We live in a present day world that has challenges in almost every direction that you look.
The search for answers is going on in most every part of the planet.
Our own nation not only has prevailing issues but all of them seem to be heading more toward becoming worse rather than towards any type of solution.
The reason that answers are sometimes hard to find is because often we don’t realize the problems are not problems but are people. The main problem in our nation is not what has come upon us but it is what we have become.
Because we are the center of our own concerns we are not asking the right questions and are thereby not finding the right answers.
Ravi Zacharias said once that when he was taking a course for his PHD studies that only 50% of the grade was for the answers given on tests and in papers.
The other 50% of each student’s grade was based upon the questions asked in class.
The professor considered those who knew the right questions to ask to be worthy of the best grades and the best students in the class.
Sometimes asking the right questions is the hardest thing we can do. The reason is because the answers to those questions often begin with us. We prefer the solution to be someone else.
I need to mention something to the ladies in our midst this morning. I am going to be addressing our men in specific ways. Please do not feel offended or ignored that much of what I say might seem more relevant to men.
It is relevant for all of us at some level but hopefully our men especially can find some benefit in today’s message.
I honestly think that the solutions to things we see in our nation, our communities, our schools and our churches has a representation in our midst this morning. I think a large portion of the solutions to our problems begins with the men. The huge part of the solution to our churches concerns will begin with Christian men becoming everything God wants them to be in their churches and families as well as in their communities and nation.
I asked myself a question a few months back. ‘Is it alright that I am a man trapped in a man’s body’? A person looking at many aspects of our modern culture might not think that is a good thing to be. Men have been under attack in this culture for at least the past generation. Somehow the thought has been that for women to be elevated and liberated that men have to be devalued and restrained.
Fathers have been a primary target. Christian men have become the bull’s eye.
Finding a positive male role model on television today that is anything like a father or Christian might have been respectfully presented before Archie Bunker is like playing ‘Where’s Waldo’. The only two that I can think of are on the shows of two long time stars who have obvious control of their own series.
Tim Allen on ‘Last Man Standing’ and Patricia Heaton on ‘The Middle’.
Tim Allen’s father died when he was hit by a drunk driver when Allen was just 11. The comedian says that after that, he questioned whether if he had prayed harder or had been with his father that fatal day, he could have prevented his death. “For years, I just did not like this idea of God, church,” he said. “(I was) still a churchgoer, but constantly a cynic.” But the cynicism didn’t last. Today, he calls God, “The Builder.” ‘Whoever built me, this is too much, too weird that it happened by accident,” he said. “It didn’t happen by accident.”
Allen said, “I always do ask…what did you want me to do?.....I do ask it but you got to be prepared for the answer……
Many men have unfortunately responded to living in such a culture by making a quiet retreat from the traditional and biblical roles that they were designed for. The have become quiet about their faith and reclusive in their churches.
Women have filled many of the vacuums left by the exit of men from a passionate pursuit of God and His will for their lives.
When Jesus fed the 5,000 the loaves and the fishes the numbers were actually much higher that were fed. 5,000 was only the number of men that were counted. Women and children were fed in addition to that number of men. The estimates are as high as 15,000 total people. If you found a church today with 5,000 men and then added the women and children the estimates would be much higher. Men are very absent from the modern church world. If not in body they are often absent in leadership and in a passionate intellectual faith.
The churches I preached at in Brazil were primarily women, children and teenagers.
Other than the pastor if men were there they were very much in the background.
Men bring certain things to the table because of how God created them. Too many men now operate in support roles to what women are doing instead of leading in the areas God has called them to. Men have a specific wiring, a unique makeup and calling that can never be replaced. Just like women are gifted and unique and men could never do what they do as well as they do it so it is also true of men.
Professor David Popenoe in his book “Life Without Father” said, "Depriving children of fathers has become the most prevalent form of child mal-treatment in America today."
Prison Study: 60% of rapist from homes without fathers, 75% of youth who committed murder and 95% of inmates in prisons came from homes without fathers.
A positive and continuous relationship with one’s father has been found to be associated with good self-concept, higher self-esteem, higher self-confidence in personal and social interaction, higher moral maturity, reduced rates of unwed teen pregnancy, greater internal control and higher career aspirations. Men’s presence in a strategic church settings brings the same.
It doesn’t take long to make certain observations when it comes to men regardless of what part of the world they come from. God has made men unique and passionate for certain things in life. Men are commonly drawn to such things as video games and sports and educational pursuits such as math and science.
Women now earn 57 percent of bachelors degrees and 59 percent of masters degrees. They also earn more Ph.D.’s than men in the humanities, social sciences, and education.
But in areas such as math, physics, computer science and various engineering areas the percentages drastically change to 90% men to women.
I witnessed this phenomenon two years ago when I attended my daughters graduation from college. As diplomas were given for each educational area it was typically gender specific. When the education degrees were given it was almost all young ladies and when the engineering graduates were called upon they were all young men.
Math 55 is advertised in the Harvard catalog as “prob¬ably the most difficult undergraduate math class in the country.” The two-semester fresh¬man course meets for three hours a week but the catalog says that homework for the class takes between 24 and 60 hours a week. Math 55 does not look like America.
Each year as many as 50 students sign up, but at least half drop out within a few weeks. As one former student told The Crimson newspaper in 2006, “We had 51 students the first day, 31 students the second day, 24 for the next four days, 23 for two more weeks, and then 21 for the rest of the first semester.” The final class roster, according to The Crimson: “45 percent Jewish, 18 percent Asian, 100 percent male.”
Hugh Ross, an astrophysicist and strong Christian apologist, says that the average church has 2 women to every man but when they come and speak on evidences for God or on apologetics that their audiences are typically 90% men. Hugh says that ‘somehow we have allowed our churches to be more designed to meet the needs of women than of men’.
When men don’t live up to their Christian calling then the church can lose its direction in some very important area. We see this happening at an unbelievable rate in the American church today. Churches are no longer strong in their belief systems but are now more about having an experience or about having place to belong and feel secure.
The average church goer in 2012 is so lacking in their belief system that they now go to most any building that calls itself a church as long as the worship is fun, the people are positive and they leave feeling good about themselves.
Somewhere we stopped asking the right questions and many of those questions should be coming from Christian men.
In 1 John chapter 2 verses 12-14 we have a passage that speaks directly roles that men fill in society: children, fathers & young men. I want each of us to consider the importance of moving through each of these progressions in our walk with God.
1 John is about achieving that ultimate fellowship with God. It is about discovering what it means to live and experience all that God wants for us in this life. Some of things John has already mentioned are our need to understand the magnitude of Who Jesus is, to be honest about sin in our lives and to learn what it means to truly love one another. We also need to understand what spiritual growth is supposed to look like.
(12) I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of His Name,
(13) I am writing to you, fathers, because you have come to know the One Who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have had victory over the evil one.
(14) I have written to you, children, because you have come to know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have come to know the One Who is from the beginning. I have written to you young men, because you are strong, God's Word remains in you, and you have victory over the evil one.
Stages seem out of order. 'Young men' should have been second in most of our minds.
Many commentaries take the liberty to change John's order and interpret the passage in a manner that puts 'fathers' last. I don't. I think John, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, knew exactly what he was doing. Being a father does not presuppose being old.
I became a father in 1985 .. ….when I was only 26 then 28, 31, 33, 35, and 38.
My parents became parents while only 20 years old.
Three steps each man needs to take to be all that God wants him to be.
STEP #1: Each man needs to have a true relationship with Jesus Christ. We need to ask ourselves, ‘AM I A CHILD OF GOD?’
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of His Name…..I have written to you, children, because you have come to know the Father.
The question is not, ‘AM I A MEMBER OF A CHURCH?’ or ‘HAVE I MADE A DECISION TO BE A CHRISTIAN?’ but ‘AM I GOD’S CHILD’?
John tells us that two things are true if a person is truly a child of God.
1) They have recognized and dealt with the problem of SIN in their lives. , because your sins have been forgiven on account of His Name.
It is that little secret that people don’t hear much about nowadays: The truth that each one of us is born into this world with a nature bent towards sin and we act out on it 24 hours a day.
A true child of God has come before God and confessed their sin. They have not tried to rationalize it or point to others who are worse sinners. A true child of God has been honest with God and has found forgiveness at the foot of the cross. Jesus told Nicodemus, who was one of the most educated men in Israel, ‘you must be born again’. That is step number one.
2) They have a relevant relationship with their heavenly Father: because you have come to know the Father.
Galations 4:6 Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God. Rom 8:16
God is not some distant deity that they give occasional worship to but He is the One that they have a genuine, daily and dynamic relationship with. They KNOW Him. Some of you here this morning could tell us more about God than we would have time to listen to but knowing about Him does not mean that you know Him.
Two different words for ‘children’ in verses 12 and 14. In verse 12 the word for children means those who are born but in verse 14 it is a word meaning those who are uninstructed.
This second group are children not because they may be brand new in the faith but because they have not grown in their faith. They may have been born again for a long time.
It is typical for churches to have many who may have been Christians for many years but for one reason or another they have never grown past the beginning stages of spiritual maturity.
In fact some who been Christians for a much shorter time may be more faithful in study and prayer, more willing to share their faith and even able to answer more questions about their faith.
Bill Hybals , pastor of a Chicago area ‘seeker sensitive’ mega church came out a few years ago with the statement, ‘we made a mistake’ . The church hired a consulting agency to examine their church and they found out something that their church did not want to publish: They had made no disciples.
Ravi Zachariah says the ‘What we win them with we win them to’. If we win them to a shallow environment then that will be the direction of their faith. Without the Word of God they will wander at best looking for the next new thing. ‘
we have churches filled with 1,000 s of young people who cannot answer basic Bible questions’. I am afraid that we also have churches filled with all ages that cannot answer the questions they should or defend they faith they profess to have.
Why hasn’t the second group grown? They have lacked a relationship with God that is consistent with what a FATHER is to be in a child’s life.
1) Hearing the Father’s counsel and guidance
2) Spending time in the Father’s presence
1 Peter 2:2 - Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the Word that by it you may grow in respect to salvation. (If you fed a baby like most Christians feed their spiritual life you would starve it all week and it 5 gallons of milk on Sunday.) A healthy baby has a constant appetite.
If I could bestow one magic formula upon the church that would result in a drastic change it would be in the area of the APPETITE for the things of God.
Phil 2:13 ‘For it is God Who is at work in you both the WILL and to WORK for His good pleasure’. We live in a day when believers look for loop holes or to find the minimum requirements for the road to heaven.
No man will ever achieve God’s purpose for their life unless they first discover Who God is and understand that knowing Him begins with dealing with the sin issue in our lives. Then they have to have a daily commitment to spend time with Him and get to know Him better so they can grow to become like He is.
STEP #2: EACH MAN NEEDS TO HAVE A DYNAMIC FAITH. We need to ask ourselves, ‘AM I IMPACTING THE LIVES OF OTHERS’.
I am writing to you, fathers, because you have come to know the One Who is from the beginning…... I have written to you, fathers, because you have come to know the One Who is from the beginning.
John repeats the same phrase with regard to being a faithful father. It is a phrase that connects a person to a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ.
Gal 4:19 - My children in whom I am again in labor until Christ be formed in you (Paul felt that the birth process isn't done until Christ is reflected in a life.
The one thing that is true about a father is that he lives his life primarily for the sake of others. As soon as you have a child your life forever changes.
Being a father in the faith can be understood by three simple characteristics:
MULTIPLY: 'you have known HIM Who is from the beginning'.
This stresses more than just the knowledge of God but of Jesus Christ. We multiply as we lead others to know this same Jesus.
Paul described Timothy as his child in the faith(1 Tim 1:2) Father's in the church are concerned that others come to faith in Christ.
Colossians 1:28 'we proclaim Christ, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man mature in Christ'.
The main problem in witnessing is not that we don’t say something but that we don’t have something to say. We don’t know how to ‘warn’ and ‘teach’ with the kind of ‘wisdom’ that helps others to ‘mature in Christ’.
PROVIDE: They feel the burden of meeting the physical needs of others. They give to provide for the financial burdens of the church.
Most CHILDREN walk around your home totally oblivious to the real cost of keeping this family going. People walk around this church, putting smallest bill they have in the offering and never understanding what is necessary for this church's needs to be met.
NURTURE: Instructing and disciplining others.
1800’s child rearing manuals were written to fathers and not mothers. Bible tells the fathers to bring them up in the nurture and discipline of the Lord.
They look for opportunities to get involved to make sure positions are filled, that the Word of God is honored, and that nothing goes wanting and the Church isn't an embarrassment to the Christ they love and know.
Thinking right now about people in this fellowship that fit this category. How valuable they are. They make sure things get done and make such great sacrifices for this church realizing that in doing that they are ultimately doing it for Christ
1 Corinthians 13:11 Paul says, 'When I was a child I thought like a child, I spoke like a child, I reasoned like a child, but when I became a man I put away childish things'
For some of us it is time to put away childish things and get to growing. Start being concerned about reaching others for Jesus, providing for the needs of the church, and discipling others in their faith.
God has called each man here, every believer here, to have grown in their faith to the place where we can share our faith, defend our faith and to nurture others in their own growth in the things of God.
STEP #3: EACH MAN NEEDS TO HAVE A VICTORIOUS FAITH: We need to ask ourselves, ‘AM I LIVING THE OVERCOMING LIFE OF CHRIST’?
I am writing to you, young men, because you have had victory over the evil one. …I have written to you young men, because you are strong, God's Word remains in you, and you have victory over the evil one.
The reason this is the third and final category is because this is the ultimate place our walk with Christ should take us. We are not just sure of our salvation. We are not just serving others and sharing our faith. We are warriors for the kingdom of God.
A young man in John's day represented the military might of a nation. Today we count tanks, ships, missiles..etc but in the in Bible days to assess the power of a nation they counted one thing: Young men. They were the army, the fighting force. They were the ones the enemy worried about. Without them any nation could be defeated.
There are three word that help to describe who these types are in the church: VISION – VITALITY – VICTORY
VISION: They understand a battle beyond what most in the church are aware of.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Eph 6:12
VITALITY: They recognize that the evil one is to be opposed and can be defeated
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith. 1 Peter 5:8-9
They recognize their resource for victory is the Word of God: you are strong….God's Word remains in you,
1) The most mature in the body recognize that strength in our walk with Christ develops out of our relationship with the Word of God.
If you abide in My Word then you are truly disciples of Mine and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set your free. JN 8:31-32
If you abide in Me, and My Word abides in you, ask whatever you wish and it shall be done for you. JN 15:7
How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy Word…. I have hidden the Word of God in my heart that I may not sin against thee. PS 119:9,11
A workman not ashamed…handling accurately the Word of God. 2 Tim 2:15
Jesus defeated Satan in the wilderness by stating, ‘It is written…it is written…it is written’.
If a man is weak in God Word it does not matter what else he may try to fight with. We are given one weapon, a sword, and we better learn to use it.
VICTORY: you have overcome the evil one When you recognize your enemy and you bring the right weapon to the fight then it is natural that victory follows.
You might say, ‘I am not afraid of the devil!’ but the question is ‘Is the devil afraid of you?’ Are you a threat to him or are you nothing that he has to reckon with.
You are either a victim or a victor, overcome or an overcomer.
We are in a battle and the other side has never been more aggressive than they are today. Too many believers are apathetic to commitment, distracted by the culture and oblivious to those who would conquer us.
William Lane Craig described the scene of a debate he was in with an atheistic college professor. Craig said there were rows of young men there to see their professor mop up the auditorium with this foolish Christian. Why shouldn’t their professor defeat this myth believing Christian since they so easily stumble the Christians they meet with questions like, ‘Who made God?’, ‘What about evolution?’ or ‘Why is there evil in the world’? Answers available to all!
Craig said his wife sat behind this large gathering of atheist young men and when their professor was obviously not doing well she said they seethed with the ugliest of anger.
In fact Craig says that, even though when he comes to a college he asks the atheist club to pick their best to debate him, he often later gets responses from the atheist students that the debate was fixed and that it was a set up by Christians to make atheists look bad.
1. There are more answers to defend our faith than ever before in history but less people seem ready to fight the good fight. Too many men are saying, ‘Women and children first’.
The problem is that we are talking life issues and not lifeboats.
2. We men also need to realize there are men on the other side who are not apathetic about their beliefs and because they so often encounter those who profess faith in Christ but are unable to defend the Christian faith they then think there is no defense.
3. Jesus didn’t come to give us the mundane life but the abundant life. He did not come that we would be doormats to those in the world who hate God but that we would walk in victory and live an overcoming life.
We could do away with a large portion of the book of Acts if the early church would have acted like most Christians do today. If they would just have not made themselves so different from the world they lived in. If they would have lived a casual apathetic faith in Christ which did little to concern Satan or to threaten those around them.
Acts in 2012 might just be a paragraph long.
For the church to become what it needs to be men are going to have not just be in the fort or even to just be at the walls.
It has come time now to take our weapons and run to the battle instead of always waiting for it to come our way.
