Manliness
Introduction
A. 1 Kings 2:2 Be strong therefore and shew thyself a man
B. David wanted his son, heir, prince to be STRONG!
C. Strong is defined as MANLY
D. 1 Peter 3:7 husbands must dwell as men with knowledge -- giving honor to their wives -- as the WEAKER VESSEL.
E. Romans 15:1 the strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak. Therefore it is incumbent on men to be the protectors, soldiers, hunters, providers, etc. for their families and for their neighbors.
F. 1 Corinthians 16:13 Watch ye, stand fast, quit you like men, be strong -- be manly!
G. With strength comes responsibility: to provide and protect.
I. Historical Lessons of Manhood
A. Titanic ''Women and children first" -- Law of the Sea -- Birkenhead Drill was exemplified 50 years later, 1850. The men and sailors stood at attention in military file on deck as the ship sunk until the women and children in the lifeboats were sufficiently far away to prevent any swimmers from reaching them. Some of the men then survived the great white sharks that devoured many of them as they tried to swim to shore. Their nobility was on the minds of the men of the Titanic fifty years later as that ship also sank putting the women and children first on their lifeboats.
1. The French ship La Burgoine of that era (of the French Revolution and their famous humanism and atheistic philosophers) threw the women overboard and the men survived in the lifeboats.
2. The Chinese ambassador protested the Titanic sacrifice of the men saying that had the ship been Chinese, the men would have been first, then the children and last the women.
3. At the funeral of John Jacob Astor, richest man to perish on the Titanic (who gave his seat to a third class washer woman), across town there was a parade for women's suffrage led by Margaret Sanger (founder of Planned Parenthood and advocate for eugenics) and John Dewey the humanist founder of the modern public system. They too protested the "law of the sea" which did not treat women as equal with men. They missed the point as do their heirs today: the men were heroic dying to save their women and children.
4. Today we put our women in the military and they have died in great numbers in our last war. That would never have been done by real men.
B. Genesis 3:16-19 Adam and Eve given roles according to their gifts
C. Genesis 6:12-17 God spoke to Noah.
1. Noah, the man, husband and father had to build an ark for the saving of his house
2. Hebrews 11:7 by faith Noah saved his family and thus preserved humanity! What a manly deed!
II. God Made Covenants with the Patriarchs
A. Genesis 9:8-9 covenant was made with Noah, the man - father - husband and his Sons
B. Genesis 12:1-3 God called Abram, the man, and made the covenant that reaches down to us
1. Could not fulfill the covenant alone. Sarah played her role as his wife.
2. Hebrews 11:11 by faith
3. 1 Peter 3:5-6 as a holy woman, called him "lord"
C. Genesis 14:13-16 Abram armed his servants and rescued his family
D. Genesis 15:5-6 God covenants with Abram.
1. Where was Sarah when the angels came? in the tent listening
2. Genesis 18:9-15
E. Genesis 19:15-17 Angels commanded Lot to escape and TAKE HIS WIFE. As the man responsible, he had to rescue his wife and family.
F. Genesis 22:1-3 Abraham stood alone as he was tested by God
III. God Placed Men on the Front Lines
A Genesis 32 Jacob faced an army of 400
1. prayed for his family, v. 1-12
2. wrestled with the angel, v. 22-30, for the benefit and blessing needed for the family.
B. Genesis 30-41 Joseph, the man, saved his family in Egypt
C. Exodus 2-3 God raised up Moses, the man, to deliver and lead Israel out of Egypt into Promised Land
D. Leviticus: All priests were men. Numbers: All soldiers were men. All twelve spies were men.
E. Samuel - Kings: All kings chosen by God were men. The queens that ruled by presumption and were evil.
IV. Jesus chose twelve men to be APOSTLES to blaze the trail
A. Matthew 10 like soldiers receiving marching orders, v. 22
B. Twelve "witnesses" chosen to stand
1. Healed the sick, cast out demons
2. Beaten, stoned, beheaded: Acts 5, 7, 12
C. Elders -- Acts 20:28-29
1. Charged to take the manly to task of protecting the flock from the wolves.
2. Inspiring words of a man spoken to men: v. 18-38.
Conclusion
A. Christians must teach the unbelieving world what true manhood is both by word and deed.
B. Faithful men will save, protect, and provide for their families and for their neighbors with their very lives. Just like Christ did.