Seven Highly Effective Traits of Godly Men

Thank you. Last month, there was a sermon given here about women, women from the New Testament. I haven't heard any feedback about it, but I assume it was very good, very helpful, encouraging for the ladies. And I wanted to offer my offering, you might say today, about a sermon for men. Now, it's interesting when you give sermons like this, both male and female, listen in.

And you always say, well, I'm going to lose half the audience today. Why am I giving a sermon to either the ladies or to the men? Because I'm going to lose half of you. Well, we don't take it that way, because really, especially today, what I say, geared especially for you gentlemen, is also applicable to all you ladies. Now, the reason I give it to the men is because I want to zero in on one or two areas for the men.

And I think it makes sense for us to do that occasionally. So last month, a sermon for the ladies, and this time we have a sermon for the gentlemen. Now, I'm going to take not a chapter that's called the virtuous husband chapter, because it doesn't exist. So we men or we husbands kind of have to look farther deeper for direction in that sense.

It's an awesome thing that God has actually given a chapter that ladies, wise in particular, can zero in on and say, this is the virtuous woman or virtuous wife chapter there in Proverbs 31. But I'm going to take actually not a whole string of verses, I'm going to take personalities from the Bible. Does that make sense for you men? I know ladies especially like role models. They say, I want to look up to a lady and I want to have her as role model.

Men are the same way. So I'm going to take seven personalities from the Bible. That's quite a task, seven personalities. But that's what I attempt to do. Now, we could take Jesus Christ, brethren, and talk about Him as example for all of us men in totality and every kind of character trait, because He is the target. He is 100% everything in terms of character, His traits, His godliness. But I also want to expand this to men of the Bible. I'm going to usually use today, though, a take-off on a best-selling book some years ago.

And the title of the sermon today is, Seven Highly Effective Traits of Godly Men. Seven Highly Effective Traits of Godly Men. And again, you ladies, please listen in, because these really are applicable to you as well as to the gentleman here today. Well, I'm going to start off right in the Scriptures, first of all, and appropriately so, with Jesus Christ. And turn with me to Mark chapter 10 and verse 17, please. Mark chapter 10 and verse 17.

I will use Jesus Christ in this example. The first highly effective trait of godly men is the compassion of Jesus Christ, the compassion of Jesus Christ. Now, again, I could use Him, brethren, as the example for all of these traits, and then some today. But I'm going to take the example of Jesus Christ in Mark chapter 10 and verse 17 as our first example of an highly effective trait of godly men.

Mark chapter 10 and verse 17. Now, as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? Now, this is a very good question, this is an appropriate question. In fact, brethren, maybe it's the most profound question of all. How am I to serve God? How am I to be a part of His kingdom? Maybe there's also a little bit of a selfish approach. What do you think on that? He didn't say, How can I serve? How can I help you? Teach me what I need to know?

How can I get into eternal life or be there? So, you know, we don't know the motives. We just simply look at it. And then in verse 18, so Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good but one. That is God. He's referring to His Father. And you know the commandments in verse 19. Do not commit adultery. He's talking here about the last portion of the Ten Commandments in particular.

Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not defraud. Honor your father and your mother. And so, the young man, the young ruler, replies, verse 20, and he answered and said to him, Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth. Now, let's take that. What do you think about that reply?

Is that possible? No, it's not possible. It's absolutely not possible.

Now, here, brethren, is the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the Creator, who's always been.

And he's telling the Creator, who gave the Ten Commandments to humanity, who made Adam, who made Eve, he says, Oh, those I've kept my whole life. Master, what else do I need to know?

You know, give me something I don't know. Give me something that hasn't challenged me or that I haven't accomplished yet. That retort of this man was not a good retort. There are some issues here. I mean, there truly are. So, I'm building this up because that's a context. How could anybody look the Creator, God, in the eye, in human form and say, Master, not a problem with those Ten?

Well, you'd say, Yeah, there is a problem.

You had a major problem here. Well, notice the reaction of Jesus Christ in verse 21. Then Jesus, looking at him, here he is, face to face with this young man, loved him.

Sometimes, rather than the most pithy thoughts are the shortest. Two words. Jesus looked at him and loved him. Why? Because, in portion of what I've just said, this, frankly, is a very arrogant retort. You know, he isn't asking for mercy. He isn't asking for help, for faith, justification from Jesus Christ, brethren. He really is in a sense of saying, I don't need anything here. I've got that. I've got that one down. Tell me something I don't know. And Jesus looked at him and loved him. See, there's a lot of issues going on here. Could Jesus Christ have very efficiently, brethren, just started off and said, you don't know what you're talking about? He could have. Do you know what you just said, young man? He didn't say a thing. He loved him. One of the big, godly traits, gentlemen, of a man is compassion, because men are not known for it by just birth. We are known for being sometimes very uncompassionate toward our wives, our children, co-workers, you know. And then there's the macho thing. Let's not even go there, right, fellas? You know, the male ego is something to behold. We all have it. Now, ladies, you have it too. Well, female ego. But you know, the male ego, we talk about that. We heard of that. We think, how is it that men often, when we get in a group, and I don't think this is true in the church nearly as much as not in the church, but you get a group of men together, pretty soon they're talking about how big they are, how strong they are, what they've done. Well, you know, you mean you shot a bear in Alaska? Well, I shot six bears, you know, and that fish was this big when actually it was a minnow. And you know, honestly, ladies don't tend to be that way nearly as much. But men, we, yeah, I've told my stories, and gentlemen, you probably told your share, too. And so we kind of like, and I can give you examples, frankly, of some in the church I've known over the decades, and think, oh, he's just always known for always coming up with the biggest story, and then the rest of us feel totally, you know, damaged, and tell between our legs, and we go skunking off thinking, man, I don't even know why I wanted to talk that. You know, here Jesus had, you know, Christ could have said, you want to know about things, young man? You don't even have a clue. Well, again, we could go on and on, but isn't that amazing, gentlemen? He loved him. Bingo! Now, he goes on, he does say, and this is the love.

Now, he did not chasten him for some weaknesses here, but he obviously perceived perfectly, said, one thing that you lack. Now, isn't that one thing? Like a zillion things, maybe?

So, he's saying, fellas, you don't overwhelm somebody. You don't pile it on. You know, you have compassion. Here's the Jesus, the Christ compassion. One thing, sir, one thing. Now, that's bite-sized. Didn't overwhelm him. One thing, he says, that you lack. Go your way, sell what you have, and give to the poor. And you will have treasure in heaven, and come and take up the cross, and follow me.

Wow. Jesus knew this man was not rather keeping those Ten Commandments.

He just knew that, and he knew specifically where he was really very weak in terms of the Commandments.

He had a lot of greed. He had a lot of coveting. He broke the first commandment, putting a lot of things before God, and on and on and on. So he boils it down in a compassionate way, and yet direct. Because the man is asking him a sincere right question. What do I need to know to have eternal life? You know, inherit eternal life. So Christ was going to answer the question.

Verse 22, but he said he was sad at this word and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Again, the point is compassion of Jesus Christ. You know, Brandon, there's a time to say something, and there's a time not to say something, and there's a time to say, take a little bit of the big picture and give a little bit. You know, you do that with children all the time. You do that with grandkids all the time. You do that with everybody all the time, because, you know, we're humans. We're just human. That's all. A lot of things we don't do right, but the compassion really launches out from the Scripture here. So Christ could live that fully, perfectly, completely.

Let's move on to our second godly trait, or effective trait, the purity of Joseph. Let's turn back to Genesis chapter 39. Now, in earlier sermons over the years, we've covered parts of Joseph's life. Chapter 39 of Genesis, chapter 39 starting in verse 1.

Of course, there's a lot of Scripture here in Genesis about Joseph's life, one of the major personalities here and people that God is working with during that era. This is Genesis chapter 39 and verse 1. Now, Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard in the Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man, and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him. Isn't that an amazing thing? This man knew that somehow Joseph's God was blessing him, was with him. You know, that's an interesting thing at work. People know you're different. They just can't put their finger on it. You know, it's not that they agree with you beliefs, but they say, you know, you're different, and that's a compliment, usually. You know, they say, you know, you're different. There's something about you. This is how that man felt toward Joseph. And so, God did bless Joseph. And the master as well. Verse 4, so Joseph found favor in his sight and served him, and then he had made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. Now, this is amazing because this is an outsider, and yet he's trusting him with his life, and all that is under his authority. So, it was from that time that he made him an overseer of his house, and all that he did, that the Lord blessed the Egyptians house for Joseph's sake. And the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Thus, he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now, Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. So, this man turned over everything. He said, you know, I don't even keep the books. I have no idea who buys things, who buys things. The food just shows up because Joseph is that wonderful manager, efficient, trustworthy manager who wasn't taking money. He was hiring good people, treating everyone well. But Joseph was a handsome young man, it notes in verse 7. That leads us to what happened next. His master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, lie with me.

But he refused and said to his master's wife, look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and notice sin against God? Brethren, the Ten Commandments were enforced way before Joseph's time.

They absolutely were. This was before the New Covenant was ratified, before all of that that we find in the book of Exodus. So yes, the Ten Commandments were enforced. Here Joseph is saying, this is a great wicked thing. This act of adultery, fornication, that his wife is now attempting, he said, this is sin. This was wrong. And so it was that she spoke to Joseph day by day, tempting him day after day, that he did not heed her and to lie with her or to be with her. The way God has made man, that is a very big struggle for most men. The way men are wired. She is a temptress. She is tempting him day by day. The way she looks, the way she smells, the way she talks, and giving him a green light. And here Joseph stands up and says, no, this is great wickedness. But it happened about that time when verse 11, when Joseph went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house were inside, that she caught him by his garment and said, lie with me. But he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside. You know, he didn't think about it. Hmm, no choices here. What do I do? He didn't even think about it because he knew his character. And that's how that's a challenge, especially today for men. Women dress differently today than they did back in his era. It is a terrible thing for a man to really be a part of this culture. It doesn't help him. It hurts him. And that's how Satan has created this culture. But Joseph had no second thoughts about that. He left his outer garment.

And then verse 13, so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, well, see, he has brought in to us a Hebrew, to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me and I cried out a loud voice. You know, it's interesting human nature. If you want to get at somebody, you reverse the table. You reverse and say, they're doing what really I've been doing to them. It's the exact same thing. You just reverse 180 degrees. And you see that, brethren, if you're aware of that in personal relationships, the very thing people are accusing you of is often the attitude they're in. Now, what that does is deflect the problem from them and then you're now at the middle of the bullseye. And what you have to do is say, no, no, no, we're not going to go there. You're in heavy design. I'm not buying that argument. You are the one that has a problem, not me. I'm not going to go there with you. Slam that door shut. Just slam it shut. Don't go down that path, because you're playing in the hand of that person. And what you're doing is enabling that person to continue to be in a bad attitude and maybe even sin. You don't want to enable sin. Joseph didn't say, well, I guess maybe I'm a part of this because I'm here all day. He didn't want to even discuss this. He left. But she reverses it because she's snubbed. Her ego is a woman. Oh, wow. Nobody's ever done that to me. You know, women, they have the ego too, as we said earlier. Her pride was hurt. She was a manipulator, very selfish, and doing a dastardly thing to Joseph. He was loyal to his boss. He was loyal, first of all, to God. So she cries out. She lies. She spins the tables here 180 degrees. And you know what happened? The master came in and believed her. And in verse 20, put him in prison, a place where the king's prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison, but the Lord is with Joseph and showed mercy. And he gave him favor in the sign of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand. All the prisoners who were in the prison, whatever they did, it was his doing. Now, isn't that something? As a prisoner, he begins to have some authority and sway over other prisoners. God is giving him favor.

And of course, God continued to bless Joseph for his obedience. So in today's society, with the internet, with everything we see on television, you know, brethren, as I've said earlier, you're watching this nature show or this decent show. And then all of a sudden, they don't even say, well, get ready for a terrible commercial. We're going to give the audience you five seconds to mute or to hit the switch, you know, reverse channel back to the one you were watching. And no, no, they just bam! And it's usually a violent thing or with sex, sex overtones. I was just mentioning before church, I just read there's a new game out. It's a grand auto grand theft auto. Thank you. I never remember that five, I think. And I just read 30 seconds on the introduction of it. But the whole plot is these people on this game killing police officers.

That's a big thing. And there's three arch criminals or auto thieves, and they're named. And you get to know them, I guess, in this game. And they're the ones in this game committing murder and thievery. Now imagine going through this game hour after hour after hour. What does that do to the mind? Well, Satan is the god of thoughts, of the heir, the prince of the heir, the one who does broadcast attitudes and moods. So it's a very big challenge. But Joseph had that character of God, of being cured and true. You know, let's turn to Proverbs 5 now. Proverbs chapter 5 and verse 15.

Proverbs chapter 5 and verse 15. Well, Solomon weighed in on this. I've given some of these at camps and over the years. And I've also encouraged fathers to have talks with their sons or mothers' talks with their sons, daughters as well, certainly. But it's written from the perspective here particularly of a father to his son. Now this can apply again. Mother to daughter or son, however you want to apply it. Proverbs 5 and verse 15. Drink water from your own cistern and running water from your own well. Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be only your own and not the stranger's with you. Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice with the wife of your youth. Now that is laughed after today because our culture or media especially is saying, oh well, adultery is no big deal. It is a big deal. It violates God, it violates your mind, your emotions, and frankly, you really never fully recover because it's such a powerful concept. So God says through Solomon, be clean as a man. And Joseph is a wonderful example in that regard. Let's move on to our third trait of a godly man. Number three, tender heart of Josiah. Our third example is Josiah, the tender heart of Josiah. Tender can mean teachable, humble, easily, and treated. Teachable, humble, easily, and treated. So I think it's effective to study men of God, and that's, again, role models beginning with Jesus Christ. Let's go back with me to 2 Kings 22. 2 Kings 22 and start in verse 11. 2 Kings 22 and verse 11. I've given a whole sermon on Josiah a year or two ago. I've gone through a lot of these verses already. But you do remember he was eight years old when he ascended to the throne of Judah. He succeeded his grandfather, Manasseh, who was one of the bloodiest monarchs, some say the bloodiest monarch in Judah. And the Bible says, he filled the streets of Jerusalem with the blood of her children because he worshipped and caused the people to worship the god Molech, the god of child sacrifices. His grandfather was a pathetic example, and yet scripture states what happened. Remember what we said in that sermon? What happened to Manasseh? He repented, but his reign was horrible. That was his granddad. A terrible example. 2 Kings 22 and verse 11. Now it happened that when the king heard the words of the book of the law that he tore his clothes. Here Shippon the scribe, they discovered now the law and had been buried, of course, under prior kings, including his grandfather. He tore his clothes. Now, just imagine today, brethren, if somebody says, oh, there's the Bible, there's the 10 commandments, thou shalt not commit adultery. Oh, that's nothing. We don't even give that. You know, that uses you Bible believer, you Christians. Well, see, the culture, brethren, does not support God's people today. He never has, but it's a big deal with God. The Bible, what does the Bible say?

So he tore his clothes. He had no clue what a lot of this was because he had never been taught it, but God had been with him. So he commanded Gokiah the priest, saying, go inquire, verse 13, the Lord for me. And verse 14 mentions Hoda, the prophetess. So Gokiah the priest, verse 14, went to inquire of Hoda, the priestess, or prophetess, rather.

And so she was saying later in verse 14, we'll pick that up. And they spoke to her. Then she said, verse 15, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, And she knows who it is, because she says that in a few more sentences. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring calamity to this place, and all its inhabitants, all the words of the book which the King Josiah has read, because they have forsaken me, and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore my wrath shall be aroused against this place, and shall not be quenched. How does God, brethren, look upon these pagan rites and symbols and activities today? How does He look on that? Right here. That's how He looks on it.

It's a big thing with God. But today, and again, for most of mankind's beginning with Adam and Eve, it's no big deal, but it is with God. So verse 18, she continues, and then verse 19, because your heart, in other words, God's going to have mercy. Why? Because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place, and against its inhabitants. Well, fellas, a tender heart means a humble heart, a teachable heart, is without price, we could say, with God. That's one of the big characteristics for men, because men, the DNA is not wired in us to be that way. We like to challenge. We like to challenge.

Sometimes even argue. But this man did not argue with God, and he was still, Josiah is still relatively young. He said, I tore my clothes, because that hit me like a ton of bricks.

Today, you know, we have all these reasons and excuses. Well, God says to be tenderhearted, to be otherwise, is going to face trouble. Now, of course, God said, I'm going to bless you, Josiah, you won't see this calamity. And going on in verse 19, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wet before me. And I also have heard it.

Well, men aren't prone to weeping. Women just have a kind of a natural DNA of being a little bit more compassionate, a little bit more heartfelt. Now, it doesn't mean they don't have challenges. I want to be fair about this. But with men, we have to make sure we're tenderhearted, we're compassionate, and sometimes as a father, it's all left brain. And that doesn't work. We need to help our wives. We need to help. Well, what's so hard about that? Well, you're 100 pounds heavier, that's why. You know, you got upper strength that God put into a man.

And, well, for her, that's a lot harder. We have to have, again, a tender heart. So, he wept before God. Then verse 20, "...surely therefore I will gather you to your fathers." In other words, you will die. You will be gathered to the grave in peace. And your eyes shall not see the calamity which I will bring on this place. So, they brought all that back to Josiah. So, God had compassion on him because he had a tender heart. So, that's one of the big lessons of King Josiah's reign. He also was zealous. Now, that's not a point, but he sure had zealousness. And I'm going to limit to seven today. And I thought his zealousness and wisdom, and you can go on with this list. You know, after church, you can say, well, Mr. Newsomey never thought of this. I grant you it's going to be seven, and there's plenty more. But this is one of those big ones, certainly. Well, next chapter in verse 5.

So, he removed the idolatrous priests from the kings, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and the places all around Jerusalem, and those that burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the hosts of heaven. And he brought out the wooden images from the house of the Lord. Imagine having that in the house of the Lord to the brook kindred outside Jerusalem and burned it at the brook kindred and ground it to ashes and threw it the ashes on the graves of the common people. Then he tore down the ritual booths of the perverted persons. I mentioned this in the sermon a year or two ago whenever I gave it. If you notice the asterisk at the bottom, it says, those who practice sodomy and prostitution in religious rites. Homosexuality is mentioned here specifically. Today, again, we have this great battle. There should be no discussion on homosexuality at all. I mean, Josiah would have rent his clothes and said, I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to allow this perversion in my kingdom. And so, going on to verse 7, that we're in the house of the Lord where the women were the women wool hangings for the wooden images. Well, again, what is zealot? A man with a tender heart is a great example of one of those seven traits of a godly man. Our fourth trait, gentlemen, is responsibility of Boaz. The responsibility of Boaz. Again, we've covered him in earlier sermons. As you know, the longer a minister is in an area, the more sermons he gives, obviously. And then we say, well, I've already given a sermon on that, and I've touched on that. So, here I am already talking about that kind of thing. We've covered some of this. It's Ruth chapter 2 and verse 1, please.

Ruth chapter 2 verse 1. Ruth 2 verse 1.

I won't go into a lot of the background I have earlier, and you're familiar with the story, but the relative of Naomi's husband, a man of great wealth, the family of Eli Millec, his name was Boaz. Now, we know Boaz to be a very strong man, a good businessman, a compassionate man, and a very responsible one.

Now, verse 3. Then she left and went and leaned in the field after the Reapers, because, of course, this is what the law stated. You can do that. And she happened to come on the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was the family of Eli Millec. Now, of course, you know that Ruth's husband had died, and so she's back to Naomi's area. This is Bethlehem area, actually.

And then verse 5. Then Boaz said to the servant who was in charge of the Reapers, whose young woman is this? And so the servant in charge answered. It's the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. And then verse 8. So Boaz said to Ruth, You will listen, my daughter. Will you not? Do not go into the other fields to glean. He says, From here on out you stay with my fields and stay close to my young women. And verse 9. Then your eyes will be on that field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go into the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn. So she fell on her face, bowed to the ground, very respectfully. Why have I found favor in your eyes that I should take notice of me? I'm just a foreigner.

And you know, Brellon, without taking more time, he says, You know, I've heard your story. You're a widow. I have compassion on you. I'm going to take you into my family. Of course, he may not have been first in line. He actually wasn't for taking the responsibility of her as the law commanded or stated. But he says, You know, here God has put you here. I feel very responsible for you. I'm going to be accountable for you. I'm going to graft you in. And of course, the story unfolds in great detail about how that occurred. Notice in verse 12, The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given to the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge. So what a very kind act, very caring act. And you know, you have a family now. You're going to be taken care of. And of course, again, that's not fully done at this point. But it's starting that way. He had the means. He could help her. And you knew what the law stated about allowing those who are in need to glean the corners of the field. Lots of luck on that one today, Brellon. Try gleaning a corner of the field today. Our harvesters are so efficient.

You know, in my lifetime, I've seen harvesters really evolve from being, well, you could always kind of get some potatoes or get some hay or wheat or corn. Because those harvesters way back weren't as effective as they are today. You just can't do that today. In fact, there's keep out signs anymore. So I get that point. Well, verse 14, Boaz said to her at mealtime, Come here and eat the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar. And again, the kind, caring reaction he had for her is very apparent. Chapter 3 and verse 1, Naomi, her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter shall not seek security for you, that it may be well with you. This is how, of course, it had to be done because widow really did not have any social security benefits, we could say, during that culture. But she went to the family. God had his own way, even a better way, because it was family helping people. And so you'd go to the family. And that's what Naomi, or the mother-in-law, is saying, I want to take means to help you. So verse 2, now Boaz, whose young women you are with, is he not a relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Now, they say, what you did is you harvested during the day, and you threshed out the harvest at night. And then you harvested more in the day and threshed out at night. So during harvest time, it was almost 24 hours a day, and Boaz, the owner, was out there. One, to make sure the harvest was going well and that it was secure. And second, to do his fair portion. So that's what was occurring. And without going into the wonderful detail, but we need to move on, verse 6, she went down, she prepared to go down, went to the threshing floor, did according to all that Naomi had instructed. Verse 7, and after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, and he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain, she came softly, uncovered his feet to lay down. Now, it happened at midnight that he was startled and turned himself, and there a woman was lying at his feet. And he says, Well, who are you? She asked her, Lime Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant into your wing, for you are a close relative. And he says, Well, blessed are you of the Lord my daughter, for you have shown great kindness at the end, at the end, and at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. She had character, and she knew God's law as well. Well, in reality, Naomi was telling Ruth to act in accordance with Israelite custom and law. It was common for a servant to lie at the feet of his master, or even a share a part of his covering. By observing this custom, Ruth would inform Boaz that he could be her family Redeemer. And that's what Naomi was hinting at, go to the threshing for where he is. And then he could find someone to marry her or marry her himself. She was saying, This is good. This is what I would speak from you is help. It was family business, nothing romantic. But the story later becomes beautifully romantic, as Ruth and Boaz developed an unselfish love and deep respect for one another. Now, Boaz probably swept on a matter of skin, and Ruth likely could have lain crosswise at his feet, a position in which Eastern servants frequently slept in the same chamber or tent of their master. And if they want a covering, custom allows them that benefit from part of the covering of their master's bed. Again, custom at the time.

And then in chapter 4 and verse 22, the very last verse, Old Bed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David. And of course, the family tree. He's a part of that tree, as Ruth is, but what a delightful story. But the responsibility of this man is amazing. He can say, Oh, well, you know, there's other relatives. I'm so busy, and I'm successful, and who cares? You know, I mean, it's, you know, life is busy. No, he, Boaz was not that kind of man. So that tells men in particular, to really be responsible for those in our site, or especially our household. Fellas, help your wife with housework. Help her. Take on that job as well. Help with child rearing. Help with baby city. Help with obviously the financial responsibility. But get involved.

You know, not every generation has been that way. It's actually a better example, I think, today than it was when I was a kid, because it was pretty defined. You know, man didn't do that.

And your responsibilities were very well defined. So man, he didn't get involved with child rearing, and the housework, doing dishes. His job was mowing the lawn, painting the house, and then she took care of everything inside. And today we're realizing better, I think, as husbands and wives, younger generation, that that is a wrong model. So anyway, the responsibility here of Boaz is really amazing. A great example for all of us. Let me move on to our fifth example today, and that is the example of Moses. Well, what an example he was.

Point five is servant leadership of Moses. Servant leadership of Moses. Again, article sermons galore available on this, but it's profound what kind of servant Moses was.

Remember when God came to him? He saw the burning bush, and God commissioned him. He says, go to Pharaoh. And Moses' question was, who am I? Well, I don't even know what to do.

His attitude was the right attitude, the humble attitude, and saying, yep, God, you got the right man. He says, who am I to speak to this man? So he said, well, you know, we'll get somebody else to help you there. Let's go back to Numbers 12 and verse 3. Numbers chapter 12 and verse 3, please.

Now, we could take dozens of verses and many chapters here out of Exodus and Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy and talk about Moses, but let me just take only two. Numbers 12 and verse 3.

Now, the man Moses was very humble more than all men who were on the face of the earth.

Well, the word meek means humble. It's meek, I think, in the King James and translated humble here, which is the right word, more than any other man. Now, if we're going to really serve, we have to serve in a humble heart. And Moses was very humble. That's one of the major keys of serving God. Humility goes with service and leadership, not ego and self.

But he was very humble, the meekest of all, it says in verse 3, who were on the face of the earth.

Well, that's part of the reason why God chose him. Now, Moses was well trained in the Egyptian court. He was a general for the Egyptian army. He was a rich man, influential, but when God began to work with him, he really turned, and he turned fully for God. Notice in Deuteronomy chapter 33 and verse 1. Deuteronomy 33 and verse 1, please. Almost all the way back here in Deuteronomy chapter 33 and verse 1.

Now, this is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before his death. It's really interesting. Now, Deuteronomy was written by Moses evidently, but God inspired the words. Moses, the man of God. And gentlemen, all of you, including me, would be honored to be called a man of God. That is the highest trait in that sense of what a man could be. That I am with God. I am following him. I've said yeser to him. I'm a part of his way of life. You know, that's what we are after, fellas. And so, all of these people, and Jesus Christ in particular, are examples for us. It doesn't get any better than Jesus Christ.

But the service, the love, the humbleness of Moses is really profound.

Let me move on to our sixth character trait, or actually, I call them highly effective traits.

And that is Paul's example, the courage of Paul, the courage of the Apostle Paul.

It's so hard to take one effective trait of these people, especially Jesus Christ, because Christ is A through Z. But courage of Paul is amazing. I mentioned some weeks ago, and I went through this very verse, or verses that I'm going to cover with you just now again. How did he do this? Let's go to 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 24. 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 24, starting there, how did Paul go through this kind of life? 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 24.

Well, we know because God was with him, but Paul really was close to God.

He had a lot of God's Spirit. 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 24.

Now, he is not listing these as we know, rather, to boast. But he is listing... In verse 12 says, look, I will also boast. He's saying, look, if you want to go down that path with tongue firmly in cheek, and that's how he's saying this, tongue firmly in cheek, he's saying, okay, then let's compare what we've just done.

Now, some are saying, well, you know, I'm the biggest cat here in the room.

And Paul kind of had it with that, with this church. He's saying, all right, some among you are saying they're the greatest, you know, like Muhammad Ali used to. I followed his career way back in the day. You know, I am the greatest. That just blew our minds as young guys, you know. No athlete ever talked like him.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, right? Back from 64. But, you know, he's saying, look, if you want to kind of boast and quote tongue in cheek about what you've done, all right, I'll follow that path, if that's how this is supposed to be. So that was his approach. It wasn't boasting from an ego, just boasting in the sense of listing things and saying, well, you know, maybe we should all work together instead of you guys working against me here. Verse 24, from the Jews, five times I received 40 stripes minus one.

Oh, brethren and men, you and I probably have never received one stripe. Right, guys?

Brethren, that would make the United News.

Now, brethren, we also know, fellas, you go through a lot.

Paul went through a lot. You go through all kinds of things at work. You have burdens. You have responsibilities. But, you know, brethren, frankly, our worst day at work probably was not that bad a day for the Apostle Paul, right? And sometimes it just is good for us to say, you know, things could be a lot worse. I could have had 39 stripes today.

Now, sometimes we feel like it. By the time we get home, we're, you know, I've been beaten up today. That boss was really in a bad attitude today, you know. He or she caught me and gave me the what for. Sure, there are days like that. But let's just go through this and kind of sense, hmm, look at the courage of this man. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned.

Man, that's just got hurt like anything. Three times I was chipperat. Three times I was chipperat. A night and a day I've been in the deep. A night and a day.

In journeys often, you know, he was all over that part of the Middle East. In perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils of the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among faults. Brother, I mentioned this a few weeks ago. Sorry to repeat, but isn't that interesting? You know, we've all been challenged with that, I think, over the years. You've been in the church any length of time. You probably said, well, what's going on here? It could be false, brethren. It could be. Paul sure had his fair share, didn't he? The false brethren! I would never have dreamed that, brother, when I was fresh in the church of God. It didn't cross my mind that Paul had to confront that. In weariness, just flat out tired. Well, I think we all, fellas, identified with that. Your work week is long, it's tiring, it takes emotional energy from you, physical energy from you, you feel beaten up, not appreciated, and toiled. Just the struggle in sleeplessness, often. Any of you men who are lost sleep because of work, all of you have. All of you have, unless you're just independently wealthy.

You know, you're working for a living, sometimes worried about your job, in hunger, in thirst, in fastings, often.

You know, that's voluntarily going without food, isn't it? In hunger and thirst, that means that he wasn't on a fast, but he was on a fast. It was forced on him. So the fastings were voluntary for spiritual sustenance from God. In cold and nakedness, besides the other things which comes upon me daily, my deep concern for all the churches. He had a big accountability there, a lot of work. Well, anyway, it isn't to discourage us there, it's just to say, look, sometimes it could be worse. Let's just, you know, straight into the wind here and say, you know, Paul got his courage from God. What I'm going through is not unique, it's just a part of being a man. And I know God will sustain me, he'll encourage me, he'll love me, he'll give me what I need to get through this. That's how Paul did it.

It wasn't a magic formula, it was staying close to God and going to him in prayer and in faith. So the courage of Paul really does stand out. Well, our last character trait today is a gentleman that we don't read too much about, unlike all the men we just discussed today.

And that is Ananias of Damascus. Now, there's three men by the name of Ananias in the Bible.

There's three. Ananias and Sapphira? This is not him. And I honestly don't remember the other one.

But Ananias and Sapphira, that was the fire. No, that was the bad one, wasn't it? This is Ananias of Damascus. So point seven is the forgiveness of Ananias of Damascus. The forgiveness. Forgiveness is very much of a godly trait. Forgiveness. Very much.

Now, again, Jesus Christ rather fits the bill perfectly here because he says, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they do. That is ultimate forgiveness.

They're killing me, literally. They're killing me. And, Father, forgive them. There's no higher forgiveness than that. And he had no sin. He did not deserve that. But I'm using a man of this earth as an example in this regard.

Now, Paul was responsible for the death of church members, wasn't he?

There's everything for us to key in on that. Brethren, how would you like to welcome into the Boise Church of God right today a former murderer of God's people? And I welcome today a man by the name of Paul from Tarsus. And I want you to fellowship with Paul after church today. And I want you to show him where the coffee and the tea are. And yes, I want you to invite Paul of Tarsus to your home tonight. He's new to our area. In fact, he's new to the church.

And yet, you knew Paul, brethren, was on the post office wall in the Church of God for being a murderer of God's people. Would that kind of torque your gourd a little bit? You'd say, Mr. Ann, you have lost it. And I'd be up here deadpan-faced and say, I want you to make Paul feel welcome. And I'd look at every one of you. That's exactly virtually what happened here, folks. Listen to me. Listen to God's word on this.

Forgiveness of Ananias of Damascus is really profound.

Most have not even heard of this man who had read the Bible. Ananias Sapphira, we are all, okay, he's the bad guy. This is one, brethren, who had a tremendous amount of love for God and faith in God.

Turn with me to Acts 9. This is where we find him. When you really examine what God expected of Ananias, you'd say, oh, he had no time to think about this and kind of get his mind around this, either. It's like, okay, now I'm supposed to do this. Give me a week. And then I'll give you an answer. He was asked to do it right away. Well, let's go through, if we're not familiar, verse 1. Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. Now, we know the story because he goes to the high priest. He asked for letters to introduce him to the church of the synagogues of Damascus. And that wasn't, well, greetings, brethren in Damascus or fellow Jew in Damascus. It wasn't like, you know, the high priest of Jerusalem, greet all of you. I'm here. Let's have a nice social. You know what the letters were for? Verse 2. So that if he found any who were of the way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. I'll tell you, you know, Paul had the reputation, brethren. When you knew Paul was coming to a city, if you had any sense, you just left town. You know, gone fishing. Paul was the hit man. Paul was the man. He was the zealot for killing or imprisoning church of God people. So, verse 3. As they journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. We know the story, don't we? God says, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And verse 5. He says, who are you, Lord? Then the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goats. Verse 6. And I've got a red letter Bible. I'm just going to read the last part. Then the Lord said to him, arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. Now, verse 7 says, those men journeyed with him speechless, hearing a voice, but sing no one. And verse 8. When he rose from the ground after that encounter, his eyes were open and he could not see. Brethren, boy, is God ever getting a hold of Paul here? It's one of the most dramatic callings in the Bible. I don't know of anybody that's had anything like this. I mean, we all say, well, when? You know, God, just one day I began to understand the Sabbath. Or when? I began to understand this. But Paul went blind. God caused him to go blind for three days. Notice verse 10. Now we get to the middle of this story. Now, there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. Notice what happens. To him the Lord said, in a vision, Ananias. And he says, here I am, Lord. So the Lord said to him, Arise and go out to the street called Straight. Now, that was a large street. They say, I think it was East and West, outside of Damascus. That's where the caravans and the traders and all this. It was just like a big kind of a boulevard. Go out there and acquire the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold, he is praying. And in a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias. So God working with Paul, and Paul has this vision, coming in and putting his hand on him so that he might receive his sight.

You know, brethren, you think about this, and here is Ananias. He knew who Paul was. He's the hit man. You know, he's the one coming to town. And now God is telling me, not only do I have to go, to him, but I have to lay a hand on him. I have to get right up close to him.

You talk about potential fear, because what if Paul says, Aha! I've come for you.

And Ananias would have been carted down to Jerusalem and either imprisoned or killed.

And his life was on the line.

Now, what I said earlier, brethren, is not too imaginary at all.

A person who comes into the Church of God, who has a reputation, and it says he's there, he's still threatening, right? We saw that earlier in chapter 9. You know, brethren, I don't see any repentance on Paul's part right now, do you? Up to this point. I don't see there's any days go by, other than three days of being blind, that Paul is saying, you know, I've seen the light. I've changed. Trust me.

I'm a good guy now. I wear a white hat.

I don't, you know, there isn't enough time to go by. That's kind of interesting.

Ananias can't do this totally on faith. Well, you know, I'm going to wait until I see works of repentance in this person. You know what, brethren? I understand that, and I agree with that.

On the same, God didn't give him that luxury, saying, well, let's just, before we do all this, let's just see what kind of Paul he is today, right? I think all of us would vote on that.

But the unique deal. But it's very interesting as well, brethren. You never know who God calls.

Who is God going to call in the future, brethren? You know who He's going to call?

Sinners.

Do you know who God has always called?

Sinners.

Yeah.

It's like, okay, who, without sin, let him gather that first stone? Ananias had to kind of really think about that. Well, if I'm serving God, He knows what He's doing, but my life is on the line.

Yeah. He had to have forgiveness. He had to have trust. You know, brethren, forgiveness is trust. Forgiveness is faith as well. He had to have all of that in the mix. Verse 13, then Ananias answered. Now, before I go further, it just crossed the thought crossed my mind. You know, Paul is the Sabbath keeper, and Paul is one who keeps the Holy Days. And yet, he is one who you better be careful of. Now, that makes it even more intriguing, because brethren, you say, oh, well, that person, you know, used to believe in so and so and so and so and so, they're an outsider, but this person is an insider in a way. He's a Sabbath keeper. He's a Jew, just like most of these folks were Jews. One of them. One of us. Right? Wow. All right, verse 13. Lord, I have heard from many about this man. That's another statement.

You know, he's answering God here very respectfully, very carefully. How much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, to your people.

And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.

Yeah, he's got he's not the authority of the authority. I mean, he comes from the high priest from the Sanhedrin. He's got all of the accolades, all the power. You know, it's like maybe, would say, the US government coming into your house. He's saying, we are the authority. We are the law. There's no higher law than us, is what he's saying. But the Lord said to him, Go, for he has chosen a chosen vestal of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel.

Rather than that, it's so 180% I mean, 180 degrees different than what anything had ever been out of Paul's life. A chosen vessel of mine to bear God's name to the Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel. He goes on in verse 16, for I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. Now, that was a commission to Paul. And Paul, part of his commission brothers we just read in 2 Corinthians, was to suffer. Isn't that something? You know, Paul never rather outlived that reputation. He never did. It was always on his mind. How many times in the epistles did he kind of remind the audience, I am a former enemy. It humbled him the rest of his life. It really earmarked him. And of course, people, many, did not accept Paul either in his entire ministry. They always considered him an outcast.

Others did. Others were like Ananias. They had trust in God, faith in God, and God was calling Paul, and God had forgiven Paul as he repented. I am sure those three days Paul was repenting, because that conversion was now on him. But he was going to suffer. That is one thing that Paul knew. Ananias, in verse 17, went his way and entered the house. You know, he did not argue with God. Go, God said, and entered the house and laying his hands on him. On Paul, he said, what are you saying? Brother Saul. Brother. Wasn't being hypocrite. He says, you know, God said, this is going to be a chosen vessel. A chosen vessel means what? God is using him tremendously powerfully, a chosen vessel. Then who am I to say no? And yet, I do not see any works of Paul. I see only the threatenings. And I know why he is here, and that was to carry people down to Jerusalem, like he said to the high priest.

Why, he acted in faith. Brother Saul.

The Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road. Now he's accepting this.

As you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with Holy Spirit. Brother, the more I study that one, the harder it is. That is such an act of faith and forgiveness.

Not only does it touch him, he says, you're the chosen vessel.

I mean, you're the one that God is going to use. Brother Saul. And then I'm going to be the one to be used by God to bring your sight back. In fact, you will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Verse 18, immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales. Isn't that interesting?

Now, brother, it's hard when people are arguing about, you know, the law's done away with, and they're not Sabbath keepers, and they're, you know, maybe they've attacked us.

And I'm going to defend us. You're going to defend us.

I have and I will. I'm not going to change on that. But then we also think, boy, someday won't it be nice when that happens?

Do we really just say, well, you know, they're that way, and they're going to, what, go to the bad place? No. We want the best. We want God to be with them. They need to repent, and they very, very, very likely will someday. Those scales will be gone.

See, because I'm convinced, brother, in my own head, not everybody who sits in the church of God is truly converted, and they still have scales on their eyes. That's where I come from. They may have 20-20 vision, but spiritually they're blind.

I believe in that. I don't believe everybody who sits in the church of God's Sabbath Hall is truly, necessarily, has the scales removed. Do you? Is there a promise of that somewhere?

I don't think so. So, he is, Ananias is doing something here, brother, not just for Paul, and not just for the Jews in Damascus. And, boy, did that ever ripple out. You know, the hitman, Paul, I mean, Saul, they knew him as Saul, is now in the church?

Oh, yeah, right. So, some got it and some didn't. But, brother, the hope is, see, that that will happen to everybody. They may not be of Saul's zealousness in terms of hurting the church of God, but they've hurt the church of God. And I don't know of anybody, brother, to you who's hurt the church of God in the New Testament area more than Paul, for a short time. To you? Who else would you say? He had a lot of influence, and yet God called him, and those scales fell. Isn't that what your hope is for everybody? Sure it is. Because the other one is, well, I just, you know, that's it for them.

I don't think God's written anybody off yet who's still breathing. Do you? I mean, Paul would have been probably on their, Saul would have been very, very, very much on the bottom of a lot of people's lists, probably. God sure isn't working with him. I would get that if I were in their boots, too. I'm just simply, brother, pointing out Scripture today.

And then you and I need to apply that Scripture, because it's there. You can't take some liquid paper and just blot out the first 19 verses that didn't happen. How was Paul converted? Who was he before conversion? That's what we're reading here today. It's also interesting.

We read a little bit about the genealogy of Jesus Christ, and we've covered this, yes, earlier. You read the articles as well. Rahab, the harlot, in the genealogy.

There's more than just that part. There's a symbolism of that, right?

So again, I say, brother, who is God calling? Sinners. Two, repentance. It doesn't mean, you know, everyone will get it the first time around. And I don't mean there's more than one calling to salvation. I'm just saying some appear to be in the faith, and they may not be in the faith. Those scales are still there. So I think there's tremendous application.

Verse 18 again, there fell immediately from his eyes something like scales. Now, something has been added, but you know, it applies like from his eyes like scales, something like scales. I mean, they're not a physical scale, so something has been added to make sense of it. Well, that's, of course, the spiritual blindness. And he received his side at once. Now, there's also the physical side, and also there's the spiritual, you know, a sight you could see. And he arose, and he was baptized. Now, brother, if it were me, you know what I would have done? I wouldn't have been like Ananias. I had a tough one. I said, I would argue, likely, drug my feet, quake in my boots, and said, why did I even get up today? It shows your forgiveness here, wisdom, faith. But to baptize the man the same day, are you serious? That's what God said to do. You know, me, brother, I don't baptize people. You want to be baptized? Great! Tonight! Let's go. Let's go to Mr. Wieckowski's. Mr. Wieckowski will be ready. Mr. Wieckowski will be ready. We'll have your baptism tonight. If you will be baptized, it's tonight. I don't baptize like that. I don't know of any minister that does. What do we do? What happened to you? Well, I'm glad to hear you want to be baptized.

That's great. That's a wonderful thing. I'm glad to hear that. Now, let's read some literature. Let's get serious. Let's read the Scripture. Let's go through Psalm 51. Have a fast day or two. Let's take some time. What is repentance? It's a process.

We have a counseling one. We may have counseling two. We may have counseling three.

There's no set number. But, brother, what I'm saying is we don't just baptize that day.

When the man was on the road to throw us in jail.

Particularly when he's here to throw us in jail.

I marvel at this because God was in this, and there's lessons for us.

Now, brother, by no means does this say, oh, we just open up the door. You know me. We don't do that. But you think about the scales being removed, giving the benefit out, being positive, it's medical, or assuming things, or being judgmental.

And I and Ananias were all the former on those things because God said to be that way, Ananias. But it doesn't mean, again, we don't have precautions, we don't think of things, we don't have questions. And when we see direct fruit that is not unifying, that is not rather doctrinal, we will certainly make that clear and say, maybe you don't belong here. What do you think? What do you think? You're speaking in tongues. We don't believe in that.

At this time, we don't see the fruit of that. But why not? Because you can look at Corinthians, well, yes, sir, they did. They also abused it. And it can also be a sign of demons.

You know, we'd have that discussion. We certainly would. But I'm just saying, you know, it kind of helps me as a pastor and minister to say, okay, remember Ananias as well. I remember the story years ago told by another pastor, I think, with the Feast of Tabernacles. They said he had to visit with the gentleman one day, and this was in a metro area. And a first-time visit, so he knocks on the door. And this man with hair down to, you know, down to wherever it might be, this is way back. Not unusual during that era. He thought, okay, this is our new perspective member here. And the minister made a reactionary thought. This is going to go nowhere.

And you know what? This man was baptized. Faithful man. If you look on appearance, it always leaves you short. God doesn't look on the appearance. So here is Saul threatening up to do no good, and Paul has a mission for him and a change for him.

Now, notice verse 19. We'll conclude here. So when he had received food, remember he wasn't eating for three days, he was strengthened. Then Paul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. Boy, I would have liked a bit of a fly on the wall on that one. Brother, can you imagine the brethren of God being exposed to this?

Like I said, I honestly would have had issues. I would have been one of the gains-fayers I truly would have. I would have had a time with this one. I don't know about you.

I'm just talking about what I'm just looking at it, and yet, brethren, I'm preaching here on this because this is what happened. And it's food for thought, isn't it, folks? It's really food for thought. So we're going to have to call it like we see it if and when aren't we in the future.

We're not going to make any sweeping statements about, oh, we just accept, we don't accept everybody. Now, I don't look at people and they come in the hall and say, you're fine, you're not fine. You know, ridiculous. I'll look at the fruit. I'll hear them. I want them to behave.

You know, I want them to treat you with respect, and I'll see of what God is doing with them, and I'll be happy to help them. And even if maybe from out of their own words, you know, I'm just not getting it, I want to leave them as a positive relationship.

Because you never know, do you, brethren? You never know what's going to happen later. It's much better to leave on a positive relationship than a sour relationship. Now, if they choose the sour one, that's up to them. I would hope I could choose to leave in a brotherly way, you know, brother Saul. But, of course, that's what God was doing here. Well, let's wrap it up. Hebrews 1 and verse 3.

Hebrews 1 and verse 3, please. Well, I hope this has been helpful. It really applies to the ladies, virtually as much as the gentleman, but I didn't want to gear a sermon for the gentleman in particular. But Hebrews 1 and verse 3, so powerful. In fact, I think Mr. Blue spoke about character in a sermon recently. Hebrews 1 and verse 3, Now, this is referring, of course, to Jesus Christ by His Son, it says in verse 2. So, Jesus Christ was a brightener of His Father's glory. The expressed image of the Father's person and upholding all things by the word of His power. So, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Brother Matt, Greek for image is fascinating. Have you studied that before? The Greek word is C-H-A-R-A-K-T-E-R. I just pronounce it character. That's the word image here.

It's the only place that's found in the New Testament. Now, it means a graver, like with a tool or a person, or by implication, graving or character, or the figure stamped, or an exact copy or representation. Here, Jesus Christ, brethren, has the very image, the very character of His Father. That's powerful. That's who He is. He could be nothing but.

And that's really, as I continue the context, what all of us men want to be. Have the very character of God, the very image of God's thoughts in us. That's a very profound verse.

So, I'll leave you with that. So, those are the seven highly effective traits of godly men.