Introduction:
It is said that Andrew Bonar, a great man of prayer, had three rules: (1) Not to speak to any man before speaking to Jesus; (2) Not to do anything with his hands until he had been on his knees; (3) Not to read the papers until he had read his Bible.
WBTU:
In our Christian culture we hear a lot mentioned about a device called "the quiet time". A quiet time is a routine period, usually at the beginning or end of the day, in which five, fifteen, thirty minutes, an hour or more are set aside to read and study God's Word, pray, and possibly perform other spiritual disciplines. The Bible encourages continual prayer and Bible meditation. "Pray continually" (1 Thess.5:17). "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests" (Eph. 6:18). "His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:2).
Today is Father’s Day. 1 Timothy 2:8- I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer
Thesis: From my experience, a daily quite time will help a man deal with the challenges and struggles of life
For instances:
The challenge and struggle of a relationship with a woman
I struggled with dating relationships for several years. Didn’t get married until I was 28 years old. I struggled with the whole concept of marriage for a time.
Struggled with finding the right woman.
My wife, Crystal, and I were set up on a blind date by mutual friends in eastern NC. We were married in June 1998. What a blessing. Genesis 3:18- The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.
A woman can make a man or break a man.
1. Proverbs 27:15-16- A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand.
2. Proverbs 18:22- He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.
However, there have been challenges along the way. Adjustments from being a bachelor.
Adjustments from having 2 sets of twin boys.
Adjustments from my wife having health concerns.
Adjustments from all of our moves. We are currently in our 5th church and uprooting family so many times has been an ongoing struggle.
Crystal and I usually pray together on the weekends for the upcoming church services and at other times about troubling situations. I find a peace in praying with her and for her.
The challenge and struggle of the workplace
A man is challenged in the workplace. A lot of a man’s identity comes from his career, his job. A man works hard for his status, his pride, his income, his identity. Can even have the same attitude when it comes to his hobbies. Must outperform everyone else.
A man has a struggle in the workplace. For a good portion of men they can get so caught up in fighting, in working hard for their job that they forget that they are head of their household and their wife and children desperately need them.
Sanctus Real song Lead Me- Oh Father, show me the way To lead them Won't You lead me? To lead them with strong hands To stand up when they can't Don't want to leave them hungry for love Chasing things that I could give up I'll show them I'm willing to fight And give them the best of my life So we can call this our home Lead me 'cause I can't do this alone Father, lead me 'cause I can't do this alone
Because we seek God’s wisdom and leading, there might come a time that we refuse that promotion (even though we really want it) because we know it will not be good for our family. There might come a time that we quit our job because the boss is demanding that we work 70 to 80 hours a week. There might come a time that we stop trying to work ourselves to death to be a great warrior, to be a great whatever, so that we can be there for our family.
A female hospice nurse said in a recent article that she has often heard dying male patients say, “I wish I hadn't worked so hard.” She goes on to say, “All of the men I have nursed deeply regret spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.”
III.The struggle of failure
There is going to come a time in a man’s life that he will fail, things will go bad, no matter how much talent he has or how hard he works.
Think of Job. He had it all. 7 sons and 3 daughters, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 donkeys, large number of servants. Job 1:3- He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. In a series of events that had little to do with Job he lost it all. He even lost his health, he had painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
In the midst of this pain and suffering and loss, Job has his wife. However, his wife says to him, “Oh give it up! Curse God and die!” Now that has never happened to me, I’m thankful. Many times I have come home like a dog that been whipped with his tail between his legs. The worst thing that could happen to me is have my wife give up on me. Ego for a man.
From the life of Job we find that he was a man who was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. I am sure he was a man who believed in a quiet time with God.
When bad things happen despite our best efforts to the contrary, we find that Satan comes to us and says much the same thing as Job’s wife.
Asaph in Psalm 73:13 says much the same thing. “Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.”
Habakkuk 3:17-19- Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength
Where could I go oh where could I go Seeking a refuge for my soul Needing a friend to save me in the end Where could I go but to the Lord
The challenge of success
There will be times in a man’s life when things are going well, everything he touches seems to turn to gold. Good job, good family, good church, good everything. Watch out for the trap.
After the death of King Saul, David had many victories. Anointed King, Jerusalem is conquered and David brings the ark into Jerusalem, God promises David a lasting kingship, David and his army defeats many enemies.
The man after God’s own heart was doing quite well. That is when the sin for David began. 2 Samuel 11:1- In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent out ... the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites .... But David remained in Jerusalem.
Nothing wrong with taking a break but this was more than a break from strenuous fighting, this was arrogant pride. Deuteronomy 8:17- You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”
Satan comes to us and says, “You are so wonderful, great, strong and brilliant. You don’t need the Lord. You can do just fine without Him.”
Abraham Lincoln- We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!
Proverbs 16:18- Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
We miss a Wednesday evening, a Sunday night or a Sunday School class here and there, and before we know it, we are out of church. We miss a day or two praying and studying our Bible and before we know it, our mind isn’t on the Lord, but on the things of the world. We start to pay attention to that pretty young lady at work and before we know it, we are sucked in. The devil never lays all of his cards on the table, but he comes slyly by enticing the heart and the mind, and before we realize it, we are in serious trouble! Just ask David.
To be a good example to my family
I want to convince my children to have a personal time with the Lord.
Our older twins were baptized last year and I want them to understand what I have learned and experienced in my walk with the Lord.
I have read the Bible and prayed with them every night since they were very young. I pray that they will develop their own time with the Lord.
Philippians 3:17- Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.
Harry Chapin- I've long since retired, my son's moved away I called him up just the other day I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind" He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad It's been sure nice talking to you" And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me He'd grown up just like me My boy was just like me And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon Little boy blue and the man on the moon When you comin' home son? I don't know when, but we'll get together then dad You know we'll have a good time then
