The Noble Man

INTRODUCTION

 SLIDE #1

 Today is Father’s Day. I hope all you men got some nice presents. I think Mother’s Day comes first so that we get something nice for our wives so they get something nice for us. 

 Men, we all want to do something significant with our lives. We want to make an impact on the world. We want to have our lives count for something.

 The way we usually try to fulfill this is by throwing ourselves into our work or other things that we think will bring us recognition.

 Do you want to do something significant in your life?

 Do you want to be remembered for something significant that you did with your life?

 Do you want to make a difference in the world?

 Father’s have a unique opportunity to do something significant with their lives.

 We have the opportunity to influence the lives of our sons and daughters.

 To do this, we must be men who our children and grandchildren can look up to. We must be men who our wives can look up to. How can we make a difference? Listen to Isaiah 32:8 with me.

 SLIDE #2

 ISAIAH 32:8 says, “But the noble man devises noble plans; And by noble plans he stands.”

 “But the noble man makes noble plans. And by noble deeds he stands.” (NIV)

 This seemingly insignificant, small but wonderful verse tells us a lot about the kind of person that can make a difference in the world around him.

 If we want to make a real difference in the world, we must be noble men.

 SLIDE #3

SERMON

If you want to make a difference…

I. BE A NOBLE PERSON.

 What does it mean to be a noble person? Well it’s not nobility as we would think of kings and queens or princes. The dictionary definition for noble is stated as:

 Exalted in character or quality; excellence, worthy, high-minded, characterized by virtue.

 A noble person would be a person who is a cut above in character and person.

 In our time it does not seem that people of high character or virtue are lifted up. An example of this is wrestling.

 When I was a kid, the “bad guys” were booed and not very well liked; now the bad guys are the ones that the fans cheer wildly for. I heard an interview with a wrestler on A& E where he was lamenting the fact that this was happening.

 Another area is in our politics. We have such low expectations of our leaders so long as they deliver the money to our pockets.

 They can lie, cheat, steal or sell out the country as long as they show us the money! What kind of message does that send to our children?

 What kind of message would a father send who has no virtue and would do anything to get what they want? What does that tell his children?

 A few months ago at the Boy Scout meeting at the church, I had a person back into my car. Someone from our church tried to wave him down but he kept going. What a great example this person was to his son.

 People have not changed much over time. During the time of Isaiah, he was saying that the same thing was happening. People of virtue were scoffed at. But he said things were about to change.

 SLIDE #4

 Isaiah 32:5 - 8 (GWT) 5Godless fools will no longer be called nobles, nor will scoundrels be considered gentlemen. 6Godless fools speak foolishness, and their minds plan evil in order to do ungodly things. They speak falsely about the LORD. They let people go hungry and withhold water from thirsty people. 7The tricks of scoundrels are evil. They devise wicked plans in order to ruin poor people with lies, even when needy people plead for justice. 8But honorable people act honorably and stand firm for what is honorable.

 How would we describe a noble person from this passage? The scripture doesn’t really describe the noble person, rather it describes the fool. And we can contrast the rouge or the fool with the noble person.

 The scripture describes the fool as one who is quick to do evil, who practices ungodliness, who seeks that out in his life. Someone, who doesn’t know God, someone who steers clear from him. In fact, speaks error against the Lord, who withholds from those who have needs. Maybe it’s food or water or some other resource. The fool appears to be a fairly self-centered person, looking out only for his own interests. And so we can contrast the noble man with the fool.