UNITY OF GOD
WRITTEN BY JACO VAN AS
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THE UNITY OF GOD – WHAT MAKES YOU A REAL MAN
I believe there is a unity God created, a unity for mankind, a unity we all need to live by, but one that is not followed in the modern times we live in today, well, almost not. Although this e-book focusses on men, I want to make sure that everyone reads it. The issues discussed in this e-book affects both men and women, as well as young adults, teenagers and even children. I believe this e-book will direct men on the right path, make sure women choose the right partners and all young people to make the right decisions in life. Decisions we make today will shape our future.
What makes a man a MAN
Let’s look at the pictures from Google below. Do you think these pictures defines a man?
I am sure you would agree with me that A LOT of men enjoy watching TV, having a braai/barbeque, fishing, playing golf, etc., but does it define a real man?
Let’s look at pictures from Google below. Do you think THIS defines a real man?
I am sure you would agree with me that there are men out there in the world that believes a real man is one that likes to party, drink, get drunk and have fun, take drugs, sleep around, watch pornography and is not afraid to discipline his wife and sometimes even assault and molest his or other people’s children. In fact, we see these things on the news every single day and if we look at statistics, we will be shocked to see how much this happens.
What does God say?
The real question here is what did God intend men to be like? What did He have in mind when He created Adam? In Genesis 1:27 we read this: So God created man in His own image! If God created man in His image and man ended up living in sin, getting drunk, assaulting and abusing their wife’s, abusing children, using drugs, etc., then it means that is what God is, right? God is not any of those, God is pure, God is without sin, God is love and that means that if He made us in His image, then we need to be like Him, live like Him, love like He does. It means that living in sin and in the way many men live today, is not what divines a man, it is not what God intended men to be like.
We also read in 1 Corinthians 4:14: Therefore, I urge you to imitate me. These were the words of Jesus Himself, urging us to be imitators of Him, which means we need to be like Him. Jesus did not get drunk, did He? Jesus didn’t assault and raped women, did He? Jesus did not abuse children, did He? In fact, Jesus lived a life without sin. If He wants us to imitate Him, then surely, we need to do what He would have done or did.
I always use the WWJD as an example when we don’t know if we are doing the right thing. You see, it really is that simple. Whenever I want to do something, instead of thinking that it would be cool and that all men do it, I rather should ask myself what Jesus would do? If Jesus would not do it then why should I? Jesus surely is the best example of what God intended for men to be like! If God would look down to us men right now, to you and me, would He be proud of what He sees in us? If not, then surely, we need to change, then surely, we need to examine our manly lives.
Does this mean we cannot have fun?
I want to touch on a very important issue before I move on. Many people, especially the young, believe that being a Christian is uncool and that Christians don’t ever have fun. I have even seen teenagers deciding not to accept Jesus into their lives because of this. Where in the word of God did you read that a Christian cannot have fun and enjoy life? I am still waiting on someone to show me this.
The kind of fun Christians have are indeed different, but let me tell you this, it is more fun than those living in the world! What is so fun about getting drunk and not even remembering what happened? Really? How is that fun? How is it fun to get stoned and not know what you do, ending up hurting or abusing others, only to wake up and feel bad about what you did? Where is the fun in that?
Christians have real fun, fun they can remember, fun where real and good memories are created, fun that is accompanied by love and that feeds our spirit with great and uplifting things. Have you REALLY tried it? If you haven’t then you don’t know what fun is! Yes, we can have fun without getting drunk. Yes, we can have fun without sleeping around. Yes, we can have fun without taking drugs. Yes, we can have fun without abusing women and children. Yes, we can have fun without insulting or hurting others.
I also get asked a lot when fun becomes too much fun or wrong. If you in a situation and you are not sure if you will be overstepping the boundaries of fun, why not consult the word of God in 1 Corinthians 10:31: So whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. If what you do or about to do, do not glorify God, portrays love or is not uplifting in the spirit, then it is not from God, it’s as simple as that.
So, men, you can have fun and enjoy life, but know where to draw the line and know when to stop!
It’s God’s fault
A lot of men that end up in situations like abuse, addiction, pornography, etc., blame God. I am talking from experience. Let me share a story with you. I have worked with a lot of men in the past that were on drugs or who were challenged with alcoholism. One man, 18 years of age, was on drugs for many years and he was stealing from his parents and friends to buy his drugs. He also left the house and ended up breaking into his parents’ house to steal furniture and then sell it to buy drugs.
One evening, well, at midnight, I was called out to come and help as the parents just did not know anymore what to do. I found a safe haven for this young man, a Christian retreat for drug addicts. I took him there and at the gate of this place, I was telling him and his girlfriend that Jesus loves them and wants to help them. The young lady then told me that she does not believe that and said that if Jesus loved her He would not allow her to be in the position she is in.
So I turned towards her and asked her one simple question: Did Jesus tell you to leave the house? Did Jesus tell you to use drugs? Did Jesus tell you to start using alcohol? After she responded with a no I simply said: “Then DO NOT blame God for your problems.”
How many times do we do wrong things, knowing there are consequents, but we still end up doing them, and then when things go wrong, we want to blame God. No, God is not the one who did it! Yes, He is the one that can get us out of it, but we cannot blame Him for the situation we are in. If I decided to use drugs and mess up my body, how can I blame God? Again, Jesus can bring healing, but it is still not Him that made me ill in the first place.
God gave us a mind, body and spirit and with that came CHOICE. Does God have a plan for our lives? Yes, He does, but if we make the wrong choices in life we walk away from the road God laid out for us and then because of bad decisions we end of doing damage to our mind, body and spirit. We cannot blame God for the poor choices we make in life. It is NOT God’s fault.
When we step away from God, He steps back. He never leaves us, but he steps back, because we decided we don’t want or need Him. And when He steps back, satan steps in! We read in Isaiah 59:1-3: Is 59:1-3: Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your sins have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
When we give satan room to move
If we give satan room to move, if we give him space in our lives, then the following type of things sets in: hatred, abuse, stealing, prostitution, addictions, jealousy, violence, etc. These are what I call the weapons of mass destruction, satan’s weapons of mass destruction. If satan gets it right for us men to take up these things in our lives, then he gets it right not to only distance us from God, but also break up our relationships, destroy our marriages and families.
When men get so occupied with the things of the world, men move away from God and when men walk away from God, the unity of God gets broken up. Why? Well, God is very clear on the role a man plays in a family and on earth and if satan can get us men to do the things God hates most, then he will also succeed in messing up everything else we touch, and the unity God created will fall apart. No God = no REAL man = no unity. If man does not serve God it affects the entire family unit. I would now like to provide you with some proof. The following statistics are real stats from surveys taken in the UK and can be viewed here: http://www.whychurch.org.uk
Let’s start by looking at Church Membership Statistics. Take note of how men are going to Church less and less each year.
Now let us look at statistics on the influence men have on his family. This survey shows us what happens when each member of the family tries to influence the other to go to church. You can clearly see that when the husband suggests the family goes to church, the FAMILY GOES TO CHURCH, but the influence the wife or children have is nearly at zero.
Why do you think a man have so much influence on the family? The answer is in Ephesians 5:25-33: Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
It is very important to read and understand Ephesians 5 correctly. I believe that God have made man the head of the family from a Biblical perspective. I also believe that this scripture is the reason a lot of men are influenced by satan to dictate and abuse their wife’s, because satan wants us to read stuff into this that is not there! Women are not inferior to men, God simply wants men to take responsibility for their family. Let me use an example. You see, just like at work, someone needs to lead, not everyone can lead, because if to many people are in charge, there will be too much fighting and less production.
God simply wants us to be more productive and therefore have made man the leader. With that leadership comes great responsibility as well! Men, you WILL one day answer to God for the way you bring up your children and the way you treated your wife. You will have to answer to God for not ministering to your family. Ladies, you will one day have to answer to God on whether you allowed your husband to be the man, to lead the family.
Once again, men, this does not mean you are in CHARGE. It does not mean you can control your wife and abuse this power given to you by God. Always keep Galatians 3:25-28 in mind: So, in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
What does all this mean
Man has become one of satan’s biggest tools! If he can get “man”, whom God has made the leader over his family, to NOT serve the Lord and attend Church, then he knows that the entire family unit will be broken. Therefore, satan is trying his best to keep men from attending Church, Home Church, Home Cell Groups and Men’s Groups. If satan can get men to stop ministering to their wife’s and children, then the family unit will be broken and when the family unit gets broken, all kinds of evil can prevail, including abuse on women and children, alcoholism, drugs, cheating, divorce, etc.
What happens when a family unit breaks down?
I will now provide you with some statistics again to show you how damaging it is when a man steps out of his Godly responsibility. These are real stats from the USA and I am sure we will see the same trend all over the world.
- Nearly 25 million American Children, more than 36% live without their biological fathers
- Over the last 3 decades, research has proven that children living without their biological fathers, on average, are more likely to be poor and to have educational, heath, emotional, and psychological problems, to suffer child abuse, and to engage in criminal behavior, than peers living with their married, biological mother and father
- Fatherless Homes Produce:
- 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (Bureau of the Census)
- 90% of Fatherless children ends up homeless and runaway children (CDC)
- 85% of fatherless children ends up with behavioral disorders (CDC)
- 85% of fatherless youths ends up in prisons or leads troublesome and criminal lives
(Fulton Co. Dept of Corrections)
IT’S NOT JUST THE 36% OF ALL CHILDREN WHO WILL GO TO BED THIS EVENING WITHOUT THEIR DADDY AT HOME, IT’S THE UNTOLD MILLIONS OF HOUSEHOLDS WITH A MAN WHO IS PHYSICALLY PRESENT, BUT EMOTIONALLY AND SPIRITUALLY ABSENT!
It’s time to stand up
It is time for ALL men to stand up and stand firm on what God Has put on them to do! It is time to stand up for our wife’s and families, so stop listening to satan, stop allowing satan to control the unity formed by God, stop allowing satan to take control of your mind and body! Men, you have a task given by God to ensure that your family are raised up to the Heavens and we as men will one day stand before God and be judged on it! Call your family together and make sure you pray with and for each other on a regular basis! A FAMILY THAT PRAYS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER!
Go and attend Church, Home Cell and Men Groups! Go on your knees and pray the blood of Jesus over your family as a protection over the unity as God has put it together for mankind. Have and show respect to your wife and put your family unit first, ALWAYS (after God)! Not a husband or father yet? It doesn’t matter, because you will be one soon enough and therefore you can prevent these things from happening! Do it right the first time! It is time to claim back what satan has taken from men!
Real men
Real men help their fellow men. You got saved through someone that told you about Jesus and showed you there were hope, now is the time you do this for someone else. We need men to change other men to become REAL MEN! It’s time to stand up and help your brothers, so start speaking openly against abuse, any type of abuse. Stand up for what is right in the eyes of the Lord. REAL MEN SERVE GOD! REAL MEN TAKES UP THE TASKS GIVEN TO THEM BY GOD. Why not make this verse yours and share it with your brothers: As For Me And My House We Will Serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).
Some might think it’s too late
If you are reading this e-book and feel that it is too late for you to change, that you simply have done too much damage to your family and it cannot be fixed, then I have great news for you. With man this might seem impossible, but with God ALL things are possible (Matt 19:26). ITS NEVER TO LATE TO CHANGE! IT CAN BE FIXED!
We read in 1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness – 1 John 1:9. I also want to give you James 4:8: Come close to God, and God will come close to you. If you have not accepted Jesus as Saviour, if you have not accepted Him into your life, why not do it now? Jesus wants to come inside of you and wash away all your sin, He wants to make you a new creation through Him. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come – 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Unless you dead, which it cannot be, otherwise you would not be reading this, then it is not to late my brother. Today is the day the Lord is giving you an opportunity to set things right with Him and become what He wants you to be and created you for. Simply say this prayer out loud:
Father God, I acknowledge that You are the one and only God. Jesus I acknowledge that You are the Son of God and that You came to earth, died on the cross for my sins and overcame death through the resurrection. Jesus I acknowledge that You are now in Heaven and preparing a way for me. Will You come live in my heart? Jesus I accept you into my life and heart. I accept you as my Savior. Holy Spirit I now welcome You into my heart. Father in the name of Jesus please forgive me all the sins I have committed. Please be what I say, think and do so that I will know and do the will of my God. Lord please help me to be the man you want me to be. Please help me be the husband you want me to be and the father you want me to be for my children. Amen!
A special message for the ladies and young men
Maybe YOU feel it is not possible for your man to change. Don’t believe that lie of satan! It IS possible! Don’t just give up. Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matt 19:26. Pray for your husbands daily! I know of women who prayed for more than 15 years for their husbands to become REAL MEN and it happened. Don’t lose your faith.
Ladies, if you are not married yet, it means you also have an opportunity to prevent yourselves from making the wrong choices in life. Don’t settle for anything less than what you deserve, and you deserve only the best! Why? Because you are a princess of the most High! Don’t settle for anything less than the best. Don’t just take a man because you afraid to walk alone. You will never walk alone, Jesus is with you always. WAIT for the right man! Make the right choices! Remember God gave us the ability to choose and if we choose wrong, we cannot blame God.
Young men, make the correct choices in life, don’t mix with the wrong crowds. The choices you make today can make or break the rest of your life and you only have one life! Don’t waste it doing things you know is wrong, don’t waste it with friends you know you should not be with. Be the man you know you should be, be the man you know you want to be for your girl and your wife one day, be a real man, be a man of God!
God bless you!
Jaco van As