1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,600 Amen. Our Bible reading this morning 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:12,520 is taken from Psalm 78, Psalm 78, and we're going to read the 3 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:17,840 first 12 verses. Psalm 78 and we'll read through 4 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:28,230 verses one through to 12. Let's hear the Word of God for 5 00:00:28,230 --> 00:00:30,310 those online. The words will come up on screen 6 00:00:30,910 --> 00:00:34,720 and we're reading, as we always make it clear, from the 7 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:43,080 Authorised Version or the King James Version, whatever you 8 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:51,160 prefer. Psalm 78, let's hear God's word. 9 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:59,040 Give ear all my people to my law. 10 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:04,920 Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 11 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:09,240 I will open my mouth in the parable. 12 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:16,640 I will utter dark sayings of old which we have heard and known, 13 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:23,680 and our fathers have told us we will not hide them from their 14 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:28,240 children, showing to the generation to come the praises 15 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:32,080 of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he 16 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:36,160 have done. For he established a testimony 17 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:42,400 in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our 18 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,680 fathers, that they should make them known to their children, 19 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:51,800 that the generation to come might know them, even the 20 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:56,040 children which should be born, who should arise and declare 21 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,000 them to their children. That they might set their hope 22 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:05,120 in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his 23 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:10,560 commandments, and might not be as their fathers, as stubborn 24 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:15,240 and rebellious generation, a generation that set not their 25 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:19,240 heart to write. And his spirit was not steadfast 26 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:22,640 with God. The children of Ephraim, being 27 00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:27,440 armed and carrying bows, turned back in the deaf battle. 28 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:33,360 They kept not the covenant of God and refused to walk in His 29 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:39,480 law, and forgot His works and His wonders, that He had showed 30 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:45,320 them marvellous things, that He in the sight of their fathers in 31 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:49,080 the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoa. 32 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,160 We'll end the reading there at verse 12, and we pray the Lord 33 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,520 will stamp with His own approval and blessing this reading of His 34 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,760 own precious and and infallible Word. 35 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:05,120 Amen. Now my text today is taken from 36 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:13,120 Psalm 78 and the verses 5 right through to seven and have 37 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:22,080 entitled this message the focus on faithful fathers. 38 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:28,000 Now the Bible has a lot to say about the role of fathers in the 39 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,280 home. Everyone knows that the role of 40 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:34,880 a mother is vital to the well-being of family life. 41 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:40,840 But for some sinful reason the role of fathers has been 42 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:45,600 relegated to the position of almost a second class citizen. 43 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:51,160 For in our day, the woke feminist brigade, they embrace 44 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:54,920 and teach the observed mindset that while fathers are a 45 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:59,480 biological necessity for children, this is what they 46 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:04,360 argue they are a psychological absurdity. 47 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,280 Now that's a lie. Now that's completely untrue. 48 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,080 That's contrary to the word of God. 49 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:16,360 You see, the Word of God teaches, and a great deal of 50 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:21,040 evidence from the secular world backs this up, that fathers have 51 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:26,760 a vital role in bringing stability and bringing strength 52 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:32,440 and bringing spirituality into their homes. 53 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,720 Did you know that the Bible mentions the word Father and 54 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:46,720 fathers 1511 times? Wow, that's a lot. 172 55 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:52,280 references to the word fathers in the book of Genesis, 5 in the 56 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:57,640 Book of Revelation, and 26 of them in the book of Psalms. 57 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:04,040 Now here in Psalm 78, there are 5 references to the word Father, 58 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,280 verse 3. Let's read it together. 59 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:09,760 Which we have heard and known and our fathers have told us. 60 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:12,920 There's the first one, and then in verse 5. 61 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:16,120 For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in 62 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,160 Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make 63 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:21,960 them known to their children. There's the second one. 64 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,680 Then the third one is in verse 8. 65 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:30,160 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and 66 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,440 rebellious generation, a generation that set not their 67 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,600 heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God. 68 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:41,840 Verse 12 the 4th 1 marvellous things that he in the sight of 69 00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:45,760 their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the field of zoan. 70 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:50,680 And if you can write down to verse 57, it says, but turned 71 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:55,520 back and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers, and were turned 72 00:05:55,520 --> 00:06:01,200 aside like a deceitful bull five times. 73 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:08,720 Asaph, the writer of Psalm 78, mentions the word fathers, and 74 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:12,800 he mentions the word fathers. Now listen to me carefully in 75 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:18,440 the context he's addressing the importance of the home and the 76 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:24,800 vital role of parents in that home, especially the fathers. 77 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:29,560 So yes, fathers are a biological necessity, but they're 78 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:33,240 definitely not, as the woke feminist brigade says, as 79 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:41,520 psychological absurdity. Fathers are absolutely necessary 80 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:47,040 for the strength, stability, and spirituality of the home. 81 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:59,320 Scripture and history teaches us that as the home goes, so goes 82 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:08,840 society, and generally speaking, as goes the fathers, so goes the 83 00:07:08,840 --> 00:07:12,680 home. The moral and spiritual 84 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:20,440 condition of society is always rooted in the well-being of the 85 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:23,000 family. We live in a day where there's 86 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:27,480 the breakdown of society. Why are we seeing such breakdown 87 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:31,400 in the United Kingdom? Here's the answer part of it, 88 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,800 the breakdown of the family unit. 89 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:42,240 Children living in single parent homes have increased in the past 90 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:49,520 100 years by over 300%. And one of the problems that 91 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:55,160 society faces today is the breakdown of the family unit. 92 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,960 And here in Psalm 78, we have the words of Asaph, a 93 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:03,640 contemporary of David, and he's speaking a very important 94 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:09,120 message, a message that needs to be heard, one that is absolutely 95 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:13,440 essential to the preservation of society through in his day and 96 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:15,680 generation. Through in our day and 97 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:20,200 generation. A message that is vital to the 98 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,760 fulfilment of God's purpose for his people. 99 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:30,960 And one of those roles that God has for his people is this, the 100 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:36,640 role of being a faithful father. And that's what we want to focus 101 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:41,679 on this morning. And here in Psalm 78, verses 1 102 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:47,280 to 8, ASAP very faithfully under the inspiration of the Holy 103 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:54,000 Spirit sets out that vital role and focus of faithful fathers. 104 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,240 And then he elaborates in the Psalm from verse 9, I believe 105 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:03,960 through to verse 51. And he gives a accurate account 106 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:08,320 of the history of the children of Israel from their exodus out 107 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:11,280 of the land of Egypt by the blood of the Lamb, remember, led 108 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:15,160 by Moses, right through to the days of King David, when King 109 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:17,400 David was on the throne of Israel. 110 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:23,040 And and of course it, it tells us what God did to them and in 111 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:27,080 them and through them. And then the sad thing is that 112 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:32,000 at the end of the Psalm from verse 52 to 72, he closes with 113 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:36,040 how the Lord dealt with his own people when they forsook him and 114 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:38,840 forgot him and, and sinned against him. 115 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:44,920 Now today is classically known as Father's Day and we wish all 116 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:51,120 fathers here happy Father's Day and being Father's Day. 117 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:55,640 Then I want to focus on a few thoughts of being a faithful 118 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:01,840 father. How do we define describe what a 119 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:05,520 faithful father is? There was 4 things came to mind 120 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:09,240 and I have to confess they only came to mind yesterday because 121 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:17,760 of the busyness of the week. Psalm 78 verses 5 to 7 as our 122 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:20,200 text. I want you to think of the 123 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:26,040 conversion of faithful fathers. He says, For He established a 124 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:28,640 testimony in Jacob on appointed law in Israel, which He 125 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:32,160 commanded our fathers, that they should make them do unto their 126 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:35,920 children. Notice the word our fathers 127 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:43,480 Asapha said, Give the year, O my people, to my law, incline your 128 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:49,440 ears to the words of my mouth. In verse 5 it says which He 129 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:54,680 commanded our fathers and then he says in verse 52 of this 130 00:10:54,680 --> 00:10:58,400 Psalm, but made his own people to go forth like sheep and 131 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:01,600 guided them in the wilderness like a flock. 132 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:06,760 You see the word father's here that's mentioned five times in 133 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:10,200 this Psalm has to be seen in context. 134 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:16,000 These fathers are in a relationship with the Lord. 135 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:20,400 They know the Lord in a personal intimate way. 136 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:24,560 They they live their lives with knowing God in a greater and a 137 00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:28,960 better and a deeper way. They testify that they are the 138 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:33,040 Lord's people, one of his own, his own people. 139 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:38,600 Verse 52, when Asaph talked about our fathers, he was 140 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:42,080 thinking about those who were in a right relationship with God, 141 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:45,720 those who had a testimony that they're in a relationship with 142 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:50,240 the living and the true God. Now let me ask this morning, do 143 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:54,320 you know him? Do you know him as one of his 144 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:57,320 own people? Do you know that you're born 145 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:00,720 again of the Holy Spirit? Do you testify that you've got a 146 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:06,560 personal, precious relationship and experience with God via the 147 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:09,040 new birth? Remember, Nicodemus came to 148 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:11,000 Jesus by night. He was a religious man. 149 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:16,240 He was very respectable. He was righteous in his own 150 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:19,120 eyes. He no doubt he was a leader of 151 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,480 the Jews and probably a proud one at that. 152 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:26,000 But he was not regenerate. He didn't understand what the 153 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:28,160 Lord Jesus said about the new birth. 154 00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:31,640 Remember, of course, what the Lord Jesus did say to him there 155 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:38,720 in John chapter 3 he says this. In John chapter 3 and verse 5 he 156 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:41,840 says to Nicodemus John 3 and verse 5. 157 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:50,120 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water 158 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:53,680 and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. 159 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:57,320 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born 160 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:00,120 of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that he say unto 161 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:04,560 thee, You must be born again. See, Nicodemus was confused, he 162 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:07,560 didn't understand. He he asked the question, how 163 00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:09,400 can a man be born when he is old? 164 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,360 Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and they 165 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:15,120 born? He was thinking about physical 166 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:18,280 birth and Jesus was saying, marvel not don't let it shock 167 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:20,480 you, Nicodemus, listen to what I'm saying. 168 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:24,800 Physical birth is real. It's distinctive. 169 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:26,640 You've been made in the image of God. 170 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:28,520 God has made you. You're special. 171 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,320 You're unique. You're, you're, you're, you're 172 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:35,040 like a masterpiece from his hand and physical life as a precious 173 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:40,880 gift. But so is spiritual birth. 174 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:46,560 So is being born from above. Certainly Nicodemus, there's a 175 00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:50,840 physical life, so there's a, a spiritual birth. 176 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:55,760 So we asked the question this morning rather pointedly. 177 00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:01,600 Fathers, are you born again? We're, we're not asking fathers 178 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:04,520 if they come to church and we do encourage them to come and bring 179 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:06,600 their children and their wives with them. 180 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:11,960 We're not asking them if you would like to join the church, 181 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:16,880 not asking do you believe in God and in the Lord Jesus Christ. 182 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:20,680 See, 10s of thousands in Northern Ireland have been born 183 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:24,000 into Christian homes. Many of them have been baptised 184 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,640 as children, may be catechized and confirmed. 185 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:31,200 They come and go from the House of God, maybe not every Sunday, 186 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:34,440 but regularly. And they're they, they would 187 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:39,840 say, well, I'm religious, but it's all in their head and they 188 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:44,920 have no real life changing, transforming relationship with 189 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:49,840 the living God. So I'm asking the question, do 190 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:52,920 you testify of being one of his own people? 191 00:14:53,920 --> 00:15:00,960 When Asaf mentioned our fathers, mentioned fathers five times, he 192 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:06,120 was thinking about those fathers that we're supposed to be in a 193 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:09,640 saving relationship with the God of heaven. 194 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:13,040 Was there a day, a time when you recognised that you were a 195 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,320 Sinner, that you repented of that sin? 196 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:18,920 You came to the Lord and said, Lord, I'm a big Sinner. 197 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:23,720 I thank you that you've provided in Christ a big Saviour and I 198 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:26,400 rejoice Lord in the reception of Christ. 199 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:30,640 Remember again if I go back to John's gospel in John chapter 1, 200 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:35,040 it tells us there in verse 11, John chapter one verse 11. 201 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:39,040 He came unto his own and his own received him not, but as many as 202 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:42,480 received him to them give he power. 203 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,440 John one, verse 12, the word power there means exhusi has to 204 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:52,000 do with authority to become the sons of God, even to them that 205 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:56,040 believe in his name, which were born not of blood. 206 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:00,800 So it's not hereditary, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of 207 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:09,000 the will of man, but of God. Can you say this morning that 208 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:11,800 you're born of God, born from above? 209 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:15,840 Can you say that this morning? I am what I am by the grace of 210 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:20,760 God, see, but by the gift of God and the new birth, and by God's 211 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:27,440 saving special grace in Christ, your aspiration and aim should 212 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:35,600 be I'm a better dad, I'm a better man, I'm a better young 213 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:38,800 person, I'm a better son, daughter, I'm a better worker, 214 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:40,480 I'm a better husband, I'm a better wife. 215 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:43,120 I'm a better young person because those in Christ are 216 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:46,040 different. Those in Christ are distinct and 217 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:49,240 how they live and what they say and what they do, the tastes 218 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:52,600 that they have and music and dress and how they conduct their 219 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:55,160 business. They do it under the eyes of 220 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:56,920 God. They do it because they're in a 221 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:00,000 right relationship with God. They do it because they know 222 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,120 that one day they they have to give an account to God. 223 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:10,280 They listen to God's law. You see, he says, give the year 224 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:14,280 O my people to my law. Incline your ears to the words 225 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:18,880 of my mouth. He's speaking as well to the 226 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:23,040 fathers. Give a ear has to do with 227 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:26,599 listening, listening with understanding. 228 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,920 Incline your ears means to to bend them to what? 229 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:34,440 To the words of my mouth. You pay the closest attention to 230 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,720 it and, and, and the words of my mouth have to do with 231 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:40,560 instruction. The words of my mouth have to do 232 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:44,360 with God's inspired holy word, the Lord Jesus said man shall 233 00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:47,120 not live by bread alone, but by every word to proceed out of the 234 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:49,960 mouth of God. The psalmist is speaking for the 235 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:53,120 Lord. He's speaking about the Lord. 236 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:57,120 He's speaking about God's word, God's instruction for his 237 00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:00,600 people. See, we, we live in a day. 238 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:05,800 Hear me out. Take a modern home, homes and 239 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:09,200 carried off. Perhaps the wife and I agree. 240 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:11,800 We don't want to force religion on our children. 241 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,240 We want them to be free to make up their own minds in such a 242 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:20,000 manner. Does not sound ways. 243 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:25,240 Sounds good. Oh, we'll say it's very modern, 244 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:26,560 isn't it? Oh, why? 245 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:30,640 That sounds sophisticated. But it's all false. 246 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,280 It's bogus. It's sheer nonsense. 247 00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:36,200 It's a lie. Why? 248 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:41,280 Because there's no way to be religiously neutral in the home. 249 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,400 Religious neutrality in the home is a lie. 250 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:49,680 Because once you become neutral about the things of God, once 251 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:55,240 you become neutral to the words of God, that in itself is a form 252 00:18:55,240 --> 00:19:01,040 of anti God religion. If parents are neutral in their 253 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:06,360 attitude to religious things, then this will impact upon the 254 00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:10,320 life of the home, impact upon the life of their children. 255 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:15,480 See these wise, modern, sophisticated people that want 256 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,480 to bring up their children, they say, well with an open mind. 257 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:20,840 Well they're not open minded about school. 258 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:23,760 No, they want them to have the best school, primary and 259 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:25,000 secondary. They want them to go into 260 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:27,640 university, to the top universities. 261 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:32,000 They're not open minded really when it comes to alcohol and 262 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:37,800 comes to drugs and comes to gambling and comes to other 263 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:41,040 things. Why be open minded about knowing 264 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:43,600 God? Because this is the greatest 265 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:49,400 knowledge in the world and surely fathers, our fathers, 266 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:52,800 especially those born of the Spirit and washed in the blood, 267 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:56,280 would want their children to know God and know him in an 268 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:58,840 intimate, deeper, better, greater way. 269 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:02,760 That's why the text above the porch in the meet and greet area 270 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,160 says, as you come in, be still and know that I'm God. 271 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:07,720 God can be known. God has revealed himself in his 272 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:11,320 Word and we can know him in a greater and a better and A and a 273 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:15,040 deeper and an intimate way that will impact upon our moral 274 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:19,120 choices and impact upon our moral lifestyle very quickly. 275 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:22,560 Not only the conversion of our fathers or faithful fathers, but 276 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:25,040 think about the Commission of faithful fathers. 277 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:28,960 It says in verse 5 which he commanded our fathers, that they 278 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:31,600 should make them known to their children. 279 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:33,440 Here's the mission of the fathers. 280 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:37,960 The fathers get a message from God and they give that message 281 00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:41,360 to their children. And that message from God, of 282 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:45,080 course, starts at the cross and ends at the cross. 283 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:49,720 In other words, the fathers of such a respect for the person of 284 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,200 God, the praise of God, the power of God, the pardon of God, 285 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:55,800 the provision of God, the purity of God, the promises of God. 286 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:00,280 The Father then tells what he knows to the children. 287 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:05,760 He teaches to the children what God has given him. 288 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:12,720 He receives that faithful word, and he transmits it by his mouth 289 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:17,320 to his children. He is determined to communicate 290 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:22,200 God's truth to the children. Here's the purpose. 291 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:26,400 Look at verse 6, That the generation to come might know 292 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:32,800 them, even the children which should be born, who should arise 293 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:37,320 and declare them to their children. 294 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:44,080 We want the children to come and their children's children to 295 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:48,760 know something of the marvellous works and deeds of the Lord, 296 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:52,880 those praiseworthy deeds, the the works of his power in 297 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:55,720 creation, Providence and redemption, the the great 298 00:21:55,720 --> 00:22:00,560 wonders he has done. See, people are asking today and 299 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:03,080 they ask me sometimes and I haven't an answer. 300 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:08,520 What's happening to our country? What's happening to our United 301 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:12,000 Kingdom? What's happening in our society, 302 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:16,960 in our church, in our education system, it's not the way it used 303 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:21,320 to be, because the way it used to be is this. 304 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:29,520 Our fathers made them known to their children the Word and the 305 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:33,840 works and the wonders of God. And if we fail to tell the 306 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:39,840 children, then we are in essence hiding and concealing God's 307 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,000 truth to the children. And that's what's happening in 308 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,920 our education system. In schools, they used to teach 309 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:46,760 the word of God. One of the things that they did 310 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:50,680 was memorise the Lord's Prayer. Another thing that we learnt was 311 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:53,520 the Beatitudes. Another thing that we learnt was 312 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:58,160 the 10 commandments. School assemblies started the 313 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:03,520 day with God, a reading from God's Word, the reciting of the 314 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:06,560 Lord's Prayer. Some schools tell like that, but 315 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:10,480 but not all. And then we're asking and 316 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:15,360 wondering why there's been a a colossal breakdown in society. 317 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:19,600 Well, you see, we've allowed an atheistic state. 318 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,040 They're involved in the education of our children. 319 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,600 And as any wonder, then we live in a in a world of confusion. 320 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:30,680 So children don't know what a woman is. 321 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,600 Children don't know what marriage is between one man and 322 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:35,800 one woman for life. Children don't know what the 323 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:39,480 role of fathers and mothers are. Children don't know what their 324 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:41,800 role is. Children don't know what the 325 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:43,760 what what the church is all about. 326 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:50,320 You see, the fathers of an older generation, they heard the 327 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:56,520 truth, they heard the word of God and they taught that to 328 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:59,040 their children. And I say this morning, there 329 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:01,600 can be no religious neutrality in the home. 330 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:06,880 A religious neutral home is a form of anti God religion. 331 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:13,720 Imagine if a child says I'm thirsty or a child said I'm 332 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:17,760 hungry and you hid the water from them and I'm not going to 333 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:21,000 give you any, and you hid the food and locked it away in the 334 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:24,400 cupboard. The child was thirsty and 335 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:26,600 hungry. That would be a monstrous crime. 336 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,600 That would be in the papers in the Telegraph. 337 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:35,640 But here's an even greater monstrous crime, hiding and 338 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:38,520 concealing the Word of God from the children. 339 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:43,000 In olden times, our fathers were rooted in the Westminster 340 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,480 Confession of Fiat, the 39 Articles of the Church of 341 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,240 England, the Baptist Confession of 1688, the Heidelberg 342 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:54,200 Catechism, the Savoy Declaration for the Independent Churches of 343 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:59,160 the Congregational. Asaph is concerned in his day 344 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:04,080 and generation his mindset as this God has revealed Himself to 345 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:08,600 us, our fathers and our fathers have got a duty and 346 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:12,960 responsibility to share that revelation with others, starting 347 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:19,720 with their children. I wish more fathers would teach 348 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:23,680 their children the Word of God. I wish that more fathers would 349 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:28,280 fortify their education by instruction from the Word of 350 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:35,840 God, because godly living is living committed lives by the 351 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,520 Word of God. And the great mission for all 352 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:44,000 parents and believers and fathers and mothers is to teach 353 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,440 and tell the truth to their children that there might be 354 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:48,800 better children. And that should govern our 355 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:53,040 actions and our attitudes and their announcements very 356 00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:55,560 quickly. Think of the motivation of the 357 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:58,640 fathers. If you go back, it says which He 358 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:03,520 commanded. Our fathers He commanded, you 359 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,440 see, it's done in a spurt of loving obedience to God. 360 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:13,280 God has commanded me that this Father has a healthy spiritual 361 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:16,560 life. This Father revels in the great 362 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,720 works of God, creation, Providence and redemption. 363 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:22,840 He's got a revelation of God in his heart and mind. 364 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,840 He he delights in that God. And then because he delights in 365 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:31,000 that he, he declares them. And that's the most effective 366 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:34,640 way for children to come to know the Scriptures. 367 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:38,640 A father delighting in the scriptures, a father declaring 368 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:42,040 the scriptures and his motivation is done because it's 369 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:44,280 it's done through the instrumentality and work of the 370 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:46,400 Spirit. It's done because he's living a 371 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,480 life of loving obedience to God. See, this is not just a hobby. 372 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:53,320 This is not like teaching your children about gardening and 373 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,920 teaching your children about the birds and the bees, teaching 374 00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:59,360 your children about fishing, or teaching the children about 375 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:04,080 collecting little cars. This is a preoccupation with 376 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:07,640 God. That has to be the motivation. 377 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:13,000 He revels in delights and God's command. 378 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:16,360 And these commands reveal something of God's grace and 379 00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:19,360 mercy and love and holiness and justice, goodness and truth and 380 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:22,800 unnipotence. It's, it's not just the 381 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,480 Christian School. It's not just the Sunday school. 382 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:30,480 They have a place, but God places the ultimate 383 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:35,640 responsibility upon the fathers, and He holds us fathers 384 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:41,720 responsible for the spiritual well-being and condition of our 385 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:45,440 children. The mission of the Father, the 386 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:49,280 motivation of the Father, the mandate of the Father. 387 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:53,200 The goal here is rooted in an important purpose. 388 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:59,760 He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in 389 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:04,800 Israel. You see, not testimony in Jacob, 390 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:14,160 but not law in Israel reveals the divine oracles, reveals the 391 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:17,640 Holy Scriptures, the Holy Scriptures. 392 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:24,000 The Old Testament was entrusted to the nation of Israel, and it 393 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:31,080 was the Father's duty to teach and tell the children that the 394 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:35,440 children might know God. And God has clearly revealed 395 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:39,040 Himself to us. We've got an inspired, 396 00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:42,720 authoritative and fallible book. We're not following cunnally 397 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:44,760 devised fables. We're not following the 398 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:46,960 traditions of men. We're not following made-up 399 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:49,320 stories. What we offer and teach the 400 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:52,640 children is a word from God. A word about God. 401 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:55,800 A marvellous, miraculous word from God. 402 00:28:56,560 --> 00:29:00,000 And that word is designed to help them, provide for them on 403 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:03,240 the journey, protect them on the journey. 404 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:05,440 Like like a shield. Why? 405 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:07,400 Because there's many counterfeits in the world. 406 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:11,600 There's a lot of anti God religion in the world. 407 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:13,840 There's a lot of false religion, a lot of false cults. 408 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:15,880 And we've got to teach them about the true and the living 409 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:17,200 God. And we've got to teach them the 410 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:20,520 ways of God, the works of God, the wonders of God, the witness 411 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:24,520 of God. I finished this morning. 412 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:28,440 Not only think about the conversion of faithful fathers 413 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:31,560 and the Commission of faithful fathers that we have a mission, 414 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:35,280 we have a motivation, and of course we have a mandate and the 415 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:39,640 mandate is God has entrusted us with this book, the words of 416 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:42,680 this book. But think about the consecration 417 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:46,080 of faithful fathers. You see, these faithful fathers, 418 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:49,920 they must put confidence and trust in God's Word themselves. 419 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:55,600 God's Word, of course, stands above the ideas of men for every 420 00:29:55,600 --> 00:30:00,920 area of life, and this includes the raising and the training of 421 00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:03,560 our children. And therefore we need to 422 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:08,560 communicate to the children the character of the Bible as the 423 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:12,080 words of his mouth. The Bible doesn't merely contain 424 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,440 the word of God. The Bible is the word of God. 425 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:17,160 It's infallible, inerrant, authoritative. 426 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:22,160 It always takes precedence over the ideas of men, over the 427 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:26,480 teaching of men, whether they be great men or not. 428 00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:31,400 The chief has to be this as we consecrate ourselves to being 429 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:34,320 faithful fathers, what saith the scriptures? 430 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:38,760 Isaiah 8 and 20 to the law and to the testimony. 431 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:43,520 If they speak not according to this word, it's because there's 432 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:47,560 no light in there. We must guard against elevating 433 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:52,360 the words and ideas of men above the word of God. 434 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:55,560 See, it all goes back. What saith the Scriptures? 435 00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:58,640 We live in an age of militant feminism. 436 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:02,480 I've already given you fathers our biological necessity. 437 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:05,760 But a psychological absurdity? What nonsense. 438 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:11,840 Will you be alert and honour guard against secular humanism? 439 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:17,440 There's a humanistic worldview that that that is anti God and 440 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:20,040 rejects God. And part of that humanistic view 441 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:24,440 is the whole hoax of evolution. And then of course, we've got 442 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:26,960 militant atheism thrown into the mix. 443 00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:30,600 And of course we've got resurgent Roman Catholicism. 444 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:37,680 To be consecrated to be a faithful father, he must not 445 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:42,640 really have a confident trust in the word of God, but he must do 446 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:47,320 the will of God from the heart. He must arise and declare them 447 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:52,040 to his children, and he must delight in that word and delight 448 00:31:52,040 --> 00:32:00,400 in doing God's will. See, let me ask this, are we not 449 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:04,000 raising a children of Bible illiterates? 450 00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:11,640 A lot of children know a lot about science today, about AI. 451 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:14,680 They know a lot of computer terms. 452 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:20,320 We'd ask them the question, who's the 1st man and first 453 00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:22,760 woman? I was asked that years ago in 454 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:25,160 Aberdeen and Torry and I got this answer. 455 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:26,960 We fell near, jumped out of the seat. 456 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:28,240 I know, I know. Yes, son. 457 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:34,040 Hansel and Gretel. Where did the Lord Jesus come 458 00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:37,480 from? A spaceman. 459 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:42,320 Now that's real. Do our children know the four 460 00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:43,880 gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? 461 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:46,920 Do they know the Lord's Prayer? Can they kneel at the bedside 462 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:50,320 and recite the Lord's Prayer? If if you can't get your Bible 463 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:52,680 open and recite it along with them. 464 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:57,160 Do they know the Beatitudes? Do do they know the 10 465 00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:00,680 commandments? See, see, this is real. 466 00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:03,360 This is the nitty gritty. This should be our concern. 467 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:07,040 We should live by example and communicate God's Word. 468 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:10,360 We want to teach and declare and make it known to the children 469 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:13,800 because with knowledge there's understanding and with knowledge 470 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:19,040 there's spiritual perception. And this is not an option he 471 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:22,600 commanded. This is part of God's command. 472 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:26,920 This is God's rule. And if we want children to know 473 00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:30,600 and experience God, we must dedicate our lives to the 474 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:34,000 teaching of the children so that they'll know the Lord, not 475 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:37,960 forget the works of God, keep his commandments, that they 476 00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:41,120 might set their hope in God. That's what he says in verse 8. 477 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:46,200 And might not be as their fathers as stubborn, verse 7, 478 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:48,360 that they might set their hope on God and not forget the works 479 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:49,640 of God, but keep his commandments. 480 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:52,080 And might not be as their father a stubborn and rebellious 481 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:55,600 generation, a generation that set not their heart aright and 482 00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:58,680 whose spirit was not steadfast with God. 483 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:02,160 If there's a verse that describe fathers and Ulster, that would 484 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:05,320 be a verse. Those fathers need to repent. 485 00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:07,480 Those fathers need to get right with God. 486 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:10,280 Those fathers need to return to the House of God in the day of 487 00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:14,560 God and receive the word of God with meekness and say I've got 488 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,800 word from God and part of that word is this. 489 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:22,760 I'm to teach and tell my children this revelation from 490 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:24,480 God. I delight in this. 491 00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:26,800 Is that what you delight in today? 492 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:29,080 I've only scratched the surface here. 493 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:33,639 Sometime maybe in the autumn we'll deal with a wee four or 494 00:34:33,639 --> 00:34:37,400 five message series on the home, deal with the family, and this 495 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:40,080 will be part of it. The Lord bless you this morning. 496 00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:42,159 Happy Father's Day to those that are here.