TEXT: Proverbs 4:1-7

1. Being a parent is a great privilege (Psalms 127:4) "Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them."
2. Most any man can father a child, but not every man is a good father.
3. The primary goal for many fathers is to give his children large sums of money.
4. But what does the Bible say about goals for fathers?
5. Father hood is a God-given position: Genesis 1:28.
6. Therefore we should strive for the following goals as fathers.

1. "Do not sin against the child" (Genesis 42:22).
2. Being a father, has many great rewards, but it also carries with it, backbreaking, stay awake at night, constant anxiety, never-ending worry type of responsibilities!
3. Unless one is ready to handle these responsibilities, he'd better abstain from the activity that causes fatherhood in the first place!

II. PROVIDE FOR THE NEEDS OF OUR CHILDREN:

1. 1 Timothy 5:8- "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
2. The needs of a child are many and varied: A child who has his father's love and time, doesn't need to be in style or have a great deal of money and fancy things!

1. 1Timothy 4:12- "Be thou an example" is especially important when it comes to being a parent.
2. "Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask thy father and he will show thee; thine elders will tell thee" (Deuteronomy 32:7).
3. "I by my works will show thee my faith" (James 2:18)

1. Proverbs 22:15 "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him".
2. Proverbs 23:15 "My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will rejoice-- indeed, I myself";
3. Proverbs 29:15 "The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother" ..
4. Proverbs 13:24 "He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly".
5. It is not the job of the school or the church to discipline your child!
6. This responsibility lies solely upon the shoulders of the parents.

V. TEACH CHILDREN THE IMPORTANCE OF HONEST LABOR:

1. "He who does not teach his child a trade, trains him to be thief."
2. Mankind is to earn his bread by the sweat of his face.
3. "If any will not work, neither let him eat" (2Thessalonians3:10).
4. We should never hesitate to help those who are in difficult circumstances beyond their control, but the lazy, irresponsible person should not be supported.
5. Give a man a fish you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

1. No man reaches his full potential in life apart from God.
2. There are good non-Christian fathers out there, but they are not as good as they could be if they were Christian fathers, being guided by God and His word (Joshua 24:15).
3. The most important lesson one can show his child is "The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7)
4. Children should see and hear their fathers pray (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Dueteronomy 6:6).
5. Judges 2:10- "When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord that which he had done for Israel."

1. The good father, doesn't have to be famous, or rich, he may never be written about in the newspaper or the magazines.
2. He plays in the floor with his children, he loves their mother and them.
3. He never runs out on his responsibilities.
4. And he most of all, he teaches them by word and deed to fear God and keep His commandments.
5. And remember, We also have a responsibility to those who don't have fathers.
6. James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."