Enough

ENOUGH!!!

It is time for the real men to stand up!

Now that I have your attention, we can get down to business.  Really though isn't it about time for us all to stop playing around and be who we are called to be.  We need to stop playing games in life and live that way God designed us to.  We need to stop being worried about making our earthly boss happy and make sure our Heavenly Father is happy with us.  We need to stop the climb of the ladder of success and the gathering of stuff and we need to embrace our calling.


A Godly man is called to be full of Grace.  Because much Grace has been given to him by Jesus, so in return we are to be like that.


A Goldy man is called to be full of Wisdom.  Because the Bible teaches us how to live this life and help others to learn it as well.  It is our source of Wisdom that God has given us.  We are to be MEN of the WORD.


A Godly man is called to be Strong.  Not necessarily in a physical way but this is also good.  But Strong in our attitude and way of taking care of things.  This strength that God gives us is how we are to care for those who need us, our families and friends and the oppressed and the orphan and widow.


A Godly man is called to be a giver.  This is not just about money but it is included.  Jesus paid everything for us and now all of our lives are His, all our stuff, all our time, all our investments, our homes, our cars, our bank accounts, all of it is HIS, not ours.  So why are we so often full of the answer NO when asked about giving of our time, talents or treasures?  We are called to give it all for the sake of the Kingdom.


A Godly man is called to be a lover.  God made men to love.  We are to love God, be a worshiper, praise His name.  We are to love others, our wives, our children, our friends, our fellow believers.  He loved us first and has shown us how to love, walk in His example.


A Godly man is called to be a warrior.  God instilled in us the need to rise to the challenge.  We are to be battle ready, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically.  We are to protect what is right and we are to press forward for our Lord.  Our primary weapons are to be Prayer, the Word and Evangelism.  Learn how to fight and wage war for the King of Kings.


All H.I.T. Men are called to be "Godly Men". 


I will never ask you for perfection, all I am asking for is no excuses.


Now let's go!


Preacherman

the Gospel Saturated Man

What does it mean to be a Gospel Saturated man? Some of you may be asking yourself "Where does Pastor Bruce get some of this stuff?" Well I would like to think it is from the Bible and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In Colossians chapter 1and verses 26 and 27 the Apostle Paul tells us that the great "mystery" of salvation is Jesus Christ living in us. This is not only profound and hard for people to grasp but it is at the very core of what Christianity is all about.

You see being a Christian is not just some pledge you make at a club meeting. It is more than a prayer you prayed to keep you out of hell. It is more than a lifestyle you have chosen. It is more than a way for you to improve your life or overcome your issues. Being a Christian is about Jesus taking up residence in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

When you reach a place that you recognize you are a sinner and need a Savior because on your own you cannot please God and have a relationship with Him. The you repent of your sin, acknowledging your wrong doings and selfishness and apologizing to God for them. Then you receive Jesus to be your Lord and Savior and He takes up residence in you by the Holy Spirit. Now it is not you who is to live but Jesus Christ in you.

This is how we can have the relationship with God that we need and desire. This is how we can be a part of the family of God and His community of faith that is called the Church. We are baptized to publicly show what Jesus has done for us. An outward expression of an inward Truth.

Now we are to live fully saturated in this Gospel. Jesus is there in everything we do, He is with you. We are to live reminded that on our own we are sinful messy people, if we forget the deep salvation we have received through Jesus we begin to live for ourselves and this is sinful. The true essence of sin is that we decide to go it on our own and not to follow God.

Jesus paid for our sinfulness, the punishment for sin is death and separation from God for eternity in hell. Because of Jesus we can be forgiven and then we have been given the power in Him to live out our faith. The Gospel should affect every area of our lives and all that we do because Jesus should be the one who now is in control not us. We are to live daily surrendering to Him that He would do His work through us today, every where we go and in all we do.

I am not looking for men who decided to change their morality, or to become all cleaned up and acceptable to our culture. I am looking for men to be transformed by Jesus and to forever submit their lives to His Lordship fully saturated by the Gospel.

You are called to be "the Gospel Saturated Man"

The Mission of the Church

I really felt compelled today to post about the mission of the Church.  In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus says -All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (ESV)  And in Acts Chapter 1 and verse 8 Jesus tells His disciples - you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.


So what does all this mean to us?  Especially us as HIT Men?  Well I would challenge us to think about the commands of our Lord and taking them seriously.  Jesus gave us the plan.  We as a group, a community of faith, a family of God, His Kingdom, His Body, the Church, are meant to follow these commands and to seek their fulfillment.  So as men we are to be a part of the local Church community as they seek to make Disciples, Baptize them, Train them and continue to expand into new Churches and areas of our regions and the world.


This is the mission Jesus gives to His Church.  As men we are called to lead in fulfilling this.  We need to be taking leadership roles in Evangelism, Discipleship, Church Leadership teams, Church planting initiatives, etc...  This is who we are to be.  Do not be afraid of this concept, most of us are not prepared for such things.  Our learning and growth in these things comes from being a part of them.  Jeff Reed from the BILD organization in Ames, Iowa says "Leadership Development does not happen in the Church apart from Church Planting", and I agree with him.  If we are not at least heading towards Church planting we will not be developing leadership because we will run out of leadership roles for people.  Church planting always makes new leadership roles available.


Men, get ready, we are called to lead the way in the mission of the Church.  Jesus command to us is not an option but a directive.  Let us follow Him together in obedience.


FIGHT ON!