And you guys look so amazing. Can I say that you just look great and it's been a privilege of mine to be able to go to different campuses and see what God is doing Among Us with you and of course knowing the story of being downtown which seems like forever ago and then watching what God is doing in you now and we've been in a series called as it is if you've been here, if you not let me recap it real quick. The very first week Carl said if you want to see the kingdom of God come now as it is in heaven, then you learn to love God with all your heart and love your enemies. Well, that's powerful. I mean if you get that like you've got it man, like if you go hey, hey, I'm gonna love God and I'm gonna love people that maybe I don't like maybe I've done things in my life that I don't enjoy and then Craig talked the next week and what a great word about marriage how the kingdom of God comes into your marriage when you build your marriage on the foundation of Jesus Christ, and as you're growing he drew the little thing on the deal and I wanted to do that.
I didn't know we could do that and we had the ability to do that and he drew the little triangle and as you get closer to God you get closer to each other. And I love that. That's the kingdom of God coming in your marriage. And then I talked about how marriage is for one man. And one woman for a lifetime.
It's a covenant relationship and we kind of walk through that you can go back and look at that and then last week. I love it Jones County and I loved it because I heard one of our campus pastors preach and they all preached on the same topic of reconciliation. Where God is reconciling the world through his son Jesus and he has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That that's one thing like people ask me all the time. Like when you're a church for the young Church.
What happens when you become churched? Well, you don't sit there you go out and you begin to share good news. And you reconcile other lost people to Christ. You say Well in that predestined, yeah it is but they don't know it. That was deep.
You have to think about that when you get home, but the reality is yeah God calls people, but you don't know who they are. And we have to go and we have to tell them we have to create environments and and the best time to be alive is when you're in a church and you understand that God has a plan for your life for you to share with other people. So the kingdom of God can begin to build. Now not today. I want to talk about God's plan.
As it is in on Earth as it is in heaven with regard to man. Mankind, man So today we're going to talk about God's plan for men because I believe now where you are, but I believe that men are almost an endangered species I mean when you look at our culture, everything else around us is being like hold the slip this up. Oh, let's lift this up. Oh, let's lift this up. Oh, there's a man.
Let's put him down. And we're seeing the results of what is happening in our culture because 41% of the homes that have children in them have no man there. I'm talking about not even like a husband even a boyfriend. And you're beginning to see how how you know, I love you know that we we want to raise women up and I don't get the chance to preach on this yet. But but we you know God's got a plan for women.
It's an amazing plan. But but now in college there are 30% more women in college than there are men. The depression in men has grown ten times. I mean never before have meant faced as much depression and anxiety. As they do today and I think it's because they're believing the lies that our culture tells us and that is you're not good enough.
You can't change. And I want to encourage you if you're a man to know what God says about you because he's got a great plan for you. And I we want to build you up. We want our dads. We want our sons.
We want our brothers, you know husbands we want to build you up so you can be all that. God has called you to be now. Now the culture is going to say this is how you need to look. You need to be a rugged Man. If you're an older man, like Kevin Costner, you need to write a horse.
Or Dwayne The Rock Johnson, you know, you need to wear a tight shirt and bust out of it. And you know for most of us that's not possible. I mean I can but for a lot of people it's hard and my son matter of fact met him in Jamaica one time. He's just a regular guy and you know, so it's not like he's all all that or rich man. Like like Steve.
Is it Steve? Jeff bozos, Jeff Bozo. I mean bezo Jeff bezo Bozo. You don't have to be rich and have your own spaceship or or have all Lebron James. You don't have to have billions of dollars and and be 16 and be great.
You don't have to be romantic like Brad Pitt. I mean most women wouldn't mind it. But the reality is Brad smokes a lot of weed has been divorced to a lot of beautiful women. So it doesn't have to be that way Matthew McConaughey. Every time you see him, he's got to take his shirt off.
I mean, he's not even running just take his shirt off and everybody's like what you don't have to be that way to be a real man. Matter of fact Genesis is going to tell us the Prototype. Of what it means to be a real man Genesis chapter 2 verse 15 and you're going to see God's plan. This is from the very beginning and how we set it up and it's a good plan. It doesn't put women down it elevates women, but it also says that men have a role to play in her culture that nobody else can play.
Chapter 2 verse 15 the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden to work it and take care of it. This is before the fall. So work is a good thing. And the Lord commanded the man you are free to eat from any of the trees in the garden, but you must not eat from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil for when you eat of it. You will certainly die and it didn't tell Eve that she's not been created yet.
He says Adam you're going to be at the person in the family. It's going to lead out and share the truth with Eve and I'm telling you don't either this tree because you'll die. Then he said it's not good for a man to be alone. Amen. I will make a helper suitable for him and have the Lord God had formed out of the ground.
All the wild animals are the birds in the sky and they brought into the man to see what he would name them in. Whatever the man named each living creature. That was his name. So the man gave names to all the livestock the birds of the sky and the wild animals, but for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep and while he was sleeping.
He took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib that he had taken out of the man and he brought her to the man and the man said you are now a part of my body. We are bone of Bones and flesh of Flesh. You'll be called his Shah for you were taking out of ish. Just man, that's why man leaves his father and mother and his glued to his wife for eternity and they become one flesh.
And Adam and his wife were both naked as we say in Mississippi and they felt no shame. Now I'm going to give you four things, and if you write notes down, or if you want to go to the app, this will help you because I don't want you to ever forget this message. Because this is the most timely message I could possibly preach. And there are four things that God has a plan for every man for you to take for you to put this inside of your mind. If you'd allow him to to make this happen in your life.
Here's the first thing a real man Treasures the word of God. He Treasures the word of God. When God said Adam look you can enjoy everything that's here and I'm telling you this before you get here and your kids get here. You can enjoy everything there is but there's one tree don't eat of that tree because when you eat of that tree you're going to die. See men need it simple, you know if we don't have it simple we struggle and and here's the simple message.
It comes from the command of God. You can have all of this and in this great because you have all of this. Okay every bit that's here. It's amazing. It's wonderful.
I'm gonna give you even she not gonna have any clothes on and you're gonna make this thing work it's going to be amazing. The only thing I ask you is don't go and eat of this one tree. See the Bible is very simple. He says Adam don't eat or you die. Don't eat you die.
Don't eat you die. Listen to Ten Commandments. You can only have one God. You cannot have an idol. No Idols.
No misuse of God's name. Do not miss the Sabbath. Don't disobey your parents. Don't murder. Don't commit adultery.
Don't steal don't gossip. Don't Cove it how simple is that? I mean even if you don't believe the Bible and you don't believe God if you hang on to those 10 things you'll have the very best life. Our culture would be amazing. I mean think about how few shootings we would have if you just had those Ten Commandments.
You stay with us the Old Testament. Did you know that the New Testament was written in Cohen a Greek koine? It's called Simple Greek. It was a it was the language of the poorest people. I had to take that in College and Seminary and didn't seem simple to me, but it was the simple language of the day written on the sixth grade level.
Me and you can know the word of God. You said well how I'm gonna give you four ways you can treasure the word of God and make it real simple for you. The first is you've got to read it. You have to read the Bible. That word if I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Listen, I don't know about you man. But but when I'm going through Instagram and all of a sudden, they come up with these little deals, you know, where the tiktoks and all that and if I didn't have the word of God if I didn't have the spirit of God in my life, man. I would be in so much trouble. You read the word of God you you meditate on the word of God. This what the psalmist says.
He says blessed are those whose Delight is in the word and they meditate on it day and night. You want to help your thought life you get some scriptures in your life and you know, just read them and you kind of put them like somewhere where you can read them in your car and and you begin to meditate you begin to memorize those and and then you begin to hunger for the word of God. Listen when you understand, it's like the psalmist says in Psalm 42. He says he says like the Deer Path after the watered Brooks. So my soul thirst in hungers after you you share the word of God.
Whoever two or three are gathered together when you're reading the Bible and you're talking about the Bible man. It does something for you. It encourages you. Listen, man. We need other Godly men.
We need to be around Godly men that are limited above us or at least where we are to point out to blind spots we have. Because we got so many blind spots. Sometime back Hunter call me said hey you want to go skiing? He said I'll pay for it. I like yeah, let's go and and so we were we were at Steamboat Springs and and we were getting ready.
I had skiing a long time. I know you know, and I'm running but I'm fit and I thought I'm ready to go. And and so what do you laughing about? And so I threw my skis down and put my skis on and I'm you know pushing up to the line and and I'm Lotus noticing there are hundreds of people in line that are all holding their skis and I'm thinking why are you holding you skiers? I mean like we got to go man.
We got a rock and roll. I mean don't you know how to ski And so I'm kind of looking around and there's Hunter holding his keys. And I said even my sons calling they're all making a mistake. Every single one of them are they should have their skis on man. We'll hurry this thing up.
We're rocking roll and and we're getting on this Gondola. It's a finally this guy and I think because I hit his wife with my skis and she's standing there. You know, I can't hear he goes and me I can speak like this and you can understand it. And I translate that man why you got excuse them? And so I looked around and I thought well, you know.
While these people making a mistake and in the reality was to get on the Gondola you couldn't have your skis on because they put him on the outside. Every man needs a man in their life that says. Hey man. Take your skis off. Take your skis off.
It don't you know that what you're doing is crazy. That's not the way it works. You need men in your life who will challenge you to take a leadership position. I love what God Said to Joshua and Caleb and it's kind of humbling. He said he said look Moses is dead.
I mean, I know he was 120 years, but he's dead. Now you go and you take over this promised land and you be strong and courageous because I am with you. Listen, every man needs another man to challenge him to step up in the leadership that he has for his life. Here's a second thing a real man loves God's woman. That's good.
How Man was created Adam they took some dirt I mean men are kind of dirty. The dirty people if you've been married very long, you know that they just kind of nasty people. So he takes the dirt and he breathes into the dirt. The nefish of God forms Adam out of the dirt and and you would think well, he's gonna do that with the woman. No.
No, he takes a part of the woman and the real and he forms out of the rib a woman to be brought close to his side. Listen, there should be a tenderness between a man and a woman. The man is to be a covering the man is to be a protector. The man is to be a shield. You say why is that because the woman belongs?
To God listen every woman that's listening to my voice. You're a daughter of God. You were God's girl before you're your husband's girl or your or your kids mama you belong to God. So so if you're a single man, can I talk to all the single men that are here and you may be young and you're starting the day or you're thinking about dating you need to understand something about women. They are to be cared for and not conquered or consumed.
So if you're dating just kind of put that in your head he goes. Oh my goodness. I can't believe I came today. Yeah, you came today. Listen, you you're dating either your wife or somebody else's wife.
I mean dating is a big deal. You said he hadn't dated a long time. I know but I used to date. And the same principle is true. You need to date for marriage and not date for divorce.
Single Ladies all the single ladies I don't know anything about culture a single ladies. Listen. Listen, if you're dating if you're going out with somebody, maybe it was somebody right now have high standards. Have high standard you say well, I'll never get a date. You don't need to date those guys if you got to have low standards.
Because here's the reality ladies I do this for a living I talk to people all the time all ages and I I hear these same stories, you know, you know when you're dating and you're doing these things and you're doing those things you don't feel good about them, but you I got to do those things. Guess what you got to keep him with what you want him with. And they'll come a time in your life. We don't look the way you look right now. I know that's hard to believe.
Like if you look at my high school album, I look a lot the same. If there were two of me, I mean like like your body changes. You know Alicia and I were dating a man. We were we had this great ground. I hate it because man I was at Mississippi College and and we just had this romance and man.
It was just like, oh it's unbelievable. And and the reality was, you know, I didn't realize like hey when you get married and think sometimes they change and it took a while took a few months and and but then we got jobs and here's the thing once you get a job. I mean all of a sudden you don't have the energy that you had when you were dating in college all those things you took for granted now you got to go to work. Then we had children. And and everything changes.
So here's the reality ladies if if you elevate, you know, your standards. Guess what the guy will Elevate his standards. Trust me, it works it works this way. Because when you say now there's some things I'm not doing. I'm not doing that.
I'm I'm God's daughter. I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do that. You know what he's gonna do. He's gonna step it up.
He gonna step it up and then step it up and then step it up. That's the way that works dads of daughters. Can I give you a word? From a dad with two daughters who are married and two granddaughters that you know, I hope will never date. Don't let your girls date boys.
You said what do you mean whether 18? I don't mean they're a man. I mean you can have children like 14 13. I didn't make you a man. I mean when somebody comes into your daughter's life, I mean you start thinking about like like this is a boy.
Is this a boy. Is this a man? And you you have that right? I mean, I mean Beth Anne our oldest, you know, we learned on her and I remember one time she brought Goldilocks to our house. I never forget this and then he walks in and the first thing he did he had like a leather wristband on his on his arm and his keys and doing all he first thing he said hey Jeff.
Then they walked into the den. And Goldilocks plopped down and Papa Bear's chair. He put his feet up. And I gave him the Christian stink eye. And he's dead now.
But you know, that's the way that works and and I still remember I was standing Beth and saw this happening and she was like Dad won't you come in the kitchen? I said, hold on a second if Dad come on in the kitchen. So I kind of Walked In My Eyes on him. He's not anyways, he's gonna steal and so we get into the kitchen and I'm like honey. What is wrong with you?
If you lost your mind like this guy's got to go home now and you're staying with me. And and he went home and he really is dead, but it's my house my rules. You say but but but I bet your kids don't like you. I don't like them either. That that wasn't a part of the deal the part of the deal is I am the man here.
Okay. I got to be the Daddy. I got to be there protector because this is my daughter. But this is God's daughter. Because he who finds a wife finds a good thing.
He finds a wife. Finds a blessing. And I can tell you that after 41 years. It's just gotten better and better and better and this morning, you know, I was trying to get up and get Daniel so I could pray and do all the stuff. I need to do and Alicia started snuggling to me.
She kissed me on the shoulder and said I love you and I thought I'm sick. I'm not gonna be able to preach the day. I mean, it's just amazing. Like it never gets old like 41 years later. I mean like it's just amazing.
It's incredible. Okay God's giving you a good thing. You know, I've never three a real man works for God and not man. Guys listen work is a gift from God. There's nothing that helps a man flourish like a man working.
Like a man using his gifts and doing what he can to provide and to work because God blesses work. In Genesis chapter 3. The only time work became difficult is after the fall of Man and and work was difficult because you're going to work by the sweat of your brow and things aren't going to always come together. But the reality is there's nothing worse than a board man. There's nothing worse than a man who's not working.
In America today, there's seven million able-bodied men who aren't working. You say what are they doing? They're playing the game boy. Minecraft you see the look what I built look at the house I built. Call of Duty oh God here going Australia, I'm gonna go straight you.
I don't think that's God's plan for man. And even when you get older didn't change when you're working God's doing something in your life. I love what Caleb said when they said. Hey, we need somebody take the High Country. He says I'll do that.
He said I'm just as ready as I was when I was 40. We'll take that we'll work. It's no big deal. I got it. Listen vocation in the Latin means calling.
And whatever you're doing with work, that's your calling. About like my work. I know that I I get it that's part of the Fall. But that is your platform not just to paycheck. That's why Paul says in Colossians 3:23, whatever you do now get this whatever you do.
Work at it with all of your heart as unto the Lord. Because he will repay you in eternity because you are working for the Lord. You said but I hate my boss I get that. But here's the thing in Colossians 4:1 your boss has a boss. And when you understand that you're working for somebody that may not be Godly.
They may not be doing the right thing. God sees them. And you keep working and you keep praying and here's the reality you keep praying and learning from things that aren't right doing things differently you walk in one day your boss man may not be there. He may be dead. I mean you never know.
What all God is going to do in your life when you're serving him and not man. God's got you. He's got a plan for you. Here's the last thing. A real man leaves that Godly Legacy One of our church fathers said the glory.
Of God Is a man Fully Alive? Man you matter to God. You matter to your family. There's a leadership principle to every man whether you feel like you're a great leader or not. There's a law of the lid.
That your family will never go past your leadership. That's why I always want to grow and I always want to learn and I always want to kind of push the envelope because I never want to be the reason my kids. Stop growing. Your kids are following your lead. Not your wives laid.
I I hate to say that but it's just it's proven. I I can give you statistic out statistic out statistic. But here's one I'll give you and here is the reality when when the mother takes the family to church. There's a 17% chance that the family will end up coming to know Jesus and continue in church. But when the dad takes the family to church There's a 93% possibility and probability that that family will come to know the Lord and continue in their faith.
And you're so important. I mean you 60% of our church is women and we thank God for you because without you we'd be in trouble. But man, we need you. Did you know that the third most populated weekend the most attended weekend of worship? You know what it is.
There's there's Easter and there's Christmas and there's Mother's Day less than a month later, you know the least attended service of the year. Father's Day you wonder why is that? Because everybody knows that church is important to Mom, but for Dad not so much. Hey, the best thing you can do for me. Let's just stay at home today and have steaks and we'll the reality is that your family needs you.
You said but I can't do it. Like my dad did it listen when David who was a warrior king looked at Solomon and he said be strong and show yourself a man. He didn't say be like me. He said you be strong with your gifts and you show yourself a man and that's what Solomon did. Son was an incredible Builder he built so many things in Jerusalem.
If you go there now, there's so many things that he built that are still there. He wasn't a warrior. He was a builder you be you you take the mantle just don't be a passive man. You're the one thing I've learned in Ministry over 40 years. Is it the families and marriages that struggle are led by passive men?
Cancer to her culture. Genesis 3 Verse 6 it was Eve who took the apple and I think about this. This is in the next chapter. She sees the tree and she goes hey, you know, we're not supposed to really do that. Well, would you would you like to me looks good.
It'll taste good to make us wise would you like? Would you like some well, I don't know whatever you think wherever you want to eat. And so she takes it and she eats it and she gives it to Adam. And he eats it. Passivity and when God comes into the garden, he didn't say Eve.
Where are you? Why did you eat that Apple? You know, he says Adam. Where are you? And Adam being The Godly man.
He said well, you know, I was asleep when you made her. And I was fine. And you made her and I haven't been able to control her since and she gave. That's true. You go back and read it and she gave me the apple and I didn't she deceived me and and I ate and and you know, she's in this side of the house at home Lord and you put her here and see minutes easy to be a tiger at work.
And be a slot at home. Would you dealing at work man? You you making decisions people follow you man them you're rocking and rolling then you get home and you fall down in your chair with the remote. Like Goldilocks just And you wonder why your family is struggling? Here's the good news, and I'm done.
Man, it doesn't have to be that way. And let me tell you how you can begin to move forward with victory in your life and in your marriage and in your family and in your date life. You get comfortable? With being uncomfortable. You start saying, you know, I want to do this and this is gonna be fun and I deserve this then you go.
Wait a minute. I got I got this and I got that and I got some responsibilities and a little uncomfortable with it when you get comfortable with that. Because the more you do that the more you're gonna lead your family. I was watching the Ukrainian hockey team a few weeks ago. You might have seen that on Good Morning America and and I just caught a glimpse of it and they had that they brought the team over from Ukraine to New York to play a game and and you know, it's just trying to encourage them and help them and and they had one of the kids.
He's like a big big Brew kid, you know, and and they kind of hey, I want you to see something and they put the FaceTime of his dad in his face and and and he started crying. And the reporter, that's how reporters do because why are you crying? He said because my dad. Is fighting for me. My daddy's fighting for me.
Well, I'm out here playing. He's fighting for me. He's not perfect. But he's fighting for me. Jeremiah said something that I think it's one of the saddest verses in the Bible next to Jesus wept.
Where God said through Ezekiel He said I look for a man. Stand in the gap on behalf of their family and the people. And I found none. You know what I wanted to do today before we rush out of here, and I know you want to be, you know, the Methodist and you're still, you know, beat the Presbyterians everybody be surprised materials to launch and the bottomless mimosas are over now. And so Episcopal has already hit that and it's over.
He might have not offended that you can think of. So would you just simmer down before you run out like, you know do whatever it is you got to think you got to do. Because what we're about to do is more important than the sermon. I'm going to ask you well, they're singing Craig's not coming back out right now. He'll come out at the end, but they're going to play and and they're gonna sing and I want to invite you to join me.
In praying for the men in our life Maybe your dad. It may be your your son. For me, it's my sons and my grandsons. And I just tell you I'm determined. For all the boys in our my life to follow Jesus whatever it takes I know you think I'm being I'm not trying to be funny.
I mean like I fall them to school. You know, I'll go up there. You want to call it popo on me? That's fine with me. I know more.
They're gonna get saved. When they go parking with a girlfriend sneak up on my golf cart. Flashlight I'm on twist and work and pray and fast. Till there's no breath left in my body. I refuse to leave this earth.
Without my boys knowing Jesus standing for Jesus. And stoned on me. I can't always be with him. But you know who can Jesus our son man. He tried to do so many things when he was young and we'd prayed when he was little God.
Let him always get call. It's it's true we did and he did the dumbest things possible. We caught him every single time and busted him. And we still I'm still busting him. But it's worth it.
So here's what I want to do. I want to spend just a moment. I'm gonna pray for us and we're gonna stand and sing before you bold. Would you come down and pray for the men in your life? Maybe your husband?
Maybe your son? Maybe your dad. Maybe your uncle maybe your boys? You know whoever it is because men need prayer. They need God to help them because man they're giving up.
I've never known a time where man we're thinking about giving up like they are right now. I've never known a time when women would talk to their husbands the way they do know. I've never seen anything like it. And we need men her willing at times. You got usually a strong-will woman or Mary a guy who's more passive and kind that's why they got together.
So why they stayed together and there comes a time when you have to kind of kind of put your foot down this I do this with Elation it's hard because I know I'm gonna pay for it. There's sometimes I go, you know, we're not doing that. I mean I have to him and struggle, you know, because no we're not doing that now we can't do that. We're not doing that. You're not doing that.
That's when it gets real. Maybe it'll come pray for yourself. That God will help you be the man. He's made you out to be. Father I pray for our men God I have a heart for men.
And God, I can't put this desire and vision into their minds and hearts. I can't do it. In our culture is trying to do the opposite. So father I pray for the next few moments that God you would honor the prayers of your people for the men in our lives. And that God we would be the man God has called us to be that God.
We would honor you by treasuring your word that we would work hard that we would honor your daughters that we would leave a legacy. And father, I pray all of that would begin. Right now in Jesus name I pray.