Mandate To Modern Manhood: Living Brave, Bearing Fruit, Blessing Others

We set a clear vision for courageous manhood shaped by Scripture, empowered by the Spirit, and lived for the good of others. We move from the garden mandate to Jesus’ model, with practical steps for mission at home, at work, and in the world.

• embracing God’s Word as the core of manhood
• resisting passivity and walking by the Spirit
• reframing failure as loss that leads to learning
• abiding in Christ to bear fruit for others
• blessed to bless as the pattern from Abraham
• Jesus’ self-giving as the model for service
• mission at home through presence and sacrifice
• mission at work with excellence and integrity
• generosity as a habit that outlasts regret
• local-to-global witness with words and works
• wise, gracious speech in a polarized culture
• seeking the welfare of the city through love

If you found any of what you heard today helpful, please share it with others who may benefit
And if you would like to support the content that we put out, please consider making a donation at RealLife Ministry.us
While you're there, check out some of our episodes
And together, let's continue to educate and encourage Christians to live free and live strong

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Welcome to Real Life Ministry, where we are dedicated to teaching and encouraging Christians to live free and live strong. Your host today is Ryan Rice, a Bible teacher, a pastor, entrepreneur, and a writer. Join us as we dive into various topics and how they relate to faith, values, and making a positive impact in America. Let's dive into it.

Defining Courageous Manhood

Mission And The Great Commission

Fighting The Flesh With The Spirit

The Helper Beside You

Abide And Bear Fruit

SPEAKER_02 0:31

All right, we're back for another episode of Real Life Ministry. We are continuing in our series about manhood, and today we're talking about being courageous in the mission. God has spoken his word and created man and woman. In the very beginning of the garden, we see that God worked to create a man and a woman. And he said that it is not good for the man to be alone. He gave him a woman. And so that's part of our definition of manhood. We're going to get to later on in upcoming series about loving and protecting God's woman. But now we're talking about the real man needs to embrace God's word. He needs to uh uh live it out. And so we're focusing in on that and being courageous in the mission of applying God's word and living it out. I heard a quote recently, I never lose, I either win or learn. Um or actually, I think the quote was, I never, I'm sorry, I never fail, I either uh lose or learn. And I think that's really good. I never fail, I either lose or learn. So you you can lose at times, but failure sounds so final, and oh, you know, the enemy would like to have you defeated and despondent and depressed and ultimately destroyed. And that's not what you need. No, you need to live strong, you need to live free. God's intended for you to fight the fight. So here we go. Mission is just part of real manhood, it's a part of the life that God's called you to live. It's not like you're Clark Kent, Superman, walking around with a super S underneath your shirt, ready to rip off and fly off and uh save the world. But you are God's man called to do a great deal of good work. God desires to use our lives today to bring heaven to earth and people to heaven. That is good. He he wants to use you, he calls you and me to reach others with the life and the teachings of Jesus. I mean, think about the Great Commission. Go therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you. And lo, I am always with you, even to the end of the age. That's powerful. Go make a difference in the entire world. That's the call to mankind. He also calls us to bless others with good works. Matthew 5, 16 says, Let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who's in heaven. And we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which he prepared beforehand. God has designed it that we would make a difference. We're made for more. We're designed to shine. And so unfortunately, that the natural gravity of the flesh is, and we'll see, it will seek to pull us towards passivity and selfishness, to gratify our own sinful desires, to elevate ourselves versus others. And this becomes very problematic. Galatians 5.17 says, For the flesh sets itself against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, or these are in opposition to one another. This is again that that big picture of the tension and the fight that we have as believers. If we're going to walk with the spirit, we've got to keep in step with the spirit, soak up God's word. Only with God's help can we courageously step up to the mission that God has for each one of us. We are prone to wonder, but it's with God's help, as He gives us the promptings of the Holy Spirit and the strength to kind of keep figuring it out day by day. God can give you what you need to get moving. God's help is on the way. God's help is here, God's help is now. And so he is in the Greek it is the parakletos, and it is this idea uh uh that it is a helper. It's where we get the word, as I understand, uh parametic. And so you have help to get that what you need. It's just that you we deny it and dismiss it and downplay it. In John chapter 14 through 16, the he speaks of the Holy Spirit and the comforter, and that he'll send to help guide us in truth. And the parakletos continues even in Jesus' own ministries and through the disciples, and so the Son is our advocate, and the Spirit is our helper to walk through this Christian life, and we need help, and I need you um to believe it. And it's pretty cool to think about the help that we have in a relationship with the Lord. Um so back to that parakletos idea. It's it's kind of that para word, it's it's built the paramatic idea. It's not the the para uh does come from the same Greek preposition, para, beside, alongside, or near, but kletos is is different. Um, the para kletos is built from para as well, meaning one called alongside. And so you you kind of gotta think about it like God is with you. And so wherever you're at, whatever you're doing, I mean para is para is like a paramedic means alongside, parakletos is the one called alongside of us. So it's the same prefix. Um there is one alongside that can help you, and he's there to help you step up to the mission that God has called you to. John 15, 5. I love this. I am the vine, you are the branches. Jesus says this. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Trees should bear fruit. Um recently I was on a little um Bible study, doing a little Bible study with my teenage daughter out at a park, and I'm like talking to her about the purpose of how God's preserved her life, protected her, um, has a purpose for her life. And then I talked to her about how in the very beginning in Genesis, when God created male and female, he literally says to them, the first command, be fruitful and multiply. I think, I mean, this is like the first command to go fill the earth and make a difference. And uh to be fruitful is interesting. A tree, if it bears fruit, it's not for the tree itself, it's for others. And to be fruitful is something for somebody else. And so when God speaks about textually, and the first directive imperative to humans in the Bible, it is fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion, um, it is the first commandment or creation mandate. And it's this idea of being fruitful is to provide uh provide goodness to the world through your character and uh as a blessing to other people. In scripture, being fruitful is about living a life that actually produces God-intended outcomes physically, relationally, spiritually. In Genesis and life and culture, Genesis 128, be fruitful and multiply. First means filling the earth with image bearers, having children and extending human life and culture under God's rule. It is this filling of the earth of the goodness of God in and through right living. And so to be fruitful means that you produce things into this world and make things and cultivate things that are a blessing for other people. A tree doesn't eat its own fruit, and neither should a Christian. The fruit is for others.

unknown 11:15

Wow.

Blessed To Bless: Abraham’s Pattern

Jesus’ Model Of Self-Giving

The Word Fuels The Work

Mission At Home

SPEAKER_02 11:16

Man, that's good. I mean, think about it. The fruit of the Spirit is love and joy and peace and patience and kindness. Like kindness who to yourself? I mean, sure. But to others, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, gentleness to who? Gentleness to others, self-control. And so the good news is that God does want to use you, will use you, has made you, called you to faithfulness and fruitfulness. And when you're unfaithful, confess it to the Lord so that you can become even more faithful. And just by the way, as a reminder, again, the Bible is not filled with people that are perfect. It's not a museum, uh, a showcase for the saints. It's a story of people's lives being changed and used by God despite their inconsistencies and lack of faithfulness. So, whatever struggle you may have, take it to the cross, take it to the Lord, hand it over to the helper, and let him help you through it. Genesis 127-28, God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created the male and female, and he said, Be fruitful, multiply, subdue it. God called Adam and Eve to live beyond themselves and to fill the world with kingdom builders who would bless the whole earth. Even after the fall, God continued to call his people to courageous lives in order to bless others. Think about Abraham is a notable example. Genesis chapter 12. Now the Lord said to Abraham, Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation, I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. So every blessing that you have is a blessing, actually, to be leveraged for the glory of God, that you might enjoy it, sure. But not for the final hoorah. It is for God's glory and the good of others. So Abraham is blessed to bless. What a powerful paradigm shift. My life for his glory. My story for his glory. That'll preach. So say that. Say that out loud, wherever you are at. My story for his glory. My story for his glory. My story for his glory. All of it. The good, the bad, the ugly, all of it. It's your story, but it's all for his glory. And God is writing that story. And so you gotta move forward in this. And so when God calls people, the Israelites, and they're taken captive and forced to live against their will in a foreign land, he calls them to be a blessing again. And Jeremiah 29:7 says, Seek the welfare of the city where I've sent you into exile and pray on the to the Lord on behalf, on its behalf, for the welfare you for for the welfare you will find your welfare. So in this idea of blessing people around you and bringing good, living a life of fruitfulness for the sake of others, being like that tree planted by streams of living water, Psalms chapter one. And so here's the deal: Jesus came to live beyond himself. He didn't shrink back, but he stepped up to live for others as well. Think about the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus sets the example. Our life is for God's glory. Jesus calls us to live beyond ourselves and give our lives away to help others. Philippians 2, 3 through 7 says, Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but with humility and with a mind and regard for one another, consider others more important than yourselves. Do not merely look to your own personal interest, but also to the interest of others. Have this attitude among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who although he emptied, uh although he existed in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God something to be grasped, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant. And so we remember as well, Acts chapter 20, 35. Remember these words, Jesus said it himself. Help me finish it. It is more blessed to give than it is to receive. You got it. So we so where do we get this pep talk? I mean, we we can get it from church for sure. But where does the preacher get it? He gets it from the word. And if you're not a church, you still ought to grab that word. Grab that word and read that word. Learn in that word, live in that word. Either that book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from that book, one or the other. That's the way it goes. I'll say that again. Either that book, that is aka the Bible, will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from that book. I borrowed that from the great late Howard Hendricks. And so here you go. You have Jesus even said, and man does not live on bread and water alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God, we need God's word to fight the fight and to live the mission. The call of Jesus means our faith is to be lived out by actually reaching out. I used to say it like this: if the church ain't reaching out, it's passing out. Like we don't need to, we don't need to just exist for ourselves. Okay, we need to showcase the saints. Like we need to be um the believers that are on mission, reaching out, grabbing help, going after those that need help. So yeah, take another step up on the ladder of life, but don't ever forget to reach down and help other people up. I mean, gee whiz. That's part of our nature, it's part of our calling, it's part of who we should be. We're givers, not just takers. And so our mission is men is at home, it's at work, it's in the church, it's through the world. And so let's talk about that. At home, what does that mean? It means that I'm called to love, protect, and care for Leslie. I I've got a calling to my kids to disciple them, nurture them, care for them, pray for them. Like the most powerful thing I can do is build a godly legacy, fulfill that creation mandate, be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, doing that through the context of a family. So at home, we're called to protect and provide for our wives and children. Ephesians 5 tells us, husband, love your wife just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. I mean, this is the call of headship, which is a call to sacrificial service, which is a call to die to self. Oh man, it's powerful, it's powerful stuff. Love your wives. Love them just as Christ loved the church. Christ died for the church. We don't have to die for the church. Christ died for the church. I'm a senior pastor, church planter, entrepreneur, writer. Not saying I'm the I'm not saying I'm an awesome writer. I've got a couple of books out. Cranking out a couple more. President of Arizona Coil today, president of real life ministry, senior pastor, founding pastor of North Valley. So guess what? Easily, easily could be cranking out 70-hour work weeks. Never off. 24-7, baby. But that doesn't bring glory to God. Doesn't bring glory to God because nobody's going to remember all the hours I poured in. But the kids and the wife will remember and know if I wasn't present for the games, for the movie nights, for the family dinners. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, we've got souls to shape in the world. Um, not just as pastors and preachers in a church, but pastor dad, minister mom in the home. And your home matters. And the Bible tells us Paul's told Timothy, his young protege, if anyone does not provide for his own family, especially his household, he's denied the faith and worse than an unbeliever. So don't miss that. Like you gotta care for your family, not just financially, but emotionally, spiritually as well. Like you get a role to play. Even if the kids moved out, you still have a role to play. You're not ultimately responsible for their adult decisions. They're adults and they make those decisions. But you still have a role to play as an advisor, as a father figure. You you're your men, your mission is at home. Don't just go conquer the world and abandon the home. Don't do that. That's just inviting the enemy in from to destroy you from within. And so whatever holds you back from embracing that mission at home, you you need to figure that out. That out. It sometimes takes a community of faith and support of others to courageously fight that fight. And so you might need a brother in the Lord to say, hey, you need to tend to your business at home, or you're not going to have one. And that's a good word. I'm telling you, you want to know where the prettiest people are in the world? Hollywood. You want to know where the ugliest marriages are in the world? Hollywood. It's just the way it works, man. Um, what everything that glitters is in gold. And there's some good hard work to do at home to build a better home for the glory of God. With your maybe you're an empty nester, lean into that season. Take advantage of those opportunities. Maybe you're a young family, you're you're cranking out a lot of work week hours, you're exhausted and you're tired, you're not getting a lot of sleep. Hang in there. That's God-honoring good work.

unknown 23:07

Oh man.

Presence Over Overwork

Own It And Lead With Love

Mission At Work

Work Hard Without Idols

SPEAKER_02 23:09

Build your marriage up. Don't don't become roommates with your wife. Date her again. Be more intentional again. Don't blame her. Blame yourself for not being more proactive. And once you're done blaming yourself, or let's just say owning it. Owning it. Own it for a long time. How about forever? Own it, whatever, whatever's messed up. Own it. And then take your trash to the Lord. Get the help of another brother if you need it. And we all need it. And then lean in and love and lead in your home. Secondly, mission at work. Crush it, man. God's created you to go make some money. Make as much money as you can. So you can give as much as you can. You can save as much as you can. And then live on the rest. I don't have everything dialed and crushed. But I'll tell you one thing I am proud of. I'm proud of our giving record. I'm proud of that. Um, I hadn't been a great saver. I've been a I've been a decent spender. But I tell you what, I don't regret the giving at all. There's a lot of plenty of spending I regret. And there's plenty of lack of savings I regret, but I don't ever regret giving. How about you? So when it comes to work, work all you can without sacrificing your faith and family on the altar of success, your idol. But do it for the glory of God. You've been called to set an example at work with integrity. Colossians 3 23. Whatever you do, do it all heartedly as we're working for the Lord, not for men. Proverbs 10.4. Poor is he who works with lazy hands, but hardworking hands get rich. That's just the way it goes. You work hard, you're gonna get paid. You need to be good at what you do. And that's a good question. What do you get paid for? What do you get paid for? Is it creating widgets? Create more widgets. You're probably good at it. You get good, or you get paid to uh uh sell widgets, sell widgets. You know what I'm saying? Like you're good at that. So whatever you get paid for is indication at some level that you're kind of good at that. So figure out the what you're good at because God's made you for, created you for good works, and that's not just simply and solely in the church, it's throughout the world, man. So poor is he who works with lazy hands, but hardworking hands get rich. Work hard all the days of your life. Uh, work is not a result of the fall. Sin entered the world. And it's not that like, oh, then they started to work. No, they were working. God said he created man and put him in the garden to work prior to sin entering the world. So work is a good thing. Just don't make it a God thing where it becomes your idol. So do your work. You have a mission at home to build a godly family, pastor, dad, and minister, mom. Um, fulfill your mission at work. Do all you can for the glory of God, make as much money as you can so you can give as much as you can, save as much as you can, and live on the rest. And don't ever, I promise you, you'll never regret giving. Like, you might regret gambling, like I hope you do, but not giving. Not that G-word. You're not going to regret being generous. Unless you progressively turn from like, you know, into like this Scrooge kind of character, but it never works like that. Once you go with God, dude, you you don't you don't go back. Once you're a believer, always a believer. And if God's at work in you, he's gonna complete his work in you, he's gonna keep doing it. So lean into that. And last, our mission is in the world, and this could be you could include the church in this, but it's in the home, it's in the work, it's in our world. And we've been called by God to draw people to Jesus, both with our lives and with our words. You you need to use your words. So I call it sharing and showing the love of Jesus Christ. Share with your mouth, show with your hands, like show people your faith. And when we graciously love others and share with them the good news of Jesus, we join God in helping people find eternal life that Jesus gives. Acts chapter 1, verse 8 says, You will be my witness in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth. It's not just like this chronological thing. It is concentric in some ways. Jerusalem is local, Judea, uh, regional, Samaria, national, to the ends of the earth, global. And it's not you will be my witness in Jerusalem, and then after, or then it'll be in Judea, and then in Samaria, then in to the ends of the earth. It is all of the above. Like we'll see global work of God's spirit happening all the time. And so it is true with you, right? You can be a witness locally in your home, in your community, getting a haircut in our inner neighborhood, working out at the gym. And then, you know, regionally within the southwest, you travel, north state of the state, south of the state, east of the state, out of state, and then like, you know, nationally across the country, at a conference, at a gathering, at a vacation, at a work project, assignment, travel, a flight. And then next thing you know, you're global and you're you're out of the country. You're on a mission trip. You're on a hunting trip, you're on a you're you're you're on some kind of experience uh internationally. Be a witness. Be a witness for the Lord. You you post something locally, but it has a reach globally on social media. We are to be his witnesses, all in all of the above. Share and show the love of Jesus Christ, share and show the love of Jesus Christ, share and show the love of Jesus Christ. You are made for more. You were designed to shine. Lean into that. And you have a mission in this world. Um be brave in the fight. Lean on the word of God. Matthew 22, 39 tells us that we're to love our neighbors. So what holds you back from embracing your mission in the world? Uh, I don't know. Maybe you're preoccupied with yourself, maybe you're preoccupied with your family. I don't I don't know. I mean, family could become an idol, marriage can become an idol. Too much of anything can be a bad thing. Except for God. Too much of, you know, focusing everything on your child neglects your marriage. Focusing everything on your marriage and not on your kids and neglect can neglect your kids. So, like, but what can you do is you seek first the kingdom of God, and then all those other things will be worked out. Put Christ first. Colossians 4, 5 through 6 tells us that we're to live wisely among those who are not believers and make the most of every single opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you'll have the right response for everyone. It's like there is a way to live in society today. And in our culture doesn't get it. Like we've tossed out human dignity and just appreciated efficiency. But dignity and efficiency should go together. Dignity is about doing what is good and right. Efficiency is about getting stuff done. And both matter. You want to get something done, but you don't want to be a jerk in the process. And and you've got a Christian character, a conduct to keep and maintain. You've got a reputation to uphold. And when you fail yourself, right? Calculate it as a loss because God's called us to live in victory. Refuse to live in failure. Refuse it. Failure is repeated loss with no hope of winning. I'll say it again. Failure is repeated loss with no hope of winning. And God has called us to live a life not of bondage, but of freedom. And so lean into that. Fight the good fight. Do what you can and keep moving forward in the faith. All right, guys, we have about hit our time limit. So here's what I want to challenge this for you. Wrapping up. You're going to need the support of others. And this man that I'm describing, it lives in the future. This man lives in the future for sure. I'm sure you can see him if you close your eyes and think about it. But that man is actually you. It's the you that is saying yes to God in moving forward in the mission. He is not perfect. He struggles, but again and again he has stepped up to courageously follow God's word. And as a result, his life has changed. He has made a life, he's making a life-giving impact on others, and he's bringing glory to God. Who is this man? I'm not going to say it could be you. I'm going to say it is you when you follow the Lord. So lean in, listen up, and live free and live strong.

SPEAKER_01 34:25

Thank you for listening to Real Life Ministry. If you found any of what you heard today helpful, please share it with others who may benefit. And if you would like to support the content that we put out, please consider making a donation at RealLife Ministry.us. While you're there, check out some of our episodes. And together, let's continue to educate and encourage Christians to live free and live strong.