The Three Things the Enemy Goes For in a Man
Pastor Wesley Sing, 21 June 2026, 71 min
Sermon outline
A true father is defined by the godly legacy he builds, and the enemy goes for his peace, his finances and his identity, so a man must get before God and speak the future over his wife and children instead of the facts.
Main text
- John 10:10
Opening
After the Father's Day tributes, a Sunday school video, a next generation item and a youth dance, he thanks everyone for what they said and prays a blessing over every father, grandfather, stepfather and spiritual father present and online. He reminds the church that we are all the product of those who came before us, including the fathers whose sacrifices birthed Youth Day, and says that a father's great responsibility is to show the first Jesus Christ his family will see. He sets aside his planned ten attributes of a legacy builder for another week because time is short.
A true father is defined by the legacy he builds
A father is not defined by survival or his ability to pay the bills, but by the godly legacy he builds every day, depositing his value in Christ into the next generation. As with the obedience of Isaac, a man's value is unlocked when his life is fully surrendered to the Father. A mother becomes a mother when she finds out she is pregnant; a father really becomes one when he sees the baby for the first time.
Illustration: He wonders aloud what his own teenage children would have said about him in the Sunday school video.
“A true father is defined by the godly legacy that he builds on a daily basis.”
1. The enemy comes to steal your peace
The minute you start breaking ground and walking in line with what God has for you, the enemy comes for your peace, through people, through circumstances and even inside your own house. If you were not meant to be the father of that home, you would not be. The thoughts that say maybe this life is not for me, or that your family would be better off without you, are a lie of the devil.
“If you weren't meant to be the dad of that home, you wouldn't be the dad of that home.”
2. The enemy attacks your finances
Either there is a lack, or there is an overflow spent on alcohol, drugs, gambling and sin that robs the home of what God is doing there. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came so that you could have life and live well. What would you pay for a good night's sleep, or for a home without fights?
“The enemy is there to destroy. He's not there to build.”
- John 10:10
3. The enemy attacks your identity
When your identity shifts from Christ in you, the hope of glory, to your job, your skill, your degree, your car, your house or what your friends think, that is the devil, and when he gets these three things the whole family pays the price. But he has no foothold in a man of God: there is no addiction God cannot break and no situation He cannot bring you out of. Do not run like Jonah; be like David, who faced Goliath and asked who this uncircumcised Philistine was.
“You are God's man. You are where you are because God placed you there.”
- Colossians 1:27
- Judges 6:12
- 1 Samuel 17:26
Get on your knees, and speak the future, not the fact
Whether things are hard or going well, get on your knees before the Lord, because He will sort everything out. Then speak the future over your family. Tell your wife what you see in her, and when she looks at you with suspicion you know you are hitting the mark. Tell your children the direction they are going in, because as long as Dad believes in them they can believe in themselves, and those words live long after you are gone. Be physically present and emotionally present, and if you need a friend, the pastors are a phone call away, but they will push you to Jesus.
Illustration: His father used to say that ugly you can fix but a filthy heart you can't: if she has crooked teeth, take her to the dentist, and look at the heart. At home he helps with projects, but when it comes to homework he is the one with the slipper.
“Don't speak the fact, speak the future.”
- Jeremiah 29:11
Ladies, your confession shapes the man in your house
How a wife speaks to her husband will determine the kind of man she has, because men tend to react rather than respond. Speak to his vision and dream even if you do not fully understand it, and thank him for staying, for being present and for choosing the family over other things. Proverbs 31 and the godly women of the church are there for the woman who never had a mother to learn from.
“The confession of your mouth will determine the kind of man that you have in that house.”
- Proverbs 31
- Proverbs 27:17
The one constant is Christ, so speak tomorrow while it is today
Stop running from place to place for acceptance; people, places and seasons change, but Christ and the Word are constant. It is all right to cry, as David did before the Lord when his child was dying, and then to get up and go about his business. When there is no money in the bank, speak. Walk, act and speak as though tomorrow is already here, because God responds when you respond to His word, not when you react negatively to it.
“Start speaking tomorrow while it's today, because that is the stand of faith.”
- 2 Samuel 12:16-20
- 1 John 4:4
- Psalm 16:6
- Philippians 4:6-7
Putting it into practice
- Get on your knees before the Lord whether things are hard or going well
- Tell your wife and children what you see in them, and give your children a direction
- Be physically and emotionally present at home
- Wives: speak to your husband's vision and thank him for what he does
- Pray with your family each day of the coming week of fasting and break the fast together
Closing
He leads the men in a confession over their minds, provision and families, then has the women speak a blessing over the men in their lives. He calls them to stop reacting and start responding, announces the week of prayer and fasting for planting the eThekwini and Umhlanga churches from 1 July with the fast broken together on the Friday night, and closes with the grace and a blessing over every man.
Declarations to say aloud
- You're in the right place.
- I am a man of God. Greater is He that lives inside of me than he that is in the world. I rebuke every satanic and demonic force that is trying to oppress my mind. I break and destroy every negative thought, every negative thing that is trying to come and influence my decisions, my identity. I am God's man.
- I am a man of God. Greater is He that lives in me than he that is in the world. I thank you, Father, that the lines fall unto me in pleasant places. Lord, I thank you. You are my provision. You are my supply. You take care of my needs. Whether I go east or south, north or west, you provide for me. You sustain me. You secure me. I am under the shadow of your wings, and I thank you, Father, that because you are with me, my family is safe, my family is secure, that you have our back. That irrespective of what goes on, that peace lives in my home, that peace lives in my heart. My wife is blessed. My children are blessed. My family is secure. Our future is bright. Our legacy is secure. Lord, thank you that from today, we will be legacy builders, in the name of Jesus.
- Lord God, I thank you for this man. I thank you for this life that he has lived. I thank you for your hand that is upon him. Lord, he is blessed. His health is blessed. His job is blessed. His business is blessed. He is safe and secure. He is all that you have called him to be. The joy of the Lord is his strength. I pray from this day that he will find himself before the King of Kings. He will have a love for his Bible. He will have a love for the things of God. He will no longer make excuses. He is all that God has called him to be.
Worth remembering
- “A true father is not defined by his ability to pay bills. A true father is defined by the godly legacy that he builds on a daily basis.”
- “Don't speak the fact, speak the future.”
- “As long as Dad believes in me, I can believe in myself.”
- “You are the first Jesus Christ that they are going to see.”
- “Stop reacting, start responding.”
Every scripture in this message
- John 10:10
- Colossians 1:27
- Judges 6:12
- 1 Samuel 17:26
- Jeremiah 29:11
- Proverbs 31
- Proverbs 27:17
- 2 Samuel 12:16-20
- 1 John 4:4
- Psalm 16:6
- Nehemiah 8:10
- Philippians 4:6-7
- 2 Corinthians 13:14
