“I Sought for a Man” Ezekiel 22:30 Preached at West Side on January 28, 2007 AM

Ezekiel 22:30 “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” The Leaders of Israel were wicked men.

Psalm 15 “LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? {2} He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; {3} He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; {4} In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; {5} He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.”

Introduction God looks for godly men in a wicked world. The Christian man is God’s man in today’s world Don’t be fooled into believing the world’s definition of a “real man” It is not God’s man!

World’s View of a “Real Man” Legal Age (cf. 1 Kings 12:6-8) Interesting that “legal age” in our society revolves around right to drink.

1 Kings 12:6-8 “Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, ‘How do you advise me to answer these people?’ {7} And they spoke to him, saying, ‘If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.’ {8} But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.”

World’s View of a “Real Man” Legal Age (cf. 1 Kings 12:6-8) Interesting that “legal age” in our society revolves around right to drink. Physical Strength (“might makes right”) Proverbs 20:29 (Saul as an example, looked like a king)

Proverbs 20:29 “The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of old men is their gray head.”

World’s View of a “Real Man” Legal Age (cf. 1 Kings 12:6-8) Interesting that “legal age” in our society revolves around right to drink. Physical Strength (“might makes right”) Proverbs 20:29 (Saul as an example, looked like a king) Wealth (Luke 12:15; cf. Luke 9:58)

Luke 12:15 “And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.’”

Luke 9:58 “And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’” If wealth is the measure of a “real man”, then Christ would have been a failure!

World’s View of a “Real Man” Legal Age (cf. 1 Kings 12:6-8) Interesting that “legal age” in our society revolves around right to drink. Physical Strength (“might makes right”) Proverbs 20:29 (Saul as an example, looked like a king) Wealth (Luke 12:15; cf. Luke 9:58) Machismo (Proverbs 21:4; 16:18)

Proverbs 21:4 “A haughty look, a proud heart, And the plowing of the wicked are sin.” (16:18), “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.” Nebuchadnezzar as example, cf. Dan. 4

God’s Man (1 Kings 2:1-3) “Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying: {2} ‘I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. {3} And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.”

God’s Man (1 Kings 2:1-3) God’s Man is Strong in Faith Joshua 1:9; 1 Corinthians 16:13

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

1 Corinthians 16:13 “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”

God’s Man (1 Kings 2:1-3) God’s Man is Strong in Faith Joshua 1:9; 1 Corinthians 16:13 God’s Man is Obedient (2:3); Matthew 7:24-25

1 Kings 2:3 “And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.”

Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: {25} and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”

God’s Man (1 Kings 2:1-3) God’s Man is Strong in Faith Joshua 1:9; 1 Corinthians 16:13 God’s Man is Obedient (2:3); Matthew 7:24-25 God’s Man is Responsible (2:3); 1 Corinthians 4:1-2

1 Kings 2:3 “And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.”

1 Corinthians 4:1-2 “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mystery of God. {2} Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”

God’s Man (1 Kings 2:1-3) God’s Man is Strong in Faith Joshua 1:9; 1 Corinthians 16:13 God’s Man is Obedient (2:3); Matthew 7:24-25 God’s Man is Responsible (2:3); 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 God’s Man is Honorable (2:4); Psalm 51:10

1 Kings 2:4 …“that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me saying ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’”

Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Real Men! Conclusion God is looking for REAL MEN! “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; See now and know; And seek in her open places If you can find a man, If there is anyone who executes judgment, Who seeks the truth, And I will pardon her.” (Jeremiah 5:1)