June 12, 2020
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Jeff was the quarterback of our high school football team back when we lived in New Jersey. He always attended this little Bible study we had pre-game, but he never made a commitment to Christ. Well, I saw him on one of his breaks from college. He said, "You know, Ron, I have made a commitment to Christ now, but it was hard to do it in high school, especially because we were guys.
Well, think about that! I mean, look at the population of any average church youth group. Mostly guys? No, it's mostly girls usually. Look at the missionaries around the world. More men? No, it seems like a lot more women sometimes. If one person in a married couple is a believer, more often than not it's going to be the wife. What's going on here? Well, weren't the first 12 followers of Jesus men?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The 'God Is For Girls' Myth."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in 1 John 2, and I'm going to read the second part of verse 14. John says, "I write to you young men because you are strong." Okay, there's nothing wimpy about the group he's writing to. "I'm writing to you because you are strong." Why? "The Word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one."
Okay, he's writing to young men here who are sold out to a cause; who are fighters, winners, overcomers; they're champions. They are young men who have found the ultimate outlet for their manness - Jesus Christ. They are waging spiritual war for Him and they're winning.
Now, if you go back as far as the Garden of Eden, which is about as far back as you can go, you'll find that when God came looking for somebody after the first sin He didn't come looking for Eve. He said, "Adam, where are you?" When Sarah, Abraham's wife, laughed at God's promise, the Lord didn't come looking for Sarah. He came looking for Abraham. When God selected some people to build His church on, it was men - twelve men.
Now, this is not to exclude women from following Christ. No, they were intensely loyal to Him during His earthly ministry here. And no doubt women have a spiritual radar and sensitivity that men will probably never have. There's a love and a tenderness about a woman that lets us know what God's accepting love feels like. But from Eden until now, man was created by God to take the spiritual lead.
God is not just for girls I mean. It's unacceptable for a girl to be the conscience of a dating relationship. It's unacceptable for a woman to be the spiritual leader in a family because a man has forfeited that leadership. It's unacceptable for a man to hold back in spiritual arenas while he's giving his all in business and every other arena.
See, man is built to look for a cause to give 100% to. We give everything we've got to what we believe in. That's why a guy loves sports, because it's someplace where he can feel like he's giving everything he can give; or business. He throws himself into making it in business. But every man knows that those causes are ultimately a disappointment no matter how much you give. There's only one cause a man was built to lose himself in, and that is the service of Jesus Christ; all of my manness in the service of the God-man, Jesus.
Maybe you've pursued every kind of conquest as a guy and yet you have never found what will fill that hole in your heart. You never found what would give you that cause that really is worth everything you have. You've never found that meaning for your one life that you have on this planet, and the answer is the One who made you, who you were made for, and who died for you on a cross. It is the man Jesus Christ.
Maybe today is your day to finally step into completeness in Him. I hope today you'll say, "Jesus, I'm your guy from now on." We'd love to help you know how to begin a relationship with Him and make sure you've got this done. Go to our website ANewStory.com.
And then, see as a man, you can take your stand for Christ boldly, passionately, without reservation, and that is how you become a spiritual champion. And, my friend, that is maximum manhood!