JURONG OUTREACH - JUN 03
| Jun | Author | |
| 1/6/03 8/6/03 15/6/03 22/6/03 29/6/03 |
The Christian
Husband The Christian Man and His Creation A Father's Love Daddy had a Little Boy How to Train Men for Leadership The Young Christian Man |
THE CHRISTIAN HUSBAND
1 Jun 03
A
man’s relationship with his wife is the closest human relationship he will
ever experience. It is so close that Jesus described it as becoming “one
flesh” (Matthew 19:6), that Paul likened it to Christ, the Head, with His
spiritual body, the Church. Thus, what he does for her, he does for himself, but
what is the Christian husband’s obligation to his wife?
Lifelong
Commitment
He
has made a lifelong commitment to his wife, and divorce is only permitted by God
for the cause of adultery (Matthew 19:9 ) God intended for one man and one woman to live
together for life, but never intended for a married couple to be divorced.
(Matthew 19:6).
If
a husband is to live with his wife for a lifetime without considering divorce as
an option, he has to make and keep a lifelong commitment to her. “Till death
do us part” cannot be just words in a wedding ceremony, but words that reflect
the determination in his heart.
At
present times such commitment is often lacking, and when the romantic love or
sexual attraction which drew husband and wife together cools off, any little
problem is reason enough to get a divorce. The husband realizes that his wife is
not so physically attractive anymore, she nags, and the girl at work seems so
pretty and sweet, he is likely to start thinking about breaking up and starting
over with someone else.
What
can keep this from happening? The husband must take his commitment seriously! He
must determine, no matter what problems arise, he must remain true to his wife.
Absolute Fidelity
(1
Cor 7:2-5) A Christian husband must keep the promise to keep himself for his
wife alone and will resist committing adultery because he knows that adultery is
a sin which involves more than 2 people.
Adultery
would be sin against God, his wife, the woman with whom he committed adultery
and her husband (if she were married). It would break the vow he made, it would
likely affect his entire family, and it contributes to the
disintegration of society. Adultery is a terrible blow to the church, it
would soil his soul. It would bring to him disastrous consequences, even if he
later obtained forgiveness for the sin, or it would bring him to hell if
he does not repent. Sinning also gives a
victory to Satan.
Family Leadership
He owes it to his wife to
act as the head of the family. (Eph 5:21;Col 3:18, 19; 1 Peter 3:1-6; 1 Cor
11:2-5) The bible teaches that man is to lead the home. The bible is not
teaching that the man has absolute power over his wife.
Every man has to under 3
truths about his headship. 1) Found in a context
of mutual submission (Eph 5:21). The man and the wife are to submit to each
other. He leads as a servant; his aim is to serve his wife. 2) His headship is
characterized by love. He is to love his wife as he loves himself (Eph 5:33), as
he loves his own body (Eph 5:28), and Christ’s sacrificial love for the Church
(Eph 5:25). 3) His headship is exercised in ways that are culturally and
personally acceptable. Different cultures, different times and different
family backgrounds see the headship of a man differently. What is important is
not what others think about your family, but what you know to be true.
To the Christian man,
leadership is not so much a privilege to be enjoyed
as responsibility to be borne. Upon him falls the task of guiding the family
toward and enduring marriage and a successful home.
Love
If
the wife owes her husband submission, he owes her love, as much as Christ had
for the church (Eph 5:21-29). Christ’s love was selfless and
sacrificial, and the Christian husband’s love for his wife must be that
kind of love. How does he show that love?
The
husband ought to keep romantic love alive in the marriage.
Generally, the wife is more likely to be interested in romance that the
husband. So, he should take it upon himself to keep the romance alive; he should
woo his wife continually with kisses, hugs, gifts, poetry, and frequent
affirmations of love. Why? Not because he feels the need for it, but because she
does-and since he loves her, he wants to meet her emotional needs.
He
should also strive to be like the person defined in 1 Cor 13:4-7.
Meeting The
Wife’s Needs
1 Tim 5:8 would certainly
apply to a man’s providing for his wife and children. It does not teach that
it would be wrong for the woman to contribute to meeting the needs of the family
by holding a job, but it does teach that a man should work to provide for his
family. If he willfully refuses to work to support his own, he is to be
disciplined (2 Thess 3:6-15).
While a husband has the
responsibility to meet the physical needs of his family, he also has the
responsibility to meet the family’s other needs. The wife, in particular, has
psychological, emotional, and social needs which the husband should recognize.
She wants to be reassured that she is somebody special to him. Women often
suffer from low self-esteem, and the husband must take seriously his wife’s
feelings of low self-esteem. Too frequently, a husband makes his wife feel worse
by criticizing her.
Honor and Respect
Two
requirements are placed upon husbands: to be understanding and to treat heir
wives with respect. (1 Peter 3:7). A husband can try to be understanding
toward his wife, and he can certainly make an effort to be
considerate of her. Husbands also should “respect” their wives. Good
wives are due great honor (Prov 31:10-29). He can solve his wife’s problem of
low self-esteem if he will respect her as a person of worth, honor her, praise
her, and never criticize her.
Spiritual
Leadership
The
most important responsibility God has give to husbands is to be the spiritual
leader of the Family. Fathers are to bring their children up in the
“discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6:4). A major concern of the
New Testament passages which deal with the husband/wife relationship is the
spiritual dimension of the marriage. (1 Cor 7:5; 1 Peter 3:7).
The
father must see that his children are taught the way of God, that the family
studies the Bible and engages in devotions at home, that they
attend worship services together, and that his children have Christian
examples to follow. The husband also has the responsibility to encourage
and strengthen his wife so that they can one day be in heaven together.
Conclusion
In short, the Christian
husband is to do everything in his power to serve his wife, make her happy, meet
her needs, and help her go to heaven. A good wife’s worth is “far above
jewels” (Prov 31:10).
The
Christian Man And His Recreation
8 Jun 03
If
we believe that the Christian religion relates to the whole of life, not just to
those hours we spend in public worship or at work, then we must believe that
God’s Word has something to say about our recreation, just as it does about
our work and worship. What does it say? What principles can we find in the Bible
to guide the Christian man as he engages in his recreation?
Realize
that taking time for recreation is not wrong
God’s
Word teaches us to work. However, it does not require that we work all the time.
The Old testament law regarding the Sabbath Day demonstrates that God intended
for man to take some time off from work to rest.
Jesus
indicated in his own life the need for rest, for time off from the pressing
problems and urgent tasks of His ministry. On one occasion Jesus said, “Come
away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest for a while” (Mark 6:31).
Bring
glory to God during recreation
Perhaps
Colossians 3:17 would apply to our recreation, as well as to other areas of
life: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the father.” This is also stated by
Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:31.
How
can recreation be “to the glory of God”? We can bring glory to God by
refusing to engage in unethical, immoral, or illegal recreation. We will
not, for example, be involved in gambling as a means of amusement, although
millions of people around the world gamble regularly. This goes the same for
alcoholic drinks, dancing and drugs.
Much
of today’s entertainment appeals to our basest instincts; it may attract us
because it offers sinful pleasures such as explicit movies, fornication, and
prostitution. The Christian who seeks to keep himself “unstained by the
world” (James 1:27), who chooses not to conform himself to the world.
(Romans
12:1, 2), must fight against such temptations.
We
can bring glory to God by always acting like Christians. Even people in the
world recognize the responsibility to act properly in games. They want players
to live up to an expected code of conduct.
If
worldly people can tell the difference between players who abide by the rules
and those who do not, Christians should live up to an even higher code of
conduct. Our guidelines are imposed not only by the rules of the games, but also
by the commands of Christ: “Do to others as you would have them do to you”
(Matthew 7:12) “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:39) Another
way to bring glory to God is to give Him the praise for our ability to do well. When
American athletes achieve something remarkable, they often say something like
“I just want to thank God for giving me this ability.” They know where their
great athletic skills came from; at least they are right about that.
Perhaps
we should learn a lesson from them. We may think that God gives us the ability
to sing, pray, or preach, but have the idea that any other talent we have comes
from our genes, our desire, or our training. In truth, everything we have and
are – including intellectual ability, writing skills, the ability to earn a
living or any other talent – comes from God (James 1:17). If God has blessed
us with the ability to excel at games, we ought to praise Him for that gift.
We
can bring glory to God by using our recreation as an opportunity to make
friends, with a view toward influencing them for Christ.
Through recreation, Christians frequently get close to people who could through
that friendship become receptive to the gospel.
Keep
recreation in perspective
Whatever
we do for recreation, we should keep it in perspective. Although “giving our
all is important to us during a game, we must not let our recreation become
all-important in our lives.
We
can keep recreation in perspective by remembering the purpose of
We can keep recreation in perspective by not allocating an inordinate amount of time and money to it. Christian men can be tempted to give priority to recreation over more important responsibilities. We need to remind ourselves that we should not spend so much money on games but rather give more to church. The same goes for spending time in recreation then spending time for our families or the services of the church. What, after all, is most important in life? Jesus told us to seek God’s kingdom first (Matthew 6:33). Recreation cannot come before God, nor should play before family.
We
can keep recreation in perspective by recognizing its relative unimportance
compared to the saving of our souls and the souls of others. Think of Paul’s
words; “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but
godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that
now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8). We must, therefore,
make sure that we do not get involved in recreational activities in such a way
as to put our souls, or the souls of others, in jeopardy.
Make
enjoyable activities more spiritual and spiritual
activities more enjoyable
We
tend to view life as having separate compartments: “work,” “worship,”
“family,” “recreation,” and so forth. This, of course, is not the
biblical way for the Christian to view his life. Christianity is related to all
of life. We can learn to see life differently, to recognize that the lines
separating different parts of our lives are imaginary. We should realize that
life has unity; each part is affected by every other part.
Our
recreation can become more “spiritual.” That is, it can fulfill a religious
purpose. We can use this principle every time we have a Christian camp. There
“religious” experiences and “fun” experiences merge; campers go from one
to another almost without noticing the transition. Faith and fun blend when the
church has fellowship dinner, as members eat and talk and laugh together. How
much better it is for Christian to get his “recreation” and “enjoyment”
in these ways than to indulge his desire for amusement in totally secular,
sometimes even anti-Christian, environments.
Our
“spiritual” activities can also become “more enjoyable.” Is it possible
that our church attendance, our hymn-singing, our praying can become more
enjoyable? To make this happen, we need not change everything – the way we
sing, the way we stand, what we do in worship. Change, even in incidental
matters, is not the key to enjoying worship. If Christians are to enjoy worship,
the change required is a change of attitude. We should have the attitude of the
psalmist: “I was glad when they say to me, ‘Let us go up to the house of the
Lord’” (Psalm 122:1) If
we will change our attitudes, we can learn to enjoy singing, reading the bible,
and hearing God’s Word preached. We can even learn to enjoy giving! When we
do, we may be able to say, “My favorite recreation is to go to church.” At
that point, our “recreation” and our “religious responsibilities” will
have merged.
Conclusion
A
single theme runs throughout these suggestions: During times of recreation,
remember the presence of Christ, your responsibility to Christ.
Remembering
these three things may revolutionize your recreation.
Furthermore,
the result will be that, whether you win or lose, you may be sure of two facts:
(1) Others will know that a Christian man has been among them. (2) You can win
ultimately an “imperishable” crown (1 Corinthians 9;25), a “crown of
righteousness” to be awarded to you by the Judge of all the earth (2
Timothy 4:7,8)! This is a prize worth the struggle!
A
Father’s Love
15 Jun
03
Phil
Littleford took his son on an Alaskan fishing trip with two other men. In a quest to find some running salmon, they flew their
seaplane into a secluded bay. The fishing was everything they had dreamed.
When they had finished for the day, their plane was on dry ground.
The fluctuating tide had left their plane twenty-three feet from the
water, so they cooked some of their fish for dinner and slept in the plane.
When
they awoke.... the tide had come in and their plane was drifting in the
water. They cranked the engine and
took off. Unknown to them, one of
the pontoons had been punctured and was filled with water.
The extra weight caused the seaplane to crash within moments.
Everyone survived, BUT they had no safety equipment on board. They used their waders as floating devices, but the frigid
water was a deadly threat. The
current was too strong for Dr. Littleford’s twelve-year-old son to swim
against. The other two men
fought their way against the tide and barely made it to shore.
The
two survivors looked back from shore to see Dr. Littleford and his son, Mark,
being swept out to sea, arm-in-arm. The
Coast Guard reported that they probably lasted no more than an hour in the
freezing waters. The hypothermia
would chill the body functions and put them to sleep. Mark, with a smaller body mass, would fall asleep first and
die in his father’s arms. Dr.
Littleford could have made it to shore, BUT that would have meant abandoning his
son. He chose to die with his
boy!
You and I were lost in the sea of SIN!
Too
weak to fight against sin’s current,
WE
were without hope.
Seeing our terrible plight, the Heavenly Father did NOT abandon us, but rather
He sent His Son to our rescue. The
Son of God reached out to us urging us to cling to Him for our salvation.
In order to rescue us from our sins, the Son of God gave His life.
He died - so that we might live!
Through
His sacrificial death, the Son of God CONTINUES to reach out to ALL who
are drowning in the sea of SIN. ONLY
those who "GRASP" His offer of salvation are saved.
To
be saved... one
must:
embrace
the truth
that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God
(Acts
16:31)”
And
they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy
house.”,
repent
of sin
(Acts
17:30-31)”And
the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every
where to repent:
31
Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in
righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance
unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead”,
confess
Jesus
(Romans
10:9-10)”That
if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the
heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation.”,
be
immersed
in
water for the forgiveness of sins
(Acts
2:38), “Then
Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost.”
AND
continue
to
cling to the Savior in obedience to His will
(Revelation
2:10).Fear
none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some
of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten
days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
The
love of the Father is too GREAT to be comprehended, but too IMPORTANT to be
refused!
Will
YOU not
reach up to Him through your trusting obedience for salvation?
Daddy had a little
boy,
His soul was white as snow.
He never went to Bible class,
“cause Daddy wouldn’t go.
He never heard the
stories of Jesus
That thrilled the childish mind;
While other children went to class,
This child was left behind.
And as he grew from
babe to youth,
Dad saw to his dismay
A soul that once was snowy white
Become a dingy gray.
Realizing his son
was lost,
Dad tried to win him back;
But now the soul that once was white
Had turned an ugly black.
Dad even started
back to church,
And Bible study too,
He begged the preacher, “Isn’t
there
A thing that you can do?”
The preacher tried
and failed, and said,
“We’re just too far behind,
I tried to tell you years ago,
But you would pay no mind.”
And so another soul
is lost,
That once was white as snow;
Bible study would have helped—
But Daddy
wouldn’t go.
HOW
TO TRAIN MEN FOR LEADERSHIP
22 Jun 03
One
of the pressing needs of our brotherhood is great and godly leaders in the
church.
However, leaders do not just happen—they are made!
We must realize that the Church has the responsibility for training these
leaders.
Without doubt, some men are born with greater leadership ability than
others, but this alone does not make a leader.
First
of all, I would suggest that we start training leaders from their youth.
When children, from their earliest years, are taught by godly parents, by
a strong Bible class arrangement, and from a strong pulpit, that as they grow
toward adulthood, they must be willing to accept their responsibilities and
obligations as they become qualified, we will have young men and women stepping
in and working whatever capacity they can.
On
the other hand, when we come in contact with a person who has obeyed the Gospel
later in life and the person is manifesting the qualities of “leadership,”
we should encourage him to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 3:18) “But
grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him
be glory both now and for ever.
Amen.”
We
should not hesitate to encourage the man and woman in their twenties and
thirties to begin, right then, to work toward the goal of becoming a godly elder
and elder’s wife.
Many great and godly elders, preachers, and strong workers that we have
in the church today never heard the simple Gospel of Christ until they were well
past their teenage years.
Second,
I would strongly urge that we show them “leadership.”
How many of our young people are going into the world without ever having
seen true, Biblical “leadership”?
Rather, they have seen weak, insipid, vague “leadership” demonstrated
by elders and preachers who test the winds of the wishes of the people before
they make a decision, men who will stand for nothing and fall for everything!
By the example of such men, most of our young people are seeing the
church as a democracy rather than a monarchy.
Last,
but certainly not least, I would urge a strong diet of “the word of the truth
of the gospel” (Col 1:5) “For
the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word
of the truth of the gospel;”.
The number of elders, parents, and Bible class teachers who are to be
blamed because they have failed to see the great opportunities of a Bible class
situation will not be known this side of eternity.
Sadly enough parents have turned their responsibility of teaching the
Bible over to the Bible class because they do not know the Bible, and in many
instances, the teacher knows precious
little more than the parent.
Uncaring elders without knowledge, unprepared and unqualified teachers,
games, paste, and crayons will not lay the groundwork for a child who knows
little about the Bible.
The
strength of the pulpit should never be underestimated.
The preaching of the simple Gospel of Christ will help in training men
for leadership in the church.
Rather than upholding principles of truth, righteousness, and holiness,
of sending forth a clear message of condemnation of sin and urging repentance
and conviction based upon Bible authority, our pulpits are turning the church
into a “mutual admiration society,” a “make me feel good about me in my
sins” gathering, a “let’s do something even if it’s wrong” attitude, a
“toys, games, and yo-yos” complex that mistakes
coffee, doughnuts, and gymnasiums for the “fellowship” of (1 John 1:7 )“But
if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
As
long as our colleges and our schools of preaching recognize the part they can
play in the training of leaders, that they are a means to an end, and not the
end itself (this is not to be understood as blanket endorsement of all of
“our” colleges or all of “our” preaching schools)., then they likewise
should be considered.
But when such institutions become “policy makers” for the
brotherhood, with pulpits filled or emptied at the behest, or when they become
“doctrine makers,” then they have overstepped their usefulness and should
pass into oblivion.
We have a great and mighty task before us. Le us put on “the whole armour of God” (Eph. 6:13) “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”, that we might be able to train men for leadership in the New Testament church.
THE
YOUNG CHRISTIAN MAN
29 Jun 03
Life
can be likened to a canoe trip on a river which constantly changes.
Here and there the trip is slow-moving and pleasant; you have time to
consider the wonders of your surroundings—the beauty of the shore, the trees,
the mountains, the sun and enjoy the trip. Then,
suddenly, the river can turn into a nightmare of white water.
Somehow, you have to steer your frail craft through dangerous rapids that
could at any moment cause you to turn over.
We
are always changing, and the world is always changing.
How can we remain true to Christ as we navigate the turbulence of change?
We should first understand those changes, and second, be equipped to deal
with the spiritual challenges of each period of life.
Developmental
psychologists today usually divide adulthood into three stages: early adulthood;
middle adulthood, and late adulthood. Each
stage has its own “developmental tasks” and spiritual challenges.
The Bible deals with the special temptations and tasks of each stage.
We shall deal with the Early Adulthood (18—29 yr) in this issue.
The young man faces several “developmental tasks” like selecting a mate (or adjusting to unmarried status), learning to live with a marriage partner, starting a family, rearing children, learning to relate to the children of others, managing a home etc.
Then
he faces and “age-thirty transition.” Many
men develop a “restless vitality” when they reach this age.
They feel they have not accomplished
all they want to accomplish and must make some changes.
The Bible recognizes the category of “youth” and gives special
instructions to those in that age group, because young men face many spiritual
challenges.
Young
men must decide whom they will follow.
Being
young means making decisions—about marriage, children, and employment.
Those decisions can be confusing. One
thing will help the young man make the right decisions: choosing to follow
Christ. Once that decision is made,
all other decisions will be made in keeping with that one big decision.
(Ecc
12:1) ”Remember
now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the
years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;”
Men
who do not decide to follow Christ in their youth may find it harder and harder
to turn to God as they get older.
Young
men must flee youthful lusts
(2
Tim 2:22) “Flee
also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them
that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
Of
course, a man can be tempted to commit fornication or adultery at any age.
Older men may fall prey to lust because they mistakenly feel they are too
old to be tempted. (1 Cor 10:12) “Wherefore
let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” When
men are young, however, their sexual drive is at its peak.
Therefore, young men have a special responsibility to watch out for
temptation and to keep lust out of their heart.
Young
men must begin to mature
In a sense, the business of being young is to get over it! That is the major task of being young is to mature, so that one is no longer guilty of behaviour that would be classified as “childish”. That is not a popular idea in today’s world, where many are slow to give up the “freedom” of their youth.
Paul,
in contrast, said, “ When
I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a
child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things”.
(1Cor
13:11)
When
Paul told Titus to “urge
the young men to be sensible”
(Titus 2:6), he used a word that he had already used of older men (Titus 2:2)
“that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in
patience”. He
did not say, “Let the young men act foolishly, enjoy life, have a good time,
and live for pleasure.” The
business of youth is to give up childishness.
What
are some” childish things: we must give up as we grow up?
(1) Hedonism -- the idea that pleasure is the greatest good in life.
(2) Instant
gratification—the inability to see beyond the moment or recognize that
momentary pain (work and sacrifice) will have long-term benefits.
(3) Selfishness—the
tendency to see the world only in terms of what personal benefits it (or other
people) can provide, rather than, at some cost to oneself, seeking to become
part of a larger cause for the greater good.
May the youths in our congregation continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ to become the future leaders of His church.