A FEW GOOD MEN. - Ezekiel 22:30

(NOTE: Ladies i am not saying that your not an equal because you are but what I am doing is  pointing out qualities that every man should have and needs to have. )

Ezekiel 22:30 "I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. "

 

Prerequisites to being a Good Father:

Being a man, functioning as a man, taking responsibility as a man, thinking like a man, acting like a man, working like a man, all of these are prerequisites to being a good Father!

 

You will not and cannot be a good Father until you are a good Man.

        It’s a dying art today…there are not many in our nation anymore.

Thank God we DO have a few good men here…we can always use a few more!

 THE MEN’S THESAURUS

(men don’t always say what they mean) – ladies, please allow me to translate for your future benefit:

•  When a man says “IT WOULD TAKE TOO LONG TO EXPLAIN”
  

He means: "I have no idea how it works"

 

• When a man says "TAKE A BREAK, HONEY. YOU ARE WORKING TOO HARD’’
  

He means: "I can’t hear the game over the vacuum cleaner"

 

• When a man says ’THAT’S INTERESTING DEAR.’
  

He means: "Are you still talking?"

 

• When a man says: "IT’S A GUY THING"
  

He means: "There is no rational thought pattern connected with this, and you have no chance at all of making it logical"

 

• When a man says "CAN I HELP WITH DINNER"
  

He means: "Why isn’t it ready yet?"

 

• When a man says "UH HUH, SURE HONEY,” or “YES, DEAR"
  

He means: Absolutely nothing – It’s a conditioned response.

 

• When a man says "YOU KNOW HOW BAD MY MEMORY IS."
  

He means: " I can remember the theme song to ‘Hogan’s Heroes’, the phone # of the first girl I ever kissed & the vehicle identification numbers of every car I ever owned – but yes, I forgot your birthday"

 

• When a man says ’OH, DON’T FUSS, I JUST CUT MYSELF. IT’S NO BIG DEAL"
  

He means: "I have probably severed a limb, but I will bleed to death before I admit I’m hurt, so get over here and help me!"

 

• When a man says ’I CAN’T FIND IT.’’
  

He means: "It didn’t fall into my outstretched hand, so I’m completely clueless"

 

• When a man says “I HEARD YOU.”
  

He means: "I haven’t the foggiest clue what you just said and I am hoping desperately that I can fake it well enough so that you’ll not spend the next 3 days yelling at me."

 

When a man says "YOU KNOW I COULD NEVER LOVE ANYONE ELSE"

He means: "I am used to the way you yell at me and realize it could be worse."

 

• When a man says "YOU LOOK TERRIFIC!"
  

He means: "Oh please don’t try on one more outfit, we’re late and I’m starving."

 

• When a man says "I’M NOT LOST. I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE.’’
  

He means:  "No one will ever see us alive again."

 

• When a man says “I don’t think I can go today.”
  

He means:  Shopping is NOT a sport, and no, I am never going to think of it that way.

 

• When a man says, “I don’t remember saying that.”
  

It’s because he means:  “Anything I may have said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all past comments become null and void after 7 days.”

 

• When a man says, “that’s not what I meant.”
  

He means:  “If something I said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, I meant the other one.

 

• If your husband says, “honey, what color is this?”
  

He means:  ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. I have no idea what “taupe” is.

 We thank God today for the good men He’s sent us here.

 Good men are:

Men Who Have Learned to Lean [on the Lord]

Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  (6)  in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

 

For Salvation (Eph. 2:8, 9)

Ephesians 2:8-9  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--  (9)  not by works, so that no one can boast.

 

We men are bad about trying to be “in control”…to “make things happen.” Often ladies find it easier to “rest in the Lord” and lean on Him for salvation. It’s a part of a woman’s nature to place themselves in someone else’s hands. It’s not that way for men. Is that fair?

Jesus solves this dilemma:

Matthew 18:3  And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

Children have that attitude of trust, even male children…but something happens to us once we begin to feel even the slightest amount of thickness in our “peach fuzz!”

 I thank God for a few good men we have here at Grace…they have learned to lean on the Lord for their salvation…

 

B.    For Strength (Isaiah 40:30, 31)

Isaiah 40:30-31  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;  (31)  but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

 

Psalms 147:10  His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;

 C.    For Supply (Phil. 4:19)

Philippians 4:19  And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

 

We all want to be the breadwinner/mighty hunter, but ultimately we need to see even our own selves as being in God’s hands.

 

D.    For Soundness (Reasoning/Wisdom)

James 1:5  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

 

This is the one of only 2 prayers any man can pray which the answer is always yes! [salvation-Romans 10:13  for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."-is the other]

 

I thank God for a few good men who have learned to lean…

II.    Men Who Have Learned to Lead

A.    Their Flesh (Gal 5:16, 17; Gal 2:20)

Galatians 5:16-17  So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  (17)  For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

 

Galatians 2:20  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 Men, we have to lead our flesh or our flesh will lead us!

B.    Their Families (Ephesians 5:23)

Ephesians 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

 Headship isn’t being the big boss…it’s loving leadership. God is no respecter of persons…women are equal in His sight.

Ill.—bible says she is the “weaker vessel”. This is not an insult…rather, it’s a compliment to her. She is not less valuable, rather, she is more fragile, and in need of strong, yet loving, leadership.

Women are like fine silk. Men are more like corduroy. [have you heard the news about corduroy pillows? They’re making headlines!]

Silk and corduroy: which is more fragile? Which is more valuable?The answer to both questions is “silk!”

 In God’s wisdom he has given each family a head…for anything w/ 2 heads is a monster!

But this is not a privilege as much as it is a responsibility!

The hardest thing you will ever do will be a good husband and a good Father to your Children…

…Eli could run the temple but could not run his family; 1 Samuel 3:13  For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them.

 …David could run a kingdom and lead men into battle, but could not run his children; 1 Kings 1:5-6  Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, "I will be king." So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him.  (6)  (His father had never rebuked him by asking, "Why do you behave as you do?" He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)

 

Lead our flesh, families…

 C.    The Fallen (to Jesus)

Hosea 6:7  As at Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there.

        [word “men” could be translated “Adam”]

Romans 5:12  Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned--

 Romans 5:18-19  Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.  (19)  For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

         Shall many?  Not if we don’t lead the fallen!  It’s why God left us here.

1 Corinthians 15:22  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

 Shall all? Not if we don’t lead the fallen!

 I thank God for our few good men who have learned to lead…

 III.    Men Who Have Learned to Love

A.    The Father (the Lord) (1 Cor. 13:1-3; 1 Cor.16:22)

1 Corinthians 13:1-3  If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  (2)  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  (3)  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

 1 Corinthians 16:22  If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!

  [accursed]

 B.    Their Families

We covered this under leadership…how? When we said the only real leadership is loving leadership!

Further: God admonishes every husband to "love your wife". This may seem like a strange admonition to many. Some will say, "If I didn't loved her I wouldn't have married her." Wait a minute, love, as used here, means far more than affection. It means more than emotional feeling or satisfaction. It means that you or I are going to seek the welfare and happiness of the person we are going to love, and lead them lovingly. That means that my effort will be to make the object of my love happy, secure, and comfortable.

This admonition goes far beyond just telling the husband to love his wife as long as she is beautiful, lovely, etc:

Joke--A man was talking to his wife after she had done something that he did not approve of. He said to her, "How can you be so beautiful and stupid at the same time?" She replied, "God made me beautiful so you would love me, and He made me stupid so I would love you."

 C.    The Fellowship (the Church)

Ephesians 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

 The same passage tells us to love in the same way.

Revelation 3:9  I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars--I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

Written to a church…He loves the church and so should we!

Isaiah 43:4  Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.

 1 Thessalonians 4:9  Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.

 Matthew 12:50  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

 [love/join the family of God]

John 15:5 [get connected]

John 15:5  "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

 Act 2:41  Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Acts 2:47  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

 I thank God for the few good men God has given to us…don’t you? We need a few more, so how about you?

Ezekiel 22:30  "I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.

Welcome A Father's Legacy

I want to welcome you to A Father's Legacy, a single father's ministry based in Grants Pass Oregon.  It is my prayer that we can become a lighthouse for single father's in our community.   The whole puropse of this ministry is to help fathers become the father that our Heavenly Father would like all of us to be.  We do this by our vision which is simply Connect, Grow, Go. I will explain this in a next post.

There are demands like no other on the Fathers.  We aim to help you to understand these demands and commandment.  Even if your not one that goes to church we are here to help you.  We believe that in order to become the father that we are meant to be we can learn from other fathers.  

We will also help you with resources if necessary we have access to Christian counselors.

I hope that you would bookmark our home page and keep coming back for more information. If you contact us I will add you to our mailing list so that you can be kept informed of new content.

your fellow Single Father support

Trinidad