Mighty Men of God
We as men of God have been called to serve
But our greatest fear is… failure. Our greatest desire is for significance. How we get that is different for men and women.
For men it comes down to a very simple question. “Do you respect, admire and believe in me?”
When I was a young man I preached in a small church in St. Joseph, MI. We had Sunday night services…
For women the issue and the question is quite a bit different. For men it’s all about what I have done. For women it’s all about who you are. The question is, “Do you cherish and value me… today?”
Did you notice the word, “today”… this is an ongoing project fellas! You gotta keep letting them know that they are valued and honored in your life!
But I digress, let’s focus this morning on becoming successful men of God.
Several years ago a movement began that was called “Promise Keepers”. It began as a calling of men to be men of God. They espoused seven promises that a promise keeper made and kept as he served our Lord.
I want to look at those seven promises with you and begin today to build a movement within the Meridian Christian Church calling guys to be Mighty Men of God.
Some of you are hesitant before we even begin. You’ve made promises before and you’ve failed. You’ve said lot’s of times that you’re going to do better but then you don’t.
Before we get started let me share with you how to defeat the fear of failure…
Defeating the fear of Failure
You will fail on the road to success
“…though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again...”
Proverbs 24:16
Do you know the difference between a righteous man and an unrighteous man? Unrighteous men fall and don’t get up. Righteous men get up every time they fall. That’s it. That is the difference.
Shake it off and step up! The enemy wants to make you feel defeated and useless. Remember, the most powerful fact about Satan… He is a liar.
So if you have screwed up, messed up, and totally blown up your life – Get up and keep on going. Rise again!
You must surrender control to God
“…though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.”
Psalms 37:22
The warrior can’t control the outcome, only his part in the battle.
The victorious warrior wins the war because he fights one battle at a time and he fights his battle while helping those around him fight their battles!
There is no such thing as an “army of one” – no matter what you have seen on television.
We have one another and we have the Lord who will hold us up when we fall – but we must surrender control to the captain of our souls – every day.
You will conquer the world – it’s a promise!
4 “…because everyone who is a child of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world—our faith. 5 So the one who conquers the world is the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
1 John 5:4-5
Most men’s greatest fear is failure – but most men’s greatest pain is regret. What are you going to regret for the rest of your life if you don’t at least try?
So now, let’s look at the seven promises…
To help me and our Meridian Men minister to you I’m going ask you to participate by filling out this brief questionnaire during the service.
This is personal and anonymous. No names, no looking over your spouses shoulder to see what they marked. Total honesty, please…
Mighty Men of Meridian
Promise 1: A Mighty Man of Meridian is committed to honoring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and obedience to God’s Word in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Worship is praise, honor, and/or devotion to God through prayer, song, and studying His word.
Prayer is communicating with God, which could include praise, thanksgiving, repenting, and requesting help for yourself and others in time of need.
Obedience is willingness to faithfully follow God’s word as learned from Bible studies and teachings from the church leaders.
Honoring God in your Life
Men: How am I doing with God?
Women: How is he doing – really?
Not really connected to God
Sporadic personal connection
Regular consistent part of life
Highlight of life – daily devo’s!
Mighty Men of Meridian
Promise 2: A Mighty Man of Meridian is committed to pursuing vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises.
Vital relationships with other men includes spending time with each other fellowshipping, encouraging, supporting, and keeping one other accountable so we might grow into a deeper relationship with Christ.
A Band of Brothers
Men: Do you have committed brothers to whom you are accountable?
Women: Does he have any brothers?
Brothers? I don’t even have good friends
Brothers? No, but there are friends
Yes, I can talk to a couple of brothers
Meet regularly with a band of brothers
Mighty Men of Meridian
Promise 3: A Mighty Man of Meridian is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity.
Spiritual purity is the recognition of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, the Holy Spirit and the Bible as the authority in the church.
Moral purity is acknowledgement of a standard of right and wrong and the ability to do what is right even if it isn’t always the popular thing to do.
Ethical purity is conforming to accepted standards of what the Bible has to say about our life and doing what it says even if it goes against the crowd.
Sexual purity is keeping ones thoughts and actions clear of immoral practices. This would include viewing pornographic materials, lusting after other women, and in engaging in sex outside of the scope of marriage.
Personal Purity
Men: How are you doing with purity?
Women: Is he living a pure life?
Spiritually Pure
I’m a good person so I’m ok with God
I’m a committed follower of Jesus
Morally Pure
Morality is not absolute – it all depends
There is right and wrong
Ethically Pure
I have two sides of me – pretend & real
I live by what is right even when alone
Sexually Pure
I’m losing the battle with lust
I’m fighting the battle with lust
A young man asked his grandfather in a moment of honesty, “When do you stop thinking about sex?” Grandpa answered, “I don’t know, but it’s sometime after 80!”
Mighty Men of Meridian
Promise 4: A Mighty Man of Meridian is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values
Building a strong marriage would include treating your wife as an equal, spending quality time with your wife, and communicating your heart and your feelings to her.
Loving your family by defending, supporting, and by being Christ-like toward your family.
Protection of the family is the continuing pursuit of caring for your wife and children through financial, spiritual, physical, and emotional support.
Biblical values in the family requires the men to be a consistent example of Christ with co-workers and family, teaching spiritual values to his wife and children, and being teachable as well.
Strong Marriages and Families
Men: How are you doing in your marriage? Women: How is he doing - really?
Marriage
It’s really rocky & tough sometimes
My marriage is good & getting stronger
Family
I’m struggling to be a good Dad
I’m learning and getting better every day
Mighty Men of Meridian
Promise 5: A Mighty Man of Meridian is committed to supporting the mission of MCC by honoring and praying for our pastor, and by actively giving his time and resources.
Prayers for the pastor and elders would include wisdom, guidance, and protection.
Giving time is when men spend time serving others in the church and unchurched inside and outside the Sunday morning service so they might edify themselves and others.
Giving his resources in the form of a joyful consistent tithe to the Church.
Strong Churches
Men: How are you doing with the Pastor and the church?
Women: How is your man doing with the Pastor and the church?
Rick doesn’t need my help. What can I do?
I’d help out but no one ever asks
I’m helping out on a couple of areas
I pray for the Pastor regularly
Mighty Men of Meridian
Promise 6: A Mighty Man of Meridian is committed to reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity.
Reaching beyond racial barriers would include striving to develop friendships and working together regardless of color or nationality so that Christ might be glorified.
Reaching beyond denominational barriers would include striving to develop friendships and working together regardless of worship preference so that Christ might be glorified.
Broken Barriers
Men: How are you at breaking barriers?
Women: How is he doing with barriers?
I don’t have any friends of another race
I don’t know how to get started
I have a few friends who are not “like me”
I’m reaching out to a lot of different people
Mighty Men of Meridian
Promise 7: A Mighty Man of Meridian is committed to influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment (see Mark 12:30-31) and the Great Commission (see Matthew 28:19-20).
Obedient to the Great Commission is the sharing the Gospel with others and helping them grow in the Church so they in turn share the Gospel with others.
Obedient to the Greatest Commandment is placing God number one in your live and others number two.
Reaching Out
Men: How are you sharing your faith?
Women: How is he sharing his faith?
It’s personal and private. I don’t talk about it.
I’ve got some friends I’d like to meet Jesus!
I’m working to share my faith
I’m always looking for ways to love others
Mighty Men of God
4 “…because everyone who is a child of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world—our faith. 5 So the one who conquers the world is the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
1 John 5:4-5
God’s calling…
…our prayer
