Transcription
Hallelujah Jesus.
Hallelujah Jesus. Hallelujah Jesus. Hallelujah Jesus.
Thank you today Father. Thank you today Jesus. Thank you Lord. There is no other name. No other name. No other name. His name is Jesus.
Anybody thankful that they called upon the name of Jesus when you went down in the water? Anybody thankful that you can call on the name of Jesus? The psalmist declared, "In the day of my trouble, I will call upon thee, for thou will deliver me, and there is no other day, and there is no other name other than Jesus to call upon."
Well, men, mighty men, the Maryland DC district, mighty men who are standing firm, who are standing fast, thank you for being here today. As we remain standing, why don't we just just jump into the word of God. Let's turn to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and let's go to our theme verse for this conference and that is beginning with verse 13. 1 Corinthians chapter 16 beginning with verse number 13. The Bible reads, "Watch ye stand fast in the faith. Quit you like men. Be strong. Be strong."
Father, we love you. One more time today. We just call upon your name, Lord. We thank you for the presence that we feel in this place, Lord. We thank you, Lord, for the word of God and the the words of encouragement, the words of direction, the words of challenging us, Lord, to be men called of you, Lord. I pray, Father, that you would minister to us today, Lord. You would touch our hearts and our mind, Lord. That you would speak to us today, Father. For your word goes forth with purpose. Your word for goes forth and does not return void. And we trust in the name of the Lord. We trust in your word that never fails.
Lord, I thank you today, Father, for who you are. And I thank God for the men of Maryland DC district who are here ready to answer the call to say, I am going to stand firm today. And I thank you today, Lord, in the mighty name of Jesus. In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. You may be seated.
I give honor to uh men that are here today. I give honor to my pastor, Pastor Eric Halddederman. Thank you, pastor. Give honor to my bishop, Bishop Stonton. Give honor to uh our host pastor, Pastor Jason Sten, and our men's director. Give honor to our men's committee who are men of God who are shaping and have invested in my life and who continue to stand strong. I give honor to our district board, our district superintendent, our district secretary, and our entire district board and our elders that are here today. I give honor to you because you continue to shape my life. I don't have it all figured out, but I know that there are men in our district who are standing firm, who are strong in the faith.
Amen. And I thank God and I give honor to you. I give honor to the fact that there are men here on a Saturday morning that understand what is at stake. Paul gives four commands in our opening text. Watch, stand, act like men and be strong. You know the average man in the United States from the time he turns 18 to the time the average lifespan begin I mean at the age of 18 up until the average lifespan there are 3,047 Saturdays. 3,047 weekends in the average lifespan of a man. Not 30,000, not 300,000, 3,000. The average weekends that are available in the lifespan of an average man. And so for you being here today to take a moment out of that number, that is a demonstration and that is a testimony that there are men that are here that are willing to be invested in the kingdom of God.
There are men that are willing to say yes, I am going to answer the call to stand strong, to be firm. That is a testimony. There are men here that are willing to learn, that are willing to grow, that are willing to be sharpened, that are willing to become the man that God has called them to be. And so I give you, thank God for you. Thank God that you are here today.
You know, when I think about these four commands and I think about the life that these four commands demonstrate, I cannot help but think about the men in the Old Testament. Men of God who answered the call that made a difference in their lives and one particular individual that draws my attention that we're going to use today as an illustration at the hotel in the morning in the backyard. Right behind the hotel, there is a there are apartment buildings being built, right? And then I see men out there building. And I see one particular Old Testament individual, a man that was called of God or a man that answered God's call, who was a builder, who got his hands dirty, who was building something. And that individual was Nehemiah. Nehemiah. He was not a prophet. He was not a priest. He was not a king. He was a man who understood the hour in which he was living. And he was a man that rema that refused to remain passive. And that was a man who had a burden to do something.
Amen. If anything, if I say he was a mighty man, willing to stand firm. Nehemiah lived during a time in which God's people were returning from Babylonian captivity. Jerusalem had been resettled. The temple had been rebuilt. The However, the city still lay vulnerable. The walls were broken down. The gates were burned with fire. The people were back in the land. But there was still work to do. Nehemiah being a cupbearer was serving in the Persian palace of the king. Yet he was a man who God used to accomplish an extraordinary work. I won't go into all the details of all the entire book of Nehemiah, but I encourage you to go back home and study it. Go back home and underline some things. And so today, for the sake of summary, I'm just going to say that Nehemiah heard the condition of Jerusalem and he answered the call. He left the palace. He went to Jerusalem. He led the effort and the rebuilding of the walls. He faced opposition. He united the people and he helped restore the people. You see, Nehemiah's story reminds us that God uses men in everyday walks of life. men in the marketplace, men in the workplace, men in leadership, men in the church, men willing to answer the call to stand firm.
And I believe that is exactly what God is calling men to do today. is for us to answer the call. Not to be passive, not to drift, not to be not to stay slumber through the moment, but to recognize and understand the hour that we are living in. To understand the mission and to understand the calling. And so, for the sake of today's remembrance, today's title is just simply a man on a mission. A man on a mission. A man on a mission. Anybody on a mission today?
The Bible says in our first command what Paul illustrates, he says, "Watch ye, watch ye." See, that first command gives a simple, not over complicated, not deep theological thought, just a simple word, watch. To be alert, to be sober, to be vigilant, to be watchful. And so when people hear this word, I think about awareness. I think about alertness, paying attention to the details, looking around and being watchful, being alert. And that's true for today, even for us, right? But I think there's an element about being watchful. And that word is an individual that has vision, right? A watchman, somebody that is uh alert, somebody that is fulfilling the role of a watch is an element of vision because a watchman tends to see what others don't see. A watchman sees what is at stake and he stands guard because he knows his position. He understands the value that he is standing for. A watchman sees what could be.
And that brings us to illustration of Nehemiah. You see, we are introduced with Nehemiah in chapter 1. When Nehemiah receives a report in verses three and four, the Bible says that he hears the condition of Jerusalem, that the walls are broken down, that the gates are burned with fire, and that the city is in reproach and the people are discouraged. Nehemiah 1:es 3 and 4. I won't read every verse, but I encourage you to take notes and highlight it. Everybody, I can just imagine how many people understood and saw the condition of Jerusalem. How many people just looked at that and said, "Well, I guess the walls will remain that way. I guess the walls will remain burned. I guess the walls will remain different. I guess everybody receive the same report." But a man that is watchful sees visions. See, I see that Nehemiah saw something different. When everybody else sees broken walls, Nehemiah sees restoration. When everybody else sees destruction, Nehemiah sees possibility. When everybody else sees a problem, Nehemiah sees a burden and a calling. That's what vision does. Vision takes us from this point to seeing beyond beyond our certain beyond our current circumstances. Vision allows a man to see what God wants to build. Vision allows a man to see beyond the struggle into the purpose of that struggle. Vision, not boys, not boys driven by their feelings, but men that are led and live by conviction. Men and not boys driven by every feeling. Men that understand that this is the long game. Amen. This is a marathon that needs that is worth running. You see, men think about their marriages. Men think about their children. Men think about their church. Men think about their community. Men think about what they are leaving behind and the choices that they make have a lasting impact. A man that leaves that lives with conviction.
You see, one of the greatest gifts that my father ever left me was not possessions, was not opportunity, but the greatest gift my father ever left me was the fact that he took me to a Jesus name church. You see, I grew up on the Navajo Indian reservation. And when culture or tradition says no, it was something that I got a hold of my father that caused him to say no. I got a this Holy Ghost that is in me that drinks brings me to an understanding that I have something to live for, that I have purpose in my life. My father passed three years ago and he's not here to see this today. But the lasting decision that he made had a legacy impact. It had a generational impact. That is the greatest gift that my father ever left me was the fact that he would drag me and drug me to church when I didn't feel like it. When I argued with him on a Sunday morning. But no, when I look back, I cannot help but thank God. Thank God. And men, young men today, know that what your parents are doing for you and the fathers that brought you here today, that is for you to know. And so, men that are led by conviction, that have vision, understand. Understand that you have an opportunity to make a difference. You see the vision that my father had, maybe he didn't see it all together, but the one thing I can tell you that as a father, my daughter now has a position to grow up in the in thei in the in a Jesus name church, in a church that preaches apostolic truth, she has an opportunity to serve God and know that there is one God. That is a generational impact. And so when I look at Nehemiah and the vision, yes, sure, everybody saw broken walls, but Nehemiah is saying, "No, I see an opportunity." And I'm benefiting from my father's decisions many years ago. Many of us are benefiting from the decisions of the men that were refusing to remain passive and that were willing to answer the call. And today is a testimony of that. And so know this, my brothers, the decisions you make today affect tomorrow. It's not time for us to remain passive. It is not time for us to We got to understand the hour that we're living in. We must redeem the time for the days are evil. That's for men to wake up and understand that the decisions you make today have an impact for tomorrow.
You see the walls in the book of Nehemiah represented for today's illustration more than stone. It represented future generations. It represented identity in the Lord. It represented protection. The walls represented purpose. In verse 11 of Nehemiah 1, when Nehemiah saw the plight, the Bible says that he sat down and he wept. He mourned and he fasted. He says, "Oh Lord, I beseech you." That is a man with the desperate cry of a burden to say, "God, I don't know what this is, but all I can do is but to cry out, I beseech you. I plead WITH YOU. I BEG of you. Hear me." That's not a passive voice. You see, this vision that Nehemiah had produced a burden. That burden produced a prayer. That prayer produced a conviction. And that prayer was not his last resort. rather that prayer was his foundation. Right? So when he heard the plight, he didn't go on social media and become a keyboard warrior. No, he did not. He didn't drive and start complaining to tell his brothers, well that problem is there. He didn't go about complaining or criticizing if somebody can do that, if only that person can do that. No, he went back to what brought him to that point and that is prayer. Prayer was foundational. That burden led the call out to God. And I believe that the greatest opportunity that we have for watchful men is for us to remain rooted in prayer, to re to remain rooted in the foundational principles of the word of God, to get a hold of the word of God, to study the word of God, to discipline ourselves in what God has called us to do, and to be faithful in what God has called us to do. Because my brothers, there are walls that are worth rebuilding. There are families that need leading. There are children that are needing men of God to answer the call. There are churches that need laborers. There are communities that need witnesses. And it is time for us as men not to sleep, not to drift, but rather it is time for us to remain watchful. remain watchful.
1 Corinthians 16 tells us that the second element is to stand fast in the faith. See, that's what vision does. It brings us to a position of posture to understand that if I'm going to be alert, I need to make a stand. I need to look at some things. I need to see where things are at. When we arrive in chapter two, something remarkable happens. The Bible introduces in verse one that it gives us a time frame. It tells us in a different month Nehemiah was before the king when he first heard the news. It was four months. Four months had passed. Four months had passed when he had prayed. Four months before his prayer, an opportunity for his prayer to be answered. The burden remained. The mission remained. The calling remained. Was Nehemiah still standing? Yes, he was standing fast. Right. Anybody can get excited at an emotional moment. Anybody can respond at a conference. But what happens on a Monday? What happens when my prayer doesn't get answered after I pray one time? Do I give up after one month? Do I give up after two months? Four months had passed and yet Nehemiah was wondering. And one day when he was in the presence of the king, the king finally made the request. Why are you so sad in my countenance? What is your request? In verse four of Nehemiah chapter 2, the Bible says, I prayed to the God of heaven. Oh, that means he was still prayerful. That means that he was still standing fast. That means that he was still had some faith to stand on even though his prayer didn't get answered the first time. That means that he was still willing to put in the prayer time and say, "God, I got to get a hold of you."
See, that's what Nehemiah teaches about standing fast is to be anchored in prayer, anchored in the word, anchored in fasting, anchored in faithfulness. Those are not beginner principles, but rather those are foundational because the enemy wants us to be distracted. The enemy wants us to chase every trend that is out there. The enemy wants men reacting to every criticism. The enemy wants men to abandon their convictions and give up at the slightest defeat. But men, what are you willing to do today? Are you willing to stand fast and not give up on your prayer? not give up on the promises that God has for you? Or are we so easily distracted by what I haven't seen yet? You know, in my personal testimony right now, my wife is going through some medical complications and as though that every year, every every 3 months, we go to the doctor and it just seems like the doctor's reports remain stagnant and it seems like there's been no progress. And so, what do I do as a husband? What do I do as a father? What do I do as a man? Do I cower? No. I may not see some results, but that doesn't mean that my God is not faithful. I may not see what is happening, but I still must rely on my faith. Am I going to remain stagnant? Am I just going to be numb to the same thing over and over? No. When the king answers and says, "What is your request?" I must be rooted in my prayer enough to say, "God, this is what I need." I cannot refuse to remain stagnant. There has to be something inside of me as a man of God that I must stand up to say no. enemy. I know what the doctor is saying. I know what the world is saying. But the enemy know I have a promise from God. I have a promise from God. And my brothers, we have a promise from God.
So men of God stand fast. Men who know what God has called them to do are difficult to distract. Amen.
You see in Nehemiah chapter 2, the Bible says this man was on a mission. He was refusing to be distracted. I'm not going to read every verse, but I want you to know in chapter 2:17 when they said, he says, "Come, let us build up the wall that there be no more reproach." In verse 18, so he says, "So they strengthened their hands for this good work." In chapter 4:E 6, he says, "So build we the wall, for the people had a mind to work." Verse 9, "Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God, and we set a watch against him day and night." In chapter 6:3, I am doing a great work that I cannot come down. In verse 9, now therefore, OH GOD, STRENGTHEN MY HANDS. AMEN. In verse 11, should such a man as I flee? These were all responses. This tells us that Nehemiah was on a mission. A man who believed and had a conviction was difficult to move. These verses illustrate that this man was on a mission that he was willing at all cost to stand strong, to stand firm in his faith. And when the mission mattered, the kingdom mattered, the people mattered. And so at this hour, my brothers and sisters, my brothers, not sisters, our families need us to stand. Our church needs us to stand. Our communities need us to stand. If you can affect a family, you can affect your community. You can make an impact in your community. But we need men who are strong. Not just randomly standing, not aimlessly standing, but standing firm in the faith, staying anchored, staying faithful, staying watchful.
See the third element of Paul's decree in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, quit you like men or simply put, act like men. Be brave. Be brave. Be courageous. It's time to grow up. It's time to take responsibility. See, one of the greatest things that men face today is not ability, but passivity, aimlessly waiting, knowing that they have the capability to do it. Men hesitant, men standing on the sidelines, men hoping somebody else will step in. Yeah. See, Nehemiah teaches us that he didn't wait for anybody else. He could have remained comfortable. Anybody else can do it. Anybody else can pray. Anybody else can rebuild. Anybody else can lead. No. Nehemiah teaches us he didn't. He accepted the responsibility. That's one of the defining characteristics of being a man is a man that sees a need and willing to respond. A man that sees the need for sees broken walls and begins to start building. A man that has a burden and is willing to answer the call.
You see in chapter 3 of Nehemiah, it is probably one of the most powerful illustrations in my in in in the entire book because the Bible says in in chapter 3 in Nehemiah chapter It goes name after name, family after family, group after group. And the chapter reveals something very powerful. You see, there are words that appear a total of 14 times. The words next unto him, next unto them, next to him, next to them. That means that Nehemiah empowered and instilled that everybody that was building the wall worked together. Everybody had a piece on that wall. 14 times next unto him, next unto them, next to him, next to them, the people had a mind to work. That means that being brave and acting like men is understanding that each of us are needed in the kingdom of God. And each of us have our part in the building of the wall. And that acting like men means that well I I acting like men means like well it's not acting like well they have that wall and I want that wall. No, it's not competing against each other. It's about willing men willing to say, "I'm going to act like a man and be brave and walk in what God has called me and do what God has called me." Not worried and not competing with each other. Not being afraid to put down and lay aside the pride to say, "I'll do my part."
Our churches need men like that. Not fighting after a position, not competing after a position or a title. No, we need men that understand that you are pivotal and foundational in your churches. We need men. I cannot help but think about the prayer of my bishop when I was a child, Bishop Jerry. One of his prayers that he prayed was, "God, I want to see 50 men in the church." 50 men. Why? Because that man had a vision. And that man knew that if there was a man out there that would be willing to make a call and answer the call, that God can make a difference in that community. And so I believe that for Maryland DC district, I see more than 50 here today. Are we willing to answer the call and make a difference and do our part on the wall that God has called us?
You see, when it when the enemy when opposition came in Nehemiah chapter 4, the enemies called the wall rubbish and trash. The enemy said that if a fox go up, the wall will come down. But look in verse 9. Look in verse 9 of chapter 4. Chapter 4 verse 9. I read I have it. I just want you all to see it. Cuz what do you do when the enemy uses his words against you and says it's all rubbish? Did you really hear that from God? What does he say? Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God. Amen. Nevertheless, say to your neighbor, "Nevertheless, I am going to make my prayer unto my God." Nevertheless, brothers, nevertheless, nevertheless, no matter what the enemy says, we know that he is there to steal, kill, and destroy. That shouldn't surprise us, but nevertheless, we should make up our mind that nevertheless, I am going to pray. Nevertheless, I am going to stand on my wall. Nevertheless, I'm going to DO MY PART. NEVERTHELESS, I am GOING to GO TO CHURCH. NEVERTHELESS, I AM GOING to SUPPORT MY PASTOR. NEVERTHELESS, I am GOING to CONTINUE IN THE WORK OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Nevertheless, my brothers, he trusted God again. He led and he trusted God again. He built and again he trusted God. Even when his own brothers in verse 10 accepted the words of the enemy and they themselves said it is rubbish. But look in verse 14, what does he say? Be not afraid of them. Remember the Lord which is great and awesome and terrible. He says and fight. Fight for your brothers. Fight for your sons. Fight for your daughters. Fight for your wives. Fight for your houses. That's a man on a mission that is refusing to accept the call and the voices of the enemy. What everybody else may be doing, I am a man on a mission. And because I have something worth fighting for, my family depends on me. My children depend on me. My wife depends on me. That is a man that understands the responsibility in the hour that God has called him. You may not be married if you're not married. Understand you still have a responsibility. You still have a responsibility. You can still make a difference. Be not afraid of them. Fight for your brothers. Fight for one another. It takes us working together. Act like men, not because it's easy, because it's necessary.
Our last component is be strong. Be strong. Strength is not the absence of struggle. Strength is perseverance through that struggle. Nehemiah was not strong because he didn't face adversity. Nehemiah was strong because he remained faithful through that adversity. Amen. Amen. Think about his journey. He wept. He prayed. He waited. When he was asked, he traveled. He surveyed. He built. He fought. And he finished. That is strength. Strength not in aggression. Strength not in intimidation. Strength in endurance. Strength in faithfulness. Strength and consistency. Nehemiah chapter 4 tells us that they built with one hand and a weapon in the other. Building and battling, working and watching, serving and standing. That is a life of a man of God who is building, who is battling, who is working, who is watching, who is serving, who is standing. Cuz there are seasons that we are going to be building, but there are also se seasons that we're going to be battling. You may be building for your family, but you may also be battling for your family. You may be building what towards what God has called you, but you're also going to make an effort and start battling for that. You're going to have to be building your faith and fighting to keep your faith. But through it all, we must remain strong. Amen.
If you look at all of the book of Nehemiah, look in chapter 2, verse 18. Look in chapter 2 verse 18. This is a man who recognized where his strength came from. And I told them that the hand of my God which was good upon me, the hand of my God which was good upon me. That is a man who had conviction and understanding that his strength comes from the Lord. That anything good that I have is not on my own accord, but it is by the goodness and the faithfulness of the God that I serve. And brothers of D of Maryland DC district. Oh, the hand of our God is good upon us. We are blessed, my brothers. We are blessed, my brothers. It is not time for us to shy away. No, it is time for us to recognize that the goodness of the Lord is upon us today. That the God is good upon us. Chapter 8 10. For the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah chapter 4 verse 20. Our God shall fight for us. That is a man. If you look at the entire passage in Nehemiah, he says, "The God of heaven, our God." This is a man who understood that I don't have it all together. I don't have all the answers, but I'm going to go back to the one that has all the answers because that is where my strength comes from. That is where my strength comes from. That is a man that lived his life with conviction. The joy of the Lord is your strength. The same God who burdened you will sustain you. The same God who has called you will strengthen you. The same God who started the work in you is going to finish that work.
And so, brothers, in conclusion, in conclusion, worship team, you may come and lead us into a moment of worship. And Nehemiah teaches us what it means to stand firm. He was watchful because he had a vision. He stood fast because he had a conviction. He acted like a man because he accepted the responsibility. He was strong because he depended on God. You see, the call of this conference is not complicated. The call of this conference is for us men to watch because the hour matters. The call of this conference is for us to stand because the mission matters. The call of this conference is for us to act like men because people are depending on you. The call of this conference is for us to be strong because God is with you. There are walls that need rebuilding, my brothers. There are families that need leading. There are churches that need serving. There are communities that need reaching. There are generations that are waiting on the decisions that you make today. decisions you make today, will it determine you to stand tomorrow? If I can just get a hold of the Lord today, I don't know what I'm promised tomorrow, but right now is an opportunity. Maybe God has brought you here today because maybe there are still some things in your life that need rebuilding. Maybe your prayer life needs rebuilding. Maybe your family altar needs rebuilding. Maybe their marriage needs rebuilding. Maybe it is your walk with God. Maybe it is the ministry that you are serving in. There are some things that we can rebuild today before God. And today, my brothers, is not the day to quit. Today is not the day to come down from that wall. Today is the day not to grow weary and welloing. Today is not the day to drift. Today is not the day to bow. Today is the day to stand firm.
So I challenge you my brothers as we stand together. Anybody willing to make the commitment to say Lord I am going to watch. Lord I am going to stand fast in my faith. Lord I am going to act like a man today. Lord, I am going to be strong because you are strong. Is there a man here today that is willing to accept and understand that you are on a mission today and you don't have all the answers, but today is a moment that we serve a God who has an answer. Our strength comes from the Lord. Zechariah 4:6. This is the word of the Lord. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. There's an opportunity today, my brothers, to be filled with the spirit of the Lord. Because we are needed at this hour, Father, in the name of Jesus. Let your word, let your presence fill us today, Lord. Fill us from within, Lord. I pray father that you would challenge us Lord to be honest before you to say God I need you I cannot do this on my own but I know I can come before you oh God you have been good upon me Lord and I need you right now we can go before the throne to obtain grace and mercy in our time of need and the moment is Now.