Father’s Day 2018

ANALOGIES: a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

An Internet site lists some of the attention-grabbing analogies found in high school papers: "He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind

because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it."

"She caught your eye like one of those pointy hook latches that used to dangle from screen doors and would fly up whenever you banged the door open again."

"The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't." "McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty Bag filled with vegetable soup." "From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality,

like when you're on vacation in another city and "Jeopardy" comes on at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30."

"Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever." "He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree." "Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie this guy would

be buried in the credits as something like 'Second Tall Man.'" "Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward

each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph."

"The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease."

I would like to share one more analogy: Fathers should be approachable to their children just as our Heavenly Father is

approachable to us.

Ephesians 2:13, 17-19 13  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. … he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18  For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God… Ephesians 3:12  in [Christ] we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament defines access as - that friendly relation with God whereby we are acceptable to him and have assurance that he is favorably disposed toward us.The NIV says it this way - Ephesians 3:12 - In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 

The Approachable Father1. He understands the reasons for a child’s questions and gives answers

a. Be a good listener - Psalm 4:3  …the LORD hears when I call to him. Psalm 34:17  When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 1 John 5:14-15  And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

b. Answer with understandingProverbs 18:13  If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and

shame.

2. He hears a child’s cries for affection and gives love  

Psalm 55:17  Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.

Illustration: 8-year old Jimmy throws a disrespectful tantrum at the dinner table when Dad tells him to eat his vegetables. Dad’s first impulse is to lash out with authority and demand compliance. But instead, he takes Jimmy to his room and begins to talk to him. “Jimmy, your behavior at the table was unacceptable. If you are intentionally testing me, I will deal with that right now. But if your actions were because something else is bothering you, let’s talk about it.” Jimmy starts to cry. “Dad, lately it feels like all the decisions in our family have gone against me. It’s not fair. I feel alone.”

Ephesians 2:3-6 …[we] were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us… made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

3. He senses a child’s feelings of inadequacy and gives affirmation

a. “Do I have to perform up to a certain standard to be significant?”b. What feels like pestering may be a cry for significance. “Am I more important than

what you are doing right now?”c. Ephesians passage: “God made us alive together with Christ, and raised us up with

him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God…

4. He understands a child’s need for companionship and gives time

a. “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”

b. “Be still, and know that I am God.”

5. He knows a child needs unconditional acceptance and gives security

a. Ephesians 2:1-7 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

b. How to handle changes and choices:i. My two brothers and I had long hair. What a contrast to my dad. We could

make style choices, so long as they weren’t symbols of rebellion. We were accepted even though our appearance was unacceptable.