The society in which we live has neglected to teach men about their role in the home, in the church, and society. The worldly view of a man’s role is that he should provide financially for his family, but we shouldn’t expect him to be very engaged with home life. In spite of all our talk of feminism, we have left the job of making a home and raising the kids to the female of the household. The role of leadership, of teaching and correcting the kids has fallen to the feminine side of our society. This is both unwise and unbiblical. As a result our homes are very weak and the enemy finds it very easy to destroy our families through divorce, rebellion, addictions, molestation, and child abuse.
In a quote from Leon Podles, who wrote the book “The Church Impotent” he remarks:
“Women go to church; men go to football games. Laymen attend church activities because a wife, mother, or girlfriend has pressured them… If a man goes to church, he goes because a woman has wheedled him into what hi would normally consider unmanly behavior. But if he goes voluntarily, he suffers suspicions about his masculinity. A devastating criticism of Christianity is many men see it not only as irrelevant, but as effeminate. As one man put it, ‘life is a football game, with men fighting it out on the green, while the minister is up in the grandstands, explaining it to the ladies.’”
The tide of leadership has changed drastically in our society, homes, and churches and women have been forced into areas that God did not intend for them to be. And while this maybe true, I believe that many a men and women do not understand their God-given roles while here on earth. God bless our fathers, grand-fathers, uncles, friends, and other adults for their attempt to try and teach us as men, our roles in society. However, much of what they taught us was based on what they were taught when they were coming up along with life long experience. So we as men have been taught:
• That crying is for punks.
• That success of a man is based on his economic status.
• That beating a woman into submission is mucho.
• That our sexual activity and little black books determines our worth in life.
• That the woman’s role is in the kitchen and the bedroom
• That life is what we make it.
• That man is the bread winner of the family.
• If we hurt, we’re told to suck it up and stop crying like a punk
• If we’re sick, we’re told stop whining like a big baby
• If we have to much fun, we’re told you’re nothing more than a big kid
• If we we’re any other color outside of black, brown, and blue, then we’re gay (Homosexual)
And the list goes on and on and on……. And it’s this teaching that we’re judged by. We’re judged by our bank account, car, house, credit, looks, success, leadership, and our sexual performance.
I can continue on talking about the confusion of a man’s sexuality heterosexual or homosexual (the down-low syndrome). I can beat us up about what we’re not doing and congratulate us on what we’re doing right. But that’s not what I want to do today in this message. We’ve been beating up enough over the years by the church and society.
I have a two-fold agenda with this message today:
1. To give us as men an understanding of our roles in society, the home, and the church. I believe the principles to be rendered here today will apply to all three areas of our lives. And the principles giving today can also apply to women as well.
2. To call us to repentance for missing for so long, restore us to the place of godly leadership and stability, and encourage us to hang in there even when the going gets tough.
This text offers to us Three (3) Areas of Importance as to the man’s role in society:
I. Men of PRAYER – v. 1a - “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere….”
In order to understand the significance of Paul’s instruction to pastor Timothy about how to run the church, I need to walk you back through what’s going on at the church of Ephesus. Paul is writing this letter to help aid Timothy with the difficult task of bringing order back into the church at Ephesus. At the time that this letter was written Timothy has become overwhelmed with the task because for all indicated purposes it’s too much for one man to handle and he’s ready to quit. But Paul exhorts him in chapter 1:3 to stay at the task because there are false teachers in the church that teaching a gospel lie. Now, I know that this letter was some 2000 years ago but I wonder if you’ve ever been in a place where things got over your head. Have you ever been in a place where it was just too hard for you to handle? And it was at that point that you were ready to give it all up and throw in the towel. Well, allow me to be your Paul and say to don’t give up. Things may seem hard but all is not lost. Don’t throw in the towel just yet help is on the way.
The church at Ephesus was in chaos and disorder due to false teachers in the church. Well, you may be asking what, does false-teachers have to do with my role in society? First of all understand that false teachers are those who strip the Word of God of its true meaning and purpose to suit their own agendas. In other words, they lie on the gospel message and it’s this gospel lie that has caused many a people to go astray. So whereas the Word of God says that:
- Marriage is a union between man and woman, they will say it’s alright for a man to be with a man and woman to be with a woman because God loves you just as you are. And while the truth is that God loves you just as you are, that doesn’t mean that God loves the sin you’re in.
- Sexual intimacy is to be saved for the marriage relationship. What they will do is pass out sexual protective equipment like birth control and condoms rather than teaching celibacy.
And if you look, at our homes today you will notice that our homes, churches, and society are out of order. I encourage all of us to hang in there all is not lost. We still have a chance with God’s help to change this thing around.
Chapter one is very much so doctrinal in its’ instruction to pastor Timothy and the church. But when we get to chapter 2 he moves from doctrine to practice and starts by giving instructions relating to corporate worship.
Let me through this is in for free because I see a transition that cannot be ignored. You cannot truly worship God based on a lie. Chapter 1 reveals to us that false teachers are in the church causing havoc and chaos. Chapter 2 starts with this instruction, “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, requests, and thanksgiving be offered to God for all people…”
While chaos is in the church, the one sure way to combat false teaching and disorder in the church is to make prayer a priority. One of the things I can truly say has been lost in the church is prayer. We don’t in the church like we used to. If the pastor mentions prayer meeting the members turn their nose up at it. If the pastor says we’re going to have shut in, we shut them out. Prayer is not a priority in the church and that’s the church finds it’s strength and power. Not by joining a political party. Not by participating in every march on Washington. Not by giving interviews about the latest police beating. Now, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be concerned about these things because we should. However, we cannot allow our concern to over-shadow God’s ability to set things straight when we take it Him in prayer. Prayer in the church, no in corporate worship, is a top priority. So don’t think strange if when you come into the church on a given Sunday and we don’t sing but pray.
Now while prayer is to be a priority in the life of the church and doesn’t stop there because verse says that prayer is to be a top priority in the life of every man. It is written, “I, therefore, want men to pray everywhere…”
While the instruction given in verse 8 is for men, it is not exclusive to men. There is a lot debate surrounding this text as the rights to pray in corporate worship services because in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 there is one statement of Paul’s that says “that the women are to be quiet in public worship services”. Now let clear up the confusion. Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 14 does not apply to 1 Timothy 2:8 as it being a male’s role to pray in corporate worship and not the woman. The instruction in 1 Corinthians 14 was to bring order in the church because it was the women creating chaos in the church because they talked too much. So if we’re going to tie 1 Timothy 2:8 with 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 then it must be interpreted to say if you don’t have nothing good to say, don’t say nothing at all.
The instruction is universal for all.
I believe he writes this instruction directed to the men to say one thing and one thing only, with prayer being a priority of the church at large it starts with the men. In other words, God wants men of prayer. Can we change our society, our homes, and our churches? I believe the answer is an emphatic yes! Not with a million man march but with prayer. Rather than having a million man march, let’s have a million man prayer meeting. If we’re going to change our society and strengthen our families, we gotta pray.
o Exemplified by Abraham in his inquiry concerning Sodom
Genesis 18:23-32
o By Moses, supplicating for assistance in delivering Israel
Exodus 33:12,18
o When Moses prayed to see Canaan, the promised land
Deuteronomy 3:23-27
o Jonah prayer for deliverance from belly of a fish in Jonah chapter 3
o Daniel prayed at noon as was his custom and he was delivered from the mouth of lion
o Paul and Silas prayed at midnight in Acts chapter 16 and the Lord sent an earthquake to free them
o The disciples prayed in Mark chapter 4 in the midst of a storm and the Jesus spoke to the waves, “peace be still”.
o Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the third day got up from the grave.
Some of you prayed when you where in trouble and the Lord came to your rescue. Some of you prayed when you were sick and God healed your body.
People of prayer is people of power. And people of power is people of prayer.
What a friend we have in Jesus all of our pains and grief to bare
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Now, understand that prayer in this text is suggestive as an act of worship. When we pray it is worship to God that brings us closer to Him. However, there are some things that will pull us away from Him as well.
- Sin - “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18).
- Marriage – “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered”. What this means is that getting a prayer through to God is really dependent on how you treat your wife.
- Anger - “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).
- Un-forgiveness - “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:15).
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II. Men of PRINCIPLE – v. 1b – “…lifting up holy hands…”
Not only does he want us to be men of power/prayer but He also wants us to be men of principles. I don’t believe that the primary focus on the “b” clause is about our posture in prayer. This text is not concerned with rather we bow our heads and close our eyes, or lift our hands or fall to the ground. No, I believe this text is not with our posture as much as it is concerned with position/attitude.
The OT saints frequently prayed lifting up their hands. But Paul’s emphasis here is not on a particular posture for prayer. The hands symbolize the activities of life, thus holy hands represent a holy life. What this means is that we cannot come before God any old kind of way. And we cannot live any kind of way before our family, friends, co-workers, and church members.
God is not concerned with our posture, He’s concerned about our lifestyle. The word “holy” means to be holy; to be pious; to be devout; to be set apart and separated to God. The word means to be separated from sin and from all evil, and from immoral, wicked, and lawless behavior.
Practically speaking the text is tailored to teach us that how we act is important. 1 Corinthians 13 says “11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”
There is a time in life where we must grow up!!!!
Let me help us because to be a man of principle requires that we be men of:
Preparation – Chapter 2 was written relating to corporate worship. And I believe that what the text teaches is that what we do on Sunday is not as important as is what we do before we get here. Understand prayer is an act of worship and biblical worship is a lifestyle, therefore, what we do on Sunday is just an overflow of what we’ve done throughout the week.
Participation – One of the exhortations in the text says that we should lift up holy hands. With all that we’ve discussed previously, the text teaches us that we should be active participants in the church, home, marriage, the raising of our children, etc. For the last two years I’ve helped coach my son’s little league baseball team. In both instances I see pattern that is disturbing to me. This year is a little better than last year though. And what I see is the lack of participation in the life of these young men. The mother’s are bringing them to practice and games every week. The mother’s are at home playing catch with their boys. The mothers are paying the registration fees. And then we wonder why our young men are locked up, being killed, joining gangs, robbing to make ends meet, having babies they can’t take care, lazy, not working, looking for a hand out, on drugs/alcohol, and beating women. I believe the primary reason due to the lack of the male presence in body and in spirit. And the challenge for the church is to help these single parents raise these kids.
The women are running church because of the lack of male participation.
Presentation – What this means is that how you come before God is important. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
III. Men of PRACTICE – v. 1c – “…without wrath and doubting.”
We’ve been called upon to pray every, lifting up holy hands, and this final clause gives the qualification as how we should do this; without wrath and doubting. To be man without wrath (anger) and doubting is hard-work.
- To be men of PRACTICE is to be PEACEFUL Men –
Brothers and sisters, I know there are some things that go on around us that really burns us up. We’ve been taught by the world to handle conflict using our fists, guns, knives, and road rage as the cure for conflict.
However, the bible does not call us to be vigilantes. He calls us to be men of peace. Wrath means anger, temper, indignation. It is not an uncontrolled, unthinking, violent reaction. It is deep, permanent, settled, thoughtful, controlled anger and temper.
And it speaks of the wrath and anger of God. Which means, the only person who has the right the angry is God and God alone.
What about the injustice we face? Let God handle it!
What about the violence that surrounds our neighborhoods? Let God handle it!
What about the in-fighting of the church? Let God handle it!
My daughter was raped. Let God handle it!
My son was killed. Let God handle it!
I got laid off my job. Let God handle it!
I lost my house. Let God handle it!
And leads me to my second sub-point…
- To be men of PRACTICE is to be POSITIVE Men -
Not to hesitate; not to have misgivings; not to worry about; not to doubt.
Let me say that I know it gets hard some times with all of the cares of the world, but whatever you do not worry God has your back. Be positive! Things don’t look as dim as they seem.
Closing Illustration:
Entering a department store, a little old lady was startled when a band began to play and a dignified executive pinned an orchid on her dress and handed her a crisp hundred dollar bill. She was the store’s millionth customer. Television cameras were focused on her and reporters began interviewing.
“Tell me,” one asked, “just what did you come here for today?”
The lady hesitated for a minute, then answered, “I’m on my way to the Complaint Department.”
