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Welcome to the Raising Up Fathers Podcast. We are here to champion men to thrive in their four main roles: son, husband, father, and brother.
Through testimonies and best practices. Our goal is to help you look a little more like Jesus in the areas that matter the most. Our vision is to raise up ten thousand fathers in the name of Jesus. You can find out more at raisingupfathers.com
If what you heard today encouraged you, please share it with a friend.
Welcome to the Raising Up Fathers podcast.
Speaker 2:We are here to champion men to thrive in their four main roles as son, husband, father, and brother. Through testimonies and best practices, our goal is to help you look a little bit more like Jesus in the areas that matter the most. Our vision is to raise up 10,000 fathers in the name of Jesus. You can find out more at raisingupfathers.com.
Speaker 1:So I was talking to my good friend, doctor Thomas Bohum, today about 10,000 fathers and my need for godly brothers. I love talking to Thomas because every time we chat, I leave inspired and encouraged to be more like Jesus. And I've been on this topic for quite a while now, mainly baffled that it took me this long in life to figure out that building my band of brothers is such a vital part of me being a man of God. Surrounding myself with godly brothers has impacted every area of my life, specifically my faith, my fatherhood, and my marriage. I was in the gym yesterday, and I popped on a sermon by the late great Tim Keller, and it was called friends, what good are they?
Speaker 1:As I listened to Tim talk about friendships and the role that it plays in our faith, I was stirred up. I highly encourage you to find that sermon, to listen to it. I'm sure you can find it wherever you get your podcast. It's called Friends, What Good Are They? But it led me on this rant that you guys are about to hear, and I hope that this encourages you.
Speaker 1:You see, we are men of God. And what do men do? Men initiate. Men build, men engage. And men of God know that these actions initiating, building, engaging they must come from a foundation of their focus on the four main roles.
Speaker 1:This focus is their top priority, full stop. Let's talk about sonship, our relationship as son to father god, knowing that we are beloved by a good and perfect father who loves us no matter what. He's not disappointed in us, there's no shame, guilt, condemnation. It's whenever I look in the mirror, I know that I have tremendous worth and value. It's truly believing, deep in my bones, that I was made on purpose for a purpose, that I have a call, that I have a vision.
Speaker 1:It's my joy to lead, to cultivate, to impact the world in the name of Jesus. I have a part to play. And this father son relationship, it centers us on the most important relationship found on earth, and that is family. You see, family, it's God's cure for loneliness. It's his plan.
Speaker 1:It's his vehicle for transformation, And we've got a crucial part to play in this plan. Being a husband to a thriving wife. It's seeing the light shine in her eyes. It is cultivating the environment so she can flourish to be all that God has created her to be. She is filled with laughter, with joy.
Speaker 1:When we are old, we want our wives to say 'Marrying this man was the best decision of my life'. We are talking about being an intentional, faithful father a man that is a priest, a provider, a pursuer, a protector of his home one that is slow to anger, quick to listen and is filled with grace and unconditional love to man of peace, of patience, of gentleness, but of strength. That's right, this is not a weak man, but instead one who musters up the courage and faith to emulate Jesus in all areas of his life. This man rages against complacency, against laziness and fights for the hearts of his children. He carves out time he makes them a priority.
Speaker 1:This father is the one his sons want to be like and it is the example of the man that his daughter will want to marry. But this man of God must also have the wisdom to know that he cannot do these things alone. He must be aware of the fact that this world distracts us and sends up temptations to get our priorities upside down, which brings me to the fourth role, that of brother, the role that makes all other roles possible. We need brothers to help us in our sonship, in our husbanding and in our fathering. We cannot become the mature man God has called us to be alone.
Speaker 1:You see, it is in isolation that men wither as their wives and their children's hearts cry out for more. The self reliant man is a dead man. So is the one too proud to confess weakness or ask for help Because the enemy loves a man who has no need for God or others, as that's one less man for him to worry about. Our vision is to raise up 10,000 fathers. We do that by focusing on the four main roles: son, husband, father, brother.
Speaker 1:And this might be blunt, but men, it is up to you. Rise up, man of God! Overcome fear and initiate with your brothers. Build the band of brothers that can carry you to heights you could never achieve on your own. Engage in the lost art of friendship, tossing to the side the unnecessary to carve out time to be with one another.
Speaker 1:For it is not good for man to be alone. Guys, trust me. You don't wanna be the 75 year old who doesn't have any friends, who just watches TV all day and talks about what medications he's on. The time of looking for others to feed you is over. Men, let us gird our loins and do the hard work necessary to get what we need to become the best versions of ourselves.
Speaker 1:This isn't gonna happen by accident. We have to act. Because following Jesus in this crazy world is hard. A healthy marriage where your wife feels pursued and championed is ridiculously difficult. And being a good father when you're tired and stressed, well, that ain't means either.
Speaker 1:There is a reason there are so few older men who look like Jesus. The enemy has taken most of them out. Because in this world, you will have trouble, but take heart, my friend, WE we fix our eyes on the One who has overcome the world and we surround ourselves with brothers who will help us do that. And may I believe in you. It is my deepest desire for you to see yourself how God sees you, as a beloved man of God called to lead his family into this greatest joy and that is more of Him.
Speaker 1:Because he who called you is faithful. He will surely do it. You were not placed in this role by accident. I want you to become all that God has for you to be, and I want you flanked on both sides by godly men who will champion you day and night, who will pick you up when you fall down, who will encourage you when you don't think you can make it. So my challenge is go find the guys who will make you better, the ones who have something that you want, the men who inspire you, who challenge you, who ask the necessary questions that most are too scared to ask.
Speaker 1:These men are rare. They are in demand. They are on a mission and don't have a lot of free time, but they are out there. You just gotta find them. They are worth pursuing.
Speaker 1:Those iron sharpens iron relationships. They're hard to come by. They don't happen by happenstance nor do they happen overnight, but you can start forming your band of brothers today. So my encouragement, set up that coffee or lunch meeting. For God's sake, get outside and do something fun.
Speaker 1:Call up a friend or two. And if you don't have any friends, now is a great time to make finding one or two a top priority. If you need some help in that area, you know where to find us. We can help. But make time to be with one another, mustering up the courage to break through the surface level conversations, to boldly share your heart.
Speaker 1:Guys, talk about faith, marriage, and fathering talk about the things that matter. Trust me, the investment will pay off dearly as time passes on, and you will be better for it. It will no doubt positively impact your role as son, husband, and father because you are a man of God. You initiate. You build.
Speaker 1:You engage not for your sake, but for your God and for your family. You can do this. So go do what you were made to do today.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for tuning in to the Raising Up Fathers podcast. Be sure to grab a friend or two and sign up for next year's summit. If this podcast encouraged you today, please share it with a friend. To learn more about 10,000 fathers, visit our website at raisingupfathers.com. Thank you.