A Good Man Is Hard to Find
Text: Jeremiah 5:1
Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.
My brothers and sisters, the subject for today, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” has become the buzz phrase and national anthem of women all over the land. It does not matter whether the woman is black, white, or Hispanic. It does not matter whether the woman is a high school drop out, has a high school diploma, or a doctorate degree from Harvard University. It does not matter whether the woman is on a government assistance program or whether she is financially independent. It does not matter if the woman is cultured and radiating with pure sophistication, or whether she’s a gangsta chick with no class at all. You will hear women all across the land declare the same thing, time and time again, that “a good man is hard to find.” Have I got a witness?
Most of the time when I’ve heard this complaint from women, I used to take it as a form of male-bashing that is common among women, especially those who have been hurt by men – whether it was by a husband, a boyfriend, or a lover; or by a so-called father who didn’t live up to the expectations that every little girl has of a daddy. I truly believed that all of the good man is hard to find stuff was over-exaggerated and that most women were just looking in all the wrong places.
You see, you can’t expect to find a good man hanging out on the street corners late at night in the midst of illegal activities. You can’t assume that you’ll find a good man at the club on a Saturday night, while you’re shaking your laffy taffy…. doing the rump shaker, and getting your groove on. Most of the good men are already asleep, getting ready for church the next morning. You can’t expect to find a good man if you’re sitting in your girlfriend’s living room night after night talking about how bad men are. You can’t expect to find a good man on your job or in somebody else’s house when you know that all of the men there are already married. You can’t even expect to find a good man in the church when all you’re looking for is a man that goes to church and not a man that’s saved by grace and filled with the Holy Ghost. So I thought that women were looking in all of the wrong places.
But after reading the results of a recent study conducted by scholars from Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and other prestigious universities, what I found is that women, especially black women may not be too far from the truth.
The fact of the matter is that a “good” man has become a rare commodity in today’s society. Men we once considered “good” have shattered what were once our commonplace thoughts of them. We no longer consider preachers good men collectively, because too many preachers have brought shame to the ministry. Too many men of God have proven their godlessness by doing ungodly things while holding a godly title.
The little bit of trust and faith that was left in our Presidents and those whom we support politically has fallen by the wayside. Some have morally corrupted their office by sleeping with their interns. Others have lied to the nation, claiming the existence of something that has never been found, and placing the lives of American men and women in harm’s way. I don’t have to say any names; you all know what I’m talking about and can fill in the blanks. I’m just saying what I’m saying.
Even our law enforcement has had their share of corruption scandals, their episodes of authority abuse, and even those rare cases of innocents being shot and killed without any apparent cause.
And you don’t have to go out of town to find this kind of stuff going on, you can look all around us in Columbus and Phenix City and Opelika and Smiths Station and even in Motts, Alabama.
If we can’t find good men in the pulpit of our churches; if we can’t find good men in the positions of leadership in our governments; if we can’t find good men in the agencies that are designed to protect us, then where can we find a good man?
Maybe the women weren’t completely wrong, because the recent report revealed the following:
· The share of young black men without jobs has climbed relentlessly, despite a national economic peak in the late 1990’s. In other words the economy did well. Jobs were plentiful. But black men were not a part of that economic boom.
· In 2000, 65 percent of black male high school dropouts in their 20’s were jobless — that is, they were unable to find work, not seeking work, or incarcerated.
· By 2004, the share of unemployed young black male dropouts had grown to 72 percent, compared with 34 percent of white and 19 percent of Hispanic dropouts.
· Even when high school graduates were included, half of the black men in their 20’s were jobless in 2004, up from 46 percent in 2000.
· Incarceration rates climbed in the 1990’s and reached historic highs in the past few years.
· In 1995, 16 percent of black men in their 20’s who did not attend college were in jail or prison;
· By 2004, 21 percent were incarcerated. By their mid-30’s, 6 in 10 black men who had dropped out of school had spent time in prison.
· In the inner cities, more than half of all black men do not finish high school.
· If they’re not working in traditional jobs, it has been found that most of these young black males are selling drugs in our communities. It is not an inner city problem, but it is a problem that can be found in the biggest of cities and the smallest of towns.
There is are problems in our cities, in our states, in our country, and in our world. When I thought on these problems, I thought about Israel and their disconnection with God.
God had abundantly blessed Israel. God had brought them through time and time again. With Moses, they had been delivered from their captives down in Egypt. With Joshua, they had been led into the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. With David they had established a mighty kingdom. With Solomon, they had amassed a great amount of wealth. But my brothers and sisters, somewhere along the way, things began to get bad down in Jerusalem. The people began to turn their backs on God and worship forbidden idols. They turned their attention off of God and onto their own selfish lusts. They stopped loving one another and began to do their own thing. Every law that God gave, they broke it. Everything that God had placed in their care, they abused it. When I began to read about all that Israel had done, it made me think about what is going on in our own society today.
As a people, black folk were delivered from the vices of slavery by the grace of the Almighty God. As a people, black folk made it through the civil rights era. We’ve survived all of the lynching. We’ve survived all of the public humiliation. We’ve survived being the tail and not the head. GOD brought us through time and time again. God walked with us when the world was against us. God was there for us when we couldn’t do anything for ourselves. But just like Israel, we’ve turned our backs on God. Have I got a witness?
We’ve given up on the very GOD that wouldn’t give up on us. But I’m here to let you know today that judgment is coming. Just as Jeremiah was charged to cry out to the children of Israel, I’ve been charged to cry out on this day to a dying world.
Our plight has become much like the plight of Israel. In our text, GOD told Jeremiah that if they could find just one good man, that he would spare the city from destruction. And my brothers and sisters, you better believe that the reason our black cities and communities are being destroyed is because we’ve not been faithful to God. But what I’ve learned is that the Word of God is as good today as it was yesterday. I believed that if I could find just one good man, then there might be a chance that we could be saved.
So my brother and sisters, when I began to look for a good man, I felt a need to look back throughout history and see if I could find someone that could be used as an example in my search as to what a good man might look like. I began my search by looking at the men that we have studied time and time again in the Holy Bible.
· I began my search with a man by the name of Adam. This was the first man. He was created perfect and in the image of God. But Adam had a problem stepping into His authority as a man. When the devil deceived his wife, Eve, Adam just stood there looking. He didn’t step in to protect his wife. He didn’t cry out Eve, as the head of this family, you better not eat that fruit. Instead, he let her eat, and then he ate himself. This perfect man proved himself less than perfect.
· I continued my search and stumbled upon a man by the name of Noah. Noah had been selected by God to be saved from the destruction of the earth. But I found out that Noah had some personal hang-ups. Noah loved to drink too much. He would drink and then get naked. He was the forerunner of today’s drunk. He was the forerunner of today’s crack head. He was the one that found an unnatural pleasure by drinking of the wine, all of the time. Have I got a witness.
· I looked at Abraham. He was so faithful to God. But Abraham had trouble dealing with his old age. He didn’t believe that God could use him even in his old age. To all of my elders and old men that are here today, don’t just sit out in the pasture, GOD is not through with you yet.
· I kept on looking until I came upon Isaac. Isaac was a daydreamer. He had some big dreams. The problem with our society is that we’ve got too many dreams, but too many unfulfilled dreams. The Bible says that faith without works is dead. I don’t care how much you believe in God or how much you have faith. If you dream, but do nothing, what good will it produce?
· I kept on searching until I came upon Joseph. Joseph came from a dysfunctional family. He had suffered abuse at the hands of his own brothers. Most of us know what it’s like to have suffered abuse. Abuse will mess you all up in the head. Abuse will cause you to visit a psychologist. Abuse will cause you to react or overreact in situations that require no reaction. So I felt I needed to look a little further.
· I looked at Moses, but he had a stuttering problem. People have a tendency to follow only those that sound good. In doesn’t matter that a preacher may preach sound doctrine, most folk want to hear how good the preacher sounds. But I’m hear to tell you that you can tickle your ears all you want, but if you don’t get your soul fed, you’re going to be in a world of trouble.
· I checked out Gideon, but he was afraid to take a leadership role and messed up the spiritual order of things but following a woman. The Bible tells me that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. If you don’t’ line up with God, then you’re out of order with God.
· When I looked at Sampson, I discovered that he was a long, haired, womanizer. Samson would have been a rock star or a hip hop rap star in today’s world. He wore his hair longer than most women. We’ve got a whole lot of that going on with our boys nowadays. They are wearing their hair to the point that you can’t tell whether some of them are a man or a woman.
· Jeremiah and Timothy were just too young. They were still wet behind the ears and destined to make a few mistakes along the way. They had strength, but according to the Word, they didn’t have any wisdom.
· David was an adulterer and a conspirator to murder. There are already too many adulterers and murderers in the church. Too many men and women sleeping with men and women that don’t belong to them. Too many church folk, killing other church folk with the deadly poison that’s produced by their lying tongues.
· Elijah was suicidal and stayed depressed all of the time. How can you be stressed by men, when you’re blessed by God? Have I got a witness?
· Isaiah went around preaching naked. In today’s society, he would have been thrown into an insane asylum.
· Job, the righteous man, but he went bankrupt and began to question God.
· John the Baptist ate bugs and wouldn’t take baths.
· After all that had done, Peter denied the man with whom he swore he would never deny. He was just like a whole lot of us, God provides for us and we can’t thank him when we wake up in the morning. We can’t thank him when we eat our food out in public. When we fail to give GOD the glory, we are in essence denying Him. But I can hear a voice in Matthew 10:33 saying if you deny me publicly, then I’ll deny you before the Father.
· The Disciples fell asleep while praying. We already have too many folk that fall asleep in the church. Too many folk that dance while the choir is singing, but nod when the preacher is preaching.
· Paul had persecuted the saints for so long that people couldn’t accept his conversion. They were afraid of him. And then he had a “my way or the highway” mentality and parted ways with Barnabas.
· Timothy couldn’t handle the pressure and had an ulcer. That’s why Paul told him to drink a little wine for the stomach.
· And Lazarus was dead!
My brothers and sisters, I looked high and low, but couldn’t find one good man to save this old dying world.
· I even thought that I could find one when I got here to the church.
· Before I looked at anybody else, I began to look back over my life and I realized that even I’ve had some low down days coming out of Eastside High School and Paterson, New Jersey. So before I got started good, I found myself disqualified.
· I looked at the Deacons Ministry of New Jerusalem. But I didn’t look there too long. Because even though we’ve come a long way, I found out that there was a time, when some things needed to be done, I would hear the ladies of Jerusalem saying that “A good man is hard to find.”
· I started looking at Bro. Nimrod Stephens, he appears to be an upstanding citizen and one that loves the Lord. But I’m sure that if you ask his wife, she would tell you that he has his faults and his hang-ups that have rendered him imperfect before God.
· I kept on looking until I got to the Honorable Bro. Calvin Smyre, a member of the Georgia State House of Representative. But what I discovered is that we don’t know, God still knows. So I had to keep on looking.
· I looked at Bro. Preston Robinson. God has brought him from a mighty long way and has allowed him to retire after doing a wondrous work in Phenix City, a city once referred to as Sin City. But if we were to look back over his life, I’m sure that we will discover that he’s had a few bumps, a couple of bruises, and some entanglements along the way.
· I looked at Deacon Michael Sapp, Gospel Music programming director for Davis Broadcasting. But I found out that just as he’s responsible for what gospel music is broadcast in this area, there are others that would be willing to broadcast the things that he used to do. Have I got a witness?
· I even tried to look at the angel of this house, Pastor Homer Mitchell. Some of you think you know and some of you don’t know at all. Some of you have heard a little something something and some of you have not heard a word. But you better remember that GOD gave you this angel. God sent you this pastor. If you just think you know, you ought to keep it to yourself. If you’ve heard, you ought to keep your mouth shut. Just remember, what you don’t know, GOD already knows. But if you judge, then certainly, God is going to judge you! Am I right about it.
My brother and sisters, I had looked everywhere. I had looked at the physical men of the Bible. I had looked in the men of our community. I even looked at the men gracing this church with their presence today. But I began to look toward heaven and cry out: “Father I stretch my hand to thee, no other help I know if thou withdraw thyself from me, whether shall I go.” As I began to say these words, as I began to pray and meditate on these things, I heard a voice from heaven say, “My grace is sufficient for thee.”
This voice was a familiar voice. It sounds like the shepherd, who said that his sheep knows his voice. I thought about this voice for a while and then I went back to my Bible to see what I could find out about this man.
The Bible tells me that when there was no one else to save the children of Israel, God provided a savior. He provided a Messiah to take the weight of the world on His shoulders. Have I got a witness?
· This man, was called the Word and was with God.
· This man, was called Emmanuel which means GOD with Us.
· This man, was called the Rose of Sharon and the Bright and the Morning Star.
· This man, was called the prince of peace and the Lord of Lords.
· This man, was not of this world, but He came down through forty and two generations.
· He was born of a virgin by the name of Mary who was engaged to a man named Joseph.
· They named him JESUS, which means that he will save his people from their sins.
· He healed the sick and raised the dead.
· He fed the hungry and set the captives free.
· Men lied on him and scandalized His name.
· But what I’m glad today, JESUS is NOT like man, that He should lie.
· Instead, Jesus is like BAYER ASPIRIN…..He works miracles.
· Jesus is like FORD MOTOR COMPANY…..He’s got a better idea.
· Jesus is like COKE…..He’s the real thing.
· Jesus is like HALLMARK CARDS…..He cares enough to give His very best.
· Jesus is like GENERAL ELECTRIC…..He brings good things to life.
· Jesus is like SEARS…..He has everything.
· Jesus is like ALKA-SELTZER…..Try him, you’ll like Him
· Jesus is like SCOTCH TAPE…..You can’t see him, but you know He’s there.
· Jesus is like DELTA…..He’s ready when you are.
· Jesus is like ALLSTATE…..You’re in good hands with Him.
· Jesus is like VO-5 Hair Spray…..He holds through all kinds of weather.
· Jesus is like DIAL SOAP…..Aren’t you glad you have Him?
· Jesus is like the U.S. POST OFFICE…..Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet nor ice will keep Him from His appointed destination.
· But what I like most about Jesus is that He’s just like TIDE…..He gets the stains out that others leave behind.
The only good man that I could find, was this man. He was good because He was perfect in every way. He would not yield to the temptations of the devil. But instead, he took all of my sins, all of your sins, and gave himself a ransom for us.
He died……but EARLY one Sunday morning, HE arose…….
