Yesterday I posted the notes to the talk that Cavin and I gave last week. Today I'm posting the notes to Greg's talk that he gave yesterday morning: "The Dangers that Lurk Within: Walk in the Light."
Reprove
Men, you are not as strong as you think.
I repeat: you are not as strong as you think.
Last week, Cavin and Josh covered the Biblical Foundation for masculinity, showing us that true men:
1) Walk in submission and obedience to God
2) Take responsibility toward work and woman
3) Practice initiation and accept leadership
Easy. Now you know it, go and live it. Piece of cake, right? Wrong. Already, we’ve exposed two ways we deliberately reject this design, with embracing an exaggerated parody man on one end of the spectrum and outright suppressing our masculinity on the other. This week we will elaborate on this point and we will see even more ways and reasons we struggle to live inside God’s design for men. Obviously we can’t cover the entire breadth of masculine experience, but we will expose a few key areas and experiences that could have corrupted your fundamental understanding of what it means to be a man. We’ll also talk about what to do about it all, so that you can be equipped and encouraged in your pursuit of righteousness and a healthy understanding of masculinity. But first, I need to make one point clear:
As was mentioned last week, at the root of every perversion to our understanding of masculinity is sin, and this sin not only contradicts God’s truth, it also weakens our honest efforts to walk according to His plan. I don’t care how strong or mature you think you are, sin has had more impact on your mind and heart than you yet realize. Its stains run deep, and it is only through careful consideration that sin’s full corruption is brought to light. The process of exposing the consequences of the Fall and the weakness sin has wrought in our lives has only just begun.
This week I am here to challenge you. I challenge you to grasp what we mean when we say to practice the attitude of Holy Self-Doubt. I challenge you to realize that you are not as strong as you think. I challenge you to realize sin has had more impact on your life, heart, and mind than you yet realize. And I rebuke the pride in your heart that blinds you, that prevents you from acknowledging the corruption sin has wrought in you.
Take heed: Proverbs 16:5—
The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.
Hear me now, men: Are you mightier than Saul, that you can ignore this warning?
Yes, Saul, who would become the first king of Israel. He was a mighty warrior, kingly in bearing, impressive in every way. He stood a full head taller than the tallest men of Israel; he was without equal. He came from a famous clan, hailed for its military prowess. The circumstance of his ascension was a mighty act of subjugation: he united the tribes of Israel, led them personally against the Ammonites, and claimed a great victory. For this he was hailed and confirmed as king. The beginning of his reign is spectacular—he is a mighty man, a powerful leader, full of the Holy Spirit, acclaimed by the prophet Samuel and celebrated by all the people.
But this does not last. By the end of his life, Saul is rejected by the Holy Spirit, abandoned and denounced by Samuel. Where once he was a mighty warrior, at his end he is routed by the Philistines and separated from his men on the battlefield, at which point he succumbs to a failed suicide attempt out of cowardice and fear. The last night of his reign as king he consulted a witch. He was widely discredited, known as a man of anger, jealousy and frustration. His main rival humiliated him time and time again. Victory on the battlefield eluded him unless David was with him. His attempts to harness the entire power of his kingdom to hunt down a small band of men were both futile. His firstborn was more loyal to his rival than to him. He dies a man rejected by God, foolish, weak, and alone. With him his line dies too, and the kingdom passes to another.
Why? Why does this happen? Why does Saul fail when at first he burned so bright? We can see several patterns in his life. He is fearful and passivity at critical junctures, such as when his army stands at an impasse with the Phillistines and daily endures the taunts of Goliath. Other times he is overly concerned with maintaining appearances, like when he begs Samuel to perform the sham of honoring him before the people, despite the rejection that Samuel has just pronounced. He shows a profaneness with the things of God, like early in his reign when out of fear he fails to wait for Samuel to perform the sacrifice, or when he disobeys God by keeping the best of the animals alive when God had instructed him to kill them all.
What we see is a man who on the outside seemed powerful, strong, and confident, but who on the inside was full of fear, pride, and vanity. The reality of the inner man eventually overcame the brave warrior, and Saul ended his days in disgrace.
Indeed. Are you mightier than Saul?
Or are you closer in your walk with Christ than Judas Iscariot?
Judas was elected as one of the 12, Jesus’ closest companions and disciples. He was commissioned to go out into Israel working miracles and calling the people to repentance. He was discipled by Christ Himself for three years, during which time he lived in closest fellowship daily with the very people who would impact the entire world for Christ. He was even trusted and respected enough among them to be given the formal responsibility of handling the disciples’ finances.
Yet by the end he was overcome by darkness in his heart. He became a traitor, a liar and a schemer. Most likely he feared men and loved their good opinion. But above all he became greedy, a lover of money. When he approached the Pharisees about betraying Jesus, he asked “What will you give me?” They did not offer him status, nor did they offer him accolades or privilege; instead, they immediately knew exactly what he wanted: money. And money he received.
Meanwhile, he lied to the Disciples, hid his sinfulness and scheming from them, such that as he left from the Last Supper to actually betray Jesus, the other Disciples thought he was going to get something for the feast or to give something to the poor. They had no idea what was truly in his heart.
And you know the end of the story. He betrays Christ, hands him over to the Pharisees, and is overcome with shame. He ultimately rejects the very money he once coveted, at which point he is belittled and dismissed by the very Pharisees he sought to help. He is lost and alone in his shame and remorse, and ultimately he commits suicide.
In both of these men, I want to point out that their sinfulness did not overcome them quickly. Both of them started well, with respect among their peers, but neither of them confronted the sinfulness in their hearts, nor did they recognize the weakness that sin produced in them. Despite the strength that their outward gifts suggested, the weakness that was inside ultimately overcame them.
Men, I call you to sober humility, the second attitude we mentioned last week, and I plead with you: avoid their fate.
Now, before I give you practicals about how to do this, I want to equip you to expose the depths of sin’s impact in your own life.
Rebuke
I’ve mentioned this idea of the weakness that sin brings into our lives. With suppression and parody man, we had two examples of what it looks like to outright reject God’s design for masculinity. But what does it look like to live with a weakened or corrupt idea of masculinity? Where does it come from, how does it manifest?
The issue at hand is the woundedness that we all experience. Woundedness in this context can be defined as sin you have committed or sin committed against you that has perverted your understanding of what it means to be a man. No one is free from this, though there are many types of wounds. And the thing to know is that just as with Saul and Judas, these wounds, this inner brokenness, cannot stay hidden forever. If they are not exposed and confronted, they will one day overtake you.
So let’s expose them:
The Wounds:
1. Distorted view of man from absent or abusive father
This can be either physically or emotionally, and this is extremely common. Think about it: if anyone is going to model for you what it means to be a man it should be your father. His actions or lack thereof will silently define how you understand what it means to be a man. Beyond this, it is our fathers who affirm us as men; they are the ones that welcome us out of boyhood and initiate us to manhood. If they don’t fill that role, who will?
2. Overbearing/Controlling mother
--The emotionally manipulative mother often works hand in hand with the absent father. This can keep a man in a perpetually emotionally constrained state, a state of perpetual childhood in other words.
3. Rejection by peers
--Rejected not just by certain people, but as a male. Common for unathletic boys.
4. Sexualization wound
--This is increasingly common as pornography has become widely available. A significant number of people our age, including, I imagine, a good portion of us in this room were exposed to porn in middle school or younger. This is a gap even between us and men in their early 30’s. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 says that sexual sin is against our body and “wages war against our soul.” Significant soul damage is done here. Other forms of sexualization include sexual abuse, early sexual activity, and homosexuality.
And men, I regret to inform you, this is not an exhaustive list: there are other ways that we have been harmed or wounded, and other ways we have been sinned against and are still sinning. In order to unearth them, you must be constantly vigilant, and you must avail yourself of honesty and humility. Basically, make Psalm 139:23-24 your prayer:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
And as you invite the Spirit to investigate your heart, you must ask:
1. How has my view of manhood been distorted? Remember: This is a lifelong process and it involves the careful application of the Word.
2. What wounds have I received? How have I been wronged?
Exhort
Men, it is God alone who can redeem us from our brokenness, and it is to Him I commend all of you.
Let me be specific: the way we fight against this inner brokenness is to Walk in the Light.
But what does that even mean? Check out Ephesians 4:22-24—
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitudes of your mind; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Men, from this passage we will draw a number of practical ways to walk in the light, but I must begin by reminding you that fighting our woundedness and walking in the light starts with God. We point to Him and rely on Him. The third attitude we mentioned last week is to have a thirst for God! Also, don’t forget that both knowledge of self and knowledge of God are revealed knowledge: we rely wholly on God not only to provide a proper and healthy understanding of masculinity, we also rely on Him to expose sin in our lives, just like we looked at in Psalm 139. With this, don’t forget that He is the only One who sanctifies us, who puts us through this ongoing refining process to make us like Him in righteousness and holiness. Remember the words of Philippians 1:6--that God who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ; never, ever let your pride fool you into thinking you must rely on your own power to accomplish this work. It is critically important that as we look at these practical applications that we do not forget our reliance on God.
Now, in this passage, we see this process. First, to put off the old, perverted self, which is being corrupted. Here this word “corrupted” means being slowly eaten away and weakened from the inside. You see, if we do not put this self off, no matter what we put on ourselves, there will be an internal source of corruption that will eventually overwhelm us. The inner man must be confronted.
Second, we are to be renewed in our mind. This is the process of transforming our minds through the Holy Spirit working through his word. As we understand ourselves and God through the lens of Scripture, our minds are made new, and we are equipped for this putting off and putting on. Finally, we are to actively walk in the new revealed ways, to put on the new man, to conform ourselves to the vision of manhood presented in the Scriptures.
Men of the Beach, the call is clear: to walk in the light we must be vigilant and wait on the Lord as He chooses to reveal to us the darkness of our hearts. When He does so, we must not shrink back and ignore the issue. Rather we must enter into our woundedness and in humility recognize and acknowledge the dangers of our sin. We must confront the distortions that we have absorbed, and we must reconcile the conflicts between what we receive from our environment, our family, our culture, and even our churches, and what is true.
So, some applications:
1. Be vigilant: Do not forget the warning: There is weakness in your heart, as a man. You are not strong. Do you think that those men, Saul and Judas, and all the thousands of Christian men who have been overcome by the sin that lay in their heart, do you think all of them willfully ignored their sin? No, most likely in their pride they did not realize it was there. They imagined themselves beyond falling.
Judas travelled with Jesus for 3 years before his greed and pride overcame him and he fell. Saul reigned for 42 years before his sin ultimately wrought his end. Sin will withdraw from you, lie dormant, pretend that it is absent, while all the time it waits for you to forget, to let down your guard.
2. Live in Community: There is a God-ordained way for us as men to deal with our weakness, and to deal with it together. This is a way that you will never outgrow, that you will never move past your need for. This way is the depth and power of mutual encouragement, and this too is how men walk in the light.
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
All our weaknesses, all our flaws, all our problems and issues, all of them must be worked out in the light, not by us alone, not by our own strength, but on the mutual strengthening that we have only in community with others. And let me reiterate: following God’s command to work these things out in community is an expression of trusting and relying on Him to save you from your woundedness.
3. Start now and do it till the day you die: Living in community this way is not for today, not for tomorrow, not for college, not for our youth, but for all the days of our life. As long as we are susceptible to sin, we need men looking into our lives, examining it, and watching over us. And we need to do the same to others.
Some of us are doing this. Others have done this in the past. Others have never done it.
4. Don’t Hide: Sin has power when it is hidden. The hardest time to share is the first time. We have to permit each other access. They have to see us. What front are you putting up to your brothers? How are you obscuring yourself, hiding what is shameful?
If you get nothing more from this message than this one thought, I will be happy:
You must, throughout your entire life, allow men to see your life, to rebuke you, and you must do the same for them.
5. Let Nothing Stop You. Here are a few obstacles that you must avoid:
A) The cursed passivity of men. Men are passive and can live side-by-side with each other without ever knowing each other. You must be the initiator. Don’t wait for others!
B) Fear of rejection, shame. This is understandable, but a lie. In our attempts to hide our shame, we achieve the opposite. Just as with Saul and Judas, their hidden sin eventually overtook them, and the very shame they sought to hide became clear to everyone.
C) Perceived absence of men to share with. Moving to a new area, a new church—any transition, really. Can you commit yourselves to this in the long term?
You will only perceive this as urgent so far as you are aware of your sin and weakness. James 4:10 says “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Therefore men, humble yourself, in your self-conception.
Reprove
Men, you are not as strong as you think.
I repeat: you are not as strong as you think.
Last week, Cavin and Josh covered the Biblical Foundation for masculinity, showing us that true men:
1) Walk in submission and obedience to God
2) Take responsibility toward work and woman
3) Practice initiation and accept leadership
Easy. Now you know it, go and live it. Piece of cake, right? Wrong. Already, we’ve exposed two ways we deliberately reject this design, with embracing an exaggerated parody man on one end of the spectrum and outright suppressing our masculinity on the other. This week we will elaborate on this point and we will see even more ways and reasons we struggle to live inside God’s design for men. Obviously we can’t cover the entire breadth of masculine experience, but we will expose a few key areas and experiences that could have corrupted your fundamental understanding of what it means to be a man. We’ll also talk about what to do about it all, so that you can be equipped and encouraged in your pursuit of righteousness and a healthy understanding of masculinity. But first, I need to make one point clear:
As was mentioned last week, at the root of every perversion to our understanding of masculinity is sin, and this sin not only contradicts God’s truth, it also weakens our honest efforts to walk according to His plan. I don’t care how strong or mature you think you are, sin has had more impact on your mind and heart than you yet realize. Its stains run deep, and it is only through careful consideration that sin’s full corruption is brought to light. The process of exposing the consequences of the Fall and the weakness sin has wrought in our lives has only just begun.
This week I am here to challenge you. I challenge you to grasp what we mean when we say to practice the attitude of Holy Self-Doubt. I challenge you to realize that you are not as strong as you think. I challenge you to realize sin has had more impact on your life, heart, and mind than you yet realize. And I rebuke the pride in your heart that blinds you, that prevents you from acknowledging the corruption sin has wrought in you.
Take heed: Proverbs 16:5—
The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.
Hear me now, men: Are you mightier than Saul, that you can ignore this warning?
Yes, Saul, who would become the first king of Israel. He was a mighty warrior, kingly in bearing, impressive in every way. He stood a full head taller than the tallest men of Israel; he was without equal. He came from a famous clan, hailed for its military prowess. The circumstance of his ascension was a mighty act of subjugation: he united the tribes of Israel, led them personally against the Ammonites, and claimed a great victory. For this he was hailed and confirmed as king. The beginning of his reign is spectacular—he is a mighty man, a powerful leader, full of the Holy Spirit, acclaimed by the prophet Samuel and celebrated by all the people.
But this does not last. By the end of his life, Saul is rejected by the Holy Spirit, abandoned and denounced by Samuel. Where once he was a mighty warrior, at his end he is routed by the Philistines and separated from his men on the battlefield, at which point he succumbs to a failed suicide attempt out of cowardice and fear. The last night of his reign as king he consulted a witch. He was widely discredited, known as a man of anger, jealousy and frustration. His main rival humiliated him time and time again. Victory on the battlefield eluded him unless David was with him. His attempts to harness the entire power of his kingdom to hunt down a small band of men were both futile. His firstborn was more loyal to his rival than to him. He dies a man rejected by God, foolish, weak, and alone. With him his line dies too, and the kingdom passes to another.
Why? Why does this happen? Why does Saul fail when at first he burned so bright? We can see several patterns in his life. He is fearful and passivity at critical junctures, such as when his army stands at an impasse with the Phillistines and daily endures the taunts of Goliath. Other times he is overly concerned with maintaining appearances, like when he begs Samuel to perform the sham of honoring him before the people, despite the rejection that Samuel has just pronounced. He shows a profaneness with the things of God, like early in his reign when out of fear he fails to wait for Samuel to perform the sacrifice, or when he disobeys God by keeping the best of the animals alive when God had instructed him to kill them all.
What we see is a man who on the outside seemed powerful, strong, and confident, but who on the inside was full of fear, pride, and vanity. The reality of the inner man eventually overcame the brave warrior, and Saul ended his days in disgrace.
Indeed. Are you mightier than Saul?
Or are you closer in your walk with Christ than Judas Iscariot?
Judas was elected as one of the 12, Jesus’ closest companions and disciples. He was commissioned to go out into Israel working miracles and calling the people to repentance. He was discipled by Christ Himself for three years, during which time he lived in closest fellowship daily with the very people who would impact the entire world for Christ. He was even trusted and respected enough among them to be given the formal responsibility of handling the disciples’ finances.
Yet by the end he was overcome by darkness in his heart. He became a traitor, a liar and a schemer. Most likely he feared men and loved their good opinion. But above all he became greedy, a lover of money. When he approached the Pharisees about betraying Jesus, he asked “What will you give me?” They did not offer him status, nor did they offer him accolades or privilege; instead, they immediately knew exactly what he wanted: money. And money he received.
Meanwhile, he lied to the Disciples, hid his sinfulness and scheming from them, such that as he left from the Last Supper to actually betray Jesus, the other Disciples thought he was going to get something for the feast or to give something to the poor. They had no idea what was truly in his heart.
And you know the end of the story. He betrays Christ, hands him over to the Pharisees, and is overcome with shame. He ultimately rejects the very money he once coveted, at which point he is belittled and dismissed by the very Pharisees he sought to help. He is lost and alone in his shame and remorse, and ultimately he commits suicide.
In both of these men, I want to point out that their sinfulness did not overcome them quickly. Both of them started well, with respect among their peers, but neither of them confronted the sinfulness in their hearts, nor did they recognize the weakness that sin produced in them. Despite the strength that their outward gifts suggested, the weakness that was inside ultimately overcame them.
Men, I call you to sober humility, the second attitude we mentioned last week, and I plead with you: avoid their fate.
Now, before I give you practicals about how to do this, I want to equip you to expose the depths of sin’s impact in your own life.
Rebuke
I’ve mentioned this idea of the weakness that sin brings into our lives. With suppression and parody man, we had two examples of what it looks like to outright reject God’s design for masculinity. But what does it look like to live with a weakened or corrupt idea of masculinity? Where does it come from, how does it manifest?
The issue at hand is the woundedness that we all experience. Woundedness in this context can be defined as sin you have committed or sin committed against you that has perverted your understanding of what it means to be a man. No one is free from this, though there are many types of wounds. And the thing to know is that just as with Saul and Judas, these wounds, this inner brokenness, cannot stay hidden forever. If they are not exposed and confronted, they will one day overtake you.
So let’s expose them:
The Wounds:
1. Distorted view of man from absent or abusive father
This can be either physically or emotionally, and this is extremely common. Think about it: if anyone is going to model for you what it means to be a man it should be your father. His actions or lack thereof will silently define how you understand what it means to be a man. Beyond this, it is our fathers who affirm us as men; they are the ones that welcome us out of boyhood and initiate us to manhood. If they don’t fill that role, who will?
2. Overbearing/Controlling mother
--The emotionally manipulative mother often works hand in hand with the absent father. This can keep a man in a perpetually emotionally constrained state, a state of perpetual childhood in other words.
3. Rejection by peers
--Rejected not just by certain people, but as a male. Common for unathletic boys.
4. Sexualization wound
--This is increasingly common as pornography has become widely available. A significant number of people our age, including, I imagine, a good portion of us in this room were exposed to porn in middle school or younger. This is a gap even between us and men in their early 30’s. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 says that sexual sin is against our body and “wages war against our soul.” Significant soul damage is done here. Other forms of sexualization include sexual abuse, early sexual activity, and homosexuality.
And men, I regret to inform you, this is not an exhaustive list: there are other ways that we have been harmed or wounded, and other ways we have been sinned against and are still sinning. In order to unearth them, you must be constantly vigilant, and you must avail yourself of honesty and humility. Basically, make Psalm 139:23-24 your prayer:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
And as you invite the Spirit to investigate your heart, you must ask:
1. How has my view of manhood been distorted? Remember: This is a lifelong process and it involves the careful application of the Word.
2. What wounds have I received? How have I been wronged?
Exhort
Men, it is God alone who can redeem us from our brokenness, and it is to Him I commend all of you.
Let me be specific: the way we fight against this inner brokenness is to Walk in the Light.
But what does that even mean? Check out Ephesians 4:22-24—
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitudes of your mind; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Men, from this passage we will draw a number of practical ways to walk in the light, but I must begin by reminding you that fighting our woundedness and walking in the light starts with God. We point to Him and rely on Him. The third attitude we mentioned last week is to have a thirst for God! Also, don’t forget that both knowledge of self and knowledge of God are revealed knowledge: we rely wholly on God not only to provide a proper and healthy understanding of masculinity, we also rely on Him to expose sin in our lives, just like we looked at in Psalm 139. With this, don’t forget that He is the only One who sanctifies us, who puts us through this ongoing refining process to make us like Him in righteousness and holiness. Remember the words of Philippians 1:6--that God who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ; never, ever let your pride fool you into thinking you must rely on your own power to accomplish this work. It is critically important that as we look at these practical applications that we do not forget our reliance on God.
Now, in this passage, we see this process. First, to put off the old, perverted self, which is being corrupted. Here this word “corrupted” means being slowly eaten away and weakened from the inside. You see, if we do not put this self off, no matter what we put on ourselves, there will be an internal source of corruption that will eventually overwhelm us. The inner man must be confronted.
Second, we are to be renewed in our mind. This is the process of transforming our minds through the Holy Spirit working through his word. As we understand ourselves and God through the lens of Scripture, our minds are made new, and we are equipped for this putting off and putting on. Finally, we are to actively walk in the new revealed ways, to put on the new man, to conform ourselves to the vision of manhood presented in the Scriptures.
Men of the Beach, the call is clear: to walk in the light we must be vigilant and wait on the Lord as He chooses to reveal to us the darkness of our hearts. When He does so, we must not shrink back and ignore the issue. Rather we must enter into our woundedness and in humility recognize and acknowledge the dangers of our sin. We must confront the distortions that we have absorbed, and we must reconcile the conflicts between what we receive from our environment, our family, our culture, and even our churches, and what is true.
So, some applications:
1. Be vigilant: Do not forget the warning: There is weakness in your heart, as a man. You are not strong. Do you think that those men, Saul and Judas, and all the thousands of Christian men who have been overcome by the sin that lay in their heart, do you think all of them willfully ignored their sin? No, most likely in their pride they did not realize it was there. They imagined themselves beyond falling.
Judas travelled with Jesus for 3 years before his greed and pride overcame him and he fell. Saul reigned for 42 years before his sin ultimately wrought his end. Sin will withdraw from you, lie dormant, pretend that it is absent, while all the time it waits for you to forget, to let down your guard.
2. Live in Community: There is a God-ordained way for us as men to deal with our weakness, and to deal with it together. This is a way that you will never outgrow, that you will never move past your need for. This way is the depth and power of mutual encouragement, and this too is how men walk in the light.
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
All our weaknesses, all our flaws, all our problems and issues, all of them must be worked out in the light, not by us alone, not by our own strength, but on the mutual strengthening that we have only in community with others. And let me reiterate: following God’s command to work these things out in community is an expression of trusting and relying on Him to save you from your woundedness.
3. Start now and do it till the day you die: Living in community this way is not for today, not for tomorrow, not for college, not for our youth, but for all the days of our life. As long as we are susceptible to sin, we need men looking into our lives, examining it, and watching over us. And we need to do the same to others.
Some of us are doing this. Others have done this in the past. Others have never done it.
4. Don’t Hide: Sin has power when it is hidden. The hardest time to share is the first time. We have to permit each other access. They have to see us. What front are you putting up to your brothers? How are you obscuring yourself, hiding what is shameful?
If you get nothing more from this message than this one thought, I will be happy:
You must, throughout your entire life, allow men to see your life, to rebuke you, and you must do the same for them.
5. Let Nothing Stop You. Here are a few obstacles that you must avoid:
A) The cursed passivity of men. Men are passive and can live side-by-side with each other without ever knowing each other. You must be the initiator. Don’t wait for others!
B) Fear of rejection, shame. This is understandable, but a lie. In our attempts to hide our shame, we achieve the opposite. Just as with Saul and Judas, their hidden sin eventually overtook them, and the very shame they sought to hide became clear to everyone.
C) Perceived absence of men to share with. Moving to a new area, a new church—any transition, really. Can you commit yourselves to this in the long term?
You will only perceive this as urgent so far as you are aware of your sin and weakness. James 4:10 says “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Therefore men, humble yourself, in your self-conception.
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