A MAN’S MAN
Mark 1:1-8
INTRO:
Men do not know who they are as men. Rather, they define themselves by what they do, who they know, or by what they own. –
Alexander Mitserlisch, counselor
Who are men today? What comprises manhood?
The Average Male Is…
• Is 5’ 9” tall and 173 pounds.
• Is married, 1.8 years older than his wife and would marry her again.
• Has not completed college.
• Earns $28,605 per year.
• Prefers showering to taking a bath.
• Spends about 7.2 hours a week eating.
• Does not know his cholesterol count, but it’s 211.
• Watches 26 hours and 44 minutes of TV a week.
• Takes out the garbage in his household.
• Prefers white underwear to colored.
• Cries about once a month—one fourth as much as Jane Doe.
• Falls in love an average of six times during his life.
• Eats his corn on the cob in circles, not straight across, and prefers his steak medium.
• Can’t whistle by inserting his fingers in his mouth.
• Prefers that his toilet tissue unwind over, rather than under, the spool.
• Will not stop to ask for directions when he’s in the car.
Men’s Health, quoted in Parade Magazine, 12-29-91, p. 5
Mark give us a good description of a Man’s Man in John the Baptist.
I. HE KNEW HIS PURPOSE FOR BEING HERE
A. John the Baptist was the prophet foretold in Is. 40:3
B. He broke the 400 years of silence.
C. He had a clear message:
1. “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Today we live in a wilderness of knowing Christ.
They tell us that more people are looking to religion for help in their lives, yet it is not Christianity that they are looking for.
Plurality is a very popular belief.
2. ‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
We need to point them to Jesus.
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” John 12:32
3. Make His paths straight.
Today we live in a world that And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19
We are here to share the truth!
D. We as real men have a clear purpose in which God has put us here on earth. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: 1 Cor 5:20
II. HE HAD PROOF OF HIS MINISTRY
A. People followed John and responded to his preaching.
B. These were Jews and look what they responded to:
1. were all baptized by him in the Jordan River
There were differences between proselyte baptism and John’s baptism. While proselyte baptism was self-administered, John baptized those who came to him. But baptism surely was a humbling act for the Jew. In effect, it implied that just as a pagan must undergo baptism to enter into Judaism, so the sinful Jew must join the ranks of the pagan and enter into relationship with God in the same way as the Gentile.
2. confessing their sins.
Jews of that day believed their salvations was dependent upon who they belonged to not who they believed in.
These were Jews who “agreed” with God that they were sinners.
C. Real men have proof of the ministry God has given them in the fruit of their lives and people who respond.
III. HE WAS PROPER IN HIS ENVIRONMENT
A. Look at what John wore and ate. v. 6
1. Identified with Elijah. Zecharias had been told that his son John would go forth in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). Elijah was described as “… a hairy man with a leather girdle bound about his loins” (2 Kings 1:8). John’s attire was designed to associate him with Elijah and his ministry.
2. Signified separation. What he wore was not what the common man wore that day. Neither was what he ate.
John was to be a Nazarite. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. Luke 1:15
3. Revealed application of the message. The call of repentance is for compassion to all people. He identified with the poor and needy.
B. Real men present an appearance of the inward qualities that God gives them. He does not try to be someone he is not created to be!
IV. HE KNEW HIS POSITION v. 8
A. Many times men believe it is all about them.
B. They are the important person.
C. Not John. “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.”
He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein, the late conductor of the New York Philharmonic orchestra, was once asked to name the most difficult instrument to play. Without hesitation, he replied, “The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm—that’s a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony.”
Today in the Word, January 3, 1997, p. 8
D. Real men do not fight for position, but allow God to be the influencer of their heart.
CONCLUSION:
Marks of a Secure Man
Let’s admit it—all of us have twinges of insecurity about ourselves. But it is possible to grow toward being a totally secure man, says Larry Titus, president of the Men Reaching Men ministry in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.
According to Larry, a totally secure man:
• Does not need to tear down others to build up himself.
• Considers inner convictions more the mark of a man than outer toughness.
• Finds talented people an inspiration, not a threat.
• Knows how to take the garbage he was dealt in life and recycle it into energy.
• Forgives people who may never have the courage to apologize.
• Lives his private life as if it were public.
• Considers people more important than projects and plans.
New Man, November/December, 1994, p. 12
