“ The Instruction of a Father ”
 Proverbs 4:1-4

 

Introduction

  A) Listen children

• Proverbs 4:1 …¶ Hear, ye children,
• Today, children do not listen. Many times they ignore or don’t pay attention to anything that anyone tries to tell them.
• We need to discipline them and teach them to pay attention.

  B) The instruction of a father

• 1b)…the instruction of a father,
• Children today will listen to anyone else but not their father.
• But in reality, many father today I wouldn’t listen to their advise.

  C) Attend (listen to) to know understanding

• 1c)…and attend to know understanding.
• Children today are seeking playtime, fun and enjoyment… not understanding.
• Children lack understanding.

I. A Good Father is a “Compass”

  A) Gives good direction

• Good direction is “Good Doctrine” In verse 2)… For I give you good doctrine,
• Last Wednesday evening in church we asked “what does doctrine mean?”
• Answer: Religious teaching

B) What is “good doctrine?”

• The Doctrine written in the King James Bible!

• There is one God and He is a male.
• The trinity God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
• Jesus was born of a virgin.
• A marriage constitutes a woman and a man uniting.

C) The purpose of a compass

• To direct you in the right paths
• Proverbs 3:6… In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
• A father must direct his children in the right paths… what do we mean by “right path?”

• How to talk right (without cursing)
• The right and wrong places to go.
• How to act or react in situations.
• How to love and be loved.
• How to respect people.

 

II. A Good Father is a Magnifying Glass

 A) He makes things more clear

• When you find print too small to read you use a magnifying glass to make it larger so that you can read and understand what you are reading.
• A Father needs to help his family to see things clearly.
• I believe it is best when correcting your children… a father should spank them, scold them, or punish them in other ways…THEN, tell them WHY you are punishing them.
• Many children get hit, or punished and know not why. This is sad.

B) He magnifies the Lord

• To “magnify” has two meanings… 1) to praise the Lord or magnify his Holy name, 2) to enlarge or make bigger.
• A father that will praise the Lord will also teach his family to do the same.

 

III. A Father is a Whistle

A) A whistle warns

• A father must warn his children of what God will do if they chose to take the wrong path.
• A father warns his children of things that can hurt them.

B) A whistle gets others attention

• Fathers need to be strong enough to keep his children’s attention.
• There are times to be tough, and times to be soft.
• To get someone’s attention you must be strong and loud.

 

IV. A Father is a Thermometer

 A) What is the purpose of a thermometer?

• It measures heat and cold. How hot is it, or how cold is it.
• A father must also know when things are too hot for his children.

• When something is wrong and they are in danger of being ruined.
• When they are playing with fire (falling into sin) and are going to get burned (Punished by God)
  • A father must also know when things are getting too cold…
• When his family is getting cold for Godly things.
• When his children’s attitude is cold towards others
• When their heart is cold towards God

IV. Forsake not my Law

  A) What law?

• In the last part of verse 2 is says… forsake ye not my law.
• “The law” that Solomon is talking about is the Law that he raised his children on… God’s Law written in “The Bible”
• Fathers today need to teach their children God’s Law, and God’s ways.

B) Keep the Law and Live

• Lastly in verse 4) He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
• Fathers need to teach their children to keep God’s Law and they will live longer on the earth.
• What are you Fathers teaching your children today?