Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

Welcome to the fourth and the final week of our series called Man Up. In this series, God has straight-up challenged the men in our church. He has challenged us to man up.

He hasn’t called us to follow in the pathetic footsteps of most of the guys in our culture. He hasn’t called us to be impish, pansy, girly men. He hasn’t called us to be boys that can shave.

He’s called us to be men. Men who lead. Men who protect and defend their families. Men who won’t sacrifice their character and leadership for the sake of an orgasm. Men who will man up to the challenges of living as a man of God.

In this series, we’ve manned up our money. Instead of acting like a spoiled little boy with a credit card, God has called us to set our families up for financial success.

We’ve also manned up our sex. Your ability to have sex doesn’t make you a man. Having man parts doesn’t make you a man. Pursuing a hot and holy sex life with your wife makes you a man.

And last week, we manned up our defense. Men are the ones charged with protecting their family from threats inside and outside of the home. Men are in charge of protecting the reputation of their wife and kids. To be the man that God is calling you to be, you’ve got to play good defense.

But, even if you have a great defense, you’ve still got to be able to score. You’ve also got to have a good offense. Today as we wrap up this series, God is calling us to man up our offense.

Throughout this series, we’ve been exploring the life of a man named Boaz. Boaz was the real deal. He’s an incredible example of what a real, strong, masculine man of God looks like. Far too many people believe that if a man loves Jesus, then he is automatically a prudish, take-no-risks, straight-laced, wimp.

If you don’t believe me, look at Ned Flanders on The Simpsons. That’s how people view Christ-following men. And that might explain why a lot of men won’t touch the church with a ten-foot pole. They don’t want to be Ned Flanders.

On any given Sunday in the United States, there are 13 million more women than men in church. ¼ of Christian women in our country worship every week without their husbands beside them.

One of the big reasons is the sissification of men that happens in the church. Not only do men have to give their hearts to Jesus, but we require them to hand over their testosterone as well.

John Eldridge wrote in his book called Wild at Heart, “Christianity, as it currently exists, has done some terrible things to men. When all is said and done, I think most men in the church believe that God put them on the earth to be a good boy…if they will try real hard they can reach the lofty summit of becoming…a nice guy. That’s what we hold up as models of Christian maturity: Really Nice Guys.”

“Walk into most churches in America, have a look around, and ask yourself this question: What is a Christian man? Don’t listen to what is said, look at what you find there. There is no doubt about it. You’d have to admit a Christian man is…bored.”

It’s Ned Flanders Christianity. Safe. Straight-laced. Dutiful. Boring.

And I’ve gotta be honest…I’m tired of it. As a guy who wants to be a Christian and, at the same time, still be a man…I’m not following Ned Flanders. I’m going to follow Jesus. And if we honestly evaluate what it means to follow Jesus…not what church tradition tells us but what the Bible actually tells us…then we’ll have to admit that following Jesus is risky, dangerous, and, at the end of the day, an adventure.

That’s why I love Boaz. Boaz was a man of God who actually retained his masculinity. Men, he is a great example for us to follow. And we’ll see that as we wrap up our series today.

Today, we’re going to fast-forward to the end of the story. We’ll be in Ruth 4 today. In the book of Ruth, we read all about how the relationship between Boaz and Ruth developed. Today we’re going to look at what became of their relationship. This family left an incredible legacy.

Ruth 4, starting in verse 13, “So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her [notice how the Bible describes this married sexual encounter; he went to her; he pursued her; we talked about that a couple of weeks ago when God challenged us to man up our sex], and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.

The women said to Naomi [Ruth’s mother-in-law]: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age.

For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth."

Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. The women living there said, "Naomi has a son."

And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” (Ruth 4:13-17, NIV)

These verses give us the incredible legacy that Boaz and Ruth left behind. They had a son named Obed. That name means “servant” or “worshipper.” The meaning of that name gives you an idea of the kind of legacy that was being created.

Obed grew up to become the father of Jesse. And Jesse had a son named David.

David is the central figure in much of the Old Testament. Here’s what God said about David. “I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.” (Acts 13:22b, ESV)

The godly lineage of Boaz is unbelievable. The effect of his godly leadership stretched all the way down to his great-grandson, David. But it doesn’t stop there.

Let me show you this incredible connection. Fast-forward through the rest of the Old Testament and look at what the Bible says in Luke 2.

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.” (Luke 2:1-4, NIV)

Maybe you recognize these verses as something you hear every Christmas? This was how the scene was set for Jesus to be born. The Bible says that Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem, the town of David, because Joseph belonged to the house and line of David. In other words, Joseph was a direct descendant of David…the great-grandson of Boaz and Ruth.

Boaz and Ruth were married and lived in Bethlehem. Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Are you starting see this thing take shape? When you read the genealogies of Jesus in Matthew 1 and Luke 3, what do you find? That Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus, was a direct descendant of Ruth and Boaz.

If Boaz hadn’t manned up, if he hadn’t passed down this godly legacy through his family, a huge link in the chain that led to the coming of Jesus would have been missing.

Boaz created a direct link to Jesus. And men, that is your ultimate role today. More than anything else, your job is to link your family to Jesus.

But to do that, you’ve got to go on offense. You’ve got to be proactive. You’ve got to get off the bench and get in the game.

Men, you are the primary spiritual leader of your family. And it’s time to man up and stop outsourcing that responsibility.

We’ve got an incredible children’s minister in Marie Young. We’ve got an amazing young guy leading our students in Thayer Wallace. But men, we didn’t hire them so that they could do your job for you. They can’t replace you and your influence and your leadership.

If you’re looking to the church to provide all the spiritual instruction your kids need, it’s not going to work. We get them one or two hours a week. You are with them everyday.

The Bible says in Ephesians 6, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4, NIV)

Now, first of all we need to notice who the Bible is talking to here. It doesn’t say “parents.” It says “fathers.” Dads, we are the ones who are primarily responsible for this.

God tells us not to exasperate our children. In other words, don’t be so heavy-handed with them that they just wilt.

This goes hand-in-hand with Colossians 3:21. “Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.” (Colossians 3:21, NIV)

Men, if your kids can never do anything to please you, if they can never measure up to your impossible standards, then you are the one that’s wrong. And God is calling you out on it.

If your boy hits a single instead of a double, you had better darn well celebrate the single. And if he strikes out instead of getting a hit at all, you had better celebrate the effort.

I’m not saying that we should subscribe to this whole notion of everybody wins and nobody loses. That doesn’t teach our kids anything. It just turns them into creampuffs who can’t handle defeat of any kind.

But at the same time, dads, don’t be that guy. Don’t be that guy who is always demanding more from his kids. Don’t be that guy who can never be pleased, never be satisfied.

I’ve got news for you, fellas. Your boy isn’t going to be the next shortstop for the Reds. He won’t be the starting quarterback for the Bengals.

“Well, you don’t know that.” It’s a pretty safe assumption, bro.

Your girl isn’t going to be the next Miss America. She’s not going to be a gold medal Olympian.

If I’m wrong one day, you can throw this back in my face and I will gladly eat my words. But until that day comes, back off Dad. Take it down a notch. And there are probably some moms who need to do the same.

The Bible commands you to not exasperate and embitter your kids. In other words, your job is to encourage them. To build them up. To make sure that they know that your love for them is not based on their performance.

You are called to reflect the love of God to your kids. And God’s love for you is not based on how well you perform. If it was, you’d be screwed. We all would be. If God’s love for us was performance-based, we would all be sunk.

The Bible says, “But you cannot make God accept you because of something you do. God accepts sinners only because they have faith in him.” (Romans 4:5, CEV)

God’s love isn’t performance based. It’s not based on anything we do. The church has often forgotten this truth. We try to do all kinds of religious things to make God love us. If we do the right things and don’t do the wrong things, then God will accept us. If we follow the rules (even if those rules aren’t in the Bible), then God will love us.

That is sickening. That makes a mockery of what Jesus did on the cross. Jesus didn’t die to make us religious. He died to set us free. He died to show us that we don’t have to earn His love. We are loved.

Dads, we are called to mirror that kind of love to our kids. Your kids need to know that your love for them is not based on their performance. If they hit a home run, they are loved. If they strike out, they are loved. If they make the honor roll, they are loved. If they make straight C’s, they are loved.

How are you doing with that? Some of us need to go home, sit down with our kids, and apologize to them. We keep saying it in this series. Man up means own up. There are some men in this room who need to sit down with their kids and own up to their mistakes. And then tell them how things are going to be different.

Let’s read that verse from Ephesians again. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4, NIV)

Bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. That’s not passive. That’s active. That’s going on offense. It’s not just passively sitting there hoping that your kids will get it. It is proactively leading them.

Now, there are two different approaches that God gives us in this verse. Training and instruction.

Instruction involves teaching. It has a lot to do with what we say to them. Dads, some of you are uncomfortable even talking about Jesus in your home. That’s something that you need to get over.

Your kids need to hear you speak about Jesus often. They need to hear you read the Bible. They need to hear your teaching. It doesn’t mean that you have to have everything figured out. You don’t have to have the Bible memorized cover-to-cover. In many ways, it just means that you are willing to learn in front of your kids. You are willing to learn with your kids. Read the Bible and learn together. Talk about Jesus together. Talk about the church together.

Your words have impact. They have incredible power. This is for both moms and dads. Let me ask you this…how do your kids hear you talking about the church? What do they hear you saying about our church leaders? If they hear your criticizing and condemning our leaders instead of honoring them, what do you think that teaches them? If they hear you critiquing and picking apart our services instead of celebrating what God did in that service, what does that teach them? That’s not bringing them up in the instruction of the Lord. That is instruction of another kind altogether.

This verse also gives us the flip side of the coin: training. Training involves what you do. It involves disciplining yourself to live a godly life. And it involves disciplining your child to do the same.

It’s actually not super complicated, guys. If you want your kids to treat their mom with respect, then you treat her with respect. If you want your kids to be generous, then live an openly generous life. If you want your kids to stand in awe and wonder of God, then take them to places and show them things to instill awe and wonder. If you want your kids to fall in love with Jesus, then you have to love Jesus with everything you’ve got.

It’s got to go beyond words. It has to be put into action. Remember that the life you live is the legacy you leave.

Here’s the thing with all of this…you’ve got to be consistent and you’ve got to patient. You’re crafting a legacy that is going to far outlive you. So don’t expect immediate results.

Our culture conditions us to not wait on anything. In the age of smart phones, microwaves, and fast-food drive thrus, were conditioned to expect results quickly. That won’t work here. If you want to leave a godly legacy, you’ve got to do it everyday, even if it feels like you’re making no progress. You’ve got to stick with it. You can’t get lazy. You’ve got to stay on offense. Keep pushing the ball down the field. Keep swinging the bat. Don’t give up.

Listen to this wisdom from the book of Proverbs. “The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools.” (Proverbs 3:35, NKJV)

You can craft a legacy of glory. Or you can leave a legacy of shame. This verse tells us the difference between the two: wisdom.

If you keep after it, stay aggressive, and don’t give up, you are wise and your legacy will reflect that. If you give up, don’t stick with, and quit too soon, you are foolish, and your legacy will reflect that.

Never forget the trust that you have been given. Your wife, your kids, they are a trust that God has given you.

The Bible clearly says, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2, NIV)

Have you been faithful with what has been entrusted to you? If not, man up and start changing things today. You may be getting into the game late, but get into the game.

The stakes are high, gentlemen. Your wife is looking to you to lead. Your kids are depending on you to lead. They have nowhere else to turn but to you.

Now, wives and moms, you need to fully understand the weight that is on your man’s shoulders. As you’ve listened to this series, I hope you’ve had a few “wow” moments. I hope you’ve had a few, “Wow, there is a ton of weight on my man’s shoulders” moments.

He needs you to give him grace, and love, and respect, and honor. Don’t be that wife who is degrading her man on Facebook. Don’t be that wife who runs her husband down to all her friends.

He won’t always get it right. He won’t always be the man that God has called him to be. Are you always the woman that God has called you to be? Of course you’re not. Accept his failures. Love and encourage him. Respect his leadership. And above all, pray for him. Pray for him to the have the strength to rise to the challenge. Pray for him to hear God’s voice and follow God’s lead for your family.

Men, it’s a huge burden that we carry. But, with the grace of God, you can do it. You can do it. You have been called to a difficult task, but not an impossible one.

Don’t buy into the sissification of our culture. Don’t believe the gender benders, who want women to act more like men and men to act more like women. To rise to the challenge and be the man that God is calling you to be, you have to be strong. You have to be tough. You have to be masculine. You have to be a man.

The Bible says, “A man…is the image and glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 11:7a, NIV)

Mark Driscoll wrote these words. Men, listen to this.

You are not an animal. You are the glory of God.

You are not a pervert. You are the glory of God.

You are not an addict. You are the glory of God.

You are not a victim. You are the glory of God.

You are not a fool. You are the glory of God.

Jesus, the god-man who radiated the Father’s glory perfectly, has made it possible for you to be the glory of God. Jesus your King, Warrior, and Lord hung upon his cross in your place to atone for all of your sins. He made it possible for you to be the glory of God.

Maybe you’ve missed the mark. This series has left you feeling pretty beat up because you know you’re not living as the man that God wants you to be. There is a second chance. There is a second chance to man up. There is a second chance to be that man that you want to be and that God has called you to be.

Maybe you are making progress. You know you’re not there yet, but through God’s grace, you are learning and growing into the man that you were created to be. That’s awesome. We want to encourage you to keep going.

Wherever you are on this journey, there is a phrase that you need to remember. Take a knee.

A lot of times in a locker room, a coach will tell all his guys to take a knee. Some of them will pray. Some of them will simply give final instructions and encouragement, but it happens when the team takes on a position of humility. When they take a knee.

Guys, when you got engaged, what did you do? You took a knee. It was a humble position before your future bride.

In medieval times, when a young man became a knight, he took a knee before the king. He kneeled as a boy, but he rose as a man.

There is great symbolism when you take a knee. But it’s not just symbolism. There is also great power when a man humbles himself and takes a knee.

Jesus said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11, NIV)

If you want God to exalt you, to raise you up to be the man you were created to be, it starts with humility. It starts by taking a knee.

And that’s what we’re going to invite all our guys to do this morning. We’re going to invite all our men to the stage to take a knee.

If you need a second chance because you’ve really blown it, come up and take a knee.

If you are making progress, but you know that you’re not there yet, come up and take a knee.

If you are serious about being the man that God is calling you to be, come up and take a knee.

Don’t do it if you’re not serious. If you’re not serious about it, then you will have more integrity if you stay where you are. No one will judge you. In fact, I’ll respect your honesty.

But if you’re ready to man up…if you’re ready to lead your family…if you’re ready to go to the next level as a man…then come up and take a knee.

Mike Edmisten

Tags: Boaz legacy Man Up men Ruth