(Scott Brown was a speaker at the 2009 Christian Heritage Homeschool Convention. David attended this lecture with me and we both were blessed by it.)
John 5: 17 -22 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son
John 5:30: By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me."
The vision of victory for fathers and sons begins in heaven.
Paradigm (pattern, model, standard) Lost
Distance, dishonor, passivity
Lack of love, estrangement, alienation
The devil hates fathers and sons who walk together
We must never forget that the foundation of the universe is a Father’s love for His Son and the sons of men.
Paradigm Found
God is our mentor. We have what it takes to become a great father.
How God mentors:
- Through His commands
- Through living examples: Know the Father and the Son and how to emulate them
- The example of the Trinitarian Relationship – speak to your father the same way Jesus spoke to God/ God spoke to Jesus.
1 Timothy 3:4 – He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.
Move past your earthly father; focus higher.
Romans 8:29 – For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (This happens through the Holy Spirit)
(The Message translation of Romans 8:29: God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.)
Ephesians 5:1-2 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
1 Peter 1:15 "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;"
1 Peter 2:21-22 "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."
1 Peter 4: 1-3 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
Romans 13:14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
2 Corinthians 2:14-15 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
Philippians 1:11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Theology s the beginning of wisdom for father and son.
13 Biblical Patterns for Fathers and Sons
1) The father LOVES his son
John 15: 9-10 – As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
Danger to fathers – Exercising authority while forgetting tenderness.
Mark 1:11 – And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
Too much authority and not enought tenderness equals REBELLION.
2) The father reigns, designs, and delegates
Ephesians 1:9-10 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
Colossians 1: 12-20 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
3) The father shares his work with his son
John 17:15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
John 5: 19-20 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.
4) The son fulfills his role as a co-laborer in creation
5) The father exercises authority overs the son
1 Corinthians 11:3 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
6) The son joyfully submits to the father
John 8: 28-29 So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him."
John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
It is the divine calling to have the son ask his earthly father what is his will for him.
The devil would love to have sons look elsewhere and not to their fathers to do their will.
7) The son loves the father
John 14:31 but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. Come now; let us leave.
The love is inseparable from the submission and obedience. Satan’s best strategy is to have sons dishonor their father.
8) The son imitates his father’s actions in word and in deed.
John 5:30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
2 foot rule- Scott Brown keeps his son within two feet range when he talks to other men and thinks that his son would learn from that discussion.
Application for John 5:30
P – Proximity – have son close to father physically to witness interactions
O – Observation – have son attentively listening
W- Wisdom – Ask if this is wison or foolishness?
E- Eye Contact – Maintain eye contact with whoever they interact with
R- Relationship- Develop relationships with other godly men as mentors
9) The son knows what the father is doing
John 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
Sons need to be with you, fathers! Read all Deuteronomy 6
10) The father teaches the son
John 8:28 So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.
Father are the primary teachers:
- Teach scripture.
- Mentor them for a skill.
- Prepare them for marriage.
- Position them for success.
If the father does not teach the children, they will turn to their peers to learn for guidance.
11) The father leads by example and the son —(I did not catch)
12) The father praises the son for his work
13) I missed this one.
Book suggestion: Dr. Bruce Ware "Father, Son and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance"
Convictions:
- Together is better than separate
- Give him work, and limited play
- Other boys are not qualified to disciple my son
- Thoughts on education:
- Plan for son at age 14 to read, write, and memorize scripture
- non specialized theological study
- basic business terminology
- Where sin abounds, grace abounds more.