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We live in a world where the role of a father is under attack. Motherhood is popular and applauded and yet the role of Fatherhood for some reason doesn't merit the same response. The first Mother's Day service was held in 1908 and it would not be long -- the year of 1914 -- that it was signed into law by the Senate and President of the United States that the second Sunday in May be known as "Mother's Day." The first father's day service was celebrated in 1910, but it would not be until 1972 -- 62 years later -- that Father's Day would become a national holiday. The idea of recognizing Fathers just didn't have the same appeal as that of Motherhood to the masses.

Perhaps another statistic would put the Father's Day celebration into perspective: while Mother's Day is tops of all holidays in number of long distance phone calls placed, greeting cards mailed, and people going out to eat; Father's Day is tops only in one category: more people will make collect calls today than at any other time!

Part of this is because the role of fatherhood is under attack in our society and as such there are a diminished number of dads in our country. Everyone has a male biological parent, but not everyone has a "father." The ability to reproduce doesn't spiritually make you a "daddy." Consider the following facts from our society:

-- Children raised without the influence of father are two to three times more likely to have behavioral and psychological problems than those children who have dads.

-- 70% of those incarcerated in youth detention facilities were raised without fathers.

-- 75% of teen suicides and 80% of all psychiatric admissions among youth share the same common trait -- no father in the home.

-- Young men whose fathers die before they reach adolescence have the greatest difficulty making a successful adjustment to marriage.

-- Women who feel that their fathers abandoned them exhibit greater promiscuous behavior in adulthood.

-- Countless studies prove that that the likelihood of criminal activity, delinquency in minors, suicide, depression, drug/alcohol abuse, and even teen pregnancy increase enormously if the dad is missing in the home.

A few years ago the state of California decided to make available free Mother's Day cards for the State Penitentiary inmates to mail. At each facility, they placed thousands of cards and they were astonished at the popularity and the amount of cards that were mailed. Encouraged, they decided to do the same thing for Father's Day. They were shocked to find that less than a handful of inmates even bothered to come look at the cards. The vast majority didn't have anyone that they could really call "dad."

Our world needs more men who will not just create children but who will be "Fathers!" We need strong fathers to be involved in the day to day lives of their children. Fatherhood is more than just procreating and bringing home a paycheck and toys. I remember my father based upon the time spent with me rather than the money that he made. My father was not the source of my genetic material because I was adopted, but he is without a doubt my father.

Active fatherhood is about time given more than anything else. The things that stick out in my mind from my childhood were not the size of the house or the car that we were driving. But the things that I cherish are the countless afternoons spent throwing a football with my dad. Or hitting numerous horrible shots at the golf course and the golf teacher shaking her head as we laughed at how horrible we were. I remember fondly going into the church in the evenings and listening to Dad kneeling between the wall and the organ and hearing him pray for the needs of the church. I cherish the times that I asked a question and he opened his Bible up and showed me what the scripture said. I relish seeing him slap down a winning domino hard on the table and saying "Kapayyow" as he beat us once again at "shoot the moon." I remember nailing shingles on the church with him one evening at dusk and having to go back the next evening and pull them all up. I remember the Christmas that it snowed and Dad "just happened" to have a new sled in the storage shed that he had bought two years before and had hidden for just the occasion. I remember with fondness the times that Mom was gone to a conference or such and Dad would pull me aside minutes after she had left and show me where in his wallet where he had hidden a hundred dollar bill and confide in me solemnly "as soon as she is out of sight, we're going to go to Wal-mart and blow it all on stuff we want!" I remember Mom being gone one Halloween to a ladies' supper and dad and I locking the front gate and eating all of the candy that mom had bought for ourselves! I remember his oyster stew, his shrimp wrapped barbecue shrimp, and his "heavenly fudge" -- the only three things that Dad could cook. I remember receiving my first .410 shotgun that promptly got taken away after I almost blew off the carport canopy with it! I remember the hours of shooting bows and arrows and Dad having to stop shooting and find my arrows that had gone clear over the target and buried themselves in the grass.

As far as I can remember, my dad never forced me to do something because he was reliving his life. I can never remember me interrupting him doing something and being told to "go away." I can never remember going into his office on a Saturday night when he was no doubt working on Sunday's sermons and being "kicked out." He got mad at me more than once, but my father gave me the two best gifts that a father can give his children: time and a Godly example of how to live.

It is a true story that is told of Brook and his father, Charles Francis Adams. Charles Francis Adams was an important man and was the United States Ambassador to Great Britain under the Lincoln administration. When Brook was eight years old, something special happened in his life and he noted it in his diary: "went fishing with my father; the most glorious day of my life."

Throughout the next forty years, he never forgot that day, and Brook recalled it again and again in his diary. When his father passed away, Brook inherited his father's diaries. Curious as to what his father had written about the day that he so cherished, he turned to the appropriate day and was shocked to find a single sentence in his father's handwriting: "Went fishing with my son. A day wasted."

I read recently of a report of three hundred junior high boys and their fathers where detailed records were kept for a two-week period. The average time that the boys spent with their fathers in meaningful conversation or quality time was seven and a half minutes. Even the most Godly example of a parent will not affect their child's life much if they do not spend time with them. As one preacher said: "contrary to what they taught us in spelling class, love is spelled T-I-M-E." There is a need in our country, in our city, in our church, and that is a need for fathers who will be fathers. Dads who will spend time with their children and who will live so that their lives are a positive example for their children to follow.

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In finding examples of this, we need look no further than God, Himself. God believed in the influence of a Father so much that "father" was the first way that He chose to reveal Himself to humanity. But God understood what is needed from a father and so in the Garden of Eden we find every evening, God walking in the cool of the day talking to Adam and Eve. God understood the importance of "time."

When sin removed His children from His fellowship, God did not give up but came in flesh to provide a sin sacrifice so that the fellowship between Him and His children could be restored. But He did not just exist as flesh for a few moments in order to die, but He was born of a woman and walked three and a half years ministering to His people before the Day of Atonement of Calvary took place. God knows that the two greatest gifts that a Father can give is time and a Godly example. And so He has freely given us both! John wrote:

God, Himself, is the perfect example of what is needed in a Father figure. And let me point this out: God showed us by example that even though our children's decisions and sins may bring a separation and a distance, that a Godly Father never stops caring and loving and giving of their time to their kids. But that a Godly Father does everything within his power to keep reaching, to keep praying, to keep trying to show love to the wayward child. A Godly Father never gives up. The prodigal's son didn't condone what the child did, and didn't follow him to the hog pen, but when the boy made up his mind to come back home, Daddy was anxiously awaiting on the roadway, looking expectantly for his return. This world needs more Godly fathers who will spend time with their children, be Godly examples for them, and who will never give up hope of God's will being done in their kid's lives no matter how bleak the circumstances look. We need Godly fathers to this future generation!

And let me also say this: to those of you who have lacked Godly fathers in your life, God wants to fill in the void! The scriptures say that Joshua was "the son of Nun." And although "Nun" (N-U-N) was the name of a literal man, we reach a place in scripture where Nun ceases to exist in Joshua's life. It was at that time that Moses stepped in and became the spiritual father of Joshua's life. And it would be Moses' steps that Joshua would walk into and Moses' shoes that Joshua would eventually fulfill.

To those of you who feel as if you are the "son of NONE," let me give you hope! God prophesied of the one to come who would be "the prophet like unto Moses." And that One was none other than Jesus Christ! It was Jesus Christ who told Philip: "if you have seen the Father, you have seen me." And it was also Jesus Christ who declared the promise:

So if you feel as if you are the "Son of None" then you ought to know that -- like Joshua -- God wants to fulfill that void in your life! Jesus, your heavenly father, wants to be the Father figure in your life!

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We need more dads to be fathers, and we need more fathers to be Godly fathers. We need men who will lead their families by example in serving the Lord.

In our texts, we read about a man named Noah. Noah was a father of three sons, but Noah was much more than just the source of their paternity: Noah was a Godly father to his boys. He lived in a time that was so evil, that God decided to destroy the earth with a great Flood of water, but the scriptures say that Noah found grace in the sight of God. And so God offered Noah and his family a way out by building a huge boat called the ark. In the New Testament we find this scripture about Noah:

From this verse about the life of Noah, we find what it takes to be a Godly father. Let me preach to you today from the example of Noah how Godly Fathers live their lives:

Godly Fathers believe and act on what God has said.

Noah didn't put off the commandments of God until "tomorrow" but he began immediately "doing all that God had commanded." God's Word had said that it was going to rain -- something that had never happened before -- and then gave a precise and exact plan of salvation for Noah and his family. They were to build an ark and only through the ark of safety, would they be saved.

What Noah did not do is instructive. He did not dilly dally around but threw himself into the building of the ark with 100% effort. He did not question God or try to hem-haw around because what God had said was coming had never happened. He didn't try to use his own method or his own plans to save some time or energy. Not Noah. He did "all that God had commanded!"

Godly fathers believe the Word of God and act upon it. They don't play church and they don't pick and choose the commandments which they are going to obey. Godly fathers do everything that God has commanded for them to do. We never find Noah leaving it up to Mrs. Noah to raise the boys or teach them about what God had said. Godly fathers take the lead in faith and doing right and show by example. We don't find Noah staying behind while Mrs. Noah got the boys up to go build the ark, but Noah was the first one with a hammer in his hand showing by example how to obey God's Word.

We need Godly fathers who will believe and act upon the commandments of the Word of God. Men who will stop using laziness to hide their carnality and who will lead their family in worship, prayer, church going, Bible reading, and Christian examples. You are either building according to God's plan, or you are not! It's not momma's job to make sure the kids get to youth service or church. It's not momma's job to lead by example in spiritual direction. It's not momma's job to be faithful in front of the kids. It's your job. Your kids need to hear you pray. They need to see your commitment to the house of God. They need to know that God means more to you than work, or hunting season, or toys, or football. All three boys of Noah were saved because they saw a dad totally committed to doing all of what God had commanded him to do!

I've got a newsflash for you men, as unpopular as it may be: most of your wives work just as hard as you do everyday! And yet some men are too lazy to take on the spiritual load of the family. You were created to both make a living and to be the spiritual head of your family. God put those responsibilities on you, men, and the Bible says that He will never put more on us than we can bear. The number one reason why marriages have issues is when the man doesn't take on the responsibilities that God designed for him to bear and so they fall on the wife. Can she do them? Yes, and thank God for Godly women willing to carry the torch of God, but, men, she was never emotionally designed to do so! And so it creates confusion in the home for the woman to be the spiritual leader! Eventually she gets frustrated and tired. Eventually she gets aggravated -- and rightfully so -- she's doing your job!

We need Godly fathers in our families today who will act and act upon what God's Word has said! We need boys who will grow up and embrace responsibility as men! We need to take the leadership that God designed for us to take! Godly men obey and act upon God's Word!

Godly Fathers have a Godly fear.

The scriptures say that "Noah . . . moved with fear." He did not casually throw off God's message. He did not hear the commandment of God and then ignore it but allowed it to change his life and motivate him to change his priorities in his life.

I'm preaching to men who have been taught from a child "not to cry." You have learned from your toddler days to not get emotional and not to show fear and to ignore such feelings. I can't preach to women as direct as I'm preaching to you, but it's easy for men to hear straight preaching such as I'm preaching to you today and just let it slide off and make it through the sermon and walk out of church and ignore it. Men, we are the masters of hiding our fear and our response. But Noah had a Godly fear that caused him to take to heart the warning and instructions of God. And the straight word of God to Noah is still the Word of God to fathers today: if you do nothing, you will die and your family with you. If you ignore God's instruction and what He has said to do, you will be swallowed in judgment. There ought to be a Godly fear that gets a hold of us that motivates us to be more than ever have and closer to God than we ever thought possible. We need a Godly fear that wakes us up and says "if I continue doing nothing spiritually, then my family will perish." If I continue as if God's Word had never spoken, then my family isn't going to make it! Such Godly fear produces Godly fathers! We need a Godly fear that is greater than our fear of failure! We need a Godly fear that swallows our insecurities and excuses! We need a Godly fear that moves us off of the seat of do nothing and causes us to step out in faith! We need a Godly fear that will drive us to the saving of our house!

Godly Fathers make provisions to save their family no matter what their friends say.

Concern motivated Noah to do more than just warn his family about the judgment of God that was to come, but he did something to actively get his family ready to be saved! How you respond when the message of God wakes you up and warns you of judgment is key.

Think about Noah: building a boat in the middle of dry ground and preaching that it's going to "rain" whatever that is. For Noah to be a Godly father, he had to take action that brought ridicule from his friends and those around him in the godless world. I can almost hear the voices of his "friends" as he began to lay out the wood: "You are preparing a what?" "You are going to do what today again?" "You are doing this because you have heard from who?" Can't you hear the ridicule? But the scriptures say that Noah kept building his boat. And the scriptures say that he "prepared an ark to the saving of his house." Noah cared more about the saving of his family than he did what his friends around him thought.

And so I'm here to declare to this twisted world some truths about what a real man is: It is not a sign of weakness to pray. Samson ripped lions apart with his bare hands -- something I doubt any man in here has ever done -- and yet time and time again Samson prayed. It is not a sign of unmanliness to praise God. David killed single-handedly and without firearms a giant warrior over ten feet tall as a teenager and yet danced before the Lord and worshiped Him with all his might! It is not a sign of weakness to pray and fast and seek to be closer to God because in Acts 10 we find that Cornelius did all of these things and God sent Peter to him and Cornelius received the gift of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. And Cornelius was a Roman centurion -- an officer in the mighty and tough Roman army! Following God's will in your life is not a sign of softness because Abraham was called "the friend of God" and yet we find him and his servants chasing down and wiping out an entire king's army to save his nephew, Lot. Peter, James, and John were rough and unpolished fishermen, but they dropped their nets to follow Jesus and preach His Gospel! Peter? Soft because He was following Jesus? You'd think twice if he had just sliced your ear off like he did Malchus'! And the last time I looked, the men in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost that first received the gift of the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues and acted like drunk men, the men in the upper room outnumbered the ladies by about 10 to 1! Don't tell me that this religious thing is just for women and girly men!

Pardon me ladies, for a minute while your pastor who is a man talks straight to the men in this congregation in the kind of talk that men seem to best understand. It is a lie from the pits of hell that it is unmanly to serve God and be spiritual and devoted to Jesus! Frankly, the Word of God is full of men who could not only "take you" in a fight, but pull your legs off and stick them up your noses one handed and that ALSO loved God and served Him and read His Word and listened to His prophets and bowed their knees in worship and prayer to the true God of Israel! Don't tell me that Christ is only for sissies -- on judgment day there will be more manly men than you that make it to heaven having been faithful to what God has commanded! In my Bible it says that it was Eve -- the woman -- that first gave into temptation and disobeyed the Word of God. It was the woman that wasn't quite sure of exactly what God's Word had said. It was the woman who gave into the serpent's desire. You are never more effeminate, men, than when you give in to sin and go against the Word of God! It takes a real man to serve Jesus!

My point was that Godly Fathers do what it takes to save their families regardless of what others may say. Let them make fun and call you whatever, but your family's salvation ought to be more important than what your friends think! Let your friends stand in their false bravado criticism that really just reveals their insecurities if they so choose, but somebody make up in your mind to be like Noah and like Joshua: "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!" Let people talk and do what they want: I'm going to do things God's way!

Godly Fathers condemn the world.

By his Godly actions, our text in Hebrews says, Noah "condemned the world." By taking a stand for what was right and living differently, Noah was telling the world "you could serve God if you truly wanted." His Godly example revealed their excuses as lame.

To those of you who have made up in your mind to serve God: the devil wants you to get discouraged by making you think that your doing right hasn't had any effect! But I've got a message for you: don't think that you are not making an impact! They may never tell you, but your children are watching. Your wife is watching. Those around you are watching. The world is watching. The devil is watching. The angels are watching. Watching to see if you will give in to the temptation to just be like everybody else, or to prove that a man can live for God in this world! Godly fathers don't listen to the excuses or give in to the peer pressure: Godly fathers condemn the world through doing what is right!

And furthermore, don't give in to the criticism of others. When you stand for God, you make others uncomfortable. That's why they react to your faithfulness. When you do what's right, you condemn others simply by your actions because you take away their excuse as to why they cannot serve God! That's why sometimes you get railed on when you never opened your mouth. Your actions of obedience condemned those around you. And that lashing -- persecution -- is a definite sign that you are having an effect. God is using your life to preach to those around you. And nothing preaches louder than a Godly father's everyday life!

Godly Fathers receive a Godly inheritance.

We cannot forget this! If you tuned me out a long time ago, you need to come back and here the ending of a Godly father! When the storm came and destruction fell, Noah had the satisfaction of seeing his family safe on the ark of safety! When their farm was gone, and their home was washed away and their old lifestyle was passed and their hometown was erased from this earth, yet they had something that was worth far more than any of that stuff: they had salvation! And not only did they make it through the Flood, but the scriptures also say that Noah "became heir of righteousness." And when they stepped off of the ark, Noah found a fresh and new promise of God waiting for him! If you could have asked him at that point if all of the effort was worth it, you know what the answer would have been! All the ridicule and all of the pain and all of the work was rose tinted by the knowledge that he had given his family something that would never pass away -- even if the earth did so!

And so I close this message with this scripture, from the mouth of Jesus Christ. He said:

Jesus Christ is coming again, and once again this world will be destroyed, this time by fire. The evil of this generation and their disregard to God's Word will bring the wrath of God upon the earth again. But "as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the son of Man." That tells me that just as in Noah's day, today God is looking and searching for some fathers who will respond to His word. God is looking for some fathers of whom it can be said "by faith, they, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which they condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." God is looking for some Godly fathers of which it can be written: "they did all that God commanded." He is looking for some men who will not only survive the destruction of this old world, but on the other side of the judgment will step into new promises and blessings that He has prepared for them. God is looking for Godly fathers!

There is a need for dads to be fathers, and fathers to be Godly ones. May we respond to the challenge of our day and our life and may it be one day written of us: "they found grace in the sight of the Lord!" This church needs Godly fathers. Your home needs a Godly father. This world needs a Godly father. May it be you and I that fulfill that need!