TPW #12 | Biblical Manhood - Part 1

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Paul warns that evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving one another and being deceived.

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The reason Paul told Timothy that was because he needed to be ready to spend the balance of his life in uninterrupted warfare for the truth.

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The most dangerous people alive today are always, always, always ordained ministers.

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They're the most dangerous people in the world, especially the ones that people think are Christians, who will sell you theological poison to the damnation of your soul.

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Folks, I just want to warn you about something. Every heretic in the entire history of the church, without exception, has taught their heresy in the name of being faithful to Scripture.

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That was the day of judgment. That is the day of final salvation, brought back in time and applied to us once for all at the moment of our effectual calling when we repent and believe in our unity to Christ.

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Welcome to the Protestant Witness. This installment is going to be a part one of a three -part series

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I did a while back on biblical manhood, and I think it's a vitally important topic. It's something

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I've preached on quite a bit. Family issues, gender roles, husbands and wives, marriage, discipling children, is a major focal point of my life and ministry, because I think that those are always going to be really, really important things.

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And I agree with the Puritans, who argued that next to the proclamation of the gospel and the exposition of Scripture, urging men to be men and women to be women and family worship and things like that are really the most important thing ministers do outside of the conversion of souls and the proclamation of the word.

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So biblical manhood, this is a sermon I preached a while back. This has been three years ago now.

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But it's got a lot of downloads, and I know a number of people have contacted me about this. And there's a family that started coming to our church,

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I think in part because of these biblical manhood and biblical womanhood sermons I did a while back. I really put a lot of time and a lot of studying and read a lot of stuff on these issues.

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I really wanted these to be faithful expositions of some of the key passages and address some of the issues that I think are really pressing in our time.

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So with that, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks. Let's pray together for the

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Lord's blessing on our understanding of his word now. Dear Heavenly Father, we are humbled to be able to open the words of eternal life.

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And there is indeed nowhere else for us to go but to these inspired words for direction, for comfort, for rebuke, for encouragement to find

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Jesus Christ, our living Lord and Savior. And we pray you would help us understand this very short and yet profoundly important verse of your word, especially as it applies to biblical manhood.

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We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Please turn your Bible to 1 Corinthians 16 13.

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1 Corinthians 16 verse 13. 1

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Corinthians chapter 16 verse 13.

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1 Corinthians chapter 16 verse 13. This is

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God's word. Watch. Stand fast in the faith.

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Act like men. Be strong. May God bless the reading of his holy word.

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If the church in America is ever going to revive from the onslaught of every conceivable ideology which has turned men into jello, we must on our knees read and teach and preach these great biblical truths regarding manhood to men of all ages, starting with ourselves.

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And when we think about the biblical picture of what a man is and what biblical manhood is all about, far from the typical misogynistic, beer -can -crushing, chest -thumping, juvenile silliness that is put forward in our culture, the

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Bible's portrayal of manhood is that of a self -giving, self -controlled, serious, self -sacrificial, other -focused, truth -loving, courageous, strong,

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Bible -saturated individual who loves his wife, loves his children, loves his church, and loves

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Christ and his holy word. The biblical man is a man with a message.

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He's a man who has something to say. He is a leader, not a follower. His manhood is demonstrated in that he has convictions and cares only to please

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God and is not swayed by the fear of men. He has convictions.

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He knows how to defend from Scripture. He is humble and teachable. He hates sin, and he loves righteousness.

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He is a one -woman man and treats women with respect, dignity, and gentleness at all times, especially when he is secluded and surfing the internet.

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He is an encourager to others. This is a human being we're talking about, right?

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Sound unattainable? In Christ, all things are possible. Our nation is dying for a lack of godly men.

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Psalm 12, every time I read those opening two verses of Psalm 12, you can't help but be moved by what it says.

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Psalm 12 begins with, Help, Lord! For the godly man ceases, for the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

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They speak idly, everyone with his neighbor, with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. In his introduction to the section of his monumental collection of great essays by great

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Christian writers through the ages on manhood and all the themes of family, Scott Brown wrote this wonderful paragraph in the introduction to the section on manhood.

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I'd like you to listen to this carefully. Scott Brown wrote, Quote, there are times in human history when manhood gets mangled.

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In times like these, there is only one hope, the sovereign power of God, working through the

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Word of God by the Spirit of God. This is one of those times, and this is why a recovery of biblical manhood is pivotal.

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The task of recovery is arduous, challenging, and controversial. Furthermore, getting calibrated to the biblical vision for manhood is a lifelong task, which we cannot accomplish without the grace of Christ Jesus.

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Three powerful forces work continually to destroy this vision. Listen carefully.

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First, the sons of Adam have been marred inwardly with a sinfully passive streak that deters them from the courageous and principled leadership they were designed to provide.

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Second, the most powerful institutions in the world today attempt to undermine and even usurp a man's role.

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The state in particular has mounted an all -out assault to diminish a man's leadership roles as teacher and provider, and the church often follows suit.

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Third, feminism has plagued modern man's sensibilities. And listen to this sentence.

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I think this is deeply profound. Their minds have been pickled in feminist brine for so long that they can hardly think straight about the mantle of manhood that Christ has laid upon them.

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The synapses of their brains are misfiring. This is why modern men almost feel guilty that they are men, that they think like men and act like men."

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Now the amount of biblical material on the topic of manhood is and womanhood is vast.

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There is so much in Scripture about the two genders and their specific callings and their roles.

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And I was overwhelmed to try to find a way to compress it all into one sermon, so I'm not going to.

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The sections on manhood and womanhood in this series will be in multiple parts. But let's talk about for a moment.

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What is a man and what does God expect of a man? It's right here in 1 Corinthians 16, 13. If you still have your Bible open to that, look at that text again.

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There's four imperatives there. Watch. Stand fast in the faith. Act like men.

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Be strong. Here at the close of his first long letter to the church at Corinth, Paul makes four exhortations, which are evidently directed primarily to the men of that congregation.

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He tells them, in effect, be on the alert. Be on guard, he tells them. Stand firm in the faith.

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Act like men and be strong. Now, there's only one Greek verb that's translated there as act like men in this verse, and it's the verb andrizomai, andrizostha, as it occurs here.

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The term literally means to conduct oneself in a courageous way, to show oneself to be a man.

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And while women would certainly be expected to watch, to stand fast in the faith, and to be strong as well, this verb andrizomai is a gender -specific verb.

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It means act like a man. So, obviously, that in particular, this in particular, is directed to the men in the church at Corinth.

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Obviously, Paul's not going to use a gender -specific noun like that or verb like that and address it to women.

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Act like a man. Wouldn't that be a little strange? Obviously, he's singling out the men here. Now, one great teaching of Scripture, which is being severely undermined by our manhood -detesting feministic culture, is this, and this may be a profound truth to you.

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You might want to write this down. Men are not women, and can you guess the other side?

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Women aren't men. God is the creator of gender. Gender assignment is sovereignly given to us by God.

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It's not something we have a say in, and we have to recognize it's a gift.

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Your gender is a gift from God, and it should not surprise us at all. That even that is being challenged in our day.

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The increase of godlessness is going to lead to the destruction of every good thing that God has created in the world, including gender distinctions and gender assignment.

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In the place of our God -given gender, man wants to have the option of transitioning.

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I want to tell you, as you watch this in the media, if you can stomach the media, transitioning is a lie.

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It's a lie. It has never happened. It never will happen. If you were created by God to be a man, you will always be a man.

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If you were created by God to be a woman, you will always be a woman, no matter what doctors ever do to you. You are that gender

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God assigned it to you. As Christians, we have to recognize that level of rebellion for what it is.

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It's just one more attack on God and his right to be sovereign over us, his right to tell us what we are, whether we're a male or a female.

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Mankind, without the fear of God, is so warped in his thinking that he will actually try to overthrow the nature of the created order itself.

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Men are not women. Women are not men. And because that's the case, we need to know, does

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God's word tell us specific things that are the duties of men, specific things that are the duties of women? And the

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Bible certainly does do that. And as repulsive as that is to our egalitarian culture, we have to, as Christians say, what

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God says is the most important. And what our culture says is insane. So let's look at the text here.

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I've given you a four -point outline there. Let's look at the first word in the text. Watch.

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If you look there at your outline, the whole verse is spelled out there in your outline. The first verb there is watch.

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And that verb in Greek, Gregoreo. Gregoreo. That's where you get the name Gregory. Someone whose name is

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Gregory means someone who's watchful, one who stands guard. Great name. Gregoreo means to be in constant readiness, to be on the alert.

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And the question is, of course, be constantly ready for what? And constantly be on the alert for what?

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That term watch or be on the alert, that verb Gregoreo that's used there in this text, is also used 13 times by Jesus.

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Jesus was constantly telling people to be on guard. Watch. Be on guard.

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Stay alert. One instance in particular is especially relevant. A statement that Jesus made to his sleepy disciples in the garden of Gethsemane.

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He used the exact same verb. He told them watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

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That's the kind of watching that a biblical man always has to be doing. Watch out for temptation.

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It's crouching for you. It's looking for you. Be on guard. Now years ago,

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I used to watch a lot of heavyweight championship boxing. And one of the rules of thumb for boxing is that you never let your guard down.

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You never put your hands down. If you ever watch any kind of sparring or fighting, what do the fighters always do? They've always got their hands here.

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Why do they do that? Because that's the most vulnerable part of your body. And if you let your guard down, you're going to get nailed in the head and get knocked out.

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And I've seen it happen in boxing matches. And that is what the scripture is telling us. Never let your guard down.

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A biblical man always has his hands up. He's always protecting himself, protecting his heart, watching out for temptation, watching out for the things that you know are a problem for you.

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And we all know what those besetting sins are. And we need to be on guard against them. As Jesus said, watch and pray.

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Be on guard and pray. Keep your hands up. Guard the most vulnerable parts of who you are so that you're not taken by temptation.

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Over and over again, God exhorts his people to be on guard. Be sober -minded. Be on the alert.

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Keep your guard up. And always remember that your enemy, Satan, and your other enemy, your sinful nature, they are opportunistic enemies.

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Even cheetahs that can outrun anything on earth. Cheetahs, the fastest thing in the world, can outrun any kind of animal that would ever go against.

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It doesn't normally try to take out the fastest or the strongest. It waits for the straggler. It wants the unhealthy one. It wants the one that's limping.

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It wants the one that looks sick and old. Why? It doesn't want to exert any energy. It's an opportunist.

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That's the way our enemy is as well. Satan and your sinful heart waits until you're feeling weak, until you're feeling spiritually dry and lethargic to attack.

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And that's why the scriptures tell us everywhere, stand guard. Be in constant readiness.

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Keep your gloves up. Always be guarding yourself. 1 Peter 5 .8 says, be sober.

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Be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

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Satan and our temptations, our own sinful natures, are masters at finding the chinks in our armor.

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When I was 18 years old, I took a trip with a bunch of people from church to the boundary waters of northern

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Minnesota. And it was just a beautiful, beautiful place to go there in July. And just stunningly beautiful.

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You could drink the water right out of the lakes. It was just amazing, amazing stuff. But the mosquitoes were horrifically bad.

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In fact, the people that outfitted us said, you have to bring enough deep woods off to last an entire week.

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And in fact, if you don't, you can't borrow ours. And I remember lathering that stuff up and just spraying it all over myself.

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And one evening, I was sitting there, just looking at this beautiful landscape, and I saw a mosquito come down and hover over my arm for 30 seconds.

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Until it found the one tiny little spot. I mean, there was one tiny little dry spot on my arm and it landed right there and tried to bite me.

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I just couldn't believe that. You could see it resisting. It kept seeing, it would get close to that off and it would, it would jump back, but then it finally found the one spot

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I missed. Your sinful nature and your enemy, the devil, is just like that. That's why you can't leave a little dry spot on your arm.

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You will get bit there. Guard yourself. Men have to stand guard.

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Don't get lethargic. Don't think for a second. You can start out your day without praying or reading God's Word. You can't.

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That's why Paul says, put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand in the day of temptation.

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And having done all, stand your ground. And so the man of God has to guard himself, be in constant readiness, watch and pray,

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Jesus said, lest you enter into temptation. Sad, sad part of the biblical narrative, because did they watch and pray?

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No, they just went back to sleep. What does the Bible mean by guard? What are we supposed to guard?

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A lot of things. We're supposed to guard our hearts, guard our families, guard our friends, guard our churches, guard our priorities.

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And here's one from last week. Guard family worship. Guard family worship.

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Guard it with ruthless energy and persistence. Everything on earth, it seems at times, and everything and all of nature in the created order is going to try to stop you from doing family worship.

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In fact, when you try to do it, you will begin to feel and to recognize that it seems as if everything in hell itself has just come into your living room.

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To try to stop you and to give you every excuse under the sun not to do it that day. Don't get discouraged because family worship doesn't go how you're wanting it to go and you're not having a great discussion and people aren't paying attention either.

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You persist. You do it because it's the right thing to do. You do it because you're standing guard over it.

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That's a battlefield. That's a battle line. And men, be strong, be courageous about that duty of family worship and family discipleship.

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It is not optional and you must protect that time with your family. And I've said this before and I'm going to say this for the rest of my life until I'm proven otherwise.

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I know of absolutely no activities in society today that promotes every member of a family sitting together in the same room.

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I know of nothing that does anything promote that. I can't think of anything.

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No matter what the activity is, it promotes the separation of the family from one another. So if you do not guard family worship with ruthless sufficiency,

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I want to assure you it will not happen. So guard it. And you see that word watch, guard?

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Remember, that's one of the main things you guard as a man is that time as a family before the word of God.

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And so as a summation of point number one, a godly man is watchful.

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He is constantly on the alert and he guards his heart. He guards his loved ones. He guards his family worship.

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Second point, stand fast in the faith. Stand fast in the faith.

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Now that phrase stand fast means literally to be firmly committed in conviction or belief.

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And Paul uses that same term in Galatians 5 .1 when he's exhorting the churches of Galatia. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which

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Christ has made us free. He's telling them stand fast firmly committed to the gospel.

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And the rest of that phrase in the faith. What does it mean stand fast and immovable in the faith?

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When the scriptures speak of the faith with a definite article in front of it, the in front of the word faith, it's talking about the doctrinal content of scripture, the doctrines of the

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Bible. That's what the faith is. We are to stand firmly committed to the faith, to the gospel of Christ and the doctrines that accompany that gospel.

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It is the word faith with a definite article, the faith, the doctrines of the Bible. Just like Jude in the book of Jude verse three says that we are to contend earnestly for the faith, the faith, meaning the doctrines that God has given to us, the teachings about Christ.

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And so the man of God here at first Corinthians 16, 13, he is to watch, stand guard, stand fast in the faith to the doctrines that God has taught you, the doctrines of Christ and his gospel, and how sinners are made right with the

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Lord. A true man of God stands fast. He does not move. He knows what he believes and why, and he will not move from it unless convinced by scripture.

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And consider the Bible's description of the precise opposite of this. We're commanded stand fast in the faith.

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Don't move away from the faith. The opposite of that is Ephesians 4, 14. That says that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.

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We are to be the exact opposite of that. Not tossed to and fro, but standing firm and immovable in the faith.

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And when Paul speaks of children, don't be like children tossed to and fro. Paul is talking about people who are constantly running to and fro in their beliefs, constantly grabbing a hold of this new teacher and that new teacher.

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One week they're all excited about N .T. Wright and the new perspectives on Paul. The next week it's some federal vision writer.

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The next week it's some new teacher with new insights that no one's ever seen before in 2 ,000 years. And so on and so forth.

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The great Charles Hodge, Dr. Charles Hodge, who was president of Princeton Seminary when he retired, proudly boasted, nothing new ever originated at Princeton.

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Why? They stood fast in the faith. That's what the man of God does. He's not knocked around by every new idea, every new writer, every time someone gets published because they have some new angle on things.

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He's not taken in by that. He stands immovably fast in the faith. The godly man is just that.

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He's a man, not a child. In his understanding, he's a man. He's mature. He is not tossed to and fro.

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He is not carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men. And as much as he is immovable in his biblical convictions, he is also always learning and always growing in his knowledge of the

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Word of God. He's always gaining new insights into things he doesn't yet know. Yes, we are always being reformed by our study of the

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Word of God, but the core doctrines of the faith, the core doctrines of the gospel, the foundational stones of our relationship with God, those never change.

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And the biblical man, he will stand fast in those truths. 1

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Corinthians 14 20 says, Brethren, do not be children in understanding. However, in malice be babes, but in understanding be men.

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In understanding be men. 1 Corinthians 13 11. When I was a child, I spoke as a child,

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I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

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A biblical man is steadfast in his core convictions and belief like a rock and not like sand.

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Because his God does not change, the truths upon which he stands don't change either.

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Another point of application of this text, stand fast in the faith.

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This is a very, very important one. I hope you will take this one to heart. Another reason that the man of God stands fast in the faith is because as Psalm 1 verses 1 and 2 teaches us, listen,

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Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.

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The biblical man's closest companions and friends are not unbelievers. And he is too sharp to buy the common argument, but Jesus hung out with prostitutes and tax collectors and sinners.

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I hate to be a wet blanket on you, but um, no he didn't. Jesus received repentant prostitutes and tax collectors and sinners and he on occasion ate with them.

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But Jesus's closest friends and companions were his disciples. Plain and simple. Proverbs 12 26, the righteous should choose his friends carefully for the way of the wicked leads them astray.

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The biblical man knows that that's true. And part of the reason he stands fast in the faith is because he stands there with others.

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He does not sit in the counsel of the ungodly. He doesn't stand in the path of sinners. He doesn't sit in the seat of the scornful.

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He is very deliberate, very careful about the choices he makes regarding his friends.

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He is not a fool in this regard and he would not be taken in by such shallow argumentation as we're just trying to win them all to the

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Lord. The biblical man does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.

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He does not stand on the path of sinners. He does not sit in the seat of the scornful. He recognizes what Paul said in second corinthians 6 15 to 17 when

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Paul asked what accord has Christ with satan? What part has a believer with an unbeliever therefore come out from among them and be separate says the

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Lord? And then verse 2 of psalm 1 But instead of being in the counsel of the ungodly in the path of sinners in the seat of the scornful

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But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law. He meditates day and night

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Whereas the biblical man used to walk in the counsel and advice and worldview and the priorities of the ungodly

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That's all been changed now when he came to Christ. That's all different now Now his delight is in the law of the

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Lord. He doesn't care about the counsel of the ungodly He doesn't want to stand in the path of sinners.

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He doesn't want to sit among the scornful He delights in the law of the Lord and in his law.

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He meditates day and night He is a lover of the word of God and of God's people His life reflects that he is in constant study of that great book and that he's in constant fellowship with his brethren

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How much do you love that great book? Men How much do we love the word of God?

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I once listened to a lecture about a wonderful man of God a christian evangelist and an orphanage director named george muller and george muller scholars

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Are convinced based on his journals that that man read the bible from cover to cover more than 200 times in his life 200 times the bible cover to cover

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Starting at age 14 the puritan cotton mather at age 14 Read 15 chapters of the bible every single day for the rest of his life five in the morning five at lunch and five before bed

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What made those men such giant oaks of christ in this world rather than little saplings or little toadstools or mushrooms?

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They were men of the word of God What made luther and calvin such godly insightful men such men of integrity great family men great workers great businessmen

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They were men of the word of God You can't help but notice when you study their lives when you read their books when you see the things that they put into print

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That these were men who whose natural inborn sinful way of thinking had been completely rewired by the bible

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That's what beats in the heart of the man of God his love for the voice of his creator and his shepherd in scripture

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And in that law he meditates day and night. Why does he stand fast? In the faith, why is he immovable?

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Why is he not carried about by the trickery and cunning of men because he knows this book too well

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Why does he hear what nt wright says and go no Because he knows the scripture.

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Why does he hear the new heretics and say no Because he knows the scripture.

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He loves the word of God. He meditates in it day and night That man will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water

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Who brings forth his fruit in its season whose leaves shall not wither and everything he does shall prosper

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Isn't that what you want to be men? Men of all ages young men older men. Isn't that what you want to be?

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Everything you touch turns to gold everything you do prospers you bring forth fruit in your season your life sustains those around you

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I want to tell you something A man will never stand fast in the faith unless he spends his life on his knees before the bible

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You'll never stand firm in the faith until you spend your life on your knees before the word of god

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George Whitfield One of his biographers pointed out that that man read matthew henry's commentary on the his unabridged commentary on the whole bible

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Cover to cover four times and read it on his knees Wow number three act like men

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Act like men one commentator said this about this verb that's used here on dredista act like men

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Quote the greek verb on dredista in the imperative plural means acquit yourselves like men

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This is the only place in the new testament where this verb appears Yet the sense is sufficiently clear

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No soldier in the army of jesus christ may be faint -hearted in his presence. There is no place for cowards and weaklings

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I want to tell you as an application of this verse as a negative application of this verse

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There are a few texts in the bible that are more disheartening and more devastating to read than this one Psalm 78 verse 9 listen to this as I read it to you.

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This is in your thoughts for sabbath meditation I would encourage you to look up those passages this afternoon Psalm 78 verse 9 says the children of ephraim being armed and carrying bows turned back in the day of battle

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Now maybe these guys the children of ephraim maybe they were really good businessmen, maybe they had really good marriages

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Maybe they managed their money really well. Maybe they had good families. Maybe they'd been well taught in the things of god

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Maybe they even got high scores on their act and their sat Maybe they graduated with honors from elite institutions

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But when they were faced with a real enemy when there was something really bad coming towards them

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When there was a battle with a dangerous enemy they turned back and ran

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When the scripture here commands the men at corinth to act like men that verb

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Andres that carries with it the nuance that men ought to have courage That's what andres that means it means to have courage conduct yourself in a courageous way

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That's what a bauer dunker art and gingrich that big lexicon says the term means behave with courage

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And I want to challenge myself and every man here and all the parents here who are in charge of raising young men

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Will those young men stand and fight? Or will they chicken and run? And what

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I mean is this will the men in this room no matter what their age will they be swept into the arms of the world

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Or will they stand fast in the faith? Are the young men here willing are they willing to withdraw from their circle of friends?

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If their friends constantly speak disrespectfully about women Are the young men here willing to withdraw from their friends if those friends have no integrity

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And are wanting you to join them in their wicked deeds? Put aside all the outward accomplishments

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We are always so quick to praise and lift up and think about what beats in the heart of men

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Are they men of integrity? Will they do the right thing even if it costs them money? Will they do the right thing even if they are made fun of and mocked?

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Will they do the right thing if it costs them their friends if it costs them popularity and approval in the eyes of the world?

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Paul told the churches of galatia in galatians 1 10 For am I now seeking the favor of men or of god or am

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I striving to please men? If I were still striving to please men, I would not be a bondservant of christ

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The biblical man knows what is truly important and he is not ashamed to tell the truth

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He is not ashamed of the gospel. He is not ashamed of jesus his cross and the

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Exclusivity of the salvation that is found in him. He fears god not man Proverbs 29 25 the fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the lord shall be safe Jesus taught us in luke 9 26

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Whoever is ashamed of me and my words of him the son of man will be ashamed when he comes in his own glory

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And in his fathers and of the holy angels Cowardice is not part of the biblical man's universe of discourse

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The fear of man is not part of his world. He knows what the scriptures say about that kind of thing

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Jesus said do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul

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Don't be afraid of them. There's nothing to fear there But rather fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell and then one more psalm 118 verse 6

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The lord is on my side. I will not fear. What can man do to me? And so we must ask ourselves

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Why is this unique verb used in the imperative mood here at the tail end of first corinthians?

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Why does paul exhort them be courageous act like men he tells them? Because the temptation before them and before us is to act like something other than that Why does god tell us that Why does he say under the thought act like men be courageous because the temptation is to be a coward

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The temptation is to just Just live as a testimony before them Isn't that funny?

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We dress up cowardice and call it piety I'm, just living as a testimony before people what the real problem is.

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We're cowards We're afraid that they might mock us or hate us for telling them the gospel The bible

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The biblical man doesn't buy such trite and unbiblical ideas as quote preach the gospel and use words of necessary You ever heard that phrase?

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Mix it from your mind. It's nonsense He knows that the gospel is the message of jesus christ and him crucified and risen again

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And that forgiveness of sins is found only by repenting and believing in him And that message is a message that has to be preached with words

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Yes, our lives must adorn our profession of the gospel, but our lives can only show people the effects of the gospel not the gospel itself

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The gospel's essence must be preached and explained to people and the biblical man has the courage to speak the truth and love

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To those willing to listen and it doesn't bother him if he gets egg on his face for doing it

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When we consider who and what we are as christian men, let us do all that we can That no one would ever have grounds to call us cowards

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That used to be something men took real seriously There's a reason what was it 80 something percent of the men on the titanic died

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And what was it 70 of the women survived because none of those men wanted to survive They didn't want to be labeled as cowards for the rest of their lives

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I wonder what that percentage would be today If a ship went down like that Fathers, there are few things better for your sons than to see that you're not afraid

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That you're not afraid to say what's true and stand for it, even if it costs you something The young men of our church need to see

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The older men engaged in the battles of our time and we must engage in the battles of our time with persistence and courage for so many men

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They'll get excited about reading scripture to their family every day and they'll get excited about that But then the the grind of life pulls them back to the old ways and they won't even put up a fight

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Just remember the word of god says andre desta act like a man You fight for what you know, you're supposed to If you have a pornography problem talk to me talk to one of the elders here get help become accountable

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And then take a baseball back to your computer You know somehow human beings actually functioned without the internet for most of human history

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You don't need it My last point of application under this heading is this

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Please do not be a Whatever man What I mean is so often it's the women who wish their husbands would lead their families, but the men are always just like whatever

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The wife will say sweetheart. I think we should try reading the bible together out loud as a family sometimes and his answer is whatever

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The wife will say honey. I think we're gonna we're gonna try to do homeschooling this year and his answer is

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Whatever The wife says honey, we've been married for 25 years now, and I I just don't feel very loved by you anymore

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You have so many hobbies so many other interests and you just don't pursue me. You don't listen to me you don't love me the way you did long ago when

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I used to glow and his answer is Whatever Don't be a whatever guy

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Be a man on a mission a biblical mission Be like increase mather Who cried and prayed so earnestly for the conversion of his children and wrote about it in his journal?

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Be like jonathan edwards a man who didn't get angry when his 11 children and his wife needed his attention and he was

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Deeply in thought about some great theological topic be like george mueller Who wore his bible down to the nub reading it from cover to cover 200 times in his life?

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Get a vision from the word of god and then make that a reality in your home and in your life as a recovering whatever guy myself

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Who has counseled a lot of whatever guys? I want to tell you it takes courage to stop being a whatever kind of guy

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It takes courage To have a mission that you know god wants you to do

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To go to the word of god and say here's what we're doing. We have to do this as a family I'm going to fight to make sure this happens in my family

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I'm not going to be passive like adam who watched his wife have a conversation with satan and did nothing

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It is not for the faint of heart And you live in a society that is dominated by a feministic worldview that is using every conceivable medium to destroy your vision of a man

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And if you're tired of being that guy who who has the best of intentions But just never really seems to do the right thing resolve that those days are over Don't be cowards act like men the word of god says act like men be courageous be bold And in case we had any doubts regarding where the lord stands with regard to the cowardly

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I want to remind all of us. It's not the unbelieving. It's not the abominable It's not the murderers of the sexually immoral or the sorcerers or the idolaters or the liars that are sent into hell first You know who's at the front of the line?

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in revelation 21 8 but the cowardly

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Then the unbelieving the abominable the murderers the sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters We still often think man those abortion providers.

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Oh, they better repent god's so angry with them homosexuals are sexually perverted Cowards are listed right there right next to them

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That's why the scripture says on drudges the be a man be courageous Be determined if you fall get back up Press forward get help from your brothers pray together

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Finally fourthly this morning To sum it all up be strong. It says Be strong This final imperative is a summation of what came before we are to be strong in guarding strong standing firm in the faith

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Strong in our courage and being men We guard and watch with strength we stand firm with strength we act like men with strength with determination

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And this strength spoken of here is not physical strength. It's spiritual resolve

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That's what it is See paul knew god knows The tendency is to just be passive.

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It's just to sit back and be a whatever kind of guy whatever happens I've been working i'm tired.

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I just want some peace and quiet He knows that's the tendency So he says watch stand fast in the faith act like men and be strong about it.

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He's saying He knows it's a struggle. God knows it's a struggle And it's spiritual resolve not physical strength

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And to have that strength we have to exercise spiritually Paul said to timothy in first timothy four seven and eight he told him exercise yourself toward godliness

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For bodily exercise profits a little But godliness is profitable for all things having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come

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Many people who have great determination are able to do incredible physical exercise programs and running and and everything else

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Personally, I like to think of my knees as being in great shape. They've never been used And that's all great and fine and everything else

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And the bible says yeah bodily exercise it profits a little Is it profitable?

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Yeah, how much a little? But the exercise that is profitable for all things is exercise towards godliness

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As I just said why were so many people why were men and women not just men, but women george muller edwards people from the past Why were they such great people why they do such great things for god with their life?

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Because they exercise towards godliness Their spiritual muscles were very well developed.

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They could run the spiritual marathon Where most of us would run a mile and fall down? Daily prayer daily bible reading personal and family worship of the triune god in the home the study of great books

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Which help us grow in our knowledge of the word of god The fellowship of god's people attendance at all worship services that your church has participation in the lord's supper

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These are the exercises towards godliness And if we can bench press 400 pounds and run a marathon without breaking a sweat

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But we fall on our face at the first sight of our temptations and our spiritual trials.

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Then what good are we? paul's final words to the church at corinth

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Seem to be borrowed from many many many passages in the old testament. We could spend the next hour just reading them

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But I want to share with you one. I think is especially moving and closing David was a man after god's own heart.

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He was a man who did amazing things for god with his life, and he also Messed up really really bad, too

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But I want you to hear his final dying words to his son to solomon in first kings 2 1 through 3

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Listen to what david wanted his son To know listen carefully to this first kings 2 1 through 3

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As david's time drew near to die He charged solomon his son saying

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I am going the way of all the earth Be strong therefore and show yourself a man

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Does that sound familiar where you think paul got this? When he tells them tells the men of corinth be men

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The bible says this over and over and over again solomon Was told by david

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Be a man be strong show yourself to be a man solomon Keep the charge of the lord your god to walk in his ways to keep his statutes his commandments

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His ordinances and his testimonies according to what is written in the law of moses That you may succeed in all that you do

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And wherever you turn Do you want to succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn

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And show yourself a man Keep The statutes the ordinances the commandments of the lord.

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What's that talking about that's talking about scripture the words of god That's what david's telling his son solomon show yourself a man and make sure that in your heart

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You know those things backwards and forwards so that you succeed in everything you do in life those were david's last words to his son solomon and they were

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God's last words to the church at corinth as well. Let's close. Just read them one more time first corinthians 16 13

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Watch stand fast in the faith act like men be strong.

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Let's pray Our lord and god we thank you for giving us such clear direction on how you want us to behave

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What you want us to be as men and we know everyone in here That we fall short That we fail

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And yet this is the standard This is our goal To always be watchful To be immovable in the faith to act like men and to be strong about it

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Help us to do that that you might be glorified and help us to keep our eyes fixed upon jesus