Teague Bible Church

Men’s Fellowship In The Age Of Isolation  – Jimmy Petty

“Iron Sharpens Iron”  – Howard and William Hendricks    p.31

“Imagine a man climbing alone, with no support system. He may achieve great heights. But one wrong move and he can fall thousands of feet to his death, without so much as anyone hearing his cry. That’s why scripture says, ”Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either one of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up”  Ecc. 4:9-10 (NAS)

The tragedy is that more and more people in our society are traveling through life as the Lone Rangers. They are placing less and less value on their relationships, with the result that each succeeding generation experiences greater isolation, loneliness, and even despair.”

Iron Sharpens Iron –   (Hendricks)     p. 24

“Can you see the extraordinary power of a relationship? It can transform a man’s life. That’s why Jesus, after spending a night in prayer, choose 12 men to be “with him” (Mk. 3:13-14, Lk. 6: 12-13)   He knew that His greatest impact would come from living side-by-side with hand-picked men day after day.

There is no substitute for knowing and being known by another human being. There is no way to experience what deep down we really want as people- to be heard, to be understood, to be affirmed, to be valued. God has put into each of us a longing to be significant, to feel that our life counts. Yet countless men feel inadequate, and insecure, no matter how much talent they may possess.”

Jimmy Petty-

“Nothing runs on automatic. In all things you must first have DESIRE. If you are a Christian you already have that, but can suppress it, by selfishness. Along with the desire to be what God wants you to be, comes the humility to learn SKILL/KNOWLEDGE from others. Stop swelling up like a toad in pride and ask other men questions on how they would deal with certain situations that need a solution. ( I Cor. 8:1-3)  Pride can rise up in a man and prevent this. His alternative of choice is to pose and put up a false front. He thinks he is protecting himself, but really he is dying inside as he pretends he has it all together. Along with DESIRE and TRAINING/SKILLS one must have ENDURANCE. Men are prone to work hard, for a short, intense period of time, thinking that will fix the problem, once and for all, and then they can “move on” to something else. Get the house built, fix the car, buy the insurance and put it in a box and forget about it. You cannot just “fix” a relationship or “put it away in a box,” or “set it, then forget it.”

We do it in marriage as we say things such as, “What is it going to take to make that woman happy!” We say that, not realizing what we really said. It is not what, but who can make them happy.  Wives want a long-term and growing relationship with you. They want you, not a “what.”

Let me be quick to say that no man is required to make a wife “happy” as a substitute for a close relationship to God she so desperately needs. Girls, if you are never satisfied with all he does, for your sake, then don’t be surprised if he gives up trying. If he is going down the right path and improving, then why would you put your foot in his back and try to make him go faster? I ask a wife once, “why do you not let him lead?” The answer was, “He is just not fast enough for me, nor does he handle that situation like I would!” Yea, tell God that one and listen for the crickets.

At any rate, the real measure of a man is ENDURANCE as he pushes forward toward the upward call of God. Just “hanging around” is not the same as endurance. To fully engage in all aspects of your calling and to endure is manly.”

Why men move away from real fellowship with other men, and move away from mentoring:

A man’s pride tells him to go it alone

A man’s heart tells him to remain quiet

A man’s mind tells him nobody will understand

A man’s emotions tell him to keep things under control

A man’s time tells him that he has no room in his schedule