A Father's Privilege
-Don't lose joy of salvation.
-Don't give way to discouragement. It's not of Holy Spirit
-Turn to scriptures in all circumstances for endurance and encouragement. Romans 15:4
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Romans 15:4 ESV
Philippian Jailor
-Acts 16:29-31 / He wanted to be saved but God wants his household saved too. This expresses the nature of God. God cares for families, not just individuals. He's a Father.
“And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."”
Acts 16:29-31 ESV
Eph 3:14-15. Every family in heaven and earth derives it name from God the Father.
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,”
Ephesians 3:14-15 ESV
God has compassion on the lonely. God wants people to be a part of a family. Psalm 68:5-6. He is a Father to the fatherless. His provision of salvation expresses his nature. The Family of God! Come into the family of God.
“Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.”
Psalms 68:5-6 ESV
Noah
Genesis 6:5-8 / God looked on Noah with favor and it included his household. Noah's righteousness alone was recognized, but God included his household in Gen 7:1 / This is the Father's nature. We don't have to argue and plead with God to care for our families. He already cares for the Family. He created marriage and family.
“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:5-8 ESV
“Then the Lord said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.” Genesis 7:1 ESV
Joshua
Joshua 24:15 / Joshua had the privilege and responsibility to make the decision of salvation for his household as a father. He understood the nature of God...."As for me and my house we will serve the Lord."
“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond 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."” Joshua 24:15 ESV
Abraham
Divine order is that a father has divine privilege of choosing salvation for the household. The greater the privilege the greater the responsibility. Abraham in Romans 4 is called the Father of all who believe and we are called to follow the pattern of his faith.
“That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations"—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness." But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,”
Romans 4:16-17, 20-24 ESV
Genesis 18:17-19 / 1. Abraham was friend of God and God wanted to share his secret and plan for salvation. 2. God purposed that Abraham become a great and mighty nation where all the nations of the earth would be blessed. 3. He was chosen ( or known for his character) to command his children and those after him to fulfill the requirements for the blessing. God saw in Abraham that his character was a Father who would lay down the requirements of salvation through faith and obedience in the Lord and command his children and household to walk in the way of the Lord. Abraham is a pattern for all.
“The Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him."”
Genesis 18:17-19 ESV
http://bible.com/59/gen.18.17-19.esv
Condition Responsibilities and Privilege Blessings:
Deuteronomy 11:18-21 / Fathers faithfully teach your children the Word of the Lord and their days would be like the days of heaven on earth.
“"You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.”
Deuteronomy 11:18-21 ESV
Psalm 112:1-2 / This father's children and his grand children and descendants would be mighty and greatly blessed due to fulfilling the responsibility of fearing the Lord and finding great delight in the Lord commands and teaching them to his children.
“Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.” Psalms 112:1-2 ESV
Psalm 128:1-4 / A Father who fears the Lord and walks in his ways transmits the blessing of the Lord to his wife and children.
“Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.”
Psalms 128:1-4 ESV
Proverbs 22:6 / A father is responsible and jointly with the mother to train his children in the way of the Lord and when they are old they will not turn from it. The father is to lead his household.
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6 ESV
The essential condition or responsibility of the father is that the word of God is to be taught, exemplified, lived out and incalculated in every aspect of the family life and this will lead to the privilege that the father will bring his whole household into all the salvation blessings of the Lord.
The Lesson of Job
God has established the family and desires to preserve and maintain the integrity and well-being of the family. Satan desires to destroy and tear apart the family.
The experience of Job as a father is very different from the Philippian jailer, Noah, Joshua, and Abraham.
Job 1:1/ Job was blameless and upright feared the Lord and shunned evil.
“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.” Job 1:1 ESV
This was the estimation of Job in God's own words, and Satan sought to ruin him and his family. Job had tremendous honor and with that he had tremendous responsibility as a father. One of jobs major characters is that he was a strong father who cared for and interceded for his children.
“There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 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.” Job 1:2-5 ESV
He had seven sons and three daughters. Jobs family and children were very close. They always met together and enjoyed each other's company. Job was always concerned that his children may have cursed God or walked away from him in someway and each morning he would put before the Lord a burnt offering ceremonially interceding for his children just in case they had turned away from God. He had regular parental intercession on behalf of each one of his children. Even though he was faithful in this responsibility disaster still overtook his children
“While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you."”
Job 1:18-19 ESV
Had Job failed? No. Had God failed? No. Neither Job nor God failed. Job did all that he could do as a father for his children, and God is faithful. The lesson of Job's life as a father is found at the end of his life. James 5:11 highlights the outcome or end of Jobs life as the item to look at. James is saying look at the last chapter of the book of Job before you judge the situation.
“Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” James 5:11 ESV
Job 42:10-14/ God gave Job twice as much is what he had before. The Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. Job got double of everything except sons and daughters. God gave him again 7 sons and 3 daughters. God doubled his children. He would be reunited with the first 10 in heaven and he gave him another 10 to enjoy for the remainder of his life on earth.
“And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch.”
Job 42:10-14 ESV
Lessons
1.Teach the way of the Word
2.Pray and intercede for your children
3. Set a godly example
No matter what happens continue to trust God's mercy and covenant keeping faithfulness.
The Lesson of Rahab
The salvation of the Lord is a household salvation. Rahab was a woman without a husband but with faith that brought salvation to her family. She tied the scarlet thread in her window. She was a prostitute in the wicked city Jericho that God was going to destroy, yet she feared the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. She was commanded to bring all her household into her dwelling so that they might be saved. Rahab father mother brothers and all who belonged to her. Though she was unmarried and a prostitute she
1. Believed that the God of Israel would be giving them the land.
2. She put action into her faith. She risked her life to save the spies.
3. She made a confession of her faith by tying the scarlet chord innhercwindowxwhichvrrpresentscthe blood of Jesus.
Faith, Works and Confession brought salvation to her entire family.
Hebrews 11:31 - her example of faith
“By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.”
Hebrews 11:31 ESV
James 2:25- James describes that Rehabs faith was a faith that worked. Even though she was wrestled in prostitution. It's a challenging thought that a prostitute can be considered righteous if she acts in faith.
“And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?”
James 2:25 ESV
Matthew 1:5- Rahab was chosen to be a part of the genealogy of Jesus. She was King David's Great Great Grandmother. She married Salmon and bore Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, and Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered King David who was in the line of Jesus.
“and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse,”
Matthew 1:5 ESV
http://bible.com/59/mat.1.5.esv
Rahab had a loving heart and cared for her whole family. She became the ancestress of Jesus the Messiah and saved her whole household.
A Canaanite Woman
Even when things are not as they should be. God has set no limit to faith that works by love.
Matthew 15:21-28/ She had the faith that does not give up and God rewarded that. Even though Jesus was fulfilling the covenant relationship with the Jews, the Canaanite woman pressed in by faith and proclaimed that Jesus was the only one who could solve her problem.
“And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.”
Matthew 15:21-28 ESV
She wasn't ashamed of her desperation.
She was humble and received the truth from Jesus even when he had an indifferent attitude at first.
She had insight to the nature of Jesus. She had a divine intuition about who Jesus was.
The tug of a desperate believing soul can draw God into the situation and change the course of Christ. Jesus took a 4 day journey to and fro to minister to this woman's faith and need and it saved her demon possessed daughter.
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