[0:00] The only way to live joyfully, powerfully, godly is holding on to God's unchanging hand.
[0:17] We have no hope, save in that His hand is a hand of grace and mercy and strength and encouragement and hope.
[0:31] I depend upon that. I will die depending on that. I hope you will too. This is Father's Day and once again I say Happy Father's Day to all biological fathers, adoptive fathers, and spiritual fathers.
[0:54] It's wonderful to be part of the fatherhood. God is called our father. Therefore, He becomes the ultimate father and the one who gives us grace to be faithful fathers.
[1:13] And whatever way God has made you a father, my dear brothers, praise the Lord and give Him praise and I thank God for you. As is my custom, this message then is for you, men.
[1:28] If you are male, this message is for you. Whether you are my brother, my father, or my son, this message is for you.
[1:42] Ladies, you can listen. Amen. Amen. But guys, I'm really talking to you this morning, I pray.
[1:55] Father, as we come to your word, may we all hear it. It's your word, so it would apply to all of us. But this morning, Father, I would like if you would grant me the grace to focus a bit more upon those in this, on the sound of my voice, who are men, who are boys.
[2:16] May we hear the truth. May we aspire to who Jesus would have us be. The king's men.
[2:30] In His name we pray. Amen. Short passage, 1 Corinthians 16, 13, and 14. The apostle says this.
[2:41] He's ending his message, his letter. Be watchful. Stand firm in the faith. Act like men.
[2:53] Be strong. That all that you do be done in love. That is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Please be seated. Thank you again, praise team, for leading us in song, song worship.
[3:12] Amen. Brothers, I got to do this quickly. I got to do a lot of cutting and slicing as we go, but amen. Because we have the Lord's Supper to come to as well.
[3:27] Fathers, brothers, and sons. We are in a time where what it means to be male or masculine is under serious attack.
[3:38] The obvious reality of biology is written off as non-determinative of gender.
[3:51] By the way, we don't do that with animals. You know what I'm saying? We don't do it. If you want to see if your dog or your cat or your cow or whatever is male or female, we look at the biology.
[4:07] We look for certain signs of maleness. We don't tell our dog, oh, you're a boy, but you can identify as whatever you want. We don't expect animals to do that because animals know what they are.
[4:21] And so do human beings. We know. Our culture has become confused. But you know. People know.
[4:33] Biology. And gender. They really do go hand in hand. They always have. It's only now that we are so wise.
[4:48] It's scary. So often what is called masculine, too often, is now referred to as toxic masculinity.
[5:04] Now listen. Brothers, because I see Christian men adopting this label. Brothers, let me say to you. There is no such thing as toxic masculinity. There are toxic men.
[5:16] Most definitely there are toxic men. But toxic masculinity? Uh-uh.
[5:27] Because you know what that ends up meaning? It ends up meaning that masculinity is toxic. Any idea of masculinity is shunted to the side.
[5:44] And we call it toxic. Yet God's world remains firm. God created males. Therefore, he created masculinity.
[5:57] It is God's gift to the world. Just like femininity is God's gift to the world.
[6:08] It's his idea. We don't get to change it because of how we feel. So often what people call toxic masculinity is a stereotypical view of masculinity.
[6:31] The macho man, maybe. I think of something like something some of you may have called the incel movement.
[6:41] How many of you have ever heard of incel? Anybody? Hands up. Hi. So I know who I'm talking to. Only a few of you. Okay. Get out more. The incel movement is largely an online movement of men who adhere to the notion that women are too sexually selective and use their privilege and sexually for social advancement above all else.
[7:09] These men feel manipulated, denied, and rejected by women. This leads to depression and paranoia and they blame women for their problems.
[7:22] So they end up giving into misogynistic or women-hating activity that at times even becomes violent.
[7:33] Brothers, that's not masculinity. That's toxic. Toxic.
[7:44] That's toxic. Masculinity is God's gift. But our culture doesn't know the difference between masculinity and toxic, what they call toxic masculinity.
[8:03] Nancy Percy, I'm going to be referring to her book a lot, so just so you know. Nancy Percy in her book, The Toxic War on Masculinity, makes this point. When masculinity itself is portrayed as the problem, the implication is that the solution is emasculation.
[8:24] If masculinity is the problem, then emasculation is the solution. What is emasculation? Cambridge Dictionary. To make a man feel less male by taking away his power and confidence.
[8:40] We have a lot of men. And God help us, even our boys are being emasculated. That's not healthy. That's not healthy.
[8:52] That's not good for men. And listen, it's not good for women either. The French feminist activist, Parlene Harmage, writes in her book, I hate men, she uses the word misandry, which again means I hate hating men.
[9:16] She said, I use the word misandry to mean a negative feeling towards the entirety of the male sex. Ranges from simple suspicion to outright loathing. It's usually expressed by an impatience towards men and a rejection of their presence in women's spaces.
[9:33] And when I say male sex, I mean all cis men. C-I-S. Cis men are men who believe that their biology at birth determines their gender.
[9:45] We're now called cis men. I mean all cis men, she's talking, she's talking, who have been socialized as such. So if you believe your biology and your gender coincide, you have, that's because you've been socialized.
[10:02] To believe that. This book is very popular, by the way. And who enjoy their male privilege without ever calling into question, or not enough, the question of their male privilege.
[10:21] Is she talking about toxic masculinity? Or all masculinity? How? Hmm. But God created us male and female.
[10:39] And told us both to multiply, be fruitful. Genesis 128. Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and so do it.
[10:50] Have dominion over everything that lives. This is God's calling to men and women. Therefore, both are needed.
[11:03] And God has determined how we, that our gender at birth expresses who we are. What gender?
[11:14] We are male or female. We are male or female. And as male or female. Men, we are to go into the world and express our maleness, our masculinity in a way that honors God and takes dominion, as he has said, over the earth.
[11:29] So brothers, what we need is not less masculinity, but we need a revival of biblical masculinity to light the way to what God intended.
[11:44] Our boys need to be unapologetically and confidently masculine. Amen. Man's getting weak in here.
[11:58] I suggest we've been socialized to believe the opposite. So brothers, are you willing to unashamedly pursue godly, biblical masculinity?
[12:13] Not the culture's view of man. No, no. Godly, biblical masculinity. That's what we're called to. That's who we must be.
[12:26] That's who Jesus is working in you. If you believe in him, he is working in you to do that. And he will have his way.
[12:39] We come to this passage, and these are the closing words of Paul. These are exhilarations to a church that's in turmoil. There have been divisions in this congregation in Corinth. Sexual immorality, lawsuits, self-righteous views of spiritual freedoms, selfish behavior at even the Lord's table.
[12:58] Self-exalting views of spiritual gifts. They had a lack of true love for each other. There were false teachers running rampant in this church, denying or distorting the view of the resurrection.
[13:13] This church had gone wild. And yet, if you read chapter 1, Paul still calls them brethren. He still believes God's at work in them, and that they have every spiritual gift.
[13:23] I mean, he believes God's at work in this church. If he's at work there, he's definitely at work here, y'all. He doesn't want them to let go of the word of God he's been teaching them in these 16 chapters.
[13:38] He wants them to be careful to apply it, knowing there will be spiritual and even maybe sometimes physical and societal opposition. Now, listen, I got to be honest.
[13:50] Context is king, right? This exhortation is for men and women. So, ladies, yeah. I'm only focusing on the men because, one, it's Father's Day, but also because of the language he uses.
[14:09] Family is manly language. So, I think I'm justified in talking about it to men. I know manly, even saying manly might be considered offensive to some.
[14:23] What's manly? But I hope to show you in this passage what I mean. There are five imperatives. There are five commands in this passage, and they each reflect biblical masculinity.
[14:38] First of all, biblical masculinity is seen when the king's men are alert. Notice, again, how he begins. Be watchful.
[14:50] Be watchful. You see, in this passage, Paul is actually using military language. Language. Language. These are something, except for verse 14, that verse 13 are the kinds of words a Roman general might say to his troops, by the way, who would have all been men.
[15:11] When I said to his troops before they go into battle to encourage them in the fight. He is acknowledging that the Christian life is not a soft life or an easy life.
[15:23] It is a battle between the kingdom of light and his great king, Jesus, against the kingdom of darkness and his infernal majesty, the devil. And Paul likes using military language.
[15:38] He used it before. You can write these down. 2 Corinthians 10, 3 to 6. Ephesians 6, 10. 1 Timothy 6, 12. 2 Timothy 4, 7. I don't have time to go into them.
[15:50] But that's, he likes using military language for the saints. But here we also have the first mark of biblical masculinity in this passage.
[16:01] God calls men to be alert. That is, on our guard. That is, that's what watchful means and suggests. He's certainly talking about guys keeping our eyes on the signs of the times.
[16:17] That is, looking for the coming of Christ. We ought to be watchful as, because the Lord is coming. In chapter 15, he spends so much time talking about the resurrection at the last day.
[16:29] So it stands to reason he's got that in mind here too. He's talking, certainly guys, we ought to be looking. Brothers, be alert. Be watchful. Waiting for the coming of the Lord.
[16:40] But also, that means something in the hearing now. And how we live. We are to be watchful as Jesus said in Luke 21, 34, and 36.
[16:54] Watch yourselves. Lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life. And that day, the coming day, come upon you suddenly like a trap.
[17:07] For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things.
[17:19] And that, that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man. Jesus is telling us that, that because we are men, that because we realize, do you believe that Jesus is coming?
[17:36] That we've got to start there. If you don't believe that, then this means nothing to you. Do you believe that just as Jesus came at what we call Christmas, the first advent, the first coming, that he will come again?
[17:48] There will be a second advent, a second coming. And that coming, I hate, I gotta, I know this is good as some of your theology, but that second coming is called the rapture.
[17:58] There is no going up, hanging around for seven years and then coming back for a thousand years to go through all this fighting again.
[18:09] And then finally, no, no, no. When, when the rapture comes, when the general comes, he is coming to the earth. He will, we will be caught up to meet our Lord in the air as he is coming to the earth.
[18:22] So wrap it up. Are you looking forward to his coming? Whether you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture or not, the question is, are you looking forward to his coming?
[18:36] And if you are, that means, that should mean something. It should mean you are living in a way that is free of wasting time, wasting your life, dissipation, drunkenness, under the influence of substance.
[18:53] And being so captivated by the cares of this life that you forget there is a life to come. You see, when we're, brothers, when we are focused, when we really believe the Lord is coming, because he's already come in our hearts and lives, because he's already transformed us.
[19:13] We've heard the gospel, the gospel, the good news that our sins are forgiven in Christ. We've heard the good news. We've been transformed by it. Now we are waiting.
[19:24] We are excited that he will come again. That produces a type of living. A type of living that is serious and joyful and happy.
[19:40] Yes, all those things too. But serious nonetheless. Jesus grows folk up, y'all. Seriousness and carefulness.
[19:55] You see, these, there are attacks coming, brothers, towards our families, towards our churches, towards ourselves. What does it mean to be a man? Towards ourselves and even our nation that we must be able to see coming so we can mount the proper defense as the people, as the Lord's people.
[20:16] You see, the devil doesn't always show up and say, hey, I'm the devil. But yeah, I'm going to wreck your life. Follow me. I'm going to wreck your life. Follow me. I have an infernal plan for your life.
[20:28] He is not. Sometimes he shows up that way, but most of the time, no. He loves. His favorite attack is the sneak attack.
[20:40] He loves brothers to come in gentle guise or something that seems doable and cool. You know, he just, he wants to hook us in like fish, right?
[20:56] He wants to bait. He baits the hook. And you and I will think, man, that sounds great doing that, living that way, believing this about myself, whatever.
[21:08] That all sounds great. And soon as we bite down, brothers, we are hooked. We know what happened to King Solomon, don't we?
[21:21] Saul, in my sermon, he'll be Saul for now. 1 Kings 11, 4. Saul, here's what, 1 Kings 11, 4. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods.
[21:32] His heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God as with the heart of David's father. Now, God had warned his people not to intermarry with the other countries.
[21:47] Watch this. That did not worship him. It was not about ethnicity. It was about spirituality. He was concerned that his people would be led away from him.
[22:00] Solomon had great success and eventually thought he was above God's law, but he wasn't.
[22:11] Now, in the words of Monk, here's the thing. My incel brothers and men not in that group but think that way would right away blame Solomon's wives.
[22:26] It was those women. Well, he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. I don't even know.
[22:38] I can't even get my head around that. But you can blame the wives all you want. Yes, they had some responsibility. But you've got to understand what was going on there.
[22:53] You know, why did Solomon marry all those princesses? They were all princesses, ladies and gentlemen. They weren't just women.
[23:03] They were princesses. You see, God had told Solomon that he would prosper and that he would expand his empire and riches. How did nations normally do that?
[23:19] Conquest and political marriages. Political marriages.
[23:31] That's what Solomon was doing. It wasn't about lust. Solomon was expanding his empire. See, God had told him, listen, you can, I'm going to do this for you.
[23:43] I'm going to bless you and multiply you. But watch this, guys. Here it is, guys. Listen, listen, listen. Don't miss this. It's like Charles Stanley. Don't miss this. You'll miss the whole thing. Solomon was trying to achieve the will of God, the plan of God, but with human wisdom.
[24:06] God said, I can have it. God said, I'm going to have all the riches and wealth and nations and will bow before me. So I'm going to go get it. He went and got it politically.
[24:18] He went and got it the way of the world. Politics was the way to get it. The problem was him. You see, the enemy loves to come in and trick you into believing you can have God's will your way.
[24:40] Because it's Burger King, baby. You can have it your way. You can have God's way your way. Your will be done. You can have all God's blessing and prosperity.
[24:52] Just do what you feel. Do what you feel. Do what works for you. And what works for us is what we see everybody else doing. That's how the devil loves to trick us.
[25:07] The church in this passage was being inundated with the values and the morals and expectations of Corinthian Roman culture.
[25:22] And it was hurting the church. To stay with my theme, they needed godly men.
[25:36] They needed women too. Don't get bummed. Stay with my theme. They needed godly men who were alert. Who were like the men of Issachar. Who knew the times and knew what Israel should do.
[25:50] Where are the men? Who know the times. Who are alert to what's happening in the culture. But also alert to the word of God. Who can see what the churches need to do.
[26:02] Matthew 26, 40 and 41. Jesus came to his disciples. And he found them sleeping.
[26:15] He said to Peter. This is the night he was betrayed. This is the garden of Gethsemane. When he was about to be betrayed. And his heart was broken. He was stressed beyond belief. He says to Peter.
[26:26] So. You could not watch with me. One hour. Then he says the most telling words. Watch and pray. That you may not enter into temptation.
[26:39] The spirit indeed is willing. But the flesh. If you're fallen human nature. Your flesh is weak guys. Your flesh is weak.
[26:52] And if you're not alert in prayer. Especially in prayer in this section. If you're not alert to what's happening. Because you are praying. If you're not alert. You will be sucker punched.
[27:08] We must recognize how weak we are. In our fallen humanity. In our flesh. That we are not smart enough. That we are not wise enough. That physical strength. Means nothing against the devil.
[27:21] I don't care how cut you are. The devil just laughs at you. In your cutness. He don't care. He don't care. If you can bench press 400 pounds.
[27:32] With your arms. And push 600 pounds with your legs. He don't care. You're just big. And if you're not careful. Stupid. If you're not careful.
[27:43] We need to have spiritual eyes. And spiritual sensors. To detect where the devil is working. And Jesus says.
[27:55] We got to become men of prayer. Because in prayer. The Lord enlightens us. The Lord opens up. He keeps us alert. To what's happening. Because we're coming to him.
[28:06] Acknowledging our weakness. And our insecurity. Without him. We're coming to him. And saying. I need help. I know that's not manly. In this culture.
[28:17] But it is godly manly. To say. I need help. That brings to the next point then. That goes right to the next point. Biblical masculinity is seen. When the king's men are stable.
[28:29] That is committed to Christ. The second mark. Listen. Stand firm. In the faith. Stand firm. So we're praying.
[28:41] Here comes the word of God. Standing firm in the faith. We. Not just subjective faith. Yes. But subjective faith. That is trust.
[28:51] In the faith. In the truth. Of the faith. In the reality. Of who Jesus is. And what he has done. See this is. This is godly masculinity. It is standing firm.
[29:02] In Christ. And his kingdom. To stand firm. To stand firm. Means to be firmly committed. In conviction. Or belief.
[29:13] You're not moved away. Because people tell you. I don't believe that. That's old fashioned. That can't be right. You're not moved away. Easily. You're not convinced. That the world. That is always yik yacking at you.
[29:25] You're not easily being moved. There's a firmness to you. By the way. In that word. Stand firm. It's another. It's battle imagery. It means holding your position.
[29:37] While being under attack. Stand firm. Sound familiar? Ephesians chapter 6. Armor of God. Stand firm.
[29:49] Because you're covered. With Christ. Stand firm. Because you are covered. With the armor of God. If you are in Christ. You have the armor of God. You already have it.
[30:00] You ain't got to go looking for it. You are in Christ. He didn't come to you. Without his armor. You are clothed in his righteousness. You are standing in his peace.
[30:11] You have his word. The assurance of salvation is upon you. The question brothers. Is will you rely. On what Christ has done for you. So that therefore.
[30:22] You can stand firm. Even when the ground. Is shaken. But you're standing firm. Because you're on the rock. Who is Christ. Jesus himself. That rock don't move.
[30:35] It don't move guys. 2 Thessalonians 2.13 and 15. But we ought to always give thanks to God for you.
[30:47] Brothers. Beloved by the Lord. Because God chose you. As the first fruits to be saved. Through saints. How were you saved? Through sanctification by the spirit.
[30:58] And belief in the truth. Sanctification by the spirit. Means you were set apart for God. For God's use alone. By the spirit of God. He took you for himself. And gave you faith to believe the truth.
[31:12] To this he called you. Through our gospel. So that you may obtain the glory. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are walking in glory.
[31:24] You are walking in his glory. And you're headed for greater glory. In Christ. And then he says. So then. Because that's true. Brothers. Stand firm. Hold to the traditions.
[31:36] That's the word of the Lord. To the traditions. That you were taught by us. Either by our spoken word. Or by our letter. We're always being challenged brothers.
[31:49] About what it means. Who Jesus is. Is this reality? Did he really rise from the dead? Can you believe and trust in this Jesus? The Bible. Is that really the word of God? Can.
[31:59] Did God really say? We're always being challenged. Are we not? I mean. Your friends. Your co. Your co-workers. Your classmates.
[32:10] Your neighbors. There's a subtle. Sometimes a subtle challenge. But sometimes there's a full-blooded challenge in your face. But either way. There's always a challenge brothers.
[32:21] What do we believe? Amen. And Jesus has given us his word.
[32:33] His spirit. And prayer. So that we can stand firm. Upon his solid rock. That our lives can be built upon that rock.
[32:44] And we can be stable. Stable. Women want stable men. I'm going to jump in here for you ladies.
[32:55] You ain't got to say amen. But I'll help you right here. Women want stable men. Listen to this. When you are stable in Christ. When you are growing in Jesus. He matures you.
[33:08] He makes you more stable. He makes you more committed. He matures you in all areas of life.
[33:18] Because spiritual growth leads to life growth. Biblically stable men are responsible men.
[33:30] It's responsible in family. In work. In recreation. In friendships. In hobbies. Because they all come under the lordship of King Jesus. Some of you will remember the name J.
[33:46] Willington Wimpy. He was a character in Popeye. The sailor. Wimpy.
[33:57] His name was J. Wellington Wimpy. Wimpy was basically a hobo and a moocher. He didn't usually have a job. His famous line was what? Over 50 men know.
[34:12] I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a humbucker today. He was always mooching and promising to pay later. But he never had a job.
[34:23] So how was he going to pay? Wimpy is an example of an unstable man. He'd be the guy today living in his mom's basement.
[34:35] Playing video games all day. And working odd jobs. He has no direction or ambition. Other than to get the top score in his game. He can't hold on to our relationship.
[34:46] Because women don't see him as reliable. Women want a manly man. No matter what toxic feminists say. Women want manly men. Reliable men.
[34:58] Stable men. Committed men. And that's what we have. When we are. When brothers. When we are growing in Christ. Standing firm on the faith. He grows you up.
[35:14] And you'll be grown before 30. Women want manly men. No matter what toxic feminists say.
[35:27] I've got to read this real quick. Nancy Percy's book. This is sociologists. Okay. Forget the anecdotal stuff. That tells you that Christian men.
[35:39] That all men are abusive. And all men hate women. And men are always. Listen. And that Christian men. Especially complementarians. Who believe what the Bible says. That the man is the head of the wife.
[35:50] As Christ is the head of the church. I know that's not popular. But that's in the scriptures y'all. I'm just trying to be clear. Because that's considered patriarchy. It's evil.
[36:03] Listen to this. When sociologists conducted. Empirical studies. They found that men. Who identify as theologically.
[36:14] Conservative Christians. That means they believe the Bible. Divide in two distinct groups. They say they believe the Bible. I should say. These groups diverge. Dramatically.
[36:25] One group consists of men. Who are religiously devout. Defined as those who attend church. At least three times a month. Those are the devout men. The other.
[36:36] These men. Listen. These men. The devout men. They shatter the negative stereotypes. They are more loving to their wives. More emotionally engaged with their children.
[36:47] Than any other group. In America. They are the least likely to divorce. They have the lowest levels. Of domestic abuse and violence. That's men.
[36:58] Who are truly committed. To their faith in Jesus. You are real men. Right. Now watch this. Research also shows. Come on. Stay with me. I'm almost done.
[37:09] I'm going to get there. Studies find. That the nominal Christian family man. The guy who does not attend church. Three times a week. It is not really. He says he believes.
[37:20] But he's not living like he believes. They call him the nominal Christian man. He does fit the negative stereotypes. Shockingly so.
[37:30] They spend less time with their children. Even in discipline. Or in shared activities. Their wives report significantly lower levels of happiness. Their marriages are far less stable.
[37:43] Whereas active evangelical men. Are 35% less likely to divorce. Than secular men. Nominals. Are 20% more likely to divorce.
[37:56] Than secular men. So. I could quote you. I could go on quoting you. Because the sociological evidence is clear.
[38:08] Don't believe the hype. Faithful Christian men. I could cite the studies for you. I got three of them. I could cite them for you. They. And they're not done by Christians.
[38:20] The data is clear. Brothers. If you are stable in your faith. If you are walking in Christ.
[38:30] You are not the toxic masculine man. That the culture wants to paint all men as. That's not you. And don't you dare own it. Don't you own that.
[38:43] But listen to me. If you are nominal Christian man. You show up every so often. To church. You. You're not reading your word.
[38:53] You're not walking with the Lord. Really. You do fit the stereotype. And in a very dramatic way. Jesus transforms us.
[39:05] He makes us real men. Okay. Better than that. He makes us good men. Oh.
[39:15] I got to finish up. What time is it? Oh. My goodness. I should do a part two. Can I do a part two? Will y'all come back next week? Okay. I'm going to do a part two then. Because I ain't done.
[39:26] Guys. This is too. This is too important. I'm sorry. I don't want me to do this. But I'm going to do a part two. Because I'm going to stop right here. Brothers. First of all. Christ has saved you. That he might make you a good man.
[39:41] A good man. A godly man. A man whose life is being transformed by the love of Christ. We're going to talk about that later. But transformed by his love and reality.
[39:53] You are not the men. You are not these toxic men. Don't. Your masculinity is God's gift to the world. Being a man.
[40:04] A true godly man is God's gift. It is not something to be ashamed of.
[40:17] Testosterone is not estrogen. Who knew? Little boys are not little girls.
[40:30] Testosterone does stuff. It not just deepens our voice. But testosterone. And our brains are even different than yours, ladies.
[40:41] And God equipped us to focus on a task. And pursue it. Almost without looking at anything else to get it done. Listen. Testosterone boosts that.
[40:52] Testosterone helps me with my muscles. And my metabolism. Testosterone is not just for sexual stuff. Testosterone helps us be men. My bones are denser than yours, ladies.
[41:04] That's a good thing. Because God created me to do certain things. Protect is one of them. Work hard, brothers.
[41:16] It's another thing. And in that culture, it was agrarian. You had to get out there. Listen. I'm trying to end this thing.
[41:37] It's not where I wanted to end it, but I'm trying to end it. We don't have to be afraid to be men. We don't.
[41:49] You don't have to be afraid if you want to protect women. And when they don't want to be protected. I know. I know, ladies. I know. I know. But you don't have to be ashamed of that, brothers.
[42:01] Don't be ashamed. Don't be ashamed. You don't have to be ashamed if, you know, you have ambition and you want to work hard and you want to succeed and go.
[42:12] Be careful, but you don't have to be ashamed of that. You don't have to be ashamed of holy aggression. Because that's what keeps...
[42:22] Listen. When my wife hears stuff in the night, she wants her holy aggressive husband to go check it out. That's right. That's right. Yes, she does.
[42:38] I'm sorry. And I think a lot of women would agree with that. Even those who are super feminists and toxic feminists, whatever. They would probably agree. Get up. I know some ladies are packing too.
[42:51] I understand. So, you know. But, brothers, I just want to encourage you. We are called to be godly men. Not macho men. Not incels. Not worldly men.
[43:01] Godly men. And godly men stand upon Christ. And he molds and shapes us. So that we use our strength for his glory. And for the good of others around us.
[43:13] Let's pray. Father, in Jesus' name. Oh, Lord, help us. Father, I knew this was going to happen. But I pray you help me to finish up next week.
[43:24] But, Lord, bless this word that's even now gone forth. Encourage my fathers, my brothers, and my sons. Encourage your men. These are your men.
[43:37] Help them to stand in what your word says is truly masculine and right and good. May they distinguish themselves in this culture as men of character and honor and integrity and strength.
[43:57] May Jesus be glorified in them. His name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.