CALLING ALL MEN...Let's have a Talk!!!
I have discovered that one
of the biggest problems facing American families, business,
churches, and
children can all be traced back to one common denominator: Men who will
not fulfill their God ordained role of being God’s man in this world. The verse that will be foundational to this series of blog posts comes from the book of Ezekiel. God is talking to His people about how the
nation is in disarray, it’s leaders are corrupt, its families are falling
apart, and how people were pursing personal gain, materialism, and possessions
to the point they no longer knew the difference between right and wrong. Then
God said this: “I searched
for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me
on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one (Ezekiel
22:30).”
Today
God from Heaven is looking for men who will stand in the gap…men who
will repair the things that are broken…men who will fear the Lord and walk in
the truth of His Word. God is looking for some men who will Man Up and take the
lead in their church, home, and community for His glory!Listen
to the principle of Psalm 128:1-4 when it says this: “How happy is
everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in
His ways! 2 You will surely eat what your hands have worked for. You will be
happy, and it will go well for you. 3 Your wife will
be like a fruitful vine within your house, your sons like young olive trees
around your table. 4 In this very way the man who fears the Lord will be blessed.”
There are a couple of
presuppositions you need to know that form the foundational base for this series
of blog posts:
1. Men in America
are in a state of confusion!
We live in a society of
masculine meltdown. Because of the lack of fathers in homes over the past 40
years, our society has been feminized at every level. Rather than men taking
the lead in their homes, on the job, in the church, or in the community, they
have decided to stand in the corner of the room and not lead. Men have
forfeited their God ordained role of leadership in the home, church, and
society to women. In most cases, thank God for women, especially in a Baptist
church. Without them nothing would ever get done. But this is not how God
ordained it and when you do not do it God’s way, God will not bless it!
2. Men in America
who are confused create Problems!
Our society reflects the values,
indecisiveness, and confusion of men. Men’s lives are filled with pain,
loneliness, unfulfillment, and no meaning. Men today do not have the ability to
communicate with other men, their families, or even their co-workers. Men have
few if any significant relationships or friends. They have no clear identity
about what it means to be a man. The primary reason for this is because as many
as 55% of boys grew up in a home with no father and 70% of them had no father
who actively engaged in their lives. This has created major problems for
families, workplaces, marriages, and churches.
3. Men in America
are passive to the point of ineffectiveness!
Men
have been programmed over the last 40 years to stop taking risks. We easily
settle for less than the best for our own lives, our families, and our
purposes. We are easily satisfied with the mediocre things of life while
forfeiting the best things in life. We fear failure, the ridicule of women, and
have basically grown lazy and passive on the big issues of life such as
parenting, working, making decisions, communicating with our spouse &
children, providing for needs, serving others, ministry in God’s house, prayer,
volunteerism, and serving God.
This is reflected in American
sitcom where Dad is always the baffling buffoon, the butt of all the jokes, and
the one who is inferior to his wife, daughters, teenagers, and well-groomed
female co-workers. Dad has not role in the family other than to hold a job
while everyone works around him and behind his back to achieve what they want
out of life.
4. Men in America
have become self-centered and focused on self!
The first question of the
generation that came before this generation of men was this: “How can I
serve?” (my family, kids, my church, my country, my God). The first
question of men today is this: “How will this serve me?” The
result is that the average American man changes jobs every 2-4 years, divorce
is at an all time high, money spent of recreation and entertainment for men is
record breaking, and men spend less time with their children than ever before
in American history.
5. Men in America
can change, should change, and should do so now!
Men…the bottom line is this: it
is time to Man Up! I preached a sermon series in January of 2014 and told the men of our church "It is time to Man up at home and lead God’s way! It is time
for you to Man up and lead God’s people! It is time to Man up at your workplace
and in this community and lead according to God’s Word!"
Look at Malachi 1:6 in an effort to clearly define what God expects from men When
we look into the book of Malachi, we see God does most of the talking. In fact,
God is telling His people exactly like it is. God does not sugar coat what He
expects from us, especially from we who are men. He says this in Malachi 1:6,
“A son honors
his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor?
And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me? says Yahweh of Hosts.”
We are told here in Malachi that
we are to fear God!
The word “fear” literally mixes 2 words together to form one meaning. Fear
means both dread and awe of God. Quite literally to fear God means to take God serious in every area of your
life by coming under His authority and control over your life while holding God
in the highest esteem!
God is speaking to the men who
were supposed to be leading His people. Rather than leading the people, they
had abdicated their roles as leaders and started living for themselves. It
mirrors our society today. God asks, “Where is My honor?” Over the next few
posts we will see what God tells us He is looking for in our lives and how to honor Him with our lives as men!
