Romans 8:16

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption whereby you cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.

Let's pray. Father, as we look into Your Word, as we just sang that we stand in awe of You, You who are glorious and powerful, awesome, wonderful, and yet, Lord, You reveal Yourself in the Scriptures as being our Father. We thank You that You desire to relate to us as Father in that relationship. And, Lord, I pray that as we consider Your Word today, You would reveal that to us more fully. Give us understanding. Give us application, we pray. In Jesus' name, all God's people agreed, saying, "Amen." You can be seated.

Amen. The doctor looked at his patient and said to him, "You are in terrible shape. Unless something is done, you're going to die. You're under too much stress. You're not eating right. You need to tell your wife that she must cook more nutritious meals. And she's got to help reduce your stress. She's got to keep the kids off your back and let you relax. You need to do a budget, and you need to tell your wife that she's got to stick to that budget. If you and she will do all this, then you should completely recover. Otherwise, you'll be dead in a month."

Well, the patient said to the doctor, "Listen, this is going to sound quite a bit more real if you call my wife and you tell her this." So the doctor assured him, "Okay, I'll do that." The patient went on his way home, and by the time he got home, his wife rushed out to meet him as he was getting out of his car. She said, "Honey, the doctor called me. You poor man. You've only had 30 days to live."

Today is Father's Day, and I want to wish the fathers in our presence a happy Father's Day.

If you are a father, would you mind standing for just a moment so we can recognize the dads in our congregation this morning? God bless you guys. You can take a seat.

One little boy, when asked to explain what Father's Day was all about, said, "Well, it's just like Mother's Day except we don't spend as much on the present." Now, that may or may not be true. In my case, it's not. My lovely wife bought me an Apple iPad for my Father's Day gift, so I have a wonderful wife. However, Father's Day is generally not as big of a deal as Mother's Day.

On Mother's Day, there tends to be higher attendance in many churches across our country. Mothers often wake up to flowers and perhaps even breakfast in bed. Sometimes they'll come to church wearing a corsage. Emotions are a bit higher. People gather at mom's house after the service is done and pay honor to the hands that rock the cradle. But on Father's Day, the church is typically not as full. Emotions aren't quite as high. Businesses don't make quite as much of a profit as they might on Mother's Day or other holidays, except for the telephone company.

For Mother's Day, the telephone company tells us that it is one of the busiest phone call days of the year. However, they also say that traditionally, on Father's Day, they see a great uptick in collect calls. They have more collect calls on Father's Day than normal. Now, that's probably an old statistic. With free nationwide long distance on cell phones, that's probably not the case anymore.

We do know that traditionally each year, Hallmark and other card outlets sell nearly 100 million Father's Day cards that get sent out. Perhaps you forgot the Father's Day card and are trying to send an e-card on your phone right now. Maybe you could wait until after the service.

We are not quite as sentimental, typically, about Father's Day. Perhaps that's because fathers don't tend to be quite as sensitive to children's needs and alert to sentiments as mothers are. I heard of a mother who had just given birth a few hours before. She was looking for her husband and went down to the nursery in the hospital. She found her husband standing there over the newborn baby and wondered what he was thinking. So she quietly tiptoed behind him, put her arms underneath his, and said, "Honey, what are you thinking?" He replied, "I just can't understand how they're able to make a crib like that for $89.95."

Father's Day, the very first celebration of it in our nation, began back on June 19th of 1924 by a proclamation from then President Calvin Coolidge. However, it all came about because of the efforts of a woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd. In 1909, Sonora was in a church service listening to a Mother's Day sermon when she had the idea of Father's Day. It first came to mind there because she and her five siblings were raised by their father after their mother had died during childbirth. Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her; she wanted him to be honored. For many years after that, she worked to bring about a Father's Day in our nation. It wasn't until 1924 that it was officially established, and it has been celebrated ever since on the third Sunday of June.

Sonora's father was certainly one to be looked up to, and I am thankful that I have a father whom I also look up to, even though he is only five feet seven and a half inches tall. Perhaps you also look up to your dads. Unfortunately, we recognize that in our society today, that is not always the case. However, I am glad that there is a Father's Day, that we have this time set apart. Even though it may not be as significant to many as Mother's Day is, it still gives us a chance to honor those who are the leaders within the household, those that gather the team and huddle around to lead the family through life's battles.

Many of you have heard of James Dobson. Dr. Dobson wrote a book a number of years ago called "Dare to Discipline." In his book, he states that good fathers are made, not born. That is an important truth to consider. He goes on to suggest that there are three specific things for a father to keep in mind as he leads his family.

Number one, he says children often follow in the footsteps of their father. Yes, during the earliest years of a child's life, he or she usually spends a great deal of time with their mother. However, the passing years bring a change, and the father often becomes the example in attitude and action that the child follows. Like it or not, the example that a father sets regarding his relationship with God, his service in the community and in the church, and his love towards his family leaves an indelible impression upon a child's life.

Someone has once said that fathers are followed, and they are to be followed. Fatherhood is not just something that can be turned over to somebody else to take care of. In reality, as the Scriptures reveal, the father should be a spiritual leader within the home.

Dr. Dobson continues, stating that the best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. Next to his close and personal relationship with God, a father's top priority should be to love his wife. The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians chapter 5, says, "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her." That is an example we ought to follow, especially if we desire a home that would be blessed.

Dr. Dobson also mentions that a Christian father will arrange to spend time with his children. No matter how fathers try to escape the idea, the fact remains that ultimately we do have control over our time, and we decide how we are going to spend it. Without a doubt, I would say that the fathers here in our presence today, and those who desire to be a father one day, want to be a good father and a good husband. It is a challenging responsibility that God has given us, something that might even cause a little bit of fear.

I know personally that when my wife and I got married, it was about a year or so afterward that we found out she was pregnant with our first child, Ethan. Around that same time, I was given the opportunity to take over the leadership of the church here. I was more concerned about becoming a father than leading the church. The day-to-day tending of a family, taking care of a child, and learning how to discipline and train that child kept me awake many nights as I considered that we were going to have a family.

To be a good father, we need a good model, an example of a good father to pattern ourselves after. However, the reality is that many people, as we look around our nation, say, "I didn't have a good example of a father." Perhaps you are one of those today, and you find yourself in the position of being a dad, wondering how to fulfill that role. Where can we find such a model father? Is there such a thing as a perfect father that we can follow as a lead?

To that question, I would answer with a very strong yes. We, as fathers, must follow God's lead.

Because He is revealed time and time again in the Scriptures as our Father, our Heavenly Father, He has led us in a way that we ought to lead our children. I wanted to consider that on this Father's Day. Let’s reflect on some of the ways that God has led us and some of the things we see in Him as the perfect Father.

I know that there are many in the world today who, when they learn from the Bible and from the church that God wants to relate to us as Father, have a hard time with that because their earthly father was not a good example. However, when we consider the fatherhood of God, we learn some great things.

Number one, if you're taking notes today, God loves His children. One of the first things we learn when we begin to look at God in the Scriptures is that He, as a Father, loves His children. There are so many passages that deal with the love of God that there is no way we could cover all of them in the time we have today. Many of them, if we were to go through them one by one, you would say, "Oh yeah, I've heard that before." You are familiar with the passages.

Just two of them I wanted to consider for a moment here. In 1 John chapter 4, the Apostle John tells us in verse 19 that we love God because He first loved us. The second verse is found in the book of Romans. In Romans chapter 5, verse 8, it says that God demonstrates His love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We love Him because He first loved us, and God has demonstrated His love towards us.

It's not just something that He has spoken to us. You see, God did not wait for us to meet His expectations before He loved us. He did not wait for us to make Him proud before He loved us. He did not wait until we measured up to His standards before He loved us. He simply loved us, and He loved us first.

How many of you today are thankful that you didn't have to first make Him proud or measure up to His standards before He loved you? Yet, there are many people who have that testimony as they look back over their lives, realizing they had to try and achieve something before they received the adoration or the love of their earthly father. Not so with God.

You see, God's love is complete. God's love is constant. God's love is unconditional. We cannot earn it, and we cannot escape it.

And we cannot erase it. Now, He may be angry with us when we disobey Him. He may be saddened when we stray from Him. He may be sorrowful when we sin, but He never stops loving us. Our actions do not diminish His love towards us. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

I'm so blessed by the words of the Apostle Paul. Again, in the book of Romans, in Romans chapter 8, verse 38, Paul says, "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." There is nothing that can separate us from the love of our God. And so we see that God does love His children.

Secondly, if you're taking notes, not only does God love His children, but God encourages His children. He loves His children, and He encourages His children. Throughout the Scriptures, we see God stepping into the realm of humanity to encourage His people.

Back in the book of Exodus, in Exodus chapter 3, when God was calling Moses to go down into Egypt to bring God's people out of bondage, there at the burning bush, God encouraged Moses and told him that He would deliver the nation of Israel. Even though Moses said, "I can't do this. I can't speak. I'm weak. I don't have enough wisdom. I don't have enough understanding," God encouraged Moses.

You know why? God saw in Moses that which Moses could not see in himself. Not just Moses, but Joshua. Many years after that point, when the children of Israel were preparing to come into the promised land and they were just outside the border of the land, God spoke to Joshua and encouraged him as he was going to bring the people into the land. Again, Joshua was fearful, and he didn't see in himself the ability to do what God was calling him to do, but God encouraged him.

In the book of Judges, God encouraged Gideon as Gideon was set to fight against the Moabites, this great overwhelming army, 150,000 strong. There, God appears to him and says, "You are a mighty man of valor." When Gideon felt weak, when he felt insufficient, God was there to encourage him.

When he felt like he had nothing, God said, "You are a mighty man of God." In Jeremiah chapter 1, God encouraged Jeremiah when He said, "I have called you to be a prophet to the nations." Even though Jeremiah didn't feel like he had the ability to do so, God encouraged him. What a great example we have in that.

For us as fathers, when we look at our children, they may not see in themselves the ability that God has given to them. They may not always feel like they have the strength to do the things that are set before them. But you and I, who can see those things, are called to encourage them. I love that verse given to us in the book of Joshua. Just before they went into the Promised Land, God said to this leader, "Joshua, have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid, neither be dismayed. Why? For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

You see, God's encouragement was not only in words; He encouraged Joshua with His presence and His powerful assistance. God doesn't just merely give us a pep talk at the beginning of the day, saying, "All right, you can do it, run the race." No, God runs alongside us. He gives us the power and the assistance that we need. God saw the things that His people did not see, and He encouraged them to do things that they felt they could not do.

Sadly, we know the fact that some of you, from personal experience, know that this is not always the case with earthly fathers. Many parents, no matter how spiritual or conscientious, are prone to be more critical and to send messages of criticism rather than encouragement. I read a study last week that found for every one encouraging word shared by a father, four discouraging remarks are given. That is a heavy thing to consider.

It is so important that we consider the words that come out of our mouths. Paul told the church at Ephesus in Ephesians chapter 4, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers." Speak those things that build up.

How many of you remember that old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?" What a lie. Many of you, if you think about it for a moment, know that you learned that very early on.

I think I probably learned that back in first grade, but it's not true. Sticks and stones are not as hurtful as words; that's not true at all. You see, James, the Apostle James tells us that with this same tongue, with this same mouth, we are able to bless God and curse men. Our words are powerful, and they can destroy a person, tearing them down.

About the same time that I remember learning that saying, I also learned another one from the great philosopher Thumper in the movie Bambi: "If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all." That's good counsel. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good for the use of building somebody up. The encouragement of a father is extremely important. Sadly, as we look around our nation today, we know that it is something that's lacking.

I saw a study that showed that about 90% of girls who struggle with eating disorders attribute it to a strained or non-existent relationship with their father. They attribute it to discouragement spoken to them by their father. That's powerful—90%. But God the Father is a great example. He loves His children and encourages His children.

Thirdly, God accepts His children. In reality, this is a result of the love of God. Paul the Apostle, in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 6, says, "To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the Beloved." God has made us accepted in the Beloved. If you continue to read on in the book of Ephesians, you find that not only have we been made accepted, but we've been chosen by God and adopted into His family.

The Apostle John, in 1 John chapter 3, said, "Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we should be called the children of God." What awesome love it is displayed in that God has not only saved us, but He has brought us into His family and said, "You are my child." Now we are accepted because He loves us and because He bought us with a price. In 1 Corinthians chapter 6,

Verse 20 tells us that we've been bought with a price. First Corinthians chapter 13 tells us that such love never fails. God's love never fails. Psalm 136 states 26 times that God's steadfast love endures forever. The chesed, the steadfast love of the Lord, never ceases.

Again, in the book of Ephesians, specifically Ephesians chapter 2, we are told that we have been brought near to God in verse 13. We are further informed that we now have access to the Father in verse 18. In the Old Testament, that kind of access came only through sacrifices. If you wanted to have access to God, you had to do it through a religious formality. Even today, there are certain religions where you must fulfill religious requirements before you can have access to God.

In the Old Testament, if you wanted to appear before God, you had to offer an animal sacrifice. Even then, after you offered the right sacrifice at the right time, you still could not approach God because there was a veil between man and God. However, when Jesus died on the cross, that veil was torn in two. The way was opened so that you and I, by grace through faith, can have access to God.

In the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews, we are told that we can now come boldly before His throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace in our time of need. We have this great access to God because we have been accepted by Him. In the Old Testament, sacrifices were necessary. Now, through Christ and the work that He has done, we never have to wonder if we are accepted. We never have to question if we truly have access because we are no longer strangers or foreigners; we are members of the household of God, as Ephesians 2:19 tells us. That relationship is an awesome thing to have.

You will sometimes hear Christians say, "We don't have religion; we have a relationship." What exactly does that mean? It means that we do not have to go through a religious formality to come before God because He is our Father. We have open access.

I've used the illustration before, but I think it's a good one. Today, if you wanted to meet with the President of the United States, you might have a hard time. But if Sasha and Malia, his daughters, wanted to see their dad, there would be no problem. They could go right in.

To see their father, the children have access. There's a relationship there. They don't need to go through the Secret Service or his secretary; they can enter right in. The same is true with my son. Just this last week, I was sitting in my office having a meeting with someone. As I was meeting with them, I heard the handle on my door start to jiggle. I looked towards my door and couldn't see anybody in the window, but right after that, my son came bursting through the door. Meeting over, or at least on hold. Ethan wanted to see the guitar more than he wanted to see me, but that's another story.

We have this great access because we've been accepted. God accepts His children. The Apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 2, says, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special people, that you should show forth the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light." He goes on to say in the next verse, "Which in times past you were not a people, but are now the people of God. In times past you had not obtained mercy, but now you have obtained mercy."

We have been made the children of God, the people of God, accepted as God's children. Not because of our own merit, not because of our race, not because of the result of our good looks, our good intellect, or our great strength. We have been made accepted by God as His children because He loves us.

So, not only does God love His children, not only does He encourage and accept His children, fourthly and finally, God disciplines His children. This truly is one of the aspects of God's fatherhood that sometimes we don't like or have a hard time with. But it certainly is an aspect of God's character and of His fatherhood that we ought to receive as an example. I believe, as you look at our nation today, this is something that's greatly lacking: the discipline of a father.

Recently, I heard a story about a man who had three boys, triplets. They saw everything alike. They were loyal to each other. If someone got into trouble, they wouldn't tattle on each other. A neighbor asked the father,

How in the world do you know which one to punish if there is trouble? Well, he said, it's easy. I just send all of them to bed without dinner, and the next morning, the one that has the black eye, I spank. Now, I don't know if that's the best method in determining the guilty party.

But I do know this: as it relates to God disciplining His children, God is good. He is a loving Father. He's a perfect Father. His intentions and His actions are never evil or unloving. Yet, His discipline of His children is important. He does not discipline out of spite. He does not discipline in spite of His goodness. He disciplines because of His goodness. He does not discipline in spite of His love. He disciplines because of His love.

Moses, when he gave the second declaration of the law of God in the book of Deuteronomy, stated in Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse 5, "You shall also consider in your heart that as a man chastens or disciplines his son, so the Lord disciplines you." Solomon, that great wise man, in Proverbs 3, verse 12, said, "For whom the Lord loves, He corrects or disciplines, even as a father the son in whom he delights."

In the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews, there are several verses written on the discipline, the chastening of our God. If you wouldn't mind turning in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, near the end of your Bibles, Hebrews chapter 12, just before the book of James. In Hebrews chapter 12, at verse 6, the author of the book of Hebrews quotes Solomon from the Proverbs. He says there in verse 6, "For whom the Lord loves, He chastens, and He scourges every son whom He receives."

Now, if you endure the chastening or the discipline of God, He deals with you as sons. For what son is he whom the father chastens not? But if you are without chastening or without discipline, whereof all are partakers, then you are illegitimate; you are not sons. Furthermore,

We have had fathers of our own flesh who corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live? For they, our earthly fathers, truly for a few days corrected us; they chastened us after their own pleasure. But He, God, does so for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.

Now, no discipline, no chastening, for the present seems to be joyful but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby. You see, the man who disciplines his children in the way that the Scriptures reveal, the one who disciplines his children wisely, reflects the character of God. We discipline because we love our children. We discipline because it teaches them responsibility. It teaches them that wrong actions incur negative consequences. It helps them start living the right way.

When God created this world, this universe, He established four institutions of government. The first is the family. God created the government of the family and placed the father in a very specific role as the leader within that family. Then, God also created the government of the church. Furthermore, God created human governments. Although oftentimes we see that they fail, God initially is the one who created human governments. Lastly, there is God's governing authority; He is the final say.

God created man, and man is placed into a family. There, within the family, through discipline, correction, and training in righteousness, it is God's desire that a young child would be raised in such a way that they would walk rightly. It is the job of the family first to deal with training that child. If the family fails, particularly if the father fails, then it would be God's desire that the church, the body of Christ, would be that government that teaches them the right way.

However, if the church fails, then that individual, if they continue in stubbornness and rebellion, will stand before human governments. They will find themselves before the court of law, and hopefully, they will be chastened there by the court. But if not, that individual who has not learned righteousness from the family will face the consequences of their actions.

By the church, by society, and by the governments we have, individuals will one day stand before God for judgment. It is a sobering thing to consider. I personally think that this is one of the reasons Paul, in Ephesians chapter 6, after he tells children to obey their parents, quotes from the Ten Commandments. In Ephesians 6, verse 1, he says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and your mother." This is the first commandment with a promise: that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth.

Notice this: Paul, in Ephesians 6, verse 4, says, "And you fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath." There are many different ideas about what that means. If you were to get ten commentaries on the book of Ephesians today, you would probably find ten different interpretations of verse 4. Here is what I believe it means, or at least part of what I believe it means. Fathers, we have a responsibility to train our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord so that they will never have to stand before God for wrath. Do not provoke your children to wrath or stir them up to the point where they will one day stand before God for judgment. That may not be the whole meaning, but I believe it has something to do with what that verse says.

Discipline is a really touchy subject, especially in our society today. Have any of you noticed this? There are some in our society, particularly in different educational institutions or mental health departments, who say that discipline is dangerous, and it can be. They argue that you should never spank your child. However, the Scriptures say differently. Some even claim that not only should you never spank your child, but you should not put your child in time-out or deny them anything, as it might injure their psyche. Instead, they suggest training them up solely through positive encouragement. While positive encouragement can be helpful, if you never chasten your child, what you often end up with is a spoiled brat. You see, children are not born good. Any parent here this morning knows that to be the case. They are not born good.

You don't have to teach children to lie, to be selfish, or to be rebellious. Sin begins in the heart, and we are all born with a wicked heart. If left to their own nature, imagine for a moment what would happen if you left your children without discipline. By the time they were 16 years old, they would be ravenous murderers. This is why we are told to train up our children in the way that they should go.

However, discipline can be dangerous, and we see in our society a lot of concern about how people discipline their children. This concern stems from a desire to be loving. We want to ensure that we train them correctly. There are six things I want us to consider about the discipline of God, because God, being a perfect Father, knows best how to discipline.

First, God does not discipline out of anger. He does not discipline from a position of anger. God is not hot-tempered; He does not simply say, "Forget it, you're done," when He gets angry. Some of us can become exasperated, and parents may discipline out of anger. However, if we want to discipline in line with God's character, we must not discipline out of anger.

Second, God does not discipline arbitrarily. He does not discipline on a whim or randomly. He is not up in heaven pulling names out of a hat and saying, "All right, today it's your turn." I recognize that some of you may have grown up in a household where that seemed to be the case. If your father woke up on the wrong side of the bed or was having a bad day, he might have taken it out on you. That is not the discipline that God calls us to.

Third, God does not discipline without reason. Throughout the Scriptures, we see that God announces His coming discipline before He carries it out. Not only that, but God also gives opportunities for repentance before He disciplines an individual or a nation. A great example of this is the story of Jonah. Remember, Jonah was a prophet of God, and God said, "I want you to go to Nineveh." Nineveh was a city that was wicked.

They were evil. Everything associated with that place was given completely over to idolatry, immorality, and wickedness. God said, "I want you to go to Nineveh and tell them, in 40 days, you're toast. In 40 days, discipline and judgment are coming."

However, Jonah, although he didn't like the people of Nineveh because they were the enemies of the children of Israel, did not want to go there. The reason he did not want to go to Nineveh to tell the people that judgment was coming was that he knew if they repented, God would be merciful. He wanted them to be toast.

Ultimately, God got that rebellious prophet where He wanted him to go, and Jonah went to Nineveh and proclaimed, "In 40 days, you're toast." What happened in Nineveh? Although they were a wicked people, guilty of sin, and it would have been right to discipline them, they repented, and God gave them mercy.

You see, God always announces the reason for His discipline before He disciplines, and He gives an opportunity for repentance.

God's discipline is always for the purpose of purification. He desires, through discipline, not to inflict pain but to bring about correction. He is seeking to correct us.

Furthermore, God's discipline is for our good. We see this in Hebrews chapter 12. At the end of verse 10, it says, "For He, for our profit, disciplines us that we might be partakers of holiness." Then, at the end of verse 11, it states, "Nevertheless, afterward, discipline yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised by it."

So, God's discipline is for our good. He does not discipline out of anger. He does not discipline arbitrarily or without reason. God's discipline is always for the purpose of purification and for our good.

Finally, God lovingly seeks restoration of relationship after discipline.

During RN training, one night, she showed me a diagram from their class. It illustrated how different training methods for children lead to different outcomes. The gist of the diagram was that if you discipline your children using the models found in Scripture, your child will grow up to be a reclusive individual who does not want to be around you. However, I have not found that to be the case. Discipline is ultimately for the restoration of relationship.

Back at the beginning of creation, when God created man, man broke God's law and command. Because of that, there was a separation of relationship. The relationship was severed due to sin, disobedience, and rebellion. God, through discipline, ultimately restored that relationship. How so? Isaiah chapter 53, speaking about the crucifixion of Jesus, says that He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement, the discipline, the punishment for our peace was upon Him. By His stripes, we are healed. This means that God's punishment was poured out upon Jesus, allowing us to have a restored relationship with God.

My son is still very young; he is almost two years old. My wife and I determined that we would begin to discipline him and train him from a very young age. From the time he started to crawl, and especially when he began to walk in his walker, we took action. How many of you remember those walkers? You put the little baby in there, and it has wheels on the four corners. We have some hardwood floors downstairs, and he would fly with that thing.

When he would start to reach for something we didn't want him to touch, or if he was about to do something that could injure him, we would tell him in a stern voice, "Ethan, no." I remember a few people telling me that he didn't understand me and was too young to grasp the meaning of "no." But he understood. When I said, "Ethan, no," he would make a face as if to ask, "Why?" Every parent recognizes that children do not like the word "no." In fact, we all recognize that we don't like the word "no." So, I would say, "Ethan, no," and he would look at me, then reach for it again.

And I'd say, "Ethan, no." That look of confusion would turn into a teary face, asking, "Why not?" If he still reached for it, we would gently swat his hand. We weren't hurting him, but we wanted to help him recognize that he wasn't supposed to do that.

Now he's grown a little bit, and he doesn't run in the walker; he just runs everywhere he goes. You know what? Spanking at that age really doesn't work. However, we have found that a little bit of a time-out has been very effective. We have one of those pack-and-play things for time-out, and it's in our guest room downstairs. If Ethan is doing something wrong, I'll say, "Ethan, do you want to go in time-out?" You know what he does? He says, "No." If he continues to misbehave, I'll pick him up and say, "Ethan, we're going to go in time-out now." More often than not, when I begin to pick him up and take him to time-out, he starts to say, "Obey, obey." It's like he's showing repentance.

If he doesn't repent, I'll explain, "Listen, Ethan, because you're doing that," and I recognize that he doesn't understand everything I'm saying, but I'll tell him, "You need to obey." I'll take him back to that room, and typically, by the time he sees the pack-and-play, he goes, "Obey, obey." If he doesn't, and he's throwing a fit, I'll put him in there and say, "When you're ready to obey." I leave him in there for about a minute and a half to two minutes. When I go back in, you know what he does? He doesn't shy away in the corner or try to get away from me. Instead, he reaches for me and says, "Obey." He wants a hug, and generally, he'll want to be held for a little while because it's the restoration of the relationship.

That's the point of discipline. You see, you will know very quickly if you're disciplining in the wrong way because your children will shy away from you. They will turn away from your hand and be afraid of it, and that's not what God intends. True and right discipline restores the relationship.

On this Father's Day, what is our responsibility? In light of God's love, encouragement, acceptance, and discipline, we fathers especially must recognize that it is our responsibility to bring our children up in the training and instruction of the Lord. We are to follow His lead, His love, His encouragement, and His acceptance.

And his discipline. I think that acknowledging God and worshiping Him ought to be a habit, the best habit that we can ever have. Again, I believe that we have to begin when our children are very young to show this example to them so that they would learn. Psalm 78, Deuteronomy chapter 6, and many other Bible passages teach us that we are to teach our children when we sit down with them. We are to teach them when we stand up, when we walk in the way, and when we lie down at night. This means that every opportunity throughout the day is an opportunity to instruct, to pass on to them wisdom, knowledge, and instruction. We want them to not be stiff-necked or rebellious. We are to pass on this rich heritage that we have from our Father to our children.

We can do this in a right way or in a wrong way. However, it is very easy, if we are not careful, to create misconceptions about who God the Father is. Many today in this world have a misconception about who God the Father is because their earthly fathers have been bad examples.

It's interesting to note that the word "Father" in the Hebrew language, in which the Old Testament was written, is the word "Ab." Aleph and Bet, or A and B together. The Hebrew language is a pictorial language, and each of the characters has a picture associated with it. The Aleph is an image associated with an ox, which speaks of strength. The character Bet, or the B in our language, is associated with the house. Therefore, the Father is to be the strength of the house. Sadly, that strong leadership is missing in many homes in our nation.

There is a parable told of three fathers. Each of them felt the soft hand of his child in his own hand and realized the responsibility he had to teach his child about God. One of the fathers felt the awesome responsibility that was his, and so he taught his child about the power and might of God—two great characteristics of who God is. He focused entirely on the power and might of God as they walked.

Down the pathway of life, they came to tall trees in a forest. He pointed them out and said to his child, "God made those big trees. And God can cause them to come crashing down anytime He wants."

As they walked out into the hot sun, he said to his child, "This is God's son. He made it. And He can cause it to burn so hot and so intense that the plants of the field will wither and die." Again and again, he hammered home the power of God, the might of God, and how the child must be obedient to God.

Then one day, they came face to face with God. The child hid behind his father, afraid to even look upon God, refusing to put his hand into the hand of God. The second father also realized his responsibility to teach his child about God. He thought about all the important things he wanted to teach his child, and there were so many of them that he quickly hurried through each one to try and impart these lessons.

As they looked at the trees, they only stopped for a moment to gaze upon them. As they looked at the flowers of the field, they hurried on by. He told his child stories, but he did it in a hurried manner. He crammed them all together and filled his child full of all kinds of facts. However, he never taught him how to live and how to love God. Finally, one day, when they came face to face with God, the child only gave God a casual glance and then turned away.

The third father felt the touch of that tender hand of his child and adjusted his steps to match the tiny steps of his child. They walked along, stopping to look at all of God's beauty and grandeur. They walked into fields and picked flowers, feeling the soft petals and smelling their fresh fragrance. They watched birds fly by, observed another bird building her nest, laying her eggs, and sitting on those eggs until they hatched.

They enjoyed all the beauties of nature while the father told his child stories about God over and over again. Finally, one day, they too came face to face with God, and without hesitation, the child placed his hand trustingly into the hand of his heavenly Father.

You see, that is our desire as fathers: to train our children in such a way that they associate father with a loving, caring individual—one who encourages, one who accepts.

Yes, discipline is needed, but it should be done in a way that honors God. This world needs a true representation of what a father is, and only the church can provide that because we have been given instruction from our heavenly Father about what that looks like. There are many people who don't understand what it means to be a father. That's why I was concerned when I was getting ready to be a dad. Many of you have been dads much longer than I have, but I know that when I am weak in understanding, the only place I can truly turn is to my heavenly Father.

I have a great example in my earthly father, but I know the best place for me to turn is to my heavenly Father. I am so thankful that He has revealed to us how we ought to do this wonderful thing that He has called us to. Amen? May we learn from Him and may we be a great example to this world so that they would see and know who our heavenly Father really is.

Let's stand and pray together. Heavenly Father, I do thank You that You have revealed Yourself to us, that You are the one who loves us, encourages us, and accepts us. Lord, You discipline us when discipline is needed, but You do so in a way that reflects Your character and Your love. Many of us here today were first attracted to You by Your love. We love You because You first loved us. Help us to also display that kind of love to our children, to our wives, and to this world, so that they would see and know the true representation of who God the Father really is.

I thank You that You are the everlasting Father, and for those who have not had a good example or perhaps never knew their father, You are a Father to the fatherless. We thank You. For the fathers here today, Lord, I pray that You would strengthen us to be good examples. Give us Your wisdom where we lack it. Give us Your understanding. Lord, give us the ability to reach out with tender hands to discipline in the right ways, for we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.