The Choice of Fatherhood
by Kevin Allen
June 21, 2020 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Matthew 1:18-19, Matthew 1:20-24, Matthew 2:13-15, Matthew 2:19-23, Luke 2:22-24, Luke 2:48-52

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kevin-allen--the-choice-of-fatherhood
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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Happy Father's Day to all of our fathers. I know it's been said multiple times, but I don't think we can thank them enough. So, happy Father's Day, everybody. To all those watching online, we welcome you here at Center Point. We appreciate you being with us today and joining us for this service. You know, there's no higher calling in my life than that of being a dad. I know I wear many hats and I take each one of them very seriously, but I take none more seriously than that of being a father. For I know the impact it has beyond the moment I'm in right now. It carries on. It's a lot of weight. I think often times people dismiss the things that God brings into our lives. You know, during World War II there was a story that's been told. I've ran across it a few times of a of a father and a son. They're in the middle of one of the bombing raids that's taking place there in England. Bombs falling all around, explosions going on, just the concussion that's almost makes you lose your sense of direction. And father's doing his best to try to get his son to safety.

And after one explosion happened not too far in front of them, there was a huge crater that was created from the explosion that took place. And the father runs and he jumps down in the hole and turns to look to his son. He's like, "Son, come on, jump down in here with me." Little boy's crying, "But Daddy, I can't see." He couldn't see his father through all the dust and the dirt and the debris that was there. He could hear his dad's voice, but he couldn't see him. Now, the father could see his son well from the silhouette of his body being perched there in the sky behind. He's saying, "Son, I can see you. I know where you are. Just jump. I promise I'll catch you and I won't let you fall." How many times in my life I felt like God had me in that exact moment except instead of me being the father, I was the son standing on the edge. I could hear his voice calling. But I couldn't see. I was a little nervous. I was a little unsure about what was taking place, but I could distinctively hear his voice saying, "Just jump.

I promise I won't let you fall." I'm so thankful for my heavenly father. That he's always there. He's always there. He never lets me fall. There's times when I felt like I was by myself, but as time has passed, as years go by, the more I realize I've never been alone. He's always been there. Often times the moments when I felt like he had abandoned me, he had not abandoned me. He was right by my side watching. He was allowing me to grow my faith in him. To trust and see that he was always there. I don't know who needed to hear that as I begin this message today, but I encourage you today. If it's been a while since you really trusted him, do it today. I promise he'll never let you fall. He'll always catch you. We're going to go to Matthew chapter 1. Going to read a few verses of scripture to get into my message today. I want to say happy Father's Day to my dad. Dad, I love you. Thank you for all that you do for me, for my family. Thank you for the life you lived, the example you set.

I want to say happy Father's Day to my spiritual dad, Bishop DuPree. Thank you, Bishop, for all that you've always done, for the life that you've lived. These two men, I don't know if anybody else that's had more of an impact in my life than these two guys right here in shaping me and molding me and making me who I am today. In Matthew chapter 1. Now, this may sound a little crazy when I read this because it seems like this would be more fitting if this was December. So, I'm not confused. Quarantine hasn't messed with my brain, okay? Stick with me. I have somewhere I want to go. Matthew chapter 1 verse 18. Now, the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man, and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. We have a minute. All right, Jesus, I'm so thankful your presence has been with us already today in this place and for what you're doing.

God, I submit myself for the next few minutes to you. God, use me whatever way you will. Take my voice. Let your words come across in this place. Anoint us to receive your word that's already anointed. In Jesus' name we pray. And amen. Mary, the mother of Jesus, has in my opinion, commanded quite a bit of attention in her life when it comes to her impact on her son Jesus. Rightfully so, after all, she did birth him. Some credit needs to be done there. But, we don't have a whole lot of documentation on the life of Joseph. What I want to do for the next few minutes is talk a little bit about what we do know and what we can glean from this information. We we we we see that he was a godly man. In fact, the verse that I just read to you said that he was a just man. The King James calls him a righteous man. That he was one that was willing to be obedient to God when God called and talked to him in his life. And I'll get to that in just a few minutes in a little bit further detail.

He was willingly going to what we see in the scriptures as quietly put away this situation he was having to deal with. More than likely, the good portion of the people in the room today listen to this and I dare say those listening online probably know the story about Mary and Joseph in their beginning. But just in case there's somebody here that doesn't know, I'm going to give you a brief little recap about what's taken place. Mary and Joseph, they're a couple that are are engaged. So there's something there, there's an attraction with each other. But what we may not fully understand in our day and age is is how engagements were done in ancient days. In biblical times. Engagements were actually legally binding before there was ever vows given, before there was ever officially declared to be husband and wife, just the very act of being engaged, declaring one's intent that they were going to get married actually put them together. Things were taking place, dowries were being put together. And in in most circumstances, the man, Joseph in this case, went back to his father's house because times are different than they are now.

Instead of building his own house, he he would be adding on a room or two to his father's house. So until he was done preparing a place for his bride to come, he would stay away from her. But the declaration had already been made. So we pick up in the story of Mary and Joseph and we have this information. We We have received this knowledge that they are engaged and that knowledge itself leads us to an understanding of Joseph was already about the business of preparing a place to go and bring his bride to. So you can see that a lot of preparation's been done here. It's not simply that he got down on his knee as we do in our society and he cracked open a little black velvet box and a little shiny item was in there and he said, "Would you do me the honor of" or whatever the words were. THAT THAT THAT MOMENT didn't take place for them. In all likelihood, there was a lot of dealings that was done with her father. Things were done differently then. But what I want you to walk away in this moment as we build into this message is simply this.

Joseph was committed. Mary was committed. This was something that they were going to do. They were preparing to build their life together. We we we know this from what history teaches us and the information we have in scriptures. So he's beginning to think about what was there. He He is now faced with this reality in the scriptures that we read that Mary is now pregnant. Now, here's what we know is is Joseph has not had relations with Mary. So this is very troubling. This is bothering to Joseph and I think that that most all of us in the room would would understand why he's bothered by this moment. He's upset because hey, I thought you and I had an arrangement, but now it seems as though you have you have left the arrangement, the agreement that was there. We haven't even been officially married and you've already turned your back on me. But we we have these words in the scripture there that says he's a just man. There was something good. There was a quality inside of Joseph even though he was upset by this news. In fact, the news even gets a little bit more upsetting because instead of her admitting that she had a relationship with another man, she she takes she she ups it a notch.

She says, "Hey, I just want you to know I'm pregnant and I'm pregnant with God's baby." And I think even in our day we can be like, "What?" Hang on. I mean, I heard you say pregnant and maybe I just skipped a minute there for a maybe blacked out, but I almost feel like you said it's God's baby. Well, no, no, honey, that's what I said. So he's dealing with a lot of stuff. He's having to process a big amount of information here. Now, legally there's those in the room who I know you like the legal side. Legally, he had every right in this moment to break off the engagement. Now, there would be some repercussions because of what's taken place. Legally, because she has been unfaithful, she has caused there to be shame in her family. Shame so much so and you can disagree with this if you want to and it doesn't matter whether you like it or don't like it, it's in the Bible. In that time, what would have happened was they would have drug her out to the gates of the city. Her father would have been the first one to grab a rock and stone her.

And the community would have killed her. Because of her bad decisions, because of her unfaithfulness to the obligation that was there, because she's caused shame and disgrace in the family. According to the scriptures, she was to be drug out. She was to the town gate and she was to be stoned to death. That was not to be allowed to happen. Okay? So, Joseph's dealing with, okay, I have the right to declare she's been unfaithful. But it puts this little It puts this little two-word in there. It says that he was a just man. He was a righteous man. And and in that whole event, you can tell there's still love. He still has affection. He still has feelings for Mary. He's not willing to go and do that. Instead, he resolves to put her away quietly. And in doing so, and you can miss this point, he takes on some of the shame himself. It's his decision. Now, he knows in the future it's going to come out that she's pregnant. And there is the possibility for there to be implications that he's the father of a child and he didn't want to live up to his obligation, so he decided to break off the engagement.

THERE'S A LOT AT PLAY HERE. But he's a just man. He's willing to wait this out and in his mind he he he's willing to say I don't I don't I don't want that to happen. I don't want her to die, but I I don't know that I can be with her. He's demonstrating a life dedicated to not only obeying God, but to putting others ahead of himself. Think about this. God chose an imperfect earthly dad to bring up the only begotten, the Messiah. What was it about Joseph that God chose him? He could have picked anybody. And there's have been a lot of time we've probably heard a a dozen or so messages about Mary and her commitment and they are all worthy to be preached and talked about. But what about Joseph? What was it about Joseph that God decided, "You're the guy. You're the guy that the begotten's going to go. YOU'RE THE GUY THAT'S GOING TO HAVE the responsibility of raising him in the formative years of his life." What was it about him? Think about this. God chose this imperfect man. What was God looking for? What are the qualities that God looks for in fathers today?

What is he searching for? And I'm reaching for dads. I am in the room and I'm not going to make any bones about it. It's Father's Day. I think it's natural to reach for every father and every future And every father that fathers even though he has not fathered, if that makes sense. Because we all have an obligation. It's ironic that Jesus' earthly father Joseph taught him how to use wood and nails, the very things that would be used later to kill him. And doing a little bit of research, I believe it's safe to say that that that Joseph died somewhere between his 12th and his 30th birthday in Jesus' life. Tradition tells us if you want to really want to get down in it, that Joseph died when Jesus was 18. That would have put Joseph somewhere around 110, 111. I'm 44. Having kids is not an old man's sport. My hat's off to Joseph already. That he was willing to take that leap. So, whatever is true, Joseph was there for Jesus during the formative years. He left his imprint on his life. For those fathers that are here today, God has blessed you with children.

But my question to you, as I go in this message, is can he trust you to raise them? Can he trust you to raise them? Ladies and gentlemen, if there's ever been evidence of the impact of missing fathers in our society, I think we've seen it in the last few months. It's evident that things have spiraled out of control. Now, am I here to beat down every father at somebody who shall rename remain unnamed in this moment was talking about a pastor always loves on the moms and beats the dads down. I'm not trying to beat any dad down today. Instead, I feel like I can speak as a father with a father's heart and say, "What an awesome obligation and responsibility he has given us." But I also say this, and I'm actually going to start my message now. Some of you got a little nervous. But I mean for real, I'm actually going to start it. This message is for everybody. But I'm especially reaching for dads today. You see, I believe fatherhood is a choice. In fact, that's the title of my sermon today. The choice of fatherhood. There are some men who have children, but they are anything but a father.

There are others who have no biological or adopted children, yet they father every day because of the choices they make. Fatherhood is a choice. To me, I look at this and I see that Joseph made a very clear choice to be a dad. Like Mary, he had no idea all the things that God had in store for him. There's no way. And I And I know this to be a truth. And And I And I And And And I can I'm a human being. Just because I pastor a church, just because I acknowledge the call of God on my life, it doesn't make me any different than anybody else. I don't I don't walk on water. You can ask my wife. I am just a man. She can tell you all my flaws and all my problems. She's got a list of them personally. There's a part of me, just like you, that there are times I want to go before God and say, "God, CAN YOU JUST TELL ME THE WHOLE STORY? LIKE, I know you're bringing me to this moment in my life and I'm experiencing this and I don't fully understand it.

Instead of me having to play the guessing game, God, why can't you just tell me? Right now, JUST LAY IT ALL OUT RIGHT HERE. THAT WAY I can go ahead and get my mind around it and I can make a plan and I can prepare and I can do my best." That's human logic, isn't it? Now, how many times has that worked for you? Cuz it's worked this many times for me. It's almost like I hear a distant chuckle in the background of God going, "Ha ha ha. No." There's no way that Joseph and Mary had any idea what they were going to face because if God would have come down and fully revealed it all, he revealed enough. But had he fully revealed it all, there's no way. HE WAS A JUST MAN and he would have just walked out of the room. So, God doesn't always give us the end. He usually gives us what we need for the moment. Ooh, there's a sermon right there. He gives you what you need for the moment. He gives you what you need to make the choice you need to make right now. For dads in the room listening to me, he's giving you what you need to make the choice you need to make right now.

He's not going to reveal the whole thing to you. We know how the end works out, right? Preachers talk about that. I don't know what the end of the book says. We do know what the end of the book says, but there's a lot between now and the end. And not all of it is known. In fact, the vast majority of it requires some faith that he is going to lead me down the road I need to go, but along the way I got choices to make. And in this case, there's a choice to be a father. Mary and Joseph, they were in love, they were married, they they had all this stuff going on. They had maintained their purity. We we see that in the scriptures. God, however, picked them both to be the earthly parents to Jesus. Mary to be the mother. She became pregnant. I told you that story a while ago. You have to believe that, too. I don't know I don't I feel like a sidebar note I need to say, you have to believe in the virgin birth. If you don't, this is all for nothing. You have to believe in the virgin birth.

Joseph was also to be the father. We see this that Joseph, the first thing he did, I don't know how many points I got but I have you. His first choice was to be reachable. We see this here in Matthew 1, starting at verse 20. But as he considered these things, what things? What things does he consider? He was a just man. He was going to put her away privately. She's pregnant. She's pregnant with God's child. He's dealing with all this. But look, it says, "As he considered these things, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." Okay, Joseph, you need to know it's from me, I'm going to tell you, "Hey, it's my it's my kid." Now, 21. She will bear a son, and you He's got a part to play in here. It's the father's In this day and age, it was the father's right to make the name. You're going to call his name Jesus. For he will save his people from their sins.

And all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which means God with us. Look at verse 24. When Joseph woke from his sleep, he did as he wanted to do. Is that what you read? No, what did he do? He did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but knew her not until she'd given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus. Now, interesting note, I don't know if you picked up on this, because I would have responded differently. Okay? Why? Because I've never had an angel come down. Maybe you have. Maybe you talked directly to an angel. Now, I'm not talking about you trying to be sweet and say, "My wife's an angel. I talk to her every day." The angel's coming to talk to him. Now, what I find interesting here is Joseph acts like this is normal. This lets me know he's a good man. He's a godly man. He's used to talking to God. This is not a strange occurrence. We don't know if there was an angel before or after this.

We don't All we know is in this moment, there was an angel. Actually, we know there's afterwards because it happens again, but before we don't know this. But, we see that it was a common thing that was taking place. He was not surprised. I'm wondering dads in the room, do you expect to hear from God? Do you? Your position that you're in fulfilling the role of being a dad, do you expect to hear from God? Because I'm here to admonish you, you should. You shouldn't allow mom to be the spiritual leader in the home. That's your role to fulfill. Yes, an angel talked to Mary. And I think under the circumstances, we understand why he needed to talk to Mary. But we have here, from this moment forward, that God's dealing directly with who? Joseph. I'm asking you, dad, are you expecting to hear from God? Because you should be. You should be reachable. You should be living in such a way that if God desires to speak to you about the family, that you're tuned in to what's GOING ON. WE SEE THAT'S WHAT JOSEPH was doing here. He was living in such a way that that God was able to easily talk to him.

Dads, are you living that way? Are you expecting for God to talk to you? Do you routinely hear from God? Would you recognize his voice if he spoke? Note what happens, the response here from Joseph. As soon as he awakens from the sleep verse 24, when when Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, he took his wife. There was no hesitation. It seems as though he was a man that was used to doing what to when when God spoke to him, he was used to being obedient. To obey. The testimony of all the great men and women of faith is that they simply obeyed God. They took delight when God spoke to them to be obedient and expedient in following what God wanted to do. You know, I I I have a lot of joy talking and and and laughing and and playing games with my teenage daughters. I don't know how this happened, but I have a junior and a freshman now. I don't know where the time went. It it it went really really fast. I enjoy being around them. I do, but um when they were younger, I remember coming home and as soon as the door would open, it was "Daddy's home!" And man, they come running around the corner and one on each leg and I'm trying to put, you know, my stuff down and just grabbing them up because Daddy's home.

You know, they don't do that anymore. It's usually like, "Oh, hey, Dad." Or hours later, "Oh, Dad, I didn't know you were home." Thanks, I guess. I don't I don't know. What How do I respond to that? I wonder sometimes if God misses that first love we had. I'm speaking to everybody right now. You remember that first love? You remember that altar time? You remember that when you were tackle a bus for Jesus time? But, you know, life goes on. We move on. We love God, we do. I know my girls love me. When's the last time you just were happy that he was here? You just happy. Just just just that he walked in the room. Not that you were dragging a whole bucket of needs behind you. But, that you were just happy that he showed up. See, our children need to see, I'm speaking to the dads now. I'm speaking to moms, too. Our children need to see us delight ourselves in the Lord. That we are happy. That we are living out scriptures. That when when we say, "I was happy when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord." Is Sunday a drudgery?

Is Sunday only an obligation an obligation? Are are you happy that it's church day? There's a lot riding on this, dads. There's a LOT RIDING ON HOW YOU RESPOND. I'm telling you the things that you will sell out to, that you are wholeheartedly committed to, you have a guarantee that your kids may be me- mediocre about it. But the things that you are mediocre about, statistically, your kids will care nothing about. Do you understand the obligation, the importance of you being the one One thing I can say about my dad, my dad's not a perfect man. He's not. But in his church time, we went to church. When you were sick, you went to church cuz you needed a healing. You didn't feel good, but you needed to go to the house of God. As I said before, I was drugged as a kid. Drugged every church service there was. But I was also in the presence of God. And I became accustomed to the presence of God. Don and Span, where are you at? Are you in this room? Years ago, lady, you spoke in that sanctuary over there about praying for your boys, that they would always have a heart, that would be sensitive to the Lord.

And from that service to this day, I have prayed every day since for my girls, to always have a heart that was sensitive to God. Thank you for sharing that. I needed to hear that. You know, I can't control everything they're going to do in life. I can't. I wish I could. But I can't. But as a dad, I can pray. As a dad, I can read the scriptures and says that you can turn the hearts of kings, you can turn the heart of my baby. In every way, Joseph was a great role model for a child to have. And God finds him in the right balance of love and grace and understanding for God and man. It was a rare thing in Joseph's day to be that way. The second thing I see the choice that was being made in Joseph is he chose to be responsible. Matthew chapter 2 verse 13. Now when they had departed, behold an angel. Here we go again. Appeared unto Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him." And he arose and he took the child and his mother by night and departed Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod.

This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt I called my son." Joseph, the father of Jesus in every way, when the life of Jesus was going to be threatened, he took action. Cuz that's what dads do. We're responsible. We understand our obligation. Joseph protected his family, a responsibility that every father should bear. To me it just came naturally. The moment they arrived, instantly instantly I I've said this story from the pulpit. I remember vividly all three births. I remember. My wife does, too. But I remember the Kaylee, the first time I know we and I and most of you know I did ultrasounds. That was my real job before I started preaching. That was a joke. You should laugh. Thank you. Appreciate you. Always looking out for me, Taylor. I remember even though I had seen her on that on that grayed out image, the moment I laid my eyes on her, something just gripped me in that moment. And I've said it before, it's as if God whispered and said, "Now you got a little idea how I feel about you." Chastity's screaming, "Take pictures! Take pictures!" I'm just looking cuz I'm in love.

In that moment I knew I'd die for her. I've only met her 2 minutes, but I'd die. I wouldn't even think about it. Cuz that's what a dad's supposed to do. That responsibility. Joseph doesn't argue with God when he's told to go to Egypt, he just goes. In my mind, that's why I feel like he had the Magi come and bring the gifts because the gifts were able to afford the trip to Egypt. Joseph put his family above his business. And when he did, God took care of their needs. Some father needs to hear that today. Joseph put his family above his business. It was about being obedient to God. It wasn't about buying him an Xbox or all these other things. And And do all that. I try to buy everything I can and we and have the ability to do for my kids if it's in within reason. But I'm not going to put that stuff ahead of what I know God's instructed me to do. In this world we live in a society, it's all about making them have joyful moments and always being there for every little obligation and whim and making sure they're never bored ever.

Where does that at? Where Where Where Where? They're kids. I don't care how much you give them, they'll get bored in 5 minutes after you gave it to them. You know, I got a stick and a popsicle and a slam door that said, "Don't you dare come back in here until the street lights are on." I turned out fine. I remember mama yelling through the window, "You ain't coming in the house." And it only took once or twice of telling her I was bored. Yeah, that That dog didn't hunt. Joseph put his family above his business. Joseph had his priorities correct because it was God first, family second, job third. What about your family? Dad, where you at? Where you at, Dad? Jesus could feel safe growing up with a father. No wonder it was easy for him to trust. No wonder the man Jesus stood in the garden and said, "Let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, at thy will." Because he had a earthly father who showed him that sacrifice is a part of life. A child that grows up in a home with a father who can sacrifice himself for their needs will never feel afraid.

And they understand love. I remember playing with my girls when they were young. I can't do it now. I mean, Kaylee's almost as tall as me, and so it's just impossible. But, you know, you got a little so you throw them in the air, right? So, they're throwing them at my girls. Love to hold them in my hand. My dad's got a picture of me there I mean, being held in his hand. I did that with my girls, holding them up, right? And they're just up there, right? Just living living the life. Loving this Throw them as high as you can throw them. They're all loose and limber, and no big deal. Just Whee! Yeah. What's try to do that with somebody you If I could If I could, you'd be stiff as a board. Rigid. Why? Cuz like, "Well, you may have got me up, but what about when I come down?" But not them. Not my girls. They knew what Dad was always going to catch them. Are you living your life with God knowing he's always going to catch you? What happens when we get older? All of a sudden, it's like, "Well, wait.

We're more mature now. There's some things." Bible says a lot about childlike faith. And you can have that. And I see that Joseph was teaching his son the importance of trusting the father. Third thing I see here that Joseph chose to be reliable. Verse 19 in chapter 2 of Matthew, but when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt saying, "Rise, take that child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when they heard that Archi- Arche- David Galloway, how do you say that? You're asleep, David. What what come up? It's okay. Sorry, David. I I I picked on you. I'm sorry. was reigning over Judea in place of his Herod his father. He was afraid to go there, being warned in a dream, withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a city called Nazareth. And so that what was spoken by the prophets may be fulfilled that he would be called a Nazarene.

Now notice, with each new development, Joseph had no problem hearing from God. I love the fact that Joseph didn't get comfortable with the fact and then try to launch out and do things on his own. We've all been guilty of that. We get comfortable because things are going okay, and all of a sudden we become less reliant on God. I'm going to tell you, when things are going the best, that's when you need to be the most reliant on God, not the least. Not the least. Sometimes you misunderstand what comes your way. You think because it's a financial blessing, you think because a door's open for you, think because things have just worked out that all of a sudden, I got things figured out, it's going my way. Could it be that God's saying, "I just wanted to see if I gave you this if you'd still talk to me?" And you proved in that moment, in that very moment, what you're really a what you've really aligned yourself with. Be careful. Be careful. I know I'm going slower for a Sunday. I know usually I'm I'm I'm whooping and hollering up here, but I felt very strong in my spirit today to slow down and kind of treat this message not only to fathers, but to everybody that's here.

Don't misunderstand these moments in your life. He's consistent. And this is a This is a real need for children in the world today is consistency. Is any wonder with the breakup of homes and families that so many kids have resorted to despair and crazy things in their life? Because they don't see any consistency in their world. They had the way for children to grow up and be reliable is is to live with a mom and a dad who are reliable. Who are steady. Who understand the importance of being there. No doubt God took this into consideration when he chose to do what he decided to do with Joseph. Children need to desire predictable atmospheres and moments in our life in order to feel safe. Kids need routine. Kids need structure. They may buck you on this, but they need routine and they need structure. And kids are always going to push to find out where their borders are. It's what children do. It's what you did. That's why it's important that you have a boundary established. And I don't care where you put it, they ain't going to like it. So, you might as well put it where it needs to be.

When we are reliable as earthly fathers, our children learn much more quickly that God can be trusted. Because he's their heavenly father. Take We taught the girls to swim in their swimming lessons. I remember when they were little young we first, you know, kind of doing their little bit of doggy paddle. They'd be pretty good for about 10 ft then all of a sudden they're like You could see them. Of course, there's a part of me that's going, "That's life. Yeah, everything's good." And all of a sudden But I noticed, you know, they'd be in the pool as long as I was close by they didn't worry so much. As As dad was in some kind of a distance they could touch, it didn't matter the depth of the water. As long as they were close to dad. Cuz they knew any moment they kind of tipped under dad would just pull them back up. That's the way life's supposed to be. That's why it's important you stay close to your heavenly father, dad. Because there's times when it feels like you're going under, your nose is about to tip, and he'll lift you back up.

Stay close. They need you, dad, in their life. Great parenting isn't always about having the best education or having the most money to give your kids. It's about consistency of character. There are plenty of unbelievable men and women who were raised by moms and dads that were that were poor and uneducated, but they lived a good character life in front of them, and their kids made something because mom and dad were consistent. Don't think just because you don't have everything that the person sitting in front of you, behind you, beside you, that your neighbor has, that it's going to make you a bad dad. It's not about those things. You cannot buy good parenting. You have to actually work at it. I remember reading the the the the the book from Dr. Ben Carson on Healing Hands, I think is the name of it. His mom made him turn in book reports every day. She couldn't read. But he still had to turn a book report in and then read it to his mama. She made something out of him. Because she was consistent in her life. There's little doubt of Joseph's character to me.

Even though there's little recorded about what he said, we know what he did, and what he did was he was obedient to God, and he did the right things consistently. It's not enough to bring your kids to church so that they can come to Sunday school. It's the Sunday school's teacher, it's the student pastor's position. I'm going to tell you, the greatest Christian life example is what you do in your house. Before you go casting stones and blaming everybody because your kid turned out to be a hellion, what life did you live in front of them? Cuz no matter where you like to shift the blame to, the greatest example they seen, lived every day, was in your house. So, what have you taught them? It's important. It's important, Dad. The next thing I see is that Joseph chose to recognize God. Luke 2 Luke chapter 2 verse 22. And when the time came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy into the Lord.

And to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. So, I get ready to close this out. I see here that Joseph was careful to recognize God's ownership of his son. You know, baby dedications, we we we do those around here. We haven't had one this year because we were changing up the format and then everything kind of got shut down, but in a few weeks we're fixing to have a baby dedication here in the church. Now, some may think this is just a cute photo op moment, that this is just a ceremonial thing. And then I've you heard me say and I'll say it that day whenever we do it, that this is nothing to do with a child's salvation. But it has everything to do with the parent understanding that what you blessed me with belongs to you. And I'm committing my life as mom and dad to raise them with a fear and understanding and respect for you, God. We see that Joseph is doing this. We see that he is recognizing the importance of God in his life.

He He underst understood the role of being obedient to God and in making sure that that that Jesus understood Jesus the man, Jesus the boy of where God was at in his life. Ultimately, Dad, it does not matter what others think about you as a father. There's only one opinion that counts. Only one. There's a story of Babe Ruth striking out on a bad call. He turns around to the umpire and begins to yell at him saying there's no way that was a strike. In fact, I believe he even used colorful language and called the umpire a tomato head. Something along the lines of 40,000 people agreed that that was not a strike, to which the umpire looked at him and said "Doesn't matter. Mine's the only opinion that counts. You're out." See, we we can live for the world if that's what you want. You can live for your buddies, you can live for your co-workers, you can live for what your family thinks is right, but there's only one opinion that counts. And that's his. So, Dad, are you living for such a way that that that God's opinion matters the most? Because that's what Joseph was doing.

God knew that that Joseph would have to be a man who could swallow his pride who considered the only important opinion to be that of God, someone who would not let the world's opinion keep him from doing what was right with Joseph. And my last point, Joseph chose a relationship with God. Verse 48 of Luke 2, and when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you with great distress." And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my father's house?" And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down to them, and he came to Nazareth, and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and men. As Jesus grew, he he witnessed the consistency of his dad's life with God. Every year they went up to Jerusalem because that's what the law said they were supposed to do.

They were going to sacrifice. Jesus is 12 now. In that society, they would have a ceremony that would take place. You probably heard about it called Bar Mitzvah. It was the signaling, the signifying of him going into adulthood. He wasn't an adult yet, but he was going there. He was making those choices. Beginning to have a little bit more freedom. It was in this uh time in this visit that Jesus seems to wander off. The family decides to go away. The celebration was over. And all of a sudden they realize, "Well, hey, he's not anywhere around us. Where is he at?" They begin to search for him, and they found him in the temple. To me, when I when I read this, I don't feel like Jesus' response was any anything that was disrespectful or sarcastic. I think he was kind of surprised as if, "Mom and Dad, didn't you understand? I mean, from the get-go, you've known what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm I'm just here doing what I'm supposed to be doing. Why were you taken back by that?" Mary's treasured things up. Joseph is there. We know he's present. But we see Jesus is submitted.

It's exactly what the scripture says that he was submitted to Mom and Dad. Jesus seen a life well lived in his dad. He's seen an image that was there that he represented. And he began to live that life out in front of in front of him. My last story has to do with the Alamo. I think it's Father's Day. That's a good story to talk about the Alamo, right? Bravery, dedication. On a wall near the entrance of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, is a portrait of Major James Bonham. A man who did not fight in the Alamo, the picture is an uncle to a man who did fight. Below the picture is an explanation that says, "No picture of James Butler Bonham, who fought in the Alamo, exist. But this picture of his uncle was placed here because they look alike. It is therefore placed here so that people may know the appearance of the man who died for freedom." We have no picture of Jesus. We don't Excuse me, of Joseph. We have no picture of Joseph. But we only have all that has been written about Jesus. To me, there's no doubt in my mind that his earthly father had a lot to do with his ability to turn out the way he did.

There had to be some similarities. There had to be some things he took away from his earthly father. Also from his heavenly father, yes. To me, when I read about this story there in Joseph, what little bit we have, it kind of made me want to be a better dad. When I see the choices that he was willing to make, the sacrifices, the decisions that were there, it made me reflect on myself and ask the question, "Am I choosing fatherhood right?" Let's be honest, the decision to be a dad is not that hard a decision to make. But to actually be a father is a choice that has a lot of cost to it. A A of sacrifice goes in. If you're really going to fulfill the role, it's going to take some stuff out of you. If you're going to do it the right way, it's going to cost you something. So, dads, I'm reaching for you today. Our society don't put a lot of weight on fatherhood. Entertainment, media, Hollywood, if you notice most every case There's a few exceptions, but most every case the dad is just a goofball. He He never seems to have a good idea.

He never seems to do anything right. He's just like this, you know, supporting actor off in the side while the rest of the family makes all the decisions and how things should be. That's not what the Bible paints as the picture of a father. Instead, it shows it as someone who should be very involved in decisions of the family. He should have a relationship with God to where they're used to hearing his voice. Who they prefer being obedient to what God is calling them to do over a career, over a hobby, over money. But understands the relationship order is God first, family, then job. I'm speaking to somebody today. That you got children watching you. And there's a lot riding on this. Because how you choose fatherhood makes all the difference in how those kids are going to view their relationship with their heavenly father. I can't tell you, and I'm ending with this, if you'll stand. I can't tell you how many times I mean, I it is so many times that I've been down in the altar area praying with somebody, and the Holy Ghost will prompt me to tell that individual, "Your heavenly father doesn't love you in the way your earthly father did.

Because they didn't have a good example. And they equate their relationship with their earthly dad as to how God views them. And I have to do a lot of unlearning to get them to understand that he doesn't view things that way. So, dad, there's a lot riding on this. Future fathers in the room, there's a lot riding on this. And you got to do it right. And I hope you choose father. Will you bow your heads as we pray? Jesus, in this moment right now, so much weighs on making right decisions in our life. God, I know this message was primarily for fathers, but for every individual in the room, I think it's important we take a moment to evaluate where we are. Are we making right choices in our life? Are we deciding to be reliable, trustworthy, being reasonable, being available? God, I pray for every mother and every father in this room to understand the importance of a life well lived committed to you has an impact that lasts generations. God, I pray as your presence moves across this room that we would do some soul searching today and ask ourselves, are we where we need to be with you?

God, I pray your drawing power move. Bring us to a place where we can come and know you. In Jesus' name.