How To Be a Truly Manly Moral Christian Man
Open the "Manufacturer's Manual" to the last two verses of the Old Testament. Malachi 4:5,6 (NIV) "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."
So, what is HE going to do?
I believe He will be successful in doing this because the Holy Spirit is zealous. The Holy Spirit is an efficient worker and He is going to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.
GOD wants us to accept HIS gift of salvation. HE gave HIS only SON for our salvation. Nothing that we can do will ever earn heaven for us. We can only accept what JESUS did for us and then ask that HE change us into witnesses of what HE is like to the world. If you have not yet accepted this gift of salvation, Click Here to learn how to be saved. Without this salvation, that HE so freely gives to us, all else is of no effect.
Where does the last day revival begin?
It begins with the men.
The great last day revival begins with the Fathers.
When the men of America get connected with the Holy Spirit something is going to happen.
I believe today the men are not connected like they ought to be.
In fact, I will tell you that if the heart of the father is evil, probably the child will be evil.
Why is that? Because a crooked stick always has a crooked shadow. It's very hard to break out of that. So, the key is in the hands of the men. That revival starts with the men. It starts with you. The key is in your hands.
When the Father is right the Children will be right
When the children are right the home will be right
When the home is right the nation will be right.
A heavy burden rests on men. How does a man's heart get right? Malachi says when the men of this world expose themselves to the same Spirit and Power that Elijah had they will be right. And that's going to happen and then the children will be blessed.
Here's how this happens:
Proverbs 20:7 "The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him." The righteous man lives a blameless life, a "life of integrity" the King James says. The greatest need of the world is for men of integrity, honor and high moral standards.
Unfortunately, America does not have enough of that type of leadership. We men sshould understand that we are not in charge. The goal of every man ought to be to have God in charge of his life.
The greatest want of the world is the want of men,--men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest; men who do not fear to call sin by its right name; men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole; men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.
ILLUSTRATION
An American Indian told about a brave who found an eagle's egg and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life, that eagle, thinking he was a prairie chicken, did what the prairie chickens do. He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. He clucked and cackled. And he flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground. After all, that's how prairie chickens were supposed to fly.
Years passed. And the eagle grew very old. One day, he saw a magnificent bird far above him in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings. "What a beautiful bird!" said the eagle to his neighbor. "What is it?" "That's an eagle--the chief of the birds," the neighbor clucked. "But don't give it a second thought. You could never be like him." So the eagle never gave it another thought. And he died thinking he was a prairie chicken.
We have been created in the image of God. We are not prairie chickens. We are in the image of God, and men ought to reflect that image. Don't give up doing that. Keep you sights on that. Stretch your wings and fly. You were designed to soar, you were designed to go high up into the heavens. That's God's design for you. You are priceless. You are of great worth. Don't let your life go for junk.
Can you value a thing for what you pay for it? Pretty well. I tell you that Christ's death made our value sky-rocket because Jesus paid a big price for us. We don't need to say that we're worthless. God is not a foolish speculator. God does not invest in worthless property. But evil men have made us think that we are chickens, and so we think we are; but we are eagles. Stretch forth your wings and fly! Don't be content to walk on dirt for the rest of your life like the chickens! You were designed to soar up high into the heavens. You are priceless. You are of great worth.
"If the value of an article is dependent upon the price paid for it, Christ's death made our value skyrocket. Let no one say we are worthless. God is not a foolish speculator; he would never invest in worthless property." - (Erwin W. Lutzer)
Each of us need to set a quality example to the people around us. Make your wife and children proud of you. Proverbs 17:6 (KJV): ...the glory of children are their fathers.
Children naturally want to be proud of their parents. May I ask you a serious question? If your children follow in your footsteps, what will their destination be? That is a serious question. The greatest want of the world is for manly moral men who will not yield to sin. Men who can strike down temptations as hard and true as they can hit a golf ball.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT) But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.
Where do temptations come from?
Many come from the devil, they come from out there. But I'll tell you that some come from within. It's an inside job.
ILLUSTRATION
How does a worm get inside an apple? Perhaps you think the worm burrows in from the outside. Not exactly. Scientists have discovered that the worm comes from the inside. How does he get in there? Simple. An insect lays an egg in the blossom of the apple. The apple grows around the worm and the worm is in the apple already. Weeks later, the worm hatches right there in the heart of the apple and then eats its way out.
Sin, like the worm, begins in the heart. Then sin comes out in the words and actions. No wonder that David prayed this prayer in Psalm 51:10 (KJV) Create in me a clean heart O God!. We need a clean heart. We need a brand new heart, a sinless heart. I want to be like Jesus. I want that type of a heart. Pray for a heart of Integrity. Pray that God will make you more and more in the image of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:4 (NLT) For God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.
Once a lamb and its mother were walked past a pig pen on the way to the pasture. The lamb looked in there and saw all pigs wallowing in the mud. It seemed like so much fun to the lamb. It was a hot day and the little lamb wanted too cool off so the lamb said to his mother, "Can I go and wallow in the cool mud?" The mother said, "NO!" "Why not," said the little lamb. The mother said, "Sheep do not wallow."
The lamb was very angry and as soon as the mother was out of sight the lamb ran to the pig pen and jumped the fence. He joined the pigs. He was soon feeling the cool mud on his feet. He got in a little deeper and got that cool mud on his legs. He got in a little deeper and he started feeling that wonderful cool mud against his tummy. This was such fun! And pretty soon he was just like the hogs. He looked like a hog. Finally he got cooled down enough and he decided to return to his mother. But he couldn't. He was stuck! Mud and wool do not mix. Wool holds a lot of mud. His pleasure had become his prison. That's exactly what happens when you get into sin. If you have a affair with another woman or another an, your pleasure become you prison.
Gentlemen:
If you are attracted by the mud;
If the pigs of life seem to be having more fun;
If sin irresistibly attracts you to its pleasures,
I beg you to choose the right course of action.
Stay on the high ground.
Avoid the appearance of evil.
What is on the other side of the fence may seem ever so much fun, but it is forbidden.
Sir, if you are attracted to the vile wickedness of this world, if that's what attracts you, I beg of you to change your course. I beg of you to stand on the high ground. Avoid the appearance of evil. Press closer for a relationship with Jesus Christ. What's on the other side of the fence may be ever so alluring, but it's forbidden. Don't languish around that fence. Stay away from that fence.
It seems to me that more women attend church than men. Why should this be?
Is the church just for women? NO! It is for everybody.
I believe it takes a real man to follow Jesus. Could the problem be a lack of real men?
Do you remember the day when a man was a man, when a man did not look like a woman? I imagine that some of you are old enough to remember the time when men were men. Men did the asking for a date. Men held the car door for their woman. Remember those days? The days of real men.
What "qualities" do real Christian men possess?
1 Thessalonians 2 has an entire list of the qualities that God expects.
Paul says that here's what we did. 1 Thessalonians 2:11. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children. Paul is saying, "Just like a man deals with his family, here's how we dealt with you. Just like a successful man." As we study these verses be fully alert and you will learn how a father... or if we could expand this... How Manly Moral Men should act.
Okay, what are these traits of a successful man?
1 Thessalonians 2:9 NIV- Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. Paul was a real man.
1- MANLY MORAL MEN WORK HARD
That's a trait of a real Christian man.
A Christian brother shared this with me... ,
"I remember my own father when I was young. His day started long before I got up. He used to work in a laundry. In those hot Indiana summers he would be there. He would shovel the coal into the boiler to get up steam. It was a hot job. He worked in dirty clothes all day long in that steam, in that humidity, in that heat. He worked hard. When he came home, he was tired and cheerful. He would go out and work in the garden. He would go out and chop wood so we could keep warm in the winter that was coming. Then he would come in and he was exhausted. And yet, I remember after supper helped my mother wipe the dishes dry. He worked hard. He was not afraid of hard work."
For example: A real man is not afraid to change the diapers. He's not ashamed to get involved in the life of his family. He is not ashamed of his masculinity. If you want to leave your footprints on the sands of time you had better be wearing work shoes because Paul was a hard worker.
2- A REAL CHRISTIAN MAN IS MORAL.
1 Thessalonians 2:10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.
Paul had high moral values. A Christian man ought to have high moral values. A moral man does not look at vile magazines. He avoids the appearance of evil. He is striving to be pure like Jesus.
Men, you are an example to the family, the church and the community. Your example in integrity and character is far more important than bossing your kids. Because they are going to watch and see what you do and then do as you do. Your example speaks louder than your words.
3- MANLY MEN ARE GENTLEMEN
I Thessalonians 2:7 "We were gentle among you".
I will submit to you that a true Christian man is a gentleman. He's a gentleman! Any man who hits his wife, abuses his wife, is a sissy. Why don't you pick on somebody else? God gave you those muscles to be gentle with. Nothing is stronger than gentleness and nothing is so gentle as real strength. A man who has his muscles under control is a man of great strength. A true gentleman is God's servant, the world's master and his own man. Use you strength gently. Never lay hands on your family to hurt.
4- A REAL CHRISTIAN MAN IS LOVING
I Thessalonians 2:8. "We loved God so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well".
He loves God. Don't be afraid to be a loving man. He loves his wife. He loves his children.
I believe fathers need to be more loving. They need to be involved with their children. So get involved in your family. Love your family.
5- MANLY MORAL MEN COMMUNICATE
I Thessalonians 2:8 "We were delighted to SHARE with you not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well... "
Talk with God. Talk with your wife. Talk with your children. Talk with your teenagers! Communication also includes listening. Listen to God. Listen to your wife. Give your kids time. Listen to them. Listen to your children. Listen to your teenagers. Teens don't start talking until about 11 PM. You are dead tired by then. But listen to them. Get some toothpicks to [prop your eyes open. But you listen to them. Communicate how much God loves them.
But above all communicate with God. Learn to know Jesus. Become a close friend with Jesus. Pray regularly and listen to Jesus. If you do all these things, you will be a truly manly moral Christian man.
posted by Michael A. Redwine at Wednesday, March 01, 2006
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