Welcome to another edition of Issues and Answers 00:00:30.06\00:00:32.08 It's a blessing to have you here 00:00:32.11\00:00:33.98 today. We have a very special 00:00:34.02\00:00:35.82 program planned for you. Today we have the president and 00:00:35.86\00:00:38.75 director of Spring Hope Ministries. He is none other 00:00:38.79\00:00:41.65 that Dr. Joseph Warren, professor of English at 00:00:41.68\00:00:44.33 Andrews University. Dr. Warren has been a professor at Andrews 00:00:44.37\00:00:48.84 University, which is a Christian school in Michigan, for many, 00:00:48.88\00:00:53.32 many years. He has been instrumental in training 100s 00:00:53.35\00:00:57.52 of young people to go all around the world to proclaim the gospel 00:00:57.56\00:01:01.32 of Jesus Christ in their various professions. In addition to his 00:01:01.36\00:01:04.95 teaching responsibilities, he is a Bible teacher, a family life 00:01:04.98\00:01:08.69 coordinator, youth leader, men's ministry leader and deacon. 00:01:08.73\00:01:12.17 If you go to his church you'll know him as Deacon Warren. 00:01:12.20\00:01:15.57 In addition to these things, he is, as part of his ministry for 00:01:15.61\00:01:20.40 Spring Hope Ministries, he conducts family ministry 00:01:20.43\00:01:23.52 seminars, men's ministry special services, women's ministry, 00:01:23.56\00:01:28.46 unmarried adult ministry, weekend church revival, 00:01:28.49\00:01:32.64 renewal ministry. He is just on fire for the Lord and we are so 00:01:32.68\00:01:36.43 happy to have him. Dr. Warren it is certainly a pleasure to 00:01:36.46\00:01:40.18 have you here with us today. 00:01:40.21\00:01:41.18 Thank you and good morning. It's a pleasure to be here. As my 00:01:41.22\00:01:44.75 custom I'd like to begin with a 00:01:44.78\00:01:45.96 formal invitation to the Holy 00:01:45.99\00:01:47.74 Spirit. Very simply we say Holy 00:01:47.78\00:01:49.55 Spirit, Thou art welcome in this 00:01:49.58\00:01:51.33 place and all that transpires 00:01:51.37\00:01:53.05 for the next few moments should be directed by his presence and 00:01:53.09\00:01:56.42 by his anointing. So it's a very good pleasure to be here. 00:01:56.45\00:01:58.67 Thank you for having me. 00:01:58.70\00:01:59.67 So what is going to be our topic today? I know we're talking 00:01:59.68\00:02:02.92 about the Holy Spirit. Yes, our first topic in the 00:02:02.95\00:02:06.24 series is receiving the Holy Spirit as a Child and my 00:02:06.28\00:02:09.50 specific audience is of course for men for this series. We're 00:02:09.54\00:02:12.94 talking to men receiving the Holy Spirit but first we must 00:02:12.97\00:02:16.68 receive the Holy Spirit as a child, which means that men 00:02:16.71\00:02:20.50 will have to unlearn a great deal of what we know of 00:02:20.53\00:02:24.58 masculinity, machismo, testosterone levels and all the 00:02:24.62\00:02:28.60 traditional items of manhood, they cannot be received by God 00:02:28.64\00:02:33.35 for he can only receive us as men, as males, as we come as a 00:02:33.38\00:02:37.71 child so the first session today is about unlearning some of the 00:02:37.75\00:02:42.05 very destructive things that men do trying to be male in a 00:02:42.08\00:02:45.14 worldly sense. We want to be from a biblical position and 00:02:45.18\00:02:48.17 heaven is his throne and earth is his footstool and we can only 00:02:48.21\00:02:50.76 approach him as a child. 00:02:50.79\00:02:52.35 What a blessing to know that we have that kind of God. 00:02:52.39\00:02:55.69 Now ladies I want to say to you at home who are watching this 00:02:55.73\00:02:59.48 program, this is really a men's directed program. So all of you 00:02:59.51\00:03:03.23 men who are watching this program stay tuned. And for the 00:03:03.26\00:03:06.56 ladies we have the blessing of tuning in to a real men's 00:03:06.60\00:03:09.87 ministry. Thank you. Karen, please turn to 00:03:09.91\00:03:14.06 Matthew 18:1-6 and let's base this program on scripture. Okay 00:03:14.10\00:03:20.44 Read those verses for us please. 00:03:20.47\00:03:22.12 18:1-6: At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus saying 00:03:22.16\00:03:27.44 who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven and Jesus 00:03:27.47\00:03:31.29 called a little child unto him and set him in the midst of 00:03:31.32\00:03:35.45 them and said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted 00:03:35.48\00:03:39.22 and become as little children ye shall not enter into the 00:03:39.25\00:03:42.82 kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself 00:03:42.86\00:03:46.74 as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of 00:03:46.77\00:03:51.04 heaven and whoso shall receive one such little child in my name 00:03:51.08\00:03:55.45 receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones 00:03:55.49\00:03:59.75 which believe in my, it were better for him that a millstone 00:03:59.79\00:04:03.67 were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the 00:04:03.70\00:04:07.55 depth of the sea. Excellent. To add to that text 00:04:07.58\00:04:10.55 I have a quote here from Ellen White which says when I feel my 00:04:10.59\00:04:15.61 utter nothingness it is only then that Christ sees it time to 00:04:15.64\00:04:19.96 give me his Spirit. He will clothe me with his salvation, 00:04:20.00\00:04:23.80 strength and prosperity when I give him the whole credit and 00:04:23.83\00:04:27.60 glory for his work. And that adds a few words to my own 00:04:27.63\00:04:31.36 adaptation there. But in this text, verse three, the word 00:04:31.39\00:04:35.44 converted. We have to realize that like a child we can only 00:04:35.48\00:04:39.19 come to God and receive his power once we repent of our 00:04:39.22\00:04:42.77 behaviors and conduct that are not like his character. 00:04:42.81\00:04:46.29 The very first thing Christ said in the Bible was repent; that is 00:04:46.33\00:04:49.87 change your way of thinking and for a man that's very hard. 00:04:49.90\00:04:53.67 The central part of manhood is knowing that a man is right. 00:04:53.70\00:04:57.57 He has to feel that he is right and correct, and when a man is 00:04:57.61\00:05:00.83 devalued over and over again, never been able to think he's 00:05:00.87\00:05:04.20 right, his self-esteem goes quite low. But when it comes to 00:05:04.23\00:05:08.04 God, God doesn't negotiate that. Repent, change what you're 00:05:08.08\00:05:11.53 thinking, change what you're doing, change how you operate 00:05:11.56\00:05:15.47 and work in my system, the heavenly kingdom system versus 00:05:15.51\00:05:19.35 the worldly system. So in verse three the word convert is very 00:05:19.39\00:05:23.71 important. Now, conversion is not easy. It is the supernatural 00:05:23.74\00:05:28.27 work of the Holy Spirit. Men are not changed by being talked to. 00:05:28.30\00:05:32.80 As a matter of fact, no one is. Men are changed only by the 00:05:32.83\00:05:36.88 supernatural working of the Holy Spirit in their lives and often 00:05:36.92\00:05:40.72 times God will bring men to a point of complete helplessness 00:05:40.75\00:05:44.97 and that's where Christ steps in. When men realize I cannot 00:05:45.01\00:05:49.15 do this, I am unable, I have nowhere to turn, God kind of 00:05:49.18\00:05:53.29 smiles because then they begin to be converted. 00:05:53.32\00:05:55.87 So it's a waste of time for women to want to talk over and 00:05:55.91\00:05:59.32 over and over again to the man in their life when really we 00:05:59.36\00:06:02.33 need to just back off and let the Holy Spirit have his work. 00:06:02.37\00:06:05.56 We need to talk less, as Ellen White says, and pray more. 00:06:05.60\00:06:08.72 So learn to pray these sort of prayers: Father as this time the 00:06:08.76\00:06:13.38 male in my life is out of your will. Would you send your Holy 00:06:13.42\00:06:17.77 Spirit to him to convict him of his sin and your righteousness. 00:06:17.80\00:06:22.36 In Jesus name, Amen. And then go shopping or go do something 00:06:22.39\00:06:26.28 else. Leave him alone. Don't interfere with the Holy Spirit's 00:06:26.32\00:06:30.14 work. And the more men and women do this with males, particularly 00:06:30.18\00:06:34.53 young boys for example. As young boys begin to feel their self 00:06:34.57\00:06:38.46 esteem and their self-worth and their power as a male, women 00:06:38.49\00:06:41.48 need to understand something very powerful is happening. 00:06:41.52\00:06:44.44 God is trying to make them fit souls for his kingdom, to do his 00:06:44.48\00:06:48.46 work. It's a father/son thing, it's a male thing between the 00:06:48.50\00:06:53.26 God our Father and the boy as a male and that makes a big, big 00:06:53.29\00:06:58.61 difference. Now a part of this involves crying. Crying? Yes 00:06:58.65\00:07:05.14 Karen, crying. A man needs to cry because one of the first 00:07:05.18\00:07:10.55 indications of the Holy Spirit is moving in his life is sorrow 00:07:10.59\00:07:15.46 and repentance born through tears. Crying means words like 00:07:15.50\00:07:20.30 I wrote down in my notes words like weeping, calling, appealing 00:07:20.34\00:07:24.77 with lament, hollering, waling, groaning, sniveling, spilling 00:07:24.81\00:07:29.35 the heart out before God. That's very hard for a man to do. 00:07:29.39\00:07:33.89 Men want to feel self-contained. I can do this, I'm a real man, 00:07:33.93\00:07:38.40 I don't eat quiche, you know, that sort of thing. But God 00:07:38.43\00:07:42.45 doesn't negotiate that. See God will allow no other power in his 00:07:42.49\00:07:47.22 presence but his own, none. So as a man approaches God he must 00:07:47.25\00:07:51.95 come as a child crying and when a child is crying in any 00:07:51.98\00:07:55.82 language any language anywhere in the world we know that cry 00:07:55.86\00:08:00.32 means I'm desperate, I need help will somebody please help me. 00:08:00.35\00:08:04.80 Matter of fact, I know some men who cry. Pastors as a matter of 00:08:04.84\00:08:09.26 fact and when they cry things happen. God changes things 00:08:09.29\00:08:12.71 supernaturally because he just hates to see his sons and his 00:08:12.74\00:08:17.20 daughters cry. The next thing in verse four there is humble. 00:08:17.24\00:08:23.67 Humble has a lot to do with I am nothing in contrast to you. 00:08:23.71\00:08:29.71 And I like that. Men have a phrase: The man who has the most 00:08:29.74\00:08:35.36 toys wins. I'm a self-made man, or I did this on my own. All 00:08:35.40\00:08:40.91 these are worldly accolades for manhood. In God's kingdom, they 00:08:40.95\00:08:45.92 are totally false. As a matter of fact, Satan in heaven tried 00:08:45.96\00:08:50.90 this trick with God; I will exalt myself, I will give 00:08:50.93\00:08:54.70 myself credit for what I have done. I am not impotent, I can 00:08:54.74\00:08:59.08 do this. Satan's no longer in heaven. And it has a lot to do 00:08:59.12\00:09:03.43 with God's character. God will allow you never to bless 00:09:03.46\00:09:06.84 yourself, never to enrich yourself. It's always a gift 00:09:06.87\00:09:10.18 from him. Many times men in the worldly economy have completely 00:09:10.22\00:09:14.96 missed this concept. God gives me strength but the strength is 00:09:15.00\00:09:19.71 his and he can take it back any time he wants. I have no 00:09:19.74\00:09:22.50 strength except what he has for me. So I must be humble. 00:09:22.53\00:09:26.33 That is at any time in any situation to allow God to 00:09:26.37\00:09:30.33 decide or change, as your husband says, to reroute my 00:09:30.36\00:09:34.46 life. I am humble, totally submitted, bringing nothing to 00:09:34.50\00:09:38.57 the cross except I need you every, every day. 00:09:38.60\00:09:42.60 Is that an easy thing for men to do? No. How about any of us 00:09:42.64\00:09:46.70 for that matter. We want to have a sense of self 00:09:46.73\00:09:49.57 sufficiency. Look what I've done 00:09:49.60\00:09:51.74 Look at this ministry here. Look 00:09:51.77\00:09:53.84 what I've done this. Oftentimes I've helped this person and I've 00:09:53.88\00:09:59.41 brought my wife this and I brought my children this and 00:09:59.44\00:10:02.97 I've did this for the church. Those kind of comments are 00:10:03.00\00:10:06.50 strictly not like God's character. Christ thought 00:10:06.53\00:10:09.05 it not robbery to give up all of heaven for our salvation. 00:10:09.09\00:10:14.31 So as a man I have no right to claim any goodness at all. I am 00:10:14.34\00:10:19.53 completely humble, totally submitted to be used. So first 00:10:19.56\00:10:23.77 converted, but then humble. But then verse five talks about 00:10:23.80\00:10:27.94 receive one as a child receives. That's a very interesting text. 00:10:27.98\00:10:33.12 Men can be very clannish all. We can evaluate men on a lot of 00:10:33.16\00:10:37.91 crazy reasons: Who has the biggest house or biggest car or 00:10:37.94\00:10:42.01 who has the most money. All these are worldly evaluations of 00:10:42.04\00:10:46.04 manhood. God doesn't allow that. As a male, I am not allowed to 00:10:46.08\00:10:50.98 evaluate folks on what they have or don't have. I must receive 00:10:51.02\00:10:55.89 them as children receive one another. If you allow children 00:10:55.92\00:10:59.36 to play among themselves without adult interference they develop 00:10:59.39\00:11:02.36 friendships, they develop associations, they tend to like 00:11:02.39\00:11:05.48 one another. They don't get caught up in race, creed, color, 00:11:05.52\00:11:08.89 religions, denominationalism, background. They don't bother 00:11:08.93\00:11:12.27 with that. They receive each other as children openly. 00:11:12.30\00:11:15.45 I've certainly seen that with my kids. They can very well go in 00:11:15.49\00:11:18.90 an environment with other children and they'll come back 00:11:18.93\00:11:21.11 and I say who were you playing with. Oh I don't remember their 00:11:21.15\00:11:23.61 name. They just know that they wanted to play together. 00:11:23.64\00:11:28.54 Exactly. And as men we tend often times to equate folks on 00:11:28.57\00:11:32.90 a lot of different worldly values you know; his boat is 00:11:32.93\00:11:37.19 not as big as my boat so, I got a boat like his, or we all drive 00:11:37.23\00:11:41.57 Benz together or my house is not the same size as his house. 00:11:41.61\00:11:46.00 It's always between males; it has to do with contrasting and 00:11:46.04\00:11:49.79 comparing. Back in school the first thing men had to do was 00:11:49.82\00:11:53.54 find out who could beat one another. 00:11:53.57\00:11:55.64 This starts in elementary school. 00:11:55.67\00:11:57.76 Yeah. It's who's the toughest guy. 00:11:57.80\00:11:59.82 Yeah. And then it goes on throughout life, you know. 00:11:59.86\00:12:02.57 And men need to come out of that you know. When I come across a 00:12:02.61\00:12:06.86 fellow for example on the street whose life is totally ruined, it 00:12:06.90\00:12:11.12 is unlike Christ for me to evaluate him on what he doesn't 00:12:11.15\00:12:16.64 have. I must receive him as a child would receive him; no 00:12:16.67\00:12:21.13 standards except that he is my brother in Christ. What can I 00:12:21.17\00:12:25.20 do to bless him? So that's very, very important and men need to 00:12:25.24\00:12:29.24 come out of evaluating themselves and each other on 00:12:29.27\00:12:32.00 a worldly standard. As a matter of fact, if God is your Father, 00:12:32.04\00:12:36.17 then I'm your brother. That's it. If God is your Father, if 00:12:36.21\00:12:40.27 God is my Father, then I am your brother. So receive one another 00:12:40.31\00:12:44.15 as children. Some people would say that 00:12:44.18\00:12:46.53 competition amongst boys is a necessary part of their 00:12:46.57\00:12:51.59 development so that when they become older they can compete 00:12:51.63\00:12:55.24 in the marketplace. How does God view that? 00:12:55.27\00:12:57.85 Well competition for young boys has to do with self-competition, 00:12:57.89\00:13:01.88 improving one's self. For example I'm playing basketball 00:13:01.91\00:13:05.87 and the last game I got 22 baskets. Good. Let me perfect my 00:13:05.90\00:13:09.80 technique, my style, my ability to go 24 baskets per game; not 00:13:09.84\00:13:13.73 to make someone else look bad. Ah hey man, we really beat you. 00:13:13.76\00:13:17.08 Ah, we beat you all bad. Why don't you all just get off the 00:13:17.11\00:13:20.64 court. You're just a piece of fat bag meat. No, no, no, that's 00:13:20.67\00:13:25.55 not the spirit. Competition is always personal. How can I, with 00:13:25.59\00:13:30.19 my heavenly Father, improve my gifts, my talent, my skills and 00:13:30.23\00:13:33.95 my abilities. As a matter of fact, most of the competition 00:13:33.99\00:13:37.65 is done in secret, most of it. Not in how much money I can make 00:13:37.68\00:13:41.53 or how many cars I can buy but how I can be more loving, be 00:13:41.57\00:13:45.36 more kind, be more gentle, be more patient. All of those we 00:13:45.39\00:13:48.82 call the fruits of the Spirit. Now that's the competition 00:13:48.85\00:13:52.61 against the flesh. So while it's important that young boys be 00:13:52.65\00:13:56.37 involved in basketball and football and other kinds of 00:13:56.41\00:13:59.15 activities it is never for self supremacy. It's for team effort 00:13:59.18\00:14:03.40 and improving one's own ability. As I as a grown man 00:14:03.43\00:14:07.77 work on my finances, I'm not trying to have more money than 00:14:07.80\00:14:11.05 anybody else. I'm trying to manage my money wisely for what 00:14:11.08\00:14:14.41 I'm supposed to do under God's authority with my family. You 00:14:14.44\00:14:17.73 know the Bible says those who compare themselves with 00:14:17.77\00:14:20.69 themselves, among themselves, by themselves are not wise. 00:14:20.72\00:14:24.58 So competition is primarily an internal function with Christ 00:14:24.62\00:14:28.45 to be more like him. That, by the way, is the work of a 00:14:28.48\00:14:31.95 lifetime. The Work of a Lifetime 101. And when a man has taken 00:14:31.99\00:14:36.12 the time to work on his inner self, the fruits of the Spirit, 00:14:36.15\00:14:40.13 the whole world will know it. And by the way, the Bible says 00:14:40.17\00:14:44.35 seek ye first the kingdom and all this stuff will be added to 00:14:44.39\00:14:48.90 you, all these things. So as a man goes out to acquire things, 00:14:48.94\00:14:54.08 and acquire stuff, he is going in absolute contradistinction 00:14:54.12\00:14:59.08 to what Jesus Christ is. Christ says, man come over in here and 00:14:59.11\00:15:03.37 let me work with you personally one on one. And as you are doing 00:15:03.40\00:15:07.57 my work trying to be like me, by the way, I'll throw the house 00:15:07.60\00:15:11.64 in, I'll throw in the job, I'll throw in this. It just comes 00:15:11.68\00:15:15.12 along the way. We are not to ever seek to get worldly things 00:15:15.15\00:15:18.79 except that we're to love the Lord, obey the Lord, serve him, 00:15:18.82\00:15:22.63 be with him, then he gives us stuff. Now the stuff he gives us 00:15:22.67\00:15:27.09 once again for a male, I get all I can and can all I keep. No, no 00:15:27.12\00:15:32.46 no, no, no. We ought to share, see? So I don't fear building a 00:15:32.49\00:15:37.08 five bedroom house. He told me. I'm building a house to have 00:15:37.11\00:15:41.66 others over. That's the Spirit of Christ. 00:15:41.69\00:15:44.95 So then it's not I'm going to hoard, I'm going to sit on what 00:15:44.99\00:15:48.38 I have. It's sharing. Precisely. Okay, to be a channel of 00:15:48.41\00:15:51.77 blessing. You know I was on the plane 00:15:51.80\00:15:52.77 talking to a fellow who's a stock broker. He said, I've got 00:15:52.78\00:15:56.48 about ten million dollars and then I can retire. I'm going to 00:15:56.52\00:16:00.11 retire in Italy in a villa up on the hills. He was talking about 00:16:00.14\00:16:03.69 it and I said wait a minute. You are kind of unpleasing to 00:16:03.73\00:16:07.56 me. You've got ten million dollars. Where in your life have 00:16:07.60\00:16:11.40 you factored in service to others? I said, I am not even 00:16:11.44\00:16:15.20 impressed with you. Did you say that? 00:16:15.24\00:16:18.99 No, this is male confrontation now. You remember I'm a 00:16:19.02\00:16:21.27 Christian male leader. I said when you die you're going to die 00:16:21.31\00:16:25.14 with ten million dollars. So what? So you're tombstone will 00:16:25.18\00:16:29.20 read I died with ten million dollars. So I challenged him on 00:16:29.24\00:16:33.22 the plane and he finally committed that part of his 00:16:33.26\00:16:36.41 wealth would be used for providing sight dogs for the 00:16:36.45\00:16:39.53 blind. I said, now you've got my attention. With you ten million 00:16:39.57\00:16:42.95 dollars, just on some of the interest you could provide maybe 00:16:42.98\00:16:47.41 two dogs per month to the end of the world. Now your life has 00:16:47.44\00:16:51.38 meaning, okay. We talk about folks who are multibillionaires, 00:16:51.42\00:16:55.49 folks who own large corporations I am not the least impressed 00:16:55.53\00:16:59.57 at all with who's worth 90 billion dollars in America 00:16:59.61\00:17:01.81 today. What impresses me is when this individual gives 20 billion 00:17:01.84\00:17:06.35 dollars or 20 million or whatever it may be for 00:17:06.39\00:17:09.36 scholarships. Then I get impressed for that is the work 00:17:09.39\00:17:13.06 of the Holy Spirit, not to hoard but to bless. One thing I like 00:17:13.09\00:17:17.67 about this ministry here, 3ABN, is there seems to be no end of 00:17:17.71\00:17:22.25 God's blessings to it because it has structured itself to 00:17:22.29\00:17:25.82 bless others. It's an open-ended tube, the blessings come in one 00:17:25.86\00:17:29.10 side and go out the other. And what happens the tube's getting 00:17:29.13\00:17:32.43 larger and larger and larger and God has to fill it with more and 00:17:32.46\00:17:35.87 more material possessions to do his work. That's the work of the 00:17:35.91\00:17:39.25 Holy Spirit. So when the head of this ministry comes to the end 00:17:39.28\00:17:42.59 of his life it will not be measured about the size of the 00:17:42.62\00:17:46.49 ministry. It will be measured by how large was the tube that 00:17:46.53\00:17:50.24 God put his blessings through in his lifetime and that is 00:17:50.27\00:17:53.82 totally opposite the world's point of view, see, totally 00:17:53.85\00:17:57.33 opposite. Down in verse six in the same text: Whosoever shall 00:17:57.36\00:18:01.67 offend one of these little ones, and that has really gotten my 00:18:01.71\00:18:05.98 attention. As a male, I'm concerned about protecting what 00:18:06.02\00:18:11.27 is mine and holding onto what's mine and not losing what's mine 00:18:11.30\00:18:15.97 and that sort of thing. As you know among males in the world 00:18:16.00\00:18:20.63 there's the war impulse. We have wars to take stuff. 00:18:20.67\00:18:24.82 We have wars to take stuff. 00:18:24.85\00:18:26.86 I don't think I've ever heard 00:18:26.90\00:18:28.62 it put quite that way but it is 00:18:28.66\00:18:30.31 true. We take lands, we take dominion, 00:18:30.35\00:18:32.71 we take power, industry. You know, we take stuff. Hitler took 00:18:32.75\00:18:35.11 a bunch of stuff. God's not like 00:18:35.14\00:18:37.44 that. In this verse, verse six, 00:18:37.48\00:18:39.71 it talks about a man is fully protected by God's power 00:18:39.75\00:18:44.03 whenever he is converted, humble and accepts other people as 00:18:44.07\00:18:48.69 Christians or like Christ would. Now this text has really helped 00:18:48.72\00:18:52.97 me not to become anxious about what God has blessed me with. 00:18:53.01\00:18:57.84 I don't have to go through superhuman, unkind, mean avenues 00:18:57.88\00:19:02.89 to protect what God has given me. He is my provider. He is my 00:19:02.93\00:19:07.15 supporter, he is my helper, he is my defense, he is my shield, 00:19:07.19\00:19:11.18 he is my protector. And God has promised in this text for the 00:19:11.21\00:19:15.63 men. This ministry here for example, 3ABN. As the leader of 00:19:15.66\00:19:19.34 this ministry stays under God's anointing, may I say this with 00:19:19.37\00:19:23.58 all due respect, no demon in hades can take it. No weapon 00:19:23.62\00:19:27.80 formed against it can prosper. 00:19:27.83\00:19:29.15 And that's for anybody who is in Christ. 00:19:29.19\00:19:31.63 Anybody. And as a male, you know, I walk around with my 00:19:31.67\00:19:35.30 shotgun and my bazooka and my tanks and all of this sort of 00:19:35.34\00:19:39.28 male things, or tools or weapons God can't deal with that. 00:19:39.32\00:19:43.99 Furthermore, our warfare is not carnal, you see. If you have 00:19:44.02\00:19:48.24 money in the stock market now in technology, what are you 00:19:48.27\00:19:52.42 going to do? It's a really rocky time. How can you protect it? 00:19:52.45\00:19:56.08 When you become sick and ill, when your health is failing, 00:19:56.11\00:20:00.69 what can you do? This text reminds me, informs me, that God 00:20:00.72\00:20:05.17 is saying to me clearly: Man I'm going to give it to you. 00:20:05.20\00:20:09.44 I will protect it and then one day I'll require it of you. 00:20:09.48\00:20:13.52 Think about Job for instance. Job was the wealthiest man in 00:20:13.56\00:20:18.38 the east. He had it all, huh? And in a split second, in a 00:20:18.41\00:20:23.01 split second, it was all gone. And over in Job 42 at the end 00:20:23.05\00:20:28.34 Job finally began to pray for his friends and God gave Job 00:20:28.38\00:20:33.60 double, not because Job was such a great person but because all 00:20:33.64\00:20:37.72 these blessings come from God and if God doesn't protect it 00:20:37.76\00:20:41.39 what you going to do about it? So the stock market, mutual 00:20:41.43\00:20:44.86 funds, annuities, retirement, all these things that men worry 00:20:44.90\00:20:48.65 about having enough, huh. That text in the Bible about the 00:20:48.69\00:20:52.07 fellow who had the barns, he built bigger barns, and I shall 00:20:52.10\00:20:56.23 rest. The Bible says tonight, this night, thy soul is required 00:20:56.27\00:21:00.39 of you. Now who's going to eat it? So the whole concept of 00:21:00.43\00:21:04.68 permanence and doing something that will last forever and this 00:21:04.72\00:21:08.94 is my legacy. King Solomon had a problem with that. King 00:21:08.97\00:21:12.32 Solomon realized that when he was dead, when you're dead 00:21:12.36\00:21:15.57 your dead and that's the end of it. It's all going away. So 00:21:15.60\00:21:18.58 realize that a man does not have to go out of his way to 00:21:18.61\00:21:21.51 protect or to hold on. Of course he should wisely manage it for 00:21:21.55\00:21:26.30 the future. He should not be wasteful and gamble away, but 00:21:26.34\00:21:29.49 so far as what I am going to do do this forever, or this is mine 00:21:29.52\00:21:34.43 Here's a friendly joke: A fellow was dying. He said I want a 00:21:34.47\00:21:39.32 million dollars in my casket. I like this joke. They put a 00:21:39.35\00:21:43.61 check for a million dollars in the casket with him. He died 00:21:43.64\00:21:48.65 a millionaire. See? Now what an un-Christlike position to take. 00:21:48.68\00:21:53.65 The fellow I like best says when you die all your money should 00:21:53.68\00:21:58.86 be given away and you should die broke. I like that. Everything 00:21:58.90\00:22:03.34 God has entrusted to you should return to him in service and 00:22:03.37\00:22:07.12 when you die, you leave the way you came, empty. That sounds 00:22:07.16\00:22:10.82 about right to me. So for a man to try and protect his position, 00:22:10.86\00:22:14.74 his stuff, his job, his career, his ministry; the answer is no. 00:22:14.78\00:22:18.62 God will not allow that. We must allow him to protect. 00:22:18.66\00:22:22.41 Now keep in mind that in life when God takes something from 00:22:22.45\00:22:27.12 you, his children, nine times out of ten, he wants to give 00:22:27.16\00:22:31.76 you something larger for greater service. If he takes you out of 00:22:31.79\00:22:35.67 a small house into a larger house it's for greater service. 00:22:35.70\00:22:38.74 If he takes you out of a Metro, little car, to a minivan, it's 00:22:38.77\00:22:42.77 for greater service. If he increases your health, it's for 00:22:42.80\00:22:46.72 greater service. So as we serve God then he gets all the glory 00:22:46.76\00:22:50.69 and the honor and the praise. So this text here, Matthew 18:1-6 00:22:50.72\00:22:55.01 talks about the required attitude that every male, every 00:22:55.05\00:22:59.47 man, must have before God for God is on his throne and we are 00:22:59.50\00:23:03.91 at his footstool and he will allow no other position in his 00:23:03.94\00:23:08.31 presence than that of a child, a childlike attitude. 00:23:08.35\00:23:11.33 Dr. Warren, let me ask you something. Yes. Let's say the 00:23:11.37\00:23:15.35 man who may be listening to this program has heard these things 00:23:15.39\00:23:19.31 and is saying yes you know I am ready to do what God's bidding 00:23:19.34\00:23:22.57 is in my life. I'm willing to allow the Holy Spirit to just 00:23:22.61\00:23:25.88 come in and help me to have the right perspective. But what 00:23:25.92\00:23:30.07 about the fact that maybe the woman of his dreams is very 00:23:30.10\00:23:34.18 materialistic? A lot of men can be put into a situation of great 00:23:34.22\00:23:38.93 pressure because we women put them in such straits. We have to 00:23:38.97\00:23:42.96 have our dresses, we have to have a certain house, we have to 00:23:42.99\00:23:46.44 be in a certain neighborhood. How does a man address those 00:23:46.47\00:23:49.87 types of issues, those demands that may be placed upon him by 00:23:49.91\00:23:53.27 his wife and children or other colleagues or whatever? 00:23:53.31\00:23:56.41 That's an excellent question and the answer is so profoundly 00:23:56.44\00:23:59.65 simple. This man should tell his wife that she is a daughter of 00:23:59.69\00:24:03.28 God and as God's daughter she has an inheritance, a daughry 00:24:03.32\00:24:07.17 if you will. This man should not fight his wife or resist his 00:24:07.21\00:24:11.57 wife. He should go with his wife to the throne and say, Father, 00:24:11.61\00:24:15.94 as husband I come with my wife to you. She has claimed this 00:24:15.98\00:24:19.85 house and this lifestyle and this... she's claimed it. You 00:24:19.88\00:24:24.05 are able, I am not. I don't have it. According to your mercies 00:24:24.08\00:24:27.93 and grace allow her to see your manifold grace in her life. 00:24:27.96\00:24:31.66 And Father I will love her and support her and take care of 00:24:31.69\00:24:35.12 her and do all I can based on what you give me. Now the 00:24:35.16\00:24:38.52 argument comes in when he tells the wife what she can't have. 00:24:38.55\00:24:42.71 Bad news. She is God's daughter. And remember this text, whatever 00:24:42.75\00:24:46.87 two touch and agree on. The reason the wife has this house 00:24:46.91\00:24:51.69 is because they've agreed on it. God loves agreement. So rather 00:24:51.73\00:24:56.25 that resisting the spouse for a lifestyle. Now at the same time 00:24:56.28\00:25:00.10 this wife, this woman, this family must also be in the Holy 00:25:00.14\00:25:03.89 Spirit's power. If she's asking for a 300,000 square foot house, 00:25:03.93\00:25:10.49 you know, okay. But the reason couples fail in this area is 00:25:10.53\00:25:15.27 that don't get together and agree. Now remember they should 00:25:15.30\00:25:20.01 always ask God for something larger than they can do 00:25:20.05\00:25:22.68 themselves. If you can do it on your own power then you don't 00:25:22.71\00:25:27.63 need God. If you can do it all by yourself, then you don't need 00:25:27.67\00:25:31.66 God. So many times even what that wife is asking for is too 00:25:31.70\00:25:35.90 small based on what God wants the marriage to do. While I'm 00:25:35.94\00:25:39.79 here let me say this for those folks who are married. Marriage 00:25:39.82\00:25:43.79 is to accomplish a purpose. What are you married for, what's the 00:25:43.82\00:25:47.76 agenda, what's it all about? And the male leads in that; 00:25:47.79\00:25:51.23 giving the marriage purpose and direction. My suggestion is if 00:25:51.26\00:25:55.77 the wife wants it, she truly wants it, let the family come 00:25:55.81\00:26:00.24 together and ask God for it who is liable to give you more than 00:26:00.28\00:26:04.21 you ever thought or asked. That's how he operates. 00:26:04.25\00:26:07.61 Amen. It has been such a pleasure to have you on our 00:26:07.64\00:26:10.93 program today, Dr. Warren. The word of knowledge that you've 00:26:10.97\00:26:14.20 shared with us even though I'm not a man and those women who 00:26:14.23\00:26:17.49 are watching are not either, it has been a blessing to men 00:26:17.53\00:26:20.72 and to women today just to know these key principles and steps, 00:26:20.76\00:26:24.25 that we don't have to compete with other people. We don't have 00:26:24.29\00:26:27.93 to feel like we need to keep up. We have a great God who loves 00:26:27.97\00:26:31.93 and cares about and wishes to develop us as individuals to his 00:26:31.96\00:26:35.91 name and to his glory. For those of you at home who feel the same 00:26:35.95\00:26:40.04 way as I do that you'd like to have the Lord really come into 00:26:40.07\00:26:44.45 your life and to use you to his name and his glory and yet 00:26:44.48\00:26:48.79 you'd like to have the strength and the power in your life to do 00:26:48.82\00:26:52.52 that why right now ask the Lord Jesus to come into your heart 00:26:52.56\00:26:56.35 and to help you in every aspect of your life. We're going to ask 00:26:56.38\00:26:59.54 Dr. Warren to pray for us right now. Will you do that please, 00:26:59.58\00:27:02.70 Dr. Warren. Father in heaven: We anoint 00:27:02.74\00:27:06.49 your name with power for there is no god like you. I pray on 00:27:06.53\00:27:11.16 behalf of all men everywhere that each of us will recognize 00:27:11.20\00:27:15.76 that you are God and that we can only approach you in a childlike 00:27:15.80\00:27:21.20 attitude, a position of helplessness, a position of need 00:27:21.24\00:27:26.17 a position of not being able to take care of ourselves, and then 00:27:26.20\00:27:30.92 the power of Christ is released. In the name of Jesus send forth 00:27:30.95\00:27:35.64 thy Spirit now to convert the hearts and minds of men 00:27:35.67\00:27:40.25 everywhere to ask for Jesus humbly through repentance. 00:27:40.28\00:27:44.82 Amen. Amen. Again thank you so much 00:27:44.85\00:27:48.85 for coming to our program. Thank you for blessing us. I'd like to 00:27:48.89\00:27:53.07 share with you again how you can reach Dr. Warren if you're 00:27:53.10\00:27:56.07 interested in receiving tapes or video tapes or booklets that he 00:27:56.11\00:28:00.07 may have available to you. You can reach him at Dr. Joseph 00:28:00.11\00:28:03.78 and Cynthia Warren, he works in 00:28:03.81\00:28:05.08 partnership with his wife... 00:28:05.09\00:28:27.15 Until next time, may God bless you. 00:28:27.18\00:28:30.42