Fathers' Day Sermon

1. The X-Factor
for Godly
Fathers
Psalms 127:1-5

3. Children remember
your presence
more than your
presents.

4. The X-factor for
godly fathers is
the presence of
our Heavenly
Father.

5. Psalms 127:1-2
1Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To
retire late, To eat the bread of
painful labors; For He gives to His
beloved even in his sleep.

6. Psalm 127:3-5
3 Behold, children are a gift of the
LORD; The fruit of the womb is a
reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a
warrior, So are the children of one's
youth.
5 How blessed is the man whose
quiver is full of them; They shall
not be ashamed, When they speak
with their enemies in the gate.

7. There are two metaphors in verse 1
The metaphor of
builders building a
house refers to all our
efforts to build a secure
future for our family and
ourselves.
 We call this efforts for
“Provision”

8. There are two metaphors in verse 1
The metaphor of
watchmen guarding
the city refers to all our
efforts to bring security
and peace of mind in our
existence.
We call this, efforts of
“Protection”

9. Provision and
Protection are the basic
needs of our families.
 The context of Psalm 127
implies that these activities
are the activities of a loving
FATHER.

10. God knows these basic
needs and He is concerned
with it.
 The context of Psalm 127
shows God’s active
participation in these
needs because He is our
loving FATHER.

11. Verse two speaks of the natural
way of reaching our aspirations.
3It is vain for you to rise up
early, To retire late, To eat
the bread of painful labors;
For He gives to His beloved
even in his sleep.
 As FATHERS, we try our
very best to bring provision
and protection for our families

12. Summary of verses one
and two.
The metaphors of verse one and the
natural way of reaching our aspirations
in verse two can be summarized in one
sentence:
“Fathers has to workhard in orderto
meet his familyneedsof provisionand
protection”

13. There are two words that
were repeated in verses one
and two
1. Unless (2x) – if not,
except, but for, with
out.
2. In vain (3x) – useless,
worthless, valueless

14. Implication of Verses 1 & 2
We see that God as a loving Father
who is so concerned with our family
needs. He wants to play a central part
in providing these needs for His glory.
The writer of Psalms 127clearly
declares that without God, all our
endeavors are pointless, useless,
worthless.

15. Gallery of Fathers who
missed the the X-factor:
 Ferdinand E. Marcos
 Benigno Aquino Sr (?)
 Your neighbor who is
preoccupied with earthly
goods but neglects God.

16. Summary
Fathers can’t succeed by
their own strength alone!
Their skills aren’t enough.
The X-factor is not
fathers’ skills, aptitudes,
industries, and abilities.
These are important
ingredients but they are
not enough.

17. Summary
It is very important for us to
remember:
“As fathers, we shall
not succeed by our
strength alone!”
We need to seek first the
face of God before God’s
hand will work for us!

18. Psalm 127:3-5
3Behold, children are a gift of the
LORD; The fruit of the womb is a
reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one's youth.
5 How blessed is the man whose
quiver is full of them; They shall not be
ashamed, When they speak with their
enemies in the gate.

19. Verses 3 to 5 serve as chorus of Ps 127.
Behold – means observe, watch
closely, consider, regard, look
intently to gain understanding
Gift – something acquired
without payment. Something of
value received freely
Reward – a recompense of
worthy acts. Something we
received as a result of a task
well-done

20. Key to Success
Notice very carefully that success
is both God’s gift and God’s reward.
On one hand, God gives it as a gift.
He enables us to succeed— while we
are metaphorically speaking —
asleep. These are the blessings are
beyond our ability to achieve even if
we exhaust all our strength with
hard work. We do not deserve these
things. On the other hand, He
rewards those who earnestly seek
him with success.

21. Gallery of Fathers With X Factor
Joseph the Dreamer –
God is with Joseph
Joseph the Carpenter
– He mentored Jesus
our Savior

22. Gallery of fathers who has the X-
factor:
 Think of all the pastors of VCC that
had fallen asleep in the Lord… they
have had the X-factor!
 Our pastors who are preoccupied
God’s kingdom without neglecting
their love ones.
 Your father who is not perfect but
nevertheless is being perfected by
God.

23. Summary!!!!
At the first stanza of this worship song,
the Israelites sing about the vanity of
doing things apart from God. They
proclaim that man can never succeed, in
the real essence of the word unless God is
in the project. They remind us that fathers
shall not succeed by their strength alone.
In the chorus, the focus shifted from man
to God. Now they are declaring that God is
the X-factor for fathers. God is the X-factor
of victorious fathers!

24. Conclusion
Therefore: Seek ye first the
face of God and his hands
will help you build your
house. Why? Because, man
shall not succeed by his
strength alone, but by
blessings from the hands
of God.

25. Now What? So What!
 Start with God.
– Never venture into anything without consulting our
heavenly Father. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
– Before doing anything, observe where God is at
work, then JOIN HIM! (Matthew 6:33)
– Start by surrendering to your life to God. (Romans
12:1-2)
 Stay with God
– Do things God’s way. (Galatians 5:16)
– Do things through God’s strength (Ephesians 6:10-
11)
 Finish with God
– He will finish whatever He started (Phi 1:6)
– He wants us to run and finish the race (Acts 20:24)