Two Fathers: Embracing Earthly and Heavenly Fatherhood

The testimony of a bad earthly father becomes living proof that good things can still come out of bad people. The earthly father may give work, survival, a roof, food, and clothes, but the heavenly Father gives what makes a life spiritually successful. The earthly father has limits, and the heavenly Father picks up what the earthly father cannot do.

A father’s first obligation is to train the children by the way he loves their mother. The children are to eyewitness honor in the house. The dad is to show that the lady of the house comes first, deserves respect, and must not be treated like she is beneath anybody. The failure there trains disrespect, and that disrespect follows children into marriage until nothing works.

Father’s Day becomes the only day of the year when two fathers can be celebrated on the same day. The earthly father may be good or bad, present or gone, but he gave the chance to live. The heavenly Father must be received, because without the heavenly Father there is no heaven. The earthly father brought a child into this world, but the heavenly Father can take that soul out of this world.

God the Father gives the Son. The Son gives his life. The Holy Spirit gives comfort until heaven. The Christian life ought not ignore any part of the Godhead, because heaven has put friendliness inside God’s people, and that ought to make people acknowledge one another instead of walking by like somebody is a ghost.

John 14 makes the way plain. The Father’s house has many mansions, and Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Church background, Christian school, or family religion cannot replace receiving the heavenly Father through the Son. Ephesians 6 calls children to obey and honor father and mother, and it calls fathers not to provoke children to wrath but to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

The earthly father can give life, but the heavenly Father gives eternal life. The earthly father can help provide a house on the earth, but the heavenly Father gives a home in heaven. A house with all the whistles and horns is still just a house until God turns it into a home. Fathers must train children in prayer, work, honor, and the old paths, because a child may not understand it all yet, but training puts heaven in the middle of everyday life.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Two fathers are not the same An earthly father can give a child a start, but only the heavenly Father can give that child a destination beyond this world. That difference does not excuse bitterness against a bad father, but it does expose the limit of flesh and blood. The soul needs more than survival, a job, and a roof; the soul needs the Father who can bring it home. [35:42]
• 2. Honor for mother trains children A father’s love for the mother becomes a child’s first lesson in what honor looks like. Disrespect does not usually begin in a wedding, it begins when a child watches a man diminish the lady of the house. A father trains more by what he allows in the home than by what he says after the damage is done. [33:26]
• 3. No heavenly Father, no home A house can have money in it, furniture in it, and all the whistles and horns, and still not be a home. The heavenly Father brings peace, order, and a taste of heaven into the place where people live. Prosperity without God can become nothing more than a garage full of stuff. [49:39]
• 4. Training starts before understanding A child may not know all the doctrine behind prayer at the table or prayer in the car, but the child learns that life is not handled without God. That kind of training puts holy habits into ordinary moments before the child can explain them. The goal is not religious show, but a life that instinctively turns toward the Father. [54:07]
• 5. Old paths still prove faithful The old ways are not old because they failed; many of them are old because they have been proven. Work, prayer, honor, and submission may not look flashy, but they build a life that can stand. The heavenly Father can turn “nothing” into something when a person gives it to God. [52:48]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [31:42] - Two Fathers on Father’s Day
• [33:26] - A Father’s Obligation to Mother
• [35:42] - Choosing the Heavenly Father
• [37:14] - Acknowledging Father, Son, and Spirit
• [39:50] - Earthly Limits and Heavenly Help
• [41:19] - Celebrating Earthly and Heavenly Fathers
• [46:05] - No Way to the Father but Christ
• [47:04] - Ephesians 6 and Family Order
• [48:12] - Life, Eternal Life, and Abundance
• [49:39] - From House to Heavenly Home
• [51:40] - Training Children to Prosper
• [54:07] - Prayer at the Table and in the Car
• [56:32] - Invitation to Pray

Bible Reading
Ephesians 6:1-4 (ESV)
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

John 14:1-6 (ESV)
1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

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Observation Questions

1. According to Ephesians 6:4, what specific instruction is given to fathers about raising children? How does this contrast with provoking them to anger?
2. In John 14:6, Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” What does this imply about the relationship between earthly fathers and the heavenly Father?
3. The sermon emphasized that a father’s treatment of the mother trains children in honor or disrespect [33:26]. What practical examples were given of how a father models honor in the home?
4. How does the sermon contrast a “house” with a “home” in relation to the heavenly Father’s role [49:39]?

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Interpretation Questions

1. Why does Paul connect honoring parents with the promise of “living long in the land” (Ephesians 6:2-3)? How might this principle apply spiritually, not just physically?
2. Jesus says, “In my Father’s house are many rooms” (John 14:2). How does this imagery address the limitations of earthly fathers mentioned in the sermon [35:42]?
3. The sermon states, “A house with all the whistles and horns is still just a house until God turns it into a home” [49:39]. What does this reveal about the difference between material provision and spiritual transformation?
4. How does the idea of “training starts before understanding” (e.g., prayer habits) align with Proverbs 22:6’s call to “train up a child in the way he should go” [54:07]?

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Application Questions

1. Reflect on how your own father (or father figure) modeled honor toward your mother or other women. What specific behaviors or attitudes do you want to emulate or avoid in your relationships?
2. The sermon highlights integrating prayer into daily routines (e.g., meals, car rides) to instill holy habits in children [54:07]. What is one practical way you could incorporate intentional spiritual practices into your family’s ordinary moments?
3. How have you seen “prosperity without God” become “a garage full of stuff” in your life or community [49:39]? What step could you take this week to prioritize eternal values over material accumulation?
4. If honoring parents is tied to spiritual well-being (Ephesians 6:2-3), how might forgiveness or reconciliation with an imperfect earthly father free you to embrace the heavenly Father more fully?
5. The sermon challenges believers to acknowledge others as “brother” or “sister” in everyday life [38:13]. How could you intentionally reflect the “friendliness of heaven” in your interactions this week, even with strangers?