What kind of shoes do frogs wear? Open toad. Happy Father's Day!

I want to talk with you today about fathers, both being a father, and being fathered. Father is a role that God wants to play in your life, and I know being a good father is a role you want to play, and these two are wildly interconnected!

Fathers, God wants you to embrace him as father so you can be the best you can be. There are roles you play as a father, and the only way to do this effectively is through him!

While there are many roles a father can play, I want to specifically highlight 5 roles of a father, and it is my prayer that you can not only apply what you learn today in your own lives, dads, but that whether you are a father or not, or whether you’ve had a good father or not, that you realize how important your Heavenly Father is in your life.

While I realize these roles are not exclusive to fathers, I want to highlight that these 5 roles are not only biblical, but these are what God the Father offers us as well.

1. Instruction
Fathers provide instruction. Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Often, when we think of instruction, we think of things like changing the oil or replacing a tire. We think of how to throw a baseball, and other tangible things like this. But biblical instruction is more than education in the physical realm.

Have you taught your kids how to pray? How to read the Word? How to battle the enemy? Do they know how to respond when evil comes against them? Do they know how to ignore their flesh and be led by the Spirit? Do they know what godly love looks like and what it means to live with integrity?

You might respond to that by saying, "Well honestly, I don't know that I know how to do all of those things myself.” I completely understand that, but let me lovingly admonish you right now that not knowing is no excuse.
Perhaps that sounds harsh. Maybe you didn't have anyone to teach you. Maybe you didn't have a father that could train you up in the way that you should go. While I have great compassion on you, let me remind you that you do have a father in the person of God Almighty, and you do have spiritual fathers in this very room around you right now. "I don't know how" can only be an excuse for a season. Knowing how demands you learn how. Just because you don’t know doesn’t mean you are excused from learning.

Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Who will teach you? God will. While your spiritual instruction is helped by having a godly earthly father, it is not dependent upon you having a godly earthly father. At some point you were going to have to be willing to let go of what you didn't have and embrace what you do have.

You have the ability to be instructed by God through his word, through godly men in a good church around you, and in your own personal relationship with Jesus. And as you learn how, you can show how to those around you.

The Bible doesn’t tell those who lack wisdom that it’s OK and hopefully it will all work out.

James 1:5-6
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

It says for those who lack wisdom, ask. If you refuse to seek instruction for yourself, then you refuse to be an instructor for your children. What you know can help them, but what you refuse to learn can only hurt them.

Instruction is a role that a father plays because it is a role that God the Father plays. Teach your children how to live a godly life, and if you don't know how to live a godly life, I am challenging you today to learn.

A huge part of instruction is another word we associate with fathers: discipline. When we think discipline, we think punishment. Whoopins. And while the word has evolved over time to mean the enforcement of order, It's roots are in the Latin word that simply means to learn, to instruct.

Discipline is exponentially more about what you learn than about punishment. In fact, the purpose of discipline is not to punish, but to educate. Discipline is actually evidence that you are loved!

Proverbs 3:11-12
My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
God disciplines us to lovingly teach us, not to punish us.

Hebrews 12:11
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Proverbs 12:1
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge

“Trained by it?” “Knowledge?” What is instruction doing in these verses?
God disciplines you so you can learn a better way. We discipline our children so they can learn a better way.

So connect the dots here:
No discipline, biblically, means: You don’t love them and you don’t want them to learn. Why we spank is so that pain helps them learn “no.” But look at the results of being willing to endure discipline from God and learn:
“it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

God is working righteousness into you through instruction, and fathers, God has called us to this role in our families, too.

2. Correction
A cousin to instruction and discipline is correction and correction gets a bad rap. We too often see correction as negative.

My truck has this feature on it that whenever you get too close to either of the lines, the seat will vibrate and the truck will automatically move you back into the center of the lane. 90% of the time it is turned off on my truck. Ain't no computer gonna tell me what to do! It is funny because apparently GM has harnessed through technology the role of a wife in a vehicle. When Monique is in the passenger seat and my driving creates an anxiety in her, she will aggressively and repetitively slap the door armrest to let me know. She and my truck are scheming to correct me. You see, correction gets a bad rap.

A "correction" can be defined as a change or adjustment made to fix an error or make something more accurate or correct. It can also refer to punishment or discipline intended to reform or improve behavior. While we too often focus on the latter as the definition, correction is actually beneficial to you. It is from an old Latin word that means to make a crooked thing straight.

There are times when I am intentionally in error and I need correction so I can make my crooked thinking or acting straight again. But there are also times when I am unintentionally in error. The only difference between correcting intentional error and unintentional error is in my response to it. I am way more aggressive when i am being called out for what I know I did wrong rather than when I get called out for what I didn’t know I was doing wrong. When I am unaware, I am quick to repent, to say sorry. But when I am aware, I respond as a perfect angel. lol. Yet in each scenario, I need correction.

Fathers, your family needs that correction, too. But let me warn you:
If you’re going to correct, you need to be correct.

You are going to have a hard time dealing with an issue in your child that you refuse to deal with. If you can’t lead you, how can you lead your family? Ex. We want our wives to submit, but how well are we submitting to God? We want our kids to stop that behavior, but are we doing the same with the behavior God wants us to stop? I am not asking you to be perfect, fathers, but I am asking you not to be hypocritical. Remember, you are the thermostat. You set the culture. If you don’t like what is going on in your house, look in the mirror, not at your wife or kids.

And speaking of mothers: What is your role here?
Be sure that in your nurturing that you don’t undermine his correction.

Let’s say you’ve told your kid not to jump from the ladder to the trampoline. They do it and they get hurt. Momma hugs them and kisses the boo boos. What do dads do? I done told you. I bet you won’t do that again.

Correction and nurture need to work hand in hand, but they cannot undermine each other. Moms, don’t nurture so much that correction is ignored. Dads, don’t correct so hard that nurture is ignored. Remember, correction is a teaching moment, not a spirit-breaking one.

Colossians 3:21
Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
Provoke is from a word that means to stir anger.

Be careful your stirred anger doesn’t create their stirred anger!

Here’s a good rile of thumb: Correct your children in the same way you want God to correct you.

3. Provision
Philippians 4:19
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

And which part of God? Father, Son, or Holy Spirit?

James 1:17
Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

God our Father provides everything we have. Everything. This is why tithing should never be an issue. 10% isn’t God’s. 100% is.

Deuteronomy 8:18
And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Your ability to make the money you make is provided from God. This is why serving should never be an issue. He gave you gifts to be used.

1 Peter 4:10
God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

Your gift isn’t for you to benefit you. It is for others. As a result, we should use those gifts.

In very much the same way, fathers, provision is a part of what God has placed on our shoulders. You might not like this, but as fathers, we should be the first to give and the last to get. That does not mean that fathers never get anything! But look at what was modeled to us:

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
God gave and endured the pain of sin so that we could have life.

We could not provide an adequate sacrifice, so God the Father provided Jesus the Son, enduring the cross, enduring the pain of separation, giving his life so we could be restored to right relationship with God. And even that, God gave without any expectation of reciprocity!

Provision that expects reciprocity is not provision. In the same way that conditional love is not love. In fact, our provision for our families should never be rooted in duty, but in sincere love for our families! But what if they take advantage of us fathers? Then perhaps instruction and correction need to happen!

1 Timothy 5:8
If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Why is that? Fellas, we’re supposed to love our wives like Christ loves the church.

Psalm 127:3-5
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!

Refusing to provide is tantamount to denying the faith because God specifically established the family as his primary conduit of biblical training, instruction, and blessing. And at the top of that family is a godly husband and father making sure that, as God supplies all his needs, he, through God, supplies his family’s needs.

If you are having a hard time with providing for your family, I would check 3 zones:
- Is selfishness robbing my family of provision?
This is putting yourself and your own needs first. And don’t forget that provision is not just money. Are you providing time, too?
- Am I taking responsibility for that which God has entrusted to me?
Beyond selfishness, are you being a good steward of what God has provided? Money, time, resources, even your family
- Are you truly trusting God as your source?
Refusing to get in financial covenant with God through tithing your first fruits. (First fruits is at the beginning of the pay, not what’s left). Not seeking godly wisdom before making financial decisions.

If these areas are struggles, there is help available here at Freedom. Trying to do it alone is evidence that you are your source. God not only provides finances, he also provides wise counsel around you!

4. Protection
And I don’t just mean Smith and Wesson.
Isaiah 54:17
No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.

Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.

All of these verses are not just encouragement to us, they are promises to us. This is what God the Father does for us. He is our refuge, a stronghold we run to, strength in the midst of trouble. He uphold us, he fills us with courage, he tells us not to be afraid because he'll never leave us or forsake us.

Psalm 32:7
You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

Come on fathers, God is a hiding place to us, and he calls us to be a hiding place for our family. That does not mean that we become God to them, but that we provide protection, a safe place. Is your home a safe place your family can run to?

Psalm 91:1-2
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.

What is the shelter of the Most High? The word is “seyter” and means covering. Fathers, are you a covering for your family? What does that even mean?

Here’s a famous image to show that called Spiritual Warfare by Ron DiCianni.

But more specifically, covering includes:
Teaching and Modeling God’s Word
A father’s covering involves consistent instruction in God’s Word, integrating it into daily life. That means not just formal teaching but living out faith authentically, creating a spiritual “umbrella” of guidance.

Loving Discipline and Guidance
Covering includes providing discipline that corrects and directs children toward righteousness, always rooted in love. We’ve talked about this.

Protecting and Providing Spiritual Security
This covering involves protecting the family from spiritual harm by fostering an environment of faith, prayer, trust in God, warding off spiritual attacks.
And YES the enemy is after your family.
And YES you are tasked with fighting against it.
HOW? THE WORD OF GOD

Fathers act as spiritual guardians who are tasked with warring against the enemy, but beyond that, teaching their family how to fight the enemy, and ensuring their children are equipped with God’s truth to face spiritual challenges which creates a legacy of faith.

Servant Leadership and Sacrifice
Biblical covering reflects Christ’s example of servant leadership, where fathers lead with humility and sacrificial love. Fathers, your authority is under Christ’s headship, meaning his leadership is not authoritarian but sacrificial, mirroring Jesus’ love for the church

Protection is a sword and a shield, but it is also teaching how and passing the torch. Your kid is going to grow up and will not always be under your protection. Your sons better know how to cover and your daughters to know what covering looks like.

5. Inspiration
As much as you need to believe in God, I want you to know he believes in you. So much so that he says things like this:

Psalm 139:17
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!

1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light

Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Matthew 10:29-31
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

I know some might hear this and think that this is just some feel good message, but I’d offer to you that until you understand who God believes you are, you’ll never be able to be who he created you to be.

God is in and of himself inspirational.
Consider sonless Abram. Even though Abram couldn’t comprehend it, God called fatherhood out of him.
Consider Moses before the burning bush. Even when Moses didn’t believe himself, God called greatness out of him.
Consider unwed Mary. Even though she could hardly imagine it, God inspired her to believe.

Inspiration called the father out of Abraham, the law out of Moses, the Son of God from Mary’s womb. What will God’s inspiration birth from you? There is something in you and you only need inspiration to see it come forth.

If God’s inspiration was able to do this in others, what will your inspiration be able to call out of your family? What dreams will a kind word launch in your wife? What passions will your encouragement spark in your kids? What power can “I love you,” and “I believe in you,” and “I’m proud of you” unleash in their lives?

It is all too easy to call out the negatives around us, but what will calling out greatness accomplish? God looks at you in spite of your negatives and calls out the positives. God calls us to do the same, fathers.

Proverbs 16:24
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

Your words can tear your family down or bring healing and life to them. You’ve heard: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. In the same vein, speak over your family as you would have God speak over you.

5 Roles of a Father. Instruction. Correction. Provision. Protection. Inspiration. This list isn’t comprehensive and it does not mean that non-father are incapable of these.

But fathers, it is tantamount that we fulfill these roles in our families as God fulfills them in us.

So as we respond today, let me ask you:
Do you have a hard time receiving these roles from God as a Father?
If so, it is probably rooted in either your past experiences with fathers,
or your current understanding of who you are. God does not emulate earthly fathers, whether they were good, bad, or otherwise. Earthly fathers are supposed to reflect God the Father. Yet so many earthly fathers fail.

Even if you have a good father, God is nothing like your earthly father. He is exponentially more, exponentially better in every way conceivable. Whereas you might have a hard time trusting an earthly father, ask the Holy Spirit right now to help you embrace your Heavenly Father.

Do you have a hard time performing these roles as a father?
Have you learned what it means to be a son? Sonship comes before fatherhood. Even from the beginning. Adam was a son first and then a father. Until you are able to embrace God as your Father it is going to be difficult to embrace the roles of fatherhood.

I don’t have time to unpack the orphan spirit today, but if you’ve always felt a disconnect between you and God, like God as Father was some distant foreign idea, then open your heart today and be willing to embrace the sonship, and for you ladies, daughterhood, he is offering today.

You can father well. And you can be fathered well. Let’s ask God to help.

Let’s pray.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?

How does he want you to respond?