Psalms chapter twelve right at the beginning of the book of Psalms. Psalms chapter twelve. When you get there, go ahead and stand with me in your bulletin from the pastor’s desk article is gearing towards the message and pointing some things out about the dearth of men Society. The Bible says over in Ezekiel, chapter twenty two, verse number thirty and I sought for a man among them that should stand in the hedge and make up the gap before me for the land, but I found none. And so God was looking for a man in Ezekiel’s day and couldn’t find one. That’s nothing new. And that’s not just something for the church house or something just for Christian people. The world even looks for men. The Bible says in First Samuel, chapter number sixteen that the Philistine Goliath, he went out daily and he yelled out, give me a man that I may fight with him. So even the world was crying out for a man. And there was nobody that stood up for that. There was nobody that stood up to the challenge here. Psalms chapter twelve. Look at verse number one. I want to draw your attention to what the word of God says. This is not my opinion. This is not me getting up here trying to find the verse to take out of context, to build a message. No, this is what the word of God says. And this is clear clarity in Scripture. The Bible says, help Lord, for the godly man ceaseth. There’s help that needs to be given today. Why? Because the godly man ceaseth. The Bible says, for the faithful fail. From among the children of men they speak vanity. Every one with his neighbor. With flattering lips, with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips in the tongue that speaketh proud things. Who hath said with our tongue will we prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us for the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy. Notice what the resolution here in the psalmist, the writer, he says, now will I arise, saith the Lord. God said, he’s going to rise up somebody. I will set him in safety from him that puffeth that hymn. The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord. Thou shalt preserve them from the this generation forever. Notice verse eight. The wicked walk on every side when the vilest men are exalted. Notice there is a direct contrast between verse one and verse eight. Verse one says, help Lord, for the godly man ceaseth. We need help today because there are no godly men. Verse eight tells us why we need help. Because the wicked walk on every side. When there are no godly men, the wicked men will be walking on every side. When there are no godly men, the wicked are going to be the one who are exalted. And because of that, wickedness will prevail over the land. It’s no surprise to you, and you know this. Today we live in a society that is very wicked. Today, wicked abounds on every side. Why? Because the vilest men are exalted. Why are the vilest men exalted? Because. Verse one, the godly man ceaseth. I’ll preach a message to you this morning entitled the need for Men. The need for men. Let’s pray. Father, we love you. We thank you for the word of God. Lord, if we ever needed men in a day and age, we need them today. There’s an identity crisis in our world. People don’t know what they identify as. And a lot of that’s because they’ve gotten away from the word of God. I pray that you help us to see the need and to biblically look at these verses and see what you have for us. There are different men that step up when the godly man ceaseth. There are different men that show themselves forward when the godly man is not doing what he should. And Lord, help us to take an assessment today. Help the men that are in this room. Help the young men that are in this room trying to become the man that you want them to be. Help us, Lord, all to determine that we’re going to be godly men and that we’re going to try to curb the lack in our society. Use us, guide us. Show us your word, please. We ask these things in your name, we pray. Amen. You can go ahead and be seated now. Just because I’m preaching a message entitled the need for Men and a message that’s geared towards men and the lack of men in our society, that doesn’t mean that you ladies can’t pay attention. Amen. Because this is just as much for you as well. Now, our text tells us that we need God’s help. Why? Because men are absent. Now, you would agree with me, but today men are more absent now than ever before. Men are absent from the home. Men are absent from their workplace. Men are absent from the church house. Just look around. Men are absent today. Many times ladies are stepping up into leadership positions because there are no men to step up and do what men are supposed to do. Men are too busy playing video Games because they’ve not grown up and matured in their lives. Amen. They are too busy living in the basement of their mother’s house instead of going out and getting a job and getting their own place and trying to make something of their lives here. The Bible says, help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth. We live in a day and age where men have checked out. And it’s more and more rare, Brother Nick, not to just find a man, but to find a godly man. Now, there are times where men will arise and men will step up for different things. But let me ask you, is the man a godly man? Because listen, there’s a difference between being good and being godly. The Bible says about Saul the first king of Israel that there was none goodlier than him. He was a good man. But even that good man, when his power began to get encroached upon, when he began to think that he was going to get replaced as king, he took a javelin and tried to kill the man after God’s own heart. David his successor. Now, the Bible says that Saul was a goodly man, but the Bible says that David was a godly man. And there’s a difference. I don’t want to just be a good man. And we need good men in our society. We need men who are moral. We need men who are resolute in decisions that they make. We need men who are going to hold the line and be faithful to the things of God. We need good men. But listen, today we need godly men more than anything else. The Bible says the godly man ceaseth for the faithful fail from among the children of men. So here I want you to notice some things. Here we have the fact that we know our homes are missing men today. Our churches, unfortunately, are missing men today. Our government is missing men that have a backbone today. Amen. We’re missing men in our society. By the way, let me go ahead and make. I’ll be getting the message. It’s a sad day when a visitor comes to church and asks one of the men of the church, hey, where’s all the other men? Because they didn’t come back for church on Sunday night or they didn’t come back for church on Wednesday night. Well, I got to do this and I got to this. No, no, you got to have your family in church. We’ve got to make sure that we’re leading our family for the glory of God here. There’s five things I want you to notice here in this passage in this chapter. First I want you to notice in verse number one, we see the plight of an endangered species. The plight of an endangered species. You realize that godly men are. Are an endangered species today, Brother Thoreau, they’re an endangered species. If you were to make a list of endangered species, you have the speckled dotted, ivory crusted or whatever, ivory beaked parrot. You have all these different endangered species out there. I don’t know what they are. But if we were to make a list of endangered species in the church, godly men will be on the top of the list. Godly man. Listen, I love you. I want to help you this morning, okay? The Bible says, help Lord, for the godly man ceaseth. Here. There’s three things you notice in this verse. Here itself. We see the plight of endangered species. Notice the declaration of godly men in society. Here he says, help Lord, for the godly man ceaseth. That tells me that there should be godly men in society. There should be God men. Godly men. There are godly men that are being looked for. We have some young ladies that are being raised up here in church. We got some young men that are being raised up here in church. These young ladies are going to be looking for young men. They are going to be godly men to lead them one day. Godly men to marry one day. You young men are going to be looking for a godly young lady to, Lord willing, one day that you can lead for the things of God. Here it tells us that there ought to be a declaration of godly men in society. Notice also the death of godly men in society. The Bible says for godly men ceaseth. That means they died off. There’s a generation of men that would grab the Bible and say, thus saith the Lord. There’s a generation of men who led their families faithfully. There’s a generation of men who said that when they married their wife they were going to stay faithful to their wife to the end of their life. And they’ve done that. But that generation is dying off. Listen, that generation is dying off. There’s a generation of godly men that are ceasing today. They’re passing off society. We see the death of the godly man in society. I love my grandpa. My grandpa was a great example to me on being the kind of man that I should be. My grandpa was not a preacher, but my grandpa was faithful to the house of God up until the end of his life where he didn’t have the health to be able to get to get to the house of God. But he was a faithful man in church and he was the right hand to the man of God in the church that he attended. He was not a deacon in the church. They asked him to be a deacon. He said he didn’t want to be a deacon. He said he just wanted to be a faithful man in the church. I thank God for my grandpa and the things that he taught me. My grandparents were married for well over fifty years before they passed on. That generation is gone. Both of those generations getting older, Wiser, Amen. Getting older. There’s things that they may not be able to do much anymore. They’re getting to the point to where they’re going to need assistance in different areas of life. But listen, this generation is getting older. There’s going to be a day where this generation is going to die off. There’s going to be a day where the generation that would be my age, brother Nick, our age, the thirties and the forties and the early fifties, this generation is going to have to step up and say, we’re going to take hold. We’re going to take charge. We’re going to be the men that God intended for us to be. We’re going to be the men to take the step and lead this next generation. Why? Because there’s a generation of young twenty year olds and teenagers and young boys who are growing up and they’re trying to look to somebody to lead them. They’re looking for somebody to follow to be the man in their life. I told you about my grandpa and how faithful he was to the things of God. Growing up in our home, we were raised in church. We were a good family, albeit we weren’t a godly family. We had a good home, but we didn’t have a Christian home. Okay? And there’s a difference. When I became teenager, my parents put myself and my sister into a Christian school and my parents fell out of church. They began to work multiple jobs and they began to think that just because they had us in a Christian school, everything was going to work out. But they neglected their walk with God. Are you listening? I did not have a godly father figure, but there were godly men in the church that I looked up to. I had a godly youth director. I had a godly pastor, I had a godly bus captain. It was godly men in the church that I was able to follow around, that I was able to rub shoulders with and learn how to live godly. There were godly men that I got around and I learned how to be the man that God intended for me to be. That help doesn’t just come. Listen, I believe with everything inside of me, I thank God for all you families that are here. I thank God for all the young people that are here this morning. But let me tell you, parents, these young people are looking for leadership from somewhere and they’re going to get it from somewhere. Our responsibility is to make sure they get the right kind of leadership in the right kind of environment, not that they get the leadership from the world and from the Internet and from the public school system and from all the other places they could get the leadership from. Want to make sure they get the right kind of leadership. Want to make sure they get the right kind of influence. Want to make sure that they get the right kind of leaders in their lives. Men that are going to lead them in the right way. Godly ladies that are going to raise these young girls to be godly ladies. By the way, the Bible tells us in the book of Titus that the older women in the church ought to teach the younger women how to be chaste and how to be keepers in the home and how to love their husbands. Listen, older women, you can’t teach the younger women how to love your husbands. If you don’t love your husband, you can’t teach them how to do something you’re not doing. Amen. And men, we can’t teach these young men to be godly men if we’re not showing them how. There’s something I’ve learned about leadership, and it’s a simple truth. Leaders know the way, leaders go the way, and leaders show the way. Leaders know what they’re supposed to do. Leaders go and they do that. But they also take somebody alongside and they show them how to get there as well. That’s what real leaders do. See, there’s always somebody that we ought to be training and teaching how to be godly and how to come up behind us to do the things that we are doing. Here we see the declaration of godly men. Here we see the death of godly men. And then notice also the disappearance of godly men. Not only are there godly men that are dying off the scene, but men completely are just disappearing from society. Notice the Bible says, for the faithful fail from among the children of men. Not only are godly men dying. Brother Nick. Not only are godly men falling out of society, but faithful men are falling. Faithful men are no longer being faithful. Faithful men are no longer doing the things that they’ve always been doing. That defines them as being faithful. And by the way, there’s a difference between a godly man and a faithful man. My dad was a faithful man. My mom just passed away a couple of years ago. At the end of this month. It’ll be three years since her passing. They were married for thirty seven years. My dad was a faithful man. He provided for his family. He provided for his home. Are you listening? He was faithful. We’ve got a generation of young people, Brother Thoreau, young boys that don’t want to be faithful to anything, just to their video game. I gotta get to the next level. I’ve gotta get the upgrade. Okay, whatever. I’m not against video games. I got a time and a place. I enjoy fun. But the reality is. Listen, we need faithful men today. We need faithful fathers who are going to teach their children how to love their mother, his wife. We need faithful men that are going to teach somebody in the church. You say, well, I don’t have kids. Well, then come to church and be a faithful father figure. That’s one of the other folks that are in church. We had several folks. The church that I grew up in, we went to a large church. We had several folks that had adult children or they didn’t have the opportunity to have children, but they were faithful figures in the church. They were godly examples for other young people. Even though they didn’t have any kids of their own, Even though they weren’t raising kids or they were done raising kids of their own, they were the figure for the young ones that we looked up to. Here we see the plight of an endangered species. Notice verses two to four. We see the profile, an exaggerated speaker. The profile of an exaggerated speaker. Now, because the godly man ceased and because the faithful man are failing from among the children of men, there are going to be those that loudly proclaim that they are a man that will try to step into that position. Now, there are figures that are out there today. There are influencers that are out there today. There are quote unquote models that are out there today that try to portray what a man should be, but they’re nothing more than a poser. Are you listening? Now we’re going to look at what the word of God says here. There are six different characters that will pop up when the godly man ceases. There are six different characters that will pop up when the faithful man fails. Notice. Verse number two. They speak vanity. Everyone with his neighbor. Here you have the man who is characterized by falsehoods. He’s characterized by falsehoods. He’s the Empty talker. He’s the one that lies his way into every relationship he’s in. He’s the one that talks a big game but doesn’t follow through with anything. He’s a liar. He’s empty. He’s vain in his talk. All he has is emptiness to offer. They speak vanity, everyone with his neighbor. They talk big about being a man and being a provider. They talk big about the things that they say that they have, but. But they have nothing to show for it. That’d be the man of falsehoods, the empty talker. Then you have verse two, the Bible says with the flattering lips. Then you have the man who’s characterized by flattery, the man characterized by falsehood. Now you have a man who’s characterized by flattery. This would be the smooth talker. By the way, girls, you got to be weary of these guys. You got to be careful of these guys. These are the smooth talkers. These are the ones that will tell you the things you want to hear. They’re smooth man. He always says the right thing. Watch out for him. Watch out. Because his phrases are carefully crafted. He doesn’t mean anything. He says none of it come from the heart. It’s carefully crafted. He’s a manipulator, by the way, there’s a lot of boys out there that are manipulators. And as soon as they get what they want, they’re going to throw you away like a piece of trash because they got what they wanted. Yeah, they want the pure girl. They want the girl that hadn’t been with anybody so they could waste them and use and abuse the purity and throw them away like a cheap magazine. They’re manipulators. They’re smooth talkers. And by the way, when the godly man ceaseth, you’ll see this kind of guy rise up in society. By the way, don’t we have men that are proclaiming falsehoods everywhere they go? Have you heard any of the politicians talk? Everything they say is a lie. How do you know a politician is lying? His lips are moving, that’s how. Amen. But haven’t you met these men who. All they do is speak flattering words? All they do is talk big. Why are they doing it? Because they are manipulating you. They’re saying what you want to hear so that they can get what they want. They’re manipulators, by the way. We’ve got plenty of those in the world today. Notice the next man that’ll try to creep in. It says, and with a Double heart. Do they speak here? You have one, a man who’s characterized by fraud. So one characterized by falsehood, one characterized by flattery. Now this guy’s characterized by fraud. He is a double talker. While he’s at church he’ll say the religious things. But when he’s outside of church, he’s going to live like the heathen do. He’s going to put on a show. He’ll put on whatever mask he needs to put on to garner and gain the attention and the affection of whatever crowd he is around at that time. He has no convictions. He just goes with whatever is popular. By the way, we got a lot of preachers that are that way today that they’ll go preach for this guy over here and they’ll say all the right things over here and then they’ll go preach for this guy over here and they’ll say all the things that he believes over here and then they go preach for this guy over here who doesn’t even use the King James Bible. They don’t even believe the same way he believes, but they’re just filling the pulpit and getting a paycheck. There’s plenty of them that are out there that are a dime a dozen here. They’re characterized by fraud. They’re double talkers. Out of one side of their mouth they’re saying these things and bless the Lord. Out of this other side of their mouth they’re saying all the other things that bless the world. They’re double talkers, they’re double tongued. By the way, girls, you got to watch out for these guys. By the way, young men, young boys, you got to watch out for these guys because they’re going to look like they got it all together. They’re going to look like they got it all figured out. But they’re just like the manipulator. They’re frauds, they’re hypocrites. They’re putting on a facade to get a following here. They’re double talkers. Notice verse three says the Lord shall cut off all flattering lips. That’s what God says about the flatterer, the manipulator. He’s going to cut him off. God’s going to have the final say. His manipulation and his flattering will come to light. The Bible doesn’t say be sure your sons will find you out. Yes, it does. Notice verse three though, and it says, the tongue that speaketh proud things. Here we have a man who’s characterized by flaunting. This is a man who’s Characterized by flaunting. He’s a big talker. He’s always bragging. He will always flaunt the things that he has. Girls, you got to watch out for this guy because he’s always going to show up in the newest suit. He’s always going to show up in the newest vehicle. He’s always going to show up with the newest things and brag about all the money that he has and all the things that he spent it on. What’s he doing? He’s flaunting. He’s like a peacock. You got peacocks, don’t you? Like a peacock. If you ever seen a peacock, they’ll spread those feathers out and they look majestic. But when those feathers aren’t spread out, man, they’re the ugliest looking animal you’ve ever seen in your life. They look like a fat little squirrel with a long neck. Peacocks, they’re the skinny little things, but then they get real majestic and they flaunt what they are. Those guys, they do that. It’s the male peacocks. You correct me if I’m wrong, Right? It’s the male peacocks that do the flaunting. Right. And they do it to attract females. Correct. You see that? Always got to fix the hair. Praise God. The guy that’s always flaunting, making sure that everybody else knows what he has. Carrying around wads of cash in your pocket so it accidentally falls out when you grab something out of your pocket, you’re like, I hadn’t thought about that one. Ha. Teenagers. Those that flaunt, they’re big talkers. My youth director used to teach me, you got to watch out for those guys that always talk. Make sure they got stuff that backs it up. You see, there are those that talk about doing things, and then there’s those that actually go out and do things. There’s talkers and there’s doers. Now you can sit and you can listen to people talk about all the things that they did or the things that they’re gonna do. And they’ll fill your ears for hours about all their dreams. But let me go ahead and give you some advice, brother. You know this is true. There comes a time where you got to stop talking and start doing. There comes a time where you just got to shut your mouth and get busy doing work. Amen. And if you’re going to be the man that God intended for you to be, you got to quit talking about being a man and start being a man. Here you have the tongue that speaketh proud things. He’s a flaunter. He’s a big talker, man. He talks a big game. Let’s see if he can prove it. Isn’t that a phrase you heard a lot growing up? No. You need to hear it more then, hey, watch it. You know how to act in church, okay? The tongue that speaketh proud things. Here he’s bragging. Here, he’s a big talker. He’s characterized by falsehoods. He’s characterized by flattery. He’s characterized by fraud. He’s characterized by flaunting. Notice next verse four. Who have said, with our tongue, we will prevail. With our tongue, we will prevail here. This is a guy who’s characterized by fierceness. The guy who’s characterized by fierceness. You say, well, what does that mean? He’s a trash talker. I played sports growing up. Every team has a trash talker. Brother Nick, there was a I’ve got the Bleacher Report app on my phone, and they had the ninety nine or the top one hundred trash talkers of all time on a list. It was just a couple weeks ago. That’s pretty good. They had Larry Bird down as number one, by the way. He was one of the best. But you have these guys that are constantly telling you the different things that are going to go on. Larry Bird was one of those that he would tell you the move he would make as you’re defending him. You know this Brett. And then he would do it, and the defender is like, I don’t know what to do. I have no idea. Hakeem Olajuwon was the same way down on the post. He would tell the defender, he says, they’re going to give me the ball. I’m going to drop step and take one dribble. I’m going to pop, fake, you’re going to jump, and then I’m going to go into you and I’m going to actually make the shot. That same play I gave Olajuwon got the ball. He drop steps one. He pump fakes. The guy flies up in the air. He jumps into him and he makes the shot. The guy is laying on the ground. He looks down there and says, I told you I was going to do it. He backed up the trash, though. Listen, you’ve got some guys today, the Bible says, who have said, with our tongue, we will prevail. You have those that are characterized by fierceness. They’re trash talkers. One thing I’ve learned about a trash talker is they’re always trying to cut somebody else down. They’re always trying to pick at other people. Why? To make themselves look good because they don’t have any character in and of themselves to shine on their own. So they got to pull the feet out from those that do. They can’t climb the ladder of success themselves, so they got to knock the ladder down that other people are trying to climb. And they got to pull them down from where they’re at. They’re always cutting down everybody else to get the notoriety and the respect that they think they deserve. This is those who have said with our tongue, we will prevail. I’ll say whatever I have to say. I’ll do whatever I have to do. I’ll cut down whoever I have to cut down in order to get the position I need to get would to God. We had some men and some ladies who, when asked about other people, didn’t automatically start attacking them, cutting into them with their teeth, but instead found something positive to say. Getting quiet in here. With our tongue, we will prevail. Sadly, this has crept into the churches where people have begun to cut down other people. Well, I should have gotten that job. I’ve been in church longer than he’s been in. I should have that Sunday school class. I know more than he knows. Well, maybe it’s because of your proud arrogance. God didn’t tell the man of God for you to have that class because of how you’ve responded to not getting that class. Amen. With our tongue, we will prevail. How about we just decide, not with our tongue, we’re going to prevail, but how about with character? We’ll prevail. How about with a little bit of grit and responsibility in our lives? We will prevail. Not with cutting everybody else down, but with actually working hard for the things that you got. One of the things my grandpa taught me is he taught me how to work. I’ve shared with brother Throw several stories of my grandpa. I told him, I said, if you’d have gotten to know my grandpa, you’d have loved him. He’s a Vietnam vet. He served in the military for over thirty years, from Vietnam to Desert Storm. He said that he never took the promotions because he just liked shooting people. It’s a different generation, okay? Different generation. But when he came back home, he taught me how to work. My grandpa was the hardest working man I’ve ever met in my life. My grandpa was that guy. He had a knee replacement surgery. You know, you’ve had them, you get put on those little Machines. You’re supposed to use the machine only three times a day. Well, he was on the machine five and six and seven times a day. They told him that he wouldn’t be able to go back to work for six months to a year. Well, he was back out there doing yard work after three months. I mean, he just didn’t stop. That’s just the way he was. He worked from before sunup to after sundown. He would put spotlights out in his yard to do the different things that needed to be done. Why? Because it needed to be done. Nobody else was going to do it. By the way, that generation is dying off, bro. Thurgo, you know you’re that way. That generation is dying off. Listen, things that need to get done, they got to get done. And you can’t just wait around for somebody else to do it. It’s got to get done. My grandpa taught me character and responsibility. I remember as a teenage boy, I’d go and I’d work for him, brother Nick, and he would. He did every kind of job. He was a master everything. You put his name in front of it. He’s a master whatever, master plumber, master electrician, master mechanic. He knew how to do everything. One of the things that I regret now was as a young person, I didn’t spend as much time with him learning those traits and learning how to do the things that he did. Because sometimes, be honest, sometimes, brother Roberto, when somebody’s good like that, it’s just easier to let them do it than to learn, right? It’s just easier to let them do it. As a teenager, I’d go and I’d help him and he would. We would do roofs. We re shingled a few roofs and would scrape them. And as soon as I could go down a ladder, grab a bundle of shingles and climb back up the ladder and drop the shingles and go back down the ladder and get another bundle of shingles and go back up. He had already laid all those shingles. He’s just fast. And he did it with a hammer. He hand drove every one of them. Didn’t use the measuring tape. He had the roof and hammer that was gauged. And you take and you set it up against the shingle and it’s got the four inch depth and boom. You grab your nail, boom, boom, boom. Laid them out. He got the work done. But one thing I learned about that generation, brother Roberto, is they worked hard, but they didn’t pay you a lick. My grandpa didn’t pay me anything. He fed me Made sure I was hydrated. And he gave me five bucks a day. Five dollars a day. I can go mow a lawn for twenty and be done in an hour and a half. But there were things that he was teaching me that lasted for my whole life. Now, listen, there are those who talk about it, and those are those who do it. This man we saw was characterized by falsehoods. Men that are characterized by flattery, men that are characterized by their fraud, men who are characterized by flaunting, men who are characterized by their fierceness. Then you have also in verse four, men who are characterized by flippancy. Flippancy. Let me explain. Look at verse four. He said, with our tongue we will prevail. It says our lips are our own. Notice the last phrase. Who is lord over us? This guy has a flippant and an arrogant attitude. Who are you to tell me I can’t do that? By the way, teenage boys, you got to guard yourself against this. In a society that we live in today, the world wants to tell you that you can be a man and nobody else is going to tell you what to do. No, no, that’s not the reality. You working for somebody, you’re going to spend the rest of your life doing what somebody else is telling you to do. And being a man is not. Not having somebody to tell you what to do. People who cannot work for other people are not real men. They are too arrogant to go and get a job. Are you listening? They’re too proud and too arrogant to be told what to do. And their pride has outgrown themselves. And they can’t submit themselves to somebody else. This is the mentality, someone of flippancy, someone who’s a dead talker. Someone who has no care about anything else. They’re arrogant. I’m not going to listen to them. They don’t know what they’re talking about. And as a young person, you got to be careful because the world’s going to tell you that you got the answer. You say, where do you get that from? Have you heard a Burger King commercial lately? Have it your way. You rule. You say, well, that’s not what they’re talking about. Listen. They are called subliminal messages. And they’ve been doing this since the fifties and sixties. They used to do it by a process called backmasking. For those of you that are a little older, you can play a record backwards. It was backmask. They had things and agendas that were said behind the song. Now they do it subliminally where they Flash things through the television screen because it all happens so quickly and you don’t catch a lot of stuff. And then the constant ads that you hear that are promoting you and no one else. The constant television shows that are all about you, your influencers that are all about you, by the way, most of them don’t even have the things that they say they have. They rented that stuff just to look good in front of somebody else. It’s all about keeping up the appearances here. Somebody who’s flipping, who’s arrogant, who is lord over us. Nobody can tell me what to do. Girls, watch out for that kind of guy. Because if he won’t listen to his authorities, he won’t listen to God. Are you listening? By the way, guys, you watch out for that kind of girl. If she won’t listen to her daddy, she’s not going to listen to God. Are you listening? Those who will not listen to this authority that they can see will never listen to a God who they cannot see. Are you listening? There are those we want to gripe and complain about. A generation today of children who are rebellious. But you know why children are rebellious? It’s because their parents are. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is the reality. We have children many times who act the way they act because they learned it from somebody. Where do they spend most of their time? At home with their parents. Children who act out and now as a teenager are very unruly. Are very unruly as a teenager because as a three and four and five year old, they weren’t taught discipline in the home. And we see now the fruits of that later on. You see, it’s just like when you have an animal. How many of you have pets? Anybody? The vast majority of everybody in here. You have pets. You train that pet to do different things? Correct. We’ve got two dogs at our house. Both of them are special in their own way. I got a boy and I got a girl. They’re both Yorkies. Our girl is very ornery and stubborn. The boy is very annoying and pesters. Okay, both of our dogs. You go out in the backyard. Mister Rowe, you’re setting our dogs out this week. He opened the back door and you call for them. Sometimes they’ll just stop at the bottom step and just stare at you. Or they’ll just turn their head and look at you. Are you talking to me? Why am I going to listen to you? Ethan was going outside last night trying to get the dogs to come in. I’m sitting there laying back, resting My foot. Because I’m an idiot. My son went out there to get the dogs. Three times he called for the dogs. The dogs wouldn’t come. They wouldn’t come. He’s like, they never come for me. They’ll never come. I was like, I get them. I got up and I hobbled to the back door. I go outside. I hit the back rail. Bella, Benji, come on. I start calling them. Immediately they come. There was a certain noise they were listening for. There were certain things they were trained on. Are you listening? Sometimes our children don’t listen because we’ve not trained them. We’ve not trained them. My son’s saying amen. He’s been trained. Amen. Listen. I had a pastor who had horses. I helped to take care of those horses when he had them for the church camp. We would take care of the horses. We would groom the horses. We would feed the horses. We take them out for walks. We would brush the horses. We would saddle them, would ride them. There was one horse he wouldn’t let us ride because he was still in the process of breaking that horse. It was too dangerous for us. But he was in the process of getting break. He was in the process of breaking that horse. While he was in the process of breaking that horse, that horse would throw him all over the place. It’s kind of funny to watch, but what happened? The horse needed to be broken. The horse had a will, and it was stubborn. We got some teenagers in here who are stubborn and buck against everything their parents say because they’ve never had their will broken. Are you listening? We’ve got some children over in junior church who buck against their parents and hit their parents and don’t listen to a word their parents say because they’ve never been broken. I’m not saying you hurt your child, but I’m saying you be consistent. We discipline. We train a child in the way you go. And when he is old, he’ll not depart from it. That’s what the Bible says. The Bible says foolishness is bound on the heart of a child and the rod of correction will drive it far from him. That’s what the Bible says. It’s in the Book of Proverbs. There are times. Listen. Where certain types of men will rise in society because the right kind of men have stepped outside of society. The godly man ceaseth the faithful failure. Because of that, these other types have risen up. We have a generation today of all these other types. They have falsehoods. They’re empty talkers. They have flattery. They’re smooth talkers. They have fraud. They’re double talkers. They’re flaunting. They are a big talker. They speak with fierceness. They’re trash talkers. They speak with flippancies. They’re dead talkers. They’re arrogant in their lives. That’s the profile. Next, in verse five, I want you to notice the passion of our eternal Savior. It gets better. The Bible says, for the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy. Now will I arise, saith the Lord. I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. Here we see the passion of our Savior. The Lord. He will respond out of compassion, out of commitment, and out of concern. Here in this verse, the Bible says, for the oppression of the poor, that would be out of compassion. He sees the need for the sighing of the needy. Here, this is commitment. This is concern. I’m sorry. Concern. And then he says, now will I arise. That is him committing to doing something. We need men today who will step up and say, I’ll have compassion on my society. I’ll have compassion for my family. I. I’ll have concern for the direction that our young people are headed. And I will commit myself to be the man that God intended me to be. Notice, he says, now will I arise, saith the Lord. I will set him who. The one who’s looking for leadership, the one who’s crying out for help. I will set him in safety from him. From who? From those vain men that have risen up in verses two, three and four. From him that puffeth at him. This is the passion of our eternal Savior. Number four, I want you to notice the preservation of our ensuring sovereign. The preservation of our ensuring sovereign. Verse six and seven says the words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever. These verses we commonly go to to prove the inspiration and the preservation of God’s word. And there’s nothing wrong with using those verses for that, because that’s exactly what it’s talking about. But in context here, God says he’s going to rise up some men to replace those that have ceased, to replace those that have failed, to combat those that have tried to rise up in his place. And because of that, in verse five, the one that he will set apart, the one that he will rise up, then we hear the words of the Lord are pure words. You can take it to the bank. God’s words are undiluted and God’s words are unfailing. God will keep his promise. God will make sure that even if it’s just a few, that there’s going to be a few godly men. That he rises up in society to take the stand, to be the man to do what they were told to do according to the word of God. There will always be a remnant. Always. There’s always a remnant to serve God. The reality, Brother Roberto. I wish it was bigger than a remnant. I wish it was more than just a few men. I wish it was all the men that saw their need and saw their responsibility. You’re a police officer. There are times where you pull over for guys breaking the law. There are times where you arrest guys just for being dumb idiot knuckleheads, right? Just doing dumb stuff. Whereas if they were being the man that God intended for them to be and they had a job and they were providing for their family, they were doing the things instead of going out and getting in trouble. They wouldn’t have met you and had that fate. Correct. Why? Because they’re not being the man God intended for them to be. We got another police officer who’s currently working today, Little Jordan. Same thing. There’s calls that he goes to. There’s things that he sees. There’s victims of crimes. Simply because somebody’s not being the man that God intended for them to be. Why? Because they’re wasting all their time doing frivolous things instead of providing for a family, instead of raising godly children. Listen, I’ll say this as kindly as possible. If we would just do the things that God’s told us to do, we wouldn’t have time to get in trouble. We wouldn’t have time to go and waste ourselves in the world. If we would just get busy about doing the things that God’s commanded us to do. That keeps us busy enough. That’s the reality here. The preservation of God. Only God can raise up men. Only God can. And by the way, these young boys that are in here, these young men that are in here aren’t just going to one day get to a certain age and be a man. They got to be molded and shaped into men. I said this back at Father’s Day, and I’ll say it again, Moms. The only way they’re going to be a man is if you get them around good men. The only way a young boy becomes a man is if he’s got the manly influence in his life, the godly influence in his life to be the man God intended for him. To be. I shared with you my testimony. I went to a Christian school. I had godly men in my life. Everything, listen, everything that I lack on a home life, God made for in the church, family. Ok? God wasn’t replacing the home that he put me in, he was just adding to it. Are you listening? He didn’t replace my parents. He just brought people alongside that could help. The Christian school that we have here, the church here, we’re not trying to replace mom and dad. Are you listening, teenagers? We’re not replacing mom and dad. God gave you the parents he wants you to have. Amen. We’re just trying to help. We’re just coming alongside. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes a threefold cord is not quickly broken. So you can do it by yourself all you want, but if you add a strand to that cord, it helps. Okay, add a strand to the home, we add the church. Right? The church will help. But when you get a threefold cord that’s together tightening things, you got the home, you got the church, you got the Christian school. Now you’ve got a cord that’s going to be taught T, A U T. It’s going to be strong, it’s going to withstand some pressures. Why? Because the threefold cord is not quickly broken. It’s been braided. See, there’s different types of cords. You can get different types of rope. You can get, if you want a thick rope, you’re going to get a braided rope. A rope that’s been intertwined. And those are not just random ropes all beside each other. No, they’ve been intertwined. They’ve been braided together. Sometimes that’s what God tries to do in our lives. Tries to braid some things together. And lastly, verse eight, the predominance of an evil society. The Bible says the wicked walk on every side when the vilest men are exalted. Understand, our society is evil because leaders are evil. And it trickles down. We see more indiscretion and we see more. Well, just call it what it is. We see more sin in the pulpits, we see more sin in government offices. We see more sin in judges offices, in mayor’s homes. We see more sin there because it trickles down from leadership. You see, back in the nineties, we had a president who was sleeping with a secretary in the Oval Office. And because he got away with it, all the other leaders think they can get away with it. That’s nothing new, because back in the sixties we had a president who said he was not a criminal. Right? Old Watergate affair. They got rid of the tapes. Why? Because that’s what the government does. They hide things. But don’t worry. The government says they’ll investigate themselves and tell us how it works out. Right? We’ll do an internal investigation. We’ll let you know how it goes. Nothing ever happens. Why? Because they protect themselves. But this is why we have sin that is ever prevalent all around us. Because if the leadership does it and they’re not held accountable, why should I be held accountable? We have a society today of people who are not being held accountable for anything. Which is why we often say our justice system is a joke, because no one’s being held accountable. Kevin, you work with mental patients. There are times where you got to go in and assess because everyone’s going to say they’re crazy. That’s why they did it. Everyone’s going to say it’s because they need medication. But you got to assess whether or not they actually need it. Right? You got to assess whether or not it’s valid. And there’s checklists. Why? Because people have learned how to game the system. There’s no accountability and there’s no responsibility here. The predominance of an evil society, it starts at the top, works its way down. But the Bible also says in First Peter that judgment must begin in the house of God. So if we’re going to get society right, listen, society is the way it is because our churches are the way they are. And our churches are the way they are because of the pulpit, but also because the homes are the way they are. Remember, the first institution that God built in the Bible is the Christian home with Adam and Eve in the garden. And by the way, their children found a way to mess that up, too. Why? Because mom and dad found a way to mess it up in the garden when it was perfect because sin was prevalent and because they rebelled against the God that they were walking with. Later on, there was no accountability. There was no responsibility. There was no acknowledgment of sin being in front of them. What happened? Cain killed Abel because he didn’t get his way. Now, you may not have children that are killing each other yet, but they are always at each other’s throats because they didn’t get their way. No mine. Okay? Now, that may be cute and funny when they’re little. It’s really not. But people may laugh at it and think it’s cute and funny when they’re little, but when they’re still doing it at twenty five and thirty and thirty five and forty. That’s a problem. It’s a problem. The predominance of an evil society. You see, in life, you get what you are, not what you want. Well, I just want everything to work out okay. Okay. So what are you doing to change that? I just. I want my kids to this. I want my kids to have it better. I want my kids this and this. Okay, that’s fine. I’m glad you want that. You get what you are, not what you want. So what are you doing to raise kids that are godly? What are we doing to raise a generation of young people that are going to say, I’m going to take the word of God for what it says. I’m going to believe the word of God and. And I’m going to be different than the rest of the generation. I’m going to be the young man that stands up and does right no matter what. I’m going to be the young lady that stands up and does right no matter what. I’m going to be the young person that keeps myself pure and goes to a wedding altar as a virgin and stays faithful to my spouse for the rest of my life. That’s the last thing. I’m done, bro. Throw. Next year, y’ all are celebrating fifty years golden anniversary. Bro. Thorough told me he’s going to take miss Thoreau to Hawaii on the fiftieth anniversary. He didn’t say he was going to bring her back, but he said he’s going to take her. I’m just kidding. Fiftieth anniversary. Listen, Brother Nick, brother Roberto, brother Lincoln, Kevin, Brad, listen, he ought to be our hero. Too many times, guys our age, they’re not going to see the fifty year mark in marriage because there’s a generation of young people who don’t value commitment. Help Lord, for the godly man. Ceaseth for the faithful fail from among children of men. The only way to make that change, the only way to fix that, is we’ve got to be the change we want to see. We’ve got to be different in order to make a difference. Stand with me with heads bowed with eyes closed this morning. With heads bowed with eyes closed this morning. We understand there’s a need for men in society. But just as much as there’s a need for men in society, listen, there’s a need for young ladies to be godly women as well, or better yet, to be godly ladies. To be the person God intended for you to be. You see, there’s a need for us as parents to not Just try to be better, give our kids something better than what we had. But let’s try to be the godly example they need so we can show them how to have success in marriage, how to have success and make right decisions as an adult so that they’re not growing up saying, I don’t want to be like my mom and dad, but rather want to raise them. And the greatest example that they ever saw of a Christian should be their mom and dad. I’ve got a sign in my office that says, dad, a son’s first hero and a daughter’s first love. I want to be that for my kids, but that means I’ve got to be the man that God intended for me to be. With heads bowed and eyes closed. This morning, how many of you say, somewhere in that message, God spoke to my heart? Would you raise your hand? We got hands all over. Praise God for you. Put your hands down. If God spoke to your heart, then come and deal with what God’s dealt with you about. Let’s pray. Father, we love you. We thank you for the truths of the word of God. Help us.
Scripture Reference
Help, LORD: for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. — Psalms 12:1 (KJV)
Introduction
Dr. Terry LeQuieu preached from Psalm 12:1, calling attention to a painful reality: godly and faithful men are increasingly rare. The passage cries out for help because where godly leadership is absent, counterfeit leaders and corrupt influences rise to fill the vacuum. This sermon examines the problem, profiles the replacements that appear when godly men cease, and points to God’s promise that He will arise and preserve a faithful remnant. The message is both a sober warning and a call to action for men, fathers, mentors, and the whole church family.
Psalms chapter twelve right at the beginning of the book of Psalms. Psalms chapter twelve. When you get there, go ahead and stand with me in your bulletin from the pastor’s desk article is gearing towards the message and pointing some things out about the dearth of men Society.
Outline
- The Plight of an Endangered Species
- Declaration: God intended godly men to be present in society (Psalms 12:1).
- Death: A generation of godly men is passing away—those who “thus saith the Lord” and who modeled lifelong faithfulness.
- Disappearance: Many men are absent from homes, churches, and civic responsibility; faithful men are failing or checked out.
Explanation: The psalmist’s cry is descriptive and diagnostic. Men who once stood for the Bible, fidelity, and family are fewer. That loss leaves young people without godly examples, and it invites the world’s substitutes to claim authority.
- The Profile of the Exaggerated Speaker
- Falsehoods (speaking vanity): Empty talkers who promise what they cannot deliver.
- Flattery (flattering lips): Smooth manipulators who tell people what they want to hear to get what they want.
- Fraud (double heart): Double-minded men who wear masks—religious in public, worldly in private.
- Flaunting (tongue of proud things): Braggarts who show off possessions and status rather than character.
- Fierceness (with our tongue we will prevail): Trash-talkers who tear others down to raise themselves up.
- Flippancy (our lips are our own): Arrogant, rebellious men who refuse authority and responsibility.
Explanation: When true godliness is missing, these six character types rise to prominence. They sound confident or attractive—but they lack the sustaining virtues of godliness: truth, humility, faithfulness, and sacrificial service.
- The Passion of Our Eternal Savior
- Compassion for the oppressed: God notices the oppression of the poor and the sighing of the needy.
- Commitment and concern: God declares, “Now will I arise” — He will act to provide leadership.
Explanation: The remedy is not ultimately a human initiative alone. God Himself will arise and raise up men to fill the gap—men motivated by compassion, commitment, and concern for others.
- The Preservation of Our Ensuring Sovereign
- Purity of God’s words: “The words of the LORD are pure words…” (Psalm 12:6).
- God preserves a remnant: Even in corrupt times, God preserves those who will stand upon His Word.
Explanation: The promise is twofold—God’s Word is trustworthy, and God will preserve those who follow it. Preservation may be a remnant, but it is sufficient to accomplish God’s purposes when those men and women walk in faithfulness.
- The Predominance of an Evil Society
- Leadership determines culture: When vile men are exalted, wickedness walks on every side (Psalm 12:8).
- Trickle-down effect: Corrupt leaders in pulpits, government, and homes embolden others to sin.
- Responsibility of the church and home: Judgment begins at God’s house; the Christian home and church must produce the godly character society needs.
Explanation: Culture reflects leadership. If godly leadership is absent in homes and churches, society’s decay accelerates. The solution begins with reclaiming godly character where God first ordained it—the home—and supporting that with faithful church teaching and mentoring.
Summary
Psalm 12:1’s lament “Help, LORD: for the godly man ceaseth” is both indictment and invitation. We face an endangered generation of godly men, while impostors and flattering, double-minded, prideful men fill the void. Yet the passage also gives hope: God sees the oppression and the need; He will arise and preserve His truth and a faithful remnant. The remedy is not mere nostalgia for a lost generation but a renewed commitment—by men, women, parents, and churches—to live and teach the Word of God so a new generation of godly men and women can be raised up.
The Bible says, help Lord, for the godly man ceaseth. There’s help that needs to be given today. Why? Because the godly man ceaseth.
Application for the Week
Practical steps for individuals, families, and the church to begin answering the cry “Help, LORD” right now.
- Personal Repentance and Commitment
This week, ask God to search your heart (Psalm 139:23–24). If you are a man who has drifted, confess your failure, and publicly commit to spiritual disciplines: daily Bible reading, consistent prayer, and weekly corporate worship.
- Become a Faithful Presence
Show up. Prioritize family worship, Sunday services, and midweek discipleship. The quickest way to reverse the disappearance of godly men is for present men to be faithful where God put them.
- Mentor and Model
If you are older or more mature in Christ, take one younger man alongside this week—invite him to lunch, a job, or Bible study. Teach practical skills (work ethic, household skills) and spiritual habits (prayer, Scripture memory).
- Teach and Train at Home
Parents: intentionally train children in obedience and truth. Begin or renew family devotions this week. Use Proverbs and Ephesians 6 as guides. Discipline consistently and lovingly; teach children submission to authority as training for submission to God.
- Reject the Counterfeit
Examine media, friendships, and influences. Unfollow platforms or accounts that model vanity, flattery, or double-mindedness. Replace them with solid preaching, KJV Scripture readings, and godly examples.
- Engage the Church
Ask your pastor how you can serve: men’s ministry, youth leadership, bus work, visitation—do something this week. Service is the soil in which character grows.
- Pray Specifically
Pray daily this week for three things: compassion for the oppressed, commitment to your calling, and concern for the next generation. Pray Psalm 12:6–7 over your church: that God would preserve His words and raise up faithful men.
If you feel God speaking to you today, obey the conviction: come to the Lord, confess your need, and step into practical faithfulness. God promises He will arise—let us be the instruments by which He answers that promise.
Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu
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