Kingdom Men

Kingdom Men

Bryan Jones · Brookwood Church

Part of the Kingdom Men and Women series, looking at biblical men and women and their faith.

Preparing our hearts

The service opened with worship centered on God's faithfulness, our need for the Holy Spirit, and dependence on Jesus.

The opening prayer asked God to tune our ears, minds, and hearts to hear from Him, with courage to obey and conviction to stand for Him.

Growing together at Brookwood

The church encouraged people to use the series devotionals to spend time in God's Word each day and to connect through groups and the men's and women's gatherings.

Other service announcements included Connect Track, the recreation ministry's Park and Party, and Spanish interpretation of the 11 a.m. message.

What is a kingdom man?

There are many definitions of a real man: masculinity, responsibility, and plenty of other answers. But what does the Bible say?

I want you to become kingdom men and women. I want you to date kingdom men and women. That means we need to be clear about what those words mean.

In a culture confused about men, women, and identity, I believe God intentionally created us male and female. We need to understand His purpose rather than let the culture define it for us.

More than being nice

I told my son, “I'm not trying to make you a good man. I'm trying to help you be good at being a man.”

For years, I thought church and the Bible were just trying to make me less crazy or a nicer person. But Jesus wasn't crucified just for being nice. He had a mission and a vision.

God loves your ambition, drive, and passion. He needs them pointed at the right thing: loving Him, walking with Him, loving others, and living out the mercy and grace of Jesus.

John: a life transformed

One of the best examples of a kingdom man is the disciple John.

John saw Jesus teach, perform miracles, and forgive. He walked physically with Jesus and learned the Father's heart through Him. He wrote the Gospel of John, 1, 2, and 3 John, and Revelation.

By the time he wrote 1 John, he was near the end of his life. But early in his walk with Jesus, his ambition and pride still needed to be redirected.

Ambition pointed in the right direction

When a Samaritan village did not welcome Jesus, James and John wanted to call down fire to destroy it. Jesus rebuked them.

John also wanted to know about places of honor beside Jesus. He was watching Jesus love and heal people while thinking about his own position.

Over time, John came to understand the Father's heart. His ambition, pride, and ego were redirected. The man who once wanted to destroy people became a kingdom man whose words still shape our faith.

Three messages

The service's Scripture reading introduces John's words to children, young men, and fathers.

For this message, we will hear a word for everyone, a word for younger men, and a word for older men.

A word for everyone: you are forgiven

John writes to dear children because their sins have been forgiven on account of Jesus' name.

Kingdom men and women have to wake up to this reality: you have been forgiven.

We sometimes say God is the God of second chances. But another chance is not enough when we will fail again. What we need is a Savior, someone to take our sins and live the life we couldn't live.

Forgiveness, not performance

I love how Tim Keller describes Christianity: rather than people searching for a distant God, God comes to find us.

If we don't understand forgiveness, we will try to perform for God. When things go well, we may become judgmental. When we fail, we may feel we have to work off our sin.

John wants every believer to understand: you have been forgiven.

You know the Father

People of the kingdom are people who have been forgiven and know the Father heart of God.

It is one thing to say, “I know God loves me.” It is another thing to have your identity completely revolve around that truth.

Without it, we place our identity in other people's opinions, money, relationships, or our children's future. But no one gets to tell you what you're worth except the Father.

You are a beloved child of God.

A word for young men

For this message, I am using 40 and younger as the younger group. These ages are simply a way to address the room.

John describes young men as strong, with the Word of God living in them, having overcome the evil one.

A kingdom young man feeds himself on the Word of God and fights back darkness.

Feed yourself on God's Word

Young men can have enormous physical appetites. John calls for a spiritual appetite like that: feast on the Word of God.

Know the Bible more than sports statistics. Know God's Word more than your hobbies or the details of your business.

When God's Word gets in you, you begin to speak it, stand on truth, and use your life to bring light into dark places.

Called into purpose

My burden is that many young men are disconnected and disengaged from church, community, and the use of their gifts.

This is not about calling you out. It is about calling you up. God has purposes for you.

You have a Father who uniquely created you. You have been forgiven. As His Word lives in you, it should wake you up to His plans and lead you to live differently.

Don't postpone faithfulness

Let a seven-year-old be seven. But if you're 16, act 16. If you're 26, act 26. Don't keep postponing responsibility.

We often tell young people that these are the years to have fun and make mistakes. Yet the Bible is filled with young people who helped transform the world.

You are not too young to follow God. Your voice is not too small to matter.

Your life is for more

If you're 16, pursue a pure heart and push back lust. If you're 26, put down the remote, stop scrolling, and immerse yourself in God's Word.

If you're 36, recognize that a business, a relationship, or a circle of friends is not the ultimate reason for your life.

You were made to know Jesus and help others know Jesus. God placed you in your neighborhood, school, community, or workplace for more than building a career.

Your voice is needed

John Steinbeck wrote, “A boy gets to be a man when a man is needed. Remember this thing. I have known boys 40 years old because there was no need for men.”

Young men, we need your voice. My concern is that cultural messages about men's skills, wisdom, gender, love, and masculinity can leave men feeling unnecessary.

It is easy to settle for hobbies, sports, or making money. Those things can be good, but they cannot satisfy the purpose for which God made you.

Part of God's greater story

Watching boys turn ordinary objects into weapons and act out adventures makes me think about their desire to confront evil and rescue others.

The Bible tells a greater story: Jesus defeats the serpent and rescues His bride, the church. God's Word is the sword of the Spirit.

Christianity is not merely an invitation to sin less. It is an invitation to join God's work of pushing back darkness.

Whether your circle is 10 people or 10,000, be strong in God's Word and use your life to speak truth.

Faithfulness can cost popularity

Living under God's Word will not always win approval. It can bring rejection, ridicule, and opposition.

Standing on biblical convictions about sexuality, sexual purity, salvation through Jesus, the reality of hell, voting, and the value of unborn life may cost friendships or strain family relationships.

Opposition does not mean you should abandon the Word of God. The call is to live faithfully, not to live for everyone's approval.

A word for older men

For this message, the older group is 41 and up. Again, that dividing line is arbitrary.

John addresses fathers as those who know Him who is from the beginning.

Older men are called to pour out their wisdom and their lives into younger generations.

Brookwood's older men and women have helped lay the foundation of this church. We honor those who have invested and paved the way.

Become a spiritual father

Being a biological father does not automatically make someone a spiritual father. Don't outsource your child's spiritual life to Mom or the church.

Children need to see that faith is real to their parents.

You can also be a spiritual father without having biological children. Through Bible studies, conversations, prayers, and years of faithful investment, you can help shape many lives.

Strength and wisdom belong together

Younger men have strength. Older men have wisdom. The church needs both.

Older men know things younger men have not yet experienced. Books can help, but there are moments when we need someone who has walked the road.

We need people we can call and ask, “How did you do this? Help me understand.” Your experience with God, work, parenting, pain, and loss can help someone else.

Your story can serve someone

If you have decades of a strong marriage, we need to hear what you have learned.

If your story includes divorce and disappointment, we need to hear from you too. You can help others recognize things you have seen and learned.

Your usefulness is not limited to the parts of your life that went well. You can pour what you have learned into the next generation.

A bigger vision for later years

Making money, retiring, traveling, playing golf, and completing home projects is too small an ultimate vision for your life.

Enjoy those things, but don't let them become the whole story. Your later years can be years of deep investment because you know more than you ever have.

You can help younger men avoid spending their lives chasing things that do not satisfy, and point them toward Jesus.

If you are not dead, you are not done

Don't let regret over wasted years become another reason to delay.

Not one day. Let today be day one.

Think of one or two people: a son, grandson, coworker, or someone in your community. Meet with them. Send a message. Pray for them. Begin pouring into their lives.

You do not need an audience of thousands to become a spiritual father.

A life redirected into service

In the service testimony, a Brookwood children's ministry volunteer described years of working hard and keeping busy without being meaningfully engaged.

Coming to church with his family opened his heart toward God. He began to see his life as a gift to steward rather than something centered on himself.

Serving children became his favorite part of the week. What he thought would help the church also brought him joy. With his children grown, he was choosing men's groups and service rather than simply filling his time.

What baton have you received?

Our fathers pass something on to us. Some pass on a broken baton through abuse or absence. Others provide and show up, yet struggle to connect or speak into their children's lives.

Others pass on a strong spiritual legacy that helps their children understand their identity in Jesus.

We can project our earthly father's face onto our heavenly Father. Unrecognized wounds can shape our identity and what we pass to the next generation.

The broken pattern can stop with you

You do not have to accept generational anger, alcoholism, sexual brokenness, addiction, or apathy as the future of your family.

God is a chain breaker.

You may be the first Christian in your family. You may have received a broken baton. But God can call you to become a spiritual father and pass something different to the next generation.

You are forgiven. Your heavenly Father gets to say who you are.

A call to wake up

Distraction can keep us from the life God has called us to live. Good things can still crowd out something better.

Young men: know God's Word, receive your identity from the Father, and use your voice to bring light into your circle.

Older men: your wisdom and experience are needed. Pour your life into your family, church, workplace, and community.

Prayer for younger men

Father God, help these young men recognize that You have brought them into this world to impact generations, bring the light of Christ to their friends, and push back darkness.

Make them strong in You. Help them live for Your approval above the approval of others, even when faithfulness costs popularity.

Help them take hold of Your Word and live faithfully. We commission them in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Prayer for older men

Father God, help these men pour their lives into their families, their communities, and the people they lead.

Help them understand that they have a voice, a purpose, and plans You are calling them into. Let their years of walking with You become a gift to others.

Make them men of boldness and faith who speak truth and life into the people they meet. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.