God Made Man
by Kevin Allen
June 21, 2026 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: 2 Samuel 23:20-22, 2 Samuel 23:20, 2 Samuel 23:21, 2 Samuel 23:22-23

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kevin-allen--god-made-man
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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Today my message title is God Made Man. 2 Samuel chapter 23. One of my favorite chapters in all of the Bible. This is the chapter of King David's last words. And his words are pretty powerful. But what what I feel like most men that have read the Bible really got from chapter 23 of 2 Samuel is it starts talking about David's mighty men. There's something about reading about this and their accomplishments and these men and what they've done. It's always just kind of seems to just pluck the heartstrings of a man.

Some mighty things that were there. So from this chapter, I'm going to begin in verse number 20 reads, "Benaniah was a son of Jehovah, the son of a valiant man from Kebzil who had done many deeds. He had killed two lionlike heroes of Moab. He had also gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. He had killed an Egyptian, a spectacular man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand. So he went down to him with a staff, wrestled the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.

These things Beniji son of Jehovah did and won a name among the three mighty men. Let's pray one more time. Jesus, I'm so thankful, God, for your presence that has just overwhelmed us already today. And I ask, God, that you would just allow our minds and our hearts to be open today to receive your word. But I pray especially for fathers that are here, fathers to be, grandfathers that are in this room today. For the men that are here to be open to receive what you have for us that we can apply in our lives and be all that you want us to be.

In Jesus name we pray and amen. Today, as we celebrate fathers and grandfathers and spiritual fathers and godly men who have influenced our lives over the years, when I begin to think about the great men in the Bible, oftentimes it's easy to go to to some of the big names like Abraham or or David or Moses or Elijah or Paul, and I go on with that list. But today, I want to preach about a man that in my opinion is often overlooked. His name was Baniah.

And at first glance, it seems like I mean, he's just kind of this minor character there in the story of David's mighty men. He never wrote a book of the Bible. He never sat on a throne. He never led a nation. Yet, when we read through the scriptures, we can see that God seems to summarize his life in just a few short verses, but they contain some incredible events. The Bible says that Banayiah killed two lionlike warriors of Moab. That just feels like you need to have a little Tim Allen grunt right there.

Like, whoa. The Bible says that he chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day. Like, who does that? Benaniah. The Bible says that he defeated an Egyptian giant armed only with a staff. These are impressive accomplishments. I could I could dare say there's not a man in the room that was like, "You know what? That guy's a little bit nuts. That guy's a little bit crazy. He's probably one of those adrenaline junky skydiving guys that Pastor Michael was talking about that shouldn't do it a second time." and one of those kind of fellas that lives on the edge.

There was just something about that though that to captivate your attention. You seem to be drawn into those kind of stories and see what is there. But I want you to notice something. When God introduces us to Baniah before we ever read about his victories, we read his name and his name tells us everything. Bananiah means Jehovah has built or Yahweh has built up. In other words, Baniah was something before he was ever a lion killer, before he's ever a giant slaver, before he was ever one of David's mighty men, he was a Godmade man.

A God made man. I I'll be honest with you. I didn't realize that Beniah meant Jehovah has built. I didn't I didn't know that. Again, I've spent majority of my life studying scriptures. But isn't it amazing how when you dig in, God always reveals new things to you? Now, I've read this story many times. been impressed every time. But I stopped and I began to search out that name. I felt like the Lord caused me to pause for just a minute and actually go see what Ben and I meant.

And when I did, I felt like the Lord says, "There you go for Father's Day." Godmade man. I'm hoping hoping to preach to you today about the importance of being a Godmade man. So, we're going to dive into the scriptures today. To me, I feel like his name stands in sharp contrast to the world that we live in today. We live in a culture that is obsessed with being a selfmade man, a self-made businessman, a self-made entre entrepreneur, a self-made success story, a self-made celebrity, a self-made influencer.

The world celebrates people that say, "I built it. I did it. I owned it. I accomplished it by myself." But God's kingdom has never been made by self-made men. God's kingdom always been built by men who were willing to let God shape them and and mold them and correct them and develop them and and and and do things through them that they could have never done by themselves. Only by God could it have happened. And if we're not careful, we can spend our lives trying to build an image while God's trying to build a man.

>> Oh, the world's going to the world's got intentions. If you haven't figured that out, the culture is always trying to shape you and influence you and convince you that you are less than and that if you can just get this thing or that thing that you can be better off for it. But God, he works in the background of our lives. God works more like a crockpot. The world looks like a microwave. I'll be honest with you, there are times when a microwave meal has an ability to keep you from starving to death.

But let's be honest, who has ever had a microwave meal and walked away and said, "That was the best thing I've ever had." No one. No one of adult years. Some kids may have said, "Those chicken nuggets are pretty good or that micro that macaroni and cheese." But let's be honest, no mature man or woman has ever walked away from a microwave meal saying, "You know what? That was phenomenal." But you get a good roast in it in a crock pot. Oo, do you feel the spirit moving there?

I don't know if there's the Holy Ghost. I felt the spirit move right there. Some potatoes and carrots. Oh my. Do you feel that, brother Span? I'm preaching good now. Yeah. Something about that slow cook. I love that that's the way God works. Now, here's what I know. I stand in a room full of people that I dare say the vast majority of us have a witness to God doing a great thing in our life, but it didn't happen usually instantaneously. It wasn't microwaved. It was a slow cooker.

>> The world's trying to get you to build an image. God's trying to shape a man. Our greatest need today, in my opinion, is for God made men to step up and do what God has called us to do. Men that God can trust, that God can use, that God can build. Men whose wives know that they can depend on them, whose children know that they can follow them. Men who have the same life in private as they do in public. Men of integrity, men of the word.

And that's exactly what we see when I begin to study out the life of Benaniah. His story teaches us what a God- made man looks like. So today, with your help and your permission, I want to show you five characteristics of a man who God has built. Character number one, a Godmade man is built through battles. Can I get an amen? >> 2 Samuel 23:20, Beniah was a son of Jehovah, the son of a valley man from Kebil, who had done many deeds. He had killed two lionlike heroes of Moab.

One of the first things we read in scripture about Banana is that he fought battles. Is there a real man in here that hasn't fought a battle in your life? I'm not talking about necessarily physical fights that you got into. I'm talking about more often than not the mental. Anybody ever been in a mental fight? Anybody had that stress and that pressure and that anxiety weigh down on you? You know what I'm talking about today? >> Yeah. It's tough. It's tough carrying that load. It's tough being responsible.

It's tough owning up to the thing that God has called us to be. The Bible says that he killed two lionlike heroes in Moab. And I want you to know the wording in the scripture is always important. They were not ordinary men. These were warriors he fought. In other words, Benaniah's greatness was not developed in comfort. It was developed in conflict. That's often how our God chooses to work. But that stands in contrast into this lazy boy world we live in. We like comfort and convenience.

And I'm going to be honest with you, I do too. I'm going to tell you what, one of the greatest inventions that has happened in modern time, in my opinion, is air conditioned seats. Oh my goodness, how great is that? A good old July Tennessee day, you get in there in those leather seats and you slide in there and all of a sudden you smell bacon cooking, but it's not bacon. And you hit that ventilated button right there. And isn't it amazing how great that feels?

But I'm here to tell you, no man is shaped by air conditioned seats. There's something about getting into the fight. There's something about learning that the greatest lessons in life are rarely learned in seasons of ease. There's something about struggle. There's something about when you have to fight for something that has a way of of shaping you and making you and molding you. Nobody ever wakes up in the morning asking for hardship. Nobody volunteers for adversity. Yet throughout scripture, some of God's greatest men were shaped in difficult seasons.

Think about it with me. Joseph was built in a prison. Moses was formed in a desert. David was built in a cave running from Saul. Daniel was built in captivity and Paul was built through persecution and Benaniah was built in battle. The battle was not evidence that God had abandoned him. The battle was evidence that God was developing him. And often times the very thing that we're trying to pray away is what God is using to shape us to become the men and women he wants us to be.

>> I think sometimes we misunderstand what's happening when life becomes difficult. When trouble comes knocking at our door, we begin to ask God, "Where are you and why is this happening to me?" Yet many times God is saying, "I'm building something in you. I'm doing something special. Hang on just a minute. I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN YOU. I KNOW WHERE you are. >> You have to walk through your own battles and face your own giants. You have to learn that you got to trust God when because there's no other option.

Anybody know what I'm talking about? >> Sometimes God takes you down to rock bottom to get your attention so that you'll stop relying on yourself and stop trying to figure it out on your own. Maybe you should learn the lesson of just stopping right off the bat when you face adversity from the first and say, "God, are you trying to teach me something today? God, is there something I need to learn this morning? I feel like I'm trying to climb up a heel and I'm facing resistance.

So God, are you trying to get my attention? If so, I'm listening now. There's some things you cannot learn in a classroom." Can I tell every father in the room today something? The battles you fought were not wasted. That pressure wasn't wasted in your life. The sleepless nights and the struggles, they weren't wasted. God was using those moments to build something inside of you. Some of the strongest men in this room were not built on their best days. They were built on their hardest ones. The battle becomes the construction site where God shaped the man.

I remember years ago my father who I miss already already mentioned that while ago and it's good to have his friend Steve Eno. Thank you Steve for coming today. It's an honor that you're here in service with us. Appreciate you being here. I remember I think it was about Mom, you can correct me on this. I believe it was about 1989 when the loans got called in. About '89, my dad was a businessman. Many of you know my dad's story and and his local the local hometown bank who knew my dad who knew who Bobby Allen was.

My dad had credit lines and had several loans there where he operated his business out of. But that bank got bought out. It got bought out by Third National Bank. Third National Bank had no idea who Bobby Allen was. And as they were going through their files, they looked at my dad's spreadsheet and realized that he was a risk in their opinion because they didn't know the man. And because it was too great of a risk, they just went and called all my dad's loans in.

And my dad didn't have the ability to pay his stuff back. And I remember watching my dad as the pressure and and the stress weighed down on him. I didn't fully understand and comprehend in 1989 all that my dad was going through. But I remember through the years of seeing it and having conversations with him that he had many sleepless nights, many are wrestling and into the carpet and asking God, "Have you forgotten me?" And my dad is not a perfect man, but my dad was a faithful man.

He's faithful to the house of God. He was faithful in prayer. He was faithful in in in raising his family in right ways. And and by human logic, it stands to reason why every person would naturally think, "God, I'm doing all the right things. I'm checking all the boxes I'm supposed to be checking. I I I go to church when I'm supposed to go to church. I'm paying my tithe. I'm committed. I'm involved in ministry. I'm I'm doing all the things that should be right. God, why am I going through what I'm going through?

But I will tell you this, my dad became a different man through the process. He became a man of deep faith, a man of prayer, a man of commitment that he would have never had become before that. What am I saying to you today? that the greatest lessons and the greatest shapings and the greatest moldings that happen, it happens in times of adversity. At times when you get down and you wrestle around with yourself and realize that I have no other option but God. >> Having times where you say to yourself, God, if you don't show up, there is no other plan.

I DON'T HAVE A plan be God. It's you which is right where he wants you to be completely committed to him. Amen. >> The battle was not sent to destroy the man. God used the battle to build the man. Point number two, a God- made man runs towards responsibility. Look at verse 20. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. Of all the accomplishments listed in Benonia's life, I'll be honest with you, this may be the most fascinating to me.

The Bible says he killed a lion. That would be impressive enough, but the Bible doesn't waste words. It adds to the story. And it's the details that I find the most fascinating because it happened in a pit. Everybody say pit. >> On a snowy day. >> The Bible says most importantly that he went down >> which meant he was above the pit. Now nobody listen. Don't miss this. The lion didn't come after him. He wasn't being chased by a lion. He's the one that decided, you know what, lion, you need to die.

It's a man who owned his responsibility. The Bible simply says, Benaniah went down to the pit. It was his choice. Listen to me. It was his choice. It was intentional. He stepped into a situation that most people would have avoided. I'll be honest with you. I see a pit and it's got a lion in it. The last thing I'm thinking about is getting into the pit. It don't have to be snowing. It could be the best, prettiest spring day ever. And my answer is still nah.

Hard pass. Why would anybody voluntarily climb into a pit with a lion? The lion was dangerous. The pit was restrictive. The snow made the footing uncertain. Everything about this situation screamed, "Stay away. Come back another day. Let somebody else handle it." But Benaniah didn't wait for better conditions. Why? He acted when action was needed. That's one of the most defining characteristics of a God-made man. A God- made man does not spend his life running from responsibility. He runs towards it. I'll say it again. A God-made man does not shape his life running away from responsibility.

He runs towards it. This world has produced a generation of men who are experts about avoiding responsibility. We've done ourselves a disservice as a culture. Look, I'm going to tell you right now, and you guys that have been around here for a while know my feelings on this. Look, not everybody deserves a trophy. >> I'm 50 years old. I was born 1976. When I grew up in little league and I played little league baseball, we lost. Our team was terrible. We didn't get a trophy because we didn't earn a trophy and nobody was mad about it.

We knew we stunk. We didn't walk up there with our hand out. I'm I'm looking. I'm not trying to pick on little league ball, but listen, not everybody. Just because you showed up doesn't mean you get a trophy. >> What we have done is we have unknowingly created a generation who doesn't understand responsibility and hard work. We've created a generation who would not dare get into a pit with a lion on a snowy day. But I'm here to tell you, a God made man, a God-shaped man understands somebody's got to take care of the problem.

>> We can't all walk past it. At some point, somebody's got to deal with the lion. Bananas says, "You know what? It might as well be me. Why would I pass the buck?" Why? Because he was a god-shaped man. A god-shaped man knows when to step up and own responsibility. knows when to take care of his family, knows when to work hard, knows when to you know what? If somebody's going to lose sleep, it'll be me that loses sleep. If somebody's going to go out, I will go without.

Why? Because I'm going to do the right thing. I'M NOT GOING TO PUSH OFF MY RESPONSIBILITY. God made men are different. When responsibility appears, they move towards it. When protection is required, they stand up. When decisions are made, they don't disappear. They engage. Can I tell you what separates boys from men? A boy looks for comfort. A man accepts responsibility. A boy waits for somebody else to act. A man steps up and says, "How impresent I am here." That's why fatherhood is such a powerful picture of biblical manhood.

Because every father eventually discovers that responsibility does not arrive when conditions are perfect. If you're going to wait on the perfect time to have a baby, you'll never have a baby. >> There's no such thing. Now, there are seasons that are better than others. Don't misunderstand me. But it comes with responsibility. Life often presents responsibility on snowy days when you're tired and you're stretched thin. Can I get an amen? I find it interesting that scripture could have simply said, "Bananiah killed a lion." But it didn't just say that.

It said he was in a pit on a snowy day. God wanted us to know when and where it happened because location is part of the lesson. Anybody can be courageous when you're standing on level ground, when when when things are tipped in your favor, right? Anybody can do that. Anybody can be faithful when everything's going well, when circumstances are favorable. But the real test comes when you're in a pit. When the conditions are less than ideal. That's when the character is revealed and manhood is tested.

When things aren't going your way, when you would not have scripted the circumstances, yet you have to understand, I'm still responsible. I still got to lead my family. I still got to own my my responsibilities. Can I encourage you today? The same God who built Benaniah is in the pit building your life as well. If you'll allow him, he's there. He hasn't forgotten you. He knows where you're at. step into what God has placed before you because a God- made man doesn't become great by avoiding difficult moments.

But when we step up and say, "God, I got to have you to move forward." A God- made man doesn't wait for ideal conditions to do what God has called them to do. >> Number three, a God- made man uses what God has given him. I like this part right here. Verse number 21. And he killed an Egyptian, a spectacular man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand. So he went down to him with a staff, wrestled the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.

To me, I think this is one this this this this is more fascinating to me than the lion in the pit with a snowy day. The Bible tells us that the Egyptian was a spectacular man. He was imposing, impressive, and intimidating. He looked like the kind of man that nobody wants to fight. He was a bad dude. We're told here he had a spear and Benaniah had a staff. This dude had a spear. Beniah's got a stick. Right off the bat, I'm telling you, you're out matched.

If we were looking at this scenario and we were saying to ourselves, I wonder which one's going to win. Nobody picks the guy with a stick. >> Nobody does. But you forgot to factor in God. >> You left God out of the equation. And part of me, part of my redneck wants to say, you know, you and a switch with God can take on the devil any day. They used to talk about the big guys, you know, go bear hunting with a switch. That was Beniah.

This is Beniah right there. Here's what I know. God made men don't focus on what they lack. They focus on what God has provided. It's okay. You can be quiet. Too many men spend their lives wishing they had something different. Well, if I just had more money, if I just had more talent, >> if I just had more height, I wouldn't be so fat. I'm not overweight. I'm under tall. You put another three inches on me, I'm right where I'm supposed to be. Isn't that amazing?

God, if you just let me this situation. God, if you just open that door, God, if you just provide. God, if you just give. So what do they God made men don't make excuses. A God- made man looks around and says, "God, I'm going to use what you've already given me." >> Ain't that something? God has never needed extraordinary resources to accomplish extraordinary things. He just needed you to have some faith. You mind? I'm speaking to somebody today to try to get you to go ahead and exercise what faith God's given you.

He's already given you the measure of faith that you need to get you from here to where he wants you to be. So stop making excuses. In fact, there's a whole sermon I can preach on. Just use what God's already put in your hand. He said to Moses, "Moses, what do you got in your hand?" I said, "Throw it down." All of a sudden, the miraculous happened. God's not looking for you to find something extraordinary around you. He's looking for you to tap into the extraordinary that he provides.

>> That he provides that you can get. And you know where you get it? You get in a prayer room. You get it down your face before him. That's where you get the strength you need. Not that that God, I need a better weapon. What more powerful weapon than you have than than you have in prayer? >> Prayer can do anything that God can do. So why are we not praying more? That's what a God-shaped man realize that I'm I'm never more powerful than I when I am on my knees.

On my knees is where I get my strength. This where I get what I need to live the life God has called me to live. I think one of the greatest lies fathers believe is that they're inadequate. I don't know enough. I've made too many mistakes. I don't have all the answers. But your family doesn't need a perfect father. They need a father who learns how to trust God. They need a father who's faithful with what God has already placed in his hands. Beniah teaches us this that victory is not determined by what you possess.

Victory is determined by whether or not God is with you. >> Is God with you? Is God with you? >> Three people. I didn't hear one man say that. Is God with you? Yes. >> Then why are you afraid? >> Why are you afraid? If God is with you, then what do you have to be afraid of? >> As the word says, if God is with me, if God is for me, that was a man who realized, I've already got the winning equation. It's me and God.

Me and God are more powerful than anything the God and I are more powerful than anything that hell can put against me. Number four, a God- made man defeats the world's spectacular man. It said that in verse 21 and and he killed the Egyptian, a spectacular man. You know, I'll be honest with you. There's a part of me that if I was going to be in the Bible, I like that to be said about me. Spectacular has an appeal to it, doesn't it? Kind of make you walk around a little bit pep in your step like spectacular.

He was a bad dude. Look, again, the word of God is never wasted. All right? There's not just filler words in there. Everything has significance and importance. The Bible doesn't just say he killed an Egyptian, but he killed a spectacular man. This was a man who had everything the world admires. He was impressive. He was powerful. He was intimidating. He had all the stuff that culture said that he needed to have. Successful by every outward measure. Yes. Standing across from him was Benaniah, a man whose name meant Jehovah has built.

You see in this story, two very different men. One had an image, the other had character. One had a spear, the other had God. And when the battle was over, the spectacular man was laid down dead. And the God- made man was standing over him using his own weapon against him. Our culture constantly tells us what a successful man looks like. money and power and influence and status and recognition. But God has never measured a man by those things. Ever measured a man by those things.

The Egyptian looked like he was spectacular on the outside, but Benaniah possessed something far greater on the inside of him. Because every spectacular man may impress people, but God made men leave legacies. >> Leave legacies. What I find interesting is that we begin to know Beniah's name, but the Egyptian's name has never been recorded. We don't know who he was. All we have is that he was spectacular. But Beniah's name is recorded. Fame fades, image fades, success fades, but character endures. Our goal is not to become a spectacular man.

Our goal should be to become God made men. Amen. >> Amen. A God made man number five is built before he is promoted. I want you to pay attention to this part. Verse number 22. These things Bananiah the son of Jehovah did. And he won a name among the three mighty men. He was more honored than the 30, but he did not he did not obtain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard. Notice the order. Bananiah's promotion came after his proving. It came after he went through some things, after he weathered some storms, after he went through some trials and he went through some less than ideal conditions.

It was only then, only after all that had taken place, did he get promoted. Before he was entrusted with authority, he had to learn how to demonstrate his integrity. Before he stood beside the king, he had to learn to stand by himself. Before he ever led others, he had to prove to be successful in the private battles that are there. Because let's be honest, guys, the biggest fight we have every day of our life is right up here. >> It's right up here. Sometimes we wish it was just the physical things because we could fight off the physical.

But more often than not, I'm I'm speaking specifically right now in this moment to the men in this room. More often than not, guys, we fight up here. >> We have this battle that rages in our head of inadequ inadequacy and that we're not enough. And and if I only had this opportunity or if that would happen or or I'm never going to live up to that standard, I'm never going to have those things come together for me. I'm never going to have the knowledge I need.

I'm never going to be able. Stop listening to the enemy whisper those lies. Stop it. Learn to tune in to the voice of God. >> Learn to find a place where you can hear his voice. And I say that on purpose. Learn to find a place where you can hear the voice of God. The world says, "Give me a position and I'll prove myself." But God says, "Prove yourself and I'll give you a position." The only posture you need to know is how to get down on your knees before the one who holds all things in his hands.

The world promotes talent, but God is all about you developing your character. The world is impressed by ability and God is impressed by faithfulness and obedience. Faithfulness and obedience. Beniah did not spend his life chasing titles. Instead, he spent his life becoming the man God wanted him to be. One battle at a time. One fight at a time. Faithfully, he stood where he needed to be. When nobody else was looking around, when nobody else was there, nobody was watching. I'm telling you, the most important fight you're going to fight is the one when nobody else knows what's going on.

>> Amen. >> When nobody else is around, nobody else can see what's going on. How you conduct yourself in private matters. What I see is there's a lot of people and I'm speaking to those that are in the church. We got to be careful because often times we know how to go through the motions. We know how to say the right things. We know how to we know how to act like everything is the way it's supposed to be. But I'm here to tell you often times those things are just simply not the truth.

As you've heard me say before, there's something about learning to be vulnerable that brings strength. Learning to pull another man over and say, "Look, I need prayer. Look, I'm I'm carrying some stuff in my life that I I I I can't do by myself. And it seems to be so counterintuitive to us. There's something about and I I can only speak from a man's standpoint because that's all I've ever been. I'm not confused on who I am. That's another sermon for another day. But there's something about a man that has the hardest time admitting a weakness.

None of us like doing it, do we? But I'm here to tell you often times the very thing that can get you through the next battle is finding a trusted brother in your life that you can say, "Hey, can you and I have a cup of coffee? Can I talk to you for just a minute? Can we go to lunch? I need to tell you I'm kind of struggling right now. I'm carrying a I'm carrying a lot of weight. I'm carrying I'm carrying a lot of lot of stuff.

I'm carrying some baggage right now. And I'm not I'm not in the best frame of mind. And I and I and I know that I can't be here because I'll lose this fight. Did you hear me talk earlier about a God- made man doesn't run away from responsibility? A God- made man understands that I have a responsibility. I got people that are following after me. I got people that are under my care and I'm not where I need to be. That's a God- made man understands that sometimes I have to admit that I'm weak.

>> And you find someone that you can trust. Do you find someone that you can reach out to and say, "Hey, will you help me pray? Hey, will you help me keep accountability in my life? Hey, will you come alongside me?" In fact, I feel like that very scripture that talks about bear ye one another's burdens is really important in this day is because let's be honest, I don't know about you, but I'm getting bombarded. Anybody else? Anybody else? Amen. >> Am I the only one that's going to be transparent today?

Sometimes the mental load is is more than I feel like I can handle at times. It's more than I go through, but I know I can't do it by myself. By myself, it stays big. Just recently, and I want to preach about this in a few weeks. I am I got some stuff I'm working on, but I'm going to tell you about some stuff that I've been facing and my wife been facing their own lives. We going through here to tell you I wasn't doing so good by myself.

I wasn't I found myself in a deep dark hole. this pastor talking to you, pastor being transparent. I'm again, I'm gonna I'm not preaching about today. I'm gonna get to you in a few weeks. But I found myself in a deep dark hole because I didn't talk to anybody. And finally one day, my wife and I were talking. I began to open up to her about it. And just the conversation I had with her lifted the burden a little bit. Just getting it out in the open.

It isn't amazing how the enemy tries to keep you locked up inside your own head. And there the situation circumstances have this way of taking on a much bigger role that it ever should have permission to have in your life. God says prove yourself in the faithful and the little and the vulnerability that is there. It's important lesson for every father. Your greatest influence doesn't come from titles. It comes from your example. Your children may forget the things you say, but they will remember the life you lived and they'll remember the moments when you sat down with them and have conversations.

Age appropriate, right? If you have a four-year-old, 5-year-old, six-year-old, there's some things you're not going to lay on their plate. But as your kids get older, it's okay to open up and say when they bring you questions to say, you know what, me too. There's things that I faced I remember or I'm going through and be there with you because there's accountability and responsibility that's there. They see the life you live. They see the examples you're setting is there. Character always speaks louder than position. Beniah's greatest achievement wasn't that he was appointed over David's guard.

His greatest achievement was becoming the kind of man David could trust with a responsibility. As I start to bring this to a close today, I want us to go back to where we started. Benoniah's name Jehovah has built. Before there was a lion in a pit, before there were lionlike men of Moab, before there was a spectacular Egyptian, before there was a position in David's kingdom, there was a man that God was working on. And here's what I know today. As I'm in a room full of people that God's working on, every one of us are work in progress.

I have you say this quite often when you look at your neighbor and say, "You're a piece of work." But that's a reality. That's a true statement. We're all a work in progress. I haven't arrived. And here's a little truth. Neither have you. You know why? Cuz I'm still here and I'm not there. So, I'm still a work in progress. And every day I'm getting up trying to be the man that God called me to be. There's some days I'm pretty good at it. There's some days I'm okay at it.

There's some days I'm not so good. But what hasn't changed is God's faithfulness and commitment to me. >> To me. >> The word of God says his mercies are new every morning. And I don't know about you, but I love that. >> Yes. >> I absolutely love. And quite often one of the first things I say to you, say to God in my prayer time is, God, thank you for your mercies today because I need them, Lord. I need them in my life. And so do you.

We're all a work in progress. We're all something that God has worked on. And I look at Beniah's life before any of those other things were ever said. We have his name. He was a Godmade man. God was working on him. When opportunities come, when battles came, when tests came, they didn't create the man. Listen to me. I'm going to say this again. Don't miss this point. This is one of my last things I'm going to say to you. Listen to me. When opportunities came, when battles came, when tests came, they didn't create the man.

They revealed the man. >> They revealed the man. I have learned at this 50-year mark in my life that if I will pay attention, the frustrations of life often times reveal the areas that I need to work on in me. Often times, you don't see it until you're put under the pressure. until you go through the struggle and then you're honest with yourself what about what gets revealed in there. As I get ready to close this message today, I'm speaking to I'm speaking to everyone, but I'm really trying to zoom in on the dads for just a minute and future fathers.

Our world seems to celebrate the self-made man, but heaven is looking for something different. So, I want to recap for you. They're going to put these five points up on the screen. A God- made man is built through battles. A God- made man runs towards responsibility. A God-made man uses what God has given him, defeats the world's spectacular man, and is built before he is promoted. The greatest gift you can give your wife, you can give your children, you can give your grandkids is to be an example of a man that God has built.

A man who prays, a man who is faithful, a man who's obedient to the word of God, a man who stands for truth, who keeps showing up even on snowy days. Because one day your children may forget the things you brought them. One of the things they'll never forget is the man you were. So what kind of man are you? Are you a self-made man or are you a God made man? One of those will fade in time. The other will stand for all eternity. So, what kind of man do you want to be?

A God- made man is a man that is built by prayer, by truth, obedience, faithfulness, and by God. And when all is said and done, there's no greater testimony than this. Is for them to stand at your last and say, "That was a man that God made." That was a man that God made. I want to pray for us right now. Will you bow your heads? God, I love that you're here with us today. I love feeling your presence in this room and knowing, Lord, that you are more than able to do anything that needs to be done.

I know that you are reaching not just for fathers today, but you're reaching for everyone in this room. I pray God that there would be a hunger and a desire that we would be made by you. Not by self, not by circumstances, not by desires, not by appetites, but by you. I pray specifically right now, Lord, for every father, every grandfather, every future father, every spiritual father that is in this place that we would take this opportunity here at the end of this service to do a little self-evaluation.

God, is there anything in me that I need to change that that I need to remove that I need to to to be different? I pray God that you would reveal that to us right now. Help us to see and know the things we need to change and to lean in more on you. God, I know we don't always like the hardships. We don't always like the the the frustrations that we deal with. We don't like the battles we have to face. But God, I've learned that often times you do your best work in those moments.

And God, for those that are facing those situations right now, I know in this room, God, without a doubt in my mind, there are some mental struggles going on. There's some pressures and anxieties that are being faced right now by men, by fathers in this room, by by by women, by by by every individual that's here. Lord, I pray God we could realize that you stand in the pit with us. We don't fight by ourselves if we would just learn to turn around and see you are right there.

Reveal your reveal yourself to us in a fresh and a new way today in Jesus name. Turns this altar open. And I feel like it'd be good to spend a little time in prayer. I invite every every father, every future father, every grandfather to be bold today and step out. Come down to this altar. Allow God to refresh you, renew you, to shape you, and be a Godmade man.