Drip Watchers

June 23, 2019                  NOTES NOT EDITED

Drip Watchers

Exodus 17:1-7

SIS:  We can save ourselves a lot of anxiety and bring glory to God if we learn to patiently trust Him even when the way is hard.

Some things just take time.  Like the dripping of pitch.  Pitch is a sticky, tar-like substance that looks like a solid but is actually a liquid.  The Guiness Book of World Records has identified the “longest running experiment in history.”  Professor Thomas Parnell of the University of Queensland in Australia wanted to demonstrate for his students that some substances appear to be solids, but are actually liquids.  To prove his point, Dr. Parnell established the “Pitch Drip Experiment” in 1927 and it has been going on continuously since that time—over 92 years.  The Bible speaks of “pitch” as the substance Noah used to keep the ark from leaking.  Dr. Parnell placed some pitch in a sealed funnel over a beaker. A glass dome covers the experiment.  He let it sit for a few weeks and then broke the end off the funnel.  The experiment was up and running—but not running very fast.  Eight years later, the first drop of pitch fell into the beaker.  The eighth drop fell on November 28, 2000—73 years later.  The experiment demonstrates that pitch is 230 billion times more viscous (drippy) than water.  The experiment—still continuing today—has been passed down to its third professor.  Not only does the experiment teach us the incredible viscosity (thickness) of pitch, but it also demonstrates the need for incredible patience in science.  Some things just take time.  This is true also of “faith.”  We must develop patience to faithfully trust God to work in our lives—according to His timetable, not ours.  One of the major keys to victory in the Christian life is developing the virtue of “patience.”  We must become, “Drip Watchers.”

SIS:  We can save ourselves a lot of anxiety and bring glory to God if we learn to patiently trust Him even when the way is hard.

Let’s read about becoming “Drip Watchers” in Exodus 17:1-7

This passage of Scripture shows us three important “components” of overcoming crises in our lives and becoming victorious followers of Christ.  One component is understanding the Character of Man.  Another component is contrasting man’s character with the Character of God, and finally learning the steps to overcoming a Crisis of Faith.

1.  The Character of Man Examined

Three important “negative” characteristics of man are show up in this text.  Natural, fleshy man is “impatient, impertinent, and impulsive.”

A.  Carnal man is IMPATIENT (1-3)

The entire Israelite community left the Wilderness of Sin, moving from one place to the next according to the Lord’s command. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.  ² So the people complained to Moses, “Give us water to drink.”

“Why are you complaining to me?” Moses replied to them. “Why are you testing the Lord?”  ³ But the people thirsted there for water, and grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you ever bring us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

The Bible defines “impatience” as having a tendency to be easily irritated or provoked into grumbling and complaining.

At the first sign of discomfort or difficulty, the Israelites started “complaining and grumbling”—a character flaw they displayed often.  Anytime things got a little tough, even after seeing God move marvelously with 10 great miracles to deliver them from Egypt, the Israelites complained. They murmured, or grumbled under their breath. No matter how many times God met their needs, they could not seem to simply be patient and wait for Him to move.

Just a short time before this incident (chapter 15), God sweetened some bitter waters so they could drink.  At this time the Word says, “The people grumbled to Moses” (15:24).  Just after this incident the people got hungry (chapter 16).  The Word says, “The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron” (16:2).  God provided a heavenly meal called, “manna” (“what is it”), every morning, and a miraculous meal of quail every evening. And, God kept providing their every need for 40 years as they wandered in the Wilderness. 

The Israelites reflect the fallen nature of all of us.  Our tendency when faced with difficulty is to “grumble and complain.”  We are impatient.

B.  Natural man is also IMPERTINENT (v7).

⁷ He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites complained, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The dictionary defines “impertinence” as  being rude; uncivil; contemptuous.  The Bible in verse 7 defines impertinence as “testing the Lord by complaining.”  It is simply “rude” and “uncivil” to complain about the way God takes care of us.  The Hebrew word here for complain, or complaining, is “rib” (sometimes, rūb). This word is associated with the filing of a lawsuit—that is, suing somebody.  To complain is actually to “sue God for the way He cares for you.”  That is worse than rude or uncivil, that is blasphemous. 

It is human nature (fleshly man’s nature) to blame God for just about any tragedy or difficulty that happens.  You might here people complain, “Where was God” when a human tragedy happens, such as the terrorist attack on 9-11.  Natural man does not understand the character of God or we would never raise such rude, uncivil, and biblically ignorant complaints against Him.  Natural man is impertinent. 

C.  Natural man is IMPULSIVE (4)

⁴ Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? In a little while they will stone me!”

People who are “impertinent” enough to “accuse God of wrong-doing” in His care for us, possess little or no personal restraint.  Natural man tends to act on “impulse.”  The dictionary defines impulsive as, acting without thinking, or forethought.  The Israelites jumped straight from being thirsty to thirsting for blood! The Israelites were prone to acting impulsively, which is a characteristic of our unbridled human nature.  Natural man tends to “shoot first and never really get around to asking any questions.”  The Bible warns us against acting impulsively (James 1:19-20),

¹⁹ My dearly loved brothers, understand this: Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger,  ²⁰ for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.

Someone wiser than I pointed out, “God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason—to be quick to hear and slow to speak.”

When we act on impulse we almost never—actually never—fulfill a righteous end.  Impulsiveness—whether in making a purchase or making an accusation—never “accomplishes God’s righteousness.”  Think about that the next time you are tempted to post a blistering comeback to someone on FaceBook.

From this passage the Character of Sinful Man is Examined.  We are impatient, impertinent, and impulsive.  Man’s sinful nature is contrasted with God’s Perfect Nature.  The most important “component” in learning to trust God is knowing His character.

2.  The Character of God Revealed

A.  God is PATIENT.  This is revealed throughout the bible.  One instance of God’s infinite patience is when the Israelites “tested” by not going in to possess the Promised Land, which is why they end up wandering in the Wilderness for forty years.  This was such a grievous sin that God was going to destroy the Israelites.  Moses went to God and begged God not to destroy them, even though they deserved it.  In Numbers 14:18 God’s infinite patience is on display:

¹⁸ The Lord is slow to anger and rich in faithful love,  forgiving wrongdoing and rebellion. 

The Bible describes God from beginning to end as being patient with His chosen people, even when we act contemptuously toward Him.  Thank God I’m not God!  If I were God, after about the third or fourth complaint, I would have wiped man from the face of the earth.

It is not humanly possible to understand the infinite patience of God.  We cannot comprehend, and even struggle just to describe it, but we can trust that God is infinitely patient because the Word tells us He is infinitely patient.  That does not mean God will not punish sin.  The verse in Numbers 14:18 continues,

¹⁸ The Lord is slow to anger and rich in faithful love,  forgiving wrongdoing and rebellion.  But He will not leave the guilty unpunished,  bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children to the third and fourth generation.  The penalties and consequences for “testing” the infinite patience of God are extreme and long-lasting.  Thankfully, God’s patience and loving-kindness is equally extreme and long-lasting.

The Bible records that Jesus cried twice.  No doubt He cried more but these two instances reveal the character of God.  The first time Jesus cried was at the death of His friend, Lazarus.  The second recorded time Jesus cried was as He approached the beloved City of God, Jerusalem.  As Jesus stood upon a hill overlooking the city the Bible records (Luke 19:41-44).

⁴¹ As He approached and saw the city, He wept  over it, ⁴² saying, “If you knew  this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden  from your eyes. ⁴³ For the days will come on you  when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side.  ⁴⁴ They will crush you and your children within you to the ground,  and they will not leave one stone on another  in you, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

The Jews were (and still are) ignorant, and even contemptuous toward Jesus as the Messiah—the Deliverer.  For thousands of years God had protected and provided for His chosen nation, but they could not see it.  God is so patient.  The Bible calls His patience, long-suffering.  Paul said that “⁸ But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! (Rom. 5:8).  God’s patience toward His children is inexhaustible and unassailable.  Even while we were contemptuous enemies languishing in our rebellion, God loved us and patiently waits for us to return to Him.

God is patient.  As His children, we must be patient.  We must be patient with God as He works out His plan for our lives, and we must be patient with others as God is working in their lives.

B.  God is also POWERFUL

Let’s go back to Exodus 17.  Verse 6 says, ⁵ The Lord answered Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff you struck the Nile with in your hand and go. ⁶ I am going to stand there in front of you on the rock at Horeb; when you hit the rock, water  will come out of it and the people will drink.”

I’m sure you have heard the expression, “You can’t get blood out of a turnip.”  This describes something that is impossible—like getting a deadbeat to pay you what they owe.  Our text might be summed up by the expression, “You can’t get water out of a rock . . . ; that is, unless you are God!”

Throughout the Bible we see God’s miraculous and infinite power revealed—with the greatest revelation of His power being the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  It is impossible to overstate God’s power.  We call it “omnipotence,” meaning supernatural, limitless power.  God performs this miracle through Moses in order to demonstrate His power to His people, because if we are going to trust Him, we have to believe He is more powerful than any obstacle or crisis we might face in life.  God could have simply sent rain and let the Israelites fill their buckets—but that would not be a clear enough demonstration of His power.  They had seen rain before.  God demonstrated His power by doing the impossible—bring water out of a rock!

In order to trust God, you must believe God is BIGGER than whatever crisis you might be facing.  God is infinitely patient and infinitely powerful.  The Bible also reveals that God is

3.  PURPOSEFUL (EX. 17:1)

The entire Israelite community left the Wilderness of Sin, moving from one place to the next according to the Lord’s command.

Underline the words, according to the Lord’s command.  The Israelites were not where they were, experiencing what they were experiencing, by accident, but by Divine Design.  If you are going to patiently trust God through faith, you must believe that God has a PURPOSE and plan for your life.  The Psalmist declared (139:16),  ¹⁶ Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.

Power, without purpose, is destructive.  Simply having the ability to do something, like bring water out of a rock, does not mean it is the “right thing to do.”  Might does not make right.  God did what He did in the way He did for a very specific purpose.  Look back at verse 7,

⁷ He named the place Massah [tested] and Meribah [complained] because the Israelites complained, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

If we are going to live victorious Christian lives, even through the hard places of life, we need to know that “God is among us!”  The circumstances of the Israelite shouted to them, “God has abandoned you. You are wandering in the desert and you will die forgotten.”  It is a very dangerous thing to listen to your circumstances, no matter how loud they are shouting—because “God’s purpose dictates where we are and where we are going, not our circumstances.”

God always has a plan.  God always operates with a purpose.  As a wise person once summed it up, “Where God guides, God provides.”  We often get into circumstances, many of our own choosing, that confuses us and challenges our faith.  We must remember, “we are never in a place or a situation that surprises God or can derail His purpose for our lives.”

We must understand that God’s plan may move slowly at times—but it always moves surely.  God’s providence may drip slowly, but it will drip surely. 

We are impatient, impertinent, and impulsive.  God is infinitely patient, infinitely powerful, and has an eternal purpose for our lives.  So, when we come to a “hard place in life, as the Israelites did at Massah and Meribah, we can save ourselves a lot of anxiety and bring glory to God if we learn to patiently trust Him even when the way is hard.

The Chinese have a unique way of writing—they draw pictures.  The word picture for the word, “crisis,” has two parts, often one placed over the other like a fraction.  The two parts to the Chinese word for crisis is, “danger over opportunity.”  At least in Chinese script, a crisis is a “dangerous opportunity.”  This is certainly true in the Bible.  The Israelites were definitely in a “crisis.”  The crisis revealed their character flaws, but it also revealed the Infinite and Pure Character of God.  If we will reject the tendency to act according to our impatience, impertinence, and impulsiveness and respond in faith to God’s infinite patience, infinite power, and eternal plan, we can have victory on the other side of any crisis.  I want to outline three essential steps to responding to a Crisis of Our Faith.  I’ll just mention these quickly.

1.  Pray

Look at Ex. 17:2:  ² So the people complained to Moses.  Then compare that to verse 4, Moses cried out to the Lord.  There’s your two options when faced with a “crisis of faith.”  The fleshly Israelites said the wrong thing to the wrong person.  The Israelites complained to Moses.  Moses, on the other hand, said the right thing to the Right Person.  Moses spoke to God about the problem.  If you ever want to have consistent victory of challenging crises, YOU MUST PRAY!

2.  Patiently Wait

Look at Ex. 17:1 once again, The entire Israelite community left the Wilderness of Sin, moving from one place to the next according to the Lord’s command.  If you are reading your Bible and praying regularly, and listening to God’s command, then you are right where you need to be—whether there is water in the wadi or it is dry as a bone.

Isaiah encourages us by saying, The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose waters never run dry. (58:11).  Isaiah said something similar in chapter 40, verse 31:  but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary;

they shall walk and not faint (ESV).

Solomon The Wise also reminds us of the blessing of patiently waiting on the Lord to guide us, ⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; ⁶ think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths (Prv. 3:5-6).

If you are in a crisis, you need to get into the Word.  God will guide you as you patiently wait, meditating and praying in the Word.  Let me put it this way, “If you are in a crisis, and not in the Word—you are in a MESS!”

3.  PICK UP A STICK (Ex. 17:5)

⁵ The Lord answered Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff you struck the Nile with in your hand and go. ⁶ I am going to stand there in front of you on the rock at Horeb; when you hit the rock, water will come out of it and the people will drink.”

Everything you need to overcome a “crisis of faith,” you already possess in Christ. If you are praying and patiently waiting in God’s Word, God will show you exactly what you need to do, how to do it, and when. There’s no need to “wait” for a miracle, it is already in your possession.  The “staff,” whatever that is, is already something you possess or will soon come into possession.  You need to “pick it up and go!”  There is no true blessing that ever comes by “sitting on your backside and doing nothing.”  God did His part—He brought water out of the rock.  He expected Moses to do his part also—pick up his stick!  I will absolutely guarantee you that if you are sitting on the railroad tracks of a crisis, God doesn’t expect you to sit there and meditate on what to do next.  In a crisis, doing nothing is almost never the right direction to take.

Sometimes, victory takes a little while to drip into the beaker of our lives—but it will surely drip if we patiently trust God.  We can save ourselves a lot of anxiety and bring glory to God if we learn to patiently trust Him even when the way is hard.  God’s providence might drip painfully slow, but it drips eternally sure.  Be a Drip Watcher.

The World Needs Better Coaches

June 16, 2019                            NOTES NOT EDITED

The World Needs Better Coaches

Deuteronomy 6:1-10

SIS:      As men, we need to become Godly leaders in our homes, our churches, and our world taking great care to pass on godly devotion and skills to the next generation.

NOTE:  This message still applies to you even if you do not have children of your own or if your children are grown. Or, if you are a single Mom

My kids always get me a gift for Father’s Day, or even several.  Last year, I told them, “Buy me a gift that everyone in the family can get something out of it.”  They bought me a new wallet!

The Bible tells us that we must “honor our fathers and mothers.”  (Deu. 5:16).  That means we love them, respect them, and even care for them as the need arises.  I remember a LITTLE BOY named Michael.  He was about six years old, but even at that young age he felt he needed to love and care for his father.  They were eating dinner one night and Michael said, “Daddy, is it OK to eat bugs?”  Dad replied, “Michael, that is not appropriate talk for the dinner table.”  Michael simply nodded and said, “OK Daddy.”  After dinner the family was sitting in the living room watching T.V.  The Dad said, “Now, Michael, what did you want to ask me about at the dinner table.”  Michael nodded again and said with childish purity, “Oh, never mind Dad.  There WAS a bug in your soup, but it is gone now!”

Maybe father’s ought to listen a little more closely to our children.

The key to America’s future is the traditional family, and the key to the traditional family is — DAD!

The Bible shows us how men can be better coaches:

(Deu 6:1-9)  These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, {2} so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. {3} Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you. {4} HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE. {5} Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. {6} These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. {7} Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. {8} Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. {9} Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

This is the most sacred portion of Scripture to the Jews–especially, verse 4.  Jesus quoted it as the “Greatest Commandment” (Mk. 12:28-30). It is called the Shema[h], derived from the first word of verse 4, “shema,” meaning to “hear.”  Oh, how we need to hear the message of this text.  Our very survival depends upon it.

The implications of our text our clear. Israel’s future depended upon their understanding and application of God’s Word.  As the nation stands on the edge of the Promised Land, Moses reminds them that success or failure depended upon their obedience to the “words of God’s Law.”  The key to the success of any family or nation is to discover and obey the truths of God’s Word.  In fact, that is the “Hebrew title” of this book of the Bible, “These are the words.”

Americas future depends on Christ-centered,  Biblically-based, families living, loving, and serving together through God’s church.  It is clear that the focus must be the family.  Not the church, not the government–but the family. 

The Jews took this passage very seriously, and quite literally.  Orthodox Jews, even today, will wear phylacteries.  Phylacteries are small boxes that hold the Shema, and a few other verses.  They literally tie them on their hands and feet.  It is not uncommon to find Scripture verses on the doorposts of a Jewish home (called a “mezuzah, (doorpost)”.  The Scriptures are a central fixture in an Orthodox Jewish home.  The home was the center of religious training in Israel, not the Temple.

Over and over again, I have heard fathers say: “Well, I raised them in church.” God never asked us to “raise our kids in church, but to raise our kids at home!”  America needs better coaches in the home, not more spectators in the Church.

The Bible clearly shows us in this text what the key to a successful family is—an obedient father providing for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of his family.

1.  First, A great father gives his family DIRECTION (v 1)

(Deu 6:1)  These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,

This was a new day in the life of Israel. God knew they needed “direction” as they passed into a new phase.  They had never been this way before.  They needed a “guide.”

Fathers, your children need your direction if they are going to “cross over into an unknown land of adulthood.” Our children have never been adults, and they need Dad to point the way. Before you can provide direction for the family, you have to discover the way yourself.  Dads, you must first be living according to verse 5, yourself:

(Deu 6:5)  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

There is little chance your family will ever discover the abundant living of the Promised Land, unless parents give their families direction, by providing them an example—a leader—to follow. Love for God is more easily caught, than taught!  Families need direction, but they also need consistent, godly

2.  INSTRUCTION (6:6-7)

(Deu 6:6-7)  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. {7} Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Children need boundaries.  Children especially need “religious boundaries.”  I’ve heard parents say, “I’m not going to force religion on my children.  I’m going to wait until they are old enough to decide for themselves.”

This is absolutely nonsense. Do you say, “I’m not going keep them playing in the street.”  I’m going to let them decide when they are older if playing in traffic is something they want to do.”  Our children will be physically, emotionally, and spiritually endangered if we do not give them the instruction they need in life.  A child’s success as an adult is greatly affected by the instruction he or she receives when they are young.

(Prov 22:6)  Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

I like what a good friend shared with me once. “If we do not NIP the twigs of  sin in the bud when our children are young, we’ll have to use a chain saw to clear the brush when they are older!”

Don’t wait until you need a chain-saw to clear the rubbage from your child’s life, Begin their instruction early. Children need to begin to learn the Scriptures from the time they are in the cradle.  Immerse your home in Christian teaching.

3.  Children need PROTECTION (7:1-6)

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection."--Sigmund Freud.  I’m not big fan of Sigmund Freud, but even a broken clock gives the right time twice a day.

We need to read ahead to see another need a child has that a Father can meet.  They need protection.

(Deu 7:1-6)  When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations--the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you-- {2} and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. {3} Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, {4} for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.

Sin brings destruction. The world is hostile to a child’s spiritual development.  Evil is “stronger” than a child’s will-power, and must be “totally destroyed,” or it will end in a child’s “destruction.” A child has the right to expect certain things from the father: food, clothing, and shelter are the “big three.” But, they need much more than physical shelter.  They need “spiritual shelter.”

The world is not a safe place for kids.  They need protection--not just protection from the cold of the world, but from a world that can harsh, bitter, and frightening spiritually.  A world that will devour your children if you do not protect them from its hazards.

Young children, like baby birds, need your protection from the hazards of life.  Children need direction, instruction, protection and they also need

           

4. CORRECTION

Kids will be kids–you can count on it! You can direct your kids, instruct your kids, and protect your kids, but sooner or later you must correct your kids!  The Bible is very clear:

“If we spare the rod, we spoil the child” (Prov. 13:24) Proverbs talks about this in several places.

PLEASE DO NOT HEAR WHAT I AM NOT SAYING . . . These verses are not a license to “beat the daylights out of your children.”Correction must NEVER—THAT IS NEVER–be associated with anger.

A firm hand and a hard heart make a terrible and volatile combination.  Be firm, but gentle. Make sure you send the right message when you correct your children.  I read recently about A LITTLE BOY in the second grade who was complaining to a classmate.  Billy confided in his friend, “Tommy, I’m going crazy at home!  If I make noise, they spank me, and if I’m quiet, they take my temperature!” Children need correction—but make sure you send

the right message. Correction is about LOVE!

That leads right into my final admonition to fathers. I’ve saved the best for last. No coach ever attains greatness without a passion for his players. A great DAD must give his kids direction, instruction, protection, and correction, But, above all, great Dad’s give their wife and kids

5.  AFFECTION (1Cor 13:8)

“Love NEVER fails.”

What is the number one complaint when I talk to wives about their husbands, or children about their fathers in a counseling session?  It is probably not what you think.  The number one complaint ISN’T that “dad is too hard on us!”  Children of even the most domineering father can accept his rules and regulations.  The number one problem ISN’T that “dad is selfish.”  Most children I’ve talked to have as much as they want or have learned to live with what they have.  The number one problem ISN’T “dad does not love me.”  Most wives I’ve met and children I’ve talked to say, “I know Dad loves me.”  The number one complaint about husbands and fathers–men–, is, “Dad does not express his love.” Dad doesn’t say, “I love you.”

Many children grow up and leave the nest without ever hearing their father say, “I love you!”  Wives and children need to hear those words, backed up by a man’s actions—“I love you!”  Dad, your home needs your affection.  You may fail at many things, but if you do not fail at giving your family your affection—you will coach a winning team.  Above all—your family needs your affection.  They need to “see it,” but they also need to “hear it.”

There is no game more important than the “game of life.”  There’s not “next season” in the game of life.  It is one giant “Super Bowl.”  To have success in any game, teams need good coaches.

A few years ago TWO RIVAL HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL teams were locked in combat in the final champion-ship game.  Each team’s reputation was on the line.  The home team was backed up to its own 3 yard lines with time running out.   The score was tied.  On the next play, the first string quarterback was sacked at the line of scrimmage.  Worse yet, his ankle was sprained.  The second string quarterback was out with the flu.  The coach had no choice but to play a freshman quarterback who had never been in a high school game.  The coach hoped that he could keep the game tied, and the first string quarterback could go back in the game during overtime, and save the home team’s reputation. 

He sent the rookie into the game with explicit instructions.  The coach said, “Run 22-e twice, and then punt.”  The coach did not want to take the chance of giving the other team the ball with time left for a possible score.  So, in goes the rookie.  He calls “22-e.”  The team runs the play and to the surprise of everyone they gained 45 yards.  They were now on the 48 yard line.  In the huddle, the rookie quarterback follows his coaches orders and calls 22-e.  This time the team gains 49 yards.  It is last down.  One second remains on the timer.  They are on the 3 yard line.  This would be their last play.  The rookie follows orders.  He takes the snap, drops back, and punts the ball into the end zone.  The game ends in a tie. The team will go on to lose in overtime.

When the rookie comes off the field after punting from the 3 yard line, the coach is red with rage.  The rookie could not understand it.  He followed the coaches orders to the letter.  Barely able to talk the coach stammers, “Son, what in the world was going through your mind on that last play?”  The rookie quarterback answered, “The only thing going through my mind was, ‘man do we ever have a dumb coach!”

America has a coaching problem. We need men who will give their families the direction,  instruction, protection, correction, and affection that they need to be physically, emotionally, and spiritually successful in the game of life. 

I was fortunate to have a great coach for a father, both figuratively AND literally.  For about 11 seasons I played little league baseball in Moundsville, WV.  Little League in Moundsville rivals in excitement anything you would see at the college level.  It was almost a religion.

My Dad was my little league coach.  Dad had been a semi-pro baseball player but gave up his aspirations of playing in the Big Leagues to marry his high school sweetheart -- my mom.  Dad died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 78 in January of 2010.  

I’m not much of a poet, but I wrote a poem many years ago in honor of my Dad and how as my life-time coach he laid the foundation for any success I've had in life.  This poem honors my Dad, and all those dads who have and are "coaching their children to love God and others through service to the Lord Jesus Christ."

Dad was my coach.

He taught me how to face a curve-ball pitcher;

But more than that,

He taught me how to face the curves life throws at you.

Dad was my coach.

He taught me to run the bases with speed and agility.

But more than that,

He taught me how to run the race of life with diligence and integrity.

Dad was my coach. 

He taught me the art of stealing bases,

But more than that,

He taught me that lying, cheating, and stealing were wrong.

Dad was my coach.

He taught me how to catch a fly ball.

But more than that,

He taught me how to catch a vision for what I could become in life.

Dad was my coach,

He taught me the fundamentals of the game.

But more than that,

He taught me the fundamentals of living.

Dad was my coach—But, he was more than that!

Great coaches produce great teams–whether it be baseball, basketball, football, swimming, hockey, or what-ever sport you choose.  Great coaches produce great teams.  But, the greatest coach of all is the father that guides his family to spiritual victory.

Let me end with a Special Note to Fathers:

* I know that there are men here today that would love a chance to go back and change the way you raised your family. I KNOW I WOULD.  You can’t do that. I’m sure you did the best you knew how when raising your kids.

You can still contribute greatly to the youth of our community. by becoming an example to the youth of our church.