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A Cry for Real Men
II Timothy 3:1-5 reads "This know also that in the last days perilous times (hard times) shall come. For men shall be lovers of them own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasure more than of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." In these tough times, the world is crying out for strong men. It needs men that can overcome the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the proud of lief. (1st John 2:15-17) "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away and the lust there of: but he that doeth the will of the Father abideth for ever." This world needs men that can discipline themselves and live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and manifest the glory of God in this present age. We are living in tough times; we need to realize it will take a strong man to live through these times. ONLY THE STRONG WILL SURVIVE A world on the brink of disaster doesn't need fainthearted men who lack the backbone to take a stand for righteousness. Fainthearted men long on compromise and short on conviction can be identified by the following characteristics: 1.) unwillingness to face hardship, 2.) inability to discipline self, 3.) refuse to face reality, 4.) resistance to reproof and correction, 5.) acceptance of the world standards, 6.) desire for fleshly gratification. As the world situation gets worse, there is no room for fainthearted. Only the strong will survive and prosper. You see a hero is an ordinary man submitting himself to God doing extraordinary things in times of adversity. One man demonstrated perfectly the traits of a hero. He was a man of maturity and great spirit, able to accept the responsibility not just for His own actions, but for the actions of the entire world. He taught men only by losing one's live could it be gained. (John 10: 17-18) "Therefore doeth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to taketh it up again.: He demonstrated this by laying down his own life on behalf of others. In His life and teaching, He left us the principle to make us heroes. In America, we can't mention is his name in some public owned places. We dare not use his name in prayer in political gatherings. Yet despite the effort of evil forces to erase Him from society's consciousness, His name from our currency, He continues to teach men how to rise to greatness in Him. That Man is JESUS CHRIST. He is not the christ of the new age religionist, not the great teacher of philosophers. He is the Christ, the son of God. (Matthews 16:16) "... thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Only men of strength and courage will weather the coming storms of life. But the first and most important resolution to make is to surrender your life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Once you have done that, the spirit of Christ comes to live in you, enabling you to become the man God created you to be. That inward present of Christ recreates the spirit of a man and renews his mind and will give him that inward spiritual desire to do God's will. God will inscribe his commandment on the tablets of your heart. (II Corinthians 3:3) "But in fleshly tablets of the heart." Only then will you experience the joy and fulfillment of true manhood. The first man, Adam, was made from the dust of the earth and our sustenance stems from it, sin gave man (Humanity) a downward direction, we fall in sin or stoop to something low. Unethical practices are beneath us and when we collapse morally, we hit bottom. This earthiness is natural to man unless we pull upward. Long after Adam first sinned, we read the apostle Paul list of the works of the flesh, which are qualities of a downward pull. (Galatians 5:19) "Now the works of the flesh is manifest (evident), which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness (sensuality), Idolatry, Witchcraft, hatred, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God." You see, when God is absent from our lives, we are naturally drained downward, but the Spirit of Christ, through the new birth and His resurrection power, enables us to live above the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life. You see a new creation in Christ Jesus has a power the unregenerate can't imagine. To have the mine of Christ and be led by the spirit of God is to be able to think, act and be motivated by a Supernatural sense far greater than the physical sense. Because the world has become perverted in their thinking and actions, the human will is subject to a tug downward. You see, God created human will to a.) weigh reason, b.) balance motives, c.) pursue a fixed purpose, d.) choose good or evil, right or wrong. When Adam chose to obey Satan instead of God, his act of self will brought the whole human race into bondage to sin and death. But our will does not have to be captive to sin. Men who are born of the spirit and submitted to Christ Jesus are free. They weigh their reasons, balance their motives, and set their minds on a purpose and choose how to accomplish it. Besides our will we have a conscience that allows us to judge ourselves and approve or condemn our conduct. The first step in freeing our conscience from the downward pull of sin is to confess our sins and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness and cleansing. (1st John 18-9) "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and the word (truth) is not in us." You see, Christ died on the cross, shed His blood to purge our conscience from dead works. Another step in overcoming the lust of the flesh is to spend time in God's word (the Bible). When we study and memorize portions of scripture, the holy spirit renews our mind and programs our conscience to think correctly. Men, you have to set the example in your home. Men, we need to exercise authority in our homes, not as a dictator, but as a true leader. Being nice is not always being loving; letting your sons and daughters do what they want to in your home is not loving them. True love has restraints and standards. If we are people of love, serving a God who is love, then His love is in us and will strengthen us against fleshly lust and restraint over behavior. So the selfdiscipline of a Godly man is training that perfects our character and behavior in the likeness of Christ. Discipline is an important tool in overcoming the downward pull of sin and allowing God to work His will in us. Men, if we do not discipline ourselves, we will not be able to justify disciplining our children. We must have discipline in our own lives. Men, I pray that God will help us all to reach that perfection (maturity) in Jesus Christ. Let's seek for perfection. (II Corinthians 6:1) "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection;" May God richly bless you with all spiritual gifts and the knowledge of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Men be Blessed. Brother Delmas Scott is the Associate Pastor of the New Testament Missionary Outreach in Twin City.
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