Be Strong And Courageous - Men's Breakfast

[0:00] Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the trumpet call of pain, for to the mighty come.

[0:12] A survey found the following statistics. On death row, there's 99% men. Present population, 95% men. Cause of drunk driving accidents, 91% men. Cause of all traffic accidents, 75% men. And the wanted posters are 98% men.

[0:33] So, that's just to set the scene. And the world today is looking for men. Men who are not for sale. Men who are to tell the truth, even when it's unpopular. Men who know their duty and do it. Men whose feet are on the everlasting rock. Men whose strength is divine strength. Men whose wisdom is from above. And men loving with the love of Christ. Men of God. Men of God.

[0:59] Now, the typical Aussie male sounds more like the people in Philippians 3, verse 19. Philippians 3, verse 19. It says, Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, their mind earthly things.

[1:18] Whose God is their belly. That's a good one for a men's breakfast, isn't it? Whose God is their belly. But it's talking about those whose appetites, and they're driven by the worldly things, the worldly emotions and feelings, the guts.

[1:32] You know, and some churches cater for that, and get sidetracked. There's a generation of young men being destroyed by drugs and disorders. I'm just hearing on your table over there, about the crystal men.

[1:46] Now, there's a lot of things going on that are against young men, against people in our society. The signs are all around us, aren't they? Broken homes, fatherless families, an overturning of all that is holy.

[1:59] We've taken a destructive path. You see that in Romans 1, from 26 to 32. The decline of society, as it turns from God. And what is wrong with the world today, isn't something that our politicians can fix.

[2:13] By throwing more money, by more laws, prisons, or throwing more taxes. What is going wrong? What is going wrong with our world today? I know we've got some political people here today.

[2:25] There's men that have stood for local government and state government here. There's men here with lots of life experience, and we acknowledge that today. And we want to learn from each other.

[2:39] That's what it's all about. But what is wrong? What is going wrong with our world today? And one of the big problems is that this war has been declared on the biblical family. And the God-given roles of men and women are under attack.

[2:53] Big time today. We see that all the time, don't we? And a man has lost his moral fibre, it seems. Satan's strategy is, in the war on the family, is to neutralise the man.

[3:05] Neutralise the man. And something is missing, and what is missing is men. It's men that are missing. Men that are missing in the family. Men that are missing in society.

[3:16] Men that are missing in the churches too. In the churches, it seems like Christianity is rife with a weak, effeminate kind of Christianity. Weak, wimpy, wussy men.

[3:27] And men are missing. It's been said that on any given Sunday, in the US, there are 13 million more adult women than men in churches.

[3:39] So, men are not in church. You know, there's a book that I read called Why Men Hate Church. You know, and sometimes, some churches are geared to a very kind of, more of a feminine kind of worship and stuff like that.

[3:54] But we need men, don't we? We need men in our world, in our churches, in our communities. Men, men who know God. Men of God is what we need. And what makes a real man?

[4:05] What is a real man? What does it take to be a man? God has given us a blueprint in the word, a design for men. And you see that in Genesis, we see that the man had a battle to fight.

[4:17] To subdue and take dominion. A battle to fight. A work to do. Adam was told to cultivate the garden. Look after it. He had a work to do. A will to obey.

[4:29] Don't eat the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He had God's will to obey. And he had a woman to love. Eve. One woman. And God has entrusted these primary responsibilities to men.

[4:42] God said, let us make man in our image. So God's design for our manhood is his image. That's his design. That's his blueprint. And the finest example of manhood is the Lord Jesus Christ.

[4:55] He is the ultimate example, isn't he? Our Lord and Saviour. And God is looking for men. In Ezekiel 29.30 it says, That I sought for a man among them.

[5:07] That should make up the hedge. And stand in the gap before me. For the land that I should not destroy it. But I found none. I sought for a man.

[5:18] God is looking for men. Men like you and me. Men who will stand in the gap. Faithful men. Real men. Men who will lead their convictions. Men who he can work with. Men of God.

[5:29] Men of God. This phrase, man of God, it occurs in 73 verses in the Bible. Men of God. Men of God. They're men like David. In Acts 13.22 it says, Of David, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

[5:47] Men like Enoch, who walked with God. Men like Abraham, who was called a friend of God. Like Job, who endured great crisis. And Daniel, who would not defile himself with the king's booze.

[6:00] God's men. Men of God. Men of valour. Men, mighty men. God's man is a man of another world. A man born of God. Born of God.

[6:11] Here's what someone put, God give us men. God give us men who can't be bored. Who will stand their ground. Men whose walk is by faith. Whose behaviour is by principle.

[6:23] Whose book is the Bible. God give us men who will stay in the battle. Such are the men the church and the world means today. And we can aspire to be men like that. God give us men.

[6:34] Let's make that our prayer that we'll be such a man. The word urges us in Acts. In 1 Corinthians 16, 13. It says in effect, act like men.

[6:45] Behave like men. Conduct yourself like a man. You know, you've only one life to live. One master who can be served at one time. Who will it be? Will you be a man of God?

[6:56] That's my challenge to you. To conduct yourself like men. To be a man. I present to you just two things this morning. Two things that God says to men. And we can take them personally.

[7:09] Each one. God's saying this to you. To me. Two things. In part, in 2 Chronicles 32, 7 it says, Be strong and courageous. So firstly, be strong.

[7:21] Be strong. We need strong, solid men. 2 Timothy 2, 1. Paul tells Timothy, he says, Being found strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

[7:34] Strong in the grace. There's strength in grace. There's strength in, and not losing your cool, but exercising grace. Keeping grace in your dealings with people.

[7:46] There's power there. There's strength in grace. What is real manliness? Is an important question. What does the world show us? What do the movies show as a real man? Someone who drinks lots of beer?

[7:57] A real man uses foul language? And blows away anyone in his way, like Rambo or something like that. And lives loosely. No commitment. God is looking rather for strong men.

[8:11] Strong men. Men who will be truly strong. Who will stand tall. Who will say no to sin. That's what makes a real man. And we can be strong in many dimensions.

[8:23] Strong in our mind. Our will. Our purpose. Strong in faith. Now back in history, people had to be strong when they stood up for Christ. There's a man called Hugh Latimer.

[8:34] He turned to his fellow Bishop, Nicholas Ridley, as they were burnt at the stake during the reign of Queen Mary. And Latimer said to Ridley, Be of comfort.

[8:45] 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 I trust, shall never be put out.

[8:56] Amen. They stood up for Christ, even though it meant going to the stake and being burnt for their faith. And they saw God. They didn't see it in their time, but God moved.

[9:08] After their example, as they suffered and died for their faith, God truly moved in England and blessed that nation as God moved. And it was godly men who set the example and took the lead.

[9:22] And we too, we need to be such men. We need men who will be manly. Play the man. Be a man. John Wesley said, Give me a hundred men and fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God and I will shake the world.

[9:36] I cannot bestow whether they be clergymen or laymen and such a load will overthrow the kingdom of Satan and build up the kingdom of God on earth. Give me a hundred men.

[9:49] We need men in our nation, in our world, in our churches. Be strong in the faith is the call from God's word. Be strong. Be strong to do the will of God from our heart.

[10:01] To love what he loves, to hate what he hates. May we be such men. Such men. Men who will bring out their best. Men who will honour God. Who want to walk a deeper walk with God.

[10:14] Where does this strength come from? Be strong. Our strength comes from the Lord. It comes from him. In Isaiah 40 verse 29 it says, He giveth power to the faith and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

[10:29] You know, we might feel weak. We might feel powerless. But we are the ones he will give his power to if we'll just seek it. And God wants each one of us to be men of God.

[10:40] Men made in his image. A mature, useful Christian who knows the power of God in his life. That's our strength. This is the godly manliness that can show through our voice.

[10:52] In our handshake. In how we carry ourselves in the world. People are watching us. Oh, he's a Christian. You know, and they'll say something about that. Whether it matches up with what we're saying we are.

[11:03] And we want to be strong, don't we? We need to be strong. In these days when everything's caving in and weakness prevails. People are wishy-washy. We need to be strong men.

[11:15] Men of integrity. Honourable men. Psalm 31, 24 it says, Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart. All ye that hope in the Lord.

[11:26] Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart. So, firstly, men be strong. And my second and last point is secondly, be courageous.

[11:37] Be courageous. We have a fight on our hands. We're in the middle of a fight. A wrestling match. A boxing match. There's a struggle going on between right and wrong.

[11:49] Between truth and lies. And we are called to be bold in this fight. It's the fight of our lives. We're called to be brave. To be firm. For the truth.

[11:59] And we have something to fight for. Men of God here today. There's a call to arms. Paul says, Fight. Fight. The good fight of the faith. To live courageously.

[12:10] We're called to live courageously. In Jude 1, 3 it says, You should earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints. Contend for the faith.

[12:22] Fight for the faith. So, be encouraged this morning, guys, to be strong. To be courageous. To live lives worthy of this great cause. Of our great captain.

[12:33] The captain of our salvation. We've got much to stand for. And we need men who'll stand. Stand fast in the faith. Real men. Men who will stand. To be courageous.

[12:45] That means to hold our ground. We're not going to cave in. Though the worldly pressure will push us one way and try to distract and detour us. We're going to hold our ground. We're going to hold firm.

[12:56] To be men of courage. To stand strong. Stand strong. In guard. Guarding over our families. Those that God has given us charge over. The responsibility for.

[13:07] That we'll love them. And guide them. And lead them. And be men of honour. Who'll hold fast to the truth. When we know there's many lies out there.

[13:18] The Bible talks about the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Everything that's spiritual isn't necessarily true. You've got to discern that. Fight that which is wrong.

[13:29] So let's be such men. Men who'll stand with conviction. Who'll stand in the heat of the battle. Stand and fight. Where are the men who will stand for something?

[13:41] Stand for something. Men of faith. Who'll refuse to be shaken. Men who'll be fathers and husbands. We've got a new dad here this morning.

[13:52] He's got his second baby he's picking up after today. Men who'll stand for their families. We've got responsibilities for our children. Grandchildren. We've got responsibilities as men.

[14:04] For our spouse. For the example we set to our brothers. Our sisters. Our kin. And those that are watching us in the workplace. Will we be such men or will we stand or stand strong and courageous.

[14:18] Sometimes we've got to step outside the comfort zone too. I know as a young man I was just a teenager that I went to a camp and they were doing some open air preaching and they said it's your turn now.

[14:31] And I've never done anything like that. I was at beachfront in Wales and I was packing it. You have to stand and be strong don't you?

[14:43] Step outside your comfort zone. Maybe it's just praying a prayer out loud is a big challenge for you. Or maybe reading a Bible reading. Whatever it be. Just say I'm willing to stand.

[14:54] I'm willing to get outside my comfort zone and be strong and be courageous. You know public speaking isn't everyone's cup of tea. There could be other things that you've got ministries that you can do.

[15:06] God's given us all different callings and abilities and things that we can do for the Lord. But I just urge you today to stand for something. Stand and be strong. You know think of your responsibilities.

[15:18] Be like men like Paul who stood before King of Gripal and he stood and delivered. Men like Noah the preacher of righteousness. Men like the three young Hebrew men who went through the fire.

[15:32] They wouldn't bend or bow down. They'd rather burn and suffer and trust God. And they stood. They stood tall at the risk of their lives.

[15:44] And you know I look back to a time when I was at school and it was a time you can tell it's a long long time ago because I still had singing hymns in a public school in England.

[15:56] And I got to read this to my Muslim classmate and I was a bit of a shaky Christian. A bit of a wavering Christian. A bit of a chameleon Christian.

[16:09] You know of sorts that you're one thing in church or amongst Christians and then one thing when you're not amongst Christians. But it helped me to stand strong to start to witness to this man this Muslim man and then later in another school a Mormon classmate.

[16:26] And this time with this Muslim man in the school assembly we sang some hymns and one of them was Stand up for Jesus you soldiers of the cross.

[16:36] And standing next to this Muslim man you know I put my gusto into that song because it meant a lot to me. Stand up for Jesus you soldiers of the cross.

[16:47] Now lift up his royal banner it must not suffer loss. For victory hunt to victory his army shall he lead. You know there's gutsy manly songs that we sing that have got a lot of meaning and truth in them.

[17:00] And we need to be such men. Manly will stand and be counted. And so it's God's plan for man that we man up. That we be manly that we be real men.

[17:12] Our world needs such men. Our families. Our community needs men. Men of God will stand up for the Lord. Men who will act with dignity and honour and courage so that we don't cave in to what's popular and what's the easy track to take and join in with the coarseness and the crudeness and that kind of thing but rather stand for God.

[17:39] Even though we might stand and face mockery and criticism and scorn that we'll stand. We'll do the manly thing. And how can we be such men? It's God who makes the real heroes.

[17:53] It's God who makes the men of God. As we get closer to Him as we draw closer to Him in faith that we'll be real men who live life on purpose. The life that God's called us to live.

[18:05] To be like Adam. He had a battle to fight. He had a work to do. He had God's will to obey and He had a woman to love. It's God who makes real men those real heroes who will do God's will.

[18:18] In Psalm 94 16 it says Who will rise up for men against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for men against the workers of iniquity? He says who's going to stand up for men who's going to stand up for men?

[18:33] It's time for the men to stand up. To stand up to be strong to be courageous in whatever sphere of life we can in our workplace our home place in our everyday place to be those men that our world needs the church needs men who is your God be a man a real man a Christian man a man of God how about you just bringing it down personally as I wrap up now how about you?

[19:03] Have you lost your fight? Man of God have you failed? Being honest don't lose heart don't lose heart you can start over you can start over you can start again you know the word tells about the righteous fall seven times but every time God picks them back up again they get back up on their feet again we might get knocked down but we're not going to get knocked down the real men will get back on their feet again they'll dust themselves off and they'll get back on their feet again and stand up amen and so you might feel I have failed I feel like I've messed up big time I've blown my testimony I've been a poor witness for Christ I'm ashamed of myself when we are weak he is strong and even when we get to that point where we've reached the gutter we've reached the lowest of the low that God doesn't give up on us he just wants us to stand up again stand up again get back in the fight again be strong be courageous don't let anything deter you it's been said that the real heroes aren't those who necessarily start well but they're the ones who finish well it might be the ones who failed and get back on their feet again you know there's some examples

[20:26] I've given of men of God there's many examples of men who weren't men of God people like Eli also the good father for example and various ones that you know Saul we can choose to be a Saul instead of a David you know we can choose the wrong path and miss God's best for us so there's many examples of men who messed up but thankfully there's examples of men who did mess up and got back on track again men like David for example he did a shocking evil thing and yet he was called a man after God's own heart because God restored him and God can restore us when we feel like we've messed up we've fouled up we've blown him we can get back on track again and God will lift you up so don't lose heart you can start over if you're in that situation today and commit today that you're going to be a man of God commit to be strong to be courageous you can finish strong you can finish strong and and and and and and and and

[21:36] Thank you.