They Were Without A Father They just didn't get it!!! If they had just got it, they would have left the 5-fold alone...The Apostleship would have been able to carry on the impartation of power onto their sons...After 20 centuries we'd be a force to be reckoned with! What in the world could she be rambling about now?! Well, if you know me at all you know I’m going to say it.
Paul stated things well in 1 Corinthians 4:15: “For though you would have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus, I have begotten (be born; conceived) you through the gospel.” There can be many who teach and instruct you during your spiritual upbringing, but these teachers never remain long enough to know you. Therefore there are no bonds built. They have no parental feelings. You are not their spiritual children. However, we run from conference to book stand seeking out guidance and instruction which never teaches us the value of true father/son relationship. Sure we are to have a relationship with Christ Jesus, our Savior; but it’s the father that raises us up spiritually, like Paul did Timothy, that establishes the spiritual bonds that we take into our journey of life. Elisha had Elijah, Paul had Barnabus, and Timothy had
Paul. Each passed on to their spiritual sons the mantle of their anointing. Each time this mantle was placed upon the shoulders of their successor the anointing increased. Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. 6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. As I read the book “You Have Not Many Fathers” by Dr. Mark Hanby, my heart cried out. How many pastors in the pulpit today truly have a spiritual father? How many are truly fathering their sons and daughters and encouraging them spiritually to carry their mantles of anointing? How many fathers are willing to take a bullet for their sons? How many sons are willing to submit and learn under the covering of their spiritual fathers, knowing that their relationships will be tested and tried? The result of the obedience of the son is one of a heart turned to the father; and the result of the father is one of a heart turned to the son. What a wonderful blend…what a wonderful blessing to receive. Looking at the church of Corinth they appeared to be the model church. They placed their foundation on the truth preached by Paul. They were watered by the anointed word of Apollos. Even Peter made guest appearances. One would recognize the Corinthian church as the model church that others should follow. However, when one looked beyond the true doors of this church, there was mutiny in the pulpit…sin lurking in the pews. One would have thought that holiness was no longer a resident, but a guest. As they boasted on their spiritual gifts Paul didn’t hesitate to call them on their shortcomings. The main problem being…they had not many fathers! Oh they had quite eloquent speaking
teachers and boasters of the Word; but where was the heart of the father? Where were the ones who took upon them the Father heart of God and displayed that love to the people? Where were the imitators of Christ… “Follow me, as I follow Christ.” Paul poured out his father heart to them when he wrote. Paul truly loved this church; but they had a few things to get into order. However, disappointing as it is, we have become like the world in our churches today. Our churches have been set up, and are organized, like the businesses of the world. We base our blessings on church growth and establish administrative offices for organized outreaches and internal staff. If you dress and act well enough we’ll let you lead. We’ll establish a training program for our leaders that will help to recruit more people into the church. People, did God tell you to do this? Is this really obeying Jesus’ commission to go out and preach the gospel of Christ? We are the CHURCH! We are the representatives of the kingdom of God! This is not the spirit of excellence of God! It’s chaos; it’s disorder! It is outside of His will and brings curses, not blessings. If we desire to regain excellence in the church we must raise up mature leadership. This leadership must be weaned from the milk and be partaking in the meat of God’s Word. They need spiritual fathers and mothers to draw from as they learn how to operate in the power and anointing passed down to them. So what does all this have to do with having a spiritual father? Much! If men of God had spiritual fathers today they would be raising up mature sons and daughters. They wouldn’t be leading a congregation on milk. The reason they are being fed milk, may be because their leader was never led to the maturity of his anointing by a spiritual father. Many pastors and teachers have run out determined and set in their calling without a single blessing from a spiritual father. As a matter of fact, most have not been fathered. In their haste to rush into their calling they
missed the most important part of their anointing…the one that is passed down from father to son. A child that is brought up with no father lacks discipline and can be emotionally unstable. A family with no father usually suffers financially, socially and emotionally. Basically oppression can rest on a fatherless family. The fatherless family lacks stability. The father gives the vision to the family. So like the church. If a church has no discipline or vision they suffer (Prov 29:18a). The church needs identity…they need vision. They need a sense of belonging. Without a leader that has developed the heart of a father, by having been fathered himself; he’ll only lead his people into an unstable relationship with their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. These leaders may have had many to teach them…but which one was truly a father to them? This order spoken of here is marked in God’s Word time and time again. Throughout the Old and New Testaments God established spiritual leaders beginning with Noah and following through the Apostles in the New Testament. In Exodus 40 God established Aaron as the father to the priesthood with his sons as his successors. God established order for every tribe that came out of Egypt. It was his intention that these responsibilities were to be passed on to every generation. God developed a system where His blessings and anointing of spiritual power would be passed down. Sadly man rejected God’s order for their own. Because of the sin of Eli’s sons the tradition of passing on relational generational blessings ended in Aaron’s lineage. God then chose men outside of the family of Aaron, Samuel. Sadly Samuel’s sons didn’t follow in their father’s footsteps by submitting to the order of God. They rejected God’s order of father to son relationship…this was a rejection to God. God pursued on,
choosing noteworthy men to be chosen fathers and lead and care for his people. Each time they chose man’s kingdom over God’s. God intended for each generation to inherit a magnification of revelation, power and blessings to be passed on to the son from the father (Deut 30:5). The Apostles loved those they fathered in the New Testament. They showed their love in the letters they wrote. They passed their inheritance on to their son’s as God intended. It was not God’s intention to raise up bastard children. There was to be a spiritual progression from generation to generation. This progression of anointing and power is meant to increase from generation to generation. This is not a blessing to be kept within the ‘confines of the bloodline’, but passed on to our sons and daughters of Christ that we adopt. Somewhere we became distracted…caught up in the flow of ‘the rapture’ where we ceased Discipling our children which cut them off from their spiritual inheritance of anointing and power that was intended for them. “The Lord wants His church to minister in the power of double portions. God wants His people to pass their inheritance in ministry to the next generation so the increase and expansion of the Kingdom will grow from father to son.” (“You Have Not Many Fathers” Dr. Mark Hanby P. 56). Elijah had 14 miraculous acts in ministry and Elisha had 28. A DOUBLE PORTION! The mantle Elijah placed on Elisha represented the anointing being passed on. This priestly robe had been anointed with oil from the head down to the hem of the robe (Ps 133:2) when Moses poured the oil onto the head of Aaron. This priestly anointing was meant to be passed on growing stronger with each receiving generation.
There is too much to cover when one tries to explain the heart of a father. There is much scripture to reference when understanding where we started and where we strayed. Bottom line is we cannot accept the order of man. It is the order of God that brings the inheritance of power and anointing. The order is passed down from father to son/daughter, from mother to daughter. We are the body of Christ, and how can two walk together unless they be agreed (Amos 3:3). As one is under the leadership direction of a spiritual father they begin to inherit the father’s heart, as the father passes on his mantle to the son. Sons, be ready, for one cannot accept this journey unless they are prepared to allow their flesh to be exposed and die to it. They cannot listen to the enemy when tempted to leave thinking they are ‘ready’. One cannot just ask any pastor to be their spiritual father. It must be one that is chosen by God. One must be sensitive to the voice of God when He speaks. Finally, we must give honor when honors due. Our spiritual fathers pour out their lives into their children and receive nothing back. We cannot forget to honor them. Don’t wait until they grow old to honor them. This oversight can cause the flow between father and son to be stopped. The honor must be given back to them. A spiritual father places his mantle on the son and imparts the power in a double portion. A son should make sure that he pours back into the father before they part. This is the heart of the children turned to the father. Rom 13:7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. When we follow God’s order through the carrying on of passing the inheritance from father to son then we honor God. We must give honor where honor is due. We must be repairers of the breach and carry on the burden of ministry. Spiritual fathers cannot carry the blessing of God
themselves. Honor your spiritual fathers in ministry and help to restore the breech in the house of God. Isa 58:12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.