Role of Our Spiritual Father and Role of Our Physical Father

The title of the day is Role of our Spiritual Father and Role of our Physical Father. Today is a very special Sabbath day. It is the eve of two very important days, the Feast of Pentecost and Father's Day. The origin of Father's Day is not clear. Some say that it began with a church service in West Virginia in 1908. Others say that it began with a Father's Day ceremony that was held in Vancouver, Washington in 1909. But the one that was held in Washington was the one that really made the difference in becoming a national observance, you might say, over the years. And it took a long time for this to happen, though we have celebrated Father's Day ever since I can remember. A woman in Washington, Sonora Bruce Dodd of Spokane, wanted to honor her father. Her father had died—not her father, but her mother—had died in childbirth, giving birth to the sixth child. And he, by himself, reared the family over the next several years. So she wanted to honor him and kept lobbying for it. And eventually, states and organizations began lobbying Congress to declare an annual Father's Day. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson approved of this idea, but it was not until 1924, when President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event to establish more intimate relations between fathers and children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations. And since that time, it has been observed on the third Sunday in June. It was finally signed by—in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day and put the official stamp on the celebration that had been going on for almost half a century. So it's a little bit about the background of how Father's Day came to be observed in this nation. In one sense, God is the author of Father's Day and Mother's Day because the fifth commandment commands everyone to honor their father and mother. Honor your father and mother that your days may be long upon the earth.

The Hebrew word av, av, is the first memetic or imitative word taken from the first simplest sound of an infant's lip. You might hear them say avavavavavav, cooing. It's the first word in strong concordance. Av, and it is the Hebrew word for father.

Now, whether or not that's an accident or just coincidence or whatever, I don't know. Whether God planned it that way. In biblical Hebrew and Greek, both languages, father is used in various senses as a begetter, progenitor of an individual. It wasn't for a father, of course, we wouldn't be here. A founder of a nation, a protector, and many, many other titles are given to fathers. One of the principal scriptures that we should all be familiar with concerning the father is found in Ephesians 3.14. So let's go to Ephesians 3.14. Galatians, Ephesians, and Galatians 3 and verse 14.

And I hope I haven't reversed this as a... It's Ephesians 3.14. For this cause, I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And sometimes people, basically the religious world, has forgotten that God the Father is the Father of Jesus Christ.

It is not Mary, and Mary is not the mother of God. Of course, the Catholics go, Blessed be Mary, mother of God, and that kind of thing. For this cause, I bow my knees unto the Father and her Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.

There's no deeper, closer, respectful relationship that can exist than father, son, or father, daughter. Let's go to Romans back a few pages to Romans 8 and verse 14, where we'll see this term Abba Father. Abba Father is one of the words that is used. It is a... No closer relationship can be expressed in any language than the word Abba for father. In Romans 8, 14, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

For you have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of sonship. Now, that word is... should be translated sonship. And I have had many discussions with many ministers, especially one in who now attends living regarding this word. And this word should be... it's sonship. It's not adoption. We're not adopted into the family of God. We are literal sons of God. Why? Because we have the very essence of God abiding in us. The same essence that is in God as in Christ is in us. Therefore, we are sons and daughters.

His incorruptible seed, as it is called in 1 Peter 1, is in us. And we are of that incorruptible seed. The very essence of God abides in us. For we have received this sonship. Verse 15, for as many as receive the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of sonship whereby we cry, Abba, Father. This Abba, Father, is a term of a very close relationship. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.

Of course, once again, one of the roles of spiritual Father, He is a begetter. He beget us with His Spirit. And if children then heirs of God, we're not just heirs of Christ. We're joint heirs, as it says later in this verse of Christ, but we are heirs of God. And heir inherits from His Father whatever the Father has to offer. And the Father has to offer to us eternal life and much more. Heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with Him that we may also be glorified together.

Without fathers and mothers, we would not have life of any kind. Today, the progressive liberals are trying to destroy the God-assigned roles of fathers and mothers. The focus is especially on women. They contend that in order to be completely free, a woman should not be married and under the authority of a man. As the Bible clearly says, that wives are to be in subjection to their husbands. The existence and honoring of the Father's position is so absolutely essential to all things spiritual. All things spiritual hinge upon recognizing, believing, knowing, honoring the existence of the Father's position, both in the physical sense and the spiritual sense.

All spiritual things begin with the Father. First of all, one must recognize that God exists. As the scripture we've so often quoted, Hebrews 11.6 says, He who would come to God must first of all believe that He is. So you're going nowhere spiritually until you believe that God exists. You have to believe that with all your heart, mind, everything that is within you, to the depth of your being, that He exists. And no matter what the so-called scientist or progressives or anybody else says or whatever happens, it's the only thing that makes sense is to believe that there is a great creator God. Then the last part of that verse says, you have to believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. And through the Spirit and preaching of the Word of God, through the Holy Spirit and the preaching of the Word of God, God draws us. I'm sure we are all familiar with John 644, which says, No man can come to me, that is, to Christ, except the Father draw him. And then in Romans 10.14, we're there in Romans, so just turn the page there to 10.14. How then shall they call on Him of whom they have not believed, and how shall believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent, as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach glad tidings of good things? As we read the next two verses, see, God raised up. He called out the disciples, the apostles, and He taught them. And then on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was sent. It was the source of the Holy Spirit, as we'll read in just a few minutes. This God the Father, it shed on us, and I don't know exactly how this happens, but it shed on us through Christ.

So it's through the foolishness of preaching that people are being saved. So we continue here. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, bring glad tidings of good things, but they have not all obeyed the gospel, the good news. For Isaiah said, Lord, who has believed our report. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So God the Father draws us through His Spirit and through His word. And you remember John 663, which says the words that I speak, they are spirit and they are life. So the minister preaches the very word of God. The very word of God is spirit, and through that word they are convicted. And through that word God draws us to Christ, because there's none other name given under heaven, whereby men must be saved in the name of Christ. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. Now we go to John 1526. This is a very, very important scripture. The interpretation of this scripture, that the Eastern Church, as it was called in those days, which became the Greek Orthodox Church and the Western Church, which today is called the Catholic Church, they split because of the interpretation of this verse. The Western Church insisted that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Philaeo came. And the Eastern Church insisted that it proceeds only. I got this backwards. The Eastern Church said that the Holy Spirit only proceeds from the Father, which is correct, which we'll read in just a moment. And the Western Church, the Catholic Church, said that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both. The Holy Spirit only proceeds from the Father. It is shed on us through Jesus Christ. Remember, if you'll look at verse 8 of this chapter, I want verse 7. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away. If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you. Why would he say that? Because he was the one who shed the Spirit on us. If I don't go away, you're not going to receive the Holy Spirit.

But if I will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send it unto you. Now, a whole year's place there. We can come back to John 15. I just read John 16.8. I think I said 15.8, but 16.8. Now, look at Acts chapter 2.

Acts chapter 2, of course, is the account of the Holy Spirit falling upon those that were assembled there in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost in 31 A.D. So in Acts chapter 2, Peter is preaching this sermon and explaining what has happened. We'll start in verse 29. We're breaking into the middle, but men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David. David was a patriarch. He was also a prophet. That he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us today. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, and that's Jesus Christ, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.

He, seeing this before, spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his life essence was not left in the grave Hades, and his flesh did not see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up whereof you are all witnesses. Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received from the Father, the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has shed forth this you now see and hear. Now we go back to John 15 and verse 26. For when the comforter is come, now in John 1426, the Holy Spirit, the comforter, is identified as the Holy Spirit.

John 1426. For when the comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit, notice it, I will send it unto you from the Father. I just read that from Acts 2.

Which proceeds from the Father, it shall testify of me, and you shall bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. So the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. The Father is the one that begets us. He would not be our Father. Otherwise, Christ would be our Father. The Holy Spirit is the essence of God and Christ, and the Holy Spirit is in us. Now the Holy Spirit is in us, and it begets us because it is the incorruptible seed of God. Now we look at James 1.17, and we'll see here that the Father is the one that does the begetting. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning. Of his own will, beget he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creation. And of course, sometimes Pentecost is called the Feast of Firstfruits. Now the first of the firstfruits, of course, was a Passover in the barley harvest. But sadly, fatherhood and masculinity have fallen to an all-time low in the western world, and especially in the U.S. One is reminded of the old folk song, Where have all the young men gone? Long time passing! Where have all the young men gone? Long time ago! Where have all the young men gone? Gone to women, everyone!

Now the song, I think, says it's gone to war.

But the hippie movement brought on the sexual revolution and the big, what was the big saying of the hippie revolution? Make love, not war. When will we ever learn? When will they ever learn? So this is Satan's world and society, 2 Corinthians 4.4. He's the god of this world. Satan has created a false image of masculinity and fatherhood. The vitally important art of fathering has been lost by and large. And that's one of the things that the Church of God has sought to do, and one of the things that the Bible focuses on all the way through the Bible. The old Dagwood and Blondie comic strip to the present sitcoms testify to this fact, Father is the brunt of virtually all jokes. And since World War II, and especially with the advent of television, fathers have been characterized as bumbling idiots. The world has gone from father knows best to everybody loves Raymond. Fathers are portrayed as cleanses, somewhat mentally deranged, out of touch, not able to manage their own affairs, let alone take care of a wife and family. He is portrayed as somewhat to be pitied, to be tolerated, and really they are saying, if it were not for fathers, the world would be a pretty nice place to live in. You're led to believe that he's out of touch with the modern world. He hasn't been enlightened. He just doesn't seem to understand that the world belongs to men, I mean to women and children. Now, one of the things we need to always be minded of is male and female have the same potential in God's eyes. Male and female have the same potential. And as I've said many times, a lot of women will have a higher position in the kingdom of God than I will have. Men, of course, will be there, but they won't necessarily be there just because they're males. So we're not putting anyone down here today. The Bible is pretty clear, and it means what it says, says what it means. And the fathers have basically brought the situation that exists on themselves. We go now to Isaiah chapter 3. In Isaiah chapter 3, we will see in as plain a language as anyone could express it what has happened. We'll read here several verses. They're very important. Role of spiritual father, physical father. Isaiah 3 verse 1, For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, dost take away from Jerusalem, from Judah, the stay in staff, the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water, the mighty man and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, and the prudent and the ancient, the captain of 50, the honorable man, the counselor, the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them, and the people shall be oppressed, every one by another and every one by his neighbor. The child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, the old folks. A lot of old folks getting beat up all over the world today, especially in major cities, being robbed and beat up, and based against the honorable.

When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house, of his father saying, you have clothing. Now, the man of his brother, in the Old Testament times, under the Old Covenant, the firstborn was everything. The firstborn was like over the family and tried to look out for the family, to lead the family, and to see that they were in step with what God had commanded. So when a man shall take hold of his brother of the house, of his father, saying, you have clothing. Be you our ruler. Let this ruin be under your hand. In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be a leader, for in my houses neither bread or clothing make me not a ruler of the people. Well, I'm sort of like you are, and that's sort of the way people are. A lot of voices today, and I watch a lot of religious television and read a lot of religious material and listen to the news, and that's what they're saying. Make me not a ruler of the people. The situation they say is so bad I can't do anything. Jerusalem is ruined, Judah has fallen because her tongue and their doings are against the Lord to provoke the eyes of his glory. And there are a lot of voices that are crying out, saying, now is the time for you to cry out for that which is right. And a lot of people are risking their very livelihoods, their reputation, their lives to cry out and to show what's going on in this country, and it is very ugly. It is ugly beyond belief. Jerusalem is ruined, Judah has fallen because her tongue and their doings are against the Lord to provoke the eyes of his glory that show their countenance, their face that's witnessed against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom and high did not. In fact, they boast of their sins. How many times have I talked about the talk shows and the people cheering when they talk about smoking marijuana or whatever? Smoking marijuana now is legalized in most places. Woe unto their soul, for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. Say you to the righteous that it shall be well with him, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked, it shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him. You're going to fall into your own net. As for my people, children are their oppressors and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead you cause you to err and destroy the way of your paths.

However God intended and commanded the fathers be the head of the family of the wife and the children. Let the father and mother be head of the children, and they are to be respected. The very office itself is to be respected because why is it to be respected? It is a God-ordained office. It is not an office of men. They did not abrogate it to themselves because they are stronger, and then back in the cave they overpowered the women and ruled over them. Why were there men and women in the cave to begin with? So in 1 Corinthians 11 verse 2, Now praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the ordinances as I deliver them to you. But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. It's listed in reverse hierarchy and it's God, Christ, man, woman. And of course, other scriptures say children obey your parents for this is right in the Lord. The lines between responsibilities, roles of men and women have been blurred so that it's difficult for the youth of the land to sort out and determine who should be the role model. The God of this world has so greatly perverted the gender roles that it is tragic to contemplate. But God wants each one of us, male or female, to fulfill the role he has assigned to you as he is commanded in his word. The gay feminist movements are now demanding total liberation, as I've already mentioned, against marriage because in marriage, in the traditional marriage ceremony, you're to obey your parents, your husbands, even, I don't know, even in the church, we change that to see that they respect their husbands. Of course, the respect is gone, everything is gone, both for men and women. But as we have noted, the men have brought it on themselves because they abdicated their position. They have turned it over without really doing what they need to do. And the more and more of the cry is toward androgyny. And androgyny is a word that is a, it means male and female in one body. And today it is basically called transgender. It breaks my heart to see young people imitate gender blenders. I mean, how sad. We're in 1st Corinthians. Turn back here to verse 9. This verse is seldom read. 1st Corinthians 6, verse 9. Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate. Now that word effeminate is malakos, malakos. And it means a child prostitute, a male that is being held as a prostitute. And we have, of course, you hear about all time on the news today about the sex trade and slave trade in the US and the Western world, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. And of course, we know what that is. So the Greek word malakos is used only four times in the New Testament. And it can be used, it's translated the other three times. Here it's translated effeminate, and it literally means a young boy prostitute. And more and more, they are pushing for children for it to be legal to abuse children. Child prostitution.

So the term transgender has largely replaced androgynous. Some of the feminist leaders advocate sperm banks, artificial insemination. The term today is in vitro fertilization. With the increasing use of technology, of course, you could sympathize with people who never had been able to have a child, and the father donates sperm. Well, some religious organizations have come out with a law saying you cannot use in vitro insemination or fertilization because you fertilize three or four sperm cells, they become embryos, and then you select the best one to attach to the woman. So some religious organizations have even passed laws against that. Now, some of the feminist leaders advocate sperm banks and that kind of thing, and they contend that fathers are obsolete. Who needs them anyhow?

Of course, all of this is not to reduce the need for a sperm. If you're going to have to have a child or if a plant is going to have to reproduce, it has to be fertilized. And some of the people that are the product of in vitro fertilization are feverishly looking for their biological father.

The movement's leaders allege that every human being is more or less bisexual, and sexual roles are based on conditioning. From earliest infancy, males and females are conditioned by clothes, games, and language to play the role attributed to their sex. And so, this is true to a certain degree, but it does not change sex or God's law. Boys should play with boy things, and girls should play with girl things. God even addresses the clothing issue. I know some people don't like to hear this.

But if it's in the book, you know the Apostle Paul said, I am not hesitated to declare the whole counsel of God. In Deuteronomy 22, verse 5, God even addresses the clothing issue. Deuteronomy 22, verse 5.

The woman shall not wear that which pertains unto a man, neither shall a man put on woman's garments, for all that they do are an abomination unto the Lord your God. So, just about everything that you want to name with regard to what this society is trying to overturn, what's in the Bible and Western culture, there is a verse or two or a whole section in the Bible that tells you the truth of the matter. So, once again, we are in desperate need of masculinity throughout our society. We're in desperate need of strong examples of fatherhood and masculinity. And, of course, this place-kicker from Kansas City, we talked about that last time in the administration of authority, that he touched on this as well. The administration of authority and the men need to do what it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verses 2 and 3. Many of our young men struggle over what to do on a date because, in this world, sexual performance is equated with masculinity. How sad he can be. And, as our forefathers pushed westward, a real man went out and cleared the land and bought the cattle and did manly things. And the woman was the one who built the schools and the churches. To a large degree, they forced into this position because men have abdicated leadership. So, we could say that men have traded to a large degree the lusts, the eyes, and the pride of flesh for their leadership position. And Satan is ever present to try to turn God's way around. Moral leadership is spiritual leadership, and today, the women basically make the decisions of what is right and what is wrong. Men are being manipulated by the culture of the day. Illicit sex plays a large role in the culture of the day. The issue is moral and spiritual leadership, and a nation will eventually go in the direction of its moral and spiritual leadership. They can fight all the wars they want to fight, drop all the bombs they want to drop, kill all the people they want to kill, but audiologists that are embedded in the hearts and minds of people are not changed by that. You can force someone to submit, but you cannot force one to believe that which they hold dear in their hearts and minds. If anyone says no in today's culture, it's usually the woman. The men have sold their leadership position. Where have all the Josephs gone? We could put the words, where have all the young men gone? We could put that to words to where have all the Josephs gone. You know what the story of Joseph, Potter's wife, Potiphar's wife, tried to seduce him, but he resisted. So we can ask ourselves, are we men? Are we willing to sell our birthright? Or are we the man, the father, the leader, who will stand in the gap and do what is right?

As it says in Ezekiel 22 and verse 22. At the age of 12 years old, it says in the book of Luke, Jesus Christ, you know, his parents went to the feast. On the way back, they were missing him. They thought he was among the kinfolk and coming along, but they searched there. They didn't find him. They found him with the learned ones in Jerusalem discussing the law. And they said, why have you dealt with us this way, son? Don't you know we were word to death? What was his reply? He said, I must be about my father's business. Do we ask ourselves, whether we're six years old or 95 years old, would I do that? Would I say, I must be about my father's business? Father's must teach more than form. They must teach substance. Substance would be character, making the right decision based on the word of God.

Once you know these things that are in the scriptures, we're responsible for them. First and foremost, God is love, and from his love flows all things. You know, there was a person who came in the flesh and lived a perfect life. And that's what Romans 8 to a large degree is all about. But I'm not going there right now. I'm going to to John. Let's go to John 14 and verse 6. John 14 verse 6. We had a person who came among us, whose name was Jesus, and he lived a perfect life. John 14 verse 6. Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by me. See, there's a reciprocal relationship. No man can come to Jesus Christ unless the Father draws him. No man can come to the Father unless Christ reveals him. No man comes unto the Father but by me. They have to go through that door.

If you had known me, you should have known my Father also. And henceforth you know him and have seen him. And Philip said unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices us. I mean, we'll be satisfied. And Jesus said unto him, How have I been so long with you, and you have not known me, Philip? He that has seen me has seen the Father. So how say you, show me the Father? Believe you not that I am in the Father, the Father in me, the words I speak unto you. I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works. And a lot of people get this turned around. Basically, everything that God does, he does it through Jesus Christ, as we've already read from the sending of the Holy Spirit, that on the day of Pentecost, Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit from the Father. As a doer, God is first and foremost a Creator, both physically and spiritually. You know, Genesis 1.1 says, In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Then you go to Genesis chapter 2, verses 1 and 2 and 3, and it talks about that God set aside, sanctified the Sabbath, and rested on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments. It's the fourth commandment. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. So remembering the Sabbath is a part of the spiritual law. God and Christ are unconditional givers of themselves, and we could ask ourselves, are we unconditional givers of ourselves?

The Father gave all he could give without giving himself. And of course, you couldn't give himself because that would destroy the plan, the purpose, the providence of God. So he gave the Son, the Word, and the Word agreed to do it, to humble himself and take on flesh. And the famous John 3.16, which we go around quoting, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God loves us, and we love God because he first loved us. We should turn there to 1 John 4, verse 10. 1 John 4 and verse 10.

1 John 4 and verse 10.

Herein is love. Not that we love God, but that he loved us, and has sent his Son to be a perpetuation for our sins. He went in our stead. He paid the price. We've heard it a million times. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another. No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in him, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby we know that we dwell in him and he in us because he has given us his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God dwells in him and he in God. And we know, of course, in the Protestant churches tomorrow, a lot of people will just read that verse and believe all you have to do is believe. I remember a nephew coming to visit my my wife's brother. He was on his, quote, death bed from... He had lung cancer. And my nephew is an orthopedic surgeon, and he did a little spill, a little sermonette on, have you been saved? I'm paraphrasing. Have you been saved, brother? All you have to do is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Take you about two or three minutes, and you'll be saved. You don't have to worry about where you'll be in the life to come. Well, we know this is a part of it, but it's not all there is to it. Here is our love made perfect. Well, what is the love of God? John even defines that, for this is the love of God that we should keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous. Children learn love from parents. God first loved us, and then we learn to love God. So in light turn, children learn love from parents. And fathers, do your children really know that you love them through your words and deeds? Fathers tend to be action-oriented and short on words. We need more words. We need more communication. One of the reasons for so much teen crime and suicide is because children have not been properly fathered. They've not been properly nurtured, and fathers should lead in discipline, establish the rules and penalty for breaking the rules. God sets the discipline, and He chastens every son that He loves. Let's turn back there and read this from the scripture.

Hebrews 12, verse 5, And have you forgotten the exhortation which speaks unto you as unto children, my son, despised not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint, when your rebuked of Him? For whom the Lord loves, He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the father chastens not? But if you be without chastisement, whereof all our partakers, then are you illegitimate, and not sons? So God sets the discipline, chastens every son He loves. In the millennium, your teachers will not be hidden from you. There will be a voice behind you that says, this is the way. Walk you in it. So fathers should be charting the way and making sure that their children walk in it. It's sad to say that the women are mainly the disciplinarians in families today if there is any discipline.

Administering God's authority means, to a large degree, making peace. Blessed are the peacemakers, for theirs is the kingdom of God.

So fatherhood has to do with begetting, loving, teaching, and providing. The father's leadership role is first and foremost spiritual. To provide spiritual leadership, one must be a great communicator. Researchers have discovered that communication is the principal problem in marriage. Now there's a lot of disagreement about that. Some say it's finances, some say it is sex, some say it is overbearing, being the way you administer authority, the failure to submit both on the part of the husband and the wife. Males all over the world have historically had a problem with communication. Communication is a sacrifice. Christ laid down his life. Are you willing to lay down your life? Let's go to Hebrews. We're in Hebrews now 12. Look there at 13. Hebrews 13 beginning in verse 15. By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to continually, that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name, but to do good and to communicate, for yet not for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

With such sacrifices. So communication is viewed as a sacrifice. Now let's note the example of Jesus Christ, John 15 and verse 15. John, did Jesus Christ teach and communicate with the apostles? Did he go over and over what they should know?

And John 15 verse 15. Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knows not what his Lord does. But I've called you friends for all things that I have heard of my father, I have made known unto you. I have communicated faithfully the words of the father. If you're talking about nurturing a child, train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it, and to nurture them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Let's look at Ephesians 6. Ephesians 6 and verse 1. Ephesians 6 verse 1. GEP Ephesians 6 and verse 1.

Children, obey your parents.

Children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth. And you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. What is the Greek word for that word nurture? The Greek word is pahidia.

Pahidia means chastening, nurture, instruction, chastisement. That's how it's translated. It means the whole training and education of children, which relates to the cultivation of mind, of morals, and employs for this purpose, and now commands admonitions, and reproof, and punishment. In other words, it's a whole ball of wax. It includes the training and care of the body. You have to take a bath every so often, son. I always hated to take a bath. Of course, our baths were you gotta have to wash it. The number two wash tub. Ah, well, that's the only size we had. And you fill it with water, and you hope it's warm water.

And you have a bath. There's no indoor plumbing. It's all outside.

So you have to take care of your body. You have to brush your teeth. Son, wash behind your ears. Your ears are always dirty. Son, you have to take a bath. You have to brush your teeth. In nurturing a child, you correct their mistakes, and you instruct them patiently. And at times, you have to chasten them. So fatherhood once again asks you with begetting, loving, teaching, providing, chastening, communicating, and so much more.

God is so concerned about us that he sent us the Word. And we just read what the Word did. The Word told us everything that the Father had told him. So we are here on the eve of one of the most important days in all of the calendar of observance. As you might say, we're here to observe the Father's Day and Pentecost Eve.

I know a lot of the things that we have said here today for some say, well, that's your opinion. Show me where I've just said my opinion. This is from the Scripture. I mean, some of the things that are said by conservative people today are twisted and turned into the most unbelievable lies that I have ever heard. See, God speaks encouraging words to us. When Jesus Christ came up out of the baptismal waters, there was a voice from heaven that said, this is my son, in whom I am well pleased. The Father is the Father of all mercies. He is the Father of comfort. The Psalms are filled with words of comfort, praise, and encouragement for us. God has spoken the great words of life and hope to us. Fathers should do the same to their children. One of the names of God is El Shaddai. Back about 20 years ago, it was what you would hear from special music very often. El Shaddai means the nourisher, the provider spiritually and physically, just as Abraham did. God did not reveal himself as the great I AM to Abraham. Abraham only knew him as El Shaddai. That's in Genesis 6. Do you lead your family spiritually? Do you provide for their spiritual needs? Do you lead in Bible study? Do you lead in the way in spiritual activities? And if necessary, who goes to the minister? Who tries to get counsel? Who tries to get guidance? You see, the providence of God is immeasurable. What does providence mean? The providence means looking out for your best interests, years in advance. See, God looked out for Israel's interests years in advance, and he permitted Joseph to be sold into captivity. Joseph winds up being second to Pharaoh, and the family goes down, and they're preserved. Life is preserved. Israel is preserved. And as Joseph told his brothers, you didn't send me, but God did to preserve posterity. So God is the one.

He cares for us. He looks out for us more than we do ourselves. His providence is supreme. He is always looking out for our best interests. He forgives us. He holds no grudges. He separates our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. There are no grudges. The slate is clean when you repent. We are all prodigal sons in our heavenly Father's sight. How did a mere mortal receive the prodigal son? He received him with mercy and forgiveness. How did the son act to stay at home? Not so well. The Father's long suffering never gives up on us until we give up on him. And God is the one who rewards us. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. And so, as we remember Father's Day tomorrow, and as we remember Pentecost, I hope some of these things will be in our minds and hearts as we observe.