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Man Up! (Before Labeling What is a Man?)
Posted : 8 Jul, 2008 12:13 PM
Man Up!
Read Romans 11:2-5
At the center of every true desire and longing is our deep hunger for our Creator. The psalmist David wrote, �As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God� Psalm 42:1. A man, whose mind, will, and appetites {or affections} that have been honed and realigned by the Word of God, searches for more out of life than would a man of the flesh and world. Our understanding of ourselves depends on what we think and how we feel about God's Kingdom and His purposes for our life. In His word, God has revealed the specific guidelines for the roles, relationships, and responsibilities for men and women in his kingdom. Our beliefs about what makes a boy a man and what makes a girl a woman affects every area of life. The problem facing the church today is our misunderstanding of these roles between men and women. We've mixed some biblical beliefs with our own man-made worldly beliefs, and they have drawn certain things to us that have nothing to do with God. Yet, we think it's good. If we, The Church, hope to get with God's purpose and on the right road, then we are going to have to go about it His way. You may disagree, but I'm convinced that most of us have the wrong mind-sets that must be broken and replaced with truth from God's Word. Now, catch the vision, and meditate on this truth.. When searching for the truth, please understand, No! We don't search for truth trying to find Jesus, You find Jesus and you get Truth. �Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.� John 14:6
Through the Prophet Jeremiah, God declared �I beheld, and lo, there was no man,...� �Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem and see now, and know, and seek in her streets, if you can find a man, if there be any that execute justice, that seeks the truth; and I will pardon it.� Jer 4:25, 5:1. In these scriptures, God wasn't looking for just any man. He searched for a �real man�, one who would be found faithful to the Lord. When things fall apart and are out of order and God wants to redeem a nation or raise up god-fearing families he searches for a man who will execute justice and seeks the truth. Why did I say this? Regardless of what we think, in Gods kingdom the man is held responsible for everything. Now, before you start cursing me out, let me explain, now, follow me:
In Genesis 3:8-10 the Bible reads: �Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, �Where are You?� He answered, �I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.� When things fell apart in the garden, God came to visit, and He specifically called for His chief gardener Adam. Yes, Eve had her part and had her sins to confess, but God called for Adam first, because God held him responsible. Like it or not, men are held responsible. Why? God holds men responsible for all the pain we see around us, for every mistake made, and he also holds men responsible to take the corrective actions we need to make to turn it around. Listen to what God is saying: �The reason God's order and structure is messed up today, it is because too many men refuse to take up their cross daily and follow the King. (Luke 9:23) Now, if your marriage is on the brink of destruction and your home and children are out of order; as men, it's our job to fix what is broken, protect what is threatened, correct what is wrong, rebuke what is in error, confront what is out of order, and heal those who are wounded. Everything that can be shaken is shaking, and everything that can be shaken loose is being removed today. Enough is enough, it is time to take a stand, it is time to �Man Up!� I'm on an assignment and I'm determined to upset you, because The Father is upsetting me! Don't get upset, get Holy!
Do you want to be free? Do you want to turn it around? It is time to accept what it means to be a part of God's Kingdom. God is once again calling every man (the sons of Adam) because he still holds a man responsible. It is time to take responsibility because too many innocent people are hurting and dying. Somebody must have the courage to stand up and make his life count, a man must make his voice heard, a man must be willing to take the lead and take all the criticism, a man must be willing to be thrown down for what he believes in. A man must follow in the footsteps of �The Greatest Man� and willingly lay down his life to save others. We'll complain about how worse it's getting from generation to generation, but who is willing to go to battle for the next generation?
God called out: �Where are you?� and Adam confessed, �I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid. I hid myself because I was naked.� Adam told God in his own words, �God I'm mad at you, and I'm mad at her, You gave that woman to me, and she messed up.� Too many men are hiding, because they are afraid. Why? For the same reason Adam hid himself in the Garden. He was unable to accept the responsibility God gave him. God didn't buy Adam's excuse then, and He isn't buying our excuses today. What is God saying? Basically, God communicated this: � Look, Adam, I don't care what she did. It doesn't matter what your children will do in the future. I don't care about all of that; I'm coming to you because you are responsible. As long as you keep blaming others, you will never do what it takes to accept responsibility and move to a better place.�
How do we start turning it around? First, �The Church� need men and women who have their priorities in kingdom order. Why? God expects every man to rise from spiritual infancy and become a kingdom man, fully absorbed in the Father's business. We must spend time with God; He will quickly show us who we really are: �Men who rises early to seek the face of God. Who knows how to lift their hands in prayer, and who knows how to bow to the ground in humility and call on the name of the LORD. Men who pray without ceasing because they know it is one of the secrets to their power and authority.� See, when a man is in position in God's Kingdom, he exercises true authority in every area of life. When a man submits to the will of God and yields to the work of the Holy Spirit, God plants a unique ability in him to awaken the masculinity in a boy and release the femininity in a girl. God created men to tend and to take care of his treasures on Earth. He expects us to cultivate everyone and everything He places in our care. A man is personally responsible to teach and �wash his wife with the water of the Word.� In other words, our duty is to be a pastor to �the church in our own home�. That means we need to study to show ourself approved. (2 Tim 2:15). You know what gets me? Most young and some not so young men today, don't know anything about the Father's business. It seems they are afraid to accept their true identities and become a living and walking kingdom model. Because nothing holds them to a higher standard, they are not seeking the presence of God Their eyes are on the world and the flesh, and not on God's Kingdom. Let me make an announcement: Many people equate being a Christian with being a weakling, a wimp or �Jesus is a crutch!� You're right, What's yours? Women, Alcohol? We are all trusting in something, but will it support your lifestyle or lead you straight to hell? If Christianity is a crutch, then give me two. I desperately need Jesus to guide my life. Without Him, it was headed straight down the tubes. If being in His kingdom cramps your style, ask yourself, where is your life headed? We need to come to our senses and realize, �We don't know everything, and we never did. To tell the truth, we don't even know what we're supposed to be doing. I just want to fight the good fight of faith and just get there.� God wants us to acknowledge our weaknesses before him because it puts the Holy Spirit in charge of those areas. �You don't have to be ashamed to be a man of God!�
Now, If you are a man, ask yourself this question? �When did you become a man?� Paul proclaimed: �When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.� 1 Cor 13:11. What was Paul really saying? �Manhood has nothing to do with age.� Listen to this: �Many men still act like little boys because they never had a distinct moment in their lives when they were called into manhood. Therefore, they refuse to take responsibility because they think they are still being judge as a child.� Whew! �That was deep.� Now, meditate for a moment and here it again. �Many men still act like little boys because they never had a distinct moment in their lives when they were called into manhood. Therefore, they refuse to take responsibility because they think they are still being judge as a child.� When did you put away childish things? Can I speak in love for a moment? Lets see what this means? First, most single, excuse me, this includes some �MARRIED� men, have no vision and no morals that holds them to a higher standard because they have no responsibility for or haven't accepted responsibility for a family or children. They are constantly trying to prove or impress others in the pursuit of women for the satisfaction of their own �sexual aggression�. Since I'm being honest, �when a man's sexual aggression rules his true identity, he is nothing more than a �wolf among sheep�. In other words, Manhood has nothing to do with or is about the size of your �Ego!�
Think on this: If more men would take responsibility for where they are in life and for the people God places in their life, how much weight could be lifted from the shoulders of single mothers, widows, and the fatherless. As a man speaking to a man, I encourage every man to say: �I have to put away my childish things, even though that is not my child and that is not my wife, I feel their burden. As a man, I have a responsibility to tend to their needs, because a man is called to care for God's garden and the treasures he has planted there.� A mature man will exhibit the character of Jesus Christ residing in him. The same truth is applicable to all people, male or female; a mature individual will stand for truth at all costs and �until we � become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ� we will..................................?
Let me close this out. What am I saying? We have so many households struggling to survive and being supported by a singel parent (usually a female)! And a man had to be there at least once for those children to get there. Man Up! We joyfully call Him Lord as long as he is feeding us, blessing us or answering our prayers. We'll shout at the devil from a couch, keep up with all the latest sports scores, run after all the new dress styles. But when he calls us for something outside of our comfort zone, who is willing to rise up? This is not about how much money you make, what kind of car you drive, who are you trying to impress, how many women you got, or the job you lack. Listen to me, God is calling! We may need to clean out some junk in our closets, and that's okay! Because this has everything to do with God's power to heal your mind, and to restore your life, and to establish order in this Earth. Now, answer the call! But, here's the catch, �It can only be released through a kingdom man, not a little boy or an older, pretending man.�
When was the last time, your son or daughter saw you on your knees, really praying to God? When was the last time they needed you and you was there? When was the last time you looked into their eyes and gave them counsel filled with godly advice? Let your children know, they don't have to flaunt their bodies, they have more to offer than beauty or sexual favors for uncaring men, run after every style and every new hair do, tell them to keep it in their pants. Let them know who they are and don't settle for anything less, focus on the Christ like character God is molding in you. If you are not convinced, it's not to late. In His mercy and wisdom, God only wants to give us the best for our life, and His Best is the Best! Next time you see your wife and your children, tell them: �It isn't your fault, I have decided to take a stand and accept the responsibility for what is wrong in our home. I also accept the responsibility to do whatever it takes to fix what is broken and correct what is wrong.� I am a man and responsible for the order of God. I will cover everyone placed in my life, uplifting words and deeds will flow into their lives and hearts from the gifts placed in a responsible kingdom man. In the name of Jesus, Amen:peace:
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