## Fathers, Don’t Lose It!

## II John 3

A lot of times folks don’t realize what they have. We have been blessed of the Lord and yet we take it for granted. It is a sad and tragic truth that many a husband has taken his wife for granted only to find out he no longer had her as a wife. Then it was too late. It is a sad and tragic truth that many parents have taken their children for granted only to discover their kids no longer want to see them. It is a sad and tragic truth that many children took for granted the love of a mom and a dad only to realize their great loss when they went on out into eternity.

Two things that I believe need to be understood are: Number one, don’t take what God has given you for granted. Number two, don’t treat what God has given you lightly. Be appreciative of it, be thankful for it and protect it. They are the blessings of God upon our life.

In the Bible there are several men that made the mistake of taking what they had too lightly. And as a result they lost them. Fathers, this is directed to you, but it is good advice for all of us.

I. The Man Who Lost His Family. cf Ge. 12:4

A. Background information.

1. Lot had so much.

2. Lot was the nephew who had the privilege of being next to this great hero of faith.

3. As a result of some friction between the workers of Abraham and the workers of Lot they realized they could no longer be in the same place.

4. Abram told Lot to chose the place that he wanted to live.

5. Lot had his eye upon a lush area toward Sodom. cf 13:12

B. His first mistake.

1. Was not working with Abram and resolving their differences properly.

2. Running away from problems always leads to complications.

3. "The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly." cf 13:13

4. We see not only Lot going to Sodom, but Sodom getting into Lot.

5. By chapter 19, the Lord sent angels to the home of Lot to tell him, Look, I’m going to destroy this place; You had better get your family and get out of here.

C. Lot begins to see the consequences of his mistakes.

1. "And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city..." (Gen 19:14a)

2. Note: He is speaking the very words of God with his mouth, but because his life did not align itself to speaking and living God, they didn’t believe him.

3. The Bible says, "...But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law."

4. They just didn’t believe him and must have concluded, "After you’ve decided to bring your family over here where it is exceedingly sinful, now you suddenly are concerned with what God says?"

5. The Bible says, "And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters, which are here: lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. "

6. The fire and the brimstone came down, and in verse 24 it says, "But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."

7. What a sad account it is for a man who took his family too lightly and as a result, he lost them all.

II. The Man Who Lost His Joy. cf Ps. 51:1-12

A. David, a man after God’s own heart.

1. Most of the Psalms were written by David.

2. Note: Psalm 16:1;7;11

3. Notice, the very same author of Psalms 16 is also the author of Psalm 51.

4. That, of course comes following the adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, the conspiracy to kill Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah the Hittite, and after the Prophet Nathan had exposed David for his sins.

B. Now he is a man with a broken heart.

1. He comes to the Lord in 51:12 and says, "God, Restore unto me the joy of my salvation;"

2. He is not saying, Lord restore unto me salvation, because salvation is a gift given forever.

3. But he is saying that he had lost the joy of his salvation.

4. There are lots of people that are going to heaven that feel like and act like they are going to Hell.

5. Here’s a man who had lost his joy.

C. Do you know why?

1. Because, he took it for granted.

2. Because he regarded the blessings of God too lightly.

3. You cannot backslide from God without moving toward sin!

4. And when that happens in the life of a Christian, you lose your joy!

III. The Man Who Lost His Testimony. Mt. 26

A. His name is Simon Peter.

1. Peter had the desire of serving the Lord, but sometimes, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

2. Peter boasted, ‘Lord, I’ll never leave you. Lord, I’ll never forsake you. Lord, I’m always going to be with you. "

3. A lot of us have made boasts in the past haven’t we?

B. Following the arrest of Jesus Peter was put to the test and failed miserably.

1. Note: Mt. 26:69

2. Peter denied that he even knew Jesus Christ.

3. When the cock crowed Peter remembered the word of Jesus.

4. In Luke’s account it says that Jesus looked at Peter.

5. Then Peter went out and wept bitterly ... he had lost his testimony.

C. We must be very protective of our testimony.

1. When we realize that something is tarnishing it, it ought to hurt us so deeply that we set about immediately to restore that testimony before the community.

2. Peter was able to regain his testimony and be mightily used of God.

3. We may be tempted to think that once we blow it we might as well forget trying to live for the Lord...but that is a lie of the devil!

4. Don’t lose your testimony, and don’t be so foolish to think that God cannot use you if you make things right.

IV. The Man Who Lost His Soul. cf Lk. 12

A. Here is man who had it all.

1. He was a successful man.

2. So successful that it was necessary to build a bigger storage barn for his great harvest.

3. He was confident that he had all that he needed to last him for many years to come.

B. He had everything, but the one thing needed most.

1. He had never taken time to prepare for eternity.

2. Perhaps he meant to do it someday, but life is so busy isn’t it?

3. "One of these days" turned out to be the next day, and he wasn’t ready.

C. Don’t fail to prepare for eternity.

1. Note: v20-21

2. Have you gotten things settled with the Lord?

3. Have you accepted Christ as your Savior? Are you born again?

4. Today is the day of salvation...we have no guarantee of tomorrow!

Fathers, Don’t lose it! Don’t lose your families. Don’t lose your joy. Don’t lose your testimony. And by all means, don’t lose your soul! Why not come to God this morning?

"Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward " 2 John 8