Transcription
We welcome each and every one of us, and, uh, most especially our fathers, to this Father's Day service. We'll share this morning on God's purpose for giving you a father or father figure. God's purpose for giving you a father or father figure.
And we take our text from Esther chapter 2, verse 5-11. Esther chapter 2, verse 5-11. We speak this morning on two types of fathers. The first one is a biological father, and the second one is a father figure. A father figure is someone who plays the paternal role or function of a father in the life of another person. For instance, Mordecai was a father figure to Queen Esther.
In Esther 2:5-7, at the time, it says, New Living Translation, that at the time there was a Jewish man in the fortress of Susa whose name was Mordecai. And in verse seven, it says, "This man had a very beautiful and lovely young cousin, Hadassah, who was also called Esther, when her father and mother died."
Some of us listening to this message, your biological father may have already transited onto glory. But you could see that by God's design, God had positioned one man to play the role of a father figure in the life of this young lady called Esther. So the exit of her biological father did not mean it was over for her in terms of benefiting from the attributes of fatherhood. And so you see a man called Mordecai, positioned by God ahead of time, and he was prompted to adopt her into his family, and he raised her as his own daughter.
In the journey of life, you are going to see that God will raise men, certain men, who will begin to live out the functions and the roles of fatherhood to your benefit in the journey of life. And so you begin to benefit from the expression of God's covering, God's love, God's wisdom, God's counsel, God's protection through such father figures.
There is a purpose for fatherhood. Fatherhood itself is descriptive of a function or role that a man consistently plays in the lives of certain people. Fathers play a vital role in shaping a child's well-being, shaping a child's identity, as well as a child's future. Fathers offer both physical and emotional security for the children.
Looking at the attributes of a good father. Number one, he provides. He provides for the feeding of the children. And number two, he provides for the clothing of the children. As simple as it seems, this is one of the vital responsibilities of a good father that every child should enjoy in the journey of life. And number three, he's sensitive and responsive to the health and safety of his children. He is very sensitive. And please, we want our fathers to take note of this, because eventually, one of the reasons why children could begin to flow more towards a mother may also have to do with the level of emotional care, the level of intentional positive energy that is expressed towards that child from the very beginning. A good father must not restrict himself to just providing money for the well-being of the children. As good as that is, as important as it is, your physical presence, your physical care, your physical attention is required towards each of your children. People eventually flow in the direction of whoever is sensitive to their mood, to their well-being at every point in time.
Number four, a good father provides for the education and professional training of the children. Quality foundational education is a must that a good father should impact and make available for his children. It will cost you something, but the benefit is so significant, and it will affect many things later on. How well that son, that child, that daughter would do afterwards in life, even in the path of further education, will be significantly influenced by the quality of foundational education that that child was given. So please, whatever it will cost, let us go out of our way to provide quality foundational education. And this happens from age 1 through age 10, 11, 12.
Number five, he takes part in the upbringing of the children. He takes part in the teaching and training of the children. A good father impacts the right values onto his children. He molds and refines the character of his children.
Number six, a good father cares for his wife. God's kingdom is built on the foundation of the family. A good father cares for his wife. A husband that does not invest in his wife is not a wise man. You can quote me on this. Is not a wise man. A good father cares for his wife, apart from positively impacting your wife, which is also for your own good as a husband, you are showing your children the right way to conduct themselves when they eventually grow to become husbands and then fathers. A good father makes his wife and children a major priority in his plans, a major priority in his decisions, a major priority in his actions.
Number seven, he recognizes his position as the first role model the children should learn from and copy. Fathers provide a positive male influence, shaping children's understanding of relationships.
Number eight, a good father models spiritual fellowship to his children by his personal example. He goes to church himself. A good father does not drop mom and the children in church and go back home to sleep or to play. He goes to church himself. He prays for his children regularly because he's a priest in that home. A good father should teach and train his children in the way of the Lord.
Number nine, a good father grooms his children for leadership. Grooms them for leadership.
Number 10, a good father helps the children to discover their talents and special abilities as early as possible. As early as possible. Once you notice certain skills, certain abilities, certain burning passion in them, give them the relevant toys, relevant tools, relevant equipment, relevant training to develop themselves in that realm.
Number 11, the 12 of them. Number 11, it helps them to discover and pursue their divine destiny. Sometimes God will reveal some aspects of a child's destiny to one of the parents or both parents. Like Samson, fathers should not kill the dreams of their children, but should rather discern and help them develop themselves.
Number 12, he trains and supports them to become financially independent and productive. Very important. He trains and supports them to become financially independent and productive as early as possible. Expose them on time. Let them make mistakes in your lifetime, so you can put them through over those initial mistakes, and in the process of time, they would have mastered whatever field or business cycle they may have chosen to go in. And you see that as a result of this, fathers play a major role in the transformation of the child's life, and this begins to manifest in the process of time.
So, in closing it up, how should members of a family relate with their father? Ephesians 6, verse 1-3. Ephesians 6:1-3, God's Word Translation, it says, "Children, obey your parents because you are Christians. This is the right thing to do. Honor is a command from God. Honor your father and mother, that everything may go well for you. You may have a long life on earth." This is an important commandment with a promise.
So, how does God expect you to relate with your father? One, respect him. Respect him. So parents, prepare the ground by training your children to always respect their elders. A child that has been trained to respect elder brothers and sisters will respect a father and a mother. So don't just train your child to respect only you as a parent. Train your children to respect their elders.
Number two, obey him. Obey him. Do what he tells you to do. Obey him.
Number three, support him. You should show him love and care. Love and care. Be available to support him in his time of need. Do not abandon him in midlife.
Number four, protect his interests and assets. A good child protects the interests and assets of his father.
Number five, consistently watch over his health and mental well-being. This is one of the strongest indicators of a child that loves you most.
Number six, appreciate him regularly. Appreciate him regularly. Occasionally do things to celebrate him.
And number seven, always honor him both privately and publicly. Honor him. When it comes to honor, do things intentionally. Speak well of him. Speak well of him. So be careful about people who don't speak well, who don't speak well of their father. And those who are silent are far better. If there are issues with your father, be silent about it and pray that God will correct it. And if your father is good in certain areas, speak well of him. Emphasize those areas where he does it right. Very, very important.
In closing, take note, please. In relating with fathers and father figures, be cautious to him. Always answer his calls. Return his missed calls. When your father sends you a goodwill message, acknowledge it. If it's on the social media platforms like WhatsApp and the rest of them, just put in at least an emoji. Acknowledge the message from your father. Respond to his invitation. It is one of the ways you honor him in the journey of life. And you can sometimes travel far to honor his invite. Travel far to honor his invite.
I have seen sons who never visited their mother until she died. I've seen sons who never visited their father for years until he finally died. And in some instances, there were health issues. They never checked up on their father or mother. And when the father or mother finally goes, they, you see, they want to call a big party, big gathering, and they want support from friends. Don't be one of such children.
Listen to him. Listen to him. He may not be so rich, but he has wisdom and he has experiences of life. Our elders have seen things. They have seen cycles of life. They understand that, you know, life things go up, and then things also come down. They have seen different realities of the cycles of life. Listen to him when he sits you to advise you. Allow him talk. Allow him talk and listen attentively. Do what you normally would not have done for his sake. Do what you normally would not have done for his sake.
Can I tell you one secret of life? Watch out for people who honor their fathers. They will go far. You are seeing a potential great person in that man or woman. Watch out for children who honor their fathers. They will go far and they will enjoy supernatural, mysterious covering. They will be alive when others are dying. Sometimes things happen in life until we hear the person's story, then we know some secrets behind some survivor stories.
Wear what you normally would wear for the sake of your father. All your friends are opening up their bodies now, but your father frowns out indecent dressing. For the sake of your father, adopt a decent dress code. Be calm and peaceful with him. Let nobody hear you raising your voice. And when they come, they say, "Ha, who is that? Who are you having?" And they now discover that it was your father. Sometimes this could happen over the phone, and they hear you raising your voice over the phone. "Who's who's that? What's going on?" And you find out that it was she was talking to the father. He was talking to his father. Ah, don't ignore him on a day that people are expected to turn out for him. Let it never be said that, "Where is his son? Where is his daughter?" on a day that everyone showed up on behalf of your father. Don't ignore him. At times, your presence is needed.
So, the purpose of Father's Day is to recognize, appreciate, and honor those who have exhibited the attributes and functions of a father over a period of time or just at a particular time of your life. You know, Father's Day also is a day to remember and acknowledge our fathers and father figures who have passed onto glory. Yes. Not only those who are alive. It is a day to appreciate and celebrate those who have played the role of a father. And if we want to look at it from this basis, then today is a day to celebrate certain brothers. They are brothers that have become the father in that family. Am I saying something here? They are brothers. They are sisters that have become the mother in that family. A mother to her elder sisters. A father to his elder siblings. There are brothers like that that now carry the load of a father on their head, and they are doing it happily. Let's clap for such brothers. Let's clap for them. Let's clap for them. Let's clap for them.
Father's Day. There are men that do not have a biological child. And if we want to go by everything we have had today, if we are to celebrate 10 men in our lives, two, three, four of them could be certain men that don't have a biological child. If we want to go by everything we have heard, that is not just about who gave birth to you. We are looking at those who have played a role, the functions of fatherhood towards us joyfully. Then there are certain people we must remember, recognize, appreciate, honor, celebrate, as the Lord helps us. So today is a day to celebrate biological fathers, your guardian, your pastor, a mentor, an uncle, a brother, your husband, a God-sent man, a God-sent man, a God-sent man, a God-sent man. And whoever is that person in your life, may the Lord Almighty also honor you as you honor them in Jesus' name. Amen.
So, let's intentionally today and every other day always express these things we have had towards our fathers and father figures.
[Applause]