Today is a very special day that all fathers can be proud and grateful for a special day dedicated to us. Many mothers are included since they were left alone with the children and no help from the man supposed to be called father. However, we cannot let one bad egg spoil the crate, but my encouragement is for all real fathers to rise above your failures and move in a positive direction. As we begin this special day here is my message to you.

You, father?

Maybe he gets crabby sometimes. Maybe he could tell you things a little more gently. Perhaps he even blames and scolds you unfairly once in a while. But think of all the times when you did something wrong and got away with it. You’re still far ahead of the game. And don’t think your father is angry or grouchy every time he looks or talks in a serious way; maybe he’s really worrying about you, and with good reason. The next time he gives you a good going-over, take it like a good soldier who has made a mistake. Don’t ever go away with a grudge in your heart against your father — a grudge that won’t wear off for three or four days. You don’t have to put a halo on your father’s head or wings upon his shoulders to get the right picture of him. But remember that he is not just the man who provides the home in which you live, the food you eat, the clothes you wear and the money you spend.

He is your father!

Father gets little enough in return for all he does and gives. Love from his children? Certainly! But love packed in little packages and so tightly wrapped that poor father wears himself out looking for the speck of love that is tossed to him. And it’s a rare day when he has to get out an umbrella to protect himself against the showers of thanks that are rained upon him. But he keeps on working and providing and giving. He is satisfied with the happiness he provides for his family. I like that. Father gets a lot of ole talk and too little credit. So it is good to have a day when we pause to honor our fathers. However, we would waste our precious time if we allow it to evolve into sloppy, sentimentalism about fatherhood. Instead, I would like to share a word from the wise King Solomon having to do with fatherhood.

The Bible has a lot to say about fathers. There is no way in which we can deal with all of it. So today I’ll focus on two verses: Proverbs 3:11-12. “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”

The implications in these verses can help you and me confront who we are as fathers. These could be reduced to a statement of fact for consideration. It would be something like this: The good father is the one who is disciplined and disciplining. Let us remember some of the implications which undergird this statement.

Every father is also a child.

The wise king addresses his words of counsel by saying, “My son…..” Let us never forget that we are children no matter how old we get. Think about that. You are always a child. You have an earthly father. You have a heavenly Father. You and I did not just appear full-grown. We are the products of the human reproductive process. Without an earthly father you would not exist. And without a heavenly Father, who started the whole creative process, you would not be alive today. This is so basic that it almost goes without saying. However, it is one of the most easily forgotten facts. There is something within you and me that rebels against authority. You and I want autonomy. We would just as soon not have to keep tipping our hats to our earthly parents and our heavenly Parent. Why not? Because it is humbling.

Deep within each of us is a desire to consider ourselves self-made. Perhaps it is the youth who comes from poverty circumstances. With the right combination of breaks and hard work, he gets an education, is established in a vocation, and is labeled a success. He becomes part of the “super star syndrome.” Articles are written about him. He makes it to the top. Little attention is given to the earthly parents who gave him his start. He may tip his hat in appreciation as he receives his award for what he has accomplished.

On the other extreme, there is the wealthy heir. He has inherited the family fortune. All his life he works hard to convince the world that he is someone in his own right. He may do it by trying to achieve in an area in which his father had no particular expertise. Or he may do it by developing a whole new value system in which he walks away from the fortune to live an alternative life-style. Some even squander the fortune in their frenzied endeavor to establish their own autonomy. You can read all about this in the story of the prodigal son. Most of us do not fit into these various extremes. We are somewhere in the middle. Yet we are just as determined to prove ourselves. In all of our efforts, as good as they may be, let us never forget that we are products of earthly fathers and mothers, and we have a heavenly Father to whom we are responsible. The Scriptures teach that every good and every perfect gift we have comes from Him. It is a humbling thought.

At the same time, it is a liberating concept. We are in relationship, whether we want to be or not, with the divine personality who entitles us to every breath we breathe. He, with one switch on the cosmic control board, can cut off our existence. It is an awesome thought. We try to repress it. Nonetheless, it is true. We are children, dependent upon His mercy, dependent upon His love, and dependent upon His daily provision. We need to remember that.

As fathers who are children, we need continuing wisdom.

Today’s text is set in the larger context of the entire third chapter of Proverbs. This chapter has, as its central theme, your and my need for wisdom. You and I are exhorted to seek wisdom. (Proverbs 3:1-18).

Is there any quality which gives more dignity to a father than wisdom? Those of us who acknowledge the fact that we are children of both earthly parents and a heavenly Father are much more readily able to find wisdom than those of us who are boldly proclaiming our autonomy. Wisdom comes only to the person who is humble, who acknowledges his need, who is willing to bow his knee before a higher sovereign. Living with respect and obedience to your spiritual father and leader of this Mystical Order.

Remember Solomon? His father, David, had just died. Humble before God, Solomon went to the altar. He took his offerings. In the night God appeared to him and said, “Ask what I shall give you.” Solomon acknowledged God’s love toward his own father, David, and acknowledged the fact that God had made him king in his father’s place. And then Solomon made this request: “Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” (2 Chronicles 1:10). This was a selfless act of courage and love. Today it appears like the opposite. Where is the humility with grace? Where is the spirit of Solomon seeking the leadership of Almighty God?

God answered, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have” (2 Chronicles 1:11-12). This is the act of a father, yes your Heavenly Father.

God rewarded Solomon for wanting the right things. Granted, we have a problem understanding Solomon’s later life. How could a person of such wisdom do so many wrong things? Perhaps instead of presenting a problem, it illustrates the fact that we can willfully go against what we know is right and, in spite of God’s gift of wisdom, mess up our lives. This underlines a very important fact. You and I must live in the daily appropriation of God’s wisdom. It is a gift that you and I need to steward (a person who looks after the passengers on a ship etc).

A man who is a fool can, with God’s help, become a man of wisdom. A youth gifted with God’s wisdom can, by self-centered and autonomous pride, develop into a middle-aged or elderly fool.

Wisdom comes through the discipline of our heavenly Father.

God is the source of wisdom. All wisdom ultimately comes from Him and is enabled by Him. One of His key methods to give you wisdom is to do it through discipline. A careful study of the Bible will reveal that discipline is closely associated with two parental practices.

The first of these is instruction. This involves training and knowledge. If we were to look at this in athletic terms, we could compare it to what will begin this summer for the various professional sporting teams. They will check into training camps. There will be several major emphases to the instruction which the coaches will give at the beginning of this season. We have the world cup football season as an example, or even cricket in the Caribbean. The coaches instruct players as to what they are to do in certain situations. They are to memorize the plays and the strategies discussed. You just don’t go out there and do what you feel like doing. You are instructed by a trained and knowledgeable coach. You are told that if you do what you should do, there will be a desirable result (winnings). You are instructed as to how to use your head. Instruction involves knowledge. Instruction involves training. Instruction involves practice. Instruction is one part of discipline.

God has given us His Word. He instructs us as to what it is to be His person. He describes His game plan. He tells of our rebellion against His will for us. He alerts us to His provision as He became a man in Jesus Christ to die for our sins. He alerts us to His Holy Spirit’s presence in our life. He challenges us to a Spirit-controlled life. And we are called to daily practice. We learn our lessons daily, right in the middle of life. Everyday is a training and practice experience. Yet, only those that are willing to learn will accomplish the art of the game.

That’s what makes this second dimension of discipline all the more difficult. Not only is there instruction. A biblical understanding of discipline will show that combined with instruction is reproof and correction. All through the Bible we see God’s “rod of discipline” in dealing with His people. He takes corrective measures not to crush His children, but to train them in the ways in which they should develop. Some of our young people are taking training or instructions to become start and professionals at what they do at great pain. What pain! Pain is part of correction. Reproof is part of discipline. God cares enough to grade our efforts! Part of discipline is what we call “chastisement.” God could leave the training wheels on forever to protect us from the pain of falling down. What good parent would do that? I would rather fall off the bike a few times and find my balance than go through life protected from the exhilaration of vulnerability. The major problem today is many people want to run without learning how to creep. The Bible tells us to train up a child in the way he should go. New born babes desire milk because they are not able to eat solid food. The Bible tells us new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word that they may grow. Are we willing to learn the word of God fathers?

I look around today and see children beating their parents and even in the churches, where they congregate to destroy the very existence of the Leaders that have placed them in position with intent to raise them in the fear of the Lord. Their shoes became too big for their feet and so the head is swollen so big that it cannot fit on their shoulders. A true father walks in the instructions of the Word of God. In this Mystical Order there is a plan and rules to train our members to make you better citizens for the Kingdom and the world at large.