Father’s Day Celebration, Deuteronomy 6:1-8; 20-24
Dear fathers, a day you spend with your children is never a wasted time. You must learn to pause and invest your time on your children because your healthy interaction with them is fundamental to developing their sense of being somebody and this feeling will last a lifetime. God has given you a marvelous opportunity to shape the life of your children, so every hour you spend and interact with them, is a big payoff in the end. But how do you really make a positive impact in the life of your children? Here’s what the Bible says to fathers.
1. Fathers are models of obedience.
“Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you may do them in the land where you are going over to take possession of it, 2 so that you, your son, and your grandson will fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 Now Israel, you shall listen and be careful to do them, so that it may go well for you and that you may increase greatly, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.” Deuteronomy 6:1-3.
· God has purposed the fathers to become godly models to their children.
· Almost all the 1st generation of Israelites who came out of Egyptian slavery died in the wilderness. Now, the 2nd generation of Israelites, could not enter the Promised Land unless they commit themselves to the covenant their fathers have entered.
· If Israel follows God’s ways, God will bless them and all the nations around them will see His visible favour on them.
· God gave the fathers the responsibility to lead their families in obedience and holiness.
2. Fathers are God’s instruments in His hand.
“4 Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 And you shall repeat them diligently to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. 8 You shall also tie them as a sign to your hand, and they shall be as frontlets on your forehead.” Deuteronomy 6:4-8.
· Good role models are credible teachers.
· Fathers must lovingly instruct their children how to love God, so that it will be in direct contact with their minds.
· Talk about God with your children even in the ordinary moments that happen daily, anywhere, and anytime of the day.
· God will show favour on fathers who would diligently teach their children the ways of God. See Deuteronomy 5:10.
· Be gentle and kind when you teach the word. See Ephesians 6:4.
3. Fathers are channels of God’s blessing.
“20 “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23 And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. 24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day.” Deuteronomy 6:20-24
· God is a saving God. vv.21, 23
· God is a miracle worker. v.22
· God keeps His promises. v.23
· God is a personal God. v.23
· God works for our good. v.24a
· God sustains His people. v.24b.
· God expects the fathers to tell their children who God is. v.20
· The greatest blessing that we can pass on to our children is knowing God according to the Scriptures.