Simon
Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained
like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of
God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us
all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him
that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding
great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And
beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue
knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to
patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that
ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and
hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather,
brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do
these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto
you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of
these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by
putting you in remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must put off this my
tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. Moreover I will
endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in
remembrance. 2 Peter 1:1-15 KJV
One day a little girl asked her mother, “Is it
true that Santa Claus brings us our Christmas presents?” “Yes.”“And does the
stork bring us babies?” “Yes.”“And the police department protects us?”
“Yes.”“Then what do we need daddy for?”
FATHERHOOD IS A LIFETIME
CALLING AND REQUIRES A MIND SET TO THE TASK!
Indeed! In a country
where we have many absentee fathers, drive by fathers, missing in action
fathers, part time fathers, weekend fathers and fathers of convenience, it is
imperative that men of the faith recognize the full time ministry of fatherhood
that they are called to. It's more than a job that one leaves at the end of the
work day until the next. It's a fulltime calling, without repentance! For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:29 NKJV
In your job you do what needs
to be done, then you go home and forget, or ignore it all, until the next day.
In your calling as a father, it remains with you, in your waking and sleeping
moments. It takes precedence over other things. A doctor will look after
his patients, and then go home to his own children, generally forgetting his
patients until the next work session. He'll probably go for a walk in the park,
a dinner or a movie. If his child falls sick however, he will put everything
else on hold. Movies, walks, and dinners fade into insignificance as he focuses
on his child! That's the way of a father! Is our ministry a profession or a
calling? How's our fatherhood shaping up? Remember you were designed by God to
be a great father! Don't let this world and the devil blur that design and
smear that blueprint! Follow His pattern faithfully! And do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good
and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2 NKJV
Or as the Message puts it: Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture
that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God.
You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from
you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging
you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops
well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:2
MSG
Doing what God called
you to do, is the greatest thing in this world, and cannot be reduced to a mere
profession, for therein lies the discontent, frustration and failure of an
unfulfilled life.
In your job, you limit
your responsibility to working hours. In your calling as a father, you are full
time, and in it for the long haul, through thick or thin, fire or water, rain
or snow, winter or summer, in season out of season!
We all know that a mother's
job is never part time. Likewise with a father. Fathers are molders of
destinies, in every little child brought into their realm of care, and
responsibility. Too many times we have left the molding and training of our
children, especially our sons, to the mothers, contributing to responsibility
overload! Too often the TV and video games become the trainers. Too often our
children pick up their "wisdom and learning" from godless friends,
and strangers to God, in our institutions of indoctrination. Some fathers drool
over a moving machine, shining, outfitting, decorating and servicing it
faithfully and regularly. You would not give an crazy, idiot your vehicle to
drive. Yet we leave our children in the hands of the ungodly, and unregenerate
strangers, with an evil agenda, who fill our children's minds with the
poisonous filth of this sin sick world, and the propaganda of the enemy of our
souls! And we hardly bother to review or monitor what our children are being
fed in their minds, yet wonder where it went wrong. We're too busy pretending
to be doting, loving fathers buying our children exceedingly expensive gifts,
yet totally ignoring their eternity, and failing to lead by example! Father, the
greatest gift you can give to your child is the knowledge of Christ and love of
the Bible and the greatest thing that you can is do is to lead that child to
Christ!
And
you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the
training and admonition of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4 NKJV
Amplified, this says: Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your
children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them
[tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the
Lord. Ephesians 6:4 AMP
Father you owe it to
your children to be men of integrity! You owe it to your children to be men who
are honest in all deals, business or family! Father, you owe it to your
children, grown up or not, to be faithful to your wife, their mother! Fathers
are amply rewarded when their children grow up to excel in integrity, goodness
and righteousness. In our society today however, it is a pleasant surprise,
when children grow up to excel in goodness and righteousness, regardless of
fathers.
SIMON PETER "THE ROCK" BARJONA MAKES JESUS THE CONSTANT PRIORITY!
In our Scripture reading
today we are looking at a general letter from Peter. Who was Simon Peter? He
describes himself here as a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ. Peter had several roles in the
Bible, as a disciple, apostle, church father, and natural father.
Simon Peter was not noted for his finesse and tact. He was portrayed as a large, impressive man, who had all the grace and qualities of a Galilean fisherman! Which of course means that he had none! Peter was a man's man, and a natural leader, who also wanted to be liked and respected, to the point of a little dissimulation once, that Paul had to rebuke.
Peter was impulsive,
impatient, and a take charge kind of guy, quick on the draw. When the disciples
told The Lord that they had two swords, we know who had one of those
swords in Gethsemane, when Peter chopped off Malchus' ear!
He was very self
confident and self assured. After all he was a fisherman, with workers under
him. Brash, bold and brawling, he took affront from none. He was a leader
amongst the disciples, and was always in the forefront of things. A Galilean
native, he had a partnership in the fishing business, working with the sons of
Zebedee.
He first met Jesus, when
his brother Andrew introduced him to The Lord. Later Jesus made a lasting impression
on Peter, by commanding a catch of fishes, where previously there had been none!
Against all odds, in bright daylight, on the clear Galilean waters, Peter found
himself dumfounded at the impossible catch! He, from that moment, followed
Jesus, and even though he faltered and failed many times, he did not give up.
He lived up to the name Peter given to him by Jesus, when he boldly declared
the name of Jesus, from Pentecost onward! Now Simon Peter "The
Rock" BarJona, calls to men of like faith, to build on a substantial and
solid foundation, and not waste their lives on transient substrate, that passes
away, leaving one with no hope in eternity.
What we're seeing here,
is that Peter was a man of his times, just like men of these times. Similar
characteristics, passions, qualities, failures, frustrations, you name it! Yet
by the total surrender of this strong man to the Almighty, a precious vessel
was formed and molded, to become a beacon to men of all ages!
Remember the Church of
Jesus Christ started with a Man, who called 12 men! When Jesus started this
movement, he handpicked men from all professions, and walks of life! He instilled
in them a special calling, and empowered them to fulfill that calling! Jesus
has not changed. He still calls men, (and women) from all walks of life. He sees
potential and promise in every life, and He promises to empower anyone who
becomes His disciple. So what is Peter telling the church and men of today?
PETER'S CHALLENGE TO
FATHERHOOD AND THE SYMPHONY OF CHRISTIAN MANHOOD!
Peter guided, by the Holy Spirit, lists eight essentials, in progression to Christ-like manhood and fatherhood. These are in
order: Faith, Virtue, Knowledge, Temperance, Patience, Godliness, Brotherly
Love, Charity (Love).
Faith is the underlying
foundation of belief and convictions, that determines our subsequent actions and
behavior! With the strong base of faith, we are able to add virtue: the
manliness, valor and excellence needed, in producing courage and character, as
we progress in restructuring our lives. We can now add knowledge: a general
intelligence and knowing, that is defined by our faith and valor. No longer
weak and subject to vacillation, we are now able to exercise temperance or self
control. We practice and exercise mastery over fleshly and sensual appetites. Our
ongoing success in self-control, produces within us patience, a steadfastness,
constancy and endurance, which, in combination with all the foregoing, enables
us to manifest godliness or holiness and piety.
It is now easy for brotherly
love, which is a kindly affection for the brethren, to appear and its obvious
conclusion and pinnacle would be that which moved God to save man by giving His
only begotten Son! Charity! Divine love that enables us to love the unlovable, despite
the obstacles or rejection.
These are built up
progressively, step by step until the pinnacle is achieved. Love is built upon
the base and foundation of diligent addition, brick by brick of a solid
framework of divine nature, undergirded by our faith. They are added in the way
brick is added to brick, until the building takes shape and form.
But rather than just a building up
of a structure, it is more like a symphony, with each succeeding instrument
adding its particular note and music! Each element added, enhances each other, and support each other, and enrich each other,
like notes in a symphony, they combine to make glorious music culminating with
the high note of perfection in love! Remember King Curtis' Memphis Soul Stew?
Faith is like a steady
beat, that sets the rhythm, tempo and timing of the music. Each succeeding
addition becomes a complementary to the basic rhythm building the sound in
stages to one gloriously rich chorus of discipleship, discipline and devotion
to the Eternal Father!
YES! That's what you
life as a Christian man and father is all about! It becomes a heavenly symphony,
with all the glorious instruments playing in harmony, in time with the rhythm
of your faith!
Great fathers come in
all shapes and sizes! In building a great dad God started with a man! He always
starts with a man! The man can choose to participate and cooperate, submit or
resist! The end product is determined by response to His molding! You can let
your life become a song worth singing!
As Teddy Pendergrass sung
back in the70's:
Life is a song worth singing
Why don't you sing it
Life is a song worth singing
Why don't you sing it
You hold the key in the palm of your hand use it
Don't blame your life on the master plan change
it
Only you generate the power to decide what to do
with your life
You're a fool if you think your helpless you
control what you do with your life
Life is a song worth singing
Why don't you sing it
Life is a song worth singing
Why don't you sing it
You don't like the way your living to bad
You can't change your life because it's out of
your hand so sad
So you sit on your pants and holler
'Cause the world ain't been treating you right
Don't you know you contain the power to control
destiny with your mind
What are you looking for
in your child? What is God the Father looking for in you? Let's look at our
children the way God looks at them and then help them to be what God wants them
to be! Don't promise yourself tomorrow, do it today!
I
write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I
write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to
you, little children, Because you have known the Father. I have written to you,
fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written
to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
And you have overcome the wicked one. Do not love the world or the things in
the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For
all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is
passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 2:13-17 NKJV
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