A FEW GOOD GODLY MEN
Ezekiel 22:30
The United States Marine Corp clearly states that they want “a few good men.” Honestly only the best of the best make it through their training. We have heard a song written by beloved writer, Bill Gaither, stating that God needs a few good men and this was accented by highlighting a few of the men who, on 9/11, demonstrated tremendous courage in the face of possible death. This world needs good men.
I offer to penetrating questions today: Does God want good men or does God want GODLY men? Godly men are good, but good men are not necessarily godly. Is being ‘good’ alone, good enough?
Good Men Godly Men
Are well liked Are well loved
Do the right thing Does things right
Has a good view of today Has a good view of eternity
Are known for their actions Are known for their heart
Meet Physical needs Meet Spiritual needs
Follows the Crowd Follows Christ
So the question truly is, “What is God looking for,” good or Godly.
As these questions filled my heart & soul & as I sensed God leading me to this subject there were two Biblical stories which I was reminded of.
* My heart was first drawn to the story found in 2 Chronicles of Judah’s King Asa. Scriptures record that when Asa came to the throne, He did “what was ‘good & right’ in the sight of the Lord & removed all the pagan altar & the high places. Furthermore, he shattered the pillars and sawed up the poles which were worshiped.
* He influenced His people of Judah to seek God for all things. When the 1m+ man army of Ethiopia made war against him, he sought God’s help first and God gave him victory against incredible odds. This put fear in the other Kings & gave peace to Asa. Yet, this isn’t the end of the story.
* Some 30+ years later when the King of Israel attacked Judah, Asa went to another King, and not God, for help. While they won the victory, Asa lost the blessing of God. You and I may tend to this is ‘no big deal’ because they won – but it was a big deal with God and it remains one.
* God sent Hanani to Asa with a message of confrontation about His actions. The summary statement is found in 2 Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the Lord run (to and fro) throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts area COMPLETELY His.”
* Men, based on my reading of God’s word it does not appear that God is just looking for ‘good men’. He is searching, seeking, and in quest those men whose hearts are COMPLETELY His.
* Becoming one of these men is not for the faint of heart or those with a half-hearted, lack luster loyalty, it required courage & commitment. His eye are still running to and fro looking for such men.
* The second story is found over in Ezekiel 22. For me this is a sister type of story to King Asa. This points men, dads, & granddads that God expects you to lead spiritually.
* The story of God’s chosen people is this: The Jewish nation which cannot get along (Baptists?) is divided into 2 Kingdoms, Israel in the North & Judah in the South. In particular, Israel is well documented for have one wicked King after another (just like their people).
* Simply put, God warned Israel and called on them to repent of their wickedness and to turn & follow HIM only. Their response was to reject God’s call. For this reason, they paid a price. Resisting God exacts a price! Around 722BC the Northern Kingdom, Israel, fell to the Assyrians & were taken into captivity and around 586BC The Southern Kingdom, Judah, fell to the Babylonians and were taken into captivity.
* Instead of living in the land of promise, they wound up living in the land of captivity, penalty, & cruelty. Why did this happen? Eze. 22:30 (read)
* Today, God is searching for men (we’ll get to the women), God is searching for men who will ‘repair the wall’ (the walls of our culture, our country, and even are churches are falling down.)
* God IS searching for men who will not only repair the wall, but also stand in the gap before Him. There is a gap between mankind and God. God is righteous and mankind, by nature, is unrighteous. We do this by answering His call. When Jesus ministered on earth, He called 12 men to “Follow Me.” Today we talk about walking with God, but we can never walk with God until we follow after Christ. Christ stood in the gap between our wickedness & God’s righteousness – and it cost Him His life. God is calling men today to be ‘The one’ who’ll repair the wall and stand in the gap because their heart is completely devoted to HIM.
* Before we give the characteristics of the man God is looking for, it might serve us well to determine if we are indeed ‘a man.’ There is a different between a grown-up boy and a man. This culture has lied to us about what it means to be a man just like it has lied to us about what it means to be a Father. Almost any male can contribute to the birth of a baby, but being a ‘dad’ requires more. The man God is looking for is more. Robert Lewis defines a man as one who “Rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously, & expects a greater reward, God’s reward.” Consider 3 characteristics of God’s man.
1. Demonstrates Compassion – This culture seems to have 2 extremes for men. One is the hard, cold, and calloused man like a “Steven Segal” character. He is one who expresses little or no emotion or remorse?
* The other type of man is the one who is almost ‘effeminate’. He has discarded all of the attributes of his testosterone and taken on the qualities which are equated with women. Quite honestly, the taming of manhood is, in large measure, a culprit in the decay of Christianity.
* Jesus was not an effeminate man. As a carpenter he was required to be in really good shape as he went to the woods to manufacture his own lumber. Quite likely, His young body was in excellent shape, His physical abilities were obvious, and yet, He was a man of compassion.
* When He saw the multitudes, the woman at the well, and arriving at the tomb of Lazarus – He was moved with compassion. Godly men are compassionate. Paul writes that the fruit of the spirit is, ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control.” At least 3 of these fruits deal with compassion.
* The compassionate man sees the need(s) of others. It is not enough to see the need; he wants to ‘do’ something about it. A man’s nature is to do and to fix. Men weary of talking about it; they want to do something about it. Godly men who stand in the gap & repair the wall – are men MOVED TO ACTION BY THEIR COMPASSION. This includes salvation.
2. Deep Convictions – While I could have used the word ‘commitment’, I fear that the concept of commitment has fallen on hard times. Your convictions are unshakeable, unbreakable, & unchangeable.
* Sadly, too many of us have convictions about things which don’t really matter for eternity. Who wins the national championship is not really big stuff in light of eternity! (any sport) Who is the #1 golfer in the world is truly temporary. Who won the beauty pageant won’t be listed on the walls of heaven.
* Godly men have deep convictions about the things of God and their relevance to the souls of men today. Honestly, Godly men are concerned about the souls of their family. Godly men are focused on the spiritual climate in their community. The reason this is Godly men believe that Jesus is the only way to God, to Heaven, and to eternal life. Their conviction is that everyone who doesn’t know Jesus needs to know Jesus because life can be only found in the One of Calvary.
* By the way, a Godly man will have his struggles. For me, I can identify with the Apostle Paul when he writes, “Those things I want to do, I don’t and those things I don’t want to do – dog-gone it – I do.” He continues his testimony by saying, “I haven’t reach my goal, but guess I’m not giving up, giving in, or going back! I’m pressing, leaning, reaching, & straining forward toward my goal of Jesus.”
* The Godly man is so deeply committed that he says, “If you want to go with me, let’s go. If not, I’ll see you later because for me and my house we will ‘SERVE’ the Lord.” We’ll not just talk about it, we’ll do it!
3. Displays Christ – Before you can display Christ you must know Christ, you must follow Christ and then you must walk with Christ. The sad truth of today is many people only know the church, they follow the church, and then they walk away from the church. The very reason they walk away is because the entirety of their faith is wrapped around an institution or organization. Now make no mistake, the person who knows Christ will be deeply committed to a local body because the authentic church is the bride and body of Christ. The Bible never gives any credence to a believer existing apart from the church, it doesn’t happen. However in the USA many have come to church and never been ‘change’ by the power of Christ.
* 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells of a transformation in your life. To know Christ personally is to be a NEW PERSON – there is no other way. You cannot hang on to your sour attitude & belong to Him. To know Him is to be renewed in your mind and have the same mind as Jesus. Consider this. The godly man KNOWS Jesus because Jesus has transformed his life.
* The godly man follows Jesus. This was the disciples call & the call for all others. There is no other call. Jesus said, “I only do what I see the Father do” so come follow me. Following Jesus means doing what He did. He touched people, taught people, served people, and saved people. His life was given to others – so is the life of a godly man.
* God is searching for men full of compassion who laugh, love, and cry. Men who’ll face eternity (and because their relationship to Christ) aren’t afraid to die.
* God’s searching or better said; “God call” is not an easy call. It is not for the good it is for the GODLY. You’re ‘Good ole boy?’ I’m reminded of a song which said, “Good old boy won’t make it into heaven, good ole boys won’t wear a crown. Good old boys won’t live forever, where the saints of God are found. Don’t you dare be misled, only Jesus gives real joy. You can take it from me, because I used to be a good old boy.”
* The problem with good old boys is they are never good enough to meet God’s standard. Only Godly is good enough.
