Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: Fathers, you have a great, great big job to do. To love your wife. Not to be playing around with somebody else's wife or some young girl. It's really important that when you come home, you're a real husband, you're a real father. And that you stand for righteousness and that you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.

Guest (Male): I am falling. I am falling in love. I am falling in love. I am falling in love with You. Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio. The Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries and Diamond Bar, California. Today as we continue our series for Christian fathers, we're glad you've joined us to explore what it takes to be a strong spiritual leader for your children.

It's true that life is demanding and it's easy to let your personal devotion slide in favor of mindless downtime. But Raul will urge us to consistently read God's word. In first Samuel chapter three beginning in verse 11, here is Raul Ries.

Raul Ries: One of the things that God has really been speaking to my heart about is that we really not only need a godly nation, but we need godly men in order to have a godly nation. And one of the things about the Old Testament, when you go back into the Old Testament, there are so many stories concerning fathers. As God began with Adam and then he went to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Moses and so on and on and on through the whole Old Testament into the New Testament starting with Peter, James, John, and the rest of them.

And I think it's of importance that if we are going to continue to see the church in a godly way and we're going to continue to see a godly and great nation, then we need godly fathers. The title of my message this morning is Godly Fathers Wanted in the Last Days. In the story of first Samuel chapter three, let me go back just a little bit to give you historical background.

The people of God already had come out of Egypt and they were on their way on a 40 day journey to the promised land. They had failed by rejecting God and being disobedient to God so it took them 40 years to get out of the wilderness area into the crossing of the Jordan River into the promised land with Joshua. Once Joshua came to the end of his life in serving God fully, completely at the age of 80-some years old, he gathered his family together and his sons and daughters and he gathered the nation of Israel together and he said, "Choose you this day who you're going to serve."

Joshua was a godly father over his own children and over the nation of Israel. As you turn the pages of chapter 24 of the book of Joshua, you come where it says, "And then after that generation died, there arose another generation that did not know the Lord but they worshipped Ashtoreth and all of the gods of the land." You began to see a decline in the worship of God.

And then as you're moving through the book of Judges, you come to the book of Ruth which God is pretty smart in putting Ruth before first Samuel. Because in the book of Ruth, it is a bridge between apostasy and God's exhortation as God is looking for a man to lead the nation but there was no such a man. When you turn to the book of first Samuel, you have a woman that is married to a man by the name of Elkanah. He already has a wife. This is his second wife.

And the first wife of Elkanah was blessed by God of having children and being fruitful. And yet for the other woman that was married to Elkanah was a woman that could not have children. She was barren. She was really frustrated. She didn't know what to do. And then all of a sudden in first Samuel chapter one, she is on her way to the house of the Lord yearly. They would go down to Shiloh to worship the Lord on the Passover and then of course first fruits and Tabernacles.

And as they were on their way to worship God, they were in the house of the Lord and Hannah happened to go outside of the house of the Lord in the courtyard and she was literally speaking in a small still voice within her and the priest Eli was behind her thinking that she was drunk. And as he found out that she wasn't drunk, she said, "Eli, the reason that I'm out here and I'm praying to the Lord is because I've been a barren woman and a barren woman in Israel was a curse before God not to have children. And I've been begging God to give me a child."

The Lord spoke to the priest and said, "By this time next year you will have a child." They went home after worshipping God a year later, Samuel was born. What's interesting about Samuel, Samuel's name means in Hebrew 'asked of God'. She prayed and she asked and God answered her prayer. A lot of times even today, if a woman can't have a child or even if they can have children, a lot of times we idolize our children. And we idolize our grandchildren and there are also neglects in the home to children where parents are frustrated and hate their children.

It's really important that we look at the scripture and what God says in the word of God because as Hannah had this baby and she weaned him for about six months. After he was weaned, a year later, she took that son that God gave to her and took him down to the temple and dropped him off for the rest of his life to be in the house of the Lord.

As Samuel is in the house of the Lord, we see that his mother is not really worshipping her son but she really is interested in what God intends to do. It was a time where God needed a man and she became the woman that gave up that man for the Lord. As Samuel began to grow, he was at the age of 12 years old when in the Jewish culture they would become men. And he was in the house of the Lord in chapter three and he was sweeping the courtyard and all of a sudden throughout the day as he was cleaning and kind of walking around the house of the Lord, it came time to go to bed and lights were going out. That he went to his bed.

And there lying upon his bed, all of a sudden he heard a small still voice say, "Samuel." And he thought that Eli the priest was calling upon him so he got up. As any child would and he went over to Eli and said, "Sir, did you call me?" He said, "No, I didn't call you. Time to go to sleep, Samuel. You're hearing things." So he went back to bed. As he lay there and he began to go into a sound sleep, the voice came again, a second time. And he got up and he went over to Eli and Eli was already asleep and woke him up and said, "Excuse me sir, did you call me?" "No, Samuel. I never called you. Go to bed."

He went back to bed the third time. He went to sleep almost and the voice came one more time. He got up and he went over to Eli. "Are you sure you're not calling me sir?" "No. Go back to bed and sleep. No." Eli said this, "Samuel, the next time you hear the voice say, 'Here I am, speak Lord'." Eli recognized something supernatural. What's amazing about the story number one is Eli was not a spiritual man. He was the priest. He neglected his house. He neglected the house of God.

And now for the first time in a long, long time, he gets discernment and he says to Samuel, "Go back and the next time say, 'Lord, here I am speak'." As he went back to bed and he lay down and started to go to sleep, the voice came again and said, "Samuel." He said, "Lord, speak to me. Your servant heareth." And the Lord came to Samuel and he spoke to him and he gave him a message. He got up the next morning and Eli was waiting outside and he wanted to wait to Eli. Eli was waiting for Samuel to come and Eli as he saw Samuel in the courtyard he said, "Hey Samuel, what did the Lord tell you last night? Tell me. If you don't tell me the truth, may God curse you."

He says, "Okay, I'm going to tell you what God told me. God told me last night that he's going to judge your house and he's going to kill your two sons." What? You've got to be kidding me. He's going to kill my two sons? Yes. He's going to kill your two sons number one because you've been a poor disciplinarian father. You don't bring discipline to your house. You don't teach your children the word of God.

As his sons went out to the battle to fight against the Philistines, the Philistines came and they killed both of Eli's sons. A runner came back and said, "Eli, Eli, Eli, you're not going to believe what happened. Both of your sons are dead." It didn't bother him but when he heard the third thing, it bothered him. He said, "And the actual ark of the covenant was taken by the Philistines." And Eli being a heavy man, he fell backwards, broke his neck and he died. It was a done deal. God got his man.

It's really important that we understand that these things are written for our examples. God means what he says and he will judge. God always gives a space of time for people to repent and to really come to contrition in their hearts.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Check out somebodylovesyou.com for an abundance of resources to grow your faith and instruct you in God's ways. You can also join Raul for straight talk on the Somebody Loves You Worldwide YouTube channel every Tuesday at 10 a.m. West Coast time. Let's continue now with the conclusion of our study, Godly Fathers Wanted In The Last Days.

Raul Ries: And I think that today as we look at the story of first Samuel chapter three verses 11 through 18, let me read it to you where it says again, "Then the Lord said to Samuel, behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house from the beginning to end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity, the sin which he knows because his sons made themselves vile and he did not discipline them. He did not restrain them.

And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifices or offerings forever." So Samuel lay down until the morning, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. And Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel my son." He answered, "Here am I." And he said, "What is the word of the Lord that he spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me and all the things that he said to you."

And then Samuel told him everything and did not hide anything from him. And he said, "It is the Lord. Let him do whatever seems good to him." I think it's really important for fathers to relate to the story before us this morning. If you're not the leader and the head of your home, something is wrong. All the way through the Proverbs, especially chapter five, six, seven, eight, the Proverbs speak, Solomon having great experience as a father having sons, speaking and giving instruction as a father to his children concerning women, concerning temptation, concerning being not lazy and working.

And how to treat people and how to treat your mother and how to treat your father. But the father and mother have to be the example in the home to their children. And I wonder how many today here are not spiritual leaders in their homes. You say, "Well, what do you mean by that?" Well, what I mean by that is you take the headship of your home which means you start in the morning with prayer and the word of God. And when you go to work in the day, you have integrity. You don't play around with women. You don't steal from your employer. You don't waste time.

You do what's right and godly. It's really important to understand that there are going to be difficulties and there are going to be times of trouble. And the only way to maintain a marriage, the only way to maintain a family life and even to maintain your job in the world is to know God intimately and to have the mind of Christ Jesus so when the problem comes, he gives you the solution to your problems through the word of God.

How sad it is to see so many parents failing in the role that God has given to them. God says in His word that the father is to be the head of his family. In Exodus 6:14, he's to be the head of what? Of the wife. The reason that women take the headship is because there are wimpy, wimpy men. And women lose respect for wimpy men. So they've got to take the charge. But if you take the headship and you're a real man of God and you're not abusing or misusing your power as a father, then your children and your wife will bless you and they'll love you and they'll respect you. Otherwise there is no respect.

A father also must love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. Your kids are watching. A father has to be the supervisor of religious observances. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and every single Sunday and every single day, time spent with God in worship coming home from work, not turning on the television and sitting there but communicating. "What did you do today? What's going on today?" Sitting down as a family and worshipping as a family and having a godly home. Supervising what your kids are watching in the internet. You're the parent. They're not. They're the children.

When they're 18 years old and leave your house, they can do whatever they want to do. They're adults. But God has loaned you those children for 18 years to build character in them, godly character. For you to be that example, fathers. Christ is the model to the church. He is the son, the true son of God. He's the one that set up the word of God so that we can not only learn but we can study and become godly men among a godly nation.

Remember what Paul said in Ephesians 6:4? He says, "And you fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." Training them. That means spending time with them. Teaching them God's word, the stories of the old and the new, all of the situations in the Bible. In the book of Deuteronomy 6:4, he says, "Hear, oh Israel, the Lord God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.

You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you're sitting in your house." Number one. Number two, "you shall talk to them when you sit down in the house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, when you get up. You shall bind them as a sign in your hand and then you shall put them as frontlets between your eyes and you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." There should be scripture all over the house. When they go to the bathroom, when they go to the kitchen, when they go into their bedrooms, the scriptures are there. Why? To remind them who God is, who rules. Why? They'll do the same thing to their children because they're being brought up in the ways of the Lord.

Many times parents are expecting the church to take care of their children but God has called you to take care of your own children. You're the primary factor, not the church. When they come here to go to Sunday school, they already should have the foundations of the faith because you fathers have taken the time to teach your children. So important today and the days that we're living in today. These are evil, evil days, I'm telling you, like never before and the Lord is coming soon.

God established the model in Genesis 2:18 all the way down through verse 25 with Adam and Eve. And yet today we have an agenda with the homosexual community and with the lesbian community where they're trying to change your children that hey, the Bible doesn't speak against homosexuality and against lesbianism. It's just natural. No. You're not born like that. You make choices. So important. Kids are confused today. It's really important that we understand what God says in his word.

When Paul speaking to Timothy as a spiritual father because Timothy was brought up not by his dad (he was a Greek), his grandmother and his mother gave him the word of God. And Paul took him along as a father, spiritual father and brought him along and made him a spiritual man. He says in first Timothy 4:11, "These things command, Timothy, and teach. Let no one despise your youth. Be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in the way you live, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

He says, "Until I come, give attention to reading the Bible, exhortation, doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you which was given to you by prophecy in the laying of hands in the eldership. Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who are listening to you, your friends." They'll see the example why? Because your parents are teaching you.

Guest (Male): It is so good to know that in spite of our parenting mistakes, God can still work through us to direct our kids into spiritual faithfulness and eternal purpose. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. If you'd like to get a copy of today's lesson in its complete form, just call us at 800-634-9165 and for a donation of $5 or more, we'll send a copy of our study, Godly Fathers Wanted In The Last Days.

Now as you start fresh with your children, we'd like to tell you about Raul's study for Christian fathers featuring today's lesson as well as five more. It's available on CD or thumb drive. Further challenging you to seek God's kingdom first, this resource will help you reset your priorities and inspire you to set a strong example of faith for your children. To order Raul's six lesson father's series, visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165. We'll send you the CD collection for a donation of $19 or if you prefer the flash drive for just $10.

The phone number again is 800-634-9165. Or write to Somebody Loves You Radio, Post Office Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765. We've developed a resource that can be a guide in helping you grow as a Christian. It's our Somebody Loves You app. Whether you have an iPhone or Android, this free app will introduce you to in-depth digital Bible studies on a variety of topics. You can find this resource when you visit somebodylovesyou.com and click on the mobile app link at the top of the page.

This is a listener-supported ministry and we are grateful for every tax-deductible gift. Every one keeps us sharing the good news of Jesus with the world. Next time we'll continue our focus on Christian fatherhood and we hope you'll join us. You'll get encouragement to stay transparent with your kids, setting a consistent example of integrity and faith. Here's Raul with a final word.

Raul Ries: Fathers, you have a great, great big job to do. You're responsible, not the church. It's your job. To love your wife. Not to be playing around with somebody else's wife or some young girl. It's really important that when you come home, you're a real husband, you're a real father. And that you stand for righteousness and that you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.

It's really important that we keep to the word of God especially in these last days where we're heading. That things are trying to change not only the Constitution of the United States, they're trying to change the word of God. But the word of God remains and abides forever. It is the truth. I would encourage you and I would exhort every father here today to take heed and listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you today.

And that you would make a choice today to change your heart, to change your life. And if you've been blowing it, you can start this very day a brand new life in Jesus Christ. And you can go home today and apologize and repent before God and before your family and let them know that you have failed but for me and my house now we're gonna serve the Lord. I am falling in love with You. This program is sponsored by Somebody Loves You Radio in Diamond Bar, California. Throughout the week you can find more of Raul's teachings online at somebodylovesyou.com. Thank you for listening. Amen.