Fathers Who Know Best

Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A little later in the program we'll tell you how you can get a copy of Dr. Graham's book, Man of God. But first, here's the message, fathers who know best.

I want you to take your Bibles and turn to Psalm number one, the first Psalm. Some of us remember those old sitcoms of the 50s. Leave it to Beaver with Ward. Ward was a great dad, wasn't he? Wally and the Beav had a great family.

And then there was Ozzie and Harriet. But my favorite, father knows best. I mean, dad could solve every problem because he always knew best.

Now granted, the problems of the 50s are a lot different than the problems of today. And therefore, however, is even a greater need for fathers who know best. Fathers who know how to lead their families. The kind of man, the kind of father spoken about in Psalm 1. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. I'm convinced there's not a man listening to me today who does not in his heart desire to see his role as a husband and father prosper. I want to challenge you men today, dads, to be fathers who know best. And I want to take the word father and form an acrostic from that word and from that word and that acrostic to identify some fathers or characteristics, principles in fathers who know best.

First of all, F represents the word and the principle faithful. Fathers who are faithful. And we must begin at the beginning. We must start with what is most important, and that is our faithfulness to God himself.

I can't be the right kind of man. I cannot be the right kind of husband or the right kind of father, and I am not at first right with God. I become right through God, and every person can only become right through God via a personal relationship with God's Son, Jesus Christ. God is our Father. He has chosen that word to describe himself with believers because that is the family and the fellowship, the family spirit and the fellowship that we enjoy with our God. He is our Father. And because he is our Father, it is possible for us to share his likeness, Christ as our example and Christ in filling us by his Spirit, enabling us to become the men and, of course, the women that God would have us to be. I want to ask you today, men, you're a male, but are you a man of God? Are you truly a man of God? Do your children see in you, represented in you, our Heavenly Father?

Frankly, there are many people today living in stark terror of God because their own fathers have misrepresented God the Father in their lives, so vitally important that fathers live like the Heavenly Father. I want to ask you today, are you a man of God? Many men are spiritually malnourished, and you are not growing spiritually. In fact, your spiritual life is a zero because you have not committed yourself in that day by day relationship with God. Now, it's not that you don't believe in God, it's not that you haven't received Christ, it's not that you don't believe the Bible. You believe God, you believe the Bible, but many men are not investing themselves in that personal and daily walk with God. You revere the Bible, but on a daily basis, on a regular basis, you are not consistent in your own private nourishing and spiritual fitness in the Word of God. And most men today, I would suggest that at least half of the men today in churches really don't know their Bibles all that well.

And because they don't know their Bibles all that well, they don't know the God of the Bible as well as God wants them to know him. And is it possible that God wanting us to lead our families, commanding us to lead our families, is it possible because we don't daily cultivate our relationship with God, because we don't daily spend time in the Word of God, that we are not spiritually prepared to nourish our own families and to lead our own families spiritually. I challenge you men to be men of God and to be the spiritual leaders of your home. That is not your wife's responsibility. That is not your pastor's responsibility. It is your personal, private responsibility to lead your own children and to lead your own family. Faithful to God.

Are you a devoted dad? Are you a daily disciple? Do you take time every day, preferably in the morning, to receive a briefing from God as to what you to do and where you to go? There are several reasons that it is so important that we get this daily briefing with God in God's Word and in prayer, spiritual aerobics. And we all have to make that conscious choice. And I tell you, it's a conscious choice for me every day. As long as I have been studying the Bible, as long as I've been a serious disciple of Jesus Christ, it's still a challenge for me every day. I get up and the first thing I want to do is get out, get the newspaper, read the sports page, and so forth. And I have to make a conscious effort every day to get my Bible first and to read God's Word and to spend time talking with God before I spend time talking with anybody else. But my day always goes so much better and I'm a better husband and I'm a better father, I'm a better man when I spend that time.

You say, well, why is that so? Well, number one, a daily time with God, men, dads who are daily disciples, means that we begin our day under the control of God. I need to know that my life is in the hands of God. I need to know that my life is being controlled by the hand of God. I need to know that God is in charge of my life every day. And it is in that time when I report to him, when I seek him, that he lets me know, Jack, I'm in charge. I'm in control.

Trust me. It's also in that daily time where I am stabilized in my convictions and supported in my convictions. We live in a rough world.

We live in a tough world. We live in a dirty world in which our convictions are often challenged day by day. And I need the spiritual and emotional support that the scripture gives me every day because when my convictions are challenged, when my beliefs are challenged, I need to know what I believe and why I believe what I believe. And I need to be strong as a man of the word so that I can meet the challenges of everyday living. And not only that, but I need that time because I need to be reminded of what's true in life.

So many falsehoods, so many untruths bombard our brains every day. And as Christians, as men, we need to know what's true, what's right, and what's wrong, and be rekindled every day in spiritual fire and spiritual fervor in our walk with God. Fathers, are you faithful to God?

But not only faithful to God, are you faithful to your wife? The best way to be a good parent is first to be a good partner. The best way to be the right kind of dad is first of all men to be the right kind of husband. The environment that is created between men and women in the marriage relationship, unconditional in love and commitment, permanent in his relationship, brings a sense of consistency and stability to the home like nothing else.

According to Dr. J. Strike, the number one question asked by teenagers today, not, Dad, can I have the car keys? Not, Dad, can I have a raise in my allowance? But the number one question that kids ask, Dad, do you love Mom? And many of our children live in the fear, the nightmare that somehow the family is going to break down, their own family, that Mom and Dad don't love each other anymore. And somehow they sense maybe that's our fault, maybe that's my fault in this family.

And the breakdown of the home and the breakdown of the family, because Dad doesn't love Mom any longer, is so devastating and damaging. But dads who make a difference, fathers who know best, in spite of feelings, are committed to their wives, period. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and today's message, fathers who know best. Our world desperately needs men of God, strong men who model gentleness, lead with humility, and speak the truth in love. We want to help you identify the traits of a real man of God by sending you Dr. Jack Graham's insightful book, Man of God.

Our thanks for your gift today. In it, Dr. Graham gives you biblical insights to what a true man of God looks like to his spouse, his family, and the world. To request your copy of Man of God, call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627.

You can also text PowerPoint to 59789. And don't forget to visit JackGraham.org where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online, or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional. Our website, again, is JackGraham.org. Now let's get back to today's message, Fathers Who Know Best. Fathers who know best are faithful. Then fathers who know best are available.

That's what the A represents. Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 8. So affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives because you had become dear to us. The apostle Paul, spiritual father, the Christians at Thessalonica said, not only were we faithful to God in giving you the gospel, but we gave you ourselves. We gave you our very lives. Give your families the Lord, yes.

First and foremost, give your family the Lord, but also give your family your own life. Our children need to know that we are available. Your children need to know that they're vitally important. Go to those ball games, those school plays, those recitals. Make it a part of your schedule and make it a part of your life. Don't slough off your kids.

You say, well, my kids, you know, they're happy whether I'm there or not. Well, I heard about a man who came home from work. He was exhausted on Friday evening.

Been a tough week. And he said, you know, I can't wait till tomorrow because it's golf day. I'm going to tee off, play 36 holes tomorrow.

I can't wait. He got home exhausted, and his little boy came running up to him and said, Dad, Dad, tomorrow's the big day, remember? We're going fishing tomorrow. And he thought, oh, my goodness, I promised him we'd go fishing.

So true to his promise, he said, all right, son, we'll go. He didn't like it, but he was going. He got in the car early, early the next morning and drove 50, 60 miles out of town, got the boat, got in the lake. Middle of the lake, threw the lines in. Nothing was biting and hadn't been out there long until the storm clouds rolled in and it started raining. And it rained, and it rained, and it rained all day long. They were drenched.

They were soaked. Didn't catch a single fish all day long. After hours and hours of exhausting futility, they got out of the boat, back in the car, drove back home, both went to bed exhausted, got up the next day and dad was in the kitchen with mom and she said, well, how was your day fishing yesterday? Dad said it was terrible. It was miserable. We spent all day, didn't catch a thing, got soaking wet.

It was the worst day of my life. Mom said, well, before you go on, maybe you ought to read this. And it was their little boy's diary. And on the diary page from yesterday, Saturday, the little boy had written, it was the best day of my life because I got to spend all day with my dad all by himself. Dads, you ought to make every day a great day for your kids. Make it a priority.

Your family is life's most precious treasure. Men, be available. Let the T stand for tender.

Let that T stand for tender. Turn back in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 4, verse 32. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Many of us who are men are facing somewhat of an identity crisis today. You know, what is a man to be? Well, I'll tell you one thing that we're supposed to be, men. And this is one of the most manly, man things you can do. And that is with your wife, your children, your family, and with others to be tender-hearted and kind.

You can be tough on the inside but tender on the outside like a velvet-covered brick. And I believe that men in their families and with their children should be verbally and physically affectionate. Lots of hugs. Lots of pats on the back. Lots of expression of love.

Studies have been shown in the lives of promiscuous girls and women that often those girls and women are only seeking the affection of a man because they never receive the affection and the affirmation of their own fathers. I love you. God the Father said it.

We ought to say it. I'm appreciative of my dad. My dad was a man's man. He was tough and yet tender. Growing up, before he really got his life right with the Lord, he was a street fighter.

Once knocked a guy off the top of the bleachers because he was flirting with my mother. I used to ask him, what are those scars on your face, Dad? He said, never mind, son. Something about brass knuckles, I don't know. But he was a tough man.

I had a tattoo on his arm and it looked like Popeye. When I said to my friends, my dad can beat up your dad, I meant it. He was a tough dad. But every night, every night of the world, my dad would say these words to me. Good night, son. Sweet dreams, my love.

Isn't that corny? But I can't tell you what that did for me emotionally, what that did for me as my father's son to strengthen me, to give me a sense of stability in my life, to know I was loved, that I had the blessing of my father. And the blessing that your boys and girls need from you, Dad, cannot be underestimated. That includes, this tenderness includes being willing to forgive and to be forgiven. Because we do make mistakes as parents. No parent is perfect. But a parent needs to be man enough, woman enough, to admit failures and admit mistakes. And I can tell you there are a lot of times that I must humble myself before my own children and say these words. I'm sorry I was wrong. Forgive me.

Let that H stand for helpful. 1 Thessalonians 2 verses 11 and 12. Let me just read it instead of asking you to turn to it. Just make note of 1 Thessalonians 2. As you know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father does his own children that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. We are to help our children.

How? In the instruction of the ways of God. We are to give our children protection. Help them by protecting them, sheltering them in the storms of life. How many times have our children run to us, especially when they're little, and they're hurting and they need somebody there to wrap them up in the arms of love and protect them?

Well, when they get a little older, they still need that protection. They still need you to be there when they are hurting and then they need direction, vision for life and vision for leadership, vision to establish godly goals to glorify God so that they can express the will of God and the plan of God for their own lives. One good way you can help your children grow is to get your children around heroes of the faith, other men and women of God, invite them into your home, expose your kids.

They're exposed to all kinds of lunatics in society. Expose your kids to men and women of God and undergird your own spiritual lives with the lives of others, whether it's a minister, a youth minister, a family friend, or good books about great Christian leaders. But help your children in that way. D stands for encouragement. Encouragement.

We're to encourage one another under good works, the scripture says. Did you know our children rise to the level of our own expectations? Tell them they're the best. Tell them they can do it. Encourage them in the things that they do and they will rise not to meet your expectations but beyond your expectations to become a man and woman of God.

Finally, let that R stand for real. Be genuine. And especially be genuine during the tough times of life because that's when your kids are watching. How do you respond when the going gets tough?

Financially, domestically, personally, when you're going through the storm. What do your kids see? Do they see a man solid and strong built on the rock?

Or do they see somebody falling apart and wonder why? You can con a con, you can fool a fool, but you can't get a kid. Kids can spot a phony a mile away. Be God's man, full of God's spirit. Let those little children see Jesus in you. Fathers who know best are faithful, available, tender, helpful, encouraging, and real every day. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and today's message, fathers who know best. Today's culture has so distorted the concept of masculinity that some even reject it as toxic. But our world doesn't need less manly men. We need more men of God, men who love Jesus, make loving husbands and fathers, and lead as servants. We'd like to help you uncover what God says about true masculinity by sending you Dr. Graham's book, Man of God.

You'll gain biblical insight into how you or the men in your life can live with purpose and passion, putting Christ first and living radically for him. Man of God is our thanks for your gift to help proclaim God's word through PowerPoint. So request your copy when you call today. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627.

You can also text PowerPoint to 59789. And don't forget to visit JackGraham.org where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online, or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional. Our website, again, is JackGraham.org. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? Well, Scott, I was just thinking, we really need some fat fathers. By that, I mean not overweight dads.

We got enough of that, I'm sure. But fathers who are F-A-T, faithful, available, and tender. Fathers like that make a difference in the lives of their children. These are the fathers who truly know what is best.

They are encouraging, they are authentic, and they are helpful with their families every single day. So with that in mind, let me share a little poem with you. Well, what are you going to be, my boy, when you reach your manhood years? A doctor, a lawyer, an actor great, moving throngs to laughter and tears? But he shook his head as he gave reply in a serious way that he had.

I don't think I'd care to be any of them. I just want to be like my dad. He wants to be like his dad. You men, did you ever think as you paused that the boy who watches your every move is building a set of laws? He's molding a life you're the model for, and whether it's good or bad depends on the kind of example set to the boy who'd like to be like his dad.

Would you have him go with you wherever you go, have him do the things just as you do, and see everything that your eyes behold of all the gods that you woo? When you see the worship that shines in the eyes of your little lovable lad, could you rest content if he gets his wish and grows up just like his dad? It's a job that none but yourself can fill. It is a charge you must answer for. It is a duty to show him the road to tread ere he reaches manhood's door. It is a debt you owe. For the greatest joy on this old earth to be had is the pleasure of having a boy to raise when he wants to be just like his dad.

Be a father who knows best so that when your little ones grow up, they too will know what's best. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Man of God, as our thanks. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 59789. And join Dr. Graham next time when he brings a message about the simple thing you need to be used mightily by God. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.