What Is A Father? 6-15-25 AM
I. Fierce.
a. There is the belief that all people are either a sheep or a wolf.
i. Someone came up with the idea for another category to add to that.
ii. The other category is that of sheepdog.
b. Sheepdogs fiercely protect the flock.
c. They look out for any predators that may harm the sheep that have been placed in their protection.
d. This is what a father is supposed to be for his family.
e. He is to be fierce in the face of Satan.
i. Satan is described as a roaring lion (1 Pe. 5:8).
ii. Satan is trying to destroy our homes.
f. Fathers are to fiercely protect each member of the home.
g. He has to be on guard against any form of attack that Satan may launch.
h. Paul told the Corinthians… (1 Cor. 16:13).
i. Newer versions have be on guard for watch ye.
ii. This is the role of a father.
i. Sometimes those in his home won’t like what he does because they may not see the harm in something but he does.
j. Fathers are to be fierce in protecting their families physically as well.
II. Available.
a. Fathers need to be present in the lives of their families.
i. Present does not just mean bodily presence.
ii. It is not enough to be in the same house or even the same room but glued to a phone or the tv.
b. Ephesians 6:4.
c. There is no way to bring up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord while being away from them.
i. The word for nurture means “the whole training and education of children” – newer versions translate it as training.
ii. The word for admonition means “a putting into the mind” – newer versions translate it as instruction.
d. Fathers have the responsibility of seeing to their children being trained and instructed in the doctrines of Christ.
e. That takes being available to those children to take the time to teach them.
f. Our children need us to be available to them to answer their questions about life.
g. Our children need us to be available to them when they are hurting and need comfort.
h. Fathers need to listen and show up in their children’s big moments as well as the small ones.
III. Trustworthy.
a. A father should be able to be trusted by his wife.
b. A father should be able to be trusted by his children.
c. All family members should be able to count on the father to be and do what he should be and do.
d. Proverbs 20:7.
i. When a father is trustworthy, his children are blessed.
ii. When a father is trustworthy, his wife is blessed.
e. This attribute comes from following Christ.
f. A father that has this attribute is consistent.
i. Children don’t have to worry about what mood dad is going to be in when he gets home.
ii. His wife doesn’t have to worry about how he is spending the family’s money or if he is being faithful to her.
g. A father is honest in his dealings with others, modeling this attribute for his children.
h. A father who is trustworthy has shown his ability to make wise decisions for his family based on God’s word.
IV. Humble.
a. Humble is defined as not proud or arrogant when it is used as an adjective and to make meek when it is a verb.
b. A father has to model this in both ways.
c. A father cannot be proud or arrogant and expect his family to grow in the knowledge of Christ.
d. A father has to make himself meek, put his strength under the control of God, in order for his family to have the opportunity to prosper spiritually.
e. Matt. 23:12.
f. I read an article about how fathers can model humility and it had four ways this can be done.
i. Get over ourselves – our family members are just as important as we are because they are also made in the image of God.
ii. Be able to admit when we are wrong – it is not a sin to apologize to our wife or children when we are wrong about something.
iii. Do the dirty jobs – show our children what it means to work, even doing the dirty stuff like changing a diaper or cleaning up other messes.
iv. Realize we can learn from our wife and children – we are never to old to learn something and we need to let them know that we learned something from them.
g. Our Lord was humble and we must be as well for our families to prosper.
V. Encouraging.
a. We should be our wives biggest fans.
b. We should be our children’s biggest fans.
c. Paul told the Thessalonians… (1 Th. 5:11).
d. We need to encourage them in every good endeavor.
e. We can do that in several different ways:
i. We need to pray for our families and our family members should know we are praying for them.
ii. We should speak in encouraging ways to them and not tear them down.
iii. We should be guiding our families to trust in God during the good times and the bad times.
f. When things don’t go right for our children at school or in a ballgame or recital, when they get in the car to go home is not the time to rehash all they did wrong.
i. This is something that took me a while to learn.
ii. The ride home should be as encouraging as it can be and then take care of the corrections in a discussion at home the next day or at practice.
g. We need to be lifting up our families, not tearing them down.
VI. Respectable.
a. Respectable simply means able to be respected.
b. Eph. 5:33 end with “and the wife see that she reverences her husband.”
i. The word for reverences is translated respects in all the newer versions.
ii. In reality, this is what a man wants from his wife and family.
iii. Husbands are to love their wives but wives are to respect their husbands.
iv. This is because that is what both need for fulfillment in life.
c. A father needs to possess the type personality and act in a way that makes him able to be respected by his family.
d. When we are fierce, available, trustworthy, humble, and encouraging, we will be able to be respected by our wives and children.
e. In order to be respected like we desire, we must be respectable.