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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
June 20, 2021
God’s Design for Men
Selected Scriptures
Introduction
Happy Father’s Day! It took a long time for it to gain status similar to Mother’s Day which was recognized by a joint resolution of Congress on May 9, 1914 and received official annual national observance by the Federal Government in 1915. Though many resolutions were introduced in Congress over the years, Father’s Day did not become an official annual Federal holiday until 1972. The celebrations also tend to be different. While Mother’s Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants, Father’s Day is when the family gathers together and dad grills for everyone, but that is okay with most of us because we like grilled meat so we are happy to do it! Or if you are like me, you have sons who have become better at it than you, so you relax and bask in pride of the culinary skills of your offspring.
The national attention that is given to honoring mothers and fathers in our nation is actually a reflection of God’s command to honor parents that goes back to the fifth of the Ten Commandments of the Mosaic Law – Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you (Exodus 20:12). This command is not limited to one day a year. Jesus repeated that command in both Matthew 14:4-6 and Luke 18:20, and Paul repeated it to the church in Ephesians 6:2-3 noting in that it was “the first commandment with a promise that it might be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.” Fulfilling that commandment may be easy or difficult depending on the character of your father.
Father’s Day is joyful for me for I praise God for my dad and the character that he developed in me that I have been able to pass down to my own sons as part of his legacy. I am grateful to the Lord that he is still alive at age 98 so that I can talk with him on the phone and visit him when we are in California. I also have great joy in the love I receive from my own children and their wives. I fully recognize that Father’s Day is one of mixed emotions for some of you for your dad has passed away and you have fond memories mixed with the sorrow of missing him while perhaps also joyful because of your own children. Then there those of you for whom Father’s Day is painful because your dad was either absent or an ungodly man and the honor you give to him is strictly out of duty in obeying the Lord’s command. Even if that is the case for you, you can still thank God that in His providence that was the man through whom you were brought into existence. God can even use bad things for good purposes.
This morning I want to address God’s design for men. We live in an increasingly absurd society which Jim Phelan accurately describes as “upside down world.” It appears that Orwell’s 1984 has become a blueprint instead of a warning. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. In our own time we can add: White is racist; Censorship is free speech; Government is the solution; and Gender is fluid. Isaiah 5:20–21 warns, 20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight! But such are the times in which we live in this society.
Among the attacks on truth and common sense is the disparaging of men who exhibit what used to be typically male characteristics. Feminist refer to it as toxic masculinity. Well then let me give such people a trigger warning. I like Brad Paisley’s song, “I’m Still a Guy,” and today I will be advocating for all of those aspects of toxic masculinity that are commanded or advocated by God.
Man Made in the Image of God – Genesis 1:26-27
I will start with the creation of man in Genesis 1:26-27. 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
There is a lot in those two verses, but the first thing to note is that God made man in His image. That distinguishes man from every other creature God created including angels. Man was created to be a reflection of particular aspects of the nature of God. Those are often referred to as God’s communicable attributes because they can be communicated to and developed in man as compared to God’s uncommunicable attributes such as omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, eternality and immutability. Such attributes only belong to God. Communicable attributes reflect the three characteristics of personhood: cognition (ability to think even in the abstract), volition (ability to choose), emotion (ability to feel psychically).
God’s many commands to man involve one or more of these characteristics. God expects man to use his brain to learn and grow in knowledge and wisdom from childhood through old age. A command itself is founded on man’s ability to choose to either obey or disobey, and many of God’s commands are directed to emotional reactions and subsequent actions. It is for these reasons that God holds man accountable for how he lives his life for man is not like animals which respond out of instinct.
Man’s first purpose of existence then, both male and female, is to be a reflection of these communicable attributes of God. I will point out particular ones in the course of this sermon that are especially important for men, but the perfect example of God’s design for men is Jesus Christ. God wants men to become like Jesus in character.
Man’s Primary Responsibilities – Genesis 1:26, 2:15-20
Steward of Creation: Directly related to being made in God’s image is man’s primary responsibility to “rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” The idea contained in “rule” (translated as “dominion” in NKJV & ESV) is for man to be God’s regent on earth in both taking care of and using creation. Man is a steward entrusted by God with taking care of the earth and all the creatures upon it. In Genesis 1:30 and 2:16-17 man is initially given all the plants for food except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Later in Genesis 9:3 after the flood, God also gives the animals to man as a source of food. Man can use the creatures and materials on the earth as he needs, but he is not to abuse them. That is why there are commandments included in the law of Moses against abuse of animals, and the rights of inheritance would keep man from exploiting the land to its detriment since it would be passed down for the use of his children. Man is made in God’s image in order to be a steward of God’s creation, and God will hold man accountable for how well he fulfills his stewardship.
Work: Turning to the next chapter and looking at Genesis 2:15 we find that Adam’s first job was to cultivate and keep the Garden of Eden, and his first task was naming all of the animals (2:19-20). That lets us know that God design for man from the beginning included work. The fall and the curse on the earth and man recorded in Genesis 3:18-19 has simply made work more difficult and frustrating – 17 Then to Adam [God] said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
Godly men will be diligent to work according to their ability. The purpose is so that they can eat, and as Paul points out in Ephesians 4:28, it also enables him so share with those who are truly in need. Ungodly men will either pervert work in one of two directions. First are those that make work and what it yields the purpose in life. These are the workaholics striving for greater wealth, power or fame. They forget that the curse includes death and the body returning to become dust. Work is to feed your body, but your soul is of infinitely greater importance, so feeding your soul on God’s word and following Him is the greater priority – hence Jesus’ rebuke of Satan’s temptation in Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
The second common perversion of work among the ungodly is to be lazy and seek to live off of the work of other people. There are many evils within socialism in all of its forms, but this a major one. It removes incentives to work while punishing those that do work. We are now told that diligence in working hard is “white privilege.” Perhaps it is considered toxic masculinity as well? The truth is that working hard and reaping the reward of labor has nothing to do with either your melanin count or your gender. It is simply the result of living according to reality as designed by God.
Consider just a few Proverbs on the subject. Proverbs 14:23 – “In all labor there is profit, But mere talk leads only to poverty.” Proverbs 16:26 – “A worker’s appetite works for him, For his hunger urges him on.” Proverbs 22:4, “The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord Are riches, honor and life.” Proverbs 13:11b, “. . . the one who gathers by labor increases [wealth].” Proverbs 10:4, “. . . the hand of the diligent makes rich.” Proverbs 13:22, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children . . .” Perhaps Ecclesiastes 9:10 is a bit cynical, but it also makes the same point. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.”
Diligence in work is a characteristic of godliness, and for Christians, our motives are directed by Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” (For more about work see Proverbs on Economics & Labor Day Sermon).
God’s design for men is that they work to the best of their ability. Ungodly men shirk work to live off the labor of others so that they can pursue their own selfish desires. This has become a major problem in our society. I am not only talking about the men who never seem to grow up to shoulder their responsibility, a common complaint among women looking for a potential husband, but also those who lack the integrity to do what is right before God regardless of society. There is at present a labor shortage because in many states the unemployment benefits are greater than going out and getting a job. Godly men trust the Lord to provide as they fulfill the conditional promise Jesus makes in Matthew 6:33 – “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (food, drink, clothing) will be added to you.” While I understand the blessing that unemployment payments can be, there are supposed to be a temporary bridge to the next job. Decades ago when I worked for the Los Angeles County Agriculture Department, my position would be laid off during the Winter, and we were told to file for unemployment. In the five years I worked that job, I never did that because I knew I could find odd jobs to do until my regular job started back up, and I never wanted to be a burden on the system when I could stand on my own two feet. If that is toxic masculinity, we need a lot more of that poison against sin.
Responsibility & Role: Going back to Genesis 2, we see that part of the purpose of God having Adam name all the animals is so that he would recognize his need for someone that corresponded to him. Notice verse 18, Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Now look at verse 20, “The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.” Verses 21-24 then recounts the story of God fashioning Eve from one of Adam’s ribs and establishing the first marriage. This whole section is critical to understanding the roles that God gave to the man and the woman. The responsibility rests on Adam, and Eve is given to him to help him carry out those responsibilities which includes child bearing since part of God’s command to them is to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”
That idea is definitely toxic masculinity to feminists. Partly because they wrongly think that means women are placed in a subservient position. Women are neither inferior not subservient to men. God has designed man and woman to compliment each other in a synergistic manner. A husband and wife are to be greater than the sum of the two of them as individuals. The world does not understand that because it views marriage as best if it is a 50-50% arrangement while God wants each spouse to give 100% because that is the nature of the sacrificial love He has commanded them to have for each other.
Feminists reject the roles God has given to men and women primarily because they are directly affected by the curse on Eve after the fall into sin that has been passed down to every woman since then. Genesis 3:16, To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”
Every mother knows by experience the first part of that curse to one degree or another. Every woman should also recognize the danger of the second part of that curse. While there has been debate about the meaning of “your desire will be for your husband,” it is its contrast with the husband ruling over her that explains the meaning. A wife that desires her husband will be welcomed by him. It is the wife that desires to usurp him that will be ultimately be met with a response of resistance – whether active or passive – to reassert rule. The ESV translates this as “Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,” in an effort to bring out this idea. God fashioned Eve and gave her to Adam so that together they would carry out God’s commands. The responsibility is given to Adam and she is to assist him in fulfilling those responsibilities. Feminists are in rebellion against God, so it is no surprise they are also in rebellion against God’s design for them as women and for the family.
A godly couple will work in harmony with each other with both husband and wife fulfilling their God given roles and are a blessing to each other. A wife that seeks to take over her husband’s role will eventually push too far and receive a nasty backlash as he reasserts his position, or she will destroy him as warned about in Proverbs 14:1, “The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.” At the same time, a husband that allows that is also destroying his own home. If you are a male, God wants you to be a man and neither a monster nor a mouse. You are responsible before God to lead your wife and neither drive her or follow her. Again, God’s design is toxic masculinity to feminists, but they are the ones destroying their own households if they do gain one.
Let me expand a bit on the responsibilities given to men in regards to their families. Even within the Christian subculture of our society there are many responsibilities God has given to men that they too often abdicate. Let me emphasize before I go on that having the responsibility does not mean you will do all the work since that is contrary to God’s design and even from a pragmatic point that is impossible. However, it does mean you are to oversee and make sure what God requires is done.
First example. Who is to be responsible for teaching and raising children? Pragmatically a lot of that work is done by the mother because she spends the most time with them especially when they are young. But who will God hold responsible? The father. In Ephesians 6:4 it is “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” In Colossians 3:21 “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.” A qualification to be either an Elder or a Deacon in the church is “managing their own households well.” Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures the commands are given to the men to carry out in their households. God will hold the dad responsible to make sure the command in Deuteronomy 6:7 is followed to diligently teach their sons about knowing and loving the Lord God talking about Him and His commandments “when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” That is why Joshua could declare, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
Again, this does not mean the dad is doing all the work, but it does mean that he is making sure the care and teaching is done. Note that throughout Proverbs it is most often the dad that is instructing his son with his wife joining and also bearing the consequences of the outcome. Proverbs 1:8–9, 8 “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction And do not forsake your mother’s teaching; 9 Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head And ornaments about your neck.” If the parents fail at this, then Proverbs 17:25 applies, “A foolish son is a grief to his father And bitterness to her who bore him.” If they succeed, then Proverbs 23:24-25, 24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who sires a wise son will be glad in him. 25 Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.”
God’s design is for husband and wife, father and mother, to work together in harmony according to God’s design to be a blessing to each other, to their family and beyond. God places the responsibility on the man with the woman created to help him fulfill those responsibilities.
Example Two. What about provision for the home? 1 Timothy 5:8 is quite direct: “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” All the pronouns in this verse are masculine including “anyone.” Does this mean the man must be the only source of income? Of course not. The example of Proverbs 31 shows that to be false. That amazing woman figured out how to take care of her family and provide several different income streams into the household. However, this does mean the responsibility rests on the man to make sure his immediate and extended family are provided for since the context of this passage is providing for widows. This goes back again to men being diligent to work to the best of their ability instead of being lazy.
But a strong warning must be placed here. Too many men, even Christian men, think it is enough for them to go to work and bring home a paycheck. But that is only one part of the responsibilities God has placed upon men as I have just pointed out. Men, feeding your family is not enough, you must also lead it. While there are those situations in which the wife / mother may need to work outside the home, examine the motivations very carefully. We live in a materialistic society, and if the reason is related to having a greater income stream so you can eat higher on the hog – live a more affluent lifestyle – you are already in trouble. If it causes the home to be neglected, you are even in greater trouble because you are going to fail at the primary responsibilities God has given to you.
Look quickly at Titus 2:3-5, 3 “Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.” The issue here is honoring the word of God. Living contrary to it in pursuit of what the world values dishonors it and will bring negative consequences upon you and your household. Take heed to the warning in 1 John 2:15–17, 15 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
Learn to live in contentment as Paul explains in Philippians 4:11-13. He states in 1 Timothy 6:6-8 that food and covering are enough to make the godly content. Men, you and your wife need to figure out ways to make sure you are keeping God’s priorities for your family. If it means eating rice and beans instead of steak and lobster, then praise God as you see Him bless you and your family with greater godliness and character. Psalm 37:16, Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked. Feminists will call that toxic masculinity because you are restricting your wife from being “fulfilled” by going out and working in the world, but remember that feminists value masculine traits, not feminine ones. If you are looking to the world to gain fulfillment, then you can only gain what the world has to offer, and as James 4:4 warns, “. . . friendship with the world is hostility toward God. Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
If protecting your family from the ungodliness of this world is toxic masculinity, then we need much more of it to kill off the worldliness that it is destroying the family – the foundation of society.
Godly Character
It will be necessary to develop particular character qualities in order to fulfill these God given priorities – reflecting the image of God, being a good steward of creation, working diligently to provide for yourself and your household, recognizing God designed needs and His provision for them, and leading a wife and family which includes protecting them from the world and sin.
The Fear the Lord: The first characteristic that came to my mind was the fear of the Lord, which Proverbs 1:7 states is the beginning of knowledge and Proverbs 9:10 states is the beginning of wisdom with Proverbs 10:27 and 14:27 adding that it is a fountain that prolongs life. Without knowledge and wisdom you cannot fulfill any of these responsibilities for at minimum you must know God’s commands and how to carry them out. Proverbs 8:13 states that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, arrogance, the evil way and the perverted mouth. That requires a knowledge and wisdom to distinguish between good and evil, an ability tragically lacking and decreasing in our own society.
Courage: The second characteristic that came to my mind is courage which is the ability to be strong, bold and determined even when the circumstances are scary. Courage is rooted in trusting the Lord in the situation regardless of the outcome. Courage is exhibited in following the Lord even when it seems dangerous to do so. Men need courage and it comes from believing God to carry out the truth. A command or encouragement to be “strong and courageous” occurs four times in Joshua 1. Once in relationship to conquering the promised land, twice in relationship to keeping God’s law which included how to conquer the land, and once in relationship to putting to death those that rebelled against God. Jesus told us to take courage as we face the tribulations of this world because He has already overcome it (John 16:33). Paul showed this throughout his life as he saw the Lord’s hand upon him to do the Lord’s will (2 Cor. 5:6-8; Phil. 1:14). Courage is also contagious because it is much easier to be courageous when those around are also doing the same.
It is not easy to stand firm for godliness in a sinful society because there are so many ways those who are wicked will seek to punish you for making their sin recognizable. You don’t even have to directly point it out for that to happen because just living a godly life contrasts quickly with their evil. The use of fear causes many men who would otherwise be considered good to cower and yield. Jesus used an extreme example of the foolishness of this in His warning in Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” That truth has enabled countless Christians to face death whether it is in war or martyrdom. If you should fear God instead of those that might kill you, why then would you fear them if all they could do is physically abuse you, put you in jail, steal your stuff, slander you, or “cancel” you on social media? Yes, all those things are bad, but not as bad as being murdered, so the principle applies to them as well. It takes courage to face such threats and stand firm for truth.
Men are to be courageous. Even the pagan Philistines understood this. In 1 Samuel 4:9 their leaders countered the fear of their army saying, “Take courage and be men, O Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been slaves to you; therefore, be men and fight.” They were to put their lives at risk to protect their families from becoming slaves. They recognized something more important to them than even their lives. That has been a common trait among real men throughout the ages. They put themselves at risk to protect their families, their community, their country and even strangers. They used to be called heros, now such courage is called a quality of toxic masculinity. May there be many more that will shed the soft clothing of the emasculated and put on the rough cloak of courage. Men who will go forward and intervene instead of passively standing by or running away from danger.
Lists: There are many other characteristics that men are supposed to be according to God’s design. Included in the description in Psalm 15 are integrity, righteousness, truth from the heart, loyalty to not slander, do evil or take up a reproach of a friend. The ability to distinguish between reprobates and righteousness and despise the former while honoring the later. Godly men are characterized by the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control – instead of the deeds of the flesh which include things such as immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these (Galatians 5:19-23). The character qualities required of Elders and Deacons in 1 Timothy 3:1-9 and Titus 1:7-9 is a blueprint for being a godly man. These include: above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, dignified, honest, hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, not self-willed, nor quick-tempered, nor addicted to wine or pugnacious, but devout, self-controlled, gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money, manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity, able to both teach sound doctrine and refute those who contradict.
All these qualities are fleshed out for us in the many examples of men who lived by faith in serving God such as those listed in Hebrews 11 – Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Joshua and Moses. There are also the stories of the prophets and apostles. Men who failed in some areas while also showing the way to greater godliness and they exhibited the characteristics of true manliness. In the final analysis, God’s design for men is that they become holy exhibiting the characteristics of Jesus Christ, for God’s work in the Christian man is to conform him to the image of Christ (Rom. 9:29).
Conclusion
Let me conclude this Father’s Day sermon with this. I think you are all well aware that we are in a social / political battle for our existence as Christians in this nation. It is already much worse in many nations around the world that were once considered Christian such as Canada and most of Europe, but even here freedom has collapsed, lies prevail, governments have become the oppressors of good and promoters of evil, and the next generation is being indoctrinated to live at the bottom level of depravity described in Romans 1:32 as those who will practice the worst forms of immorality and sin and give hearty approval to those that do the same.
While fully recognizing that it will only be by God’s mercy and grace that there can be a recovery of this nation, history has shown that He has done so through men who were willing to be men. Evil rises when good men do nothing. Men, it is past time to quit letting our wretched society neuter us and to instead stand up and speak up and be counted as men. Don’t be afraid to let the feminists and their allies see what they will claim is toxic masculinity. Stand firm for God, for truth, for your family, for your nation and don’t back down. Walk in trust of God to do what is right before Him and let Him work through you. Ladies, encourage them and stand and walk with them though it may cost you greatly as well. It is amazing what men will do if they know their women support them. Remember, we are to live for the glory of God and His purposes and not our own. Fulfill the reason for God bringing you into existence.
Sermon Notes – June 20, 2021
God’s Design for Men, Selected Scriptures
Introduction
Father’s Day
The 5th Commandment
A mixture of emotions
Living in “upside down world”
Man Made in the Image of God – Genesis 1:26-27
God man in His image: Cognition (__________), Volition (chose), Emotion (feel)
Man’s first purpose of existence is to ___________ God’s communicable attributes
Man’s Primary Responsibilities – Genesis 1:26-30, 2:15-20
Steward of Creation – man is to rule (have dominion) over earthly ___________
Man can use, but not __________, the creatures and materials of the earth
Work: First job – cultivate & _______ for the Garden of Eden. First task – ________ the animals
Be diligent to work according to ability in order to _______ & provide for those in need
It is ungodly to be a workaholic striving for greater _________, power or fame
It is ungodly to be lazy & live off of the work of others – one of the great ________ of socialism
Proverbs to consider: 10:4; 13:11b, 22; 14:23; 16:26: 22:4. Eccl. 9:10. Col. 3:23-24
Godly men seek first God’s kingdom & righteousness because they ________ God to keep His promises
Responsibility & Role. God had Adam name the animals so he would recognize his _______for a helpmeet
Responsibility rests on Adam with Eve fashioned from his rib to be a ___________ corresponding to him
Men & women were designed to ______________ each other – equal value, different roles
Feminists are in rebellion against ________, so they also rebel against God’s design for the family
A godly couple work synergistically in _____________ with each other
God wants males to become _______ and neither monsters nor mice
Being responsible requires giving oversight & making sure it happens, not necessarily doing it ___________
The responsibility for teaching & raising children belongs to the ____even if the wife does most of the work
The ________is responsible to lead and provide for his household (1 Tim. 5:8) – the wife assists
The reason & ___________ for a wife to work outside the home are critical – is it godly or not?
Titus 2:3-5, 1 John 2:15–17 – pursue ___________, not worldliness
Contentment with _____is better than friendship with the world -Phil 4:11-13; 1 Tm 6:6-8; Ps 37:16; Jm 4:4
Godly Character
Fear the Lord – Proverbs 1:7; 9:10; 10:27; 14:27 – leads to knowledge, wisdom, and ________
Courage – being strong, ________ and determined even in scary circumstances
Courage is ______________ and enables others to also be courageous
Fear can make otherwise good men cower – but fear _______, not man – Matt. 10:28
A man is to be courageous and can be so when he recognizes what is ________ important than himself
A hero sacrifices himself for others – a quality of true ___________
Lists of Character Traits:
Psalm 15 –
Galatians 5:19-23 the fruit of the spirit vs the deeds of the flesh
1 Timothy 3:1-9; Titus 1:7-9 – the qualifications of Elders & Deacons
Hebrews 11 – the examples of those included in the hall of faith
Conclusions
We are in a social / political battle for our existence as ______________ in this nation
Only by ___________ mercy & grace can the nation be recovered
Men must be ______________and stand firm for God, truth, family & the nation – and not back down
Men fulfill their responsibilities best when they are ____________ by their wives
KIDS KORNER – Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – count how many times the words “man” or “men” are mentioned. Talk with your parents about what qualities are to characterize a godly man.
THINK ABOUT IT – Questions to consider in understanding the sermon and its application. What is the relationship between Father’s Day and the 5th Commandment. Why is it a difficult day for some? In what ways is “upside down world” and accurate description of our society? What does it mean that man is made in the image of God and what is its significance? What is the first purpose of man’s existence? What does it mean to be a steward? What does it mean for man to “rule” / “have dominion” over the earth? What commands keep many from abusing his dominion? What was Adam’s first job? What was his first task? In what two ways does man pervert the command to work? What are the benefits and rewards of work? Why is socialism evil in relationship to God’s command to work? Which is more important to you – financial gain or personal integrity? Explain. Why did God have Adam name all the animals before He fashioned Even from one of his ribs? What is the primary role given to Adam? What is the primary role given to Eve? What are the ramifications of the curses upon Eve? Upon Adam? Why do feminists reject God’s design for the family? What are the possible outcomes of when a wife seeks to usurp her husband’s role in the family? What are the possible outcomes when a husband will not lead his family? What is the role of the father in raising and teaching children? What is the wife’s role? What is the husband’s role in providing for the family? What is the wife’s role? What would be proper reasons / motives for a wife to work outside the home? What are some wrong reasons and motives for that? Why is contentment with what God provides so important? Why is the fear of the Lord the first and foremost characteristic of a godly man? What is courage and why is it such an important characteristic of manhood? How do you overcome fear in order to be courageous? List out the characteristics God want men to have in the following passages: Psalm 15; Galatians 5:19-23; 1 Timothy 3:1-9 and Titus 1:7-9. What is necessary for a rescue of our nation? What role should godly men play in that rescue? If you are a man, what do you think God wants from you? If you are a female, how can you support the men in your life?
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