Show Yourself A Man!

2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, 3 and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn," -1 Kings 2:2 (English Standard Version)

I would like to thank Keith Davenport for putting together the prayer breakfast this past week. The men of our church had food, fellowship, and prayer. It was an excellent opportunity to pull men together for a biblical reason. I was asked to say a few words, and I shared the above passage with our men. In this section of scripture, King David is sharing his dying words with his son Solomon, who would become king in his place. We all lean in a little closer when someone is giving us their dying words, so Solomon took these words to heart. I would like to share four observations from this text for how we can "show yourself a man":

1. Be Strong- It saddens me that when I see most any television show today, the husband is shown to be stupid, weak and childlike compared to his wife counterpart. We are called in this passage to be strong in our minds, our leadership, and our souls. The wisdom that David shows here, is he encourages Solomon that his death is not the end of the world. David reminds his Son to lead his family and God's people in the wake of his death.

2. Be Courageous- If you read on in this chapter, you will see that David instructs his son concerning his enemies. He tells him whom should not go unpunished and who should. As men today, we have many enemies that seek to destroy us. With pornography more available than it has ever been, we need to be courageous for our families. Remember we are not just betraying our vows to our wives, we are betraying our children. They need to see us model courage in the face of enemies.

3. Walk in the Ways of the Lord- Perhaps one of the most important pieces of the puzzle is the need to walk in the ways of the Lord. This means we must be men committed to the spiritual disciplines, which include discipline of studying God's word, prayer, service, worship, stewardship, evangelism etc... We are called from this passages to produce the gifts (1 Corinthians 12:8-10) & fruits (Galatians 5:22-23) of the Spirit.

I love the prayer below that Pastor Darren Patrick prays with his sons every night:

“God, make me a man with thick skin and a soft heart. Make me a man who is tough and tender. Make me tough so I can handle life. Make me tender so I can love people. God, make me a man.”

Now more than ever we need the men of the church to arise and lead in the way that King David instructs. I ask that the men of our church would show themselves to be a man!