Dharius Daniels - What A Man

First Thessalonians 5, beginning at verse 11. First Thessalonians chapter 5, starting at verse 11. Y’all feeling like talking back to the preacher today? Oh no, you all right? Here it is: First Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 11 says, this is Paul talking. He says, «Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.» I want to stop there, tag a title to this text, and I want to speak from this subject: «What a Man, What a Man.»

In 1993, the rap duo called Salt-N-Pepa released a song titled «What a Man, What a Man, What a Mighty Good Man.» This song was an expression of appreciation for men who were operating honorably and responsibly. One nuance I noticed about this song is that they didn’t call him a perfect man; they called him a good man, suggesting that you don’t have to be perfect to be good. As a matter of fact, when God created Adam, He engaged in observation of His creation and then did some articulation: «That is good,» because good was good enough for God.

But it seems like we live in a cultural context where there is an obsession with imperfections. There are so many conversations about issues and idiosyncrasies, about irresponsible men, arrogant men, and absent men, that there seems to be a neglect of those men who are striving to be the antithesis of that. I am in no way suggesting that there should not be conversations or attempts to provide accountability to men who are operating in ways that are disruptive and damaging to the family, the church, themselves, and their community. I’m not saying that some of these things we discuss shouldn’t be talked about; I’m saying they shouldn’t be the only thing we talk about.

There are some good men who are ignored, undervalued, and unappreciated, and this obsession with imperfection is an expression of pride that blinds us to the reality of our own flaws and eclipses the contributions of men who are doing their best to be their best. Some of us are raising our children, some of us are securing the bag, some of us are loving our wives, some of us are mentoring the next generation, some of us are serving our country, some of us are serving our church, some of us are helping our communities, and there are many of us who are doing our best to be our best. We want to hear a little more Salt-N-Pepa in our lives; we want to hear a little more «What a Man, What a Man, What a Mighty Good Man.»

This is, in some sense, what the Apostle Paul is encouraging us to do in this text. We get to eavesdrop on a conversation he’s having with believers in a place called Thessalonica. This is the first letter he writes to them, called First Thessalonians, and he speaks—watch this—he speaks to a Christian community and says, «Y’all encourage one another.» Is that what he says? He says, «Encourage one another,» as if to say that encouragement is an irreplaceable asset that needs to be present in the Christian community. He’s saying that people can’t go to the next level without encouragement; they can’t grow to the next level without encouragement; they can’t be who God’s called them to be without encouragement.

They are dealing with seasons, circumstances, and situations that are so discouraging that encouragement is an act of spiritual warfare. Y’all didn’t hear what I just said! I’m gonna say that one more time: The enemy is constantly and consistently orchestrating environments that are so discouraging to us that we must combat that by using this spiritual weapon called encouragement. If you want to talk about spiritual warfare, encourage somebody. Spiritual warfare is not just expressed by us talking to God about people, but us talking to people that the devil’s talking to, telling them that they’re not enough and that they will not make it.

But I told you a little while ago, the devil is a liar. Yeah, that doesn’t mean he just doesn’t tell the truth; it means he can’t tell the truth. The truth is not even in him, so whatever he’s telling you is a lie! So whenever he starts telling you you can’t make it, you ought to start praising God because that means you can. Whenever he says the door isn’t gonna open, you need to start praising God in the hallway because God is getting ready to open the windows of heaven and pour you out such a blessing you won’t have room enough to receive.

I don’t know who the devil’s been talking to and what he’s been whispering in your ear, but I came to remind you: Weeping may endure for a night, but joy is coming in the morning! Who am I preaching to? They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings like eagles, run and not get weary, walk and not faint. I don’t know what kind of adversity you’re facing, what kind of obstacles you’re dealing with, or what weapon is being used against you, but I heard Isaiah tell God’s people that God said to Isaiah, «It is I who formed the blacksmith who is using the flames to forge the weapon, and because I formed the blacksmith who’s using the flames to form the weapon, I can say to you, no weapon—hiya! —no weapon formed against you shall prosper.»