Where are the Vikings? (Men in Church)

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WHERE ARE THE VIKINGS? (MEN AT CHURCH) by Pastor Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson

As you know, we are in our series on the Life of Christ from all 4 gospels and this morning our message has a title that has raised some eyebrows – “WHERE ARE THE VIKINGS?” “WHERE ARE THE MEN IN CHURCH?” One compliment I often hear from new people who come to Clearview is how did you get all these men to come to church? My answer is #1 I didn’t God brought them; #2 it was not by accident. It was by intention.

Matthew 4 18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Overall Background: When Jesus began his ministry, his first action was to call certain people to be his disciples. He knew that his time was short and it was imperative that His message would be passed along when He was gone. He wanted to pour His life, truth, power, and vision into these disciples. That is very understandable. But what is interesting is that every one of these disciples was a man! Did you notice that? Peter, Andrew, James, John, Nathaniel, Matthew, and so on. Why did Jesus do that? Was it because Jesus was just a product of His time? Was He just some patriarchal rabbi who looked down upon women? Was he some narrow-minded, male chauvinist member of the “he-man woman haters club?” Absolutely not.

This morning, we’re going to look at the reason why He called men to be His disciples. Ladies – you need to hear this message because without your wholehearted support, we cannot reach men. Men – you need to hear this message because it’s high time that you wake up. Every church in America needs to hear this message. What’s happening in our churches, community, nation, and the world is because the right men are absent (AWOL) Bottom line: We need men who know Jesus as their Savior to step to the plate.

Three questions we will answer in this message:

I. WHAT DID JESUS THINK OF WOMEN?

Did he look down on them? Absolutely not! We know that Jesus healed women.

• Last week we saw how He healed Peter’s mother-in-law.
• In Luke 7 He came across a widow whose only son had died and verse 13 says, “When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her” and he healed her son.
• In Mark 5 a certain woman had a flow of blood for 12 years. She was just trying to touch the hem of his garment. He not only identified her but healed her and called her “Daughter.”

We also know that Jesus spent extended time talking to women.

• The woman caught in adultery
• The Samaritan woman at the well
• Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus

We also know that Jesus used women as part of His illustrations.

• Woman who lost her coin
• Ten bridesmaids who were waiting for the bridegroom
• Poor Widow who brought just a mite to the offering.

Did you also know that many women followed Jesus along with his disciples? Luke 8 tells us that not only were the twelve men with Him but also 2 certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance. In fact, they were the first ones to whom He came after His resurrection.

In a time when women were considered to be just second class citizens, Jesus treated them with respect and honor. In a time when the only woman that had some freedom was the mistress, Jesus reached out to them with no ulterior motive. No wonder a woman came, fell on his feet, broke a bottle of perfume, washed his feet with her tears and then wiped them with her hair. Which one of you women would do that for any man? Unless, you knew that man loved you and came to lift you and seat you on the throne of glory. Someone might say – “Jesus was okay with women but not Paul.” Listen to Galatians 3 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Application: Girls and ladies – do you know how precious you are to God? Any boy or man who mistreats a girl or woman does not understand Jesus Christ or His Gospel.

II. WHY DID JESUS CALL ONLY MEN TO BE HIS DISCIPLES? 

It was not because he was being sensitive to the Jewish culture. Jesus repeatedly broke the Sabbath laws, ate with tax collectors and prostitutes, refused to wash his hands before meals, and repeatedly chastised the keepers of the customs – the Pharisees.

It was not because women were not supposed to be leaders. We know of Deborah in the Old Testament who was a judge. Before Herod the great became king, Queen Alexandra ruled Israel for three decades. In fact, even today women make fine leaders and presidents! Case in point: The Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher.

It was not because women could not handle spiritual matters. Think about Mary sitting by the feet of Jesus listening and learning. When Martha complained in Luke 10 Jesus said, 41 “…“Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

So why did Jesus call only men to be His disciples? It was a matter of correct representation. A disciple is a representative. A disciple’s job is to communicate not just what the master says but who the master is, his entire being. He wanted them to represent Him when He was gone. Who is Jesus? He is the Son of God. Son implies maleness. Hence the disciples had to be male to truly represent Him. But it goes even further. This Son of God has a Father. John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. Did you notice all the gender specific nouns and pronouns?

Why has God chosen to reveal himself as our “Heavenly Father” not our heavenly mother? In our gender-neutral world, that is hard for some people to follow. A father symbolizes authority and leadership. He is the initiator, provider, and protector. Does God not have any female attributes? Yes – He is nurturing and caregiving but He is not the receiver (if you know what I’m talking about) or gives birth. He created us.

What does that have to do male disciples? The disciples were to be an image of God the Son who was the image of God the Father. That’s why in the Old Testament the priest were always men. Later, Paul explained it more in I Corinthians 11:3 But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. That’s why in our church the pastors and the servant leaders are men. This does not mean that I can save you or forgive your sins. I am called to be the under shepherd. I work for the Good Shepherd. Who is He? Jesus said in John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” Most of the time I am a very representation but that’s what I’m called to be. One day I’ll have to give an account to the Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20).

What do you think of women pastors? It’s biblically wrong. What if they can preach? I think some of them can preach better than some of our men preachers but it still doesn’t make it right. How did it happen? Men – it’s because you failed to step up to the plate that they had to step up and do your job. Again, this does not apply to outside the church because it has nothing to do with God’s representation as the Son and the Father.

III. WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH VIKINGS?

Growing up I loved to read about Vikings and Cowboys. They represented manliness to me. Now, I’m done talking about beating up and shooting up people that are weaker than you. Any coward can do that. But, Vikings represented the adventure spirit, the taking the risk spirit, and the sailing into unchartered waters spirit. It was a no fear spirit. When people heard their name, they were afraid.

The disciples were afraid until the Holy Spirit came upon them on the day of Pentecost and the same bumbling and blundering disciples became bold representatives of Jesus Christ. The Book of Acts tells us – Peter stood up boldly on the day of Pentecost and preached the message and three thousand got saved! Acts 2 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles…47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Then we hear about Stephen who was not afraid even when ungodly men rushed him and through his death Paul got saved and the church grew exponentially.

The point is – when men representing Christ lead the church, it grows by leaps and bounds. The church in America is on life support. If anything it’s barely crawling. Is it the fault of the women? No. They’ve had to reluctantly step up and take the job that was meant for men – to be the spiritual leaders of the church, to be the spiritual leaders of their homes, and to be the representation (the disciple) of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the church has taken on the attributes of women, which is nurturing and caregiving. It has stopped conquering the world for Jesus Christ. Don’t get me wrong. We need women in church. What will happen if we don’t have women to give the care and grace and love we need. But without men stepping out, taking risks, and being bold, there won’t be anyone left in the church to give care and grace and love to. Sadly men have become whiners and complainers. They walk around with a loser’s limp. Then we talk about being old. Clearview is young people’s church! Even the aged are young.

Is Clearview doing everything right? Probably not but we are trying to go back to biblical Christianity and capture our world for Jesus Christ. We’re trying to create an atmosphere were men (lost men) don’t feel the church is just for women and children. It is reflected in the way we do service, in the way I preach, and in the way we sing. We tried to weed out praise songs that are geared towards women only. Sometimes it can be hard. We tried to introduce new stuff. Women are more open to change than men. We even tried to bring in old hymns. Someone will say – “That’s right. I love those manly hymns.” Here’s a problem – you got tired of them and stop singing them. Men – when you get familiar with something, you lose interest in it. It becomes tradition. Now we do it cause “by golly that’s what we’re going to do.”

Invitation: Where are the Vikings? Are you saved? Are you leading your home and your church? Women – are you letting your men lead? Trust me, they won’t lord over you but wash your feet.

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.