Men of Great Significance

Conference
Part I
Destined to Patriarch

Rev. Josef A. Howard, MA, M.Div, PhD

“And I sought for a man among
them, that should make up the
hedge, and stand in the gap
before me for the land, that I
should not destroy it: but I found
none” (Ezek. 22:30).
 Men Conference
God is looking for men that He can trust to
change the course of this universe.

He is looking for men who desire to be

excellent in everything they do.

Men of Character, integrity, obedience, trust

and faith.

God is looking for Patriarch.

A Patriarch is a man who causes his
children & grandchildren to follow him
in obeying God and establishing His
will on the earth.

When you think of Patriarch, you think

of the Jewish nation.

But God, is looking for Patriarchs in

our present generation!
 From the Beginning!
The eternal God decided to have a creature on
the earth called man. “Let us make man…” It
was God’s idea.
His plan was to have one Patriarch that
everyone would copy. There would have been
one family and Adam would have been our
Father. But, sin entered into the world.
That is why we are broken down into different
families.
MEN HOLD THE KEY IN GOD WORKING
OUT HIS WILL IN THE EARTH UNTIL HE IS
READY TO CHANGE THIS EARTH.
 Why do men Hold the Key?
1) It was God’s idea.
2) Men are the head/leaders.
3) Men commit the most amount of crime.
4) Men are influencers.
5) Men were designed to: be fruitful,
multiply, replenish, subdue and have
dominion.
6) The world in which we live is in trouble.
 Statistics
Three out of four adults concur that the
family unit is weaker today than it was just 30
years ago.
One out of two marriages ends in divorce.
Cohabitation has risen by more than 500% in
the past 20 years (even though people who
cohabitate prior to marriage have an 82%
greater chance of divorce than do couples who
marry without having first lived together.
One out of three children born this year will
be born to an unwed mother.
 Statistic
There are more black men in jail than in
colleges.

56 percent of universities are females while

44% are men. Boys drop out a lot.
It has not always been this way!

This is because somebody has dropped the

ball. It is not the women that have failed us; it
is men!

We have failed even in this church!

 Men Conference
"We have more work to do when
more young black men languish in
prison than attend colleges and
universities across America."

--Barack Obama, NAACP forum, July

12, 2007.
 Men Conference
In the Bible, if a man messed up and God
decided to punish him, God would punish the
whole family. If a man goes wrong, it sparrows
in his family.

God wants a man who will command his family

to follow him as he follows God. If not, the
enemy has a shot at them.

A man is responsible for his household (his

wife, children and grandchildren as long as he
lives) Deut. 6:1-2.
 Men Conference
When Adam sinned, God transferred the title
of Patriarch to Abraham (Gal. 3:29) but, each
of us has the prospect of being a Patriarch.

All of the promises that God gave to

Abraham belong to me….Wow!

Abraham is the heir of the world. “In you shall

all the families of the earth be blessed. If they
want it, they will have to come to you.” Now, if
they want it, they’ll have to come to me!
If Abraham was the Patriarch and they
had to go him in order to be blessed,
then, in order for me to assume that road,
I must ask a few questions because only
patriarchs are men great significance:

A) How did he become a Patriarch?

B) Why did he become a Patriarch?

C) What do I need to do to be a
Patriarch?
 Genesis 12:1-4
1) He dared to believe in a new and
better model.
God said, “I don’t like your setting.” It is not
satisfactory. Abraham said, “Yes Lord….What
should I do!?”

We must survey our lives and ask ourselves:

Am I maxed out for God? Does God have new
things for me to possess?
I know that this is how my parents did things
but…..
 Genesis 13:1-9
II. He dared to be different from others
around him.

Never mind what the status quo is. You must

be different.

If other men don’t take upon themselves to be

God’s men in their family, you do!
“Say, My family will be different.”

Joshua said, “Me and my household, we will

serve the Lord.” Mrs. Joshua didn’t say it.
 Genesis 11:27-32
III. He dare to take action to move
towards his goal of being a Patriarch.
He was 75 years!
We need to take steps to get there. Get a
mentor!
It is not too late! Hang with a Patriarch. God
always has something great for his Patriarch.
God blessed Abraham and He is ready to bless
you!
He gives the ability to get wealth not for you to
be in debt!
 Genesis 12:4-6
IV. He dared to accept God’s ways (Gen.
15:6). He believed God and he became
righteous. The day you elect to believe God, He
looks at you and say, “Righteous man!”

Don’t believe that your past experiences have

anything to do with where God is taking you.
Abraham had no past experiences—the brother
was old and so was his wife. God made him wait
for 25 more years.

His promises are yea and amen!

 Men Conference
V. He refused to be deterred/hindered/kept
back by what contradicted his dream (Rom.
4:17). He was not checkmated because
something contradicted his dream.

Are there dead things in your life? God is the

God of the living! Being 100 years old, and not
having a child took faith!

Hold on, change is coming! Abraham

checked his body, realized that he was dead
but didn’t allow it to affect his faith. “God told
me that I will be the father of many nations.”
 And So What?
We must determine to be modern day patriarchs!
This is a serious change that must happen in the
minds of men.

We must get up each morning and ask:

1) Who am I?
2) Why am I here?
3) Where am I going?

The promise of being righteous was not just for

Abraham (Rom. 4:23) but for us also, to whom it
shall be imputed if we believe!
 Men Conference
God is depending on us, men!
Malachi 4:5-6. Why is Elijah coming back? To
turn the hearts of the fathers to their children.

The hearts of the children can’t change unless

the fathers play their role.

“I’ve got to get the patriarch family back or I will

have to destroy everything.” That is how the
Old Testament ends.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he! Get it in

 And So What?
God wants to point to us and say, “Men of Great
Significance!” Can He count on us?

Are we Jesus’ men? Not guilty but righteous

men; not crooked, corrupt, fighting, visionless
men….but men of excellence!

Come out of your country/lifestyle that couldn’t

care less who of who you are.

Come out and I will show you….