The Heart of A Man

Intro

Next week is father’s day

The rise of feminine equality has come at the expense of men. Instead of pulling women up, it seem we have stepped on the heart of man.

DISCUSSION

God designed men to bear his image (Gen 1:26-27)

Both men and women are uniquely designed to reflect the heart of God.

The woman—tenderness of God (Isaiah 66:13 “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; And ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”

The man—strength and fierceness of God (Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”)

C.S. Lewis on Aslan: He is not a tame lion.

“The core of a man’s heart is undomesticated and that is good.” (Elderidge, 4)

Hannibal crossed the Alps, and a boy crosses the street.

The Battle against the man’s heart

Society

gender confusion—gender neutral toys, clothes, names; some list 72 genders

On Columbine: William Pollack, director of the Center for Men at McLean Hospital said… “The boys in Littleton are the tip of the iceberg. And the iceberg is all boys.” The idea, widely held in our culture, is that the aggressive nature of boys is inherently bad, and we have to make them into something more like girls.” (Wild at Heart, 83)

lack of involved fathers—abandonment, consumed in work, consumed in their addictions

Safety first—if safety were first, we wouldn’t have stormed Normandy, the Wright brothers would have stayed in the bike shop, Columbus would not have crossed the ocean blue, and the Lord would never have gone to Calvary. Not just physical safety but emotional safety. Political correctness keeps us from saying and doing the hard things

Church

Men mostly bored with church

What man get’s excited about card ministries? What things do we do to encourage men?

The captured lion is a sad picture. Lions never do lion-like things in a zoo. They just sleep.

Men have become soft and passive today.

Like God, a man has a battle to fight.

God is a warrior (Ps 24:8; Heb 2:14; Dt 10:17)

David a warrior (1 Sam 17:45); his mighty men (2 Sam 23:8-39)

We are called to fight (1 Tim 6:12)

Like Jacob, we are to strive with God (Gen 32:24); do we strive in prayer (Rom 15:30)

Lock horns with the enemy (Eph 6:11-12)

Like God, a man has an adventure to live.

God’s adventure: searching for man (Gen 3:8)

Christianity is described as a race (Heb 12:1)

Like God, a man has a beauty to rescue.

He wants to rescue his people (Is 62:1, 5; Hos 2:14-23; Eph 5:25)

When a boy is young, the beauty is his mother and maybe a sister.

Men, our wives need to to be pursued and rescued.

Exhortation

The heart of man screams for a fight, adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.

Matthew 11:7–11

1 Corinthians 16:13 “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”

Men, let’s not be afraid to be what God made us to be