The Father’s Counsel

Proverbs 4:1-27
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, June 15, 1997
Copyright © 1997, P. G. Mathew

Today is Father’s Day, and on this day we especially think about our heavenly Father, from whom, Paul says “his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name” (Eph. 4:15). We think of God whose rule we delightfully embrace, under whose protection we live and by whose provision of daily bread, spiritual and material, we are nourished.

But on Father’s Day we also think of our earthly fathers, and we especially think of those fathers who passionately tried to emulate their heavenly Father as they performed their God-given responsibilities to the glory of God. In this study we want to examine the counsel of God the Father to all earthly fathers. We do so with the hope that we as Christian fathers will then conform to the biblical pattern of a godly father.

The Father As Leader

In an ancient Hebrew family, the father had the maximum authority and was accorded the most respect of all the family members. Why? He had the most responsibility. A Hebrew father was responsible, first of all, to rule his family for God and to call every member into conformance with God’s covenant terms. Second, he was responsible to function as a priest in calling his family to worship the true and living God without fail. Third, he was responsible to teach everyone who was under his care. Fourth, he was responsible to provide for every member of his family. The Bible tells us that if a believer does not provide for his own family, he is worse than an infidel, a pagan. And, finally, the Hebrew father was responsible to protect every member of his family from all harm.

Therefore, all the members of a Hebrew family were to submit to the father and honor him, and he had certain responsibilities before God. This was the biblical pattern in the ancient Hebrew families and we see this family structure reflected in the epistles of Paul when he deals with social relationships. All members of a biblical family are to submit to and honor the father. According to the Scriptures and the Hebrew tradition, neither a wife nor a child is intended by God to be the head of a family.

What about today’s families? Do we see many fathers leading their families according to the biblical pattern? No. In fact, in most modern homes we see the children leading the family. The children will say something, the wife will embrace it, and the man will buckle. It doesn’t matter whether the man is tall or small, physically. I have seen many tall, bulky fathers buckle before their wives and children. Bulk does not mean anything unless that father rules for God and leads his family.

A Christian father should not be led by the whims, desires, and fancies of his children. Why? When children are leading, a family becomes like a body over which the head has no control. Such a body might jerk spasmodically but it will not be able to function properly. We see many such spasms in families today, but these things have nothing to do with a biblical family. Most families in our culture have gone far away from the biblical pattern, but, I must confess, not for the better.

Our Heavenly Father

The ideal of the Hebrew family helps us to understand something about God our heavenly Father. Thus, in Matthew 6:33 when Jesus tells us “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,” he means we should seek first God’s rule for our lives. Why? Because God is our heavenly Father, the one who has absolute authority and who deserves absolute respect. There must be total worship and adoration of God and total submission to his authority. The most important goal for our lives is to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

Second, just as a Hebrew father has responsibilities, so our heavenly Father assumes responsibility for all who acknowledge him as Lord and worship him. Notice what Jesus says in Matthew 6:33, “and all these things will be given to you as well.” That is a promise that God our heavenly Father will give us bread and protection. Why? “For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” He knows that his children need bread, and he will provide it. And, again, in Matthew 6:31 Jesus tells us, “Do not worry.” Why? We are the children of the heavenly Father.

Therefore, just as a Hebrew father assumed the responsibility of providing for and protecting all under his care, in the same way our heavenly Father knows his responsibilities and our needs, and he will take care of us. But we have a responsibility also. What is it? We must surrender to him, worship him, and come under his absolute rule.

The Father As Teacher

What other responsibility did a Hebrew father have? He was responsible for education within the family. He was required to teach his children to know this Lord who delivered his people from the bondage of Egypt. They had to learn about Yahweh, the Maker and Maintainer of heaven and earth and the Savior of his people. And most of all, the father had to teach his children the fear of the Lord. Why? It is the beginning of wisdom. Therefore, children must be given knowledge of the Lord.

In Deuteronomy 6 we read God’s charge to fathers: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.”

What does that mean? That we should love God’s commandments, cherish them, and consider them as treasure greater than all the gold of this world. What else? “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door-frames of your houses and on your gates.” This was the serious responsibility God gave to fathers in Israel.

Now we all recognize that a father is responsible to teach his children skills. These skills may include how to hit a baseball or how to maneuver in cyberspace or how to make a living. But in a Hebrew family all these were secondary. The primary responsibility of a father was to teach his children to love and fear the true God, Yahweh.

What Are We Teaching?

This is also the primary responsibility of Christian fathers today. So I must ask: Fathers, are you teaching your children to fear and love God? Are you teaching them to conform in belief and behavior to the terms of God’s covenant? Or are you too busy making money and teaching your children to acquire skills so they can make money also? Are you teaching them to believe in the motto of the Western world, that “Money is the principal thing; therefore, get money by all means”?

I traveled recently to another country. There I observed all the people working very hard, trying to make a buck. Everyone was working. Why? These people also believe that money is the principal thing which they should get by all means.

What about us? Are we teaching our children that money is the principal thing? Or are we telling them that prestige or power or beauty or recognition by the world is the principal thing? Let me assure you, none of these things matter.

What, then, is the principal thing that fathers must teach their children? According to the Bible, it is wisdom; therefore, we must get wisdom by all means. And what do we mean by wisdom? “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10). Wisdom includes knowledge, which means knowledge of the Lord. It is not a theoretical idea of God in your head or the knowledge of many facts about God. Real knowledge of the living God means relationship with him. It means communion and fellowship with the Lord of the covenant. Jesus spoke of this in John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” This is what we must teach our children to seek after.

The Inheritance of Wisdom

So the responsibility of fathers is to educate their children in the wisdom and counsel of God which leads to salvation. And it is the will of God that this counsel, this wisdom, this gospel, this knowledge of the way of salvation, be communicated from fathers to sons from generation to generation until the coming of Jesus Christ.

In Psalm 78 we read God’s instruction to fathers. The psalmist begins, “O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old. . .” And what are these things? “What we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us” (v. 3). And in verse 4 the psalmist continues, “We will not hide them” meaning the hidden things, the things from of old, the wisdom of God, “from their children.”

Let me tell you, fathers, if you are too busy drinking your beer, reading other things, watching television, relaxing, studying pornography–in other words, too busy with the exciting things of this world–what are you doing in your busyness? You are hiding the gospel from your children.

The knowledge of God and the knowledge of salvation is the greatest treasure in the world! It is far greater than silver and gold, and fathers should not hide it from their children. So if we are Christian fathers, we must examine ourselves. We must ask: Are we too busy relaxing and doing other things to impart the knowledge of God to our children? Do we justify ourselves by saying, “I did my part by going to work today. I know my kids are crazy and wild–in fact, everyone has told me they are wild. But it doesn’t matter. I’m home now and I just want to relax. I don’t have time to teach them about God.”

But the psalmist continues, “We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord”–again, meaning the way of salvation, the gospel–“his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.” And what is the purpose of all this instruction? “Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds.”

Fathers, I urge you: Do not hide this wisdom from your children. I grew up in a Christian home, and my parents never hid this wisdom from us. Rather, day in and day out they declared it to us again and again in order to impress it upon our hearts. Why? They wanted each child to trust in the God of the covenant and be saved.

Fathers, you are responsible to give your children more than food and clothes and roller blades and cyberspace facilities. Those things are just the glitter of this world. I feel sorry for you if you give your children everything except the treasure of the gospel, which alone will point them to salvation. Tell your children the gospel again and again so that they will come to trust in God for salvation.

Who Should Teach?

What is the greatest possible heirloom children can receive from their parents? It is wisdom. It is the gospel. It is the fear of the Lord. All that is the only real heirloom worth handing down from generation to generation. And who is responsible to pass this heirloom on? As I said before, it is Christian parents, and especially Christian fathers, as we read in Proverbs 1:8.

We see this role of a Christian father again in Proverbs 4, beginning with verse 1: “Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning. . .” That means real learning, the knowledge of God, taught by the Christian father to his children.

Now, this knowledge of God, this sound learning, is not something a person can learn in the universities of today. There was a time when Harvard and other universities taught the fear of the Lord using the Bible as the textbook. But we do not see that anymore. Ultimately, the Christian father is the crucial person to teach this wisdom to his children. So we read,”I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.”

In verse 3 we read, “When I was a boy in my father’s house, still tender, and an only child of my mother, he taught me. . .” This son was loved by his father and mother–loved, but not spoiled. And because these parents really loved their son, what did they do? Did they give him roller blades? Did they give him cyberspace access and a faster modem so that he could access pornography and save it? That would be pathetic, wouldn’t it? No, these parents gave their son the wisdom of God. And they did so not only by instruction but also by example.

Pay attention to these words: “When I was a boy in my father’s house, still tender and the only child of my mother, he taught me and said, ‘Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live.'” That is the issue, brothers and sisters. We want to teach our children how to live! And real living means having the knowledge of God.

When to Teach

When, then, should we teach these children the knowledge and fear of God? We find the answer in 2 Timothy 3:15. It says “from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures.” From their infancy we are to pray with our children and teach them the word of God.

In 2 Timothy 1:5 we read of Timothy’s sincere faith which first lived in his grandmother, Lois, and then in his mother, Eunice. Timothy was taught by his grandmother because his grandfather was probably a Gentile. And probably because Timothy’s father was a Gentile, his mother also assumed responsibility for teaching him about God. But the primary responsibility for instruction in the knowledge of God in a Christian family lies with fathers.

Fathers, do you love your children? Then give them this great treasure. What is it? The fear of the Lord and the knowledge of the Holy One. Why? That they may live! Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.” Relationship with Jesus Christ is life because Jesus Christ alone is life. We must teach that to our children from infancy.

Where to Teach

Where should this teaching take place? In our homes. Have you been blaming the public schools and other institutions for your children’s problems? Have you said that the problem is that others are not doing a good job with our children? According to the Bible, the home is the place where parents must instill in their children a love for God, a fear of God, and the knowledge of God. If we have been faithful to put those things into our children, the children can go anywhere in the world and be all right.

There is an idea in modern Christian circles that we must protect our children throughout their lives. We must send them only to Christian schools and then arrange to have them work in Christian businesses, associate only with Christians, and so on. The fear is that if parents let their children go out into the world, the children will become crazy. But this is false thinking. If parents teach their children to fear the Lord and love God, they can live anywhere in the world. That is what Christianity is all about.

That does not mean that Christians should not establish Christian schools. But I do not believe in isolationism. Christians are the light of the world, and we must shine as such in the world. But we must always remember that a Christian home is the primary place for teaching the fear of the Lord and love for God.

What to Teach

What, specifically, should we be teaching our children? Look again at the classic passage, 2 Timothy 3:15. There we read, “And how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures. . .” We must teach our children the Bible.

Did you know that the Holy Spirit has a way of teaching people through the instruction of their fathers even when they are infants? It is a divine miracle. I know some fathers wonder whether their young children are learning anything when they speak to them about God. This scripture should encourage you to not worry and continue speaking! So Paul writes, “how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise”–for what? What is the purpose of all this instruction? “For salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

Fathers, have you instructed your children in the holy Scriptures? Or have your failed in this charge of God? Many fathers have failed, and I know this because I have observed their failure. But we must pay attention to what God is saying to us on this issue. We must not teach our children everything else but the real thing, which is able to make them wise unto salvation. Nothing is able to impart the wisdom that will make a person wise unto salvation except knowledge of the holy Scriptures.

So fathers must teach the knowledge of God. In Psalm 19, beginning with verse 7 we read, “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring for ever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”

This is the real thing, brothers and sisters. But you will never impart this knowledge to your children unless you love it, cherish it, treasure it, and value it above all things yourself. I guarantee that some of you fathers will teach your children how to play softball. Why? Because I know that you love softball yourselves. It is the same for baseball, music, ballet and all sorts of things. When you love something, you will teach it to your children. But unless you value something, you will not hand it down through instruction and example.

So, fathers, I challenge you: Love the word of God and treasure it enough that you will impart it with all passion and commitment to your children! The primary purpose of all education is to become wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Therefore, you must ask yourself: Do my children fear God? Are they saved? Do they have faith in Jesus Christ? Will they go to heaven if they die tonight? I challenge you to think seriously today about these questions, and see what God is saying.

The Cost of Wisdom

Proverbs 4:7 tells us, “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.” Notice, this verse does not say,”Money is supreme; therefore get money,”or “Prestige is supreme; therefore get prestige.” It is not speaking about wealth, beauty, power, influence, or any of those things. What does it say? “Wisdom is supreme; therefore, get wisdom.” But then the writer adds, “Though it costs all you have, get understanding.” Let me tell you, if you want to acquire this wisdom, there is a cost involved. It will cost everything you have.

This wisdom cost everything for Moses. Why did Moses leave Egypt? Why did he refuse to hold on to the prestige, power, and position he enjoyed in Egypt? He wanted something else. No one leaves the things of the world unless he has come to know something of greater value than that which he is forsaking. Hebrews 11:27 tells us that Moses saw God–him who is invisible–in all his glory and beauty and followed him.

We find the idea of cost also stated in Matthew 13:44: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy. . .” notice, he was joyful. It was not in his melancholy, gloom and misery. “. . . in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” It costs everything!

Proverbs 3:5,6 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” We must totally surrender to Jesus Christ. And in the gospels we are told to deny ourselves, take up the cross and follow Jesus. We are to hate our own lives. That is the cost.

Why don’t we teach this family value? Because we don’t value it ourselves. We know the cost–total surrender to Jesus Christ, selling everything and following him–but we don’t want to pay it.

May God open our eyes and give us such a revelation of himself that we gladly pay the price! When Peter correctly confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus told him, “Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven revealed it to you.” Once we are given that revelation, then we will do all things with joy, total commitment, and passion. Our preaching will change, our talk will change, our witnessing will change. We will talk all the time about this supreme thing. We will guard our hearts with all diligence rather than watching television and passively acquiring its nonsense into our heads. We will turn everything off and use our time and lives to acquire God’s true wisdom, which alone is the supreme thing.

The Responsibility of Children

What about children? Not only do fathers have a responsibility, but those who are being taught also have a responsibility.

Proverbs 2 tells us what the responsibility of children is. Verse 1 begins, “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you. . .” What should a child do with God’s word? Embrace it! Love it! Receive it! Store it in the storehouse of his heart, in the center of his being. Why? Because he may need it tomorrow morning. A situation may arise in which there is a conflict between Christ and something else. We all need God’s wisdom for those situations. “Store it in your heart” means to love God’s word and meditate upon it. Store it, because it is great treasure.

Children, do you store up God’s word in your hearts? Or do you laugh at it, mock it, and treat it with contempt? Do you laugh at the man who is teaching? If so, I urge you repent. This verse tells us to accept it, embrace, treasure, cherish, protect , and store up God’s word in our hearts. We must let the word of God fall into good soil, into a heart that is not arrogant but humble, prepared and ready to receive the ingrafted word.

What else does this passage say? Verse 2: “turning your ear to wisdom. . .” There is an ear gate and an eye gate through which many things go into our minds and hearts. What are you listening to? What are you viewing with your eyes? Something is going to come in and get stored in your mind. Are you devoting your ears and your eyes to receive the messages and things of the world? Or are you devoting them to receive the wisdom of the Father’s counsel?

In verse 3 we read, “And if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding. . .” Children, do you pray, “O God, I want wisdom. I want knowledge of the Holy One. Give it to me, O God!”? If you do, the Bible says God will give you wisdom. He will not upbraid you or rebuke you because you asked for it.

We must ask ourselves: What are we praying for? Do we pray, “God, give me all good things in the temporal world. Give me a job. Give me this. Give me that. Give me health. Give me everything else”? Do we pray, “Give me a good time today, O God. Help me to have fun. I got up this morning and I want to have fun. Give me, I pray, a lot of fun.” I think that is the general essence of most of our prayers. But do we pray for wisdom? No.

Children, in this verse we are told to really cry out to God and seek him so that we may get wisdom. And in verse 4 we are further encouraged to “look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure. . .” So, again, I must ask you: Do you search for wisdom as for hidden treasure? We have already said that wisdom is the most valuable thing, and, therefore, it requires a lot of effort to dig it. Why? Real treasure does not come to us very easily. We have to dig and excavate it. We have to work hard! But in the end, what do we get? Wisdom. That is wonderful, isn’t it? Are you doing that?

Guarantee of Wisdom

And as we cry to God and search for wisdom, God will answer us, as we read in verse 5: “Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” This is a divine guarantee! If you do these things, you will receive wisdom and understanding. You will receive the supreme thing, in other words, and the entrance of this wisdom into your life will transform you.

But we have said that God’s wisdom comes to children’s minds from the Scriptures through their fathers. If a child mocks his father, how in the world can he receive wisdom? There is no other way. We cannot find true wisdom at a university. (PGM) The universities of this country and of the western world hate God’s wisdom. They laugh at it and mock it. It is impossible to get true wisdom from these places. So a child must honor his father and receive God’s wisdom from him.

How did Jesus get wisdom? In Isaiah 50:4 we see that Jesus himself was taught by God the Father. “The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me”–meaning the Father, the Sovereign Lord wakened him–“morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.” Especially as Jesus was young, this teaching was done by his parents, Joseph and Mary, and others. And as Jesus was instructed, he grew in wisdom, we are told.

And so Isaiah 50:5 says, “The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears and I have not been rebellious.” How do you know that you have accepted wisdom? You are not rebellious. Jesus himself received instruction, and in Luke 2:52 we read that he grew in wisdom and favor with man and God.

What Use Is It?

If you are a young person you may be wondering what is the use of studying God’s word and listening to a father’s counsel in modern times? The Bible tells us there are many benefits.

1. Salvation. The counsel of a godly father gives us safety and salvation. In Proverbs 1:20-33 we see that a person without wisdom is not safe. But in verse 33 Wisdom says, “But whoever listens to me will live in safety and will be at ease without fear of harm.” What a tremendous benefit! We don’t have to go to psychiatrists or psychologists. When we listen to God, we are safe. We fear no harm and are not anxious. God the Father says to us, “Do not worry” and we believe him. All this is salvation, in other words. The Holy Scriptures will make you wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
2. Life. Proverbs 4:22 tells us “For they are life to those who find them.” Life means life here as well as hereafter. It is life of a different order. It is not just eating and drinking. It means fellowship with God both here and hereafter. It is eternal life.
   The other day we invited twenty people to our home. We had an enjoyable time which culminated in a time of worship and praise of our heavenly Father. That demonstrates life. The high point of real life is God.
3. Honor. In Proverbs 1:9 we read, “They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.” When we listen to God’s word and practice it, we will receive honor and prestige just as Joseph did. There is an honor that comes from God, and if we obey his word, in due time God will lift us up and exalt us.
4. Long life and prosperity. Proverbs 3:2 says, “For they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.” I believe God’s people will not have to beg bread. Rather, they will have sufficiency and prosperity.
5. A good name with God and man. In Proverbs 3:4 we read, “Then you will win favor and a good name in sight of God and man.” Jesus experienced favor with God and man. Luke 2:52 tells us he grew up in wisdom and favor with God and man. If you are one who mocks the Bible, God’s wisdom, and your father, think about this.
6. Removal of problems. Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” As you follow him, God will remove all kinds of problems from your pathway. Isn’t that wonderful? He will go ahead of you and straighten it all out for you. The Red Sea will part, the River Jordan will divide, and Jericho’s wall must crumble when you trust in God and are led by his word.
7. God’s guidance. In Proverbs 4:18 we read, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of the dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” As the righteous person follows God, all of a sudden he will see the light of God’s guidance and direction, appearing like the first light of the dawn. What should we do with that first light–this guidance of the Spirit, the guidance of the Scripture, the guidance of the pastor, the guidance of the church? We should receive it, embrace it, and obey it. As we do so, what happens? There is greater light. As you embrace that light, what happens? There is greater and greater light until, finally, your path is full of the light of the midday sun. And there will be no sunset, no evening, no declining, because we shall be brought to the very presence of Christ who is light. Our darkness is gone and the light has come–the shining, increasing, perfect light.
8. Avoidance of evil. Proverbs 3:7 tells us, “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.” It is wonderful to have God’s wisdom to guide us and tell us what is evil. And when we recognize evil, what should we do? Avoid it. He who fears the Lord always shuns evil. When you see pornography on the Internet, you don’t download it, store it, and file it. Why? The Holy Spirit tells you it is evil. But if we do not fear God, we will embrace the evil. I feel sorry for the person who will not fear the Lord. He is danger incarnate. In Proverbs 16:6 we read, “Through love and faithfulness, sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil.” An unbeliever has no light and his heart is darkened. His eyes are blinded by the god of this world and he does not know what is right and what is wrong. He does not know which end is up. But if a man fears God, he will avoid evil.
9. Health to the flesh. Proverbs 4:22 tells us “for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.” What is the writer speaking about? The word of God–God’s counsel, God’s wisdom, the counsel that the father gives to his son. “They are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.” There is one way to take care of the Medicare and healthcare problem. If we return to the Scripture and live on the basis of it, I am sure that we can bring our budget down quite a bit. When we abuse our bodies and minds, we become sick and miserable. But when we live by wisdom, it gives health to the whole of our flesh–spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical health. And those who live this way are blessed by God with health even within this fallen world. Didn’t God say, “I am the Lord who healeth you”?

How to Receive Wisdom

How, then, do we receive this wisdom? In Proverbs 4:20 we read, “My son, pay attention to what I say, listen closely to my words.” There are many people who may hear the word of God with their ears and see it with their eyes, but they have no understanding of wisdom. Why? Wisdom is received by spiritual ears and spiritual eyes. In Revelation 2 and 3 we see this idea reflected in the refrain, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is speaking to the churches.”

We must pay attention! Refuse to be distracted by all other noises! Turn off everything and listen closely to God’s word! We are speaking about that which is most precious, that which is better than fine gold. We are speaking about that which produces eternal life, hope, joy and peace. We are speaking about that which will really tell us how to live, something that the politicians and professors know nothing about. In fact, no one is able to tell you how to live except God.

Therefore, we must pay attention to God. We must turn off all noise–even the noise of our own hearts. And we must train our children to pay attention. We must exercise fatherly leadership and require our children to listen as we teach them these serious things.

The writer of Proverbs tells us, “Pay attention! Listen closely to my words.” You see, not everyone will listen. In fact, many people do not even know what it means to pay attention. And then he continues, “Do not let them out of your sight.” What is he speaking about? Wisdom. The words of God. “Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart,” in the innermost recesses of your being. Why? They are the most precious things to you and that which delights you. And what is the reason to do treat God’s words this way? “For they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.”

Let me assure you, as an older person, throughout all my years I have lived in divine health–spiritual, mental, emotional and psychological. My parents and others I have known have done the same. God said, “I am the Lord who healeth you,” and that includes health in all of its aspects. But to enjoy that kind of health to one’s whole person requires a life of obedience and love for God.

Guard Your Heart

Proverbs 4:23 tells us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” How do we guard our hearts? In two ways. First, we must store good things in them. Let wisdom go into your heart through reading the word, hearing the sermons, praying, fellowshiping, and all. And second, we must prevent evil from entering our hearts in the first place.

Modern people need to turn off a lot of things–all the vehicles of worldly influence and ideas. Why? Because worldly ideas affect the center of our being. They can be so polluting and corrupting that our thinking becomes twisted. We recently heard of a girl who, while dancing at her high school prom, stopped dancing, went into the bathroom, delivered a baby, threw it in the garbage, went back and started dancing again.

That is where we are in this country. With politicians doing whatever they do and many preachers never preaching the truth, that is where we are. Our society no longer knows what right and wrong is. I find it hard to put all the blame on this girl. Why? The leaders of our nation teach that it is perfectly all right to kill a baby as long as it is still in the womb. So when a person hears that type of teaching continually, the very center of one’s being becomes polluted and corrupted. That is why it is so necessary to turn off those things that bring the world into us. We need to be healthy within, to have a spiritually healthy heart, so that we can make right decisions and shun evil.

Children, why do you think you revile your fathers? Because you are watching programs that teach you to revile and despise men. I urge you: Turn them off! Guard your heart! If your physical heart is good, blood will flow out of it to all the extremities of the body and you will enjoy health. But if it is bad, you are in trouble. Our spiritual health is like that also. If we have a good heart, we will enjoy health in the whole of our being.

So we read, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.”

Fix Your Eyes

In Proverbs 4:25-27 we read, “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”

What does it mean to look straight ahead? It means to fix our eyes on wisdom and live our lives focused on it. And who is wisdom, according to the Bible? Jesus Christ. He has become the wisdom of God–righteousness, sanctification and redemption. We must fix our eyes on Jesus Christ.

Where do we find Jesus Christ? In the Scripture. All the teaching of the Bible points to wisdom incarnate–Jesus Christ. But you will not find Christ in nature. You will not find out about him by looking at the sun. You must fix your eyes on Scripture until you see Jesus Christ, the Lord of the universe, the Sovereign Lord of the universe. This is what it means to fix your eyes on wisdom.

We find an illustration of what it means to fix our eyes in the ninth chapter of Numbers. The people of God were brought out of their slavery in Egypt and were guided by God himself in the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. So in Numbers 9:15 we read, “On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. ”

What were these people looking at? Their belly buttons? Their subjectivity? Their feelings? Were they saying, “I want it, I like it, so I am going to do it”? No. There was no reference to how they felt about it. Their actions were governed by the cloud.

You see, it doesn’t matter how we feel. All the Israelites were looking at the pillar–the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud–and when it moved, they moved. But modern people are creatures of their own feelings. When we say, “I like it,” or “I don’t like it,” we think that should end the argument. To modern people, subjectivity is truth.

This is not how God guides us, according to the Scriptures. So in verse 18 we read, “At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped.” Apparently God was operating this cloud and this pillar of fire. “As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order.” God’s people were guided by God himself as they gazed upon his mode of direction. “Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle a few days; at the Lord’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out.” And as you read on, you will continue to see that there is great emphasis placed on how God guided his people irrespective of their peculiar subjective condition.

Be Guided by God

Christian fathers, by what are you leading your family? Are you being led by your subjectivity? Are you being led by your children and their ideas? Or are you leading your family by God’s objective standard? Are you standing up and saying, “God is saying this and therefore I cannot allow that to happen in this house”? If you are not, I urge you, as Christian men, to rise up and rule your households according to God’s word. Otherwise, this question might be true about you: “Where have all the fathers gone?”

Have you ever read the twelfth chapter of Hebrews? The writer does not tell us to live the Christian life by looking at our belly buttons and by paying close attention to our feelings and the rumblings of our stomachs. No, in verse 1 we read, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” which means the entirety of our Christian lives.

Who marked out the race of our lives? God. He marked it out for us and our job is to walk in it. But how do we do that? The writer tells us in verse 2: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.” What does he mean by that? “Look straight ahead. Look at Jesus Christ, the Sovereign Lord, whom you confessed. If you said ‘Jesus is Lord,’ that should mean you are governed by him. Look straight ahead! Gaze upon Jesus, just as a runner keeps his goal in mind, just as an artist looks at his model.”

We are travelers in this journey of life, and like wise travelers, we must look at the map again and again to make sure we don’t lose our way. When most people take a trip, they don’t just start driving without being sure where they are going. Now, I did that once, in a strange place, when my wife and children were with me. I was sure I was going on the right road, but in the middle of the night we wound up somewhere else. What happened? I did not consult the map religiously. I failed to ask for directions. Believing in my own subjectivity, I thought I knew which way to go and went totally off the track.

As fathers we must be continually looking straight ahead. Do not be influenced by your children or your wife or anyone else. Be influenced by Scripture. Be influenced by Christ the Lord. Fix your eyes on Jesus and do not let anything distract you.

Distraction, Drifting , Damnation

What happens if a father is distracted? Distraction leads to drifting and damnation. It is a serious issue when a Christian father is distracted.

Fathers, you must realize that Satan is always at work. Distractions that cause us to drift away from God can come through our children, our wives, our uncles, or our grandmothers, all of whom have their own ideas of how we should lead our families. But who said that your grandmother and her ideas should run your family? Let me warn you: God will hold you, not your grandmother, responsible for your family.

We read about the dangers of drifting in Hebrews 2:1: “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard so that we do not drift away.” The idea here is to drift away from the port, from our destination. I told one person recently, “I used to see you as a man who was looking at the Bible all the time, but now I see you moving the Bible away from you and placing something else in its place.” That is drifting. All sorts of things call for our attention, but we must never drift away from the port.

The apostle Paul fixed his eyes on wisdom, on Christ. In Acts 26:19 he said, “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.” Paul was never distracted from his commission from God. He focused his eyes on Jesus Christ who told him, “I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting,” believed in him, and dedicated his life to the service of this Christ. So he could confidently tell the king, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” In other words Paul was saying, “I kept that vision in my mind and I am moving on, no matter what happens to me.”

Colossians 3:16 tells us to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,” not sparingly. That means we must let the word of Christ regulate our lives. Fathers, I urge you to say to your wives, your sons and your daughters, “God spoke, his Scripture said it, and that settles it. Christ’s word rules, and I will not change. I will not let myself be distracted.”

Wisdom Illustrated

In Joshua 1 we see an example of a focused man. God himself spoke to Joshua: “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left” (Joshua 1:6-7). In other words, God was saying, “Look straight ahead, Joshua. Fix your eyes upon my law. Don’t equivocate or turn to the left or the right. Don’t let even a little deviation take place.”

What does Satan tell us? “Oh, you can deviate just a little from God’s word. That’s okay, isn’t it?” That is how Satan comes to us. He wants us to change just a little at first. Just a little, and the drifting begins. And then he urges us to change just a little more later on. Within five years you are gone! But what did God tell Joshua? “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8).

God gave us another example in the greater Joshua, Jesus Christ himself. When Satan came to Jesus, what did he say? “It is written,” “It is written,” “It is written,” “It is written.” He would not deviate from God’s word. And in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed, “Not my will but thine be done.” Jesus was always fixed, focused, and looking straight ahead to God and his will.

God Gives A Warning

What if you do not want to listen to these things? What happens if you mock at them, thinking you are too smart to do them? God gives us a warning built into this section of Proverbs 4.

In Proverbs 4:18 we read, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” There we see safety, security, glory, light, and guidance. There is not even a shadow in the life of a Christian who receives wisdom.

But if you do not like that, read verse 19: “The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.” Those who reject God’s words will go from darkness to darkness until they reach pitch darkness. And what does darkness mean? Danger, stumbling, falling, hell, confusion, depression, anxiety. Darkness means there is no guidance. We read about the pitch darkness God sent for three days as a plague in the book of Exodus. Darkness is a symbol of total abandonment by God.

We Have A Heavenly Father

In conclusion, we must consider again the glorious truth that Christians have a heavenly Father. After God regenerated us, what did he do? He adopted us as his sons through Jesus Christ. “In love he predestinated us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:4,5). The apex of all blessing is adoption by the heavenly Father. Praise God for his mercy!

Therefore, because we have a heavenly Father, we must do two things. First, we must acknowledge that he has absolute authority to regulate every aspect of our lives, including our thoughts. Why? Our heavenly Father is the Sovereign Lord of the universe. He has absolute authority, and that is why we say “Jesus is Lord.”

Second, we must give our heavenly Father utmost respect in our worship. That is why we worship and adore him alone. In Revelation 4:11 we read, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” He alone is worthy!

We must acknowledge God’s absolute power and absolute rulership. In Matthew 6 we are told, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” which means God’s rule and government in our lives. We must submit to it, not argue about it, and worship him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. And as we do that, we are in assured by the same passage that our heavenly Father knows everything we need.

God is concerned about the welfare of his children. Do you think he will fail to take care of them? Oh, no. You see, that is faith. He is our heavenly Father. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, what did he say first? “Our Father, who art in heaven.” Jesus used the word “Abba” which is a word of endearment meaning “Daddy.” In ancient Jewish writings you never find anyone using that word to refer to God. The ancient Jews called God “Sovereign Lord of the universe.” Why? Because of his transcendence. They had no understanding of this God coming near us, loving us, and embracing us.

But Jesus referred to God as “Abba,”or “Daddy.” And now God allows us to use that same word through the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6 we are told that by the Spirit we cry “Abba, Father.” In other words, we can cry, “Dear Daddy, loving Daddy. I acknowledge your absolute rulership, I give you utmost respect. Help me, Daddy.”

What will our heavenly Father do? He will provide for us. He will protect us. He will take care of us. Do you believe that? What did Jesus say to his disciples before he went to the cross? “I will not leave you as orphans.” That is the promise of our heavenly Father.

A Charge to Fathers

Fathers, in the light of all these things, I urge you to emulate our heavenly Father and assume your God-given responsibilities passionately. Don’t just sleep your lives away. Some people believe that to be a father merely means to be a sperm donor, but that is not the definition we find in the Bible. God wants fathers to rule their homes in his way for him. Christian fathers are supposed to receive authority and respect in their homes and to govern, teach, provide and protect the families God has given them.

Therefore, may God help all who are fathers to rule their homes and bring them into conformity with the covenant of God. And as fathers transmit the wisdom and fear of God to their children, may the children come to trust in Jesus Christ alone and be saved. Amen.