Bible Truths, My Father Taught Me

Transcription

1 SERMONS FOR THE HEART Bible Truths, My Father Taught Me Hear, my son, your father s instruction... (Proverbs 1:8). In this presentation, I will do some reminiscing, as Paul occasionally did when it served a good purpose. Note, however, that my presentation is titled Bible Truths My Father Taught Me. My primary purpose is to emphasize and illustrate biblical truth. This lesson is intended as both a tribute and a challenge to fathers. The first of the Ten Commandments with a promise was Honor your father and your mother (Exodus 20:12; see Ephesians 6:2). A thousand or more years after that commandment was given, the prophet Malachi wrote, A son honors his father (Malachi 1:6a). Would it not be wonderful if that were true of all sons today? Proverbs 1:1 10 serves as our text. Verse 8 of that passage reads, Hear, my son, your father s instruction and do not forsake your mother s teaching. Note the words my son. In much of the Book of Proverbs, the approach is that of a loving father instructing his son. What is the son told to do? Hear... your father s instruction. This assumes that the father will instruct his son. The passage then tells the son to hear and by implication to obey. This emphasis on heeding a father s instruction is found throughout Proverbs. Here are some selected passages: My son, observe the commandment of your father (Proverbs 6:20a). A wise son makes a father glad (Proverbs 10:1b). A wise son accepts his father s discipline, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke (Proverbs 13:1). A foolish son is a grief to his father (Proverbs 17:25a). Listen to your father who begot you (Proverbs 23:22a). A passage that speaks to my heart is Proverbs 4:3:... I was a son to my father, tender and the only son in the sight of my mother. The KJV has I was my father s son. Where I live, we say, He is his daddy s boy, indicating that the one referred to is like his father. In some respects, all of us are like our fathers because, without exception, our fathers have taught us something. Fathers teach some by what they say; they teach more by what they are. Those teachings can be according to the Bible or contrary to the Bible. I thank God that my father taught me truths found in the Scriptures. Before I note Bible truths that my father taught me, I should mention two things. First, since I will be taking a trip down memory lane, my main ideas will be more chronological than logical. Second, time will permit me to travel only a short distance, so I will highlight just a few biblical lessons I learned from my father. A FATHER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS FAMILY My dad was not a Christian when he married my mother. I doubt that he had been very reli- 1

2 gious. Still, he understood certain principles concerning marriage, the home, and the responsibilities of those in the home. For instance, he understood that marriage is for life (Matthew 19:3 9). He and my mother would have celebrated their seventieth wedding anniversary in December 2003 if she had lived a few more months. Dad also understood that a man is responsible for providing for his family. He probably had never heard of 1 Timothy 5:8:... if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Nevertheless, that is what he believed. When I was born, Dad was attending college at Panhandle A & M (Agricultural and Mechanical) in Goodwell, Oklahoma. This was the time of the Great Depression; these were Dust Bowl days. I am talking about the situation described in The Grapes of Wrath 1 ; I am talking about hard times. Dad took jobs where he could: He worked for the college; he labored at building roads. He worked for practically nothing, but he provided for his little family. He taught school for a while in Colorado and then went back to college at Oklahoma A & M in Stillwater, Oklahoma, to become a vocational agriculture teacher. During my growing-up days, he taught vocational agriculture at small Oklahoma schools: Liberty Mounds, Cooperton, Rocky, and Lone Wolf. He went where he had to go and did what he had to do in order to provide for his family. We were never rich; but we had food, clothes, and a roof over our heads. We had each other; we had love. The provision of my father did not stop with the physical. Again, I doubt that Ephesians 6:4 was familiar to him when he first became a parent, but he knew that being a father involved more than earning dollars. As I was checking Proverbs for passages on fathers, I came across this verse: For whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights (Proverbs 3:12; see Hebrews 12:6). My father did not think that I should act just any way I wanted to act. There was right, and there 1 The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by John Steinbeck. It tells how the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl affected one Oklahoma family. was wrong and I was expected to do what was right. I passed Dad in size when I was twelve years old, but that made no difference. He was still the head of the house. Listen to me, fathers: Do not just be a man who (to use the KJV term) begat a child. Be a father. Be a father in the way God wants you to be. I am thankful that my dad, by his life and by his example, taught me that a father is responsible for his family. FATHER IS SUPPOSED TO LOVE MOTHER Regarding a man s responsibility in the home, do you know what word is used more than any other? The word love. Note, for instance, these statements from Ephesians 5: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her (v. 25). So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself (v. 28).... each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself... (v. 33). Someone has said that the greatest thing any father can do for his children is to love their mother. I have already mentioned that, though we did not have much, my family always had love. I knew that my parents loved me and that they loved each other. Of course, life was not without problems, but crises were dealt with in an atmosphere of love. Among my earliest memories is that of hearing my mother tell how she and Dad met in the little Oklahoma community of Lake Valley. Dad was a senior in high school. Mom was a school teacher and the senior class sponsor even though she was a year younger than Dad. She would tell about their instant attraction when they met although it was against school policy for teachers and students to be romantically involved. She would tell how they went into a graveyard one night and a tombstone fell on her leg. She would tell her stories and laugh, and Dad would hug and kiss her. Marvelous gifts have been given to me by my parents through the years. Special gifts I received as a child included a chemistry set, a 2

3 bicycle, and a set of magic tricks. When I got older, they occasionally gave me generous gifts of money. However, my parents could have given me no gift greater than this: their conviction that love is what marriage and the home are all about. Solomon said, Better is a dish of vegetables where love is than a fattened ox served with hatred (Proverbs 15:17). He also wrote, Many waters cannot quench love, nor will rivers overflow it (Song of Solomon 8:7a). Paul said, Husbands, love your wives (Colossians 3:19a). My heart goes out to children in broken homes and homes that are like war zones. The Bible teaches that the home should be a haven of love and that this begins with the father loving the mother and showing that he loves her. I am thankful that I had a father who taught me these truths by his life. SMOKING IS NOT THE SMARTEST THING YOU CAN DO Let me turn now to some specific truths that my father taught me. I think first of the topic of smoking because this was one of Dad s earliest concerns when I was born. When Dad was a boy, like many of his friends, he tried smoking cigarettes. By the time he was in college, he was hooked on nicotine. His addiction was so strong that it took him thirty years to break the habit but that is another story. Right now, I want to emphasize the message that he constantly impressed on me: Smoking is not the smartest thing you can do. The Bible teaches that our bodies are the temple of God: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20). The Bible also contains strong warnings against destroying that temple: Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17). Further, the Bible teaches us that we should control our bodies instead of letting our bodies control us. Paul said, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:27). At the time of my birth, my father was probably not aware of these verses and he certainly did not have access to recent scientific evidence regarding how destructive smoking is to the body. He knew one thing, though: He did not want his boy to smoke. When I was born, he and his friend Loys Lee both decided to quit smoking in order to be a good example to me. Several days later, Dad could not take it any more and slipped behind a shed for just one smoke and found Loys, with a cigarette in his hand. Dad s first attempt at quitting was abortive, but it illustrates a desire on his part that never wavered. Throughout my boyhood days, he taught me that smoking is a dirty, filthy habit. He emphasized that it gets hold of you and will not let you go. He pointed to holes burned in furniture and clothing. He even mentioned the offensive smell. Do as I say, not as I do is not the most effective teaching method. My father would never recommend that approach. Still, it worked in this case especially as I saw him struggle with his smoking habit. I never had the slightest inclination to try smoking. I was curious about many things, but never about smoking. To this day, I cannot understand why anyone would deliberately draw smoke into his lungs or put tobacco in his mouth. Many today start smoking in their teens to prove that they are grown up, and then have to quit twenty years later to prove the same thing. I am glad to have been spared that problem. I am thankful my father taught me that smoking is not one of the smartest things you can do. 2 DRINKING IS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS THINGS YOU CAN DO I mention the drinking of alcoholic beverages next because teaching on this is also part of my earliest memories. This teaching was not as 2 Sometimes I stop here to speak directly to the young people present: Young people, there are those in this audience who smoke, but let me tell you something: Not a single one of them would recommend that you start. If you do not believe me, ask them. 3

4 direct as the teaching on smoking, but the message was clear. The message had a double thrust: Mother taught me about the dangers of alcohol while Dad said, in effect, That s right. I know. Dad s mother died when he was four in the influenza epidemic of According to diaries she kept, she was set against drinking; but her death removed some of the restraints in the family. Alcohol was part of the somewhat chaotic environment in which Dad grew up: His father drank; his relatives made moonshine. He saw the effects of alcohol on those he loved. He understood better than I ever will the truthfulness of the Wise Man s statements: Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise (Proverbs 20:1). Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long over wine, Those who go to taste mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper (Proverbs 23:29 32). I am glad that my father and mother encouraged me not to drink. It is foolish to consume that which affects the brain and lowers selfcontrol. Why would anyone want an artificial high when he can know the joy of God s presence? And do not get drunk with wine..., but be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). 3 RELIGION IS ALSO FOR MEN On a more positive note, my father also taught me by his words and by his life that religion is for men including husbands and fathers. As I have said, Dad did not have a strong religious background when he and Mom married. She, however, was a member of the Lord s church, and he attended worship services with her. When I was four or so years old, while Dad 3 For a more extensive discussion of the dangers of drinking alcoholic beverages, see David Roper, America and Drinking, The Preacher s Periodical (September 1982): 15 26, 37. was enrolled at Oklahoma A & M, we worshiped at the Stillwater congregation where Wilbur Hill preached. Through Mom s influence and brother Hill s preaching, Dad learned about the church (Matthew 16:18), about Jesus sacrifice (1 Corinthians 15:1 4), and about the response he needed to make to the Lord (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). In March of 1939, he was baptized into Christ (Romans 6:3, 4; Galatians 3:26, 27). Spiritual growth takes time; but by the time our family moved to Rocky, Oklahoma, where I was in the fifth and sixth grades, Dad was taking an active part in the life of the church. The little church at Rocky sometimes did not have a regular preacher, so the men took turns preaching. I remember a short sermon by Dad on love. From Rocky, we moved to Lone Wolf, Oklahoma, where I completed grades 7 through 11. Dad was an elder in the congregation there and occasionally presented talks. At Lone Wolf, I enjoyed sitting beside Dad and singing bass. In a tiny building, a couple of strong basses could vibrate the wooden-slat pews. Since then, Dad has continued to grow. He has served as an elder in several congregations. He worked as a missionary in Australia for ten years. He was a full-time preacher in three congregations. He remains one of the most dedicated personal evangelists I know. I am thankful that I had a model of male participation in the work of the Lord. I did not think of Dad s involvement as unusual. It was the norm; it was how things should be. Not every boy has such a model. Some little boys attend Bible classes even though their fathers do not attend. They are aware of their fathers non-involvement, and some of them are counting the days until they, like their dads, do not have to go to church. Many fathers, now committed to the Lord, regret that they were not faithful when their children were small. If anything is plainly taught in the Scriptures, it is that religion is for men. Many of the great leaders in the Bible were men: 4 Noah, 4 If desired, you can also mention some of the great women of the Bible: In the Old Testament, there were women such as Sarah, Ruth, Deborah, Hannah, and Esther. The New Testament tells of women like Elizabeth, Mary the mother of Jesus, Anna the prophetess, Dorcas, Priscilla, Lois, Eunice, and others. 4

5 Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Elijah, Peter, Paul, and others. Only men meet the qualifications to be leaders in the church (1 Timothy 3:1, 2; Titus 1:5, 6). Fathers are given the primary responsibility for the spiritual needs of their children (Ephesians 6:4). God said, concerning Abraham, For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment... (Genesis 18:19; KJV). Joshua said,... as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15). May God help every man to be a man dedicated to the Lord. May God help every husband to be a husband dedicated to the Lord and every father to be a father dedicated to the Lord. With God s help, may every father live the Christian life before the world, before his wife, and before his children! CONCLUSION I wish I had time to say more. My list of biblical truths that my father taught me includes principles such as these: Work is a virtue. Learn to accept responsibility. Trust is important. Laughter is essential. Protect your name. Honesty is not just the best policy; it is the only policy. Learn to share your life. Friendships should be cherished and protected. Stand up for your convictions. Set your goals high. Things are not that important. You are never too old to learn or too old to change. I must close, however. As I do so, I want to challenge everyone present both men and women. Earlier, we noted Proverbs 4:3, where the KJV has I was my father s son. All of us have some of our fathers in us, for good or ill. Let us make a spiritual application from that truth: Jesus taught His disciples to pray, Our Father who is in heaven (Matthew 6:9; emphasis mine). In contrast, He said to the Pharisees, You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the Dave Roper desires of your father (John 8:44a; emphasis mine). You did not choose your physical father, but you can choose your spiritual father: You can choose to follow God, or you can choose to turn your life over to the devil. If you have been following the devil, I pray that this will be the day that you come to the Lord! NOTES In a previous issue of Truth for Today (October 1997), I had a lesson on Bible Truths My Mother Taught Me. A note included with that presentation, with slight adaptation, applies to this lesson: Paul used personal experiences to teach biblical truths, so it is a scriptural way to teach. However, this type of lesson should be approached cautiously; it can deteriorate into selfindulgence or sentimentality. A lesson packed with personal examples should only be used once in a great while, if at all. I have included this sermon for two reasons: (1) It illustrates how a preacher can use personal experiences to illuminate biblical principles. (2) Even though this exact sermon cannot be used by others, I hope that the general approach and perhaps an example or two can be used. Copyright, 2003, 2004 by Truth for Today ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 5