The Pressure of Biblical Manhood

Intro

Pressure.

Tonight, I want us to begin by taking this word, and doing two things with it.

First i want us to define it.

Websters defines pressure as:

a: the burden of physical or mental distress

b: the constraint of circumstance : the weight of social or economic imposition

Basically, pressure is created when there are high expectations placed on us. Sometimes good, and sometimes bad.

Now, I want us to acknowledge that every one of us is experiencing pressure in our lives.

What does that mean?

Let me prepare you, many across our world, our nation, and even our community will disagree with what i’m about to show you. They ignore the teaching of the Bible and want to suggest that we’re all the same in every way. However, the Bible says otherwise.

The Lord has specifically and intentionally created both men and women for a purpose.

Those roles are of equal value, but different in scope.

As Men, we bear a different type of pressure than woman.

We are taught from a young age that we are to be tough, that we don’t cry, that when we face adversity we just put our heads down and keep working to make it through.

And while all these principles have their time and place, i look around and I see men trying to do what they’re supposed to do, but they feel empty. Why?

Well, let’s look to the perfect example of what a Man of God is supposed to look like.

Jesus’s Pressure

In Luke 4, We see Jesus right after He was Baptized.

The Bible says that He was “Full of the Holy Spirit”.

Some of you have felt this before. When we get saved or when we have a powerful encounter with the Lord we get excited! We feel indestructible, like we can run through a brick wall! Well at the beginning of Chapter 4, this is how the Bible describes Jesus.

And in the same way that it happens in our lives, things seemingly start to fall apart. The Lord goes out into the world, ready to do great things for the kingdom! and is immediately met with opposition. Satan himself meets Jesus in this place and begins to tempt him with things that seem good.

Jesus has to go through a season when every where He turns He is being tempted with things that are wants, not needs. The bread offered by the enemy wasn’t what Jesus needed. Nor the authority or even the rescue.

So what do we do when we face stuff in our lives? We go home, right? That’s a safe place to be.

Jesus goes home and goes into the local church to preach. He reads from the book of Isaiah and tells the people that He is the Son of God. Luke tells us that

Luke 4:28–30 ESV

28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.

Jesus’ example

These days of Jesus’ life were like a roller coaster. The valleys were deep, and the peaks were high. Jesus goes on to cast out demons, and heal people.

This brings us to the verses that i want us to consider tonight. Let’s look at verses 38-44 together. This is after he cleanse a man of a demon.

Luke 4:38–44 ESV

38 And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them. 40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. 42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

The Pressure that we feel in our lives on a daily basis is much like that of Jesus. We face extremely high expectations, and often feel underprepared to face them.

As Men of God, the enemy will try to place things in our paths that are good, but not good for us. Things that have purpose, but don’t fit into God’s purpose for our lives.

Exegesis

We know a few things right away by reading this passage.

Jesus went there to heal Simon’s mother-in-law.

When all the people heard that He was there, they ran to the house where He was and wanted the same thing for themselves or their families.

Verse 40 tells us that this happened as the sun was setting, and He ended when the sun rose the next morning. So He was up all night long.

Even though the people wanted more from Him, He knew it was time to leave.

As men of God, we will have a ton of opportunities to do things. There will always be more work to be done, more places to go, more people wanting your attention.

The key to Biblical Manhood

is setting and following the priorities found in God’s word.

I’ve found that by setting God as #1, my wife as #2, and my Children as #3 then everything else falls into place.

But Matt, i’m still in school, i’m not married, and i definitely don’t have kids?! this doesn’t apply to me.

You are right, but Let me ask you a question.

If I build this big house, with all of these nice things in it. Tv’s, expensive Furniture, video games. Is it smart to wait until the rain comes to build the roof? NO!

We must begin thinking now about how we want our lives to fulfill God’s purposes, or else other things will sneak in and begin applying pressure.

Our sports will begin to take priority

Our Education will begin to take priority

Our Careers will begin to take priority

Our money will begin to take priority

Hear me when I say that these are not BAD things, but they’re not the priority. These are all things that must fall into line after what the Bible lists as PRIMARY.

So let’s go to Battle as Men of God,

Let’s:

Fight the pressure to forget your Faith

This is #1. If you are a faithful Disciple everything else will fall in line

It is easy to put pretty much everything else in front of God.

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Fight the pressure to forget your Wife

Pray for your wife now! Even if you haven’t met her yet

When you’re dating now, think about your future wife. Follow the guidance of the Bible in how you treat her, and in how the two of you interact with each other. and ask yourself, if this person doesn’t turn out to be my wife, am I dishonoring her in how I am conducting myself in this relationship. How precious it will be if you are able to look at your wife one day and say, I love you so much that I have waited for you. I have prayed for your family, for your well being, and for your relationship with God.

Expand on the Marriage Relationship as the most important on earth! even above children

Ephesians 5:25 ESV

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

Fight the Pressure to forget your Family

Pray for your Kids now! Even though they haven’t been born yet.

Think about the Testimony that you are leaving for your kids to follow.

My boys want to be just like me. They want to work with me, they want to talk like me, they want to be just like their Daddy.

I dread the day that they start hearing about the dumb things their daddy did when he was young. Having to explain why i made the mistakes that i made, and why i made the decisions that i made.

Ask yourselves the question, “do i want my kids to live the life i’m living now?”

Fight for your Kid’s now, by Praying for them and by being what you want them to be.

Deuteronomy 6:6–7 ESV

6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Conclusion

Are we Men of God? or boys of this world?

One thinks about “Me” and “Now”

The other thinks about God’s Will and Purpose for his life.

Which are you?