1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,440 Thank you Lord Jesus. Lord I do bless you here. Lord we bless you Lord that you do have the final say. 2 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:14,940 Lord I thank you that you alone Lord are the author and the perfecter of our faith. 3 00:00:14,940 --> 00:00:21,940 Lord I thank you for every plan and every kingdom destiny Lord that you have given each of your people. 4 00:00:21,940 --> 00:00:26,940 Lord we want to bless you Lord that your heart is for your people. 5 00:00:26,940 --> 00:00:32,940 Lord your love is for us. Great is that love. Lord we thank you for that love here. 6 00:00:32,940 --> 00:00:39,940 Lord we thank you for your presence. Thank you Lord for your word. 7 00:00:39,940 --> 00:00:49,440 Lord anoint every word here Lord. I'm asking by your spirit you would impart to each of us here Lord. 8 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:53,940 You would minister and impart spirit to spirit. Words of life. 9 00:00:53,940 --> 00:00:56,940 Lord you are the giver of every good thing. You are the giver of life Lord. 10 00:00:56,940 --> 00:01:06,440 I ask that by your spirit life be released Lord to every weary soul Lord that they may be encouraged. 11 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:12,940 Lord you would build up that which is weak. Strengthen that which is weary. 12 00:01:12,940 --> 00:01:21,440 Lord we bless you that your word is not just a dead letter. It's not a dead letter at all. 13 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:29,940 Lord it's words of spirit and life. Lord your word is living. 14 00:01:29,940 --> 00:01:37,440 Lord it is a living word. Father I ask for that living word to go forth this morning to each of us Lord. 15 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:46,940 Do what only you can do through the power of your word. I ask you in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. 16 00:01:46,940 --> 00:01:52,940 Hallelujah. Hallelujah. 17 00:01:52,940 --> 00:01:57,940 Morning church. Is there anyone new here this morning for the first time? 18 00:01:57,940 --> 00:02:03,440 There was one person. Welcome. Thank God bless you. 19 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:09,940 I want to read from Nehemiah this morning to begin with. 20 00:02:09,940 --> 00:02:22,940 So if you turn to Nehemiah chapter 4. I want to minister a word of exhortation. 21 00:02:22,940 --> 00:02:28,940 Exhortation really is very closely related to encouragement. 22 00:02:28,940 --> 00:02:33,440 Encouragement is something you need when you're discouraged. 23 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:38,940 But also encouragement comes to stir us up when we're lazy. 24 00:02:38,940 --> 00:02:46,940 So it has sort of two parts but I certainly want to encourage for those that are discouraged. 25 00:02:46,940 --> 00:02:56,940 I particularly want to minister to men and women but in the sense of the marriage. 26 00:02:56,940 --> 00:03:05,940 Now if you're not married, you're yet to be married, you can still relate and you can still glean from everything that I want to share here this morning. 27 00:03:05,940 --> 00:03:12,940 So I'm going to read from verse 1 to 18, Nehemiah chapter 4. 28 00:03:12,940 --> 00:03:24,940 But it so happened when Sam Ballot, that's a bad guy, heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant and mocked the Jews. 29 00:03:24,940 --> 00:03:29,940 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaritans said, what are these feeble Jews doing? 30 00:03:29,940 --> 00:03:34,940 Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? 31 00:03:34,940 --> 00:03:40,940 Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish, stones that are burned? 32 00:03:40,940 --> 00:03:48,940 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him and he said, whatever they build, even if a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall. 33 00:03:48,940 --> 00:03:55,940 Hear O God, for we are despised, turn their approach on their own heads and give them as plunder to the land of captivity. 34 00:03:55,940 --> 00:04:02,940 Do not cover their iniquity, do not let their sin be blotted out from before you, for they have provoked you to anger before the builders. 35 00:04:02,940 --> 00:04:09,940 So we built the wall and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height for the people who had a mind to work. 36 00:04:09,940 --> 00:04:17,940 Now it happened when Sam Ballot, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites, they're all bad people, the enemy, 37 00:04:17,940 --> 00:04:27,940 heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed that they became very angry and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. 38 00:04:27,940 --> 00:04:32,940 Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God and because of them we set a watch against them day and night. 39 00:04:32,940 --> 00:04:39,940 Then Judah said, the strength of the labourers is failing and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall. 40 00:04:39,940 --> 00:04:46,940 And our adversaries said, they will neither know nor see anything till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease. 41 00:04:46,940 --> 00:04:55,940 So it was when the Jews who dwelt near them came that they told us ten times, from whatever place you turn they will be upon us. 42 00:04:55,940 --> 00:05:05,940 Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall at the openings and I set the people according to their families with their swords, their spears and their bows. 43 00:05:05,940 --> 00:05:20,940 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders and to the rest of the people, do not be afraid of them, remember the Lord great and awesome and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses. 44 00:05:20,940 --> 00:05:28,940 And it happened when our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had brought their plot to nothing that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work. 45 00:05:28,940 --> 00:05:35,940 So it was from that time on that half of my servants worked at construction while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows and wore armour. 46 00:05:35,940 --> 00:05:38,940 And the leaders were behind all the house of Judah. 47 00:05:38,940 --> 00:05:46,940 Those who built on the wall and those who carried burdens loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction and with the other hand a weapon. 48 00:05:46,940 --> 00:05:52,940 Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built and the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me. 49 00:05:52,940 --> 00:05:53,940 Amen. 50 00:05:53,940 --> 00:06:08,940 So to give you a little bit of context, this is, if you don't know much about Nehemiah, what I'm reading about is a group of people, the Jewish people coming back to the land to rebuild this wall that surrounded Jerusalem. 51 00:06:08,940 --> 00:06:16,940 That wall was there for protection, like a fortress around the cities that dwelled inside. 52 00:06:16,940 --> 00:06:24,940 And these people had been exiled, they've come back and they have begun to rebuild this wall. 53 00:06:24,940 --> 00:06:30,940 And this book, Nehemiah, it's a book about building. 54 00:06:30,940 --> 00:06:38,940 You see that there with them building with one hand and in the other hand them having a weapon. 55 00:06:38,940 --> 00:06:42,940 So building and battle go hand in hand. 56 00:06:42,940 --> 00:07:04,940 What I want to speak about today is particularly in the life of Christian men, the very headship of the Christian man of the home is sometimes little understood. 57 00:07:04,940 --> 00:07:12,940 But it's so important because that's the very thing that the enemy wants to pull down. 58 00:07:12,940 --> 00:07:18,940 He wants to take the place of the man as head and the authority that that carries and remove it. 59 00:07:18,940 --> 00:07:33,940 Because if he can do that, the enemy can come in and remove the authority or the head of the home, being the male, then that brings confusion, it brings disorder, it brings a lack of unity. 60 00:07:33,940 --> 00:07:38,940 And the enemy can have his way, in a sense. 61 00:07:38,940 --> 00:07:46,940 So it's so important that male headship is upheld and we get an understanding of it and actually honour that position. 62 00:07:46,940 --> 00:07:56,940 It doesn't mean that we all as men do it well because God's growing us in each of those areas. 63 00:07:56,940 --> 00:08:13,940 But if you look in chapter 3, I just read from chapter 4 in the Amai, if you look in chapter 3, now chapter 3, if you just glean, just speed read it, you see a lot of, it seems like a lot of unnecessary details. 64 00:08:13,940 --> 00:08:19,940 You see a lot of names, most of which I cannot pronounce. 65 00:08:19,940 --> 00:08:27,940 It talks about just all these little repairs, the place in the front of tombs, man-made pools. 66 00:08:27,940 --> 00:08:31,940 It talks about hanging doors. 67 00:08:31,940 --> 00:08:40,940 It talks about other sections. It just talks about all these things that really seem irrelevant to us as Christians. 68 00:08:40,940 --> 00:08:43,940 But there's nothing irrelevant in the Word of God. 69 00:08:43,940 --> 00:08:55,940 Because chapter 3 really builds a contrast for chapter 4. Because whilst in chapter 3 the men were able to build and do minor works, 70 00:08:55,940 --> 00:09:05,940 it wasn't until the men began to build the wall for protection that the enemy opposed them. 71 00:09:05,940 --> 00:09:13,940 And of course, protection is highly related to authority. 72 00:09:13,940 --> 00:09:23,940 So the enemy here, which represents Sam Bala, the Ammonites and so forth, and the Arabs and the Ashdodites, there was no problem on their part. 73 00:09:23,940 --> 00:09:26,940 We have a spiritual enemy, they had a physical enemy. 74 00:09:26,940 --> 00:09:29,940 There was no problem there for them to do all these little things. 75 00:09:29,940 --> 00:09:36,940 But as soon as it came to protecting and building the wall, the enemy had a problem with that. 76 00:09:36,940 --> 00:09:39,940 And you see in verse 6 of chapter 4 it says, 77 00:09:39,940 --> 00:09:45,940 So we built the wall and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height for the people who had a mind to work. 78 00:09:45,940 --> 00:09:52,940 But you see in verse 1, the enemy there, it was mentioned, was one, Sam Bala. 79 00:09:52,940 --> 00:09:57,940 It talks about the rebuilding of the wall that was furious and very indignant. 80 00:09:57,940 --> 00:10:05,940 Verse 6 talks about, again, building the wall, there's progress being made up to half its height for the people who had a mind to work. 81 00:10:05,940 --> 00:10:10,940 Then in verse 7, now there's an escalation. The opposition intensifies. 82 00:10:10,940 --> 00:10:19,940 It says, now it happened when Sam Bala, and now it adds into bar, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of the Jerusalem were being restored, 83 00:10:19,940 --> 00:10:23,940 and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry. 84 00:10:23,940 --> 00:10:30,940 So there was a level of opposition that wasn't met when they were just doing general duties, so to speak. 85 00:10:30,940 --> 00:10:40,940 It wasn't until protection came that that really invoked the enemy and made them angry. 86 00:10:40,940 --> 00:10:46,940 And so the enemy has a plot and a scheme, many of them. 87 00:10:46,940 --> 00:10:52,940 One of them is to pull the male out of leading, out of that place of head of the family home. 88 00:10:52,940 --> 00:10:56,940 And like I said, if he can do that, he takes away the protection. 89 00:10:56,940 --> 00:11:04,940 Because remember I said, protection is highly related to authority, and where there's no headship, there's no authority. 90 00:11:04,940 --> 00:11:13,940 So these enemy had a plot to destroy these people and to discourage them. 91 00:11:13,940 --> 00:11:23,940 And many men today are discouraged for multiple reasons. They're discouraged and they just can't get to where God wants them to be, 92 00:11:23,940 --> 00:11:32,940 because they're discouraged. And that's one of the tactics, one of the tools of the enemy, to discourage men so that they can't be all that God wants them to be. 93 00:11:32,940 --> 00:11:37,940 They can't walk into their destiny because of discouragement. This is what these people faced. 94 00:11:37,940 --> 00:11:42,940 They faced discouragement. Nehemiah was the leader. He had to stir them up. 95 00:11:42,940 --> 00:11:48,940 He encouraged them in verse 13 because of that very fact. He said, I position men behind the lower parts of the wall. 96 00:11:48,940 --> 00:11:52,940 And then he says, do not be afraid of them in verse 14. 97 00:11:52,940 --> 00:11:57,940 Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses. 98 00:11:57,940 --> 00:12:04,940 So there's an encouragement that came to these men just to keep building, because like I said, building and battle go hand in hand. 99 00:12:04,940 --> 00:12:09,940 And so I want to encourage the men here today, and as I go, I want to explain more about that. 100 00:12:09,940 --> 00:12:16,940 Keep going. Men. Women, you have a part to play in this too. 101 00:12:16,940 --> 00:12:23,940 So I'm not just talking about men here today. The enemy wants to destroy authority. 102 00:12:23,940 --> 00:12:26,940 And like I said, it's headship that brings authority. 103 00:12:26,940 --> 00:12:36,940 You see, the first sin on earth that was actually written in the Bible, not the first sin committed, that was in heaven, 104 00:12:36,940 --> 00:12:46,940 but the first one on earth, the first sin committed, I'll say it again, the first sin written in the Bible was Eve. 105 00:12:46,940 --> 00:12:56,940 It was in disobedience. But the first sin committed on earth was actually on the part of Adam. 106 00:12:56,940 --> 00:13:03,940 It was passivity because he allowed Eve to eat the apple. 107 00:13:03,940 --> 00:13:14,940 That very thing on Adam's part, the apathy and the passivity of him allowing Eve to do what she wanted, 108 00:13:14,940 --> 00:13:19,940 although it was disobedience, we have all suffered today. 109 00:13:19,940 --> 00:13:29,940 If you turn to Genesis chapter 3, verse 9, it actually says, and this is God speaking, 110 00:13:29,940 --> 00:13:33,940 it says, the Lord called to Adam and said to him, where are you? 111 00:13:33,940 --> 00:13:36,940 This is after everything had gone down. 112 00:13:36,940 --> 00:13:43,940 So Adam, he's gone somewhere and God's not saying where are you in the physical sense. 113 00:13:43,940 --> 00:13:50,940 He's saying, where are you as I defined you, as the male, as the head, as the leader over Eve. 114 00:13:50,940 --> 00:13:52,940 Where are you? 115 00:13:52,940 --> 00:14:02,940 Verse 17, God says to Adam, because you have hated the voice of your wife, 116 00:14:02,940 --> 00:14:06,940 and you have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying you shall not eat, so forth. 117 00:14:06,940 --> 00:14:14,940 So there you see that God actually blames, he puts the onus on Adam. 118 00:14:14,940 --> 00:14:20,940 He finds him responsible for what Eve had done. 119 00:14:20,940 --> 00:14:24,940 And so, he didn't do anything. 120 00:14:24,940 --> 00:14:30,940 Adam didn't do anything physically, it's what he didn't do, he lost his voice. 121 00:14:30,940 --> 00:14:38,940 And so the enemy today wants to stop men using their voice, he wants to stop men using their authority, 122 00:14:38,940 --> 00:14:44,940 he wants to stop them being the head and the man that he's called them to be. 123 00:14:44,940 --> 00:14:53,940 And so if he can do that, then everything hinges on that, everything in the family line is insecure, 124 00:14:53,940 --> 00:14:55,940 and it crumbles in a sense. 125 00:14:55,940 --> 00:15:00,940 And you see the result of this, this is in verse 16 of chapter 3 of Genesis. 126 00:15:00,940 --> 00:15:05,940 Because of the curse that Adam and Eve brought upon themselves through this apple, 127 00:15:05,940 --> 00:15:11,940 God says to Eve, I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception. 128 00:15:11,940 --> 00:15:17,940 In pain you shall bring forth children, and then he says, your desire shall be for your husband, 129 00:15:17,940 --> 00:15:19,940 and he shall rule over you. 130 00:15:19,940 --> 00:15:23,940 That sounds like a good thing, doesn't it? 131 00:15:23,940 --> 00:15:28,940 Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you. 132 00:15:28,940 --> 00:15:35,940 In other words, he's saying, I'm going to amplify your desire to be head over the home, 133 00:15:35,940 --> 00:15:40,940 to take the man's role illegitimately. 134 00:15:40,940 --> 00:15:46,940 He's saying, your desire is going to be to control your husband. 135 00:15:46,940 --> 00:15:54,940 Do you see that today in the world, or more importantly, do you see it today in the church? 136 00:15:54,940 --> 00:15:57,940 I'm asking a question, I'm not sure if that's true or if you've seen it. 137 00:15:57,940 --> 00:16:03,940 I know it's true, but this is what we want to ward against, 138 00:16:03,940 --> 00:16:06,940 and this is what I want to bring to your attention. 139 00:16:06,940 --> 00:16:11,940 The New Living Translation says, for that verse I read out, 140 00:16:11,940 --> 00:16:14,940 then he said to the woman, I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, 141 00:16:14,940 --> 00:16:19,940 and in pain you will give birth and you will desire to control your husband, 142 00:16:19,940 --> 00:16:22,940 but he will rule over you. 143 00:16:22,940 --> 00:16:25,940 So there's going to be, because of the curse, because of the fall, 144 00:16:25,940 --> 00:16:28,940 we're no longer under the curse because of what Jesus has done, 145 00:16:28,940 --> 00:16:37,940 but there's a desire there for women, because women still have pain, as far as I'm aware, during birth. 146 00:16:37,940 --> 00:16:43,940 So there's a desire there still that women to control 147 00:16:43,940 --> 00:16:49,940 and to actually have a desire there to lead the family. 148 00:16:49,940 --> 00:16:51,940 And so there's two things in operations. 149 00:16:51,940 --> 00:16:54,940 There's the woman's desire, if the man's not taking up the slack, 150 00:16:54,940 --> 00:16:58,940 there's the desire for the woman to lead. 151 00:16:58,940 --> 00:17:02,940 On the man's part, he sees the woman leading, so he says, 152 00:17:02,940 --> 00:17:06,940 well, she's doing a good job, why should I bother? 153 00:17:06,940 --> 00:17:13,940 So there's two aspects involved, and because men and women, husband and wife, you are one, 154 00:17:13,940 --> 00:17:17,940 you've got to work as a team, and one affects the other. 155 00:17:17,940 --> 00:17:21,940 You're in a perfect union, God's brought you together as one. 156 00:17:21,940 --> 00:17:30,940 And so it's really important that what I'm sharing with you today, that you actually heed, 157 00:17:30,940 --> 00:17:38,940 because as I said at the beginning, the woman, the wife, you have a major part to play in this as well. 158 00:17:38,940 --> 00:17:41,940 It's not just the man's responsibility. 159 00:17:41,940 --> 00:17:50,940 So men, don't allow yourself to be manipulated, don't allow yourself to be controlled. 160 00:17:50,940 --> 00:17:58,940 Proverbs 31 verse 3 says, do not give your strength to women. 161 00:17:58,940 --> 00:18:11,940 So men, you have the precious privilege and the responsibility to lead the home, 162 00:18:11,940 --> 00:18:16,940 to lead your wife, to lead your children, if you've got children. 163 00:18:16,940 --> 00:18:21,940 That's a privilege you have, and the enemy wants to take that away. 164 00:18:21,940 --> 00:18:27,940 It says, well, your wife's doing a good job, she's more spiritual than you, just let her do it. 165 00:18:27,940 --> 00:18:33,940 And so I want to raise this today, I want to encourage the men and the women that this is not so, 166 00:18:33,940 --> 00:18:41,940 this is not biblical, and so I'm asking, and what I'm doing is exhorting you for the men to actually raise up 167 00:18:41,940 --> 00:18:46,940 in the fullness of the stature of what God has created you to be in Him, 168 00:18:46,940 --> 00:18:53,940 that you actually take your rightful place as head of the home, but also head in the church. 169 00:18:53,940 --> 00:18:59,940 I know Jesus Christ is the head of the church, but what I'm saying is you take the leadership responsibility 170 00:18:59,940 --> 00:19:06,940 serious as a male, because you've got that privilege to do so. 171 00:19:06,940 --> 00:19:13,940 And in chapter 5 of Ephesians, it says, in verse 22 to 23, 172 00:19:13,940 --> 00:19:18,940 Wives submit to your own husbands to the Lord, for the husband is head of the wife, 173 00:19:18,940 --> 00:19:26,940 as also Christ is head of the church, and He is the Saviour of the body. 174 00:19:26,940 --> 00:19:35,940 So men, you have the responsibility in the church. 175 00:19:35,940 --> 00:19:43,940 When I see women leading, pastoring as the head, the church, 176 00:19:43,940 --> 00:19:50,940 that is completely unscriptural and unbiblical, and I think that it's so dangerous and it's deception. 177 00:19:50,940 --> 00:19:52,940 It's a complete deception. 178 00:19:52,940 --> 00:20:04,940 And you allow, when a woman leads the church, you allow all sorts of Satan's tactics and snares to come in. 179 00:20:04,940 --> 00:20:12,940 And he doesn't have to try hard, because that covering, that protection is removed, 180 00:20:12,940 --> 00:20:17,940 because of the very fact that a woman's in that position. 181 00:20:17,940 --> 00:20:26,940 And it's not common, but there are churches where women lead, and it's not a healthy church, and it brings confusion. 182 00:20:26,940 --> 00:20:34,940 Men, you as the head, as I just read out, Ephesians 5, you are the head. 183 00:20:34,940 --> 00:20:39,940 It's your place. You've been called to rule and reign in the family home. 184 00:20:39,940 --> 00:20:43,940 You've been called to rule and reign in the church body. 185 00:20:43,940 --> 00:20:48,940 That is a privilege you have. You've been called to be the one that protects, 186 00:20:48,940 --> 00:20:53,940 that you actually walk in your authority that God has given you. 187 00:20:53,940 --> 00:20:59,940 And by doing that, when you're under authority, you have authority. 188 00:20:59,940 --> 00:21:03,940 And when you have authority, you know you can protect. 189 00:21:03,940 --> 00:21:05,940 You know you can actually protect the family. 190 00:21:05,940 --> 00:21:11,940 You can be effective in the church because of your authority. 191 00:21:11,940 --> 00:21:17,940 But it's very important that, men, you don't actually let your past define who you are. 192 00:21:17,940 --> 00:21:23,940 You actually don't let your past define where God wants you to be. 193 00:21:23,940 --> 00:21:29,940 Because it's very easily, because of the past, that we can fall into things like self-pity. 194 00:21:29,940 --> 00:21:37,940 We can fall into the place of discouragement where we're just looking at the past and the failures, perhaps, 195 00:21:37,940 --> 00:21:39,940 the things that could have been, should have been. 196 00:21:39,940 --> 00:21:42,940 But that's all in the past. God wants you to move on. 197 00:21:42,940 --> 00:21:47,940 He wants you to lift you up and out of that pit so that you can get to where God wants you to be. 198 00:21:47,940 --> 00:21:54,940 Because the church needs the people, but the church particularly needs the man. 199 00:21:54,940 --> 00:21:57,940 The church needs the man to be leading. 200 00:21:57,940 --> 00:22:01,940 The church needs the man to be leading the ministries. 201 00:22:01,940 --> 00:22:04,940 I thank God that we do have women that can lead ministries. 202 00:22:04,940 --> 00:22:10,940 But it's the men. It's the men who have got the authority. 203 00:22:10,940 --> 00:22:16,940 It's men who have got the dominion to exercise, the spiritual authority. 204 00:22:16,940 --> 00:22:24,940 Men, it's you who, in the family home, it's you by the Word of God that is going to have wisdom. 205 00:22:24,940 --> 00:22:30,940 It's the man of the home. It doesn't mean that the woman or the wife's opinion is not regarded. 206 00:22:30,940 --> 00:22:34,940 I'm not saying that. I'm saying that, men, we need godly counsel. 207 00:22:34,940 --> 00:22:41,940 We need godly wisdom to lead family homes. It only comes through the Word of God. 208 00:22:41,940 --> 00:22:49,940 As you know, Ash is pregnant and we're at a stage in her pregnancy where we have to consider the injections. 209 00:22:49,940 --> 00:22:54,940 The whooping cough and this and that and all these things. 210 00:22:54,940 --> 00:22:58,940 So I'm just praying, God, what do I do? 211 00:22:58,940 --> 00:23:01,940 Show me what to do. What's your answer, Lord? What's your solution? 212 00:23:01,940 --> 00:23:04,940 Where do I go with this? I know nothing about that stuff. 213 00:23:04,940 --> 00:23:09,940 So I'm in a place where we've got to make decisions and I need God's wisdom in that. 214 00:23:09,940 --> 00:23:13,940 And some of you men have got decisions. 215 00:23:13,940 --> 00:23:18,940 You've had decisions to make. You might have decisions, important ones to make in the future. 216 00:23:18,940 --> 00:23:25,940 But as the man, you're going to be the one responsible to make those decisions and not lean on your wife. 217 00:23:25,940 --> 00:23:29,940 Yes, you can listen to your wife, but ultimately it comes down to you. 218 00:23:29,940 --> 00:23:35,940 Because when Abraham listened to Sarah, they created an Ishmael. 219 00:23:35,940 --> 00:23:40,940 He was right to listen to her the second time when he said, get rid of her. 220 00:23:40,940 --> 00:23:42,940 How you got that is. 221 00:23:42,940 --> 00:23:46,940 So, man, it's very important that we listen sometimes to our wives. 222 00:23:46,940 --> 00:23:52,940 And with being the man, the head of the home comes responsibility. 223 00:23:52,940 --> 00:23:57,940 Lot led his family into Sodom. 224 00:23:57,940 --> 00:24:00,940 It was very difficult to get them back out. 225 00:24:00,940 --> 00:24:06,940 So the responsibility that we have and the wisdom that we need in making decisions for the family, 226 00:24:06,940 --> 00:24:08,940 where the family is concerned, is very important. 227 00:24:08,940 --> 00:24:16,940 That's why we need the counsel and the word of God to be in our midst. 228 00:24:16,940 --> 00:24:21,940 It's important also as a man to be directed, if you're going to be the head of the home, 229 00:24:21,940 --> 00:24:24,940 to be instructed by the Holy Spirit. 230 00:24:24,940 --> 00:24:30,940 Because in 1 Corinthians, I'll read it out, in 11 verse 3 it says, 231 00:24:30,940 --> 00:24:34,940 I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ. 232 00:24:34,940 --> 00:24:39,940 The head of woman is man and the head of Christ is God. 233 00:24:39,940 --> 00:24:44,940 So I just want to say the first bit, I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ. 234 00:24:44,940 --> 00:24:50,940 So, man, we're going to be people who are led by the Spirit. 235 00:24:50,940 --> 00:24:54,940 We are instructed, God's authority flows downwards. 236 00:24:54,940 --> 00:25:00,940 It goes from God the Father, to Jesus, to the Holy Spirit, then to the man. 237 00:25:00,940 --> 00:25:07,940 So when we are led, we can be in a right place of order when men are led by the Spirit of God. 238 00:25:07,940 --> 00:25:13,940 And it's so important in today's society, and I'm talking about the church. 239 00:25:13,940 --> 00:25:15,940 Men, don't be intimidated by your wives. 240 00:25:15,940 --> 00:25:22,940 There are many, many godly wives, and even single women in this church, very, very godly. 241 00:25:22,940 --> 00:25:27,940 And it would be very easy just to raise up a hand. 242 00:25:27,940 --> 00:25:31,940 I could pull from many, many women to lead ministries. 243 00:25:31,940 --> 00:25:34,940 Obviously, I'm not going to do that because it's completely unscriptural. 244 00:25:34,940 --> 00:25:41,940 But, we don't blame the women that they're spiritual, sometimes more spiritual than the men. 245 00:25:41,940 --> 00:25:45,940 But, we don't want to be intimidated by the women. 246 00:25:45,940 --> 00:25:49,940 We praise God for the women. We praise God that they are spiritual. 247 00:25:49,940 --> 00:25:54,940 But men, don't be intimidated and let them do everything spiritually. 248 00:25:54,940 --> 00:25:59,940 Don't be intimidated by their prayers and let them lead every prayer. 249 00:25:59,940 --> 00:26:06,940 Be willing to fail because if you don't begin in areas of ministry, in areas of just praying, 250 00:26:06,940 --> 00:26:09,940 then you're never going to get to where God wants you to be. 251 00:26:09,940 --> 00:26:15,940 And the woman, the wife will keep taking the place of the man if you allow it. 252 00:26:15,940 --> 00:26:22,940 So, it's really important that men we actually love on our wives, 253 00:26:22,940 --> 00:26:27,940 but we don't actually continue to lean on them. 254 00:26:27,940 --> 00:26:31,940 We love them, but we don't lean on them. 255 00:26:31,940 --> 00:26:41,940 In 1 Peter 3.7 it says, husbands likewise dwell with them with understanding. 256 00:26:41,940 --> 00:26:46,940 That's talking to the wives, giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel 257 00:26:46,940 --> 00:26:51,940 and as being heirs together of the grace of life that your prayers may not be hindered. 258 00:26:51,940 --> 00:26:55,940 So, we are to dwell with the wife with understanding. 259 00:26:55,940 --> 00:26:58,940 We're to love our wives. 260 00:26:58,940 --> 00:27:08,940 And the key, I believe, one of the major keys for seeing a man successful, 261 00:27:08,940 --> 00:27:13,940 seeing a man move into everything that his role entails, 262 00:27:13,940 --> 00:27:21,940 everything that his kingdom destiny entails revolves around a woman. 263 00:27:21,940 --> 00:27:25,940 Wives, you are the key, no pressure, 264 00:27:25,940 --> 00:27:28,940 you are the key to a lot of the husband's success. 265 00:27:28,940 --> 00:27:32,940 Ephesians 4, I read it earlier, 22, says, 266 00:27:32,940 --> 00:27:35,940 wives submit to your husbands, own husbands, to the Lord, 267 00:27:35,940 --> 00:27:40,940 for the husband is head of the wife. 268 00:27:40,940 --> 00:27:47,940 Submission comes first, then the man can be the head. 269 00:27:47,940 --> 00:27:52,940 Submission must come first, and then the husband can be the head. 270 00:27:52,940 --> 00:27:59,940 It's almost impossible for a man to be head over an unsubmitted wife. 271 00:27:59,940 --> 00:28:06,940 So, the woman has a role to play so that the man can be effective 272 00:28:06,940 --> 00:28:11,940 and it all comes down to being submitted and honoring the husband. 273 00:28:11,940 --> 00:28:19,940 Because in that place there is where he can fully grow into all that he's called to be. 274 00:28:19,940 --> 00:28:26,940 So, wives, it's really important that you encourage the men, 275 00:28:26,940 --> 00:28:29,940 the husbands and the men in general. 276 00:28:29,940 --> 00:28:31,940 It's very important that they are encouraged. 277 00:28:31,940 --> 00:28:36,940 There was a man here a number of years ago and he was only visiting, 278 00:28:36,940 --> 00:28:43,940 but I had the opportunity to talk to him and I could see he wanted, 279 00:28:43,940 --> 00:28:46,940 I can't remember the exact details, all I know is when I spoke to him, 280 00:28:46,940 --> 00:28:52,940 he was quite teary and what I picked up was that he was in a place 281 00:28:52,940 --> 00:28:55,940 where his wife was really the head of the home 282 00:28:55,940 --> 00:29:01,940 and I could just sense that he was in a place where she dictated to him 283 00:29:01,940 --> 00:29:08,940 and he felt like a little weasel, do you know what I mean, under her control. 284 00:29:08,940 --> 00:29:14,940 And it's a very hard situation to be in and maybe you can be in that place today 285 00:29:14,940 --> 00:29:20,940 where you feel like, I'm in this place and I don't know how to get out of it. 286 00:29:20,940 --> 00:29:27,940 Maybe you've created such a spiritual atmosphere where the wife is the lead and the head, 287 00:29:27,940 --> 00:29:29,940 which is not healthy. 288 00:29:29,940 --> 00:29:32,940 What do you do in that place where you may feel like, 289 00:29:32,940 --> 00:29:40,940 man I'm so discouraged, my wife is in this ministry and she's like a prayer warrior 290 00:29:40,940 --> 00:29:43,940 and she reads for four hours a day and she knows all the scriptures 291 00:29:43,940 --> 00:29:45,940 and who am I? 292 00:29:45,940 --> 00:29:49,940 Well God's given you the authority to raise up, be raised up and be the spiritual head. 293 00:29:49,940 --> 00:29:52,940 It doesn't mean you have to know everything. 294 00:29:52,940 --> 00:29:56,940 It doesn't mean that you have to serve in every ministry, 295 00:29:56,940 --> 00:30:04,940 but you men have this wonderful opportunity by the grace of God 296 00:30:04,940 --> 00:30:10,940 to actually be that man, to be the person that God's called you to be. 297 00:30:10,940 --> 00:30:18,940 Because it's really important that we don't remain as men in that place where we're discouraged, 298 00:30:18,940 --> 00:30:22,940 like Nehemiah, like the people in Nehemiah's day, they were discouraged 299 00:30:22,940 --> 00:30:25,940 and it took Nehemiah to encourage them. 300 00:30:25,940 --> 00:30:34,940 And so wives, I want to encourage you to encourage your husbands. 301 00:30:34,940 --> 00:30:36,940 Seek counsel from them. 302 00:30:36,940 --> 00:30:41,940 If they make a wrong decision, let them make a wrong decision. 303 00:30:41,940 --> 00:30:45,940 You don't always have to be right. 304 00:30:45,940 --> 00:30:51,940 The man is the head, but the head in the physical sits on the neck. 305 00:30:51,940 --> 00:30:55,940 You know who the neck is? It's the wife. 306 00:30:55,940 --> 00:31:01,940 So often we walk with our head forward, but often we need to turn our head. 307 00:31:01,940 --> 00:31:09,940 So you wives are so important in the ministry, I like to call, of the marriage, 308 00:31:09,940 --> 00:31:11,940 of the covenant relationship. 309 00:31:11,940 --> 00:31:18,940 You are so important and you have such a large role to play 310 00:31:18,940 --> 00:31:23,940 and a responsibility in the man, in the husband's life. 311 00:31:23,940 --> 00:31:30,940 And I want that to be an encouragement for you because husband and wife have got yours won. 312 00:31:30,940 --> 00:31:39,940 So you need to help one another so that you are brought into all that 313 00:31:39,940 --> 00:31:43,940 God's kingdom destiny has for you. 314 00:31:43,940 --> 00:31:49,940 Push, I'm speaking to wives now, push your husbands forward. 315 00:31:49,940 --> 00:31:52,940 Push them forward, encourage them. 316 00:31:52,940 --> 00:31:56,940 Tell them that they can do something rather than they can't. 317 00:31:56,940 --> 00:32:01,940 You know what, such and such, you'd be great at this ministry. 318 00:32:01,940 --> 00:32:04,940 Husband, why don't you pray about this? 319 00:32:04,940 --> 00:32:09,940 He may not be as much of a prayer warrior as you, but just tell him he is. 320 00:32:09,940 --> 00:32:11,940 Because you are speaking in faith. 321 00:32:11,940 --> 00:32:16,940 You are declaring over him what he is going to be. 322 00:32:16,940 --> 00:32:20,940 Push him forward. Tell him what a blessing he is. 323 00:32:20,940 --> 00:32:26,940 Because when I saw that man that I spoke about, he received nothing. 324 00:32:26,940 --> 00:32:29,940 Like I said, he felt like a little worm. 325 00:32:29,940 --> 00:32:33,940 And he was choking up. 326 00:32:33,940 --> 00:32:39,940 And God actually gave me a word a few days after and it was in this book of Nehemiah. 327 00:32:39,940 --> 00:32:46,940 So that's why I've used the book of Nehemiah because I know the effect that 328 00:32:46,940 --> 00:32:52,940 when the protection, when the authority has been removed, 329 00:32:52,940 --> 00:33:01,940 where the head of the home has been taken away from the husband and it's been given to the wife, 330 00:33:01,940 --> 00:33:09,940 that that protection that goes around the family spiritually is broken 331 00:33:09,940 --> 00:33:17,940 and that authority is gone and the enemy has a right to come in and plunder. 332 00:33:17,940 --> 00:33:22,940 And I want to just finish in Joel chapter 3. 333 00:33:22,940 --> 00:33:24,940 And this is a word I just want to declare. 334 00:33:24,940 --> 00:33:28,940 It's in verse 9. 335 00:33:28,940 --> 00:33:31,940 Proclaim this among the nations. 336 00:33:31,940 --> 00:33:34,940 Prepare for war. Wake up the mighty men. 337 00:33:34,940 --> 00:33:36,940 Let all the men of war draw near. 338 00:33:36,940 --> 00:33:38,940 Let them come up. 339 00:33:38,940 --> 00:33:43,940 Let your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. 340 00:33:43,940 --> 00:33:47,940 Let the weak say, I am strong. Amen. 341 00:33:47,940 --> 00:33:53,940 So some of you women, you're here today, your husbands are not. 342 00:33:53,940 --> 00:34:02,940 And you're in a place where you so desire for your husband to be beside you. 343 00:34:02,940 --> 00:34:06,940 And your heart yearns for that. 344 00:34:06,940 --> 00:34:08,940 So let the weak say, I am strong. 345 00:34:08,940 --> 00:34:11,940 Believe that God is going to bring your husband in. 346 00:34:11,940 --> 00:34:15,940 Believe that God is going to have him sit next to you. 347 00:34:15,940 --> 00:34:19,940 That he's going to be in this place, in the house of God with you, 348 00:34:19,940 --> 00:34:23,940 to worship the living God with you, beside you. 349 00:34:23,940 --> 00:34:30,940 Some of you women may feel like you're in a place of dissatisfaction, 350 00:34:30,940 --> 00:34:36,940 where you're forced in essence to take up the slack. 351 00:34:36,940 --> 00:34:42,940 You're forced in essence to take the lead because the husband's not doing it. 352 00:34:42,940 --> 00:34:44,940 Keep praying women. 353 00:34:44,940 --> 00:34:49,940 Keep praying for your husbands because God is so faithful because that is his heart. 354 00:34:49,940 --> 00:34:56,940 His heart is for the men of the home to take their position as the spiritual head. 355 00:34:56,940 --> 00:34:58,940 Keep praying. 356 00:34:58,940 --> 00:35:04,940 You men, you may feel like you're that little worm, 357 00:35:04,940 --> 00:35:10,940 that your wife is more spiritual than you. 358 00:35:10,940 --> 00:35:17,940 Maybe that's just a whisper and a lie that the enemy has sown into your heart. 359 00:35:17,940 --> 00:35:22,940 You too, let the weak say, I am strong. 360 00:35:22,940 --> 00:35:29,940 It's time, and women, it's time for each of us to rise up 361 00:35:29,940 --> 00:35:34,940 and to take back what the enemy has taken from us. 362 00:35:34,940 --> 00:35:37,940 For men to actually rise to that place. 363 00:35:37,940 --> 00:35:39,940 Women, you are pushing behind. 364 00:35:39,940 --> 00:35:40,940 You're pushing them up. 365 00:35:40,940 --> 00:35:45,940 You're encouraging them to be in that place, saying you can do it. 366 00:35:45,940 --> 00:35:48,940 Because when they're in the right place, 367 00:35:48,940 --> 00:35:51,940 then the whole marriage and the whole family is in the right place, 368 00:35:51,940 --> 00:35:55,940 which means the whole church is in the right place. 369 00:35:55,940 --> 00:35:57,940 It all begins in the home. 370 00:35:57,940 --> 00:36:01,940 Everything you see in the church, it begins in the home. 371 00:36:01,940 --> 00:36:04,940 It begins with the men. 372 00:36:04,940 --> 00:36:08,940 It begins with the men exercising their authority. 373 00:36:08,940 --> 00:36:14,940 It begins with the men being the priest, being the prophet, being the provider. 374 00:36:14,940 --> 00:36:18,940 Most of you are providers, thank God for that. 375 00:36:18,940 --> 00:36:25,940 But to actually take hold of that kingdom authority that God's given you as the head. 376 00:36:25,940 --> 00:36:27,940 He's given it to the male. 377 00:36:27,940 --> 00:36:36,940 So men, this is an exhortation for you to rise up and take your position. 378 00:36:36,940 --> 00:36:40,940 Just as those men did in Nehemiah. 379 00:36:40,940 --> 00:36:45,940 Nehemiah called them to fight for their families. 380 00:36:45,940 --> 00:36:52,940 He exhorted them to fight for the little ones and those that are around them. 381 00:36:52,940 --> 00:36:58,940 So I'm going to just pray to close. 382 00:36:58,940 --> 00:37:03,940 Lord, I just want to thank you for the men of this house. 383 00:37:03,940 --> 00:37:06,940 Lord, I thank you, Lord, that they are godly men. 384 00:37:06,940 --> 00:37:10,940 Lord, I thank you that you are doing a work in each of us. 385 00:37:10,940 --> 00:37:13,940 Lord, you are a supernatural God. 386 00:37:13,940 --> 00:37:18,940 Lord, I want to just bless you that you've got a great plan and destiny for every man. 387 00:37:18,940 --> 00:37:21,940 And Lord, you want to take us onwards and upwards. 388 00:37:21,940 --> 00:37:24,940 Lord, you want to take us from glory to glory. 389 00:37:24,940 --> 00:37:31,940 And Lord, you want to bring back into the home that authority. 390 00:37:31,940 --> 00:37:35,940 You want men to take their rightful place at the head. 391 00:37:35,940 --> 00:37:39,940 So Father God, I'm asking right now, Lord, you would stir each of us. 392 00:37:39,940 --> 00:37:42,940 You would stir, Lord, every man. 393 00:37:42,940 --> 00:37:47,940 Lord, you would bring him into that place, Lord, where he is encouraged once again. 394 00:37:47,940 --> 00:37:51,940 Lord, I'm asking, Lord, just as you encourage David. 395 00:37:51,940 --> 00:37:53,940 Lord, I'm asking you would encourage the men. 396 00:37:53,940 --> 00:37:59,940 Father God, where the women are, Lord, discouraged, dissatisfied with what they see. 397 00:37:59,940 --> 00:38:03,940 Father God, I'm asking right now, Lord, that you would lift their eyes to heaven. 398 00:38:03,940 --> 00:38:06,940 Lord, that you are the God of the impossible. 399 00:38:06,940 --> 00:38:08,940 Lord, that all things are possible for you. 400 00:38:08,940 --> 00:38:14,940 Lord, that you are able to do great and mighty things in the men and the women of this church. 401 00:38:14,940 --> 00:38:22,940 Father, I just declare, Lord, that over the men in this home, in this sanctuary, Lord, in this church, 402 00:38:22,940 --> 00:38:26,940 Lord, that the men shall be mighty men of valor. 403 00:38:26,940 --> 00:38:31,940 Father God, I just declare right now over every man and woman in this church, 404 00:38:31,940 --> 00:38:34,940 Lord, that the weak say, I am strong. 405 00:38:34,940 --> 00:38:38,940 Lord, that the weak, Lord, shall be raised up by your grace. 406 00:38:38,940 --> 00:38:42,940 Father God, I'm asking, Lord, in this season, Lord, that you would empower the men. 407 00:38:42,940 --> 00:38:46,940 Father God, you would gift the men with every spiritual gift they need. 408 00:38:46,940 --> 00:38:53,940 Lord, you would give them the grace they need, Lord, afresh to be the husband, to be the family man. 409 00:38:53,940 --> 00:38:57,940 Lord, to be, Lord, the very father of the families. 410 00:38:57,940 --> 00:39:01,940 Lord, I'm asking, Lord, that you would lift up every man. 411 00:39:01,940 --> 00:39:04,940 Lord, you would release them, Lord, into their destiny. 412 00:39:04,940 --> 00:39:06,940 Lord, you would remove every burden. 413 00:39:06,940 --> 00:39:09,940 Father God, you would remove every insecurity. 414 00:39:09,940 --> 00:39:12,940 Father God, I'm asking, Lord, that you would strengthen the man. 415 00:39:12,940 --> 00:39:16,940 Lord, strengthen those hands that hang low in those feeble knees. 416 00:39:16,940 --> 00:39:19,940 Father God, I lift up the women and the wives of this church. 417 00:39:19,940 --> 00:39:21,940 Lord, I bless you for them. 418 00:39:21,940 --> 00:39:23,940 Lord, I thank you for every gift that you've given them. 419 00:39:23,940 --> 00:39:28,940 And Lord, I thank you, Lord, that they are so important, that they are the key. 420 00:39:28,940 --> 00:39:32,940 Lord, they are a precious key in the family unit. 421 00:39:32,940 --> 00:39:36,940 And Father God, I'm asking you would bless the women this day. 422 00:39:36,940 --> 00:39:40,940 Lord, raise them up, strengthen to their hands, their feeble knees. 423 00:39:40,940 --> 00:39:43,940 Father God, I'm asking, Lord, for the grace over their lives. 424 00:39:43,940 --> 00:39:48,940 Lord, to be the wife that you've called them to be, according to your Word. 425 00:39:48,940 --> 00:39:52,940 Lord, I'm asking, Lord, in marriages today, God, that they would be strengthened. 426 00:39:52,940 --> 00:39:54,940 Lord, there would be a greater unity. 427 00:39:54,940 --> 00:39:57,940 Lord, that there would be a kingdom purpose put before them. 428 00:39:57,940 --> 00:40:00,940 Lord, in the Spirit you would make known to each of them families. 429 00:40:00,940 --> 00:40:03,940 Lord, each of those family units. 430 00:40:03,940 --> 00:40:05,940 Lord, we trust you. 431 00:40:05,940 --> 00:40:08,940 Lord, we declare you are good. 432 00:40:08,940 --> 00:40:16,940 And Father, I declare this day, Lord, that men shall rise up and take their rightful place in the home and in the church. 433 00:40:16,940 --> 00:40:18,940 That men shall be raised up. 434 00:40:18,940 --> 00:40:21,940 Kingdom men, for a kingdom destiny and a kingdom purpose. 435 00:40:21,940 --> 00:40:26,940 Father God, I'm asking right now you would cut off, Lord, everything that opposes the men. 436 00:40:26,940 --> 00:40:31,940 Father God, you would come and you would destroy every weapon of discouragement. 437 00:40:31,940 --> 00:40:36,940 Lord, you would remove, Lord, every weapon of ungodly control. 438 00:40:36,940 --> 00:40:42,940 Father God, I'm asking right now, Lord, you would bring your order, godly order, into every marriage in this church. 439 00:40:42,940 --> 00:40:44,940 Lord, and those that are connected to this church. 440 00:40:44,940 --> 00:40:50,940 Father God, I'm asking, Lord, you would breathe fresh life into every marriage today. 441 00:40:50,940 --> 00:40:55,940 Lord, I'm asking for marriages, Lord, to be renewed. 442 00:40:55,940 --> 00:40:58,940 I'm asking for marriages to be healed. 443 00:40:58,940 --> 00:41:07,940 Lord, I'm asking, Lord, for the very finger of God, your finger, the power of your Holy Spirit, to touch every marriage concerned. 444 00:41:07,940 --> 00:41:12,940 Lord, and raise it to new life, Lord, from the ashes of defeat. 445 00:41:12,940 --> 00:41:14,940 Lord, build on those ruins. 446 00:41:14,940 --> 00:41:17,940 Lord, I thank you that there's nothing impossible for you. 447 00:41:17,940 --> 00:41:19,940 Lord, all things are possible for you. 448 00:41:19,940 --> 00:41:21,940 We want to bless you here in this house. 449 00:41:21,940 --> 00:41:24,940 Lord, you've given us everything. 450 00:41:24,940 --> 00:41:29,940 Lord, release your grace and the power of your Spirit into each of us afresh. 451 00:41:29,940 --> 00:41:32,940 In Jesus' name, Amen. 452 00:41:32,940 --> 00:42:00,940 Amen.