Kingdom Men are Needed Now More Than Ever
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· 47 viewsIn a day when masculinity is marginalized - Be a Man!
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What is the OBJECTIVE of this Sermon?
To inspire Christian Men to Follow Jesus on His terms.
What is the DESIRED RESPONSE for this Sermon?
For the men of ABC to take steps of faith in their walk with Christ.
CREATE TENSION
Me - I was reading an article the other day that gave some pretty startling information. The article was written by Dr. Mark Sherman and it is entitled...
Feminizing Boys as We Masculinize Girls - Should we try to make our sons like what our daughters used to be?
We are feminizing boys as we masculinize girls.
And in so much of what I read, there is a major message: Masculinity is a problem, so we have to re-educate our boys. (I use the term “re-educate” quite purposely because it does have negative connotations; for example, it has been used to describe what took place during the Cultural Revolution in China.) Whether the title of a piece is “The Stigma of Masculinity: Can Men Still Manly Without Feeling Ashamed?" or "How to Raise a Feminist Son" or "Re-Defining Masculinity,” the message is the same: There is something inherently wrong with boys, or at least in the way they have been raised in the past (and many are still); and we have to do something about it.
Is this true? Is there a social pressure to make masculine our girls and feminize our boys?
When I was young, my dad was really good about teaching my brothers and me about stuff. How to not be afraid to try and fix something. How to change a tire. How to swing a hammer. How to chop down a tree. How to split wood. How to hunt. How to shoot a gun. How to shoot a bow and arrow. How to gut out a dear and eat the heart! How to tie a tie. How to fish. How to shake someones hand firmly and look them in the eye. How to be assertive. How to lead. How to put in a full days work.
There is a lot more stuff my dad taught me over the years. As I was thinking about it, I was kind of astonished at HOW much he taught me!
My dad didn’t have a dad - which is all the more surprising to me on how well he did raising us boys.
However, I have noticed that there is a real shift in the culture at large today.
We - What have you witnessed? Do you see this change? Does it even matter? So what if boys are acting more like girls and girls are encouraged to act more like boys?
Is this important? Maybe you have noticed it, but the way you feel about it is outdated and archaic. Maybe we should buy into the social pressure and just let our kids decided what gender they should be?
How do we really know what it means to be masculine? How do we know what it means to be feminine? We live in a time where everyone is defining these terms on their own or coming up with new terms altogether.
How do we really know?
God - God defines these terms and these roles for us in His Word!
And so listen up!
God’s ways are not suggestions for your best life now. God’s ways are the ways of life - period.
The Creator gets to declare over His creation what is, what isn’t, what’s right, what’s wrong.
You don’t have to listen, but there is a price to pay if you ignore the LOVING God of the Bible. God’s ways are best for his children and we are wise to listen to him and follow. When we do, we may go against the culture and even our own inclinations, but we will not go against our creator. And for that there is great blessing in this life and the next.
There is no doubt that we live in a messed up time in history.
And, the church in not immune to being messed up as well. Especially when she follows the patterns of the World.
The church at Corinth was about as messed up as they come. Paul dedicated his whole letter to try and straighten them out with the wisdom and word of God! I would encourage you to read through and even study this letter.
But I’d like to draw your attention to the last chapter in this letter. In this chapter Paul is wrapping things up. Nestled in here is very strong admonition to the men of the congregation.
An admonition that makes a rather bold proclamation. One that may not be received will in our current culture where men are encourage to be ashamed of their gender, check out how Paul exhorts these church going guys...
13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.
Boom! Gentlemen, fathers, young men, boys - it looks like we have a job to accomplish as followers of Christ regardless of what the culture around us says.
These two sentences Paul writes are not an afterthought, but a powerful thought.
In a Day When Masculinity is Marginalized - Be a Man!
Christian men are to ACT unashamedly, boldly, proudly, and graciously! We are to ACT LIKE MEN!
Okay, great! But isn’t acting like a man just a social construct that encourages a polemical patriarchy so men can hold onto power and continue to subjugate women to do their bidding?
Actually, no. God, not the world says what a man should look like. And, of course God doesn’t just tell us in His Word what men are to be like, but He shows us what a man perfectly looks and acts like - Jesus is the PERFECT Man!
Now we could and should study the life of Jesus to really understand what a godly many is like. But I think it would be helpful to unpack what Paul is saying in these two verses to get a glimpse of what it means to “act like a man.”
So, let’s consider each word and see Paul’s recipe for masculinity.
1. Be an Alert Man!
To stay awake!
Illustrate - Driving home from Prince
Apply - Men, fathers especially, wake up to the world around you. It is evil and wants to destroy you and your family. So does Satan and his servants, by the way. You cannot be passive when it comes to your spiritual life or the lives of those who are under your care.
What are you doing to keep yourself awake spiritually?
What are you doing to invest spiritually in your children and grand children?
Practical ideas...
Be an ALERT Man!
2. Be a Faithful Man - “…stand firm in the faith...”
A Church like Corinth needed men who wouldn’t compromise the Faith. By the faith, I don’t mean faith in just anything - just believe (the mantra of our day). No, these men were to have uncompromising faith in the FAITH!
What is the FAITH? That’s what this book, the Bible teaches!
That Jesus Christ is God very God
That His death on the Cross was sufficient to pay your sin debt
That at conversion (when you are saved from your sin and become a follower of Jesus), you become part of God’s family
That if you do not convert to Christ, you will endure eternal suffering in Hell.
But if you are born-again, you will have everlasting life!
That you actually have God dwelling inside you!
Much, much more...
The FAITH has nonnegotiable truth embedded within it. And as a follower of Jesus, you must stand FIRM in this truth.
This is what makes one FAITHFUL!
The church at Corinth needed men who were faithful to the teachings of Scripture to stand up. To not just go with the flow and follow every wind of doctrine. That messed up church needed Godly men to stand up and HOLD the line - the line of the Faith.
Nothing has changed. In a day where masculinity is maligned and considered toxic, we men must refuse to listen to this mantra and instead listen to what God say. We are to not only listen, but we are to STAND UP and be faithful men! Not giving and inch away to the culture that wants to infiltrate our ranks and take us over.
Illustrate - 10th Grade Football - got run over many times.
Apply - Man of God, if you are a Christian, stop being laissez-faire about your spiritual life!
What is “laissez-fare?
It is “a policy or attitude of letting things take their own course, without interfering.”
We as men of this church simply do not have this option. We must stand up and stand firm!
Practical ideas -
Be Saved - Become a Christian - Maybe there are some dads here that think they are a christian because they have always gone to church or...
Be Growing - Know what you believe and why you believe it.
Be Wise - know the culture in which you live. But be an expert in God’s Word
Review...
Be an Alert, Faithful Man
3. Be a Mature Man - act like a man
The maturation rate amongst younger men is abysmal in comparison to the rest of history.
From the 1200’s to the early 1900’s a boy was guilty of crimes of adulthood (specifically rape) from eleven to thirteen years of age. https://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/teaching-modules/230
In the Jewish culture a boy is considered a man at the age of twelve or thirteen when he is Bar Mitzvahed.
At this point, the child is expected to behave as a man.
We, in our current culture have significantly lengthened the process and lowered the expectation.
Our culture even has a name for it - The Peter Pan Syndrome (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-do-life/201605/the-peter-pan-syndrome)
Dr. Marty Nemko gives the five most common manifestations of this mindset..
“The Peter Pan Syndrome: They won't grow up.”
Here are the Peter Pan Syndrome's most common manifestations:
An unwillingness to get working or stay working when you're not motivated.
Dabbling
Networking aversion
Betting on long-shot dreams
Abusing alcohol or drugs
Blaming your failure on something your parents, spouse, or former employer did to you
Doing an insufficiently thorough job search
What has caused this? Our affluence compared to previous generations. Our increased life-span in recent decades.
The point? Christian men need to grow up!
11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
20 Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.
As you can see, this is a theme in Paul’s letter to this troubled church.
Maturity goes a long way toward church stability!
But immaturity will split a church quickly.
Men, we must pursue maturity in Christ.
We cannot afford to be infants in our thinking! It will devastate our families as well as our church.
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
Illustrate - Failure to Launch movie
Apply - Men, Dads, we cannot stay spiritual infants
There are many ways we can grow up spiritually. But one of the best ways is to have a mature man invest in you.
Triple B commitment.
Review -
Be an Alert, Faithful, Mature Man
4. Be a Strong Man -
Not physically but instead this Greek word means “to become strong psychologically.” In other words, “be strong in spirit.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
“The implication is that the believer is to be sufficiently strong to be able to dominate any evil influence.” G/ELNT
Of course we recognize that we do not have any spiritual strength in and of ourselves. We need a power source to draw from.
Remember the enigmatic words of the Apostle Paul about his own power? It was better for him to be weak!
10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
The point? Be STRONG by finding your STRENGTH in Christ alone!
“Do not strive in your own strength; cast yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and wait upon Him in the sure confidence that He is with you, and works in you. Strive in prayer; let faith fill your heart-so will you be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” ~ Andrew Murray, Pastor
“When a man has no strength, if he leans on God, he becomes powerful.” ~ D.L. Moody, American Evangelist
“Faith upholds a Christian under all trials, by assuring him that every painful dispensation is under the direction of his Lord; that chastisements are a token of His love; that the season, measure, and continuance of his sufferings, are appointed by Infinite Wisdom, and designed to work for his everlasting good; and that grace and strength shall be afforded him, according to his need.” ~ John Newton, Hymnist
What does the word have say about the matter?
10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” 10 And Joshua commanded the officers of the people,
Apply - Your church needs you to be strong in the Lord. You wife needs you to be strong in the Lord. Your kids need you to be strong in the Lord! Will you?
Practical ideas - to truly be strong, you must tap into the strength of the Lord.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
How do you do this? Suit up for battle.
The armor of the Lord (Eph 6:11-18)
Belt of Truth
Breastplate of righteousness
Shoes of the Gospel of peace
Shield of Faith
Helmet of Salvation
Sword of the Spirit
Gentlemen, you wear this armor, you will be Stronger than you can ever imagine.
Review -
Be and Alert, Faithful, Mature, Strong Man
5. Be a Loving Man -
Most importantly is love!
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
Without love we can be alert, full of faith, mature and strong. But it all counts as nothing.
When we thing about being manly, we tend to think of things like muscles, mustaches, beards, guns, beef jerky, etc. From the worlds perspective, love falls way down the list.
But from God’s perspective, love is crucial.
Paul says, “Let ALL that you do be done in LOVE.” The love used in this verse is Agape love which is a selfless, self sacrificial love for other above self.
Gentlemen, this is our call. We are to love others more than we love ourselves. In ALL that we do!
Illustrate - I am deeply in love with myself and I want to lavish my love on myself. Give myself whatever I want whenever I want it.
Examples of me being selfish...
But what does Luke 9:23 say?
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
We are not to spend our energies loving ourselves (notice how often our culture tell us to do this). The bible doesn’t ever tell us to do this.
What it does tell us is to DENY ourselves!
“Let all that you do be done in love.”
Apply -
Practical ideas...
Review -
Be and Alert, Faithful, Strong, Mature, and Loving Man!
You - Men, this is what is means to “act like a man.” How are you doing in these four areas?
Are you a man who is watchful for his family? Are you doing your best to protect them from the ever encroaching influence of the ungodly world around them? Are you watching what they are watching? Are you listening to what they are listening to? Are you helping them navigate through the treacherous waters of life?
Are you leading your family in the most Holy Faith we profess?
Are you strong in the Lord? That means you need to stand up and lead!
Are you motivated by the LOVE of Christ?
We - imagine what your life would look like if you purposed to “be a man” the way Paul describes in this verse.
Imagine what this church would be like?
Connection Group Reflection Questions
1. What do these verses teach me about our character?
2. What do these verses teach me about God and his character?
3. Because these words are from God, they are TRUTH! What truth is he asking me to believe?
4. What do I need to do to obey him?
5. With whom can I share these truths?