Why Men Matter | Sermon by Tony Evans

When Adam and Eve were hiding from God in the garden, He didn’t call out for both of them to show themselves, instead He simply said, “Adam, where are you?” Because God created man first, it was man who He held responsible for the provision and protection of the garden. Join Tony Evans in this look at God’s definition of masculinity and the crucial role of responsibility that follows.

dad i cannot believe where we’re

standing right now it’s not just in

israel but behind us is the sea of

galilee what it reminds me of is the

beauty and the grandeur of the fact that

the word became flesh when jesus invites

you on a journey you have no idea that

where he’s taking you to is something

that is beyond what you’re comprehending

at the time that you start out

he needed his friends often we discount

the strength of community in our journey

to jesus this is a church of the holy

sepulchre where we believe that

his greatest power was demonstrating the

power over sin and death i’ve never been

so excited to see nothing in all of my

life

i love that at the end that’s right the

power of emptiness right there

when the power of jesus helps you to

overcome what looks like is overcoming

you

do you know your answer could be sitting

right next to you but you’ll never know

it

until god is ready to reveal it

god says if you come back home you’ll

see

i haven’t gone anywhere

so you draw near to him

and he will draw near to you because

he’s the one who’s never left if you

walk in the spirit or walk by means of

the spirit he will open up the hole for

you to get through

the snake is going to try to stir stuff

up the snake is going to try to get you

away from god there is a serpent in the

garden and your job keep him out

sometimes he brings a little something

that’s a little cute to let you know

keep on going keep on trusting because i

hear you

[Music]

one of the dominant questions of today

can be recited simply by asking

adam

where you at

the missing man has become the crisis of

the day

not the missing male

the missing man

it is the question of the single woman

who can’t find a worthwhile man to marry

she want to know adam where you at

it’s the question of the single parent

who’s been abandoned

by the father of her

children

and she wants to know adam where you at

it’s that child

who has to grow up with a physically or

emotionally absent

father

and he’s asking the question

however he phrases it

adam where you at

it’s the question of churches and

pastors

who have to keep calling on ladies to do

jew jobs that men ought to do because

the men are missing in action

and the question is adam where are you

at

we’re living in a day when men have

become domesticated

or abusive

or sissified

and the question on the floor is adam

where you at

we’re living in a day of terrorism

where violence

due to the absence of the conscience

and the dumbing down

of decency

has raised again the question

adam where you at

but worst of all

worse than all of that

is that god is asking the question

adam where are you

now if god can’t find adam

then you shouldn’t be shocked we can’t

find him either

adam

where are you

and so the desperate need of today

is to call males back to being men

as god defines a man

not as the culture defines it

and so i want to

speak with you

about answering the question about the

position of a man

adam where are you

here is the first thing that you need to

understand about a man

in and his position

not his location alone but his position

and that is

that it is a position of

priority

i know some won’t like that but this is

not a popularity meeting it is a

position of priority because god says in

first timothy chapter 2 verse 12

god created adam first

and then he created eve

word first

first has to do with

order

first has to do with

progress in time

adam and eve were not created at the

same time

adam first

then eve

god spends a whole chapter

genesis 2

discussing adam before eve is ever

created

for adam

why

because

it would be the man who would be

responsible

the man was created first because god

would hold him responsible even though

it was adam and eve in the garden

hiding from god god didn’t say adam and

eve where are y’all

he said adam where are you

because you are responsible

if you’re going to be god’s man

then you’re going to have to accept

responsibility

for everything he brings behind you

second third fourth fifth and sixth

because you first

so if you are a man if you are a male

god says i’m holding you responsible

even if it’s not your fault

see it may not even be your fault

but i’m holding you responsible for

fixing it

god says in malachi chapter 4

verses 4 through 6

he says there will be a messenger who

will come who restore the fathers to the

children and the children to the fathers

so that i will not have to curse the

land

so if our culture is declining

while we can discuss all the peripheral

political sociological racial we can

discuss all of those reasons why the

culture is declining but what god says

is first

on the front end

where’s the man

as you’ve heard me say if you’re a

messed up man and you have a family

you’re going to help make a messed up

family

if you’re a messed up man contributing

to a messed up family and your messed up

family goes to church

then your messed up family is going to

make its contribution to a messed up

church

if you’re a messed up man contributing

to a messed up family resulting in a

messed up church and your church is

supposed to be the light to the

neighborhood then your messed up church

is going to make its contribution to a

messed up neighborhood

if you’re a messed up man contributing

to a messed up family resulting in a

messed up church causing a messed up

neighborhood and your neighborhood’s

part of a city

where your messed up neighborhood is

going to make its contribution to a

messed up city

if you’re a messed up man contributing

to a messed up family resulting in a

messed up church causing a messed up

neighborhood that resides in the messed

up city and your city is part of the

county

well now your mess-up city is going to

make its contribution to a messed up

county

if you’re a messed up man contributing

to a messed up family resulting in a

mess of church causing a messed up

neighborhood that resides in a mess-up

city that’s part of a messed up county

and your county is part of the state

well now your messed up county is going

to make its contribution to a messed up

state

if you’re a messed up man contributing

to a messed up family resulting in a

messed up church causing a messed up

neighborhood that resides in a messed up

city as part of a messed up county

contributing to a messed up state and

your state’s part of the country when

your messed up state’s going to make its

contribution to a messed up nation

if you’re a messed up man contributing

to a messed up family resulting in a

messed up church causing a messed up

neighborhood that resides in a messed up

city it’s part of a messed up county

that’s contributing to a messed up state

that contributes to a messed up country

and your country’s part of the world

well now your messed up country is going

to make its contribution to a messed up

world so

if you want a better world compose the

better countries and have it by better

states because they’ve better made up of

better counties composed of better

cities inhabited by better neighborhoods

illuminated by better churches that are

made up of better families we got to

start by becoming better men because it

all rests

on the position of the man

because the man was first

he is to function as the foundation

[Music]

so in this day of male abandonment male

abuse

male disregard

male irresponsibility

we have cultural chaos

he says

that man has a priority responsibility

now the foundation isn’t the whole thing

that’s where the woman comes in and

we’re going to get to that but the

foundation is always the first thing

if you’re building a building

it says in that verse verse 8

he was hiding from the presence of god

watch this

in the garden

he was hiding from god

in his house

see don’t miss that

not only was he hiding from god in his

house because the garden was adam’s

house

this place he lived

adam went to

the house

to get the leaves to hide from god so he

used what god gave him to hide from god

he literally used god’s blessing to run

from god

today we have men

who want all the blessings of god and

they use the blessings to hide from god

he says

he was hiding from the presence of god

in the garden

see you can hide from god in church

adam where are you how does this

this kind of man

roll

in chapter 2

verse 15 it says then the lord god took

the man because there’s no woman yet the

lord god took the man and put him in the

garden

that’s his house the garden of eden to

cultivate it and to keep it

he gives the man a job

he gives the man a house

place is in the garden that’s his house

and he gives him a job

i want you to notice something man

he gave him a house he gave him a place

to live

he gave him a job but but notice

he told him

to cultivate it

ah

oh that’s a different word cultivated

see

he didn’t just give him a job

he told him to be productive

see to cultivate something is to produce

something more than what you start with

so if you’re in farming you take seed

you farm the seeds because you now want

growth and plants and in other words you

want to be productive in other words you

want more than what you start with

you’re trying to become all that you

were created to be

god expects a man

to maximize his potential underneath god

in whatever sphere

of opportunity god gives him and

whatever gifting he’s placed on him

he says not only do i want you to do

that but i want you to keep the garden

cultivate it and keep it

the hebrew word for keep means to god or

protect

i want you to protect your house

i want you to protect your garden

what is he protecting the house from i

mean this is a perfect world he’s living

in

no it’s not

slick is in the garden

satan is in the garden chapter three

the serpent comes up to eve

so

they’re going to be problems in the

garden

because the snake is there

and the snake is going to cause stuff

the snake is going to try to stir stuff

up the snake is gonna try to get you

away from god there is a serpent in the

garden and your job is to keep him out

because you are responsible

for the garden to keep the devil out

because he trying to get in

provision and protection

that is the environment

that adam was responsible for

and then he gives them another

instruction

verse 16

genesis 2

the lord god commanded the man saying

from any tree of the garden you may eat

freely

but from the tree of the knowledge of

good and evil you shall not eat for in

the day that you eat from it you will

shall not die

he gives him his word

his commandment not his request

his commandment why

because a male who plans to be a man

must position himself under divine

authority which means god’s word has the

final say-so in his life

not his posse not his friends not his

homeboys

nobody overrules god

not even his wife

because god is gonna say in chapter

three because you listen to your wife

all hell is broken loose in your life

because as much as you love her she’s

not supposed to overrule me

that his job is to oversee

the

communication

and the operation of god’s word

in his sphere of influence

starting with his family

or as joshua said as for me in my house

joshua 24 15 this is how we roll this is

how we roll

as for me and my house this is how we

there’s no vote here

god commanded me

i’m under commandment

but notice the command the command

the command was a happy command

see we we look at the negative part

don’t eat from that tree no that’s not

the first part of the command

the first part of the command was live

it up

first command was from every tree of the

garden you may freely eat

the first part of the command he’s a

single man he tells them the first part

of the command is maximize all that i

have given you maximize my creation

maximize all that you can do just don’t

mess with that tree

he says the day you eat of it

you’re going to break relationship with

me that’s death

he says

that you are to carry my word

what was the difference between what was

the problem with this tree in the middle

called the tree it was a google tree

because it calls it a tree of knowledge

it was it was google it was the internet

tree

this tree was full of data

all kinds of data

good data bad data tree of the knowledge

of good and evil so the tree wasn’t all

bad it had evil but it also had good

but he said i don’t want to eat it

even though it’s got good stuff on it

why

because

adam

if you’re going to be the man that i

want you to be created you to be and

you’re going to be

operating like you’re supposed to be

then i want you to live by revelation

not reason

i do not want your human reason

to determine your actions i want divine

revelation what i say and when i’m ready

for you to know it i’ma tell it to you

don’t go out there apart from me and

learn it on your own

one of the problems today with so many

men

is that they’ve gone so secular

or they’ve been to some college

or they’ve gotten stuck in some career

or they’ve been hanging out with the

wrong folk

and they’ve gotten all of this

definition of manhood

messing them up so that they’re not able

to function

in the way god wants them to function

and we wind up as men being dead men

walking

he says no he’s talking to adam

guess what adam’s job was to be he was

to make sure this information got

transferred to eve

he got he wanted to make sure this

information got transferred to eve and

he transferred it to eve in fact he

transferred it with a vengeance

what do i mean he transferred it with a

vengeance because when the devil asks

eve can you eat from the tree

she said not only can i not eat from it

i can’t touch it

so what adam told her was girlfriend

don’t eat from that tree and in case you

didn’t get it

don’t even go near where you can brush

up against it

he was to transfer

so if the wife has got to ask you are

you going to church today

if the wife has got to ask you are you

going to pray with the family

if the wife has got to ask you are you

going to have devotions

that means you’re not fulfilling the

spiritual

responsibility of spiritually leading

your home

you say but i don’t know what to do

i didn’t already done the work so all

you got to do is take what i did and say

family let’s discuss the sermon that we

had on sunday

and this places things in order

it gets things in the proper place god

says not your reason but my word must

define you

before i give you a woman because when i

give you a woman and then when i give

you a family and then when i give you a

culture then when i give you a career

then when i give you all this stuff it

will be managed by me through you

it will not be managed by you apart from

me

a man is to be the vehicle the flow

through

from god

to those entities family church society

that he flows through

as the first point of contact yes women

you have your own personal

responsibility and relationship with the

lord that is to be primary the bible

says even a husband can’t overrule god

in the life of his wife

but at the same time god has a process

that he prefers to flow through

so god is calling on men and he’s asking

the question

adam

where are you

not just a location question but a

position question

as you all have heard me say at least a

minute from me say

i love being a man

and let me tell you one reason

why verse 19 of chapter two

out of the ground the lord god formed

every beast of the field and every bird

of the sky and brought them to the man

to see what he would call them and

whatever the man called a living

creature

there it is

that was his name

you know why i love being the man i get

the name stuff

get the name stuff you know what the

name stuff means in the bible when you

got the name stuff you got to own it

when you got the name stuff you could

exercise authority over it

now you can’t just go name anything you

got to name what god brings you but once

god brings it to you you get to own that

thing so i be naming everything i can

get my hands on

and giving it back to god god gives you

the ability and the authority you get to

do that

if you’re underneath his covenant and

his covering

so the question on the floor is adam

where are you now

i know

that many men

as i said earlier have grown up without

a biblical worldview

and i know that we as men

even if you had it stray from it

and god is asking us today where are you

where are you as i define you

but that’s where the good news comes in

because in the bible there are two men

named adam not one

you got the first adam

in genesis 2

and 3

and the bible says in romans 5 he blew

it for the whole race

in chap verse 18 and following of romans

5 the first adam blew it for the whole

race but in first corinthians chapter 15

verses 22 45 and 47 it says there’s

another atom

adam number two he’s called the last

adam

while adam number one got us

booted out of the garden the bible says

the last adam is a life-giving spirit

and he can escort you back into the

garden the first adam may have messed

you up but the last adam can pick you up

and you don’t have to be like your daddy

you don’t have to be like your

granddaddy you don’t have to be like the

people who influenced your life who are

wrong the last adam can rename you

there were two two guys in a mountain

climbing incident

and there was a man in the front and a

man in the back and there were two men

in the middle who were climbing the

mountain but in order to get him up

there safely there was a guy at the

front named adam and a guy at the back

named adam so they are climbing up this

mountain but the problem is as the first

adam the atom up front he slipped

and all the all the folks were tied

together by a rope the first adam

slipped and when the first adam slipped

he pulled the two men with him and they

were going to fall off of the precipice

but the last adam took his axe and

plowed it into the mountain so that all

the men that were behind him could climb

back up the first adam slipped and he’s

dragging all the men down but the last

adam on the cross has nailed that thing

and he says if you climb up on me i will

take you back to what you think you lost

so the question is adam where are you

man it’s time to come home because he

says authentic people

see god

but because they are for real god can be

for real with them what he’s offering

you

is a new life

regardless of your past regardless of

all the things you’ve done

he says follow me your mama didn’t treat

you right your daddy didn’t treat you

right he’s gonna use all that ugly stuff

to take your life make your life so you

can save somebody else’s life

you