We'll get beyond that one as well. So we'll get there. If you've got your Bibles, turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 3. And in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3, we're going to look at the first five verses here briefly, here on Father's Day, and talking about setting the example as a man of God. I read an interesting article a few days ago talking about the difference in Mother's Day and Father's Day amongst preachers. Mother's Day always seems to be about God's grace, where Father's Day always seems to be about God's wrath. And why is that? And that's because fathers need to do better, right? Fathers need to be challenged. And fathers need to have a focus that it's their role to lead their household in accordance with the ways of the Lord. Today is Father's Day in 2022. And we've got fathers within our church family. And this morning, I want us to take a look, not just at this passage and what is this passage talking about. We're going to do that. But I really want you to pay attention to the character of the Apostle Paul. The character of Paul and the model that he sets forth, even though, get this, to our knowledge, Paul was single. and to our knowledge never had children, but yet consistently acted like a godly father. So if you're single in this room today, or even if you're dating someone and you're a man, one day, Lord willing, you'll marry. But even if you don't marry, Lord willing, you can still honor the Lord and act like a godly man, as Paul says and does. Paul was a single man, and to our knowledge, never had any children. So talking about being an example of being a man of God, why don't we just start right there, considering the culture that we live in today. I think it was just yesterday, Christi and I were on a ride together. We had about an hour round trip, drives an hour down, an hour back. She was talking about some things she was seeing online and was just the number over the past couple of years talking about teenagers or late teens going into their early twenties having children but they're not married. And it's like, oh, they're having a baby. And everybody's all excited. And everybody's overjoyed. Oh, they're having a baby. But they're not married. And in some cases, they're having a baby. Not only are they not married, but there is no man. There's a young woman having a child on her own without the guidance and overshadowing and helpfulness of the man, the husband. So why don't we start looking at Paul from this lens, 1 Corinthians chapter 7, verse 8 and 9. He says, to the unmarried and to the widows, I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, then they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. And note what Paul says, to the unmarried, to the widows, I say, it is good for them to remain single as I am. So we know that Paul was single, specifically at this time, and we don't have any other biblical evidence that he was ever married prior to his death. So what does Paul say here is part of the emphasis about remaining single or even if it's getting married, what is the emphasis? The emphasis is self-control. If they cannot exercise self-control, then you should get married. Let's break that down real simply put. People are acting on urges. They act on urges today, this very day. People who are stealing, they have an urge to do that. If they're murdering, that's an urge. Cheating, it's all for selfish gain, by the way. It's all satisfying, selfish desire. This is a lack of self-control, the ability to control oneself. And not only are these illegal and violent issues a lack of self-control, but as Paul said, sex outside of marriage is a biblical definition of the lack of self-control. In fact, he puts the two together in the same sentence. If you cannot control yourself, get married. That's the command. That's the biblical command from scripture. Paul said he was single, but if a person cannot exercise self-control, then they should get married. And this is a specific reference to sex and the marriage bed. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about this. Now, what does that translate to from a societal perspective? This lack of self-control in society has driven, just in the United States, it's driven us to the point that one in four children, that is 25% of the United States population of children, do not have a father in the home. 25%. One in four. They're growing up without a father. Here's, these are stats as of right now. Growing up without a father in the home, a child is four times more likely to be impoverished. Four X more likely to be in poverty. Translate that to percentage. You're 400% more likely. to be in poverty. You're also more likely to have behavioral problems. So when you see a child acting out or lashing out at their mother in Walmart or Target or at the local store or market, could be that there's no father in the home. 2x greater risk of infant mortality Without a father in the home, there's a 2x greater risk that the mother will lose the child. Why is that? Undue stress, pressures. Maybe she's dealing with the fact I'm going to have to do all this on my own or try to work through this and it puts so much stress and pressure on her that she loses the baby. Children who don't have a father in the home are more likely to go to prison. Do a survey of the prisons and you'll find out that 90% of them have no father involvement. More likely to commit crimes. Seven times more likely, seven times more likely to become pregnant as a young woman or to have a child out of wedlock, that is, outside of marriage. Seven times more likely. As a young man, you're seven times more likely to get a young girl pregnant and not be married. And if you're a young girl, you're 7x more likely to get pregnant if you don't have a father in the home. So this is not just a father to son issue. It's also a father-to-daughter issue. You're more likely to face abuse and neglect without a father in the home. You're more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol. The majority of drug abusers and alcoholics, the majority of them come from fatherless homes. 2x more likely to suffer obesity, to be overweight. 2x more likely to drop out of school. This list goes on and on and on. And what does it boil down to? It boils down to fatherlessness in the home. Why fatherlessness in the home? Because they couldn't practice self-control. And if they couldn't practice self-control, they didn't do the biblical thing and marry. They do what they want to do. It's rebellion. And this list goes on, the effects go on, the effects are devastating on a society. You want to look around at a society and scratch your head and wonder why people do the things they do? It's because there's no godly man standing up and raising them. The biblical instruction is the practice of self-control. Abstain from sex or get married. Notice how this one segment, this one thing in our society could curb so many other things. You wind up with less drug addicts if you would just be obedient as a father in society. You wind up with less incarceration in prison if you're obedient as a father. You wind up with less children committing suicide if you're obedient as a father. Now that's not to say it's 100%. Because problems happen, things happen, but the majority of these circumstances, you cannot argue the fact that they do not have a father in the home. And Paul sets an example of self-control in his singleness. He's single, he's not married. He's setting an example in his singleness by demonstrating his faithfulness. And his faithfulness and singleness sets a role model For not just the single, but also for fathers. Listen to what Paul said back in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. We talked about this a few weeks ago. In verse 11 and 12, he said, For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you, and encouraged you, and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. So while in Thessalonica, under extreme stress, pressure, persecution, remember Paul and Tim, they were run out of town. Remember we talked about this last week where Jason, they went and got Jason and drug him out in the street and said, hey, Paul is hanging out at your house. And they put Jason under a bond, so there was a lot of pressure and a lot of stress put on the apostle and his team to the point where they left. But Paul set a fatherly example amongst them. But why? Because he was a man of God. And by the way, it's not just being an apostle. Because Timothy was not an apostle. Silas was not an apostle. But yet Paul says, for you know how, like a father with his children, we, not just me the apostle, but we as godly men, Silas, young Timothy, teenage boy, and he's counted in the we. He's counting in this little number. Doing what? Exhorting each one of you. Encouraging each one of you. Charging you to walk in a manner worthy of God. So what do fathers do? Fathers should exhort their children. Fathers should encourage their children. Fathers charge their children to walk in a manner worthy of God. Yes, we exhort them. We lift them up. We encourage them. And Judd may look at me sometimes and say, Dad, all you do is tear me down. but I'm also charged. I'm charged to teach them how to do things right, how to succeed, how to move forward, how to get from point A to point B without stumbling over yourself. Hey, you make a mistake? All right, let's get up, do it again. Today's a new day. You got out of bed this morning? Then get done what you need to get done. And let's move on. Why? Because every single one of us, if the Lord allows, we're going to live this day, and if He allows, we're going to wake up tomorrow. And guess what? That clock starts all over again. And the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and I don't know, centuries from now, and Brother Sonny, you know what I mean, you might be at this for a long time. You think you got it tough now? Why do you start going to the doctor and he tells you your heart don't work? It gets a little serious then, doesn't it brother? And fathers, you don't just exhort your children, encourage your children. Fathers charge their children to walk in a manner worthy of God, but fathers also proclaim the kingdom and glory of God to their children. That's what He said in 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 12. He says, I charge you, He says, we charge you to walk in a man worthy of God who calls you into His kingdom and glory. He's calling you, and as He's calling you, I'm instructing you, I'm telling you, I'm teaching you about this. So don't think for a moment, you know, hey, that Bible school, that teaching, that's the woman's job. If that's where you are in life, you need to repent. But fathers were also charged with equipping and sending our children to do the work of ministry. Look at verses 1 and 2 carefully of chapter 3 of today's text. Therefore, when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's co-worker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith. had a willingness to be left behind in Athens by sending Timothy back to the Thessalonians. Timothy's like a son to Paul. He's like a son to Paul. He had grown up with the influence of his mother and his grandmother. 2 Timothy 1 verse 5, we get a little bit of insight into Timothy. He says, I'm reminded, Paul is writing to Timothy and he tells him, I'm reminded of your sincere faith. a fate that first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now I'm sure dwells in you. Notice there's no mention of the father here. Now what we do know is history teaches us that Timothy was likely Jewish on one side and Greek on the other. And perhaps his father was Greek and paid no mind. But his mother and his grandmother stepped in and shared the faith. Oh, by the way, there's another lesson in here. Just because you don't have a godly father in the home, don't mean you can't make it in life. Amen? Timothy made it. I made it. How many of you made it? Didn't have a godly influence. Didn't have a godly father in the home. And yet time after time, people use it as an excuse. Well, I didn't have what you have. Well, I didn't have it either. And Timothy didn't have it apparently. His mom and his grandmother invested in him. Not having a godly father in the home doesn't mean that you cannot grow up to be a godly man. And Paul, the Apostle Paul, he took Timothy under his care. At some point in his travels, he comes across young Timothy, takes him into his care, and Timothy begins traveling with the Apostle. Timothy's like a spiritual son to Paul. He mentored him. He exhorted him. He encouraged him. He preached the kingdom and the glory of God to him. And near the end of his life, near the end of Paul's life, Paul's in prison in Rome getting ready to die. He wrote two letters to Timothy. Think about how many young men do you think the Apostle Paul encountered in his ministry? You know, going all over the known world at the time. Going from Israel, traveling through Macedonia, and going over into Greek, Rome, all these different places. Paul, three different missionary journeys that we know of, that he went place after place after place, meeting after meeting after meeting, house after house after house, and yet, recorded for us in Scripture, Paul wrote two letters to one young man. Why? Because even though he was single, he was never married, never had kids of his own, he loved Timothy like a son. And he invested in him. He writes this in 1 Timothy 1 verse 2, To Timothy, my true child in the faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. How about this, dads? When's the last time you wrote a letter to your child and you opened it up to them with my true child in the faith? Not just my son, my child, but to raise them in such a way that they're professing Christ Jesus, having been born again, you look at them and you realize that you had a godly impact on their life. This is the young man that Paul now dispatches back to the church at Thessalonica. They're in Athens, Greece. They've been run out of Thessalonica for the sake of the church. They didn't want anybody to get killed or hurt, so they've left. But it gets to a point, Paul says in chapter 3, verse 1, he says, therefore, we can no longer bear it. I just couldn't bear it any longer. We were willing to be left behind in Athens alone and send Timothy, our brother and God's co-worker in the gospel, back to you to establish and exhort you in your faith. Talk about trust. A young, you know, late teens, perhaps, young man, that now you trust enough, not just to send back and say, hey, y'all good, let me go back and give Paul a report, but he sends Timothy there to establish and exhort the church in their faith. What does that mean? That means Timothy has been trained up doctrinally. That means Timothy can sit down and explain the Scriptures. That means Timothy can sit down and explain the Gospel in its full clarity. Paul had invested in Timothy. Had instructed him in how to be a man of God. And he calls Timothy a brother. And also God's co-worker in the Gospel. And then Timothy is charged by Paul to establish and exhort the church in their faith. I want you to let that sink in a moment. Timothy is not an apostle. But imagine the amount of trust that the apostle has in this young man that he sends him to this church. What a blessing, by the way, for fathers. What a blessing to know that you could send your child to a church somewhere and know that it's not about the, because from our perspective, especially as Americans, we'd say, we'd be calling somebody at that church saying, hey, I'm sending my child over. Boy, you better watch out for them. Better not have my son or my daughter while they're in your care. Right? It's the only way around. Paul says, I'm sending you and putting them in your care. Think about the level of trust that goes into that for this young man, Timothy. that he's been instructed, he's been guided to the point to where not that he's entrusted to the care of the church, but the church is entrusted to the care of this young teenage boy. See, Paul had set the example. And now Timothy is marveling what he saw in his spiritual father on how to live, how to guide, how to lead, how to work. but also under affliction, the man of God rests in God's providence. Now this is an interesting one for us to contemplate as fathers. Look at verses 3-4. Paul tells the church that no one be moved by these afflictions. We're not here in your presence right now. We had to leave. But we don't want you to be moved by these afflictions, church. He tells the church, for you yourselves know that we are destined for this. We're destined. He tells the church, you know that we were destined for persecution, for isolation, for difficulty. Verse 4, for when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction. Just now as it's come to pass, and just as you know. Now you see it. Now you know. The church was encouraged to not be moved by afflictions. And church, let me tell you today, don't be moved by afflictions. Because trials will come. Struggles will come every single day. You know they're coming. Why? Because you do not belong to the world. You don't belong to this world. And because you don't belong to this world, the world hates you. The world's affliction will come upon you. Whether they were afflictions for themselves or for the Apostle Paul, the church at Thessalonica is being instructed to understand it. You should have seen it coming. Paul is very clear regarding God's divine providence and power at this point. This is why I say under affliction, the man of God should rest in God's providence. Because trials are going to come, afflictions are going to come. You see, it's real easy for us to sit back. Devin, you ever look back and look at somebody else's life and go, boy, they got it easy. Boy, I wish I had a tenth of what they had. Poor old Joshua. I heard him just a few days back. He looked at his brother. He said, I wish I had just that much of the height that you got. Judd don't say it, but I bet he looks at his brother and he's like, I wish I had one-tenth of the work ethic that you got. Joshua worked. He don't complain, he gets up and does what he gotta do. But everybody looks at somebody else. We're always measuring ourself up to somebody else, saying, I wish I had what they had, or I wish I could do what they could do. But God made you who you are. He made you who you are, how you are. And we get the privilege of recognizing that God made us unique as individuals and that we can live up to the potential that God has created for us in Christ. And that that might mean, that might mean trouble. And church, let me tell you this, often times it does mean trouble. Now Brother Anthony, you don't know anything about suffering or affliction, do you? No. Ashton, I'm sure your family knows nothing about suffering or affliction. And I'm pretty sure you've probably sat back at times as individuals, as families, and you sit on your porch drinking tea or drinking coffee or whatever it is, and you're going, what in the world did I do to deserve this? And then ask yourself this one question. Do I believe what the Scripture says about God, about His Son, about His Spirit and about me. Because if you believe what the Bible says about God, the Father, the Son, the Spirit, the work of God, and you believe what the Bible says about you, that you are a fallen sinner, and if you trust that in Christ that you are redeemed, then you also must understand that you are an enemy of this world. and all chaos will be reaped upon you. Paul had to leave his house, his town, his area. They were going to kill him. Jesus, they did kill him. And so when we wake up each day and we go, well I'm really struggling, I'm really suffering. First of all, know this, that Christ tasted it all for you. And number two, know this, according to 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 3, Paul said that no one be moved by these afflictions, for you yourselves know that we are destined for this. Now see, this is rubber meets the road stuff right here. Because you're either going to make a framework in your mind to realize the situation that you find yourself in, the struggles that you're dealing with, the challenges that you're faced with. You're either going to recognize that you're destined for it, or you're going to rebel against God because of it. Look what Paul said in verse 4. He said, when we were with you, note the wording here, note the verbiage, we kept telling you beforehand. Because some of us find it hard to believe that bad things happen to good people. Because people say, you know, if God is so good, if God is so great, then why do these bad things happen? I don't know. Ask the Apostle Paul. In fact, he even said, we didn't just tell you once. We didn't tell you twice or three. We kept telling you. It is such a foreign concept to man. That it bears repeating over and over and over and over again. That the world is at war with you. That the world wants to undo you. And that the prince of the power of the air, that Satan, the one who sits in some sort of dominion over this world, over this earth, wants to destroy all that belongs to God. And you're part of that. The church is encouraged to not be moved by afflictions, whether they were the afflictions of Paul or the afflictions that come upon themselves. And Paul conceded that this was God's divine providence. This is going to happen. He says, for you yourselves know that we are destined for this. Destined. How many preachers today would say, oh, through the blood of God, you're destined for good things. Well, that might sound nice. Until someone walks in your church and shoots you up. It might sound nice until somebody robs you, or beats you, or does something horrific to your child, or your wife leaves you, or your husband leaves you. Everything sounds good until the bad stuff starts happening. And then you're looking at that preacher going, wait a minute, I thought everything was good, and I thought I was destined for good. And Paul tells the church, the polar opposite, that in fact, afflictions and suffering, you could be destined for this. You see, this kind of flips a lot of what we hear and understand on its head. I can't tell you, growing up, how many times I heard, if you want it to get better, just give it to Jesus. Their song's been written. You know, Jesus, take the wheel, right? I'm out of control. I need you to take the wheel. Jesus might bring stability to your life, but it might be stability that you don't want. This morning, Brother Anthony in the back made a comment. He was talking about patience. Or maybe it was just a few minutes ago. He said, be careful what you pray for. Right? How many times have you prayed and asked the Lord, you know, deliver me from this, bring me out of this, and all of a sudden you find yourself in an even darker place? And you're scratching your head going, God, are you not listening? And God the Almighty is impressing upon you, are you not listening? How many of you have afflictions? How many of you suffer? Are biblical instruction is to know that God is not only caring for us in such times as affliction and suffering, but in fact, He has destined us for such things. Now I'm not talking about suffering and affliction due to sin. The Bible actually addresses that. When you suffer and are afflicted, when you go out and commit a crime, and you get caught, and you're put on trial, and you're fixing to go to jail, or worse, and you go, oh, the persecution, the Bible says, uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh. But when you're sitting in your house, and someone knows that you love the Lord Jesus Christ, and that you exalt the sanctity of God, the holiness of God, the magnificence of God, and you uphold the reality that a child, even in the womb, is a child? And they say, we're going to burn your building down, we're going to spray paint your house. Okay, now it's getting real. Or, not even that. You can even get more extreme. We've got church members right now. We've got families in this church who've experienced the loss of a child. You talk about the depths of heartbreak and questioning. And yet God still says, I'm in control. Each life belongs to me. He is the potter. We are the clay. And yet, even in our depths, He loves us. He cares for us. Our biblical instruction is to know that God is not only caring in these difficult times, but has even ordained it. destined it. For men, we need to set the example of godliness in suffering. Set the example of godliness in affliction. Rest upon the Lord and let your family know that you are resting on the Lord. When someone says, how do you feel that this is happening? I don't know. All I know is that God is faithful. If that's all you know, then that's a good thing. You might not fully understand it. You think Job fully understood when he lost his family? When he lost his children? When he was afflicted with disease? Scratching his head going, what in the world? And yet, in the storm, he praised Him. He praised God. You see, Paul was up front about the reality of suffering and affliction. He says, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer. Now it's come to pass and now you know. You see it. You see, we live in a world that opposes the gospel. And as a result, it will bring about affliction. It will bring suffering. It will bring persecution. And Paul said, we kept telling you that suffering was coming. It comes to pass. The Thessalonians were now witnesses to it. And it should be of no surprise when the Christian comes under assault today. Look at verse 5. You see, as fathers, believe it or not, you're somewhat of a guardian of a soul. or a guardian of multiple souls. Verse 5, for this reason, Paul says, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain. You see, Paul had gotten to the point where he was beyond mental contemplation about the church at Thessalonica. He finally sends Timothy. He sends Timothy to learn about the faith. And yet Paul says that he knew and had fear that perhaps the tempter, Satan, had tempted the church. And that their labor, their proclamation of the gospel, perhaps would be in vain. He knew Satan, the tempter, would be working against the gospel. And Timothy is going to be tasked to feed the church and nurture the church. And as husbands and fathers, let me tell you this church, you should know, you need to know this. The tempter, Satan, wants to tear down what God has built up. Where God said, one man, one woman, to say anything other than what God has said, is the work of the adversary. It's a lie. And it comes from the father of lies, who is the devil. When you do anything contrary to marriage, when God established marriage, God established fatherhood, God establishes your mind, and yet the tempter wants to tear it all down. Let me give you some examples. How many of you... Well, I won't put it that way. Let me give you some examples of satanic thought, because I think many of us at times will think, well, I don't think satanic thoughts. If you think for a moment that it's OK to abandon your marriage, that's a satanic thought. If you think for a moment that it's OK to abandon your child or your children, to walk away from your children, that's a satanic thought. If you think it's okay not to be fruitful for the Kingdom of God, to do the work of ministry, even if you say, well, that's the pastor's role. That's a satanic thought. You see, we have the responsibility, church, men, we have the responsibility to maintain. Maintain. You're under no obligation, get this, let me take some pressure off of you as fathers, We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and rightly so, but get this, you're not obligated to go anywhere beyond but where God has called you. You're not obligated to go anywhere beyond where God has called you and where God has placed you. But where God has called you, look around where you're at right now. Cecil does a lot of work out on the farm. On a couple of farms apparently. He's got stuff over in Jemison. He's got stuff over in Helena. He probably got farms they don't even know about. He's always doing something, working somewhere. He amazes me with his geographical genius. You know, you could say, oh, we was down at this watering hole, down at this creek, in this little area nobody's even heard of. He's like, I've been there twice. And like, he really has. But see, with all this stuff, God has gifted you, Cecil. He's given you an ability. He's given you heads of cattle. And Cecil doesn't wake up and look out there and go, you know what? I don't think I'll feed them today. Because what happens if he doesn't do that? You see, our life, fathers, even mothers, our life, Our life is about consistency. I heard a, you know, I try not to mingle too much of motivational speakers with the Word of God, but there's one fellow, he's got a pretty good train of thought about it. And honestly, I believe it's a biblical train of thought. He was talking about consistency. and what consistency brings to the table. And what I'm talking about here, whether it's marriage, whether it's fatherhood, whether it's work, it doesn't matter. I'm talking about maintaining. Day after day after day. Maintain. Maintain. This fellow, he said this, he said, he was talking about marriage. And he said, you know, as it pertains to marriage, He said, you probably can't pinpoint, like if I look at my own marriage as an example, I look at my wife. I don't know that I could pinpoint the exact moment or time where I saw like a light switch go off and her eyes shined and glimmered and it was like she just fell in love with me. I don't know that I could do that. So how do I know that she's in love with me? I can tell you this, and this fellow, this is kind of where he goes with the conversation. She fell in love with you because of consistency. When you got up to go get you something, you asked her if she needed something. When you got up to do something for yourself, you asked her that she needs something in conjunction with it. Now, the one time doesn't make a difference. Now, man, this is where we find ourselves in trouble. Because we look back and the wife says, well, you don't ever. Like, I vacuumed the floors last February. What are you talking about I don't ever? Don't tell me I ain't ever. What I know in February of 2019, I dusted like nobody's business. But see, it's about consistency. It's about maintaining. You see, every little day that you're doing something for her, that's maintaining. And there comes a point, whether she knows the moment or whether you know the moment, there comes a point where she wakes up and looks at you one day when you bring that glass of water or that glass of tea or that extra taco on the plate or whatever it is, she looks at you and, boy, I love that man. Because the consistency. I tell you, Christy told me I ain't never been as attractive than when I'm pushing a vacuum cleaner around that house. And if I'm consistent, she loves me for it. It's about consistency. It's the same way, hopefully everybody in here brushes your teeth. How many of you think brushing your teeth one time is going to do you any good? You could brush the fool out of them teeth one time, and it's still going to rot out. But what's the recommendation on brushing the teeth? At least twice a day and at least two minutes every time you do it. So four minutes a day of brushing your teeth. You say, well, I brush my teeth. I can't tell the difference. But do you do it consistently? And if you do it consistently, maybe When you're 80, you still have them. And you won't know when you're 36 and 37. You don't see it. You don't pay attention to it. But in the long run, you recognize the benefit. Same way we're working out. This fellow gives a good illustration on working out. Now, Judd and they laughed at me a while back. It was several years back. I went to the gym that my boys were working out at. That was a mistake. And you know how many times I went? Now let me, look here, I'm going to give you an example. Look how much good it did. What's so funny? So doing something one time, it means nothing. It means nothing but maintaining day after day after day after day You see, you're under no obligation to go beyond where God calls. But where God has placed you, you're called to be faithful. You're called to maintain. You're called to do what you need to do every single day. I told Christy, I'm sure she'd get frustrated with me at times because I get so elevated at times. And this is a character flaw for me, something I have to work on, but I don't understand not maintaining. Just it's just it's just part of me like I if that's the thing that needs to be done then I do that thing and That's part of my fault is I tend not to see what's around me when I'm trying to do the thing Because I'm so task-oriented Everything else could fall apart. I wouldn't know it That's why God gave me someone like her You know to slap me and say hey dummy like Look over here You're so fixated on vacuuming the floors, but the house is on fire, right? The floors don't matter right now. She helps me with those things. But the reality is, is that we do need to understand what does it mean to maintain? What does it mean to live the expectation of where God has placed us? Think about it. Brother Anthony, you've got a family. You've got a son. You've got daughters. You've got a wife. You've got a home. And all of that, that's a lot of responsibility. And it has to be maintained every single day. And yet God is not calling us to go beyond what He's given us. He's called us to simply maintain what I've given you. Maintain what you've got. That should take a little pressure off because we're always striving to exceed or go beyond or do more. And there's some circumstances where we do need to press on and excel in life. But we also just need to be faithful where God has placed us. And recognize that God has called you to maintain. Maintain faithfulness to your wife. Maintain faithfulness to your marriage. Maintain faithfulness to your children. Maintain faithfulness to God. And to God be the glory. He keeps you steadfast through life. He has redeemed your soul. So why would you not, in some way, seek to repay your great King for His grace, mercy and faithfulness, even though you can't repay Him? The fact is, is that you owe a debt that you can never pay. And get this, God has not asked you to pay it. He's not asked you to pay it. He's asked you to be faithful. Listen to what God instructed. We'll close with this. Deuteronomy chapter 10. This is what God told His people. And now Israel, what does the Lord your God require? You want to know what does God require of you? But fear the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord which I am commanding you today for your good. And then we'd follow along with the Ten Commandments would be delivered. in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy, the second law. The second law happens first in Exodus, and there's a re-giving of the law in Deuteronomy. And also, the closing portions of the Old Testament with the minor prophet Micah. Micah chapter 6, verse 8. He has told you, O man, what is good. What does the Lord require of you? But to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. You see, all of these pressures, all of these things, I've got to do this, and I've got to do this, and I've got to do this. What does the Lord require? Do what's right. Do what's right, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God. Know His statutes. Walk in His ways. Fathers, men, we're called to set the example as a man of God. And it's very simple. Love God. Follow Jesus. Do what's right. Very simple. Let's pray. Father, we're grateful for the day. Thank You for the men of this church, and may You raise up many, many more through the faithful preaching of Your Word, through the faithful instruction in our homes. Father, help us. Encourage us. Surround and protect our children. As we grow them and raise them in a godless society, may you call out men who are distinguished from this world. Who will love their wives as Christ loved the church. Who will devote themselves to faithfulness, even in singleness. And Father, who will raise children to be godly men. and even take in other children and raise them if they have no children of their own, as we see the Apostle Paul did with young Timothy. Thank you for your word. Be gracious to us in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, if you would stand.