Defining a Man | Be Watchful

So on April 14th, 1912, the Titanic sank.

And you know the story, but there's probably another story about it that you've never heard before.

When the order was given for women and children first to be loaded into the lifeboats, there was a man named John Harper.

John Harper put a life jacket on his six-year-old daughter.

He wrapped her up in a blanket and he carried her to the lifeboats.

When he got there, he got down on one knee and he told her that he loved her.

And he told her that he's going to see her again one day.

And then he handed her to a crew member and watched her get loaded onto one of those lifeboats.

Now, once she was safely on the lifeboat, once that happened, Harper took off his life jacket, he gave it to somebody else, and he started walking up and down the decks.

I see, Harper knew that Christians like himself, they were ready to die that night.

Like, even though he knew that he was not going to survive the Titanic, but he knew that his salvation was already secured in Christ.

He knew that other people who did not know Jesus, they were not ready to die that night.

He could see what was really happening.

What was really happening were all these people that were about to step into a Christeless eternity.

So he started walking up and down the decks, pleading with people to turn to Jesus.

He even gathered, while the ship is seeking, he gathered a huge group of people around him and started praying over him.

One survivor said, Oh, he was yelling out, women, children, and the unsaved first.

He started praying over people, and they said he wasn't scared.

He didn't have a panic look on his face.

Here's a quote: He had a holy joy in his face.

He stayed on the ship as long as he possibly could until eventually he had to jump into the freezing water.

But that's not where it ended.

Once he got in the water, he started swimming from person to person, sharing the gospel with them, pleading for them to turn to Jesus.

But eventually, hypothermia set in and Harper sank.

Four years later, there was a young man named Aguilla Webb.

I would you like to have that name?

He was a survivor of the Titanic and he gave his story at a church gathering.

He said that while he was floating on a piece of wreckage by himself, John Harper swam up to him.

He said, Young man, do you know Jesus?

Are you saved?

Webb said, I'm not.

Harper said, believe in Jesus and you will be saved.

And then he swam away to go reach somebody else.

Then just a few minutes later, he swam back to Webb and he said one more time, he said, Young man, do you believe in Jesus now?

And Webb said, Honestly, I can say that I am not.

One more time, Harper said, Believe in Jesus and you will be saved.

And then shortly after that, Harper sank into the black water.

Now Webb said, as he was floating there on that wreckage by himself with two miles of black ocean underneath him, he believed.

I believe.

He said that he was John Harper's last convert.

Now, apparently, God wanted Harper's story and Webb's story to be told because there were only seven people pulled out of the water that night.

Rose was not one of them.

Plenty of space on her wreckage.

She was selfish.

I would actually argue that she was the villain in Titanic.

Look, she steals a diamond from her fiance, then cheats on him with a homeless guy.

Like, that's don't email me about that part.

Like, I'm just seven people get pulled out of the water that night.

Webb was one of the seven.

Like, what as a Christian man?

What a way to go.

To die like that.

I mean, Harper had joy and peace.

He wasn't scared, he wasn't terrified.

He had joy and peace because he knew what was waiting for him as a man who had his faith and trust in Christ.

But what was so amazing about that moment, I can't imagine that scene.

What was amazing about Harper was that he could see what was really going on around him.

Like all of these people who were about to face a judgment that would declare them guilty and then step into an eternity full of torment and darkness and weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So in his very last moments, Harper could see what was really going on, and he was doing something about it because that's what a man does.

1 Corinthians 16, 13.

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong, and let all you do be done in love.

Be watchful.

This is a military command.

Like some translations will say, be on guard, watch out, be alert.

It's a command that an officer would give to a soldier because the enemy's nearby.

Or if you're in the Navy, it means you're on watch.

You're responsible for watching the ship so that enemy, there's there are no enemy attacks.

Like that's what this command in 1 Corinthians 16 means.

It's a military command to be watchful.

And it's the same thing that Jesus said to the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Hey, watch while I go pray.

First Peter goes into this a little bit more.

Chapter 5, verse 8.

It says, Be sober-minded, be watchful.

Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Being watchful is a very high calling for a man.

And there is a very real enemy that's walking around right now that would love to take you out as a man.

He'd love to take out your lineage and your legacy.

He'd love to take out your family, take out your friends, take out churches.

A man is a protector.

It's one of our rules.

We talked about that last week.

And a protector is a defender.

Well, if a defender is taken out, then someone or something is left defenseless.

Like you may not see yourself as a protector or a defender.

Matt, that's okay, cool.

I see what you're getting at.

That feels a little intense.

You might not view yourself that way.

The world certainly doesn't want to view men as perfectors and defenders.

Man, the world wants to look at men and say, you guys are the problem.

But let me tell you the truth.

It doesn't matter what you think, or it definitely doesn't matter what the world says.

Here's the truth Satan views you as a defender.

That's how he views you as a man.

As a man, you have a target on your back.

Satan knows that if you're out of the way, women and children are more vulnerable.

So are churches.

Societies are more vulnerable, defenseless.

Satan would love for you to bury your head in the sand or be asleep at the wheel and just be silent.

Because a man who is on watch is a dangerous thing to say.

So if you're gonna be watchful, it starts with being sober-minded, like Peter said.

Like here's what being sober-minded means for a man it starts with controlled emotions.

Emotions are real.

Guys, it's okay for you to feel something.

You're supposed to.

Emotions are natural.

Uncontrolled emotions are not helpful.

I mean, there is such a thing as righteous anger.

I mean, there's stuff in the world right now that as a man you should be ticked off about, for sure.

But if I just lose it really quickly, well then I'm not thinking clearly, and that means I'm gonna be reacting out of emotion instead of reacting out of wisdom.

Like any fool can fly off the handle.

But a man is in control of his emotions.

He feels them, he knows what they are, he's in control of them so that he can think clearly and see what's actually happening.

Then being sober-minded also means you cannot be complacent.

Satan would love for you as a man to just bury your head in the sand.

But you cannot be sober-minded if you're complacent.

Like you cannot just think that it's somebody else's job.

Or you see something going on over here.

Well, somebody else will take care of that.

That kind of thought process is how so many men have allowed horrific events to happen throughout history.

It's how so many men lay down the spiritual arms that they have right now in the fight that we're in, the spiritual fight that we're in.

And as a man, to be sober-minded means it means you cannot be naive or distracted.

You cannot be naive to the fact that we are in a spiritual fight right now, whether we want to be or not.

You cannot be naive to the fact that the enemy, the devil, man, he's one, he wants to tear you apart like a lion.

You can't be naive to all of the distractions that are put in your face on purpose.

Distractions that are get that are meant to get men to look over here, so you don't see what's really going on over there.

Distracted by going down the rabbit hole on the latest conspiracy theory.

Are there conspiracies in the world?

Yes.

Are you gonna figure out the latest conspiracy theory on your own?

No, you're not.

You're not, man.

Yeah, there's stuff going on, but hey, let's get caught up in this conspiracy theory.

Colossians talks about this, so that you look over here and totally miss what's going on over here, which is the real issue.

Or being distracted by doom scrolling.

Man, the algorithm will pull you in and just waste your time.

Or distracted by wasting your time on video games or hobbies that have no redeemable qualities.

Like as a man, you cannot be sober-minded if you're distracted and naive to what's really going on.

And a man is sober-minded so that he can be watchful, so that he can see.

That's the whole point.

So, what are you and I supposed to be watchful of?

Let me break it down this way.

One, be watch, be watchful of yourself.

Watch yourself.

Two, watch out for others.

And three, watch what's really going on.

Like, first, as a man, you gotta watch yourself.

Are you in sin?

Is there some kind of sin that you're in right now?

Or are you stuck in destructive patterns of behavior and habits?

Man, you gotta watch yourself as a man.

And if you are in sin, repent of it.

Turn away from that sin and turn to Jesus.

If you're stuck in some kind of destructive behavior or pattern, man, that line, pull that line out of the dark, into the light, tie that line to a pole and shoot it.

Don't mess around with it.

Like we've got to be watchful as men.

And and for a man to be watchful, cannot be isolated.

Nobody's perfect that perfect at this, but um, ladies, I I think you're far better at this than the than the men are.

Isolation leads to bad things.

Proverbs 18 1 says this whoever isolates himself, whoever isolates himself, you're doing it to yourself, seeks his own desire and he breaks out against all sound judgment.

Nothing good happens in isolation.

Bad habits, bad decisions, guys, they thrive in isolation.

And maybe you're kind of like, well, Matt, I'm just I'm more of a lone wolf.

I'm more of a lone wolf.

Or somehow, sometimes in shows and movies, men that are portrayed as, hey, I like to I like to work alone.

I'm better working alone, and that's the hero.

Let me just say this.

I was with a friend this week and he said this.

I think it's really good.

He said, you know what a lone wolf is, right?

A lone wolf is just a stray dog.

That's all it is.

He's right.

That's so true.

Guys, watch yourself to make sure you're not slipping into isolation.

You need to have other men in your life that will encourage you, strengthen you, hold you accountable, call you up, call you out if you need to be.

So here's the plug.

The cards are on your sheet today.

This is reason 800 for you to be at Uncommon in a couple weeks.

Man, if you don't have guys, you're gonna find guys that night.

So make sure you register.

We're only a couple weeks away.

Don't isolate yourself.

Also, being watchful means you watch what you believe and what you teach.

Remember, as a man, your life is a living lesson to everybody around you, especially your kids.

And whatever you believe, that's gonna come out of your mouth, and it's gonna come out of how you live your life.

So make sure you believe what's true, that you believe sound doctrine.

And the only way you can do that is by knowing the word, not being online.

Man, there's some great stuff on Instagram or TikTok or on YouTube, stuff that you watch and like, wow, that's incredible.

I didn't know that about Jesus.

I didn't know that about history, I didn't know that about God's word.

There's some amazing stuff out there.

There's also some stuff that isn't true at all, and it's hard to tell.

I was actually, I got sent a reel a couple weeks ago from somebody, and it was pretty cool.

Like the production value was incredible.

It was talking about the Passover Lamb in Exodus and how it was tied to Jesus in the New Testament, which is true, but then they tied in some Jewish history, some ceremonial law, what Jews would do with the Passover Lamb in the Old Testament, and how this particular thing, I can't remember the details, how it foreshadowed Jesus.

And I watched it and I was like, man, that's incredible.

Wow, that's super cool.

How come I've never heard that before?

How come I've never read that before?

I've studied quite a bit.

How have I not seen that before?

So I dug into it a little bit more.

And this whole video, what I found out, completely false.

Sounded awesome.

The production value was great, but it wasn't true at all.

The only way you're gonna know what's true and believe sound doctrine is right there.

It's not online, it's right there.

First Timothy says this keep close watch on how you live and your teaching.

Stay true to what is right.

Some say doctrine, some translations say doctrine right there.

Stay true to what is right for your own sake and for your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.

And as a man, watch out for what kind of man you actually are.

Let me give you a real-time example.

Are you a nice man or are you a kind man?

Here's what I would say.

We don't need nice men.

In fact, nice men can be part of the problem.

Now, that may bother you, bother you, but hang with me for a second.

Here's what I mean.

This doesn't mean be a jerk.

We got too many jerks as it is.

We don't need any more.

And if you are a man and you're a jerk, grow up.

A man who's a jerk is just a boy who can shave.

But there is a difference between being kind and being nice.

Here's what I mean: kindness has an allegiance to the truth.

Being nice has an allegiance to someone's feelings.

There's a reason why being nice is not listed as a fruit of the spirit.

But kindness is.

Kindness sticks to what's true and what's right, even if somebody else doesn't like that, or it hurts somebody else's feelings.

And this is where a nice man's gonna really struggle.

There's gonna be some tension, he's gonna be really tempted to just ignore what's good and what's true because man, I don't want to upset anybody, or I don't want to push somebody away.

I don't wanna I wanna keep the peace, I don't want to upset things, I don't want to be offensive.

Now, again, it doesn't mean be a jerk.

In fact, you cannot be kind without compassion.

Like kindness and compassion go together.

But Jesus upset people quite a bit because he compassionately told them the truth and confronted what was wrong, no matter how they felt about it.

And they hated him for it.

That was the kind thing for Jesus to do: to hold on to what was true and right and good and pure and confront what was wrong, even if people hated him.

So, as a man, be a kind man who's willing to be hated for the truth.

You cannot fully love anyone unless you're willing to be kind, even if that means you get anger and hatred in return.

Be a kind man, not a nice man.

Like here's an example, a way to test to see where you're at.

When you walk in the room, do people relax or do they tighten up?

Now, if there's a jerk in the room, some dude that's toxic or over-aggressive, whatever, people are gonna be tightened up for that.

But even if a nice man walks into the room, people won't relax.

And you've experienced this before.

Maybe you can picture it in your mind, but you've all experienced this before.

Because when a nice man is confronted with somebody that's toxic or a problem, he's gonna really struggle with, hey, do I just wanna try to keep the peace?

Maybe we can talk about it later if I can keep the peace right now.

But Jesus didn't say, blessed are the peacekeepers.

He said, Blessed are the peacemakers.

That's a very important distinction.

Kindness will make peace by holding on to what's true and right and pure and confronting what's wrong and unjust and evil in the world.

Even if people don't like it.

Again, you have to have compassion or you can't have kindness.

But at the same time, you have to be strong if you're gonna be kind.

That's why when a kind man walks into a room, people will relax a little bit.

Oh, I know he's not gonna let this go on.

He's gonna be compassionate, he's gonna care for everyone, but he's not gonna stand by why this keeps happening.

That's a kind man.

We need kind men.

Be that.

Kindness doesn't care if what's right, true, good, and pure upsets other people, but niceness does.

And as a man, watch what you're being shaped by.

Like you are going to be shaped by what you give your attention to, positive and negative.

Like your mind will become what it concentrates on.

If you fill your mind with violence, then you're gonna become a violent man.

Maybe not physically violent, but violent with your words, and that can be just as devastating.

Don't fill your mind with violence, whether that's shows or or movies.

I mean, I've had this conversation with my kids, even music, especially as a guy, like most guys, we have no idea what the lyrics are.

Or is that just me?

But man, it sounds good.

I've talked to my oldest about this.

If you could only hear my playlist from when I was in high school, when I was playing football, no way.

Like it was, I mean, it sounded great, but the message, violence, what it said about women, it's putting that in my mind.

Or if you fill your mind with porn, then you are going to become sexually deviant, and you are going to view women as nothing more than objects to consume instead of daughters of the king that are made in his image.

So Philippians 4 talks about this.

Here's how we counter this it says, brothers, finally, brothers, whatever's true, whatever's honorable, whatever's just, whatever's pure, whatever's lovely, whatever's commendable, if there's any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Fill your mind with those things, because you will become what you fill your mind with.

You'll be shaped by that.

And if you fill your mind with those things, you're gonna become sober-minded.

Like Peter was talking about, which then makes it a whole lot easier to do number two.

Which, as a man, you watch out for other people.

As a man, you watch out for your family.

You watch out to make sure that they're taken care of, that they're thriving, that they're provided for spiritually, not just physically.

That you provide them encouragement and affirmation where they need it.

You protect them from toxic things.

You watch, watch for toxic things in relationships of people to protect them from, things that are off spiritually.

Now, this doesn't mean you be a helicopter for your wife or your kids.

That actually can be just as damaging.

Kelly and I had this rule.

We still have this rule because our kids are still in our house.

Our rule was unless it's an automatic trip to the emergency room, we're gonna let it go.

And it was more because I just didn't want to pay the bill at the emergency room.

That was the driving factor.

But a little bit of danger is a good thing.

For your kids to scrape up their knee physically and figuratively, that's a good thing.

It teaches resilience and grit, but then what's unnecessary?

Like, what do I need to watch out to make sure they don't unnecessarily go through?

And then beyond your family, whether you are single or married, it doesn't matter.

Men watch out for those who cannot watch out for themselves.

As a man, you watch out for the vulnerable, you watch out for those that are being taken advantage of, you watch out for the weak, you watch out for the people that rely on you.

Psalm 82.3 says, Defend the weak and the fatherless.

This has always been the expectation for men, but somehow in recent years, that expectation has been lost.

When the order was given on the Titanic for women and children to be loaded into the lifeboats, Captain Smith, when he gave that order, he knew that there weren't enough lifeboats.

He knew it.

But this is what men do.

It was a sign of love and courage for women and children to go first.

That's why 80% of the men on the Titanic, 80% of them died.

I'm sure they were scared.

How would you not be scared in that moment?

But man, this is what we get to do as men.

We get to self-sacrifice for others.

Captain Smith followed his own order.

He went down with the ship.

100 years later, in 2012, contrast that with another ship that was much bigger than the Titanic.

The cruise ship Concordia.

It sank.

Now, thankfully, only 32 people lost their lives compared to the Titanic.

But a much different order than women and children first was given and followed.

The order, in essence, was every man for himself.

And the captain on that ship followed that order.

He modeled it.

He abandoned the ship when there were still hundreds of people on board.

He left when there were still people that he was responsible for, he was meant to look out for.

He left when they were still there.

And after in the aftermath, he was convicted of manslaughter.

Man, you watch out for other people, whether they are in your family or not.

This is a call that God has given us.

You watch out physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

In order to watch out for other people, though, you've got to be able to see what's really going on.

Watch to see what's really going on.

First Chronicles 12, 32 says, The men of Issachar, the men of Issachar, they understood the times.

They could see what was going on around them, and they knew what Israel ought to do.

It's one thing if you can see what's happening around you.

But you and I have to understand what's really happening around us.

Men, can you see the spiritual reality that we're in right now?

That's what it means to be watchful.

Let me give you a couple examples from right now.

And some of these might upset you, but I want to be a kind man and I want you to see them.

First example would be neo-Marxism.

Marxism has never gone away, but it's making a resurgence in certain circles today.

Matt, I thought we were gonna hold up.

I thought we were talking about spiritual realities, and not politics.

We are.

Marxism is a spiritual attack masked as a political system.

A stated goal of Marxism is the eradication of the family and of religion.

Karl Marx was very clear on this.

And who do you think wants religion and the family?

Who do you think wants the church destroyed?

Your adversary, the devil, who is prowling around like a lion looking for someone to devour.

In the 20th century, 100 million people were murdered under Marxism.

Devoured.

Today, Marxism is the foundation of critical theory and communism.

It is a spiritual attack that's being waged by the adversary.

And so is abortion.

We did a whole series on this earlier this year.

When it comes to abortion, it's usually my body, my choice versus life begins at conception.

And that's really where the discussion stays.

It doesn't go much further than that.

And really, it's not a discussion anymore, it's just an argument.

But abortion goes much deeper than that.

Abortion is a spiritual attack from Satan.

It's Satan's counterattack on God's command in Genesis 1.28 to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it.

Satan would kill God if he could, but he can't.

So the very next best thing he can do is kill God's image bearers, specifically the most vulnerable.

Devour them.

Then there's the sexual narrative today.

The sexual ideology today says, do whatever you want with whoever you want, whenever you want, as long as there's consent.

And the narrative today is if you follow that, if you do that, that's how you'll experience the fulfillment you're looking for.

That's how you'll know who you really are.

But it's just a spiritual attack.

Whether it's the trans movement or homosexuality or heterosexual promiscuity or pornography, the sexual and gender practices today is a spiritual attack from the adversary who is prowling around like a lion looking for someone to devour and it's working.

Men, do we see this?

And then there's the spiritual marketing campaign called toxic masculinity.

Are there toxic men?

For sure there are.

Is masculinity toxic?

No.

Man, this has been pushed so hard over the years, most of my adult life.

This whole idea that men are toxic, it's an attempt to demonize, villainize, and discourage men.

I mean, think about this.

Right before there was a major move of God, Satan tried to kill all the boys.

Pharaoh tried to kill all the Hebrew boys right before God was going to use Moses to lead them out of slavery.

Herod tried to kill all the boys in Judea so that he could take out Jesus.

And I believe with every part of my being right now that Satan is trying to take out a generation of young men.

If he can get him to physically die, great.

But the next best thing, let me get this, discourage them.

Let me villainize them and tell them that they're the problem as a man.

They're toxic, they're never gonna go anywhere.

Men are the issue, you're gonna be discouraged, you're never gonna find a good girl.

Let me tell them those things.

Let me use pornography to destroy them.

I'm gonna destroy how they see sex, and that destroys how they see women, which is gonna affect their wife or their future wife or their daughters or their sons.

I'll use that.

Or here's what I'll do: I will just whisper little lies in men's ears, especially young men.

You're not enough.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

You're the problem.

You're never gonna be anything.

God doesn't love you.

Dads, affirm your sons.

Tell them that you're proud of them, but specifically why.

Or they will look for affirmation their entire lives in all the wrong places.

Fathers, affirm your daughters.

Tell them why you love them and how precious they are.

Or some punk will take advantage of her when she goes looking for it elsewhere.

Man, in 2021, um, I was going through it.

We're coming out of COVID.

Anybody that led anything during COVID knows that that was hard to be a leader because you were just whatever you did was wrong.

But man, it was a good 18-month period where I was people who were just taking shots at me left and right, calling me all kinds of names to my face.

People that I knew that I thought, I thought, where did whoa, I guess we that hurts.

People that I had no idea who that I've never met him before, but man, they were great with taking shots at me online.

I had people threatening me, threatening me physically, personally, professionally.

It just got to be a lot.

And I was worn down and I was ready to throw in the towel.

I was ready to quit.

I have a great dad.

I love my dad.

Growing up, I didn't hear from him why he was proud of me or why he loved me.

I didn't hear those words from him.

I knew where I stood with him, I knew he was proud, I knew that he loved me, but he didn't know how to connect with me and say those things to me from an emotional level because his dad didn't do that.

So in 2021, when I was ready just to tap out, I called him and I said, Hey, hey dad, I got a favor to ask you.

I want you to write me a letter.

And in that letter, I want you to tell me why you're proud of me.

And if you see anything good in me, I want you to tell me what it is.

I want you to tell me why you love me.

If if you think God's doing anything in me or using me or has something for my life, I want you to tell me what it is.

And I don't want you to email it to me, I want it in your handwriting.

She said, Done.

Four or five days later, I had a letter in my mailbox from my dad.

Enveloped his handwriting.

It took me six weeks to read that letter.

I was terrified to read it.

Not because I thought something bad was gonna be in it.

I knew what he was gonna say was gonna be great, but it's what I've been waiting for for decades to hear.

So it took me six weeks, and you know why I read it?

Because I had a friend that kicked me in the pants and told me to go read it.

Or I would have gotta have brothers.

When I read it, I just sobbed all over it.

It is it has tear stains all over it.

Now that letter sits in my safe.

And here's the reason why.

When someone wants to take a shot at me and say what they think about me, that's great.

When Satan wants to whisper lies, here's who you are, here's who you are, you're a joke, I can hold up that letter and says and say, I don't care what you think about me, here's what my dad thinks about me.

And if my father, if his words mean that much to my heart, how much more does God the Father's words mean?

Look at the size of this letter.

So here's what to do.

Older men.

Find younger men in our church and go encourage them.

Don't be weird or awkward about it, but go encourage them.

Younger men, here's what you do.

Younger men, here's what you do.

Go find an older man with a worn-out Bible and a smiling wife, go talk to that guy.

He's got some stuff to say.

I'm not even joking about that.

That's one of the benefits that we have as our church.

We've got a big church, but we got people that are older.

You can decide what that is, and younger, you can decide what that is.

Go talk to each other.

Older guys, the younger guys want to hear what you have to say.

I promise you that they do.

They want to hear it.

Younger men, take advantage of all the wisdom that's in this room.

There's so many men in this room that have scars and wisdom and pain and experience and success and failures that they would love to give to you.

It's like here, take it.

So here's what you do, younger guys.

Show up every single week 15 minutes early and say at least 15 minutes after.

Watch.

Go look for an older guy.

Watch how he interacts with people.

Is he smiling?

Is his wife smiling?

Do people seem to be around him?

Then go up and introduce yourself.

Say, hi, I'm so-and-so.

I I would love, if this isn't weird, it's not weird.

I promise you will make his day.

I would love to like buy you coffee and ask you some questions.

Can I ask you what it means to live as a man?

Can I can I ask you some stuff about marriage?

Can I ask you about how you follow Jesus?

Go do it.

It might be awkward at first because y'all don't know each other, but do it.

Like we've got it here.

It's waiting for you.

And we're not calling out, we're not calling out neo-Marxism or abortion or the sexual ethic today.

The reason we're calling those out is not so we as Christians can be more comfortable.

We just want to have a comfortable life and make this world how we want it to be.

That's not why we're calling it out.

We're calling that stuff out because those are spiritual tactics, those are icebergs, and the ships already hit them.

So as men, we're called to pull people out of the freezing water.

Men, if we're not being watchful, what will happen?

Jesus was very clear that Satan has come.

He's here, he's come to steal, kill, and destroy.

Men, Satan would love to kill your strength.

He would love to destroy your resolve, your character, your faith, your friendships, your church, your kids, your wife, and your life.

He will love to do that.

That's what's on the line right now if we're not watchful.

But what's on the line in the future?

In 1874, a guy named Richard Dugdale.

He was hired by the New York State Prison Commission.

Part of his job was to go around and check out different prisons around the state.

And he was surprised that as he was doing that, he found that there were prisoners in six different prisons that all came from the same family.

In fact, they all came from the same guy.

So they did this exhaustive study on 1,200 people that all descended from this one individual man.

They gave him a fictitious name to protect his identity.

They called him Max Jukes.

Max Jukes was born in 1720.

He was a lazy man.

He rejected hard work, he rejected religion, he did not have a good reputation in life.

He did not live a good life.

Well, out of the 1,200 descendants from him, from 1720 to 1901, here's what they found.

300 of those descendants suffered a premature death.

310 of them were professional beggars.

They refused to work, they just took handouts.

150 were convicted criminals, seven murderers, 190 prostitutes, and 440 alcoholics, costing the state of New York$1.25 million in legal and welfare services, roughly$30 million today.

Not a good lineage.

Now contrast that to Jonathan Edwards, who lived at about the same time as Max Jukes.

Edwards was a Christian, he was a pastor.

They studied 1,300 people that descended directly from him.

Here's what they found: one U.S.

vice president, three governors, three senators, 13 college presidents, 30 judges, 60 doctors, 100 lawyers, and 100 pastors and missionaries.

Huge difference in lineage and legacy.

Now that legacy has nothing to do with the fact that Edwards was just a Christian.

It all came because he intentionally lived out his faith.

He could see what was going on in the world around him, around his kids, around his family.

So he built in a biblical worldview into his family every single day.

He lived out his faith in front of them.

Edwards was a kind man.

He was compassionate and he was strong.

His most famous sermon, you know what the title was?

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.

You may appreciate that sermon.

Like the dude was no joke, but he was kind and compassionate and strong.

His wife Sarah said to one of his daughters after Edwards died, she said, Oh, what a legacy my husband and your father has left us.

Men, you and I are going to leave a legacy and a lineage.

We're meant to leave that kind of spiritual lineage and legacy.

And it wasn't because of private schools or the best schools, it wasn't because of travel sports.

It wasn't because of wealth.

It wasn't because of special opportunities.

It wasn't because of privilege that led to that generational legacy.

It was because of a godly man, and that's it.

A godly man, that's all it took.

Right now we need godly men.

Like we need men that are kind, compassionate, and strong, that will hold on to what is good and pure and true and right.

Men that are on watch.

They're watching what's going on.

They can see the people in freezing water.

They can see how the enemy's walking around waiting to devour people.

We need men like that right now.

And that's step one for us, guys.

Be watchful.

Then after that, we can know what we're supposed to do as men.

We're gonna get into that more in the next two weeks.

Jesus, thank you for being a man that was on watch.

That you gave us an example, that you held on to what was right and pure and true and just.

Would you let us be men that do the same thing?

Would you open our eyes as men that we would see the spiritual reality all around us in our own lives, in our families' lives, our friends, that we would see it?

Give us incredible wisdom and discernment to see how the enemy is working right now, and to give us clarity on what we should do and give us the courage to do it.

I pray that we would watch out for the young, the weak, the vulnerable, those that are taken advantage of, even the people that are strong.

Help us to watch out for our families.

Help us to watch ourselves.

Let us not kid ourselves.

Give us incredible self-awareness and self-vision so that first and foremost we can see where we have sin in our own lives and we can repent of it.

And then how you've gifted us and called us and where you've given us strength and that we could use it for other people and for your glory.

God, make all of this true, the men in our church.

Bless the women and the children in this church because of it.

We love you.

It's in Jesus' name.

Amen.