APOSTLE PETER - A MAN JUST LIKE US

INTRODUCTION TO 1 PETER AND THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

THE WILL OF THE FATHER

(Credit: East Balsam Baptist Church, Wisconsin)

As earthly fathers, I know that nothing pleases us more than when our children do what we ask them to do. In all cases I know of, we always ask them to do something that will be beneficial to their health, safety and future.  I know of no father in my circles of influence, who does not wish the best for his son or daughter - none. Jesus Himself confirmed that truth when He said which of you fathers, if your son asks you for bread, you will give him a stone? (Matthew 7:9)

Well, the answer is not one of us would do such a thing.  We sacrifice (well most of us do) and live way within our means so our kids can have the best of clothes, food and education. We have no control over what corrupt politicians do to destroy their futures with crushing long term debt (now over $100,000 for each of our unborn grand-children), but in our own way, we can teach and set them on the same course the ant took.

Proverbs 6:6-8 (NLT) says Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. This is a philosophy we can pass on to our children that, unless they're the small minority of honor students with large scholarships to fine university, they should break into life gradually. The ant is an industrious little creature who goes about his work like nobody's business. He is not proud nor does he make waves. He just does what he does and builds, provides and stores up.

Our Heavenly Father created that ant.
Father God also created us to work like that ant, but with His Law written in our hearts, so that even the pagan in remotest Papua, New Guinea, will know right from wrong. 
Father God created us and the creation around us. ALL Creation testifies to His Majesty, Power and great attention to detail. God is in the details - not the devil.
Father God also created us with a conscience to know when we violate that law which He has written on our hearts. This conscience testifies to the existence of the power of sin to move us away from Father God, even while we perform the great work of earthly fathers and industrious ants.

Yielding to the Power of Sin is NOT the Will of Father God, our Heavenly Father and Daddy - Abba! Yielding is not - but OBEYING is! There is no more perfect example than the Lord Jesus "Who offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of his reverence.  Although He was a son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. And being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him!" (Hebrews 5:7-9)

There it is! This is Father's Son - God Who became man, OBEYING GOD the Father...how much more is it demanded of us that WE obey seeing that there is a coming Day when all will stand in the Judgment. Even pagan leaders are good providers and fathers to their daughters and sons, but that does not mean they are in the Will of the Father. If a man, no matter how high up or low down he is, claims he is doing what God put him on this earth to do - he is both a liar and in the end, he is not a good example of God's representative to his family.

What every man who calls himself a christian is not just supposed to, but commanded to do (by Scripture) is to teach his family to listen to, love and trust and obey God. To bring it down to the nitty gritty, the destination in our internal GPS should always be Heaven. This is what real men of God do - prepare to lead everyone in their household to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. This is the only purpose in life - to know God and enjoy Him forever.

The true success we have in life, is to see ALL of our children TRULY saved, TRULY KNOW WHO the Savior is and that they TRULY have a REAL relationship with Christ. We can know this for sure, on this side of eternity if we ourselves walk in righteousness all the days of our lives.

My wife once told me that we have to be 150% more righteous so that our kids can be 75%. There is some truth in that because they will have to find their own level of living in Christ once we lead them there and show them the road map. This is important for them and their children to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. We do NOT want to be part of the majority who did not heed this warning from Jesus for either our children or us, on that Day -  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven...Matthew 7:21

There will be no excuse then, but there is still time now. We have the Scriptures NOW to instruct us. If we really want to have a truly great Father's Day which will last beyond this one day every year, we will both do the "Will of the Father" as Jesus said in this verse and then ensure our kids live by it!

So what is "The Will of the Father" you ask? Scripture has the full answer - "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40).

The words "looks on" as in "who looks on the Son (Jesus)" literally means everyone who "partakes of, experiences, gazes on, beholds, walks, talks, lives and has a relationship with (theoron in the Greek)....will live forever in Heaven! This is should be our standard as earthly Fathers. Is it yours?

All Scriptures except where noted are from English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. 

FATHER'S DAY FOCUS - PART 1

HOW NOT TO BE A FATHER

TODAY - AARON & ELI

TOMORROW- DAVID & SOLOMON

SUNDAY- HOW TO BE A GODLY FATHER

Were some of most famous people in the Bible horrible fathers? Yes, they were!

Let’s go back to the Exodus and the first High Priest of Israel – Aaron.  His sons Nadab and Abihu were just killed by God (Numbers26:61). They, as priests of the Most High, decided on their own to offer up strange incense fire to the Lord which He did not ask for. Where would these men learn to just do whatever they wish and think it would be acceptable to God?

They learned it from their father, Aaron, the golden calf maker. Exodus 32 recalls the horrifying incident of the Israelites confronting Moses’ brother Aaron. Moses had gone up the mountain to talk with God and receive the Ten Commandments.  Apparently the Israelites thought he was up there too long and complained to Aaron. He promptly told them to give up their golden jewelry and then made a golden calf – a worthless pagan idol – for them to worship.

Instead of standing up to the pagan-loving mob, Aaron went along. His sons noticed this about their dad. He would not stand up for what is right. So, in front of the Holiest of all time, on the day of the very first Complete Worship Service in the Desert Tabernacle (or Tent of Meeting), Aaron’s oldest sons – Nadab and Abihu went off on their own. They paid with their lives.

ELI:

Eli was both the High Priest of Israel as well as the Judge who succeeded Samson – called Shimshon- in the Hebrew language. He was well loved by the people and was in office for 40 years. Eli had two sons who are not named on purpose.

They broke the Law and Commands of God openly, having relations with women right in the Temple. They took bribes, skimmed the best off the top and threatened Israelites bringing their animal sacrifices to the Temple if they did not get the best meat from the animal first. This dishonored God tremendously! God gets the first fruits.

Through all this vile law-breaking inside the Temple, by his two corrupt priestly sons, Eli turned a blind eye. He was must have spent all his time judging and being High Priest because he never saw or heard of his son’s misconduct.  But God, He was taking note.  God sent a prophet to prophesy to Eli about this and Eli’s stewardship, because no matter how much we think we are doing for God, if we fail in our own backyard as a father/husband, we will be judged.

When Eli died at the age of 98, 1 Samuel 4:18 said he was old and fat! Now a busy man, with the two biggest jobs in a nation of millions, does not have the time to get fat. Eli was fat because he was eating the same ungodly meat and spoils that his evil sons bribed and took off the people!  This is what the scripture implies. He did not discipline OR disciple his sons because he had it too good!

Therein is the lesson for us in the 21^st century. Compromising Christians will reap earthly favor for a while, but the bill will come due one day soon! (Eli’s story is told in 1 Samuel, Chapters 2 through 4.)

The example of these two men should serve to warn all Fathers, not just Christian dads, that our children watch what we do, where we do it, and how we do it. You know the old saying - "the apple does not fall far from the tree". The question is, what kind of apple tree are you?

Are you a sour Granny Smith Apple, which has to be caked in brown sugar and other sweet coverings to be a good tasty filling in the apple pie of Life....OR are you a Red or Golden Delicious Apple, the fruit of a well cared for a nurtured tree, which are everyone loves to be around?

Nobody's perfect and I am the least perfect of any father, but if you and I fail to learn the lessons of men like Aaron and Eli...if we fail to listen to the Voice of God through His Word and the examples of things and people whom we should NOT be like...if we think we have to go along to get along with the sick dying world out there, we are going to end up like Eli. Eli is representative of all the men in this society who are compromising in the church and affirming every type of lifestyle out there, contrary to the Word of God.

How NOT to be a father? Well, just look at these two Biblical examples....and the two coming up tomorrow - Kings David and Solomon, who were WORSE than Aaron and Eli!

(image by tshirtguru.com)

HOW DID I BLOW IT?........Part 1

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death"...Proverbs 16:25

From now until Father's Day, a series of messages will focus on the Life God has called us to, and how some of us just blow it! It is impossible to think of a man who was more blessed, anointed and showered with goodness than King Solomon! He was called the wisest man who ever lived! When God asked him to name anything he would like to have, unlike most today, Solomon asked for "biyn". Biyn is not the Hebrew words for simple wisdom, but a powerful expression of discernment.

The great son of King David, which came out of his marriage (and adultery) with Bathsheba, chose wisely. Because of that God said to him "“Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked long life, but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king".

This man spent years studying, writing proverbs and judging with expert precision. Kings, queens and rulers worldwide came to see and bow down to this amazing man, who had everything. His wealth, fame and more became legendary. Solomon was in demand far, and near. He shared bountifully with those who asked and gave of himself to the good life. The problem was - Solomon began to believe his own press! The wisest man in the world, never took his own advice....and Solomon began his spiral into a life of hedonism, sexual conquest, grieving the Holy Spirit and leading an entire nation into degradation. Solomon became the opposite of what he preached.

Tomorrow: "What happened?"

(Image courtesy Google)