How much do you love God’s Word? Do you cherish it? Do you read it? Do you know what a gift it is to your life?
Please take the time to watch this inspiring story. Let it challenge you to NEVER take God’s Word for granted. Study it. Love it. Obey it.
Let it draw you to Jesus.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9dpmp_-TY0]
What we have in our culture today is the tragic absence of real men living dangerously for Christ. Real men are faithful, courageous, humble, and pure. Real men do what God has commanded.
“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” Proverbs 11:3
A contrast between two men
1. Real men don’t run from their fears. David had not yet determined that he would live a life of purity. He had not yet found that his worth, his identity and value, is found in God and in Him alone. He was afraid and sought to find his identity where many men think it is found- through the attraction of a woman.
Real men face the truth about who they are. The secret fear of men is that they don’t have what it takes. “I’m fearful; I feel weak. I don’t think I have what it takes.” And because men tend to define their worth through their performance- a man’s greatest fear is the fear of failure. Some of men live with a private life of sin and are afraid to ask others into their struggles to help them.
What are you running from? Real men confront the truth about their sin before it destroys them. Be honest; be open. You’re only as sick as your secrets.
2. Real men don’t let lust consume them. Sexual sin and lust is the greatest area of temptation for men. Men take their souls’ search for validation in all kinds of directions but the most common is in the sexual direction. This is why pornography is such a problem among men. Men are more visually stimulated than women but the driving force behind pornography is the fear of not measuring up as a man. They seek validation and as sexual beings many men fanaticize about being desirable- because deep down they do not feel accepted, validated, and loved.
Real men fight to live lives of purity. And it is a fight- it is every man’s battle. And men, you are either winning the battle, or you are losing the battle.
Where/when are you most vulnerable? Like David, it’s probably when you’re not where you ought to be. You must remain accountable at all times. And like Joseph, you must learn to RUN from temptation. Here’s a verse I memorized when I was a young person-
2 Timothy 2:22 –“Flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
3. Real men don’t cheat on their wives. This is for the men: Punks cheat on their wives. Spineless, weak men cheat on their wives. “Spineless” because these men are not willing to face their fears- what’s really driving them- their struggle for validation. Conquering women is not for the strong, but weak men. Because…
Real men stay committed for life. Real men who are not married, live lives of purity. Real men who are married have eyes for one woman. Here’s a word for all married men- your wife is your main accountability partner. Talk to her about your struggles. Key question (answered only by courageous, godly men).
What does she need to know about you?
4. Real men don’t abdicate their leadership in the home. Many men struggle with this one because, whereas work is task-focused, the family is relationship-focused. Work is about doing; family is about being. Men: You DO your job; you LOVE your family. It is when we reverse the order that the tension escalates and the tug of war begins.
Real men accept the God-given responsibility to be leaders in the home. Dad- you have a moral responsibility to be the leader in your home. This is why I remind my church family over and over again- I’m a husband first, a dad second, a pastor third. This church has many ministers (every member is a minister). Stacy has one husband and my children have one father. The pastor’s role is to always point others to Jesus. Here’s the question for every married man:
What if you brought the same intensity you bring to your work to your family? Who’s raising your kids? (Is it your wife? Your kids’ friends? The television or internet?)
5. Real men don’t neglect their children’s needs.
Real men are very present and attentive to their children’s needs. I like the way Andy Stanley puts it, in his book “Choosing to Cheat”. He says all men must “choose to cheat”- you will cheat your family or you will “cheat” your work. It’s a matter of whom you choose to cheat. Someone will be your priority.
When family and work collide, who wins? Let me be bold with you men: At work you are expendable. Someday someone else will have your job. Someone else will be sitting at your desk. But at home you play a unique role. You are the only father your children will ever have- and only for a short season.
6. Real men don’t find their ultimate worth in their work.
Real men find their worth in Christ alone. Another key question:
Where do you find your worth? Real men constantly run to Jesus for their worth and significance in life. He lone can provide a man with ultimate value and worth.
7. Real men don’t watch others lead in the church. I praise God for the men and women who give their time, energy, and their gifts to the Lord’s work through our church. I think we all know that without the leadership of women, the church would have to close shop tomorrow. But…
Real men seek to be servant leaders in the church. They want to be an example of one who serves the Lord- for their wives, their children, and the community. Real men devote their time to the work of God by using their God-given gifts to serve Him. Only then will a man find true fulfillment in life- by fulfilling God’s purposes. God has called you to be a man of influence.
What is your ministry of influence?
Will you be a REAL MAN?
Dr. Robert Creech, Professor of Christian Ministries and Director of Pastoral Ministries at Truett Seminary, has faithfully served as the interim of the First Baptist Church of McKinney, Texas. As an outstanding interim, his messages have been intended to prepare the FBC family for the arrival of the new pastor, Dr. Richard Lee. (I am very excited about his arrival and coming tenure as the pastor there). I received a few excerpts from a recent sermon that I thought were outstanding.
This portion below (from Eugene Peterson) is especially powerful and I am sharing it with my friends who are pastors. It’s also a great word for all church leaders and members.
“Century after century, Christians continue to take certain persons in their communities, set them apart, and say, “You are our shepherd. Lead us to Christ likeness.” Yes, their actions will often speak different expectations, but in the deeper regions of the soul, the unspoken desire is for more than someone doing a religious job. If the unspoken were uttered, it would sound like this:
“We want you to be responsible for saying and acting among us what we believe about God and Kingdom and Gospel. We believe that the Holy Spirit is among us and within us. We believe that God’s Spirit continues to hover over the chaos of the world’s evil and our sin, shaping a new creation and new creatures. We believe that God is not a spectator, in turn amused and alarmed at the wreckage of world history, but a participant.”
“We believe that the invisible is more important than the visible at any one single moment and in any single event that we choose to examine. We believe that everything, especially everything that looks like wreckage, is material God is using to make a praising life.”
“We need help in keeping our beliefs sharp and accurate and intact. We don’t trust ourselves; our emotions seduce us into infidelities. We know we are launched on a difficult and dangerous act of faith, and there are strong influences intent on diluting or destroying it. We want you to give us help. Be our pastor, a minister of Word and sacrament in the middle of this world’s life. Minister with Word and sacrament in all the different parts and stages of our lives – in our work and play, with our children and our parents, at birth and death, in our celebrations and sorrows, on those days when morning breaks over us in a wash of sunshine, and those other days that are all drizzle. This isn’t the only task in the life of faith, but it is your task. We will find someone else to do the other important and essential tasks. This is yours: Word and sacrament.”
“One more thing: We are going to ordain you to this ministry, and we want your vow that you will stick to it. This is not a temporary job assignment but a way of life that we need lived out in our community. We know you are launched on the same difficult belief venture in the same dangerous world as we are. We know your emotions are as fickle as ours, and your mind is as tricky as ours. That is why we are going to ordain you and why we are going to exact a vow from you. We know there will be days and months, maybe even years, when we won’t feel like believing anything and won’t want to hear it from you. And we know there will be days and weeks and maybe even years when you won’t feel like saying it. It doesn’t matter. Do it. You are ordained to this ministry, vowed to it.
There may be times when we come to you as a committee or delegation and demand that you tell us something else than what we are telling you now. Promise right now that you won’t give in to what we demand of you. You are not the minister of our changing desires, or our time-conditioned understanding of our needs, or our secularized hopes for something better. With these vows of ordination we are lashing you fast to the mast of Word and sacrament so you will be unable to respond to the siren voices.”
“There are many other things to be done in this wrecked world, and we are going to be doing at least some of them, but if we don’t know the foundational realities with which we are dealing – God, Kingdom, Gospel – we are going to end up living futile, fantasy lives. Your task is to keep telling the basic story, representing the presence of the Spirit, insisting on the priority of God, speaking the biblical words of command and promise and invitation.”
“Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” 2 Timothy 1:2
Paul’s blessing to young Timothy is my blessing for all moms this Mothers Day.
Every mother needs:
1. Grace
Mothers, may God’s unmerited, pardoning and transforming favor and power be upon you. May His grace cover you, define you, and guide you as guide others. May your marriage be grace-centered. May you parent with grace. We are all in need of grace. So let’s go ahead and destroy the myth of the “super mom”. There are no perfect moms. The super mom is simply the mom who sticks with it day in and day out and does not give up. Real moms need the grace of God. God’s grace picks up where we are done. Paul said,
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them- yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:10
Mom, God’s grace finishes the task when you can’t go on. Aren’t you glad, when you feel you can’t go on, God’s grace gives you strength? When you fail, His grace covers you. When you lose your temper, His grace covers you. When you find yourself feeling all alone, unappreciated, or unworthy His grace covers you. You can turn to Him. To be a mom is to rely daily on God’s grace.
2. Mercy
God’s warm and tender affection for those who are in need and who are afflicted comes in unlimited ways to moms. It is His compassion and understanding love that can keep you going. Moms, God knows your deepest hurts. He understands those private moments when you grow weary and become discouraged. To be a mom is to rely daily on God’s mercy.
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
3. Peace
Peace is the fullness of God’s blessings upon His people- because we have been reconciled to Him through the death of Jesus Christ. Because we have peace with God, we can experience peace in our hearts daily. Mom, what do you need more than peace today? You find it as you run to God. To be a mom is to rely on His peace in your life daily.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27
Mom, you are a valued treasure to God to everyone around you. But your ultimate worth in life is not found in being the perfect mom, it’s not found in your husband or your children. Your worth is found in Christ. In Him you find peace. In Him you find mercy. In Him you find grace.
Happy Mothers Day Mom!
