Today’s man

This is the outline for talk given at Ulster Temple on 15th May 2010.

The three points: Today’s man need to be better:

Lovers
Labourers
Leaders


Lovers

‘Our Father who art in heaven’ Matthew Chapter 6 verse 9

This is an important verse to me for two reasons:

1, It was the first verse of Scripture I every learned at home. My dad began teaching me the Lord’s Prayer at bed time when I was perhaps 8 years old. He wasn’t a Christian at the time but it was the ‘Protestant’ thing to do… teach your kid the Lord’s Prayer and send him to Sunday school every week.

2, It was a very controversial prayer in the day Jesus said it as He was introducing God in a new way to the Jew’s. They had always emphasised the holiness and fear of God and now Jesus was introducing something new… He was saying “call him Daddy”. Not that we don’t fear Him but this was something new and challenging to the culture of the day. This verse introduced me into a relationship with God I didn’t know you could have.
Jesus was calling us to an intimate and loving relationship with God.

Many men have lost that idea of a loving relationship today, we have a messed up view of love and this effects how we love others, love God and appreciate His love for us. This love that comes from a heavenly father is unlike anything that the world can offer, it’s not egoistic and self centred and it’s unconditional. We may not have all had brilliant fathers but I hope we can appreciate what Jesus is saying.
To call Him Daddy we need to surrender to His presence and embrace His love.

Man today need to become better lovers.


Labourers

Read Proverbs 6 v 6-11 and Chapter 24 v 30 – 34

Here you will read the story of the sluggard. One dictionary today translates the word sluggard as ‘an inactive man who watches a lot of television’. Or in my words: A lazy couch potato. The U.K today is filled with lazy couch potato men.

T.V marketing body thinkbox last week released the statistics for this years T.V viewing figures for the first quarter of 2010.
Up 8% on last year the average British viewer now watches 30 hours and 4 mins of T.V per week! That’s lazy… very lazy. More shocking is the fact that 18 hours and 29 mins of this time are commercials!
Men today are becoming like the sluggard in Proverbs Chapter 24. Their business, church, family life and economy suffer because many men can get their hands out of their pockets and away from the remote control.
Men need to be labourers, workers. We need to be working in our churches; working to support the needs of our world and in working we become positive role models for our children. It’s not just about money. The bible says a slack hand tends towards poverty.


Leaders


In Numbers 14: 7-18 Joshua had a good report but he wasn’t a good leader!
He had no influence and people didn’t follow him.
Many men have great ideas and opinions, often God given, but they have no influence. If we can’t take people with us on the Journey we fail as leaders.
When a leader has little influence little will be accomplished.
Let’s be men of integrity and influence.

Joshua would eventually become a great leader and man of influence. In Joshua 24 14-18 he does lead the people into the Promised Land with these words “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua learned to be a leader by serving Moses but also by leading at home. “As for me and my house”. Before we can become successful leaders in our church and community we need to become successful leaders at home.

When a leader puts his family first the church benefits.
When a leader puts the church first, then his family and church will suffer.

Today’s generation are crying out for leaders… young people are coming out of School, College and University and they still have no idea what to do with their lives; why? They need leaders to follow, to motivate them and take them forward.

Conclusion:

What kind of man will you be today?

Let’s intentionally be men who learn the art of love, who work for His glory and lead by example.
Go on take up the challenge.
Today people often make an L shape with our hands (index finger pointing up and thumb at right angle to it) as a symbol of a looser.
Tomorrow in church challenge the men to put an L shape up as a declaration that we choose to be Lovers, Labourers and Leaders.