Purpose – You do have one

Purpose – You do have one

      You have a purpose! God put you here, in this year, in this place, in this culture for a certain reason. I believe He even put you in this class. Will you be the reformer and light as you live your purpose, or will you just sit around like the average person and never really pursue God?

Discipleship and the Great Commission

Discipleship and the Great Commission

      Jesus Christ gave His disciples the command to make more disciples (Matt. 28:19). We do this through the empowerment and strength of the Holy Spirit, our Counselor. We cannot do it on our own—at least not as He wants us to. This is Christianity at its core!—spending time with the Lord and other Christians. Then, after encouraging each other, we follow the Holy Spirit’s leading to spread salt and light were we are, simply by listening for the Holy Spirit’s promptings. If we continually keep giving and sowing as God directs us, the harvest will keep coming as God wills.

Your notes on the subject:

Calling

Calling

   “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:3-11 KJV

      You have a calling. That “calling” does not have to be “ministry” related. It can be to the world of business, medicine, photography, law, writing, computers, teaching, conservation, counseling, carpentry, building, manufacturing, lawn care, etc . . .  You are the only person like you! No one else in the world has the skills and personality exactly like you have. You are extra-ordinary! God has given you a special gift—you, and who you are.

Finding our calling isn’t always as hard as we make it. Simply ask God to show it to you.

      God does have a calling on your life and it is possible that it is linked to your future (or present) vocation. God wants His people in the airline industry, in the ministry, in manufacturing, in film production, in computer possessing, in small business, ect. . .  Not everyone can reach the people that you can with the gospel! That is why God gives many different callings and interests to His people. There are many people who never take a step into a church and your vocation can bring you into contact with them again and again on a regular basis. This can open some opportunities to share Christ! You are a missionary because you bear the Light of Christ everywhere you go! The only question is will you follow God’s leading to be a Light around them?

Your notes on the subject

Respect

Respect

“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” Romans 13:1-7 KJV

     We need to respect others—our parents, those in authority, and everyone else. We may not agree and we might even challenge or argue with certain people, but we are always called to respect (Rom. 13:1-7).

Point to Contemplate: 

Even in fighting a war, respect can be exercised.

Submission

Submission

     Submission is not just mindless obedience, it is respect of the authority that God has given or placed someone in, whether or not you agree with everything they stand for.

Examples:

     We are to submit to Christ as Christ submits to the Father. Likewise, children submit to their parents and the Church, the Bride of Christ, submits to Christ. And as a wife to her husband (Eph. 5).

Lesson 6, Various Elements that a man needs to understand and apply

Lesson 6, Various Elements that a man needs to understand and apply

Obedience

Scripture:

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15 KJV

     As Christians, we are to be obedient to Christ; if we aren’t we show that we don’t really love Him. Think about that for a minute.

Work for Growth, Lesson 5

Work (personal assignment) For Growth

 

V  Titus 2  ~ What we and Others are to Be Taught, We are to Set an Example

V  Titus 3:1-11  ~ Doing Things like Christ did

V  2 Peter 3 ~ Meditate on the True Beauty “Factors” of Women that are mentioned here is Scripture. And the Second Part of This Passage is a Reminder that Suffering for Doing the Right Thing is Going to Happen.

V  Ephesians 5:22-33 ~ Marriage – it will Probably be Part of your Life – This Gives you Insight into your Role as a Future Husband, and Guess What? Your Training Starts Today.

V  Eph. 6:1-3 ~ We are to Obey, not just listen to our Parents, and yes, it will be Difficult

V  Eph. 6:4 ~ Read this verse with a Thinking Mind. Yes, Parents can Mess up, but our Role isn’t to put them down but build them up.  Plus, you will Probably be a Father One Day so This Verse Applies to You . . . and it Would even if you were a Girl, because we can Learn from all Scripture.

Being a Future Husband

Being a Future Husband

     Being a husband will be enjoyable at times and discouraging at others. The honest truth, is that work, church, entertainment, family, life, God, and your wife will all want a slice of your time. A marriage will require work: your family will require time and attention, you and your wife will desire to have time alone together and with close friends, work will require a large part of your life as you provide, and your spiritual health will require things like church, discipleship, serving, and study, plus you need to take times of rest. But above all else, to be a husband, you must be grounded, firmly planted and growing, in a relationship with God, fellow believers,—not a spiritual loner!— and actively engaged in the Word of God and prayer.

  A list of Traits that a Husband should have (discuss/contemplate):

V  Humility

V  Initiative

V  Motivation

V  Lovingness

V  Strong- Character

V  Grounding

V  Strength

V  Providing Spirit

V  Defender

V  Warrior

V  Patient

V  Firmness

V  Resilience

V  Peaceable

V  Slow Tongue

V  Conviction

V  Frugality

V  Fruitfulness

V  Willingness to Listen

V  Responsibility

V  Commitment

 

 

     Guess what? God wants to prepare these traits in you starting today! I am going to be up front with you, this preparation will be difficult in the days of life ahead; but it will also be extremely rewarding as you become more like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Your notes on the subject

Male Authority, General Role Gen. 1-3

Lesson 5, Back to work: Leadership

Male Authority, General Role Gen. 1-3

     There is a lot to learn in Genesis chapters 1-3: everything is created, the first man gets the job to name all the animals—that is a big job!—God creates a helper for the man: Eve, the very first “girl.” A short while after that, the FALL of mankind takes place; then death is introduced into our world and the entire geography of the earth changes because of one piece of fruit. “Little” wrong choices have big consequences. Curses are placed on the man, woman, and serpent, aside from the ground. During the penalty of curses (Gen. 3:14-24), the man is given the responsibility of toilsome work to provide for himself, his wife; and later, his children. However, please remember that work was not the curse placed on man. Rather the curse was that work would now be difficult. There is DEFINITLY a lot to learn from the first three chapters of Genesis.

Your notes on the subject

Work for Growth, Lesson 4

Work (personal assignment) For Growth

V  1 Tim. 4:1-16 ~ Apostle Paul’s words to Timothy, who was a young man much like us with big Responsibilities

V  1 Tim. 5:1 – 6:21 ~ How we are to Treat People, Warnings about Money, & More Words to Timothy

V  2 Tim. 1:3-2:13 ~ Urge to Live a Faithful Life with God

V  2 Tim. 2:14-26 ~ Serve God

V  2 Tim. 3:1-9 ~ Description of the Last days, We are Certainly living in Them

V  2Tim 3:10-4:8  ~ Paul’s Commands to Timothy, These are Important, so Pay Attention

Singleness vs. Marriage – Trust God and don’t Sin by Worrying about It

Singleness vs. Marriage – Trust God and don’t Sin by Worrying about It

Scriptures:

“Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.” ~ Titus 2:6-8 KJV

“He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.” ~ Matthew 19:8-12 KJV

 

 Your notes on the subject

Manners

Manners

V  Honor and Respect for Women isn’t falling head over heels.

V  Opening the door for a woman shouldn’t mean that you like her, it should be a sign of respect for womankind, whether old, short, young, etc . . . putting others first.

V  To be a godly future husband and father you need to start your training now, this includes making decisions that are based on the Bible.

V  You can look like a man, but not be one. True manhood isn’t about being tough physically, it’s about being humble—which is actually harder to become than the guy that has muscles everywhere.

V  Respect isn’t sealed with a kiss, it is sealed with true love—that means, acting like you should act regardless of the circumstances or how you feel.

You will only be a man once you love others like Christ does. This includes treating women (of all ages, whether relatives or not) with respect.

 Your notes on the subject

Samson – a lady problem (Complete story in Judges 13-16)

Samson – a lady problem (Complete story in Judges 13-16)

Read: Judges 13 in class.—SO COOL, I JUST HAD TO INCLUDE IT!

The name SAMSON means

“His sun; his service; there the second time.”—Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names

 

     Samson was like the strongest guy ever, and yet he had weaknesses. One was his hair, but another was women. . . . The “women” that you are “interested in”—and around!—will either help to build you up or to tear you down. Eve was created to help Adam, not just to be his wife. Think about it.

Your notes on the subject:

Treating Women with Purity

Scripture:

      “Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;  The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.” 1Timothy 5:1-2 KJV

     This verse contains a lot in it. But the convicting part for me is where it says, “Treat . . .  older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.” I know that I do not always treat my mother and sister the right way and you probably don’t either, but the point I want to make is: are we not only treating women, younger or older, as we would our family; but in the right way?

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Your notes on the subject

Lesson 4, Girls – in the future you won’t think they’re disgusting + Manners around women (older or younger) & a touch on Leadership

Lesson 4, Girls – in the future you won’t think they’re disgusting + Manners around women (older or younger) & a touch on Leadership

      Did you complete the Money worksheet, Family devotion, and read the Love definition? I hope so.

My Testimony

Include article—the faithfulness of God—(Find this on the Biblical Manhood website: https://sites.google.com/site/biblicalmanhood2013/)

 

Notes of my testimony/resources

Work for Growth, Lesson 3

Work (personal assignment) For Growth

V  Rom. 5: 12-21 ~ We enter into Death because of Adam and Freedom and Life! because of Christ

V  Rom. 8 ~ Living with the Holy Spirit as our Guide; Our Eternal Future; and Our identity as Conquering Warriors through Jesus Christ

V  Rom. 13 ~ We are to Submit, just like Christ Submits to God the Father

V  Heb. 11 ~ Examples of Faith  

V  1 Cor.  1:10-31  ~ We need unity in the Universal and Local Church, and we personally have role to play

V  1 Cor. 6:1-11 ~ The Bible tells us in this passage about how lawsuits between the body of Christ should be handled (a.k.a. They shouldn’t take place) 

V  1 Cor. 10:1-13 ~ Temptation

V  1 Cor. 13 ~ True Love *           Also, read the Love definition located after your worksheet as part of your assignment. You might need a parents’ help to understand this definition.

 

Contemplate this definition to prepare your heart’s soil to be ready for the next class:

Definition of Love :

  Love cannot be adequately defined by a modern dictionary or Hollywood, it is not an emotion or bubbly feeling, but rather, a patient, sacrificial person whom God created to be of the utmost importance in our Christian lives.

  It is an action founded in Christ, of whom our perfected example lays. It overlooks age, race, color, and social and economic standings. It corrects, reaches, instructs, teaches, and touches the very soul. It looks past hate and pride – of which pride is forth most, its enemy; since every sin somehow, is stemmed from that wicked root.

  Love is thereby adequately defined by 1 Corinthians 13 which declares Love to be patient, merciful; it is an action of sorts, the opposite of hate, and above all the Divine Nature of Providence and starkly, uncompromisingly opposite to lust, hate, emotion, and pleasure – which almost invariably stem from pride.

  Love is simply the absence of pride resulting in an “others’ oriented” mindset, seated upon Christ and worked out with healthy fear and trembling (which is due to the fact that Love is our only true calling).

Side note:

Humility, Contentment, and Affection all stem from this ‘odd’ four letter word – that is, L-O-V-E.

Closing Scripture for contemplation:

Closing Scripture for contemplation:

     Are you waging this type of battle, with Christ as your General?

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 KJV

A Man’s Battle, Humility

A Man’s Battle, Humility

  Scripture:

“(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)” Numbers 12:3 KJV

 

“The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.” Psalm 25:9 KJV

    True humility is acknowledging that you deserve nothing, you are lower than low because of sin, you don’t deserve anything, yet for some reason God loves you and tells you that you matter to Him and His body. True humility is placing your trust in God and what He says, and paying no attention to your natural, selfish inclinations. Humility is tough. (REF. HUMILITY JC notes)

When you are humble, your strength comes from Christ, not you.

Your notes on the subject:

A Man’s Battle, Openness

A Man’s Battle, Openness

     We don’t always like to tell people how we are feeling, instead we often think that sharing feelings is girly and talking about life is boring. We want the thrills, fun, facts and action. . . . or at least many of us. No matter how open you already are, here are a few areas that we need openness in:

#1 In our Family

#2 With another (or more) Christian for accountability

#3 With a Mentor (Paul figure) to learn

Your notes on the subject:

A Man’s Battle, His Speech

A Man’s Battle, His Speech

“But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Matthew 12:36-37 KJV

     Our speech should be reflecting Christ – this one really gets me at times because I have a really big mouth. How about you?

How’s your speech?
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Your notes on the subject:

A Man’s Battle, Real Men must Forgive

A Man’s Battle, Real Men must Forgive

Scripture:

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” Matt. 6:13-14 KJV (underlining added)

      Are you living a forgiving life? If not do you really believe this verse which says that you will not be forgiven by God if you choose not to forgive? Repent, and pray that you will truly forgive the other person(s) and then move on. Bless that person when offense arises in your heart. “You cannot stay mad at somebody you are blessing.”—Pastor Ed Shirrell

                                   

Your notes on the subject:

A Man’s Battle, The Curse of Sweat is Still True – I sweat when I write real hard

A Man’s Battle, The Curse of Sweat is Still True – I sweat when I write real hard

Scripture:

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Genesis 3:19 KJV

      I have seen the sweating part proved true over and over again. Just get the farming picture out of your mind in regards to work. When I work really hard, I mean give a message, write for a while, or haul the garbage to the cub, I sweat. My desire is to write and minister full time one day and I believe that the curse of sweat applies no matter what the job is. How does the sweat apply to you?

Cleaning the house?

Wrestling with your little brother?

 Racing against a friend?

 The possibilities of sweating are endless.

 

Your notes on the subject

A Man’s Battle, Work and Family – Where is the Balance?

A Man’s Battle, Work and Family – Where is the Balance?

Scripture:

“Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.” Proverbs 24:27 KJV

      It is hard to find a balance between work and family, but I think this verse offers us an application of balance. Read the verse above again. You finish your work and then build your house. To me that building your house can mean spiritually and relationally building up your household when you’re a father and husband. Now I am neither of those yet, so I struggle sometimes with how I should balance my time with my family (parents and siblings) and work. I know that relationships with my siblings and parents are important, but they will always be different than the relationship that I have with my wife and children in my own home one day. Nonetheless, I think that this Scripture offers us the insight of finishing up our work and then spending time with our family. Please note that your work is meant to have an end and that once your work is done you spend time with your family.

 Your notes on the subject: