Sixty Kilometres to Gaza: What Distracts a Man

Sermon outline

Men are on the enemy's hit list, and even Solomon's wisdom and Samson's strength were undone by the desires they never conquered, so a man of God must identify whatever draws him from his assignment, kill it early, and keep oil in his lamp.

1. The silent cries of men

   Men face more depression and more suicide, and the enemy sells cheap sex and pornography to keep them bound. If that does not trap a man, he is sent chasing success up the ladder, carrying bills and responsibilities while everyone looks to Dad on Monday, and nobody sees what is hidden inside him. So men must fight as a team, as brothers' keepers, and pass what they learn on to their families and disciples.

   Illustration: From a story told by Jim Bakker: a lonely man kept tropical fish, went away, and came back to find the heater had failed and every fish had died. He wondered whether they had been screaming as the water heated and nobody could hear them. These are the silent cries of most men.

   “The rat that wins the race is still a rat.”

2. Solomon loved the Lord and stayed a child before Him

   Solomon built the temple and showed his love for the Lord by walking in the instructions of his father David, and offered a thousand burnt offerings at Gibeon. When God appeared to him he said he was only a little child who did not know how to carry out his duties. That is the key for a man: not childish, but with the heart of a child who knows he cannot raise his family or run his business without God. Buy the truth and do not sell it, and the currencies you buy it with are submission, openness to correction, obedience and hunger.

   “Lord, I cannot do this on my own. I cannot raise this family on my own.”

   • 1 Kings 3:1-7
   • Proverbs 23:23

3. Ask for a discerning heart

   Solomon asked for a discerning heart to tell right from wrong, not long life, wealth or the death of his enemies, and God gave him wisdom and the rest besides. A man needs discernment to see what is pulling him from his calling, into offence, or away from being faithful to his wife and providing for his home. No temptation comes except what is common to man, so the enemy uses the same things that bound you before you were saved, packaged differently. The culture says you must have the best car and house, and that measuring can become a hindrance to your calling.

   “As a man, we need a discerning heart.”

   • 1 Kings 3:9-13
   • 1 Corinthians 10:13

4. Solomon's downfall: the heart that turned

   With all his wisdom, Solomon loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter, seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines from nations God had forbidden, and in old age they turned his heart to other gods. He built high places for Chemosh and Molech that led generations astray, and the Lord was angry because his heart had turned. The lust of the eye and the pride of life still capture men. Sometimes it is the very blessings, the cars, houses, networks and influence, that become stumbling blocks, and the enemy does not need to shake anything else in your life as long as the Word is taken out.

   Illustration: Sacrificing on those high places was like a Christian taking his tithe to a temple, a shrine or a shaman.

   “Those things can become a stumbling block and become blessing blockers to fulfill our assignments.”

   • 1 Kings 11:1-9
   • 1 John 2:16
   • Proverbs 23:26-27

5. Samson: sixty kilometres of small decisions

   Samson had strength, vision and a call, but his weakness was that he was easily entangled. He walked about sixty kilometres from Zorah to Gaza to a prostitute, every step a decision that looked small. Then Delilah wore him down night after night until he told her the secret of his strength, and when he woke he did not know the Lord had left him. The first thing the Philistines did was gouge out his eyes, taking his vision, and make him grind for their entertainment. Identify the things that persistently pull you from your calling. As Myles Munroe said, one tragedy of life is climbing to the top of a ladder and finding it was the wrong ladder.

   Illustration: No Ubers, no planes or trains: Samson made a decision with every step of those sixty kilometres to walk towards the thing that would destroy him.

   “These are small decisions. They look innocent, but they were decisions every step he's walking.”

   • Judges 16:1-21

6. Lead your house with strong character

   God does not want men to be wimps; not stubborn, but strong in character, the first to pray for the family and take them to church. A man cannot win in the world while his house is in a mess. At the family cell around the table, a husband and wife can tell each other what needs to change, and a father can hear his children say he is sometimes too hard on them, and look within.

   “I cannot win in the world and be successful at work, but yet my house is in a mess.”

7. Keep oil in your lamp

   The five foolish virgins took lamps without oil and found the door shut, while the wise took oil in their vessels. Oil is light, guidance and illumination. So stay ready, consistent, loyal, faithful, hungry, learning and submissive, because you may be the one in your family tree who carries the light of God's word forward. Find what so easily besets you and destroy it, and do not be a casualty to yourself through ignorance, laziness or poor stewardship.

   “Take your lamp and let it shine for the Lord.”

   • Matthew 25:1-13
   • Hebrews 12:1

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