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Spiritual authority and vacant seats. Lester Sumrall, Kenneth Hagin Sr., Derek Prince, Bill Bright, John Osteen, Steve Hill, G. E. Patterson, Myles Munroe, Samuel Lamb, Paul Crouch, Church Colson, and others have died. Who will take their place?

National debt causes bad things to happen. Debt is the slave’s chains whether they bind the individual or the nation. Once the most prosperous nation in the world, we have become one of the most enslaved.

There was a time when the man went off to work, he was the breadwinner, and the woman stayed home nurturing the children. Not so much anymore. It was easier then to define the man and women’s role. It’s not as easy today because the roles are not as clear-cut.

The roles have changed in our generation. Our grandfathers and grandmothers lived in a different time. Before World War II, the man went to work, and the wife stayed home and raised the children. When the war hit, the men went off to fight, and the women went to work in the factories. After the war was over, the men came home finding the roles in the family changed. Government welfare programs also helped change the role of the family. Today it’s possible to have the birth and caring of children subsidized by the government. This means the man is no longer needed to provide finances and a home. This, however, does not change the biblical role of the man as spiritual leader of the house.

Some men have lost their sense of importance and authority in the home. They are afraid to raise their voice in the house when the children curse them and declare, “You’re not my daddy.” There is little authority in the house. The average man is confused. He doesn’t understand himself, what the woman wants or what society wants. He is frustrated, angry, and wants to give up. He says in his heart, “What’s the use?” This turning away from relationships can be seen in the Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW) movement.

It used to be the man went to work, the woman managed the house and tended to the children. The man bought the food, the woman cooked it. The roles were clear. The man was respected because he worked long and hard hours to provide for his family.

Today, some women are making more money than the man is making. This tends to undermine the man’s felt value. In the past, the couple needed each other. Today, she already has the babies, owns the house, the furniture, and the car. If she needs help with the children, she looks to the government, not the man. The man doesn’t feel wanted, needed, valued, or respected anymore. Now you can understand why men are struggling with identity. Scripture asks, “How long will there be an attack against the identity of the male?” (Psalm 62:1-3).

 STRUGGLE FOR IDENTITY

The struggle for man’s identity affects society. When the man is not needed, there is no father in the house. The truth is, a woman can never be a father. Where there are no fathers in the home, society suffers. In the Book of Malachi, God has fathers turning their hearts toward their children least the Earth be cursed.

“And he shall turn and reconcile the hearts of the [estranged] fathers to the [ungodly] children, and the hearts of the [rebellious] children to [the piety of] their fathers [a reconciliation produced by repentance of the ungodly], lest I come and smite the land with a curse and a ban of utter destruction” [Luke 1:17.] (Malachi 4:6).

 DAVID’S INSTRUCTION TO HIS SON

When David was on his deathbed, he passed on some crucial counsel to his son. What a man says at the end of his days is essential. Let’s read what he said.

“Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: “ (1 Kings 2:1-3)

1.Be strong

2.Shew thyself a man

3.Keep charge of the Lord

4.Walk in His ways

5.Keep His statutes, commandments, judgments, and testimonies.

These five keys King David passed on to his son. He said, “Show thyself a man.” To act like a man means to grow up, to become accountable, and responsible. David knew if his son would take his advice Solomon would prosper.

Even thou some roles have changed, that doesn’t mean men are not needed. Men are still called by God to be spiritual leaders within their families, protectors, providers, and terrific fathers. Don’t give up men. God’s plan has not changed. He has sent the Holy Spirit to turn the hearts of the fathers toward the children and the hearts of the children toward the fathers. Be strong, take your authority and walk in His ways.

(c) Apostle Jonas Clark
www.jonasclark.com

Conversations have power and wrong conversations can destroy your life. The serpent was hanging around the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden and one conversation resulted in the fall of man.

To understand the relationships between the male and female, we must look at their original design and how that design was broken. In the beginning, God created a man from the ground and breathed life into his nostrils, and he became a living being with a spirit, soul, and physical body. The man was placed in a garden to work and manage.

All the garden was Adam’s to tend and eat except for a forbidden tree called the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Something went terribly wrong.

“And the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.” (Genesis 2:15-18)

God saw it was not good for Adam to be alone, so God made a woman to help him, blessed them, and instructed them to take dominion. Notice the warning, “Thou shall not eat of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.”

DECEPTIVE CONVERSATIONS

Everything was perfect until Eve had a conversation with a serpent. Conversations open and close doors. Conversations have power. Conversations can be useful, or conversations can be harmful. Let’s read what happened.

“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye, shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and also gave unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” (Genesis 3:1-6)

In the garden, there was a talking serpent. The Bible says this snake was craftier than any beast God had made. This serpent introduced deception on a level never seen before.

Let’s break out the serpent’s disruptive strategy.

The serpent was hanging around the forbidden tree.
You must be careful where you spend time. Eve met the serpent in the presence of the forbidden tree. This is a good lesson for us. Don’t hang out in the wrong places. We need to wonder why Eve was near the forbidden tree. It was at this forbidden tree that things would go downhill.

The serpent struck up a conversation with Eve.
The serpent’s strategy started with a conversation. This is what your enemy wants to do with you. Talk. Conversations have the power of suggestion and persuasion. They can introduce doubt, fear, belief, and faith. The serpent knew that he needed conversation before he could introduce deception.

The serpent was another voice in Eve's life.
There is a great danger when you let the wrong voice speak into your life. The serpent was another voice. Not the voice of God or the voice of her husband, but another voice. There is a saying, “Tell me who you listen to, and I will tell you where you are going.” In marriage counseling, there is a reoccurring event as a third voice begins to speak to one of the spouses. That third voice is the reason for many marital difficulties.

The serpent challenged God’s Word.
The serpent differed with God’s word. He disputed, “You shall not surely die.” It’s the same today, Satan wants to take exception with God’s word in your life. Scripture says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

The serpent challenged Eve’s memory of God’s Word.
Memory reminds you of past experiences and helps you make the right decisions. The serpent challenged Eve’s memory asking, “Yea, hath God said?” Your memory of God’s word is important. Many times, God reminds us to remember the word of God and the danger when we don’t. Scripture says, “But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day.  (19)  And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish” (Deuteronomy 8:18-19).

The serpent introduced doubt.
Doubt is the state of being unsure. The Bible says that it is impossible to please God without faith. Faith resides in the heart. One can quote Scripture and still not believe. One can believe in his head and still not believe in his heart. This is what we call a faith battle. The serpent introduced doubt to Eve. Doubt destroys faith, confidence, and trust. Scripture says of Abraham. “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; (21) And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.  (22)  And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.  (23)  Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;  (24)  But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;  (25)  Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:20-25).

The serpent suggested another path.
The Bible says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). The serpent suggested another course for Eve’s life. He said, “In the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Here, the serpent increases the deception by suggesting to Eve, “You shall be as gods.” Eve pondered the possibility. She stopped looking at her creator for purpose and considered the serpent’s proposal. The lesson is this, you should never listen to the created to tell you who you are. Scripture says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).

The serpent got Eve’s eyes off God and on to self.
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and also gave unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Genesis 3:7). Take special note of the words saw, good, pleasant, desired, wise, eat, and gave. Notice the first and last word, saw and gave. What you are looking at is where you are going. What you are looking at, you will give to another. What you are looking at has power. If Satan can change your focus, he can change your destiny. Eve saw that the tree was good, pleasant, and desired. These are all expressions of the carnal soul, not the spirit.

(c) Apostle Jonas Clark
www.jonasclark.com