Act Like a Man and Be Strong: Examining God’S Measure for Maximum Manhood Book One

By Zebedee King

Are you man enough to become maximum? Are you prepared to discover attributes epitomizing Gods idea of true strength in a man? If so, the Act Like a Man and Be Strong series is for you. You may be surprised at what you find.

God is summoning menstrong men and maximum mento follow him, allowing him to recreate them into his image and likeness in every area of their lives. God enlists men to usher revival into their homes, churches, and communities. Men who will dare to model true, godly manhood in the face of a culture, which has become increasingly hostile. To those with true masculinity are for whom this book series is written.

Are you man enough to allow the Lord to use this series to penetrate your heart and transform your life? If so, we pray that you will find this series a challenging yet edifying reading.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 14, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524559380

Zebedee King

Zebedee King is an air force veteran who currently works in the cyber security field. He is married to Linda, his wonderful wife of thirty-three years. They have two beautiful, godly daughters. Their oldest daughter and son-in-law have two delightful granddaughters who are also being brought up to love the Lord. Zeb began teaching the Bible at a young age. He and Linda have remained active in church since their youth and are heavily involved in several facets of ministry within their local assembly in San Antonio, Texas. Their love for God, coupled with their passion for bringing out the best in his people, remain the driving force behind their devotion. Among his many other passions, Zeb enjoys writing. God has directed Zeb to compile his notes accumulated through decades of intense biblical study into manuscripts, resulting in three books so far, including this present volume with many more to follow.

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Copyright © 2016 by ZEBEDEE KING.

Library of Congress Control Number:         2016919096

ISBN:         Hardcover         978-1-5245-5940-3

         Softcover         978-1-5245-5939-7

         eBook         978-1-5245-5938-0

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Rev. date: 11/14/2016

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

WHAT KIND OF MAN ARE YOU?

Chapter 1 FIRST CHARGE: BE WATCHFUL

Chapter 2 SECOND CHARGE: STAND FIRM

Chapter 3 THIRD CHARGE: ACT LIKE A MAN

ACT LIKE A MAN, NOT A LIKE A CHILD

BE A MAN, NOT JUST A MALE

QUIT LIKE MEN

Chapter 4 FOURTH CHARGE: BE STRONG

BE STRONG

Chapter 5 BE SET APART

SET APART, SINGLED OUT AND SET UP

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man

Through Setting Yourself Apart unto God

Chapter 6 BE a SERVANT

GOD REQUIRES FAITHFUL SERVANTS

GOD REWARDS FAITHFUL SERVANTS

SERVITUDE: AS MUCH AN ATTITUDE AS AN ACT

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man Through Serving God and Others

Chapter 7 BE a SHEPHERD

LEAD AND FEED

A SHEPHERD WATCHES

A SHEPHERD PROTECTS

A SHEPHERD SACRIFICES

A SHEPHERD INTERCEDES

A SHEPHERD PUTS HIMSELF OUT FRONT

A SHEPHERD GATHERS

GOD IS CALLING FOR MEN

TO SHEPHERD HIS PEOPLE

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man Through Shepherding your Family and Others

Chapter 8 BE a STUDENT

A STUDENT OF GOD’S WORLD

A STUDENT OF GOD’S WORKS

A STUDENT OF GOD’S WORD

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man Through Becoming a Student

Chapter 9 BE a SEEKER

SEEK DILIGENTLY

SEEK DELIBERATELY

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man Through Becoming a Seeker

Chapter 10 BE a SEER

SEERS ARE SEEKERS

SEERS ARE SPEAKERS

SEERS ARE SPARKS

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man Through Becoming a Seer

Chapter 11 BE SINGLE-MINDED

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man Through Becoming Single-minded

Chapter 12 BE STEADFAST

STEADFAST AND ALWAYS ABOUNDING

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man Through Being Steadfast

Chapter 13 BE STABLE

STABILIZING OUR THOUGHTS

BEING PLANTED TO FLOURISH

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man Through Being Stable

Chapter 14 BE SUFFICIENT

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man Through Being Sufficient

Chapter 15 BE SOBER

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man Through Being Sober

Chapter 16 BE SELFLESS

CHECK YOUR SELF-IMAGE

PRACTICE SELF-SACRIFICE

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man Through Being Selfless

Chapter 17 BE small and STAY small

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man Through Being and Staying Small

Chapter 18 BE SELF-CONTROLLED

Chapter 19 BE a SOUL-WINNER

WINNING SOULS THROUGH PREACHING

WINNING SOULS THROUGH TEACHING

WINNING SOULS THROUGH MENTORING

WINNING SOULS THROUGH LIVING YOUR WITNESS

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man Through Being a Soul-Winner

Chapter 20 BE a SELL-OUT

SET APART TO SELL OUT

GIVING IN

GIVING ALL

Practical Steps to Act Like a Man Through Being a Sell-Out

Chapter 21 FIFTH CHARGE: LET ALL THAT YOU DO BE DONE IN LOVE

Chapter 22 Are You MAN Enough to Become Maximum?

BECOMING MAXIMUM REQUIRES COURAGE

Act Like a Man and be STRONG Copyright © 2016 by Zebedee King.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations em bodied in critical articles or reviews.

In other words, "If you quote, then please promote and if you plagiarize, then please patronize." Thank you.

Unless otherwise stated Scripture quotations are taken from the - The Updated King James Version (UKJV) - I love Jesus (UKJV).

All Scripture quotations marked HCSB, are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible ®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible ®, HCSB ®, and Holman CSB ® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

All Scripture quotations marked KJV, are from the King James Version/Authorized (KJV, AV): Oxford University Press.

All Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™ Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.

All Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

All Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, © Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

All Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

All other versions used are clearly identified within the text.

DEDICATION

This series is dedicated to my father, James Lee King, Sr., my father-in-law, Reverend James H. Anderson, my brothers, Abdur (Henry), Elbert, Jim and Darin, my son-in-law, Lowell and all of my male relatives, including my in-laws.

This particular book in the Act Like a Man and be STRONG series is dedicated to my good friend, Edwin DeLeon, a man among men and an awesome mentor.

Finally, I also dedicate this volume to the Men’s Ministry at Westover Hills Assembly of God (WHAG) in San Antonio, TX.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I appreciate all the assistance and encouragement which I have received in preparing this book for print. I want to especially thank my wife who has been so supportive of this and all my writing projects. She has been very instrumental in promoting my previous books and I want to tell her, Thanks.

I would also like to recognize my sister-in-law, Deloris Anderson-Thomas and my co-worker, Raymond Guidry for volunteering to assist in proofreading and editing the manuscript in preparation for publishing. I would also like to thank my co-worker, Adan Machuca for providing me ideas for my book cover display. Finally, I would like to thank Edward Lugo, who works diligently in Men’s Ministry at our church, for providing the Foreword for this book.

You all have my sincerest appreciation and my utmost respect. May God bless you all.

FOREWORD

In Act Like a Man and be STRONG, Zeb King insists that we return to the purity of God’s Word to consider what biblical manhood should be. This book not only contains much-needed information, but its message is transforming—transforming, that is, for those who have the courage to reach higher and delve deeper to comprehend and then revisit God’s original intent for all His men.

Men of God are at the brink of a breakthrough. Men are crying out for answers and the principles in this book are an answer to prayer!

- Edward Lugo, Deacon, Men’s Ministry Team Member, Westover Hills Assembly of God, San Antonio, TX

INTRODUCTION

You’re not a man! or You’re not a REAL man! Anyone who has ever heard these words uttered (especially directed towards them) knows how heart-wrenching they can be. These are among the most disheartening and even infuriating words a man can hear.

I suppose there are times when one man might blurt this phrase to another man, perhaps to express his disapproval with an attitude or a behavior exhibited by the receiver (for instance, to voice disappointment in a wayward son or an impulsive mentee). More often than not, however, these words are hurled from the mouths of women, and usually, they are not intended to encourage or to challenge a man to do better, but rather to demoralize him. Also, quite often, when she utters these hurting words, she has in her mind a certain standard of manliness or masculinity—whether valid (such as a caring father whom she adores or authority figure she admires) or superficial (such as a polished, scripted television character, some celebrity or noted personality). Some women seem particularly eager to chip away at a man’s self-esteem, fueled either by hatred or (more than likely) as the result to a hurt suffered by some man in the past.

To verbally negate a man’s masculinity is not a means for constructive criticism, but as a destructive verbal assault, meant to deliver the death’s blow to a man’s confidence, usually during a heated argument and, unfortunately, often as a prelude to an aggressive response, an escalation in hostilities or maybe even physical abuse. Although I was taught to never hit women, I realize that there are many men who don’t share my sentiments about this and therefore, wouldn’t resist the impulse to plow into a woman who verbally assaults him with mouth missiles like the incendiary words identified above. I and others have always maintained that violent reactions like these do not represent how real men should respond, even in the face of stinging invectives. This is behavior more typical of an adolescent who lashes out instead of listens, who reacts rather than reasons and seeks reconciliation.

I could never even imagine how a man could hit and deface something so perfectly beautiful as a woman; however, I am not naïve. I know that in an attempt to emasculate a man, some women can speak and behave in such a way as to infuriate him. Drawing from the late Rodney King’s famous quote, I ask, Why can’t we all just get along? God has called us to peace (1 Corinthians 7:15).

Suggesting or exclaiming that a man is not truly a man is designed to deeply wound the psyche and self-esteem of the man whom these words are directed towards because they cut to the very core of a man’s essential being, just as denying a woman’s femininity attacks her at the core of her being.

Rest assured, none of this talk is from God; it is from the devil. He is the adversary and he seeks to decimate, denigrate and demoralize a person. On the other hand, God is deeply concerned with exalting and building a person up.

Do you know what God told me some years regarding those who presume to emasculate men and defeminize women? He said that He deliberately made men to be male and women to be female. He knew what He was doing. He is the One who created both the man and the woman. It is He who constructed and configured the DNA sequences within each individual male and female to make them who they are; therefore, He is THE ONLY ONE in a position to affirm the masculinity or femininity of either. The Bible makes these assertions abundantly clear when it affirms:

…God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

(Genesis 1:27 - HCSB)

The LORD created all of us just the way we are, He loves us all just the way we are. He also expects men to celebrate, operate within, walk in and maximize their manhood and women to celebrate, function within, walk in and maximize their womanhood. To deny a man his manhood and a woman her womanhood dishonors God because it denies that aspect of the image of God (including gender) which is tailor-made for and placed specifically within each person. I talk more about the image of God as it relates to gender in my book The House that God Built.

Along with that, the Lord said that a woman has never existed as a man a single day in her life so she cannot possibly know what a real man is, nor is she in any position to presume to emasculate a man. She may be able to identify which traits she admires in men, but she’ll never know what it is like to BE a man. Likewise, for the same reason, a man cannot possibly know what constitutes being a real woman, nor can he presume to attack her femininity.

I realize that there are a lot of gender-bending experiments going on these days, yet men and women remain as they are when they were conceived, with either male or female psyches, personalities, glands and organs, as well as other gender-distinctive features. Regardless to what modern civilization and science do in order to blur the gender lines, distinctions between the sexes exist at the most innate and basic levels, even to the way that the male and female brains are wired.

Therefore, realize that no one can deny ANY man their manhood, whether mild-mannered and meek men or rough and tough men; whether thin, wiry men or men with muscles bulging all over their bodies. God has created all men as men; He has equipped us as men and He calls us to be men and to act as men. However, He does not expect us to be just ordinary men, but to be maximum men.

Understand, though, similar to the misguided person who hurls verbal daggers at a man in order to slice his masculinity into shreds because he/she has some standard of manliness in mind which a particular man has not attained unto, God also has in His mind a certain standard of true manliness and masculinity that He desires and has destined for EVERY MAN to attain unto. However, the Lord does not employ some superficial gauge to define and describe true manhood, like how many ghost peppers a man can ingest at one time, how boisterously he can behave or even how much weight he can lift (believe it or not). Rather, whereas the Lord has already validated the masculinity of every man whom He has created, the idea as to whether a man is a maximum man in God’s eyes is based upon the character which that man allows God to create and develop in him. Being a fully grown, mature and maximum man is a matter of character, specifically, godly and God-approved character, which is exemplified in certain attributes and traits. Describing just a representative few of these traits is objective of this book and series.

WHAT KIND OF MAN ARE YOU?

Whereas I don’t agree with the idea of questioning a man’s masculinity by denying it (as we’ve already discussed in the foregoing paragraphs), I do believe that one can question a man’s character or his level of maturity by actually asking a question, rather than by making inflammatory statements. The question which I would propose is: What kind of man are you? This is an effective inquiry because it places the onus on the man who is asked the question to examine and explain his character, attitudes and actions with reference to a particular standard of manliness.

Many people hold conceptions as to which attributes and actions constitute the ideal, perfect or maximum man. For millennia, societies have observed rites of passage which provided scripts for males to follow in order to transition from adolescence into manhood and many cultures still do, including our own. People have always made distinctions between qualities they felt typify the ultimate male, the mediocre male and the total misfit.

In this book, however, we will concern ourselves only with God’s standard of masculinity, His idea of true manliness; His measure of the maximum man. He created man and He knows what it takes for men to operate optimally and fulfill His divine purpose completely. God expects for each man to become what God created him to become. This is what the Lord had in mind when He designed each man. So, the question isn’t whether or not a man is truly a man, but whether or not a man is a God-kind of man.

To begin our discussion of some of the traits which epitomize God’s idea of the maximum man, we will quote the scripture which forms the theme for our book. It is found in 1 Corinthians 16:13. It reads:

Be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man, be strong.

(1 Corinthians 16:13 - HCSB)

The scripture just cited is part of a series of concise instructions Paul writes as he closes the first of his two letters to his Christian brethren in the city of Corinth. The rest of this introduction and this book is dedicated to unpack and explain each of the imperatives Paul gives.

CHAPTER 1

FIRST CHARGE: BE WATCHFUL

Be alert . . .

(1 Corinthians 16:13 - HCSB)

First, of all, Paul enjoins his brethren to be watchful. Watching presupposes vigilance. To be watchful is the same as being aware and alert. Watchfulness is a call to action. We men of God are called to be aware of the forces which are trying to diminish the masculine footprint in all aspects of society. On the other hand, many recognize that our nation is on the cusp of revival, thanks to a newfound awareness that the presence and influences of men really do matter within our homes, churches, communities and culture. A lot of people believe that the time has come for men—especially men of God—to lead the way in re-asserting themselves into society and once again assuming their rightful places within God’s plan and program. Of course, there are detractors; neither the devil nor the world system under his control want to see this happen. Men who are attuned to God’s Word and Spirit are not ignorant of Satan’s devices or the world’s schemes.

We realize that manhood and masculinity are being attacked as never before in today’s culture. The immediate and obvious result is the blurring of gender-distinction lines such that many are confused concerning what true masculinity and femininity are. This is a diabolical attempt to sever humankind’s most basic connection to God’s original plan and purpose for the human race.

Understand also that the devil wants to force men from their homes so that he can prey upon men’s families and feed upon the remains of once vibrant, love-filled homes. This has a damaging affect upon all within the home, especially the children. Many of us can testify to this first hand. We have come to know by experience that the devil is a scavenger as well as a murderer (John 10:10).

In 1 Corinthians 16:13, Paul summons men to also become aware of what God requires from His men. This book and series will touch upon just a few character traits which typify the man of God, empowering him to be thoroughly furnished, perfect and entire, lacking nothing.

One of our first discussions in this book regards a man’s responsibility to shepherd his home. One of the primary duties for a shepherd is to watch over the sheep because the sheep are meek and defenseless creatures. Furthermore, sheep spend most of their time with their heads down. They are mostly concerned with grazing, not with the task of looking out for dangers around them. That is the shepherd’s concern.

Men of God, if no one else commits to watch out for hazards within the home, church, community or any other place a threat or an enemy can rear its head, surely we must.

As I stated earlier, we are not ignorant of the devil’s devices, methods, means and schemes. Therefore, we should be on the lookout when he walks about, seeking whom