Hebrews 11:1-12 “Faith of Our Fathers” A young man stood in front of a judge as he prepared to hear what his prison sentence would be. The judge knew this young man since his childhood because his father was a famous legal scholar. As the young man stood and waited, the judge remembered his father as the author of an extensive study entitled, The Law of Trusts. The judge then asked this young man, Do you remember your father? I remember him well, your honor, the boy replied. The judge asked him, As you are about to be sentenced and as you think of your wonderful dad, what do you remember most clearly about him? There was a pause. Then the judge received an answer he had not expected. The young man replied to the judge, I remember when I went to him for advice. He looked up at me from the book he was writing and said, Run along, boy; Im busy! When I went to him for companionship, he turned me away, saying Run along, son; this book must be finished! Your honor, you remember him as a great lawyer. I remember him as a lost friend. The judge mumbled to himself, Alas! The great lawyer finished the book, but lost his son! The challenge all fathers face today is finding time to spend with their children. It is now estimated that 50% of all American children may go to bed at night without being able to speak to their father. A psychologist pointed out that when father do not pay enough attention to their children’s needs, it leads to great changes in the home. Fathers spend an average of only 38 seconds a day being totally attentive and 20 minutes being partially attentive to their childrens needs. Associated with these changes are the rising teen-age suicide rate, which has tripled in the last 20 years, and the increasing incidence of delinquent behavior, which will bring one of nine youngsters in the U.S. into a courtroom each year. Fathers are vital to the stability of any community. One of the most unique understanding of God Jesus gave to us is that we should consider God first and foremost as our Father. No other religion dares call God Father except Christianity. When we call God, Father, this means we have a personal relationship. To say “Our Father,” means we worship one who treats us as a loving father. As we say the Lord’s Prayer and begin “Our Father,” we must also develop a close relationship to say, “My Father.” Fathers are crucial to family life. God created Adam and Eve to provide a balance to the home. That is why Adam called Eve, “a suitable companion,” the proper partner. They both needed each other to complete the home. As we have celebrated Mother’s Day in May, we now celebrate Father’s Day in June as a reminder of how important this balance is. One of the problems many churches face is that there are fewer men attending church. The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) did a feature on why many men no longer attend church. They interviewed a man named Cliff about why he doesn’t go to church he told them church was boring, irrelevant and hypocritical. But his real reason for not going to church is because of his masculinity. The report went on to say, “The ideology of masculinity has replaced Christianity as the true religion of men. We live in a society with a female religion and a male religion: Christianity, of various sorts, for women and non-masculine men; and masculinity . . . for men.” In other words, many men tend to believe “church is something for women and children, not men” (cbn/spirituallife/ChurchAndMinistry/menhatingchurch.aspx). When did that change? In the founding days of the church during the earthly ministry of Jesus, majority of those in the church were men. When we look at the history of the Church, we have those we consider Fathers of the Church. These were the men whose faith inspired others and kept the Gospel message alive. These were the men who were persecuted because they knew Jesus and they refused to deny him even at the risk of death. These Fathers of the Church had deep and abiding faith even in the face of opposition. The church has always faced hostility and attack. It was to such a group of Christians who were facing resentment that the writer of the book of Hebrews addressed his letter. He wrote to encourage them to remain steadfast and unwavering in keeping the faith that Jesus gave us. As a way of inspiring them, the writer of Hebrews gave them a list of great men of faith, great fathers of our faith who experienced the same obstacles but remained focused on Christ alone. He mentioned Abel who did not offer God leftovers or pocket change but gave God his very best and God accepted his offering. He talked about Enoch who was listed in Genesis 5:24 as one who lived in fellowship with God and because of that, he did not die but was taken up to heaven bodily. He referenced Noah who lived in a time of great wickedness but remain faithful to God and God was pleased with him. Then there was Abraham who knew he and his wife Sara were way beyond child-bearing age but believed the promise from God of a son. The writer of Hebrews could have continued on to name other fathers of our faith such as Simon Peter who was crucified upside down because he felt he was not worthy to die as Jesus did. We know of John who was exiled to the Island of Patmos for his faith. History tells us of St. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Wesley, Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke, two of the first bishops who worked diligently to spread Methodism in America. We can even list in our own conference and districts and in this charge the great men of faith who served Christ in wonderful ways to make the Gospel known. Today there are still men of faith in this district and the charge who are great examples and samples of what it means to be a faithful follower of Christ. All these were men whose faith kept the flame of the Gospel burning bright for Christ. These men had faith. In Hebrews 11, faith is described as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This means, the faith these great men of the church had was a faith that was absolute. They had never seen heaven, but because Jesus told them about it, they believed it. The faith of our fathers is one in which we can’t see the Holy Spirit, but we feel him in our hearts, and see him at work in the lives of others. The faith of our fathers was one that gave them power to face all situations in life; they did not fear death because they understood to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord. Their faith made them stronger especially during times of adversity. The faith they had was able to turn obstacles into opportunities, problems into possibilities, and tribulations into triumphs. Christianity has always been a religion for families. To those men who say Church is for women and children, I say to them, “Real men love Church and follow Jesus.” Today more than ever, we need fathers in our homes to step up. Dr. James Dobson, who is known for his radio program, “Focus on the Family” quoted another Christian leader who said, “The most important predictor of criminal behavior is not race, not income, not religious affiliation. Its a father absence. Its boys who grow up without their fathers. Dr. Dobson then added, “Our very survival as a nation will depend on the presence or absence of masculine leadership in the home. Today more than ever, we need fathers in the churches to step up and help guide those youngsters who may not have a father figure in their lives. Some of these young people only need someone to say some kind and reassuring words to them to let them know that they matter to God and to society. Men and fathers in the church can expand their arms of love and embrace those unfortunate young people whose fathers are absent. A Christian magazine suggested 12 Practical Ways for Men to Impact Fatherless Kids: 1. Be a mentor to a boy without a father through Big Brother or some other agency 2. Contact your local junior or senior high school to tutor a needy kid 3. Teach Sunday School 4. Become a leader in Awana, Pioneer Clubs, or Adventure Club 5. Meet one-on-one weekly, with a boy in your church or neighborhood who doesnt have a father in the home 6. Become a leader in Boy Scouts or Cub Scouts 7. Coach Little League or some other sport 8. Volunteer to work with needy kids in an inner city ministry 9. Hire a potentially at risk kid for yard work or in your business 10. Become active youth leaders in your local church or a Para church organization 11. Start a church-based sports league that reaches out to needy kids in the community 12. Lead a Bible study in a juvenile detention center or group home. If the father of this young man who was being sentenced to prison had spent more time with his son, I’m sure his life would have been different. In the history of the church, we have the stories of church fathers whose faith continues to inspire and encourage us today. The faith of our fathers is what brought us this far and we still need it to pass on the church to the next generation. Happy Father’s Day. May we look to God our Father for powerful ways to be good fathers not only to our biological children, but to all children we meet in the name of Jesus, amen
Posted on: Sun, 15 Jun 2014 01:31:04 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015