In this sermon, the speaker addresses the issue of defeat in our homes and provides guidance on how to overcome it. He shares his own experience of raising four daughters and how they were initially losing them until his wife took a firmer approach. He emphasizes the importance of establishing children in the ways of God to withstand the trials and challenges of the world. The speaker also references a biblical passage in which David advises his son Solomon on walking with God and taking care of details.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, EFRA PA 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the free will offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. I bring greetings to each one in the precious name of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful to God that he has saved my soul and has brought righteousness in my heart through the new birth, that life-changing experience that Paul spoke about, Brother Paul, in the earlier message here. I also want to comment on the fruit. There are some kinds of plants that you see the fruit hanging there so lustrous and beautiful and we admire that and we just love to taste it. But you know there are some plants that the fruit is not revealed until the harvest. The potatoes are hidden until the harvest. And there are some people, the fruit of their life will be hidden until the harvest and then it will be revealed. Praise God for that. The message that I would like to give this morning is one that has been on my heart for, I guess, two or three months. I don't know when I last preached on a Sunday morning here, the main message. But this message has been on my heart for two months. I was wanting to give it on Father's Day, but they didn't let me preach on Father's Day. So, I've kind of held it in my heart until today and it is a message to leaders. It's a message to parents, specifically to the fathers. And if you will allow me to speak very specifically today, I would like to do that. I was watching a father and a mother recently, two small children, and I saw that the little girl was not flowing with her parents' heart. I should say there was a spirit of rebellion in her heart, just a little three or four year old. And I've spoken to that father about that and they've been troubled about that and they really didn't know what to do about it. And I know, I believe there are many fathers here this morning who may also be struggling with some of their children, the attitudes and so forth. And you might be seeking for answers. You might be a father that has teenagers that is seeking for some answers. I'm a father of teenagers and I have sought for answers and I know that I don't have them all, but I've found a few and I'd like to share some of those things. The title of the message may sound negative to you this morning, but I want it to be that way because I want you to sit up and listen. And while this message is not at all aimed at any one father or any one home in here, I want you to know that it may speak into some of our present situations. But I want you as fathers and mothers not to look at any other family this morning, but rather look at your own hearts as I go through the message. The title of this message is, The Defeated Father. The Defeated Father. And I suppose every father here has faced defeats in their home in times past. I would like to, if I may zero in on some of those issues and look at them and maybe help us to realize or help us to see how we can take proper steps to get out of those defeats or how to avoid being defeated over and over and over again in our homes. So that each father may take heed and understand in the heart and know what he ought to do so he would know how to fight this warfare, so that he might recognize the enemy, that he might be victorious and not be defeated anymore. Sometimes a home looks very good from without, but if you get into the inside of it, it is falling apart. The example we would have there is, in the Bible, is King David. While there is outward victory, and we are going to be looking at King David and King Saul and some of their lives and we are going to take some points from them. David in early in 1 Samuel is where he, or is it 2 Samuel, David has become king and he is ruling there and he is very victorious. In chapter 8 of 2 Samuel, you can turn to 2 Samuel. We will be going through that quickly here, some of the chapters. Chapter 8, we have David is the king. He gets the victory over the Philistines. He makes the Moabites tributaries and he smites Harezer and the Syrians. You see, he is victorious only outside, outwardly. His army is victorious and they are undefeated. Chapter 10, he overcomes the Ammonites and defeats the Syrians again. This is the height of David's victory, you might say, in his warfare there. Chapter 11, it focuses on David's sin and this is where David's life itself, may I say, makes a turn and it goes in the opposite direction. His own life, his family and his kingdom. And from this point on, you can pick out many defeats in David's life. We are going to look at some of them today. Chapter 11, most of us, I think, are very familiar with King David while his army is out in the war. He is at home and then he goes up on the rooftop and there he observes a woman bathing herself and he lusts after her and he takes her and lays with her and she conceives and he finds out that she is the wife of Uriah the Hittite. So, he sends for Uriah to come back and he tries to get Uriah to go home to cover up his sin. Uriah, being a very valiant soldier, refuses to go home while Israel is living in tents. He refuses to go home to have pleasure with his wife. David tries to get him to be drunk so he would go home but Uriah does not go home and David ends up sending his death warrant and a letter with him back out to the battlefield and there Joab the general puts Uriah in a place of battle and draws the other soldiers back and Uriah is killed. And David takes Bathsheba to be his wife. But the thing displeases the Lord. Chapter 12 is where we have Nathan the prophet coming to David and telling him the story and we are going to read some of this chapter, 2 Samuel 12. And the Lord sent Nathan unto David and he came unto him and said unto him, There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds but the poor man had nothing save one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished up and it grew up together with him and with his children. It did eat of his own meat and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveler unto the rich man and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd to dress for the wayfaring man that was coming to him but took the poor man's lamb and dressed it for the man that was come to him. The story that Nathan gives David. And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die and he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel. I anointed thee king over Israel and have delivered thee out of the hand of Saul and I gave thee thy master's house and thy master's wives into thy bosom and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah and if that had been too little I would never have given unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight. Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword and hast taken his wife to be thy wife and hast slain him with the sword of the children Ammon. Now therefore, and look at these next verses. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house because thou hast despised me and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord. Behold I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house and I will take thy wives before thine eyes and give them unto thy neighbor and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of the sun. For thou didst it secretly but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. And those prophecies came true. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord and Nathan said unto David, the Lord hath also put away thy sin thou shalt not die. How be it because by this deed that thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. The child also that is born of thee shall surely die. Can we fathom the effects of the sin of a king in his kingdom? And how that affected his kingdom? Can we fathom the sin of David as a father here and how that affected his family personally? And gave great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. I believe that these kind of things give opportunity for the enemy to come in and set up house, may I say, in your kingdom. And from that point they attacked and they bring much difficulty and heartache to your kingdom whether you're a father or whether you're a king. Things begin to happen to David from here on. His child got sick and died. But the thing that I want to bring out is that David lost a lot of authority when he uttered to this sin. One of the first places this is noticed is in verse 26 of the same chapter. And Joab fought against Reba of the children of Ammon and took the royal city. And Joab sent messengers to David and said, I have fought against Reba and have taken the city of waters. Now therefore gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it. Lest I take the city and it be called after my name. Joab the general of the army gives these words back to David. But David is the king but Joab is calling the shots. How often do we as fathers and mothers not, how often are we unable to stand in the authority that we have been given and allow our children to call the shots or allow others to call the shots in our kingdom or our home. Those things happen, don't they? And we'll see some more of that. David repents there before the Lord. You can read about that in Psalms 51. David did a thorough repentance which is an amazing thing to me that David having been caught had such a thorough repentance. I have watched and I have observed that most times when someone gets caught in sin their repentance is not thorough. They do not share all the details. They just share some of the details. That's what I see when people get caught in their sin. But when someone gets convicted on their own by the Spirit of God and they come to that point where they just can't hold it in anymore then they dump that bucket and everything comes out. Even the small details come out. But if someone is caught, normally they don't bring out all the details. They hide some. And what that simply shows is that they're not truly being convicted of the Holy Spirit. But they've been caught and they know what they ought to do. And that's the difference. But David here, even though he was caught somehow by God's grace his repentance was so thorough and so deep that God forgave him even in the Old Testament. We say David was a man who lived in God's grace in the Old Testament. Then you go turn to chapter 13 and immediately I'm not sure how soon after David's sin that this would have happened but it says it came to pass after this. So this was later on. I'm not sure how much later on. It may have been soon. It might have been a couple of years. But I don't know. But the Bible follows it right after this. This is where his son Amnon, which was a daughter, which was the son of one of his wives David had. He had six wives. He had seven wives at this point. And Amnon was the son of Ahinoam. And Tamar was the daughter of Meaca a sister to Absalom. It was Absalom's sister. Amnon forced his sister Tamar. But I want you to see a few points here that we can look at from David's life. David having fallen in the sin of lust and the power that was robbed of him, the authority that was taken from David or there's just so many things that happened in David's life, I believe at this time that we can look at and we can see how he then because of his sin, even though he was forgiven of his sin the consequences of his sin came upon him and his family. These are the things that happened to us today. I want you to look at verse 7. We have Amnon here is wanting this beautiful young girl Tamar and he's sick of love, he says. And so his sly friend Jotodab comes and says, do thus and thus. And Amnon made himself sick and he laid down there. And when the king came to see him to find out what was wrong Amnon said to the king, verse 6, I pray thee, let Tamar, my sister come and make me a couple of cakes in my sight that I may eat at her hand. That's what I need to make me well. Then David sent home to Tamar saying, go now to thy brother Amnon's house and dress him meat. And Tamar went. Where was David's discernment? How could David have missed it? I mean, the clue, I mean, wasn't it clear to see that that Amnon had evil in his heart towards his sister? Was it not clear for all to see that he was lusting after her? How did David miss it? How did David miss all the signals that were flashing there about his son Amnon and his daughter Tamar? It was because David, because when a father or a king falls into a sin like this it warps his discernment. It takes away the clear vision of what he should be having for his family or his kingdom and he is unable to discern these type of things that are erupting in his home in front of his eyes and he doesn't even see it happen. This is one of the defeats in David's life. This is the defeat right here. David was defeated in this area. He was unable to discern where his son was at. And Tamar went in there, made him cakes and he grabbed her and forced her. Committed fornication with her. And then he drove her out. And it says Amnon hated her more than afterwards than the love that he had before that. And Absalom, her brother, found out what had happened. Verse 21, it says, But when King David heard of all these things, he was very wroth. He was very wroth. But what could he say? What could he say? Because of his own sin, what could he say? Speechless. How could he point his finger at his son? He is the example, very clearly. That's a defeat in David's life. He got angry about it. But it clearly, it was a clear defeat and just no way around it. Going down to verse, it says, Then Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon, neither good nor bad, but Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar. And it came to pass, after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshears in Beelheiser, which is beside Ephraim. And Absalom invited all the king's sons. And Absalom came to the king and said, Behold, now thy servant has sheepshears. Let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant. And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto thee. And he pressed him, how he would not go, but blessed him. Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Why should he go with thee? But Absalom pressed him, and he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. Defeat again. How many fathers and mothers are defeated at this point in their homes? The son, the daughter, the children. They come and they have a request. And they put pressure on dad. And what does dad do? Dad says, No, I don't want you to go. But the son or daughter keeps pressing on. And they won't just let Amnon come. They try a different angle. And our children do that. Is that right teenagers? Young sons? Is that exactly what you do? Huh? Well fathers and mothers, it's time that we wake up. These things will come. This is the way human nature is. And we as fathers and mothers need to wake up and be prepared for these things when they come so that we can stand. But we will not be able to stand unless our hearts are clear and clean before the Lord. Unless our conscience is clean and clear before the Lord. And there's no sin in our lives. And we've not given the enemy occasion to come and dwell in our home or our kingdom. But this is what happens. The son comes and puts pressure on dad. Oh, how well I remember we used to do that. I did to my dad. You know, Dad, we ought to do it this way. Dad would say, no, we're going to do it this way. But Dad, this is a better way. Pressure, pressure, pressure. Absalom pressed his dad. Very normal situation in the home. Is that right? Let me see your father's hands. Let me see your teenager's hands. Is that right? What about the daughters? Come on girls. Is that right? Well fathers and mothers, let's just come to realize that these are facts that will come to pass. And if we know they'll come, then we should be prepared for them, shouldn't we? But when there's sin in the camp, there's no power against it. But there's a continual yielding, yielding, yielding. Is that right? It's true. How well we know it. So Absalom went and took Amnon along and there he murdered Amnon. Absalom flees in verse 37 over to the king of Gishur. David mourned for his son every day. So Absalom fled, went to Gishur and was there three years. And his soul of king David longed to go forth to Absalom for he was comforted concerning Amnon seeing he was dead. So for three years, Absalom is living over there. Finally Joab, who is the general of David's army, he comes to David and makes an intercession for Absalom and he asks to bring Absalom back home again. And finally David yields to that. There's pressure again. Whether right or wrong, David left and bring Absalom back to Jerusalem. But he said, he said that, verse 21, And the king said unto Joab, Behold, now I have done this thing. Go therefore and bring the young man Absalom again. And he brought Absalom to Jerusalem. But, in verse 24, the king said, Let him turn to his own house and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house and saw not the king's face. But in all Israel there was none of these so much praise as Absalom for his beauty. He had hair and every year, at the end of each year, he would cut his hair and they would weigh it It would weigh 200 shekels after the king's weight. Absalom had sons and daughters and had a daughter. So, then in verse 28, So Absalom dwelt two foothills in Jerusalem and saw not the king's face. Therefore Absalom sent for Joab the general again and wanted him to send him to the king but Joab didn't do it. So then Absalom goes and sends his servants to burn Joab's wheat field, his grain field. And Absalom gets upset with him. But finally he does bring Absalom to the king and there, at the end of chapter 14, verse 38, So Joab came to the king and told him. And when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king and bowed himself on the face to the ground before the king. The king kissed Absalom. You see, David is not really in control anymore. The circumstances are playing themselves out in such a way that David is losing control. That's what I see happening. How many fathers find themselves in that place where the circumstances are just kind of working out and they're just losing control. Chapter 15 is where Absalom steals the hearts of Israel. And there's a rebellion there and he takes with him some of David's men and he has himself crowned king and David flees the city as Absalom takes over. Then in chapter 18, we have Absalom is defeated and put to death by Joab. And in chapter 19, we have David being brought back as a king again. Now I want you to turn to 1 Kings, the first book of the Kings, and look at a few things here again. And I want to get some clear points here in this several chapters on Adonijah. Adonijah was one of the king's sons and the king David was now old and was dying. And he, there had already been one revolt, one rebellion where Absalom had taken up trying to become the king. And now Adonijah in verse 5 of chapter 1 exalts himself and says, I will be king. And prepared him chariots and horsemen, and 50 men to run before him. And he goes and he talks with Joab, verse 7. He confirmed with Joab, David's general of the army, and the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest, or Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest, and they following Adonijah, helped him. But Zodack the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rehi, and the mighty men which belong to David were not with Adonijah. There's a division in the kingdom again. Adonijah says, my dad is dying, I'm going to go and become the king. And he goes and takes the general of the army to be on his side, and the priest, Abiathar there, and he goes down there, and they have a great party, and they have Abiathar the priest anoint him king there, and they're having a great party proclaiming that Adonijah is the king. Word comes back to David, to Jerusalem there, and Nathan the prophet heard about it. He goes to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, and says, has not David said that Solomon would be the next king? And Bathsheba says, yes. So Nathan sets her up, and he says, I want you to go into the king and talk to him. Or did he go in first? No, Bathsheba went into the king, and she conferred with King David there, lying on his deathbed, you might say. Probably a feeble old man. And she says, didn't you say that Solomon would be the king? But even now, Adonijah has made himself king. And then just then, Nathan the prophet walks in, and he says, yes, this is what you've said. And so, then David gives the word, and they call for another priest there, Zadok, and they go down and they anoint Solomon king. And then they proclaim him king throughout the whole city. And David began to shout and be glad. And when Adonijah, who was at his party, heard the noise, he wondered what was going on. And someone came and told him, King David has made Solomon king. And then Adonijah feared for his life. And there was Joab the general and Abiathar the priest. Those three were the leaders. And now all of a sudden, they were not able to go on with their plans to have Adonijah be king. What position did that put Adonijah? It put his life in danger. It put Joab's life in danger. And it put Abiathar the priest's life in danger. Looking at chapter 1, verse 50. And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose and went and caught hold of the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth King Solomon, for lo, he hath caught hold of the horns of the altar, saying, Let the King Solomon swear unto me today that he will not slay his servant with the sword. Solomon said, If he will show himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth. But if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die. Chapter 2, verse 5. Or chapter 2, then, is where David... Let's read verse 1. Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth. Be thou strong, therefore, and show thyself a man. Keep the charge of God. Walk in His statutes. And so forth. Then in verse 5, he first encourages his son Solomon how to walk with God. Then in verse 5, he gives him some directions on how to take care of details. In this situation, David was unable to take care of some of the details, some of the things in his kingdom, because of his sin, I believe. Look what it says in verse 5. Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to two captains, to the host of Israel, Abner and Amasa, whom he slew in the time of peace. Verse 6. Do therefore, according to thy wisdom, let not his forehead get out of the grave in peace, but show kindness to Barzillai the Gileadite, the one who ministered to David when he was running from Absalom. In verse 8. And behold, thou hast with thee Shimei, the son of Gerah, a Benjamite of Beharim. Who was Shimei? Shimei was the one who had cursed David through Roxanne when he was fleeing from Absalom. As he was going out of Jerusalem, there Shimei, a son of Saul, was throwing rocks at the king David as king David fled from the city. And one of David's mighty men said, Let me go and take off his head. And David said, No, let him curse. Maybe God will have mercy on me because of his cursing. But Shimei cursed him. No. And then when David came back after Absalom's defeat, Shimei came to David and begged for mercy for his life. And David said, Okay, I'll have mercy on you. But rightfully he should have destroyed him. But now he tells Solomon about Shimei He tells him about Joab and tells him what to do. And then in verse 12, I want you to look at this. This is one of the points that I want you to see as fathers and as leaders. Verse 12 says, Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father and his kingdom was established greatly. Every leader needs to have his kingdom established greatly. Every father, every mother. What was the point here that established his kingdom? What established his kingdom here? I believe this is where the kingdom was given to him. He was anointed king. It was his rightful position. It was given to him by his father. It was given to him by God. It was given to him by the prophet. And he belonged on that throne and he knew he belonged there. And so he took his rightful place and sat on the throne of David and there his kingdom was established. One of the points that we as fathers must recognize is that God has given us authority in our homes. God has given us a place to stand. God has called us to lead the home. God has called us to be the authority figure there. God has called us to stand up against the evil, the floods of evil that want to come in against our homes continually. God has called us to stand there. God has given us a position to stand. And if we just recognize that it is a God-given place, then our kingdom will be established. Number one. Now look over at the end of the chapter in verse 46. It says, So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, which went out and fell upon him that he died, and the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. Another verse in the same chapter which says his kingdom was established. Now how do we reconcile these two? First it says his kingdom was established greatly. Then there were some things that happened and his kingdom was established, may I say, even more. But what happened? What's the difference there? Okay, what are the things preceding this last verse? What are the things that happened here that established his kingdom further? You see, his kingdom was established by right, by his legal standing, but by the way that he ordered his kingdom is what established it further, and, may I say, in the hearts of his subjects. Look at verse... We have, following this, verse 12 here, we have Adonijah the son. He comes to Bathsheba. Adonijah is the one who had wanted to become king. And he says to her, and she says, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably. And he said, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on. And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, that always will set their faces on me, and that I should reign. Howbeit the kingdom is turned about and become my brother's, for it was his from the Lord. And now I ask one petition of thee. Deny me not. She said, Say on. And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king. For he would not say they may that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife. Who's Abishag? Abishag is a young virgin that was brought to King David to nurture him in his old age. And now Adonijah is asking for him to give her to wife. Bathsheba said, I'll speak to him. I'll speak for the end of the king. And she goes to King Solomon there and asks him to give Abishag to Adonijah. Verse twenty-one. Verse twenty-two, And the king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, Why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is mine elder brother. Even for him and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the son of Zeruiah. Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, God did so to me and more also to Adonijah that I have not spoken this word against his own life. And then he goes and he has Benaiah to fall upon him, that he die. The king, verse twenty-five, The king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he fell upon him, that he died. And unto Abiathar the priest said, The king, get thee to Anathoth unto thine own house, for thou art worthy of death. But I will not this time put thee to death, because thou bearest the ark of God. So Solomon thrusted out from being priest before the Lord, verse twenty-seven. Then tidings came to Joab, verse twenty-eight. Joab is the general who had been David's general, had rebelled with Adonijah. And now Joab finds out what has happened to Adonijah, so he flees to the tabernacle and catches ahold of the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon that, and Solomon sent Benaiah there, and Benaiah, he went and slew him there at the tabernacle. What's happening here? Solomon is taking care of unfinished business that his father was unable to finish. Also, Shimei, he came and begged for mercy, and the king said, Well as long as you dwell in your house and don't cross this river Kidron down here, you'll be okay. One day Shimei's mules ran away and he went across the river to get his mules back and King David found out about it. Or King Solomon did. And Solomon had Benaiah go in there and slew him there in verse forty-six. And this is when the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. The principle that I see here is that we as leaders, how we rule in our homes depends on how we take care of even the small details has major implications. I believe so. I want to give some points that I have here on these issues. A wise father, he will establish his authority in the home. He will recognize, in other words, he will recognize his position as a father. And what is that position? That is a position of the leader. It is one of responsibility. He is to watch over his home. He is to care for his family. He is to protect them from evil. But if there is evil in the father's heart, then he will not be able to protect his home from that evil. That's the example we have with David here. David, he fell into the sin that destroys most men, may I say. Many strong men are destroyed by the sin of lust. And because David had that sin in his life, he indulged in it and had lots of wives. And that eventually was not enough for him. He went and stole someone else's wife. And then had her husband killed. There was the sin of adultery. There was the sin of murder there. Therefore, David was powerless, may I say, to fight against the sin of lust in his own home and the sin of murder in his own home. You see how that, when David fell into those sins, it opened up the doors into his own home and the enemy, it gave the enemy occasion, may I say, to come in and make itself at home in his own home, in his own kingdom and do its destructive work in the kingdom. We must face the facts. A wise father, he will establish his authority, meaning he will understand what his position is, what he is required to do, and he will understand the authority that is given him, not just authority to tell his children what to do, not just authority to lead his wife, but authority against the enemy. He has been given that authority. Albeit, if he does not live uprightly, that authority will be broken down, the heads will be broken down, may I say. A wise father will continue to establish his authority by taking care of issues as they arise. That's what Solomon did. Solomon took care of these issues as they came up and you know what it did? It established his authority further. Fathers and mothers, you have been given, especially fathers, you have been given a place of authority. How you live that out, how you work that out, depends whether or not you actually have or have that authority in your home. Is that right? Solomon took care of issues by punishing the lawbreakers. I want to give you an example here that came very real to me in my home. I know what it's like to be under that pressure. You know? I know what it's like. Again, I remember so well when I was that teenager, putting my dad under that pressure. So fathers and mothers, this is normal. Mothers get used to it. Mothers will prepare for it. Mothers will find a way how to deal with it, right? Whether your children are small or whether they are teenagers, doesn't matter. But I will encourage you young fathers and young mothers, get this issue straight now. It will help you in time to come. Give you an example. We have, if we would have, draw a line down the middle here and that line indicates, is an indicator of the law of the house. Okay? This is the law of the house. Everybody in the house knows the law, right? The children know the law. But what is the nature of human beings? Well, we can say it's the nature of children to test dad and mom, right? To try them. I mean, just the one-year-old knows how to do that. It's the nature of humanity, may I say. Right? So, they test the law. You know, they push on this law. They cross the other side. They bend this thing, may I say. They tend to bend the law just to see how far they can take it. Just to see at what point is the breaking point where dad will finally do something about it. Right? Is it here? Or is it here? Dad, I'm asking you this morning, where is it in your mind? And how do you respond to someone bending this rule you know, to a breaking point? Alright, let's use an example. The sign says 55. How many of you bend the law when you're driving down the road? Okay. You bend it, right? Human nature. How far do you bend it? Well, you bend it just as far as you think you can get away with. Right? Come on. Is that right? But, if the law lets you get by with 65, that's probably where you'll drive. Well, you're pretty sure the law won't let you get by with 85, so you kind of stay back here. Well, I remember when I was a new driver a couple years, I was on my way to work one morning. I was going through a small town of Whitmer up there on my way to work. And I was, I was happy in the Lord. I was singing to myself and I was praying, just going my merry way. I wasn't watching the speed limit. But the sign said 35. And I cruised through that little town and lo and behold, there's a blinker behind me and there comes that watchman. And he pulls me over and I was going 52 in a 35 mile speed limit. I had broken. I'd gone beyond his braking point and he stopped me. Now, if he would have said, well, I'm going to have mercy on you and not give you a fine. What would have happened in my heart? That's no big deal. I can get away with it. Right? True. Listen, fathers. He gave me a soaking fine. And I learned a lesson. The next time I drove through that town, I watched the speed limit. To this very day. And I drive through that town a lot. I seldom drive through that town without remembering. Here is a very, very clear principle and I want you all to get it. Okay. Your son trespasses your line in the home. What is your response? Your son trespasses your law or your daughter. What is your response? Is your response like old man Eli? Oh, sons, you shouldn't do such things. You should know better than that. Don't do it again. No authority. Do you have authority? The authority has been given to you. Your authority will be tested. Your law of the house will be bent to see how far you will go. Well, this is my recommendation. Your son bends the law. He goes beyond the law. Let's say he comes over to here. Or he does something in this area. Okay. You know he has transgressed. He knows he has transgressed. I'm speaking of teenagers right now. What's your response? You know what my response is? Alright, son. We're going to live in this realm for a while. You take away the privileges so that it hurts. Because in the next time they are tempted to make a move like that. They think. And they say, ooh, can't do it. If he was a father when he bends the law let him go. And don't bring consequences in his life. He will eventually be bending it way out here. And you have no authority. But I recommend you fathers establish your authority in the home. Let there be consequences for sin. So, I've learned. God bless my wife and dear daughters. I remember as a young teenager at the age of 15 watching my older sisters and brothers and how they did it. You know they would they would have their friends come to pick them up. I mean this happened. I still remember my sister doing it. Her boyfriend came to pick her up. And she comes downstairs and her mom and dad are sitting in the kitchen. And she comes downstairs dressed very questionable. A new dress, you know. Made wrong. Made according to the flesh. And her boyfriend's out there waiting. And what are mom and dad supposed to do? They're aghast. But you can't go like that. But she just, you know, flipped out the front door. Says, bye dad and mom. And mom and dad are weeping. I mean they were, they wept. And I've seen it happen. But what could they do? Somewhere along the line they had lost the authority that was theirs. Somewhere along the line they did not do this. You know, it got bent but there were no repercussions. It got bent harder, still no consequences. And finally when it's where we're here they're weeping. And that's where fathers and mothers end up at. It's a number of years now that I guess our oldest daughter was probably the one who kind of sprang this on us. And you know, probably did somewhat the same thing in much milder forms. And my wife and I decided that our daughters, before they wear a new dress on a Sunday morning or whenever it is to go away, that dress must first be okayed by dad. Before the time they go out the front door. So it's a normal thing. We have five daughters in our home and they come to dad in the evening on a Saturday night and they come in there wearing a new dress and they say, Dad, what do you think? And I tell you it is with joy that I can say it looks very good. It just takes away the temptation for them to make something and then to put it on sometime and just kind of slide out the front door when their friends are there. Come on girls. Right? It's just human nature. What about young men? What about your fads and styles? Fathers? Don't just watch the girls. Watch the sons. They need your direction. They need help. They need guidance. A wise father will continue his authority by taking care of issues as they arise. He will establish his authority by bringing consequences upon his sons and daughters when they break the law. Every disobedient should have a just recompense. Should have a recompense. Every disobedient should have a recompense. And what about the little children? It must begin when they are small fathers and mothers. Doesn't it? Don't let that little one rule the home. Don't let that little one have its way. Don't let that little one bring you to a place of breaking. But when there is, when you see them bending and pushing the law, let there be consequences. They might understand it. One of the thoughts I had is and I've seen this happen is that parents tend to in a way to avoid meeting out the consequences that are needed, they rather they use words to make the child feel guilty so that it would obey. Are you listening? I've seen parents do it. They heap upon the child or the teenager I'm thinking small children especially they'll heap upon that child guilt. They'll say, you did it wrong and you were bad and all these things and they leave the child with guilt hoping that the guilt in the child would then spur the child to obedience. Absolutely does not work. Only the child with a clear conscience has a heart to obey basically. And so when the child when the child is made to feel guilty for what he's done wrong and no spanking I may say and doesn't have any consequences for it it remains in guilt. And you know what happens to a child who's guilty? It continues to just disobedient and always pushing the line and just the attitude is bad but you know what it's doing? It is begging for you to just deal with it, spank it, take away the guilt and the conscience will be free. Then it's free to play. Oh the beauty of taking a child like that and just giving a good loving spanking. Spend some time with it. Pray with it. And spank it as it needs to be. And cleanse it from the guilt and just let it go free. And the song that comes out of the mouth and the heart of that child following that is beautiful to hear. You hear it out there in the barn sing it away just as free as can be. Why? Their guilt has been removed. You know, the Lord Jesus has come to remove our guilt not to heap it on us. And we as parents should be likewise. Very important thing there as parents. A wise father. Another point for a wise father is he will make firm loving decisions. I have heard young people say I just wish my dad would make a decision. Be it yes or no. I wish he'd make a decision. But my dad doesn't make decisions for me. I just got to make it my own. Why are fathers? May I say that's a defeated father. I know the title was negative but I want to end on a positive note. But these are things that bring defeat to the father. Why is the father indecisive? What is the root cause of indecisiveness? Two things have come to my mind. The first one is immorality makes a man indecisive. It breaks down his moral fiber to the point where he is unable to make good, proper discernment and judgments and it breaks it down and there's indecisiveness in his life. And he just can't make up his mind. You know someone like that? I believe there's deeper issues in his heart. The other reason for indecisiveness may be for the fear of being challenged by an unsupporting wife, unsupporting children or even brothers in the church. Many men are afraid to say no because if they say no they might have to incur the wrath of their wife or their children. And so when the children come and ask for things the father is afraid to say no. Who's in authority anyhow? Fear of being challenged by the wife. Maybe the wife won't support. Children for sure aren't supporting. God bless you wives as you support your husbands in the decisions he makes. Your fathers are here this morning. If you see that you are one that's indecisive figure out why. A king in authority is not indecisive. He's not. A wise father is consistent. Think about this. His children can predict what his answer will be. His wife knows what he will say. A wise father is consistent. He's predictable. The children know the answer before they ask usually. On A&A questions sometimes not. But in general his response to his children is the same. His response to circumstances doesn't vary necessarily. Because he abides by a principle and if his children and his wife know the principle they already know the answer before they ask. Many times. Oh, a wise father is consistent. Can your children predict Dad what you'll say or do? They should be able to. They should be able to. And the last point I have here for a wise father is that he is jealous for the house of God. A defeated father has lots of other things on his mind and he cannot fully give his heart and life to God to God's house to worship to the church to the things of God. But by wholeheartedness in his God and the place to worship a wise father he will take his family to a safe place to worship and to fellowship. A very critical decision for many fathers. Looking back at seventeen years ago when we first got saved and we needed to make a decision where we're going to be going to church. And there was six or seven other families right with us from our background that were the same place. We were all leaving our former setting and we all needed to make a choice as to where we're going to raise our children. A very critical decision. Very, very critical decision. I have no regrets for where God has led us and we've followed. May I say I have no regrets. I have watched many parents make a wrong choice because of fear of man. What will they say? What will my parents say? And they try to make a choice or they're not willing to pay the price to go all the way. And they take their children their family into a setting where there is destruction and devastation and churches and maybe they try to plant a small church somewhere where there's a bunch of people getting together and they end up getting hurt or they settle into a place where the fire has gone out and the children and this is a grief to me I heard a father say this to me he said when we joined the church there he said we knew that we were not keeping the church rules. Everybody in the church knew that nobody really keeps the church rules but yet twice a year the church rules are pronounced and announced and we are encouraged to live by them but yet no one lives by them but we kind of appeased ourselves by well this is just this is the way it is and we just kind of soothed our conscience may I say but the parents were compromising. If the parents are compromising and they know they're compromising what's going to happen when the children grow up and become adults? Well I say what's going to happen the children will look at that and say dad but dad we're not living what we're saying we are dad that's compromise that's hypocrisy and dad has to hang his head and say you're right son and the children leave the church in discouragement either they go out in the world or they go off in some charismatic way oh fathers it's so critical where you take your children to church where you settle your family oh I would that there would be safe places all over this country but I know it's not really set that way but you know God can still lead you it's so important that you make a decision first of all but how can you make this decision? you won't even have the discernment or the vision or the dream perhaps of the need to make a good decision in this area unless all the other areas of your life are clear first of all are you this morning a defeated father? if so why? I want to say there's hope if you are facing defeat in your home if you've been defeated in the past just a few things to help you find your way that I've shared this morning that you may know how God requires you to walk in your home as a father a godly father may God save you from defeat may God save you from the enemy coming in doing his destructive work in your home there must be a clear conscience there must be a clean heart there must be a home where a father loves mother and mother knows it and the children know it there must be a home where father spends time with his children and his wife and so forth defeated? well maybe you've lost some battles but the war is not over yet think about this with me has the Lord Jesus ever been defeated? never he has never had one defeat never had one defeat the Lord Jesus Christ has never had one defeat my brother, my sister are we not in him? is he not abiding within us? does not his word abide in us? how then should I be defeated? only when I live for myself only when I allow my selfish dictates to take over my life but if I will live in him and he in me I am undefeatable you are undefeatable if you live in him he abides in you and you deny yourself and let him have the rule and reign in your heart and in your life because Christ is not defeated and if I am in Christ and he in me I am undefeatable Amen let's kneel for prayer father there is joy in my heart this morning even though there have been some defeats in Jesus Christ there is always victory in every area for every man who will 100% live for you thank you father that you have raised up Jesus Christ even though his death on the cross looked like a great defeat it was a great victory over death over hell and over sin and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is that life it is that power that brought life to him in that same power is yet available to us today to raise us up from death and from hell and to raise us up from defeat a defeated life yea lord though there may be consequences in our because of our sin yet I believe we can live in victory overcoming the evil overcoming the devil overcoming sin that has so easily beset us father I pray for this congregation for the fathers this morning father would you just take your sharp sword of the spirit and just put it deep into the hearts of each father here this morning oh god I want the fathers to be victorious I want the mothers to be victorious I pray for that lord in Jesus Christ name amen I also just remember that I was just a young Christian here at charity years ago sitting in a discussion with some of the older ministers sharing their disappointment about certain father or so I don't know who it was anymore the disappointment in the father that somehow when the sons become teenagers or older the father somehow loses his gumption to be the authority in the home and the sons just kind of do what they want to do and I remember that never forgot it because I had sons growing up and I said why did that happen and so for years I've been watching this thing happen over and over and over fathers if you don't have the authority in your home now if you don't have control of your anger if you don't have control of your lust upon the authority of God's word I can say you'll be defeated your children will grow up and you'll be defeated over and over and over like King David was don't wait until your sons and daughters are teenagers the results are devastating and the Lord give grace to each one and all the fathers said Amen Amen, I thank the Lord this morning for that clear word to our hearts I thank God for that teaching many messages were shared this morning you could take many of those different points and make a whole sermon out of them I thank God for the broad perspective and the balance beautiful word to us this morning serious word I'm a father I have sons and daughters I have teenagers I'm learning I haven't learned it all but I'm learning and I want to continue to learn but God has given us very clear teaching very clear principles many admonitions written in the Old Testament from which brother Emmanuel drew and these things were written for our admonition and we do well to take heed I thought of New Testament perspective also where he says ye fathers provoke not your children to wrath but bring them up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord that's Ephesians 6 and then also in Colossians he says fathers provoke not your children to anger lest they be discouraged and I believe those things are just verses that balance beautifully also the examples that were given us out of the Old Testament there and so this morning I just say amen to this word and I thank God for it I thought of many different things as brother Emmanuel was sharing I'm not very old yet but I see more seriously all the time the decisions that we make as fathers as heads in the home have far reaching effects for many generations the pressures and fathers caving in to different situations and not taking the place that God has called them to they leave a path of destruction behind them and failure and disappointment so may the Lord help us and may we lay hold upon these truths that were given to us this morning one thing I want to emphasize is getting back to Paul's message on the root and the fruit, maybe we can look at that as the root the root being what we are in our homes and the fruit of what is seen when we're out of our homes and I want to tell you this morning it's more important what we are in our homes I mean it is of utmost importance do you have a clear heart this morning dad? is your life free? are you walking in victory? do you have a vision? purpose and direction steadfast rooted, grounded or is your line movable? is your line one time over there the next time over here indecisive not clear hypocrisy our children see right through it it will yield bad fruit but you know when your children see a sincere honest heart in the home and they see fathers are for real and when we fail we confess and we're real at home and we're not trying to be any different outside the home than we are at home, we're just real I think the Lord will honor that that will go a long way but if we're trying to portray something in public that we're not at home then it's bad it'll yield bad fruit I'd like to just open it up this morning some time here maybe there's a father who has something to share some wisdom or a confession just want to give you that opportunity to share raise your hand we'll get a microphone to you yes, I'm not a parent but my heart hurts for mothers and fathers and I'll tell you why because the way I was raised, I was raised Catholic my father was very strict Italian he did his raising with his mouth we weren't Christians but the sermon that Aaron is talking about and Emmanuel gave hurts my heart because I wish I was raised a Christian I would have known the right from wrong probably would never have children but my heart still hurts for the way the world is today it's not a Christian world because they want to do it to their satisfaction and I don't know why they want to do it I don't know why they hurt their children I don't know why children take advantage of their parents but I do know why, yes I do because the parents let them the children run the families the family doesn't run the children it's a sad world but we can be very fortunate that we're Christians and we gotta follow what God wants only what God wants and what the Bible says that's the right way and the only way we can't give or take we can't go over the speed limit we can't walk on thin ice which is what we're doing and I just thank the Lord that he put that on my heart that if I see a brother or a child or a parent doing something wrong, I have the right and the obligation for Jesus Christ to go to them I don't have to be a parent I'm a Christian I'm a Christian for my creator I'm a Christian for the Jesus that died for me so I can help others because he's helping me thank you thank you Robert there's another hand here others get your hand up so we can get a microphone to you if there's others who want to share well I'd just like to say amen to the message I thought it was very good and very balanced I'm blessed with it I would agree that it works I think the balance was good it's been said already the best way to control children is to start with self-control and that point has been brought out I thought I maybe I owe an apology to my sons I raised up my hand when it was said about pushing the lines I wasn't thinking of my sons I was thinking of myself in a very practical way at one time I pushed the lines I was growing up and it was a decision on the farm up to that time we had always picked our corn by hand and I pushed and my dad was a little bit unstable at that time he had mental problems and I got my way, we got the corn picker and I remember to this day I got my finger into it the first year it worked in a very practical way I would have been better off to listen to my dad's advice thanks again Emmanuel, I appreciate that message the hand back there yeah, I'd like to say amen to the message I really appreciated the thought that guilt does not bring the right fruit that it takes punishment of the wrongdoing to clear the conscience because I I can see that so well in my own upbringing that when I was had a lot of guilt a lot of guilt heaped on me it did not turn out right and I just felt unaccepted and unwanted and would cause me to do other things to somehow try to seek fulfillment of some type and that was I just really appreciated that thought bringing that home amen, there's a hand in the back go ahead there in the back yes I would just like to share from a son's viewpoint in my past years I have done a lot of pushing the line, breaking the line but I just want to testify for the last few years it's just so nice to have a line, you know where dad's line is, dad is stable, his line doesn't move and it's just such a freedom to know where your line is usually when I go to dad I know my answer usually before I go which is really nice and I just want to bless you dad and mom for the stability that you have brought in our home it's so nice such a joy and such a freedom to walk when you know where the lines are thank you yes I want to bless brother Emmanuel for the message that he shared this morning and I also want to thank God for the father that he gave me concerning this issue of authority my father was one that established his authority from the time I was a very young boy and so when I got to the age of being a teenager I also knew where my boundaries were very very clearly and I wanted to just encourage youth with this whole thing of pressing lines that before I was a Christian I was known to be one in my family to press the lines and I also had my privileges taken away from me because I didn't follow instruction but I my father was very diligent number one to establish authority in our home but he also worked very very seriously with establishing a relationship and by the time I had become a Christian there was a very close relationship between my father and I plus I knew where his lines were clearly drawn and from that point going after I came to Christ I'm not sure that I could tell you of a single time that I would be able to say that I know that I pressed my father's lines. There was such a freedom and a deep rooted trust between my father and I that I didn't want to break that confidence and that trust that he had in me and so when my father told me when I was 16 years old when I got my first vehicle and he told me son if you ever act foolish with that vehicle there's consequences that will follow and I never acted foolish with it I didn't even have a desire to act foolish with it because number one I knew that my father's boundaries always stood the same and number two there was such a close heart to heart relationship with my father I didn't want to hurt him by acting foolish with my vehicle and there was many times like that that there was that deep rooted trust that like taking for instance when I would go into Lancaster City my father said that I had to be home by 9 o'clock sharp that was the rule and I made it a point in my life to be home 10 minutes before 10 o'clock every night and my father seen that and if ever I came home after hours past 10 o'clock my father always knew that there was a reason for it and as soon as I got home I would sit down and I would share what happened that evening why I got home late and that close trust continued and so I want to encourage you youth yes some of you may be struggling with it but there is a level in your Christian life that can be much higher than that and it brings such a peace to your life if you can let go of trying to push those lines and focus on a close relationship with your father because like I said I don't know that I can honestly say after I became a Christian that I ever can say that I picked up music that I knew was questionable I never asked my father to go places that I knew that were questionable and the list could go on and on because like I said number one I knew where his boundaries were and I knew he wasn't going to budge from it and number two there was a deep rooted trust there that I didn't want to hurt my father by going out and practicing those questionable things thank you for that testimony those words probably about 10 years ago and it was where are you going to draw the line and when unless you're established in the Lord you won't know where to draw the line and you usually won't ever draw it there was a tour of a foreign tour that came to the United States and they were asked to speak after the tour was finished back in Europe and they said what was the thing that stood out the most about America and it was how well the children directed the parents and that should have never been we've come a long ways but the world has seemed to have the dictates of the church and the church shouldn't be following the world and say well we're still removed from them not so. God has established a boundary for us parents to draw the line and the mother should be right with the father because they know where to run to the city of refuge right to the more lenient one and they can see the inconsistency there. We raised four girls and of course my wife was like her father very easy going but it didn't take long to see where we were starting to lose them and she started putting the grip on them and they had nowhere to run but to what was right. We raised four girls. They're all serving the Lord. Now eleven grandchildren and I trust that the girls will establish them as we wanted to establish them in the grounds that God has set forth at anchor we'll hold when this world's on fire and everything is starting to fall apart just an inkling like 9-11 and it's coming to America because we do have a wicked nation but God's established a people that we can stand through all the fire and all the trials and we'll come forth as pure gold I appreciate this message today. It is not preached enough in our churches across America but God's called a peculiar people out to be zealous of His word and His will and we'll make it through that city it will stand firm and true because God's called us to be faithful and that's who He's coming for Amen Thank you for sharing Yes over here Hello my name is Robert Lewis from Perry County I guess I know some of you here and some of you know me I'm blessed to be here this morning and to be a part of what the Lord's doing and I was blessed by both messages and I guess I have a bit of a confession to make and I guess it may be strange for some of you for me to do it here because I'm not a part here and you may not know me but the first message by Paul there about not having our roots deep I guess over the past two years I've been seeking the Lord I say pretty much with all my heart and desiring to have my roots grounded in Him and His word and I guess over the last month here I've just kind of been haven't been spending the time with the Lord like I should and my roots have been pretty shallow I guess I could liken it to my father taught me when you're watering plants that you water them for a long time because if you only water them for a little bit the roots come back upwards because the water is coming from the top but if you let it soak deep then the roots go down deep and I guess for me it's I could liken it the same way in my life that even though I've been in the word it's been shallow and when we're not rooted and grounded deep in Christ it's very obvious that there's not going to be the strength there one brother said that if we're in Christ we have victory and that also means that if we're not walking rooted deeply with Him then we're going to have struggles and we're going to yield to temptation and that's how it's been for me the past month here and it's my desire to renew a clear relationship with Christ to walk with Him in victory and I would I guess ask for the brothers here to pray for me that I would be faithful to Christ and that I would yield all of myself to Him that I would become deeply rooted in His word and His love may the Lord Jesus Christ bless each one Amen There's a hand up front here brother Stein I too want to say I appreciate the message this morning yes I'm not a father but I am a son I think back over my life years I spent at home this call would go out to the young people don't divide your parents don't come to your mother with something you know mom's going to listen but dad won't I did, we did God smoked my heart this morning because I saw it very clearly that that is what we as children did I didn't realize it then but I see it very clearly now we brought a division in the home for many years my father and mother were against each other and I saw it, we saw it, we wondered why that's why because we were not willing to go to dad and accept dad's direction we would go to mother because we knew she was lenient mother would side with us we go to dad we get in an argument with dad dad would finally give in because he didn't want an argument I plead with you young people if you know your dad's heart, listen I plead with you fathers we're looking to you for an example all I wanted in life was an example I wanted my father to stand up and be my example we as young people are looking to someday maybe have a home of our own and if you fathers are not standing up being the backbone that your family, that your wife needs if you're not standing up and being a man what's the next generation going to look like? so God bless you God bless you each stand firm I just want to encourage you it's worth it as I look back over my life I wish I would have done a lot of things different but fathers step in pick up the torch and let it burn bright over here, in the front I bless the Lord for the message also this morning and bless you brother Emmanuel for sharing it it's been a convicting but challenging message to me and I'm very thankful to the Lord for that especially as I'm learning to establish my own be an established leader in my own home I'm just learning how to do that I don't have a lot of examples to draw from but I'm as far as my past but I'm learning to look out and find examples especially messages like this help that, help me so I'm thankful to God for this message you know mom and dad be so united and expected that the children will try they'll try mom they'll try dad but when they find out we're on the same page and they can't get away with trying to pit one against the other that they'll be disciplined for that that will soon bring that to an end and it's a beautiful strong safe place a safe place for the family to grow up in where there's love genuine love real love love that chastens God said every son whom he receiveth he chasteneth, scourges and so he says fathers chasten their sons to God chastens his sons so let us recognize the difference between the natural carnal love and the true God-like love I just want to thank God for my wife as the Lord worked in my heart and I felt God calling me to make some decisions she was right there with me supporting me dad, where you lead I'll follow and I can say that I've seen places where a wife has drug her feet the husband felt called to lead his family out of a situation into a clearer testimony that the wife drug her feet and the husband didn't do it caved in so I just want to bless my wife this morning thank you Janice Janice for all your support and my sons and daughters a friend of mine was there at my house yesterday, he's from another congregation, from a Mennonite church congregation, but his oldest daughter just got married here a week or two ago and we were talking about our wedding for our second daughter coming up we just rejoiced in the goodness and faithfulness of God that you know, even though we've made mistakes and I can confess this morning I've made mistakes but I bless God this morning for where my sons and daughters are this morning and I want to thank thank you my sons and my daughters and bless you in that we're pressing on, we haven't arrived but we're pressing on and I just bless God for that you know, to hear words like well dad, I'm behind you, wherever you lead I'll follow there's no greater joy to a father than when your children are behind you and walk with in truth of the Lord we're not perfect but we're pressing on and I thank God for this word this morning and I just want to encourage you fathers lead on humble servant leaders, but lead lead because our families need that so amen, thank you all for sharing and just want to encourage you to victory this is a beautiful strong message but it also doesn't leave us with just no answers but God has given us directions this morning and has given us answers also so thank you brother Emmanuel for preaching the word to us this morning