Be strong and take your place as a man of God. I want to tell you that there

is one for each of you. But no one is going to hand it to you. God has

already done that. And I want to give you some reasons why each of us

need to step into what God has planned for us. Then we will talk briefly

about the how, and then we will be finished.

2 Kings 2:1-4, “Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and

he charged Solomon his son, saying: “I go the way of all the earth; be

strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the

Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His

commandments, His judgments, 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; that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me,

saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with

all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man

on the throne of Israel.’”

Prove yourself a man is what we read in our English translations, and that

is a good and appropriate rendering of the Hebrew, however a literal word

for word translation would give us these words of David. Be strong, and

take your place as a man of God. It’s there. Your place is there. God has

designed it for you, called you into it, and when you step into it, He will

enable you for it…, but we have a charge, the impetus is on us, to take it.

To take our place.

We do this for several compelling reasons. First, for the Lord. To honor

Him. To respond to Him. To acknowledge Him for who He is which is

King, Savior, Lord, and Hero. Our General and our Comforter. Our Father

and our Master. Psalm 29:1-2 says, “Give unto the Lord, O you mighty

ones, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory

due to His name!”

Let me ask you. What glory is due to the Lord? For all that He has done

and for all that He is!? Just one element of what He has done. If you

believe that He has alone paid the comprehensive debt of your aggregate

sin, He alone has done that for you simply because He is good, simply

because He loves you, because He chose to take care of you, saving you

from eternal hell, giving you an eternal place in a kingdom of light, if that

is all He did (and it’s not), but just for that, what kind of response is He due

from me!? I cannot even put it into words… But I know, as a man, I know

what I owe Him! And I incessantly and intensely desire to repay in all my

strength!

Second compelling reason to take your place as a man amongst the men of

God is simply for yourselves. The best, most profitable, most

advantageous path you can choose for yourself is the one designed by a

God who is perfect in all His ways and faithful in all His words! And over

and over again we are given the infallible promise through countless

scriptures of the multiplied benefits of trusting the Lord. And so, we honor

God for the betterment of ourselves. We honor God for the shear wisdom

of it!

Proverbs 3:9-10, “Honor the Lord with your possessions,

and with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled

with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine!”

Proverbs 22:4, “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor

and life!”

Deuteronomy 28:1-9, “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the

voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments

which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high

above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you

and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

“Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and

the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of

your flocks. “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when

you go out. “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be

defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and

flee before you seven ways. “The Lord will command the blessing on you in

your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless

you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. “The Lord will

establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if

you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways!”

The third compellation that we all have to take our place as men of God is

for the work of the kingdom! Each of us are designed intricately and

uniquely and each of us can do something or somethings that no one else

in all of creation can do! God has called us to be a body. The Body of

Christ is the church. We must all do our part lest we limp. Lest we numb

and hinder one another and stifle the work of God, not only in the church

but in our homes, our workplaces and in the world.

1 Corinthians 12:27-28, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members

individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles,

second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings,

helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.”

Romans 12:4-6, “For as we have many members in one body, but all the

members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body

in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts

differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them!”

You do not become a man, according to the authority of the Word of God,

you do not become a man of God without serving in the work and mission

of God. And give whatever excuse you give and its not good enough.

The men of the church should be formally serving in the ministry of the

church. Thank God for those of you who do, and today I call those of you

who do not to take your place as a man of God in the work of God through

your church!

Finally, we are compelled to take our place as men of God very much for

each other! It is a biblical truth that all we need is the Christ. Paul said in

Philippians 4:11-13, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned

in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know

how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full

and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things

through Christ who strengthens me.”

Very true. We strengthen as we individually grow in the Lord to the point

that we can endure much more, achieve much more, capable of much

more… AND, it’s also true that we are strengthened by each other and by

the faithfulness of the men around us.

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, “Two are better than one, because

they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his

companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to

help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how

can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two

can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

What’s often not considered is that Paul’s famous statement that he can do

all things through Christ who strengthens him was immediately followed

by him writing in Philippians 4:14, “Nevertheless, you have done well that

you shared in my distress.” Here’s the point and the plain fact. When you

don’t take you place as a man amongst men, you hinder the men around

you…

Moses needed Aaron, Gideon needed his army, David needed Samuel, Paul

needed Timothy… Jesus in sending out His disciples to the work of the

ministry never sent them out alone…, He sent them out together…

So, what is taking our place as a man, growing up in the faith? We’ve

discussed that. Why? The compelling reasons of for the Lord, for

ourselves, for the work of the faith and for one another. We’ve discussed

that. Let’s talk about a few of the how’s. There are others than these but

these are essential ones to cover…

We take our place in worship. We become strong in His Word. No more

excuses. We learn the Word of God and we make the Word of God the truth

to us. Men that don’t know the Word of God that have been in the faith for

a long time are pathetic. And men that don’t internalize the Word of God as

truth are weak in the faith. We take our place as men of God in becoming

strong worshippers of God and becoming strong in His Word.

We take our place in integrity. We become strong in our word. We

become men that are dependable, that show up, on time, every time, or we

let folks know we are going to be late. When we miss, we hold ourselves

accountable and let those whom we run this race with know we are going

to miss. No more being absent and unaccountable. That is for children, not

for men. We become the man that others depend on… In whatever

circumstance of life. We have 10,000 teachers, but not many fathers, why?

Because we have so few men of God in the family of God.

We take our place in warfare. We become strong in our preference

towards others, kindness towards others, patience in offense towards

others, we take our place in the capability and appetite to suffer so that

others will not. We do what others will not do. We become strong.

We take our place in service. We outserve one another. We fill gaps. We

ensure all that is needed is provided. We take responsibility and radical

accountability for every community and circumstance we are in…

This is the only way. Take up your cross and follow Me, Jesus said… And

this is what is so desperately needed of one another and in truth, what is so

desperately needed from ourselves.

Be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the

Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His

commandments, His judgments, 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.