Manhood: Leave Things Better

I. A Legacy of Endurance – Job

Job 13:15 – “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him…”

A. Steadfast in your family

B. Steadfast with your freedoms

C. Steadfast with your finances

D. Steadfast in your fight

II. A Legacy of Purpose – Paul

Philippians 3:10-14 – “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. [12] Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. [13] Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

A. Gauge why you are living this life (Philippians 3:10) – “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him…”

B. Consider how you are living this life (Philippians 3:11-12) – “…that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. [12] Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.”

C. Take ownership of this life (Philippians 3:13-14) – “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

III. A Legacy of Humility – Peter

1 Peter 5:5-7 – “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” [6] Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, [7] casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

A. Model humility (1 Peter 5:5) – “You who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

B. Model self control (1 Peter 5:6a) – “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God…”

C. Model stillness & dependence (1 Peter 5:6b-7) – “…so that at the proper time he may exalt you, [7] casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

IV. A Legacy of Passion – David

2 Samuel 6:14-15 – “David danced before the LORD with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. [15] So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the horn…”

A. Are you stirred as a son of God?

B. Did you settle as a son of God?

C. Where is your shout as a son of God?

V. A Legacy of Love – Jesus

John 15:12-13 – “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. [13] Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

A. Love in the home – men love differently than women – let them!

B. Love in the community (2 Samuel 10:12) – “Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him.”

C. Love in the church – Love languages for men: sacrificial giving, acts of service, quality time

A LEGACY OF PURPOSE
• Men were made to soar, not slumber
• Men were made to pounce, not puddle
• Men were made to throttle, not idle
• Men were made to sacrifice, not stagnate
• Men were made to war, not whimper
• Men were made to risk, not retreat
• Men were made to laugh, not languish
• Men were made to stretch, not settle
• Men were made to be champions, not chumps

LIFESONG – CASTING CROWNS
Empty hands held high
Such small sacrifice
If not joined with my life
I sing in vain tonight
May the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
I want to sign Your name to the end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true
Let my lifesong sing to You
Lord I give my life
A living sacrifice
To reach a world in need
To be Your hands and feet
So may the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Let my lifesong sing to You