Keep Your Man Card

Guys, the faith-world is more real than the fantasy-world! You’re not too young …and you’re not too old to man-up!

• Daniel was a teenager when he lived out his convictions with courage while living in pagan Babylon.

• Caleb was 85 when he declared in Joshua 14:12: “Give me this mountain…” Even though he knew there were giants living in fortified cities there, he declared, “I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.”

King David had some “mighty men,” who were also known as the “thirty chiefs.” Abishai, their leader, killed 300 men with a spear. Benaiah [Cato] went into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. He also served as the leader of David’s bodyguards.

Fellow mighty men of God, let’s man up!

4. GROW UP. To “be strong” means, “to keep increasing in strength.” It’s the opposite of coasting as a Christian or stalling out spiritually. This is a reference to growing spiritually strong, not how much you can bench press (though I want Tony Frey on my side in an alley fight). The idea is “strength in action.”

Listen to Joshua 1:6, 7, 9, 18: “Be strong and courageous…only be strong and very courageous…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…only be strong and courageous.”

John F. Kennedy once quoted this statement from Phillip Brooks: “Oh, do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for a task equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.”

Men of courage, let’s grow up by going deep with God.

5. LOVE UP. This last mandate may seem a bit out of place, but it is actually the most important, “Let all that you do be done in love.” The word “all” refers to everything. Contrary to popular belief, it’s manly to be loving.

What’s love got to do with it? EVERYTHING.

All…that you do…to be done in love. This means “in all your areas” – your singleness, marriage, kids, grandkids, home, work, leisure, play, sports, hobbies, relationships, enemies, neighboring, and ministry to the nations by sending or going.

“Be done in love” is in the present durative tense – we’re to keep on loving whatever we do and wherever we are. This is the word “agapao” which refers to unconditional, sacrificial love. Here’s the best definition of love I’ve ever heard – “Love is an unconditional commitment to an imperfect person.”

Hebrews 13:1 says: “Let brotherly love continue…”

Look at your man-card again.

• Without love, waking up can lead to self-centeredness.

• Without love, standing up can turn to stubbornness.

• Without love, manning up can morph into militancy.

• Without love, growing up can become abusive.

We’re called to be tender warriors who lovingly lead those God has entrusted to us. A real man is courageous and compassionate, he is tough and tender, strong and sensitive.

Let me make 3 applications.

• Pass on a legacy of faith. If you are a father or a grandfather, you are not just “babysitting” or “watching” your kids or grandkids…you are evangelizing and discipling them for the glory of God.