OR
SPIRITUAL MARINES
TEXT: "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none" (Ezek. 22:30).
This verse is often used with sermons on evangelism and missions, i.e., that God is looking for a man to serve Him. Today, I want to broaden the verse to suggest the kind of man for whom God is looking.
THE ABSENCE OF GODLY MALE LEADERSHIP.
The major problem in American culture today... yes, in world culture... is the glaring absence of godly male leadership. I do not believe I am over-stating the problem when I say that much of our divorce problem, juvenile delinquency, the alcohol and drug epidemic, the pornography and gambling addictions... can be laid at the doorstep of so many of our spineless, unspiritual and valueless men.
I truly believe a spiritual awakening among America's men would solve much of our nation's moral woes.
FOUR PRAYERS WE SHOULD PRAY FOR OUR 21ST CENTURY MEN.
(1) GOD, GIVE US COURAGEOUS MEN.
The conditions of Ezekiel’s day were much like today. A godly nation had grown sinful, a strong nation had become weak. People were flocking after idolatry, and forsaking the worship of God. God knows that "righteousness exalteth a nation" and what does He need to bring righteousness to the nation? God needs courageous men to stand for Him. Do you know the old hymn,
Ye that are men now serve Him,
Against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger,
And strength to strength oppose.
WHO IS THE COURAGEOUS MAN?
A man who will build his home on the Bible;
Who will quietly rear his children in honesty and godliness;
Who will support his family;
Who will stand on his convictions;
Who will be faithful to worship God in his church, with his family;
Who will serve God in the marketplace;
Who will help his family, friends and neighbors.
(2) GOD, GIVE US CHURCHMEN.
Too many men today place church at the bottom of their priorities. To them, serving the Lord in church comes after pleasure, after relaxation and after everything else. We often hear it said, "I’m too busy with my work . . . my friends . . . my business . . . etc. Yet, they never miss a ballgame, a fishing trip, or a golf game; but they miss all that God wants to do for them through the church.
SPIRITUAL WEAKNESS.
The problem today is weakness . . . not too few hours in a week; the problem is a weak heart to serve . . . weak knees to pray . . . weak hands to help . . . weak eyes so that men have no vision. Too many men have no appetite for spiritual things.
That reminds me of two boys who went to the dentist’s office. The first boy said, "I want a tooth taken out and I don’t want any pain-killer; I’m a man. Just hurry so I can get back to my playing." The dentist thought he was a brave little boy and asked, "Which tooth?" The boy turned to his smaller friend and said, "Show him your teeth that hurt." Too many men want others to pay the price of discipline and serving God. They’re in a hurry to get back to playing.
HOW TO BE A CHURCHMAN.
A. You begin by attending. Paul admonished us to forsake not the assembling of ourselves together.
B. You can give a handshake. Peter and John were going into the Gate Beautiful serving the Lord when they heard a lame man begging for money. They took him by the hand—a handshake—and gave him the message of Jesus Christ.
C. You can do it with a word. The woman at the well needed the "water of life," and she heard the right words of encouragement from Jesus Christ. The Ethiopian eunuch was confused when reading the Bible, and he got the right words of inspiration from Philip. Zacchaeus was up in a tree, looking down on Jesus when he got the word of invitation, "Come down!" Are you willing to use your words to serve Jesus Christ?
Your words can enlighten a mind that is darkened. Your words can make others love, or they can make them hate. Your words can permanently influence a life.
D. You can serve in the church. Everyone who knows me, realizes that I stand for the work of God, and when I talk about the "church," I am talking about how you serve God through your local church. What do I want from you on this Father’s Day?
A man who will gladly take responsibility to serve Christ in the church. A man who will feel at home with spiritual matters. Men who will stand for what the church stands for. Men whose daily lives reflect the truth of God.
E. You can yield your life to God. God is looking for men who will surrender their entire lives to Him. When Christ called His disciples, the Bible described how they responded, "And they straightway left [their] nets, and followed him" (Matthew 4:20). God is looking for instant obedience. At work, who gets ahead? Those who:
a. See a need.
b. Hear a command from his superiors.
c. Understand company policy.
d. Are quick to get the job done.
God is looking for the same type of man in the church. What kind of man is God looking for? Men who are enlightened by the Spirit. Men with burning hearts.
Men with understanding eyes. Men with speaking lips.
Men who want to get involved. Men who desire nothing but God’s will. Men who fear nothing but sin.
General Montgomery, the famed WWII British strategist, explained to his staff how their small British force could defeat a large, superior German force. When he got finished, his officers agreed that his battle plan was "sound" on the maps. Then one of the men said, "The plan is sound on maps, but without men it means nothing." Montgomery knew his British men could be counted on. God is looking for a man to stand "in the gap." God is looking for men that He can count on.
(3) GOD, GIVE US MEN WHO LOVE.
39 years ago today, in 1962, our first child, Jerry, Jr., was born. I had preached in the morning service. I spent the afternoon at the Virginia Baptist Hospital with Macel. I preached Sunday night and rushed back to the hospital and arrived only moments before Jerry was born. Everything in our lives changed that day. Parenting is the greatest teacher of love.
One day a father was cutting grass when his little daughter asked, "How do you spell love?" He spelled out the four letters to her, "L-O-V-E" and then went back to his duties. As he continued his chores, he began to think on the fact that love is not just a four letter word, but love is a relationship. He then stopped cutting the grass, went and got some iced tea and sat on the front porch to let his daughter explain what she was coloring in her book. We spell "love" with time and investment...as we live it out in our lives. How do you spell love?
Yesterday, my three-year old grandson, Paul, brought me some licorice... my favorite candy. It is also his favorite. He gave it to me and then said, "Poppy, now let's share".
LOVE REQUIRES RISK AND COMMITMENT.
With a trust in God that accepts the risk. With an involvement in your family that is willing to share your life. With a commitment to your wife and children that stays faithful until the end.
Some unfaithful husbands find it easier to love a woman they don’t live with, than the woman they do live with. Sometimes even in a home, a husband and wife do not love each other even though they are legally married. She goes her way, he goes his way, and the children go their way. The problem is sin: sin has been defined as going our own way. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way"(Isaiah 53:6).
Love is commitment; love is a relationship that never gives up. So Paul said, "Love never gives up, love never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance" (I Cor. 13:7, The Living Bible).
LOVE GIVES BIBLICAL REASONS
FOR YOUR DECISIONS
a. You assign chores to your children. In so doing, you teach your children the work ethic and to obey their parents in the Lord, as the Bible instructs.
b. You teach your children not to fight. You don't teach them to stop fighting because they’re driving you crazy. You teach them not to fight because the Bible commands us to be "kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as Christ has forgiven us."
c. You tell your children to remain sexually pure. You don't teach chastity primarily they may get pregnant or that they may get AIDS. You teach them to be sexually pure because God has called them to purity.
d. You urge your children to be well behaved. You don't teach the children to be quiet and under control in public because they embarrass you. You teach them to behave because God expects them to honor and respect other people.
(4) GOD, GIVE US MEN WHO WILL BE EXAMPLES TO THEIR CHILDREN.
a. Fathers must be an example in reverence and worship to God.
God said concerning Abraham, "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment" (Genesis 18:19).
Be an example in truthfulness, speech and action. Be an example of honesty in all legal and financial issues.
Be an example of both attitude and actions.
b. A father is to be a provider, a protector, a prayer-warrior, a disciplinarian, a teacher and, most of all, a godly example.
Dr. R. G. Lee tells a story of a little boy who was dying in the hospital with diphtheria. When his parents went into his room, they wore masks over their faces. The little boy asked why they were wearing the masks; the father said, "To protect others because you are very sick." Then, the son asked, "Daddy, am I going to die?"
That’s a hard thing for a father to answer. He didn’t know how to respond to his son, but he didn’t want to lie to him. The son saw the father’s inward agony and said, "Daddy, if God is like you are, I won’t be afraid to die."
c. Fathers must give their children time, love and example, not just gadgets.
I appreciate the fact that many men hold down an extra job, and work extra hours to provide for their children. But, father, make sure you are not just giving them gadgets that cost a lot of money. They can have all the gadgets in this life, but if they don’t have a proper example, they don’t have anything.
SUMMARY:
1. God is searching for a man.
2. Will He find His man/men in Thomas Road Church?
3. Will He find His man in your home?
4, What will He find in your life?
Fathers will you pray with me?