Tony Evans - Why Men Matter?
She wanna know, "Adam, where ya at"? It's the question of the single parent who's been abandoned by the father of her children, and she wants to know, "Adam, where ya at"? It's that child who has to grow up with a physically or emotionally absent father, and he's asking the question, however he phrases it, "Adam, where ya at"? It's the question of churches and pastors who have to keep calling on ladies to do jobs that men oughtta do because the men are missing in action. And the question is, "Adam, where ya at"? But worst of all, worse than all of that is that God is asking the question, "Adam, where are you"?
So God's question about where Adam was was not fundamentally a question of location. He knows where Adam is located. He is the one in the garden with him. So the question that I am raising that God raises with the first Adam, and the Hebrew word for "Adam" means "earth". For he was created from the earth. The woman was not created from the earth. She was created from Adam. Now, that's a deeper point that we'll get to later, but Adam is earth. And God says, "Where are you"? Now, let me tell you what was at the heart of the question. At the heart of the question, "Where are you"? was not fundamentally a question of location. It was a question of position. See, Adam had abandoned his role. He had abandoned his calling. He had abandoned his position.
So, the question of, "Where are you"? is a question of positioning. Ezekiel chapter 22, verse 30, God says: "I was looking for a man to stand in the gap so I would not have to curse the land, but I could find none". There were plenty of males, but he said, "I can't find a man". So, apparently, you can be a male and not be a man. And he says, "Because I couldn't find a man, I had to curse the land". So, a land becomes cursed when men cannot be located, even when males are everywhere. Adam had abandoned his position, and so the desperate need of today is to call males back to being men, as God defines a man, not as the culture defines it.
And so I want to speak with you about answering the question about the position of a man. "Adam, where are you"? Here is the first thing that you need to understand about a man and his position, not his location alone, but his position. And that is that it is a position of priority. And I know some won't like that, but this is not a popularity meeting. It is a position of priority because God says in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 12, God created Adam first, and then he created Eve. The word "first". First has to do with order. First has to do with progress in time. Adam and Eve were not created at the same time. Adam first, then Eve. God spends a whole chapter, Genesis 2, discussing Adam before Eve is ever created for Adam. Why? Because it would be the man who would be responsible.
God says in Malachi chapter 4, verses 4 through 6, he says: "There will be a messenger who will come who will restore the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers so that I will not have to curse the land". So if our culture is declining, while we can discuss all the peripheral, political, sociological, racial, we can discuss all of those reasons why the culture is declining, but what God says is, "First, on the front end, where's the man"? As you've heard me say:
If you're a messed-up man and you have a family, you're going to help make a messed-up family.
If you a messed-up man contributing to a messed-up family, and our messed-up family goes to church, then your messed-up family's gonna make its contribution to a messed-up church.
If you a messed-up man contributing to a messed-up family resulting in a messed-up church, and your church is supposed to be the light to the neighborhood, then your messed-up church is gonna make its contribution to a messed-up neighborhood.
If you're a messed-up man contributing to a messed-up family resulting in a messed-up church causing a messed-up neighborhood, and your neighborhood's part of a city, well, now, your messed-up neighborhood's gonna make its contribution to a messed-up city.
If you're a messed-up man contributing to a messed-up family resulting in a messed-up church causing a messed-up neighborhood that resides in a messed-up city, and your city's part of the county, well, now, your messed-up city's gonna make its contribution to a messed-up county.
If you're a messed-up man contributing to a messed-up family resulting in a messed-up church causing a messed-up neighborhood that resides in a messed-up city that's part of a messed-up county, and your county's part of the state, well, now, your messed-up county's gonna make its contribution to a messed-up state.
If you're a messed-up man contributing to a messed-up family resulting in a messed-up church causing a messed-up neighborhood that resides in a messed-up city that's part of a messed-up county contributing to a messed-up state, and your state's part of the country, well, now, your messed-up state's gonna make its contribution to a messed-up nation.
If you're a messed-up man contributing to a messed-up family resulting in a messed-up church causing a messed-up neighborhood that resides in a messed-up city that's part of a messed-up county that's contributing to a messed-up state that's contributing to a messed-up country, and your country's part of the world, well, now, your messed-up country is gonna make its contribution to a messed-up world.
So, if you want a better world composed of better countries inhabited by better states 'cause they're made up of better counties composed of better cities inhabited by better neighborhoods illuminated by better churches that are made up of better families, we got to start by becoming better men.
If you a messed-up man contributing to a messed-up family, and our messed-up family goes to church, then your messed-up family's gonna make its contribution to a messed-up church.
If you a messed-up man contributing to a messed-up family resulting in a messed-up church, and your church is supposed to be the light to the neighborhood, then your messed-up church is gonna make its contribution to a messed-up neighborhood.
If you're a messed-up man contributing to a messed-up family resulting in a messed-up church causing a messed-up neighborhood, and your neighborhood's part of a city, well, now, your messed-up neighborhood's gonna make its contribution to a messed-up city.
If you're a messed-up man contributing to a messed-up family resulting in a messed-up church causing a messed-up neighborhood that resides in a messed-up city, and your city's part of the county, well, now, your messed-up city's gonna make its contribution to a messed-up county.
If you're a messed-up man contributing to a messed-up family resulting in a messed-up church causing a messed-up neighborhood that resides in a messed-up city that's part of a messed-up county, and your county's part of the state, well, now, your messed-up county's gonna make its contribution to a messed-up state.
If you're a messed-up man contributing to a messed-up family resulting in a messed-up church causing a messed-up neighborhood that resides in a messed-up city that's part of a messed-up county contributing to a messed-up state, and your state's part of the country, well, now, your messed-up state's gonna make its contribution to a messed-up nation.
If you're a messed-up man contributing to a messed-up family resulting in a messed-up church causing a messed-up neighborhood that resides in a messed-up city that's part of a messed-up county that's contributing to a messed-up state that's contributing to a messed-up country, and your country's part of the world, well, now, your messed-up country is gonna make its contribution to a messed-up world.
So, if you want a better world composed of better countries inhabited by better states 'cause they're made up of better counties composed of better cities inhabited by better neighborhoods illuminated by better churches that are made up of better families, we got to start by becoming better men.
'Cause it all rests on the position of the man. Because the man was first, he is to function as the foundation. So in this day of male abandonment, male abuse, male disregard, male irresponsibility, we have cultural chaos. He says that man has a priority responsibility. Now, the foundation isn't the whole thing. That's where the woman comes in, and we gonna get to that. But the foundation is always the first thing if you're building a building. And so, God says that the man is not to be a weak part of the society, the house, the church. He is to be the foundation of it. It says in that verse, verse 8: "He was hiding from the presence of God," watch this, "in the garden". He was hiding from God in his house.
See, don't miss that. Not only was he hiding from God in his house, 'cause the garden was Adam's house, it was the place he lived, Adam went to the house to get the leaves to hide from God. So he used what God gave him to hide from God. He literally used God's blessing to run from God. And today, we have men who want all the blessings of God, and they use the blessings to hide from God. He says, "He was hiding from the presence of God in the garden". See, you can hide from God in church. They were hiding from the presence of the Lord, and Adam was responsible. The heart of God's man is that he is operating underneath the authority and in the presence of God, not running from it.
So, then, how does this man operate? "Adam, where are you"? How does this kind of man roll? In chapter 2, verse 15, it says: "Then the Lord God took the man," 'cause there is no woman yet. "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden," that's his house, the garden of Eden, "to cultivate it and to keep it". Hmm, he gives the man a job. He gives the man a house, places in the garden, that's his house, and he gives him a job. Single women, make it known early, if there is no finance, there won't be no romance. He gave him a place to live, he gave him a job to work before he gave him a woman to lead. An irresponsible man is not worthy to be a husband. Because if he ain't even takin' care of him, why you think he gonna take care of you? But I want you to notice somethin', men. He gave him a house. He gave him a place to live. He gave him a job. But notice, he told him to cultivate it.
In other words, if a real man is gonna have some vision, he doesn't just wanna stay where he is. He wants to produce more than what he starts with. So, the question is not, "Are you going to work"? The question is, "Are you productive in the work you do"? God expects a man to maximize his potential underneath God in whatever sphere of opportunity God gives him and whatever gifting he's placed on him. All of this, by the way, was happening in the garden. The garden was the place where God was hanging out in Adam's house as a single man 'cause he's not married yet. He's a single man hangin' out with God in the garden. In other words, even as a single man, he was living in the presence of God. He was living under the covering of God, something we'll get into more detail at another time, but that's where he was rolling. That's where he was operating. He says, "Not only do I want you to do that, but I want you to keep the garden. Cultivate it and keep it".
The Hebrew word for "keep" means "to guard or protect". "I want you to protect your house. I want you to protect your garden". What is he protecting the house from? I mean, this is a perfect world he's livin' in. No, it's not. Slick is in the garden. Satan is in the garden. Chapter 3, the serpent comes up to Eve. So, there are gonna be problems in the garden 'cause the snake is there, and the snake is gonna cause stuff. The snake is gonna try to stir stuff up. The snake is gonna try to get you away from God. There is a serpent in the garden, and your job is to keep him out because you are responsible for the garden to keep the devil out because he's tryin' to get in. And he may be tryin' to get in through your wife.
So, provision and protection, that is the environment that Adam was responsible for. And then he gives him another instruction. Verse 16, Genesis 2: "The Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'From any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. For in the day that you eat from it, you will sho' enough die.'" He gives him his Word, his commandment, not his request, his commandment. Why? Because a male who plans to be a man must position himself under divine authority, which means God's Word has the final say so in his life. Not his posse, not his friends, not his homeboys. Nobody overrules God. Not even his wife. Because God is gonna say in chapter 3, "Because you listened to your wife, all hell has broken loose in your life. Because, as much as you love her, she's not supposed to overrule me".
That his job is to oversee the communication and the operation of God's Word in his sphere of influence, starting with his family. Or as Joshua said, "As for me and my house," Joshua 24:15, "this is how we roll. This is how we roll". "As for me and my house, there's no vote here. God commanded me. I'm under commandment". But notice the command. The command was a happy command. See, we look at the negative part, "Don't eat from that tree". No, no, that's not the first part of the command. The first part of the command was, "Live it up". The first command was, "From every tree of the garden you may freely eat". The first part of the command, he's a single man. He tells him, the first part of the command is, "Maximize all that I have given you. Maximize my creation. Maximize all that you can do, just don't mess with that tree". He says, "The day you eat of it you're going to break relationship with me".
That's death, that's like unpluggin' something. And what we have today are males who don't function anymore because they're unplugged because death has entered into him or the relationship or the scenario or the parenting or whatever the case may be. He says that "you are to carry my Word". What was the difference between? What was the problem with this tree in the middle called the tree? It was a Google tree 'cause he calls it, "A tree of knowledge". It was Google. It was the Internet tree. This tree was full of data, all kinda data, good data, bad data, "Tree of the knowledge of good and evil".
So, the tree wasn't all bad. It had evil, but it also had good. But he said, "I don't want you to eat it, even though it's got good stuff on it". Why? "Because, Adam, if you're going to be the man that I want you to be, created you to be, and you're gonna be operating like you're supposed to be, then I want you to live by revelation, not reason. I do not want your human reason to determine your actions. I want divine revelation, what I say. And when I'm ready for you to know it, I'mma tell it to you. Don't go out there apart from me and learnin' on your own".
Guess what Adam's job was to be? He was to make sure this information got transferred to Eve. He wanted to make sure this information got transferred to Eve. And he transferred it to Eve. In fact, he transferred it with a vengeance. What do I mean he transferred it with a vengeance? 'Cause when the devil asked Eve, "Can you eat from the tree"? she said, "Not only can I not eat from it, I can't touch it". So, what Adam told her was, "Girlfriend, don't eat from that tree. And in case you didn't get it, don't even go near it where you can brush up against it". He was to transfer.
So if the wife has gotta ask you, "Are you goin' to church today"? If the wife has gotta ask you, "Are you gonna pray with the family"? If the wife has gotta ask you, "Are you gonna have devotions"? That means you're not fulfilling the spiritual responsibility of spiritually leading your home. A man is to be the vehicle, the flow through from God to those entities, family, church, society, that he flows through, as the first point of contact. Yes, women, you have your own personal responsibility and relationship with the Lord. That is to be primary. The Bible says even a husband can't overrule God in the life of his wife. But at the same time, God has a process that he prefers to flow through.
So, God is calling on men, and he's asking the question, "Adam, where are ya"? And not just a location question, but a position question. I know that many men, as I said earlier, have grown up without a biblical worldview. And I know that we, as men, even if you had it, stray from it. And God is asking us today, "Where are you? Where are you as I define you"? But that's where the good news comes in. 'Cause in the Bible, there are two men named Adam, not one. You got the first Adam in Genesis 2 and 3, and the Bible says in Romans 5, "He blew it for the whole race". In verse 18 and following of Romans 5, the first Adam blew it for the whole race. But in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 22, 45, and 47, it says, "There's another Adam," Adam number two. He's called, "The last Adam".
While Adam number one got us booted out of the garden, the Bible says, "The last Adam is a life-giving spirit, and he can escort you back into the garden". The first Adam may have messed you up, but the last Adam can pick you up. And you don't have to be like your daddy. You don't have to be like your granddaddy. You don't have to be like the people who influenced your life who were wrong. The last Adam can rename you. There were two guys in a mountain climbing incident, and there was a man in the front and a man in the back, and there were two men in the middle who were climbin' the mountain. But in order to get 'em up there safely, there was a guide at the front named Adam and a guide at the back named Adam.
So, they are climbin' up this mountain, but the problem is, as the first Adam, the Adam up front, he slipped, and all the folks were tied together by a rope. The first Adam slipped, and when the first Adam slipped, he pulled the two men with him, and they were gonna fall off of the precipice. But the last Adam took his axe and plowed it into the mountain so that all the men that were behind him could climb back up. The first Adam slipped, and he's draggin' all the men down. But the last Adam on the cross had nailed that thing, and he says, "If you climb up on me, I will take you back to what you think you lost". So, the question is, "Adam, where are you"?
Men really do matter. Men are critical to the wellbeing of their families, to the strength of their churches, and to the order of our culture and our society. It is critical that men understand this unique and special place and responsibility that God has given us. That doesn't make us better than women, but the reason God created Adam first was that he would bear the shoulder of responsibility. The key to manhood is responsibility under God. And so God set a man aside, Adam, to give him instructions before he brought in other people for him to oversee, guide, guard, and lead.
So, men matter. And when men fail to live up to their divinely ordained responsibility, well, Genesis 3 makes it clear, chaos ensues in marital relationships, in family order, in economic stability, and it can lead to total cultural collapse. So, men, you matter, and you matter much. You matter greatly. It is critical that we recognize that, we recognize that and own it, but own it in a responsible, caring, loving way, but in a clear way. You don't apologize for legitimate biblical manhood. But what you do is you execute in a way so that everything you touch is better because you matter unto God.