Welcome to this episode of RealTalk is called Real Manhood.
In this episode, Dale and his longtime friend, Jeremiah Castille, share a candid and open conversation about real manhood. In a world filled with confusion around this topic, RealTalk is proud to offer this discussion on biblical manhood, the foundation for it, and how men can find it, develop it, and live it!
The three real manhood truths Dale and Jeremiah discussed are foundational if men are going to demonstrate what real manhood looks like. After all, a proper foundation is critical is it not?
Without the proper foundation, things crack, crumble
and, eventually, fall with a mighty crash.
If you pause to take a look around, you will see this is happening every day in the battle for real manhood.
Jesus in teaches about the critical importance of foundation:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
- Mathew 7:24-27
Let us share that statement again - Without the proper foundation, things crack, crumble and, eventually, fall with a mighty crash. This is true for manhood - and manhood itself is under serious attack.
The Enemy has been working overtime to bring unimaginable confusion in this area. Take a look around: men do not know who they are, what they are about, what their purpose is, what their gender is, and why they are here - all of these fruits can be traced back to the root of not living from a biblical foundation for real manhood. It is easy to see that real, biblical manhood is desperately needed in this day, but for that to happen, every man needs to rise to the call of living out real manhood.
“The world in which we live is in desperate need of real men, demonstrating real strength, real courage, and real leadership. Men are designed and called by God to be spiritual leaders on the front lines for Christ. It’s time they grasped the sheer joy of living and leading from the God core within them.”
Often Told, Rarely Trained | Dale Forehand
So, what is the foundation for real manhood? Let’s begin at the beginning
"So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:28
There is no gender confusion in the Word of God.
Real Manhood starts with the foundation that men are created in the image and likeness of God. In other words, the foundation for real manhood comes from a man knowing, discovering, developing, and living out his identity as made in the image and likeness of God, redeemed through the blood of Christ, and empowered through the Holy Spirit. It is from this foundation that a man discovers his assignment and responsibilities. The Word of God is clear and full of truth to help a man live this out.
Here are three that Jeremiah and Dale discussed.
1. Real Manhood is shown in
a man whose identity is rooted in Christ
As Dale and Jeremiah discussed, identity in Christ is the fundamental foundation of real manhood. As an athlete who played at the highest level in the NFL, Jeremiah knows that with the proper foundation and the right fundamentals, success will follow. Jeremiah, shared that getting the proper foundation and fundamentals started early in his life. He made the conscious decision to find a spiritual father and mentor who could coach him in the fundamental things of God, how to walk with Christ, and to discover, learn and live from his biblical identity. This fundamental coaching and accountability built a solid foundation of biblical identity that would serve him well throughout his life.
Real manhood requires real conviction and real intentionality
to become the man God designed you to become.
Sadly, many men are not intentional about their own spiritual development.
Most do not have a spiritual brother in Christ walking through life with them,
even more do not have a spiritual father.
“A man who isolates himself seeks his own desires;
he rages against all wise judgment.”
Proverbs 18:1
Too many men are isolated and alone, which is a very dangerous place to be. When men are isolated, they open themselves up for spiritual warfare and attack from a ruthless enemy who the bible describes as a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Isolated men do not think clearly, and when someone does not think clearly, they do not act clearly.
2. Real Manhood is shown in
a man walking with other faith-walking men,
helping each other walk out their faith
As a man lives from his identity in Christ and lives in accountability with other men, he gains confidence and courage. This confidence comes from the Word of God and courage comes from the Holy Spirit as he obeys the Word of God.
Read Mathew 7:24-27 again.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
- Mathew 7:24-27
Did you catch the critical fact that a firm foundation only happens when a wise man (maybe we could say, a real man) hears the Word of God and puts the Word of God into practice?
Obedience is a matter of conviction.
It’s one thing to hear the word of God; it’s a completely different thing to obey God’s word. No matter the pressures around you - to conform to this world's system, to go silent, to go your own way, to do your own thing - real manhood fights back against these temptations by hearing and obeying the word of God.
3. Real Manhood is shown in
a man of biblical conviction and obedience to God's Word
As Dale and Jeremiah began to wrap up their conversation, Jeremiah challenged men with two things: First, make the decision to be Christ-like in your character with the sole purpose of pleasing Him with your life. Second, be intentional and deliberate about growing your love relationship with Jesus. This is how you discover who God is, so you can discover who you are.
Real manhood starts and ends with identity because it starts and ends with who God is, what God did, and what God says.
From this fundamental foundation, real men know who they are, and when they know who they are, whose they are, they will know what to do and how to live!
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