Matt Hagee - The Endangered Species of Masculinity, Feminine Grace, and Childlike Faith - Part 1
If you would, please stand for the reading of God's word. And if you brought your Bibles, turn them to the book of Romans 1, and the 25th through the 32nd verse, as this morning we continue in the theme of "Endangered Species". Last Sunday, we looked at the first two endangered species on our list, and those two were truth and reason. We live in a world that has decided that it values a lie more than it cares for the truth. We live in a world that isn't concerned about discovering the truth: they just simply want to avoid it. They prefer deception, knowing that deception leads to bondage, because it is as the Bible says, John 8:32: and the truth will set you free. Here's the problem.
Hebrews 11:3 says that the worlds were framed by the Word of God. Say that with me, the worlds were framed by the Word of God. I want you to take a look at what the Bible is actually painting as a picture here. This is a picture of the progress that's being made at the sanctuary of hope. We see the framing of one of the wings of the building. This eventually is going to be the main center building. This is going to be a dormitory for unwed mothers to come. And this is going to be a dormitory here. We have a foundation. We have a foundation being poured. Here we have a foundation and framing. How many of you can see framing? If you can't see framing, believe me: it's there.
Now not only is this place going to save lives, but if there was no foundation and there was no framing, it really wouldn't matter what we wanted to do inside the building. It wouldn't matter what we wanted to hang on the walls and what furniture we wanted to place in the house. It wouldn't matter who we invited in that they might be ministered to. Unless you've got framing and unless you've got a foundation, you don't have a structure. So when Hebrews 11 says that "The worlds," the world of a man, and the world of a woman, and the world of a family, and the world of business, and the world of church, and the world of politics, and the world of creation: every world that you can think to name, all of those worlds were framed by the Word of God. How can you not expect chaos when you've taken his word, and you've thrown it out, and now you're trying to build a life without him?
This morning, we're looking at masculinity and the characteristics of being a man, because I believe that this is certainly on the endangered species list. If men do not take the responsibility to be what God created them, if ladies do not accept the responsibility to become what God wants them to be, then we will not train our children in the way they should go, and the family in this nation will become extinct. Let's read God's word together, Romans 1:25 through 32. If you're there, say, amen.
"Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and they worshiped and they served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the woman burned in this lust for one another, men with men, committing what is shameful, and receiving to themselves the penalty of their error, which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debaste mind to do those things which are not fitting, to be filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil mindedness. They are whisperers, back biters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful. Who knowing the righteous judgment of God that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them".
Heavenly Father, thy word is truth. And the truth has the power to set us free. Lord, today I am asking you to liberate our spirits from the chaos of this culture that we might be what you have created us to be, more than conquerors through Christ. In your precious name, do we pray and ask. And all of God's children said, amen.
You may be seated. The topic of family is a sacred topic in the Word of God. The institution of the family is a hallowed topic, according to God's word. Because when you read the Bible, it tells us very clearly that when God created them, he created them male and them. It doesn't say that he blessed one and asked that one to share the blessing with the rest of them. Them, meaning that God created men as men, and he created women as women. And they are equal in God's sight. They are what we call in theology, "Ontological Equals". Now that's a very big word but basically means that they are different, but in God's value, they are the same.
Here's the thing that's a challenge in our society today. We are trying to bridge gaps that should never be crossed. There are times when you need to recognize that we are different for a reason and that's the way God wanted it. This is why Paul said: what does light have to do with darkness? He's saying, if you are in the light, your relationship with darkness is predicated on your ability to affect darkness with your light but not become like the darkness. And then he gives us these words, "Inasmuch as is possible", say that with me: inasmuch as is possible. How many of you recognize that to be a qualifying statement? He said: inasmuch as is possible, dwell in peace with all men.
Now a lot of people believe that the modern Christian should just dwell in peace with all men, but that's not what Paul said. Paul said: inasmuch as it is possible, dwell is peace with all men. But there are times when it is not possible to dwell in peace with men. It's not possible to dwell in peace with men when men want to write laws that allow them to define by their feelings where they should use the facilities. And when that facility involves violating the safe space of my daughter, we're not going to live in peace. You say, now is that the Christian thing to do? Yes. The Bible says to lay hands on people, and that's what we'll do. That's not your right and privilege: that's your deception and corruption. And you do not have permission to defile my family with it.
Now whenever it comes to the family, you need to know that the family is under attack. And the reason that the family is under attack is because whenever it comes to the foundation of God's word and the Word of God creating a frame, the family is the building block that goes around that frame and creates the structure. The family is the structure of society. If there's chaos in the culture, there's chaos at home. And the reason that we have chaos at home is because we have enemies who are trying to feminize men and "Liberate women". Let me tell you something. You want to know just how bound up western women are? Go to Afghanistan. And then come home and give us a report. March in their streets.
You say, well that's not very politically correct. But it's pretty accurate. And they just put Saudi Arabia in charge at the U.N. of women's rights. Brilliant. We live in a chaotic society because our enemies are trying to separate fathers from sons and mothers from daughters. They want your son to look at your convictions and discard them as useless. They want your daughter to look at the life that you lived and sacrificed to your family, and determine that it is worthless. And considering all of the elements in our culture that are attacking the family, the family is being attacked in entertainment. The family is being attacked in education. The family is being ignored in many churches. And considering these things, the question is not going to do"? But the question must become much more personal in that going to do"?
What are you going to do household? What are you going to do to be the man that God called you to be? What are you going to do to be the woman that God wants you to be? What are you going to do to train your children to become who God created them to be? My prayer comes directly from Psalms 68:1: let God arise and let his enemies be scattered. Let the righteous be as bold as a lion and stand up and speak with conviction that we believe what the Bible says about who God has created: that he created them male and he created them female. And he said, "Be fruitful and multiply". And that is his plan for the family! The challenge is that we are a house divided. Most families are a house divided. Husbands and wives are not existing in compliment with each other: they are in competition with one another. We have convinced ourselves that anything you can do, I can do better. And that's not God's plan. He wants you to compliment, not compete.
Mark 3:25, it says: if a house divided against itself, it cannot stand. Now these are the words of Jesus Christ that he himself spoke, but they were also echoed centuries later in the days of a young republican in the house of Illinois. His name was Abraham Lincoln. And on June the 16th, 1858, the republican party of Illinois decided that Lincoln would be a good senator in Washington. And so in accepting the nomination, he wrote a speech that said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand". History recorded the speech because it was ground breaking for its time. He was speak about a nation that was divided over the issue of slavery. And some of his political advisors came to him, and here's what they said in June of 1858. They said, "Mr. Lincoln, your speech is morally courageous but it is politically too harsh".
I guess even in 1858, they had some pc politicians. And they warned him. They said, "If you deliver this speech, you will be handing victory to our adversaries. He will become the senator and you will not". And Lincoln responded. He said, "Gentlemen, I did not author these words: God did". And he said, "If my opponents wish to complain and wish to whine, then please tell them to complain and whine to him". And when the room fell silent, he said, "Oh, I guess that's right: they can't complain to him". Lincoln delivered the speech and Lincoln was defeated in 1858. The senate race went to a man by the name of Douglas. His critics later wrote that his speech in 1858 cost him the senate seat but won him the White House.
You see at a time when it was inconvenient politically, he took the moral high road and said something that people didn't want to hear. And only when they saw that he was right did they take him to a greater prize. Well just like Lincoln did in his day, if we are going to take the family off of the endangered species list, then we have got to get back to God's word, because it is the frame work that the family was built around. And in spite of what our adversaries and opponents might think about our positions, you need to know that there is a greater prize to be won.
That prize is the quality of life for your children and for your grandchildren, so that they can clearly define what it means to be a man of God, so that they will clearly understand what it means to be a woman of great grace, so that they'll know that the examples that God gave them were examples that we're willing to do what was right in spite of what others had to think. Your adversaries are going to rant. Your adversaries are going to insult you. Your adversaries will slander you. They might even sue you. They will attack you. But understand this: your children are worth fighting for! And if there was ever a time to fight for your children, it's now. I'll give you some statistics that I wish weren't true. But childlike faith, the faith that is in a child's heart that tomorrow will be better than today, is at an all-time low.
The CDC took a study in 2015. CDC is the Center for Disease Control, not a theological seminary, but just a government group. The CDC in 2015 said, 5,028 children between the ages of seventh grade and twelfth grade try and commit suicide every day. And suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people from the ages of 10 to 18. These are not frustrated individuals in their 50's who've lived life. Some of them didn't even get out of middle school and have given up because they see no hope in life. Your children are worth fighting for. And the reason that kids are giving up is because they are casualties in a civil war. A house divided against itself cannot stand. If we're talking about house plans, and the foundation, and the framing, we have to get back to the blueprints. And the blueprint is God's word.
Here's what it says in Genesis 1:27 and 28. It says these things about God's blueprints for the family. It says: God created man. Say that with me, God created man. Now honey, I know it might be hard for you to believe, but the thing sitting next to you, God created that. In his own image, God created him, male and female. Say that with me, male and female. Now if you got out of kindergarten on the first try, you probably see two different people there, male and... Female. Hallelujah. Them. He blessed the man to be a man. He blessed the female to be a female. And he said, you are a male and you are a female so that you can do what I have put you on earth to do, be fruitful and multiply.
Now this is not a biblical fact: this is an actual statistical analysis of sociologists. They say that if a society has a birthrate less than 4%, it will not sustain itself. We are under that in the United States now. Why? Because we have forgotten God's blueprint, be fruitful and multiply. We love condos and cats, but we don't want to have kids. Oh, it's just not in the plans. Okay. It might not be in your plans, but it is in God's plan. And it's in God's plans, because as you get older, it's going to be your kids that take care of you. That's why I had four. I need lots of help. I would have had six, but Kendal said, "Enough". He said: fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over every living thing that moves on the earth.
Now how many of you see in that verse that God put you over the animals? He didn't put the animals over you. There in plain language, we have God's original plan for the family. And it comes with responsibility. It comes with the responsibility that those who were born male take the responsibility to become men, and not only to become men, but to raise men. It requires that those who were born female, not only celebrate the unique identity that God created in them, but to live a life that demonstrates the biblical qualities of feminine grace. And it requires that both the man and the woman work together to raise children, to train children: that those children may become men and women of God to lead the next generation. It requires that we, who are created in God's image, recognize that we are not the top of the food chain: we are a little lower than the angels, not a little better than a monkey.
Just think about it. But we have become what they described in Romans 1, we have worshiped the created and not the Creator. We are a society that puts its dogs in strollers and takes them for a walk, and then we walk out on our kids. The other day I was driving in a neighborhood, and I saw a woman pushing one of those baby buggies with two seats like you have for twins. And I said, how old are you twins? And she rolled back the canopy, and she said, they're six. And they were poodles. And these little dogs had misters blowing on them in the stroller so they wouldn't get hot. I'd take that dog and go, poof. We've got it out of order, folks. When we take care of our dogs like that and we treat our kids like dogs, we've got it out of order. We've fulfilled Romans 1:25. We've exchanged the truth for a lie.
And Paul gives twenty-three very vivid descriptions of what happens to a society that does that. He says, "They will become unrighteous. They will become wicked, malicious, murderous, sexually immoral, covetous, full of envy, strife, deceit, evil minded, whisperers, back biters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventor of evil things", do you know what late-term abortion is? It's an invention of evil. "Disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful". No wonder 70% of marriages end in divorce, when people with that kind of character enter into the union. No wonder homosexual marriage is now a law that has been passed, and protected by the court, and widely accepted by people in the church. Seventy-three percent of church goers believe that it is okay for the court to pass that law and for the church to stand up against the law.
Think about that. It's okay for the court to do it out in the street, and it's okay for the church to be upset about it in the sanctuary, but we don't want either side to get advantage over the other. That's what you call, "Living with one foot on both sides of the fence". You're either for it or you're against it. This is what Elijah said to a similar culture in the time of Israel when they were bowing down to Baal and living in drought because it was God who made it rain. He said: how long will you falter between two opinions? If Baal is God, then serve him. If God is God, then serve him. The time has come in these United States for the church to make a choice. It is time for us to choose to serve the living God or for us to forget that we ever knew him, because the time has come for light to be light and salt to be salt, and soldiers of the cross to stop cowering, but start marching for righteousness' sake. It is time to let God arise and let his enemies be scattered!
And it all begins with a decision. You have got to decide, sir. Are you going to be the man of God that he called you to be? Or are you going to be numbered among the masses? Are you going to be content just to live? Or are you going make a difference? If you choose to be a man of God, you might not make the kind of difference that gets your name enshrined on a building. You might not make the hall of fame in any association. But if you choose to be a man of God, you will make an eternal difference in your family. This is what second Peter said of Noah. It said in 2 Peter 2:5: Noah was a preacher of righteousness, and he saved eight. It took more than a hundred years from the time that Noah got the word about the ark to build the ark. And for more than a century, every day that Noah Hammered and every day that Noah worked, everyone around Noah mocked him.
Everybody said, you're crazy Noah. But Noah, by example, kept preaching what he felt God leading. And the Bible says, he didn't save the world but he saved eight. And those eight were his eight. They were his sons and their wives. And in heaven today, those eight are celebrating at Noah's house, because Noah decided to make a difference. You've got to decide, ma'am. You've got to make a decision. Are you going to be the lady that God wants you to be? Are you going to be the portrait of feminine grace that the word paints? Are you going to be the rebel that the world wants you to be? Are you going to live to love your family? Are you going to fight to control the world, because you cannot do both?
It's time to decide. And in the decisions that must be made in this place today, let me offer you the words of Joshua in chapter 24:15. He said, and I echo: as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. My mind is made up, church. I'm going to serve the God who created heaven and earth. I'm going to serve the Lord who gives us life. I'm going to serve the king who protects, who provides, and never fails. The God that I've chosen to serve is not a God of sometimes and maybe. He's a mountain-moving God of might and majesty. He's the God that when you call on him, he's there. When you need him, he'll break a yoke. When there's something in your way, he'll make a way. He's the God that sets captives free, is mighty to save, able to deliver, faithful and true! As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!
So very quickly in the conclusion of this message, let's talk for a little bit about masculinity. What is masculinity and where can we find it? If order is going to return to our culture, if masculinity is going to come back in style, then men are going to have to decide, without apology, to be men, not macho, men. Don't worry, we'll get there. Now remember I said, if you're not taking notes, you should be. Ladies, you're going to want to take down these notes for him. He might forget them. Until a man is in his proper place, nothing else in society works. According to the Word of God, Genesis 2:4 and 5, it says: and God had not caused it to rain on the earth because there was no man to till the ground. God wanted it to grow in eden, but he wouldn't allow it to grow until he had a gardener to manage the grove.
So until Adam got in place, God couldn't send a blessing. And the same is true in your life, sir. Until you get in a right place with God, as much as God may want things to grow and happen in your family, until you get there to tend to the grove, the blessings will not come down. Paul said in Ephesians 5:23: the husband is the head of the wife. Men, say that with me. The husband is... The head of the wife. Come on. I gave you a chance to be courageous there, men. I'm going to give you one more shot at it. Ready. I dropped out so I could see if y'all would stand up.
Let's try it again. The husband... Is the head of the wife. Now it gets a little muddled there at the end. Babe, it's just it's what he said. It's what he said. But that's not the end of the verse. The end of the verse says: the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church. It's saying that Jesus Christ is the head of all. And if a husband is submitted to Christ, then his wife will submit to him. If you're out of order with Christ, you have no reason to believe that she would submit to you. If you're not following him, how can she follow you? So what we need to know about real men and real masculine men is that they are in a right place for the blessings of God to be poured out upon their family. And in order for that to happen, real men, masculine men, the true man, follows God.
So very quickly I want to give you six traits of masculinity. The first trait of masculinity is confidence. Now when you look at the word "Confidence," it's latin. And the root is "Fideo," which means "Faith". And the prefix is "Con," which means "With". So whenever you say, "I am confident," you say I am living with faith. When you have confidence, as a man, a masculine man, you don't have a false hope: you have hope and faith in God. For faith is born of God. The Bible says that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Whenever you live with faith, you are walking by faith and not by sight. When I was a young boy, I used to imitate my father's behavior, because I admired him. And therefore, I tried to be like him. So in doing so, because of my admiration, I walked and talked and did what dad did. Well, as a real man, when you live with faith, it simply means that you are imitating God-like behavior. You see how God behaves and you walk and you talk and you act like he would act.
Now here's the point: how can you have confidence without faith? How can you walk by faith and not by sight? How can you know that the decisions you're making for your family are the right decisions unless you are using the Word of God to be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path? Proverbs 3:26 says: the Lord will be your confidence. Say that with me, the Lord will be your confidence. How can God be your confidence if you're not living by his word? If this is not giving you insight to the decisions that you need to make, you're not walking through life certain: you're walking through life guessing.
Another thing that men are, they are committed. Hebrews 3:14, it says: we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. This is Paul's way of saying to the church, be committed. Said in layman's terms, real men don't quit. Real men endure. Even when quit looks good, they press on. Real men don't quit on their marriage. Real men don't quit on their kids. Real men don't quit on their God. They set an example with their fortitude. They make up their mind like Paul did, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". And they press on. Seventy-two percent of women fear that at some time their husband will leave them. You can drive that fear out of your home if you will live with confidence and let your wife know that, as a man, you are committed to that relationship.
The third trait of a man is courage, courage. Now courage is not the absence of fear. Macho men want to pretend like they're not afraid of anything. I ain't afraid of nothing. Let me throw a rattlesnake in your lap and see how fearless you are. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the willingness to face your fear and control yourself. Often times when men become afraid, they lose self-control. Some of that self-control is demonstrated through rage. Some of it is demonstrated through run. Some of it is demonstrated through just choosing to drown their fears. But the reality of it is when you can face your fear and control yourself, you're demonstrating courage. Men don't want to appear weak, so they try to say that there's nothing that scares them. But the truth is men are afraid of what they don't understand. If they don't understand it, they choose to be against it, because it's better for them to choose to be against it, then for them to say they're afraid of it.
The good news is that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, and of love, and of sound mind. David was a man of war. David was a mighty man of valor. And David said: I love the Lord because he heard me, and he delivered me from all of my fears. David says, I don't care how tough you are: sooner or later, you're going to be afraid. But he says, every time fear shows up, take your fears to God, and let God deliver them from you. A masculine man knows what it means to take his fear to the throne of grace, and say, Lord, I leave it here so that I can continue to do what you've called me to do down here. A macho man runs from fear. He drowns his fear. He escapes from fear. He acts foolish in the face of fear. But real courage is when you're willing to bend your knee and say, God Almighty, if you don't help me, I'm not going to get out of this mess. godly men are courageous enough to know where their help comes from, and their help comes from the Lord!
The fourth thing that a masculine man is, is a source of counsel. He is some place that children can turn to and ask what to do, and he's got wisdom and he's got knowledge. He's some place that his wife can turn and his friends can count on: that when they need advice, he's got it. And if he doesn't have it, he'll invest himself in finding it. We live in a society that is starving for good counsel. We live in a culture that prides itself in ignorance. What do I do? I don't know. That doesn't make you sound real smart. Proverbs says: where there is no counsel, people fall. But in a multitude of counselors, there is safety. Counsel is a combination of knowledge, which is information, and wisdom, which is knowing what to do with the information. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. So unless you have a proper perspective of God, you don't have good information. This is why Psalms says: blessed is the man who walks not if the counsel of the ungodly. Counsel can come from experience. Counsel can come from knowledge. Counsel can come from education. Counsel can come straight from God and his Holy Spirit. But you cannot be good counsel if you are not walking with God Almighty.
The fifth thing that a man is, is he's concerned. Right behind "I don't know" is "I don't care". And that's not true. A real man cares. It's the intimacy factor. Now I wouldn't ask you to show hands, because I'd hate to see the fight that would follow. But how many of you might know somebody who's got intimacy issues? A real man is not afraid to show that he has a heart: that he's got passion, and that passion has purpose. The Bible says: Jesus wept. Why? Because he was concerned. The Bible says Jesus brought children to him and he blessed them. Why? Because he had a heart. The opposite of concern is selfishness, when you have more concern about yourself than you do those who are around you.
And the sixth thing, and I close with this, a real man is not afraid to communicate. Communication, it's the life blood flow of every relationship. Communication is how God speaks to you through his word. It's how you speak to him through prayer. Communication is how you train your children in the way they should go. Communication is how you speak with your wife, and she and you build bonds that nothing can separate. But you've got to communicate on purpose. It doesn't happen by accident. It requires, put the slide back up, focus. Say that word with me: focus. Perspective and vision. Say those three, "Focus, perspective, and vision".
Very quickly and I close. Where does focus come from? Focus comes from getting rid of distractions. For the last 42 minutes and 44, 45, 46 seconds, I have been very focused. I've been very focused on delivering this message. I'm not distracted by those guys walking out in the balcony right now. I wasn't distracted by the couple that got up here about ten minutes ago or by the things that happen in this room throughout the service. I don't let them bother me because I've got something that I am focused on accomplishing. And if you're going to communicate well with your spouse, you have got to focus. There will always be something that's trying to distract your attention when it comes time to communicate with your partner. Why? Because the Bible says: what God has brought together, let no man put asunder.
And when the enemy starts to see you and your spouse get on the same page, they go, oh, no! So what does that mean? That means, on purpose, you might have to go put your cell phone up so that you can have a conversation with the one you're in love with. Buy yourself a sleeping bag for the phone, and say, you just need a rest. Because you can't communicate like this, uh-huh, oh yeah. Yes, perfect. That's the recipe for war. Not only is there focus, but there's perspective. And when you communicate with perspective, you are willing to see the situation from the other person's perspective, not just your own. But you recognize that the other person in the conversation might not be exactly like you, and that doesn't make them wrong: it just makes them different.
This is why Proverbs says: as iron sharpens iron. The way that iron sharpens iron is it goes against the grain. It doesn't agree with it: it cuts against it. And whenever you have perspective, you are sharpening your relationship, because you are pulling from multiple perspectives and communicating what's important to you, to what's important to them. And then the other thing that's important about communication is that it requires vision. As a man, you need to have a vision for your family. You need to make up your mind today where you want your children when they graduate high school, and when you want them to be active in working, and what you want them to accomplish in this life. Them to figure it out. To figure it out, you in their life. And when you're dealing with today's problem, that's not vision: that's reaction. When you have vision, you are looking past today and into tomorrow, and making a decision about the direction you need to go, and then communicate it.
Tell your children, this is what I believe God can do in you. Tell your daughter, this is what I believe God wants for you. Tell your wife, this is what I believe God wants us to do together. And do it over, and over, and over again, because God needs you here on this earth. He needs you to be confident committed, courageous, concerned, and communicating so that it becomes a culture of peace and not chaos, based on the fact that men of God are willing to be men again. Now church, I know that I've given you more information than you probably wanted to ingest. Some of you look shell shocked. Some of you look irritated. Some of you look numb from about here up. I hope you have a good time when you come to church. But you need to know my purpose is never to entertain you. And this topic is way too important to be left unsaid. The Bible says that the word of the Lord will not return void. And I pray that those seeds grow in your hearts, in Jesus' name. Can we stand. I want everyone in this sanctuary to pray this prayer with me.
Lord Jesus Christ, I ask you to let your truth reign in my heart: that I might be the man of God, the woman of God, the family of God that you want me to be. Your word is a lamp. Your word is a light. Let your word become so valuable to me: that I would not live a day without looking at it to see where I should go. Thank you, Lord, for all that you've done, and all that your word can do, in Jesus' name. Amen.