want to tell you

up front

that what I'm going

to talk about

this morning

is not new

to any of you.

Well I hope

not new to any of you

but I have

no apology

for the fact

that we're going

to be reviewing

something that is

foundational.

I know

that those

of our congregation

that are officers

are responsible

for carrying

a firearm.

It's part of their

life and their duty

but whether you

realize it or not

they have to

re-qualify

with that firearm

at least three times

a year.

My son

who is in the army

has to pass

a physical test

every year.

In fact

as a captain

in the battery command

that he has

he had the

unfortunate responsibility

of dismissing

two soldiers

who after repeated

efforts at trying

to pass

their physical

PT skills

never did it

and they kept

on being

just kind of

shuffled off

shuffled off

and he eventually

had to say

you know what

the army

as much as it

dearly loves you

is not willing

to let you

continue being

a slug

and you're

dismissed.

So this business

of re-qualifying

is important.

I know that

those who are

involved in medicine

cannot kind of

rest on their

laurels and say

well hey what

I have a degree

that was minted

in 1994

and that's the way

it is.

They have to

continue to

re-qualify

and to review

and to remind

themselves of the

essential duties

that go with the

discharge of their

office and so it

is today that as

we look at the

subject of fatherhood

we're going to look

at basic passages

that talk about

some of the

absolutely foundational

issues to being

a father.

I confess

there's much more

that the scriptures

have to say

about the role

of a father

and I'm not

going to talk

about the fact

that a dad

is supposed to

be the breadwinner.

I'm not going

to talk about

the fact that

he is to be

the model of

loving for his

wife and his

family.

I'm not going

to talk about

the fact that

he's the family

protector.

But I am going

to concentrate

this morning

on just two

simple principles

and we're going

to rely on

those two

principles

for foundational

direction

in the duty

and the obligation

that a man

has when he

is a father.

So what are

those two?

Number one,

God calls the

man to be

the spiritual

leader in his

home and number

two, God calls

the man to be

the spiritual

intercessor in

his home.

Dad is to be

the spiritual

leader.

I want you to

look in your

Bible over the

passage that I

referenced early

in Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6.

Do you know

why we turn in

our Bibles?

Does anybody

know why?

It is so that

you yourself,

where you sit,

can look at the

Scriptures yourself

and be fully

persuaded that

what you are

hearing is not

what I think.

It is what the

Bible says.

And my obligation

and my responsibility

is to open it up

and make it clear

and make it plain

and help you

understand,

thus saith the

Lord.

And we are

looking at a

passage that is

fundamental to the

responsibility of

being a father.

Picking up there

in verse 4,

mark what it

says,

Hear, O Israel,

the Lord our

God, the Lord

is one.

Now, I want to

take a second and

have you think with

me that as this

great passage begins,

incidentally, if you

were a Jew and you

were a Jew who was

trying to get extra

points, you would say

this passage in the

morning when the

first break of dawn

and you got out of

bed.

You would say, it

was called the

Shema, hear.

That's the word in

Hebrew, Shema.

It would be, hear,

O Israel, the Lord

our God, the Lord is

one.

Incidentally, if you

really wanted to get

extra, extra points,

the last thing out of

your mouth as you

were dying would be,

hear, O Israel, the

Lord our God, the

Lord is one.

This passage was so

foundational to the

nation of Israel and

to their walk with God

that they valued it

supremely.

And here we have a

passage in which God

speaks to fathers in

particular and he says,

first of all, you

listen to me.

Hear, O Israel.

By the way, who's

talking?

The Lord our God.

Then he makes a

foundational theological

statement, the Lord is

one.

And in that, we have

the uniqueness of God,

we have the exceptional

characteristic of him.

Remember, he says, I am

who I am, foundational in

that little statement, the

Lord is one.

But then behind that, we

have a very interesting

statement.

Often when we think about

our walk with God, we

tend to break it down into

a matter of the do's and

don'ts.

Would you recognize

that?

This morning as I was

having my devotional life, I

was reading in the book of

Exodus and I happened to be

in Exodus chapter 20.

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

Does anybody know what

Exodus 20 is about?

Anybody tell me, what is

Exodus 20 about?

It's the Ten Commandments.

How many of you could

recite them with one hand

behind your back?

You should be able to,

right?

And I want you to think

with me this morning of the

fact that tendency is for us

to think about our

relationship with God as

being a matter of the do's

and don'ts.

That's not the way it is.

God wants us to understand

first of all that we are to

be in a relationship with

him that is governed and

controlled and colored and

influenced by our love for

him.

Here in the passage in verse

five it says, you shall love

the Lord your God with all

your heart, with all your

soul, and with all your

might.

How many of you are doing

well at loving him?

Don't raise your hand and

wait, I am.

That's not what I'm looking

for.

Truth of the matter is, is

that on our own we do not

love anyone very well except

who?

Who do you love well?

You're a little bit like that

wicked witch, remember?

Mirror, mirror on the wall,

who's the fairest of the…

Are you guys into Disney or

not?

What's the deal with you?

You know, it's like, hello,

go home, forget Frozen, go

back to the classics.

You know, it's like, okay.

We're a little bit like that

wicked witch.

Now I give my age away, I

suppose.

And, you know, here it's all

about me.

God says you're to love me.

And incidentally, the thing

that brings us into a loving

relationship with God is not

our own volition but the grace

of God that, first of all,

reveals his love to us by

telling us the truth about our

nature and how desperately

lost we are and then drawing

us to the cross and helping

us see at the cross the

unconditional, unchanging love

of God in Christ Jesus.

And we, having been saved by

his grace and having our hearts

changed, then have the ability

to love him.

And we grow in our love, in

particular, in proportion to our

understanding of his love for

us.

In this passage, it says there,

you shall love the Lord your

God with all your heart and with

all your soul and with all your

might.

And as you look at this passage,

I want you to understand that out

of that then is to flow in verse

six, and these words that I command

you shall be in your heart.

You know what?

Listen to me.

If you really don't have an

intimate and affectionate

relationship with the Lord of

this universe, what he has to say

is not that important.

Agreed?

Several years ago, my wife said to

me, at one moment in our morning

conversations, she said to me,

honey, I'm concerned.

Now, that's always a warning for me

that something is coming of

significance.

Because Judith is not a chattery

individual, and when she says I'm

concerned and then paused, I knew

that I ought to pick up on the lead

and show some concern.

What are you concerned about?

She says, well, I don't know if you're

getting the early signals of

Alzheimer's or you're not listening to

me.

Now, the choices were pretty brutal.

I have an exceptionally intelligent

wife, and she had me cornered with that

statement.

I chose to confess that I wasn't

listening.

I think that was a fair

admission.

And what it reminded me of, in part,

was that, you know what?

When we really care, we really listen.

Would you agree with that statement?

When we really care, we really listen.

Why is it that mothers are the first

ones to interpret their children's

babblings?

You say to a mom, what did he say?

Oh, well, she understands, and it's not

just because she gave birth to him, it's

because she cares and loves that kid, and

she can understand because her heart's in it.

And God says, listen, you've got to love

me.

And then the words that I command you

shall be in your heart.

You see, as we look at this passage, the

thing I want you to understand is that

dad is to be the spiritual leader, and in

order to be the leader, he has to have an

interest and an affection in the Lord, but

also an understanding of his word.

Here's what God makes clear.

He says that the dad must know and care

deeply about what he's expected to teach

The remainder of this text really deals

with the responsibility that dad has of

being the spiritual teacher in his home.

But the starting place to what you teach

is not just acquiring the information.

It is having a relationship with the

foundational person of the universe and

having an affection for that person and

having a heart that wants to hear what he

has to say.

We live in a wicked and perverse world, don't

we?

I remember earlier this week just being

both frightened and sobered.

When I stopped at one point in doing some

research and I was on the computer and I

stopped and realized that it is so easy to

access things on the web that are just

absolutely perverse and wicked.

Do you understand that?

I went to YouTube and I have no idea what, here I am

telling you what I was doing on YouTube, but

spending time as I'm sitting there with my father

sleeping, I thought I would kind of find out long

range rifle shots at deer.

You know, important things.

And so I clicked on that and I'm scrolling down and

right there on the right side are pictures that are

absolutely wicked and perverse.

Now, thankfully, they're in these microscopic little

things, but it's like, whoa, you know.

You Google something.

Out of sincere interest to discover, and there in the

Google string, there are things that you, I don't want to

click on that.

Am I right?

You go to Fox News, you go to MSN, wherever you go, the

world is a wicked place.

But I want you to understand that the greatest challenge to

fatherhood today is not the wicked and perverse culture we

live in.

Listen to me.

The greatest challenge comes from fathers who are not deeply

committed and enthralled with God.

The greatest challenge to fathers today is fathers that are not

deeply committed and enthralled with God.

A father that is actually more engaged in baseball than he is

with his own devotional life, or a father that is more passionate

about boating on the weekend than he is in helping his children

grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ,

should not be surprised if at the end of the day he sees his

children go further into idolatry than he has.

And so as you look at this passage, let me help you understand that

the first thing that the Bible says to us is,

Dads, you are the spiritual teachers of your home, and you're

responsible to teach, but things come first in order, and before you

teach, you have to know, and you have to have the right

relationship with the Lord Jesus.

You have to have the right passion for the things of God.

And so ask yourself the question, what does your devotional life

look like?

Now, do devotions make men automatic saints?

What's the answer?

Get this, no.

But I will tell you something.

A daily devotional life is protective in a profound way.

Mothers, wives, if you see your husband's devotional life beginning to fall off,

guess what you know is beginning to take place in their life?

They're an accident waiting for a place to happen.

Now, what should you do when you see that happening?

Should you pick up the Bible and slam it on their chest in the morning?

You know, it's like, bang, get this done.

No, that's not my suggestion to you.

But try with prayer and a godly life to be an encouragement and expect the Spirit of God

to respond accordingly.

You look at that passage there in Deuteronomy, it says, hey, you've got to know the Lord,

you've got to love the Lord, you've got to know the Word.

And so if you're going to be effective in being the spiritual leader in your home,

your children should know about your devotional life.

They should know about it.

Let me have you turn to a passage that several months ago the Lord just really tagged me with.

In fact, if you were to go into my office this morning or tonight or this afternoon,

you would see it on the wall.

When I sit there and prepare week by week and spend time in the office,

there are actually three different things that are set on the wall across from me

so I can see them and they're reminding me of my responsibilities.

One is from John chapter 5 verse 39, and it says this,

John 5:39

how does this sermon testify to Christ?

Second thing is Isaiah chapter 50 verse 4.

Isaiah 50:4

Let me read it to you.

The Lord has given me the tongue of those who are taught.

Incidentally, this passage is a reference.

It is messianic.

It is a reference to the Lord Jesus.

The Lord has given me the tongue of those who are taught

that I may know how to sustain with the Word him who is weary.

Do you want, Dad, to be able to encourage, to sustain, to counsel,

to direct your son in the moments that are important?

Yes.

How will you do that?

Morning by morning he awakens.

I like that.

Morning by morning he awakens.

He awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.

Dad, I don't think it would be a bad idea for you to take that verse

and write it out with your own hand and post it on the mirror and ask the Lord to do what needs to be done

to help your devotional life begin to take upon the characteristics of this passage.

Will your children need your advice?

What's the answer?

Yeah.

Will they need your counsel and your encouragement?

Yes.

And so what are you going to give them?

Your rehashed experiences, many of which you wish you didn't have anyway?

Or would you rather that out of a heart that is enriched by the Spirit of God and by the Word of God,

you may bring forth the sweetness of the Spirit of God and the wisdom that is from above that your children may know how to walk uprightly?

Let me explain also that your children should see you frame life's challenges in the Scriptures.

Let me say that slowly so you can follow me.

Your children, we're talking about being the spiritual leader,

your children should see you frame life's challenges in the Scriptures.

In other words, when you yourself are challenged,

when things aren't going your way,

when there's a struggle and turmoil in your own life,

they should see you go to the resource that is eternally valuable, prized, and reliable.

I have to think about the passage in Galatians that I've recited so many times,

Nevertheless, what saith the Scriptures?

Paul, as he was arguing in the book of Galatians about the issue of the difference between law and grace,

when he wants to hammer it,

he recites something said by the Supreme Court,

God.

Nevertheless, what do the Scriptures say?

And so when you have opportunity to face the challenges of life,

what your children should see

is that the authority you rely upon is God's Word.

And by the way, do we always know what's in God's Word?

And the answer is what?

Come on, help me here.

No.

So what's wrong when you're not sure to say,

give me a minute, I want to think this through and pray about it

and find out what God's Word has to say about it.

Third,

your children should know that your genuine affection for the Lord and His people

is at the very heart of your being in existence.

Your children should know that your genuine affection for the Lord and His people

is at the very heart of your existence.

Is that what your kids know?

Is that what they respect about you?

Is that the thing that when it's all said and done,

when their last memories of you are pushed together in a very small pile,

will they say,

the thing I remember about my dad

is that he loved Christ.

He loved Christ's people.

I hate to use him as an example,

but he's the best one I know.

My dad is in a nursing home.

He has Alzheimer's.

There are days he's with us,

and there are days that he is not.

But several weeks ago,

stopped in to see him on Sunday morning,

and he said,

when do I get to go to church?

Do you follow that?

Let me tell you something.

That kind of heart doesn't happen by accident.

It happens out of a relentless pursuit of the things of God.

And so, Father,

I want you to understand that

your love will play out,

and your kids will know it.

Let me see one more thing in this passage

before we move to the issue of intercession.

Look at verse 7.

It says,

You shall teach them diligently.

Diligently.

Dad is to be persistent in his teaching.

Persistent in his teaching.

The Hebrew word actually means

to say it twice.

I know Pastor Andrew was

kind of gathering from our young people.

I'm going to tell a story here

and be embarrassed,

or have you embarrassed?

I don't know how it'll work out.

But anyway,

here I am doing ministry,

so I'd like to kind of find out

what some of the concerns

and questions are

that our young people have.

And he sent out a survey

and got all these different answers,

and then one of our youth leaders said,

Well, I thought we covered that this last year.

Well, yeah.

Truth of the matter is,

it's probably every one of those things

I've covered from the pulpit as well.

I'll never forget what Alistair Begg said

when I was at one of his preaching conferences.

He said,

Never underestimate the ability of your people

to forget some of the important things you've said.

And, you know,

it's given me great comfort.

You probably don't remember

that I preached this sermon back in 05.

Now, I want you to know

it's not the same sermon.

Because preaching relies upon

the ministry of the Holy Spirit,

and His ministry through me to you

and in you is different today than in 05.

Same spirit,

same word,

but different need today.

So, I want you to understand, Dad,

that if you're going to be effective

in this responsibility

being the family teacher of spiritual,

be repetitious!

Now, am I saying

just be redundant

to the point of ad nauseum?

How many of you know

that when we sing a song that we like,

we really get into it?

Do you understand that?

But how many of you also know

if we sang the same song

for about 30 weeks in a row,

I don't care how wonderful it was,

the first or second or third or fourth time,

eventually, guess what you would do?

You would tune out.

And, Dad,

you have to have a little bit of variety

in the way you approach the business

of being repetitious

in your teaching.

Pretend that it's a brand new thought,

because the truth of the matter is,

is your child,

your young boy,

or your girl

has probably

completely forgotten

what you had to say,

but bring it up again.

Again,

things that are important

are often said

over and over again.

And I've got to tell you

that the business

of being repetitious

with an inventive

and creative spirit

with an affection

for the outcome

is profoundly effective.

Well, let me come

to the second thing.

Dad is to be

the family intercessor.

Dad is to be

the family intercessor.

Here I am.

I am...

I'm an empty nester.

I've got to tell you,

it's a wonderful thing.

Judith and I enjoy

one another's company

in the morning.

And here's the deal.

We don't have to worry

about whether

anybody forgot

their barrettes

or, you know,

whether their hair

or teeth

are cared for.

We're just together.

Let's have coffee.

Let's sit there.

Let's pray.

Let's chatter a little bit.

It's fun, fun, fun.

But that doesn't mean

that I'm done

being a daddy.

This morning as

I was finishing up

my devotional time,

first thing I do

is I spend time

praying and thanking

the Lord

for the blessing

of knowing Him

and who He is.

and I pray

for my children.

And then I take out

and if you were

to look at

where I have things

together,

there is a watch care list.

How many of you

understand what

a watch care list is?

I use the watch care list

to kind of govern

my prayers for you.

This morning

it was Gibbs.

Actually,

it's Limkill now

since, Nathan,

you've taken over

that office.

I'm going to have

to change that

on my list.

But I'm praying

through the list

and praying for

each of the individuals

and intercession

is very, very important.

I want you to look

at a passage

that kind of amplifies

the importance of this

and turn back

if you would.

Well, turn forward.

You're in the book

of Deuteronomy.

Go to Job chapter 1.

Job 1 · chapter mention

Job chapter 1.

Job 1 · chapter mention

Job is a very

interesting book

that

has a lot to say

about suffering.

And what it has

to say about suffering

is that sometimes

we don't know.

But what we do know

is who God is.

Anyway,

in that context,

as the book

introduces Job,

you look there

in verse 1,

chapter 1,

it says,

there was a man

in the land of Uz.

Can you think

of any place

like Uz?

You know,

anyway,

there was a man

in the land of Uz

whose name was Job,

and that man

was blameless

and upright,

one who feared God

and turned away

from evil.

that is a fairly

good

picture

of a godly man.

Would you agree

with me?

The next little piece

we find out

about this godly man

is given to us

in verse 5.

And when the days

of the feast

had run their course,

Job would send

and consecrate them,

and he would rise

early in the morning

and offer burnt

offerings according

to the number

of them all.

For Job said,

it may be

that my children

have sinned

and cursed God

in their hearts.

Thus Job

did continually.

Do you know

what he was doing?

He was praying

for his children.

My wife and I were,

I don't know why,

but yesterday

we were talking

about my childhood.

It was very checkered.

I won't give you

the checkering of it,

but I will tell you

I made a comment

to Judith

that if it had not

been for the prayers

of my parents,

I have no doubt

that I would be dead.

Job prayed

for his children

every day.

Look at the passage.

It says that he got up

early

in the morning.

And as we look

at this text,

we find out

that the one

illustration

that Scripture

gives us

of Job's character

revolves around

his prayer life.

Listen to me.

Everybody look up,

please.

Your prayer life

says it all

about where you are

spiritually.

Do you understand that?

your prayer life

says it all

about where you are

spiritually.

And as we look

at this passage,

we see here

a father

who is interceding

for his children.

So what we take

from that

is that a father

is to pray

consistently

for his

kids.

You know,

we're not

consistent about

things we don't

care about.

Would you agree

with that?

How many of you

have said

on many occasions

I should

clean

the garage?

Or

your car

has become

kind of a

rolling disaster

and you

have seen

all kinds

of things

in the

cup holders

and in the

back seat

and you've

thought to

yourself,

I should

clean

the car.

You know,

here's the

fact.

If it's

important,

what?

We do it.

And so as we

think about this

matter,

I want you to

understand that

intercessory prayer

is essential.

It's essential.

Well,

let's see some

illustrations of

just how important

prayer is.

I'll recite one

I've referred to

a number of

different times,

but just to kind

of set the

frame,

in Exodus

Exodus 17:9–13

chapter 17

verse 9

through 13,

we have

Moses and

he takes

the nation

of Israel,

some of the

select soldiers

and says,

hey,

go whoop on

those people.

He says,

I'm not going

to be there.

I'm going

to be on

top of the

hill.

And what

does he do

on top of

the hill?

He holds

up his arms.

He's praying.

Every time his

arms fall down,

his troops

suffer.

They end up

where Moses

sits on a stone

and Aaron and

Hur,

I believe,

are on one

side and the

other and they

hold his arms

up and the

battle comes

to their

favor.

I want you

to look at

another illustration

of the

significance

and the

kind of

passion that

should be

in your

intercessory

prayer for

your children.

Turn,

if you would,

you're in

Job,

but go back

to Exodus

Exodus 32 · chapter mention

chapter 32.

Exodus

Exodus 32 · chapter mention

chapter 32.

By the

way,

how many

of you

realize that

the nation

of Israel

was a pretty

perverse and

painful group

of people

to lead?

They just

loved on

Moses all

the time.

You know,

it's like,

Moses,

whatever you

say,

we're with

you,

we love

you,

we appreciate

the fact

that we've

not had

water for

three days,

but we

know God's

helping us

and he'll

care for

us.

No,

that's not

the way

they were.

And when

he goes

off to get

the law,

one of

the passages

I don't

understand was

that when

Moses was

gone,

remember they

came to

Aaron and

says,

hey,

we need

gods to

take us

back,

and he

says,

well,

give me

your rings

and your

earrings and

stuff,

and he

makes a

golden calf.

Well,

then when

Moses shows

up on the

scene,

I don't

know how

Aaron got

away with

this,

and I'm

not sure

I'll ask

when I get

to heaven

either.

But here's

the deal.

He says,

I threw

it into

the fire

and this

came out.

Anyway,

God says,

Moses,

let me deal

with these

people.

I'm going

to destroy

them.

And here

is Moses.

Exodus

Exodus 32:31

32,

verse 31.

So Moses

returned to

the Lord

and said,

alas,

this people

has sinned

a great

sin.

they've

made for

themselves

gods of

gold.

But now,

if you

will forgive

their sins,

now look,

how many

of you have

a little

hyphen and

a space

in your

translation of

the scriptures?

Raise your

hand if you

have a hyphen

and a space.

Okay?

Do you

know why

that's there?

that is

an indication

of the

extreme

respect

that the

ancient

Hebrews had

for every

letter and

space in

the Old

Testament.

And in the

original

manuscript,

there was a

space.

space.

I don't

know what

is in

that space

other than

probably a

little bit of

speculation.

How many

of you have

been praying

passionately for

something and

been overwhelmed?

Remember what it

says in the

passage in

Romans?

It says that

sometimes there

are things that

the Holy Spirit

prays with groanings

that cannot be

uttered,

right?

Our heart is so

caught up in

the depths and

the passion of

our concern for

someone that we

love that we're

choked off.

here's Moses

pleading for the

nation of

Israel that

they not be

destroyed for

their perverse

and wicked

heart.

And he comes

to this point

and he says,

listen, if you

forgive their

sin, they

can't say

anything.

But if not,

listen to this,

please blot

me out of

your book.

I've got to

tell you,

intercession is a

deep,

burdensome

plea for those

that you love.

And as we

read this

passage, it

reminds us that

intercession is

something that's

profound.

Well, one

other passage,

and we'll close

with this issue of

intercession and

remind ourselves

that it's what

Jesus is doing

for us today.

Do you know

that?

I love,

I love,

I do.

I love Hebrews

Hebrews 7:25

chapter 7,

verse 25.

It says,

he ever liveth

to do what?

What's he doing

for Tim Kenoyer

this morning?

He is interceding

before the Father

on my behalf.

He's interceding

on your behalf.

Does he know

how weak and

frail?

Does he know

where your mind

has been today?

Does he know

the struggle

you have with

idolatry?

He does know

all those things.

And what is he

doing?

He is there

before the

Father's throne

today, and he

is pleading

your case.

So here's what

I want you to

do, dads.

Remember?

The purpose

of preaching

is to tell you

what God

has to say.

Isn't that right?

My responsibility

is to open up

the Word of God

and say,

here's what

the Bible

has to say,

and this morning

I speak to you

who are fathers.

And I say,

you've got two

responsibilities

that I want you

to think about

this morning.

Number one

is the responsibility

of being the

family instructor

and teacher

in the matters

of righteousness.

Number two,

you are to be

the intercessor

before the throne

of God

on behalf

of your children.

So it's a

practical question

to say,

how are you

doing at both

those things?

It's a fair

question.

And this morning

as we think

clearly of what

God has to say,

it really comes

down to those

who are fathers

saying,

yes,

God,

I hear what you

say and I want

to be sincere

and righteous.

I want to do

what you've called

me to do

and I'm willing

to go on notice.

how many of you

realize it's one

thing to make

private decisions

that nobody else

knows about?

Do you follow

that?

Oh,

we've all

done that.

Yeah,

yeah,

if it works

out,

I think I'll

be a little

better at my

devotions next

day.

I want to

challenge you

this morning,

fathers.

God being my

helper,

I'm going to be

the spiritual

leader in my

home.

God being my

helper,

I'm going to be

the family

intercessor

in my home.

Let's close

in prayer.