After reviewing these several areas on manhood according to God’s standard, how do you measure up? God wants you to be all that you can be according to His will and purposes for your life. All is not doom and gloom for men! God also wants us to walk in one area that He has predestinated for us and that is "to rule in our kingly and priestly positons" He has purposed for us.
ON BEING A KING
The bible says you’re a king and a priest;
You’re the head and not the tail;
You’re above and not beneath.
You’re more than a conqueror.
Let’s talk about you as a king.
Being a king means: Ruling – making decisions on behalf of others; being the head on behalf of others; being responsible/accountable for and to others; protecting others; and serving others.
In return, a king can/should be able to expect to be respected, served, and honored.
There are all kinds of kings. Some kings are good and some not so good. A good king isn’t a dictator, a user, abusive, negligent, or selfish. Might does not make right. Saul started out a good man and king. Then, pride, rebellion and insecurity got hold of him
and turned him into a king God had to get rid of.
David was a good king but he had a deadly flaw – lust. It caused him to lose the ability to rule at the level he started at. Yet, God still said David was a man after His own heart. God said this after David fell by stealing Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife. God said this because David knew how to repent and take responsibility for what he did. A man knows how to repent and take responsibility. David didn’t make excuses for himself. He didn’t blame others for his failure. He told God he had sinned and presented himself to God to be judged. Do you accept responsibility for your own actions?
Solomon, David’s son, was blessed with more wisdom than any man before, during or after him. Solomon had the same problem his father had. He allowed his lust for women and disobedience to God to bring him lower than any other king. The word says to whom you yield yourself to becomes you master. Who’s your master? When all was said and done, Solomon concluded that the whole duty of man was to fear God and keep His commandments.
Then, there was Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and successor to the throne. Rehoboam was unable to decide for himself. He rejected the counsel of the elders of the kingdom and listened to his running buddies instead. The result was that he ended up splitting the kingdom
and destroying all that his predecessors had worked so hard to achieve.
These men are in the bible to give us examples of the different kinds of kings we can be. We have to make sure that we pattern our lives after the right kind of king.
Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan, Saul’s son and David’s best friend. Mephibosheth was a prince, but he lived in Lodebar, when he belonged in the palace. He was hiding from David because he thought David wanted to kill him. Lodebar is a desolate place; a pastureless waste, with little provision: not the place for royalty. Do you find yourself in Lodebar today? Are you hiding from God, like Mephibosheth hid from David? This isn’t the place God wants you. David had to go get him so he could take his rightful place at the King’s table. Today, God has come for you, so that you might take your rightful place.
THE FAMILY MAN
In today’s world, with both spouses working, it’s not for the male to expect his wife to work all day, like he does, and come home and do all the domestic chores as well, without his helping. Years ago, when only the man went to work and the woman stayed home, this may have been acceptable. But, not today. We need to help out.
The man is a leader, a guide. He’s not a dictator. He doesn’t rule with an iron hand. He treats his wife with respect and honors her. He shouldn’t talk negatively about her. He doesn’t treat her as though she were a hired servant. Too many men want to dominate their wives. “I wear the pants in this house.”
I give my wife only what I want her to have. You’re do what I say, and don’t give me any lip. These are some of the kinds of things some of us say to and about our wives and the attitudes we have towards them and then we wonder why they’re so rebellious. That’s not rebellion. That’s resisting slavery.
Paul didn’t say, “Do as I say, and don’t ask any questions, because God put me in charge.” No, Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” That’s how we are to lead. We have to give the women something to follow. We have to show them we have their best interests at heart. Stop trying to lord over your wife. Stop trying to dominate her. God presented the woman to Adam. He accepted her. You accepted yours. You’ve got a long way to go if you’re treating your wife like this.
Ephesians 5:25, 28 says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth
himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church".
If we don’t treat our wives like we should, we’re going to hinder our relationship with God, And our prayers won’t get answered. You can tell how well you’re getting along with God by monitoring how well you’re getting along with your wife. If you’re married, you’re in blood covenant with your wife. This is the strongest covenant you can have, except your covenant with God. The scripture says when we marry, we’re to leave our father and mother and stick to our wives. That means your wife becomes your first responsibility, coming even before deal ol’ Mom.
She follows you because you’ve proven that you can be trusted, that you know where you’re going and that you treat her like you would want to be treated. You have to instill trust and confidence to get people to follow you. Trust, respect and confidence aren’t owed you. They have to be earned. That means you need to know where you’re going and have a plan to get there. Why would anyone want to follow you if you don’t know where you’re going? You have to have a plan.
A man knows about commitment. When I got married, I was becoming committed to the last woman I’d ever kiss, touch or caress. You can’t get married and continue to date. That’s called adultery. You can’t marry Christ and serve other gods either. That’s called idolatry. A man makes a clear commitment and sticks with it. Joshua said, “Choose you this day who you will serve . . .”
As men, we have to be responsible for our children. In the book of Samuel, we see a man named Eli. Eli was the high priest. His sons were evil and they corrupted the giving by the people in the temple. Eli was aware of what his sons were doing,because the people complained to him about them, but, he didn’t correct them. Eli’s sons’ evil eventually got them killed in battle. And when Eli heard the news that they were dead, he fell over backwards and broke his neck and died. Lesson: God is going to hold fathers accountable who don’t raise their children properly.
Ephesians 6:4 says, "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord". This scripture doesn’t mean what you may think. It’s not saying don’t make your children mad by correcting and disciplining them. It’s saying don’t neglect raising your children in a godly way, so that when they grow up, they resent you
for not equipping them for life.
Our youth are misbehaving today because they’re full of rage because their fathers have abandoned them. You’re notice, it’s mostly our sons who are missbehaving, not our daughters, although they’re acting up more also. Scriptures about raising our children:
“Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.” Proverbs 18:18.
“A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver, yet thou must do it again.” Proverbs 18:19
“He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” Proverbs 13:24
“A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.” Proverbs 13:22
“Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord.” Proverbs 18:22
“My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he diligeth.” Proverbs 3:11-12
“The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” Proverbs 29:15
“Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; ye, he shall give delight unto thy soul.” Proverbs 29:17
DESTINED FOR GREATNESS
You’re destined for greatness! God said you were made in His image and in His likeness. That means you were made to be a victorious overcomer. God knew you were coming. He didn’t get taken by surprise when you showed up on the scene. God didn’t say, “Whoa! Where did that guy come from? Let me hurry up and throw together a life of mediocrity and failure for him.”
God told Jeremiah, “Before you were formed in your mother’s belly, I knew you and ordained you a prophet.” God has nothing but good planned for you and me. God knew you’d have challenges, but He’s made everything available that you’d need to be victorious. But, this good end doesn’t come automatically. It takes adherence to God’s principles. It takes surrender, which is hard for men to do;but it is possible.
We have failed, and are failing because we chose to live by other than God’s rules. Like Frank Sinatra in the song, we’ve been doing it our way, and we’ve suffered the consequences.
The bible says the greater one is in you. We all say that this means the Holy Ghost is living on the inside of us, and this is true. But, I submit to you that the greater you is also on the inside too, crying to get out. What we see of you isn’t the you that God created you to be. He’s still trapped on the inside with the Holy Spirit, held in by the fleshy confines that we bind him with. It’s time to let the real you come forth.
CONCLUSION
Man, you were born to reign. You’re a king and a priest. You are the head, not the tail. Above, not beneath. A man of character and integrity.
You’re great, wonderfully made. Awesome, good looking, regal, royal.
When God created you, He created a spot in His heart that only you could fill. There has never been anybody like you. There’s no one like you now, and there never will be another you.
God said to take dominion. But, you’re never take dominion over anything until you truly yield to the Spirit of God. God is waiting for you to come into His image and into His likeness so you can properly fill that spot. Today is the day to fill the mold. If, today, you feel you haven’t been all you should have been, don’t feel bad. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. You’re not alone. But, Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. We’ve been "under attack" for too long now. Enough is enough!
Now is the time for us to get up! It’s time for us to finally be the men God predestined us to be before the foundation of the earth. Brothers, our foundational scripture said, “when I became a man. . .”. I challenge you today to stop the becoming of a man and be the man you were born to be.
Will the real men of God please arise?
