Got your Bibles. Let's go ahead and take our Bible. Let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 6. Deuteronomy chapter 6. Seems like an odd place to go, but we're going to use it as a bit of a springboard. If you'll stick with me, we'll go to several different passages together, but we'll do that looking at some different aspects of what we're going to talk about this morning. is you're going to Deuteronomy chapter six. I also want to remind you of another passage, Ephesians chapter six, verse number four. So you're going to Deuteronomy chapter six. We're going to start in verse number four, but Ephesians six, four says, and ye fathers provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Now as a whole, may I say this kind of a, a precursor to it. When it says ye fathers provoke not your children to wrath, I will say this, not to change scripture whatsoever, but to apply it in a more broadened way than we probably naturally do it sometimes because we want to just say, you know, focus on one little bitty thing. But God's God's Word in its application and principles that are taught are much more widespread applying than we sometimes want God's Word to be. And when it says he fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, here's what I've heard in the past. Yep, yep, see, see? It says nothing about moms not provoking to wrath. Hold on, time out, time out. Yes, specifically it says fathers. May I say what is going to be the one parental role that has to be very careful as to how hard they are? Typically the father. The mother, by nature, by God's design, typically has more of a nurturing aspect about them. The father has more of a conquering aspect about them. They're going to learn. The mom's like, well, we're going to teach them. They're going to learn. But that's where the Bible focuses mostly on fathers. Fathers provoke not your children to wrath. There's a way to teach without poking and provoking. At the same time, Ephesians chapter 6, and even over in Colossians, it repeats a little bit of that as well, but in Ephesians 6, It's dealing with, as a whole, you look at the context of scripture, it's dealing with authority over those that are subordinate. Because not only does it deal with a father, but it also then goes into, well it deals with children, deals with parents, it deals with servants, and deals with masters. And so the context of scripture in Ephesians is more a context of authority and how authority is to handle their authority when dealing with those subordinate underneath them. And so as a whole, you understand when it says, fathers provoke not your children to wrath. Yes, it is very specific. But it's also talking about the role of a parent. And may I say that when applied to the role of authority in the home, the father is going to be the most responsible authority when it comes to who God's going to give the responsibility of answering for the home to. It's going to start with the father. It's always God's design. But at the same time, the mother also is a parent in a role of authority which means that both authorities must understand the principle of not provoking to wrath or provoking to anger. but those that are underneath their leadership and underneath their guidance must be taught and we love talking about raising our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. That raising them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord is tied together with first, provoke not to wrath, but raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. So what it's doing is it's presenting a proper balance of instruction for children. How do we instruct children? How do we raise children? Well, yes, we're to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We love that part. We just completely ignore the side of it that we have to watch ourselves in the process. We have to guard ourselves in the process. Because you can take, and this, by the way, this principle applies across the board as well. You can take truth and try to teach it with the wrong attitude and you strip it of its power. Because you take truth and you try to teach it with the wrong spirit, the wrong attitude, they might get what you say, but they're not gonna want to hold on to what you've taught. So we have to be very careful with that. And fathers, we are given that direct aspect of it because as the head of a home, fathers are given that responsibility that we will answer to God for how the home was brought up and how the home is formed in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. So yes, it is very specific to fathers. But in the general sense of the application of truth, it's dealing with authority. May I say, it works just as well at the workplace as it does at home. You take the principle of provoking not to wrath, but teaching and training appropriately, and that principle works in the workplace. You have the boss who handles how he deals with those that work for him, and if he handles things appropriately, he'll have people that want to work for him versus people who dread it and will one day walk away. And so the principle applies across the board. But we know that we are to bring up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord when it comes to our homes. So if you're in Deuteronomy 6, Let's look at what was presented to the children of Israel when they are receiving the instructions of who they are, who God is, and what they are to do when raising and building their homes as the people of God. In Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse number 4. We'll just read down to verse number 9. It says here O Israel the Lord our God is one Lord and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul with all thy might and And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children. Now, I'm gonna read the rest in just a minute, but do recognize one thing. If you notice, the instruction was not to how to raise your children first. The instruction is what you're to do in your own life first. authority cannot be accurately in its position of teaching and training, that would be God honoring if the authority itself does not understand what it is that they are supposed to be in the eyes of God. If the authority is not right, they can teach right truth all they want, but it's just going to fall on deaf ears. because people believe more of what they see than what they hear. And so the Lord instructs the children of Israel that the Lord our God is one Lord. But as these instructions are now being passed from Moses and the given to the children of Israel. It says thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart with all thy soul with all thy might. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart. You cannot, and I had this in my notes at the very top, you cannot teach what you do not know. And you cannot hope to transfer desire for what you teach for things that you do not follow. Does that make sense? It got quiet. I know more parents in doing bus ministry since I was a teenager, being involved in buses and bringing kids to church. I've known more parents that, well, yes, come get my kids. They need to go to church. I don't know how many times I wanted to say, and you need the house of God as well. And you need to walk with God as well. And you need to spend time in his word as well. Oh, yeah, take, take my report. These heathens, they need help. And so do you. But here is what we get a lot of times if we're not careful. We want to shove our children and grandchildren to get things that I don't want to have to teach myself. Oh, boy, that just went over like a lead brick. Send them to people who will teach and instruct so I don't have to sound like a hypocrite trying to do it myself. Well, here's a very, very quick solution to that. Get right with the Lord and walk with Him, and then you can teach it and it won't be hypocritical. Right? Say, preacher, this is not a very nice message. You know, it's a very honest message for every single one of us. Do you know how many times I felt like an absolute heel trying to give instruction when the Lord, in the moment of me trying to give instruction, the Lord said, and when do you do it? Lord, I'm trying to teach my kids. Right? Has the Lord ever smitten your heart in the midst of trying to give instruction? By the way, how many times do we instruct children? We have the summer kids and all that kind of stuff. How many times do we instruct children that you are to share? We share. No, we don't talk bad about each other. No, we're not calling names. And then we turn right around. Did you hear about so-and-so? You ever noticed how many times we instruct kids to do things that as adults we've totally forgotten about and we do just the opposite? Exactly. And we wonder why they call us hypocrites and they get older. Now I'm not preaching to you or at you. I'm preaching to all of us. I've been in the same boat. I've given instruction on something that I have even looked at my girls. They're not in here so I can say this without worrying about it. I've looked at my girls and told them you need to spend even more time. with the Lord you're struggling with something you're dealing with something you're you know you're having a hard time with something you just need to spend more time and then the Lord says and how about you we're not talking about me don't change the subject okay but that's have you not had those experiences where the very thing you instructed it's like God said that would be a really really good thing to follow wouldn't it Do you know how many times I have preached from this pulpit, and in the midst of preaching, the Lord has said, you're doing it, but you're giving instruction, and you're giving instruction, and you probably should be doing it twice as much as you're doing it before you give the instruction. Now, don't look at me weird, okay? I am no different than anybody else. I have the same problems you have. I get down just as much as you get down. I see the world ending just as much as you see the world ending and probably even worse because I'm a pessimist. But when it comes down to it, God gave instruction to the children of Israel. He said, you are to love the Lord your God. You are to walk with him. You are to know these things which I have given, and you are to follow them personally, and you are to bind them, and you are to make them real to you. And then, once they shall be in thine heart, now, verse number seven, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children. and shalt talk with them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up, and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes, and thou shalt write them upon the post of thine house, and on thy gates. By the way, don't just teach it to your children, but make sure that you display who you are to the world. I'm not saying in a great show. People love doing that. They love being in a big spiritual show. I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is what we're talking about on Wednesdays with Romans 12, a living sacrifice. What is that? That whole statement of Yahshua, write them upon the post of thy house. Well, that's visible. And upon thy gates, that's visible. What is it? Here's where we stand. Here's what we believe. Here's what we hold to. Here is the God of this house. And no, it's not money. And it's not toys. And it's not football. The God of this house is the God of that book, the Lord of all. And the God of this house instructs the authority of this house that follows the Word of God. And we teach the Word of God. And I instruct my children according to the Word of God. Well, where do you get all these rules? Where do you get all these thou shalts and thou shalt nots? I don't stay up at night trying to figure out how I can make my life miserable for my girls. I don't stay up at night trying to figure out how can we make it as hard as possible and as miserable as possible so we can be as weird as possible. No. I already have what I've been given and I didn't write it. But I am instructed to follow. the Word of God. And I'm instructed not only to follow it in my personal life, but I'm instructed to teach it as a father to my children. And I'm instructed to live it as a father before my children. And I'm instructed to display it as the head of my home to the rest of the world. Here's where we stand. Here's what we believe. and if you'll give me half a chance I'd love to show you why. God gave these instructions to the children of Israel because He especially gives and desires that fathers be exactly what He designed them to be. Those who take the lead in instructing the next generation of what it means to make the Lord personal. Make His Word personal. Make following God personal. And to transfer those convictions to the next generation that we don't see our children and our grandchildren walk away from the very God who has blessed our family this whole time. That was the children of Israel. That was their struggle. By the way, the only time the children of Israel had problems is when the previous generation forgot to teach the next generation and then the next generation passed on more carnality than following God. and their children turned their back wholly on God and said we want nothing to do with him and God had to take them back into bondage to get their attention. As we said a couple of weeks ago, the way it goes in Memorial Day, the way it goes in life, it's a vicious cycle that hard days make strong men, strong people. And strong people make good days. good days make weak people and weak people make hard days we're back in the rotation now where we have great weakness within our homes for truth and following it and we're seeing a society that's making it very difficult life appears to be good but actually if you watch life is getting very difficult It's getting ugly. Why? Because we're in a vicious cycle where people stand for almost nothing and so therefore they fall for everything. By the way, when you fall, you don't fall towards truth, you fall away from it. To go towards truth is a decisive effort. I will do. Not a, ah, I might. going to truth, having a home built on truth, following God when it's not popular is something that has to be decisive with courage. By the way, that is our focus this month, courage. If we need courage at any other time, now is the time in our lives. Let me pray very quickly. I'm just giving you a couple of things about what we see in David's life. as he presented to his son's footprints of a father. So we're gonna look at footprints of a father. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this morning. As we look at these few thoughts very quickly, would you, Lord, help us to be very precise. And looking at these things, may our hearts be open, Lord, and willing to allow you to guide us into truth, show us truth, especially fathers, as we stand and as we lead, whether in our homes with children now, or maybe it's grandfathers and great-grandfathers with their influence. Israel at that moment, and even Saul himself, the king, who, by the way, stood head and shoulders above everybody else. Saul would have been the first and prominent choice when it came to who should face the giant. Saul was kind of a given leader. Saul was an impressive man by all aspects of what we read in the Bible concerning Saul. When people heard that Saul had been chosen to be the first king, there was no, are you kidding me? Him? No. People heard that Saul had been chosen. They're like, yes, he's a boy. Now that's a king right there. I tell you what, I can see it already. Saul was one that nobody thought would be any less than a mighty man to lead the people. And yet they come to this time of the giant and they're facing the enemy and Saul's all about going out and defending God's people and fighting the battle that need to be fought until Goliath came up. Then it's, what are we gonna do, Lord? I don't know who's gonna go fight for us. Even Saul himself was a bit perplexed as to what they were supposed to do with this insurmountable enemy that was before them. One man was too much. And yet David happened to be present when Goliath came out and began to spew all of his venom against the people of Israel, against the God of Israel. And David's first reaction is, who does he think he is? Who's this joker over here? Why hasn't anybody gone ahead and taken care of him? Man, that guy's got a filthy mouth, that needs to be shut up. And everybody, by the way, in that moment, even his brothers looked at him and said, you be quiet. You ever notice some people who want to do the most for the Lord are told by other people of God, other Christians, you know what, you just need to stop. You don't know what you're talking about. You need to stop with all your excitement, stop with all your ideas, stop with all your vision. You just need to sit down and be quiet for a little while while we take care of what God wants us to do. That happens, by the way. Listen, as a young man, David was a stronger and better godly leader than even Saul. I hate to say it that way, but that was just the truth. And here's the sad thing. Once David wouldn't stop, everybody was more willing to let him go face the giant by himself. Go ahead. Yeah, go on out there. None of them thought he had a chance. They just all thought we'd get rid of the problem. We get rid of David, and we won't be provoking this guy. So they send David on out. David goes out knowing that he had no desire to prove anything for himself. He had every desire to prove something for God. You can't speak against the God of creation, against the people that God has chosen. You cannot speak against in such a vile way, and at stand, God won't have it. And if he wants me to go, and he wants me to stand, and he wants me to be the leader of truth, I'll just do it, not because I want people to follow, but just because something has to be done. We need some more individuals, some more leaders within our homes that have courage. that will stand up and say, I'm sorry, but no, we're not doing that. I think I said it before, but as my dad used to always say, if it hair lips every cat in Korea, that's not my problem. My problem is do I follow what God has given us to do? I don't answer for whether or not somebody liked it. I don't answer for whether or not somebody agreed with it. I don't answer for whether or not it was palatable to society at this moment. I answer for whether or not I did what God told us to do in His Word. And this family, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. By the way, that definitely won't make you popular in society. It's possible it won't make you very popular even within the church, sad to say. And it's even possible you may not be very popular in your own home. By the way, have you noticed kids don't really agree with everything you tell them to do? I mean, shocker. But children sometimes don't want to do what you told them to do. And they don't always understand why. Well, tell me why. Well, there is one saying, I got to move on. There is one saying that we have all probably used. And it's OK within moderation, but it should not be used for everything. And here it is, you give instruction and you get a, why? What is our famous and most popular response? Because I said so. Now that works great and that's okay to a degree, but may I say, uh, and please don't, don't get mad at me or don't get hurt over this, but here's truth. We've had a generation where for a while, 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s, that was a very popular way of answering everything within the Christian home. Why do we need to do this? Because I said so. Why do we have to do it that way? Because in this house, that's the way it's gonna be. And listen, can I ask you a question? Do those statements give any clarity as to what we believe and why? So is a because I said so for every single answer going to really give instruction in knowledge and learning of what truth is? No. Now, does it get used every now and then in my life? Oh yeah, definitely. And honestly, honestly, some of it's because we've already had this talk. We've already gone through the details. We've already talked about the why and the where, and we've already discussed the conviction and where the Bible talks about it. We've already discussed about why we believe what we believe. I'm not going to re-discuss it every single time it comes up. Now it's just a point of, because I said. But if I haven't ever truly instructed in why the Bible teaches why we stand for what we stand for, if I haven't actually instructed, then all I am doing is very possibly building up a disdain for truth. Because they don't know why we do it. I was just made to. Let me show you what God said and show you why as a parent, as a father, as the leader of this home, I have no choice but to follow what God said so that when I stand before him, he can look and say, well done, instead of looking at me and saying, what'd you do? there are things that I must follow not because I desire in this flesh to follow or I desire in this flesh to teach it or I desire that my home in this flesh to do these things there are things that are done there are things that are followed there are truths that are held to not because this flesh wants it but because God instructed it and I want to please Him and in this home we're going to please Him hey fathers it's important that we learn that there's there is a need for courage take a stand We need to teach our children what it is to be strong and of good courage That's what David told Solomon in first Chronicles 28 when it came to building the temple David David's about to go off the scene and he tells Solomon Hey be strong and of good courage and do it fear not nor be dismayed for the Lord God Even my God will be with thee He will not fail thee nor forsake thee until thou has finished all the work of the service of the house of the Lord Hey, you say, listen, he's my God, he's proven himself to me, but I'm telling you, Solomon, if you'll listen and you'll follow and you'll do these things and you won't forsake him, he'll be with you just like he was with me. He'll prove himself to you just like he proved himself to me. Hey, Solomon, don't be afraid. Stand with courage. Be strong. Fear not. Do the work. Stick with it. God will prove himself. We need to teach our children to boldly stand for the things that are true and that are right, that are godly, no matter what the opposition. Abraham faced opposition. Moses faced opposition. Joshua faced opposition. By the way, just in case you're like, all about the men? No, no. Deborah faced opposition. Esther faced opposition. Daniel, Jeremiah, Peter, John, Paul, even Christ himself all faced opposition, and it had to take courage. to stand. We also need a footprint of commitment. I'll get through these next ones quickly. Footprint of commitment. Write down, if you're taking notes, write down 1 Samuel 18 verse 1 through 4 and then 1 Samuel 20 verse 14 through 16. In these passages you see a promise that David made to a man by the name of Jonathan. The two of them became really close friends. David made a lifelong covenant with Jonathan that he kept when all around would have seen him justified in breaking that covenant. You see, there's a young boy by the name of Mephibosheth. And Mephibosheth was of the house and lineage of King Saul. And when Saul and Jonathan are killed, Mephibosheth is the only one that survived. And by the way, he was a healthy young boy that had a very tragic fall as his, you want to call it nurse, or the individual who was given responsibility to caretake for him. as she was fleeing with him, trying to get away from the possibility of being killed. By the way, that's what took place in old days when one king conquered another or one king was coming in, typically he would kill any possibility of opposition. Especially if that family had a notorious history of trying to kill you before you even had a chance to become king. Such as Saul seeking to kill David when David did nothing wrong. And yet, when it was all said and done, David's king, David asks himself, is there not someone of the house of Saul, of the lineage from Jonathan? Is there not someone that I can complete my commitment I made to my friend? I made a commitment, I promised to do good by those that are of the family of Jonathan, of the household of Jonathan, I promised them. When David had the power, David still had the character to keep his commitment. And instead of seeking out, which some of them thought, oh, he's trying to find anybody that's related to the king so he can kill them all. No, David wasn't thinking any ill will towards anyone of the house of Saul, which I'll show you in just a minute, the evidence of that, but David was seeking for someone, someone that was still alive, that he could complete his commitment to someone he cared for. Jonathan and David had promised each other that they would watch over their home, watch over their families if anything was to happen with either one. And David, David himself said I will keep my commitment. You find even over in 1 Chronicles 22 that David also made a commitment to the Lord that he wanted to build the temple. He wanted to build a house for God himself. All of us have nice places. Why is there not a place that supersedes all of our houses? There should be something that is even grander than what we build for ourselves. The king is saying, God should have a house better than mine. There should be a dwelling place for the Most High in the presence of His people that is even better than what I live in myself. And David desired to build it. David committed to build it. But God looked at him, and you could go, take your time, I'm not doing it. I don't have time to read all these passages. But in 1 Chronicles 22, verse 7 through verse number 11, God tells David that he is not going to build because he's a man of war. He's shed blood. but that his son Solomon will build the temple. And when David heard, did David get bitter and get angry and, well, that's not fair, I wanted to do it. No, David said, all right, I'm gonna make sure my son has everything he needs. I'm gonna make sure that he has a heart and desire that I've got for it. I'm gonna make sure that I instill in him an overwhelming need to make sure God has a dwelling place in the midst of his people. So David started preparing. David started gathering. David started speaking and talking with his son. David started sharing with Solomon of the things of God. David started sharing with Solomon the importance of the Lord in the midst of his people. David started sharing these things, started teaching these things, started preparing these things. And by the way, when it was all said and done and David passed off the scene, he left Solomon with a massive starting point to get the temple done. But Solomon looked at it and said, you know what? This is still not going to be big enough. I'm going to make it even bigger. David left a lot of what was needed and yet Solomon grabbed a hold of the vision his dad had for a temple that would be unmatched for the Most High. A place that God can dwell in the midst of his people that the entire world's gonna know, boy, they must think a lot of their God. Boy, they must really, really mean it when they say they serve the Most High. So Solomon took David's desire and he amplified it even more to the point that the Bible even lays out and declares that there was never a temple like the temple Solomon built for God. And no matter what they did, even when they rebuilt it later and they finally were able to rebuild the walls and rebuild the temple, the young men were excited about what they accomplished and the old men wept because they remembered the glory of Solomon's temple. And though they were happy to have the temple rebuilt again, they knew it paled in comparison to what had happened the first time. How did that take place? How did it go from being David's desire and David's vision to being not only Solomon's vision, but Solomon even amplified it more and said, we can do even better than this? How did that burden and that desire transfer? Because David, in his time as a father, though he failed in many areas, David transferred over into the heart and mind of his son Solomon. That when you make a commitment to God, you not only keep that commitment, you put everything into it. Last two things and I'm done. There's the footprint of conduct. Man, are we lacking that today. David in 1 Samuel 18, 14 said, and the Bible says about him, and David behaved himself wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. Here was David's history of conduct. David was a servant when it was time to serve, dealing with Jesse and Saul. David was a soldier when it was time to fight, dealing with Saul and the children of Israel. David was a friend when it was time to help in the area of dealing with Jonathan. David was a man when it was time to lead in the area of his men and the children, especially, by the way, when he first led people, he led the ones that were outcast, the ones that nobody wanted. He led a band of misfits, and yet they became a mighty band. of individuals that would follow him and by the way even give their lives for their leader. Why? Because he was a man who knew how to lead. And he was a king when it was time to reign dealing with all of Israel. But his greatest accomplishment I would say to some degree would be the area of where he I believe learned from his failures as a father in his early days of fatherhood and when God gave him Solomon he invested those things which mattered most. He failed with Absalom. He failed with others that were in that lineage of his family and boy there was murder, there was rape, There was a deceit and overthrow in the hearts and minds and lives of some of his children. And David failed greatly as a father in some areas. By the way, there's no father in here, no grandfather in here that can say you've done everything perfect. We've all failed in some ways. But at least David was able to instill in Solomon some things that mattered. His conduct. Now unfortunately when children get older and when children get off on their own they have a right and ability to make their own choices even if it goes completely contrary to what you've taught them. Solomon did not keep the idea of conduct as David hoped he would because Solomon chased after the very things that David warned him not to do. God warned him not to do. But in David's life, his conduct was an example of how to serve, how to be a soldier, how to be a friend, how to be a man, how to be a king, a leader. It's time that we start teaching our children how to be what God wants them to be from his word. There's also the footprint of compassion. Oh, sorry, I can't skip this. If our boys don't know how to act like men, that's our fault. If our girls don't know how to act like ladies, that's our fault. If our children don't know how to act like Christians, that's our fault. We have a great responsibility upon us as men, as parents, period. The footprint of compassion, Somebody said, well, real men don't cry. Oh, hogwash. May I say a man without compassion is just a vile brute. You take compassion, godly compassion, out of this flesh, and all you have is a mean-spirited, ugly individual to deal with. Godly compassion keeps me tender to the fact that there are lost souls. going out into eternity every day. Compassion helps me to hurt with those who are hurting, have joy with those who are rejoicing. Compassion drives me to be more than what this flesh, this carnal flesh would have me to be as a father, as a husband, as a pastor. Regardless, compassion is the key. Godly compassion is the key to a proper balance. in leadership and life. David was man enough at times to shed tears over things that were worth grieving over. Write this down, 2 Samuel 1. 2 Samuel 1, verse 11 and 12 and verse number 17. You know that David wept and not just for the death of Jonathan. The Bible says that David wept and mourned over the death of Saul and Jonathan. What kind of a man do you have to be to weep over one who made himself your enemy when you did not desire to be enemies? And yet when he died, you wept. You say, oh no, real men are happy when they're enemies. No, real men know how to weep over loss, even if it's not someone that was your best friend. Well, they didn't treat me well. But here's the thing. You still know how to weep over those that are going to be dealing with loss regardless. Well, I'm happy they're gone. That's not a godly spirit. I'll just say it that way. David could have been happy, but he wasn't. David could have rejoiced. Ah, finally, I'm king now. No, no, no. Before he ever stepped into the realm of being king and leader, he wept and he made the entire nation mourn and weep and spend time of reverence for the king who had fallen and his son, whom David loved as a friend. It takes more of a man to show compassion when the world says you have the right to be bitter. and angry and get vengeance. Takes more of a man to show compassion than anything else. By the way, I'll just give you this. There's a particular person in office right now that for most people we enjoy. I say we, I don't really talk about it much. But some people enjoy dogging, putting down, saying jokes, making fun. Can I just say this and y'all just don't get mad at me. If you do, I can't help it. It just is what it is. But can I say this? It doesn't take a real man to make fun of somebody. Can I tell you what strikes me often more, even though I get frustrated and sometimes I even find myself saying things or laughing at things I probably shouldn't, but here's the thing. One of the things as of the last several months that has really struck me is, and it might sound bad but I don't mean it bad, but I pity the man. I feel sorry for anybody that is misused as he is. Do you know that it does not take people that care for you to treat you like that? People that love and people that care don't put somebody out there to be the scapegoat of everything and make him a laughing stock so they get their attention. Focus over here on your laughing. He's our joker. You focus over here on the laughing stock while we do things over here. That's not love. That's not care. How would we like it if somebody said, you know what, there'd be a perfect little patsy. We're going to use them, make everybody laugh at them, make everybody make jokes of them, make everybody attack them. We're going to do that so we can be over here and do whatever we want. What if somebody used you like that or used me like that? How would we feel? I've often thought I'd hate to be him. May I say compassion can reach all the way across the aisle, even to somebody that you don't personally care for. I remind you the compassion of Christ brought him to a cross for people who did not care for him. In that while we were yet sinners, There was nothing about him that we would desire. Matter of fact, most of them, they cried, crucify him. And some of them were probably personally affected by the miracles he did. And yet with compassion, he died. Why? Because he's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Boy, if Christ could love us that much, how could we not have compassion on others, even if we don't agree with their stand? Last thing is conviction. When David was told in 2 Samuel 12, when Nathan looked at him and said, thou art the man. David, you've sinned. You've brought this on the children of Israel. You're the individual that has done this, David. David did not bow up and say, how dare you talk to me like that? Do you know who I am? But David, in that moment, got into great conviction and immediately David said, I have sinned. It's me, you're right. I'm the one. And David fell on his face before God and begged God to forgive him and begged God not to be done with him. Begged God to still use him. He even begged God for the life of the child that was to be born because of his sinful choices. And God chose not to spare that life. I don't know why. God knows why, but I don't know why. Maybe God chose not to spare that life and allow that baby to live because He knew what that child was going to face and He was not going to let that child who was innocent in all of this deal with your sin. You're going to deal with your sin. I don't know. But when it was all said and done, it so shocked the people around him, they thought David had lost his mind. Because he wept, and he mourned, and he cried, and he fasted, and he prayed. And then when he found out the baby was dead, he got up, cleaned himself off, straightened himself up, presented himself as a king, and said, all right, let's move forward. They thought, okay, he done lost it now. That's it, he's cuckoo. It's been too much, it broke him. But no, it didn't break him. No, David fell before his God and David asked that God would intervene. But when it was all said and done, when God made his choice, David had enough convictions to just follow God that he said, listen, this is what God chose. It's my fault, it's on me. He's still worth serving. He's still worth following. He's still worth obeying. And I will let his conviction change my heart to follow him any day. And by the way, he tried to pass that on to his son Solomon. And then Solomon one day, when he had made his own mistakes, wrote two books, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. He tried to pass on to his son, where I have failed, learn from my mistakes, follow God, and don't disobey. Vanity of vanity, all is vanity, saith the preacher. Son, it's not worth it to disobey the conviction that God has laid on your heart. obey Him, follow Him, serve Him, make a difference that reflects Him and not you. And it won't be vanity. May I say, Fathers, we need to stand up. Courage, conviction, compassion. It's time that men raise children for the glory of God. And that God's people raise a generation that want to please God more than please the flesh. Let's be those people. Not for our glory, but for His. Heavenly Father, we thank You for this.