(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Let me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from thy wound inside which flowed be a sin, the double cure. Save from wrath and make me pure. Could my tears forever flow? Could my zeal no languor know? These for sin could not atone. Thou must save and thou alone. In my hand no price I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling while I draw this fleeting breath. When my eyes shall close in death, when I rise to worlds unknown and behold the all-nigh throne, Fuck of ages, clap for me. Let me hide myself in thee. Amen. Wonderful singing. Let's start off our service with a word of prayer. Lord God, Heavenly Father, we just thank you for giving us another day that we can come here to your house and hear the preaching of your word. We ask that you please bless our service, every aspect of it. Please bless the singing, that it would be pleasing to your ears and that it would prepare our hearts for the message. Please fill past me here with your spirit as he preaches unto us and give us your spirit in the congregation, Lord. Give us ears that are ready to hear, that we may leave here changed, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. Please turn your songbooks to song number 147. Song number 147, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms. Song number 147, all together, nice and strong on that first verse. What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms. What a blessed nest, what a peace of mind, leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, leaning on the everlasting arms. Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms. I have blessed peace with my Lord so merely, leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. All right, great singing. Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Just a few announcements here. Before we sing our next song, which will be song number 281, Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior. 281, if you did not get a bulletin, go ahead and raise your hand. One of the ushers can get one for you. Some important information on there. Of course, we welcome you to come back to our Sunday evening service at 5 p.m. And then we have a Thursday night Bible study at 7 o'clock. We are currently studying the book of Isaiah, and we will be in Chapter 49 this coming Thursday. So we welcome you to come to that as well. We are a family integrated church, and so infants and children stay with their parents in the service. But for the parents' convenience, we do have a mother-baby room located in the back of the building should your child need some diversion. Please parents, make sure you utilize that. If your children are getting a little out of hand, if they're throwing a fit or something, you can remove them from the service for a little bit. There's speakers and screens, changing tables are available there as well, and you can bring them back in at your discretion. You see the so many times and teams, the list of expecting mothers, if you can keep them in prayer, and then the stats for salvation and baptisms for the month of January. Great month there. On the right-hand side is the upcoming church events. Tomorrow, we continue with the TJ missions trip and meeting at the building at 9.15 a.m. And so if you'd like to participate in that, you can talk to our evangelist, brother Ulysses Hernandez. Just make sure you bring your passport to that. And of course, the expenses are paid for and pray that they'd see a lot of souls saved. And then we have the Santa Ana sowing marathon next Sunday, not Saturday, March 2nd. So we're actually going to do something a little different. We've been, you know, obviously in times past, we've done marathons, sowing marathons on Saturdays, but it's not very conducive. Sometimes people are working, people got different schedules, but everyone is here on Sunday. And so now we're going to have little mini marathons on Sundays, probably quarterly throughout our church. And what we'll do is we'll go somewhere near and we will go sowing for about an hour, hour and a half. And after that, you guys can come back to the building. We'll have lunch or early dinner prepared for you already. And we're going to push the service back to 5.30. So typically the service is at 5 o'clock next Sunday. It'll be at 5.30 says to make time for the marathon. And so it's a great way, by the way, to start off some of the stuff you've been learning in the sowing training. Of course, we've been having sowing training after the services on Sundays. Today is the last lesson. And so next week we'll start with the marathon. So hope you can make it to that. We have the men's prayer night coming up on Friday, March 7th meeting at the building at 7 p.m. dinner is provided. Want to encourage all the men and their sons to be there for that. And then there's a homeschool park day on Friday, March 14th. They'll be meeting at 10 a.m. You have the address there. If you have any questions, you can message my wife Sarah for more details. Please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service. Before we see our next song, if you can pass this out, brother Alex, if you could play some passing out music. I don't know what you got in mind there, but I want to pass out this prayer card. Go ahead. You can you can start now, by the way. I can't start until you start playing. I want to pass out this prayer card regarding our offering Sunday. Now we already met about this with all the teams in our church regarding the fact that we need a new building. Okay. And we're already outgrowing this building. And so we have an offering Sunday coming up on May 11th for everyone to participate in. And here's some things that you can pray about so that we can prepare for that. Let me just briefly go over this. Here's the top 10 prayer requests for the Sow Thy Seed offering giving campaign. Number one, pray for the May 11th offering Sunday. And obviously, as I mentioned in those meetings, we're going to have to be doing this for the next couple of years to raise up enough funds in order to purchase a building. Now, this is great where we're at right now, but let's just be honest, we're going to eventually outgrow this as we've done in times past. And so pray that we'd have a very successful and fruitful May 11th offering. Number two, pray for God's special provisions for our members. Number three, pray for God to increase our faith, especially as we give on May 11th. Number four, pray for future building to suit our needs. Obviously, we want to get a building that will suffice the growth of our church. We don't want to just move in there and then grow it out in the first year or so. Number five, pray for weekly monthly building offerings. Six, pray for continued growth of our church, which obviously we've seen this even within the last year. Number seven, pray for the souls who will be saved in the new building. Amen. And I'm sure God's going to use that building in a great way through our church to get a lot of new people in. And so pray to that end. Number eight, pray for the next generation who will serve God in the new building. You know, I'm excited about the fact that we're going to be getting a new building, but I'm really excited for our kids. Because I want my kids to continue to go to an independent fundamental Baptist church where the preaching of God's word is being echoed from the pulpit, where the service of God is being done. And so I want them to be able to have that environment. And so that is the next generation who will be serving God in the new building. Number nine, pray for God to give us the next door unit. And that's right now, by the way. So this next door right here, they just moved out or they're moving out within the next month. And so we want it. And you say, why do we need it? If you listen closely, you'll hear all these children in the service right now. And so we need another mother baby room to put in that particular area, and that'll be the entrance if God allows us to have it. If he doesn't, we'll make do. But pray that God will give us that next door unit right there. And then lastly, pray that we will continue to glorify God each step of the way. I hope that you're planning, preparing, you will participate in the May 11th offering to be a part of what's going on in our church, to purchase that new building in the coming years. Amen? And so that is it. Let's go to sing our next song. 281, Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior. Song number 281, Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior. All together, nice and strong on that first verse. Pass me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. Let me at a throne of mercy find a sweet relief. Kneeling there in deep contrition, help my unbelief. Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. Trusting only in Thy merit, O mercy, Thy face, heal my wound and broken spirit. Save me by Thy grace. Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. Thou the spring of all my comfort, more than life to me. Whom have I on earth beside Thee? Whom in heaven but Thee? Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. Good morning. We're in 1 Corinthians chapter number 6. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, the Bible reads, Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more are things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so that there is not a wise man among you? Know not one that should be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and not before the unbelievers. Now therefore, there is utterly a fault among you, but because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Nay, ye do wrong and do fraud, and not your brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor dulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor violers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought unto the power of any. Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats, the God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of in Harlot? God forbid. What? Know ye not that he which is joined to in Harlot is one body? For to saith he shall be one flesh, but he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that committeth fornication sins against his own body. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. Let's pray to the Lord God. Thank you for this church. Thank you for our pastor. Let's ask that you be with him now. Please strengthen him. Fill up with your Holy Spirit as he preaches your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay. We're in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 this morning, and the title of my sermon this morning is Girly Men. Girly Men. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse number 9 says, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, and I want you to notice this, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And, of course, when I mention or when I state girly men, I'm referring to those who are effeminate. What does it mean to be effeminate? Well, an effeminate man is a man who possesses feminine traits physically and emotionally. They can often have womanish mannerisms, behavior, and or clothing. In other words, they're essentially absent of masculine traits. And make no mistake about it, God actually considers this to be a sin in the word of God. Now, obviously, with the culture today and how soft preaching is out there, a lot of times pastors and churches won't hit on these particular subjects, probably because they're guilty of being effeminate. But the reality is this, is that we as God's people need to make sure that we talk about the entire counsel of God and we highlight the fact that God even considers something like this to be sinful. Now, why does God consider being effeminate to be sinful? I'll tell you why. The Bible tells us in Genesis chapter 1 verse 27, So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. Why is it a sin to be effeminate? Well, it's because of the fact that man is made in the image of God. And God, I don't know if you noticed this, but throughout the Bible, refers to himself as a man. And so when a man behaves himself in a feminine manner, when he portrays and displays feminine characteristics, when he's effeminate, he's essentially marring the image of God by doing so and that is why it is a sin. When a man is depleted of masculine traits and begins to adopt the qualities of a woman, he is essentially messing up, marring the image of God since God is a man according to the Bible. God, not only that, but God wants there to be distinctions between genders, right? The Bible tells us that male and female created he them. Now, obviously, if you've been going to the public school system and you are involved in Hollywood and everything that's going on, this might actually offend you, but I'm preaching you the Word of God today. I'm showing you what God's standard is. And as God's people, we should readily receive what the Bible teaches on this specific topic of being effeminate. And let me just say this is that we as men, Christian men, need to emulate, adopt, and display masculine, biblical masculinity, biblical attributes of being a man. Amen? Now, let me just start off by saying by way of introduction before anybody gets confused about this. When we talk about being effeminate, when the Bible talks about it, it's not the same as being a sodomite. What is a sodomite? It's a homosexual, right? A reprobate as the Bible would call them. And according to the Bible, this is not the same as being effeminate. A man who's effeminate is still straight. A man who's effeminate likes women. A man who's effeminate probably has the desire still to get married, have children. He's attracted to the opposite sex. He's a completely normal man in that regard. It's just that he's a little soft. Now, let me prove to you that this is the case here because a lot of churches, because of the Bibles that they use, and the bad interpretations that they have, will often say that an effeminate man is referring to a homosexual. And they'll often use 1 Corinthians 6 as a proof text. Let's look at it. Look at verse 9 again. It says, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers. And then these next two sins here is what they typically focus on. He says, Nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. Now, the common interpretation of a lot of churches and pastors is that when the Bible talks about abusers of themselves with mankind, that automatically equals homosexual. That means sodomite. In fact, if you look at the modern versions of the Bible, they will often place homosexual, they'll place sodomite, they'll place men with men doing whatever. That's what they'll literally put. And if they put abusers of themselves with mankind, they'll put a footnote at the bottom that says this means a homosexual. But let me just tell you right now that they're lying to you. That is not the case. Abusers of themselves with mankind is not referring to a homosexual. And in fact, they'll often say that the effeminate man, in this particular text, is actually the passive partner in the homosexual relationship that's being described here in 1 Corinthians 6.9. You know, the aggressor is the abuser of themselves with mankind, and then the effeminate is the passive member of that homosexual relationship. But this is absolutely not the case. That's not what it's referring to. First and foremost, let me say that abuser of themselves with mankind is actually only used twice in the original language. Once is here in 1 Corinthians 6.9, the second time is actually in 1 Timothy 1, and both instances is just referring to being a whoremonger, being a fornicator, someone who goes around and sleeps with a bunch of people. That's what it's referring to. Now let me prove that to you. Go to 1 Timothy 1, if you would. 1 Timothy 1. In 1 Corinthians 6, one of the reasons we know that it's not referring to a sodomite is because the literal context thereafter is referring to someone who is sleeping around and fornicating and committing those sins with others, okay? But let's look at the other instance that abuser of themselves with mankind is being used. Look at 1 Timothy 1 and verse number 9, it says, Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient. Now let me explain something to you before we continue on with this description here. The Apostle Paul, as he's writing this, he's labeling or categorizing these sins, right? But I want you to notice how he gives the synonym to those sins along with it. So for example, he says lawless, and then he says and disobedient. Who's a disobedient person? It's a lawless person, right? A lawless person is a disobedient person. They're synonyms, okay? He goes on to say, look, for the ungodly and for sinners, again, synonyms, ungodly. Who's an ungodly person? It's a sinner. Who's a sinner? It's an ungodly person. He says for unholy and profane. Did you know that profane is a synonym for unholy? He goes on to say for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, and I want you to notice, for man-slayers. What is a man-slayer? Someone who murders, and of course he's categorizing specifically those who murder fathers and mothers, but then he says man-slayers. You see the pattern here that's being used as the Apostle Paul is writing this. He's giving the particular sin, and he's giving two synonyms that describe that particular sin, right? The lawless, disobedient, ungodly, sinners, unholy, profane, murderers of fathers, murderers of mothers, man-slayers. I want you to notice verse number 10. For whoremongers, and look what it says, for them that defile themselves with mankind. So if we were to follow the pattern that the Apostle Paul is using here, a whoremonger is referring to someone who defiles themselves with mankind. It's just a synonym for whoremonger. The difference being is this. A whoremonger is a male who commits fornication and does those sins. Those who defile themselves with mankind can be referring to a woman who essentially participates in fornication and those perverse sins as well. What is this proving? It's showing us that this is not referring to homosexuality. It's not referring to sodomy. It's referring to those who simply commit fornication, though that is a very wicked sin. That's what it's referring to. Now go to Deuteronomy chapter 22, if you would. Deuteronomy chapter 22. Now here's another proof that effeminate is not referring to homosexual because, again, you go to these modern versions, you go to these types of churches that teach this, and they'll say, well, effeminate does mean homosexual. It's the passive member in a homosexual relationship. But if we were to just go to any person on the street and ask them, what does it mean to be effeminate, describe to me what an effeminate person is, what does that mean? They would say it means someone who's soft, right? I mean, that is a pretty accurate description of what it means to be effeminate, right? Just to be soft, a little light on their toes, okay? And quite frankly, this is a description that is actually biblical. You say, why is that? Well, because of the fact that the Greek word for effeminate is actually melakis. We're not a Greek-speaking church here, so I'm not trying to bore you with this. I'm just trying to give you the facts here that effeminate in the Greek, in the original Greek, means melakis, okay? That's the word that's being used there. And how do we know that melakis is actually referring to soft or mean soft, and it doesn't mean homosexual? I'll tell you how. We look for it in other portions of scripture where it's being used. Now let me read to you from Matthew chapter 11 and verse number 8 where the phrase melakis is being used. It says, but what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? They that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. And lo and behold, the word that's being used there for soft is melakis. The same word that's being used in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse number 9 translated as effeminate, showing us conclusively that effeminate means soft. Now we never want to get these two confused. Why? Because it's super disrespectful to call someone a sodomite when they're actually not. Right? It's super disrespectful and insulting to a man to refer to them as homo, to refer to them as gay, to refer to them as a sodomite when they're not a sodomite, but maybe they're just a little soft, okay? Now this is not excusing the fact that they're soft because God doesn't want them to be soft. He wants them to exert and display masculine characteristics because that's what the Bible demands of that man, okay? It's important that we define what it means to be effeminate according to the word of God and not according to the world's standards. We don't need to get our definition or biblical concepts from the chuds of this world, from Twitter, from online gurus or whatever telling us, well this is what the Bible means by that. You don't go to church, you don't read the Bible, don't tell me what the Bible says about that. The online community, by the way, gets some of it right, but they get a lot of it wrong. So they actually get some of the stuff right, but quite frankly they get a lot of it wrong as well. They can sometimes deem something to be effeminate, what the Bible is deemed to be masculine and godly, okay? And they deem masculine what the Bible deems to be godless and perverse. So don't go to the Andrew Tates of this world to get your definition of what biblical masculinity is. Why? Because he's godless, he's perverse, he's not a believer in Christ, he doesn't read the Bible, okay? We need to go to the house of God, we need to go to the word of God to extrapolate what these definitions are. And this should come as no surprise to us because the Bible tells us that the world calls evil good and good evil, right? It puts darkness for light, light for darkness, bitter for sweet, sweet for bitter, therefore they are not the standard by which we define terms and concepts and principles in the word of God. Now with that being said, let's talk about the traits of a girly man, okay? And the reason I use girly man is I think that's just a really good way to describe what it means to be effeminate, right? It's a doo-doo soft. Again, not a sodomite, but they're soft. And you say, why preach this? Well I'll tell you why, it's because I got kids and I don't want my boys growing up, you know, with this culture that's constantly pushing for men to get in touch with their feminine side, to be soft and it's okay to act like a girl and be like a girl and you want to refer to yourself as a girl, whatever. I don't want my sons to be a participant in that. I want them to embrace biblical masculinity, to uphold what the Bible says about being a man, and to reject and abhor being effeminate. And you know what, that's why we need to be in a leather-lung church where the pastor actually gets up and shouts it from the housetops, not in some church where pretty much every male is probably effeminate because of the fact that the pastor is effeminate, okay? Now let's give some traits here and if you get offended at this, then let me give you some advice, change, okay? Alright, number one, traits of a girly man. By the way, if you're a visitor with us today, welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Hope you enjoy your visit today. Maybe God wants you to hear this sermon though, okay? Now let me just point out the obvious with number one. Number one, traits of a girly man. A girly man wears feminine articles of clothing, okay? Let's just go ahead and say that. You say, well isn't that obvious? Well it doesn't seem to be obvious to the culture today, because today it's being promoted for men, it's okay for men to wear skirts and feminine clothing and still be a man and still be straight. Folks, you know what, yeah, you could be straight and wear a skirt because it's culturally acceptable, but it's still an abomination in the eyes of God. Let me prove that to you. Look at Deuteronomy 22 and verse number five. It says, the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man, listen to this, put on a woman's garment. Why? For all that do so are an abomination unto the Lord thy God. Yeah, you might be straight, yeah, you might be a person who still likes women and you don't like homosexuals and you don't have homosexual tendencies, but if you're wearing a skirt, you're an abomination in the eyes of God. That's what the Bible says. And we need to uphold that standard in the house of God. Moms, we need to teach that to our sons. You need to promote that to your children and tell your sons, you know what, this is not acceptable in the eyes of God. You are a man. God made you a man. God made you masculine. Skirts are for girls. You know, we're not going to embrace or promote cross-dressing, transvestite type of behavior that God considers to be abominable. We're living in a time where it is culturally acceptable for men to dress as women. And why is that? Well, because Hollywood is doing it, right? You have Will Smith's son wearing skirts all the time and now he's wearing castles on his head. But yet that's your standard of how you should dress in this world? My friends, we are ambassadors for Christ, the Bible tells us. We ought to let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works, not skirts, and glorify our Father which is in heaven. That's what the Bible teaches. Wearing skirts, dresses, the world pushes, is that what you are? The world tries to push upon God's people and everyone around them that if you're truly comfortable in your sexuality, then it's okay to get in touch with your feminine side. But let me just tell every man in this building, you don't have a feminine side. The only feminine thing you have in your body is that chromosome or whatever that was given to you by your mom, but that's about it. You know, I was once a man trapped in a woman's body. It's true, until I was born. But you know, there's no such thing as getting in touch with our feminine side. That is a godless teaching and you know what? The architects of these abominable principles are constantly pushing this for the next generation. That's why you have all these kids thinking that it's cool to be gay or something like that. You know, it's like a trend now to be a homo, to be gay, and to be all LGBTQ'd out or whatever. It's never cool to be a queer. Since when? And again, it doesn't make you gay if you wear a skirt or a dress, but you know what? It does make you an abomination. And so I don't care what Scotland does. I don't care how expensive that kilt was. It's an abomination in the eyes of God. And I don't care how long people have been doing it for. You know, people try to bring history and be like, oh, men have been doing it for thousands of years. Yeah, because men have been abominable for thousands of years. And so it's important for us to understand and promote to our next generation, to our boys, that guess what? Being a girly man is an abomination in the eyes of God because the girly men in this world promote for men to wear women's clothing. And it's wicked. Go to Song of Solomon, chapter 5, if you would, Song of Solomon, chapter 5. Talk about girly men this morning, meaning being effeminate, which is a sin according to the Bible. It's an abomination regarding some of these traits that are being done. We said, number one, a girly man wears articles of clothing that are designated for women, and they are an abomination when they do that. Not only that, number two, and let me say this, wear a man's cologne. Don't wear a woman's cologne either. Don't be wearing women's lotion either. Cucumber, mango, melon lotion or whatever. Smell like a man. I'd rather a man would not wear clothing and lotion that smells like cigarettes than you smelling like a melon. Number two, girly men can be physically and or emotionally weak. So God promotes for men to look like men in their dress because he wants there to be distinctions between genders, but he also wants men to be physically strong and emotionally strong. Now look at Song of Solomon, chapter 5, verse 15. It says here, when describing Solomon, this is for all the gym rats, amen? His legs are as pillars of marble. Now, folks, this is her saying this about him. That is a compliment right here, right? What does it mean that he had legs as pillars of marbles? I'll tell you what that means. He didn't skip leg day. He got his barbell squats in. What? He got his Bulgarian squats in. He got his leg curls in, his leg extensions in, his RDLs in, his deadlifts in, his RDLs. Every leg workout you can think of, he got them in. Maybe not his calves. Sometimes those suckers don't budge, okay? But apparently Solomon had pillars, legs that were pillars of marble, meaning he was strong. He had a strong base, right? He says set upon sockets of fine gold. Man, I mean she's buttering him up with this. You know, she's not telling Solomon, oh, I'm glad you're not as big as some of those gym guys, you know. Ouch. So this shows us that Solomon was physically strong, but then I want you to notice this. It says his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. What does that mean? He was very emotionally strong, which actually exerted itself in his countenance. He was as the cedars of Lebanon. You know, he was mewing, in other words, okay? He was someone who had an emotionally strong personality and physically strong. So he was not only physically strong as noted by his legs being compared to pillars of marble, but his countenance was as the cedars of Lebanon. This is showing us that God's men, men who love the Lord, want both. Now, don't misunderstand this either because of the fact that, you know, if you're physically weak but you love the Lord, I prefer you over some dude who's extremely physically strong but is godless. You know, because the world also says that, well, you know, this guy lives this much, he's this big, and yet he's more manly than you. Well, hold on a second. If he doesn't love the Lord Jesus Christ, then let him be anathema. You know, because that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the eyes of God. That's what the Bible tells us. And so don't get it confused that just because someone is physically strong, that means they're godly. Sometimes that's just not the case. But that doesn't, you know, exclude the fact that God wants men to be physically strong. He's created you in such a way that he wants you to exert your muscles. He wants you to grow. He's given you testosterone. He's given you an environment conducive to growth. Use it to get strong. You know, and use it without the gear, by the way. But also, we need to be emotionally strong as well, strong in our countenance, strong in our emotions. In other words, don't wear your emotions on your sleeves, okay? Turn with me if you would. Let's look at an example. Let's go to 1 Kings chapter 21, 1 Kings chapter 21, if you would. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 24 verse 5, A wise man is strong, yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. And obviously, this could be related to spiritual strength. It could be related to emotional strength. But it could also be related to physical strength because God wants it all. And look, when you raise your testosterone levels, your mood gets better. When you raise your testosterone levels, you not only get physically stronger, your mood gets a lot better. You become a lot more able and capable of executing tasks and leading and just being a man. The Bible tells us you don't have to turn in Deuteronomy 28 verse 56, The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness. So what is it saying? A woman is known for being delicate. They should be delicate, right? It says to the point where they don't adventure to set the sole of their foot for delicateness and tenderness. We expect women to be delicate, tender, soft. That is a feminine attribute that men are actually attracted to. That is a biblical attribute that God has given to women that is pleasing in the eyes of God. It's not pleasing in the eyes of God when a man is delicate and tender and won't set his foot upon the grass because he's playing video games or something. You say, well, you know, I just don't really like to work out. I just don't really like to lift weights. I just don't really like to do those things. Well, you know what, let me just give you some advice here. Learn to like it. Because if you don't have a physically demanding job, if you have a desk job, if you have a job where you're not physically exerting yourself, then you need to supplement that with something on the side where you're actually lifting weights, you're running, I guess. You're doing some sort of physical activity because that's how God made your body. And look, here at First Works Baptist Church, we make it really easy for you. You know how? We got a gym right here in the back. Kilo plates goes up to how much weight we got there? 700 pounds or something like that. We got deadlifting bars, squat racks. We got everything. We got dumbbells. We got everything you need to make those gains. And you got a community of brethren that will encourage you and exhort you to not be a girly man. Amen? Not only that, but the Bible tells us that women are the weaker vessel. Let me read to you from First Peter chapter three, verse seven. Likewise, ye husbands dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel. Now, what does it mean to be the weaker vessel? Well, it means what it says, and it says what it means. You can apply this as being weaker as in physically weaker because that's absolutely true. This means also spiritually weaker in some instances because it can be true. And it means emotionally weaker because women are just more apt to become emotional. We as men are not given the luxury to have those attributes though. They're the weaker vessel, therefore we're to give honor to them because we are stronger physically, mentally, emotionally. And look, let me just say this is that, you know, women should be coddled sometimes, amen? You know, your wives should be coddled, your daughters should be coddled, men should not be coddled. Hey mom, stop coddling your sons just because they fall and bump their knee or whatever. We need to make sure we toughen them up, recognize that they can't be coddled all the time. You know, women are emotionally weaker. You should not be emotionally weak. You need to have emotional fortitude and strengthen your mind, strengthen your emotions and do well under pressure, okay? And by the way, this isn't degrading. You know, the world would say, oh, you're such a sexist and you're such a chauvinist, I can't believe you're saying this. It's what the Bible says. And you know what, if you claim to be a Bible believing Christian, say amen. You know, the reason women have these attributes is because God made them to be keepers at home. He made them to be motherly, right? You know, a kid goes and he cuts himself. The dad's like, just put some dirt on it, you'll be fine. You don't need stitches, just staple it, put some glue on it, you'll be just fine. A little blood never hurt anybody. Moms are like, ugh, you know, and we're just like, just let him go play, you know? He's got the adrenaline right now, he'll be fine. But you know, it's important for women to be motherly, right? To have that compassion, to have those motherly traits. That's why they have, they're very high in estradiol, progesterone, in order to exert those motherly qualities. That's what God gave them, so they can be that way. It's kind of weird when a dude is like that though, okay? Why? Because we're the stabilizing force in the lives of our wives and our children. When the world's falling apart, dad should be able to come and say, everything's going to be fine, I'll always take care of you, there's no monsters under the bed, you'll be just fine, the bills are going to get paid. You know, we're that stabilizing force, humanly speaking, in the lives of our family. And so, and again, you know, just being physically strong doesn't make you masculine. So don't misunderstand that statement, okay? Because there are physically strong men in this world who are effeminate. And in fact, social media is filled with them. Where these dudes, they can squat hundreds of pounds and deadlift hundreds of pounds, but they are very much effeminate in their emotions, they can't handle the pressures of life outside of the gym. Okay? And so, it's important for us to be physically strong, meaning you need to hit the gym, get your protein in, create some regimen in your life where you are building muscle and you're getting strong. Don't be physically weak. Don't allow the world to outdo you in that area. God wants us to be strong. You know, Jacob in the Bible was strong. So how do you know? Because he deadlifted the stone out of the well's mouth by himself. That's a strong person. It's a strong man. You know, David was physically strong. He was able to bow, bend a bow of steel in his hand. That's a physically strong man. And again, if I were to choose between the two, to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might, to be physically strong, give me the strength of the Lord and the power of his might. But thankfully, I don't have to choose. I can have both. I can be physically strong, I can deadlift 400 pounds, but I can also open up the Word of God and love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. And let me say this. You know, the Bible tells us to love the Lord our God with all our strength. Well, you know what? If you're weak, you're not going to be able to get up in the morning to read your Bible. If you are emotionally and spiritually weak, you won't be able to get yourself to go soul winning. You won't get your rear end to come to church. You're not going to be able to get up and pray and praise God and resist sin and resist the devil. You're not going to be able to participate in spiritual warfare if you're not strong. So that's why it's important for us to be physically strong, mentally strong, emotionally strong. Now, I had you turn to 1 Kings, but hold your place or go to Proverbs, because I want you to look at these verses first. Go to Proverbs chapter 16. Put a pen or a paper in 1 Kings. And go to Proverbs chapter 16. We're talking about girly men. Girly men are men who are emotionally weak. They're physically weak too. Okay? They're physically weak. They don't like going to the gym. They think that is toxic masculinity. Oh, you guys are always talking about the gym. You guys are just so toxic in your masculinity. No, it's called biblical masculinity. You know, learn how to lift. Get yourself some weights. Start with body squats if you have to. Go bench, go deadlift, go squat, go do something to get those muscles going. But it's also someone who is emotionally weak as well. Look what it says in Proverbs 16 verse 32. By the way, here's your weekly reminder not to skip leg day, amen? Verse 32 says, He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty. And he that ruleth his spirit, then he that taketh a city, the Bible says. Now that's powerful. What is it saying? A person who isn't easily angered. Slow to anger means it takes a lot for this person to blow his top. In other words, it means he has a long fuse, right? And the Bible says here that the person who has that long fuse, the man who is not easily angered, you're better than the mighty of this world. Why? Because you're able to control yourself. You have temperance. And he says, And he that ruleth his spirit, then he that taketh a city. Well, who's he that taketh a city? You know, an army takes a city, right? An army invades a city. They surround it. They create, you know, battlements against it, strategies against it. That is a mighty army who's able to take over a city. Well, in God's eyes, the man who's able to rule his own spirit, his emotions, is actually better than that army who can take over a city. Go to Proverbs chapter 25. Proverbs chapter 25. What's the point here? The point is, man, be emotionally strong. Don't be easily offended. Don't be a person who just loses it as soon as your boss starts yelling at you. Your boss yells at you because you didn't do a good job or something. You just go home and cry in your bed all night and, you know, life is over. That shouldn't be you. You should be someone who has fortitude of mind, fortitude of emotion. Why? Because life is filled with evil. Life is filled with trials and difficulties and hardships and afflictions, especially if you're a Christian, and God expects us to be strong. And in fact, the Bible says, If thou faith in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. Man, what an insult. You know, you're over reading the book of Proverbs, you're like, man, I need some encouragement. God's like, if you faith in the day of adversity, your strength is small. That's an insult. It's like, well, I'm not going to faint. The equivalent to this is you're lifting some weight and you're just like, if I don't lift this, I'm gay, my whole family dies, and everything's different. And then you get it up. Well, God says, you know, if you can't make it through this trial, you're weak. Your strength is small. What does that show? It shows us that God wants us to be strong, emotionally. He wants us to have spiritual endurance to make it through the persecutions and afflictions and the hardships of this world because they're coming. Look what it says in Proverbs 25 verse 28. He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls. No rule over his own spirit. Now, what does this look like? Well, you know, it's like when people today, they crash out. This is a grown up adult tantrum that they throw because something's not going their way. This is what the Libs and the Starbucks employees do when they're asked to just work their actual hours or something. They crash out. Well, crashing out is an effeminate quality. Now, look, we are all giving permission to have a bad day every once in a while. I have bad days. There's times when you go through a difficult time. There's times when life is just hard and maybe you can't handle it. That's okay. But you should not be characterized by being a person who's constantly losing it when you go through a hard time. Why? Because God wants you to be strong mentally, physically, emotionally. Go to 1 Kings 21. God created men to be the emotional stabilizer in the life of our family, marriage, and may I say, even in our church as well. Okay? Have rule over your own spirit. Why? Because if you're not, then you're compared to a city that is broken down without walls. What does that mean? It means there's breaches in the city and if there's breaches and holes in the city, what can happen? The enemy can get in. Right? An invader can come in. And in a spiritual sense, if you are a person with no rule over your own spirit, Satan can come and attack you, contempt you. Why? Because your resolve is weak. You can't resist temptation. You have no will to flee from temptation. You have no will to quote scripture when things get hard. You have no will to bring yourself to church. You have no will to open up your Bible and to pray. You have no will for those things because you have no rule over your own spirit. It should be that our spirit rules our body, that we bring it in subjection. You know, the apostle Paul said, I keep under my body and bring it into subjection. Let's by any means, when I preach to others, I myself should be a castaway. It's important for us as God's people to, you know, you get up in the morning and you're like, I don't feel like reading the Bible. And the new man's like, no, you're going to read the Bible. They're just like, yeah, I'm just tired. I just got other things to do. Yeah, yeah, you got this to do though. I said, we're reading the Bible today. Open up the Bible and read it. I don't feel like praying. You're going to pray. You need to tell yourself what to do. You need to rule yourself. And obviously, I'm looking at a crowd of people who rule themselves because they brought themselves to church. And I would say maybe, you know, 25% of you maybe didn't want to come today. I didn't feel like coming today. You know, I'm too tired. I got other things to do. I could be at the beach. I could, you know, fill in the blank or whatever. And your spirit said, no, we're going to church. But maybe, you know, you still didn't want to come, but maybe mom and dad said you were going to church. Or maybe your buddy was just like, you're still coming to church, bro. Like, you know, I'm picking you up. Point is, don't be a person who just loses it as soon as you fall under pressure. As soon as you go through a difficult time, you just blow up on everyone. You blow up on your wife. You blow up on your friends. You blow up on your coworkers. You blow up on your church members because you can't handle it. Don't crash out. That's an effeminate quality. Let's look at an example of someone in the Bible who is like that. 1 Kings 21 and verse number 1. Let's look at Ahab. One of the most effeminate dudes in the Bible. Extremely wicked. Godless. And let's look at an example of him crashing out. It says in verse 1, It came to pass after these things that Naboth of Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, heard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it. Or if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him, for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed and turned away his face and would eat no bread. What is he doing? He's crashing out. He's throwing a fit. The Bible doesn't say, but I'm sure it's in the Hebrew that he was sucking his thumb, too. He's just like, You're a king, Ahab. You know, the proper response would have been like this. If I was Ahab and I go to Naboth and I was like, Hey, you know, sell me your vineyard. And he's just like, No, I'm not going to sell it to you. You know, and he's just adamant of not selling to me. I would have been like, Well, you know, your vineyard sucks anyway, so I didn't want it anyway. I was trying to do you a favor. Okay, but whatever. I'll go get another vineyard. Better than yours or something. No, what does this guy do? He ends up going home to his palace, crashing out, laying down, refusing to eat, throwing a fit. This man is emotionally weak, and he's the king. Everything rises and falls on leadership, my friends. Verse five, But Jezebel, oh, man. But Jezebel, his wife came to him and said unto him, Why is that spirit so sad, baby? That thou eatest no bread? And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money, or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it. And he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. And Jezebel, his wife, said unto him, Dost thou not govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry. I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. What do we see here? We see Jezebel fighting her husband's battles. Folks, it should be the other way around. Ahab should be providing for Jezebel. Ahab should be protecting Jezebel. Ahab should be uplifting the spirit of Jezebel, but yet here we see it's actually the other way around. She's coddling Ahab. Why? Because he's emotionally weak. He's a girly man. Now, obviously, we know that Jezebel is super evil and wicked. Look at verse 5. It says, So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with a seal, and sent the letters unto the elders, and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. So, you know, obviously Jezebel's in the comments section. She's there defending her husband. You know, she's doing all that. Verse 9, And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people, and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against them, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king, and then carry him out, and stone him that he may die. And we're not going to read the rest of the story, but obviously this is what happens. They end up taking Naboth, bringing a railing accusation, a false accusation against him. The people believe it, and he ends up dying. And then the Bible says later on that as soon as Ahab hears about it, he's like, Yay! And he goes and he basically possesses Naboth's vineyard by wicked means. You know, why? Because he is a girly man who needs his wife to fight his battles. Men, your wife should not be fighting your battles. You know, obviously we need encouragement from our wives. I'm not saying that's not the case. Sometimes we're having a rough day, a rough time, we're going through a difficult season. We need our encourager, our better half to come to us and uplift us and, you know, encourage us and help us to get through that hard time. But that should not be like the pattern all the time. In general, we should be the ones who are uplifting the spirits of our family. We are leading our family, not making our wives to fight our battle for us. You know, get off that common section. I'll take care of this. Don't be Ahab. Don't be a girly man, okay? Go to 1 Samuel chapter 30, 1 Samuel chapter 30. Let's look at the opposite of this, okay? Because we have Ahab who's thrown a fit just because he didn't get a vineyard, ends up getting a man killed because his wicked wife Jezebel conspired to kill a righteous man because she wanted to defend and provide for her husband. But then let's look at David. You know, David is a man after God's own heart. He is a righteous man. He is the exact opposite of a girly man. This man is a man's man, right? And here in this particular story, he's very heartbroken. He's devastated. And in fact, he's so like rock bottom that he's weeping. People are talking about killing him, his own followers. Look at what it says in verse 1. It says, So David and his men came to the city and behold it was burned with fire and their wives and their sons and their daughters were taken captive. So what do we see here? We see a pretty catastrophic event here, right? I mean, David and his men come back to Ziklag and their families are gone, the children are gone, the women are gone, they're being taken captive. The city is burned with fire. I mean, this is an extremely hard situation here, right? Look at verse 4. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept until they had no more power to weep. What does that mean? They cried so hard, tears didn't even come out after a while. They just didn't even have any more power to just cry anymore. They're just devastated, right? And David's two wives were taken captive. Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed for the people spake of stoning him. Because the soul of all the people was grieved. So the people referring to his people, they're like, this is your fault, David. Because we went with you, we came back, our families are taken, everything rises and falls in leadership. We're going to stone you because it's your fault. Now this is a lot of pressure, right? This is a very difficult situation here. And, you know, David could be like, well, you know, I'm going back to the land of the Philistines, you know. And he could crash out more. He could just be like, no, it's not my fault, not take responsibility. But what does he do? He says the soul of the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters. But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. And, again, we're not going to read the entire story. But then David comes up with a plan to essentially retrieve the families and he does. He ends up getting everyone back. It's a very successful conquest that he made there. And he came out winning. But I want you to notice, what was his attitude? You know, he's depressed, he's distressed, he's in anguish, I'm going to encourage myself in the Lord. You know what, a girly man does not do that. A girly man encourages himself in alcohol. A girly man goes to encourage himself in drug abuse. A girly man seeks to encourage himself with fornication, with pornography, with the filth of this world. But a godly man, what does he do? He encouraged himself in the Lord. He said, you know what, God is my Lord, he is my Savior, and he still loves me, he's still going to use me greatly. And you know what, I'm going to pray into the Lord my God and construe a plan and we're going to retrieve our families once again. This is a godly man. And notice, this is an absence of him weeping. This is an absence of him being in distress. I mean, the guy's having a hard time, but in the midst of that hard time, he doesn't allow this situation to push him into sin, to push him into being a coward, to push him into running from his problems. You know what it does? He goes to the Lord is where he goes to. You know, if you're having a hard time as a single young man, you know, instead of going to your old girlfriends, instead of going to, you know, recreational drugs and sinful things of this world, go to the Bible. Go to the Bible. Go to prayer. Encourage yourself in the Lord. And you want to thank God that you belong to a Bible-believing church where you can go to another brother in Christ and say, you know, I'm having a hard time, let's go to In-N-Out. And then let's go soloing. Let's go preach the gospel. I need encouragement. You know, members of our church are not going to be like, hey, stop being a girly man, you know, just deal with it on your own, man. No, they're going to be like, hey man, brother, let's go. You're having a hard time, what's going on? Talk to me, you know, let's chat. What's going on? What are you struggling with? Why? Because that's the right thing to do. Be a David. Don't be an Ahab. Don't run to your wife to help you with your problems. Don't run to the world to help you with your problems. Run to God. Encourage yourself in the Lord. Strengthen yourself under the hand of God. And let me just say this, you know, it takes courage to obey the Lord. It takes courage to do that which is right when you're having a difficult time. Right? I mean, the Bible tells us that in Joshua chapter 1, he tells them, be strong and very courageous to obey all that the Lord has commanded you. Why? Because sometimes it's hard to do right when everyone else is pushing against you, when the situation is difficult, when the situation is hard, when it doesn't seem to be going your way, where it seems as though you're not benefiting from it, where it seems as though you're losing, it takes courage and strength to obey the Bible still. It takes courage and strength to still come to church even though you're being defrauded, you're being wrong, evil is coming upon you. It takes courage and strength to come here, sing the praises of God, hear the preaching of God's word and obey the Lord. It takes courage. It takes strength. Don't be an Ahab. Be a David. Don't be a girly man. Be someone who fights for your family, fights for your sons, fights for your daughters, fights for your church members, and again, weep with them that weep. Go through the difficult time, but don't let that difficult time push you into a dark place where you disobey the Lord. And I know that I'm only talking to the men here, and ladies, you'll get another sermon some other day, or you may be thinking this is for you. But hey, women, ladies, this is for your sons though too. And may I say this, women, don't be the Jezebel either. It's a sermon for another day. Turn with me if you would. Go to Genesis chapter 3, Genesis chapter 3 if you would. I must hasten here. We're talking about girly men. Number 3, girly men reverse Biblical gender roles. Girly men reverse Biblical gender roles. What do I mean by that? Girly men are often closet feminists. They actually are. The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 51 in verse 30 that men became as women. Taking on these feminine characteristics. What do I mean by they're reversing the gender roles? Well, how about this? Girly men like to be ruled over by women, like Ahab, right? He's ruled over by Jezebel. But here's the problem is that from a Biblical perspective, how God designed it, He designed women to be led by the man. He designed women to be ruled over by the man. Now if that offends you, if that rubs you the wrong way, it's because you need to have your mind renewed and you need to read the Bible. Because you've bought into what the world is teaching, okay? So how do we know that's true? Well, go to Genesis 2 actually. You're in Genesis 3, but let's look at Genesis 2 first in verse 18. You see, a man's place is to provide leadership. Girly men, on the other hand, relinquish that God-given responsibility to their wives. This is unnatural and goes against not just Christian values but even human design. So what I'm about to show you right now is not a Christian position, though it can be. It didn't start off as a Christian position. It just started off as human design, okay? Look at Genesis 2, verse 18. And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him and help me for him. Who's to help me? Eve. Now, notice it doesn't say anything about worshipping God, serving God. It just says it's not good for a man, just in general, to be alone. Therefore, he needs to help me. Go to Genesis chapter 3, verse 16. Genesis 3, 16 says, Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children. This is obviously after the fall. This is part of the curse. And it says, And thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. The Bible says. What does this mean? It means that the man is in charge. That's what the Bible teaches. Now, you might have flinched a little bit. You might freak out about that, but it's right there. It's right there. And this is the human design. This is not Christian design. Later on, obviously, the Bible teaches this in the New Testament. In fact, go to 1 Corinthians 11. But just by human design, the Bible teaches that the man should rule over the woman. Not the other way around. Well, we just do things 50-50. There's no such thing as 50-50 in the Bible. Oh, did I step on some toes here? There's no such thing as 50-50 in the Bible. There's no such thing as like two separate bank accounts. Folks, the Bible says that we're one flesh. For they twain shall be one flesh, the Bible says. And the man shall rule over you. Now, obviously, when the Bible talks about a man ruling over his wife, he does it benevolently, right? With kindness and grace as a Christian man would. Not machismo way. Not whooping his wife. Not being harsh towards his wife. Not being unkind towards his wife. Obviously, that can... We obviously see that in the Bible. When we talk about ruling over your wife, it means he's the one who's in charge, not the other way around. There's no such thing as if mama ain't happy and no one happy. That's not in the Bible. Don't allow your household to be raised on that foolish, nonsensical philosophy, that feminist philosophy, that says if mama ain't happy, ain't no one happy. Folks, if mama ain't happy, she needs to get happy, read the Bible, and follow her husband. I'm never coming back to this church. Well, I'm glad you're getting this sermon in first before you leave. Because you need to hear this. Look at 1 Corinthians 11, verse 3. But I would have you know, amen, that the head of every man is Christ. What does that mean? It means Christ rules over us. We will never rule over Christ. Christ is our Lord. He's our God. He's our Savior. He rules over us. He has dominion over us. And he says, and the head of the woman is the man. And the head of Christ is God, the Bible says. Now, I remember being in the old IFB church where they would say this nonsensical thing. They're like, yeah, you know, man is the head of the woman, but the woman is the body that moves the head. And I'm thinking to myself, was that a personal testimony? Blink twice if you need help. Like, what's going on here? I mean, I know that out of the heart precede evil thoughts, but good night in the morning. Folks, this is just saying the order of things. And if you want to have a Christ-centered, godly marriage, if you want to have a home that glorifies Christ, folks, if you want to have peace in your home, if you want to have a happy husband, a happy wife, and raise godly children, this is the way to do it right here. Well, I don't know. I heard about some psychiatrists out there that said this, that, and the other. Head of the woman is the man. No, he's wrong. She's wrong. This is what the Bible says. You know, don't allow yourself to be beguiled by the philosophies and vain deceits of this world, people who try to deceive you and teach you false doctrine by the traditions of man, by the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Beware lest any man spoil you, the Bible says, through philosophy and vain deceit. It's important we go back to the traditional roles laid out according to the Bible. And I get it. You know, we've had women in our church who didn't agree with this when they first came, but you know what the Bible teaches us? That we need to have our minds renewed. Just as men who come to our church are maybe a little soft, a little effeminate, they may get offended at what I'm saying, but you know what? They just need to have their minds changed. They need their minds to be renewed according to the word of God, and here's our job, to bring you back into alignment to the biblical principles laid out in the word of God, and make you not just embrace it, but love it. Because you know what? The world is wicked. The world is weird. The world is gay. The world is doing all kinds of weird stuff. I don't want to be involved in that. Go to 1 Timothy chapter 5. 1 Timothy chapter 5. Talking about girly men. Girly men want to be ruled over by their wives. They lack leadership qualities. They lack assertiveness. They lack aggression. They lack the leadership skills necessary to inspire their wives, to lead their wives, to love their wives. Okay? But girly men also, number four, reverse gender roles by being keepers at home. You know what a girly man is? A keeper at home. Now, let me just clarify this, because I'm not saying that if you work from home, that that's who I'm referring to here. Because some people have homes at their job. I mean, they're able to work from home. Maybe they have a business at home, or they work remotely, or whatever it may be. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about a household that is only dependent upon the income of the wife. Okay? When the husband is just not working at all. And this is something that is notorious on social media, where you have, you know, some social media guru lady who, you know, built the farm, and she grows eggs. I know you don't grow eggs, but you know, she grows eggs. She's got all kinds of, you know, things going on. And then she's making so much money from Instagram that, you know, dad can just come back home and just be a lazy bum and just assist his wife in being successful. That's not what the Bible teaches. And folks, just recently, there was like some, you know, one of these online lady guru things or whatever. And, you know, she became super successful, had a million followers. She was able to bring her husband, you know, home, and he didn't have to do any work, and he can just assist her. And you say, well, how did that work out? Well, now they're divorced. Now they're divorced. Oh, yeah. Happily ever after not. Because you know what? That is what that, that's what the world pushes, my friends. Folks, we need to make sure that we follow the biblical model. Who cares who makes fun of us? Who cares who points at us and say, that's archaic. I'm archaic. Who cares? Well, that's weird. No, you're weird. You wear skirts. You wear kilts. Your wife rules over you. You're the weird one. You know, girly men like that, though. They want to be keepers at home. You know, they want their women to be considered the breadwinners. And men in this generation become pacifists and lack the shame that comes with being a stay-at-home dad. Okay? Look at 1 Timothy 5, verse 11. It says, But the younger widows refuse, for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry, having damnation because they have cast off their first faith, and withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle, but toddlers and also busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. I will, therefore, that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully, for some are already turned aside after Satan. You're going to have to explain to me what that means, then. If it doesn't mean that a man should be working out, providing for his family, and the woman is supposed to be a keeper at home, because it literally says that there. And explicitly says to bear children, guide the house. Bear children, guide the house. That is the woman's job, according to the Bible. Oh, man, that's so sexist in 2025. According to who? The world? We don't care what the world thinks. And you know what? We are seeing a trend amongst unsafe people adopting these traditional values now, by the way. There's a trend of people who don't believe the Bible, they're not Christians, they don't go to church, but they are attracted to this model because they know that it works. And they're starting to realize that the model that the world has been pushing does not work. It creates more strife, more divorce, more problems in the home. And they're like, oh, I guess the Bible had it right all along. Yeah, of course it did. Go to chapter 2 of 2 Timothy, if you would. Or, I'm sorry, 1 Timothy, chapter 2. 1 Timothy, chapter 2. Let me read to you from Titus, chapter 2, verse 3, it says, The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior, as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things, that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chase keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Now, let me clarify something because, you know, when I say stuff like this, then people are like, oh, are you saying like women can't work at all? Well, no, because the Bible teaches that women do work from home. The Proverbs 31 woman had a business at home and she was bawling out of control. I mean, she was making a lot of dividends doing what she did, but she was a hard worker. And the Bible teaches that, to make a family enterprise type of a thing. That is very much biblical. That's what the Bible teaches. We're not saying a woman just stays home and then she just watches soap operas all day or something like that and just changes diapers. No, a woman's job when she's a keeper at home is extremely hard and arduous. You know, especially if she has an enterprise, she has a business, you know, homeschooling the children, teaching the children, keeping the operation of the husband going, and all the while running a business, that's a lot of work. It's very honorable according to the word of God. But that's what keeper at home means. It means she stays at home. Why? Because, you know, when a woman works out in the world, now she has two bosses. Her husband and her secular boss. And that's not God's design. Okay? I've got so much more to go over, but I'm going to speed through some of this right now because I'm running out of time. Some of you are like, yes. Go to 1 Samuel chapter 20. 1 Samuel chapter 20. Let me just go over this last point. Girlie men are gullible and easily persuaded. You know, the Bible teaches us that one of the reasons why God does not allow women to teach behind the pulpit is because the Bible says that Adam was first formed, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman being in the transgression was deceived. And in its context, it's saying that women can't preach behind the pulpit because, in general, their natural disposition is to be gullible and to be deceived by false doctrine. That's why Paula White needs to just sit down and shut up because she's teaching a lot of weird stuff. Oh, she's the faith advisor of the United States. I don't need a faith advisor in the White House. I think Trump's doing great by himself. Why need some false prophet up there, a woman teaching us that, oh, we need to learn from Jews and, you know, stop trying to convert Jews, and then she's speaking in tongues or whatever. It's nonsense. But, you know, it's ridiculous when men become gullible and easily persuaded, too. Why? Because we, as men, should have fortitude of mind and spirituality where we're not tossed about and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. We're not supposed to be simple-minded. We're to prove all things, hold fast that which is good. That's what the Bible teaches us. Now, let me just briefly go over these points real quick. What people may think is effeminate but are actually godly traits. Because I told you all the traits of what it means to be a girly man, okay? But now let me just give you some points of what the world would deem as being girly, effeminate, but it's actually still a godly trait. And I'm just going to breeze over these. First and foremost, showing physical affection is not effeminate. Okay? You say, what do you mean? You know, and this is not a part of our culture, so no one make it a part of our culture, please, okay? But, you know, like kissing is actually not an effeminate trait, even between men, believe it or not. You're like, what? Folks, in the Bible, people did that. Let me give you an example. First Samuel 20, verse 41, and as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of his place toward the south and fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times and they kissed one another and wept with one another until David exceeded. See that? David and Jonathan kissed. Now, because we live in such a perverse world, the world automatically thinks, oh man, that's so gay, they kissed in the mouth or something like that. It doesn't say they kissed in the mouth. This could be a kiss on the forehead. This could be a kiss on the top of the head. This could be a kiss on the cheek. And I don't think anyone could look at David and say that guy was a homo. David was a strong man who loved the Lord and he hated reprobates. I mean, just read Psalm 139. You know, this is obviously affection shown between two men who are really good friends. Now, culturally, we don't necessarily do this, but other cultures do though. You know, there's cultures, for example, in Central South America where people, when they greet one another, they just kind of hug and they like kiss the air or something like that. And in fact, we had a guy in our church, you know, a couple years ago or whatever, and this guy was notorious for just being so emotionally overwhelmed with joy that he would literally kiss the man who made a funny joke or something like that. Like a guy would say something funny in church, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He would say some joke and then he would laugh so hard, he'd just like grab the guy's head and just kiss him on the forehead because he just didn't know how to handle it. And then quite frankly, the guys who got kissed, they didn't know how to handle it either. They just wanted to give him a hook or something. Now, he's of a different culture though, so I don't think we need to bring this culture into our church, right? And obviously, you know, the Bible talks about greeting one another with the holy kiss. Hey dudes, that's not for you and the ladies in our church, okay? Don't try to like do that for free or something like that. Oh, you know, the Bible teaches this, you know. I'm just showing you that, and by the way, kissing is not the only sign of physical affection. Sometimes there's hugs, right? You know? And I personally do hug the men in our church sometimes when I'm proud of them, when I'm overwhelmed with joy. Christian, come on up here real quick. Sometimes, you know, I'll see some of the men and I'm happy to see them and I'll do one of these, you know? Or sometimes if I see someone like Christian and I'm just overwhelmed with joy because I've seen his spiritual growth or something like that, I'll come up to him and I'll grab him like by the shoulder and I'll give him a hug. I'll put him into my bosom, which is what John did to Jesus, right? John was in the bosom of Jesus, that's what he did. And that's like a sign of affection, thank you. You know, I don't think that's effeminate at all. I think, you know, that's appropriate according to the Word of God, okay? Now, don't get too, you know, crazy and just, you know, want to be held or something like that, you know? Now, for, you know, for the boys, little boys, my sons, for example, that's completely normal because they're still children. But if you're 25 and stuff, I ain't coddling you, bro. Like, you need to go get married and, you know. The point that I'm making here is that showing physical affection is not effeminate at all. It's actually in the Bible and the Bible actually highlights it as being something that we should do with one another in its appropriate atmosphere and instance, okay? How about this? Meekness and being quiet is not an effeminate trait. It's actually a godly trait, okay? What is meekness? Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is strength under God's control. And being quiet is also not an effeminate trait. It's actually a godly trait. The Bible talks about even a fool when he holds up his peace is counted wise, okay? How about this? Empathy, weeping, and tenderness, that's not effeminate. For a guy to cry is not effeminate at all. You know, if you're sitting there and you're singing the hymns, you're singing, and can it be, it is well with my soul, blessed assurance, and you get that little lump in your throat, and you start weeping a little bit, hey, it's okay to shed a tear because you're grateful for your salvation. The Bible says weep with them, and having empathy for others is godly, too. And by the way, the same guy who would show that physical affection, you know, his thing was just like you couldn't express that type of weakness or something. But hold on a second, folks. It's important for us to empathize with other people when they're going through a hard time. And you know what? It's a strong quality, godly quality and virtue for a man to have when he sees someone going through a hard time, and it affects him right here, okay? So being tender, weeping, empathy, these are godly traits. Kindness and gentleness are not effeminate traits. They're godly traits. We should be tender with one another. We should be kind with one another. Tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as the Bible says, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. How about this? Being well-groomed is not an effeminate trait. It's actually a godly trait. Go to Matthew chapter 6. Here's the last portion of scripture. You know, sometimes people can take the opposite position of this, and then they come to church, like they just got out of bed or something like that. Oh, I'm so manly, I don't even brush my teeth. I'm such a man. Ain't no girly bone in this body. I got my pajamas on, amen? Brush your teeth. Take the eye boogers out of your eyes. Comb your hair if you got it. Why? Because you're a representative of Christ. And especially if you're married, do for your wife's sake. And wives, help your husbands with that if he needs help with that. Look what it says in Matthew 6 verse 16. Moreover, when you fast, be not as the hypocrites of a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Barely I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, look what it says, anoint thine head and wash thy face. Look clean, wash your face, look awake, alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic. And he says, anoint your head. You know, smell good by the way. Put some deodorant on. And you're like, well, you know, deodorant has chemicals. Then stop eating so much junk food because you stink. Do something to get rid of that smell. I know we're getting personal here, but I'm trying to teach you something here. You know, it's important to be not crazy groomed, but just well enough that you look appropriate. Okay? And so, in conclusion of the sermon, don't be a girly man. Here's the last verse I want to read to you. 1 Corinthians 16, 13. Watch ye stand fast in the faith. Listen to this. Quit you like men. Be strong, the Bible says. You know, the goal of the men at First Works Baptist Church should be, I want to be a biblical man. I want to raise my sons to be masculine, and I want to abhor and reject the girly man. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Thank you for the principles thereof, Lord, that just improve our lives exceptionally, Lord. And I pray that you'd help us to obey the laws of the Lord, take these principles to heart, and help us to raise our families according to your order. I know a lot of people probably heard the message today, and I might have stepped on some toes. I pray that they would have an open mind to receive the word of God with meekness, and that they would have their minds renewed. And Lord, give us wisdom as we raise our sons. Give us wisdom as we raise the young men in our church. Help us to live lives that are glorifying to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In Jesus' name we pray. Song number 152, Security. Song number 152, all together nice and strong on that first verse. For secure is no one ever, Then the loved ones of the Savior, Not God's star on high abiding, Nor the burden, wholeness, hiding, God His own, adept and nourished, In His holy courts they flourish, Like a Father kind He spares them, In His loving courts He bears them, Neither life nor death can ever, From the Lord His children sever, For His love and deep compassion, Come forth then in tribulation, Little flock to joy then yield Thee, Jacob's God will ever shield Thee, Rest secure with this defender, And His will all those surrender. What He takes or what He gives us, Shows the Father's love so precious, We may trust His purpose only, Tis His children's welfare solely. Amen. Wonderful singing. You are dismissed.