Sermon Central
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Hesitant Warrior Series
Contributed by Rick Stacy on Jul 27, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: 3 of 4 on becoming Mighty Men of God. This message focuses on the call to service. It involves asking the men and women to respond to a survey taken during the message.
Mighty Men of God
We as men of God have been called to serve
But our greatest fear is… failure. Our greatest desire is for significance. How we get that is different for men and women.
For men it comes down to a very simple question. “Do you respect, admire and believe in me?”
When I was a young man I preached in a small church in St. Joseph, MI. We had Sunday night services…
For women the issue and the question is quite a bit different. For men it’s all about what I have done. For women it’s all about who you are. The question is, “Do you cherish and value me… today?”
Did you notice the word, “today”… this is an ongoing project fellas! You gotta keep letting them know that they are valued and honored in your life!
But I digress, let’s focus this morning on becoming successful men of God.
Several years ago a movement began that was called “Promise Keepers”. It began as a calling of men to be men of God. They espoused seven promises that a promise keeper made and kept as he served our Lord.
I want to look at those seven promises with you and begin today to build a movement within the Meridian Christian Church calling guys to be Mighty Men of God.
Some of you are hesitant before we even begin. You’ve made promises before and you’ve failed. You’ve said lot’s of times that you’re going to do better but then you don’t.
Before we get started let me share with you how to defeat the fear of failure…
Defeating the fear of Failure
You will fail on the road to success
“…though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again...”
Do you know the difference between a righteous man and an unrighteous man? Unrighteous men fall and don’t get up. Righteous men get up every time they fall. That’s it. That is the difference.
Shake it off and step up! The enemy wants to make you feel defeated and useless. Remember, the most powerful fact about Satan… He is a liar.
So if you have screwed up, messed up, and totally blown up your life – Get up and keep on going. Rise again!
You must surrender control to God
“…though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.”
The warrior can’t control the outcome, only his part in the battle.
The victorious warrior wins the war because he fights one battle at a time and he fights his battle while helping those around him fight their battles!
There is no such thing as an “army of one” – no matter what you have seen on television.
We have one another and we have the Lord who will hold us up when we fall – but we must surrender control to the captain of our souls – every day.
You will conquer the world – it’s a promise!
4 “…because everyone who is a child of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world—our faith. 5 So the one who conquers the world is the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
Most men’s greatest fear is failure – but most men’s greatest pain is regret. What are you going to regret for the rest of your life if you don’t at least try?
So now, let’s look at the seven promises…
To help me and our Meridian Men minister to you I’m going ask you to participate by filling out this brief questionnaire during the service.
This is personal and anonymous. No names, no looking over your spouses shoulder to see what they marked. Total honesty, please…
Mighty Men of Meridian
Promise 1: A Mighty Man of Meridian is committed to honoring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and obedience to God’s Word in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Worship is praise, honor, and/or devotion to God through prayer, song, and studying His word.
Prayer is communicating with God, which could include praise, thanksgiving, repenting, and requesting help for yourself and others in time of need.
Obedience is willingness to faithfully follow God’s word as learned from Bible studies and teachings from the church leaders.
Honoring God in your Life
Men: How am I doing with God?
Women: How is he doing – really?
Not really connected to God
Sporadic personal connection
Regular consistent part of life
Highlight of life – daily devo’s!
Mighty Men of Meridian
Promise 2: A Mighty Man of Meridian is committed to pursuing vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises.
Vital relationships with other men includes spending time with each other fellowshipping, encouraging, supporting, and keeping one other accountable so we might grow into a deeper relationship with Christ.
