We stuffed up! We gave up our manhood and we’re now trying to redefine it. Maybe watching State of Origin or saying “mate” will do it… but I don’t think so.

What happened? The 1960’s saw a social revolution. Teenagers were seen as a group independent of their families. Feminism challenged traditional roles. Contraception ruled out the necessity of relationships for sex. The 1960’s placed a bomb under social order as we knew.

Only problem, they didn’t replace it with anything. This is why everyone talks about the 1950’s family- it’s definable. All the social revolution left was freedom to do what you want. Since then abortion has increased, divorce has increased, single parents, sexually transmitted disease have increased. Social responsibility has diminished, community life has diminished. In other words, we haven’t gained much. And by the way, we have yet to feel the full effects of this social experiment.

A major casualty is manhood. Feminism attacked this and reproductive technology made men feel redundant. So we crawled into our caves and went quiet.

And that’s where we stuffed up. We need to be men. We need to understand what manhood looks like. We need to be Men of God.

Now you may want me to talk about being wild at heart or a warrior. Personally, I don’t think this is what manhood is about. It’s just a way to try and reclaim lost ground. Let me give a quick overview of what I think manhood looks like:

Men are made in the image of God. So manhood means being a man of God.

If you love your V8/4WD, you can be a man of God. If you drink cappuccinos and play computer games, you can be a man of God. If you have a family and work 60 hours a week, you can be a man of God.

Over the few weeks I am going to explore what a man of God looks like. Here’s an outline:

Man of God

Image bearing, stewardship and relationships

Integrity

Success, money, sex, perseverance

Family

Single, married, married with children

Ministry

Serve His People, fulfil His mission, mentor others

If you are interested in being a man of God, start by praying that God would develop and use you for His glory. Then start reading His word. Finally, read the articles over the next few weeks and be a man.

I want to finish with a quote from Sam Allberry, whose desire is that “21^st century men will be set free from the slavery of human expectations, and enabled to live purposefully and confidently for Christ as true Men of God”

But the trust goes further. We trust in God’s word despite appearances to the contrary. So Abraham trusted God’s promise that he would have a son even though he was 90 years old. Habakkuk trusted that God would do what is right even as he watched a brutal empire sweep through his country. Both Abraham and Habakkuk lived by faith in God’s promise.

So what has happened to Christians today? Why have we focussed on results? Why do we need success before we commit ourselves to a church or godly living? It seems that we have slipped into the trap that somehow results tell us how we are doing. A big church is a truly blessed church. A church that prevails is a church that God is using.

Yet the Bible tells us that if people hated Jesus they’ll hate us (John 15:18). We are told that Christians will suffer (2 Timothy 3:10). We have a whole book (Revelation) that describes persecution before Jesus returns. We are also told to hang in there and trust that God will deliver us.

The picture of the Bible is not large congregations and instant success in whatever we do. In fact, it may well be that in proclaiming the gospel we are ostracised or imprisoned. The Bible calls for faithfulness, not success. It’s worth looking at Philippians where Paul rejoices from a gaol cell. Not exactly a picture of success, but that’s because he views things from God’s perspective.

As Australia becomes more secular Christianity continue to be marginalised. So we look for reasons to keep going at the Christian life. Just a little success would help. But it doesn’t always work out that way.

So we should live by faith. That is, we should trust the Bible when it tells us how pe0ple will react and the difficulties we will face. We need to trust God’s promise that it is worth it and so endure to the end.

Can we please move from results? Let’s commit to the life that God wants us to live because that’s what pleases Him. Let’s trust that God is in control and working in the world to save people. Let’s move from KPI to prayer.

So we set up new laws. The anti-terror laws started in 2004, taking away some of our liberties. Over the last three years more than twenty new pieces of legislation have been enacted to “enhance” security

Then there is the financial cost. Last year the United States spent US$250 billion in the war on terrorism, whilst Australia has spent $11.5 billion.

So there are 2 questions I have

          1) Are we safer?

The total number of Australian deaths from terrorist attacks since 2001 is 160. Over half of this group died in Bali. So that’s on average about 20 deaths a year. If you compare that to the 300 Australians die each year from murder it is quite a small number. And when you consider that the deaths due to terrorism have taken place outside of Australia it shows that we are safe, but not safer. There are still other tragedies which occurred before September 11^th that can still impact on our lives

It’s the possible threat that concerns us. The “What if….?” The problem is that we don’t feel safe, and we need that feeling. So along as the feeling is there, we will go to greater lengths to protect ourselves.

          2) Can we be safe?

Here is my real concern. We believe that the world can be a safe place. Yet history is against us. Try and find the last decade in world history when there was no war. You’ll be going back centuries.

And we can’t avoid death. 12,600 people in NSW die of cancer each year. 550 people in NSW will die on our roads. Each year 500 people will die from a workplace accident and 2200 will die due to exposure to hazardous substances. Then there’s bushfires, air disasters, floods and drowning.

It is a political dream to believe that we can be safe. This world is not safe. And we are not powerful enough to deal with every problem. We are not the ALMIGHTY.  So rather than being nihilistic or seeking to solve every problem, we need to learn to trust in God who has allotted our days on this earth. We need to realise that “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away”, and that God has appointed a day when He will judge the world with justice. It’s only when Christ returns that we can truly feel safe.

We need to make decisions in life. These decisions will have benefits, but will also cost us. The classic example of this is found with lifestyle choices.

 What do you want: more time or more money? Answer- both. Great answer, except no-one has both. So you need to make a choice.

 Now you could choose the money path. The top 20% of Australian households earn an average of $1886 a week (net income). That’s fantastic! Except, to earn this amount of money they need to work over 50 hours a week, leaving very little time in their lives for anything but work.

Let’s look at the next 20% of earners. They earn an average of $790 a week (net income). that’s 2.4 times less! But these people work at least 10 hours less each week. This allows them to have a weekend with family, to play sport or go out with friends.

My point is this- you have to make a choice. You can’t have it all. Your life will be marked by money or mates, property or past-times, overtime or outdoor activities. It’s up to you which path you take, but please weigh up the cost. So many marriages are being detroyed by people who thought they didn’t need to make sacrifices. Now they are paying the ultimate price. 

- promotes social values

- visits the sick

- runs Sunday services

- maintains a Christian community

 Now I’ll probably be involved in all of these activities, but they’re not my main purpose.

So what is my job? To talk with people about Jesus.

That’s it. If you’re a Christian, I’ll discuss what it means to be Christ-like.

If you’re not a Christian, I’ll discuss how Jesus calls for you to follow Him.

This raises the question: Why is Jesus so important?

Well the Bible says that He is the Christ. Christ means the one God chose as ruler.

Now we would all like the job, but it has been given to one person. He is now the one who calls the shots and directs the action. Let me push it a little further. Paul the apostle talked about Jesus, because he thought that we should obey Him (Romans 1:5). As confronting as that is, it’s the truth. Jesus is the only one who can grant eternal life. Jesus is the only one who can bring us to the Father. Jesus is also the end-time judge.

So my aim is to help people become fully devoted followers of Christ. I don’t mind where people are at, my aim is to help them move along. Now I’ll do this in Sunday services, in small groups, in Scripture classes and in individual discussions.

So if you’re interested in talking about Jesus, drop me an e-mail (reads@tig.com.au) and we’ll have a coffee. We can talk about where we each come from and consider who Jesus is and how He changes our lives.