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Raising Men - Part 1 of 2

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• All right, let's open our Bibles to 1 Chronicles chapter 26. 1 Chronicles chapter 26. I'm going to be bringing an introductory message today. This message is actually in two parts, and so the title is "Raising Men," but I will bring the second part, Lord willing, next Sunday. So if you look in 1 Chronicles chapter 26 and verse 1, that's all I'm going to read right now. There will be other verses that we will be reading. 1 Chronicles 26 and verse 1.

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• The Bible says there, "Concerning the divisions of the porters: of the Korhites was Meshelemiah, the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph." Now, there's an interesting thing about this chapter, and you're going to see it just momentarily. And in light of this chapter, I think it should be obvious that today we are failing, and we have failed our children in America. We fail to raise our young boys to be men, and we fail to raise our young girls to be ladies. We're not only failing, but we have failed to give all of our children what we would call a biblical work ethic, as well as teaching them valor, courage, and duty to God, as well as duty to others.

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• A few years back, I preached a message which I entitled, "Where Are the Real Women?" And interestingly, all the women in the church, and especially some of the single ones, said you need to preach on where all the real men are. And so I did. I brought three messages. But however appropriate it would be to repeat those messages, I'm not going to do so, although a lot of the material there I think would be exceedingly relevant, that is for sure. So let me give you something that you and I must grasp and we must understand, and that is this: The foundation of all education for a child is laid from the

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• ages of 3 to 11. So that means if you do not inculcate certain truths and doctrines in those children at those ages, you will probably never get to do so. What we forget is the education of the early Christians and how they were really grounded in the Word of God. We also forget the education of the early colonials, because in colonial America, you had many children from the ages of five to eight that could read, write, and speak Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. And by the way, those three languages in early America were required just to get into college. You didn't learn those in college. They were required as an entrance into college.

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• That's why someone like Sam Adams would go as a diplomat to Russia at 14 years of age. He had already graduated with a master's degree from college. And these people were really very educated, that is for sure.

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• Now, when it comes to 1 and 2 Chronicles, the truth of the matter is many Christians fail to read and/or study 1 and 2 Chronicles. And the reason some of them give for not really reading and studying 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles is because there are a lot of hard names to pronounce. And that is true. There are indeed a lot of hard names. But the truth of the matter is this: These two books also give what you and I would call detailed information. And sometimes that detailed information is just a little difficult. And sometimes we think it's over our heads. But however, when you understand 2 Timothy, chapter 3, verses 16 and 17, those passages also apply to 1 and 2 Chronicles, where God said, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." So the truth of the matter is, 1 and 2 Chronicles are just as inspired and just as beneficial as any other book of the Bible. So when we come to these hard names, what we need to do is slow down, look at them, break them into syllables, and just simply pronounce them the best that we can pronounce them. I've often thought about this, and it's been kind of amusing to me that when we get to heaven and we get to meet

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• all the saints that are in heaven, and we asked one, "So now, what is your name?" And he says, "Well, Meshelemiah, didn't you know me? You read about me in the book of 1 Chronicles, didn't you? You read my name over and over." No, we didn't read that name because we skipped it. We thought it was so hard to pronounce, you know. But if we slow down and break them into syllables, we can pronounce them.

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• Moreover, if we will take the time to look at the context, we can probably also come up with the proper application to all the difficult material. Now, when I read through 1 and 2 Chronicles recently, the thing that really hit me in 1 Chronicles chapter 26 and 27 was the fact that these sons, these children of these men, turned out to be real men. They were brave. They were courageous. They were men of valor.

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• They were steadfast in their duty. When I was in the university, one of the favorite sayings of Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. was plastered on the walls. And it just simply said this: "The greatest ability is dependability." And that's certainly true. I mean, just faithfulness. Pure old dependability, something and someone that you can count on, is absolutely one of the greatest traits there is today. So, I want you to look very quickly at 1 Chronicles 26, and note if you would, again, verse 1, the Bible says, "Concerning the divisions of the porters."

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• We're going to come back to that. Now, look at verse 6 and what the Word of God says about these men. "Also unto Shemaiah his son were sons born, that ruled throughout the house of their father: for they were mighty men of valor." So now we're talking about sons and grandsons, and they were rulers and they were mighty men of valor. Now look in verse 7: "The sons of Shemaiah; Othni, and Rephael, and Obed, Elzabad, whose brethren were strong men, Elihu, and Semachiah." Note now, they're strong men. Now look in verse 8: "All these of the sons of Obed-edom: they and their sons and their brethren, able men for strength for the service, were threescore and two of Obed-edom." Look in verse 9: "And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, strong men, eighteen." Look at this: strong men, the Bible says, eighteen of them. Now skip down to verse 14: "And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor,

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• they cast lots; and his lot came out northward." Now, look, if you would, in verse 31: "Among the Hebronites was Jerijah the chief, even among the Hebronites, according to the generations of his fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought for, and there were found among them mighty men of valor at Jazer of Gilead." Now look in chapter 27, verse 1: "Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief fathers and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of every course were twenty and four thousand." So here were 24,000 individuals that could serve the king in any matter. It didn't matter what it was. They could. Now, so far, you know nothing about these men that I've just read about, with the exception that they were really indeed men.

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• They were men of education. They were men of training. They were men of faith. They were what you and I would call real, genuine men. I think that you have noticed that there is a deficit of men today. And I'm not just simply referring to what you and I would call males in general, because there are plenty of males around, but I'm talking about men who were made of a different cut. I'm talking about men that are revealed in 1 Chronicles chapter 26, men who were wise, men who could be counselors, men who were brave, men who had valor, men who had strength. These men had character, they had ability. You know, when you think about these people in 1 Chronicles 26-27, when you think about early Christians and when you think about early America, you have to come to the realization that we are bringing forth and siring and putting out individuals today who can't read, who can't think, who can't calculate.

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• And of course, since Bible reading and prayer have been taken out of the government schools, since they've been basically forbidden, we are now producing not only illiterate, functionally illiterate children, but we're also raising young children without ethics and without morality. Now, I want to read an article to you that might shock you. So we're talking about Washington, D.C. So here it is. January the 18th, 2018.

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• "Willie Nolan has a car, but he can't drive it. He has the hands of a craftsman, but he can't follow blueprints. He has a high school diploma, but he can't read. This is what happens when schools put statistics over students, when they value smoke and mirrors over real academic achievement." Here's what he said: "I sat in a classroom doing nothing," Nolan said, "and then all of a sudden they told me I was graduating. I couldn't even read the diploma." Nolan is 57 years old and graduated from the D.C. public school system in 1982. But a newly released investigation by the Office of the State Superintendent showed that at least one out of every ten students graduating from a D.C. public high school last year missed most of the academic year. How well do you think some of those students can read? D.C. public schools have been churning out Willie Nolans for decades.

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• During a discussion at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican, Alabama, said, listen to this quote: "Half the kids in this country when they graduate can't read their diploma." At Tuberville's office, a spokesperson shared data points the senator was relying upon. Here are those data points: 50% of U.S. adults are unable to read an eighth-grade level book. 46% of United States adults can't understand labels on prescriptions. 66% of American 12th graders are rated basic or below basic in reading achievement. Only 37% of 12th graders reached or exceeded the academic preparedness benchmarks for both math and reading that would qualify them for entry-level college courses. Only 37%. Now, it goes on. Listen to this: "Graduating from high school without reading."

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• "Researchers interested in investigating whether the high school education system is producing illiterate graduates investigated the issue by exploring three types of illiteracy: functional, cultural, and moral. The most disturbing news is that the level of functional literacy among high school graduates is wanting. Functional literacy is the ability to read or write well enough to accomplish everyday tasks in modern society. According to Lederman, 14% of American adults are functionally illiterate. In addition, 29% of American adults just have a literacy level of a 5th to 7th grade graduate, while 25% of high school graduates just have an 8th grade level or below." Wow.

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• Now, I could multiply illustrations. In fact, I will give you a couple back. Probably it was in the late 70s or early 80s. I was in Wayne County, Georgia, and I went to a hardware store and I bought two or three bucks worth of tools or whatever it was, nuts, bolts. And I handed the young man behind the cash register a twenty dollar bill. He had a big high school graduation ring on his finger.

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• And when he counted or gave me my change, I counted it as he gave it to me. And I still had my hand open. I looked at him and I said, "Son, that's not right." And the reason I said that, he had given me too much money back. And when I said, "Son, that's not right," he said, "Oh, I'm sorry." And he threw two more ones in my hand. He could not even make change from a $20 bill.

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• The next year, the hardware store was closed. I understand why, if that was the level of their employees. And back in the 1980s, there was a young man in California who had graduated and was unable to read, and he was suing the Department of Education. Well, the superintendent of schools in Wayne County, Georgia, said, and it was in the paper, I read it, he said, "This is not going to happen in Wayne County. We're going to make sure that each one of our graduates can at least read the TV guide." Now, what kind of education is just being able to read a TV guide?

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• Now, the point I'm trying to make right now is this: I think you understand that today's educational system is more of an indoctrination system. And we're churning out young people who are nothing more than little statists, little communists, little socialists, or little Marxists, and they're the ones who are crying out for government to do all and support all and be everything so that they need not do anything. It's a cradle-to-the-grave security that they're wanting.

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• It was Vladimir Lenin who said it like this: "Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted." On top of educational illiteracy, I want you to think about this. I wish to add to the truth by pointing out that most modern-day men—I'm not talking about boys—most modern-day men cannot shoot. They cannot hunt. They cannot skin, gut, or prepare game.

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• They can't plant a garden. They can't build a shelter. They can't find their way in a forest. They can't start a fire in the rain. They can't set traps. They can't drive machinery. They can't teach and they can't communicate. And we are talking about men. To illustrate this point, I want you to listen to this quote by a man by the name of Lazarus Long. Here is what he said: "A man should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, control the movements of a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program

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• a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, and die gallantly." I doubt we have too many men like that around today. So let me point out the fact that when I was a young child and student, our public schools even had shooting teams. As a teenager, I would drive to high school. We would have our rifles and shotguns in our trucks. And none of us ever shot anyone.

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• There was never a disturbance. There was never an incident. And the reason we had the shotguns and rifles in our trucks was because after school we were going hunting. I have a picture right here that I posted of a school shooting team, and it happens to be all girls. And here's what is over it—I can count, there's probably 20 of them there—but it says this: "Back in the 1950s and even later, many high schools had shooting ranges. Students even brought their own rifles to school. What changed in society that we could trust such activities then

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• but not now?" You see, the truth of the matter is this: we don't have a gun problem, we have a morality problem. And what in the world do we expect when the Ten Commandments have been banned, they cannot be posted, they cannot be read, they cannot be talked about, prayer has been banned, Bible reading has been banned, and now students are being taught that there are no absolutes, that everything is absolutely relevant? When I was in school, and I went to public school all of my life, but in public school, when I was a child, we had exercise time, we had rest periods, we had Bible reading, we had prayer. In fact, each day was begun with Bible reading and prayer.

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• We even had young ladies who would sing hymns and gospel songs after prayer and Bible reading. One of those young women, I've never forgotten her name, was Peggy Jean Utto. She sang regularly. She had a beautiful voice. And I remember one of her favorite songs, "It Is No Secret What God Can Do." She sang that one regularly. We had those all the time.

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• Now, the truth that struck me as I read through 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles recently was how the sons of these young men, or these young fathers, turned out. And they turned out not just simply to be males, they turned out to be men. Men of valor, men of courage, men of education, men of understanding.

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• Now, here's the interesting thing. These men that are being talked about in 1 Chronicles chapter 26 and 27 were men that most people would never think about as being what you and I would call men. I want you to go back and look at 1 Chronicles 26 and verse 1. I read it earlier. Let me read it again. Here it is: "Concerning the divisions of the porters: of the Korhites was Meshelemiah, the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph." When you read on through this, it is not just the porters that are being talked about, but the storehouse keepers, the accountants, the people over the treasury. So when you read 1 Chronicles 26-27, we are talking about doorkeepers. We're talking about accountants. We're talking about teachers.

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• I'll say this another way. We're also talking about preachers, because that's what the Levites did. They worked with the priests, and they worked for the priests. And of course, the priests themselves were Levites as well. And so you're going to find that these Levites not only had spiritual duties, but they also had physical duties as well.

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• Now, I want you to hold 1 Chronicles 26, but if you will turn right on over in your Bibles to the book of 2 Chronicles chapter 30, and I could multiply, but these will be sufficient. But look in 2 Chronicles chapter 30 and look, if you would please, at verse 22. 2 Chronicles chapter 30, verse 22. Look at what the Scripture says: "And Hezekiah spake comfortably unto all the Levites that taught the good knowledge of the LORD: and they did eat throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings, and making confession to the LORD God of their fathers." But note if you would, "the Levites that taught the good knowledge of the LORD." So these Levites were teachers. They were preachers, so to speak. If you'll look in 2 Chronicles chapter 35 and verse 3, 2 Chronicles chapter 35, look if you would at verse 3. Notice what it said right here: "And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build;

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• it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the LORD your God, and his people Israel." But note if you would, "and said unto the Levites that taught all Israel." So these people are teachers, they are preachers.

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• Now, I want you to turn on over a few pages from 2 Chronicles to the book of Nehemiah—Ezra, Nehemiah—and we're going to look in Nehemiah chapter 8 and verse 9. Nehemiah chapter 8 and verse 9. And look at what the Scripture says: "And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law." But notice if you would, it was the Levites that taught the people. So here's the question that you need to ask yourself: Why in the world do you need men of courage, men of valor, men of bravery, men of understanding to be porters who are doorkeepers and to be accountants and to be teachers and to be preachers? I'm going to tell you why, and I'm going to show it to you from Scripture. Because it was the responsibility of these men to take life when it was

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• necessary. And these men knew the difference between self-defense, defending others, and murder, and they knew it based upon the Word of God. So let me show you. I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 1. Numbers 1, the fourth book in the Old Testament. Numbers chapter 1, and I want to call your attention, if you would, to verse 53. Numbers chapter 1, and look at verse 53. Here it is: "But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony." So the Levites now have been given a charge, and they are to keep that charge. Now the Hebrew word for "keep" is the word shamar. The word shamar literally means to guard and to protect. It is the same word that is used in Genesis chapter 2 and verse 15 when God commanded Adam to keep the garden.

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• And the word "keep" there does not mean just simply to pull weeds or to prune the bushes. It meant he was to guard and protect the garden, which he failed to do. And there was the serpent, and there was sin. And so, therefore, he was expelled from the garden. But the word "keep" means to guard and protect. Now, notice he said, "and keep the charge." The word "charge" means to guard as a sentry. So, there were guarders. They were sentries.

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• They had a physical duty as well. In fact, the Hebrew word is the word mishmaroth, and it's a military term which means a sentry post, it means a watch or an act of custody. So God has given now the Levites this charge in which they were to keep. Now, if you will turn right over to the book of Numbers chapter 3, and I want us to read verses 5 through 10, and I'm going to come back and show you these same words in this passage. So Numbers chapter 3, let's begin reading there with verse 5: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him." So the Levites had a primary ministry of ministering to Aaron and his family and his sons. Now watch what he says about the Levites: "And they shall keep his charge." Now wait a minute. They were to guard Aaron. They were to guard the high priest. "And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle."

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• So they were responsible for guarding the people as they came to worship as well. Now watch verse 8: "And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle." So now they had a duty and a responsibility to protect everything that's in that tabernacle, later the temple. Verse 9: "And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel. And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death." Now, in this passage, you see the terms "keep" and "charge" over and over. For instance, look in verse 7: "and they shall keep his charge." That is, they had to guard and protect Aaron and his family. In verse 7 again, they're to "keep the charge of the whole congregation." They had to guard and protect them as well. Look in verse 8: "and they shall keep"—that is, guard and protect—"all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation."

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• So, note if you would now again in verse 10: "And the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death."

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• Now, in light of the fact that these Levites had been given a charge to keep, here's my question: Whose responsibility and whose duty was it to put to death the stranger that came near? It would have been the Levites, because they had been given their duty of guarding and protecting. So it's not just that they guarded and protected Aaron and they guarded and protected the people. They also guarded and protected everything in the tabernacle and in the temple.

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• And you've got to remember, a lot of those things were solid gold, silver, all these vestments that were there. There was a lot there, monetarily speaking. So these porters were doorkeepers. They were gatekeepers. They opened the doors of the tabernacle or they opened the doors later of the temple. They were given the duty of guarding and protecting Aaron and the congregation as well as all those instruments there in the tabernacle and later on in the temple. By the way, so they open and close the doors. And when you get to the New Testament, and you read about the captains of the temple—you remember the captains of the temple came out to arrest not only the disciples, but they came out to arrest Jesus. Who are the captains of the temple? It was these porters. It was these Levites. They carried over into the New Testament as well.

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• So here's a quote by John Trapp. I want you to listen. He says, "Doorkeepers, sextons, an office of good account. Their ordinary employment was to see that the Temple was not at any time polluted by profane persons or practices, as also that none of the sacred vessels or vestments were stolen away. Of these were 24 reliefs or exchanges as well as priests, Levites, and singers."

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• Now listen to what he said, I'm going to show you the Scripture. "The division of the porters, there were four classes of these. Each of which belonged to one of the four gates of the temple, which opened to the four cardinal points of heaven. The eastern gate fell to Shelemiah, the northern to Zechariah (1 Chronicles 26:14), the southern to Obed-edom (1 Chronicles 26:15), and the western to Shuppim and Hosah (1 Chronicles 26:16). These several persons were captains of these porter bands or doorkeepers at the different gates. There were probably a thousand men under each of these captains, as we find in 1 Chronicles 23 that there were four thousand in all." So if you look now in 1 Chronicles chapter 23, you're going to find in verse 5 that there are 4,000 of these porters. So 1 Chronicles 23, look if you would please at verse 5: "Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith."

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• So there were 4,000 doorkeepers, or porters, and 4,000 that praised the Lord with instruments. And so these men that were named were evidently captains over all of these porters, because each one had a thousand under him. Four gates, so there were four thousand porters. Now if you look in your Bibles at 1 Chronicles chapter 9, 1 Chronicles chapter 9, and I want you to look at verses 18 and 19. 1 Chronicles chapter 9, look in verses 18 and 19, then we're going back to 1 Chronicles 26. So 1 Chronicles 9, if you'll look there at verse 18: "Who hitherto waited in the king's gate eastward: they were porters in the companies of the children of Levi."

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• Now watch verse 19: "And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the LORD, were keepers of the entry." Remember the word "host" means army. They were over the army of the Lord, were keepers of the entry.

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• Now, I want you to go back to 1 Chronicles chapter 26 and look again at verse 1 and then verse 19. Please, look at this. We're talking about men. Look in verse 1, 1 Chronicles chapter 26: "Concerning the divisions of the porters: of the Korhites was Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph." Now, look if you would, in verse 19: "These are the divisions of the porters among the sons of Kore, and among the sons of Merari." Now, the sons of Kore were the sons of Korah. I don't know if you remember Korah or not. We just, of course, read about him in 1 Chronicles 9. But Korah was the leader of the insurrection and rebellion against Moses and Aaron in Numbers chapter 16. Not only with Korah was Dathan and Abiram, who were Reubenites. Korah was a Levite. And you remember it was Korah and his family that were swallowed alive in the earth, and the earth closed up upon them. Those 250 princes who had their censers before the Lord were burned to death by God with a fire sent from heaven. Now, so my question would be this: if the household

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• of Korah was destroyed, how in the world could he have sons? Well, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 26. Numbers chapter 26, and you're going to see the answer to that. Numbers 26 at verses 10 and 11. Numbers 26 verses 10 and 11. Look at this. This is absolutely astounding in one sense of the word. Numbers 26 verse 10: "And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign." Look at verse 11: "Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not." The children of Korah sided with Moses and Aaron. And they were not involved when they were destroyed, or the family was destroyed. The sons of Korah sided with Moses and Aaron. Now I want you to go back in your Bibles to 1 Chronicles chapter 9. We were there just a little bit earlier, but I want to finish reading from 1 Chronicles chapter 9, and let's begin reading there with verse 19. 1 Chronicles chapter 9 and

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• verse 19, and we'll read through verse 27. 1 Chronicles chapter 9, verse 19. Look at this. We're talking about the sons of Korah, the Korahites. "And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the LORD, were keepers of the entry. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past, and the LORD was with him." So Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the high priest Eleazar, ruler of Aaron's sons, was ruler over all of these Korahites. Okay. Verse 21: "And Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was porter of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."

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• "All these which were chosen to be porters in the gates were two hundred and twelve." Those were probably the captains, because you know there was a thousand at each gate. "These were reckoned by their genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their set office. So they and their children had the oversight of the gates of the house of the LORD, namely, the house of the tabernacle, by wards. In four quarters were the porters, toward the east, west, north, and south. And their brethren, which were in their villages, were to come after seven days from time to time with them." In other words, they would change every seven days. "For these Levites, the four chief porters, were in their set office, and were over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God." So now we've got accountants. We've got storekeepers. Verse 27: "And they lodged round about the house of God, because the charge was upon them, and the opening thereof every morning pertained to them. And certain of them had the charge of the ministering vessels, that they should bring them in and out by tale." And you go on and read all about these. So the question is this: Do you understand why God demanded that these

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• men be real men? I mean, these were tapped, these were Levites. These men were teachers and preachers and accountants. We would call them sometimes diplomats. And here's the contrast I want you to see. I want you to see the difference between these men in 1 Chronicles 26 and 27 and what we have today. I want you to see the difference between the preachers and teachers there and the preachers and teachers that we have today. I hope you remember that some years ago I preached a message entitled, "The Black Robed Regiment," which was about all of the preachers of the American Revolution or the First War for Independence. I preached about Jonas Clark, James Caldwell, and so many others. But you remember Jonas Clark was the pastor there at Lexington. And that first battle was at Lexington and Concord, and everybody reads about Lexington Green, but they never understand that Lexington Green was the church yard. And when John Hancock and Sam Adams got there before the next morning when the fight began, they got there late that night, the question they had for Jonas Clark was, "Would his men fight?"

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• Jonas Clark answered and he said, "They will fight. For this very hour I have trained them, and they will fight and if need be die if necessary." And some did. But notice he said, "For this very hour I have trained them." And he did not just train them physically. He trained them mentally, trained them emotionally. He certainly trained them scripturally. And here is a preacher who is training his men to fight and training his men to stand for biblical principle and biblical right.

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• And then some of you may remember the message I preached many years back, too, on the great revival in the Confederate armies. When you read about some of those chaplains, those Confederate chaplains, they not only preached and prayed, they suffered with their men. They also fought with their men when it was necessary. So you'll have to ask this question: Where are the men today like the men in 1 Chronicles 26 and 27? Where are the men that have courage and bravery and valor and knowledge and they know when to fight, why to fight, where to fight, as well as how to fight? You look around at the average preacher today and he's wimpy,

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• effeminate, and sweet and sickly. I think about it. Most of them turn out to be nothing but administrators and CEOs, and they have no desire to get their hands dirty and they don't want to stand because someone might think ill of them or they might offend someone or they might hurt someone. And where are the preachers? I know there are some exceptions. I understand that. I know some. But as a general rule and as a general principle, we don't have very many men in the pulpit today.

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• Let me ask you another question. Who are the fathers today? Do you understand it's the father's responsibility to teach their children? "Ye fathers, bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." It's the father's responsibility. Yes, mama may help, but she helps under his direction and under his authority. But where are most fathers today? They don't teach their children. They leave it to mama, and mama leaves it to public school, or mama leaves it to someone else. If you don't teach your children, if you don't train your children, no one else will except the world and the ungodly. We just had a family at our house who had six children, and you should have seen the boys eat. I said, "Man, look at those boys eat." He said, "You know, I never had to train them to eat." I said, "That's true. And you never had to train them to sin either."

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• I mean, they do that naturally as well. So the point I'm trying to make is, where are the fathers? That's why we have sired a generation of children with blue hair, nose rings, earrings, tattoos, that dress in crazy clothes, that can't think, that won't work, and all they want to do is be supported so they can have their fun and smoke their pot and do what they want to do. That's where we are today. Wow. They have no work ethic. They have no morality.

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• They have no businesses and have no desire for such. I stopped the other day at Walmart to get something for Alice. And so as I pulled into a parking place, and usually my dogs are with me, and I pulled in beside this woman who was loading her groceries. And she had two daughters there, teenagers. And the woman had bright red hair, not natural red, I mean, you know, paint red. And each of her daughters had either a blue streak or a green streak in their hair.

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• And I thought, "Lord, what in the world is wrong with these people?" I mean, who wants—I don't see too many people going around putting gray in their hair, you know. But they'll put blue and green and purple and pink and all kind of—I'm just saying, we don't—we've failed a whole generation of young people. Let me give you a quote. This I do not think is any longer true. But here's a quote from Admiral Yamamoto of the Japanese Navy during World War II. What he said I do not believe is any longer true. He said, quote, "You cannot invade mainland America.

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• There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass." Wow. What in the world did he mean by that? Well, he meant that everybody in America was armed. Everybody in America knew how to shoot. Everybody in America knew how to defend themselves, their families, and their country. And everyone in America had a will to fight and understood character and courage and bravery and valor. I've said publicly, there's no way in the world today that we can send our armed forces off to war.

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• We don't have enough lipstick, rouge, and earrings and skirts for them. It is insane. It is absolutely ridiculous. We have turned out to be a sick generation. We've not only lost our educational sense, we've lost our moral compass. We have failed to learn the principles of the Word of God. We've denied Him. We've turned our back upon Him. We've turned our back upon the Bible. And it really hit me this week hard as I was teaching in Bible study: The reason there are so many ignorant Christians is they don't read their Bible. And they just do not read it.

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• Let me tell you something. You can't—you have to pick up something. If you're just reading your Bible over and over and over and over, you may not be a theologian, but you'll know what the Bible says and what it doesn't say. It's like that old adage, and I've had people say this to me, I don't know, seven or eight times: "Well, you know, the Bible says every tub has to sit on its own bottom." No, the Bible doesn't say that. That's not in the Bible. That's just an old wives' saying. I'm just saying we are totally, absolutely ignorant. And we've got pastors and preachers that are fearful of their own people and they are afraid to say, "Thus saith the Lord." They don't want to stir up a controversy. I've had preachers tell me, "Well, I believe such and such, but I don't preach it because it would upset my people." I'm sorry, if the truth upsets you, you're just going to have to be upset. That's all there is to it.

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• But we've got to the place that we will not stand for truth because we're afraid that we might hurt someone's feelings. We need to pray that God would give us men. Real men. Biblical men. Godly men. Men of character and valor like these doorkeepers. You know, now I understand that verse where David said, who was king, "I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." Well, his doorkeepers were men. I want to give you a quote by Josiah Gilbert Holland. I want you to listen. "God, give us men! A time like this demands strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands. Men whom the lust of office does not kill; men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; men who possess opinions and a will; men who have honor; men who will not lie; men who can stand before a demagogue and damn his treacherous flatteries without winking; tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog

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• in public duty and in private thinking; for while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds, their large professions, and their little deeds, mingle in selfish strife, lo, Freedom weeps, Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps." That is true. So I want you to turn your Bibles to one last passage. I want you to look, if you would, to 2 Chronicles chapter 16 and verse 9. This will be a wonderful passage for you to memorize, at least the first half of that verse, because the prophet is speaking to King Asa, and he's telling Asa that he's messed up, that he's sinned greatly. But look at what the Bible says in 2 Chronicles chapter 16 and verse 9. Here it is: "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro

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• throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." So here is what the prophet tells King Asa: "Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars." But here is the first part of that verse, and I want you to look at it now: "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth." What is God doing looking throughout the whole earth? Here it is: He is looking for someone whose heart is perfect toward him, that he might show himself strong in and through that man. Wow. God is looking for men. God is more than willing to do what needs to be done. He is looking for men through whom he can do it

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• and will do it and will stand for truth and righteousness. I still love that verse in John 1 and verse 6 concerning John the Baptist, when the Word of God says, "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John." I read that, I look at that: there was John, and God looks at him and said, "There was a man." There was a man, and John the Baptist was indeed a real man. That's why I began, "God, give us men." I'm going to show you a man next week that is exceedingly blessed of God and unique. So many people say, "Well, you've used the wrong word. You're talking about raising men. Don't you mean rearing men?" Well, let's see, you raise cattle for sure. You raise crops. I would think you'd raise children, but I don't mind the word "rear." Rearing children, but the way you raise them is by using their rear end when it needs to be paddled and whipped. Now, I guess that says the word—you can rear them too, but in rearing them, you raise them to be men and to be young ladies.

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• God, give us men. Let's pray. Father, help us today to love Thee, to live for Thee, to honor Thee. Father, I pray that You would make us men, men that You can use, and men, Lord, who are ready and willing and able to be used. Lord, help us to raise our young sons into biblical men, godly men, faithful men, men of valor and understanding. Give us Your grace, we pray. Lord, we need it desperately. Teach us and build us up in the most holy faith. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

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• so

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T16:12:49Z