FATHERS: Fortress or Faade

Lindsay, June 9, 2012 Pr. Ruben Dario Sanchez

I warn you ladies this message would be for usmen. I want to talk to you about being willing to stand alone. There are 2 examples that I want to focus on; One is Elijah, whose life is incredible. The other is Jesus. No one was more of a man; no one was more willing to stand alone than Jesus was. I.- FIRST LET ME SUMMARIZE THIS PHENOMENAL STORY OF ELIJAH and his confrontation with the prophets of Baal. The first time we see Elijah is in 1 Kings 18. He is told by God to go and announce that there will not be rain on the land until he says so. Baal worship had become common and Baal was thought to be the god of rain so
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what better way to put that god to rest than to stop all rain. Elijah makes his announcement and then leaves. After a couple of years, the wicked King, Ahab sends another prophet Obadiah, a good prophet, in one direction while he goes another. Obadiah runs into Elijah. Elijah tells Obadiah to go tell Ahab that Elijah is here. Listen to this passage which shows how strongly Ahab was looking for Elijah:
1 Kings 18:9-12

"What have I done wrong," asked Obadiah, "that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. But now you tell me to go to my master and say, Elijah is here. I dont know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesnt find you, he will kill me. 1 Kings 18:9-12
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Obadiah did not want to take the chance on giving Ahab this good news, only to find that God had called Elijah away. I think he assumed that Ahab would kill Elijah, so God might call him away to save Elijahs life. But Elijah convinces him that he will be there when he comes back. This is what Ahab says: When he saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?" I Kings 18:17 Elijah debates that point briefly but then sets up a challenge to prove who is the true God. This is what happens: Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebels table." 1 Kings 18:19 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but
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if Baal is god, follow him. But the people said nothing " 1 Kings 18:20-21 Elijah was looking for someone man enough to stand up with him, but no one would. The story is a great story, so I encourage you to read it later, but right now I want to discover how Elijah was able to stand alone. What made him man enough to do this? Personal dangers didnt matter to Elijah. The mob may have been ready to lynch him when he came, but he didnt care. Elijah was Gods man, in Gods place, at Gods time. Do we have the same attitude as Elijah? Do we want to be Gods man in His place and in His time? We live in a society that wants to neuter manhood. People want us to believe that there is really no difference, it is all learned behavior. Because of that, we are raising a generation of men that do not know what it means to be a real man.
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I am going to tell you what I believe to be the traits of manhood in the life of Elijah and especially in the life of Jesus. Men and boys, I want you to know that if we want to be a real man, we will have these traits. These 4 traits come out of a book called Raising a Modern Day Knight by Robert Lewis. The first trait of a man is I. A REAL MAN REJECTS PASSIVITY. Elijah was told to go and present himself to Ahab. He knew that was not a safe thing to do but he could not be passive. He does so and sets up this challenge with the prophets of Baal. But there were others that day that were passive, sitting on the sideline, seeing what would happen. So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but
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if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing. I Kings 18:20-21 Did you hear the passivity? But the people said nothing. Elijah was man enough to stand alone, but passivity kept others from joining him. Anyone who has been around boys knows that they seem to possess a natural aggressiveness to initiate, to explore, and to achieve. They are much more apt to trip their younger brothers tackle their sisters and punch each other in the arm. Though it varies from man to man, this inbred aggressiveness both physical and psychological is not a learned behavior; it is innate. It is part of being a man. But, for some reason, men of every age become passive when it comes to initiating this action in their homes, with the families, and in their communities. Why? The reason is found in the biblical Genesis. In Genesis 3, the serpent approaches Eve with a tantalizing proposition.
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He convinces her that the forbidden fruit is actually the path to life. Satan tempted Eve with the promise that if she takes one bite, she will be like God" (Genesis 3:5) The stage is set for Adam to intervene. After all, Adam has been given responsibility of the garden the prohibition against eating fruit was spoken to him. God has given the first man a will to obey (dont eat the fruit) A work to do (cultivate the garden) And a woman to love (Eve). These are his explicit responsibilities as a man. We fully expect Adam to come running to cut off the serpents head, and end this heinous approach of evil. But confronted with his social and spiritual responsibilities, Adam becomes, of all things, passive. Have we ever wondered what Adam was doing while Eve was being propositioned? Most people assume that he was absent at the time, communing with nature or tilling the soil. Not true.
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He was right there, watching his wife contemplate moral and spiritual suicide. Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Genesis 3:6 Did you hear it? The text says she gave some to her husband, who was with her. As naturally aggressive as Adam was when the moment of authentic manhood arrived When he was called upon to act responsibly To take charge spiritually And protect his woman Adam just stood there. He went flat. He became passive. Have we ever wondered why the Bible constantly calls men to love their wives, spiritually instruct their children, and responsibly lead their homes? The reason is because men have a fallen nature that actually bends away from these responsibilities.
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It comes with maleness. It comes from Adam. Yale sociologist Stephen B. Clark says flatly, men have a natural tendency to avoid social responsibility. Without a vibrant, spiritual solution, this pattern of passivity grows effortlessly. It is now more and more prevalent in men and it is breeding death to our culture. Families cry out for men who will do more than tune out when they come home from work. Kids want dads who are involved dads who provide moral and spiritual direction Dads who are affirming and life giving. Women want men who will protect them, not use them. Society needs men who will stand for moral absolutes. But we must stop and ask, where are these men? And what will come of our families in their absence? Pauls answer is almost too painful to bear: In Adam, he says, all die. 1 Cor. 15:22.
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BUT THERE IS A SECOND ADAM JESUS! Unlike the first Adam, who stood flatfooted in the face of evil Jesus initiated He refused to do nothing when sin encroached upon the created order. He was spiritually and socially aggressive. Listen for the action words in Philipians 2:5-8 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Philipians 2:5-8 Real manhood begins with a decision to reject social and spiritual passivity when nothing is the most comfortable and natural option. In verse 21 of our text Elijah literally says, "How long will you limp between the two opinions."
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Men passivity makes us lame. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Rev. 3:15-16 What is that passage talking about? Was written to the church of Laodicea that have become passive. They arent taking a stand or leading in any way. Why should we be more involved? Why should we reject passivity? Studies say children with involved fathers are: More confident and less anxious in unfamiliar settings Better able to deal with frustration Better able to gain a sense of independence More likely to become compassionate adults More likely to have higher self-esteem More likely to have higher grade-point averages More sociable A real man rejects passivity.
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II. A REAL MAN ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY. What did Adam do? He blamed Eve and God. This is the most common excuse today; It is not my fault. It is my parents fault Or my school, or my boss he doesnt pay enough. We want to blame everyone. Like Adam, Jesus was also given 3 specific responsibilities from his Father. Our Lord was entrusted with a will to obey (His Fathers) A work to do (redeem the lost) And a woman to love (the church). According the Psalm 40:7-8, a passage that is decidedly Messianic, Jesus accepted those responsibilities with great enthusiasm. Then I said, "Here I am, I have come-it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." Psalm 40:7-8 What an incredible contrast with the first Adam Who rejected Gods will Said no to Gods work
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And refused to love Gods woman. On all 3 counts, JC did the exact opposite. Jesus accepted responsibility and so should us. Men.In challenging you, I challenge myself to accept the responsibility of making your marriage the best it can be. Do whatever you have to do Pay whatever price you have to pay to make your marriage work. You say, You dont know my wife. She is just unbearable at times. You see her here when she puts on her happy face. Yes, that is true, but I do know that you accepted that responsibility when you said, for better, for worse standing before a pastor. You said, I am going to stay faithful regardless. Now, are we man enough to do it? Will we accept the responsibility? Also, accept the responsibility for our children. Statistics show that children are far less apt to remain faithful to God if their father is uninvolved in the things of God.
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It is not our wifes responsibility to raise our kids, it is ours. Now does that mean she does nothing? No, but this is not a message to women. This is a message to men. I challenge you to accept the responsibility. 1. Reject passivity 2. Accept responsibility and III. A REAL MAN LEADS COURAGEOUSLY.
1 Kings 18:21

Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing. Elijah was leading courageously whether anyone was following or not. There were 450 prophets of Baal AND 400 prophets of ASHORAH 850 to 1 Let me tell you something men. Standing alone is one of the most enjoyable things we can do when we are standing with the truth. Now standing alone with a lie or standing alone with sin is no fun Some of my best memories are times that I stood alone with the truth.
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In the last days there will be a lot of people sporting a brand of Christianity that looks and sounds good but will be powerless. We are living in those last days. The world has seen enough fakes. Theyve seen enough empty-headed two-faced, finger-pointing big talking, wimpy acting, church-playing, Godless-living, non-giving, Until Friday but Sabbath morning worshiping Christians! Elijah is about to teach us a lesson we should already know: that kind of Christianity its worthless! **When life put us down, weve to have something real or well be exposed as a fraud. **A watered-down gospel will never light anyones fire for Jesus. **And a thousand wishy-washy Christians will never have the impact of one man thats on fire with the genuine power of the living God! Were making an impact even when we cant see it.
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If were faking it we look like a Christian on the outside but inside we know all the powers gone out of our lives lets pay attention. God wants to light our fire again. I hope and pray we all walk out of this place on fire! Authentic men were designed to lead, not follow. In 1 Corinthians 11:3 Paul states it this way: Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 1 Corinthians 11:3 We were created to lead spiritually. Adam relinquished his leadership in the garden when he refused to step forward with Gods word and lead his wife. This inaction is precisely what many men are doing in our generation passively yielding to the feelings and emotion of the moment instead of aggressively leading with Gods truth. After fasting for 40 days, Jesus was taken by Satan to a high mountain and shown all the kingdoms of the world.
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He then offered our Lord this promise: "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me" Matthew 4:9. This, of course, compares to Satans similar pattern of temptation to Eve and to Adam: Eat and you can have it all! For 40 days, the Father had led His Son into desolation; in one moment, Satan has shown Him delicious realms of glory. The contrast could not be stronger, and the contest between passions and principle within Jesus heart and mind could not have been more powerful. Yet, this second Adam possessed a courage the first Adam lacked. Like Adam, Christs emotions cried out for surrender to the seductive glory being offered Him. But His will was resolute. His reply energetically resonates with the fiber of authentic manhood: Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." Matthew 4:10 Away from me is a commanding cry of manly leadership.
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The OT quotation Jesus then recites from Deuteronomy 6:13 illustrates His embrace of truth. The courage to lead with truth rather than surrender to feelings always separates the men from the boys. Joshua also decided to lead courageously. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15 Men, lets make that our theme! Reject passivity Accept responsibility Lead courageously and IV. A REAL MAN EXPECTS GODS REWARD. The Baal prophets had prayed at least 6 hours and nothing had happened. Elijah stepped up to his altar and prayed a 63-word prayer.
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His prayer was constructed to accomplish three things. A. That God be glorified. B. That the power and presence of God be shown through Elijah. C. The people recognize that God was stirring in their hearts. Elijah could have prayed for rain, but he did not. Why? He knew that as badly as rain was needed the people needed to understand God even more! We may think we know what we need in our lives but, in truth the greatest need we have is to get exactly where God wants us and serve Him. That was the heart of Elijah and it should be our heart as well! Manhood is challenging. The first Adam defected for another glory being offered him. Clearly, many modern men are defecting for the same reason. But biblical manhood was never intended to be burdensome.

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Instead, real manhood was designed by God to be liberating and a means of great reward. Jesus has set the example as a truly authentic man. Listen to Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. [2] Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 What kept Jesus in the race? What internal motivation carried Jesus to the cross? The anticipation of joy! Great reward. It was the joy set before Him that allowed Christ to finish strong. Every man needs to have this same perspective if he is to succeed. Moses was certainly motivated by this principle. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of
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Pharaohs daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Hebrews 11:24-26. The lawgiver of Israel pursued authentic manhood because it promised great reward. If we think the call to manhood is A call merely to heavy responsibility And dutiful sacrifice Then we have completely missed the example of the second Adam. Yes real manhood is at times rigorous It demands courage and requires sacrifice. But, it is primarily a call to life! I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Cor. 2:9 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding
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promise for both the present life and the life to come. 1 Tim. 4:8 Men, I submit to you that my own quest for authentic manhood to whatever degree I have achieved it has been accompanied by great gains and rewards. No one does anything for nothing. I believed that the manhood of Christ is a manhood of reward. Men, let me put it this way. If the only reward we strive for is a paycheck on Fridays, we are a pitiful dude. There is so much more than that. But that is why men arent involved in their homes. That is why men dont take the responsibility for their marriages. That is why men dont get involved in the church. The greatest reward they see is their paycheck and they dont get paid for any of those things. But men, listen carefully to this. There are lots of rewards much more gratifying and more satisfying than a paycheck.
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When we get involved in the things of God, it is amazing what we see happen. Then things happen that we could never pull off on our own. We start to make a difference. And it is not just a difference here on earth/ it is a difference for eternity! Now God wants us to live for Him that means everyday Im to put my body on the altar and die to self. so I can live for God. God and self both cant be on the throne of our hearts at the same timeto receive Gods help we must put Him number one. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. Ephesians 5:25-28 I have thought over the last years about what would make a man fly a plane into a building or blow up a car at a checkpoint.
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At first I thought those men were brainwashed, maybe even a little crazy. But when I think about how we are as men, I think about how much that fits into who we are. I think most men would love the challenge of giving ourselves to something bigger than ourselves. They just havent found what that thing is yet. I know you have heard the phrase remember the Alamo. It is a story that illustrates about 187 men against the Mexican army of over 6000. They were extraordinary men but they knew they couldnt win with those odds. They had sent out requests for help, but they had gone unanswered. At some point Captain William Barrett Travis realized that reinforcements would not arrive in time and they were sure to be defeated. In a stirring speech he explained to his men the gravity of the situation. He told them that they could surrender or fight and face certain death.
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He drew a line in the dirt and said, as for me, I have decided to fight until I die. Anyone who wants to join me, step across this line. All but one crossed the line. They knew they couldnt win. They fought anyway. And they all died. Because of that they are all heroes and thousands visit the Alamo every year. Why did they do it? Why didnt they all like that one, slip out the back during the night and get away? Ill tell you why. Because a man loves that challenge. A man loves to give himself to something greater than himself if he can just find it. Do we realize that is how this country and many others countries were founded? When those men signed the Declaration of Independence, they werent sure they could defeat England. But they were sure that it was worth dying to try. Men I have a challenge for us today.
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Like William Barrett Travis, I am going to draw the line in the sand. But I am not asking you to cross the line to die. I am asking you for something greater and tougher. I am asking you to step across the line and give yourself, but live. Rom 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of Gods mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1-2 Rather than die for your wife, why dont you live for her? Rather than die for your children, why dont you live for them? Rather than die for Christ, why dont you live for him? Perhaps the day will come when we have to die for one or more of those things. Maybe we will see persecution in our lifetime. Maybe one of us will have to give our life for our wife or children in the midst of some crime. Maybe one day that will happen.
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When it does, if it does, I pray that I am ready and willing to stand alone. I pray that you will be willing too. But that day is not today. Today we are called to step forth and live. The invitation today is a little different. Men I am challenging us to come up to the front and say, I am going to follow all four of those traits. I am not asking to work on one, or even the one where we are weak that would be too easy and I dont want to give us an easy challenge. I want us to come up and say, I am going to do all 4. Will you come and live?

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