Fathers Day Sermon
“Dads……. You Matter!”
Here’s the point! DADS….. YOU MATTER!!!!
Context of the book of Malachi:
Approx. 100 years after the Israelites returned from Babylonian exile.
Things were not going well. (Stories in Ezra and Nehemiah).
They were expecting things to be great and for the messiah to come.
However, the Israelites who repopulated the city were just as corrupt as their earlier fathers.
In Malachi 1-2 God Exposes Isreal’s Corruption.
And in Chapter 3 he confronts Isreal’s Corruption.
Malachi literary structure:
Exposing Isreal’s Corruption:
Their first dispute is 1:2-5
God loves them but they have turned away from him.
Isreal says how do you love us?
God says he chose the descendants of Jacob even after he tricked his brother Esau out of his
birth right.
The Second Dispute 1:6-2 and 9
God says you have defiled my temple and despise me.
They ask God how?
They have brought their worst sick and injured offerings instead of their spotless sacrifices that
he asked.
The Third Dispute 2:10-16
Isreal has turned against god and their wives.
How?
They divorced their wives for no good reason (Nehemiah 13) and married pagan women and
started worshipping their God’s.
Confronting Isreal’s Corruption:
The Fourth Dispute 1:17 - 3:5
Isreal says god you have forsaken us. You allowed us to be persecuted. There is injustice and
corruption yet you do nothing.
God says I will send a messenger before my return who like fire will purify my people until here
is only a faithful remnant before the day of the Lord.
The Fifth Dispute 3:6-12
God Says Turn back to me!
The Israelites ask how?
God shows them how they have been selfish and stopped offering a tithe to the temple to
support the priests causing the temple to fall into disrepair. He promises to bless them if they
return to tithing.
The below question is found in Malachi 3:
"Will a man Rob God?”
The Sixth dispute: 3:13-18
The Israelites say it is pointless to serve God because the wicked succeed and God does
nothing.
God responds with a story of the faithful remnant. People who fear the lord. God orders that a
scroll of remembrance be written for them so they can read it and remember God.
(The Scriptures)
Malachi 4
1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all
evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts,
so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of
righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the
stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your
feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.
4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at
Horeb for all Israel.
5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of
the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of
children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
Two thing are very important here:
Everyone God is addressing in this passage is in covenant with God.
Verse 6 the decree of utter destruction is the Hebrew word Herem or cherem which means
something that is set apart for destruction.
Matthew 13:24–43
The same way the weeds were set apart for destruction in the parable of the Wheat and Tares.
Meaning there are people who profess the name of Jesus but who do evil and are destined for
destruction.
But for those who fear the Lord that we will stand with him in righteousness when he comes
again.
So we see god’s plan to save his people from destruction is to send Elijah (or an Elijah like
prophet) to save God’s people from destruction
But what is it about the ministry of Elijah that leads to God choosing him?
Elijah’s Story:
In Elijah’s day he contended against Isreal because they also worshiped a false god called Ba’al
under King Ahab.
Baal Worship practices:
“Child sacrifice, Sexual immorality (both heterosexual and homosexual) and Pantheism
(reverence of creation over the Creator)
1 Kings 18:21
21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two
different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal (is god), then follow him.”
1 Kings 18:37-40
37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and
that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt
offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the
trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God;
the Lord, he is God.” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them
escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon
and slaughtered them there.
The story of Elijah is the story of a MAN who didn’t play around with the worship ba’al.
He stood firm and said There is only one God who we worship!
Fatherless Children Statistics:
#1. 85% of youth who are currently in prison grew up in a fatherless home. (Texas Department
of Corrections)
#4. Children from fatherless homes are twice as likely to drop out of school.
#13. 75% of adolescent patients being treated in substance abuse centers are from fatherless
homes. (U.S. Department of Justice)
#15. 90% of the youth in the United States who decide to run away from home, or become
homeless for any reason, originally come from a fatherless home. (U.S. Department of Justice)
#28. Children who live in a fatherless home are 279% more likely to deal drugs or carry firearms
for offensive purposes compared to children who live with their fathers. (Allen and Lo)
https://lifeisbeautiful.org/statistics-on-fatherless-homes/
Single fathers vs Single mothers:
1. Children from single-father households are 5 times LESS likely to commit suicide than
children from single-mother households.
2. Children from single-father household are 9 times LESS likely to drop out of high school.
3. Children from single-father household are 10 times LESS likely to abuse chemical
substances.
4. Children from single-father household are 14 times LESS likely to commit rape.
5. Children from single-father household are 20 times LESS likely to end up in prison.
6. Children from single-father household are 32 times LESS likely to run away from home.
7. Children from single-father household are 70% LESS likely to be pregnant as a teenager.
https://medium.com/the-knowledge-of-freedom/single-father-households-do-vastly-better-than-single-mother-heres-the-real-reason-
why-8a7fd7c5611d
If a child is the first person in a household to become a Christian, there is a 3.5% probability
everyone else in the household will follow. If the mother is the first to become a Christian, there
is a 17% probability everyone else in the household will follow. However, when the father is
first, there is a 93% probability everyone else in the household will follow.
DADS YOU MATTER!!!!!!
Three ways to walk in the spirit of Elijah:
Leading times of prayer, worship and bible reading.
Being present in their lives.
Vetting.
*If we turn our hearts toward our children and train them in the ways of the lord we can raise up
Elishas who kill Jezebel.
*Note:
The Lord is raising up children who will one day be anointed deliverers. Thus Satan seeks to kill
them. In the generations in which Moses and Jesus were born, Satan slaughtered children. 2. In
America, over 60 million children have been aborted since abortion was legalized in 1973.
There are over 50 million abortions each year globally—over one billion since 1920. There were
over 20-40 million victims of human trafficking worldwide (Rev. 18:13). God will raise up “people
who understand” to operate in the spirit of Elijah (Dan. 11:33-35). 33And those of the people
who understand [messengers] shall instruct many… (Dan. 11:33)
Ihopkc.org
