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This is not a call to tell all the Christian men out there to straighten up and fly right... that they aren't doing good enough... They already know that...
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The world tells them they aren't good enough. Their wives tell them they're not good enough. They're bosses and co-workers tell them they're not good enough. Even in church some of the pastors preach it and other Christians are telling them they're not good enough. Men in our society are being beat down. I believe Satan does this to weaken men of God and thus weaken the body of Christ. When anyone is believing something other than God's truth about who they are, they will act out according to that mis-belief. This can be extreme or subtle. We all know no one is perfect except our Lord. We are full of imperfection, but God is awesome. So many men (and women for that matter) don't understand their identity. They put their total effort and trust in things that can't possibly reward them, like money for instance. Many if not most people put trust in and follow their feelings. Well, what if I feel like drinking, or hitting my wife? It's no wonder they are having such a hard time living their Godly roles. Many of them have heard the Gospel, the Good News, but they sure don't know what's good about it. Since they believed, got saved, became a Christian or whatever you want to call the rebirth, it seems to them like there's THAT MUCH MORE that they have to live up to. "Now I've got to follow even MORE rules and regulations! Now I'm responsible for even MORE! I was barely able to handle what I had and I'm supposed to get to church every Sunday morning and Sunday night, Wednesday night and sometimes Saturdays or another evening during the week. I have to be a certain way all the time, I can't be myself anymore! If I mess up, then, what, Am I no longer saved? Am I going to Hell now?" I have counseled a lot of men with this kind of mindset. They are secretly frightened and overwhelmed. They keep it well hidden until something breaks. Instead of finding the freedom Jesus promises they find themselves bound more than when they were without Him. One of the first and one of the most important things a man must learn is what Jesus did for Him on the cross of Calvary. The Gospel means "Good News". Yet somehow the message gets confused today. That good news is two fold. It has two basic parts to it. Within these two there are a multitude of teaching and lessons. Because men don't know this basic knowledge they base most of their life decisions on wrong information. it's like getting directions to a wonderful kingdom and finding out years down the road that you were given wrong directions and all the decisions you have made were based on that wrong information. I was one of these men. So what is the Gospel, the Good News? It's the truth of what Jesus did for us. "In yet while we were sinners, Christ died for us". We were trapped in our sin nature, the wages of the actions we took because of that nature was death. Both here and spiritually, separating us from the One True God ... the Reality that is God. That separation was permanent without an answer, without a solution that would rightly satisfy God's perfectly just nature. Yet God loved us so much He provided that solution. He was willing to send His Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for our sins, pay for our actions taken in the sin nature. If we are at all honest with ourselves we know we sin, at times willfully, premeditatedly, on purpose. The word sin means "to miss the mark". The book of Romans says what you practice you become a slave to. Some people say, "I'm not so bad, not as bad as so and so!" But if they compare them selves with Jesus they see exactly how they "miss the mark". Many of us tried to be "good people" before seeing the truth of Jesus. Others didn't even try to be "good", we just did whatever our selfish nature wanted at the time, causing a lot of pain to those around us. But no one in history ever came close to being perfect the way Jesus was perfect. God, being just, cannot let us into His presence until the penalty for our sin has been paid and that penalty is death. Jesus went to the cross and willingly died in our place so God would save us, forgive us and allow us into His presence. If we accept this solution, this gift from God, we would now live for eternity and live with the Reality that is God who loves us beyond measure. To accept the gift you simply have to honestly say to God you know you are a selfish sinner and you need to be saved from that nature. "Please save me." That is the beginning of a great adventure and the beginning of the second part of the Gospel... When Jesus died on the cross for you, He defeated Satan and spiritually set you free from the sin nature that previously ruled over you. It's like having a coach that kept telling you what to do and how to be over and over and over again. For years you try your best to please this coach, to be good enough to win his love but try as you might, you never quite make it. Sometimes he would get really angry at you and really let you know it! He would lay all kinds of penalties on you and take away all of your hope. So you'd try harder, Yet try as you may, it would never be enough. Life is miserable when you're sitting under this coach. But then one day someone from another team tells you that you've been sitting under the wrong coach. He isn't good. This other player shows you what this coach does and for the first time you can see what a DUDE this coach is! This "messenger" tells you about a truly Good Coach that has all the wisdom and power you'll ever need. Best of all, He loves you first and coaches you second. His patience is never ending, wonderful. This coach signs you up and sets you free from the bad coach and agrees to take you to the Kingdom dome. He says He's been there and taken many others there also. All you have to do is say yes. But what happens next? This is the second part of the Gospel. So you say yes to Jesus, what happens next? The Bible says to each person that truly gives their lives to Jesus He gives the right to become children of God. When Jesus died on the cross His last words were "It is finished". He completely defeated the old coach and makes you one of His players. The Apostle Paul says it many times in his letters to the church... instead of continuing to call us sinners, he calls us Saints. Now the word Saint means "Holy One". Now wait a minute! Just a few sentences ago I was sinner in terrible shape. Now your saying I am a Saint? Yes, that's exactly what Paul is saying. Take a look at 2 Corinthians 5 :17... "Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." What Paul is trying to tell us is you are now NEW! You may not feel it, but it's true. How can that be? it's true because it's not based on what you've done or what you feel. it's based on what Jesus did. HE died on the cross and paid the price FOR YOU. Because He has the authority to do so, He declares you forgiven, HE says you are now one of His saints. I heard story once that made this point clearly... In a kingdom far away there was a wonderful King who loved his people. There was also an evil prince that confused and deceived the people so they would break the kings laws and do evil. One of these subjects was Mary, a prostitute. She was haughty, conniving, laughing all the time but secretly, very sad. One day she was arrested and brought before the King. After gazing softly into Mary's eyes the King asked her the perfect question, "Do you like what you've become?" He could see what was secretly in her heart. He knew her heart intimately. She knelt before Him with tears in her eyes and answered, "No, sire, I am ashamed." This is exactly what the King wanted to hear. He knew if she would tell the truth, she would be free. He forgave her for all her acts of evil. Freed her from the evil prince AND to her amazement, adopted her and made her His princess. Her whole countenance changed, her whole being changed. She became a new person. As she spent more and more time with the King, she saw how good and perfect He was. As she learned from Him her belief in who she was changed. As her belief in herself changed, her actions changed... she truly became a princess. The truth that the King had proclaimed had manifested itself in her. She was a new person. When we come to Christ and are truly reborn, we are adopted into His family. We become His Saints! Yea, Yea, I've heard it before. WAKE UP! Because they don't know His Word, what He proclaims, many men, and women don't live the second half of the Gospel. They don't agree with His Word. They don't believe! They think what they 'Feel' is more real than what He says. Don't be deceived... Because of this they don't live the second half of the Gospel. They don't take their place as His saints. Why is this? Partly it's because the church doesn't teach this. I've had pastors actually tell me they would not teach this because they were 'afraid' that their people would take this the wrong way and become haughty, selfish. But once you truly realize this is not because of anything you've done but solely because of God's love for you through Christ, you become totally grateful, you see what a wonderful gift it is. Like the prostitute in the story, your whole being will change.
Here are some of the things the Word says about you after you give your heart to Jesus... I am God's Child (John 1:12) I am Christ's friend (John 15:15) I have been redeemed and forgiven (Col. 1:14) I have been justified (Romans 5:1) I am united with the Lord, and I am one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17) I have been bought with a price, I belong to the Lord (1 Cor. 6:19-20) I am a saint (Ephesians 1:1) I have been adopted as God's child (Ephesians 1:5) I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:18) I am complete in Christ (Col. 2:10) I am free forever from condemnation (Romans 8:1) I am assured that all things work together for good (Romans 8:28) I cannot be separated from the Love of God (Romans 8:35-39) I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me (1 John 5:18) I can find grace in time of need (Heb. 4:16) I am the salt of the earth, a light on a hill (Matt. 5:13-14) I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16) I am God's temple (1 Cor 3:16) I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor. 5:17-21) I am sealed with Christ in the Heavenly realm (Ephesians 2:6) I am God's workmanship (Ephesians 2:10) I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13) Because so many of us don't know or believe the truth of these things many of the men of God do not fulfill their roles. I am not talking about playing church here. We see a lot of that. Men know the language, smile, praise the Lord but the fruit of their lives show different. There's a basic shift in thinking that should occur when we begin to "get it". That thinking should be honed in on truth, God's truth. There should be a hunger to know His Word and His Will for the day. Otherwise lies of the enemy begin to take hold. Here are some lies we hear about who you are... Satan's Lie, "You are a sinner because you sometimes sin" God says, "You are a saint declared righteous by God who sometimes sins." Satan says, "You get your identity from what you have done." God says, "You get your identity from what God has done for you." Satan says, "You get your identity from what you say about yourself or what people say about you." God says, "You get your identity from what God says about you." What has a tendency to happen is someone does not believe what God says about them, instead they believe they are a rotten sinner, even though they asked God to forgive them and make them clean. So they act out of their belief which produces bad fruit, bad actions. Then they get caught or in the least they feel bad and that reinforces the belief that they are a rotten sinner. Everyone around them see their action and helps them right along in their belief that they are a rotten sinner. So they do something else according to their belief and on it goes. It becomes a downward spiral deeper and deeper and deeper... unless the Lord reveals the truth to them. If God reveals it to them, they "get it" and they "own it" and no one can take it from them. Satan's lie there is, "Your behavior tells you what to believe about yourself." God says, "Your belief about yourself determines your behavior." If you believe it's cold outside (belief) you put on a coat. (action) But what if it's really 120 degrees outside and Satan tells you it's cold and you believe it. Your belief in the lie creates the action... you put on a coat anyway and burn up! If your wife believes in Jesus and has accepted His gift, she is now a Saint. What if Satan tells you she selfish or some other lie and you believe it. You act on that belief and can hurt her wrongly. We need to know God's Word (Truth to believe and base your actions on) and ask Him to reveal in to us daily so we will walk with Him and bear much fruit. Stay humble in the knowledge of who you are. it's God's work with Jesus on the cross that makes all of this wonder possible. Otherwise you may be like the men below... The other side of this coin are the men who still think they can do it themselves. Some are even cocky enough to put God and the Lord on the farthest back burner. These men are selfish. It seems they believe the world's doctrine that the answer lies within them. It can be confusing to some, deceiving if you will. When the Lord lives inside you in the form of the Holy Spirit you have the capacity to understand the things of God. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would teach you all things, lead you into all truth. But the world wants to give the credit to self. This is a grave mistake! The Holy Spirit comes FROM God! He is not from ourselves at all. To say that His wisdom and guidance comes from us is to take the truth that God's Spirit, His Glory is from us, ours. Satan would love you to do this. He said he was equal with God, and he would ascend to the most High, be like God. These verses speak of Lucifer. Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: Satan exalts himself and wants us to do the same. He wants us to focus on "I, Self". When we focus on ourselves, we only think of our wants, we effectively become selfish. The world will sometimes go as far as to say we have "needs that have to be met". Yet God says He will always supply what we need. Many time He blesses us more than we ask or think! We, as men, can get self centered easily. Men love to work, achieve, build. Most of the time when 2 or more men get together they will inevitably ask, "what do you do?" "I'm a builder. I'm a Doctor. I'm only a janitor". Saying I'm "only a janitor" automatically denotes an inferior position. This can lead to insecurity. The insecurity leads one to "try harder" or defend his position as a Janitor. What tends to happen is we put our identity into what we do instead of who we are. Satan really has a hold on our colleges. "I'm an Art major... I'm an education major... I'm majoring in Law... I'm going to BE a doctor." These young minds are sometimes so immature they actually think this means something. They will feel overly proud as Satan leads them to slaughter. Or they will feel unworthy cause their major is not popular. Even in the church we see, "I'm the SENIOR Pastor" vs. I just work in the nursery. Our mail egos are so frail! Men subconsciously
compete and shuffle for some kind of unknown position that really
doesn't exist! Even in church! Now the focus has moved off the Lord and
others and onto our self. When we admit we are selfish the Lord can
begin to work. Notice the next verse... Yet thou shall be brought down... When ever we build ourselves up we shall be brought down. This is echoed in the New Testament. Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Jam 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Humble does not mean beaten down, self abased or low in any sense of the word. Jesus came to set us free from that, not put us down! He loves us! But what He wants us to see about ourselves is the truth, without Him we are nothing. But what it means is we are to keep our 'selves' humble. The Strong's says humble is; 1) of one's soul bring down one's pride Humble does not mean lower than in stature or importance. And honestly, we are all created with a sin nature. We are all in need of Jesus as our savior. Once we understand that honestly I am no better or worse than anyone around me, I can act honestly, giving up insecurity, defensiveness, arguments, ego building talk. I can love my brother and look into his eyes without fear to truly see where he is at in his walk. (Look at Matt 7:1-5) Without humility it's impossible to discern the truth. Humble means to be honest! What we do may differ from man to man. But God looks at the heart. He blesses whom He wishes, He uses whom He chooses. My personal belief is we are all blessed and we can all be used if we choose to see that and act accordingly. it's when we compare our 'selves' with others that we feel bad and lose heart. We have all known humble men who honestly know who they are and do what they can. Often these are the men that do the unwanted jobs no one wants. God looks on the heart. Who's to say which is more important to the Lord? If God is all present, all wise and all powerful it only makes sense that He controls all circumstances, orchestrates the whole world and all in it to His Will and ultimately to His Glory. If we keep this in mind we will be content through the drama we're watching unfold before us. And in this contentment we will have faith, make wiser decisions, better choices not done from a fearful or cocky heart, but prayerfully from His will today, as His saints. This is a call to men to trust God and let go. Psalm 118:8 is the center of the Bible. Some say it is the center of God's Will. It says, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." Letting go is not like giving up in defeat. It is rather realizing you can't win without the captain of your team. You need to surrender to His will for your life. You need to let go of the sin that eats you alive from the inside out. Don't try and defeat it, you'll never win. Just let go, in the simplest terms I can think of, just forget about it. When can you do that? Right now... So what do I do now? Forget it all... God will bring it back when you need it. You're His! Again the simplicity of it is so wonderful it is lost sometimes. Galatians 5 says follow the Spirit and you won't carry out the desire of they flesh. Forget your sin, it will die... follow the Spirit. John 12:24 says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it
abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit. These 3 verses are not hard really. It was spoken by Jesus when He was getting ready to go to the cross. What it comes down to is die to yourself. BUT DEAN!!! People always make such a big deal about this verse and Luke 9:23-24. But it's just not that hard, just forget about your 'self'. Jesus said, "Love God and Love your neighbor". He already knew you love yourself, you don't need to do that any more. He said He will give you everything you need and much more, an abundant life! If you are at work, be a servant. If you are at home, be a servant. If you have some free time, Pray and have clean fun! Servants get time off! When it's time to serve again, forget about your 'self'. One of my pastors called it a "dyeing kind of love". Forget about your 'self'. My question to you is, "When can you do that?" Tomorrow? Tomorrow's not here. Yesterday? Yesterday is gone. The answer is Matthew 6:31-34... Today... specifically NOW! Shakespeare said, "To Be or not to Be, that is the question..." Are you ready to BE? BE anxious for nothing. BE content, Believe... do the dishes...God's right there in you...listen and obey... whatever He wants... Because Love Never Fails...
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