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For Fathers, Excellence Or Obedience?
2 Chronicles 34:3-8,
1 Thessalonians 2:11
June 18, 2006 (Fathers Day)
The Rev. Kong Namkung
Today is the father’s day. A married coupled was celebrating their fiftieth anniversary in a church fellowship hall. The wife was smiling, but the husband had tears in his eyes. The wife asked the husband, ‘Honey, what’s wrong?” He replied, “Fifty years ago today, your father put a shotgun to my head, and said, `if you do not marry my daughter, I will put you in jail for the next 50 years.’ If I had listened to him, I would be a free man tomorrow.”
On this special day I want to share with you what about the duty and responsibilities of being a spiritual father by comparing Excellency and obedience.
I. Excellency
1. It is used in the business world
2. It seeks partial perfection – bringing profits for oneself or the organization that he/she belongs to.
3. It is enough to seem perfect to their customers – as long as it does not cost a lot, or damage the person or a company little bit, the person will pursuit, but when it costs a lot, the person is willing to quit or resign from the position.
4. It has mixed standard. In order to have Excellency the person or any companies will do anything.
5. It changes depending upon the situation
II. Obedience
1. The purpose of obedience is to aim for perfection
2. It requires faithfulness rather than successfulness
3. It has a fixed standard. Set one goal and all behavior will be determined by the goal.
4. It does not change depending upon the situation and environment.
III. The Middle Ground
Is it profitable for Christians to stop short at the middle ground of excellence where costs are low, balanced somewhere between paganism and obedience?
In the church, we have a prayer vigil, bible quiz championship Tournament, Community Day, and so on. Limited people showed up. But when we have a Potluck, Public School Teachers recognition day, and so on we have more people here. We are often sitting together on the middle ground of Excellency, a good distance from God.
IV. Josiah
1. The son of Amon and the king of Judah (1 Kings 21:25)
2. Became a king at 8 and reigned for 31 years (22:1)
3. Repaired the temple (2 Kings 22:3-9)
4. Destroyed idolatry (2 Kings 23:4, 20, 24)
5. Observed the Passover (2 Kings 23: 21-23)
V. The Costs ---- To live worthy of God (1 The 2: 12)
1. Knowing God expects father’s obedience (Acts 5:29) Parent- child Gen 28:7, Husband- wife, master – slave, Ruler – subject, Leader- follower, and pastor- people.
2. Spending time with other Christian fathers— One of African wisdom sayings says, “If you walk fast, you walk by yourself, if you walk long, - walk with other people.”
3. Setting family devotion time
4. Demonstrating good examples for your children - do not curse, do not lie, do not see inappropriate pictures or did, movies. Show God’s love to your wife and children, teach your children how to serve others, especially poor and the people who are in need, worship God. Some of us have educational fund in our bank for our children’s future education. It is good, but it will be the best for children to see good examples from our father.
Today is the father’s day. All fathers work very hard from 6 am to 6 am, bringing a small amount of a check, when he comes back, he is really tired, and wants to take a rest. But he has some chores to do. On weekend he cuts the grass, fixes some in the house, and when time allows him, he watches sports. Fathers are living this way.
However, if a father does not pursuit spiritual growth, children cannot do it by themselves, if a father does not seek God in his life, his household will not seek God in their lives. If a father does not have a fixed standard, his family will be confused to live in this crooked generation. If a father does not put God first in his life, his home will be chaotic. Therefore, my beloved, fathers, let us seek obedience, let us pursuit God as our priority, and let us search for loyalty to God. Glory be to the father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen
2 Chronicles 34:3-8
3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek
the God of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and
Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles, carved idols and cast images. 4 Under
his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the
incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles, the idols
and the images. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those
who had sacrificed to them. 5 He burned the bones of the priests on their
altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. 6 In the towns of Manasseh,
Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, 7 he tore
down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder and cut to
pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
8 In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, to purify the land and the temple,
he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son
of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the LORD his God. NIV
11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. NIV
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