Your Life. God’s Plan.

M2 Week 1

Biblical Manhood: Discovering Our Purpose

The Problem:  Biblical Manhood is under attack.  The World’s View of man’s role in the world is contradictory to the role that God has designed for man.  The World wants men to be weaker; because Satan knows that men submitted to Christ and engaged in advancing the Kingdom, are powerful.  

Question 1:  What does it mean to be a man?

The first thing that God told Adam is found in Genesis 1:28: God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”(NIV)

God expects man to be fruitful and multiply and to subdue the earth.  God designed Adam to be a multiplier and a subduer!  If that was Adam’s design, then it’s also your design.  To prove that, let me share with you two scriptures:

1. Isaiah 55:11 God’s Word never returns void.  So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (NIV).  Which Words that come out of God’s mouth will not return void?  Every Word.  God doesn’t give conditions to this in Isaiah 55.  He just states very clearly that His Word will not return void.  So, the very first command that God gave to Adam, is a command still echoing throughout eternity.  And as God commanded Adam, God so commands us.  God is not a respecter of persons.  (Acts 10:34)  In another translation, the same verse says that God does not show favoritism.  Therefore, what God spoke to Adam, He is speaking to you:  “Be fruitful and multiply.  Subdue the earth.”  Your first calling as a man is to be fruitful with EVERYTHING that God has given to you. You can’t be fruitful with something He didn’t give to you nor can you multiply zero.  Therefore, God has given you gifts, abilities, talents, attributes and people around you that God wants you to multiply.  Furthermore, there are beasts of the field and of the spiritual realm that God wants you to subdue!  This is your first purpose and calling which is quite contrary to what the world is trying to make into men.  We can hardly turn on the television today without seeing a commercial where the men is portrayed as bumbling, aimless and clumsy, but clearly God doesn’t see us that way.  He sees us as men who subdue, men who multiply and men who are fruitful!  
2. Romans 8:37 (this might be my favorite verse in the whole Bible!) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (NIV)  Men, you were designed to conquer!  And the good news is that Jesus has beaten the enemy, already.  He’s won and He has all authority on earth and in heaven.  Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (NIV)  Do you feel like a conqueror?  Do you feel like you could literally battle the forces of evil and come out victorious?  If you don’t, then you need to go through bootcamp!  You need to discover the Warrior within and get yourself ready because the world is turning and the enemy is active!  Jesus may have won the war, but there are still battles that need to be won.  Every person, every single life is worth fighting for.  The addicted, the poor, the depressed, the broken, the forsaken, the orphans, the disabled, the heartbroken, the frustrated, the listless, the cowardly and all of those effected by every scheme the enemy has designed against them and us!  Our fight is for souls and the stakes are eternal!  This is part of your purpose!  Part 1 of your purpose is to be enter into the battle!  The problem is, most men have never engaged.  My brothers, it’s time to engage in the battle!  There is so much at stake and we need you in the fight!  

How do we engage?  How do we fight?  We will raise up men, train them to be the spiritual warriors they are called to be by God!  

• Millennium Men is designed to do the following:
• Understanding Who, When, and Why we Exist
• Deal with Past Personal Pain and Issues
• Deal with our Issues with authority and our earthly fathers.  
• Better know the tools we have for warfare and how to utilize them.
• Better know and understand the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives
• Teach Men how to share their testimony
• Create Accountability Relationships in order to keep us all on the right track
• Help Men understand their specific purpose!

Let’s cast off fear.

Let’s be action based, not just talk.

Commit to being the spiritual leaders of our homes.

What is a Millennium Man?

A surrendered Christ follower that is engaged in the spiritual battle for his family, his church and his friends.  A man that is a good steward of all of his resources and is actively Advancing the Kingdom of God by fulfilling his purpose through Spiritual Warfare and Making Disciples.   

Question 2:  What is Man’s Purpose?  What is my Purpose?  

You Are Made with Purpose in Mind

Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

You were designed to do good works.  Another way to say that is that you have a destiny!  Have you ever felt a deep yearning inside of you for a destiny that you were certain was there, but uncertain of how to attain it?  That’s because your true purpose is only found when you are completely submitted to the Will of the One who made you!  What if you were an alien that landed on earth and had never seen a riding lawnmower before and didn’t have an owner’s manual?    You might fire up the lawnmower and use it to get to and from work or to run errands, but you’d be completely missing its purpose! Eventually, you’d find a Subaru or Toyota and abandon the lawnmower, thinking it wasn’t nearly as effective as a mode of transportation, and you’d be right.  How frustrating that would be if you were the lawnmower!  

I believe most men aren’t being used for the exact purpose that God has designed for them.  Many men diminish themselves often with self-talk like, “I’m worthless.”, or “I’m not good enough.”.  This isn’t true and you must stop diminishing the creation that God so carefully made—YOU!  Maybe you’re not a Ferrari, but maybe you’re the best John Deere tractor that’s ever been built!  All of us were designed with a purpose and for a purpose.  1 Corinthians 12:12 says that there are many parts of the body, some we can see and some that are behind the scenes, but all are worthy, useful and important.  Paul was writing about usefulness and purpose within churches and churches are made up of people who also have different sets of gifts.  You were created for a purpose and your design reveals your destiny!  

God made the earth in six days and rested on the seventh.  That means he made the Grand Canyon, the rivers, lakes, streams, the mountains and beaches, and all of the wonderful vacation spots that people flock to year after year, just to envision the handiwork, the artistry of our God!  But He didn’t make you in six days.  He took His time making you.  Psalm 139:13-14 says:

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

My mom went through a crocheting phase in the early 80’s when I was growing up and she would crochet for hours and hours.  It took her almost a whole year to make each one of us a blanket.  I didn’t appreciate it then, but she worked very hard making everyone in the family something that she could give them for Christmas.  She carefully chose the colors that each one of my brothers would receive.  She put her heart into it and so did God when He made you!  He carefully chose every detail about you.  None of it was haphazard.  From your eye color to your sense of humor.  Every detail was carefully thought through, down to the nanometer.  God didn’t leave out anything that you need, and He didn’t give you anything you didn’t need.  Your purpose lies within you and that’s why we need to look at your makeup, in order to help us determine your overall purpose in life.  

Please let me clarify something:  Your purpose isn’t your vocation.  It’s not your job.  God’s purpose for you is much larger than your 9-5.  God placed inside of you a heart for eternity.  Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet^[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  Somewhere deep inside of you, you KNOW that your place in history is an eternal one.  I think often about how people desire to be famous, even if for a moment.  I believe that carnal desire stems from a deeper one that God placed within us, it’s only misguided in the search for fame, or in some cases, infamy.  I can only promise that nothing the world gives, not fame, not fortune, not money or power will ever fulfill the need and desire for eternity within your heart.  

God made you for a purpose and that purpose is eternal.

Question 3:  What am I willing to die for?  Maybe that is what is worth living for.  

You may be asking, what purpose of mine could possibly last for eternity?  What could I do that would be around even one hundred years from now, much less a billion or a trillion years from now?  Think about it…  In one thousand years, no one will remember or care who won the Super Bowl in 2020.  Even the most famous players of our time will barely be a footnote in history, one thousand years from now and probably not even a vapor of thought in a million years.  So, there’s nothing you can do or accomplish that could make an eternal impact except to invest in something that lasts forever:  People.  Our souls are eternal.  God said that He made us in His image.  Your body is breaking down every day, no matter what age you are, or how healthy you are, one day, even the greatest athlete grows old and will die.  But our souls live forever, and that soul will spend eternity either in Heaven with God or in Hell, completely separated from God.  It’s up to each individual person, where he or she spend eternity.  No one decides, but ourselves.  

Most of you taking this class probably know Jesus as your personal savior.  You’re here because you want a closer walk with Him, and you want to discover your purpose in Him.  But I would be remiss if I didn’t share with you the wonderful miracle that God freely gave us, His Son, Jesus.  

Jesus was a real man who walked on this earth.  That is undoubtable and there is more evidence that He was a real person than there actually is that Abraham Lincoln is a real person.  Jesus was fully human, but He performed many miracles.  His final miracle was that He was crucified on a cross by the Romans.  He was tortured and beaten, and He died on the cross.  A man named Nicodemus and Joseph took His body and laid it in a tomb.  Roman soldiers guarded the tomb, but an angel came and opened the tomb and Jesus rose from the cleft in the rock.  He rose from the grave, proving that He was God.  Over 500 people saw Him alive after His crucifixion.  Many of those people gave their very lives instead of recanting their testimony.  Ten of those men that were martyred due to their testimony about Jesus were known as His disciples and their stories are well documented.  

Jesus came because He wants to reconcile you to Him.  Since the day that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, God has been preparing to reconcile Himself to mankind.  Why?  Because He loves you and wants to have a personal relationship with you.  Since the beginning, every man since Adam has chosen to sin.  At some point in your life, you have sinned as well.  Even the most righteous person you’ve ever met has sinned.  I heard an analogy once that said if everyone stood on the shore in San Diego and we all had to swim to Hawaii, whomever swims the farthest is still going to fall short and drown.  None of man’s righteousness can get Him to God.  Only Jesus is the bridge that will take us and reconcile us to Him.  John 14:6 says, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. That’s very simply put, but also very profound.  No one can get to heaven on their own goodness.  No one can get to Heaven through Mary or John or Peter.  No one can get to Heaven because of their mom or grandpa.  We each are responsible for our own relationship with Jesus.  What we do with Jesus is the key.  The Bible even says that many will think that they are saved, but in the end, Jesus will say, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”  The Bible even says that they thought they were saved because they had done a lot of good works for Him.  But still, they didn’t know Him.  I think it’s comparable to saying, “I know who the President of the United States is.”  Yes.  Most of the world knows who his name.  But only his child could text him or call him at any hour and get a response. 

I often hear these words when I’m sharing my faith with someone else: “But I couldn’t believe in a God that would send people to Hell.”  My answer usually surprises them.  God doesn’t send anyone to Hell.  He lets people make the choice.  You can either choose Jesus who has paid the price for your sin or you can pay for your own sins.  Please don’t make the mistake of trying to pay for your own sins.  The cost is eternity, separated from the God who loves you and made you.  Everything inside of you that is good comes from Him.  Everything that you see that is good, even the breath in your lungs, comes from God.  God is love and He loves you.  

If you know that, deep down and right now, I’m praying that God would be revealing to you that you are a sinner, just like me, and that you need a savior, just like me.  Just like everyone on earth.  We all need the saving grace of Jesus.  His love is waiting.  Revelation 3:20 says that He is standing at your heart’s door and knocking.  If you open the door, He will sup with you and you with Him.  What a meal!  God, the One who made everything desires to have a meal with you!  The meal is peace, joy and love and all of the wonderful attributes that God has for you.  Do you feel anxious or broken or sad?  Jesus is the answer.  You will immediately feel a peace that you cannot explain.  A peace that comes only with being reconciled to your Creator.  

Don’t go into this moment lightly.  Some say that salvation is free, but it’s not.  It’s going to cost you the life that you want.  It’s going to cost you everything.  When we give our lives to Christ, we are saying, “You are Lord.”  We cannot call Him Savior without calling Him Lord.  There are so many people out there who think they’re saved, but they’ve never really made Him Lord.  Would you like to do that now?   If you pray these simple words and believe them in your heart, then you will be saved:

God, I know that I’m a sinner and that I need a savior.  I am turning away from my sin and my own will, and I accept Jesus Christ as my savior and the Lord of my life.  Please send your Holy Spirit to dwell in me, change me and mold me into the man you desire.  I ask this in Jesus’s name, Amen. 

Wow.  Thank you for praying that prayer.  Whether it’s your first time or the thousandth time, there’s something wonderful about calibrating your soul to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  He’s a good and faithful God.  He is love.  That’s not one of His attributes, that’s who God is.  You may have felt judgment from other Christians or people pretending to be Christians, but the Bible says that God doesn’t judge you until the end.  Romans 2 says that it’s the kindness of God that draws men.  His grace, His kindness, and His love for you doesn’t diminish, no matter where you are or what you’ve done.  I’ve even had men tell me that God could never forgive them.  That’s a lie the enemy would like for you to believe.  One of the most prolific serial killers in the history of the US was radically saved in prison and is now a prolific evangelist!  His name is David Berkowitz, but in the bicentennial summer of 1976, he was known as the Son of Sam.  Here is an excerpt from cli.world, The Prison Alliance website:

In 1987, 10 years into his sentence, a stranger approached Berkowitz in the prison yard. He said, “David, Jesus Christ loves you. He wants to forgive you and he sent me to this prison to tell you this.” The stranger handed Berkowitz a New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs. At first, Berkowitz refused to believe that Jesus would want to save a man like him. But one day, as Berkowitz was reading his Bible, he came across Psalm 34, and as he read verse six, “This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles,” David knelt on the hard, prison floor and began to weep. At that moment, the Son of Sam died. The Son of Hope was born.

No matter what you’ve done, God can forgive you.  The Son of Sam murdered thirteen people over that hot summer in New York in 1976.  Today, the Prison Alliance estimates that his testimony has brought over 200,000 inmates to faith in Jesus Christ!  You see, God can use your past, no matter what it is!  So, welcome to The Kingdom.  Today, we are brothers in Christ!  (That’s why I greet most men I see as, “brother”.  Because if they’re not my brother in Christ yet, my goal is that they will be one day.)

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

When we make Jesus the Lord of our lives, we become a new creation!  The old man dies and a new one is born, spiritually.  So, right now, if this is the first time you’ve prayed that prayer or if you’re rededicating your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, then you’re made new!  The very man that God designed, that God thought of before the foundation of the world is born!  You were dead, your soul was alive, your body was alive, but your spirit was dead and now it is alive!  Hallelujah!  So, mark the calendar, today is your new birthday!  Your true birthday!  I remember the day I stopped pretending.  The day my life was falling apart, and I dropped to my knees and gave Jesus my life.  I had prayed the prayer of salvation dozens of times in my life, but on July 12, 1998, I surrendered.  I stopped living the life I wanted to live.  I knew the truth because I had grown up in church, but I always wanted what the world had to offer first.  That was the day that I knew that what the world had to offer was worthless, and all I wanted was what God had for me.  And ever since that day, God has been refining me like a silversmith refines his masterpiece; He gently removes the dross until He can see his reflection in His creation.  

You’re a man and you’re alive in Christ.  Now what?  I’m so glad you asked!  The great adventure awaits, my friend!  God’s will and plan for your life is going to be amazing.  Whether you’re starting your journey today or you’ve been on the journey for 75 years, as long as there’s breath in your lungs, God has a purpose and a plan for your life that will amaze you!  He built you for this moment!  He arranged your history to get you to this very place in time.  

Out of Egypt

There is a correlation to our walk with Christ and the walk that the Israelites made, out of Egypt, across the Red Sea and into a wilderness desert.  Let’s embrace the metaphor for a moment, Egypt is a life of bondage or sin, and the Red Sea is the redeeming blood of Christ.  The moment we cross over the Red Sea, a miracle happened!  God made a way where there was no way before.  There was a powerful army, the army of Satan and his minions, that was set on your destruction.  But God made a way for you where there was no way.  No human could have parted the Red Sea and no human, born in sin, was ever going to provide a way for your salvation.  Only Jesus lived a perfect life, born of a virgin, without the lineage of sin that is passed through manhood; He was the spotless, unblemished sacrifice for our sins, both sins of the past and those yet to come.  Every sin you’ll ever sin, Jesus paid the price for them on the cross.  

Once you’ve crossed over the Red Sea, through the saving grace of the blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior you’ll be faced with opposition.  The first thing that happened to the Israelites was the attack by the Amalekites!  Now, the Amalekites were descendants of Esau.  Amalek was Esau’s grandson.  The son who was born that sold his birthright for a bowl of soup, that didn’t regard the things of God as precious, attacked the Israelites.  And the same thing is going to happen to you, my friend!  When you accept Christ, those who don’t regard the things of God as precious or holy are going to attack you.  You are going to be tempted.  You are going to wish you were back in the safety of Egypt.   That is why it is essential for you to have a covering like Moses.  What is a covering?  Your covering is your church, your pastor and your Christian teachers and leaders.  This is very important; plug into your church.  Get connected so that when the attack comes, you’ll have someone that can cover you in prayer and help destroy the attack of the enemy.  

We’ll come back to this analogy throughout the semester.  Just know that you’re in good company, my brother!  Those of us who have been through what you’re about to experience will help you along your way.  The important thing for you to do now, for all of us to do, no matter where we are in our walk with Christ, is to CONNECT with Christian brothers!   

Throughout this semester, you’ll meet other men that have been through something you’re going through now and vice versa.  The enemy wants to keep us apart because he knows how powerful two men living life together is and Ecclesiastes says that a strand of three is not easily broken!  So, connect with others right next to you.  I promise, you have something to offer them and they, you.  

Millennium Men is a brotherhood.  We have each other’s backs.  We pray for one another.  We love one another enough to notice when someone is heading off the right path.  We are motivated by love and are unashamed of Truth.  Welcome to the brotherhood!  You have homework for next week:

Week One Summary:

 God made Adam and told him to be fruitful, to multiply and to subdue the earth!  What God said to Adam, He is saying to you, also.  You are called to be a conqueror!  The first step in conquering is to align ourselves with God’s will.  In order to do that, we must accept Jesus as our Lord and our Savior.  Once we do that, we can start to understand that our design and our destiny is an eternal one!  The things that are eternal and that are important to God are other people.  God doesn’t want anyone to spend eternity away from Him.  He loves everyone, because He is Love.  Therefore, our purpose, whatever that is, is tied to our interaction with other people.

Lastly, our design reveals our destiny.  How we are designed determines our specific purpose.  We were created with that specific purpose in mind.

Write down ONE THING that you could start doing or stop doing, that would make the most difference in your life over the next 30 days.

What’s my ONE THING: ___________________________________________________

This Semester, we are going to explore what it means to be a man.  We are going to define Biblical Manhood, our roles in society and in our families and how we become, “More than Conquerors”.  We are going to teach you Spiritual Warfare, but first, we need to help you understand the tools that are available to you.  Here is the path we will take this semester.  May God change us all forever!  May He mold us into The Mighty Warriors we are all designed to become!  

Group Answers

What is a man?

What is my Purpose?  

What am I willing to die for?  

Perhaps, these are the things I should be living for?