Tony Evans asks men the same question God asked Adam in the garden: where you at? Dr. Evans addresses the physical and emotional absence of men in today’s culture, and He points out the solution. Kingdom Men have got to show up and live out the role God designed for them.
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I’m gonna ask you to turn your Bibles to
Genesis chapter 3 verses 8 to 12 and I
want the men to stand as I read these
verses Genesis chapter 3 verses 8 to 12
they heard the sound of the Lord God
walking in the garden in the cool of the
day and the man and his wife hid
themselves from the presence of the Lord
God among the trees of the garden then
the Lord God called to the man and said
to him where are you he said I heard the
sound of you in the garden and I was
afraid because I was naked so I hid
myself and he said who told you that you
were naked have you eaten from the tree
of which I commanded you not to eat the
man said the woman who you gave to be
with me
the man said the woman who you gave to
be with me she gave me from the tree and
I ate and now father as we bring men and
women before your word with an emphasis
on men we ask you to help me help us to
hear from you in Jesus name Amen
one of the dominant questions of today
can be recited simply by asking Adam Way
add the missing man has become the
crisis of the day not the missing male
the missing man it is the question of
the single woman who can’t find a
worthwhile man to marry
she want to know Adam where yeah it’s
the question of the single parent who’s
been abandoned by the father of her
children she wants to know Adam where
yeah it’s that child who has to grow up
with a physically or emotionally absent
father and he’s asking the question
however he phrases it Adam where yet
it’s the question of churches and
pastors who have to keep calling on
ladies to do jajew jobs that men ought
to do because the men are missing in
action and the question is Adam where
you had as I stood in a prison a couple
of months ago speaking to a group of
prisoners in the male jail and I asked
them all of you who grew up without a
father in your life raised your hand and
90% of the hands went up so as I looked
at them I wondered Adam where you had I
was talking to this week a teacher in
one of our public schools and he told me
I’m resigning this year I’m residing
this year I can’t take it anymore he was
talking about the rebellion the end of
subordination the lack of respect coming
from the students in his classroom and
the question is Adam way–at because
they didn’t
father it’s the question of a girl who
decides to become a lesbian because of
the abuse of a male somewhere in her
developmental years so the question on
the floor is Adam where we’re living in
a day of terrorism where violence due to
the absence of the conscience and the
dumbing down of decency has raised again
the question Adam where you add but
worst of all worse than all of that is
that God is asking the question Adam
where are you now if God can’t find out
then you shouldn’t be shocked we can’t
find him either Adam where are you now
God is omniscient he knows all God is
omnipresent he exists everywhere
simultaneously
so God’s question about where Adam was
was not 5 fundamentally a question of
location he knows where Adam is located
he’s the one in the garden with him so
the question that I am raising that God
raises with the first Adam and the
Hebrew word for Adam means earth for he
was created from the earth the woman was
not created from the earth she was
created from Adam now that’s a deeper
point that we’ll get to later but Adam
is earth and God says where are you now
let me tell you what was at the heart of
the question at the heart of the
question where are you
was not fundamentally a question of
location it was a question of position
see Adam had abandoned his role he had
abandoned his calling he had abandoned
his position so the question of where
are you is the question of positioning
Ezekiel chapter 22 verse 30 God says I
was looking for a man to stand in the
gap so I would not have to curse the
land but I could find none there were
plenty of males but he said I can’t find
a man
so apparently you can be a male and not
be a man and he says because I couldn’t
find a man I had to curse the land so a
land becomes cursed when men cannot be
located even when males are everywhere
and I’m had abandon his position and so
the desperate need of today is to call
males back to being men as God defines a
man not as the culture defines and so I
want to speak with you about answering
the question about the position of a man
Adam where are you now ladies they’re
going to be two reactions to what I say
today and what I say on going Lee as
long as this one part series keeps going
some of you will be frustrated because
you won’t be thinking oh here we go with
this man thing others of you will be a
static because the man in your life or
the one you hope comes along will man up
to God’s definition here is the first
thing that you need to understand about
a man in and his position not his
location alone but his position and that
is that it is a position of priority I
know some won’t like that but it’s
not a popularity meeting it is the
position of priority because God says in
first Timothy chapter 2 verse 12 God
created Adam first and then he created
Eve Word first first has to do with
order first has to do with progress in
time Adam and Eve were not created at
the same time Adam first then Eve God
spends a whole chapter Genesis 2
discussing Adam before Eve is ever
created for Adam why because it would be
the man who would be responsible
the man was created first because God
would hold him responsible even though
it was Adam and Eve in the garden hiding
from God God didn’t say Adam and Eve
where are y’all he said Adam where are
you because you are responsible if
you’re going to be God’s man then you’re
going to have to accept responsibility
for everything he brings behind you
second third fourth fifth and six
because you first you know how we tell
our oldest child particularly if it’s a
boy you’re the oldest you’re first
holding you responsible when God looks
in a man he says I hold you responsible
they don’t fire teams they fire coaches
the coach doesn’t drop the ball fumble
the ball missed the block the coach
doesn’t do any of that
but he’s the one that gets fired because
he is responsible for having the team
ready to play so if you are remain if
you are a male oh God says I’m holding
you responsible even if it’s not your
fault see it may not even be your fault
but I’m holding you responsible for
fixing it the heart of being God’s man
means adopting responsibility why
because everything that comes after that
is banking on you God says in Malachi
chapter 4 verses 4 through 6 he says
there will be a messenger who will come
who restore the father’s to the children
and the children to the father’s so that
I will not have to curse the land
so if our culture is declining while we
can discuss all the peripheral political
sociological racial we can discuss all
of those reasons while the culture is
declining but what God says is first on
the front end where’s the man as you’ve
heard me say if you’re a messed up man
and you have a family you’re going to
help make a mess of family if you’re
messed up man contributing to a messed
up family and your messed up family goes
to church then your messed up family is
gonna make its contribution to a master
church if you’re messed up man
contributing to a messed-up family
resulting in a messed up church and your
church is supposed to be the light to
the neighborhood then your messed up
church is gonna make its contribution to
a messed up neighborhood if you’re
messed up man contributing to a
messed-up family resulting in a messed
up Church causing a messed up
neighborhood and your neighborhoods part
of a city well then you’re messed up
neighbours gonna make its contribution
to your messed up City if you’re messed
up man contributing to a messed-up
family resulting in a messed up Church
causing a messed up neighborhood that
resides in the messed up City and your
cities part of the county where your
messed-up City is gonna make its
contribution to your messed up County
if you mess up man contributing to a
messed-up family resulting in a mess of
Church causing a messed up neighborhood
that resides in a messed-up City as part
of a messed up County and York counties
part of the state where your messed up
counties don’t make its contribution to
a messed up stake if you’re messed up
man contributing to a messed-up family
resulting in a messed up church causing
a messed up neighborhood that resides in
a messed up City as part of a messed up
County contributing to a messed up state
and your state’s part of the country
where your messed up state’s gonna make
its contribution to a messed up nation
if your messed up man contributing to a
messed-up family resulting in a messed
up Church causing a messed up
neighborhood that resides in a messed up
City it’s part of a mess of County it’s
contributing to a messed up state that
contributes to a messed up country and
your country is part of the world
well now your messed up country is gonna
make its contribution to a messed up
world so if you want a better world
compose the better countries inhabited
by better States cuz they’re better made
of a better counties composed the better
cities inhabited by better neighborhoods
illuminated by better churches that are
made of a better families we got to
start our becoming better then cuz it
all rests on the position of the man
[Applause]
because the man was first he is to
function as the foundation when you are
building a house the first thing you do
is pour a foundation because anything
else you bring into that house is
banking on it holding if the foundation
collapses everything on it collapses
with it if the foundation is shaky then
the things that are banking on it to
keep the windows and the doors and the
roof in place get out of whack because
the foundation foundations aren’t fancy
foundations aren’t pretty but they
better be solid when he says I created
Adam first he’s saying you are the
foundation and this whole ball of wax is
banking on you so in this day of male
abandonment male abuse male disregard
male irresponsibility we have cultural
chaos he says that man has a priority
responsibility now the foundation isn’t
the whole thing that’s where the woman
comes in are we going to get to that but
the foundation is always the first thing
if you’re building a building and so God
says that the man is not to be a weak
part of the the society the house the
church needs to be the foundation of it
and while I know we live in a day when
for many women this is not a popular
thought the goal is not to be popular
it’s to be biblical
the goal is not to say well what are
they saying in the culture the goal is
saying what is God saying in his word
and as you will see when we unfold this
word the man is the foundation but the
wife or the woman is critical she’s not
an extra thrown in she’s not a just a
diaper changer and a bottle washer so
y’all come back now you hear but neither
do we want to disregard the point that
men have left this priority it says in
that verse verse 8 he was hiding from
the presence of God watch this in the
garden he was hiding from God in his
house don’t miss that not only was he
hiding from God in his house because the
garden was Adams house its place he
lived and went to the house to get the
leaves to hide from God so he used what
God gave him to hide from God he
literally used God’s blessing to run
from God today we have men who want all
the blessings of God and they used the
blessings to hide from God he says he
was hiding from the presence of God in
the garden so you can hide from God in
church so if you’re going to be God’s
man well I call God’s kingdom man then
you and I we are going to have to accept
the role
we’re gonna have to accept the role see
all you need to be as a male is the
right plumbing that’s that’s merely a
plumbing situation but to be a man you
got to own the responsibility you got to
own that now I realize that many men
today do not have the privilege of
having somebody in their life
who’ve helped them to do that you
weren’t raised with a father you weren’t
given guidance by some other responsible
male and that wasn’t your fault but it
is your responsibility not to repeat it
yourself or else the cycle goes unbroken
they were hiding from the presence of
the Lord and Adam was responsible the
heart of God’s men is that he is
operating underneath the authority and
in the presence of God not running from
it so then how does this man operate
Adam where are you how does this this
kind of man role in chapter 2 verse 15
and says then the Lord God took the man
because there’s no woman yet the Lord
God took the man and put him in the
garden that’s his house the Garden of
Eden
to cultivate it and to keep it he gives
the man a job
he gives the man a house places in the
garden that’s his house and he gives him
a job
single women make it known early if
there is no finance there won’t be no
romance he gave him a place to live he
gave him a job to work before he gave
him a woman to lead an irresponsible man
is not worthy to be a husband because if
he ain’t even taking care of him why are
you thinking gonna take care of you I
[Applause]
want you to notice something men he gave
him a house he gave him a place to live
he gave him a job but but notice he told
him to cultivate it Oh a different word
cultivated see he didn’t just give him a
job he told him to be productive see to
cultivate something is to produce
something more than what you start with
so if you’re in farming you take seed
you find the seeds because you not want
growth and plants and in other words you
want to be productive in other words you
want more than what you start with in
other words if a real man is gonna have
some vision he doesn’t just won’t stay
where he is he wants to produce more
than what he starts with so the question
is not are you going to work the
question is are you productive in the
work you do do you have a productive
mindset he says I want you to cultivate
it I want you know there is no woman I
want you to I want you to produce more
than you start with i’ma get you started
I’m gonna get you this whole I’m gonna
get you this garden I’m gonna get you
eating
but now you’re supposed to turn this
place into something spectacular
do you not you know you’re not trying to
just not be nothing not go anywhere you
trying to become all that you were
created to be in other words you got a
purpose your purpose isn’t just to be
here your purpose is to cultivate to
embellish to enhance to to expand to
dream far too many men have lost their
ability to dream have lost their ability
to see what is not yet to look further
than they can see now that’s not the
same for every man because every man
doesn’t do the same thing but every man
should be dissatisfied with things
staying where they are because we’re
calling on a man underneath God is to
expand whatever God has placed in his
hand and to multiply it to expand it in
fact one of the reasons that we don’t
see more of God as God don’t see more of
our dream then that dream has to be with
our gift and for his glory but he says I
want you to cultivate it I want you to
you know you have appliances I have
appliances those appliances aren’t just
sitting there looking pretty those
appliances are for functional purposes
the refrigerator keeps it cold the stove
makes it hot the toaster pops it up but
can opener opens it up in other words
they are producing they are productive
they’re not just sitting there they’re
functional God expects a man to maximize
his potential underneath God in whatever
sphere of opportunity God gives him and
whatever gifting he’s placed on
all of this by the way was happening in
the garden the garden was the place
where God was hanging out in Adams house
as a single man if he got married yet
he’s a single man hanging out with God
in the garden in other words even as a
single man he was living in the presence
of God he was living under the covering
of God something we’ll get into more
detail at another time but that’s where
he was rolling that’s where he was
operating he says not only do I want you
to do that but I want you to keep the
garden cultivated and keep it the Hebrew
word for keep means to God or protect I
want you to protect your house I want
you to protect your garden what is he
protecting Mouse from I mean this is a
perfect world he’s living in no it’s not
slick is in the garden Satan is in the
garden chapter three the serpent comes
up to Eve so they’re gonna be problems
in the garden because the snake is there
and the snake is gonna cause stuff the
snake is gonna try to stir stuff up the
snake is gonna try to get you away from
God there is a serpent in the garden and
your job is to keep him out the opening
line of the book kingdom man says it all
when a kingdom man gets up the devil
oughta say oh crap he’s up I got a deal
with him again today because you are
responsible for the garden to keep the
devil out because he trying to get in
and he may be trying to get in through
your wife
no man better say Amen right now
so provision and protection that is the
environment that Adam was responsible
for and then he gives them another
instruction verse 16 Genesis 3 Genesis 2
the Lord God commanded the man saying
from any tree of the garden you may eat
freely but from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not
eat for in the day that you eat from it
you will sho’nuff die he gives him his
word his commandment not his request his
commandment why because a male who plans
to be a man must position himself under
divine authority which means God’s Word
has the final say-so in his life not his
Posse not his friends not his homeboys
nobody overruled God not even his wife
because God is gonna say in chapter 3
because you listen to your wife all hell
has broken loose in your life because as
much as you love her she’s not supposed
to overrule me that his job is to
oversee the communication and the
operation of God’s Word in his sphere of
influence starting with his family or as
Joshua said as for me and my Joshua
24:15 this is how we roll this is how we
roll as for me and my house this is how
we there’s no vote here God commanded me
I’m under commandment but notice the
command
the command was a happy command see we
we look at the negative part don’t eat
from that tree no that’s not the first
part of the command the first part of
the command was live it up first kind of
man command was from every tree of the
garden you may freely eat the first part
of the command he’s a single man he
tells him the first part of the command
is maximized all that I have given you
maximize my creation maximize all you
can do just don’t mess with that tree
you remember Don Cornelius and the Soul
Train you remember them the Scramble boy
there were letters on the scramble board
and in those letters refer to a
particular singer or particular musical
group or a particular song but the
letters were all over the place and so
they get a couple of the dances and
they’d have to unscramble the scramble
board and so they would get 60 seconds
to get the letters in order so that they
can identify the group or the singer or
the song and so they had to work out the
scramble boy you see one of the reasons
we’re in trouble as men is God’s Word
it’s gotten all scrambled up and our job
is to get the letters in place he says
the day you eat a bit you’re going to
break relationship with me that’s death
it’s like unplugging something in your
house it’s alive when you plug it in
because the electricity flows once you
unplug it the instrument dies it can’t
function anymore and what we have today
are males who don’t function anymore
because they’re unplugged because death
has entered into him or the relationship
or the scenario or the parenting or
whatever the case may be he says that
you are to carry my
what was the difference between what was
the problem with this tree in the middle
called the tree it was a Google tree
because it calls it a tree of knowledge
it was Google it was the internet tree
this tree was full of data all kind of
data good data
bad data tree of the knowledge of good
and evil so the tree wasn’t all bad
it had evil but it also had good but he
said on what you eat it even though it’s
got good stuff on it
why because atom if you’re going to be
the man that I want you to be created
you to be
and you’re gonna be operating like
you’re supposed to be then I want you to
live by revelation not reason I do not
want your human reason to determine your
actions I want divine revelation what I
say and when I’m ready for you to know
it imma tell it to you don’t go out
there apart from me and learn it on your
own one of the problems today with so
many men is that they’ve gone so secular
or they’ve been to some college or
they’ve gotten stuck in some career or
they’ve been hanging out with the wrong
folk and they’ve gotten all in this
definition of manhood messing them up so
that they’re not able to function in the
way God wants them to function and we
wind up as men being dead men walking
they got the title and and you know we
like we we want people to recognize the
title
I’m the boss I’m the man we we won’t the
title without the responsibility he says
no he’s talking to Adam
guess what Adams job was to be he wants
to make sure this information got
transferred to Eve he got he want to
make sure this information got
transferred to eat and he transferred it
to Eve in fact he transferred it with a
vengeance what do I mean he transferred
with a vengeance because when the devil
asked Eve can you eat from the tree
she said not only can I not eat from it
I can’t touch it
so what Adam told her was girlfriend the
baby girl sweetheart honey sugar
dumpling don’t eat from that tree and in
case you didn’t get it don’t even go
near where you can brush up against it
he was to transfer so if the wife has
got to ask you are you going to church
today if the wife has got to ask you are
you gonna pray with the family if the
wife has got to ask you are you gonna
have devotions that means you’re not
fulfilling the spiritual responsibility
of spiritually leading your home you say
but I don’t know what to do yeah you do
cuz all you got to do is steal from me I
had already done the work so all you got
to do is take what I did and say family
let’s discuss the sermon that we had on
Sunday so I did the work you become the
feast you family gets the information
[Applause]
you are this weird reg you say but my
wife knows more than me that got nothing
to do with it there’s absolutely nothing
to do with it it’s not who knows the
Moses who’s responsible that’s what it
is and this places things in order it
gets things in the proper place God says
not your reason but my word must define
you before I give you a woman because
when I give you a woman and then when I
give you a family and then when I give
you a culture then when I give you a
career then I give you all this stuff it
will be managed by me through you it
will not be managed by you apart from me
a man is to be the vehicle the
flow-through from God to those entities
family church society that he flows
through as the first point of contact
yes women you have your own personal
responsibility and relationship with the
Lord that is to be primary the Bible
says even a husband can’t overrule God
in the life of his wife but at the same
time God has a process that he prefers
to flow through I know in this day of
being politically correct that’s not a
popular position but let’s get this
straight I ain’t trying to be popular
I’m trying to be biblical human reason
was never to govern the man divine
revelation was when I when my son
Anthony was small and we bought him a
bicycle back then they didn’t put it
together for you you had to put it
together yourself it came it came with
all these nuts and bolts
screws and and washers and all this
stuff came with all this stuff and a
thick book of instructions big book of
instructions so I looked at all these
pieces in this thick book and I
rationalized I said no wait a minute I
have a college degree I’m working on my
masters and I’m gonna go for my
doctorate so I can figure this out I can
do this eight hours later we’re just the
handlebars on but just the handlebar
about that fiddling and just a hammer
bars on since Evans comes to the garage
door and gives me a piece of interesting
advice that I didn’t want to hear
basically she said could it be just
could it be that the bicycle maker knows
more about bicycle assembly then the
degreed one knows
[Applause]
so I asked you could it be that the man
maker knows more about manhood then the
man does and I was able to complete in
45 minutes what my own understanding had
not been able to fix in eight hours many
men say my wife won’t change whose book
will you use it my kids won’t change
which man you are you using because if
you use it from the wrong tree there’s
no power there’s no God that’s just the
best you can come up with wife after
wife family after family so God is
calling on men and he’s asking the
question Adam where are you and not just
a location question but a position
question now I don’t I don’t have I
don’t have time to to go into this so
I’m I’m when I’m getting ready telling
them I’m awake because but I’m just
going to introduce it right now that’s
great reduce
as you all have heard me say at least a
minute for me say I love being a man
okay when I get up in the morning and I
look in the mirror yeah you a man I mean
that’s hot that’s how I feel I feel that
thing is on me I got that thing that
thing is on me
I love being a man and let me tell you
one reason why verse 19 of chapter 2 out
of the ground the Lord God formed every
beast of the field and every bird of the
sky and brought them to the man to see
what he would call them and whatever the
man called a living creature that was
its name you know why I love being a man
I get the name stuff I get the name
stuff you know what the name stuff means
in the Bible when you got the name stuff
you got to own it when you got the name
stuff you can exercise authority over it
now you can’t just go name anything you
got the name what God brings you but
once God brings it to you you get to own
that thing so I be naming everything I
can get my hands on and giving it back
to God God gives you the ability and the
authority that’s why when a woman comes
on the scene she changes her name cuz
you lay hold of that sin you you grab
that sin you you you you say no no no
you mind because I named you
[Applause]
you get the name
that’s exercising spiritual authority
you get to do that
if your underneath is confident and is
covering so the question on the floor is
Adam where are you now
I know that many men as I said earlier
have grown up without a biblical
worldview and I know that we as men even
if you had it stray from it and God is
asking us today where are you where are
you as I define you but that’s where the
good news comes in because in the Bible
there are two men named Adam not one you
got the first Adam in Genesis two and
three and the Bible says in Romans five
he blew it for the whole race in chapter
18 and following of Romans 5 the first
Adam blew it for the whole race but in
1st Corinthians chapter 15 verses 20 to
45 and 47 it says there’s another Adam
Adam number two he’s called the last
Adam well Adam number one got us booted
out of the garden
the Bible says the last Adam is a
life-giving spirit and he can escort you
back into the garden the first Adam may
have messed you up but the last Adam can
pick you up and you don’t have to be
like your daddy
you don’t have to be like your
granddaddy you don’t have to be like the
people who influenced your life who were
wrong the last Adam can rename you there
were there were there were two mountains
there were two two guys in a mountain
climbing incident and there was a man in
the front and a man in the back and
there were two men in the middle who
were climbing
but in order to get him up there safely
that was a guide at the front name Adam
and a guide at the back named Adam say
they are climbing up this mountain but
the problem is as the first atom the
atom up front he slipped and all the all
the folks were tied together by a rope
the first Adam slip and when the first
Adam slipped
he pulled the two men with him and they
were going to fall off or the precipice
but the last Adam took his axe and
plowed it into the mountain so that all
the men that were behind him could climb
back up the first Adam slipped and he’s
dragging all the men down but the last
Adam on the cross has nailed that thing
and he says if you climb up on me I will
take you back to what you think you lost
so the question is Adam where are you
men is time to come home
amen <3