• 6 months ago
Transcript
00:00Being a man life is hard.
00:04Suck it up.
00:05Grin and bear it.
00:07No pain, no gain.
00:09Be a man.
00:10A volatile and political debate about masculinity surrounds us.
00:15What does it mean to be a man?
00:17What should we do?
00:18Jesus definitely navigated such things.
00:22When he was thrust into the political and religious controversies of his day, example,
00:27did he repay taxes to Caesar or not?
00:30He often found a third way that defied that either or thrown at him.
00:35We must do the same.
00:36Today, I'll suggest an aspect of classic masculinity we should keep, and tomorrow, a part we can
00:43lose.
00:44In all of it, we follow and obey Jesus.
00:48Hard work has been our lot since the fall.
00:51Throughout history, men have sweated and suffered to survive.
00:56Life is hard.
00:57The difficulties of life forged strong men.
01:00Calloused hands and scars were the membership fee for life, and the dues were paid daily.
01:06Have you noticed that our cherished fictional and historical stories always preach the virtue
01:11of perseverance?
01:13Imagine the silliness of the Lord of the Rings or Narnia without heroes enduring hardship.
01:19Our greatest story is Jesus, who endured the cross.
01:23Jesus worked some days till exhaustion.
01:27When Jesus' rest was interrupted, he sucked it up and served.
01:32Jesus persevered through his disciples' lack of faith, foolishness, and blindness.
01:38Jesus also lamented.
01:41Endurance doesn't mean repressing negative emotions.
01:45David powerfully endured the wilderness and expressed his pain in the Psalms.
01:50If we follow Jesus, endurance is obedience.
01:55It's part of being a man.
01:56A simple Bible study of suffering, perseverance, and endurance will eradicate any doubt you
02:02have.
02:03There's a good chance your life is hard.
02:06Your health is failing, your work seems futile, your finances are precarious, your spouse
02:11is perpetually depressed, your child is struggling, and or your sex life is non-existent.
02:18The way forward is not ease, it is endurance.
02:22It is the way of manhood and the way of Christ.
02:25Prayer, Lord, protect me from the lies that cause me to expect ease.
02:30Give me strength to endure.
02:32Jesus, I'm amazed at your endurance.
02:36Help me follow you.
02:37Amen.
02:38Reflection, identify an area where you need to endure.
02:43What would it look like for you to express your angst like the Psalms teach us?
02:48What would it look like for you to joyfully endure?