5 Characteristics Of Great Men

These five characteristics are evident in all great people in God’s book.

1. God is looking for men of COMPASSION, men who put relationships before results. Or people before profits.

He gives us the example of Timothy: v20 “He’s the only one who really cares about you. Everybody else is concerned only about his own affairs not about the cause of Christ.” Timothy is a man who puts relationships before results.

Many of men today are result oriented. They become so workaholic. So concern about being appreciated at work. Doing a lot of overtime, bringing so much money in the pocket as the end result. I am afraid this is true to most men these days. We are very result oriented. Not realising the dreadful effect of leaving a vacuum in the family. “Where’s Dad? He’s earning money for you. So go to bed now.” And guess what, if Dad doesn’t leave early, he’s still in bed dead tired. If not he’s so early back to work before the kids wake up. And yet we expect a close relationship with our kids.

Study shows that the growing number of homosexual is caused by influential imbalance at home. The father image is gone. And so our boys are acquiring more of femineity from Mom. Women are more relationship oriented than men, although there is also an alarming sign that there are now many absentee Moms these day. We men have to work at this. The Bible says if I have not love, I’m nothing. The greatest things in life aren’t things. Jesus said, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his soul.” People last, profits don’t. People are going to last for eternity.

Profits won’t. I have found that it is very easy to get so caught up with the business of life that I forget the relationships in my life – family, friends, and things like that.

A man who’s all wrapped up in his own affair is not a Daddy. The average father spends less than two minutes a day with his children in serious conversation. How do you develop relationships like that? You can’t. How often do you hear fathers say, “I’d love to play with my kids but I don’t have time … I’d love to help out but I don’t have time … I’d love to be with them in Church but that’s the only time I have at home…I’d love to do this but I don’t have time.”

God is looking for men (and women) with compassion, who put relationship before results. Relationship with God, relationship with the family and then others! We have to balance these things. The interesting thing is that when you put people before profits it makes your business profitable.

2. God is looking for CONSISTENCY. Men who will put character before conformity. They are not afraid to be different from the trend. Being consistent means, “I don’t care what others are doing. I’m going to do the right thing.”

God is looking for people who will stand up for Him. Verse 22 tells us that Timothy has proved himself, serving with Paul in the propagation of the gospel.

Paul is saying that his character is tested. He didn’t bend to pressure. He was a man of conviction. An opinion is something you can argue about but a conviction is something you will die for. God is looking for people of conviction. There is the old saying, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”

Do people close to your life know what you stand for? If you are a Christian, do they know you are a Christian? Do your friends know that as a Christian, your Lord and Master is Jesus? Can your friends say, “that person has convictions about honouring God?” Or, the only thing they know about you is the football team you like? Are you man of conviction? That’s the kind of people who make an impact in the lives of his children and other people. When you study history, you find that the people who have made the greatest impact in the world were not the smartest people, were not the most educated people, and were not even the wealthiest people. The people who changed the world were those with the deepest convictions for good or for bad. They believed it from the depths of their hearts.

The temptation is that we tend to be half-committed to a bunch of things, rather than 100% committed to the things that really count.

Proverbs 10:9 “He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.” The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out. The world is interested in image. But God is interested in integrity. Image doesn’t last. It’s going to be gone overnight. Who was on the cover of Woman’s Day three weeks ago? Nobody would know! But character lasts a lifetime. It’s not image that counts. It’s character. It’s integrity. That’s the bottom line.

We must constantly be checking our life. Is my private life consistent with my public image? If it’s not then I had better change it. Am I the same person publicly and privately? This is very important because your actions affect the life of your children. Inconsistent fathers produce insecure children. Not only that, it produces an unstable marriages. Let me give you few examples:

How can a parent say to his children don’t speed when they grew up watching dad or mom speeding? How can you effectively say to you kids don’t lie when they have watch you lied many times? How can your children honour God when they grew up watching you not interested in going to church or the things of God?

3. God is looking for men of COOPERATION, men who put cooperation before competition. I believe that Apostle Paul was a spiritual superstar, the most gifted man who ever lived next to Jesus Christ Himself. Yet even he recognised that we accomplish more when we work together. My ideas are good and your ideas are good but our ideas together are great ideas. Yes, if you really want to make an impact with your life, you need to be a person of cooperation. Work together with people. Don’t be a Lone Ranger. We’re having a soul-winning clinic every Friday to equip ourselves to be able to win someone to the Lord with a lot of ease. We believe that this is the most effective way to increase our number in this church. Are you going to cooperate?

v. 25 Notice there are three terms of cooperation. In other words there are three ways we can relate to each other if we are going to make an impact with our lives. Look at Phil 2:25 Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labor, and fellow soldier…

Here, God expects us to develop close relationships with other believers for three reasons:

1. The church is a family. You are my brother, you are my sister. We are all related. The Bible calls other Christians “brother” more than 100 times. In this church also we call each other brother or sister and that’s a good term. It’s a term of endearment. It’s a warm term. It says we are all in a family.

When we learned that our brother, Boy Villaflores who now resides in N.Z. had to undergo a brain operation, our hearts felt the pain. And so together we rallied behind him in prayer. We also made sure they know we are praying for them. We gave them regular calls. The result? God gave us a miracle. The operation was a success despite fear that he would not make it. That’s what we do because in this church we are a family. But it only becomes your family if you choose to get involved, if you choose to develop the relationships where you have an extended family of brothers and sisters to help you when you go through the tough times.

2. Not only is the Christian life a family but also it’s a fellowship. He says, “companion in labour”- meaning, a fellow worker. We are all given the same task, the same mission. We work together, serve together.

3. And He says we are “fellow soldier”. We are all in the same army. It’s a battle out there. It’s tough. You get knocked around. The Bible says we have the same enemy – satan. And it is the duty of all of us together to support, to encourage, to defend, and to put bandages on each other when we get wounded out there in this battle.

You are not going to make it alone in your Christian life. The people that God uses are men and women of cooperation. WE cooperate with each other. Not only as brothers and sisters but also real friends. I cannot overemphasise the need for you to attend our small group of Bible Study every Friday, small group of Wednesday Prayer Meetings and hopefully soon a small group of Women’s. You say, I don’t need it! Look with me Judges 20:11 says “So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man. So they all got together and united as one man against the city. There’s incredible power in unity.

It is easy to snap a string but when strings are spliced together they become a rope and it can be used to pull anything. I can only do enough as a Pastor. But together we can make an impact. I cannot forget how the Filipino people united together to oust the Marcos dictatorial regime. It’s the power of unity. When God’s men are unified, when God’s women are unified, it makes incredible power and impact. If each one together would consciously bring a guest every Sunday, this church will grow in number in no time.

4. God is looking for people of COMMITMENT. That’s a value that makes one great. Men who put the cause of Christ before comfort! Back to v25 Paul says of Epaphroditus, “but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. He is your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. He was ill and almost died. But God had mercy on him. This is the story where Paul was in prison in Rome. There was a church in Philippi who decided to take up an offering and send some money to pay for Paul’s bills while he was in prison. They then got a guy in the church who said he would deliver it. He was the courier and his name was Epaphroditus. This was no small errand because it’s 1280 kilometres between Rome and Phillippi. There weren’t Qantas, Virgin Blue or Spirit of Tasmania available then. There weren’t any cars. It was 1280 kilometre journey on foot. If I asked you to take an offering to Sydney on foot, you’d say, “are you nuts?” I hope now you understand what we are talking about.

Epaphroditus says, “I’m going to put the cause of Christ before personal comfort. I’ll make the 1280 kilometre journey on foot to deliver this offering to Paul.” But while he’s on the trip he catches some kind of infection. He became very ill and almost died. The other two people the Bible spoke of this illness were Lazarus and Dorcas and both died. It was a deadly disease.

Have you ever been sick away from home? All you can think is, “I want to get home!” But Epaphroditus didn’t do it, however miserable. Despite the pain, He was persistent. He didn’t turn around and go back to Phillipi. He kept on, went all the way to Rome, delivered his stuff and then eventually got back home. He was committed to finishing the task. God is not impressed with great starters. He is impressed with great finishers.

He was persistent. And the cause of Christ comes first. He put the cause of Christ before comfort. Many times, we must admit, we put comfort as a determining factor in our obedience. Most of us would live for the Lord only when it’s convenient. How many of us would go to church only as long as there’s nothing else that we want to do? Serving God costs and exhausts. God is looking for men who will pay the price.

James said, that faith by itself, if not accompanied by actions is dead. God is looking for men and women of action, of initiative, who put walking feet to faith. Jam 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. Doers of the word and active!

5. COURAGE is the fifth value. Courage to puts service before security. You take risks for God’s kingdom. We serve God and others with reckless abandonment. Phil 2:29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation: v30 Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me. Paul says, welcome him with great joy and honour. He almost died for the work of Christ, risking or circle “not regarding his life” to send the help for me.” God honours men like that, men who risk their lives for the sake of Christ, for the cause of Christ, and who put service before security.

When I read that, I ask myself, “Is my commitment to Christ deep enough to cause me to risk anything?” I think it is. How about you? Is your commitment to Christ deep enough to risk anything? To risk your time, to risk your reputation, to risk your finances. When He tells you to do something, are you willing to take the risk?

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. v2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Take note of the word ‘present’. To present is to offer as a gift, offer – not before anyone but before God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. Don’t conform to the standard of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. He says we are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices. The only problem with a living sacrifice is it can crawl off the altar, or making a commitment and then you backing off it.

We come to church on Sunday and get all convicted, but by the end of the week it is all forgotten. I have to remind myself constantly that I have to present or offer my best to God because it is He whom I owe everything. Are you offering God your time? Does any of your time go to God? Are you offering God your talent? What are you presenting to God in the offering plate? Him who’s provided you all your needs, does He deserve just your extra loose coins? Or does He deserve a sacrifice? Remember God is looking for people who put service before security.

Do you love God? If your love is not costing you anything, let me put it to you, -that is not love. If you say you love your family and it is not costing you your time, patience, provision, energy and all the characters mentioned above, let me put it to you, you don’t love your family. Because love cost! When God said HE loves us HE gave HIS only begotten Son to die in the cross so that we may be reconciled to HIM. Is God telling you something today? What is it costing you to be a Christian?” That’s the mark of greatness.

Jesus said, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Look at Mark 8:35. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. Only those who give their lives away for Jesus’ sake and the sake of the gospel will ever know what salvation really means. I meet so many bored, frustrated, unfulfilled men. I meet them all the time in the work that I’m in. Why is it? Why is it that there are so many unfulfilled men? It is because they don’t know what is God’s will in their lives. Worst is, they refuse to know God. They have nothing significant to live for. Life is more than just having a career or retirement. There is more to life than just career and recreation. He wants to use us in a ministry, in a way that we can make an impact with our lives.

If you read 2 Chronicles 16:9, the Lord is looking for people that He may show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect toward Him. The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth. God is looking for people to use. The greatest challenge that you will ever face in your life is the challenge to be a man of God. The greatest challenge you will ever have in your life is the challenge to live 100% sold out, for Jesus Christ to your family, to your work mates and to your friends. It’s for men of compassion and consistency and cooperation and commitment and courage. It’s not for wimps. The question is: Are you man enough to do it?

There were two ordinary guys – Timothy and Epaphroditus. Two thousand years later we are still talking about them. Millions of people have been challenged about these guys in the Bible. Why? Because they were men of value. We need to ask ourselves this question, what’s going to be the long term effect of my life, where you can answer, “I want mine to count for eternity.”