Series Two: The Man of God

The purpose of this session is to help train men to treasure and prefer Christ. It goes without saying that men need to treasure Christ above all else. Often, idols come between us and Christ. A godly man is disciplining his life to remove idols and put Christ in the preeminent position in his life. It is His worthiness and honor that compel us to live Christ and see death as gain (Phil 1:21).

1. Christ ought to be our highest treasure (1 Pet 2:3–7).
   1. He is the precious stone.
   2. Since we have tasted the Lord’s kindness, Christ is our treasure.
      1. Christ is the “choice” stone and valuable only to those who believe.
      2. Christ is precious in the sight of God and precious to us.
      3. Christ is the cornerstone, highly valued and honored.
      4. A believer must value and prefer Christ.
2. The Scriptures show us a life of faith that overcomes what the world offers.
   1. See the example of Moses (Heb 11:24–27).
      1. Moses chooses ill-treatment over the passing pleasures of sin.
      2. Moses shows that we must willingly attach our name to Christ.
      3. Moses’ example shows that we must willingly accept reproach as the greater riches. It is the reward in the life to come.
      4. Moses treasures Christ (v. 26).
      5. In order to prefer Christ above the world, you must confess that the world’s pleasure is passing. The world will chide you for your choice to treasure Christ.
      6. Warning: Many in the evangelical culture today want to be loved.
         1. You can’t be faithful and popular.
         2. You can’t court the world’s admiration and hold onto Jesus.
         3. You can’t keep Jesus without severing from the world (Luke 9:23–27).
   2. See the example of Christ (Heb 13:7–13).
      1. Jesus is the treasured centerpiece (v. 8).
      2. The contemptible place of suffering is “outside the gate” (v. 12).
      3. We also must be willing to go outside the gate and bear the reproach (v. 13).
         1. If we prefer Him, we are willing.
         2. If our preference is the culture, we will snuggle up to it.
3. We must learn to prefer Christ’s Word over human knowledge.
   1. In Christ our knowledge and wisdom is found (Col 2:3). The wisdom of the world is really nothing and empty.
   2. Christ’s disciples treasure/prefer the words of Christ over any human rationalization (John 6:68).
   3. When the Bible or a brother in Christ gives us tough words, we don’t run. That’s not treasuring Christ.
      1. We aren’t perfect in our obedience, but a Christian loves Christ’s words.
      2. We cherish them because they are “the pure milk” we need to grow (1 Pet 2:2).
      3. We reject wrangling (2 Tim 2:14).
   4. In love we encourage other men with God’s Word when they are facing temptation.
   5. We don’t need or want to know what anyone thinks about spiritual things outside of what Christ says.
   6. We know there will be, and are, false teachers, so we don’t have anything to do with worldly fables (1 Tim 4:7).
   7. We apprehend God’s Word with the illumination of the Holy Spirit; as Christians we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:6–16).
4. We learn to prefer Christ over personal comfort (Phil 3:7–11).
   1. Knowing Him, we prefer the fellowship of His sufferings.
   2. We die to personal comforts.
   3. Christ is like a pearl of great value (Matt 13:46)—something we pursue, giving up all to treasure.
   4. We must have a Christ-centered and eternal mindset (2 Cor 4:7–16).
5. We learn to continually explore and discover the depths of Christ.
   1. We plumb the depths of Scripture to know Christ better (Eph 3:18–19).
      1. We know the love of Christ as we learn.
      2. It’s the kind of love that surpasses knowledge.
      3. Tragically, we often know our profession or hobbies more deeply than we know Christ. We must pursue and treasure Christ by seeking knowledge of Him in greater degrees.
      • “What are we doing as men of God sitting around plumbing our favorite hobby while our understanding of our Redeemer is scant? This cannot be!”
      4. God bursts forth to bring forth light in Christ. (2 Cor 4:6–7:14).
         1. It is this treasure that motivates the direction of our life.
         2. The life of Christ is manifested in us so others can see and know Christ in us. We are charged to promote Christ.
      5. Unfathomable riches are our promise (Eph 3:8).
      6. Christ Himself wants us to be with Him (John 17:20–26).
         1. Christ prays for this very thing.
         2. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ prays for a person who is constantly sinning (all of His people) to be with Him!
         3. This reality should cause us to desperately treasure Christ.
   2. We must be men who grieve/weep when we don’t treasure Christ as He deserves.
      1. It is disobedience when we are unwilling to treasure Him.
      2. We sin in wicked ways, but do we hate the sin? Do we hate it when we fail to treasure Christ?
      3. Are we grieved that God actually loved us and sustains us in our salvation while we loved something else instead of Him?
      4. Are we deeply grieved when we learn that someone walked away from Christ?