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Okay, so our main text is from the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter 2. I'm going to be building a lot from Genesis chapter 2, and also Genesis chapter 3 as well, but we're continuing—well, I'm starting, I guess, or you can even say continuing this series on the family. If you weren't here for last week's sermon about God-ordained institutions, I really recommend—I don't normally recommend sermons right behind the pulpit of my own, but I really recommend you listen to that one if you've not heard it yet, so that way moving forward this sermon and other sermons will make a lot more sense, I believe, okay? Because we're talking about the institution of the family, and that is one of the four institutions that God has ordained upon man and upon this earth. Look at verse number 7 of Genesis chapter 2, verse number 7. The Bible says, And the Lord God formed man. The title of the sermon tonight is God formed man, okay? And I'm going to be touching on family, okay? But I'm not going to get too deep into a marriage. I'm not going to get too deep into the family structure itself. I really want to talk about just being a man, okay? Why God created man. What's the purpose for man? And as a man, what gives us the most satisfaction? Surely God knows what we're good at. Surely God knows why He created us. And surely God knows what gives us the greatest joy, what gives us the greatest satisfaction as a man. And obviously having a family of your own is part of that, okay? But I really just want to start with this series on the family. I'm not even sure how many sermons it's going to take, but I don't want to get too deep into, like, have one sermon and get too into too much information. I really just want to have bite-sized sermons as we go through this concept of the family, okay? But let's start with verse number 15, Genesis chapter 2 verse 15. The first day, day number six, is the day that He creates male and female, right? Man and his wife. And on the very first day that Adam is created in verse 15, the Bible says, And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Okay? So there are three points that I want to preach on tonight. And those three points is basically what it means to be a man and what gives you great satisfaction as a man. The point number one is that it's man's job to work a job, okay? God has put Adam on his very first day of creation and told Adam, I need you to go and work, okay? You need a job, Adam. You know, it's not good for you to be lazy. It's not good for you to just hang around your house. You need on your very first day, Adam, to go and work for me, okay? Now, at this stage, sin had not yet entered into the world, obviously, okay? You know, sin had not entered into the world, but yet even then, you must understand, because some people have this misconception that working is a part of the curse of God, and it's a part of that. But I want you to understand, working a job is not a curse, okay? Even before sin entered into the world, it was God's plan for man to work. And you might say, well, why is that? That's not fair. Well, remember last week when we talked about God-ordained institutions, why does God want institutions? Why does He want law and order? Why does He want an authority structure? It's because primarily, when we look at God as to who He is, we see the triune nature of God, and we see this authority structure within the Trinity, okay? And so, likewise, His creation, His intention for things to be orderly upon this earth is the same thing, that they would be ahead, and there would be an authority structure, okay? So the question begs, why does God want man to work? Well, again, we just look back to God, okay? We read chapter 2, look at verse number 1, Genesis chapter 2 verse 1. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished. This is all, you know, at the end of day 6, right, God created all His creation, and all the host of them. Now notice the next two verses, verse number 2. And on the seventh day, God ended His work, okay? The very first thing we learn about God is that He's a working God, okay? He created, He made creation. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Guess what? Day number 1 that we see about the beginning before man's created, we see God working, okay? And so just like God has that authority structure within His own nature, and so He seems fit to have institutions with an authority structure upon this earth, the reason why He has got a man to work is because He's a working God. He set the example right from the beginning. We don't see God taking that easy, relaxing. No, He's working, okay? He's creating all things, okay? Let's keep reading there, verse number 2. And on the seventh day, God ended His work, which He had made, and He rested on the seventh day, what? From all His work, which He had made. The Bible tells us God had to rest. You know, it took something out of Him. It took an effort from God that He had to rest on the seventh day, okay? And then verse number 3. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because that He had rested from all His work, which God created and made, okay? So the reason why, and we know that man was created in the image of God. Now, I don't know if you know this or not, we won't go into it right now, but the Bible says that man was created in the image of God, but it doesn't say that females or women were created in the image of God, okay? It actually specifically says that it was man that was created in the image of God. And if we have a working God, and we're an image of that God, then we ought to be working men, all right? It ought to be part of our desire as men to go get a job and work hard. Work hard to the point where you get to the seventh day and you go, man, I need to rest, okay? I need to rest from all the work that I've done throughout the week. And so, look at verse number 16. Verse number 16. Genesis chapter 2 verse 16. It's one thing to get a job, okay? But how does God expect us to work that job? Look at verse 16. And the Lord God commanded man, saying of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that shall not eat of it, for in that day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. The point that I want to bring out of this verse, obviously we know that there's spiritual applications to this, but first of all, that God gives Adam work to do, and then He commands him of how he's ought to partake of that work. He's meant to, he could freely eat of all those trees except that one, okay? So, it's a good thing to fall under the authority of an employer. It's a good thing to be commanded by someone else of a higher rule, if you want, in the institution of a business, and to do your work heartily, to be in obedience to your supervisor, to be in obedience to your manager, okay? That's the way you ought to work. It's not just, oh, I land a job, and now I can do whatever I want. No, God expects, just like the ass of Adam, to be obedient to the commands that's required of you, okay? And obviously, you know, you apply for a job. Usually the job has listed of what's expected of you. What you're meant to accomplish, how much you're going to get paid, and et cetera, et cetera, okay? And you as a worker, we as men that work ought to understand what our employer expects from us, and to obey, okay? To be in obedience to our employer, okay? Now, just, I don't know, I really turned to this last week, but I just want to read it again, because these are three things, let me just be very clear about this, that's going to give you satisfaction as a man, okay? I measure manliness differently to how the world measures manliness, okay? Well, actually, right now, the world doesn't want manliness, right? The world wants effeminate men, all right? That's, you know, and in fact, the world wants women to be more like men than for men to be like men, okay? But, you know, people tend to think of manliness as to how much hair you've got in your chest, you know, how much hair you've got in your legs, you know, how aggressive you are, you know, how much of a stand you take. That's what they measure a man, tend to, right, okay? But we see the way God measures a man, the measure of a man is that he's a working man, number one, okay? That he's willing to get out there and do the work, okay? Now, I believe very strongly that having a job will give you satisfaction as a man, very strongly. You going out and being productive with your hands, productive with your mind, obviously, some work like laboring with your hands, you know, some work are more physical, some other jobs are more mental, some jobs are in between, a bit of physical, a bit of mental work, okay? But just being a productive person and providing for your own needs, let me tell you, as a man, it's going to give you great satisfaction, okay? It's just going to make you feel valued, hey, I'm doing what God expects of me, I'm going out there, I'm earning a paycheck, I'm providing for my needs and I'm not becoming reliant on anybody else, I'm not reliant on, you know, on other people, I'm not reliant upon the taxpayer, I'm not reliant upon government welfare and payouts, you know, I'm going out there and I'm providing for myself, that's going to give you great satisfaction. But there comes a time, no matter what job you have and I often hear this, I hear people say to me, I wish I had a job that wasn't so repetitive, a job that wasn't so, what's the word, it starts with M, monotonous, that's the one, right? And what I find is no matter, I've done lots of different jobs, like so many different jobs in my life and I've looked at other people how they do the work, I found that no matter what job you land, it becomes repetitive, no matter what job, even the thing, the thing you think, the most exciting, it would be so exciting if I could land this job, at some point, once you've done that enough, it's going to become repetitive and monotonous, okay? And so, and this is when people start to lose their satisfaction of their job, it's like, oh man, I think, you know, the past is a greener on the other side, you know, maybe, maybe there's something else out there for me and they lose the satisfaction and what I want to tell you, I want to explain to you how you can be satisfied on the job and I speak out of experience, okay? I'm speaking out of experience because I once had, when I was younger, my hobby was IT, I loved computers and my first job that I landed after school was working for Acer computers, okay? I was building PCs, repairing them, troubleshooting them, all that kind of stuff and at first, I loved it because I loved just understanding technology and all that kind of stuff but after about five months, I was like, man, this is boring, you know, I'm just with computers all day, you know, I kind of wanted, well, I wish I had more interaction with people, you know, but then obviously, I've landed a job where I did have a lot of interaction with people, after a while, I'm like, man, this is boring, you know, I wish I had a job where I wasn't dealing with people, you know, my point is, it doesn't matter what kind of job you land, at some point, you're going to be like, you know, I'm signed to lose satisfaction in this job and what I found was the main way, the key way that, at least for me, and I believe for all men, that you're going to maintain our satisfaction in the workplace is found in Colossians chapter 3 verse 22, you can turn there if you want, we read this last week, but just keep a finger in Genesis chapter 2, Colossians chapter 3 verse 22, it says, servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, just like Adam was expected to obey the Lord God when he was commanded of him, not with eye service as men pleases, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. So if you go into your workplace, fearing God, this is going to change your outlook as to what you're doing, okay, whether it's your own business, whether it's you're the employer or you're the employee going into work knowing, hey, this is what God expects of me, this is a job that God has given me and I go in fearing God, it's going to change your view of the workplace. Verse number 23, and whatsoever ye do, do it heartedly, do it with all your hearts, do it with all your strength, give it a hundred percent as to the Lord and not unto men, and that's what I discovered, guys, when I felt that I was working for a man, I couldn't give a hundred percent, I gave what I could, I got through the work, you know, but I found myself lacking satisfaction, you know, and then when I came across this passage, I really meditated and thought about it, I said, no, Jesus Christ is my employer, Jesus Christ wants me to work this job, and it was that that changed my outlook on work, and I started to love my job again, not because my job had changed, but I was working for someone else now, you know, I was working for the Lord Jesus Christ, rather than just working for a man, and then verse 24 says, knowing that of the Lord, you shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ, okay, so we're talking about the reward of the inheritance, eternal rewards in heaven, and I've said this before, can be had in your workplace, you know, and again, I just remember the people that say to me, oh, I wish I could get out of a secular job and be full-time in God's ministry, well you can be full-time in God's ministry in your secular job, as long as you have the mindset that you're working for Jesus Christ, and you do it with all your heart, it's going to change everything, and you've got eternal rewards in heaven, okay, just by doing the secular job that God has given you, okay, that's what's going to give you great satisfaction in your life, just working a job, being productive, knowing that I'm providing for myself, and you know what, as a man, when I, you know, every night when I see my kids eat, and I, men, parents, fathers, I hope you think about this as well, you know, every day when you see your kids eat, and they're full, and they've got clothes to wear, and it's cold, and they've got jackets to wear, and it's hot, and they've got the shorts to wear, and their thongs to wear, they've got, and they've got a roof over their heads, and they've got water, they've got their food, that, you ought to stop there and go, hey, I'm, that ought to give you satisfaction to know you went out there, worked hard, and now your family's able to enjoy, to enjoy and reap from the work that you've put in place, I don't know about you, but that gives me great satisfaction, okay, when I stop and think, wow, you know, I've been able to provide for my family, not just for myself, but for my family, and look, men, if you don't have a job, you need to get a job, okay, this was the first thing God required from Adam, okay, the very first thing, this is what you're built for, this is what you're driven for, okay, this is what's going to give you the most satisfaction, let's go on to point number two, point number two, the next thing God wants for a man, after they're working hard, after they're provided for themselves, point number two is to get married, point number two is to get married, God does not expect a man to remain single for their whole life, okay, and we'll talk about the exception a little bit later, but look at verse 18, sorry, go back to Genesis chapter 2, Genesis chapter 2 verse 18, Genesis chapter 2 verse 18, so this is after God's commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, after he's given him work to do, it says, and the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him and help meet for him, okay, so we do have the exception of a eunuch, a eunuch for the kingdom of God, which I'll talk about later on, but for the majority of people, okay, for the majority of man, God says that it is not good for you to be alone, okay, we shouldn't be striving to live this single life with no responsibilities, like no responsibilities of a family, that's not God's intention, okay, he says it is good for a man to be married, and he says that he had to create a help meet for Adam, now Adam is perfect pretty much, he's without sin, and yet God realizes still in this state that he needs a help that's meet or suitable for him, men, we, our wives, or the search for a wife is so we can have a help, we need a helper, meaning that we can be more productive, we can do more things in our life, if we find that helper, if we have that helper in our life, okay, and I know it's, I don't know, I was a bit uncomfortable as I was writing these things, because I know how hard it is for single men, you know, God fearing Christian men to find a good wife, to find a good spouse, you know, there's very few out there, because God doesn't just expect you to choose any girl out there in the world and marry them, okay, obviously the expectation is that you would marry a believer, someone that's in the Lord, so I know how hard it is, okay, but when I look at this, it is God's will for a man to get married, it is not good for a man to be alone, but I want you to understand, and I truly believe this, is that before God will lead you to a woman to marry, you must have put that first point in place, which is to be working a job, okay, working and providing for yourself, and not just providing for yourself, but getting to a point where you can provide for a wife, I mean, if you cannot provide for your wife, let alone provide for yourself, why do you think God would send you someone to look after, if you're not working, why do you think God will send you a wife to marry, okay, step number one, as we saw in Adam, was to work the job, and get to a point where you're providing not just for yourself, but you're able to provide for others, then I truly believe if you're seeking a wife, and you are expected to seek a wife, by the way, that God will lead you to the to the woman that he wants you to marry, okay, I truly believe that, verse number 19, let's look at verse number 19, and out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them, and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was a name thereof, and Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found and a help meet for him, now I'm not really big on pets, I do love animals in general, but some people decide to deal with their loneliness, if they're especially if they're not married, or if they've, you know, that maybe they're older, they're a widow, it's to kind of have a pet, you know, a pet to provide company, whether it's like a cat, or a dog, or a bird, those are usually your household pets, but we see here, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that, don't get, I'm just, I'm just pointing out, that's generally what people think of doing, right, getting an animal to help, you know, to give him some company, and some friendship, but we see that when, you know, Adam did not have a wife, and God brought every animal to him, and yet within all those animal types, all whatever animals there were at that point, you know, not all, I guess it wasn't all that variation, but there were all the types of animals at this point in time, none of them were suitable for Adam, none of them were to the to the points that a woman, no animal can replace a woman, let's put it that way, okay, they can be your companion, they can keep your mind busy, they can keep your your time busy, but they're not going to be able to provide a help to you the way that a wife can, okay, so if you're a man working a job, and you haven't got a wife, this is the next thing God wants on your agenda, okay, for you to find a wife, for you to get married, and again marriage is going to give you great satisfaction, okay, having a wife at your side, someone that you can rely on, someone that can help you, that you can talk with, that you can be intimate with, all these things are important for the man, okay, verse 21, and the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of the ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof, and the rib which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman and brought her unto the man, and Adam said this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man, now notice the next verse in verse 24, therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh, okay, the man, and look this is Adam, this is what Adam said, okay, did he have a mother and a father, no he didn't, he was the first man, and yet the point is driven home that for you to find a wife, once you find a wife, that you need to leave mother and father, why? Because there is a time when mother and father are your authority, you're under that family institution, okay, you ought to be obedient to your mother and father, there's a point in your life where that's your responsibility, that's what God expects from you, but when a man finds a woman, he's required to leave mother and father and start a new family institution, okay, when I married Christina, we are no longer part of the family, you know, institution of my parents or of her parents, we've started a new family, and some people make the mistake to think well a family is only when you have children, no, once a man has married his wife, that starts a new family unit, okay, and what's expected again, the man is to leave father and mother, okay, you need to come under out of that authority, okay, and now your wife is under your authority, your wife was once under the authority of her father, but now she's under the authority of her husband, okay, that starts the new family unit, it is God's intention that families would start out like other families, right, you'd eventually find a wife and start a new family, now one mistake that I see, and I'm sorry if this is you, I'm not having a go at you, I don't know, okay, but this happens a lot, this happens a lot in Sydney, okay, because the housing market is so expensive in Sydney, okay, it's almost impossible for a man, it's not impossible, but it's almost for a man to buy a house these days, you know, on a single income, and so they take one of two options, well I'm going to send my wife to work, so we can have two incomes and we can save up and get a deposit for a house, that's one option that I hear about, the other option that ties into this is that, you know, well the only way for us to, you know, to save up for a house is if we go and live in my parents house for a while, you know, and look, the intention is kind of right, right, they want to save up, they want to spend too much money, but everyone, because obviously they want to pay too much rent, they will live with their parents, save up, and then once they've saved up, that's when they'll move out of the house, that's not God's plan, let me just say that's not God's plan, and every family, everyone that I've seen do this, either for a long time or for a short time, it's always called marriage problems, it's always created difficulties within the marriage, every time, every time, why? Because mum and dad still feel, and it's their house, I don't blame them, they still feel they have the authority over their child while their wife or their husband is living there, and it causes problems, okay, because that's not how it ought to work, a man is supposed to live father and mother, okay, and I'll just quickly read to you from Deuteronomy 24 verse 5, it says, when a man have taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business, but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he have taken. Men, you know when you're newly married, for the first year the Bible says you've got to cheer up your wife, okay, why? Because it's hard for a girl that's been under the authority of a family, of a father, it's a hard thing to get married, okay, it's obviously something they want to do, but it changes everything about their life, okay, and it might take time to adjust to that husband, it might take time to start to, you know, listen and obey that husband, it takes time, it doesn't happen automatically, and so the Bible says, hey, you need to cheer up your wife, and if that's what's required of you in the first year, and you take them to your parents' house, and now they're listening, you know, your parents, their in-laws, they're giving them instructions as to what to do, it's going to cause strain in your marriage, that's not a good way to start your marriage. You know, I was on a low income when I married Christina, and look, I'm not saying these stories to sound like a hero or anything like that, I'm not, I'm just, this is just reality, okay, and the only thing we could afford on my income was this shed, which they called a granny flat, okay, it was a box, they built some walls in between there just to have a bedroom and a living room and a kitchen, but it was, it was a shed, and every night underneath the door you'd have slugs come in every night, you know, in summer it was stinking hot, in winter it was freezing, hey, that's all I could afford, but you know what, I was happy, I was happy to be out of my parents' authority, not that they were bad parents, they were grandparents, but to finally start my own life with my own wife, okay, and then bit by bit we were able to save up and, and you know, buy our own house and all that kind of stuff, that happened later on, but one reason why I put off my marriage for so long, I knew Christina for, I don't know, was it four years before we got married, four years, one of the reasons I put it off is because I had the pressures of, oh man, you've got to have this high paying job, you've got to have a house, you've got to have all these things in place before you get married, and I realised no, I've got enough, I've got enough to take a wife, I've got enough to put a roof over our heads, we won't have a lot of possessions, but I want to start my marriage, you know, well with my wife, I just want to have my own family unit, and that gave me great satisfaction, you know, your wife ought to give you great satisfaction, just being married to your wife, I'm not talking about, you know, the marriage trials right now, we'll get into that, that's outside of the scope of this sermon, but the second thing that will give you great satisfaction as a man is to be married, is to have your own wife, okay, and the Bible says, go back to Genesis chapter 2, Genesis chapter 2 verse 25, actually, you know what, maybe turn to second Corinthians, no, turn to first Corinthians chapter 7, first Corinthians chapter 7, and while you're turning there, I'll just read 25 of chapter 2, it says, and they were both naked, that's Adam and Eve, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed, okay, so obviously this nakedness speaks of the intimacy, you know, being of the one flesh that they were, and they were not ashamed of that, you know, that's a natural part of being married, okay, that's, you know, obviously we should be mindful as to how we talk about these things, but it's nothing wicked, there's nothing wrong with having an intimate relationship with your wife, now first Corinthians chapter 7, I know we've gone through first Corinthians already, in our Sundays, you know, but I just want to touch upon these things again, look at verse number 2, first Corinthians chapter 7 verse number 2, because here's the danger, here's the danger of not looking for a wife, okay, verse number 2, nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband, what's the danger of not getting married, for the majority of people, is that the longer you delay finding a wife, finding a husband, getting married, the more likely you are to fall to fornication, the sin of fornication, so to avoid fornication, if you're someone that has the sin of fornication, you struggle with that sin, you struggle with lust, then God says to avoid that, get married, okay, find a wife, verse number 3, it says, let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence, and likewise also the wife unto the husband, okay, now there is an exception to this, and I want you to understand this, so most men that I've interacted with in my life, most men want to get married, most men want a wife, okay, most men want that physical intimacy with a woman, okay, but there is that one exception, look at verse number 8, in first Corinthians chapter 7 verse 8, Paul writing says, I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I, okay, so Paul, he wasn't a widow, but he says, he is able to abide, he's someone that's not driven to get married, he's not someone that was driven to have an intimate relationship with a woman, but look at verse number 9, but if they cannot contain, let them marry, okay, for it is better to marry than to burn, okay, that's like burning in lust and seeking fornication, it's better to marry than to suffer, you know, these feelings, these are natural, okay, wanting that physical intimacy, but he says, he's able to abide, he's able to remain unmarried, he doesn't burn with this desire, okay, and you might say, well, maybe, you know, that's not very manly, no, he was just, in fact, he's one of the one of the greatest men in the Bible, Paul was, okay, and he was unmarried, but I want you to understand that this Paul was a eunuch, Paul was a eunuch for the kingdom of God, he kept himself from having a wife, he didn't have that intimate desire, look at verse number 7, look at verse number 7, there in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, look at verse 7, Paul says, for I would that all men were even as I myself, but then he says this, but every man have his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that, so it says, look, my ability to not burn and have these desires, yes, I would like more men to be this way, because they can serve the kingdom of God even more so the way I am, but it says it is a gift, okay, now I want you to understand this very clearly, if you have that burning desire for a woman, you do not have the gift of a eunuch, okay, you can't say, well, I haven't found a woman to this point, and then say, well, maybe God wants me to be a eunuch, no, there's a proper gift given by God where you don't burn that desire, and if you've burnt in that desire, and you have that desire, it's not God's will for you to be a eunuch, okay, and throughout my whole Christian life, I can probably only think of two men that I've come across, that one man that I think is pretty much serving as a eunuch, serving for the kingdom of God, and another man that probably would have been better off that way, okay, because he just doesn't have that desire whatsoever, these are very rare cases, the vast majority of men want a wife, okay, and so if you're a young man, and you know, you're working, you're able to provide, you ought to desire a wife, and let me just say, you ought to tell God you want a wife, and you ought to be searching for one, this is going to give you great satisfaction, okay, now let me just quickly read to you from Matthew 19 verse 10, it's up to you if you want to turn there, you know what, actually I'll get you to turn to Proverbs chapter 5, turn to Proverbs chapter 5, I want to read to you from Matthew 19 verse 10 while you turn there, this is talking about Jesus, his disciples say unto him, in the case of a man, sorry, in the case of the man, be so with his wife, it is not good to marry, and then Jesus said, and he said unto them, all men cannot receive this saying, say they to whom it is given, okay, there is a gift, there's a part that's given to men, certain men, that are not to marry, verse number 12, and there are some eunuchs which were so born from their mother's womb, and there are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men, and there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake, he that is able to receive it, let him receive it, so the one that can receive this gift, and not burn in desire for a wife, let him receive the gift of being a eunuch, okay, so there is a proper place for a man not to marry, that case is to be a eunuch for the kingdom of God, to do great things for the kingdom of God, in that case, you know, you'll be able to provide, you don't have to provide for a wife and family, you'll be able to provide for yourself, okay, and let me say this, even though Paul was a eunuch, we see this numerous times in the New Testament, that he was a working man, he still worked, because that's the first step for a man, and he says he was able to provide for himself, he was a tense maker, okay, and he didn't want to burden the churches that he visited, to get an offering from them, even though he had the power to do that, he sought to, you know, provide for himself, and it was much, it's obviously much easier if you're a single man, if you're a eunuch, to work, because all you need to do is provide for yourself, rather than provide for a wife and kids. Proverbs chapter 5 verse 15, Proverbs chapter 5 verse 15, the Bible says, drink waters out of thine own cistern, and run in waters out of thine own well, now I believe this is the context here, and we'll see soon is of marriage, okay, and this is a physical intimacy with your wife, what I believe this is saying is basically to satisfy that intimate relationship, drink from your own cistern, meaning from your own wife, okay, don't be looking for other women, for other strange women. Verse 16, let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and the rivers of water in the streets, let them be only thine own, and not strangers with thee. Look at this in verse 18, let thy fountain be blessed, this fountain is like the cistern where the waters come from, and rejoice with the wife of thy youth, okay, of thy youth. Let me drive this home, especially to the younger boys here, is that look, God wants you to get married at a young age. He doesn't expect you to live this single life forever, you know, to shack up, you know, with your best friend, you know, and just have a single life, you know, God wants you to get married at a young age, he wants you to rejoice with the wife of thy youth. So let me just say, if you're of a marriage age, start looking for a wife, start asking God to bless you with that, I truly believe God will answer his prayers to you, because that's what God expects for man, that's what he wants for a man, okay, and you might say, well Kevin, hold on, our church is quite small, there's not a lot of choice of young ladies or young men, there's not a lot of choice out here. Look, I've seen churches full of young people, and they don't want to marry each other, all right, honestly, churches full of young ladies, single ladies, full of young men, and you talk to the ladies and say, hey, why don't you get married, there's a lot of options here, oh, I don't like any of those guys in my church, you know, and you ask the guys, oh yeah, I don't like any of those girls in our church, and they start looking elsewhere, I mean, look, you know, having the excuse that our church doesn't have enough young people, young single people, it's not an excuse, you know, you might find your wife out knocking doors, you might get her saved, and then she becomes your wife, you know, I got my wife saved, and then I married her, all right, there's other ways to find a wife, you don't need to strike once, okay, and if there's a woman that's, you know, in your life, she's saved, you know, I would say, hey, you know, make some attempts, you know, push forward, you know, it's like finding a job, you know, you go and you apply for a job, you send in your resume, right, you go and you do the interview, and then usually you get knocked back, and then you apply for another job, and then you get knocked back, and you apply, and you apply, and you apply, and at some point you land a job, you know, I believe it's the same thing for a wife, you know, you apply, you know, you put yourself out there, you make it known, you show your wife, you know, the young lady, you show them, hey, look, I'm working, I can provide for myself, I can provide for you, because this is what ladies are looking for, okay, I know that, I know the TV tells us, she's looking for the soft effeminate man, you know, the one that's in touch with his feelings, you know, I know that's what the media tells you, right, or that she's looking for the muscular, you know, the one in the six pack, and the one that, you know, the one that plays sports, and you know, no, you know what a woman looking for, she's looking for a man that she knows is responsible, a man that's working, a man that she knows can look after her, provide a security, why? Because she's got a vision of a father, usually, right, of a father that's protective, that looks after her, and she wants those same comforts, you know, her husband, that's what you need to be working toward, you know, showing them, hey, I can look after you, I can provide for your needs, if you will have me, again, starts with work, okay, verse 19, Proverbs 5, verse 19, let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe, let her breast satisfy thee at all times, and be there ravished always with her love, always, they say, ah, I'm not ravished by her love anymore, you know, we've been married 10 years now, it's, you know, it's gone a bit stale, no, Bible says always, okay, with her love, this is something we need to work toward, and again, I'm not getting too much into marriage this time, outside of the scope, and then verse 20, and why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger, okay, so the more you delay looking for a wife, the more likely you are to find the bosom of a stranger and be ravished in that, okay, an ungodly whore, and that's where you're going to find satisfaction, no, that's not the instruction, find a wife in your youth, okay, and look, the other danger is, and it's not really in my notes, but the other danger is, if you lose, if you're not ravished by her love, always, even 10 years into marriage, then you might start looking elsewhere, you know, and cause other strains in marriage, hey, you need to maintain love in your marriage all the way through it, okay, that's outside of my, outside of the scopes, verse 21, for the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings, his own iniquity shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holding with the cords of his sins, he shall die without instruction, and in the greatness of his folly, he shall go astray, this is a man that looks for love in a strange woman instead of his wife, okay, now, so let me just, yeah, let me go to chapter 18, Proverbs chapter 18 verse 22, Proverbs chapter 18 verse 22, I really want you to pay attention to this verse, okay, because again, one of the problems that I see in a lot of churches, okay, is that the pastor says, well, just pray, just, and I'm not against praying, pray for a wife, and let God just send one your, you know, your way, just be patient, just, just sit still and wait for, for, you know, God to send a wife your way, but look at Proverbs 18 22, the Bible says, whoso findeth a wife, sorry, yeah, find a wife findeth a good thing, and obtain a favor of the Lord, what does God want you to do, to sit back and wait for God to provide a wife, no, he says go and find her, it's like a hunt, you got to get out there and start looking, it's going out there and start applying, right, applying yourself, go and find a wife, that's what God wants you to do, okay, and this will build your character, you know, this will build, you know, just, just the, this will take down your pride, because you're going to get rejected every now and again, okay, and you'll be like, it doesn't matter if I get rejected, okay, I'm not so proud, I'm going to try again, I'm going to keep looking until I find that wife and obtain favor of the Lord, okay, so the second point that I wanted to cover is find a wife, this is going to give a man satisfaction, this is the measure of manliness, okay, unless, you know, God has given you the gift of being a eunuch, and I just want to cover just very quickly, you don't need to turn there, 2 Corinthians 6 14, who do I marry, be un, sorry, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, God does not want you to marry an unbeliever, it's going to cause you more problems in marriage, okay, and if you've married an unbeliever, and that's where you are right now, then, you know, you just need to work in that marriage, because God hates divorce, okay, he doesn't expect you to divorce someone just because they're an unbeliever, okay, we're not going into divorce right now, and then 1 Corinthians 7 39, the Bible says, the wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth, but if her husband be dead, she's at liberty to be married, to whom she will, only in the Lord, so, you know, you can marry, God wants you to marry, but only in the Lord, someone that's a fellow sister in the Lord, if you're a woman, someone that's a brother in the Lord, that's what you're looking for, you know, if you're a woman, that's what you're looking for, number one, that he's a believer, and then you go, okay, I've checked the boxes to believe I'm going to marry him, no, if he's lazy and slothful, that's not, look, your father's not going to want you to marry that man, okay, if he's working, he can provide for you, and he's a believer, hey man, you got to, that's a good one to go for, you know, there's not a lot out there, so, you know, I wouldn't be too picky, you know, I wouldn't be too picky, but obviously you want to find somebody that you can love as well, now the last thing that I want to cover, the last thing I want to cover, go back to Genesis, go to Genesis chapter 3, Genesis chapter 3, so number one, be a working man, number two, find a wife, number three, lead your home, number three, lead your home, this is what's going to give you satisfaction, you say, well, I'm the head of the house automatically, yes, you are, okay, there's a lot of people that are heads of a lot of institutions, there are a lot of managers and team leaders and supervisors that work, that are in a workplace, but you know, they're not leaders, they're bad leaders, okay, you need to be a good leader, you need to lead your home, Genesis chapter 3 verse 1, now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made, and he said unto the woman, yea, hath God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden, notice that the devil goes after Eve, notice that the devil goes after the wife, men, you need to understand this, if the devil wants to attack your family, then, you know, more than likely he's going to go for your wife, okay, and the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is the midst of the garden, God have said, you shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die, and the serpent said unto the woman, you shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil, and when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, this, she commits sin, this is the first sin committed, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat, you know, obviously Adam loved his wife, obviously she pulled at his heart that he too would partake of this fruit, she was able to convince him, Adam, eat of this this fruit, right, it wasn't satan that deceived Adam, it was his wife, okay, it was his wife, this is why men, you need to take leadership, you need to take responsibility for your family, nothing wrong with listening to your wife, okay, but you have to be the one that caused the shots, you're either going to listen to your wife, or you have to listen to God, what did God command, and in this case Adam listened to his wife, and sinned, and disobeyed God, verse seven, and the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, made themselves aprons, and they heard the voice of the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden, now notice, obviously God knows what's taking place, obviously God is all-knowing, all-powerful, he knows what's taking place, but I want you to notice, who does God go to, who does God ask the question to, okay, verse number nine, and the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, where art thou calling unto Adam, you know, God doesn't go to the devil, God doesn't go to Eve, he goes to the man of the house, he goes to the head of the home, okay, verse number 10, and he said, this is what Adam said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself, and he said, who told thee that I was naked, hast thou eaten of the tree, where have I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat, and the man said, now notice how Adam responds, the woman, now this is Adam not taking responsibility for his family, okay, this is Adam shifting blame to others, but notice he doesn't just blame his wife, he blames God, look, the woman whom thou gavest, I mean, why would you say that, of course God gave you, you know, oh it's the one you gave me God, to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat, so we see the first reaction when you sin is to blame others, you know, blame God and blame his own wife, you know, he was lacking accountability and responsibility, and so we see soon that God has to drive this home, he has to explain to Adam, hey you're in charge, Adam, okay, we'll see this soon, look at verse 13, and the Lord God said unto the woman, what is this that thou hast done, and the woman said, the serpent beguiled me and I did eat, again the devil made me do it, okay, blaming someone else, blaming the devil, verse 14, and the Lord God said unto the serpent, because thou has done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field, upon thy belly shall thou go, and thus shall thou eat all the days of thy life, and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed, and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his hill, so it shall, the seed, this is the first prophecy of Jesus Christ, anyway, that's for another day, verse 16, unto the woman he said, so we see now God passing down curses, punishing them for their sins, okay, he's punished the serpent, and now he's going to punish the woman, and unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow in thy conception, in sorrow thou shall bring forth children, and thy desire, notice the next words, so that's part of the curse, that she's going to multiply in sorrow when she gives birth, you know, the birth pains, the, what do you call them, labour pains, yeah, contractions, the labour pains, and the birth, that's part of, you know, obviously Christina and Yasmin, if you're listening, the reason why you go and go for difficulty is because of Eve, that's part of the curse on woman, but notice this, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, okay, so her wants, inbuilt, you know, in her DNA, inbuilt in her, in her, what's the word I'm looking for, instinctively, in a woman, is that she has these, a desire to her husband, to want to help him, to want to serve him, okay, and I know again feminism is going to tell you, that's not what you want, you don't want a man over you, you need to be a self-made woman, you know, all your honey is making money, throw your hands up at me, that's what the world wants to tell you, right, no, God says in, in, built inside a woman, and I'm not talking about women today, but again, part of the satisfaction of a woman is to serve her husband, that's what's going to give you the best joy as a wife, not going out and working a job and making money, but being there for your husband, having a desire for your husband, but notice the next words, and he shall rule over thee, Adam, you've got the rule, you can't go around blaming others anymore for the sins, okay, when your family sins, when your children sin, when your wife sins, Adam, you've got the rule over that, you're in authority over that, you're in charge over that, Adam, okay, and it's a good thing to have authority, you know, it's a good thing to, to want that rule, but understand it comes with responsibility and accountability before God, this is important to understand, you know, we want, we don't want to lose our wives, and we don't want our children, lose our children to the world, okay, we'll say, well, you know, my wife is like this, right, God's going to say, why is your wife like that, why haven't you instilled, you know, why haven't you loved her enough, why haven't you led her enough, why haven't you taught your kids, you know, the word of God, it comes down to the man, the man will have rule over her, and back to just, I'll just read to you Ephesians 5 23, it says, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is the savior of the body, hey, it's a good thing that Christ is the head of the church, and it's a good thing for the man to be the head of his wife, this is not a bad thing, okay, but it's part of the curse of a woman that she would have the desire to serve her husband. Verse number 17, Genesis 3 17, and unto Adam he said, now notice the curse to Adam, because thou has hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and has eaten of the tree which I commanded thee, saying, thou shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake, in sorrow shall thou eat of it all the days of thy life, thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shall eat of the herb of the field, notice this, in the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground, for out of it was of it was thou taken, for thus thou art, and unto thus shalt thou return. So he says, look Adam, you working, and by the way, you know, this is a curse on a man, God does not curse the woman that she's going to have to work with by the sweat of her brow. No, it falls upon a man, and so for a woman to want to go out to the workplace and have a job, why do you want the curse of a man upon yourself? Okay, you've already got the curse of the childbearing, and you already have the desire for a man, and you know it's God's plan for the man, for the husband, to have the rule over you. Okay, and so this falls upon a man. Yes, God already wanted a man to work from the beginning, but now your work is going to be by the sweat of your brow. Okay, God wants you to labor and labor hard. Okay, and again, nothing wrong with having a day of rest. We see even God himself having that. You say, well, you know, in Australia we work Monday to Fridays, generally speaking, five days a week. Yeah, but you know, even on the Saturdays, even on the other days, you're probably working, and you're probably doing things around the house that needs to be done. You know, work isn't just your day job. You can be working in other things as well. Okay, so the curse that fell upon Adam is that he would work by the sweat of his face, and again, this is a job that God gave to Adam prior to the curse, prior to sin. It's a good thing to work. Okay, it's a good thing. It is the expectation of a man, and it's not something that ought to fall upon a woman to provide for a family. Okay, obviously, you know, single parents, you know, a widowed woman, things change. I'm just talking about the ideal scenario right now. Okay, I'm just talking about the ideal scenario which generally should fall upon most people. Okay, so in summary, and by the way, again, this is the third thing that will give you as a man great satisfaction is being the leader of your home, ruling over your wife, having the authority over your children, having your family in obedience to you, and when your wife is not obedient to you, when your wife is rebellious, and when your children are disobedient, you lose satisfaction in your marriage. You lose satisfaction in your family. Man, these are three great things, three basic things, three foundational things that God wants from us to work a job, provide for a wife by the sweat of our brow. Okay, number two, to find a wife and get married, you know, to have that intimate relationship, you know, to have children, etc. And finally, to rule your house well. God wants that. These are things. You say, I'm not satisfied, Kevin. You know, I don't know what God wants in my life. This is what God wants in your life. And if you already had these three things in your life, and you're still not satisfied, it's because there's areas lacking. You know, either, you know, when you go to work, you're not serving the Lord in your workplace. You know, maybe you're not loving your wife the way you ought to. Maybe you're not taking authority and ownership of your family the way, you know, you ought to. And so maybe you have these three things, but you're lacking satisfaction. You need to work on these things, because that's truly where satisfaction is, you know. And it took me a while to figure this out. You know, I was pretty immature when I married Christina. And I had to grow up and realize, hey, I don't, I can't dedicate my time to my friends and my buddies. I need to look after my wife. Hey, I can't go out every week now and play soccer, play in the soccer with my buddies. You know, I need to be there for my kids. I need to help her. My wife has, you know, we've our 10th kid on the way. She's got enough on her hands. I should come home and help her out. I should come home and take the kids away so she can be free to cook or clean or whatever else she wants to do. And so to alleviate, you know, that burden upon her, because I'm also responsible for my family, you know. And it's when I started to realize these three very basic things, and I need to do it for the Lord. I need to take responsibility and accountability. I started to enjoy being a man. I started to be satisfied. It was like, this is awesome. This is such a great thing. I'm so happy. And I'm thinking, what about my friends? I don't need them. I don't need them. I've got my family, and I'm raising them, and I'm taking responsibility for what I have. So, you know, what does it mean to be manly, guys? Again, this is how God has outlined His will and, you know, the instinctive goals of a man. Every man has these things inbuilt in you, in your DNA. Work hard, find a wife, and lead your home, okay? That, for me, is the true measure of a man. Not how aggressive you are, not how buff you are, but are you aiming to achieve these things? Are you working toward these things? And have you found satisfaction in these things?