These notes are best when used in conjunction with the audio or video. To listen to the audio (podcast), click here.Chuck Pierce prophecy over 2011
Leaders now will know how to father and mother a whole new generation that is coming in. This is a time to be healed of your fatherlessness. The lord can heal you sovereignty. God can bring you into an understanding. One is also linked with a new type of strength.
Things a good father will do
- Rough house
- Provide
- Protect
- Empower
- Love tenderly and truthfully
- Discipline to build the child up
- Correct with the child's best interest in mind
When addressing his disciples, with the Pharisees present, (who were full of hypocrisy) Jesus said,
Matthew 23:8-12
8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
The concept that there shouldn’t be any human authority in the church is not substantiated by Matthew 23:8-12. To me the scripture is speaking to the heart of hypocritical leaders who want to have certain titles of honor because of ungodly pride.
Hebrews 13:17
17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
The issue of honoring people in authority is NOT FOR THE AUTHORITY FIGURE it’s for the person extending the honor.
Matthew 10:41
41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.
Spiritual Fathers
1 Corinthians 4:14-17
14 I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. 15 Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17 For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.
We see the relationship between Paul and Timothy and Paul and the Corinthian Church as a father and son relationship. Paul address them as “My dear children” and specifically calls Timothy his son.
Because of this special fatherly relationship that Paul has with the church he urges them to imitate him. So Paul sends Timothy ?? It’s obvious that when you’ve seen Paul you’ve seen Timothy. Timothy has been fathered by Paul and has his “spirit” in him. His way of doing things, his patterns.
My definition of a Spiritual Father
When you or I esteem a minister very highly and lovingly place them into our heart we are making them into a type of spiritual father.
Levels of Influence
There are different levels of influence a spiritual father can have. The more influence the more the Spiritual Father can help and direct the spiritual son. There is also more risk to the son of being “taken advantage of” by the father.
Consider Jacob and Laban.
What happens when we esteem a spiritual father is everything we hear in Christendom gets “filtered” through the teaching of this father. If something doesn’t line up with what we’ve heard from this esteemed ministry we can become unsettled, argumentative, or turned off.
We will begin to wrestle with what’s being said. Now this wrestling can be very healthy if we will see it through like the Berean’s in
Acts 17: 11
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true..
Now when you honor and respect a media ministry more than a ministry where you have a working relationship, it creates conflict in the spiritual realm for that subordinate minister. He or she has to contend against the spiritual father when he or she is trying to minister or convey a scriptural idea. Sometimes there’s agreement between your spiritual fathers sometimes there is not.
There is nothing wrong in some ways with having a spiritual father or mother you really don’t have any relationship with. However…
- There’s no accountability
- There’s no correction
- This allows us to be in control of the relationship
- Unfortunately there’s no tangible inheritance.
Testimony established by 2 or 3 witnesses. I understand the dynamics of God speaking something fresh into the body of Christ and many ministers prophetically hearing the same message. This can give tremendous confidence that this is what God is saying right now.
However the way it’s always been presented to me is. “Hey did you listen to Joyce Meyer the other day? You were saying the same thing she was you must be hearing from the Lord pastor.” Sounds flattering at first however the person has more esteem for Joyce Meyer than her pastor. Because the church member uses Joyce Meyer to validate the pastor instead of the pastor validating Joyce Meyer.
I like to turn that around on people saying something jokingly like, “Yes, I’m glad she’s hearing from the Lord.”
Why is it that we esteem ministries that are on Television or the radio more than the local pastor? I suppose we are impressed with the number of people that may represent fruitfulness from the Lord. Maybe it’s the charisma of the minister or the appeal of his/her message. Maybe the large media budgets represent spiritual depth. Maybe it’s the polished image media can create. Do large #’s of people validate truth?
There are 1 Billion Muslims who make a pilgrimage to Mecca to kiss a rock that they think takes their sins away?
This issue with different spiritual fathers has going on for a long time.
1 Corinthians 1:10-12
10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
Now in our time nobody would say “I follow anyone” accept Christ but they would be lying. It doesn’t sound very spiritual coming from an American minded person born and bred with independence running through their veins to say they follow anyone. However when we elevate people in our heart (nothing wrong with that) we are following them.
Instead of Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and Christ, we could substitute some of these names perhaps.
- Billi Brim
- Kenneth Hagain
- Jimmy Swaggart (and son)
- Perry Stone
- John Hagge
- Joyce Meyer
- Joel Osteen
- Insert your favorite media ministry
Enemies of Spiritual Fathers
- Lack of Trust from previous relational injuries
- Fear of hurt
- Lack of honor
- Old Age (not always)
- Lack of a father pattern from upbringing
- A spiritual father that’s perceived as unimpressive (2 Cor. 10:10)
- Did any of you go through a stage in your life where you became unimpressed with your Earthly parents? Familiarity can make it hard to honor a spiritual Father.
Consider Keith Moore and Kenneth Hagain. Now think of yourself and Kenneth Hagain
They may be great people with powerful ministries, however because they don’t know you there is no inheritance for you in many ways.
The teaching may be great, it may bring freedom and revelation etc. However when that teaching brings you into conflict with “real people” in your life it may cost you a future you could’ve had.
Conclusion:
By having spiritual fathers that don’t know us personally it sterilizes us spiritually. We don’t know how to birth spiritual sons because we ourselves are illegitimate, never having a spiritual father we don’t know how to raise up a son in the faith ourselves.
Do you have a spiritual son or daughter you can name?
NIV
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The Message
Matthew 28:18-20
"God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."
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