Setting: Men's Ministry Conference
Length: 45:53
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Setting: Men's Ministry Conference in Milpitas, CA, January 2009
Title: Operation: Gender Responsibility, part 1 of 3
Commentary: As part of a series, this presentation is about creating gender responsibility. This is part 1 in which man's responsibility is modeled after Christ and how the man must be concerned about the spiritual growth of his woman.
Main Scripture: Ephesians 5:25-28
As you listen, select, copy, and paste the following outline:
Operation: Create gender responsibility (part 1)
-responding to the loss of gender responsibility, we need to go back to Scripture and find it
Males and females must discover their gender responsibility
-the responsibilities are different
-if this was a women’s conference, I would be speaking about a completely different strategy
Gender identity and responsibility is tied to the image of God
-take a look back at Gen.1:27 and see that God created man in his own image
-and if you study the biblical concept of gender differences, you will see that gender reflects the qualities and responsibilities that God himself has
-so, that’s the concept we start with
-we….as men….are a reflection of God
-the more we reflect God, the more manly we are
To be more specific, we reflect God when we are like Christ
-the Bible says that Christ is the model for the man
-and if you model your behavior after Christ, you will be manly
-for example: 2 messages I heard
1. Christ making a whip and chasing out the businessmen out of the temple
2. Christ walking past the crowd at his hometown
Christ-like responsibility
-what I mean by Christ as our model is to see Christ as a savior and learn from the way he treats the church
-that will be our main source of modeling
-in this sense, Christ is very manly
-now, the Bible is specific about this reflection
-the clearest passage is Ephesians 5
-here, we are going to see that…
-God created the man to reflect the son of God
-Eph.5:25-28
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
-it is clear that the man’s gender and responsibility is a reflection of the son of God
-to love the woman…protect and provide for her
-not because she is weak and helpless…a damsel in distress
-and you the hero coming to her rescue
-but this is simply your responsibility before God
-so, let’s unpack this and see what it means to be a real man like Christ
-let’s look at what Christ like responsibility is
-but first, we are going to need some room, so let’s….
A man is like Christ when he concerned about the spiritual growth of his woman
-he’s going to take a personal interest in…and invest in the personal growth of his woman
-he will look at it like it is his responsibility that she is doing well spiritually or not
-if she doesn’t grow, he will take it personally
-sure, she is responsible for her growth
-it’s like a coach taking the growth of his players personally
-if a guy continues to complain about his wife, he does not understand what it means to be a man
-R. C. Sproul said
After marriage, the biggest single influence on the wife is the husband…..the wife a man has is the wife he has produced. If she is a monster, maybe he ought to examine his own nature. (Sproul, The Intimate Marriage, p.45-46)
-Eph.5:25-28
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
-this cleansing work with the Word of God is the process of sanctifying the church that Christ does
-Christ uses the Word to grow the church spiritually and to present the church as radiant before Him
-and this sanctifying work is compared to the work that the husband must do with his wife
-it’s easy to deflect attention away from your responsibility to lead by saying that it is a team effort…and it is
-it’s easy to dodge the responsibility by saying things
-the fundamental issue is how much he is sanctifying her as Christ does the church
-so, a real man is someone who takes responsibility to make others better
-to put the needs of others ahead of his own needs
-so, what I am looking for in a man is… INITIATIVE
-as Christ was….he did not wait for an invitation but came and gave of himself
-in thinking of the other person more than himself
-vs. selfishness
-this work is the work of a leader…a manager who sacrifices for those under him
-another clear passage is 1 Timothy 3:4a He must manage his own family well…
-not because he is better than anyone else but simply because God has given the man THAT CALLING
-to lead his family
* the man is the head of the house whether he likes it or not
-now, I believe that there are many ways to be a manager
-I believe the Bible leaves room for different styles of managing
-as long as you get the job done
* God gives different gifts to different people
* God give different gifts to different dads
-consider this example: the LAKERS
-what is the word that describes his management in v.4? “well”
-just get the job done….do it well
-this word in the original Greek has the idea of both….internal and external wellness
-things are spiritually….well
-his children are not troubled in their hearts
-there is true peace and harmony…wellness there
-and because things are well on the inside, it shows on the outside
-and the people at church will see the outside of his children and that outward testimony is to an indication that things are going well on the inside
-and so, the father is called to manage well…internally….
-you may remember the movie: Sound of Music
-and by doing so, the woman is actually made BETTER because she is with the man
Question: is your woman better off spiritually because she is with to you?-Manly Scale: on a scale of 5, what number are you?
-to what degree do you act like a real man?
1 = never
2 = rarely
3 = some of the time
4 = most of the time
5 = all the time
-what’s your number?
-so, as a pastor and counselor, what I am looking for in a man is his level of awareness of his gender identity and responsibility
-a lot of married men show NO awareness
-this is a great concern for me in counseling
-the manly man is the man who makes his woman better
-she is better off because she is married to him
-in order to do this, the real man must embrace 3 things:
1. Must not be a blame-shifter
2. Must not focus exclusively on material p rovision
3. Must work on his own growth so that he can be this kind of provider
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An overview of the entire series in analytical outline form. This will help you see and organize the concepts.
Click the underlined texts:
The loss of gender identity
The loss of gender responsibility
The loss of gender based mentorship
Operation
Genesis 1:27
Male and female exist in relation to each otherCreate of gender responsibility
Males and females must discover their gender responsibility
Gender identity and responsibility is tied to the image of God
We reflect God when we are like Christ
Christ-like responsibilityA man is like Christ when he concerned about the spiritual growth of his woman
A man is like Christ when he protects his woman
A man is like Christ when he provides for his woman
A man is like Christ when he learns about his woman in order to protect and provider for her
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