What does God say about masculinity?

Ephesians 6:1-4

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and your mother-which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on earth. Fathers, do not exasperate your children, instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

Men, listen- The world may not think you are important, but in God’s eyes, we are precious and we have a job to do.

Let me share something with you that is shameful and just plain unacceptable for men. Did you know that women outnumber men 3 to 1 in the church attendance? I am glad to see that women are attending, but where are the men? Besides, because men are failing to take church seriously, women are doing the work of the men and are being the spiritual “fathers” to their children. Someone has to do it!

However, what’s even more shameful for men is the fact that while the women are going to church, the husbands are waiting at home for the family to return!

“Let your light shine before men…..”

Men MUST rise up and be the men that God wants them to be. Ephesians puts it out there- Children, honor your parents. It does not say honor them only if they are perfect and you agree with them all the time. It says to honor them so that you have a life that is not always in chaos- that it may go well for you! Then it goes on to say: Fathers, do not exasperate your children, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. NLT- “Do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them, but bring them up with discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord”.

We are living in a culture that doesn’t know what the role of a man is. The lines are getting blurred so that people cannot see it clearly any longer!

Unless men, take up their responsibility in the family and in the church, we will lose a generation of kids. Let me say it again! UNLESS MEN, ALL OF US, TAKE UP OUR RESPONSIBILITY IN OUR FAMILIES AND OUR CHURCH, WE WILL LOSE A GENERATION OF KIDS.

NOW-A-DAYS, Kids are raising themselves without a father. Because of the alarming rate in divorce, there is a lack of fathers being involved in their kids lives. And then, there are those fathers who are putting so much emphasis on making a living that they are losing their kids emotionally and physically.

2 Choices

The way I see it, we have two choices, whether you have kids or not. We can live defeated and hopeless and think that the problem will go away on its own. Or else, we can model what God intended for us to be and make a difference in our kids and the kids we have contact with.

I am gullible enough to believe that a few good men filled with the Holy Spirit of God can impact people lives in a positive and spiritual way. And this is why I started this ministry. Manly Training exists to bring men to Jesus and then motivate and train them so that we can be good husbands, good fathers, and positive role models.

The culture today may not know what responsibility men play, but Godly men should not only know but live it daily for the world to see.

If you don’t think we can make a difference? Read a few quotes about fathers.

QUOTES

Jim Valvano– “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person. He believed in me.

Dan Pierce– The greatest mark of a father is how he treats his children when no one is looking.

One of my favorite quotes is this:

Harmon Killebrew (HOF player for the Twins)- “My father use to play with my brother and me in the yard, mother would come out and say, your tearing up the grass. Were not raising grass, Dad would reply, we are raising boys.”

It is getting involved, rolling up your sleeves, making mistakes, making adjustments, and showing your family that they are important to you.

Reed Marham– “Being a great father is like shaving. No matter how good you shaved today, you will have to do it again tomorrow.”

So how do we do that? How do we raise our kids with the instruction of the Lord in a culture that has no problem turning its back on the things of God?

I have said it before- wisdom not applied is just storage of words.

This is how we can do it:

I. Men MUST lead

We will never be able to lead our lives or the lives of our families without the Lord leading us.

Galatians 2:20- “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Christ guiding me and leading me!

In our families- “Husbands, love your wife just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

Men cannot afford to get hung up on “being the boss”. We need to understand the responsibility that comes with the job. It is like driving on a road and it makes a sharp turn or dip so that the road is unseen and you have to trust that the people who made the road completed it even though you for a moment cannot see the road.

Leading is not running ahead of God or lagging behind but learning to let God lead you. It’s looking beyond circumstances at the purpose God intended for you.

Psalm 32:8- “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”

When we refuse God’s leading, we are telling God we know better than He does. We are accusing God of being unjust/ unfair. And we are questioning God’s ability to keep His promises (unbelief). Basically call God a liar. That’s why we have to learn to let God lead us.

II. We MUST lean on GOD

Emphasis on leaning on God. Not leaning on ourselves. Not on someone else and not keeping God as an afterthought.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.”

We must trust in the Lord for Salvation, for Strength, for our Needs, for guidance and for our families.

Men have a problem giving up control. We want to fix it, we want to make it happen! We don’t ask for directions until we are completely lost. Why do we do that?

James 1:5- “If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

This is one of the prayers that God will answer yes to every time. You learn to lean on Him and He will give you wisdom to do what is needed.

Frank Sinatra use to sing a song “My Way” The theme was “I did it my way” this is a good example of leaning on your own understanding and being wise in your own eyes. It is a recipe for disaster!

To lean is to rely on. But what many men say by their actions (I have done this and if you are honest, you have too), is that they rely on their own training and experience more than they rely on God. Is it any wonder we get ourselves spiritually in trouble? We have to learn to lead! We have to learn to lean on God!

III. We MUST love.

If you look behind you and no one is following, you are not leading anyone. The only way you lead people is loving the people that you are leading. The only way to properly love someone is to love them the way that the Lord loves them.

1 Corinthians 13:1 “If I speak in the tongue of men and angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

If I do not love like God loves, I am just making some noise. God leads us to love our wives, to love our children, to love God’s people, and to love the lost as God loves them. It goes deeper than it looks, deeper than when it is convenient.

Listen to me! The most important thing we can do is love God and love people. Before we can love anyone, we have to experience God’s love because you cannot give away something you don’t have.

God Loves

Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. It seems like a simple Sunday school lesson, but most people do not understand how much God loves them because if they did, they would act differently.

When you know and understand God loves you, and God forgives you, and you know that you have a purpose, then you will love differently and you will treat people differently.

That is a portrait of a Godly man. You will love your wife, You will love your children, You will love God’s people! You will love differently once you have experienced God’s love in the right way.

WHY?

So why is it then that the church needs these kind of men? Well, first of all, let’s define a Man as a man that knows God. I don’t mean that he knows ABOUT God, but that he is actually making a daily effort to know God and understands God’s design for his life. A man like this lives a life that honors God as he leads his family by example. He leans on God and not on his own efforts or on things like money and education and power. Such a man will find that in living his life surrendered to God and pursuing to know God, he will then LOVE his family and his neighbors in such a way that he will leave a lasting legacy to his loved ones.

Conclusion

What do you think would happen if your church had one or two men like this? Now imagine having ten or fifty or one hundred men that lived their life this way. Jesus had his group of 12 men. He took time to teach them and show them this principle. One betrayed him because he leaned on his love of money and not on knowing God and His power. The other eleven men went on to change the world as we know it. Will you be like Judas or will you be like the other eleven men? Chose now, the world needs a revival. I am convinced that the next big revival needs to start with the men. This is why we need Godly Men in our Churches.

Besides, once you have accepted your God-given purpose as a man and you humble yourself to do this, you will be fulfilled and happy! Isn’t it funny how we do things that make us unhappy, thinking that we are doing what we are meant to do, but then it backfires? Take time then to seek God and to know Him and as you do, the things that are important to God will become important to you. Loving your wife and your children just like God loves us and making daily sacrifices for them will make more sense.