Is There a Man in the House? - June 16, 2013 Sermon

By Pastor Greg

Does anyone else remember the great radio comedy Fibber McGee and Molly?  Watch  a clip from one of their movies called Look Who’s Laughing.

A man need only be 72 years old to be born before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, copy machines, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill; before radar, credit cards, laser beams, ball-point pens or bank machines. When this man was born no one had invented pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers (clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air), and man hadn't yet walked on the moon, that's for sure. If his family even had a telephone, all calls came over the 'party line'. There was no FM radio, no tape decks or even 8-track players. No CDs, videos, electric typewriters, DVDs, yogurt, Personal Computers or guys wearing earrings (unless it was a pirate in a storybook). He listened to the Big Bands on the 'Victrola' (record player) and Jack Benny on the 'wireless' (radios).
He would have married before living together. Almost every family had a father and a mother. He would have called every person older than him 'Sir' or 'Ma'am'. There was no computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers, gay-rights, and group therapy. And he actually believed that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. His life was governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense. In church, in school, and at home, he was taught the difference between right and wrong, and to stand up and take responsibility for his actions.

There are many of us who long for the days when life was a bit simpler, especially when the world was a bit safer. People knew right from wrong back then. And for those of us old enough to remember party lines, we lament the lack of trust and security in today’s world. My word, in some schools the students must pass through a security gate before entering. We send drug sniffing dogs through our schools and randomly search our children’s back packs. Children come to school and kill their classmates. How did we end up here in a short 72 years?

Billions of dollars are spent and countless laws are passed designed to enforce morality. Tell me, is it really making a difference? Not really. And that’s because no nation or government has ever been successful when legislating morality. Morality is something that needs to be birthed in the heart of a person. Morality is not a list of rules to be followed. Not even Israel, with all the laws handed down by God, was successful in obeying those laws. Morality came when it was written within their hearts. But apparently Israel forgot its responsibility, and the morality of the nation declined. The Jewish people in the Old Testament, the nation that God rescued out of slavery, fell into moral decay and into slavery again. And it apparently happened because those who were supposed to teach God’s Laws had failed.

Our own nation began so well. There were lofty goal and ideals. But sadly morality is hard to find today. And I suspect it is because no one is teaching God’s Laws of right and wrong anymore. Oh, we are doing a great job at passing laws, but apparently a very poor job at teaching them. We pass a law that says it is wrong to steal but don’t teach why stealing is wrong. We are trying to change a behavior instead of changing a heart. But unless the heart is changed, there will be no true obedience to the law.

What all of this means is that if we want to change our nation we must first begin by changing the heart of the people. But that will not happen until someone begins to take their responsibility seriously; until someone understands that God has assigned the task of Spiritual Leader to a particular group of people in our society. That responsibility, according to God, belongs to fathers. It is the father’s responsibility to be the Spiritual Leader in their homes. But sadly it is a responsibility many father do not take seriously.

God has command that the father be the Spiritual Leader in the home. He speaks this quite clearly. Fathers are to, “not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). In Deuteronomy 6:6-7 He says,” And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up”. If we father’s do this; if we “Direct your children onto the right path, [then] when they are older, they will not leave it” (Proverbs 22:6).

A lot of Christian father’s do a fine job supporting their children in their activities. They do a good job providing for their children’s basic needs. But see, that’s where most father’s stop. Because when it comes to spiritual things, most fathers are seldom involved. They’re more worried about soccer practice than with church activities. By our own example we tell our children that a Sunday of play is far more important than a Sunday in worship. And what’s ironic is that we lament the condition of our society yet never lift a finger to fix the problem!

I’ll tell you what. If we fathers start being the man of the house that God has demanded, we can rebuild a society where people know right from wrong. No amount of money or legislation or rules will ever replace the responsibility we fathers have in our own homes. And that is to take an active role in introducing our children to the Kingdom of God; to live as a godly example to our families. I know we lament the condition of our society, but it’s our own fault. We fathers have been just too preoccupied with our own selfish interest, and have delegated our child’s Spiritual instruction to our wives or to a Sunday School teacher while we’re off chasing a Titleist with a 7 iron. And then we wonder why there is no fear of God in our nation?

In 72 years we have fallen far as a godly nation. Laws and legislation will not get it back. Neither will prayer, unless we begin praying with repentance. We can be a godly nation filled with godly states whose cities are filled with godly neighborhoods when we fathers first build a godly home. So, if you really want this nation to become a better place to live, then start teaching what God has commanded. And start living what you confess to believe.