Humbly Exalted: A Christian Father’s Advice To His Children! 1 Peter 5:6-11

The Third Sunday After Trinity         6/16/24
Sermon Text: 1 Peter 5:5-11
Sermon Theme: Humbly Exalted: A Christian Father’s Advice To His Children!
I. Clothe Yourself With Humility. (Vs.5)
II. Trust In Your Heavenly Father’s Good and Gracious Will Alone! (Vs.6-7)
III. Be In God’s Word Daily To Stand Against Satan’s Lies! (Vs.8-9)
IV. Remember - You Are Baptized Into Christ! (Vs.10-11)

I.N.R.I. Psalms 103:13-14 “As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. (14) For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” David speaks of true fatherhood in the 103rd Psalm. True fatherhood isn’t found in us sinful men, but in God our Father. He is the one who forgives all our iniquities for Christ’s sake. He is the one who pardons our iniquity and delight in mercy. He casts our sins into the depths of the sea that gushes from the side of His only begotten Son crucified for us sinners.
      We live in a culture that rejects fatherhood and motherhood as honorable vocations. In doing so it has destroyed family, marriage, and over 63 million unborn infants through abortion because they weren’t convenient. Tragically headlines daily testify of our culture of death. Satan has been a liar and murderer from the beginning. He rebelled against the patriarchy of God the Father. Lying to our first parents He lured them away from the Father’s house and Word to destroy their marriage and bodies with the lie. e Scriptures are clear about all who follow hate. 1 John 3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
      Fatherhood is vital in the lives of children. That is why our Creator defined marriage from the beginning as the union of one man and one woman for life. As a child needs its mother’s tender loving care, he also needs to learn that manhood isn’t about bullying your way through life, but living compassionate service to your neighbor within your vocation. Studies have shown that fathers playing with their children, wrestling with their sons, teach them care and compassion. It isn’t a waste of time but necessary training. Scripture is clear as it calls fathers to their duty saying, Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
        As our nation pauses to honor fathers, let us repent of allowing the world to train our children, taking up our task as the prime educator of our children, let us learn from St. Peter: Humbly Exalted: A Christian Father’s Advice To His Children! I. Clothe Yourself With Humility. (Vs.5) II. Trust In Your Heavenly Father’s Good and Gracious Will Alone! (Vs.6-7) III. Be In God’s Word Daily To Stand Against Satan’s Lies! (Vs.8-9) IV. Remember - You Are Baptized Into Christ! (Vs.10-11)
I. Matthew 23:9-12 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. (10) And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. “ Our Lord Jesus spoke these words on Tuesday of Holy Week. They are some of the last words that He would teach in the Temple before He went to the cross. He isn’t banning calling your Dad - “Father.” In the fourth commandment the Lord God commands us to ‘honor our father and our mother. Luther in the Large Catechism speaks of the fathers we are blessed with by God saying, “Thus we have two kinds of fathers presented in this commandment, fathers in blood and fathers in office, or those to whom belongs the care of the family, and those to whom belongs the care of the country. Besides these there are yet spiritual fathers; not like those in the Papacy, who have indeed had themselves called thus, but have performed no function of the paternal office. For those only are called spiritual fathers who govern and guide us by the Word of God; 159] as St. Paul boasts his fatherhood 1 Cor. 4:15, where he says: In Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel. Now, 160] since they are fathers they are entitled to their honor, even above all others. But here it is bestowed least; for the way which the world knows for honoring them is to drive them out of the country and to grudge them a piece of bread, and, in short, they must be (as says St. Paul, 1 Cor. 4:13) as the filth of the world and everybody's refuse and footrag.” We have and are to honor our fathers who gave us life, our fathers who rule over us in government, and our spiritual fathers who preach God’s Word and administer Christ’s sacraments within the Christian Church. Jesus was preaching against the proud and boastful false spirituality of the Scribes and Pharisees - who thought greatness was being in control and ordering others around - so our Lord adds, “(11) But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. (12) And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
      St. Peter, a father, and also the spiritual father of Christian congregations that would now face severe persecution - reminds his children to be clothed each day with humility. (Vs.5) Pride is Satan’s besetting sin. Rejecting God’s Fatherhood - he planned to push God off of His throne to take over. His rebellion only brought him and the rebellious angels that followed him thrown out of heaven and sentenced to an eternity in hell. Pride was what led our first parents to eat of the forbidden fruit, they were going to be like God. Pride led Cain to slaughter his brother Abel. Sinful pride leads people to rebel against the rule of law. It leads husbands and wives to fight and devour one another. It leads children to wish their parents were dead. It leads parents to stubbornly not admit that they were wrong and ask forgiveness from their child.
      Fathers, teach your children to clothe themselves with humility. To show respect to their mother, to listen to their teachers, to know that the Lord God works through earthly government for our good. Clothe yourself with humility - confess your sins to one another, pray for one another that you may be healed. Be man enough to say you are sorry in front of your children to your wife, to your children. Be man enough to forgive them when they confess their sins to you. True fatherhood isn’t in retaining your foolish pride, but in following our Heavenly Father’s footsteps as He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
II. Rev. Paul Gerhardt, who wrote, “Entrust Your Days and Burdens”, was a Lutheran pastor during the 30 years war that torn Europe apart as Roman Catholics fought against Protestants. Paul’s first child would die in infancy. He would be relieved of his parish in Berlin refusing to compromise Lutheran doctrine and practice with the reformed. His wife died as they lived in poverty, leaving him only one surviving child. Finally he would be appointed again to a parish only to die eight years later. Still Paul Gerhardt’s hymns aren’t filled with gloom and despair, but with hope in Christ Jesus. He taught his family and his congregations to trust only in their heavenly Father’s good and gracious will - even when all seemed against them.
      Fathers teach your children to trust in their true Father alone. (Vs.6-7) Take their little hands in yours and pray with them morning and evening. Pray with them at each meal. Pray with them when they are troubled. Pray with them thanking the Lord when they are joyful. Let them hear you pray, out loud, for all trials that you have as a family. Teach them to trust in God the Father’s good and gracious will.
    Teach them to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God. As you take them to Church every Sunday and confess your sins. As you go to private confession for those sins that trouble and burden you. As you rejoice to hear the words of God exalting you in absolution - knowing that you are forgiven - for Christ is risen - He speaks words of peace to us sinners. Reconciled to our heavenly Father know that He cares for you. You no longer need to go through life running from one worry to the next, but throw them all on Him - for He cares for you.
III.   As Moses led the second generation of the children of Israel towards the promised land, he taught them again God’s commandments and promises. He reminds fathers of their duty saying, Deuteronomy 6:4-9 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! (5) You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. (6) "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. (7) You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. (8) You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. (9) You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Moses warned the fathers that if they shirked their duty to teach God’s Word - their children would be led into lies and bondage. As fathers we need to teach our children to be in God’s Word daily to stand against Satan’s lies. (Vs.8-9). Be sober - not drunk on the world’s popular lies. Be sober - read the Holy Bible out loud to your children in daily family devotions. Ground them by teaching them a love for the Holy Bible, the Small Catechism, and the hymnal - faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Satan rejoices when Bible gathers dust, and your children are too busy with sports, video games, and staring at screens to hear God’s Word. It isn’t too late to read the Bible out loud with them at the supper table, or before bed time. The devil constantly seeks to snatch the seed of God’s Word out of the ears and hearts of your children. The false religion of atheistic autonomy parades its perversion through our streets in June. Communism, progressivism, humanism is a anti-God, anti-truth religion.
      Don’t follow the world’s lies. Teach them the truth of God’s Law - the Ten Commandments. Teach them the Truth of God’s grace - The Truth of Reality - The Apostles’ Creed. Teach them how Jesus prays with them - The Lord’s Prayer. Talk with them about your faith. Teach them to recognize the lies in the videos they watch. Teach them to be on guard against everything that is called religious or spiritual apart from the clear word of God - the Bible and the certain gifts of God -the Sacraments - are of the devil himself.
        Teach them that they are never alone in suffering. They are members of the body of Christ. If one suffers we all suffer. Satan will try to isolate them, lie to them that they are the only one who suffers so acutely or is driven to such deep and dark despair. Teach them that it is a lie - the same sufferings are experienced by their brotherhood throughout this world. The Lord Jesus has come to save us broken sinners and within His Church God the Holy Spirit forgives all our sins to all who cling to Jesus’ wounds.
IV. Finally fathers teach your child to remember that they are baptized into Christ. All as a earthly father I could give to my children was my sin, the sin of adam, that sentenced them to death and hell. That was all the birthright that was mine - for that which is born of the flesh is flesh.
God who is rich in mercy put His name upon my children in holy baptism. They belong to Him, who will never leave them or forsake them, who will never fail them, who abounds in grace and mercy. (Vs.10-11). Baptism is their present life and daily it works forgiveness of all their sins. It rescues them from death and the devil. It gives them eternal salvation and keeps them in God’s Word and Faith until they die. The Lord God rules and has a purpose for the sufferings we endure, as He under the cross perfects, establishes, strengthens, and settles us. Now He invites us to kneel at His table. To feast on His only begotten Son’s flesh and blood - given and shed for you - you are forgiven - at peace with your Heavenly Father - at peace -freed to forgive one another. Amen.