To Be...or Not To Be

INTRODUCTION:

Some men in a pickup truck drove into a lumberyard. One of the men walked in the office and said, ’We need some four-by-twos. ’The clerk said, ’You mean two-by-fours, don’t you?’

The man said, ’I’ll go check,’ and went back to the truck. He returned in a minute and said, ’Yeah, I meant two-by-fours.’

’All right. How long do you need them?’

The customer paused for a minute and said, ’I’d better go check.’ After awhile, the customer returned to the office and said, ’A long time. We’re gonna build a house.’

WOULDN’T YOU HATE TO SEE THAT HOUSE THEY BUILT?

All people are builders in some form or another. And probably the greatest building we do is in regard to ourselves. We’re all building ourselves, because we all influence people and hopefully, for God and for good in life.

In Acts 16:32 we are told that God says of David, he was a “man after mine own heart.” What I want us to focus on tonight is answering this simple question: What kind of man, is a man after God’s own heart?”

Psalm 37:37 “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.”

In order to be that perfect man; to be a man after God’s own heart, you need to:

#1. BE FULL-PROOF - Romans 14:5

“Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.”

The Greek for “persuaded” has the meaning to “make full-proof of.”

Live your life in such a way that your family, your co-workers, neighbors and friends know by your lifestyle that you are who you say you are. We know who you are now PROVE IT!

#2. BE FAITHFUL - 1 Cor. 4:2

“1 Cor. 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”

Be consistent in your walk with Christ. Follow through with your promises, your commitments, and your vows!

#3. BE FOCUSED - 1 Cor. 9:25 (2 Tim. 2:4)

“And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”

The Greek for ‘temperate’ has the meaning “to exercise self-restraint.”

Keep your eye on the goal ahead of you, Christ. Hebrews 12:1-2 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, [2] Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Be cautious and on guard each and every day. Don’t allow anything to become more important than the relationship you have with your Savior.

#4. BE FRESH - 2 Cor. 5:17

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

The word ‘new’ means ‘new especially in freshness.’ Bring something new to your walk everyday. Be joyful, be the kind of person that you want everybody else to be!

#5. BE FORGIVING - Col. 3:13

“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”

Simply put: forgive all as you have been forgiven of all by God!

#6. FINISH IT ALL - 2 Tim. 3:17

“That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Complete everything that God has planned for you well. Don’t let anything be put on the back-burner. Live in such a way that in all that you do, you do it the very best that you can do!

CONCLUSION:

I Cor. 3:7 “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”

Not only does God make things grow, He also builds people and builds them well. If we men had a prayer today, hopefully, it would be, “Father God, make me a better man; a more patient, more godly and more loving.”