Training4Manhood

The Purpose of a Man’s Heart is Like Deep Waters

Guest: Trog Trogdon, Kingdom Focus Coaching

Email: info@kingdomfocus.life

 

Proverbs 20:5 - The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.

 

What is God doing in your heart?  Trog calls this process “Directed Discovery.”

 

Trog - “If you stop learning, you stop living.” We are always being discipled, it’s just a question of who is discipling/training us.

 

The Bible is the only book that reads you while you read it! The Bible is the only book that when you read it, the author is there with you!

 

Trog - are you wanting to get high from the world’s standpoint, or are you wanting to be with the Most High?!

 

Psalm 16:11 - “...in your presence there is fullness of joy…” Why are you looking for joy in the temporary things of the world that won’t satisfy? It’s like eating rice cakes - God is the sustainer of life, He can fill the deepest void and longing of your life!

 

Trog - “rejection is God’s protection.” God loves us enough to not let us stay where we are - when God wants to move us, at times it can be painful - but it’s worth it!

 

Discipleship is us helping others discover God’s plans for their lives - “directed discovery”!

 

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle (info@training4manhood.com) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.

Seeing God’s Promises, Providence, and Presence in the Midst of Suffering

Guest: Shea Sumlin, Lead Teaching Pastor, Northway Church, Dallas, TX

 

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17-18

 

So many in our generation are averse to suffering. But suffering is coming. What can you do to best prepare for suffering and learn from the hardships you’re going through?

 

“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” C.S. Lewis

 

When suffering comes, rest on these Biblical principles:

• God’s Promises to His people that He will work out all things for the good of His people
• God’s Providence that demonstrate that He is in control of all things
• God’s Presence that He will never leave you or forsake you

 

Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents - and What They Mean for America’s Future by Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D.

 

Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices by Thomas Brooks

 

One of the purposes of suffering is that you’ll be able to take the comfort that God has shown you and share that with others going through difficult times. Read 2 Corinthians 1 for more on this.

 

How to best prepare for suffering:

1. Get in the Word so that you can draw close to God and gain an eternal perspective on things
2. Build deep Christ-centered community
3. Prayerfully seek God and His Promises, His Providence, and His Presence in the midst of tough times.

 

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle (info@training4manhood.com) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.

Real Talk about Relationships (Part 2 of 2)

Guest: Dan Panetti

 

Guys, we have an incredible opportunity to do relationships well - the way that God designed and intended for them to be done - and to get the incredible results that God designed - that our relationships would enhance and empower our lives and better those around us! But, it will come at a cost - we have to be honest about what it will cost and be willing to invest our time, talents, and treasure into meaningful and significant relationships!

 

In this episode, we talk about the strategies to walking out these meaningful relationships:

1. We have to be willing to be counter-cultural. While others are settling for self-serving relationships, we are going to be working for God-honoring, self-sacrificing relationships.
2. We have to put to death the deeds of the flesh - as John Owen wrote, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.”
3. We have to go slowly in our relationships, establishing proper boundaries that honor, respect, and cherish the other person and God’s design.
4. We must work to protect our sisters in Christ.
5. We must walk with the wise if we are wanting to grow wise.

 

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle (info@training4manhood.com) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.

Real Talk about Relationships (Part 1 of 2)

Guest: Dan Panetti

 

“This book will keep you from sin, and sin will keep you from this book.” John Bunyan

 

Holiness is the goal.

 

Sin separates. God has a design for sex - and God’s way works BEST!

 

Purity protects - men, you are called to keep, cultivate, love, cherish, nourish, sacrifice, honor, and protect!

 

If you’re in a dating/marriage relationship, and the woman you are with is not getting better because of being with you, then you’re not doing it right!!!

 

Holiness costs - you were created for deep, intimate, meaningful relationships. Lust short-circuits and short-changes what God has intended. Love costs.

 

Satan lies - don’t believe the bill of goods that the world is trying to sell you! Sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay!

 

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle (info@training4manhood.com) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.

Ten Powerful Principles for Progress in Life (Part 2 of 2)

Guest: Cory Butler, Lead Students Minister, Citizens Church

 

Numbers 1-5 are on last week’s episode with Cory, this week we are looking at numbers 6-10.

 

6. Long obedience in the same direction

• Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society by Eugene Peterson
• Hebrews 12:10-11 - For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

 

7. Awareness of how culture disciples (trains/teaches/shapes) us

• Reminder to connect yourself first to Christ, then children to your parents - not their peers - if children are connected primarily to their peers, their growth and development will be limited and lack creativity

 

8. Feelings are good servants and terrible kings (so many boys don’t know how to feel)

• One of the good things that has been brought forth from the COVID crisis was the increase in people seeking professional licensed counseling - remember that as Christians, we should be seeking BIBLICAL counseling!
• The Place We Find Ourselves, a podcast from Adam Young, LCSW, MDiv.
• Proverbs 12:15 - The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

 

9. Hard things aren’t necessarily bad things (some of the best things require the most work)

• Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Alex and Brett Harris
• Serious Times: Making Your Life Matter in an Urgent Day by James Emery White
• The only thing that grows without work is weeds. If you want to cultivate a garden, it will take effort.
• Catching Foxes: A Gospel-Guided Journey to Marriage by John Henderson

 

10. You can be humble and strong (Biblical paradox, concept of “meekness”)

• Humility: The Journey Towards Holiness by Andrew Murray
• From Humility: No tree can grow except on the root from which it sprang - if your root is humility, then humility will be the fruit of your life. The chief mark of counterfeit holiness is its lack of humility.
• Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortlund

 

10(a) - put Biblical definitions on things - don’t look with the world’s eyes, but through the Word of God - this is the development of a “Biblical worldview.”

 

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle (info@training4manhood.com) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.

Ten Powerful Principles for Progress in Life (Part 1 of 2)

Guest: Cory Butler, Lead Students Minister, Citizens Church

 

• Embracing limitations - learning to rest and cease striving

• Understanding and appreciating the importance of Sabbath rest!
• The cultural pull is “to do more” - this will be connected to #3 - your commitment to one thing means a rejection of something else!
• Good resource to address the place of technology in your family is The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place by Andy Crouch

 

• Listening to the HS and obeying Him - which means prioritizing time to listen

• Distraction is the greatest threat to our spiritual lives right now. Prayerlessness is us thinking that can we do the things that God has called us to on our own - not possible!

 

• Saying yes to something means saying no to something else
• Your Life…Well Spent: The Eternal Rewards of Investing Yourself and Your Money in Your Family by Russ Crosson
• You need to say yes to reading - develop a reading plan and have others hold you accountable to reach your reading goals.

 

• Modeling/Imitating the life of Jesus

• Be “interruptible” - look for God-moments and divine appointments!

• Habits of the Household: Practicing the Story of God in Everyday Family Rhythms by Justin Whitmel Earley

 

• The beauty of discipline - enjoying that self-control that comes from the HS

• Don’t look at fasting as a lack of something good, but preparation for something great!

 

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle (info@training4manhood.com) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.

Your Identity Shapes Your Attitude

Guest: Coach Jeff Clarkson

 

Guys, who were the most influential coaches in your life? What character qualities do you admire the most about them and their influence?

 

Coach Clarkson - it’s often said that sports builds character, but they also reveal character!

 

How do you walk the line between the competitiveness of athletics and the walk of the Christian to “think of others as better than yourself” (Phil. 2:3). The issue here is identity - do you find your identity primarily as an athlete or a follower of Jesus? Your identity will shape your attitude.

 

A great rivalry on the court/field and great respect for each other off is the goal of athletic competition.

 

If your identity is as a follower of Christ, remember that you take that with you on the court - you never put your identity on hold. What you do reveals your identity. In athletics, most of what is measured has nothing to do with a person’s character. You’re going to improve in the things that you measure - remember that! If you become a better basketball player and a worse person, that’s a bad trade-off in life!

 

There are things that happen in sports…and life…that are not “fair.” The question is what are you going to do with those things - they can either defeat/deflate you or you can learn from them and move forward. Coach Clarkson - it’s not the mistake, it’s what you’re going to do after - “What’s next?!”

 

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle (info@training4manhood.com) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.

Men, Own Your Mistakes. Period.

Guest: Dr. Justin Hillhouse, Missions/Men’s Ministry Pastor, Cottonwood Creek Church

 

Men, we need to learn to own our mistakes, take responsibility for our actions, admit when we’re wrong - just call it like it is!

 

Guys - we are our own biggest fans - we love us some me! Funny, the Bible actually calls us to love others like we love ourselves! 

 

A good friend is the one who tells you the most truth - are you a good friend to others…do you have good friends who are willing to tell you the truth?!

 

What we do affects others.

 

To read more about the fascinating story of King David numbering the people and his consequences, look at 2 Samuel 24. To read more about the story of King David owning his actions against Nabal and Abigail’s stepping in and calling David out, read more about it in 1 Samuel 25. David, like us, at times owns his mistakes (sins), and at times he doesn’t. But when confronted with his sin, David repents of his actions and turns back to God.

 

HOW do I own my own mistakes? Start small. Own the little things and you’ll develop the habit (and character) to own larger ones!

 

Are we honest people - think about the amount of TIME you “steal” from your employer! Most people work an average of 20 minutes a day. That is unacceptable. Men, do you work as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23) - which means that we need to work hard and with integrity, regardless of who is watching or what we’re being paid.

 

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle (info@training4manhood.com) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.

Point Man Book Study (4 of 4)

Guests: Gabe Boyd and Michael Thornberry

 

Point Man: How a Man Can Lead His Family (Revised & Updated Version) by Steve Farrar

 

Chapter 9 Save the Girls

Girls need relational connection.

 

Girls long to feel safe.

 

Girls process their world differently than boys do.

 

Girls face significant challenges as they enter their teens.

 

Girls need healthy boundaries.

 

Girls need dad’s active engagement.

 

Girls need to be assured of their innate beauty.

 

Chapter 10 Telling Your Kids What You Don’t Want to Tell Them

Howard Hendricks - why should we be ashamed to discuss what God was not ashamed to create?

 

A man is responsible to teach his children about sex.

 

Better to be “attached” to parents and learn from them than from peers!

 

Chapter 11 Start Your Own Nation

Even the poorest man that has a family is to be prophet, priest, and king in his own home.  Oliver Heywood

 

Jeremiah 29:5-7 - seek the welfare of the city - start families, be prosperous…even in the midst of the evil around you…

 

Be a good citizen…elections are just around the corner!

 

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle (info@training4manhood.com) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.

Discerning the Voice of God

Guest: Chas Taylor

 

Everyday I spend time with God - because that’s important in discerning the voice of God. “Spending time” with God includes reading God’s Word - do you have a reading plan that helps you to focus and allows others to hold you accountable. It can also include prayer - a two-way street of communication between you and God.

 

Psalm 118:8 - It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.

 

Are you trusting in God and His direction for your life? First step is being OPEN to LISTEN to the voice and leading of the Lord! The second step is to be OBEDIENT to what the Lord shows you!

 

Discerning the voice of God is both “super personal” and involves the affirmation of Godly counsel and community.

 

How do we put ourselves in a position to hear the voice of God? God invites us to surrender ourselves, our priorities, our plans to His purpose.

 

Discerning the voice of God requires patience - and remember that God might be answering other questions than the particular one that you’re focused on at that time - God’s timing is perfect.

 

Discerning the voice of God is helped by removing the “noise” around you so that you can listen more closely! You might need to have some quiet time - some “wilderness” moments that you can plan to get away from the normal/noise that can help heighten our senses to hear God’s leading in our lives. Fasting can help you “focus” on the things of God by giving you a physical reminder - when your body tells you that you’re physically hungry, take time to fill your mind with the Word of God - fast from the physical to focus on the spiritual!

 

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle (info@training4manhood.com) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.