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Pastor Robert Madu
So glad your face is in the place today. I truly believe God's gonna do something significant. I'm glad you're in the room, and I'm so thankful that we are a local church with global reach. So I just want to welcome our social global family that's watching from around the world. Come on. Y' all could do better than that. Come on, Social Global. Let us know in the chats where you're watching from. Alabama, Mississippi, Forney, Texas, wherever you are, today's gonna be awesome. You look good. You look like you've got confident trust in the Lord. And if you're new to social, that is our word for 2026. We always have a word that frames our year, and we're believing that we're gonna grow in our trust in the Lord this year. And so to remind ourselves, we have a verse of the year, Hebrews, chapter 10, verses 35 through 37. We've been declaring this since. Since January 2026. We ain't gonna stop now. How many you got it memorized? How many are still working on it? All right, all right. The year's almost halfway over. Come on. Come on. Let's read it together. With uplifted, caffeinated voices. Come on. So confident. Trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you. Patient endurance is what you need now. Then you will receive all that he has promised for in just a little while, the coming one will come and not delay. Come on. Sounds good. Sound good? I'm telling that this verse this year hits different, y'.
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Congregation/Choir
All.
- [01:48]
Pastor Robert Madu
I'm telling you that that coming one will come. I'm just wondering if one day while we reading it, he gonna just come and we'll see who's raptured and your clothes are folded and who's still here anyway. Remain standing. Remain standing. We're gonna jump into the word of God today. And we're gonna jump into our text for today. But this is week two of a series that we started last Sunday. Come on. Somebody called Easy to fall. It's our series about relationships. We are learning how to build healthy relationships in a broken world. If you remember last week, I told you this series is for everybody. Everybody. If you are breathing, this series is for you. Because relationships are the currency of life. We all deal with relationships. So last week we learned it's easy to fall because we are fallen. Thank your mom and your daddy, Adam and Eve, who brought sin into the world. And when sin entered the world, so did shame, so did hiding, and so did the blame game. But this week, I want to get specific. I want to get specific. And that's why I want you to keep standing. Because I want to do something that I have not done in the history of our church, at least on a Sunday. I want to speak today specifically to the men of the house, the mighty men of God in the house. Today. Ladies, you can leave. Today you can leave. I'm playing. I'm playing. No, no, no, ladies, don't leave. Don't leave. In fact, I wouldn't leave. I would lean in. Because today I want to look at what biblical manhood looks like. Like. And so, ladies, you're going to learn what you should be looking for. Now, to those of you ladies who are married and you've already picked your one, let me say this. This is not the Sunday to start going, Amen. That's good pr. Don't do it. Don't do it. I'm watching. Don't do it. Don't do it. Because hear me. Hear me. No man in the history of the world has ever been nagged into becoming what God called him to be. You don't discourage a man into his destiny. No man has ever had somebody say to him, you ain't nothing but a dog. He's like, you're right. But I'm believing today, man, you're going to be encouraged. You're going to be built up. You're going to step into who God has called you to be. I feel like preaching. All right, let's go to our text. I know your foot hurts. You wore those shoes. Hold on. Genesis, chapter two. Genesis, chapter two. Just two verses. And all the men. If it says man, you say it. Yeah. Then the Lord God formed a man. Yeah. From the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And the became a living being. Now, the Lord God had planted a garden in the east in Eden. There he put the he had formed. I want to preach today using this as a title. The man we need. The man we need. Not the man she needs, but the man we all need. Because the reality is, when men flourish, that society will flourish, the world will flourish. The man we need, Father, speak to us today. The grass withers. The flower fades. But your word will stand forever. Father, I'm believing that we will leave different as a result of your word being preached in Jesus name. Everybody said, amen. Amen. You may be seated. The man we need Social fam. Yesterday I had a moment with my son, my namesake, Robert Madue iii. Yesterday morning, we were sitting in the Sauna together, just sweating and bonding. And true story. While we're sitting there, my son lifts up his arm and goes, dad, look. To which I started looking. I was looking. I said, what? What? And then he pointed as if it was blatantly obvious. He said, dad, right here, I got some hair coming in. And I looked. I said, oh, I see it, I see it, I see it, I see it. And then he goes, hey, does that mean that I'm a man now, or do I have to wait till my beard comes in? And I just started laughing. He's 10 years old. I said, man, it means that you're growing up. But I realized that my son was actually asking a question that is deeper than he even realizes. Because how many of you know at some point, every male has to answer that question? When do you become a man? When do you become a man? Almost every culture throughout history has had some moment, different cultures, some ceremony, some rite of passage where a boy knows, hey, I've crossed over. Now I am no longer a boy. I'm a man. In Jewish culture, it's when you're 13, now you're a man. In our culture, it varies. Some people say you're a man when you turn 18. You're a man when you turn 21. Depending on who you ask, it varies. Some people say, hey, you're a man when you can vote. You're a man when you can go fight for your country. I know some people who believe you're not a man until you've lost your virginity. Budweiser would tell you, you're not a man until you can get a drink. How many know somebody would say, you ain't a man until you moved out of your mama's house. The truth is, we're living in a time where there seems to be no clear answer of when you actually become a man. And for some people, there's even confusion about what a man is. So we're living in a culture where you can be getting older in age but still not be clear on what being a man really means looks like. And ladies and gentlemen, that is a problem, because anything that you can't clearly define will eventually become distorted. Did you hear what I just said? Anything that you cannot clearly define will eventually become distorted. So no wonder masculinity has become so distorted today, because we're letting a confused culture define it. I've watched this. You can just trace the trajectory of. Of how we have looked at men in our culture. There was a season where we were telling men, be aggressive. Don't cry. Come on, you seen Batman, John Wayne? Be a man. Be aggressive. And then it was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down. That's too aggressive. Be passive. So men were like, okay, I'll just be passive. I'll just step back. Then it's like, no, wait a minute, don't be that passive. And then it went from being aggressive to being passive to now it's like, oh, no, it's just toxic. Masculinity in and of itself is toxic. And the problem with saying masculinity is toxic, that all of a sudden men start to feel like we're just non existent, that there is no purpose for us. And you can feel that in the culture today. All you got to do is cut on the TV and watch. Almost every dad that is depicted is a dad that just sits on the couch. That is not necessary. We are subliminally telling men in the culture, we don't need your strength. We got drones, we got machines. We don't need your strength. Wisdom, we got AI. We don't need you. You know, I make more than you make. We don't need you. That is the message that we keep telling men to the point that men feel numb and we feel like we're non existent and we don't have a place. And before you know it, men start becoming the Homer Simpson meme. I have seen it where you just start shrinking back into the bushes and just start hiding and say, I guess I don't need nobody needs me. I guess I don't have a purpose. And if I have one assignment, assignment. Today it is clear, it is to call some man out of the bushes and just declare, we need you. We need your voice. We need the anointing that's on your life. We need the call that is on your life. We need the purpose that is on your life. We need you. We need you to be the man that we need. We need you. And hear me today. I refuse to let a confused culture give me clarity as to what masculinity should look like. I refuse to let a confused culture give me clarity as to what masculinity should look like. If I want to understand something, I don't go to the creation to find out what it is. I go to the creator to find out what it is. If I want to get clarity on something, I don't go to the product, I go to the producer. I've got to go to the designer and ask God, how did you make me? How did you form me? I can't Go to a confused, call culture to get clarity as to what masculinity is. I know who my designer is. And guess what? If God designed it, he gets to define it. Oh, y' all not gonna help me preach in here today? If he designed it, he gets to define it. Have you ever noticed something on the red carpet? I noticed something. You know your boy likes some fashion. When they're walking on the red carpet, rarely do they say, what are you wearing? You said it. They say, who are you wearing? They understand that what's on? You had to start in the mind of a designer, and they want to know who is behind that design. Who thought to have that fabric draped like this? And we got to start asking the question, who are you wearing? I'll tell you who I'm wearing. I'm wearing who my daddy called and created me to be. God is the only one who gives gets to define what a man is, Nobody else. Manhood started in his mind. So let's look at scripture today and find out what is the first thing we learn about the first man? What is the first picture we get about the first man? Well, here's what we get. We get that God is forming him. The first man was a man who was formed by God. Watch this. It says in Genesis 2, 7. Then the Lord God formed a man. The first man did not start off performing, did not start off producing, didn't even start off, providing he started off being formed. Can I ask you, sir, are you being formed by God? God formed a man. Don't miss this. Males are born, but men are formed. Males are born, but men are formed. There's a difference between a male and a man. A male is just born. All you got to do to be a male is just to have an X and Y chromosome and have the apparatus. Boom. You don't have to do nothing to be a male. Just wake up and enter the world. You are a male. Congratulations, sir. You did absolutely nothing to be a male. But to be a man, you have to be formed by God. You have to be in his presence long enough and stay there to allow God to form you. And I want to know, are you a formed male? Because that's the man that we need. We need a man that has been formed by God. What is the first lesson of formation that we see in the Genesis account? Here's the first lesson that we learned. It's less about the material and more about the hands that are doing the forming. Oh, that's good news. It is less about the material that is used. And more about the hands that are doing the forming. That should be good news for any man in here who says, PR you don't know my past, man. I just. I done something. Messed up stuff. You don't know what I'm doing right now, P.R. i'm. I've done some dirty stuff. I'm doing some grimy stuff. How many know? You ought to thank God that there's hope for you. Because God did not form man using diamonds. He started using some dust and dirt. Letting you know that's all I need to work with. If you'll let me form you and you'll stay long enough and let me shape you, you can become what I created you to be. That's good news. That God didn't reach for some rubies to start making man. He didn't carve out some onyx to start creating man. He didn't say, I don't need vibranium. No. I just need some dirt. And if you let me get my hands on that dirt, I can form you into something you would never see yourself becoming. That Hebrew word, form, it means to mold, to shape. It's the imagery of a potter who's working with some clay. It's intentional. It's personal. It means you were not just made, you were crafted with care and with pressure. And what does God do with the man that he formed? The text says that he breathed. Where? In his nostrils. Do you know how close you gotta be to breathe into somebody's nostrils, y'? All? That's close. That's close. Come on. I've been to church a long time. You ever met those people that just don't understand space? They become with the best news, like, oh, P.R. i loved your message. I'm like, okay, can you just. Just a little bit, Give me some space. Look at how close he is to God for him to into his nostrils. What is God showing us in the first Man? That you cannot be formed without proximity to his presence. If you are going to be formed by God, there must be proximity. There must be closeness to his presence. I cannot be formed and be distant from his presence. I cannot be formed and be away from the community of God. I gotta be close to be formed. So I wanna know, are you close enough to his presence, sir? So that you can be formed by God? Being formed is contingent upon your proximity to his presence. And I know what some guy in here saying, well, P.R. i. I am being formed by God. I ain't trying to go to church, though. I ain't trying to be around nobody else though. But I'm being formed. I'll be in my word. The problem with that is you can't be formed in isolation. Formation and isolation does not work. Could you give us some scripture to substantiate that PR? Uh huh. Genesis chapter one, verse 26 says, Then God said, let us make man in our image according to our likeness. So even in creation, God, who himself is a community, God the Father, Son and Spirit is creating and forming man in community. That means you cannot be isolated, sir. That's why some of us are struggling right now, because we're isolated. Or we got the wrong community that's forming us. Come on. You need a brotherhood of men who are headed where you're headed. You need to be in the presence of God and get in community so that formation can happen. If you're going to be formed, you have to be formed in his presence. But he shapes you in community. Can I take it a step further? Proximity to his presence is powerful, but that's not enough. I wish I could end the sermon right there. Come on man, be formed by God. Let's go home. No, I don't just need proximity to his presence. I also have to have sensitivity to his voice because you can be close and still not be listening. And in scripture, listening is not just hearing, it is obeying the word of God. And the primary way that God speaks to us is through His. The primary way God speaks to us is through His. His Word. My social studies people should have been shouting right there. This is the primary word way God speaks to us. I know you heard his voice and he does speak. But I want to know, do you have a verse? Do you have some Word in you? And here's the next thing we have to be if we're going to be the man that we need. Watch this. You need a man who is under the word of God. We need men who have been formed by God, but we need men. Watch this. Who are under the word of God. You know, it's not a PR message if I don't give you a visual. Ladies, if you're looking for a man, I'm gonna give you a visual of what he's supposed to look like. Don't look for biceps, don't look for triceps, don't look for abs, okay? Don't look for eye color. Here's what you need to look for. This is the picture of what the man you looking for should look like. Is he under the word of God? Does the word of God guide Or govern his life? I'm not asking. Does he just come to church? Yes. I want to know, is he under the word of God? Does it guide him? Does it tell him what to do and what not to do? Is he under the word of God? A man who is under the word of God doesn't just desire God. It means he needs God for direction. Your word is a lamp unto my feet. It's a light unto my path. I have to come under his word if I'm going to be a man. You want to be a male? Just be born. You want to be a man? A man of God? You've got to come under his word. Let's look at it. Genesis. We're still in creation. Look at what it says. And the Lord God commanded the man, you are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die. Hold up. Before he got a companion, he got a commandment. Before he got a woman, he got a word. God, why are you giving me a word? I want a woman. Let's see how you steward the word first. Let's see how you handle my word. Before I give you a woman, let's see how you obey my commandment. Before I give you a companion, I want to know, do you think this is a suggestion or do you live by it? Is it a word? Let me answer a question that some people ask. Anytime you look at the Genesis account, why did God put a tree there that they couldn't touch anyway? Seems kind of cruel to me. Why would he put a tree in the middle of the garden that they couldn't touch? Are you kidding me? They didn't plant any of those trees. God just gave it to them. And there has to be a tree that you do not touch. Because how many know love is not love unless there are options that you have the opportunity to say no to. It's not a relationship if I don't have an option to say yes to this and no to that. Ladies, where you at? Okay, I ain't talking to y' all today. But if you and another dude are the only two people on planet Earth. Only two people. And this dude comes up to you and says, say, girl, I gotta tell you something. And you're like, ooh, what? He's like, you know, I've been wanting to tell you this for a long time. Ooh, what you gonna tell me? He says, I just want to tell you. You're the only one for me. If you get excited about that something is wrong with you, your response will be, of course I'm the only one for you. You ain't got nobody else to choose from. It is in a multiplicity of options that love becomes powerful. Let me tell you on August 24, 2012 at the Majestic Theater. I did not just say I do to the lovely Taylor Mitchell and Mater Taylor Madu, I said I don't to the other 4.8 billion women in the earth. And the moment I do, I'll be dead. And this is the reality of life that I need something to say no to. Adam, I want to know if you can trust my word. I'm not going to give you an explanation. I told you, the day you eat of it, you're going to die. Can you trust my word? Hear me sir. We need some men who are under the word of God. Ladies, you're looking for a man in. Is he under the word? How you been? On three days he ain't mentioned his relationship with God. People naturally tell you what they like. He only started coming to church now cuz y' all dating, he telling on himself. But a man that is under the word will be submitted to it, will be shaped by it. Won't just wait to hear it from a preacher on Sunday. They live by it. How can a young man keep his way pure? David said, by living according to your word. He takes it a step further. He says, I've hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. I have an imagination of a generation of men who are calling their ladies in a room and say, I got to tell you something I never told you. What? Girl, I've been hiding this word. I gotta get this secret off my chest. I got some word in me. That's what David said. He said, I've hidden his word in my heart. Because when a man doesn't know the word of God, hear me, everybody connected to him feels it. Your decisions feel it. Your relationships feel it, your family feels it. Because the word is not suggestions, it is commands. It speaks to how you live, how you lead, how you love, how you handle your money, how you build a family. That's why it's interesting. Let me answer one of the questions. Even though we hadn't started talking about dating yet, but it's always intriguing to me when people ask the question, can you date somebody that's not a believer? Can you date somebody that hadn't put their faith in Jesus? That is an interesting question. Because the Question reveals something deeper. It reveals that you don't fully understand how the Word is supposed to shape your life. If you're asking that question, you don't realize that your life is to be built upon this Word. How can you build a future with somebody who is not submitted to what you're submitted to? Let me save you a future fight. If the man is not under the word of God, it's going to be a fight. Because if you're living under the Word and say for some, not the gathering, the assembly of the saints, I believe coming to church is important. Jesus gave his life for his bride. He gonna be like every day trying to play golf today. Didn't we go on Easter Sunday? If you're living under the Word and you understand that everything that you have is a gift from God, you are the owner of nothing but the steward of everything. It's going to affect your finances because you're going to want to be saying, hey, we got it. We got a sow. We got a gift give. God did not create us to spend everything on ourselves. It is the epitome of selfishness. He actually created a system. The tithe, the 10%. It's not even mine anyway. That's what I should do. My job came from God. He is my source. It be like, maybe I worked. God didn't work. I went to this job. You, you tired with your money, not mine. I'm going to Chipotle. Yeah, extra guac. There's going to be a tension if he's not under the Word. If he is arguing with you and saying, while you're dating, I want to sleep with you, and he's mad about it. He's letting you know that he's not living. Oh, I'm going to go there. He's not living under the Word because the Word has given a context for that. It's in the context of marriage. That's what he created, is to thrive. So. So how in the world is he calling himself a man of God, but he's mad because you won't sleep with him? He's getting upset about it. He got some type of way about it because you told him. All right, it's time for you to go home now. Why is he mad? That's just telling you he's not living under the word of God. I don't care how much he shouts. I don't care how much he dances. I don't care how many sermons he says amen to. It's just proof he's not living. Under the word and man. And it's. It's our job to lead the way. It's our job to set the tone, to set the pace of the relationship. We need men who are under the word, single. Single man. I know you're feeling it, but married man, you're not off the clock. Come on. Ephesians, chapter 5. Look at what it says. Paul writes these words, husbands, love your wives. As long as they give you enough sex. Don't during the week, and they cooking a meal for you. Oh, sorry. No, no, that's not what it says.
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Congregation/Choir
Sorry.
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Pastor Robert Madu
Husband loves your wives. When you feel like.
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Congregation/Choir
No.
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Pastor Robert Madu
Husband love your wives. Just as Christ loved the church. Paul is so thorough. Because if you said just as Christ loved the church, we'd be like, well, I love you. Like Christ loved the church. He's like, no, let me be specific. And gave himself up for her to make her holy. Wait a minute, Gabe. You mean, like, you want to love her with, like, die on the cross love? Yeah. Like. Like sacrificial love. Yeah. Like I ain't gonna get nothing in return. Got it. That's your. That's your assignment. To make her holy. Cleansing her by the washing with water. Through the what? The Word. I can't cleanse her with the washing of water if I don't know his word. So. We need men who have been formed by God. We need men who live under God's word. And just when you think, oh, that's enough, God takes it a step further. Because a man who is under the word doesn't just sit around doing nothing. I don't just sit in a circle singing Kumbaya. No. Because God never gives his man a word without so. Without giving him some work. So you won't want just a man that's under the Word. You want a man who has found his work, a man who knows his work. Elbow the person next to you, say, work, work, work. You want a man that has found his work. Hear me. I did not say his job. All. Although that's important too. A job is what you get a paycheck to do. They can't pay you to do your work because your work is the thing that you were designed to do. It's the thing that God put you on this earth to do. It's the thing that God has uniquely gifted you to do. And his glory manifests in the earth when you do it. A man has got to find his work. Hear me. This is critical. God does not give him a woman until he's finds his Work. Because God knows something that we don't know. That a man that has not found his work will not know how to steward a woman. He will be miserable. You have got to find your work. The thing that God put you on this earth to do. And I'm believing that God is about to release a revival of clarity on man. To know what your work is, to know what he put you in the earth for. Find your work. Find your work. Let's look at it. Let's look at it. So you don't think I'm just making it up. Let's look at it. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to what? To work it and to take care of it. This is before Eve. Work it, Adam, and take care of it. Can you see Adam out there with his tractor in the Garden of Eden, just working it, working it. And watch this. He was built to work it. Come on. There's a reason men are built the way they're built. We can handle the weight. He's out there working, working it, working. I can see him trimming the bushes. I can see him out there. And all the men who are like, I don't get down like that. Well, stay in the text, because how else does he work it? God starts bringing animals in front of him and he starts naming all the animals in the animal kingdom. Do you know what kind of mind. Do you know what kind of beautiful mind? What kind of cognitive aptitude you have to have to name every single single animal in the animal kingdom. That means I can work it either way. If I got to work at physical labor, if I got to work my mind. And God's going to give me an idea for me to flourish. Look at Adam naming the animals and didn't run out of names, just a name. He started off big, too. Hippopotamus. Bring another one. Elephant. Bring another one. Just Orangutan. Bring another one. He started getting tired towards the end, though. You can tell by the names. Dog, cat, fly. Bye, fly. Now you started getting short anyway. His work, his work. Have you found your work, sir? I'm telling you, no woman will satisfy you if you hadn't found your work. No, I'm chilling right now because I found my work. This is my work. Now watch this. I was thinking 16 when God revealed this was my work. My church had this thing called Fine Arts Competition. It's like Christian American Idol on steroids. And church kids would compete in all these different categories. Like, you'd sing a solo and they had Short sermon category. My youth pastor, at the time, I thought I was going to be an actor and go to Hollywood and be an actor. My youth pastor said, you should try the short sermon category. I said, short sermon. Are you sure? He's like, yeah, I think you should do it. Write a five minute sermon and do it. Shortest message still to this day that I've ever preached. Five minute, five minute sermon. And I'm in this competition, preaching my first sermon. Five minute sermon. And three minutes into the five minute sermon, I feel God speak to me and say, this is more than a competition. This is what I've put you on this earth to do your work. Now watch this. Don't clap too fast. Does that mean from that moment forward, I started getting paid and made a living from the work? No. And that's where some men get stuck. Because you're waiting for your work to bring your paycheck, and sometimes it won't for a season. And so here you are, still waiting for it to bring in the income, saying, well, I'm waiting on God. No, but you better do what you got to do while you got to do something else. That's why your boy. When I knew God had called me to preach, but that wasn't bringing enough for me to provide for me, to make my life work. So what did I do? Your boy was working at Banana Republic. Yes. Folding khakis. And I knew this ain't my call. God didn't put me on this earth to fold khakis. But guess what? I got a light bill, and I can't preach in a check. Come on, somebody. Sir, have you found your work? It is your job to be the provider, to be the protector. Now, don't get all funny with it. Does that mean that you. You have to make more than your woman? No. No. But you better be contributing. You better not be living off of her. Come on, somebody find your work. The thing that God has put you on this earth to do. Adam had work before he found a woman. Elbow the person next to you and say, work it. Work it, work it, work it, work it, work it, work it, work it. Watch this. I wish all you had to do was work it. But sometimes the hardest thing you got to do as a man is not work it, but to do the work on you, to get curious about why you respond the way you respond to do the work on you. Because real work is not just execution. External, it's internal. God is not just building something out there. He's also making you become something in here. And some men will work on everything around them. But you never do the work within you. How you grind at your job, but you won't deal with your anger. How can you build something so successful with courage, but you won't fight your insecurity. How are you so good at chasing that work quota? You kill it in the boardroom, but you never ask, why does that trigger me the way it triggered me? We need some men who are willing to do the work, not just the work externally, but allow the Holy Spirit to do the work internally. Because if you don't do the work, you will bleed on the people who didn't cut you. I watched the Michael Jackson movie, like the rest of y'.
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Congregation/Choir
All.
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Pastor Robert Madu
I do more to read the Bible. And it was heartbreaking to say the least. Particularly to see the dichotomy in Joe Jackson, Michael's father, who had them doing the work. I'm talking about the discipline. Get it right, the steps, the work. But at the same time, with his words, doing damage to his son's personhood. And so why his work was so good, good it couldn't be sustained because the character and who he was on the inside was destroyed from the time he was a little boy. And I want to know, sir, are you going to keep moving in life, being proficient at the external work, but never allow God to do the deep work on the inside of you? The man we need is not just productive. He's even taken the time to process the model of manhood that was or wasn't given to him. Not just working, but becoming. And once you start doing the work now, God goes, all right, you ready now for your woman? You know, he didn't have to get on the app to find it. I'm not hating how you do it. I'm just saying biblically, because Adam has been formed, he's under the word. I got a command that's clear. He's found his work. And now God goes, all right. It's not good for man to be alone. Any man, no, the man that has found his work and that has been formed and that is under the word of God. That man doesn't need to be alone. Some of y' all need to be alone until you find your work, until you're formed, and until you can get under God's word. God made the assessment, oh, that man don't need to be alone. Go to sleep. Puts him asleep, takes his ribbon. Come on. I've taught you this before. It matters where he took the rib from, where he took it. From to form and fashion. The woman. He didn't take it from under him. She's not beneath you. He didn't take it from above him. He's not above you. She's not above you. Not from behind. She's not behind you. From your side. From your side. Your rib protects all. All your vital organs and your heart. And after you made her, you notice nothing else gets created. Come on, ladies. Y' all are the crown of creation after woman. It's like it don't. It don't get better than that. But, but, but what do we learn? What do we learn? We also learn that a man who is found his work must also be a man who honors women. Hear me today. I want to be very clear. Not a man who honors just his woman. This is the man we need, our society needs. We need a man who honors women, who honors women. And I want to ask you, are you a man who honors women? This lets us know from the very beginning. Women were never created to be a commodity. She was created to be honored. And hear me, sir. One of the most powerful questions you will ever ask yourself is, do I honor women? Look at what Peter says in 1st Peter, chapter 3, verse 7. In the same way you husbands, he's speaking to husbands. But it can apply to all men. You must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding. As you live together, she may be weaker than you are. Don't trip on that weaker. Ladies, that's just talking about the frame. But she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered. You mean to tell me my prayers can be hindered by how I value and honor women? This is the fight of our lives, men. Because throughout history, men have fallen into the same trap of viewing women as something to be used instead of someone to honor. And hear me today, if women are what you use instead of image bearers that you honor, you are not a man. You're a boy. Boys use women. Men honor women. So let's be practical and make it plain. To honor a woman is how you speak to her, how you speak about her, how you think about her when she's not around, and how you treat her when you don't want anything from her. You can't say you honor women, and your language tears them down. Whether it's in jokes or just being harsh, your words reveal your heart. Every woman you see is someone's daughter. And more importantly, she's God's. I'll Never forget when God made this so plain to me, when my wife was trying to tell me. The way you speak, the tone in which you use, never found language. But my tone was harsh and it wasn't clicking for me. And I'll never forget one morning walking into my beautiful baby girls in the kitchen and talking to them, saying, did you sleep good? How are you? You know Daddy loves you. And in a moment God spoke to me and said, that's how you should speak to your wife. With that care, with that type of love. Because she's my daughter. Man, we don't have to look far. Look at the life of Jesus, who, by the way, was a single man on earth. In John chapter four, he sits with the woman at the well that the culture said avoid. In John chapter 8, he protects a woman who is caught in adultery and and covers her shame. In John 11, he weeps and raises Lazarus from the dead, but shows his emotions and expresses how he feels before he raises a man from the dead. In Luke 7, he receives a woman with compassion and dignity while other people judged her. Jesus never reduced women. He restored them. That's our model. What does it look like to honor women? Hear me, guys. I'm talking to all of us. Let's be practical. It means you don't lead women on when you're not interested. It means you don't use their attention to feed your ego. It means you don't disappear and ghost people like they're disposable. You man up and have a conversation. It means you treat women with clarity and not confusion. It means the way you talk about women when they're not around still honors them. It means you don't flirt with boundaries you wouldn't cross. It means you don't double tap on images and videos that dishonor women. Married man. It means your wife doesn't. She doesn't have to compete for your focus. It means that you value her voice and you listen to her. It means that you keep romancing and you keep dating her. This is the call to honor the women that are in our lives. This is why pornography is so diabolical and so demonic. Because it is neurologically rewiring your brain to look at women as objects instead of image bearers. Why is it that every serial killer, when they look at his computer, there's always pornography? Because it rewires your brain to look at women as objects instead of somebody that is made in the image of God. To the ladies in the room, can I say this with love? You were never Created to market yourself as a commodity. Man, we've got to do our part and stop treating women as if they can just be used. But, ladies, can I tell you, you were never created to market yourself as a commodity. I know the picture might get more likes, but you got to be careful because a fisherman determines what to bait his hook with based on what he's trying to catch. So if you fish with your body, all you're going to catch are men who only want your body. And I'm calling you to realize there's so much more value, so much more value to you than just your body. I say this in love. You gotta have men who honor women. I want to say this because it's been heavy on my heart. As we've been preparing to move into our new building, the place that will be the future home of Social Dallas, we're getting understanding about the zip code we're stepping into. PT said it last week. It's one of the highest areas for prostitution, for sex trafficking. The neighbors down the street of our future home are strip clubs. And we're going to do everything in our power as a church to rescue women who want to get out of that, to bring healing, to bring freedom, to bring hope. But hear me. Can I tell you something? Don't miss it. There is a way to slow that down before it ever starts. Because how many know if there were no customers, there would be no industry? If men were healed, if men were whole, if men honored women, a lot of that darkness would just dissipate. There would be no men standing in line if we would treat them with honor. With honor. Come on, men, you know how to treat with honor. You do it with the women that are connected to you. If you were in a strip club and your daughter or your mom or your sister walked out, how many know you wouldn't be throwing dollar bills? You're not a man of honor if you honor the women that are connected to you, but you objectify the women that are not. Men. We need you, Pastor man. We need men who have been formed by God. We need men who are under his word. It's not a suggestion, it's a commandment. We need men who have found their work. We need men who honor women. And I'm believing that today is the day that somebody's going to come go from being just a male, which is so easy, to being a man of God. How do I do it? PR look at what Paul says in First Corinthians, chapter 13. He says, When I was a Child. I spoke as a child. I understood as a child. I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. Here's what I love about Paul. He didn't even say a date or age when it happened. I'm glad he didn't. It was a decision. And that's my call to some men today to make a decision, to say, today's the day I become the man that we need, the man that our world needs. I'm gonna put some childish things away today. I'm gonna be the man that God has called me to be. I'm not gonna be passive. I'm not gonna be too aggressive. But I'm be like my savior, who was meek, who was power under control? We need men. We need you. We need you. Sir, I'm gonna ask everybody that can. Would you stand to your feet? Nobody moving. Would you honor this moment? I'm asking every head be bowed and eyes be closed. Today, men, we need you. We need you. Your family needs you. The women in your life need you. Your child needs you. They need more than just that check you send. They need you. You can make all the excuses you want, but I'm telling you, they need you. I said it earlier. I'm not just calling you out. I'm really calling you up. If, God forbid, the first man from dirt, what is your excuse? He can use anybody that will stay long enough and close enough to be formed, that will come under his word, that will renew their mind and honor women and find their work so it has boundaries and eyes closed. Today I want to call some men to do what even the apostle Paul said he had to do. Put away childish things. Childish things. If you're here today and you'd be so honored to say, hey, P.R. i know the areas in my life that I've been acting like a child. Children play with things and then dispose of them when they're done. Children run away from responsibility. Children don't serve. They're just looking to be served. Put away childish things. And with heads bowed and eyes closed, today I'm looking for the man we need. That's you. And you say, I know what that childish thing is I need to put away. And today I'm putting it away to be the man he's calling me to be. If that's you, would you lift up your hand high enough and long enough to where I can see it, sir? Thank you. Yeah. Hands going up all over this place today. Thank you, Jesus. Anybody else lift it up? You can put it Right back down. Thank you, God. I want to be real specific. There's some of you who've never taken the first step, which is to say, jesus, my life is yours. Oh, to be sure, when you put your faith in Jesus, you are in process. It's called sanctification, where God is renewing you and making you more like him every day. But it starts by a moment, moment of surrender, saying, jesus, I need you. And for some of you, you've never even taken that first step. You can have all the success in the world and still feel like a boy on the inside. When I put my faith in him, I am a son. I don't have to perform. He formed me. So with heads bowed and eyes closed and be so honest, say, hey, P.R. that's me. I need to give Jesus my life today. Would you lift up your hand today? You know, when God's speaking to you? Yes. I see your hand, sir. I see your hand. Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord. Anybody else? Thank you, Jesus. Here's what I'm gonna ask you to do, because I think this moment requires it. Men, we need you. We don't need you to shrink back into the bushes. We need you. This church needs you. Our world needs you. When men flourish, the world flourishes. So if you lifted up your hand, or you should have lifted up your hand for either one of those, I'm gonna ask you when I count to three, just to be so bold and so brave, to come right up here to the front. Either saying, I know there's some childish things I'm laying down, or saying, today's the day. I am putting my faith in Jesus. Come on. 1. Don't worry about what anybody else gonna think. 2. Come on. This is between you and your God. 3. I want you to come. I want you to come. Come on. Come on, sir, we need you. Sir, we need you. I don't care how far you gotta walk. I promise you it's worth it. Come on, the man we need. We need you, sir. I'm telling you, we need you. I don't know what culture has told you, but we need you. We need you, man. We need you. We need you. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come all the way up to the front. Come all the way up to the front. Come on. Come on.
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Pray.
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Pastor Robert Madu
Press in. Press in. We need you. We need you. We need you, sir. We need you. Come on. Come on. Ladies, don't stop clapping until men stop coming. We need you. Come all the way down. We need you. Need you. We need you. We need you. Not just talking to older men. I'm talking to you. Young person. You're not too young to start serving God. Start now. Start now. Get whole now. Come on. We need you. Social youth. We need you. Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Need you. Need you. We need you. We need you, man. We need you. We need you. The trick of the enemy to make you feel like you're not needed. Eyes haven't seen, ears haven't heard. Neither has it entered to the heart of men the things that God has already prepared for you. God can work with the dirt. You stay long enough and close enough to be formed. Watch him bring beauty out of it. You say, how you know? Because I'm a living witness. Don't let this microphone fool you. This ain't no perfect man up here. This is a man that's committed to be being formed. We need you. We need you. Father. Thank you. Thank you, God. Today's a new day for Father. Thank you. It'll never be the same. Thank you, God, for the purpose, for the call that is on his life. God, we need you. We need you. Need you. Anybody else? I want to wait. I want to wait. I want to wait, cuz. I know. I know how the enemy works, man. You can't go down there. It's too late. He already. No, I'm telling you, you got to lose all that pride. You got stop caring what other people think about you. Your victory is in your vulnerability, man. I'm telling you. We need you. We need you. We need you. We need you. Come on. We need you.
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Come on.
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Pastor Robert Madu
We need you. Yeah, we need you. We need you. Thank you, God. Yeah. Come on. Come on. Come on. Thank you, God. Come on. We're gonna worship. We're gonna worship because men are still responding. Come on. Thank you, God. Come on. While they're. While they're coming, would you lift up your hands and declare this I am. I am who God says I am.
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Who you say I am.
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Pastor Robert Madu
If you need to come, I want you to come.
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I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who you say I am. You're for me. You are for me, not against me. I am who you say I am. Chosen. I am. I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who you say I am. You are for me, not against me. I am. I am chosen. I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who you say I am. You are for me, not against me. I ever you say. I ever you say I am however you say I am. Who the sun sets free.
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Pastor Robert Madu
Always free.
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I'm a child of God. He a child. In my father's house. In my father's house. There's a place for me. I'm a child of God. Yes, I.
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Pastor Robert Madu
Come on, keep declaring. I am chosen, not forsaken.
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Come on. I am chosen, not forsaken.
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Pastor Robert Madu
Come on and declare it.
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I am who you say I am. You are for me, not against me. I am chosen. I am chosen, not forsaken. I am.
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Pastor Robert Madu
Oh.
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I am who you say am. You are for me, not against me. I am. Say I am. Say I am who you say I am. Who you say I am.
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Pastor Robert Madu
Who you say
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I.
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Pastor Robert Madu
Who the sun sets free. Come on. Come on, man. Declare it. Come on, man. I need to hear you sing it. You declare it.
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In my father.
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Pastor Robert Madu
There's a place. In my Father there's a place.
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Hallelujah. Thank you, God.
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Pastor Robert Madu
Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Your Father's house. There's a place for you. Don't project what your earthly father did did onto your heavenly father. There's a place for you. There's a place for you. God is not mad at you. He's not disgusted by you. He looks at you and says, that's my boy. That's my son. It's impossible for me to be disgusted with my son. It's impossible. Will I correct him? Absolutely. But even that is love. Some of you, even what you've been through in the discipline is God saying, I love you. I love you too much to let you keep going in that. I love you keep too much to let you keep operating that way. He loves you. He loves you. My prayer for you in this moment is that you will feel in this moment what Jesus had to have when he. He's baptized and the heavens open up and he hears his heavenly Father say over him, that's my beloved Son and whom I'm well pleased. He had to hear it. Hear me, sir. You gotta have that. Because after that, there's an enemy that's gonna be in your ear saying, if you are the Son of God, there's gonna be Pharisees and people attacking your identity. You have to. To have that open heaven of approval that knows I'm a son first. He loves me. Until you receive that, until you start relishing in that. You'll try to find it in other women. You'll try to find it in another man. You'll try to find it in a substance. None of them can give you that approval that you need from your Father. So, Father, Today we declare over your sons and open heaven that they will stop fighting for approval and live from approval today. Father, I thank you that today is not a normal Sunday. God. This is a destiny marker, God. This is a moment, God, where you are calling your sons to yourself, Father. And that we will rise up and be the man that you called us to be. Not males, but men who are formed. Father, thank you for your word. We humble ourselves knowing that we need your word for direction. God. God, I pray over these men that there would be an insatiable hunger for your word, God, like never before. God. That you'd wake them up in the middle of the night, God, and give them a hunger for your word and for your presence. God. God, I pray for a revival of men who are not afraid or ashamed to worship you. To lift up their hands, God. To open up their mouth. God. Father, thank you that even right now, God, you are revealing purpose. You are revealing the gifts that you placed on the inside of them, God, to do their work. Thank you, God. There's not a man that you did not create that did not have a purpose. So, Father, I thank you that even right now you're giving clarity to that. We'll find our work. We won't run away from the responsibility. We run towards it. God and Father, we declare over this house. This is a place where not just our wives, but women are honored. Father, I thank you that this is a holy place. This is a safe church where women are honored. God. I thank you, God, that we will do the work, renew our minds. God, help us to see them as your daughters. This is a safe place. Thank you for it, Father. Thank you for it. Jesus. Can you just lift up your hands all over this place, especially the men? I'm going to give you these words to pray, but you say it from your heart. Would you declare this? Say, Jesus, my hands are lifted because I surrender. I need you. I cannot do life without you, Lord, today I'm asking you to form me into the man that I'm called to be. Forgive me of my sin. Lord, I repent for not living under your word. Lord, I repent for wasting time not finding my work. Lord, I repent for not honoring women. Lord, today I'm asking you to make me brand new, come into my life. Wash me clean by your blood. From this moment forward, I'm walking with you. I am the man that the world needs. In Jesus name, Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Come on somebody. Give God some praise in this place today. I need some mighty men to give God some praise in this place today. I need some warriors to give God some praise in this place today. Hear me. Hear me. Can I just say to every single one of you who responded, even those of you still in your seat, can I be the man to tell you I am proud of you. I'm proud of you. That's what a real man does. Respond, responds when God is calling. Can I say this to you? I do believe that today is a destiny moment. This is not a normal Sunday for you. But I also know that this cannot be the finish line. It's got to be the starting point. Every single Sunday, we. We say it. If you keep showing up, you keep growing up. And for men, that's. That is half the battle. Show up. Show up afraid. Show up. Show up after you've fallen down. Show up again. Show up in your child's life. I don't care what hurdles you have to jump over. Keep showing up. I filled out an application before. I can't find. Keep showing up even here. Keep showing up and finding community here. Can I tell you the illustration that didn't make the message? I love the imagery of the Spartans. That's what I feel like I'm calling an army today. That whenever King Xerxes wanted to take over Sparta, he pulled up and said, y' all may as well just surrender. Because they knew in that time that a city was fortified by its walls and Sparta didn't even have walls. But Sparta was built different. He said, we don't need walls. Thousands of men stood shoulder to shoulder, shield to shield, and declared, wall. We are the wall. What would Social Dallas look like if the army right here and out there said, guess what? We are the wall. We're the first line of defense. Come on. For our family, for our generation, for our children, we are the wall. Can't say it enough. You can't be formed in isolation. We'll do everything in our power to create spaces for you, to find healthy brotherhood. A great next step, let me tell you, we need you, is to scan that QR code and fill out that following Jesus link or tap the seat in front of you so we can help you, give you resources to walk this thing out. We will give you a Bible for free if you ain't got one. We got stag on Saturday. If all of y' all showed up, we wouldn't even have enough space. But I'd love to have that problem. Love to have that problem. Father, thank you for today. Father. Thank you for the relationships that are going to change forever because of this moment. Because we will be the man that you need. God. We can't do it in our own strength. God, we need your help. We need your spirit. But, Lord, we commit. We're going to do our part. We're going to show up and keep showing up in Jesus name. Amen. Ladies. Y' all good. Hear me, ladies, And I'll say this, I didn't say this in the other service. You hold such a powerful position
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in
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Pastor Robert Madu
your ability to encourage a man. I cannot tell you how many Saturday nights I've sat in front of a document writing a sermon and feeling like I have nothing to give, and it's terrible. And that woman right there will walk in the room and say, baby, you're called to this. You're the best pastor. You're the best leader. You can do this. I'm praying for you. Do you need anything? It's the greatest gift. Ladies, I'm not saying excuse stuff and live in horrible patterns, but man, the power of calling a man into what you see, even when you don't see it, and declaring on his life, this is who you are. I'll take that over nagging any day. Nobody is discouraged into their destiny. Speak it over him. If he's nervous and starts doing what some of these men are going to start doing, which is being the spiritual head. If you're married, being the spiritual head of your home. And you know, when he starts, he's like, man, you know, let's turn to the book of Job. And, you know, it's Job. Say, that's good, baby. That's good. That's good. Don't discourage him. We all got to start somewhere, man. That's what I want you to do. Take the step, man. Take the step. You're the man we need. You're the man we need. How many thankful for this series, for this word today? It's gonna keep on getting better. It's gonna keep on getting better. If you want personal prayer, our prayer team will stay. If you just want to stay in worship, that's cool. If you need to connect with another brother and not be so quick to roll out, hey, here's a great opportunity to say, hey, man, what's your name? I know it's harder for us guys. Hey, man, what's your name? And connect with another brother. You need somebody. Amen. We'll be right back here next Sunday. No, we won't. I was making sure you knew we're at Gillies next Sunday to celebrate. All the moms and the ladies. Come on. 8:30, 10:30, 12:45. Gillies. Gillies. While we got to go to another venue because we ain't got a home yet, but we will. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you, give you grace and peace now and forevermore.