Well we have actually arrived at the next to last text in Paul's epistle to the church at Rome. We are coming to the end. Romans chapter 16 verses 21 through 24. Romans 16 verses 21 through 24. And as you're turning, I would like to remind the men that God willing, we will have our next prayer meeting for revival at 7.30 Saturday morning, if you can come. In this text, we have another list of names. Romans 16 open with a list of names and now we have another only this is much briefer. The list before us pertains to men who were with the Apostle Paul when he wrote this epistle or at least portions of it. And apparently these guys wanted to be remembered to the church in Rome. Perhaps they had friends in Rome, or perhaps they simply wanted to express their love and their respect for this very important church. Our plan of study is quite simple. I will move hurriedly through the list, making comments. And then secondly, we will speak a little bit about what this list teaches us about the Apostle Paul. And then finally, based upon the passage and implications from the passage, I hope to issue a challenge to the men of our congregation, to Christian men. Well, please follow in your Bibles as I read the text. If you're reading from the English Standard Version, you will note that verse 24 is omitted, which I believe to be a mistake. Romans 16, verse 21. Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, Sosipater, my fellow countryman, greet you. I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Quartus, a brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. First of all, some observations and comments about the text. The first name listed is the most familiar. It's the name Timothy. Timothy was a real curiosity. Apparently, he was converted through the testimony of his family. That was very extraordinary. in this period of history in the mid first century. But Timothy had a godly grandmother and a godly mother, Jews who apparently believed that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah. And they taught Timothy that, and by God's grace, he believed and he was converted. Apparently, Timothy grew in the faith very quickly. He gained a wide reputation in his home country around Lystra and Iconium, so that when Paul came there to visit, people were talking to him about this young man named Timothy. He was so on fire for Jesus. Well, Timothy and Paul formed a very quick bond notwithstanding the age difference, and Paul took Timothy with him on his missionary journey. If I'm not mistaken, Paul names Timothy in all but three of his epistles. Here, he simply says that Timothy is my fellow worker. Next, we have three men named Lucius, not to be confused with Luke, Jason, and Sosipater. And we really don't know who these guys were. There's a possibility that this Jason was the Jason of Thessalonica, who was driven from his home when the Jews were in a rage looking for Paul. And they couldn't find Paul, but they found Jason. And they dragged him out of his house. They subjected him to verbal and perhaps physical abuse. If this is the same guy, we can well imagine that he and Paul were rather tight. We do not know who Scipiter was unless he's the same man that Luke called Scipiter. Luke had a way of abbreviating names. If that's the case, Scipiter was from Berea. Paul identifies these three very simply as my countrymen. ESV says my kinsmen. It's not likely that they were members of the same extended family. The likelihood is that they were all Jews who had been converted to faith in Christ. The next individual named was not actually named by Paul, he wrote his own name in the text. Verse 22, I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, wait, I thought Paul wrote this letter. Well, obviously, there's no need for confusion. There is no contradiction. Very often, most often, Paul dictated his epistles to a secretary who wrote exactly as Paul told him to write. Paul was the human author, but in this case, this particular man, Tertius, was the hand that wrote Paul's words. The words that Paul dictated were the words inspired by the Holy Spirit. Tertius was to Paul what my keyboard was to me when I endeavored to compose the sermon. Here, this man Tertius requested and received permission from Paul to express his personal greetings to the church in Rome. The next man named is Gaius. Gaius was a popular name in the New Testament. It's found five times. Just about the only thing we can say about this Gaius with some certainty was that he was one of the few that Paul actually baptized in Corinth. The most interesting thing that we were told about him was that he was Paul's host, and not only that, he was the host of the whole church. That means the whole church in Corinth gathered in the house of Gaius. On the first day of every week at other times of meeting, they went to the house of Gaius. We don't know how large the church was, but let's suppose they had 50 members. Once a week at least, you have 50 people coming to your house. That would be a task, preparing, cleaning up after 50 people. He must have had a very understanding wife. Well, I think it implies that Gaius was a wealthy man, but he was also a generous man. It's a beautiful thing when you find those two things merging. Wealth and generosity. Wealth and self-sacrifice. Next we have Erastus, verse 23. Erastus is said to be the treasurer of the city. What city? Corinth. He was the treasurer of the city of Corinth. That's quite a responsibility. It's also a high honor. Not many noble are called. Not many people of high public standing are called to faith in Christ, but some are. And almost every time that a person of high public standing is called to faith in Christ, we are told about that in the Bible. because God would have us understand he is not a respecter of persons. Not many wise, not many noble were called. Most believers, ordinary people, nameless, faceless people, as far as the world is concerned. But a few people of recognition, of name, are called to faith in Christ. The last man named is Quartus. We don't know anything about him except that he was a brother in Christ. So we have eight men named in this text, and they have three things in common. They were followers of Jesus Christ. They were companions of the apostle Paul. and they wanted to express greetings to the church in Rome. And then together, they wished to have this prayer slash wish expressed to the church. It's the same prayer that Paul had prayed for the church just a few verses earlier. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. It's not the same as saying yours truly. This was a prayer. It's perhaps the most significant prayer that one Christian can pray for another. That the living Christ, the living Christ, Christ is alive, He's a person. That the special, powerful presence of the living Christ would be near you. to meet your needs, to uphold you, to strengthen you, to use you, to make you fruitful, that Christ, the living Christ would be near you in power, not because you have earned it, but as an expression of his free love and mercy. Well, now we move from observations about the text to an observation about Paul because of the text. The observation about Paul is this. Paul was a man who was surrounded by other good and strong men. Throughout the history of his apostolic ministry, we find the apostle Paul surrounded by other people. Serious, devoted Christians. In the opening part of chapter 16, there's some women named who help Paul. But here at the end, eight men are named. They're with Paul in Corinth as he is writing. They're strong men. They're courageous men. They are good men. And we find that throughout Paul's ministry. Good men, godly men wanted to be near him. And I think that poses a very important question for those of us who are men. What made Paul the kind of man that won the admiration and devotion of other men? Not weak men, strong men. Do you understand the question? You who are men, how many strong godly men are attracted to you? And they wanna be around you, they wanna be with you. Paul was that kind of man, and I think it's right. I think it's helpful for us to try to think, why was that so? Why were there so many good men who wanted to be with Paul? Well, for one thing, I'm fairly confident it was because Paul was so highly respected They admired Paul. They respected Paul. And why did they respect him? I submit to you they respected him because they knew that Paul was not a man-poiser. He was not an egomaniac. Paul was not courting their favor. Paul was not controlled by what other people thought of him. He was not trying to send messages, I like you, won't you like me too? Don't you wanna be a friend to me? Paul was not an actor, neither was he a flatterer. Paul was who he was, take him or leave him. He did not craft his words or his behavior to win people to himself. He was not that kind of guy. He was not a man pleaser. The controlling force in Paul's life really was Jesus Christ. I mean, it really was. Pleasing Christ, being faithful to Christ, honoring Christ, that really was the driving force in Paul's life. And that made Paul predictable. You knew what you were going to get with the apostle Paul. You were going to get whatever was faithful to Christ. And whatever the word of Christ said, that's what Paul was going to say. And when it came down to doctrinal questions, or it came down to ethical questions, you knew what you were going to get with Paul. You were going to get the Bible. You were gonna get, thus saith the Lord, because Paul was devoted to Christ and to the word of God. And he was unrelenting in that commitment. If people liked him for that, so be it. If they hated him for that, so be it. He was not gonna change. And there were people who did hate him for that. They hated him because his loyalty to Christ impinged upon their conscience and made them feel guilty, and they hated him. And they hated him because they couldn't control him. There are a whole lot of people in this world. In fact, I would say most people in this world play the control game. And one way or another, they try to manipulate and control the people around them. And they give affection, withhold affection. They say nice things. They say not so nice things. It's all calculated to control. They want to control the people around them. And they were furious with Paul because you couldn't control him. But you see, that was the very thing that made him attractive to strong men. He couldn't be controlled. You couldn't buy him with a smile. You couldn't intimidate him with a frown. Another thing that I think made Paul so attractive to strong men, Paul was not an intimidating man. He was not an intimidating man. He would not be intimidated himself, but neither did he try to intimidate others. Weak men are often drawn to men who intimidate. And often men who intimidate like to think they're strong men. As you get around me and I'll tell you what I think. And I'll tell you what everybody all think. And I'll tell you everything about everything because I know everything about everything. So you just hang with me and I'll make you smart. And weak men are drawn to those kind of men. Strong men are repulsed by those kind of men. Paul was not that kind of man. One of Paul's most famous texts was a very honest testimony he wrote about first time he came to Corinth. He said, I was with you in weakness and fear and in much trembling. That doesn't sound like a very intimidating man, does it? When I came among you, I was with you in fear. I was with you in weakness, I felt weak, I was trembling. My speech, my preaching were not with the persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Holy Spirit and power. You see, Paul really did understand that his success as a minister really didn't depend on his learning or his giftedness. It really did depend on the blessing of the Holy Spirit. Didn't depend on his ability to manipulate his hearers. He deliberately tried not to manipulate his hearers. Now, Paul was a learned man. He was brilliant and he was highly gifted and he used his learning and he used his gifts, but he didn't depend on them. He trembled at the idea that he would stand alone without the blessing of the Holy Spirit. So when people commended him for his preaching, he did not think, well, I'm glad you picked up on my gifts. Would you like to know where I went to seminary? No. He felt deep inside, well, praise God, praise God, the Spirit of God help me. Now, some people despised him for his humility. They thought humility was weakness. That's often what the world thinks, humility is weakness. They supposed that he was a weak man, and yet they envied the admiration that others had for him. And they wanted that admiration for themselves. And so, particularly in Corinth, they told stories about him behind his back. They accused him of being a false apostle. One of my favorite texts in the New Testament is this, 1 Corinthians 4, 19 and following. Paul said, but I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know. I'm gonna come to you and I'm gonna know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God, you see, is not in word, but in power. So what do you want? I love this. What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or shall I come to you in love and a spirit of gentleness? He was humble, he was not weak. He was not a man given to intimidation, but he was tough and he was courageous and he was forceful when he needed to be. And these were the characteristics that won admiration from good, strong men. Another factor. that I think drew strong men to Paul was the fact that he recognized the gifts and abilities of others, and he put them to good use. He recognized the giftedness and value of others, and he put them to good use. There was a problem in Ephesus. Ephesus was one of the most important churches in Asia, and there were problems. Paul couldn't go, at least not until he got out of jail. So what did he do? He sent a young, inexperienced man named Timothy. He sent Timothy to Ephesus. The churches in Crete were a mess. Again, Paul couldn't go. He was undisposed. He didn't wait till he was free. He sent another young and experienced man named Titus. Now he trained these guys. He knew these guys. He knew they were young. He knew they were inexperienced, but he knew they were faithful men full of zeal for the glory of God. And he sent them. He entrusted them with very important work and he sent them out. And others watched and they said, you know, Paul's not one of these guys who thinks he has to do it. Nobody can do it but him. If you're a good student and you learn your lessons well and Paul trusts you, he'll give you important work to do. There's been a movement under foot and reformed and evangelical churches for the last several years that purports to elevate men to the place they ought to be. I've come to think it's a very dangerous movement. In part because it inflates the egos of men. It gives them a very large view of what they can do and a larger than necessary view of their own responsibilities. And it teaches men, don't let anybody teach your children but you. Don't let anybody teach your wife but you. You're the only one who can do it. That's dangerous. because you're not the only one who can do it, and you may not be the best one to do it. Christ has filled his church with gifted men and gifted women. And you're not the only one. You see, the apostle Paul didn't have that view. He was viewed as a leader because he trained men. put them to work in the ministry. He was not naive, he was not hasty, but neither was he fearful and egotistical, thinking that no one could do it but him. Well, these are some of the qualities which I think made Paul an attractive man to strong men who wanted to be around him, gathered around him and followed him. Now finally, I want to give a challenge to Christian men. Ladies, I hope you won't be offended if this sermon is primarily to your husbands and your brothers in Christ. Your turn will come, I hope. I'm bearing a heavy burden for men. I'm bearing a heavy burden for men in this congregation. I say that with the recognition that it's a very difficult time in human history to be a godly man. On one hand, We have our own natural indisposition to be what God has called us to be. God demands things of us that we don't want to give. God calls us to be what we don't want to be. We push back. On the other hand, we live in a culture that mocks what God has called us to be and dares, and dares men to even attempt to be what God calls them to be. There's a commercial on TV, I think it's an auto insurance commercial. I think most people would view it as funny. There's a supposed husband and wife in bed at night reading. Teenage boy comes to the door and announces he just wrecked the family car. And the mother says, okay, you're grounded for four weeks, you can't drive the car for six. And the young boy, yes, Mom, and just runs back to his room. And you look at that and you say, that's funny. That's not funny. Because Dad is laying there in bed and he doesn't say a word. And that is very purposeful. That is the message in our culture. Dad, keep your mouth shut. You're not the leader, Dad. You're not smart enough to be the leader, Dad. You're too reactionary, dad. You're not sympathetic enough, dad. You just keep your nose buried behind the paper. Mom will take care of it. And that message is being repeated over and over again. And you know what? You know what? There are Christian women who are conveying that message. There are Christian women who are daring their husbands to be leaders. Tough time to be a man, a godly man. But guys, we really don't have an excuse, do we? We have the plain teaching of the Bible, we have the impeccable example of Jesus Christ, and we have the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit. So we really don't have an excuse. What I want to do in closing, I want to issue a general challenge to Christian men, and then I wanna follow that with two very practical words of counsel, okay? General challenge, two practical words of counsel. First of all, the general challenge, the challenge to every Christian man here, whether you're married or single, whether you're old like me or young like some of these guys here, the challenge is this, accept, accept the responsibility of being where God has put you. and of doing what God has called you to do. Accept the responsibility of being where God has put you and doing precisely what God has called you to do. And God has called you to do a number of things. Supremely, he's called you to be lovers of himself. And then he's called you to be workers and rulers in the created world. And then he's called you to be leaders in your families. And then he's called you to be good churchmen. And then he's called you to be salt and light in your neighborhood and in your community. That's a lot. We're called to be lovers of God. We're called to be dominion seekers in the creation. We're called to be leaders in the home. We're called to be good churchmen at church, and we're called to be the light and salt of the earth. The greatest commandment calls you, my dear brother, calls everyone, but I'm talking to men, It calls you to love God more than you love anything else, to love God with the totality of your redeemed humanity, to love God with all your mind, soul, heart, and strength. You are to be a God lover above everything else. And you are to let that show. You're not to be a God lover in private, you are to be a God lover in the totality of your living. Now, first of all, it has to be a reality. You don't want to behave like a God lover if you don't really love God. So first of all, you have to appeal to Jesus to make that real, to make that true of you. It's not equally true all the time, is it? Sometimes our love is hot and sometimes it's barely flickering. So we have to learn to pray that Jesus would keep our love hot. that we would not leave it, we would not let it die. That's part of our daily devotional life. Lord Jesus, keep my love for the Father hot. Make me a real God lover, not a pretended God lover, a real God lover. But then act like one. Let your love for God be seen. How do you do that? You do that by taking obvious delight in God, taking delight in Him, taking delight in everything connected with God, taking delight in Jesus, taking delight in the Bible, taking delight in worship, taking delight in the church, taking delight in missions. Everything that pertains to God, show your delight Show that you don't just do it, you do it happily, joyfully. As I was thinking about what I was gonna preach, sitting there, my mind went to my dad. They say that happens as you get older, you think more about your parents. I guess it's true, I guess it's true. My dad has been with Jesus for a very long time. But I still think about him. I'm still very thankful. My dad was a quiet man, very quiet man. But he let me see his love for Jesus in a number of ways, the way he prayed, the way he led our home. But I remember times at church, there weren't many, but there were times at church when he would stand to give testimony publicly to his faith in Christ. I cherish those memories. I cherish hearing my dad talk publicly about Jesus and about loving him and about how Christ came to him and changed him. Your children ever heard you say that? Do your children have the memory of dad showing public delight in Jesus without embarrassment? It's part of what it means to be a God lover. And that's what it means to be a holy man. Beyond that, God has designed the male to be engaged outside of the home in creative ways, exercising dominion over the creation. That means working in the creation, causing the creation to serve him and to serve the needs of his family. So we live in a messed up world. We are told we ought to serve the creation. No, that's not what the Bible says. We are to make the creation serve us. Genesis 1, 26, God said, let us make man in our image according to our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish, over the birds, over the cattle, over all the earth. God created man, the male, to exercise control over the created world for God's glory and for man's good. Now, however you do that, maybe you're a farmer, maybe you're a carpenter, maybe you're a computer programmer, maybe you sell cars, maybe you sell shoes, Whatever you do, do it with all your might as unto the Lord, but do it in a way that shows your image to God in being fruitful, in being a dominion keeper for the glory of God. In Genesis 2 verse 15, God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. That's what man is to do. He is to work outside of the home. He is to work in the creation, exercising dominion. I'm not gonna debate the question, are there situations when the wife may work outside of the home? Of course there are. Bible makes that very clear. But the real question is, what is the established norm for male and female, for husband and wife? And the Bible is absolutely clear about that. The norm is that the man will work outside the home, exercising godly dominion, and the wife, the woman, will work inside the home, exercising godly dominion. Remember what Paul told Titus? Admonish the young women to love their husbands, love their children, be discreet, be chaste, be homemakers, that is, managers of the household, be good, obedient to their own husbands, so that the word of God may not be blasphemed. Now, some of you are sitting there saying, I can't believe he is saying this. In this enlightened age, you would really say that? That the man ought to work outside the home and the woman ought to work inside? You would really say that? I didn't. God did. I don't think God has rescinded that. I don't think God has apologized for that. Do you? Men, I challenge you to accept the responsibility of being dominion keepers, to be imaginative, to be industrious, workmen in the creation, to be providers for your wives and children. And then, And then, it's very important, in loving, loving consultation, not dictation, in loving consultation with your wives, establish a plan for your family. Every family needs order. What's gonna be the schedule? What will be the expectations as to when people get up and when people go to bed and who does what? It has to be order. So men, in loving consultation with your wives, come up with an agreed upon plan and then let your wife execute the plan. She's the manager of the house. Now God has assigned many important things for men. They're all important, they're not all equally important. So my general challenge to you is, acquaint yourself with what God has called you to be where you are and do it. Plead for the grace to do it. Don't leave it with your wives to do it. You do it. Now I close with, that's a general admonition. I close with two practical words of counsel. Two practical words of counsel. Number one, be strong. My brothers, be strong. You say, well, I don't have time to get to the gym very much. Well, get to the gym as much as you can, but that's not what I mean. When I say be strong, I mean particularly this. Be wise. Be discerning. Take initiative. Take initiative. but do it wisely. Be discerning, be deliberative. Fight against being reactionary. Fight against being impulsive. So one of the things that scares me, guys hear a sermon like this and they go home and they bust down the door and say, things are gonna change around here. And they just start pontificating. And that's all. Don't do that. Think, pray, be deliberative. Take out your Bible and let the Bible tell you what to think. Let the Bible tell you what to say. Something happened before coming to church this morning. Something happened to my car. I don't like things happening to my car. Something happened to my car that I wish had not happened to my car and I was not happy. And I was thinking about what I was gonna say to the person who did something to my car. But I couldn't get to them right then. And so the thought finally entered my head, what do you think Christ would have you to think about what happened to your car? What do you think Christ would have you to say about what happened to your car? What do you think the people in Houston would say about the little dent in your car while their homes are flooded? I decided I'm not going to say anything about what happened to my car. Now that may be light, but beloved, how many times we as men lose our credibility with our children and even with our wives because we bluster. We bluster. We're impulsive. Something happens we don't like and we just burst out with words that we can't get back. You can't get him back. And you can go back and say, well, honey, I was just angry and I shouldn't have said that, but you did say it. And the devil is going to remind your wife that you said that to her. And the devil is going to say there are roots behind what he said. That didn't just come out of nowhere. He thinks that about you. And you know what? You're going to have a big problem. Don't be like that, be strong by being wise. Well, let the word of God formulate your attitudes and your words and your responses, not your emotions, not your own temperament, the Bible. Now, I'm not talking about being inactive, When I say be deliberative, I'm not saying don't do anything. Men must be aggressive. They must take the initiative. That's what we're called to do, but take it with care, deliberation. Remember this, it's an awesome thought. You are gonna answer to God for every word that comes out of your mouth. So let your words be few, let them be well chosen, let them be true, be strong, but also be courageous. There are times when you need to say hard things. And when hard things need to be said, be courageous, be bold, See, the devil would drive us to two extremes. He would make us hotheads who just spew whatever venom comes to mind, particularly when we're angry. And when we do that, we're just like the devil. Or he would drive us to the other extreme of being afraid to correct sin, to give admonishments. We can't be either. There are times admonishments have to be given. There are times children have to be corrected. There are times in which the rod has to be used. Be courageous enough to do it. In the classroom where I'm teaching the First Baptist, They have one of those pictures of Jesus. And you know, it makes him look effeminate. It's not my class. I want to rip it down and stomp on it. That's another caricature that the devil wants to stab. Jesus was effeminate. He was weak. Really? Go read about him. forming a web, taking a web, making a web, and going in to his father's house and driving out the merchants. Read that, he did it twice, and nobody stopped him. Nobody said, you can't do that. I think they began to sense, you don't wanna mess with this guy. We'll soon be in. That part of Matthew that records his rebukes to the scribes and the Pharisees. The scribes and the Pharisees were hypocrites and they were doing damage to souls and Christ was not kind. He said, you generation of snakes, you hypocrites. Now we know he was never mean. but he was strong and he was courageous and he spoke the truth. And sometimes the truth had to be spoken with an edge and he did it. Brothers, there will be occasions in which you need to speak with an edge and you need to tell it like it is. but ask Christ for the grace to know when those times are and to give you the grace to do it when you need to. But a warning, don't go around looking for opportunities to be aggressive. You don't want them, but that will come. So be strong. Be wise, be deliberative, be courageous. Last word of counsel, be sweet. Be sweet. What do I mean by that? I mean, be humble. Be self-sacrificing. Let this be the dominating demeanor of your life, that you are humble and you're kind. And the image that I think you want to keep in the forefront of your mind is the image of Christ in the upper room taking a wash basin and washing the feet of his disciples. And then going from there to the cross where he died for those disciples while they were running in the opposite direction, disowning him. That's the image. The Lord of glory washing dirty feet, dying under the wrath of God in the place of people so weak that they denied him. Be strong enough to do that. To lay down your life, to humble yourself, to debase your pride and ego, to do good for the people in your home particularly, who will sometimes fail you. Some men are really big into this headship thing. I'm the head, I'm the head. The house is my palace and I'm the king. God never said that. You're a leader, you're not king. But Jesus in Matthew 20 told us how to do this headship thing. His disciples were arguing about which one of them was the greatest. And he calls him to his side and he said, you know how the Gentiles exercise headship. They treat the people under them as though they are servants. And they rule over them with authority. But I'm telling you guys, it won't be like that among you. If you really want to be the head, then you make yourself the servant of all. And if you want people to treat you as though you are a leader, you be their slave. Just like the son of man didn't come to be served, but to serve and to lay down his life, a ransom for many. My dear brothers, don't conflate being a leader, having authority, with being demanding and intimidating and inflexible and harsh. That's the way of the world. That's not the way of Christ. Be approachable. Be approachable. God forbid that people in your home would be afraid to approach you. I love the story. I mean, it's a sad story, but I love the story of our Lord being so approachable that Peter felt comfortable coming to him and rebuking him. Now, Peter shouldn't have rebuked him. Peter was wrong, but the point is he felt he could. Here's a Lord of glory, but Peter feels that he's so approachable that he can come to him and said, Lord, you shouldn't have said that. Be forgiving. Be approachable and be forgiving. Because you know what? You're gonna need forgiveness. So you give it freely. Now, if you have to rebuke someone, if you have to correct someone, even your wife, Do it, do it with gentleness, do it in a way that tells her you take no delight in doing it, but do it without apology if it's needed, but be ready to give forgiveness. Remember how Jesus forgave Peter so quickly after he denied him three times? and gave him the number one assignment in the early church to preach the sermon. The sermon. The guy who preached the sermon was a guy who swore just a few days before. I don't know him. I don't know him. Jesus forgave him. Jesus corrected him. Jesus forgave him. I'm alarmed at how many Christian families are in trouble. And those are just the ones I know about. It troubles me profoundly. And most often, not always, not always, but most often, when families come to be in trouble, it's because the head of the house has failed. Brothers, brothers, there are horrible consequences to our failures as men, as husbands, as daddies. Study Christian manhood according to the Bible, according to the example of Christ, and plead with the Spirit of God to make you a godly man. Some of us probably need a new beginning. That's a great thing about grace. It gives new beginnings. You don't have to be what you were yesterday, tomorrow. You can change by the grace of God. Do you need to? Do you? Go to Jesus and tell him you need to. Ask him for grace and go home and sit down with your wife Sit down with your children. Ask them to forgive you. Mean it. And show them you mean it by being a different man. Will you? Your families need that. Church needs that. The gospel needs that. Let's pray. Father, I've pleaded with you. Before I preached, now I'm pleading with you after I preached to make this message fruitful. You know where it needs to be fruitful. I pray that you will make it fruitful in every place where it is needed. Bring change, fathers. Father, bring change to marriages, bring change to homes, bring change to men and to their sons, to their families. We pray because we believe that Jesus Christ is omnipotent and his grace can change us. We pray in his name, amen.