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If there has been one common theme that goes back to relationship challenges and conflicts, it tends to be the relationships between the fathers and their children. John Woodall delivers this message from http://www.northpoint.org/messages. John became a father on 7/7/77 at 7:43. By the time he was 23, he was the father of four children. These children are now grown and married and he just found out that his children are expecting his grandchildren in July October & December. He's enjoyed being a dad, but it didn't come without God's guidance. Twenty seven years ago, an older guy (mid-50s) came alongside John and said, "Woodall, as a father you can only do so much: 1) You can teach your kids consistently 2) You can model for them authentically 3) You can pray for them unceasingly. TEACH, MODEL, PRAY. We are already teaching just because of our position as fathers, but the question becomes, "What will we teach them?" about 1400 BC, Moses is nearing the end of his life after having led the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses, before he takes the people into the Promised Land, gathers them together and says, from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." He was saying that, first and foremost, we should start with our relationship with God. It is not a religion, but a relationship. But interestingly, in verse 6, he says that the words of the Bible should be ingrained in the very fabric of our being. Our Bible is a frame of reference for the world. It is a template to understand; 1) that there is a God. 2) that commands of God were created on purpose for a Purpose. God needs us and calls us for a purpose. John reflects, "If I had to do this all over again, I would load up on the amount of time I spent in the first decade of the lives of my children." The belief system of kids is generally established before they are 10. But after 10, they start to move away. Kids begin moving from dependence on us to dependence on God or dependence on other things, if not God. During this era, pour Truth into them. But in teaching your children this, remember that we have to authentically model this for them too. They watch us. In verse 7, Moses says to "teach them diligently...when you sit at home ...when you walk this way ... when you lie down...when you rise up." So, talk about God consistently. Teach them how to hear and what to look for. Show them God at work. Model it authentically. What your kids see is more important than what you are teaching them. Looking back on his own life, John talks about his dad, who at the age of 40, became a Christian. John was 12 at the time and he remembers walking into his parent's room and finding them on their knees praying. When he was 14, as his Dad was growing, he gathered the family around and said, "I feel like I have failed you as a dad". Watching his 6'5'' father asking for their forgiveness had a distinct impression. Remembering having respect for his dad, he now readily will be transparent with his family. Years ago, in Florida, his dad asked John if he wanted to go with him to Death Row in prison. As they walked down the Hall, they came to the cell of Ted Bundy, the mass murderer!! His dad leaned against the bars and asked if Ted knew where he was going if he died. John will never forget that conversation and how awesome it was to witness this model from his Dad. He watched his dad humble himself, love his mother, witness on Death Row and pray. Years ago, a man came to John and said, "Can you say to your children, 'Live like I do with NO exceptions'"? In other words, do you have exceptions to following Christ, like "except for my anger" or "except for my looking at other women"? The third area of responsible fatherhood is to pray without ceasing. John then talks about how he would gather the children around and ask them to pray for the family member to the right, to pray for friends, to pray for their school and to pray for others. But at the age of 14, one of John's children, his son, began running with the wrong crowd, drinking and using drugs. John said it was during this time that he realized that, sometimes A + B + C does not always equal D. We can follow steps, obey rules, take counsel and do what we think are all the right things, but it doesn't always produce the results we expect. Steven was 17 or 18 years old and rebelling hard. John had their son with drug counselors, probation officers and he knew the names of all the judges. One day, when he was listening to a series called, "When A Child Breaks Your Heart", he went to his son and said, "Steven, this isn't a Christian versus a non-Christian thing. It is a legal versus an illegal thing. If you want to break the law in our house, you'll have to move out. The choice is yours." Steven said, "Honestly Dad, I've got more running to do." Immediately afterwards, he packed his bags, got in the car and left. John and his wife held each other and cried as he left. John came downstairs the next morning to read the Bible, but he felt so lost and felt as though there was no use in praying at all. But he ran across the this verse; Colossians 4:2, " Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving". He felt like God had shown up and was saying to be thankful and watchful for answers to his prayers. Four months later, Steven called up and said, "Dad, I am so messed up. Can I come home?" John said, "Not yet, but let's meet at IHOP." At their breakfast, Steven starts telling him a story that happened at the beach. He was in a stairwell drinking a beer with a buddy and God showed up!!! The thought fired into his head, "THIS IS NOT YOU." Everything in John wanted to come across the breakfast table and say, "Welcome Home!!" It wasn't judgement or scolding in his thoughts, it was thanksgiving to God. Over the last 8 years, Steven gravitated back to who it seems God truly wants him to be, he is now married and he is having a child with his wife soon. John shifts gears by saying that there is now trouble in our land (America). Families are disintegrating and values are shattering. He absolutely believes that if men would step up to their calls as fathers and TEACH, MODEL and PRAY for their children, this country could change. The world needs fathers who bear the image of God! It seems like yesterday when his daughter was just a baby to him and yet, last year she was married in a castle in Slovakia. Time goes quickly. Implicitly, it is our jobs to be men of God. This was an excellent message!!