The Pattern Of Courageous Manhood

Introductory Texts

1. Joshua 1:9 – It takes Godly courage to get into Canaan

2. Titus 1:1-7 – What the Church is supposed to teach

3. II Timothy 2:2 – Faithfulness is the cornerstone of character

4. Deuteronomy 6:7 –Teach to teach to teach

5. I Corinthians 10 – Do not repeat the sins of the Israelites lost in the wilderness

6. I Samuel 27:1 – David’s decision to flee to the land of the Philistines was based on fear

7. Proverbs 10:4 – Slack hands lead to poverty

8. Deuteronomy 7:10 ¬ God doesn’t want us to be lazy

9. Joshua 18:3 ¬ How long have we procrastinated instead of taking what is ours?

10. II Peter 2:9 – God isn’t lazy concerning his promises

11. II Kings 7:3 – Elijah’s prophesy to the King

Two Biblical Truths for Success

1. Everything God does, He does according to a pattern.

2. Everything that God does, He does based on a principle in His Kingdom.

What The Church is Supposed to Teach

1. The Church must require men and women to live faithful lives of character.

2. Faithfulness is the cornerstone of character.

3. Teach to teach to teach

4. You can pattern your life after Godly principles found in the Bible because of God’s new covenant.

David’s Decision to Flee and How he Recovered From a Bad Decision

1. David made his decision in a time of weariness based on perception and assumption.

2. Making decisions in the flesh will often leave you with the ashes of those decisions.

3. David recovered everything when he prayed and sough God’s will.

4. David was not slack. When God said “go” he went immediately.

The Four Lepers Decision to Act on Courage

1. Elijah prophesied the next day that the siege would be over.

2. The only people who believed Elijah were four lepers sitting outside the city gates.

3. They acted based on courage and were rewarded for it.

The Patterns of Courage or Lack Thereof Found in Both Stories

1. David: a decision made in the flesh and based on perception, repentance, encouragement, strengthening, and finally recovering what was lost.

2. The four lepers: made a decision regardless of perception, did so with courage and were rewarded for it.

The Pattern of Sanctifying Yourself From Things That are Unclean

1. Communion is not just for Sunday mornings.

2. Communion is a way to clean ourselves from un-holiness and make a covenant with God that is binding.

Conclusion: If the pattern of your life is not pleasing to God break it and develop a new one, based on acting in faith, meditating on God’s Word and having the courage to act when God and the Holy Spirit tells you to.

THE PATTERN OF COURAGEOUS MANHOOD

I’m dealing with a subject of courageous manhood, talking about the principles, the power of which is the power of courage, and the pattern, which is our subject today, and then the personality. We’re dealing with those because this is an hour when you and I need to recognize we need courageous manhood. And it really depends upon where we are living spiritually what kind of a man we are.

I was in a meeting the other day, and the speaker at that particular time was Brother Lafayette Scales, from Columbus, Ohio. If you have not heard Lafayette Scales, you need to hear him. He’s got to be one of the top 10, if not the top five, greatest preachers and ministers to men in the world today. He’s fabulous. But he was talking about the country or the land in which we live spiritually—in Egypt, which is the land of not enough; in the wilderness, which is the land of just enough; and in Canaan, which is the land of more than enough. I thought that was very good. I still do.

And, of course, it takes courage to get into Canaan land. Joshua had to have it. That’s why God told him, “Be of good courage.” (Joshua 1:9) It’s the God kind of courage; The Christ kind of courage. The courage that’s willing to be undaunted, resolute, determined, willing to pay whatever price is necessary to accomplish the purpose and the goal that we’re aiming for.

I want to talk to you about patterns. If you’ve been with me at any time, you recognize the fact that some years ago during a 40-day fast, God crystallized two truths in my life:

1. Everything God does, He does according to a pattern

2. Everything that God does, He does based on a principle in His Kingdom.

So if you find God’s pattern for your life and base your faith on a principle in his Kingdom, you will be successful.

I want to deal with that subject of the pattern today. You might notice where I am at this particular time. This is a place where not too long ago we had a summit. Men’s lives were changed and transformed by the power of God’s Word and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. For almost 20 years now, we’ve been teaching the truths that God has given to us concerning the fact that manhood and Christlikeness are synonymous.