Message for Men
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 4 viewsNotes
Transcript
Message for Men
Message for Men
Uncommon Lifestyle
You know we are called to act like Godly men, there is no doubt about it.
I want to share with you some of the qualifications for a pastor, overseer. But honestly they apply to all men and yes even can apply to women.
1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
While the qualifications are given for aspiring elders, they are not exclusive to these men — except, perhaps, for the ability to teach.
Even with teaching, however, every man should aspire to handle God’s word faithfully, with accuracy and care. The qualities in the qualifications are simply what every Christian man should strive to be — and several of them speak specifically to how we live.
The word that Paul uses for conduct also shows up a number of times in the apostle Peter’s letters (much more than in Paul), so we might also look to Peter to understand more fully what Paul charged Timothy (and us) to be and do.
1. Men of Holiness
Above all else, the lives of godly men are marked by holiness.
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Sine we are called to be holy we have to be careful, and not give ourselves into those old ways the cravings of the flesh, …lust, anger, greed, selfishness
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
So we are called to conform our life and conduct — all of their conduct — to the conduct of Christ (Romans 8:29).
“What sort of men should we be?
Holy men. Temptation-defying men. Sin-crucifying men.”
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,
So, in light of who Jesus really is, and the reality that he is coming again, what sort of men should we be? Holy men. Temptation-defying men. Sin-crucifying men. Not self-righteous men, but humble men who long to live like Jesus.
2. Men of Self-Control
Pursuing holiness will mean developing self-control. Women, of course, need self-control too (Titus 2:3–5).
But given what God expects of heads of households and shepherds in the church, the cultivation of self-control is of particular importance for young men (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8).
2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.
So how do we do this?
If we want our conduct to magnify the worth of our Savior, we have to learn how to control unholy and dishonorable impulses within us.
And not just with our bodies, but with our time, our spending, even our attention.
Growing in godliness will mean regularly saying no (and often to good things). “Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control . . .” (2 Peter 1:5–6).
SO here are a couple quesitons for you....
Where do you need to grow in self-control? What do you struggle to say no to, even when you know you should?
3. Men of Sincerity
Men of God also pursue God with sincerity.
12 For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.
Sincerity is freedom from pretense or hypocrisy. A sincere man is the same in secret as he is everywhere else.
His conduct is not a concerted effort to cover or compensate for his immaturities.
It is the natural and consistent (not perfect) fruit of an increasingly healthy and holy soul.
Paul’s counsel to servants applies well to all our conduct: “Obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord” (Colossians 3:22).
This kind of man does not live and work to be seen a certain way, but lives and works knowing he is always seen by God.
He fears God more than he fears the disapproval or rejection of others.
And so those who know him well — those in his home, those in church, those he works with day in and day out at the office — know him to be the man he claims to be. Again, he is not perfect, but he is consistent, honest, and humble.
4. Men Who Make Peace
Another countercultural pattern among godly men is their commitment to pursue and keep peace. The qualifications say it negatively: a man must not be “quarrelsome” (1 Timothy 3:3).
The clear message, though, is not simply an avoidance of petty disagreements, but a pursuit and protection of God-honoring peace.
As Paul says elsewhere, “Let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Romans 14:19)
. Or 2 Corinthians 13:11: “Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace.” In what relationships does this hit home most for you?
In the polarized and hostile climate we live in, peacemaking will set men of God apart all the more. They are men who savor the promise, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
It is not saying you dont disagree, but even when there is a disagreement, you pursue the godly and best for the other person. not just so you can be made right for all to see
Men of the Home
Before a man can lead the church, “he must manage his own household well” (1 Timothy 3:4).
Any man who seeks to lead well, let it begin in their hearts first that they might lead their own lives toward maturity, and in maturity they strive to make their lives blessed and able to lead
And think of this... Everything the godly man is and does in the world begins and springs from how he loves at home.
a wise scholar once said “A sincere man is the same in secret as he is everywhere else.”
This godly man is also hospitable (1 Timothy 3:2).
Meaning, he not only cares well for those within his home, but he also welcomes others into his home.
Home, for him, is not a place merely for rest and comfort, but for serving the kingdom of God — first, toward those of the household of faith (Romans 12:13), but also toward those who might yet believe (Hebrews 13:2).
5. Men Who Do Good
In some ways, this last thread may help tie together the others. How do we set an example with our conduct?
What does God want us to do? In the end, the man of God stands out for doing good.
What Paul says to the rich applies to us all: “They are to do good, to be rich in good works” (1 Timothy 6:18). And not just rich in good works — so, doing lots of good works — but “zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).
The good of others, especially the eternal good of others — the good of knowing and enjoying Jesus — is an ambition these men bring to each day. It is the ambition of all their ambitions.
These men know that just as God chose them before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), he also prepared good works for them to walk in (Ephesians 2:10).
They know that thousands and thousands of years before they were born, God laid out good for them to do — and not just over their lifetime, but today and tomorrow and next Tuesday.
And they do not assume the good will just happen, but they give careful thought to how that good will happen (Titus 3:8; see also 3:14).
So remmeber who you once were and were you are now, give God thanks and go you r best to pursue holiness, goodnes, mercy in all that you do
Strive to be your best. home, church and communtiy.
Conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. (1 Peter 1:17–19)
17 For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.”
And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off