Quo Vadis - Men’s Ministry
“Give me some men, who are stout-hearted men, who will fight for the right they adore.
Start me with ten, who are stout-hearted men, and I’ll soon give you ten thousand more.
Shoulder to shoulder, and bolder and bolder, we grow as we march to the fore.
Then, there’s nothing in this world can halt or mar our plan When stout-hearted men can stick together, man to man.”
When Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II composed this lyric, they did not have the ICS Men’s Fellowship in mind. But had they been at the Men’s Fellowship on Friday, September 28, you might be tempted to think that they got their inspiration for that song from the men who were there.
The meeting got off to a rousing start with the men feasting on a buffet that could very well have been transplanted from the Shangri-La Hotel across the street from Shaw Boulevard . (Ok, we’re exaggerating…)
After the last piece of dessert was taken, Bro. Jeff Castillo started the discussion on activities slated for the next few months. Normally, after a really sumptuous dinner, our blood rushes to the stomach to help our innards process the food. This temporarily leaves less than the ideal amount of blood in the brain. That’s why we are sleepy after lunch, and why our lolas told us not to study right after a heavy dinner. However, the sixteen men present that night probably all had a serious bout with indigestion later. Their blood was nowhere near their stomachs. It was all in their brains, judging from the quality and quantity of the ideas that they shared.
The discussion was a hard act to follow. But the highpoint of the evening was yet to come. Pastor Jesse Dedel raised the ante way up into the stratosphere with his talk about how easy it is to win or lose a whole generation unto righteousness, drawing insights from Deuteronomy, Joshua, and David.
Imagine this:
Moses and his generation could not enter the Promised Land because of their disobedience. Joshua and the next generation enjoyed the fruits of the land of milk and honey. But they failed to heed Moses’ advise to tell their children:
“And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day. For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.” (Deut 6:24-25).
Thus, the next generation failed to know the God of their fathers because of the sin of omission of the previous generation. An entire generation, never learned to walk with the Lord, and lost.
On the other hand, one man, blessed by the Lord, single-handedly lifted Israel to the peaks of power and glory. Young David started out as a nobody. His own father did not think he would ever amount to anything. But when Goliath had Saul and his entire army quaking and quivering, the shepherd boy showed the way. David unceremoniously dispatched the giant before the horrified eyes of the Philistine horde. From there, the rest, as they say, was history. But that story of conquest didn’t end just with David.
Consequently, a whole generation of fierce and God-honoring warriors arose, inspired by the exploits of the young giant-slayer. These became David’s mighty men, who fought alongside him and conquered kingdoms in the Name of Jehovah. David’s exploits soon became the exploits of a new breed of “stout-hearted men”!
Forget the Lord, and even a whole generation can fail. Stick with the Lord, and even one man can do great things. And raise up a whole generation unto righteousness and victory along the way.
“Start me with ten, who are stout-hearted men …”
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