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We turn in your Bibles to Colossians 
chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3, where our 
focus will be on verse 21. Fathers, do not provoke your 
children lest they become discouraged. It's good on Father's Day to 
review, not just on Father's Day, but to review our specific 
responsibilities as fathers. And God willing, as we understand 
these things, we'll put them into practice so that we can 
inculcate the fear of the Lord in our homes. and seek to train 
up our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. I do 
want to begin reading by chapter 3, verse 1, as verse 21 is in 
a larger context, and it helps us to understand when we do this. 
If, then, you were raised with Christ, seek those things which 
are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set 
your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you 
died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, 
who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him 
in glory. Therefore, put to death your 
members which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, 
evil desire, and covetousness which is idolatry. Because of 
these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience 
in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. 
But now you yourselves are to put off all these anger, wrath, 
malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie 
to one another since you have put off the old man with his 
deeds and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge 
according to the image of him who created him. where there 
is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, 
Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Therefore, as the elect of God, 
holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, 
meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another and forgiving 
one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, Even as Christ 
forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things, 
put on love, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace 
of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in 
one body, and be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell 
in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one 
another in songs and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with 
grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do, in word 
or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks 
to God the Father through him. Wise, submit to your own husbands. as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, 
love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. Children, 
obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to 
the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your 
children, lest they become discouraged. Bondservants, obey in all things 
your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as 
men pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever 
you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing 
that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance, 
for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be 
repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality. Masters, 
give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you 
also have a master in heaven. Amen. Chapter 3, verse 21, we pray 
for the Spirit of God to be upon us. We pray that as fathers we 
would embrace our roles, our biblical responsibilities. We 
pray as well, Father, that our wives, our children, our homes 
would be marked by a genuine desire. to serve the Lord God 
Almighty. How we thank you for your grace, 
how we thank you for your mercy, how we thank you for redemption 
in Jesus Christ that makes these things possible. We know and 
acknowledge the gospel comes first, the salvation of God precedes 
the responsibilities to live in a consistent life. We just 
thank you now and we pray that you would guide our thoughts 
and we ask through Christ the Lord, amen. Well, if you notice 
specifically in verse eleven, it says where there is neither 
Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, 
slave or free, but Christ is all and in all. Some have taken 
this and tried to obliterate or tried to suggest that there 
are no more family and social distinctions, that because of 
Christ's redemptive work, We're all equal what were equal in 
terms of redemption were equal in terms of what we have in terms 
of an inheritance with God, but family and social distinctions 
remain. Verse eleven highlights redemptive 
solidarity enjoyed by the people of God. Far from eliminating 
these specific roles, it is rather the opposite. The fact that we 
are new men and new women in Christ Jesus is the basis upon 
which we live the Christian life. So instead of us having no distinctions 
within our home, the Bible tells us that redemption provides the 
ability for us to engage in these distinctions in a manner that 
is consistent and in a manner that is glorifying to the Lord. One commentator says, this whole 
section shows that to pursue the realm above and to be preoccupied 
with its affairs does not promote an aesthetic otherworldliness, 
but rather a wholehearted commitment to the daily duties of this world 
for the sake of the Lord. In other words, if you look at 
how it begins, chapter three, verse one, if then you were raised 
with Christ If, then, you've been saved by grace through faith 
in the Lord Jesus, since you have been redeemed by precious 
blood, he says, seek those things which are above where Christ 
is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things 
above, not on things on the earth. So we're to be focused upon Christ 
in our minds so that we can function appropriately here on earth as 
husbands, as fathers, as wives, as mothers, as children, all 
those things. And if we look at the broader 
context, we'll see that the Apostle tells us what we're to put off 
in chapter 3 verses 5 to 11. We're to put off sin. We're to 
put to death the deeds of the body. We're to put to death sexual 
lusts. We're to put to death the kind 
of speech that is ungodly and wicked. He then tells us what 
work to put on in chapter three, verses twelve to seventeen, and 
then in our section, chapter three, eighteen, the chapter 
four, one is telling us we are to be subject to one another. We have responsibilities. toward 
various people in this world. We are not islands unto ourselves. We are not autonomous. We are 
saved to serve in a certain capacity. We see the new man's relationship 
to others in this section, specifically in three pairs. Wives and husbands, 
children and parents, and servants and masters. So that's the broad 
context that we find verse 21 in. And that's where it's found 
verse twenty one. I want to open it up under three 
considerations. First, we need to note the party 
address. Secondly, the prohibition of 
the text. And thirdly, the positive exhortation 
in the text. Notice the party address. Fathers do not provoke your children 
less. They become discouraged. The fathers are addressed specifically 
as heads of the household, both in the Christian home and in 
the Roman Empire. Men who lived in homes in Rome 
were considered to be the head of the home. Paul develops this 
in more detail in Ephesians chapter 5. He says the husband is the 
head of the wife. The buck ultimately stops with 
him. Whatever ultimately happens in 
somebody's house, barring the irregularities, barring those 
things that perhaps mental illness or some other thing that might 
contribute to it, the man is the one who controls or regulates 
the home. Not in an authoritarian or tyrannical 
way, but ultimately the responsibility lies with him. The training of 
children is the father's special function. This is John Eady. 
He says, for the duty is devolved upon him to select and put into 
operation the best means and methods for the culture of his 
offspring. So, it's his primary responsibility. Of course, mothers engage in 
this task as well. The text is not giving you, ladies, 
license to provoke your children so that they can be discouraged. 
He's speaking to the head of the home. He's speaking to the 
head of the children, and he is addressing them accordingly. 
Now, throughout the Bible, we have some positive examples and 
some negative examples. Good examples of fatherhood and 
bad examples of fatherhood. We can turn back for just a moment 
to Genesis, chapter 18, Genesis, chapter 18, just a sketch, a 
couple of examples, things that we ought to set before our eyes 
as we strive to be godly fathers in the context of our Christian 
home. Genesis, chapter 18, you'll remember, 
it's the account of Abraham. Abraham Genesis, chapter eighteen, 
beginning in verse sixteen, we read that the men rose from there 
and look towards Sodom and Abraham went with them to send them on 
the way and the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham? What I am 
doing since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation 
and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. For 
I have known him, in order that he may command his children and 
his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, 
to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham 
what he has spoken to him. It's a good broad overview of 
our responsibilities as Christian fathers. We are to seek to encourage 
our families to keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness 
and justice. Notice that first and foremost, 
it is a vertical commitment. We are to fear God, honor God, 
love God, and then rule accordingly. Klaus Bachmull said this, he 
said the parents who reject the first commandment can expect 
their children to reject the fifth one. In other words, when 
your child is a wretch and rebellious and doesn't do a thing that you 
say, it could reflect on the fact that you don't fear God, 
that you have not sought to bring God's principles into your home 
and sought to brought them up in the training and admonition 
of the Lord. He goes on to say the parents 
who do not submit to God should not expect their children to 
submit to them. And then Joshua, chapter 24. 
Joshua chapter 24. Remember, it's a covenant ratification 
ceremony. In effect, this is what's going 
on. They've gone in. They've begun 
the conquest of Canaan. They've begun to obey God in 
terms of dispossessing the land of the Canaanites. Chapter 24, 
as I said, is a ratification. It is a recommitment. It is a 
reswearing or affirming their responsibility in terms of God's 
covenantal dealings. And then Joshua gets very practical 
and he says in chapter 24 verse will begin at verse 14. Now, 
therefore, he says, Fear the Lord, serve him in sincerity 
and in truth and put away the gods which your father served 
on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Lord, 
and if it seems to you, if it seems evil to you to serve the 
Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether 
the gods which your father served that were on the other side of 
the river or the gods of the Amorites and whose land you dwell. 
But as for me and my house, notice what he said. We will serve the 
Lord. That's a curious statement, not 
a curious. It's a great statement. It's 
a beautiful statement. What was Joshua's job? Joshua 
was a military commander. Sometimes I hear men say, oh, 
but I'm too busy. When have you ever had to go 
dispossess a nation of its inhabitants? When have you ever had to lead 
armies into battle? This man was able to do one of 
the most exceedingly difficult jobs in the world, and yet he 
maintained fidelity to his God. Matthew Henry summarizes thus, 
he says Joshua was a ruler, a judge in Israel, yet he did not make 
his necessary application to public affairs an excuse for 
the neglect of family religion. As for me and my house, we will 
serve Yahweh, he says. So in all of his busyness, in 
all of the day-to-day activities that his hand found to do, in 
all of the pressures and the trials and the real hardships 
that no doubt he encountered, Nevertheless, he was able to 
say, over the lifespan of his being, his general tenor, his 
general rule, again not perfectly, not absolutely without spot or 
blemish, but he says, as for me and my house, we will serve 
Yahweh. That's what we ought to be striving 
for. That's what we ought to be pursuing. That's what we ought 
to want for our homes and in our homes. For a negative example, 
you can turn to 1 Samuel chapter 2. You'll remember the man called 
Eli. Eli had a pair of sons that ministered 
as priests in the tabernacle. And they were wretched men. They 
did horrible things. I think that as you read through 
this, you ought to read paying attention. Here's what the priesthood 
in Israel were doing at the time of the birth or the young age 
of Samuel. They stole sacrifices, according 
to 1 Samuel 2, verses 13 to 17. Notice in 1 Samuel 2, verse 13, 
And the priest's custom with the people was that when any 
man offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with 
a three-pronged flesh hook in his hand while the meat was boiling. Then he would thrust it into 
the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot, and the priest would 
take for himself all that the flesh hook brought up. So they 
did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Also, before 
they burn the fat, the priest service or servant would come 
and say to the man who sacrificed give me for roasting to the praise 
for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw. These men 
were prostituting the very sacrificial system that they were supposed 
to bring to pass and then notice in chapter two verse twenty two. 
It says, Now Eli was very old, and he heard everything his sons 
did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled 
at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Absolutely shameful, 
isn't it? I don't know if you saw any of 
the footage on the riots that happened over the past week, 
but imagine if you saw your son standing there in London drugs, 
holding a fire extinguisher. Would you just swell up with 
pride? Or you saw him trying to flip that truck over. Would 
you be going, there's my boy? So proud of him. I think that's 
something of what we get with Eli. He knew that these boys 
were wretched. But when God comes to deal with 
him, Notice how the Lord phrases the accusation. Notice in first 
Samuel chapter three, beginning in verse eleven. God addressing 
Samuel, picking up at verse ten. Now, the Lord came and stood 
and called his eyes out. Other times, Samuel, Samuel and 
Samuel answered, speak for your servant. Here's the Lord said 
to Samuel, behold, I will do something in Israel at which 
both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle in that day. I 
will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning 
his house from beginning to end, for I have told him that I will 
judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows. He knew 
it wasn't foreign to him from beginning to end. I'm sorry, 
for I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the 
iniquity, which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile. 
Now notice, and he did not restrain them. Yes, his sons did not know 
the Lord that precedes first Samuel two twelve. That was their 
issue. They didn't know Yahweh because 
they didn't know Yahweh. They stole me and they lie with 
women. But Eli had a hand in this. He didn't restrain them. He didn't 
stop them. He didn't seek to hedge them 
in. Proverbs talks about the man who spares his rod. What 
does he do? He hates his son. We have a distinct 
responsibility and a duty given to us by God to carry out discipline 
for their well-being. So, going back to Galatians, 
having looked at the party address, we now come to the prohibition. 
The Apostle says, do not provoke your children lest they become 
discouraged. This sin provoking the children, 
it means to excite, not in a good way. Hey, kids, we're going to 
go climb Mount Sham. All right, Dad! That's not the 
kind of provocation that's in view. It means to irritate. John Eady says, Fathers are spoken 
to since training is their duty and because this peculiar sin 
which the apostle condemns is one to which they and not mothers 
are peculiarly liable. And then Douglas Moo, a commentator, 
highlights a text that I don't know that we often think about 
in connection here, but I think he argues very forcefully and 
convincingly. He says the text most relevant 
to Colossians 3.21, however, and one that Paul may have had 
in mind, is Deuteronomy 21.20. You say, well, what's Deuteronomy 
21.20? That's when parents had to take 
their adult rebel son to the elders and tell them that this 
son is a glutton and a drunkard. They have to turn the adult rebel 
son over. I mention adult, because three-year-olds 
aren't drunkards. They turn this adult rebel son 
over to the elders. The elders hear the case, and 
ultimately the son is executed. The incorrigible son is executed. Now, I've actually preached on 
that before. You say, why would you ever preach on that? If you 
have questions about that, we can talk about that later. But 
Mu, I think, is right. He says, is Deuteronomy 21, 20, 
where parents are charged with bringing a disobedient son before 
the elders and proclaiming, this son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a 
profligate and a drunkard. Now, Moose says Paul, in effect, 
is exhorting fathers to raise their children in such a way 
that they do their utmost to avoid provoking this kind of 
rebellious attitude in them. Do not provoke them. Do not produce 
that kind of a son in your child rearing, in your discipline, 
in your dealing with your sons. Don't raise them up to be profligate 
and to be drunkard. Don't raise them up to be career 
criminals. Don't raise them up to be a hardened 
class of thug. Don't raise them up for prison 
life. Don't raise them up for the death 
penalty. Seek by God's grace to not provoke 
them. Seek by God's grace to not exasperate 
them. The discouragement in view here 
means to be without courage or spirit, to lose heart or to become 
spiritless. It's a way, a means of breaking 
your children. That's what's in view. I think the hardest thing in 
life is parenting. I mean, there's guys that have 
hard jobs. I'm imagining, you know, a bomb 
technician. That's a tough job. You know, 
there's there's air traffic controllers. Tough job. I grant that. But 
rearing children the way God says to do so probably is number 
one in terms of weight and responsibility. Do not provoke your children, 
lest they become discouraged. This discouragement promotes 
anger in the child. It excites their bad passions. 
It is an evil influence on the child rather than a good one. That's what Paul is saying. Don't do this. What are some 
ways Paul doesn't develop this? He doesn't get into it specifically 
here, but as we call through the Bible, our unrighteous anger. It's certainly a means to provoke 
them. Our unrighteous anger. You know, the man that rules 
with an iron fist, that, you know, he's got the short fuse, 
he flips out all the time. Everything's just this monumental, 
massive thing, and he screams at the kid. That's not calculated 
to do him good over the long haul. When I say him, girls, 
I mean him and her. I mean all kids, all children 
under the sway of a particular parent. under the sway of a particular 
father, unbiblical discipline. The Bible authorizes and mandates 
two specific means, rod and reproof. You say, well, I don't want to 
do that. Well, you need to obey God. Right? Do we think we know better? Oh, 
well, you know, for this child, if I just take away his dessert, 
it makes him very pliable. Well, God says the rod and reproof 
are the means of impartation of wisdom. Do not withhold the 
rod. The wise man says, although you 
beat him with the rod, you will not kill him, but you will save 
his soul from hell. Proverbs 20, 30, the blueness 
of the wound does what? Scours away evil. That's God's Word. We're not 
to call it into question. Now, I think there's more reproved 
verbal than there is raw. If we are faithful, we are prayerful, 
we are going about our task biblically, hopefully the racial will be 
a lot more verbal reproved than corrective discipline in terms 
of raw. But we must not shrink back. 
We must not neglect. We must not believe that we have 
it all figured out. Edie again says, the paternal 
reign is not to be one of terror and stern authority, but of love. See, that's the idea. That's 
the wrong thinking out there, that the rod or spanking or whatever 
you want to call it, is somehow harsh and vicious and wicked 
and it's unloving. No, it's loving. You're to soak 
it and bathe it in prayer and love. That's how you approach 
these things. He goes on to say, the rod may 
be employed, but in harsh and unreasonable. I'm sorry, he says 
the rod may be employed, but in reason and moderation and 
never from momentary impulse and anger. You know, I've illustrated 
this before. The fondest, not the fondest. 
One of the only memories I have of my mother disappointing me 
was running through the house, chasing me with a yardstick, 
you know, swinging it at me. That wasn't the norm. That wasn't 
typical. That was a unique event in the 
life of the Butler home. That's not biblical discipline. 
You don't run through the house, or at least here in Canada, with 
a meter stick chasing your kid, you know. You're not swiping 
them with the whip. No, it is controlled, it is moderate, 
it is biblical. Never from momentary impulse 
and anger. You know, I'm going to count 
to three. One, two, two and a half, two 
and three quarters. Ah, three! Well, that's not biblical. These are caricatures, these 
are misrepresentations. A godly man, a godly woman, searches 
the book, prayerfully approaches the subject, seeks counsel from 
godly men, reads good books, reads Bridges on Proverbs, read 
Bruce Ray's book, Withhold Not Correction, read some good literature 
on that, ask questions of older men and older women that have 
gone in the way, and ask how to engage in this. Because this 
is what God has called us to. He says, children are not to 
be moved to wrath by harsh and unreasonable treatment or by 
undue partiality and favoritism. That's another thing. Undue partiality 
or favoritism. Oh, well, that's this one. That's 
not typical of him. So what? You're going to favor 
one over the other. Now, each kid is different and 
individual. You deal with them and all that sort of thing. But 
undue partiality and favoritism is wrong. Bridges describes the 
use of the rod. He says the rod without affection 
is revolting tyranny. Never forget that the rod without 
affection is revolting tyranny. That's abuse. That's ungodly. I'll stand right up and condemn 
that with whoever wants to do that. That's wicked. If you as 
a man, you as a woman, you as a Christian, engage in that sort 
of conduct, you have stepped into ungodly, unlawful grounds. You search it out. You search 
the scriptures. You seek counsel. Bridges again says, Satan begins 
with the infant in arms. The cry of passion is his first 
stir of the native corruption. Do we begin as early? Every vice 
commences in the nursery. Now, sometimes we say, oh, these 
older brothers, they went too far. I don't think they did. 
At all. He says, the great secret is 
to establish authority in the dawn of life, to bend the tender 
twig before the knotty oak is beyond our power. That's wise 
counsel. For all of you who do not know, 
there's a good bookstore on Reeves Road. There's a book by Charles 
Bridges called Proverbs. You take that book, and you read 
every passage that deals with child rearing, and you'll be 
the happier parent for it. Mark my words. It's a money-back 
guarantee. You go buy the book, you read 
those passages, and you say, I'm worse for wear. I'll pay 
for the book. I'll give you the money. That's my guarantee to 
you. Mr. Gallagher is going to be 
saying, how is he guaranteeing our books? Unbiblical demands 
is a means of provocation. Unbiblical demands. You know, you might have one 
child that strives and is excellent in this particular way. The other 
child might have some deficiency, not in mental status or whatnot, 
but you compare him to him. He's not him. She's not her. Leave him alone. Leave her alone. 
Don't put unbiblical demands on your children. Ungodly inconsistency. Any parent worth his salt realizes 
that consistency is the battleground. You know, you hear a sermon like 
this, you go home, all right kids, there's a new sheriff in 
town. We're going to get serious about 
this in three days from now. We're back to ourselves. That's 
why we need sermons like this. That's why God made Father's 
Day. Just kidding. Inconsistency. You spank for 
this offense on one occasion and you don't spank for that 
offense on another occasion. What are you teaching the child? 
You're teaching that law is arbitrary. Obedience really doesn't matter. 
Whatever you feel like doing is OK. That's not biblical. Ungodly motivation. ungodly imbalance. Be very careful, my brothers 
and sisters, about too much law to the neglect of gospel. You 
know me, I love the law. I love the Ten Commandments. 
I love the ethical demands of Scripture. But if our children 
are not hearing of a bleeding, resurrected Christ, then our 
attempts are in vain. The parent, according to the 
gospel, We need to encourage our children to flee to the cross. We need to tell them about the 
great redemptive work at Calvary. Yes, enforce the law's demands. Yes, put parameters in place. Yes, establish an ethical code 
to be sure, but never, ever cease reminding them that they cannot 
meet that law perfectly. And that's why Jesus came to 
obey the law, to fulfill the law, to die as a sacrifice and 
to rise again. Look to him and you will be saved. We don't want to be imbalanced 
here. Same with church life. Yes, we need to preach the law. 
But yes, we need to preach the gospel. We need to preach the 
gospel and we need to preach the law. We need to make sure 
that we're holding forth the whole council of God most high. And as parents, this is imperative. Do not engage in gospel, less 
child rearing. And then thirdly, The positive 
exhortation actually have to turn to Ephesians for this. Colossians 
doesn't have the positive exhortation. If you go to Ephesians chapter 
six, the parallel passage, we read verse one, children, obey 
your parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor your father 
and mother, which is the first commandment with promise that 
it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth and 
you fathers do not provoke your children to wrath. Here's the 
positive, but bring them up in the training and admonition of 
the Lord. Bring them up means to nourish 
them, to provide for them with tender care. We need to cultivate. We need to educate. We need to 
train, discipline and love. There's two specific aspects 
in view in the positive exhortation. Training here speaks of activity. It speaks of the rod and the 
reproof. It speaks of the day in enforcement 
of God's law. It speaks of the discipline involved. The admonition is the word. That 
is our speech. That is our instruction. That 
is our education. That is our taking the Scriptures 
and teaching them what it says. It is consistent with Deuteronomy 
six. When you rise up, when you walk 
by the way, when you lie down, you're to set before your children 
the commands, the demands, and the gospel of Yahweh Most High. You shall teach them diligently, 
he says, to your children. You shall talk of them when you 
sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, 
and when you rise up. When you go to the zoo, you tell 
your little child, God made that giraffe, God made that elephant. 
When you go to the aquarium, you say, God made those belugas. 
When you have a specific trial in your life, you say, God sent 
this for our good. You say, God is chasing us. God 
is bringing us through this. You educate, you discipline, 
you tell them, you talk to them. And it's all to be of the Lord. It is the training and admonition 
of the Lord. That's the sphere or the orientation 
where to have God saturated homes. And we're supposed to promote 
this sort of a consciousness to our young ones, to our children. So there's a party address. There's 
a prohibition. There's a positive exhortation. 
And I actually have five P's in conclusion. I don't normally 
alliterate this much. Kind of shocked when I pulled 
this out. First, presents. I don't mean give your kids lots 
of presents. The kids are going, oh, come 
on. I won't be provoked then. I won't be angry then. You just bring me presents and 
I'll be the best little child you ever saw. You know, it doesn't 
work that way. We could give you presents all 
the time. It's not going to make you a better person. The hearts 
need to be changed. You need to be born again. You 
need to believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus. You know what 
happens if you get lots of presents? You become like one of the leeches' 
daughters. You just say, give, give, give me more. It's never 
enough, right? By presents, I mean you need 
to be present in order to fulfill your responsibility as a Christian 
father. You need to be with your children. Now, I'm not advocating be a 
stay-at-home dad. I'm not advocating lay on the 
couch and watch Oprah and tell your kid to bring you a pop. 
But men, in your busy lives and your busy schedules, make sure 
you carve out time for those things which are most important. 
Your children. You know, you hear about quality 
time. It's about quality time. You 
don't get quality time without some quantity, too. I mean, the 
basic cleaning the garage, or painting the wall, or doing whatever. Be with your kids. Presence. You must be present in order 
to fulfill your responsibility as a Christian father. That is 
the best gift you can give to your children, is to be with 
them. Be in their lives. Go to their 
games. See their activity. Be a part 
of their lives. Secondly, provision. That means 
you provide for them. First Timothy five, eight ought 
to weigh heavy on every man's heart. The man does not provide 
for his own. He's what he's worse than an 
infidel, worse than an unbeliever. He's worse than an atheist. He's 
denied the faith. He's not going to feed his children. 
It's not going to feed his wife. It's not going to feed and tend 
to his family. There must be provision. You 
must work hard. You must make sure that they 
have those material things that they need to live and thrive. 
Thirdly, protection. You are to protect your children 
from all enemies, domestic and abroad. You need to be there 
to fight their battles. You need to watch over them. 
You need to guard them. Children should be the safest 
with their parents. Unfortunately, we even have to 
look at such a thing. There's so many tragedies out 
there in the world today. Parents abusing children. Parents 
using children. Parents hurting children. No, your children should be safest 
with you. Fourthly, prayer. Being a godly 
father requires prayer. Bridges on Proverbs 13, 22, where 
it says a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's 
children. Bridges says this, and if there 
is no earthly substance to leave, yet a church in the house, a 
family altar, the record of holy example and instruction, and 
above all, a store of believing prayer laid up for accomplishment. When we shall be silent in the 
grave will be an inheritance to our children of inestimable 
value. You may not be sitting on a gold 
pile. You may not be able to leave 
your children some great portfolio, but leave them a godly heritage 
should the Lord take you from this world. Some of us have read 
the autobiography of John G. Peyton. He was a missionary to 
the New Hebrides. This is what he reported of his 
father when he was a young man, just recounting his history, 
recounting his early childhood prior to receiving the call to 
go to the New Hebrides. He says, How much my father's 
prayers at this time impressed me. I can never explain, nor 
could any stranger understand. When on his knees and all of 
us kneeling around him in family worship, he poured out his whole 
soul with tears for the conversion of the heathen world to the service 
of Jesus and for every personal and domestic need. We all felt 
as if in the presence of the living Savior and learn to know 
and love him as our divine friend. As we rose from our knees, I 
used to look at the light on my father's face and wish I were 
like him in spirit, hoping that in answer to his prayers, I might 
be privileged and prepared to carry the blessed gospel to some 
portion of the heathen world." I suspect that book is at Valley 
Gospel Mission as well. The part where they separate, 
the part where he ultimately leaves and he looks back at his 
father. Ah, it's amazing. The influence of a godly man 
upon his son. Presence, provision, protection, 
prayer, and preaching. Preaching. You are charged with 
instructing your children. Teach them sound doctrine. You 
learn chapter 11 in the London Baptist Confession of Faith. 
You teach them what acceptance with God means. You teach them 
what is false. I read an account recently of 
a man, a minister, who was reflecting upon his career or his ministry, 
if you will. Reflecting upon the fact that 
his church wasn't as solid after he departed. And he said something 
to this effect. He said, I spent the most part 
of my ministry telling them what to believe. I never told them 
what not to believe. I never told them what not to 
believe. That's important. There's a lot of garbage out 
there. There's a lot of heresy out there. There's a lot of doctrinal 
error out there. We seek to provide instruction 
in the church so that the men of God in this local body will 
be armed and equipped with the truth so that, in turn, they 
can make sure they are leading their families in a true knowledge 
of God Most High. Learn that confession of faith. 
It's not just some antiquated document we read because we think 
we're neopuritans. or we want to be against the 
man and we want to be countercultural in an age of of whatever. No, 
it is historic Christian orthodoxy banged out on the anvil of hard 
theological contemplation. These men studied these men knew 
these men encapsulated in a summary fashion of good statement of 
God's doctrine. Fathers preach, fathers teach. Teach them the Bible. Teach them 
about inspiration and fallibility and inerrancy of the Bible. Teach 
them the incarnation. Teach them the atonement. Teach 
them justification by faith alone. Teach them about the active and 
passive obedience of Christ. Teach them the law of God. Teach 
them the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't know if it's apocryphal, 
but I have heard or read that if a Jewish boy was asked to 
recite the law and he was not able, it was the father who was 
held responsible. If a young boy couldn't recite 
the Ten Commandments, daddy was in trouble. May it be the case 
that if we say, what is justification, and one of our children doesn't 
rattle it off, we get the man and we say, no, I'm kidding. Cam will be like, justification, 
I'm kidding. Please don't go from here. He 
wants to beat us up. I don't. Just trying to highlight 
how important it is. Presence, provision, protection, 
prayer, preaching, teach the children, bring them up in the 
training and admonition of the Lord. Well, may God indeed bless 
us in our local body with the commitment to take his word seriously. not only in church life, but 
in family life and in individual life, seeking to take every thought 
captive to the obedience of Christ. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word. We thank you for its sufficiency 
for our lives, and we pray now that you would go with us. We 
pray that you would bless us. We pray that you would help us 
internalize these things and be doers of your word. Do forgive 
us, Lord God, for inconsistency. Do forgive us, Lord God, for 
at times being lazy and at times perhaps erring the other way 
and being authoritarian. Give us the grace to strike the 
biblical balance and to pursue these things with a genuine desire 
to do good to our little ones. And we ask this in the name of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.