Proverbs 29:25  The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

Those who are saved and alert, can see that the world is becoming a much more unstable place. It is very evident that we cannot trust those who are supposed to be guiding our countries. Even more concerning is that there are few spiritually minded men that are trustworthy.
Canada has had an extremely corrupt government now for almost ten years. The media is reporting that there is a process in place to replace the current leader, but the candidates to replace him are no better than he is.
As this process to replace the current leader is unfolding, the media is also telling us that this activity has helped the Liberal party to gain support in the country. The gap between the two front runner parties in government is narrowing. That is what the polls are suggesting. We will not know if there will be a change in government unless and until an “election” is conducted.
Our “big brother” to the south has been uncovering massive amounts of fraudulent activity taking place at various government organizations in that country. The current president is trying to do some housecleaning at home. His government has uncovered massive fraud in different departments. The courts and other organizations are running interference for the current U.S. government. It is interesting to follow what is happening.
Then we have the Ukraine situation. The U.S. government insists that it is wrong to claim that Russia started that war. Of course the media and the left wing politicians are trying to further their lies that the current U.S. president is being heavily influenced by Russia. The fact is that the U.S., under the previous administration, was heavily involved in encouraging Russia to start that war.
Russia will play a significant role in future events. We are not told when the attack described in Ezekiel 38 will take place. We are given some description of the events of that attack.
True born again Christians need to be alert.
There are two Scriptures that use the phrase ‘quit yourselves, or quit you, like men’. They can help us to know how to live in with the present challenges we are facing.

I Samuel 4:9  Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.

In this passage, the Philistines had been attacking Israel. Israel found themselves in a vulnerable place because Eli, the current priest had been very negligent in his responsibilities as God’s appointed priest. He had allowed his two sons to abuse the sacrificial system. The common people were being turned away from the institution that God designed as the place to bring their sacrifices.
Eli’s two sons had convinced the nation to bring the Ark of the Covenant into an upcoming battle with the Philistines. They assumed that the Ark would be a good luck charm and grant them the victory over the Philistines.
Eli knew better than what he was allowing. He was afraid of his sons, and he lacked the fear of God in his heart and life. The result of his rebellious attitude toward God, was that his two sons were killed in battle and the Ark of the covenant was taken. The Philistine leaders told their soldiers to ignore the possible threat to their existence and to capture the Ark. They were told to act like men and take that Ark home to their false god. God allowed the Philistines to capture that Ark, but He did not allow them to assume this meant that the Jewish God was a weak god.
God did not need Israel to teach the Philistines the fear of the LORD. He chose to give Israel the opportunity to be blessed in exalting Him and thus helping the Philistines to fear the LORD. Israel chose not to receive that blessing. Thus God worked all by Himself. He established His superiority over the Philistines, and by extension, over the world.
The next morning the Philistines came to their god, Dagon and found him lying on the ground. They foolishly picked him up and set him back in his place. They went about their task of worshipping their false god. God was not defeated. He was not at a loss.
The next morning the Philistines went back into their house of Dagon. This time this false god was lying on the ground and broken. It is interesting how he was broken. His head was broken off and his hands were broken off. The head is what controls the rest. The head is where the brain is. The head is where the thinking and processing takes place. God showed the Philistines they lacked a credible god. He had no head.
The hands are the source of power. The Bible says that born again saints are held in the Father’s hand. God does not need two hands. One of His hands is big enough and strong enough to hold all His children. Dagon had no hands. He could not help the Philistines. They saw this with their eyes, but it did not compute in their heads and hearts. It was not Dagon that had given them the victory. It was the LORD, the God of Israel Who had given them the victory.
They understood the need to fear the LORD, in the sense of being afraid of Him. They did not understand the need to worship Him. They would be given further opportunities to learn that, but they never acknowledged that.
The Philistines had a worthless religion. Sadly, Israel was scrambling to join them in having their own worthless religion. God had revealed Himself to Israel in a special way, but they were squandering that blessing. They were a stumblingblock to the rest of the nations around them.

I Corinthians 16:13  Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

We come now to the next passage that deals with the phrase “quit you like men”. This one is in the New Testament. It is directed to born again Christians. It is given from God and spoken by the apostle Paul. Godly men cannot be waffling. They need to learn how to stand fast in the faith.
We are living in the last days. The last days are described as a time of “falling away”. They are described as “perilous times”. Interestingly, most professing Christians do not see this as a reality. They listen to the many liars who parade themselves as spiritual leaders and they listen to their lies and they assume that things are not that bad and they are going to turn around. All that is needed is for people to give more money to the snake oil salesmen and to pray to their imaginary god. The Bible is clear that most people are on the broad way that leads to destruction. They do not believe that because they refuse to listen to the conscience God has given them. They have allowed deceivers to keep them asleep.
Born again Christians cannot be that way. The Corinthian saints were a carnal people. They had many sins that needed to be addressed and repented of. They needed to learn to behave like men. They needed to be strong. They needed to understand they could never be strong if they did not trust in the Lord, Who had saved them.
A number of years ago there was a new organization formed that became known as “Promise Keepers”. The founder of this organization was a football coach. He knew how to talk about “Jesus” and he was respected because he was a successful football coach. He had no true spiritual credentials, not because he had not been to a Bible College or seminary, but because he had no testimony of salvation. His movement grew very quickly. Meetings were scheduled all over the place. Men flocked to the meetings. I remember being asked about Promise Keepers during its ‘heyday’. I gave a Biblical answer, and there was an older minister there who should have known better, but he was a ‘peace maker’. He loved the praise of men rather than the praise of God. He tried to give a reason why we should accept Promise Keepers as a unique new opportunity to reach men for Christ. A skunk is still a skunk even if you take the white stripe off it.
As we look at our world today, we need to ask God to help us to see which side we are on. Are we like the Philistines who were challenged to “quit yourselves like men”, and fight against the truth, or are we like the Corinthian saints who needed to “quit you like men” and stand fast in the faith and be strong?
God is not at a loss. He will be exalted whether we choose to know Him and serve Him or not. His blessings are for us. He wants to bless us with a peace the world cannot know. We can have a part in living within the parameters of that peace or we can choose to miss out on the blessings of God. You cannot manufacture what only God can give. You can pretend, but it is not real and it will be exposed as fraudulent. Settle for the truth and exalt the true God.
Pastor Bartel