Men Demons Recognize
Do you ever feel like you have a word on the tip of your tongue? A thought just out of reach? As I have been pondering the men of this church and where I wish for us to go in 2024, I find myself having eighteen million ideas or so. The process then filters down those ideas to the best ideas. Then, from there, I will prioritize where our men can grow first and then where they should grow. Once I have my thoughts organized to this level, it is time to think of the what, where, when, and how, as I have already answered the who and why. So, as we get ready for the new year…what’s the goal for 2024 Rozetta Baptist Church Men’s Ministry?
To be men whom demons recognize. That is our goal. Think of it this way: we are in constant battle with the forces of evil. The world, the flesh, the devil, and his cohort are constantly raging war against the souls of our men, their wives, and their families. What would it mean if we interacted with a demon and they responded with the question, “Who are you?” No man wants to wake up and realize that he is acting like a son of Sceva…
“13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” - Acts 19:13-16
Many men who call themselves Christians find themselves in just this situation. They believe themselves to be well-equipped, to be doing Christian things, leading as best they can…and yet, when faced with trials and tribulations, they find themselves beaten, battered, and bruised by the ordeal and leaving the spiritual battle with temptation, fears, and failures naked and wounded. They believe they are doing alright as a Christian husband until their wife goes through a season of anxiety, doubt, fear, and exhaustion, needing more from him than she typically does. Suddenly, he finds himself at the end of his rope, wondering if he has ever shepherded his wife once in his entire life. They believe they are fathering their children by God’s standards. Yet, when their children are rebellious, reactive, or indignant enough, they find themselves exasperated, blowing up, and shutting down.
These circumstances can make you wonder if demonic forces represented each of these trials and tribulations…how fearful it would be to try and control the situation and fight back only to realize the demons say, “Jesus, I know, and Paul, I recognize, but who are you?” We have plenty of men who are wonderfully successful businessmen yet find themselves worthless husbands, fathers, and grandfathers. As a man, it is so easy to be strong without love, courageous without wisdom, wealthy without being generous, successful without being grateful, and hungry without self-control. We find ourselves the head of our household, responsible for the spiritual welfare of our families, and yet not recognized by our enemies on the front lines of the battle.
For men’s ministry in 2024, our mission as a church will be straightforward: We train men whom demons recognize. We train men to be prayer warriors who pray for and with their families daily. We train men to be readers of God’s Word, for how can they lead from what they do not know? We train men to study the Scriptures to grow in wisdom, in favor with God, and favor with men. We teach men to understand Doctrine so that they may lead their families and this congregation in the life-giving truth of God’s Word. We train men to actively answer spiritual questions for their families, counsel their relatives and friends in the things of God, and teach God’s Word to those He has placed in their lives. We train men to follow Paul’s guidance…
“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” - 1 Corinthians 16:13
As the men of this church go, the rest of the church will follow. We must be a church that brings up men of integrity, wisdom, humility, and holiness. We must encourage men from the earliest years (teens and younger) to act like men, to be strong in the Lord, to be watchful over those God has placed in their lives and over their own lives, and to stand firm in the faith. We need men of conviction who will rise above the waves of nauseating mediocrity that this culture has tried to drown us in. We need men who are busy conquering the demons that continue to attack their families, not men who are busy conquering the world and building a kingdom that will burn one day.
“A true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him” (G.K. Chesterton, Illustrated London News, 1911).
Men, we only have one life to live, only one life to give for our Lord and Savior, for our loved ones. Will you fight with me? Will you dare to defy your own flesh? The world? The devil? Will you stand firm in the faith, strong in the Lord, sure of His strength, and not your own? Spurgeon once said that a man of God is a manly man. Let’s rise to the occasion God has set before us and lead like we should have been for so long. Little boys are born with this innate desire to be a superhero, a fireman, a police officer, a military man, etc. We were made to wage a war. A war for our own souls every day and for the souls of our wives and children. We can either accept the call, soldier up, and fight, or we can sit back and hope the next generation figures it out. The ball is in your court. What will you do with this life God has given you? Will you be a man who demons recognize, or will you be the man who hears the dreaded words, “Who are you?”
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Dan
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