The Scourge Of Racism
E-Book Availability 4/12-26
Released January 5, 2024
Download Your Copy
Now In The Strong Man Store!
It is said of Jesus Christ, He was “born to die.” Consider that as a man’s life ambition for a moment. No, we cannot even fathom such a thing since most of us spend our lives doing everything possible to stave off the inevitable. However, the Son of God and Man came into the world with the express ambition to secure salvation for fallen mankind by the only means possible: the shedding of His own sinless blood culminating in death (Mark 10:45, 14:32-42; Luke 24:44-47; Hebrews 9:11-22). As this edited 2011 Commentary shows, ambition is of God and can drive men in noble and ignoble activities. Marginalizing men demoralizes them and chokes off their natural ambition.
Originally Published December 2011
Tied directly to visionary leadership is the necessary drive to fulfill what has been envisioned. This drive is called ambition. Without this drive no man would have ever set out to achieve or accomplish anything. The so-called advance of civilization never would have occurred nor buildings that touch the clouds, sports records, great musical compositions, technological breakthroughs or sea voyages to the earth's edge. Ambition is the natural companion to visionary leadership and like it, is another of the transmittable attributes of God imparted to man made in the divine image and likeness. Therefore, of itself, ambition is not evil. Men on the sidelines stifle human achievement.
As it originates in God, ambition is a marvelous quality of the divine nature. Indeed, not only does God envision the thing to be done, but He also exerts the drive and power to make it happen! In the case of the universe, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands,” (Psalm 19:1, NIV). The perfect ambition of God acted to bring forth the physical creation with a joyful ultimate purpose: the creation also of His image bearer, man. Even when it appeared that this act of love was a bust because of man's sin in the garden, God announced His plan to help him (Genesis 3:15). From the Seed of the woman would come hope and deliverance.
Package it any other way you want to, Christmas for Christians celebrates the unbridled ambition of God Almighty to save the creature of His love. For this plan of His was not hatched in a “fly by the seat of the pants” moment of inspiration when His creature fell. But He foreknew man's failure and planned from eternity to send His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to be our Savior and Champion (Matthew 1:18-21; 1 Peter 1:20-21)! Seven centuries before His birth the prophet Isaiah ended an inspired utterance announcing it saying, "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this," (Isaiah 9:6-7, NKJV). What is the Lord's zeal but His passionate ambition for His causes?
What is the joy of the mother of Jesus, a virgin that miraculously carried Him in her womb if not at the ambition of God fulfilled in her centuries after the promise (Luke 1:46-55)? What is the joy of the angels if not at seeing the unshakable will and ambition of God to save lowly mankind take another step closer to realization (Luke 2:8-14)? Moreover, what is this ambition in the Son of God to serve His Father as a youth (Luke 2:41-52); this Son of Man too who upon reaching the prime of adulthood, began His fulltime service to God? His genealogy through His mother goes back to the first man and historically demonstrates the longsuffering ambition of God to save (Luke 3:23-38)!
"Like father, like son," the saying goes. Thus, Jesus Christ spent the next three and one half years of His life consumed with the ambition to please His Father and do His will which preeminently involved the salvation of lost mankind (Luke 19:9-10; John 6:38-40). In His ambitious warfare and work He victoriously contended with "that serpent of old" for the liberation of His people from prisons of darkness, torments and afflictions of every kind including death. In the process, He fulfilled His personal ambition born of love for His Father to seek His glory (John 8:48-50, 12:27-28, 15:8, 17:4). Finally, in His death on the cross He completed His ambition and mission to save (John 19:30)!
The excellent divine virtue of ambition is nearly impossible to see in its purity in fallen men. Influenced by sin and often deceived by Satan, fallen men dream dreams and pursue them with the most selfish of motives. Truly, what evil men in their selfish ambitions will not do even persecuting the righteous (John 11:45-53; James 5:1-6). The chief end of ambition in sinful men is personal pride of achievement and glory from other men. This is true too for no small number of those professing to be Christians and working in ministry. The aspiring strong man of God in the image of Christ takes to heart the apostle Paul's instruction to do nothing out of selfish ambition, but all for the glory of God (2 Corinthians 10:17-18; Philippians 2:3-11). Such men give us our fleeting look at noble ambition.1
Nevertheless, men sidelined because their historical visionary leadership and ambition are no longer valued is leaving its mark. Many decry the loss of American ingenuity that once dreamed never before imagined inventions, built companies to produce them and created jobs. The News is filled with stories of suffering families and disillusioned, out of work men. Many churches have few men and a number of them suffer the inability to fulfill their divine design because of oppression by threatened leaders that pander to the women. Like a bizarre nightmare, the very group that claims to know God cooperates with the world in deconstructing men as He designed (1 Timothy 4:1-2). The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 Learn more about the aspiring strong man of God by getting a copy of my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. It is available through all major internet
booksellers, by order from your favorite brick and mortar bookstore and in the Strong Man Store.
I took my stand at the outset of 2017 as commanded by the Lord and empowered by the Holy Spirit to “wage war against and pull down strongholds of deceit” in arguments raised up to redefine and marginalize men.1 After this, I held up Jesus, Son of Man and declared the value of men.2 Continuing now in steadfast resistance to deceitful, worldly feminism and compromising churches attempting to placate and accommodate it, I again hold up Jesus Christ and show the value of men at this moment in 2018. Beginning with this edited 2011 Commentary and posts to follow leading up to Resurrection Sunday, I declare with clueless Pilate: ‘“Behold, the Man,”’ (John 19:5, NKJV)!
None of this is about marginalizing women as some mistakenly surmise. But in the face of a world defying and many in the churches corrupting and even wickedly rewriting Scripture to sustain deceitful feminism, God Almighty seeks to fully portray the truth of His salvation and restoration that is both corporate for His creature “man” as well as individual among mankind that are willing to embrace them through faith in Jesus, Son of Man! Because of what man the creature by divine design is embodied in the first and second Adams, delightfully known to Satan, but unforeseen to human rebels are the many ruinous consequences of marginalizing men in the wrap up to this present age.
Originally Published November 2011
The rebellious attempt by radical feminist besieged Western cultures to eradicate gender distinctives in mankind is leading to a severe, unintended consequence. Short of this severe consequence is the unfolding lack of employment for men in jobs that capitalize on their divine design to envision and boldly embark on the risky venture to construct or accomplish what they saw in their minds. Such men sit on the sidelines while what jobs are available in the service sector, for example, go to women in the name of a twisted, worldly brand of equality. Without a change of some kind soon, distraught unemployed family men that understand their responsibility to provide will revolt.
The phrase in Genesis 1:26a is brief, but thoroughly pregnant with instruction: "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness,'" (NKJV). God, Creator of the heavens, earth and all they contain, on purpose made only one creature specifically named to be man in the image and likeness of God. Among the many transmittable attributes of deity man was to enjoy from the stated intent of God is the visionary leadership of his Creator. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a visionary is one marked by foresight and has visions. His visions are of fantasy and dreams; existing only in the imagination and not very practical or I might add, always doable.
How do we know God is a visionary leader? From cover to cover the Bible declares the visionary leadership of God! For example, Isaiah the prophet writes, "For thus says the Lord Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: 'I am the Lord, and there is no other,'" (Isaiah 45:18, NKJV). When and where did God envision His creation along with His purposes for it? From eternity where He dwells and in His own mind which He has gladly revealed to His sons in Christ (Psalm 90:2, 93:2; Isaiah 57:15a, 64:4; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16).
Genesis 1:1 is the declarative statement of God acting to bring His creative vision to fulfillment. For while men may have many great visions and dream fantastic dreams, only God can and has brought all of His to pass. Even so, God has willed to impart His visionary leadership ability to man and particularly in this age, men. As I write in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics, men and women are different by divine design with men made to prominently display God’s ruling function.3 Men are wired in every part of their existence right down to hormones to fulfill this function. This important ruling function in the image and likeness of God includes visionary leadership.
The history of mankind cannot be revised on this score. It is the visionary leadership of men from Adam to this hour that has conquered lands, built civilizations, dared to walk on the moon and pushes the boundaries of cyberspace. This historical reality is so in spite of the presence of sin in men. Rather than limiting a man's desire to dream and bring to reality, sin with the help of Satan has only corrupted and deceitfully influenced his imagination. As a result, God has stepped in at times to judge the vision inspired works of men and redirect their efforts such as at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9).
The point is that while in general women by divine design are excellent managers of what exists, men have been the historical practitioners of visionary leadership that dreams and brings what does not exist into reality. Properly informed by the Holy Spirit an aspiring strong man of God in the image of Christ exercises his visionary leadership first in the home, then the local church and beyond. What is the "Great Commission" of Jesus Christ first given to 1st century men but the continuing fulfillment of God's vision to finally have saved mankind dwell with Him forever (Matthew 28:16-20; Revelation 21:1-8)? Truly, wired for visionary leadership mostly men from that time until now have bought into and risked their lives to fulfill God's vision to the ends of the earth!4
Certainly to unemployed men the truth of God given visionary leadership should inspire a turning to Him for an entrepreneurial vision that will enable you to support your family. But soberly, this truth is also a warning to our rebelling nation: stop the evil experiment of redefining men and women! Not only is this leading to an eventual revolt by beleaguered men, but the severe, unintended consequence of our nation's economic ruin in the shadow of God's coming wrath (Proverbs 29:18; Isaiah 3:12, 24:1-13; Revelation 6:5-6). Professed Christians and their churches that have supported this feminist led rebellion against God will not escape (1 Peter 4:17-18). The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 See the January 22, 2017 Blog, In God’s Revival Men Are Restored, Pt. 3, under the category, The Cause.
2 Read these series of posts under The Cause category January 29-February 12, 2017 and June 4-25, 2017 respectively.
3 The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics is available through all major internet booksellers, by order from your favorite brick and mortar bookstore and in the Strong Man
Store.
4 Such a man in modern times was Dr. Billy Graham who departed home to the Lord this past February 21, 2018. Read my November 4, 2016 post honoring him.
Join The Strong Man Of God Resources Conversation!
Get Your Copy Of The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics Today!
Your purchase supports restoring men, families and communities through Strong Man Ministries!
Purchase It Now