Family
FATHERS HEARTS
Fathers Hearts
Part 2 THE 4 FUNCTIONS OF FATHERS
The father has four very important functions:
As a priest he represents his family to God through intercession and prayer. As this was a function
bestowed upon him by God, no body else can take the place of the father for this function. If he
is successful in this function, he will most likely be successful in the other three functions. There
is something in the spiritual realm that a father can do for his family that he cannot delegate to
anybody else. Job was the perfect example of the intercessor on behalf of his family. He stood in
the gap for his childrens' sins weekly. The father mediates divine protection for his home.
Acts 16:31 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy household". The father,
as the priest has the God given authority to exercise faith for the salvation of his whole house.
As a prophet the father is a mirror image of God, he presents the image and character of God to his
family. He has a solemn responsibility. If he fails in this task, his children will get a warped idea
of the heavenly Father and they will find it hard to trust God. The ideal father will instruct his
children in God's ways through the examples of every day life and not in a legalistic or over
religious way. Through being an example to his children he will reflect God's laws in a practical
and loving way very much like Jesus did when he lived on earth as a man.
Both the New and the Old Testament place the function of the childrens' spiritual upbringing on the
shoulders of the father. This is a sacred responsibility which again is not transferable. It is not
the responsibility of the church and the school, but the father's responsibility.
The father is also the ruler and king of his home. This authority is God given and not transferable. As the
head of his home he should govern the way God governs. 1Timothy 3:4-5 He must manage his
own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. If anyone does not know
how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?
The father should be in front of his household and he should protect them from the world. He should
also be a pastor and a shepherd in his home. Because Abraham fulfilled this role, God blessed
him and built him into a mighty nation. Genesis 18:17-19 And the Lord said: "Shall I hide from
Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty
nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. For I know him, that he will
command his children and his household after Him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to
do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He has spoken of
him." God will bless every family where the father follows Abraham's example.
God expects that the father will set up basic rules to govern his household and that he will enforce them
with authority.
As the protector and defender of his home, it is the father's duty to protect the virginity of his
daughters. He should be the gatekeeper of their virginity until he hands them over to their
husbands.
Through spending time with his children he has to build a close relationship with his them.
Communicating from both ways in a meaningful way, he builds their confidence and gives them
a healthy self-esteem.
The last function of the father is that of a bow. He shoots his children into the world. It is his
responsibility to release his child into the world. If he has performed all three of the previous
functions, his child will be a confident, well adjusted adult. If his child is released into the world
with his blessings, he/she will soar with strong wings.
Fathers Hearts
Part 3: IF FATHERS FAIL. A PLEA TO TURN BACK AND OBEY GOD
Deuteronomy 28:41 reads Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they
shall go into captivity.
Is this not a sign of the times we are living in? Because of fathers failing in their God given responsibility,
children are not a joy to them anymore. Children without fathers or with distant fathers are
unruly and some end up as criminals. Because the father is not the head and the protector of his
home, Satan takes the children into captivity. They become addicted to drugs and/or alcohol;
the daughters will be looking for their fathers love in the arms of other men.
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will
also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy
God, I will also forget thy children. These are scary words, but logical. Because Abraham was the
father God expected him to be, his seed was blessed and became a great nation. The opposite is
also true, if you turn away from your responsibilities as fathers, God will forget your children.
How many God-forgotten children are there in our world, because the fathers disobeyed God
and did not keep His laws?
As God is a merciful God full of grace, He will turn the hearts of the children back to the fathers as soon
as they turn their hearts back to their children. Not only will your own future generation be
saved, but if every father obeys, our whole civilization will be saved and instead of being cursed
we shall be blessed.
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