Subject: Being a Good Father
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 23:48:12 +0000
To: "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
>From HINENI INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES
To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject: Being a Good Father
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
1 Samuel 2-4
"A FAILURE OF A FATHER"
"Being a male species does not make a man a father, for a Dad is a special
blend of hero; disciplinarian; a friend; someone to look up to;
someone to model...someone with a touch of the 'mother' in him;
someone who is big enough to say, 'The fault was mine' .....someone
who lives the kind of life that makes you want to say, 'I, too shall follow
Him!" - Dr. Alton Kaul
Being Father's day, it only seems natural that we find a father in scripture
and highlight his character and qualities that are worth emulating.
But this Father's day, I want us to journey down the road of failure.
I want us to look at a failure of a father. To see his
wrong, that will hopefully correct or enhance our fathering skills. If we are
honest, it is failure that speaks louder than success. When we see a
failure, we come away bound and determined not to be that way. I pray
it is so today.
Turning to 1 Samuel 2-4, we are introduced to Eli. He was a priest, a
spiritual leader of Israel, and a failure of a father. But before we
observe Eli's failure, let's observe the many excellent qualities
about him.
1. A GOOD MAN
A. MORALITY
In his long life (98 years) you will not find any record of terrible sin. He
did not drink, steal, lie or swear, or commit adultery, we might
say. Many of us fit the bill of being morally good men.
B. STATURE
Eli knew Samuel would be his replacement as spiritual leader of
Israel. Yet there is no trace of jealousy. Even when Samuel
reveals God's judgment against Eli, there is no jealousy on Eli's part.
1 Samuel 3:18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And
he said, "It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him."
C. LOVE OF GOD
Eli loved the ark of God, which symbolized the presence of God.
1 Samuel 4:13 Now when he came, there was Eli, sitting on a seat by the
wayside watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when
the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out.
1 Samuel 4:18 Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that
Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck
was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had
judged Israel forty years.
Eli was a good man, one who had good qualities about him. And yet he
failed at being a father. This underscores the truth that, "GOOD MEN
DO NOT NECESSARILY MAKE GOOD FATHERS."
There are many fathers today who have great qualities about them. They are
good men, and like Eli they are failing at being a father.
2. A NOT SO GOOD FATHER
On a success scale of 1-10, and ten being a total failure, Eli registered
around an eleven. He failed miserably at being a father to his
children. He even failed at being a priest.
Eli being a priest not only was to have a great impact upon the nation, but
his family as well. He was to be the spiritual leader to both, and he failed at both by
being a passive father.
Are there any Eli's here this morning? Are we as Dads we are "good guys",
involved in worth while duties, but failing to be the spiritual
leader our children and wives need? Are we passive Dads?
A. A PASSIVE FATHER
In his passiveness, Eli tolerated the sins of his sons (who were priests!),
and did not correct them.
1 Samuel 3:13 "For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the
iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and
he did not restrain them.
Eli being a passive Father led to his failure as a priest, for he not only
tolerated the sins of his sons, but he joined in with them, by eating
sacrificed meat that was the Lord's. "Eli liked prime-rib more than
obedience to the Lord!"
1 Samuel 2:29 'Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which
I have commanded in My habitation, and honor your sons more than Me,
to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel
My people?'
It is a little hard to convince our children that sin is wrong, if we are
participating in sinning with them. Only after the people began to
talk, did Eli go to his sons and talk with them. We might say "too
little, too late."
1 Samuel 2:23-25 So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of
your evil dealings from all the people. {24} "No, my sons! For it is
not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord's people transgress.
{25} "If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a
man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?"
Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the
LORD desired to kill them.
Eli was a good man, but in his passivity he brought on the destruction of his
sons. Eli lacked the spiritual backbone to stand up and say, "We will
not tolerated this sin!"
This still applies today, and maybe even more so. The father who is passive
towards the ways of God and sin, can bring harm and even destruction
to their families.
B. PASSIVITY: Religion without Reality
Eli was immersed in religion. He not only worked in the tabernacle,
he lived there. Unfortunately the reality of his walk with God, was
not present in his family life. Eli was tolerant towards personal and
family sin, but harsh on the sins of others.
(SEE: 1:12-17, Eli thought Hannah was drunk and scolded her for it.)
When his own sons, who were priests and who were to be spiritual leaders for
Israel, sinned by eating the meat of sacrifices that was for the
Lord, Eli not only winked but join in.
Anytime a person goes soft on obedience to the Word of God, you know
they are just playing the religion game. When you are not obeying
God, you have lost reality with your religion.
"Nothing corrupts children more than to see a parent who has the form
of religion, but who lacks reality with God. Kids know when you are
putting on a pious act." - Steven Cole
C. PASSIVITY: Shirking the responsibility of shepherding your family.
Eli's boys were grown and perhaps Eli thought, "What can I do?" But God held
him accountable, along with his sons. Changes are he acted the same
way when they were young. Eli could have taken the helm of the family
ship and let it be known that this family would be distinct and
obedient to God. But he let his family drift.
Men, Dads, I believe, if we will not take the responsibility for
shepherding our family, God will hold us accountable! And if the
scares you, it should!
3. WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
Maybe within yourself, you are really wanting to shepherd your
family, and are asking, "What should I do?"
A. DON'T PLAY THE RELIGION GAME ....let there be a reality to your
walk with God.
B. LEAD YOUR CHILDREN TO A PERSONAL FAITH IN CHRIST
1 Samuel 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD.
Too many fathers (parents) have said they will let their children decide for
themselves about God, etc. Don't be that kind of parent. Take an
active interest in leading them to Christ and then nurturing their faith.
C. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN OF GOD'S WAYS
Eli failed to teach respect for God's ways. Teach your children that there are
consequences to their sin. Teach them we live to serve others, not self.
D. TEACH THEM TO REVERENCE ALL THINGS ABOUT GOD
Eli failed at this, don't you too! Teach them to reverence the Bible, prayer
time, church, etc.
E. CORRECT YOUR CHILDREN WHEN THEY NEED IT.
If we love our children we will correct them. But learn to love them after you
have corrected them.
Proverbs 29:17 Correct your son, and he will give you rest; yes, he will give
delight to your soul.
CONCLUSION:
Perhaps Dads, you have seen yourself in this failure of a father. None of us
want to see ourselves as failures, but if the shoe fits, then let's
take it off and try on another! It is not to late to change, and to
ask God for forgiveness, and to begin a fresh and a new in
shepherding your family in all the ways of God.
Happy Fathers Day Dads
In Love
Pastor Paul
See Our Web Site http://www.angelfire.com./tx/altarcall/index.html
ALTARCALL MINISTRIES
Pastor Paul E. Weimeschkirch
7346 Hunters Land
San Antonio, TX 78249
(602) 697-0254
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