Sermon Tone Analysis

I. Introduction

What is a REAL man?

I have heard lists of things that REAL men ought to be able to do....

For instance, I saw a thing on Facebook a while back that said “If your boyfriend can’t change a tire, you have a girlfriend.”

REAL men can change a tire....

REAL men don’t cry....

Sounds nice and macho....but it’s nonsense.

Jesus wept and there ain’t a man in this room more manly than Him.

REAL men don’t share their feelings....REAL men bottle up their emotions....REAL men are never vulnerable....

On and on and on....that was the previous generation’s version of a man....and frankly it’s not healthy.

Older men have trouble telling their children and their wife even that they love them.

I have news for you this morning....Christ had no trouble saying I love you....and it didn’t make him less than a man.

He had no trouble expressing himself....he was a great communicator.

Unfortunately, a lot of men are so bottled up and scared to be vulnerable that it makes it impossible for them to work on their relationship with their spouse or their kids.

As a pastor....I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat with a family who just lost their dad or grandfather and had to listen to them say “You know my daddy NEVER told me he loved me....my whole life.”

And I, of course, always say “well you know he loved you” and they say “yeah…I know.

He showed me....he was a provider....but it would’ve been nice to hear it.”

It breaks my heart every time.

What can I say?

They wouldn’t say it....and it mattered to somebody who loved them.

So that view is wrong.

So let me tell you…I have NO problem telling people I love them.

If something happens to me after church today, I don’t want a soul who knows and loves me to be able to say I’ve never told them I’ve loved them....that’s important to me.

But let me tell you something…I’m not here to pick on the older generation that tended to be a little too gruff, this newer generation’s view of manhood is messed up too.

We have a generation today that tells us that manhood and womanhood are meaningless terms…that they can be appropriated.

Men and women have become meaningless terms to the current generation and have been appropriated to not much more than a costume that can be taken off and put on at will depending on how a person feels.

If God made a person to be a man…he expects certain things of that person.

If God made a person a woman, he expect certain things of that person....and his expectation is NOT that those two roles be traded or conflated.

Period.

The newer generation sees masculinity, or ANY sign of manhood, as toxic.

It sees it as mysogenistic.

When man was built to protect his home and family, today’s culture demands he be immasculated and sidelined....when women are expected to be strong in raising their children to love the Lord and strong in supporting their husbands in a complimentary way, today’s generation would prefer to yank her out of her role and instead of SUPPORTING and TEAMING up with her husband, they would prefer for her to be in competition with men.

God made women to compliment the deficiencies in their husbands…and God made men to do likewise with their wives....they are to compliment each other…not to compete with eachother....but the newer generation calls that toxic.

They don’t believe in God’s design for marriage....that God designed men and women to form a cohesive, unbreakable marriage union…and to bring up children in that loving, strong household and to bring them up to love the Lord....the world wants to corrupt that.

So, I can tell you this....I don’t care whether you can change a tire or not…I don’t care whether not you’ve ever shot a gun....or if you drive a jacked up Ford F-250 or a prias....Real men love the Lord....Real men love their wives....real men are FAITHFUL to their wives…and Real men fulfill their roles as the protectors, providers, and preachers of their family....and they love their families.

They don’t depend on mama to take the kids to church because THEY make sure everybody gets there.

Now....all of that being said....that’s not the main message this morning....

So let’s take a look at Jesus’s very first lesson to his very first disciples.

a. Scripture: Luke 5:1-11 (“Gen-nes-a-ret” is how you say the name of the lake)

I’m going to ask you to stand with me, if you are able, as we read from God’s Holy, Perfect, Sufficient and inerrant Word.

<Pray>

Thank you, and you may be seated.

II.

Major Points

Real Men Trust the Lord

Real Men are Obedient to the Lord

Real Men are Evangelists

III.

Point #1: Real Men Trust the Lord

Explanation

So here we have Simon Peter and some of his partners....they’re tired....they’ve been fishing all night and have caught nothing.

Now, to be clear, these men weren’t fishing for pleasure....they weren’t leisurely fishing to see what they could catch.

This was their very livelihood....I think we can all relate to that....anybody in here ever wanted to work…needed to work....but the work was dried up?

You know it was a lot like that back around 2018 when the recession hit....people couldn’t work that WANTED to work....Now we got the opposite problem!

People have gotten so sorry that places can’t stay open because they can’t get workers that are worth two cents.

But you can kind of get inside these men’s heads....they were depressed....worried about paying their bills....worried about feedig their families.

This wasn’t just a bad night....this was a real crisis!

Not only did it affect them, it affected the entire village!

If there’s no fish caught, people don’t eat!

I mean this is the desert....they live on a lake, that’s true…the Sea of Gallilee…They called it the Lake of Gennesaret (Gen-es-a-ret) because of the area they were in next to the body of water.

It was known back then as both.

The area was very fertile and many things grew there, but fish was a staple in just about everybody’s diet.

If EVER there was a need for a miracle....it was now.

So these men are cleaning their nets…and up walks Jesus.

Jesus was being followed by people who wanted to hear the Word of God....and though these men were in a real pickle....Jesus was in need too....He needed a pulpit.

So Jesus steps into the boat and says “hey, take me back out there....”

Now listen....this sounded crazy.

First of all....Simon, who we all know as Peter, knew who Jesus was....Jesus wasn’t some bum off the street.

This was the second year he had been ministering....so Peter knew who Jesus was when he came walking up with all of these people following behind.

Besides....In the preceding chapter, Jesus had been at Simon’s home already....now some scholars argue that the events in chapter 4 happened AFTER chapter 5....but I don’t believe that Dr. Luke writes like that....he’s the most logical and chronological of the Gospel writers in my opinion.

But either way....know this: Peter knew who this man was before he stepped in the boat....but listen to this: he didn’t KNOW Jesus yet.

Now again....this request sounded crazy....CRAZY....first of all, from a fishing perspective....Peter and his friends knew how to fish.

Here comes this preacher…and HE says....let’s take the boat out....sounded crazy.

Now listen....if I come up to my good friend Jeremy Claxton here while you’re working on a big piece of equipment and tell you to do something different....you’d be crazy to listen to me…I know history and I love the Bible....but when it comes to the type of work you do, bro....I’m totally useless ok?

So from a fishing perspective, this sounded nuts, ok?

Secondly, from Jesus’ own perspective....this sounded crazy....Jesus needs a pulpit so all the people on the land can hear him.

When they get in the boat and move further out…the further they move out, the harder it is going to be for the people to hear Him....

So Peter HAS to be thinking: Man, are you nuts?

Illustration

Have you ever been asked to do something that sounded CRAZY at the time, but made perfect sense later?

Several decades ago.... the country of Jamaica had one of its greatest athletes to get injurred, killing their chances for glory at the Olympics.

They were desperate for a replacement Olympic sport so they could try to bring some pride and glory to the small island nation.

Somebody had a CRAZY idea....why not have a bobsled team?

CRAZY!

First of all, Jamaica doesn’t have ice…it’s a tropical island nation very near the equater....no big mountains....most people there will never see snow in their lives....it made no sense!

But, while they didn’t have snow, they DID have a sport called pushcart racing....how many of you remember the soap box derby?

Those pushcarts were a lot like that....they were just a shell of a small vehicle on wheels....and they would role it down a hill....and in a lot of ways....it was similar to a bobsled....

As crazy as it sounded, the Jamaicans put a bobsled team in several Olympics, but in the Olympics of 1994....amazingly....nobody thought they’d even qualify, not only did they qualify, but they came in 14th place…which doesn’t sound like much....but they beat the United States, Russia, Australia, and France that year.

It was CRAZY....but in the end....it made perfect sense.

It was a moral victory for them.

A movie called “Cool Runnings” was made about them.

Application

Folks, I want to tell you something: when the Lord calls you to do something, no matter how crazy it is....you do it.

You have to have faith and believe and trust the Lord.

Men....Jesus was asking Peter to do something crazy....to listen.

To trust....even though what He was asking sounded nuts, he wanted Him to just do it.

Jesus has a purpose for all of us.

But MEN, listen: if YOU don’t show your faith and trust in the Lord, why would your family do it?

Men: Your family needs to SEE you praying.....they need to HEAR you praying....They need you to LEAD them TO Jesus.

They need to SEE you taking a chance on the Lord.