 |
Fatherhood, Family, Faith & Freedom |
| By
Rev. Frank Masserano |
|
| Text:
Genesis 17:3-4 |
And
Abraham fell on his face; and God talked with him saying: “As
for me, behold, my covenant is with thee and thou shall be a father of
many nations.”
I suppose one of the most important and fundamental roles established
in the Bible is that of fatherhood.
In a day when the family unit has been attacked on every side by a hostile
and irreverent culture;
When the authority of parents over their children has been denigrated
by pervasive powers of the state;
When the ability of responsible and well-intended parents to discipline
their children has been challenged by government institutions on every
hand (schools, social services, and courts);
And when chaos, destruction and crime increases at explosive rates among
our adolescents and teenage populations.
• Is
there any hope?
• Is there any help?
• Is there any answer…to bring spiritual health, wholeness
and happiness
to
our families?
Society’s propaganda is repeated over and over again with no “reality” check
while things continue to grow worse.
Yet, the bankrupt solutions as touted by social pundits
go unchallenged as truth.
One of the big lies sold to us for curing social ills
is…
More
Education
This lie has been pervasive since before World War II in the
halls and high towers of our educational institutions.
We are told if we can only educate our children life will get better
--- this cliché was prevalent among the intelligencia
of Europe before World War II:
It goes like this:
“Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better”
It
began in Germany in the late 1800s and was imported to America in the
1900s. Yet, the reality is that we have often produced only more
highly educated thieves, liars, malcontents, unfaithful
partners, and murderers.
We
have more people incarcerated in America than any other country, and
we have more people incarcerated today than ever before (two million
plus).
You would have thought that with the rise of Nazi Germany resulting in
World War II and the murder of over 24 million victims by highly efficient
instruments of science and technology, we would have gotten the message
that education without a heart change in the lives of people only yields
a more sophisticated evil. When you sow to the wind you reap the whirlwind.
At every level in nations, governments, business and industry, we see
greater…
• Moral corruption,
• Cheating,
• Lying,
• Theft and
• Malfeasance
Education without a moral compass only better equips those without a
conscience to inflict evil with greater knowledge and sophistication.
A second big lie sold to us for curing social ills is…
Financial
Success
The truth is when our lives are based on a capitalistic/materialistic
philosophy with no moral underpinning to support mores of responsible
stewardship and public charity, we end up with a total abandonment
to debauchery, self-pleasuring, wasted resources, and personal
destruction
with little public justice and the “poor” neglected.
I recently saw in the Wall Street Journal a story on Broadcom Corporation’s
co-founder and CEO who was charged with conspiracy and securities fraud.
He is facing, if convicted, a possible 370 years in prison. Henry T.
Nicholas III is a man who holds an earned PhD in electrical engineering.
His company sells microchips for cell phones and broadband internet devices
and is a billion dollar a year company.
Henry has been charged with backdating millions of dollars in stock
options and falsifying corporate earnings to hide the cost of millions
of corporate
dollars spent on corporate jets travel with prostitutes while using
marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines and ecstasy.
As co-founder and CEO of the company he is one of the richest men in
the world and yet, success without a moral compass threatens his life
with shame, a broken marriage, and a possible 370 year jail sentence.
Jesus said in Luke 12:15:
“Take heed and beware of covetousness: for a person’s life consisteth
not in the abundance of things which he possesseth.”
It’s about as clear an example of how success and unlimited money
cannot guarantee you spiritual health, wholeness and family happiness.
A third big lie is…
Fame & Recognition
The list of rock and roll and Hollywood stars
and starlets who achieved fame and recognition only to face the loss
of health, jail or death runs from Marilyn Monroe to Elvis Presley;
from Lindsay Lohan to Nicole Ritchie to Paris Hilton, little rich girls,
movie
starlets with more money than good sense and with little spiritual
foundation or guidance. All sentenced to jail time. Without God or moral
guidance,
sex, drugs and self absorption have worked to shame, degrade or yet
destroy their lives.
John Belushi to River Phoenix, Curt Kobain to Heath Ledger (the “Brokeback
Mountain” cowboy), all have ended up dead in the prime of their
lives. Fame and recognition cannot guarantee spiritual health, wholeness
and happiness in our families.
A fourth big lie sold to us is the promise of…
Social Engineering
The experiments of socialist governments such as
the former Soviet Union, Cuba, and the communist regimes in South America
have ended in the collapse of financial systems, governments, social
constraints, and death squads. Taking from the rich and redistributing
wealth to the poor has been the “big lie” of scheming totalitarian
leaders for generations.
It has been used as a means of manipulating the masses to allow dictators
to gain control of governments and implement their “big brother” programs
where a few elites own or control all the land, businesses and industries
of a nation. They redistribute wealth, but usually to the few in the
party leadership and their cronies.
The results are most often a weakened, intimidated population, afraid
to speak or question authority except in the most private conversations
in their homes --- and even then without true safety.
• Fear
• Alcoholism and drugs
• Abortion
• Suicide
• Breakdown of the families
• Starving masses
All are hallmarks of this highly acclaimed solution by do-gooders, non-thinkers
and the self-proclaimed intelligencia often motivated by their own personal
greed, for power and wealth.
IT IS THEN THAT THE BIBLE COMES CRASHING INTO OUR LIVES AND DECLARES
THAT…
“He that hath the Son hath life”
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7:22:
“For he who was a slave when Christ called him is Christ’s free
man.”
What Paul is alluding to is that no matter what kind of cultural, social
or governmental structure you find yourself in, the truth of the matter
is that it’s only through faith in Christ that you can become a
free person living free in a biblical lifestyle.
Lech Walesa under house arrest while resisting communist rule in Poland
said, “I live in Christ, therefore I am a free man!”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, well-known Lutheran pastor and theologian of World
War II Germany, was sentenced to die because of his participation in
a plot to kill Adolph Hitler said as he walked to the scaffold, “I
go to the scaffold a free man because I am in Christ.”
Bonhoeffer will always be remembered a hero because he was centered in
Christ and biblical truth, and therefore could recognize evil and stood
up against it.
The reality is that…
• Capitalism cannot yield spiritual health, wholeness and happiness in
our families;
• Communism cannot yield spiritual health, wholeness and happiness
in
our families;
• Socialism;
• More education;
• More money;
• Fame and recognition;
Or,
• Reconstruction of social institutions cannot yield spiritual health,
wholeness and happiness.
The only source guaranteed to bring love, order, sanity, control, discipline,
and hearts of charity with prosperity into your life and the life of
your family is your response to the voice of God as He calls you to Himself.
Repent of your sins and begin to receive and digest the word of God (found
in Scriptures) into your life and into the life of your family and community.
The Bible states “in Christ only” can we find for ourselves
and our families life, liberty, wholeness and happiness.
Beloved, no government system, whether it be capitalism run amok without
morality, godless communism or humanistic socialism, can ever give you
the authority and power to establish and maintain a godly home with love,
faithfulness and contentment --- only Jesus and the practice of a biblical
lifestyles.
Paul the Apostle writes in Romans 2:2:
“And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that you prove what is the good, acceptable
and perfect
will of God.”
Philip’s translation says it this way.
“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but
let God remake you so that your whole attitude of mind is changed. Thus
you will prove and practice what is the will of God, good, acceptable
and perfect.”
I also like the translation found in The Message Bible by John Peterson.
He says it this way:
“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into
it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll
be changed from the inside out, readily recognize what He wants from
you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, which
always drags you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best
out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
One of my favorite new translations that Preston and I have been studying
from recently is…
The Contemporary English Version, and it reads like this:
“Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the
way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and
pleasing to him.” (Romans 12:2)
It’s only as parents and families (fathers, moms and children)
submit themselves to Christ, read, pray and follow the teachings of the
word of God that families can be brought into divine order.
Heads of families (fathers and mothers) are given a divine authority
to establish a spiritual covering over their children. That special covering
provides for God’s blessings and protection as well as His grace
when life’s brokenness does touch our lives. Even then we have
His comfort, grace and promised provision. The Bible teaches that the
heads of families share in a divine priesthood.
A recent survey suggests that approximately 80% of children in school
come from single parent households.
God in His sovereignty and providence has made a provision for parents
in these circumstances. If a wife or husband is left alone, that believing
spouse who remains sanctifies the family and the children.
The Scriptures are clear that widows and orphans hold a very special
place in the heart of God. He doesn’t regarding their needs and
concerns lightly:
• Exodus 22:22 - God sets into place in the Law of Moses that Israel shall
protect the rights and the lives of widows and orphans.
• Psalm 68:5 says that He will be a father to the fatherless.
• Psalm 10:4 states God Himself is the helper of the fatherless.
Carol’s mom lost her husband when she was 33 years old and
Carol was only 3 years old. Her mom never remarried and would always
remind the girls, “You have a father --- his name is father God.
And those single family parents who have gone through divorce and know
Christ must understand they too have the same provisions promised to
them:
“I will never leave you nor forsake you! I will be with you always.”
Let’s talk about dads for a moment:
The fathers in Scripture were just like you and me. They weren’t
perfect people. They were seeking to follow the will of God as they understood
it while trying to provide for their families and raise their children
according to their knowledge of God.
From them we learn something about the tasks, privileges, challenges
and failures of being a parent. We discover the faithfulness of Noah,
the contriving of Jacob, the unbridled passion of David, and the quiet
confidence of Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father.
Each of these men were dads. The geographical setting and their life
circumstances were vastly different from our, but the struggles and challenges
of parenthood are remarkably similar.
Noah
The story of Noah is found in Genesis, chapters 6-7. His name means “to
rest.” He had three sons who were married, along with his wife,
and he is best remembered because in a generation, a culture of sexual
immorality and violence, Noah heard the voice of God and chose to live
a righteous life with his family. He set the direction and modeled his
faith.
One day God spoke to Noah and told him to build an ark…a very big
boat. His friends and neighbors laughed at him, but he was obedient to
God and worked for years until one day it was completed. God had instructed
him to gather two (a pair) of every living creature and to put them on
the ark. He did. Then one day it began to rain. Noah loaded his wife,
three sons and their wives on the ark and “God shut the door.”
It rained for 40 days and 40 nights. His friends and neighbors yelled
and screamed, begging to be let it, but God had shut them out and no
one could enter.
The moral of this true story is that Noah as the head of his family listened
to the voice of God and obeyed His commandments and Noah and his family
were saved.
It’s important that we as “heads” of our families listen
and obey God. The Scriptures teach us that obedience is greater than
sacrifice in the eyes of the Lord.
Now every time we see a rainbow, we are reminded that God set it there
as a sign to every generation that He has promised not to destroy the
earth again by water.
Jacob
Jacob was one of Isaac’s twin sons. His name means “the deceiver.” We
know Jacob best because he deceived his father Isaac in his old age by
pretending to be his brother Esau.
Because Esau was the firstborn, he was to receive his father’s
blessing and to inherit the family’s land and possessions and to
be the head of the clan.
His brother Esau was a hunter and a coarse man with ruddy skin and hairy
arms. Jacob also knew when Esau came in from hunting he was very hungry
and often agitated. He wanted to eat. Jacob prepared a delicious stew
and when Esau came home Jacob tempted him with the meal. Esau wanted
it and Jacob offered to trade the stew for Esau’s birthright. Esau
didn’t think or care --- he just wanted to eat --- and so traded
his birthright for a bowl of porridge.
Jacob then took a lambskin and put it over his arm and went to his father
who was old, blind and near death, and told him he was Esau and he wanted
Isaac to pray over him and bless him with the passing of the paternal
right. Isaac felt the lambskin on Jacob’s arm and thought it was
Esau and blessed him and passed the birthright to Jacob.
Esau was angry and wanted to kill Jacob, but Jacob fled and it was years
later before they were reconciled.
But Jacob’s treachery came back to haunt him because he fell in
love with a girl named Rachel, whose father Laban required seven years
of hard labor from Jacob to give her hand in marriage. When Jacob had
completed his contract his father-in-law tricked him into working seven
more years for him before allowing Jacob to marry Rachel.
Jacob had twelve sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad,
Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin and his youngest son, Joseph.
Joseph’s brothers sold him to a caravan of traders who sold him
to the Pharaoh in Egypt. The story is long, but suffice it to say that
God reconciled Jacob with his lost son Joseph and Joseph to his brothers.
It’s a great story of God’s faithfulness to this family and
the lineage of Isaac.
King David
Of course we all know the story of David. His name means “beloved.” He
was a shepherd boy anointed by the prophet Samuel to be king and replace
King Saul, who had disobeyed God.
David was a great warrior, but he allowed his passions to override his
better judgment. He took another man’s wife, Bathsheba, for his
own. In fact, he caused the death of Bathsheba’s husband Uriah,
who was a loyal soldier to King David.
God was greatly displeased with David and there were consequences that
followed. The prophet Nathan exposed David’s sin and he repented,
but negative consequences followed.
David and Bathsheba had a son, who fell ill and died in spite of all
of David’s prayers.
Sin influenced his other children who had sexual incest and great tragedy
befell the family. David’s son Absalom rebelled against his dad
and plotted to overthrow him to become king himself --- but his plot
was uncovered and as Absalom fled his hair was caught in a tree as he
tried to escape. He was pierced to death with a lance.
It brought great sorrow to David and he cried out, “Absalom, Absalom
my son, would that it was I who had died.”
David was sorry he had failed God and repented in Psalms 51:1-2:
“ Have mercy upon me, O god, according to thy lovingkindness: according
unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”
God forgave David and he remained King until his death.
David loved God and God loved David, but allowing sin into the family
brought great pain, loss and death to David’s family.
Joseph, the husband of Mary and the earthly, legal father of Jesus
Finally, let me talk about Joseph. His name means “may God add.” He
is often called “the forgotten man of the Bible.” He was
a carpenter, which in the Hebrew language means a stonemason. He was
a house builder and they made houses mainly out of stones. He was a working
person like most of us here today.
He could trace his ancestry back to King David and that was important
because God had promised to raise up the Messiah through David’s
lineage. It is also important to know that Mary’s ancestry goes
back to David because Jesus was born of a virgin and his DNA was that
of his mother.
After Jesus was born Joseph and Mary had several more children including
his half-brothers James, Joseph, Simon, Judas and several sisters. Though
poor, Joseph worked hard and took care of his family, providing for them
and protecting them. There is a divine charge and authority you have
as the head of your household.
Joseph was a man of great prayer. What an awesome responsibility to watch
over and care for the Savior of the world. During prayer times angels
appeared to Joseph, but no doubt there were other times when he could
only “ponder” the events of his life.
Joseph was also a man of great faith because his fiancé became
pregnant and they were not yet married. The angel of the Lord appeared
to Joseph three times and he listened and was obedient to take Mary as
his wife and raise the baby Jesus in his home.
Once he had to flee to Egypt to protect Jesus’ life and then returned
to Nazareth where Jesus grew up with the favor of God and man.
The Bible doesn’t tell us much more about Joseph. Today we celebrate
his life knowing that he was everything a godly parent should be.
A Prodigal Son, an Elder Brother and a Waiting Father
Most all of us know the story of the prodigal son, who demanded
his father give him his inheritance. He took it and left home and went
about in riotous living, wasting it all until it was gone.
Then broke, with no friends and living in a pig pen eating the pig’s
food “he came to himself” and thought, “What have I
done? Even the employees of my father live and eat better than this.”
He went home and his father, who had been heartbroken since he left,
saw him coming up the road to the house and ran out to meet him. The
son fell to his knees and cried, “Father, I have sinned; I am not
worthy even to be a slave in your house.”
The loving father embraced him and was so happy that his son who was
once lost was now found. He called his servants and said, “Bring
a robe, new shoes and a ring and put them on him. Kill the fatted calf
and let’s have a party to celebrate that my son has come home.” The
father loved him and forgave him.
But the son’s older brother was mad. He had worked hard and had
never forgiven his brother for hurting his dad by demanding his inheritance
and leaving. They had to run the farm all by themselves while he went
away, wasting the money in irresponsible living.
The loving father said to the older son, “You have been with me
from the beginning and all that I have is yours; don’t begrudge
me happiness that my son came home.” But the elder son walked out
of the house. He would have nothing to do with the celebration. It seemed
unjust to him and he would not forgive his brother. He did not understand
his own imperfections or the depth of his father’s love.
Our Father God is the only perfect parent. His love is perfect. He forgives
us all of our sins if we only return “home” to Him.
The danger of being self-righteous vs. unrighteous --- is to trust our
perfection for acceptance by God --- failing to understand our own sinfulness
or how much God loves us and all those who call Him Father.
Recently America lost one of its premier and most beloved newsmen. Tim
Russert was the Bureau Chief of NBC News and pretty much set the standard
as a skilled and relentless interviewer in his industry on his weekly “Meet
the Press” program. He was relentless in his questioning, but always
fair and cordial.
He was a practicing Catholic raised in a Christian home and rose to the
highest position in his profession, but the thing he will be remembered
for by most people will be his book about his dad, Big Russ & Me.
His father had a great influence on his life. He taught him to “pray,
attend church, work hard, have fun, give to others and never lose your
honor.” Those are Christian values.
As hundreds of people remember Tim they see in him also a loving dad,
a good provider, one who lived his life in faith with honor and who was
careful to share his resources with those less fortunate.
One final note regarding faith and freedom. As Lech Walesa and Dietrich
Bonhoeffer have taught us, you can be “free” regardless of
the evil culture or government structure.
But personal freedom in Christ begets social freedoms.
In 1959 the Soviet dictator Nikita Khrushchev pounded the table with
his shoe and said, “We will bury you.” He told President
Richard Nixon, “Your grandchildren will live under communism.” What
the press didn’t record was Nixon’s reply, “No, your
children will live in freedom.” Nixon was right. Forty years later
in 1999 Khrushchev’s son Sergei became an American citizen.
Freedom is free. Jesus died on a cross that we might have life and be
free from our sin’s control over our lives.
It’s
part of the Fatherhood of God, godly families with faith and personal
freedom in Christ.
†
Back to top