A Chinese megachurch pastor encouraged Christian fathers to imitate our fatherly God.
In a recent sermon, Pastor Tong Liu of River of Life Christian Church in Silicon Valley, the United States, said, "Although we are imperfect, we have a heavenly Father who is perfect. He is also the image of a father that we should imitate."
As we see many problems in society, families, and life resulting from the lack of a proper father in many families, the pastor shared guidance on how to follow the example of God the Father to be a good father in three ways: "following God's faithfulness", "showing love and care", and "preserving ourselves".
"God's promises are true no matter how many there are, whether you know them or not, whether you have experienced them or not." Quoting 2 Cor. 1:20, Pastor Liu said, "No matter how impossible it may seem to human beings, it will certainly be accomplished in God's sight. Surely God will accomplish what He has promised, according to His time and according to His ways. Our God is truly a God of punctuality. No matter how difficult the circumstances are, how great the challenges we face, our God may not work when and how we expect Him to, but He will certainly work in His time. And His time is never too early or too late; He is always a God of punctuality."
Pastor Liu preached about God's faithfulness using the example of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. When the Israelites left Egypt, the Red Sea was in front of them, while the Egyptian pursuers were behind them. Just in the nick of time, God told Moses to stretch out his staff towards the sea so that the Israelites could walk across dry land.
"It was when the last of the Israelites' feet left the sea that God ordered the sea back down, not too early and not too late. He is a God of punctuality, and what God has promised will be accomplished."
He continued, "Think about how many promises you have made to your loved ones that you have not kept yet. We don't think we're wrong because we don't mean to, we're just busy. We then neglect God's requirement for us to be faithful, and instead let our loved ones suffer greatly. We have to keep our promise to God; no matter the changes in circumstances, our trust in God should never change; we have to keep our promise to our wives, no matter being rich or poor, healthy or sick, we have to love them forever; we have to keep our promise to our families and children, it is only those who keep their promises that can give security to their families."
Pastor Liu said, "The God we believe in is not only the God who reigns over the whole earth, but also the loving Heavenly Father. Despite the many times that the Israelites disobeyed and strayed away from God's way, wasn't God still full of mercy to redeem them over and over? And look at ourselves, even after falling so many times, God's love has always been unfailing."
Just like the story of the prodigal son in the Bible, when the prodigal son asked his father for his family's money, the father did not accuse his son but instead gave him half of the family's money right away.
Pastor Liu hit the nail on the head when he pointed out what we look like as fathers: "Some people say, 'I have to earn money to support my family'. But I'm not asking about your job, I'm asking if you value your relationship with Him. God the Father values our relationship with Him, and today do we think highly of our relationship with our children? A lot of times, when Chinese people raise their children, we pay attention to the rules of behavior, and we often ignore the needs of the child growing up."
"Do you know the pressure in their minds? You think they don't have any pressure in their lives. Not really, kids today are very precocious and they have different views and ideas about many things. Do you know their friends? Friends are important to children, and your acceptance of their friends is also an acceptance of them. What is more important is whether you are there for them, accepting their culture and giving them room to grow. Think about how much room God gives us to grow during our lifetime. In the same way, we need to give our children room to grow, to have compassion for them and help them as they grow, so that we can find our place in life."
Quoting from Psalm 121, "Is this not the cry from the depths of our hearts in distress? In such circumstances, I need help. As a father, I need help. As a different role in life, I need help. ‘Where does my help come from?’, which is the cry from our hearts."
"Our God cares for us and protects us." He said, "As fathers, we have the authority to pray, although we cannot have the power like God. As a father, you need to know that you are the spiritual head of your family. Since you are the head, you have spiritual authority, and you can use it to bring blessing, healing and protection to your family. No matter how fiercely the enemy attacks your family, only you can stand as the leader and declare to the “enemy” that this family belongs to God and order it to get away."
“As our children grow up, we find ourselves unable to help them," he concluded, “But prayer is still the best way to go. You need to pray daily for the blessing of your children. The biblical prayer of a father's blessing for his children is very important. James prayed for his children, and those prayers affected their whole lives. So, fathers should often pray at home, speak words of encouragement, words of edification and blessing."
- Translated by Wylie Sun
