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I'm going to ask you this morning,
please, to turn to the book of Job chapter 1. Job chapter 1. Let's read beginning
at verse 1. There was a man in the land of
Uz whose name was Job. And that man was blameless and
upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There
were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed
7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female
donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest
of all the people of the East. His sons used to go and hold
a feast in the house of each one on his day. And they would
send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And
when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send
and consecrate them. And he would rise early in the
morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them
all. For Job said, it may be that my children have sinned
and cursed God in their hearts. Thus Job did continually. Let's pray together. Father in
heaven, we ask now your blessing upon this time of preaching.
Help me, Lord, to remember the things that you have taught me
this week. Lord, help me to communicate clearly your holy word. Please watch over this time in
such a way, Lord, that I would not dishonor you in any way by
anything that I say or any way that I would handle your scriptures.
Lord, help me to rightly divide them. And then in the power of
your Spirit, Lord, may you take your word in hand and deal with
us this day. Lord, we ask you this in Jesus'
name. Amen. There is a picture here in this
Old Testament passage of fatherhood that has caught my attention
more than once as I've read through God's Word, but until this week
I had never looked at this particular part of it in a lot of detail. We're told of this righteous
man Job that he sacrificed for his sons and daughters. We're
told that after their feasting, He summoned them and then no
doubt after speaking to them and instructing them, He offered
sacrifices for each one before God. And this morning and tonight
on this Father's Day Sunday, I want us to look at this account
and I want us to pay attention to some lessons that it teaches
us about what it means to be a godly father. And even though
we're going to take a look at Job as a father this morning,
I invite us all to take note of the qualities that just speak
of godliness in general, because there are lessons here for more
than just fathers. And I would also exhort the mothers to apply
what we learn here about Job as a father to your own role
as a mother in the appropriate way as it applies. But there
are two things we're going to see from these verses this morning
and tonight. This morning we'll focus on the
first, tonight we'll come back and look at the second. This
morning I want us to look at the happy state of his family. The happy state of his family.
And then tonight we're going to come back and look at the
holy state of his family. I want us to see this was a happy
family and I want us to see that this was a holy family. Now, family set apart unto God,
and I want us to see that these two things can never be divorced.
Where you have true holiness, there will be the right kind
of happiness. And I know the distinction between happiness
and joy and all of that. I'm telling you, though, where
there is holiness, there will be joy. Where there is holiness,
there will be happiness. And so we'll see this together
today. But the first thing I want us to notice about Job's family,
before the time of His great testing, before He was tested
in the way that He was. His family was a family characterized
by happiness and unity and love. As feast days would arrive, or
special occasions, we're not exactly sure what these feast
days were. It may have been birthdays, because you'll notice it says
in verse 4, His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house
of each one on His day. And so this may be a reference
to birthdays, we're not certain. But what we know is that when
feast days would arrive or special occasions, the brothers would
take turns hosting the other brothers and their sisters in
their homes. It says in verse 4, his sons used to go and hold
a feast in the house of each one on his day and they would
send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. Ten
children in all, seven brothers and three sisters. This is a
happy picture. We're wrong if we think of these
as riotous gatherings or we think of these as sinful gatherings
going on in their homes. It's quite clear that Job was
a righteous man. God professed him to be. God
pronounced him to be. Verse 8, the Lord said to Satan,
have you considered my servant Job? That there's none like him
on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and
turns away from evil. I have no doubt if these had
been just outright sinful gatherings of his children, Job would have
addressed it. In fact, he demonstrates later on in the section we're
in. He didn't have any problem calling for them to come to him,
did he? He didn't have any problem addressing them. He didn't have
any problem offering sacrifices on their behalf. So if these
gatherings had just been sinful and wrong in and of themselves,
Job would have addressed it. But it doesn't say that he did
that, and so that indicates to me these were not sinful gatherings.
In fact, even when he expresses his concerns, notice what it
says in verse 5, and when the days of the feast had run their
course, Job would sin and consecrate them, and he would rise early
in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number
of them all. For Job said, it may be that my children have
sinned and cursed God in their hearts. If these had been sinful
gatherings, he would have known they had sinned. So he doesn't
say, I know they've sinned in these gatherings they're having
and I've got to address it. No. He says, maybe my children
have sinned as they've gathered together. And when he expresses
his concern, you get some indication of the nature of the sin that
he's concerned about. He doesn't say, I'm concerned
that they may have gotten drunk. I'm concerned that they may have
been involved in some lewdness. That's not what he says. He says,
I'm concerned they may have cursed God in their hearts. Or as some
have translated it, not praised God sufficiently. The idea is
that perhaps in their enjoyment of one another, in their happy
get-togethers, he's afraid that his children may have been guilty
of not honoring God as they should. Maybe by becoming loose in their
conversation. If you think about Christmas
time or you think about Thanksgiving or you think about birthday parties
and we get our families together and there we are having a good
time sometimes if we're not careful, we don't watch over our speech
as we should and we talk about things we shouldn't talk about.
Beloved, I do want us to remember gossip is wrong even in the home. To slander people and to run
others down and that sort of thing, that's wrong even in your
private conversations. And so maybe Job was afraid they
had sinned against God in that way, or maybe he was afraid that
they just neglected to really reflect on God's blessings. That
in the midst of a celebration, if it were a birthday celebration
or whatever, maybe he's concerned they didn't think about what
they should think about. They didn't reflect on what they
should reflect on. They would be guilty of dishonoring God
by just celebrating with a purely human point of view and forgetting
the divine, forgetting the eternal point of view. Maybe he was afraid
they just wouldn't be as thankful as they should be in their hearts.
But Job didn't forbid the meetings. He doesn't seem to be grieved
in any way by the meetings. And so I don't think these were
sinful gatherings. I think these were happy gatherings, joyful
gatherings. The places where they gathered
indicated it was fine. They gathered not in a tavern
somewhere, but in their homes. The people with whom they gathered
indicated it was okay. They didn't call together the
ruffians of the community. They were gathering with their
brothers and sisters. The purpose for which it says they gathered,
nothing wrong with that. They gathered together to feast,
to celebrate, nothing wrong with a feast. This is a happy scene. This is a happy family. And there
are some other marks here as well of a happy home. Not only
the fact that they feasted together and they gathered together, but
here you have a picture of children who have graduated from their
home, so to speak, and they are established in their own right.
Because when these boys would host one another and their sisters,
they were hosting each other in their own houses. We all as
parents know that's a great goal, isn't it? Not that our children
would be gone, but that we would have raised them in such a way
that they are established on their own. That they have grown
up, and they have matured, and they've put down roots, and they
have homes, and they have families, and they're able to make it,
and they worship God in the midst of it all. That's our goal. And so apparently Job had seen
this accomplished. Here were his boys on these feast
days. They would call their brothers
to their houses and they would call their sisters and there
they would feast together. And so the children were graduated
and they were established. They had sufficient means to
serve each other as hosts. So it seems also financially
they were established as well. Something else here, his children
obviously enjoyed each other. You know what, there are many
families that don't enjoy each other. There are many families
that are torn with strife and jealousy, but not Job's family. Sons and daughters getting together
may have also been that this family was one of not many that
did worship the true God and so these get-togethers may have
also been a way of strengthening one another and encouraging one
another in the faith. But you even think back about
biblical families and you can think of other kinds of examples.
Abraham had Isaac and Ishmael to deal with. Isaac had Jacob
and Esau. Jacob had Joseph and his brothers. And you remember the jealousy
of the brothers toward Joseph. David had his problems with Absalom
and in other ways. But here's Job's family. And
the sons and the daughters enjoy each other, spend time with each
other. That speaks of a happy home. And something else, his
children served each other, rotating, hosting these feasts so that
they demonstrate an unselfish attitude. A joy in serving as
a host, a joy in serving one another in almost every way we
can see here. They're getting together, enjoying
each other, hosting each other, established in their own homes,
able to do it from the standpoint of provision. All of this says
this was a family where there was joy and peace and enjoyment
of life. And we need to remember they
had been raised under Job's influence. That's why I say I think this
is instructive, not only about godliness in general, but this
is instructive concerning what a godly father should be. A godly
father teaches and models what it means to enjoy what the Lord
gives us, but to do it as unto the Lord. Let me say it to you
another way. A godly father is not a long-faced
father. A godly father is not a father
who cannot smile, who cannot laugh, who would suck the joy
and the life out of every situation. That's not what it means to be
a godly father. And yet in some realms of Christianity, that
is almost the impression that we're left with. That if you
are godly, you have got to be miserable. If you are godly,
then you can't have feast days. If you're godly, you can't have
celebrations. If you're godly, you can't be
lighthearted. You can't smile, you can't laugh,
you can't have a good time. I think it's very apparent that's
not what Job subscribed to. There are those who would have
us believe that all merrymaking is sin. There are those who would
have us act in a way that we would quench and kill almost
every joyful expression. But Job didn't do that. A good
father's not silly. A godly father has a spiritual
seriousness to him. He is spiritually sober. But
He still allows and even teaches and models that where salvation
has arrived, there is a reason for joy and enjoyment in life. I think about 1 Timothy 6.17,
it says, "...As for the rich in this present age, charge them
not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty
of riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything to,"
what's the last word there? Enjoy. There is that amazing
Spirit-produced perspective. We are humble people. We hold
loosely to earthly things. Our hearts are fixed on God,
yet we realize that everything that comes to us has come to
us from His hand, And God gives us the power to enjoy it in a
way that glorifies Him. And fathers, we're to lead in
the modeling of that, in the teaching of that, in the example
of what it is to enjoy God, and as a result of enjoying God,
to enjoy one another, to enjoy life, and to do it all in a way
that glorifies our God. Dads, our homes will reflect
our influence. And I would ask us today if our
homes are happy places. I would ask us today if the joy
of the Lord is evident in your family. Is there peace in your
home? Do your children love each other
and love you? Do they enjoy each other? and
in the midst of your happy moments as a family. When you think about,
well, this has been a good time for our family. This is when
we have enjoyed each other and enjoyed ourselves. I wanna ask
you, were those also times that were enjoyed as unto the Lord?
If the happy times for your family have been the times when God
is not even acknowledged or thought of or remembered, that says something
about the kind of happiness you know, doesn't it? Now, if it's
true joy, if it's that kind of happiness that characterizes
the godly, then while we enjoy what God has richly provided
and enjoy it, we do it humbly, not setting our hearts on the
uncertainty of riches, but on God, and we realize He is the
provider, He is the giver of everything we have. so that we
enjoy Him even as we enjoy what He's given. We enjoy Him even
as we enjoy one another. And so the first point I would
make this morning is Job's family was a happy family and he was
a godly man. Now the second thing I want you
to think about in terms of this happy family is, what makes for
a happy home? It's obvious in this picture
that his children had learned this and they enjoyed these times
together, yet they were still responsive to their father and
responsive to his concerns. When he calls for them, they
come. He sacrifices over them. This was a godly family as well
as a happy family. What makes for a happy home? Well, the first thing we can
see here is if there's going to be a happy home, there have
to be the right priorities. Fathers, do you want to lead
your family in a joyful way? Then your priorities have to
be right. Job was a very wealthy man, wasn't he? We're told in
verse 3, he possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen,
500 female donkeys, had very many servants. In fact, you want
to know how wealthy he was? He was the greatest of all the
people of the East. That's who he was. He was wealthy
and apparently his sons were also established from the standpoint
of wealth. They each had their own home.
They were each able to host one another. And there are many men
in this world that if all is well on the financial fronts,
if they're doing well financially, if their children are set up
and their children are doing well from that point of view,
there are many men in this world that if their kids just get together,
You know, if we just have enjoyment in terms of relationships in
our home, if we're not at one another, if we're not fighting
with one another, then my concerns are all alleviated. I am absolutely
content. That's all I care about. Are
we making it in this world? Are we making it with each other?
That's all I really care about. There are many, many men and
women, that's exactly how they think. But not Job. This was not the chief concern
for Job. Not that they had enough to entertain
one another, not that they enjoyed one another. Job's concern had
to do with God. How are my children doing toward
God? This was his concern. You see
it. Look again with me, if you would please, at verse 5. And
when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would sin
and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and
offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For
Job said, it may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in
their hearts. Thus Job did continually. This was Job's continual concern. How are my children doing toward
God? Are they properly honoring God? Are their hearts toward God? Could it be that they're not
giving God the proper glory in their hearts? This was his priority. Dads, let me ask you this morning,
is this our priority? Is this the number one concern
that we have for our own lives and for the lives of our children?
What is our relationship to God? How are our children doing toward
God? How are their hearts toward the
Lord? Is that the most important thing to us? Or is it your job? Is it your finances? Is it how
you're doing materially? Is it how they're doing educationally? Or athletically? Or in terms of their reputation
or in terms of their achievements? What is first? What is at the
head? What really matters above all else? Is it our relationship
to God? Because that was it for Job.
This was a man who had it all and yet that's not what he had
in terms of what he was holding on to. In fact, later on, we
learned he lost all his wealth, didn't he? Had it all wiped out
in a day. You remember what he said? He
said, the Lord gives, and the Lord what? Takes away. Blessed
be the name of the Lord. Job wasn't enamored with his
own wealth. He loved God. And what was first
on his concern for his children was that they loved and honored
God. You want to have a happy home? Your priorities have to be right.
Your priorities have to be right and what has to be at the head
of the list is the relationship we have with God. There's a second
thing we notice about what makes for a happy home, not only right
priorities but also a personal commitment to the Lord on the
part of a father. I'm talking this morning about
a father's contribution to a happy home. Your priorities have to
be right. Dad, but also you, yourself,
have to have a personal commitment to the Lord God." This concern
that Job had for his children, it was only the expression of
his concern about himself. The Bible tells us in verse 8,
when the Lord spoke of Job's character, the Lord said to Satan,
have you considered my servant Job? If there's none like him
on the earth, a blameless and upright man, notice, who fears
God and turns away from evil. Job as an individual feared the
Lord, made it his point to turn away from sin, turn away from
evil. Job was sensitive about his own sin. And it was because
he was sensitive about his own walk with God, sensitive about
his own sins, feared the Lord in his own right, that's why
he was concerned about his children. That's why he was concerned about
their sin. And whether or not they were fearing the Lord properly,
This is what makes for a happy home. When the Lord is honored
in that home and the one leading the family in that worship of
the Lord is a man who is himself passionate about God. Dads, if
your sons and your daughters fear the Lord the way you do,
and if they turn away from sin in the same way you turn away
from sin, how will they be doing? How will they be doing? Job was
simply expressing concerns for his kids that he had already
lived himself. Is that what you're doing? Is that your example? So we see his priorities were
right. His concern was right. His personal commitment was why
he had that concern. There's a third thing we see
about his contribution to this happy scene that we witnessed
this morning. A happy home needs a father who
is a consistent witness and example. The way this is worded makes
very plain. This was not an occasional thing for Job. He wasn't hit
and miss in his concerns. It says in verse 5, when the
days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate
them. He would do this. He didn't say
He did this like on one occasion. He would do this. Whenever they
would have these feast days, He would do this. In fact, He
goes on to tell us, thus Job did continually. Job was a model. He was an example of godliness
every single day. Was he a perfect man? No, but
he was an upright man. He was a man of integrity and
character. He really did love the Lord God. So that this was
an expression of a consistent walk that Job had with God, a
consistent model and example for his children. This is what's
going to make for happy homes in this church that we have fathers
who consistently and genuinely Walk with God. And they set that
pattern for their children. Our relationship with God has
first place. Our relationship with God is
something that has first place in dad's own life. Our relationship
with God has first place in dad's life every single day. That makes for a happy family.
I say it this morning, loving you and caring about you, but
no doubt there are dads sitting in this place right now that
you know you are not a model and an example for your family.
There are dads sitting in this place right now that you know
if your wife, if your children followed your spiritual example,
if they lived on your spiritual temperature, they would not honor
God. What is the answer for you, Father?
One is, you may need to be saved. There are men in this place this
morning that the reason why you don't set that example and you
don't lead your family is very simple. You don't know the living
God. You have never repented of your
sins and put your faith in Christ in a saving way, in a way that
God himself has produced so that your life is transformed forever. I remember well when my father
came to Christ. I remember the difference. My dad professed
to know Jesus long before he actually knew Jesus. And I remember
what it was like to go to church twice a year on Christmas and
Easter. And I remember what it was to
head off to church on a Sunday morning on those occasional times
when we went, and halfway there, turn around and go home because
of an argument. And in the back seat, my brother
and I go, Sad. I remember it. But I remember when my father
ended up in a hospital and a faithful preacher at that time visited
him and witnessed to him and I remember my dad came home a
different man. He thought he had already been
saved. He thought it was a recommitment. Later on it became apparent that's
when the Lord saved him. But I'm telling you at that Instant,
our family changed. And all of a sudden, we were
in church consistently and I was sitting under the preaching of
the gospel. And it was through what God did in my dad's life
that at 16 years of age, though I had prayed a prayer when I
was seven, at 16 I was saved. What happened? How did we go
from a family where it was my mother always wanting us to go
to church and always trying to be an example to the family?
It was my mother who was a force in our home for Christ. How did
it go where all of a sudden my dad was leading the way? He really
got saved. The Lord saved him. The reason
why some of you men are lagging behind and your wife brought
you here today and she's begging you to go to church all the time
and asking you to go with her, the reason why is no matter what
you say happened to you when you were 7 or 10 or 12 or 18
or whatever, the reason why you don't have a love for God in
your heart is you lack the salvation that gives a man that love. This
is not something you can fake. It's real or it isn't. You're
a new creature or you're not. You love the Lord or you don't.
Job was able to lead the way because he loved the Lord God.
And so when you have a happy family, you have right priorities.
And you have right priorities because of a personal commitment
to God. And this commitment that you
have to God is not hit and miss, it is consistent and it is real
and it is genuine because of what the Lord has done in your
life. There's a fourth thing that makes for a happy home when
you talk about the influence of a father, and that is a loving
relationship with your wife, their mother. Now, this is obviously
something behind the scenes in Job's case. I'm not certain what
kind of woman Job's wife was. We're not given a clear picture.
What I do know is that after they go through the hardship
that they go through, where he loses his children, and he loses
his wealth, and he loses his health, she demonstrated, we
can say this, at the very least a great weakness. Wouldn't you
agree? When she said, why do you hold
fast your integrity? Then what did she say? Curse God and die. You wouldn't
exactly put her up there as a woman of great faith, would you? But
you know what, sometimes we sit here rather smugly and we laugh
at her, but I wonder how we would respond. when if in a matter
of moments, so to speak, you lose your children, you lose
everything you ever had, and then your husband himself is
stricken from head to toe with loathsome sores. I don't know
that she wasn't a woman of faith in the living God, that she wasn't
saved. What I do know is she at that
moment expressed great foolishness. and it was great weakness, but
here's what I want you to remember with me. Job himself has experienced
everything she has. He lost wealth too. He lost his
children too. He lost his health. And here
she is saying words to him that had to be like a searing hot
iron in his heart. I don't think that's what you
would want to hear right then. And yet even then, notice what
happens. Look at Job chapter 2. Look at verse 7. So Satan went out from the presence
of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole
of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of
broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in
the ashes. Then his wife said to him, do
you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die. But he said
to her, you speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall
we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil? In
all this Job did not sin with his lips." What I want you to
see is, He did not, contrary to what some commentators say,
I can't see it in the text, he did not just flat out call her
a fool, did he? What he said is, you are talking
like one of the foolish women. That's what he said. And neither
did he at this time separate himself from her. He didn't say,
shall I receive good from the hand of God and not receive evil?
That's not what he said. What did he say? receive good from God and not
receive evil? In other words, in her weakness,
if that is all it was, she may have been lost, I don't know.
But in her weakness, he was the strength. Even when she is in
a sense personally attacking him, he doesn't sin against her. He doesn't sin against God with
what he says. Job was a man of integrity. I
know this, no man should ever think of himself as upright or
righteous or a man of integrity if he doesn't treat his wife
in a godly way. If Job was indeed a man of integrity,
and he was, God Himself pronounced him to be, I know this, he loved
his wife. And he treated his wife rightly.
And he was a model and an example to her as well. He had the right
kind of attitude toward her. We can be sure of that. He had
the right kind of affection toward her. We can be sure of that.
And that makes for a happy home. And that makes for a good father.
You know why we have miserable homes sometimes? Because we have
miserable marriages. Do you know why we have miserable
children? Because mom and dad don't get along. And dads, I
want to ask us this morning, where are you at in all of that?
What contribution are you making? Where are you standing? Are you
honoring God in the way that you love your wife, in the way
that you treat her, in the way that you respond to her, in the
attitude you have toward her, in the affection you have toward
her? How do you respond in her times of greatest weakness? When
she says things that only foolish women would say, when she reacts
in a way that she shouldn't react, are you the strength that the
home needs and that she needs? You know, we are to remember
that our wives are the weaker vessel. Are you the strength
that the home needs and that she needs by God's grace and
by God's ability and by what God is doing in your life? Are
you ready to be that spiritual strength and that model and that
example even in your speech in those times? It is a happy family that knows
that holiness is not long-facedness. It is a happy family that knows
that holiness doesn't rule out enjoying each other and enjoying
the life that God has given and even feasting together. It is
a happy family that has a father who has his priorities right
because he is committed to God personally. And that commitment
is consistent and strong and clear because he's saved. It's
a happy family that has a man in it who teaches his children
how to love each other and how to enjoy each other by the way
that he loves and enjoys his wife. This family was a happy
family. And tonight we'll come back and
see it was also a holy family. Let me ask us as we finish this
morning, is your family in a happy state right now? Your family, Is it in a happy state? Is it
spiritually healthy? And Father, are you an example
of the things that make for a happy family? And my exhortation to
you this morning is that if you'd have to be honest and say, you
know what, Richard? Right now our family hasn't been a happy
place. It's not been a joyful place. And sir, I call upon you as from
heaven, as from God himself on the authority of his word. You
lead the way. You lead the way. You repent
of whatever sins are yours. You lead the way. And maybe even
there's a man here this morning that you know your need is to
be saved. You've been holding on to some
profession you made years ago, but if you'll be honest about
where you are, there's a lack of love for God in your heart.
And it's because you have not known what it is to truly take
hold of the Son of God who died on a cross to pay for all the
sins of all whom he will save, who was raised from the dead,
who's alive. Listen, the living Christ does not forgive sins
and leave a man like he was. The living Christ not only forgives
sins, but He changes a man forever. Are you in need of that salvation?
Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven, we thank
you, Lord, for this picture that we have in your holy word of
a family where you were honored and loved and followed. The picture of a godly man who
was a model and an example to His children and even to His
wife. And Lord, on this Father's Day, my prayer for myself and
for each man in this building that, Lord, we would allow You
to work in our lives in such a way that we would be similar
examples. Lord, I pray for my brothers
and my sisters here this morning whom You've saved. Lord, I pray
that in our hearts we would desire to honor You in our families,
Lord, to worship You there so that our homes are happy and
joyful places, yet also holy places. And Lord, I pray for
the man or the woman here this morning who is still in need
of Christ. Lord, we ask in Your great mercy that salvation, even
this day, might come to a home by coming to a heart. We ask
You this in Jesus' name. Amen.
A Godly Father Part 1
Series Non Series - Job
| Sermon ID | 6190513261 |
| Duration | 39:15 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - AM |
| Bible Text | Job 1:4-5 |
| Language | English |
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