A Man’s Commitment

For the glory and honor of the Lord, I am going to recite a poem entitled number 9, “Virtuous Woman”

Woman, gift from God
Man’s faithful companion
Who obeys the Creator, exalting His name
She is one flesh with her faithful companion
That is what God said when He placed them in the garden
A helper and a lady you are
And with him you shall live
Striving day by day
For it is the word of Jehovah.

Humble and virtuous woman
Who in the difficult moment
Knows how to say to your husband, ‘Here I sit by your side’
Speak to me with confidence
I know we have problems
But united and praying, we shall overcome through the Lord.

Humble and virtuous woman
Who, when your wife comes home disoriented and ill-tempered
You have the solution
Because you welcome him with love
And with gentle words in accordance with the Scriptures you know how
To counsel him
And you solve the problems
And there is peace in the home
Because a virtuous woman
Knows how to counsel him

Woman, though trials may come
Seeking to bring you down
Embrace your beloved husband
For together you will be able to fight
And you will obtain the victory
Because you are a virtuous woman
And with Christ always leading the way
You will do marvelous things

Arm in arm with your husband
Always fight without ceasing
For life is fleeting
And soon it must end
And you shall receive the reward
Because united you overcame
And you will walk the streets of gold
With Jesus the Nazarene

Brothers and sisters, God bless you. I am going to try to read you this poem. My eyesight is very poor, but this poem is so beautiful that I would like to leave it with you. If by chance I cannot—and may the Lord not allow that—I will recite the other one, with my pastor’s permission. God bless you.

Thorns

I walked and walked
And suddenly I discovered
That I was walking among thorns
That lacerated my feet
The pain was terrible
And I walked along the other side
And feeling very tired
I sat down to look at my feet.

I looked toward the other side
And the road was so wide
And I said, ‘Lord, Lord
Why is mine so narrow?
Why so many thorns?
Why so much pain?
I have no one by my side
And I am alone, my Lord’

And a sweet voice answers me
‘Everyone has gone away
But you must continue on the path
For I will be by your side
Because if along that path
You do not wish to walk
You will never be able to enter
The heavenly homeland.’

And with very gentle words
The Lord spoke to me
Walk, walk,
With a firm step
For I bore your pain
I began to walk again
I believed that because the Lord had spoken to me
I would have no more sorrows
I would have no more pain

But I was mistaken
Because the farther I walked
The narrower the path became
And the more thorns I found
‘Lord, I cannot go on’
I cried out in desperation
And He, with His tender voice
Told me that He was walking with me
I will never leave you

If you wish to be with Me
Along this narrow path
You must always walk
Do not fear or lose heart
For I am with you
Seek Me, always seek Me
And do not leave the path
Because at the end of the path
There will be a very beautiful gate
Which will open when you arrive
And you will see very beautiful things

There you shall forget
The suffering of the past
And there will be only joy
For God will be by your side
Thank You, thank You, my Lord Jesus
Now I know that You have answered me
I will always continue on the path
For You will be by my side.

Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, no matter how great your trial may be, no matter how great your pain may be, in the moment of trial and pain, bend your knees, and you will feel something trying to keep you from bending them; but do not obey it. Bend your knees and keep waiting. No matter how long you remain there, He will come in His time and lift you up. He will answer the petitions of your heart. May God continue to bless you. Thank you, my pastor, for this opportunity.

The Apostle Paul says that although the inner man, the inner woman, is wearing away, the inner being is being renewed day by day. Amen. There is something very special about a person who has lived with the Lord: as that person grows old, God’s grace is manifested more powerfully through them—more grace, more authority.

You know, as I listened here to the first poem that Sister Genoveva read, that she recited, I experienced an agony that comes upon me from time to time before I preach, and it was that I felt... I wondered whether I should change the subject of the message or not, and I think I am going to do so. And instead, this is going to be an exhortation for you. It is more of an exhortation because I do not really have anything in particular, a particular text, but I am going to yield to the Lord’s direction, and I will tell you why He changed my subject.

The poem she recited—turn there to Ephesians, chapter 5, and I am going to read beginning with verse 21. I will find a way to bring the group of nine up to date, because I am preaching specifically about the Epistle to the Romans. But that poem stirred a concern in me that I want to share with you this afternoon, and I feel that this is going to be more of a prophetic word, a word of pastoral exhortation for the men and women who are here this afternoon, for married couples, and also for the young people up there, whom I want to listen to me very attentively as well.

It says there in Ephesians, chapter 5:21: “...Submit yourselves to one another in the fear of God. Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, which is His body, and He is its Savior.”

Let us go to verse 25. It says, “...Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, to sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water through the word.”

Verse 28: “...So husbands also ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, because no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cares for it, just as Christ also does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

May the Lord bless His word.

What was it about the poem Sister Genoveva recited that troubled me? The poem speaks to women, referring to the suitable woman of Proverbs chapter 31, the virtuous woman. And it tells the virtuous woman that, in relation to her husband, they should resolve their problems when there are conflicts, when there is a crisis in the home; that she should call her husband, speak with him, et cetera, et cetera.

It is a call to the virtuous woman, and of course, the poem assumes that there is a marriage. It assumes that there is a marriage in which there are a man and a woman in a home, perhaps with children, et cetera, resolving problems, and that there is communication between that man and that woman; that although they have problems and conflicts, they are together and can speak to one another.

And it is a call to that married woman to fulfill her sacred calling to be a blessing to her home. And as I listened to the poem, as a pastor, I am concerned by the fact that there are many people—and by the way, brothers and sisters, please, I am going to ask that we keep your children quiet and orderly so that we can all hear well and maintain that order.

It assumes that there is a relationship between husband and wife, and as a pastor who knows my church, I am aware that in many marriages in this church, as in many homes in all the churches in this nation and throughout the world, unfortunately there is no healthy marriage in which these problems and situations in life can be resolved.

I know many women, and again, I hope in the Lord that the men will not be upset with me over what I am going to preach this afternoon, because I believe that one part of it is going to apply to them. But I want to do it, brothers and sisters, in the Spirit of the Lord, and I want to do it as your pastor, who loves you, respects the Word of God, and respects the Spirit of the Lord.

But there are many. For example, I look around, and I am certain that if we scan the room, there are many women here with their children because they do not have a husband, because their husband left them for another woman, or there were disagreements in the home and he is no longer in the home. And as a pastor, I know so many good women, so many women of God, who are unhappy, whether in their marriages or simply not even with a man, because many men have abused their wives and mistreated them and have not behaved as men of God ought to behave.

Society at this time is suffering a crisis. There are very few healthy homes in this nation—let us speak of this nation. And I want to tell you that in the churches, brothers and sisters, sad as it is to say, there are few healthy marriages. There are many unhappy women and many wounded women.

And again, I am not here to throw stones at men. Much of what I say probably applies to me as well, but I believe that if the church of Jesus Christ does not speak plainly, there will never be healing. If we are always sweeping the dirt under the rug, there will be no healing. And I believe that God wants to make this church—I have felt in these last few days that God is moving in a very powerful way in this congregation, and I believe that God will continue doing this—but we have to speak plainly; we have to set things in order.

And I also want to tell many young men that it is important for them to prepare themselves to be the men of God they need to be. God wants the church to put its house in order, brothers and sisters. He wants us to put our marriages in order. I believe there are many men who love the Lord, who come to church, give their tithes, serve the Lord, pray, cry out, and are spiritual warriors, but they are not being the husbands they need to be in their homes. They are not manifesting the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the servant spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When the Lord placed us men as the head of the household, He placed us as the head not to lord it over women, not to abuse our authority, but to serve women, to love our wives, and to be a benevolent presence in our homes.

I always ask the Lord—and I have found myself praying this many times when I am about to leave on vacation with my family—I say to Him, ‘Father, help me to be a benevolent companion to my wife and my daughters,’ because I myself can sometimes be a little harsh, and I can say things with a forcefulness and passion that I myself believe are fine, but that to the ears of my wife or my daughters may sound like a scolding, may sound like violent words. And I always ask Him, ‘Lord, help me each day to be more and more of a benevolent presence, a spirit that affirms, supports, and blesses my wife and my daughters, not a jarring presence in the home, as many of us men can be.’

And I also see many beautiful women alone with their children. And that will continue to increase with each passing day in this nation. There will be more and more single mothers and more and more fatherless homes. Why? Because today the society in which we live—which is part of that process of corruption of which Romans speaks; in fact, incidentally, I am not so far from my original text—as mankind becomes more and more corrupt, both men and women become more and more perverted sexually, and there is greater freedom, and men today have complete freedom. There are so many women today willing to give themselves to a man in hopes of finding a partner, and modesty has been lost, and the fear of God has been lost. And today the media keeps us sexually inflamed, so to speak graphically; there is a fever of sensuality in this nation. And that means that unless we men of God truly resolve to live in holiness, it will be impossible for homes to remain intact, brothers and sisters. Because today women are as free as men, and they are so needy and so free to do whatever they want, that what is needed are men with firm resolve who have died to the flesh, or at least who bring it into subjection in the Spirit of the Lord, so that there may be healthy homes.

But today there are a great many men living a double life, and many women who are unhappy. There is much verbal abuse, much emotional abuse in homes, much shouting, much cursing, much discontent. And all of that is generating very great, very serious distress in homes. And if we do not die—if we men do not die to the flesh, to self, to sensuality, and to the world—there will be no healing in our homes; there will be no peace in our homes.

There must be men who recognize their responsibility before God. Here it says, “...Husbands, love your wives.” What does it mean to love our wives? Well, the Apostle Paul made it clear by saying, as Christ loved the church, giving Himself for her.

Man, whether you are a husband now, a potential husband, or a husband who has made mistakes and has an unhappy wife, or one who is about to throw you out of the house, or who has already thrown you out, and perhaps you are going to have to... whatever may happen in the future. I want to counsel you. When it says to “love your wife,” it means that your presence in your home should be like the presence of Christ. That is the goal toward which all of us as men must aim: that our wives feel covered by us, protected by us. That is the first thing.

A woman needs security, brothers. One of the things a woman needs is the security of knowing that she has a man who loves her, who will not leave her for a prettier skirt or prettier legs when she grows older, or when pregnancy and pregnancies have taken away her body’s firmness or her beauty.

A man who made a man’s commitment, who gave his word of faithfulness and who will stay with that woman, come rain, thunder, or wind, no matter what. He says, “I am with you through good times and bad, even if you grow a full beard; I am still going to love you.”

And no matter who comes along, even the prettiest skirt, I am going to love you and remain steadfast in my home, and I am going to be present there with my children. A man who provides.

Brothers, a man whose money does not belong to him but to the household. That is very important, brothers: that the man be a provider, that his wife feel that she has a man who uses his money wisely and who looks first to the welfare of the household. Before buying himself a shirt, he must ask whether the children and she have what they need. Before putting a bite into his own mouth, he must first make sure that his wife and children are well fed. Before making any decision, whether to buy a car or anything else, the household comes first. A man who watches over and provides for the needs of his household.

A man who encourages his wife to grow and develop as a human being, who does not hold her back. If that woman wants to study or learn, or improve in her service to the Lord, he gives her room. A man who does not control, who does not abuse his power. A man who does not manipulate. A man who is faithful to his wife. A man who educates his children, who takes time to gather the children, sit down with them, talk to them about the Lord, and go out with them. And above all, I would say, a man who is a priest in the home.

The Lord is tired, brothers, of women being the spiritual head of the household. Men who say, “I am the financial head; I am the one who rules here,” but when it comes to spiritual matters, they are a hundred miles behind their wives.

How many women fill the churches of this nation? Sixty or seventy percent of church members are women. Without women, the churches would collapse in an instant, brothers. And the churches and society need Christian men, committed men, men who are the first to pray in their homes, men who are the first to read the Word, educate themselves, and invest in the Kingdom of God; men who set an example for their children, so that when those children reach adulthood, they will remember that father who prayed, who cried out to the Lord, who fasted, who spiritually watched over the family’s interests, who was a warrior, always out in front, the first to take a stand for the Kingdom of God—that was that man.

And I also believe in men who are tender with their wives. Men who are not harsh with their wives. Men who love, who express affection, and who cover their wives with tenderness and warmth; may we not hurt them with our mouths, and certainly even less with our hands—absolutely never with our hands, never, never. But men who are able to love. That is what it means for a husband to love his wife as Christ loved the church.

There is a male role that a man must fulfill in his home. And young people, I wish all the young people were here. I know they are taking a class right now, but I want to speak to the young women—I mean the females, the girls—and to the young men about the importance of preparing themselves to fulfill a role.

In this culture, where all the roles have been turned upside down and no one knows what a man is and what a woman is, people today say, “No, it is all the same. A man has to do the same thing as a woman.” A role has been lost; definition has been lost in the homes, and that is why there is so much homosexuality today. First, because there are no men in the homes to teach what healthy masculinity is. That is the first problem. Our boys do not find a healthy man with whom they can identify. All the studies done on homosexuality clearly indicate that one of the problems affecting the homosexual is that he has not been able to identify properly with the male or female role in the home.

And so our children need to see healthy examples of a man who is strong, anointed, and also tender. A tender warrior, contradictory as that may sound. And we have to teach our young men what a man is; we have to teach them the duties of a man, what healthy manhood is, and what healthy behavior in a man is. We have to let our children smell us and cling to us, and we have to hold them, play with them, love them, take them into ourselves, and enter into them, so that they will then be able to hear our counsel.

How are you going to win your children’s hearts? By doing that—entering into them, so that your personality and your character can penetrate the barrier of their will, and your child can hear you inside himself, not outside but inside him, speaking to him about the values of the Kingdom of God. And so that your son, without realizing it, becomes almost a projection of your masculinity, because he identifies with you so deeply that there is no division between you and him. That is what it means to be a proper father. Your son should see you treating his mother well and being a benevolent presence in the home; he should see Mom happy because her husband has come home, and the children should be happy because that masculine presence—which affirms, blesses, and strengthens—is in the home.

When men, brothers, stand up within Christianity, when there are priests in the homes and in the community, brothers, people will be converted by the thousands upon thousands upon thousands. When there are healthy Christian families and men fulfilling the role they are supposed to fulfill—the role we are supposed to fulfill—that will bring about a tremendous revolution in society. But, men, we have to realize that.

I thank the Lord because there is a small movement of active men. We have many active men, and I thank the Lord for that in this church. But I mean a group of men, just as we have active women in the women’s ministry; a men’s ministry is beginning to emerge, with men who are standing up.

And I want that to extend beyond having passion for the Lord and love for the things of the Lord, so that there may also be an embracing of the biblical role of a leader who serves those he leads. A leader who serves with the spirit of Jesus Christ; broken men, men who have been bled dry, men weakened in the Lord, who can then speak with the strength of the Spirit of God and the authority of the Holy Spirit in their lives. That will be something revolutionary in society.

Men, the Lord is waiting for surrendered men. God now wants the time of so many unhappy women, so many dissatisfied women in the homes, to come to an end. As a pastor I tell you, brothers, there must be a change. And do you know what, man? When you begin to win your wife’s love, instead of weakening you, do you know what it will do? Right now I am looking out from here and seeing how the women are moved by what I am saying; there are tears. Do you know why? Because there is pain in women, and these words often bring out the suppressed pain. Femininity—womanhood—is wounded in our time.

In the Latino world—I am going to speak about the Latino world because the same thing happens in other cultures, but I am going to speak about the Latino world—there is an imbalance, a terrible disorder in the homes. There is a terrible disorder in relationships between men and women that is bleeding our culture dry, and we must ask the Lord to bring change, to bring repentance to the hearts of men.

And do you know what, husband? When you humble yourself, when you heed the counsel of the Word of God, that will not weaken your authority in the home. Quite the opposite: it will win you your wife’s love. Your wife will want to serve you; your wife will even want to obey you and will accept your authority.

Why are there so many men who complain, “My wife does not respect me, my wife does not listen to me, my wife does not do this”? Many times, brothers, it is because we have not earned that authority, because we make wrong decisions, because we are not showing concern for the interests of our marriage, and we are not acting in a way that inspires our wives with the confidence to submit to and embrace our decisions. So how, then, can we expect them to respect us? We have not earned that respect.

You can be either a dictator or a chosen, elected ruler. Many of us are dictators; we have imposed our authority, and our wives are sometimes forced at gunpoint, as we say. They are compelled because they have no other choice financially or for other reasons. God does not want that.

God wants broken men, humble men. There must be a change, brothers. And men, I tell you: let us not exploit women. Let us single men ask the Lord for a spirit of self-control. I ask the Lord that in this church, please, there may be no practice that dishonors Him. In the name of the Lord, I call every man here to submit to a holy walk before God.

The Lord says that promiscuity, or any kind of improper sexual practice, should not even be named among us. There is also a great deal of pornography in the church, brothers. That word has to be used; it is terrible. Many men right now are bound by pornography, even in the churches. Pastors are bound by pornography, and man, it is bleeding you dry.

I know that many of us have stumbled across it on an Internet page—we were not looking for it—and have fallen into slavery to that terrible habit. And I encourage you in the name of the Lord: if it is one of the things you are struggling with, seek help. There is a group here that meets at nine in the morning on Saturdays. There are groups on Saturdays; the point is that you can speak with Samuel Acevedo or Gregory and ask about it. And if there is not one right now because this group is already specializing in something else, brothers, we will form a group. We have to come out of the closet in the positive sense of the phrase, okay? Amen. Yes, Lord.

Because that is a problem afflicting the church in many ways. It is not only homosexuality; there is also a great deal of pornography and there are many different kinds of addictions. And today, even women are battling these things. Men and women are needed who have the courage to say, “I need help.” And in this church you will not receive condemnation, I assure you; you will receive acceptance. And if anyone condemns you, that person does not represent this church. I can tell you that for certain: that person does not represent the spirit of this congregation, which is to be a church of refuge, a church where sinners receive help and acceptance while they are being restored.

I know that this is a process and sometimes a long-term one. It requires prayer, study, awareness, accountability—that is, giving an account to someone. It is a process; it is a fierce battle. But we have to free ourselves from it, because as long as we have it, we will have a monster sucking away our spiritual power and taking away the health of our homes and the positive relationship we must have with our wife or with our children.

That kind of thing, brothers, we have to... Lord, cleanse our church, cleanse us; wash me more and more from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin, says the Word of the Lord, for I acknowledge my transgressions.

Do you know where the restoration of men and women begins? When we acknowledge our sin. Many of us are always blaming her, or blaming the pastor, or blaming the church because it does not do this or does not do that. No, look at yourself; acknowledge your sin; acknowledge that you need help. I need help. And then let us begin...

Young people, young husbands, you still have the opportunity to lay firm foundations in your marriage, to learn what it means to be a kind, loving, and responsible husband—a biblical husband, a priest in your home—so that your wife feels proud to stand by your side, so that your wife feels proud to submit to your authority. There is still time; establish solid homes. Do not settle for homes that limp along, that limp all the way to death—so many crippled homes in the churches.

Let us heal our marriages. There is a price to pay, brothers; there is a price to pay. And for the woman as well.

Brothers, I believe that what God is calling for is an obedient church, a church that leaves religiosity behind—coming to Mass on Sunday to sing choruses and say a lot of things while we do not submit our lives to the commandments and principles of the Kingdom of God.

I no longer want to hear it—understand what I am saying—I no longer want you to talk to me about tongues, do not talk to me about prophecy, do not talk to me about dancing, even though I believe in all of that, if you are not submitting your life in obedience to the word of the Lord. Okay. I believe in all of that, but it is no substitute for a life of obedience to the Lord. I believe that what God is looking for is for both the man and the woman to assume the role for which God has appointed them in the home.

Marriage is a system; it is like the parts of a clock. Each part requires the other part to function properly. If one part is not functioning properly, the others stop, and then the whole clock breaks down.

So the man is supposed to love his wife; he is a priest, a servant, a leader, a lion who guards the entrance to the home with his anointing, his love for the Lord, and his obedience to the word. The woman recognizes the man’s leadership, cultivates her femininity, and covers her husband in prayer. She is a woman who gladly submits to her husband, who is anointed, who is receiving a word from the Lord, who is growing in the Spirit, who is loving and serving her, and who is serving the children; and the woman is his admirer, his support, his number-one fan. And the woman gladly recognizes that God has given that man a place of authority and leadership in the home. If a woman resists her husband’s leadership in her heart, she harms herself, even when that resistance is sometimes legitimate.

You know what? We men have put our women at a disadvantage: by causing them to resent us because of our bad behavior, we place them in a situation where they harm themselves, because women were designed to submit lovingly and gladly to men.

I believe that much of the feminism we see today is due to men’s weakness and distortions, to the resentment we men have generated in women who now speak wildly, outside the word of God, and are harming themselves and harming the children and the home, because we have often put them in that position of resentment and rebellion.

Now, in Christ Jesus, God wants a man serving and loving his wife, and a woman respecting her husband, encouraging him, and gladly accepting his leadership instead of questioning it. And when there is that harmony in the home, the children grow up healthy, they grow up harmoniously, and there is peace in the home. And when you multiply that by many healthy homes like that in a community, there is blessing in the community. And that is what is missing in our...

Why are our children not functioning well in school? Why are so many Latino young people failing in their studies right now? Because at home they are not being given the example they need to receive. The problem is not the teachers; the problem is not the church. The problem begins in the home. There is a lack of role models; there is a lack of manliness, of masculinity in the home—a healthy masculinity, a balanced masculinity—and that is causing an imbalance throughout society, and it should not be that way among us.

This afternoon the Lord places a spirit of exhortation in me to call the people of God to order, and that applies to me first and then to you: we must examine ourselves. Men, how many beautiful women I see in my church who need a Boaz, who need him to cover them with his manly shadow. How many women of God, women with all their wiring properly in place, without a man to bless them.

And how many men I see out there like ships without a course, alone as well, without a companion because they failed in marriage or failed in a relationship, or did not submit to God’s authority in their lives; and there is an incredible imbalance, a tremendous state of disarray, a tremendous dissatisfaction in society because we are not assuming the role God has called us to assume. We are disobedient. We are trying to bribe the Lord with our jumping, our money, and our church attendance, but we are in rebellion and disobedience. And the Lord says, “You are not going to deceive me, and that is why I have withheld my blessing.”

God wants us to repent, examine our ways, and put them in order, brothers and sisters. Oh, may the day come when we men humble ourselves and women say, “I want to learn what it means to be a woman.” And may a movement arise of mature women who educate other young women.

You know what? Many mothers today are afraid to teach our daughters to fix something or to cook, because we believe that, no, when they marry the two of them will each have to do their own thing—she takes out one bag of trash and he takes out another—but none of this or that; and so men and women are growing up and are going to marry, and they will have to reinvent marriage themselves, something society has spent thousands of years developing and refining. And we are not teaching our children how to be a man or how to be a woman, because our minds have been filled with a great deal of rebellious poison from this society, which is paying the price for its rebellion through all the imbalances that exist today.

And the older women are not discipling the younger women; there are no women discipling others. That is why I applaud the women’s ministry, which this year decided to hold a parallel retreat for young women during the women’s retreat. And those young women will be there at a women’s retreat, mentally identifying with these older women, who are filled with the Holy Spirit and worshiping the Lord; and they too will be receiving the word and the anointing of the Holy Spirit so that they may become healthy, whole women. We have to do the same with the young men as well.

Are our young men, our teenagers, learning what it means to be a man—with those pants hanging down below their backsides and that vacant stare? Brothers and sisters, spending 300 dollars on sneakers that they will later throw away—is that being a man? Getting young girls pregnant left and right. And young girls who are insecure about their femininity giving themselves to a man at the age of 12, 13, or 14 so that he can stamp them with his seal declaring that they are women.

What a terrible thing. What an utterly animalistic thing that is, brothers and sisters. When are we going to repent? When will the people of God take the lead and say, “No, enough, no more”? We are a chosen people; we have the word of the Lord, we have the values of the Gospel. Things have to be better in our homes than they are out there.

We have to pay the price, brothers and sisters. We have to shake ourselves up, as we say, and say, “No more. We cannot go on.” Those are the basics of the Gospel. We cannot continue allowing the devil to bleed our homes dry. We need men like Christ, and women too who know their role. Manly men and feminine women, redundant though that may sound. There is not much of that happening.

That is what is bleeding homes dry. We cannot keep up with the demand for counseling—Meche, the Vallés brothers, Gregory, I, and those of us who work here in marriage and family counseling. Brothers and sisters, what we can do is merely a tiny drop of water in a desert. We help one or two, but I know that there are hundreds among us who are not receiving help. What we do is purely symbolic. But there has to be repentance among the people of God.

Men, there has to be repentance. You have to ask the Lord, “Heal my masculinity, Father.” You have to weep and cry out and say, “No more.” And you must set yourself a goal of becoming a man who reflects the humility, meekness, and authority of Jesus. That is the perfect balance I see in Jesus Christ: a masculine man, but also so very tender that women felt completely comfortable around him. That is the balance we men need to cultivate.

And the women—healed women, strong women, women filled with the Holy Spirit, contented women. Woman, if you have a man who is serving the Lord, doing his part, seeking God, being a good provider, and loving you, look, value him, bless him, encourage him, protect him, pray for him, and show him that you appreciate him and are grateful for the effort he is making.

Let us make a covenant as a church this afternoon that God will heal our homes and help us to be men and women who submit to the word of God, with homes founded and rooted in the values of the word of God. May every dialogue, every word, and every interaction in our homes be aligned with some value found in the word of the Lord.

How many understand what the Spirit is saying to the church this afternoon? I am not here to beat up men or women. I am here simply to declare the plain word of the Lord. Do not fight with me, because what I am saying, I am saying in the full authority of the Holy Spirit; I have no doubt that what I am saying is properly calibrated according to the word of the Lord. Do not take offense at me. Submit to the word of God.

And if you have failed in any way, this is not so that you will leave here feeling beaten down. That is not the idea. No; rather, leave with the resolve to say, “Yes, thank you, Lord. You hit me hard, but now I am going to learn and grow, and thank you for the opportunity you have given me. Thank you for speaking to me; thank you for reproving me. I receive the gentle stroke of your hand, and I promise you that I will improve and set before myself a vision, a goal of becoming a balanced man filled with the Holy Spirit, a man of whom my wife and children can be proud. Or, on the day I marry, I promise that I will have an upright, balanced, plumb home, perfectly in keeping with the word of God, completely upright, a home that obeys the word of the Lord. That will be my goal.”

And as a church, brothers and sisters, let us commit ourselves to being different from the world out there. The word says, “Do not conform to this culture, but rather be transformed by the renewing of your understanding.”

I now want to ask the men for a moment of surrender to the Lord, of conversion. Just as I ask, “Raise your hand if you receive Christ as Lord and Savior,” I would like to ask any man—and please do not do it out of pressure or anything of the sort; do it out of conviction—any man who feels convicted by the word the Lord has given and wants to reaffirm before God his vows to be a man of God and of the word, a priest in society and in the home, or in his future marriage; or who wants to express to the Lord his repentance and his resolve to redouble his efforts to be the man God wants him to be, to stand up right now. And I want to pray for those men.

Or if you want to come forward here, even better. And we are going to pray, and I... and I want to join them too... Amen. Glory to God. Amen. Thank you, Lord; we love you, God; we bless you. Amen.

And if anyone up there wants to come as well, there is time for you to come down, and we are going to take a moment, and I am going to pray... I want to pray from down here because I want to identify with them, because some of the things I have said apply to me too. I am not exempt from anything I have said. We all have much to do in this area. We all have much to learn and much room to grow in this area, brothers and sisters, so I am going to pray down here with my brothers that the Lord may bring about a revolution—a revolution within us.

Oh, God longs for a priesthood. God longs for manly men, manly men, uh, but also men with the Spirit of Jesus, with the Spirit of Jesus coming out through their pores.

And this afternoon we are going to ask the Lord to heal our masculinity, because, brothers, the world has deformed us. In one sense, although we are responsible, we are also victims of what we have seen in our fathers and grandfathers, of what we have seen at work, of what the media have told us about what a man is, and of what women themselves have also encouraged us to do through their victim-like or sensual behavior, inviting us and arousing us in improper ways to exploit and abuse them as well.

And because of that, we are wounded, and sometimes we did not have good father figures; we did not have a father who stroked our heads, or hugged us, or kissed us, or played with us, or cried in front of us to teach us what it means to cry, or who said, “I am afraid,” so that we too could say, “I am afraid,” when we felt fear. And we did not have a father whom we could hug and kiss and who would kiss us, and we are locked inside our cells, unable to communicate with one another, to have healthy Christian friendships, and to be an ordinary man who can laugh, cry, express himself, sometimes be a boy and laugh, and admit fragility, because we were not taught that. We were simply taught to be the big macho stud, walking around like a horse with its whole mane flowing, while inside we are wounded, frightened, and imprisoned. And the time has come to say, “No more. I want to be an open man, a man who wears his heart on his sleeve, a man who blesses my wife and who is not afraid to say, ‘No, I am a Christian. I cannot do that because I am a child of God.’”

So I am going to ask the Lord to heal us this afternoon, and let us ask the Lord for healing; let us ask the Lord for healing.

Brothers and sisters, listen to this for a moment, and then we will pray.

Yesterday afternoon Mary and I had the privilege of listening to a man from this church whom we have known for many years, and he surprised us. His father is ill; there is no longer any remedy, and his father no longer knows whom he is talking to. He has Alzheimer’s disease, but... he had a conversation with his father on the phone and told him many things, and one of the things he said to him was, “Dad, there was a lot of suffering in my home, and we went through it together, but you never told me, ‘I love you.’”

And during that phone call he struggled to get him to say, “I love you,” but the man never said it to him. And he said to him, “Dad, but why?” And he replied, “Because I was never taught.”

Men, let us teach our children that we love them.

Amen. Amen. Yes, Lord. It is time to humble ourselves, brothers; it is time to acknowledge that we need to be healed. I need healing. Our masculinity needs healing, just as a woman’s soul also needs to be healed. And there is no shame if right now you feel the desire to cry; cry, and ask the Lord today to make this the beginning of a new season in your life, in which you become the man God wants you to be.

God can use those wounds from the past. God can use everything you did not receive to begin a new season in your life now, like never before.

So, in the name of Jesus, let us lift our hands to the Lord and say to Him, “Father, heal us. Heal my masculinity. Heal my manhood, Lord. Heal my wounds from the past. Heal the pain. Forgive my failures. I admit my fears to You, Lord. And I admit my ignorance to You. I do not know how to begin, but with Your help I will do it.”

Forgive me, and help me to seek the forgiveness of those I love as well. Help me not to keep hurting others or keep hurting myself. Fill me with the Holy Spirit, and let Your Word enter deep into my being so that I may be the man You want me to be.

Heal me, Lord. Today I receive Your healing, and I will walk in Your ways and according to the values of Your Word, and I will be a tender man, I will be a kind man, I will be a humble man, and I will be a servant, for the glory of Your name. In the name of Jesus. Amen, amen.

I want you to give a man a hug. Give someone a hug right now. Give a man a hug. Glory to the name of the Lord. Glory to the name of the Lord. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Lord.

You know, I also want to speak to the women for just a moment, and I want to ask the women to have their own moment as well before leaving here. I feel that women also need to receive healing this afternoon. And we need to ask the Lord for their own healing and for God to bring deliverance, to heal women of all those wounds that you have received as well, and of the insecurities that are there in your spirit, and the resentments that are there too.

Because there is a great deal of resentment in women, a great deal of pain, many wounds. Many women were abused as children—sometimes physically, many times emotionally and spiritually. They have been wounded by their spouses and have already become cynical; that is the truth. They do not dare to trust, and they do not dare to open themselves up to a man. And you also need healing this afternoon.

And I want to invite those women to come up here to the front as well; come all the way to the front. And if you were ever abused physically, emotionally, or sexually, or experienced any kind of disappointment in your life, I also want to pray for healing in you right now. And I want to ask the Lord—Meche, please come over here—come over here, or you may simply stand right where you are if there is not enough room up here. Come closer, women, right over here. Stand close together so there will be more room. Do not worry; you do not have the problems we have in that regard, so stand close together, come close to one another here, and we are going to pray for you as well.

Meche, please come up here. We are going to ask the Lord to bring a spirit of healing right now and for you to be touched by the Holy Spirit and healed. If there is resentment, if there is pain, if there is some deforming wound in you, if someone harmed you, if there is a husband who left you or whom you had to leave because of his abusive attitude, or who has been less than upright in his treatment of you, I want the Lord to bring you healing right now and for you to give the pain to the Lord. Give it to the Lord; do not continue with that wound, do not continue with that pain. Do not continue with that wound bleeding you dry. No, surrender it this afternoon.

Today can be a day of deliverance for you. Today can be a day of healing for you. Today can be a day when the label of victim is torn from your forehead in the name of Jesus.

I want to encourage you, woman, to take that burden, that load, that bundle of pain, offense, resentment, and victimization that you received and are carrying, and to picture yourself taking it off your back, holding it in both hands, and bringing it to the Lord. It will weigh heavily on you. I believe some of you will see yourselves burdened and having difficulty walking because that bundle of offense, wounds, resentment, and harm you suffered is so heavy. But you are going to carry it to God’s altar, where the Lord Jesus Christ is waiting for you, and you are going to give it to the Lord and leave it there, promising yourself that you will not return to your seat with that bundle anymore.

You are going to leave it here at the altar this afternoon. And when you return, you will return restored and healed, and you will say, “No more resentment, no more feeling sorry for myself, no more revisiting the past, no more lamenting what they did to me. I am a daughter of God. I am filled with the Holy Spirit. I am healed by the blood of Jesus. I am no longer a victim; I am victorious in Christ Jesus. I am a woman filled with the Holy Spirit, and I have resources for all the healing I need. This afternoon I cast my wound and my need at Christ’s feet, and I feel completely healed. I will not lament; I will no longer weep over what was done to me in the past. Now I will walk in freedom in the name of Jesus, and I choose to forgive, I choose to forgive, and I choose to be free. And I forgive the offender.”

And I believe the Lord will restore to me twice what I have lost. But I will not allow my wounds to keep deforming my behavior, in the name of the Lord.

Lord Jesus, Father, like the woman with the flow of blood, we draw near to You, knowing that healing power will flow from You, Lord; healing power is flowing from You. Like that woman who spent 12 years spending her fortune on other remedies that did not heal her, Lord, today, Father, we come before You knowing that healing power will flow from You, trusting, acknowledging, acknowledging Your power.

And just as that woman left her illness there at the hem of Christ’s garment, likewise today, Lord, each one of us who has a wound in any area of her being leaves it there, Lord, and we declare that You have healed us.

I ask You, Lord, to heal the mind—the mind, Lord. Remove the labels of victim from us, Lord. Lord, may we recognize that we are victorious in You, Lord, even though it hurts, Lord, even though it hurts, Father, even though it hurts. Even though it hurts, we want to surrender that pain, and we want to make decisions now in the freedom we have in You, knowing that we have already received Your provision today, Lord.

Lord, we reject the labels the world has placed on us. We reject the labels we ourselves have placed on ourselves. We reject the label of damaged woman, troubled woman, depressed woman, rejected woman. We reject them in Your name, Lord, and we declare that we are Your creatures, made in Your image and likeness.

Women filled with Your Spirit, women with purpose, women with a destiny, Lord. Women victorious in You, Lord. Lord, allow that identity to permeate our minds and hearts, with our whole being, so that we even feel physically that it is You who gives us our identity—not the man who rejected us, not the father who did not give us love, not anyone else who failed to give us what we needed at key moments in our lives.

Even so, Lord, we declare that despite all those sorrows, Lord, despite all those “buts” in our lives, Lord, You are the One who gives us our identity, Lord, and today we embrace that identity, Lord, as Your daughters, Lord.

Like that woman, Lord, we are there at the edge of Your garment, Lord, focused only on You, Lord, receiving from You what You are going to give us today, what You have already given us, Lord. Thank You, Father. Thank You for Your miracle. Thank You for Your power today, Lord.

Father, may none of them leave here, Lord, without having left her burden here at the altar, Lord.

Father, I ask You to break, Lord—break that inability to leave behind what we have been carrying for so many years. May we leave it here, Lord. And may we make decisions from this point forward based on that new identity which we know and acknowledge we have today, Lord.

Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Father, for Your miraculous work on the cross. Thank You because that miracle continues to take place day after day, even today, Lord. Father, I ask You, Lord, in the name of Jesus, to heal the daughters and sons of these women here as well, Lord. Everything that, through our ignorance, we have passed on to our children, Lord, we also ask You, Lord, to break that as well, Lord. May our daughters be free, Lord—free to make healthy, holy decisions that are pleasing to You.

Lord, even though there have been divorces and rejection by men in our lives, may our daughters be able to have healthy marriages, Lord, and healthy relationships. May our daughters know how to recognize the man who is not right for them, reject him at once, and establish healthy relationships with healthy men, Lord.

Father, may we as mothers raise healthy children as well, Lord. Father, may what You have taught us, what comes from Your throne, and what is pleasing to You be what we teach those children, Lord.

Lord, may the home be where we form those healthy men and women who will form healthy homes and who, in turn, will have healthy children, Lord. Father, I ask You to break the pattern that has been taking place in the world and in the church, Lord, and to establish a new current of healing, Lord, and of health, beginning with the homes of all of us here, starting with the head of this church, Lord, and extending to all the members of this church, Father. Lord, we bless the lives of the young women, Lord—the young women who right now are making decisions that put their lives in danger, in danger of falling into sexual temptation, in danger of establishing unhealthy relationships, Father. I ask You to speak to them as well, Lord, and may those young women learn to obey You above all else, Lord.

I ask You, Father, that they not give away their birthright, Lord, for a bowl of lentil stew, Lord. May they not give away their birthright, but value it, Lord, honor it, and receive it as a gift from You, Lord.

Father, I ask You for the women who are entering into improper arrangements, Lord, who are flirting with the man they know is not right for them, Father. I ask You, Lord, to speak to each one of those women, Lord, and that in Your name, Lord, they may have the courage to break off that relationship right now, Father.

Lord, anything that is not pleasing to You, anything that does not bring You glory, Lord—even if it hurts us, Father—may there be obedience in Your house, Lord; may there be women centered on You, Lord. May they dress modestly, Lord. May they desire above all to bring honor and glory to You, Lord; may that be the passion of their lives, Lord. I ask You that this may characterize the youth of this church: women centered on You who reflect the beauty of Your Spirit, Lord—not physical beauty, but the beauty of Your Spirit reflected through everything they do, through their words, their behavior, and their dealings with the opposite sex, Lord.

Father, may their mothers be the ones who set that example for them in the home, Lord. May that example be the only one seen in every home, Lord, of every woman represented here at this moment, Lord.

Oh Lord, move throughout this place, Lord, bringing conviction, Lord—the conviction that this is the only truth, Lord, and that this is the only thing we are to do, Lord: be an example, Lord, be that virtuous and humble woman, Lord. Be that example of a mother, Lord, teaching and giving that milk to our daughters from the moment they open their eyes for the first time, Lord.

Lord, thank You for what You are doing among us, Lord. Thank You because You are bringing holiness and healing first of all to Your house, Lord. And thank You, Lord, because that will have an effect everywhere we go, Lord. Thank You, Father. Bless these women today, Lord.

Continue Your work, Lord; continue Your work of renewing the mind, Lord. Continue Your work of teaching us how not to conform to this age, Lord, how to reject what is not Yours, Lord.

Thank You, Father. Thank You for what You have done today, Lord. We give honor, glory, and praise to You, Lord, and to You alone, Lord. And we want to reflect Your kingdom, Lord, in everything, beginning with ourselves, Lord.

Thank You, Lord, in the name of Jesus. Amen. Hallelujah!

Amen. Amen. Amen. Glory to God. Glory to God.