[0:00] What's up? Hallelujah. Do you realize, I mean really, do you realize where your help comes from?
[0:14] Have a look unto the hills. For whence cometh my help? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Hallelujah.
[0:25] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen. Father in heaven, Lord, oh, help us. Lord, we sang this song because we believe it, but Lord, give us true faith.
[0:43] Help us to live like we realize. Help us to pray like we realize. Help us to open your word like we realize.
[0:54] Help us to take our stand in this world in the name of Jesus because we realize where our help comes from.
[1:05] We cannot stand unless you are our help. We cannot love unless you are our help. We can do nothing without Jesus.
[1:18] Nothing. Will you help us, Lord? Lord, oh, God, help us now. Lord, amen. As we hear your word, may we open our hearts, open the ears and the eyes of our hearts that we might receive the word of the Lord and we might walk in your ways, that we might give Jesus the glory and the honor that he deserves.
[1:45] Lord, amen. Speak especially to the men in this church. Oh, God, finish the work. Do the work in us that we might be the king's men who live each day under the lordship of Jesus in the love and the patience and the grace of the living God.
[2:12] Help us, Lord. Help your servant to preach your word. May all who hear this message hear the voice of Jesus.
[2:24] His name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Part two, brothers and sisters, and especially to my brothers, my fathers, and brothers and sons.
[2:38] Simple two verses. 1 Corinthians 16, 13, and 14. Listen, men of God.
[2:50] Be watchful. Stand firm in the faith. Act like men. Be strong.
[3:02] Let all that you do be done in love. King Jesus is speaking. The word of the Lord.
[3:15] Thank you. Please be seated. Wow. Thank you, Praise Team, once again. During the English Reformation, around about 1555, on October 16th, two men were put to death.
[3:44] They were burned at the stake. They were Protestants. They were men who had given their lives to the gospel and the word of the living God. They, in particular, had stood against the biblical doctrine of transubstantiation, which means that at the communion table, the elements, because of the administration of the priest, become the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ, so that Christ is being re-sacrificed at the Mass, which is why we do not celebrate the Mass.
[4:18] They stood against that. And so, Bishop Nicholas Ridley and Bishop Hugh Latimer were condemned to death.
[4:37] It is said that as they were at the pyres, they were there at the stake, and the wood and the flames were being lit, that Latimer uttered what had become very famous words of encouragement.
[4:56] It is said that he said, Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England as shall never be put out.
[5:18] Play the man. That evidently meant something to both of them. Play the man. We might say today, act like a man, or even man up.
[5:34] It was not meant as an attack or denigration of women. It was meant as an encouragement to men to be men. See, manhood or masculinity had key ingredients that were understood by them.
[5:53] And those ingredients still mean something today, though at times it's being denied. We are told to be less masculine. Be more like women.
[6:06] Is that biblical? Now listen, we have more in common as men and women do we have than we have that is different. But God did make us different for a reason.
[6:25] Godly masculinity is God's gift. It is meant to be revealed in those men who follow Jesus. So brothers, play the man.
[6:37] Play the man. Last verse day, by review, I mentioned that I do not believe, I mentioned that there are toxic men in this world.
[6:51] Men who use their masculinity, use their strength strength to abuse women, to abuse children, to even abuse one another. There are toxic men who think that their wives are, you know, me man, you woman.
[7:09] Do what I say. Where my dinner. Etc. Those are toxic men. They're not biblical.
[7:21] Some of them, God help us, call themselves Christians. But they're, but they are toxic men who need to be, who need to repent and a few of them need to be arrested.
[7:40] Come on now, I'm telling the truth now. I ain't, I ain't got time to play games. But I told you that the idea of toxic masculinity is not a biblical idea.
[7:56] You see, toxic men are acting more like animals than men. But masculinity is God's gift.
[8:07] Just like femininity is God's gift. Masculinity bears the image of God. Fallen, yes, but toxic, no.
[8:25] It is the image of God in us men. Brothers, our masculinity is the image of God in us. One writer described masculinity as the biological and societal characteristics that are traditionally thought to be typical of or suitable for men.
[8:49] Biological, societal. Things like work. What a thought. Always say before God gave Adam a wife, he gave him a job.
[9:05] things like work. Okay, get ready. Stoicism. What's that about?
[9:19] When men are attacked, there's a biochemical reaction that creates that fight or flight response. And men tend to, when you, when he's not sharing, necessarily sharing his thoughts, he's focusing on the problem to deal with it.
[9:35] Now, here's where it goes wrong. Men think they can't cry. And Jesus wept, we know of twice in the Gospels.
[9:48] See, that's where it goes crazy. Men, yes, you can cry. And you can admit, like we said last time, that you're weak. Things like courage, a willingness to protect and provide, these are basic ideas that I think the Scriptures support about what we have traditionally understood to be masculine qualities.
[10:16] Sin perverts them, of course, but they're still there. And the same is true of women. There are characteristics of femininity. There is no toxic femininity because femininity is God's gift, but there are toxic feminists.
[10:34] That's a movement. When men, women write books that say, I don't, I hate men. We write books saying, why do we need men?
[10:47] Well, now you're going on, you're going on. Last week, I mentioned three sociological studies.
[10:58] I didn't tell you what they were. Let me tell you now. I'm getting these in particular from Nancy's Percy, great work, The Toxic War on Masculinity. I commend it to you. I got a stack of books, but hers was really good.
[11:11] She mentioned three studies that showed us the National Survey of Families and Households, the General Social Survey, and the Survey of Adults and Youth.
[11:24] These sociological studies demonstrated that theologically conservatively Christian men shattered the stereotypes of toxic masculinity by being more loving to their wives, more emotionally engaged with their children than any group in America.
[11:44] But it said nominal Christian men, that is men who attend church on occasion, who are not really committed to their faith, but they say they're Christians, nominal Christian men do fit the stereotypes.
[12:00] Looked at two characteristics last time of godly masculinity in our passage, being spiritually alert, that is, watchful because we are in a spiritual warfare, and also being stable in our faith in Jesus, being committed to our faith in Jesus.
[12:16] And neither of these can be achieved, brothers, if all we do is read magazines online, watch TV, and play video games in our spare time.
[12:29] You will not be those kind of men. We must be men of the book, and in prayer, in groups, and alone. And we saw how these qualities had applications to how we live, and relate to those around us, including our families.
[12:45] Now there are three more characteristics of godly masculinity to be seen in our passage, today. Three more. Here we go. Biblical masculinity is seen when the king's men are courageously mature and strong.
[13:01] This is number three and four, and they go together. Act like men. Be strong. That's what I'm talking about. Here's where the rubber meets the road, guys.
[13:16] Christians are told, one word in Greek, to act like men. Another way of rendering that is to conduct oneself in a manly way.
[13:31] Now most commentators see this as a call to courageous maturity. Amen. Amen. But this image only works if that culture understood what it meant to act like a man.
[13:46] manly way. Amen. There had to be some kind of thought of what manhood looked like that Paul could draw upon to then give this.
[13:57] Remember I said, ladies, to the church. But we're focusing on men because the language, the whole language here of verse 13, it's manly.
[14:09] It's how a general would speak to his troops before battle. Act like men. Be strong. Such language is also seen in the scriptures.
[14:25] King David, he's old, okay? He's about to die. He gives instructions to his son Solomon who will be king in his place. You see this in 1st King, chapter 2.
[14:36] I think we have them to scream. David says to Solomon, I'm about to go the way of all the earth. I'm about to die. Then he says, be strong and show yourself a man and keep the charge of the Lord your God walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, his testimonies as it is written in the law of Moses that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.
[15:09] David's final words and a man's final words mean something. His last bit of advice, he had other things to say too that were interesting, kind of mafia like, but I just never started.
[15:23] Really were. But he's calling on his son as a man speaking to his son. Show yourself a man.
[15:36] Be courageous. He wants you to be a courageous godly man. That means he must be strong and keep God's law because it takes courage and maturity to follow God's word when all around you is saying, don't do it.
[15:56] Solomon messed up. We know his story. God's love. Because he did not listen to the godly mature men around him and gave his ear, not to the word of the Lord that was coming through these men, but he gave his ear to the young men in his group who were telling him, man, you are a hundred times better than your daddy.
[16:21] He listened to them, but that's not what his daddy told him. His father told him with his last breath, show yourself a man and do everything God's word says.
[16:38] That's basically do everything that God says, God said it, that settles it. He's telling Solomon there's no discussion. When God speaks, you respond.
[16:51] And Solomon, in order to lead this people, you're going to have to have some chutzpah. You're going to have to have some courage. You're going to have to be a mature person.
[17:03] Show yourself a man. You're going to have to be mature. You can't be bounced around by every wind. You can't listen to everybody, Solomon. You're going to have to stand on your own two feet before the Lord.
[17:20] Because people will always be telling you what you're supposed to do. And God help you when you listen to the unbelieving culture.
[17:35] You can't play the man that way. You'll become toxic. Maturity implies you don't have to follow the crowd in order to be happy or secure.
[17:51] you see, these two traits of biblical masculinity, courage and strength, are also brought together beautifully as God spoke to another man, a general.
[18:06] Joshua chapter one, five through nine. God speaks to this great man of God. Moses is dead. dead. And he even says that Moses, my servant, is dead.
[18:21] Then in verse five, we pick it up. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.
[18:33] Be strong and courageous. For you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all that the law that Moses, my servant, commanded you.
[18:52] Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful, careful to do according to all that is written in it.
[19:14] For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.
[19:26] Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Brothers, are you listening?
[19:39] Dr. Boyce preached that for my ordination sermon, so it's very special to me. You see, brothers, you, as you stand upon the word of the Lord, there will be opposition.
[19:54] We talked about that before. But the only way to efface that opposition is with the courage you get from the Lord. Joshua was being told by God that I'm with you wherever you go.
[20:07] There is where it comes from. Courage comes, that courage does not mean you're not frightened. It doesn't mean you're not scared. It means you're not controlled by it.
[20:20] It means you deal with it. In faith, in God. You see, the man without the Lord says, I'm going to be courageous, I'm going to be strong, and what does he rely upon?
[20:35] His own inner works, His own inner fortitude. And what does the Bible say? The arm of flesh will fail you.
[20:48] That includes your own arm. Your own arm will fail you. Brothers, Joshua was being told, you're going to lead these people.
[20:59] You're going to be my man, but the only way you're going to have success is if you, he kept it, what, three or four times he said it? If God repeats himself, you better listen.
[21:12] You, we got to, our ears better perk up. He's driving the point home because Joshua was going to face murmuring, he was going to face all kinds of people saying all kinds of things, and he had to keep his face set on the word of the Lord.
[21:29] Not upon his own ideas, not upon what he thinks and feels is right and wrong, but upon what the word of the Lord says, because God was at work in him.
[21:40] God was leading him. Even more so, we, Jesus has come, brothers. The great man, the great God man has come and has, and has fought the battle for you.
[21:54] He who is strong and courageous was, was for you. Our courage and our strength comes from knowing the Lord.
[22:05] Our courage and our strength comes from knowing that we are accepted and loved and have a destiny tied up in who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.
[22:18] When you know where you're going, when you know death is not the end, you can follow Jesus because he's won the victory for you.
[22:32] Joshua didn't know Jesus, but he knew God. He knew God. The strength here is not, I mentioned this last week, so I got ahead of myself a little bit, but it was, be strong, it's there.
[22:46] The strength here is not physical strength. It's not. There's nothing wrong with being physically fit. I hate those pictures.
[22:59] The block party, brother got to lose some weight. That's just, that's ugly. I'm sick. And stop shooting me from the side. Take that camera off. I hate that. You see me? I love the bridge.
[23:11] Get rid of that side camera. Hit me from the front. Anyway, there's nothing wrong with being fit and buff brothers. But the strength, I shouldn't have said, I thought that.
[23:28] I wasn't going to say it, but I thought it. I mean. But he wants that strength to be coming from trusting in him.
[23:43] You see, yes, we do. Our biology, brothers, our biology gives us a certain amount of strength, doesn't it? Testosterone, man, that's some good stuff. Now, there are other hormones that are secreted through our brain and to our strips.
[23:57] But testosterone is the king of hormones for men. Ladies, you got some too, but not like we do. Mentally, it gives us the ability to focus on a task to completion.
[24:09] Physically, our muscles are bigger than women. Our bones are more denser. We tend to be faster. Listen, there are exceptions to the rule. There are some women that are faster than me.
[24:22] And stronger than me, too. But that's not the general thing. That's not the general thing. Mostly, it's this way. Paul didn't say rely on that.
[24:35] And neither did God to Joshua say rely upon that. It's what Paul said in Ephesians 6, 10. Finally, be strong in the Lord. Strong in the Lord and the strength of his might.
[24:51] In the Lord, strength of his might. And forgive me, but in the original language, it's actually what's called a passive. It means be made strong.
[25:03] And there was strength is coming from outside of you. You are made strong because someone is pouring strength in you, not because you went to the spiritual gym and pumped some iron.
[25:21] No, this is something that comes from a relationship with the living Christ. fast. Go to the gym. Yeah, pump some iron.
[25:33] Get shredded. But spiritual strength is greater than physical strength. 1 Timothy 4, 7 and 10. Paul says to Timothy, his son in the faith, have nothing to do with irreverent silly myths.
[25:48] Pastor Timothy, talking to the pastor. Rather, he says, train yourself for godliness. If you want to go to the gym, he said, go to this gym. Train yourself for godliness.
[25:58] For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
[26:11] The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end, we toil and strive because we have our hopes set on the living God who's the saver of all people, especially of those who believe.
[26:28] Do you, all that goes together. He says, I toil, listen, I toil and strive before the Lord in his strength. I toil and strive in godliness.
[26:41] Godliness speaks of devotion to God. It speaks of giving yourself to him and and how you live and all that you do, including acts of piety, acts of devotion to God.
[26:56] Whether you're reading the word or giving, whatever it is, you are doing it in the name of the Lord and for his glory. He says, these things you are to work out in.
[27:09] Why? Why? Why? Because our hope is not in us. Our hope, our certainty of the future is in the living God, is in the risen Savior.
[27:26] What motivates us for courage and strength, maturity? What motivates, what pulls, what drives us?
[27:39] Not hope in my ability, but hope in his ability. Hope in the future that he has destined me for.
[27:50] Hope in glory that Christ did rise again from the dead, ascend into heaven, and his coming again, and his promise there's a dwelling place for you with me.
[28:03] What's your hoping, brothers? We put so much toil into physical fitness, but God's word has challenged us to put more work in the Lord to be godly.
[28:20] Reverence, honor, and our duty before the Lord, the living Christ, godliness. That's what Jesus is doing. He's molding you by his gracious word and spirit so that you'll be godly men.
[28:40] Godly men. Display godly, biblical masculinity and not toxic men. Sociologist Michael Kimmel did an experiment with thousands of boys and young men in America and also different parts of the world.
[28:58] He got virtually the same answers. He asked cadets at West Point Military Academy, not known as a bastion of Christianity, by the way. What does it mean to be a good man?
[29:09] They said, listen, honor, duty, integrity, sacrifice, do the right thing, stand up for the little guy, be a provider, be a protector. Father, sounds good to me.
[29:26] I think Paul would agree. I would include work, get a job, work. Then he asks, what if you're told to man up, be a real man?
[29:39] They said, oh, now that's completely different. To be a real man means to be tough, strong, never show weakness, win at all costs, suck it up, play through pain, be competitive, get rich, get laid.
[29:56] Notice they saw a difference between being a good man and a real man. These are young men.
[30:08] Many of us will call them kids. Young men. But they understood there was something about being a good man that they understood innately based upon even the culture they grew up in.
[30:20] They understood what it mean to be a good man. And that's, in their statements, yes, brothers, are right on. Good man. Good man.
[30:34] Hmm. Nancy Percy, in her book, says, it's not that every trait listed as the real man is necessarily bad. Not every trait, some are.
[30:46] In a crisis, for an example, we need men who stand tough and not collapse in tears. But that is meant to be a short-term strategy, not a way of life.
[31:01] The problem with the stereotype of the real man is that it's one-sided. When separated from a moral vision of the good man, it can easily degenerate into sexism, dominance, entitlement, and contempt for those perceived as weak.
[31:25] And these traits, we can all agree, are toxic. The good man. Right on.
[31:37] Paul would, I know he would agree. The good man. Better yet, the biblical man. The king's man. Understands things like honor, duty, integrity, godliness, sacrifice, doing the right thing, standing up for the little guy, being a provider, being a protector.
[32:06] How can you watch? What are you watching and being alert for? For? To protect and provide.
[32:19] Thank you, Nancy. I love that woman. Hope I get to meet her someday. So where are you putting emphasis, brothers? Where are you put on being a real man or a good man? Where are you for?
[32:31] Are you emphasizing being a real man more than being a good man? Or are you saying, I want to be a good man, a godly man, a man of Christ, a man who exemplifies what it means to be the king's man and letting that influence all that other real man stuff.
[32:54] Jeremiah 9 says it wonderfully. Thus says the Lord, let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me.
[33:09] That I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord. See, listen, the things that the toxic man boasts in are the very thing God says don't boast in.
[33:28] The toxic man boasts in his wealth and he boasts in his power, his ability, whether it's physical or positional, he boasts in those things. But God says not you.
[33:39] Not you, oh man of God. Those things have their place, but they're not of first importance. What, he says, boast in this, that you know me.
[33:52] That I, I am Yahweh. I am the Lord. I am the God of the burning bush. I am the one who sustains all of creation because I created all things including you.
[34:05] Boast in me. Let him who boasts, Paul's, in 1 Corinthians 1, let he who boasts boast in the Lord. We ain't got time for bragging, brothers.
[34:19] I want to hear about your night, your car. I want to hear about your house. I don't, who cares? I want to know what kind of man you are.
[34:29] Amen. Are you a good man? A godly man? Are you walking in toxicity and calling yourself a Christian?
[34:45] Okay, I got to hurry up. Let's get to a few things. Biblical masculinity is also seen when the king's men are loving. I'm going to do this quickly. Brothers, I know I got to get you out of here so you can go home and make it to the buffet.
[34:58] All right. The fifth mark of biblical masculinity which is a kind of surprise especially to the world is shot Paul's world too. Toxic men don't like this part.
[35:12] It sounds weak. Do everything in love. Now where did that come from? I mean, doesn't it feel out of place? I mean, think of what he just said in 13. And then he just, like he just threw something in.
[35:25] But no, he didn't. Do everything in love. Ha, ha, ha. Well, here we go. The greatest mark, I think, of biblical masculinity is a man who's unafraid to love.
[35:40] Because love isn't weak. It's very strong. It causes us to deny ourselves, to not put our own desires first. You see, agape is self-sacrificially seeking the highest good of the other person expecting little or nothing in return.
[35:57] that takes strength. It doesn't ask, how can I love myself better, but how can I love my neighbor better? What does your brother or sister need most?
[36:10] Are they, are they weaker in some way and need protection or a voice? What do they need? This is the kind of love that caused the father to give the son.
[36:21] For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Does that sound weak to you? He gave him who he loved most to save those who were helpless.
[36:35] We owe this debt to the Lord to be loved, to give love, to be loving. Romans 13, owe no one anything except to love each other.
[36:46] For the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, listen, the commandments, you should not commit adultery, you should not murder, you should not steal, you should not covet, and any other commandment are summed up in this one word, you should love your neighbor as yourself.
[37:09] Do you understand the Ten Commandments? It's the law of love. Loving God, loving neighbor. Brothers, this is our calling.
[37:20] Doing all that we do out of love for God in Christ and love for our neighbor. Why? Because we've been saturated by the love of God. You are that helpless one that God gave his son to save.
[37:33] You are that helpless one who could not get out of his own way. Spiritually speaking. You may have been prosperous on your job, you may have been, you may have been doing good in school, but you were a zero in the sight of God.
[37:47] And God came and saved you and drew you in and made you a son. You are a son now. You are destined for glory. You have a father. You may not have had a good father before, but you got one now.
[38:02] You may not have had a father who encouraged you and supported you and spoke good words to you and hugged you and cared for you, but you got one now. Who's your daddy?
[38:15] Amen. Pastor, just Joshua Tong, senior pastor, the Sovereign Grace Church in Bradford, Canada, writes this.
[38:25] This is what makes biblical masculinity distinctly Christian. The main characteristic of masculine strength isn't big muscles or strong opinions or loud voices or forceful personality.
[38:39] It's love. Love is a distinguishing mark of the mature godly man. It seeks the good of others before your own. It hum, listen, it humbly serves without desire for recognition or reward.
[38:55] It even overflows for your enemies. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
[39:11] He who loves his wife loves himself. We're told to please our wives. The married man is concerned, 1 Corinthians 7, is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife.
[39:33] Brothers, do you understand? Yes, God says that you are the head of the woman as Christ, head of the wife, as Christ, as head of the church. By the way, ladies, you're not called to submit to every man.
[39:45] You're called to submit to your husband. And that's on you, not on him to make you. That's not what he's called to do. His job is not to make you, dominate you, make you.
[39:57] You gotta submit, woman. That's not his call. His call, come on brothers, is to die for you, to sacrificially lead you by dying for you, seeking your good every single day of his life, seeking with all his heart to please you before the Lord.
[40:15] That's what he's talking about. That is biblical marriage. Don't believe the hype from the world. Patriarchy.
[40:25] Now, patriarchy has to get a little weird. But biblical love, brothers, no woman in creation could complain about this kind of man.
[40:40] She'll die for him. She'll stand in front of a book. Don't you touch my man. That's how, she'll guard you, man. But you're, but, but the meantime, you're jumping in front of her too.
[40:52] Amen. Come on y'all. Somebody, I'm trying to finish this up, but I want to get it done now. Yeah, yeah, you say that, but people go, people be mad, I'll be getting emails. by all, by this, all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.
[41:12] Brothers, he's talking to us. 1 Corinthians 13, I'm not going to have time to go through it, but look at the love chapter. He's, Paul is thinking about that in this verse. He's thinking about what love is. Love is patient.
[41:22] Love is kind. You know, that passage, he's thinking about that. Brothers, that's our calling because those are the qualities of Jesus. He is perfect love.
[41:34] And as we are, as we are growing in him, maturing in him, he makes us more loving because it's his love. It's not your love, it's his love.
[41:45] Pouring out of you for your wife, if you're married, and your children, but for your fellow brothers, for your neighbors, for your classmates.
[41:56] It's his love. Believe it or not, we are to be masculine. Masculinity involves love. It's not about, I mean, good.
[42:09] Masculine, if you're a hunter, you like to hunt, work out, and be wild at heart. I hope you don't read that book, but anyway. But you liked all that stuff and you're really a man's man, amen, but you're no more manly than the guy who's at home enjoying watching, watching the arts, and doing arts, and watching arts on TV.
[42:27] And enjoys reading a good book. You're both masculine. Man, that was weak. That should have been a big amen. It's a hurry up, pastor.
[42:38] We want you to hurry up. Okay. Paul says, in 2 Corinthians 5, for the love of Christ controls us, because we have included this. One has died for all, therefore all have died.
[42:52] He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised again.
[43:03] Did he die for you? And that love is meant to control you. His love is meant to control you so that you are pouring out your love, his love, to those around you.
[43:19] A godly masculinity walks in love. Without love, nothing else really matters.
[43:30] The greatest of these is love. Who are you? Brothers, godly men start with boys.
[43:47] Boys and young men need guidance from their healthy fathers and mature godly men. I hope you're listening, boys. How do you deal with what is happening inside of you as you're going through teenage years, something we call puberty?
[44:06] How do you deal with the stuff that's going, firing off on you? You need guidance. Brothers, they need guidance. How do you deal with the pressures of society that tell you to be a real man or downplays masculinity?
[44:20] How do you deal with that? You need guidance. How do you treat women in a respectful manner? They're not there for you to use them and objectify them.
[44:31] They're not there to satisfy you. How do you? The Bible tells us to treat the older women as mothers and the younger women as sisters.
[44:42] They need guidance. You need guidance. How do we teach them to be men of God? How do you become a man of God who courageously follows Jesus wherever he leads?
[44:55] Now, men, you need guidance because you don't have it all figured out. You've got testosterone firing in your system.
[45:06] It's going off like a grenade inside of you. I'm serious. You haven't had this much testosterone since you were in utero. Nancy, Luanne Brizadeen, a neuropsychiatrist, says this, if testosterone was beer, a nine-year-old boy would get the equivalent of about one cup a day.
[45:32] But by age 15, it would equal two gallons a day. This stuff's firing off in you. It's supposed to.
[45:43] It's part of the maturing process in your body that you may be prepared for manhood. Amen. But you need guidance, young men. You need guidance. You need help.
[45:53] Okay, I'm almost finished. You need help, brothers. We understand. We feel you.
[46:08] You're anxious. You're ready. You want to do something. But what is it? I don't know. I'm going to do something. You're thinking about girls all the time.
[46:19] I understand. That's why I got married. And when I want to get in touch with my feminine side, I hug her. Hallelujah.
[46:34] You need guidance, brothers. We all have been there. But men of God, will you be mature, godly men to guide them? Will you be that man?
[46:49] Nature and nurture. Biology and nurture. Make godly men. If we don't nurture them, someone else will.
[47:03] And then we see the sexism and the dominance and the aggression and the violence. That is not traditional masculinity.
[47:14] That's toxic men. The king's men may be sinners, but we're not toxic. We aspire to be good men. We are masculine for the glory of Christ, not our own glory.
[47:28] Father, Lord, may this word go down deep. May it be remembered. May it be listened to again and again. Oh, Lord, may your word equip us to be the men of God you've called us to be.
[47:43] Bless our boys and our young men. Help them, Lord, to humble themselves and listen. And help us as more mature men to listen to them, but to also give guidance.
[47:57] May we work together. Thank you for the godly women and the godly mothers and godly sisters in this church who are also there and providing input. Thank you for them.
[48:08] But Father, may we may we be the kind of men that our mothers and sisters need. More than that, that you call us to be.
[48:21] For Jesus' sake. Amen. Amen. Please stand. If you'd like to, you may take up a hymnal.
[48:35] This is 177 for the blue hymnal and 322 for the red hymnal. Let us surrender to the cross of Jesus. Jesus. Thank you for the love, Jesus.
[48:45] Beneath the cross of Jesus Thy pain would take my step The shadow of the mighty rock Within a weary land Along within the wilderness A rest upon the way From the glory of the new time heat And the burden of the day
[49:49] Upon the cross of Jesus My eyes at times can see The very dying form of one Who suffered there for me And from my stricken heart with tears To wonders I confess The wonders of redeeming love And my unworthiness I take the cross The cross I channel For by the mighty place
[50:54] I ask the water's sunshine With the sunshine of His face Content to let the world go by Without a gain or loss My sinful self My only shame By glory of the cross I hear God's blessing upon you as you go If you want prayer Elders, will you come