A truck driver was hauling a load of 500 penguins to the zoo. Unfortunately, his truck broke down, so he waved down another truck and offered the driver $500 to take the penguins to the zoo.
The next day, the first truck driver picked up his repaired truck. When he drove into town, he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the second truck driver walking across the road with 500 penguins, waddling single file behind him.
He jumped out of his truck, ran up to the driver and said, “What’s going on? I gave you $500 to take these penguins to the zoo!” To which the man responded, “I did take them to the zoo. But I had enough money left over so now we’re going to the movies.”
That guy didn’t fully understand what he was supposed to be doing. Likewise, too many men today are fuzzy about their sense of purpose and are not living as men on mission.
As we continue in our series called, “Back to the Beginning” from the Book of Genesis, our focus today is on how a man on mission is all about ministry. Last weekend we had front-row seats to the creation of Adam and were challenged with this truth: God created every person on purpose and put us in a place to live out His purposes. We’ll continue zooming in now as we see how God called Adam to live on mission for His glory in five different ways – He gave him a place, a purpose, permission, a prohibition, and punishment.
1. Place. Turn to Genesis 2:10-14: “A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.”
God created a place and provided the water necessary for life to flourish. This great river separated into four rivers – the Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates.
• Pishon. This first river flowed around Havilah, a region with gold, bdellium (an aromatic resin that looked like pearls), and onyx stones. Interestingly, these precious items were later found in the tabernacle, the temple, and on the clothing of the high priest.
• Gihon. This river flowed around the land of Cush, likely located in the upper Nile territory of Egypt.
• Tigris. This river ran east of Assyria.
• Euphrates. This name means, “fruitfulness.”
Commentors have tried to locate these rivers and the exact location of the Garden of Eden, which everybody knows is in Door County, Wisconsin. While the Tigris and Euphrates are still rivers today, it’s quite likely the terrain and topography shifted over the centuries, especially since the worldwide flood would have rerouted these rivers.
The point is not so much where the Garden of Eden is today but that it was a real place, and these were four actual rivers. The use of proper names show Eden was an actual place. Eden is historical, not mythical. Because of what happened there, we aren’t meant to know where it is today because according to Genesis 3:24, we can’t enter it in this life anyway.
Another life-giving river will one day flow from God’s presence according to Revelation 22:1: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city.” Ezekiel 47:9 adds, “Everything will live where the water goes.” The main point is God graciously provided these rivers to water God’s garden.
Notice in verse 15 how God purposely and intentionally inserted Adam into this wonderful place of paradise: “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden…” The word “took” has the idea of “seizing” or “grasping” and shows how God picked Adam up and placed him in the place He had prepared for him. Interestingly, the word “put” means, “caused to rest.” Adam has been through a lot in his young life. He was made “Dirt-man” and then God breathed a soul into him.
Shortly after he stood up and looked around, he was whisked away by the Almighty and planted in the Garden of Eden. Dan Doriani writes: “In the Western mind, we work five days to earn the right to rest and play on the weekend. But God tells believers to start the week with rest before we work. In Scripture, rest is a gift, not a reward.” I wonder if Adam took a deep breath and put Psalm 46:1 into practice: “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
2. Purpose. According to the last part of verse 15, Adam was put in a place called the garden of Eden “to work it and keep it.” While Adam was given a place for worship and rest, a key part of his purpose was to work, which means, “to till and labor.” He was called to be productive, even in paradise. This idea has its roots in Genesis 1:28 where we read Adam was to “subdue and have dominion.” The word “work” also means, “to worship and serve,” which is the highest privilege a person can have.
In addition, Adam was called to “keep” the garden, which has the idea of “protecting, guarding, keeping safe, and exercising great care over.” Man’s work ethic goes back to Eden. Later, the words “work” and “keep” were used of priestly duties. Work is our way to give back to the Lord in service as we strive to keep His commands. We see both these tasks in Numbers 3:7-8: “They shall keep guard [keep] over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister [work] at the tabernacle.”
Here are three applications:
• Work is not a curse but is part of our purpose. Many wrongly think work is part of the curse, but Adam was given work to do before the fall. God has created each of us on purpose and placed in a specific place to work out His purposes. According to Genesis 3:17-19, it was after Adam sinned that the ground was cursed, thorns and thistles appeared, and work caused him to sweat and become weary.
• We’re called to see our work as worship. It was Martin Luther who said the farmer shoveling manure and the maid milking a cow can worship God through their work just as much as the minister can preaching. There’s a sense of sacred in your vocation because you and I are called to serve, not just be served. Settle this truth: you are made to worship through your work as you serve others.
Parents, teach your kids that chores are a way to worship God and that schoolwork is a way to serve God. If you’re a young adult, don’t slack off in your job, even if you don’t like it. If you’re retired, your work is not done. Find a place to serve and worship God with the time He has entrusted to you. Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” Our work is a gift to us from God and how we work is our gift back to Him.
• Part of a man’s purpose is to protect what has been entrusted to him. According to Song of Songs 5:7, we’re to be “watchmen of the walls,” in the workplace and in our homes.
As we learned last week, God puts us in the exact place He wants us so we will live out His purposes. A man on mission is all about ministry.
Our daughter Lydia and her husband Jamie are members of a church in Virginia called Pillar. Clint Clifton was the founding pastor of this church and died recently at the age of 43. He was used by God to start over 30 churches and a worldwide movement among Marine bases called the Praetorium Project. He also poured into Jamie and Lydia, which is the main reason Jamie, who served as a Marine, oversaw the church in Quantico for several years, and is in seminary right now.
Pastor Clint makes me think of a story about D.L. Moody. While in England, he heard evangelist Henry Varley give a challenge, “The world has yet to see what God can do through a man who is totally yielded to Him.” Moody was captivated by these words and resolved, “By the grace of God, I will be that man!” Will you be that man? Here’s what I wrote down for each of us to ponder: It’s not our ability, but our availability, that matters most to God.
3. Permission. In verse 16, we see the first “command” in the Bible: “And the LORD God commanded the man…” The word “command” comes early in the verse and is quite strong. It means, “to give an order, to charge, to direct.” The Creator is giving “Dust-man” a direct order. Because God created Adam, He has the right to give commands to His creation.
Notice how Jehovah Elohim graciously provided for Adam by giving him permission to enjoy his environment: “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden.” In the Hebrew, a form of the word “eat” is repeated twice for emphasis. Translators have rendered it, “surely eat” or “freely eat.” Literally, it means, “eating thou shalt eat.” It’s a very strong affirmation for Adam to enjoy eating with great delight to his heart’s content. I’m reminded of Romans 2:4 which says, “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.”
Interestingly, in Genesis 3:2, when Eve talked with the serpent, she omitted the phrase, “surely eat.” Listen to how she characterized God as a kill-joy instead of the good God who graciously allowed them to eat as much as they wanted: “We may eat of the trees in the garden.”
A man on mission is all about ministry.
4. Prohibition. God gave Adam permission to eat from every tree except one in verse 17: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat…” The word “good” refers to “well-pleasing and morally correct,” while “evil” speaks of “morally bad and an extremely ugly evil.” Don’t miss how God begins with blessing and then He establishes the boundary because blessings always come with boundaries.
Most people think of God as one who prohibits, but remember He gave permission before the prohibition. The permission is broad, and the restriction is narrow. The maximum was allowed, the minimum was forbidden. There was only one “no” and everything else was a “yes.” Every good parent knows that love always establishes limits. No one should ever accuse God of being unfair.
Even in this prohibition we see God’s goodness and mercy. God’s warnings are evidence of grace because He wants us to stay away from everything that will dishonor Him, damage others, and destroy us. Interestingly, the serpent minimizes God’s provision and permission and magnifies His prohibition. He wants Adam and Eve to see God as harsh and as somehow holding out on them when the exact opposite is true.
We don’t fully know why God put this tree there except that He did. He wanted to give Adam the choice of whether to obey and trust His words. To enjoy the good, Adam needed to believe that God alone knows what is good and what is not good for him.
A man on mission is all about ministry.
5. Punishment. God gave Adam a choice of whether he would obey or not. He didn’t create people as puppets or robots, but rather as responsible moral agents with a will to decide. In the last part of verse 17, God was quite clear what would happen if Adam disobeyed: “…for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
The penalty would be severe and certain: “you shall surely die.” This is the first mention of death in the Bible and is tied to disobedience. Just as “eat” was repeated twice in verse 16 and translated as “surely eat,” so here “die” is repeated emphatically to show Adam he would “surely die.” Literally it reads like this, “Dying thou shalt die.”
Unfortunately, as we will see in a couple weeks, Adam and Eve knew the good and were unable to do it and they knew the evil and could not help but do that. Some may think this punishment was too severe for such a seemingly minor disobedience, but we must remember who issued the command. This is Jehovah Elohim who spoke stars into existence. God is completely just because all sin is cosmic treason against the LORD Most High.
At its core, death involves separation. Adam would die spiritually in the “day” he disobeyed, and he would eventually die physically. As our representative head, Adam’s sin caused separation between us and a holy God. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
A man on mission is all about ministry. This was Adam’s calling and commission.
Speaking of men living on mission, I’m reminded of what I shared at our Men’s Bonfire this past fall. Here’s how I began…
Beth and I owned a Honda Odyssey for about 13 years and ended up putting 260,000 miles on it. We disposed of it because it started leaking fluids…a lot. Two and a half years ago, we bought a used 2016 entry-level, basic-trim Honda Pilot with only 35,000 miles on it. We went from heated leather seats to cloth seats. It doesn’t even have an outdoor temperature gauge on the dash. We’re fortunate it has a radio.
One big issue with the Pilot has been how low the driver’s seat is…we just thought it was stationary and so we dealt with it, though we complained about it often. We sat so low it was hard to see the road clearly.
So, for 50,000 miles, which correlates to more than 1,000 driving hours, we thought this was just the way it was. Until a couple months ago, when we were driving home from an 800-mile trip to New York. As we were making our way around Chicago on I-80, I started getting sleepy, so I broke out the Twizzlers and tried other methods to stay awake.
As I moved my arms around, and stretched, I felt a lever on the left side of the driver’s seat. I decided to pull it up to see what would happen and my seat went higher! I kept pumping the handle and my seat kept going up! It went so high that I had to adjust my mirrors. I could actually see more of the road in front of me and I felt more aware of the vehicles around me. I also felt more awake.
My perspective totally changed when I was raised up…
At our men’s BBQ in August, we were challenged by 1 Corinthians 16:13-14: “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” We focused on 5 Mandates for Men.
I want to add one more…it’s time for men on mission to rise up! Too many men are living as spiritual slackers, slouching in their seats, shrinking back, or have just settled. Let’s bring these together. It’s time for men to…
1. Wake up!
2. Stand up!
3. Man up!
4. Grow up!
5. Love up!
6. Rise up!
Men, we need to reclaim biblical masculinity and live on mission as we minister His purposes where He has placed us.
Before going much further, I’d like to speak to women right now by addressing a sensitive topic that is often hidden and kept secret. For some of you, you’ve experienced “toxic masculinity” where you’ve been mistreated, bullied, or abused by a man in your life. You don’t deserve to be treated like this and it is not your fault. Celebrate Recovery, which meets on Friday nights, is a safe place to process the pain of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. Several of our women leaders are equipped to provide you with help and support.
If you’ve been sexually assaulted, and you’re ready to find hope and healing, Edgewood member Jamie McWade, a professional counselor, is planning to begin a free online group in March. For more information, send her an email: jmcwade@lutheranfamilyservice.org.
OK, let me come back to men now. Like many of you, I’ve been using the Edgewood Bible Reading plan developed by Pastor Kyle. On January 10th, I read a verse about men on mission from 1 Samuel 10:26: “Men of valor, whose hearts God had touched.” Valor means, “strength and moral courage.” This verse made me think of the Men of Valor and Excellence mentoring program for young boys at Youth Hope.
In contrast to men of valor, the very next verse speaks of “worthless fellows,” which refers to “wickedness which leads to worthlessness.” Guys, let’s be men of valor whose hearts are touched by God, not worthless fellows who just live for ourselves.
I’m calling the men of Edgewood to be men on mission who see every person as valuable and worthy of protection. This past week, I watched a video clip which showed a man running to save his own life during a robbery at a restaurant while leaving his girlfriend behind. After it was over, the woman went looking for her man, who was nowhere to be seen because he had fled in fear.
Unfortunately, this is a picture of how men often abandon women when they experience a crisis pregnancy. Instead of being men of valor whose hearts God had touched, many men today are fleeing out of fear, allowing the thief to steal, kill, and destroy life (see John 10:10).
On this Sanctity of Life weekend, I want to take our remaining time and focus on the role and responsibility men have to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves. Our job is to exercise great care over our offspring and to protect the preborn.
I have preached on protecting the preborn every January for over 30 years and I’ll continue to do so. Usually, the focus has been on women but today I want to speak to men. Here’s a command from God found in Deuteronomy 30:19: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.”
Larry Haufle, who has been attending Edgewood with his wife Ashley, and their two daughters, has a keen theological mind. I have his permission to share something he posted on Facebook this week.
Some commentators have said that Eden was like an ancient temple garden prepared for a King, and we were the image bearers commissioned [as priests] to be a representation of Him to all of creation while we maintain it. Since we are made in the image of God, we have intrinsic purpose and value, which is why life is precious as seen in Genesis 9:6: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
Let me circle back to Adam’s role from earlier in the message: Part of a man’s purpose is to protect what has been entrusted him as “watchmen of the walls.” As part of that responsibility, I submit men must serve as watchmen over life in the womb.
Abortion has become a hot-button political issue, but at its core, it’s a moral and justice issue because innocent lives are being snuffed out. Men, this is not just a women’s issue. Newly released figures show that one-fifth of the preborn in the United States were aborted in 2020, which comes out to about one million babies. Sadly, over 63 million babies have been aborted since 1973. An exact breakdown is difficult to determine because 54% of all terminations don’t take place in abortion clinics but are now the result of the “abortion pill,” which is becoming less regulated and more available.
Edgewood member Ken White serves as the Men’s Services Coordinator at Pregnancy Resources. Recently, I asked him about the influence of men when it comes to the decision for a woman to carry and parent a baby when she gets pregnant: “The new mom gets advice from everywhere and seemingly everyone! From family members. From friends. From co-workers, even from strangers. The number one influencer of the mom is the father of the baby because 61% of the time the dad is the first to hear the news from the new mom. They are very influential in the baby decision process.”
This confirms a 2021 Care Net study, which states the father has the most influence on that decision, far outweighing the influence of medical professionals and the woman’s mother.
When men say something like this to the woman, “I’m good with whatever you decide,” it’s a cop out and makes her feel very alone and abandoned. The best thing you can say is something like this, “I am with you in this. I don’t want you to go through this alone. We created life and now let’s protect this life.”
Men of valor, let’s be convictional and not compromise, but let’s also be compassionate and caring.
Don’t waver. Don’t waffle. Don’t wander. Don’t flee in fear! Speak up for the little, the least, and the lost!
Wake up, stand up, man up, grow up, love up, and rise up, O Men of God! A man on mission is all about ministry. Men of valor must value every life.
For the past two years on Sanctity of Life Weekend, we’ve focused on the help Pregnancy Resources provides to women who’ve had abortions. If that describes you, please know abortion is not the unforgivable sin. There is freedom and forgiveness available through Christ. Pregnancy Resources offers a post-abortion Bible Study on a regular basis to help bring hope and healing to hurting women.
Here are some just-released stats from Pregnancy Resources for 2022. Everything they do is provided free of charge.
• 1,932 distinct individuals served (+34%)
• 919 pregnancy tests
• 828 ultrasounds (+34%)
• 73% of those planning an abortion chose life
• 1,438 clients indicated no spiritual beliefs (74%)
• 1,305 spiritual discussions
• 456 attended classes
• 1,839 packages of diapers
• 205 new baby gift bags (Edgewood provided many of these)
• 292 cans of formula
• 82 car seats
• 435 containers of prenatal vitamins
Pregnancy Resources also ministers to men.
• 927 interactions with men
• 139 men participated in classes or mentoring sessions
Pregnancy Resources offers coaching and and classes for dads taught by men. There’s a table in the lobby set up with all kinds of information. If you want to go deeper, we’ve posted seven free resources on the Sermon Extras Tab on our website and app.
Men and Abortion Video
Pregnancy Resources
Pregnancy Help and Resources for Men
Care Net Study of Men and Abortion
31 Ways to be Pro Abundant Life
Interview with a Post-Abortive Father
Why All Men Should Be Against Abortion
In a recent Care Net study about men who were involved in an abortion, more than half were attending church at least once a month, yet only 5% sought advice from anyone in their church. I long for Edgewood to be a place of grace for both men and women looking for wisdom and healing.
Recognizing the need to grow our ministry to men in general, Pastor Kyle, along with three of our deacons – Terry Hartley, Larry Wilson, and Matt Bowman, are giving focused attention to equip men to live on mission for the glory of God. We have three different men’s Bible studies each week – Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. in Room 053, Wednesday nights in the Fireside Room at 6:30 p.m., and Thursday mornings at 8:30 in Room 042. We are planning on a men’s gathering event in March and have scheduled our first overnight retreat on April 28-29 at Grace Camp in DeWitt.
I can think of several reasons why men struggle to live on mission.
• Most men feel alone and isolated.
• Many men are so busy taking penguins to the movies that they’re not even thinking about living out their purpose.
• A lot of men struggle spiritually because of secret sins like pornography. According to the president of Covenant Eyes, which provides internet accountability (it’s what I use), up to 70% of men in the church struggle with this.
• Another impediment to growth is the guilt, shame, and regret which come from sins like abortion.
Play Abortion Apology Video
There’s hope and healing in Christ. When Adam failed in the garden, we all failed with him. But Jesus is the true gardener who obeyed in the Garden of Gethsemane to deliver disobedient gardeners like us. Close your eyes as we pray.
Your grace leads sinners like us home.
From death to life so we can be forgiven and free forever.
Redeem us and restore us by your grace.
Closing Song: Grace
