 Amen. All right, this morning, we're going to start out this morning with a little exercise. Okay, so what we're going to do is we're all going to stand up and do some jumping jacks. No, I'm just kidding. What we're going to do is we're going to do a mental exercise here. We're going to have a thought experiment right at the beginning of our sermon this morning. And I want you to think right now, I want you to close your eyes, or if you don't have to close your eyes. I want you to think of the great men in the Bible. And I want you to think of some names in your mind right now. Think of the great men in the Bible. So some names probably pop into your head. Maybe some of you are thinking about like Jacob or Abraham or some of these great names in the Bible. So that's pretty easy to think of the great men in the Bible. There's lots of great names in the Bible. Noah, I mean another great name in the Bible. Moses, great name in the Bible. So there's a lot of great men in the Bible. Now what I want you to do is think of the great fathers in the Bible. Just think for a minute. What's wrong? What's the problem? There's not a lot, is there? It's hard to actually think of a great father in the Bible. And as I was thinking about Father's Day and I was thinking about a sermon for Father's Day, it's actually hard. You actually have to have studied the Bible a little bit to actually know of some names of men who were actually good fathers in the Bible. And it's an interesting question. It's an interesting problem. We're going to look at it both this morning and this evening. So we're going to look at, this morning we're going to look at a very specific man in the Bible. We're going to look at this man called Jonadab in the Bible. We're going to look at him. We're going to look at his legacy. And we'll look at, more importantly, we're going to look at his methodology on how he did things. Because look, I mean, we found, you know, we can find a great man in the Bible who is also a great father in the Bible. But if we can't learn from other people in our lives, I mean, what's the point, right? I mean, what are we doing? We're just walking through life blind. So what I want to do is I want to look at this man, Jonadab, in the Bible. Turn to 2 Kings chapter 10. We're going to look at, you know, what he was, who he was, what he was able to do. And more importantly than that, you know, how was he able to do it? It's very important that we understand the methodology of someone who's successful. Because look, if somebody's successful at a certain thing, I want to know, like, how they prosecuted that success. How did they make that happen, right? So we're going to look at that this morning with this man, Jonadab. And many people in the Bible, maybe many people haven't even heard of Jonadab. So let's first look at who he actually was. He's mentioned by these people in Jeremiah chapter 35, but he's not in that story. We have to go back several generations to find out who Jonadab actually was. So if you turn to 2 Kings chapter 10, let's just do a little bit of a Bible study here and find out who this man was. 2 Kings chapter 10. So in 2 Kings chapter 10, we have the story of Jehu. So basically Jehu was anointed king by God. You know, he was chosen by God to wipe out the house, the evil house of Ahab in the northern kingdom of Israel. So Jehu is prosecuting this war against Ahab's family. Jehu is doing a good job. He has killed Ahab. He has killed his son. He has killed all 70 of Ahab's sons. He has killed the kings from, you know, he killed Ahaziah, the king of the lower kingdom of Judah, the southern kingdom of Judah, because he was married in and tied into the family of Ahab. We've looked at that extensively. He actually even killed the brethren of Ahaziah who has come to visit their brother. So I mean, he is cleaning house. He is wiping out not only the entire house of Ahab, but anyone tied to that dynasty. And Jehu is doing a complete job at it. And here we see someone coming to visit Jehu when he's in the midst of this command by God. And look at 2 Kings chapter 10 in verse number 15. And when he was departed thence, the Bible says, he lighted on Jonadab, the son of Raycab, coming to meet him. And he saluted him and said to him, Is thine heart right as my heart is right with the Lord? And Jonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand and took him up into the chariot. This is the same story where Ahaziah's brethren came to him and met Jehu. And you know, Jehu took them down to the river and killed them all. So here Jonadab comes this man, Jonadab. He seeks out. He comes to meet Jehu. He seeks him out. He's going to help him. He knows what Jehu is doing. And he seeks Jehu out to come help him. And he actually gets up in the chariot and goes to help Jehu. Look at verse 16. And he said, Come with me. Jehu says, Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord. So they made him ride in his chariot. So Jonadab is there to help. He's there to help the man of God prosecute the commandment of God. Look at verse 17. And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria till he had destroyed him according to the saying of the Lord, which he spake to Elijah. And Jehu gathered all the people together and said unto them, Ahab serve Baal a little, but Jehu shall serve him much. So of course, now he's going to clean house in the house of Baal. So he says, Hey, I really want to serve Baal. And he's trying to get all the prophets of Baal to come and be like, Oh, Jehu is for Baal. So Jehu is doing some trickery here. Now therefore, call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests. Let none be wanting, for I have great sacrifice to do to Baal. Whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtlety to the intent that he might destroy the worshipers of Baal. And Jehu said, proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal and they proclaimed it. And Jehu sent through all Israel and all the worshipers, I mean, he wants to get them all. So he sends messengers all around saying, I'm having a big festival for Baal, big sacrifice. If you're for Baal, you need to be part of this. So that there was not a man left that came not and they came into the house of Baal and the house of Baal was full from one end to the other. So here we had Jehu, you know, he's out and he's cleaning house in the house of Ahab, Jonadab joined him in verse number 15. But look, Jonadab is still with him. Jonadab is still prosecuting this with Jehu. Look at verse 22. And he sent unto him all that was over the vestry, bring forth vestments for all the worshipers of Baal and they brought forth vestments. And then look down at verse 23. And Jehu went and Jonadab, the son of Reykab. So he's still there. He's still helping Jehu into the house of Baal and said unto the worshipers of Baal, search and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the Lord, but the worshipers of Baal only. So he wants to be, he's careful too. It's kind of nice, right? He doesn't want to accidentally kill like some righteous people, right? So he makes sure that they check and, but I want to point out number, number one, that Jonadab sought Jehu out. He not only sought him out, but he stuck with him until the job was done and including this, this destruction of the worshipers of Baal. So of course, after this story, you know, they just kill everybody. They kill all the prophets of Baal and they just clean house, okay? But he helped Jehu clear Baal from the land. He was jealous for the Lord. Jonadab, he was jealous for the Lord. He was basically became, what he basically became was Jehu's right hand man in, in this prosecution, okay? I mean, he was right there. He helped him with all, with this difficult task. So, but look, that's all we see in the Bible about the life of Jonadab. What I just read you. And that's it, okay? Because, so how could you say, like how can you say that he's this, he's this great Father and he did all these things, you know, that were great and how could you use him for a Father's Day sermon? And the reason that I can do that is because, go back to Jeremiah chapter 35. The reason that I can say that Jonadab was a great Father was because of the legacy that he left behind. That's how we can see. We can see it from the results, period. Go back to Jeremiah chapter 35. Now, in Jeremiah chapter 35, the Bible says that these are sons of Jonadab, okay? Now, but look, in the Bible when you're reading and it says sons and it says daughters in the Bible, you can't, you can't just assume that that's the very next generation. Athaliah in the Bible was called a daughter of Omri, but she was really his granddaughter, okay? So what I'm trying to get you to understand is that sons and daughters could mean great, you know, grandsons, great grandsons. What it means is that they came from that line of that man or of that woman, okay? Now look, this story in Jeremiah chapter 35 is 150 to 200 years after Jehu and Jonadab went and cleaned house in the house of Baal, alright? So look, these are, these people we read about in Jeremiah chapter 35. These are great, great, great, great grandsons and granddaughters that we're talking about here, okay? So when it says the sons of Jonadab, that's what it's talking about. They're still talking about, you know, their father, Jonadab. The legacy, I mean, that's powerful. The legacy still stands at that point 200 years later. Now look, that's, that's atypical in the Bible. If you, if you read the Bible, most men, even great men of the Bible, which we'll even look at tonight, even great men of the Bible like David had a problem passing that legacy down to the very next generation. I mean, forget, you know, five, six, seven generations out. This man created a legacy 200 years after he lived. That's impressive. So how in the world did he do it? So this morning what I want to talk to you about, all of that was a matter of introduction. This morning what I want to talk to you about is the influence of a father. The influence of a father. Well, I mean, is it important? I mean, how can you do it right? How can you do it wrong? Look, I mean, there, like, when secular people have figured things out, that means that it is a super obvious truth that can't be denied, okay? So look, secular studies have shown that the father in the home makes, is a huge factor in how, you know, the family turns out, the children turn out. I mean, there's been study after study after study. I'm not gonna sit here and just read studies off to you, but there's been all these studies that basically say, you know, children, the way the secular world will put it, children who are raised by a father who is married to their mother, right? And then there's all these statistics, which basically says children who are, you know, raised by their own father in a normal Christian home is what they're actually trying to say. But look, there's all these studies that say that children who are raised by a father that is, you know, married to their mother, you know, the home is safer. You can read entire books on that one variable on how the home is safer. Because look, there, the father that's married to their mother, their dad, is a protector. He is there to protect the house. He will protect the home. He'll protect his children from, you know, all sorts of wicked, you know, influences that are everywhere today. So that's, you know, what fathers do. I mean, you want it to be a Christian father, Bible-believing father, to, you know, want to protect your children. It's a natural instinct. So look, also, there's also all kinds of studies out there that show that a man who's married and has children is much less likely to be an abusive person. To, you know, abuse drugs and alcohol and abuse, you know, children or other people's children. It's just a, it's a, there's all kinds of, it's just the way it is. It turns out that way. There's all sorts of studies out there that show that children who are raised by a father who's married to their mother, they're like 80% less likely to go to prison. Makes sense, right? There was a book I read many years ago called Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson. I used to read all these books by Focus on the Family and all this kind of stuff, which, you know, there's a lot of good truths in these books. But this interesting thing in this book that we're going to read today is that this man in this book, when he interviewed men in prison, and he found that to the tune of like 98%, 98% of men in prison. I mean, we found something that, we found a trend. You can say 98% have this characteristic. You have found a trend. 98% of men in prison hate their father. Wow. Okay. Do you think the father in the home matters? Right? So look, they've done all kinds of studies that show that children that are raised by men who are married to their mother are much more empathetic to people in their life. They have more feelings towards others in their life. Here's another good one. You think that just some kids are born smart and some kids are born stupid? That's not how it works. This is not what the Bible says. The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. There's actually been books written out there that show that children who are raised by fathers who are married to their mother are smarter. It's not genetic. Right? I mean, it kind of matches what the Bible says. Right? So, you know, dads, you can literally make your kids stupid by being a bad dad. I mean, that's kind of what that says. But the Bible kind of told us that already, right? So, there's all of it. The list goes on and on and on. On all these things. So, like, what I'm trying to get you to understand is you have the power to make or break the situation, dad, with your children. Like I said, no pressure. You can wreck it all or you can make it all. Period. They have tremendous influence on the positive and the negative. All right? Like I said, when the secular world figures it out, that means that it's a truth that is so obvious that even they couldn't deny it. But the Bible told us this already. Right? So, the question is, how did Jonadab do it? I mean, there's not much about him in the Bible. We just read everything about Jonadab in the Bible. But look, using other Bible truths we can infer some things about Jonadab's parenting. All right? Now, here's the prerequisite. The first point is just a prerequisite that you need to have is like a base. And it's this. He was on the right side of the Lord. Period. Jonadab was on the right side. We see this in his life. The Bible also tells us this. And look, turn to James chapter 1. He was on the right side of the Lord. Period. So, if you're, you know, you're a dad on the right side of God you're lacking that foundation. You're starting out fighting a losing battle already. Look at James chapter 1 and verse 17. The Bible says every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and come it down from the Father of lights with whom is no variable neither shadow of turning. Look, any good gift is coming from God. So, you need to be on the right side of God if you're a father. And you want to have good things and pass good things and create this good thing for your family. You need to be on the right side of God. That needs to be the starting point. Look, he had great zeal. He had Jehu's zeal for the Lord. He had great zeal for the Lord. And look, it was not just zeal that he just had like in his heart where he's just like, I just feel he did his works were based on his zeal for the Lord. It was seen in what he did in his life. You don't think that Jonadab's kids and grandkids and great grandkids weren't talking about the great works that he did for the Lord for generations? Of course they weren't. It's memorialized in the Bible. We're still talking about it today. We're not even related to him. So he had great zeal which was connected to work for the Lord. Do you? That's the base. That's where you start. He went and I mean he actually fought. He actually had to physically fight for the Lord. We don't have to physically fight for the Lord today. Yet, who knows what's coming next week. The point is that we don't have, I mean he had this great zeal that was he put his feet to the action of that zeal. So zeal without action it's another sermon. But it's worthless. It's worthless to others. See James chapter 2. Second So can your family see your zeal? That's the first thing to think about. Can your family, can your wife, can your children can they see your zeal? How do they see your zeal? Through your works. Through what you do for the Lord. Just like what Jonadab did. The second thing is this. Jonadab established and we're going to talk about this. You guys have heard me bring up this word. I'm going to talk about this word today. I'm going to talk about this word tonight. But what Jonadab did is he established a culture in his family. He established a culture. Now look, what is a culture? A culture is different than rules. I've talked a lot about the culture that we want to have in this church. I'm going to continue to talk about the culture that we need to have in this church. I'm going to continue to talk about until I'm blue in the face about the culture that we need to have here. A culture is different than rules. A culture is different than, hey, you just need to do this. I talked to this about the ushers even this morning. Here's the culture that we need to put forth here. It's different than just do this and do that and do this. Culture, look, turn to 2 Kings chapter 12. Let's look at a comparison of culture versus rules. Turn to 2 Kings chapter 12. We're just going to read one verse. This is the story of Joash which is Athaliah's grandson. Athaliah is the wicked granddaughter of Omri, the daughter of Ahab. She married into the house of Judah. She goes when Ahaziah is killed and she kills all her grandchildren. She can rule. Nice lady. Of course the priest Jehoida steps in and actually his aunt saves him first. Jehoash's aunt saves him and then Jehoida, the priest he takes Jehoash under his wing so they save this one child. And you know what's funny? It's good thing they saved that child because God promised that that line would never be broken in Judah. So God used Jehoida and Jehoash's aunt to keep Jehoash because if Jehoash would have died God's promise would have come true. God's in control always. So he protects Jehoash. They save this young boy from being killed by his grandmother and he is raised by this priest. He is raised by Jehoida. And look at 2 Kings 12 in verse number 2. And the Bible says that Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all his days. Oh, but wait. Where in Jehoida the priest instructed him? So if the sentence would have ended all his days the story would have been much better. But it says Jehoash did all that was right in the sight of the Lord all his days which Jehoida instructed him. So here Jehoida instructed him but guess what happened to Jehoida? He died because he was older, he was raising Jehoash and he died. Guess what? I mean hopefully I die before my children because I'm older so I'm going to die. I'm not going to always be here for my children. I will get old and die one day. I could die tomorrow or today. Who knows? But the point is that parents will not always be there to instruct their children. And what happened is when Jehoida died Jehoash went off the rails. He went off the rails. He went to these princes. I mean isn't that how it always starts by the way? You start listening to other people that you know see some cracks in the armor and they come in and they exploit those things. But he starts listening to these princes. He actually ends up killing Jehoida's children. He kills Jehoida's sons. The man that raised him. The man that I mean it actually ends up costing Jehoash's life because conspirators came against Jehoash and killed him for the blood of Jehoida's sons. Of what he did. So look. Jehoida wasn't able to get a culture instilled in Jehoash. He raised him. He gave him rules. He did what was right while Jehoida was there but he never bought into it because as soon as Jehoida was gone it was just easy to derail him. But look. Now compare this. Go back to Jeremiah 35. Compare this to Jeho... Jonah dabs. Great, great, great, great, great grandchildren. Compare this. Think about it. Jehoida dies and almost immediately the kid goes crazy. But look at Jeremiah 35 in verse number two. So they were supposed to go... This was a test for the Reckobites, right? Go on to the house. The Bible says go into the house of the Reckobites and speak unto them and bring them into the house of the Lord into one of the chambers and give them wine to drink. Look down in verse number six. But they said we will drink no wine. Why? For Jonah dabb, the son of Reckob our father commanded us saying this is their great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather. Commanded us saying you shall drink no wine neither ye nor your sons forever. He established this culture in his family forever. Or at least for these generations so far. I mean, look. 150, 200 years later this culture still stands. I mean first of all, what a great culture to established. Men. I mean, men, did you know that you can establish a culture in your family? I mean you can establish a generational culture in your family. It's possible. Jonah dabb did it here. I mean, you think about this culture of drinking this culture of no alcohol. I mean, just think about Jonah dabb's specific culture that the Bible talks about here. I mean, you can establish that as a culture. Look, you should establish everything in your family as a culture. But specifically today this one is a great one to start off with. Right? Because look, everybody's a drunk. It seems like that sometimes. I mean, to establish you should establish this culture where look you know, it's weird to see people drink. That's what your kids should realize. They should see somebody standing there. You know, if they ever see a person with a beer or a drink in their hand it should be like, whoa! That's a culture that you're establishing for your children. Look, I remember, you know, my grandfather established a culture in many ways in our family. My grandfather, he established this culture of just being this upright man. His reputation was he fought in World War II. He worked hard. He was an honest, God-fearing man. When I moved when I moved out to the farm and I took over the farm people would come to me and if, you know, the neighbors or whatever they come to do business or whatever they would always start off conversations with I knew your grandfather. And that was kind of like they're kind of putting they're kind of like I knew the kind of man your grandfather is. What kind of man are you? That's what they were saying. So I mean, it was something it was a bar it was a bar that he had set. You know, I was warned as a kid I was warned as a kid by my dad you ever get in any kind of trouble you're going to stand before your grandfather and tell him what you did. I mean, that's the kind of man that he was. And I'm like, I'm never doing that. You know, report cards grades in school as you get older any kind of trouble in high school or something he's like, you're getting into this kind of trouble you're going to stand and you're going to tell your grandfather what you did. Because look, he had established a culture in his family that made it even to my generation. I mean, think about it. Like, but look, here's the difference. Okay, here's the difference between a culture and rules. The difference between Jehoida and Joanadap to establish a culture you need to create buy-in you need to get the buy-in of the people in the next generation you need to get people on board you need to get people... otherwise it's just rules otherwise it's just rules and you know what to get people's buy-in you know what the main thing that is needed the main thing that is needed is time. Look, I spent a lot of time with my grandfather I mean, I remember riding around in a combine with him in this tiny little combine and the only place for me to sit was like smashed up in the corner, up behind his seat and like it was the most uncomfortable thing in the world but I had to sat there for days but that's what establishes a culture, is time and they just sit there and you just talk and we would just yell at each other in the combine because he was deaf anyway and then plus the machine, we're just screaming at each other all day long but that is what it takes to establish a culture it's the base, you need to spend that time and you can see this look, I can tell you one thing, Jonah dabb spent the time how do you know? because I see it from the results that's how I know let's look at another great father in the bible turn to Matthew chapter 4 another man who I can tell you, he spent the time he spent the time let's look at a man called Zebedee in the bible his name is mentioned like 11 times most of the time his name is mentioned, he's not even in the story there's only one verse in the bible where Zebedee is actually there and he's never quoted one time in the bible you never hear one word from Zebedee in the bible so how do you know Zebedee was a great father? are you just inferring all this stuff? no, I know from the results I know because I know who James and John were I know because when Jesus said the sons of thunder I know that two men that were the top list of the apostles who would have served Christ to their very death I know who their father was you see look at Matthew chapter 4 in verse 21 I know that Zebedee spent the time look at Matthew chapter 4 in verse 21 the bible says this this is the calling of James and John he saw two other brethren James the son of Zebedee and John his brother in a ship with Zebedee their father mending their nets and he called them so look, he's spending time here he's spending time working side by side with his children and by the character of his children turn to Proverbs chapter 29 so the first culture that you need to establish is this the first culture that you need to establish is spending time that is your base culture that is your base level that you build from to establish all other cultures is spending time look at Proverbs 29 15 a verse we all know well the bible says the rod and reproof give wisdom but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame look at those words that say but a child left to himself that child is not spending time with his father or his mother he's left alone so look, you better spend time with your kids and here's the easy thing about spending time with your kids, dads they're programmed in them to want to spend time with you but look, let me tell you something as a parent of older children this program can change this program can change look I don't know how many times I've had people with kids my age and kids 13, 14 years old tell me that even before my kids were that age oh, when they turn 13 they're going to want to have nothing to do with you they're going to go crazy when they turn 13 that's because you did it wrong that's because you didn't spend that time when you had that program when you had that hardwired child that wanted to spend time with his dad and his mom you didn't and so other people decided that they would influence them and come into their life my kids have never gone through this weird stage never and you know, if they ever did I would just force them to hang out with me anyway so look, I was doing I was doing some reflecting this week I was doing some reflecting on just being a father and things that I could have done better and what are some things that that I think I could change or do better, because look, I mean I've told you this before, I'm not a perfect parent I never have been I'm not today but one thing that popped up to me and look, I've spent a lot of time with my kids, but look, I wish I had more I wish I had more you know, I was thinking about fishing you know, some of the guys went fishing I've just been thinking about fishing lately and look, I used to go fishing with the kids a lot we used to fish a lot there was this canal by the farm and we used to go fish off this bridge in this canal and it's just, it's not about the fishing it's about the time because look you know, you guys, some single guys or whatever went out fishing this week and like, look, when you're single it's about catching fish you know what I'm saying? it's about going out there and catching fish when you have little kids, fishing is about wrecking fishing poles and throwing rocks I'm surprised that that canal even has water in it my kids are throwing so many rocks in that canal and I mean, you get to the point where it's like you know, this is just why we're here to throw rocks in the canal you know, all you do is sit there I mean, I would just put my pole away because all I'm doing is untangling lines and just like catching frogs that are jumping down the road I mean, it's just these are some of the earliest memories that I even have as a kid it's just fishing you know, I mean, these crazy stories Friday, we're talking about this Friday this time we're out fishing this canal and Ashley, you know, she puts her pole on the side of the road it's got a little concrete thing there and she's going and she's throwing rocks or she's chasing frogs down the road or whatever she's doing and she comes up to me, she's like dad, you know, dad, you know, I don't know she's like this tall so there's never two yarn to take in fishing by the way and she's like this tall, she's got a frog and she's like, dad, my fishing pole's gone fish got her pole, over the bridge it went, broke the line so here we see this bobber floating down the river like this we get in the pickup and we lost the pole but we caught the fish you ever had that happen? so I mean, these are just the things like look but then they get a little bit older and they figure some things out and it goes back now you can catch fish again now you can catch fish again hey, now you can mend nets together you see what I'm saying? you cast a line, it becomes catching fish it becomes about catching fish again but it's all about the time it's all about the time this is the first culture you say, what's the culture you're talking about? time spending time, that's the culture that's the first one create that culture with your kids so it stays that way and if you create that culture with your kids it will never go away you won't experience this oh, my daughter turned 13 and went insane you'll never experience that I mean, these people that say that to you they're just like, hey, what they're really saying in my mind is they're saying, hey, I'm a horrible parent when are you going to get to be a horrible parent so we can discuss our horrible parenting techniques together? I'm like, no I'm going to do what the Bible says I'm going to do the Bible way so like, look, the first culture is time everything else builds from there like, from there it just becomes a culture of life see, it becomes not drinking is a culture it's not a rule you say, well, what do you mean? look because when you're spending time with your kids you use that time to have teachable moments so when we come into the church and we have to step over some drunk guy you think I don't I mean, I'm going to use that for everything I possibly can I'm going to get some mileage out of that situation and be like, hey, want to be a drunk? you know, you want to be a drunk? you want to be a drug addict? look at this guy I mean, these are teachable moments but guess what, you got to spend the time you got to be with them you got to have that life that you're walking through with them next to you and those teachable moments will pop up I still remember a story my dad used to tell me and it was a story that his dad told him some guy came out to the farm to do business with my grandpa and my dad was a little kid and this guy was smoking a cigarette and doing business with my grandpa and then he threw a cigarette on the ground and then he left they did their business and he left and my grandpa, he walks up to the cigarette with my dad, who was a little kid at the time and there's a pile of manure and there's a cigarette butt sitting right next to it and my grandpa crushes the cigarette butt with his boot right next to the pile of manure and he looks at my dad and he kind of looks the same, doesn't it? see? that's establishing a culture smoking was like a huge my grandpa would have beat me to death if he saw me smoking a cigarette but we knew that, I mean, it established that culture it was a no smoking culture I heard that story told to me to, you know to my kids I heard that story told to but it's just that's how you establish a culture because you're, you know his son was standing next to him in his life in that business deal and he created a teachable moment that created a culture you want to put manure in your mouth son? that sound good? no, that doesn't sound good make sense you get that buy in and then it becomes a culture for them it's not just this set of random rules I mean, look this was the problem with joesh, it was just, you know look, when they're young, when they're little kids it's like do what I say or you're getting spanked it's very simple but when they get older is when you start, you know you start teaching them the wise of the bible and that's how you create that culture but here's the rub here's the rub and here's what I was thinking about this week no matter how well you do it you always could have done it better so you think about that because look time, you know aside from what Einstein will tell you time is not a variable there's a lot in that statement I'll just leave it there but time is not something that is variable it's fixed the bible tells us, you can't control it once it's dumped out, it's on the ground that's it it's a vapor so look, use it wisely use it wisely, you know that's what Jonah Deb did, he spent the time how do I know? because of the results that's how I know and that's how people will know from your results I mean lasted generations think about it think of Zebedee think of the results there think of the sons of thunder in the bible James served to the death John was they tried to kill him God saved him and he gave us the book of Revelation I mean so yeah, there was a man that we don't hear about in the bible but we know he took the time but you know what we see from his children so look, by the way, here's another thing time time is in the here and now okay time is not in virtual world okay sometimes I wonder how much time people are spending in virtual world adults whether that be the internet or video games or whatever I mean look don't spiritualize spending time in virtual world oh you say but I just watch sermons guess what, when you're in virtual world you're there by yourself you're there by yourself, you're not there with anybody else so don't spiritualize not spending time you need to with your family because guess what this hardwired thing that you have in your children they will begin to despise the thing that keeps their dad from them that's the danger oh but I'm watching spiritual things they will begin to despise those things you're walking dangerous ground there your wife and your kids are not on the internet period they're in the here and now look, you can redo some things in life look, I glued something wrong the other day I glued this thing it didn't turn out right and I was like ahhh I mean it was really good glue but you can redo some things I cut it out and I cleaned it all off and I re-glued it I retired from golf years ago but guess what, in golf you can take a ball again you can hit another ball but guess what you can't redo this you can't redo this you can't go back to when they're three and spend more time you can't go back to when they're five and spend that time and keep that culture of spending time with them and showing them that they're the most important thing and creating that culture of life because these moments these moments where you create this culture of not drinking, of not being part of the world of all these things, they just pop up in these random situations when your kids are spending that time and they ask you a million questions you answer everyone I mean I went to a nine hour trip with Jacob the other day and it's just like question after question after question and it's just like you just answer everyone why do this type of chickens have feathers that are brown and white and this one has feathers that are white and you just come up with something but see these moments these moments that you can't get back they pop up at random times because guess what in the questions about the chicken feather colors there's going to be some real questions in there like hey why are certain people like this hey why did that guy when you were talking to him do that that didn't seem right they pop up in those times and you can't get it back look these men in the Bible that we're looking at this morning their, this the culture that they created in their family became their legacy what will be your legacy think about that no pressure let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer Dear Heavenly Father I thank you for this morning I thank you for all the fathers in the room I thank you for all the children Lord in this church in this room I pray that you work in these families and you work with these fathers and you work with these children together that we can just create some strong Christian culture in these young people I know this is a huge responsibility for us I ask that you just put your hand on us and just fill us with your spirit as we lead our families and help us do the best that we can at this Lord and just follow the clear instruction that you've given us in the Bible and the clear examples that you've given us in the Bible Lord we love you we ask that you bless the rest of today and church this evening in Jesus name we pray Amen