I was reflecting the other day about my fascination over languages, cultures, travel and foreign missionary work. What, or who, made such an impact on me that the course of my life was to be set so early in my journey? I do not come from a family that traveled or had a very “outward” look into the world and her events. Yet, I have traveled and been to over forty countries, which is not bad for a “kid from the South Bronx” (though it has been a very long time since I have been call a kid - sigh).
So what was it that stirred me to such adventures that no one else in my extended family desired to experience or to become such a person with no real roots. I came up with a list of six. They are not listed by their impact as much as on a timeline in my life.
1. A black and white cartoon that had a talking dog, Mr. Peabody, and a boy, Sherman, with horned rimmed eyeglasses as his sidekick. Mr. Peabody would “set the wayback machine” and go back to different epochs and countries. This cartoon had me mesmerized.
2. Tin Tin comic books. These worldwide adventures by Tin Tin and his dog were not simply read but memorized. I can still remember Tin Tin on a camel as he rode by the pyramids. Thats an impact from forty-five to fifty years ago!
3. National Geographic magazines. I can remember my father coming home with boxes of old National Geographic magazines that really opened the door to the world -- and in color! Africa came to life through those old but beautiful magazines.
4. I had a much older cousin named Vinny (yup I have a Cousin Vinny) who left home as a young man to travel and live in Spain for a couple of years. Why he had to flee from General Franco’s Spain is another story but one that filled me with youthful excitement.
5. The Maryknoll magazine. This was a small-sized, monthly publication full of stories from Catholic priests that were of the missionary order called Maryknoll. This was the beginning of my melding the needy in the world with the spiritual, in intriguing far away places.
6. “Travels with Charley in Search of America,” by John Steinbeck. I recently re-read this book that I had first read as a teenager. I so wanted a dog named Charley with a camper full of books named Rocinante traveling from one coast to another.
This simple list of six with the Holy Spirit truly set the rudder of my life. What we expose ourselves and our children to will have great impact on our and their lives and will make life-long impressions. So what are we exposing ourselves and our loved ones to?
The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. Luke 11:34-35.
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Sunday, January 2, 2011
Friday, May 15, 2009
Restoration vs Reformation
I am presently doing an online interactive discovery course on Simple House Churches. I posted the following comments on that course's web site and would like to hear what you think.
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I found all the comments on being alone, being misunderstood by denominations and even that a denomination being supportive all so very interesting.
Here are a few thoughts based on my experiences in Church Planting.
The biggest obstacles to the Body of Christ today are internal:
a) The present day misconception and misapplication of the local church
and b) the present day pastor position.
These 2 points have been polluted over the centuries and have no Biblical support as they are operating today. Dare I say that they may have become tools in the enemy's hands.
Denominations exist because they believe that they are "more" correct in their stances than anyone else and they will support you till they feel threatened by the House Church Movement. The crossroads of who is the authority and issues over money (tithes) cannot be skirted and eventually it must fall on one side or another. Like any other corporation self preservation is paramount and the denomination will not tolerate such radical shifts that threaten their very existence.
With over 30 years of being in a denomination and at various levels of leadership I believe that the denominations and the present day church cannot be reformed and that they shouldn't be but rather than Reformation what is needed is Restoration.
A Restoration to simply being as Biblical as we understand and to be spiritual people being Spirit led.
We do not need to patch old the wineskins and have the skins burst and loose the new wine. We need to have new wineskins (forms? structures? understandings?) if we desire to have this New Wine. The foundations of the present day structures are not Biblicall and will not hold. What is needed is a freshly laid foundation that is based on the scriptures and not on our reasoning.
I am really looking forward to this interactive online course.
Blessings,
Manny
***************************************************************************
I found all the comments on being alone, being misunderstood by denominations and even that a denomination being supportive all so very interesting.
Here are a few thoughts based on my experiences in Church Planting.
The biggest obstacles to the Body of Christ today are internal:
a) The present day misconception and misapplication of the local church
and b) the present day pastor position.
These 2 points have been polluted over the centuries and have no Biblical support as they are operating today. Dare I say that they may have become tools in the enemy's hands.
Denominations exist because they believe that they are "more" correct in their stances than anyone else and they will support you till they feel threatened by the House Church Movement. The crossroads of who is the authority and issues over money (tithes) cannot be skirted and eventually it must fall on one side or another. Like any other corporation self preservation is paramount and the denomination will not tolerate such radical shifts that threaten their very existence.
With over 30 years of being in a denomination and at various levels of leadership I believe that the denominations and the present day church cannot be reformed and that they shouldn't be but rather than Reformation what is needed is Restoration.
A Restoration to simply being as Biblical as we understand and to be spiritual people being Spirit led.
We do not need to patch old the wineskins and have the skins burst and loose the new wine. We need to have new wineskins (forms? structures? understandings?) if we desire to have this New Wine. The foundations of the present day structures are not Biblicall and will not hold. What is needed is a freshly laid foundation that is based on the scriptures and not on our reasoning.
I am really looking forward to this interactive online course.
Blessings,
Manny
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Families and Legacies
I came across a coffee mug in New Jersey with an interesting phrase emblazoned on its side: “Investing in Families; Building Legacies”. This simple, yet poignant phrase caused me to reflect on the word, families.
Most believers do not understand the value of a family. I am not referring to the political catch phrase “family values” which is so easily bantered around today. I am referring to the family as the foundation of the Christian Body. There are numerous references in the scriptures to the family unit and how closely it resembles the Body of Christ. The very basis whether a person qualifies for leadership in the House of the Lord is whether they can rule their household (family) righteously or not.
Unfortunately, the value of the family, many times, is not viewed through spiritual eyes. The scriptures that guide parents to train their children in the ways of the Lord and children to honor their parents are often ignored or mishandled. Lost is the attitude that love covers a multitude of sins and all of this to everyone’s own spiritual peril. What is ultimately at stake is much more than the family; it is the legacy of the family. The very future of the family is the legacy and that affects the generations that are still to come.
I can’t help but wonder how many people were lost eternally as a result of an evil king from the previous generation. We can read the records of evil kings and of such losses of children and adults in 2 Chronicles. We must care (invest) in families if we are to build solid legacies for our descendants. The very breath of the spiritual family is the Holy Spirit himself. Recognizing this fact would lead us in the scriptures to how He operates to build such a legacy and the devices of evil kings towards the destruction of the legacy.
Let us first consider the promotion or the investment in the Family of God:
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galations 5: 22-26 NIV)
For the sake of the legacy we must exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our daily walk and works within the Family of God. There is one fruit (singular) listed here which has 9 different elements. To be absent in one of these elements is to say that the Fruit of the Holy Spirit is absent. Removing chicken from chicken soup means that you do not have chicken soup! You may have a broth but it is not chicken soup. All 9 portions must be present to have the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit. Are they evident in your Family of God? This is important to consider because it not only affects your family, but also your legacy.
Similarly, let us also examine the destruction and derailment of the family legacy.
16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galations 5: 16 – 21) NIV
An interesting point in this passage is that the phrase “acts of the sinful nature” is in the plural form. There is one Fruit of the Holy Spirit but the sinful nature can be expressed in 9 different ways. Anyone of these sinful acts that are present and allowed to flourish in the Family will derail and destroy the legacy. I am reminded how Jesus warns us of the Pharisee’s leaven. It doesn’t take very much to spoil the entire batch. Are they evident in your Family of God? If so, then the family has been polluted and the object of destruction is the legacy or the next generation of God’s children. It may not seem as significant at the time but a destructive result has been set in motion. Seemingly, insignificant acts that may cause discord (lack of peace), dissensions (strong disagreements) or factions (people taking sides) are very dangerous and must be guarded against. These acts (not the people) must be rooted out for the good of the Family.
If we as the Family of God are to be the incarnate Christ on the earth today and for the future than we must be aware of and on guard as to what is allowed to either fester or to flourish in our families.
Remember that coffee mug, found of all places in New Jersey, which reads:
“Investing in Families; Building Legacies”.
Most believers do not understand the value of a family. I am not referring to the political catch phrase “family values” which is so easily bantered around today. I am referring to the family as the foundation of the Christian Body. There are numerous references in the scriptures to the family unit and how closely it resembles the Body of Christ. The very basis whether a person qualifies for leadership in the House of the Lord is whether they can rule their household (family) righteously or not.
Unfortunately, the value of the family, many times, is not viewed through spiritual eyes. The scriptures that guide parents to train their children in the ways of the Lord and children to honor their parents are often ignored or mishandled. Lost is the attitude that love covers a multitude of sins and all of this to everyone’s own spiritual peril. What is ultimately at stake is much more than the family; it is the legacy of the family. The very future of the family is the legacy and that affects the generations that are still to come.
I can’t help but wonder how many people were lost eternally as a result of an evil king from the previous generation. We can read the records of evil kings and of such losses of children and adults in 2 Chronicles. We must care (invest) in families if we are to build solid legacies for our descendants. The very breath of the spiritual family is the Holy Spirit himself. Recognizing this fact would lead us in the scriptures to how He operates to build such a legacy and the devices of evil kings towards the destruction of the legacy.
Let us first consider the promotion or the investment in the Family of God:
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galations 5: 22-26 NIV)
For the sake of the legacy we must exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our daily walk and works within the Family of God. There is one fruit (singular) listed here which has 9 different elements. To be absent in one of these elements is to say that the Fruit of the Holy Spirit is absent. Removing chicken from chicken soup means that you do not have chicken soup! You may have a broth but it is not chicken soup. All 9 portions must be present to have the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit. Are they evident in your Family of God? This is important to consider because it not only affects your family, but also your legacy.
Similarly, let us also examine the destruction and derailment of the family legacy.
16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galations 5: 16 – 21) NIV
An interesting point in this passage is that the phrase “acts of the sinful nature” is in the plural form. There is one Fruit of the Holy Spirit but the sinful nature can be expressed in 9 different ways. Anyone of these sinful acts that are present and allowed to flourish in the Family will derail and destroy the legacy. I am reminded how Jesus warns us of the Pharisee’s leaven. It doesn’t take very much to spoil the entire batch. Are they evident in your Family of God? If so, then the family has been polluted and the object of destruction is the legacy or the next generation of God’s children. It may not seem as significant at the time but a destructive result has been set in motion. Seemingly, insignificant acts that may cause discord (lack of peace), dissensions (strong disagreements) or factions (people taking sides) are very dangerous and must be guarded against. These acts (not the people) must be rooted out for the good of the Family.
If we as the Family of God are to be the incarnate Christ on the earth today and for the future than we must be aware of and on guard as to what is allowed to either fester or to flourish in our families.
Remember that coffee mug, found of all places in New Jersey, which reads:
“Investing in Families; Building Legacies”.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
MINISTRY of DOING vs MINISTRY of BEING
Ministry: for some the driving force for being a Christian. It is the reason for their value and existence on the earth today. "What can I do for Jesus and His people today?" It sounds so holy, so right and yet it is filthy in its own rights. It is that pesky, but yet formidable, little word of "I" that pollutes it all. If only we can ask in its place, "Father, what would "You" want from me today" and accept that it might be to sit still and be quiet before Him.
What we do and how we do, whatever we may do, is never as important as why we do. The why begs to know the source of "our ministry". The feeding of the hungry, the caring for the widows and the visiting of the prisoners is not good enough because they are hungry, widows or prisoners. If we feed, care for and visit because we feel a need to do so we pollute the ministry by putting our filthy hands on the plow. Filthy because the source is from us, our souls, and the acts become "soulish acts". While the very same actions will be different if Father God speaks to our spirits and directs us to feed, care and visit. Then it becomes "spiritual acts of being" rather than "soulish acts of doing".
In reality God would not speak to our spirits as much as He would move through our spirit, once we are one with Him. We must learn to become one with the Father as Jesus was one with Him. We must learn to be like Jesus and do and say only AFTER we see and hear from the Father as Jesus did. We must become childlike and wait for our daddy to direct us.
Our driving force should be to become mature sons of God which can only happen by being consumed by the holy, loving God of eternity. Once we are consumed we no longer exist but are recreated by the One who consumes. The old creature and creation is gone, along with all of its ideas of how to deal with situations, and the new creature and creation is in place with the mind and spirit of God.
T. Austin Sparks writes the following in "The Stewardship of the Mystery" pages 76, 77.
"It is what Christ is in us by His Spirit that determines everything. It determines all the values, settles forever the question of effectiveness, answers all the questions and problems. I wish we had had this understanding, this knowledge sooner. If only we could have this as the foundation of our life from the beginning, what a lot we should be saved from.
Ministry is the expression of life, and not the taking on of a uniform and a title. Once I thought that to be in the ministry was to go into a certain kind of work, to come out of business, and, well, be a minister! So one got into the thing. Many, many are laboring and toiling in it, breaking their hearts, afraid to leave that order of things, lest they should be violating what they conceived to be a Divine call. Many others cannot get out of it because it is a means of livelihood, and they too are breaking their hearts. It is all false. Ministry is not a system like that. Ministry is the expression of life, and that is but saying in other words that it is the outworking of the indwelling of Christ. Disaster lies before the man or woman who ministers on any other ground than that. When the Lord gets a chance in us, and we really will trust Him on that ground, take our position there, He will show us that there is ministry enough for us; we shall have not to go round looking for it. The real labour so often is to get us down to that ground, the delivering of us from this present evil age even in its conception of the ministry, unto the heavenly ministry.
The Lord Jesus is our pattern. You see the spontaneous ministry, the restful ministry of that Heavenly Man. I covet that! It does not mean that we shall become careless, but it does deliver us from so much unnecessary strain. That is how it should be. May the Lord bring us to it; the Heavenly Man with the heavenly life as the full heavenly resource."
What we do and how we do, whatever we may do, is never as important as why we do. The why begs to know the source of "our ministry". The feeding of the hungry, the caring for the widows and the visiting of the prisoners is not good enough because they are hungry, widows or prisoners. If we feed, care for and visit because we feel a need to do so we pollute the ministry by putting our filthy hands on the plow. Filthy because the source is from us, our souls, and the acts become "soulish acts". While the very same actions will be different if Father God speaks to our spirits and directs us to feed, care and visit. Then it becomes "spiritual acts of being" rather than "soulish acts of doing".
In reality God would not speak to our spirits as much as He would move through our spirit, once we are one with Him. We must learn to become one with the Father as Jesus was one with Him. We must learn to be like Jesus and do and say only AFTER we see and hear from the Father as Jesus did. We must become childlike and wait for our daddy to direct us.
Our driving force should be to become mature sons of God which can only happen by being consumed by the holy, loving God of eternity. Once we are consumed we no longer exist but are recreated by the One who consumes. The old creature and creation is gone, along with all of its ideas of how to deal with situations, and the new creature and creation is in place with the mind and spirit of God.
T. Austin Sparks writes the following in "The Stewardship of the Mystery" pages 76, 77.
"It is what Christ is in us by His Spirit that determines everything. It determines all the values, settles forever the question of effectiveness, answers all the questions and problems. I wish we had had this understanding, this knowledge sooner. If only we could have this as the foundation of our life from the beginning, what a lot we should be saved from.
Ministry is the expression of life, and not the taking on of a uniform and a title. Once I thought that to be in the ministry was to go into a certain kind of work, to come out of business, and, well, be a minister! So one got into the thing. Many, many are laboring and toiling in it, breaking their hearts, afraid to leave that order of things, lest they should be violating what they conceived to be a Divine call. Many others cannot get out of it because it is a means of livelihood, and they too are breaking their hearts. It is all false. Ministry is not a system like that. Ministry is the expression of life, and that is but saying in other words that it is the outworking of the indwelling of Christ. Disaster lies before the man or woman who ministers on any other ground than that. When the Lord gets a chance in us, and we really will trust Him on that ground, take our position there, He will show us that there is ministry enough for us; we shall have not to go round looking for it. The real labour so often is to get us down to that ground, the delivering of us from this present evil age even in its conception of the ministry, unto the heavenly ministry.
The Lord Jesus is our pattern. You see the spontaneous ministry, the restful ministry of that Heavenly Man. I covet that! It does not mean that we shall become careless, but it does deliver us from so much unnecessary strain. That is how it should be. May the Lord bring us to it; the Heavenly Man with the heavenly life as the full heavenly resource."
Thursday, January 15, 2009
A Dialogue on Spiritual Fathers
This is a dialogue between myself and an esteemed brother named Jim. We are discussing my previous blog, "Spiritual Fathers" by Sam Soleyn. I found this dialogue so interesting that I want to share it for the purpose of spurring on further discussions. I especially love the tone of humility and love between us as brothers as we dialogue. Jim's writing and questions are in black and my responses are red. Please read it and add your comments at the end of the blog.
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Dear Manny,
The letter was very interesting (enough to pull me out of typing on my dissertation). However, I find myself troubled by some questions that the letter raised for me. Understand, I believe in the concept that we need spiritual fathers (and at times spiritual mothers, for mothers teach us some things that fathers cannot). However, I find that it is often crucial to ask in just what way the concept or "spiritual principle" is worked out or administered. The issue is often the underlying assumptions of the teaching or teacher. With that, please allow me to ask some questions.
Let me start by saying that when it comes to authority issues and spiritual fathers I am in no way endorsing a newly wrapped version of sheparding. This is actually not even close though some may think it is due to the vocabulary.
First, how do we know when someone has the spiritual maturity to be a "spiritual father"? I am not at all sure that age plays a part in it. I have known men who were spiritual fathers at age 25. Paul tells Timothy in the same letter cited by the author "let no one look down on your youthfulness…" On the other hand, I find that it is not always natural for a woman to trust her husband (whether this is a part of the Fall or just the woman's own history I would not care to debate right now). Having a "spiritual father" can interfere with the woman learning to trust her husband, because the temptation is to continue trusting the father figure over her husband. I have seen this, personally, as well as cases where a "spiritual father" was not so spiritual and did great damage to the family's life.
How do we know who is mature enough? This, as you have stated, has nothing to do wth chronological age as much as it does with reflecting who God is through a mortal being. Reflecting God is our purpose through a maturing process. When it reads in Genesis 1:26 that we were created in God's image and likeness it is referring to a process as much as a statement of position. In His image because we are spiritual beings as God is a spirit. In His likeness as in maturing in our personalities to reflect His attributes as much as we could without being divine. An example in the natural is a biological child who has the parent's DNA and over time will reflect the parent's value system as the child matures. There will be no denying whose child that is from the image and likeness of the parent. All examples have limitations and can be dangerous if taken out to far but I believe you understand what I am saying.
Also a true father always wants the best for his child. A father doesn't expect to receive from the child but will give so the child could progress. Love is definitely the basis of this relationship. This love is the new commandment given to us by Jesus in John 15:12 which establishes a new reference point: no longer as you love yourself but as I have loved you.
If these 2 points are evident than we are beginning to distance ourselves from men with wrong motives and even well meaning men but whose standards do not promote our desire to mature into Father's likeness and the sacrifing love will not be there. In this case the "spiritual son" is cared for more than status, buildings and yes even institutions as in today's denominations and "church organizations".
The second question then becomes, "whose authority prevails"? The Scripture establishes marriage and the authority of the husband over the wife (1 Cor 11; Eph 5; 1 Tim 2). The scripture nowhere establishes an office of "spiritual father" which is authorized to interfere in a marriage. While women need pastoral care and counseling, should they not get this from the local church? If one would respond that many local churches do not meet such a need, then I would say that this is a call to heal the local body or plant something healthy. We are discussing the "spiritual principle," as well, and so such an illustration would be irrelevant.
This is an outstanding question / observation "whose authority prevails". This very question shakes every wineskin that we may have created or place our trust in. There is only one authority and that is God. Oh yes we may spout that but do we really believe it? There is only one head and that is manifested for us in the Person of Jesus. It is His church, His body and His Bride. We are to be as children before Him and accept Him not only as Savior but also as Lord.
True that there is no "office" of spiritual fathers but there is the relationship of being one. A spiritual father is not one who has any more authority than any one else in the Body. If he forgets this than yes he will inetfere and even become a busybody. One becomes a spiritual father when he is asked to be one in a person's life. This of course should be birthed out of relationship. It is no more than a more mature brother, as evidenced in his reflecting the image and likeness of God that is giving counsel as he is allowed to do in the relationship between an adult son and a father. It is no longer by edict to a 2 year old but by Godly persuassion as he points to the Scriptures and to the One True Father. Through situations he is bring the parties back to the Father and help them to mature themselves into the Father's likeness. This is not to make people dependent on the spiritual father or to become an enabler but one who points to the Father in that situation. It does open the door to a carte blanche shepherding position and a good spiritual father will not allow it to go there.
So ultimately every thing points back to restoration with the Father. So who is in charge? Pastor? Husband? The institutional church? We need to learn to trust in the Headship of God and anything or anyone who doesn't point in that direction, by more tham words, is really stealing the affection and the glory that rightly belongs to Father God.I suggest that we re-evaluate how we work out faith through our modern day "church institutions" and all of her offices.
This is question of authority is extremely relevant today, where it sometimes seems that anyone and everyone who feels a call (or even a desire) to minister now calls himself an "apostle." Thus the third question is about authority in the church. Do "spiritual fathers" then mediate between the believer and the Heavenly Father? Can we not each of us, including Christian wives, go directly to the Heavenly Father for grace in the time of need (Heb 10:19-25)? And what of the local church? Most of us are not comfortable calling the pastor "Father" as with the Roman Catholics, Orthodox, or Anglicans, and yet the pastor would appear to be the natural person to be the "spiritual father" for his congregation. Is not the scripturally based gift of pastor enough, especially as we emphasize the function of such a one as a "feeder" and a shepherd (the original and still relevant meaning of "pastor")? Where then do pastors fit into the schema of "spiritual fathers"?
WOW! This is more than a question. There are many questions here and they all come from a modern day institutional view of church and her functions.
It is true that the latest fad is to be called an apostle as it seems that the desire to be called a prophet is not as much in vogue today. This I believe is because the Apostle is being better understood and released by the Holy Spirit today. That is not to say that anyone can take on the function of an apostle on their own. The "5 Fold Ministries" or the Post Ascension Gifts are exactly that; gifts given by Jesus to the Bride. They must be given if they are to be gifts. One can only receive a gift and cannot take it by their own volition if it is to be a gift.
Another point is that a person claiming to be an Apostle may be an apostle but he may be a false apostle. So an apostle yes but not an apostolic gift from Jesus. So we need to be careful not to throw out the baby with the bath water because there are so many false apostles. I also believe that the office is that of an elder and the functiion is that of apostle ("apostle-ing"). I could discuss the purpose of the 5 Fold as a whole and the Apostle specifically but I would diverse to do so. I would simply say that an Apostle brings order, establishes foundations, reveals mysteries of God and builds (edifies) the Body of Christ.
Spiritual fathers do not mediate between the saints and God because there is only one mediator and that is Jesus. A spiritual father walks together with his adult child and helps point towards the Father from his walk towards the father and the revelation he has received. True that he may be directive at times but he never replaces the Father or Jesus or the Holy Spirit and he speaks as a father would to an adult child. Ultimately the decision in a situation must be made by the individual.
Of course we are able to enter as individuals before the mercy seat, at anytime, by the price of the blood shed at the cross but not everyone knows what that means or even that they could. Certainly my prayers today are not the same as they were 30 years ago or even my understanding of what prayer is all about. If only I had had a spiritual father to have pointed it out I possibly could have mature quicker in this area.
About calling the pastor,father. True that every pastor is an elder but not every pastor is everyone's spiritual father. I do not believe that the elder that functions as a pastor (pastor-ing) is the head of the church. I believe that position can only be held by the groom Himself Jesus. Also I believe in the plurality of elders within the Body as well as in the Priesthood of Believers. I no longer accept that there is scriptural support for the dichotomy between clergy and laity. Therefore one could be an elder functioning as a pastor and not be the spiritual father for all around him.
How the Body lives (operates) without a man as the head is part of the journey on trusting Jesus for building His church and this does have many other trails we can discuss in the future. This statement does not eliminate the need of elders to lead from a relational standpoint.
The fourth question concerns the Scripture. While fatherhood is something by which God intends to reveal himself, I believe, we must tread carefully here because some of what we teach is frankly extra-biblical. We infer the idea that earthly fathers are supposed to teach us about the nature and ways of God. The idea of "spiritual fathers" is a further extension, one step farther from the security of the revelation of the Word. Some of the biblical justification offered for the principle will not fly.
Granted that any Biblical principle can be distorted by man but that does not negate the need for older men to teach younger men. These older men are simply fathers of the faith that help the younger men to look towards Father God himself. We see this not only in the New Testament, especially in Paul's writings, but also in Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
I can still remember the days when phrases as "Pillars of the Faith" and "Fathers of the Faith" were acceptable norms. Unfortunately with time these phrases have fallen into disrepute as man have soiled them with faulty application. In Africa there is no higher place in society than being declared as a respected papa and the worse thing a man can become to his genealogy forever is to be called a foolish papa. I digress.
Fathers are needed and do teach us about the Spiritual Father as long as they are reflections of the nature of Father God. God, in all His wisdom, has decided to utilize men to lead other men in the journey to a closer relationship with the Father. A father turning the hearts of sons towards the Father.
Paul was a "spiritual father" to the Corinthians, but because he had "birthed" them in Christ through the ministry of the Gospel. Let us also note that Paul did not require submission to his authority from the Corinthians because he was acting as a (Hebrew) father, rather than a Roman patriarch. Such a "birthing" through evangelism would appear to grant a spiritual authority in such a situation (and before anyone objects to my discussion of authority, let me point out that the letter's author makes the point that the family –and by implication the church family- is patriarchal, and he does so several times. Patriarchy strongly implies authority). It is the pastor/elder that is given authority by God in the sphere of the church according to Scripture (Heb 13:17; 1 Pet 5:1-5). Let us note that the submission of the younger men to the elder which is required in 1 Peter 5:6 is not to a "spiritual father" but to the elder/pastor of the local congregation.
Submission is definitely an anathema in our society today isn't it? We must never forget that man cannot replace the Father. Submission is to the Father and not men. When we submit to man we are to submit to the authority of God operating through man. This submission is only for the time or instance that God's authority is in operation. God's authority is found in His eternal Word and as the Spirit gives His Word in a situation we are to submit to the Father by submitting to His Word that is being delivered by a man and not to the man per se.
In 1 Peter 1:2 Peter is speaking about being obedient to Jesus Christ while Hebrews 13:17 is exhorting us to obey the elders, which may or may not be functioning as pastors, because they are watching and caring for us and not because of a title or position. Obey the ones that loving care for you and are pointing you towards a relationship with Father God. Why would one not "obey", follow the directions, if they benefit you in your journey? Again this is supposing the earlier sections on the new commandment on love, authority and spiritual fathers.
True that "birthing" gives one an inherent sense of fatherhood and authority but I know you understand that one does not have to "birth" to be a father because one could adopt and be a better father than some biological fathers.
What will not fly, Scripturally, is the idea that "a child is born, but a son is given." First, this refers to Christ, and only Christ, in any "spiritual" sense. Second, these two phrases are an example of Hebrew synonymous parallelism, a kind of poetry common in the Prophets as well as the Psalms. Both of these phrases refer to the one act of the Heavenly Father giving to us a savior – a savior and not a father. Moreover, Elisha was the apprentice, the official student (one might say the padawan) of Elijah. Their relationship is not typical of spiritual relationships except where one is a "student" of another, and "student-teacher" relationships are not permanent, especially not in the authority a teacher has over a student. Therefore, the biblical justification of "spiritual fathers" is very weak, one might say nearly non-existent. Where "mentoring" relationships are usually very healthy, a mentor does not exercise the authority of a father.
What I submit is that we need to be "padawans" from our Master Jedis if we are to learn about the force and operate properly within its limitations and not cross over. We are not perfect Jedis, unlike Jesus, so our relationships as teacher-student is not permanent and we move on when we have become more proficient with our lasers than our masters. What happens when one becomes more proficient than his sensei in martial arts? I would guess that the good sensei who wants the best for his student is to turn him over to a sensei who could teach him more. Like a music teacher, etc.
I plead with you, I beg you not to beat me up with the Star Wars examples that I am very limited with.
My response has obviously turned into a discussion of the authority of the "spiritual father." Such authority was not overtly claimed in the letter; however the implication seems very strong. On the one hand, we find a very strong emphasis on "patriarchy" in the family and this seems clearly extended to the spiritual family of the church. On the other, the author uses the language of a "restored" principle (i.e. "anointing"?) of spiritual fatherhood. In what sense is "spiritual fatherhood" restored? We have always had such people among us. What makes an Oswald Chambers or a Peter Marshall so influential is, I believe, the spiritual quality of fathering that comes through in their writings or sermons. Is the author claiming that "spiritual fatherhood" has been "restored" in the same way that some claim the "office" of apostle has been "restored?" If so, this is very shaky ground. An examination of the New Testament makes clear that only the "Apostles of the Lamb" or "Apostles of Christ" (same group) had spiritual authority in the church. The rest were "apostles of the church" such as Epaphroditus, the "apostle," or delegate, of the Philippian church (see the Greek of Phil 2:25 which is apostolos) or Barnabas who was the apostle of the church at Antioch (see Acts 13:1f). Such "apostles of the church" had only the authority granted them by the local church for their mission. I will leave aside the question of how Junia exercised authority in the "patriarchal" Roman church.
Spirutual fatherhood has existed as long as man has been on the earth. That is what Adam was to the human race after his fall and why he lived so long. So the concept of restoration of spiritual fathers is more along the line of our coming back to the Biblical principles that were instituted by God.
On a personal note I want you to know that this is not theoritical ramblings by me because I have seen it in action. I have spiritual father, who is older, who loves me and cres to see me move closer in maturing my relationship with Father God. I have had the privilege to be involved in starting house churches on these very same principles of Jesus being the head and He builds His church. In over 30 years of ministry I have never seen the same results of people growing in their relationships with their Lord. I have several that call me their spiritual father and I with trembling walk very carefully in this role. It is exciting to see disciples of Jesus maturing and all being dictated biblically and not by man's heartfelt, though non-biblical, methods of trying to reach God.
All this raises questions about the purpose, Scriptural justification, and legitimate authority which could be claimed for a "restored" spiritual fatherhood. Such questions are legitimate, I believe, even though spiritual fathering, or mentoring, has been going on for thousands of years. If we can answer these questions in submission to the revelation of Scripture we can stand on firm ground, established in healthy doctrine (see 2 Pet 1:20 and 1 Tim 1:10; 2 Tim 1:13).
Thanks for posting the letter, and for reading my response. May the Lord bless you richly.
Grace and Peace,
Jim
*************
Dear Manny,
The letter was very interesting (enough to pull me out of typing on my dissertation). However, I find myself troubled by some questions that the letter raised for me. Understand, I believe in the concept that we need spiritual fathers (and at times spiritual mothers, for mothers teach us some things that fathers cannot). However, I find that it is often crucial to ask in just what way the concept or "spiritual principle" is worked out or administered. The issue is often the underlying assumptions of the teaching or teacher. With that, please allow me to ask some questions.
Let me start by saying that when it comes to authority issues and spiritual fathers I am in no way endorsing a newly wrapped version of sheparding. This is actually not even close though some may think it is due to the vocabulary.
First, how do we know when someone has the spiritual maturity to be a "spiritual father"? I am not at all sure that age plays a part in it. I have known men who were spiritual fathers at age 25. Paul tells Timothy in the same letter cited by the author "let no one look down on your youthfulness…" On the other hand, I find that it is not always natural for a woman to trust her husband (whether this is a part of the Fall or just the woman's own history I would not care to debate right now). Having a "spiritual father" can interfere with the woman learning to trust her husband, because the temptation is to continue trusting the father figure over her husband. I have seen this, personally, as well as cases where a "spiritual father" was not so spiritual and did great damage to the family's life.
How do we know who is mature enough? This, as you have stated, has nothing to do wth chronological age as much as it does with reflecting who God is through a mortal being. Reflecting God is our purpose through a maturing process. When it reads in Genesis 1:26 that we were created in God's image and likeness it is referring to a process as much as a statement of position. In His image because we are spiritual beings as God is a spirit. In His likeness as in maturing in our personalities to reflect His attributes as much as we could without being divine. An example in the natural is a biological child who has the parent's DNA and over time will reflect the parent's value system as the child matures. There will be no denying whose child that is from the image and likeness of the parent. All examples have limitations and can be dangerous if taken out to far but I believe you understand what I am saying.
Also a true father always wants the best for his child. A father doesn't expect to receive from the child but will give so the child could progress. Love is definitely the basis of this relationship. This love is the new commandment given to us by Jesus in John 15:12 which establishes a new reference point: no longer as you love yourself but as I have loved you.
If these 2 points are evident than we are beginning to distance ourselves from men with wrong motives and even well meaning men but whose standards do not promote our desire to mature into Father's likeness and the sacrifing love will not be there. In this case the "spiritual son" is cared for more than status, buildings and yes even institutions as in today's denominations and "church organizations".
The second question then becomes, "whose authority prevails"? The Scripture establishes marriage and the authority of the husband over the wife (1 Cor 11; Eph 5; 1 Tim 2). The scripture nowhere establishes an office of "spiritual father" which is authorized to interfere in a marriage. While women need pastoral care and counseling, should they not get this from the local church? If one would respond that many local churches do not meet such a need, then I would say that this is a call to heal the local body or plant something healthy. We are discussing the "spiritual principle," as well, and so such an illustration would be irrelevant.
This is an outstanding question / observation "whose authority prevails". This very question shakes every wineskin that we may have created or place our trust in. There is only one authority and that is God. Oh yes we may spout that but do we really believe it? There is only one head and that is manifested for us in the Person of Jesus. It is His church, His body and His Bride. We are to be as children before Him and accept Him not only as Savior but also as Lord.
True that there is no "office" of spiritual fathers but there is the relationship of being one. A spiritual father is not one who has any more authority than any one else in the Body. If he forgets this than yes he will inetfere and even become a busybody. One becomes a spiritual father when he is asked to be one in a person's life. This of course should be birthed out of relationship. It is no more than a more mature brother, as evidenced in his reflecting the image and likeness of God that is giving counsel as he is allowed to do in the relationship between an adult son and a father. It is no longer by edict to a 2 year old but by Godly persuassion as he points to the Scriptures and to the One True Father. Through situations he is bring the parties back to the Father and help them to mature themselves into the Father's likeness. This is not to make people dependent on the spiritual father or to become an enabler but one who points to the Father in that situation. It does open the door to a carte blanche shepherding position and a good spiritual father will not allow it to go there.
So ultimately every thing points back to restoration with the Father. So who is in charge? Pastor? Husband? The institutional church? We need to learn to trust in the Headship of God and anything or anyone who doesn't point in that direction, by more tham words, is really stealing the affection and the glory that rightly belongs to Father God.I suggest that we re-evaluate how we work out faith through our modern day "church institutions" and all of her offices.
This is question of authority is extremely relevant today, where it sometimes seems that anyone and everyone who feels a call (or even a desire) to minister now calls himself an "apostle." Thus the third question is about authority in the church. Do "spiritual fathers" then mediate between the believer and the Heavenly Father? Can we not each of us, including Christian wives, go directly to the Heavenly Father for grace in the time of need (Heb 10:19-25)? And what of the local church? Most of us are not comfortable calling the pastor "Father" as with the Roman Catholics, Orthodox, or Anglicans, and yet the pastor would appear to be the natural person to be the "spiritual father" for his congregation. Is not the scripturally based gift of pastor enough, especially as we emphasize the function of such a one as a "feeder" and a shepherd (the original and still relevant meaning of "pastor")? Where then do pastors fit into the schema of "spiritual fathers"?
WOW! This is more than a question. There are many questions here and they all come from a modern day institutional view of church and her functions.
It is true that the latest fad is to be called an apostle as it seems that the desire to be called a prophet is not as much in vogue today. This I believe is because the Apostle is being better understood and released by the Holy Spirit today. That is not to say that anyone can take on the function of an apostle on their own. The "5 Fold Ministries" or the Post Ascension Gifts are exactly that; gifts given by Jesus to the Bride. They must be given if they are to be gifts. One can only receive a gift and cannot take it by their own volition if it is to be a gift.
Another point is that a person claiming to be an Apostle may be an apostle but he may be a false apostle. So an apostle yes but not an apostolic gift from Jesus. So we need to be careful not to throw out the baby with the bath water because there are so many false apostles. I also believe that the office is that of an elder and the functiion is that of apostle ("apostle-ing"). I could discuss the purpose of the 5 Fold as a whole and the Apostle specifically but I would diverse to do so. I would simply say that an Apostle brings order, establishes foundations, reveals mysteries of God and builds (edifies) the Body of Christ.
Spiritual fathers do not mediate between the saints and God because there is only one mediator and that is Jesus. A spiritual father walks together with his adult child and helps point towards the Father from his walk towards the father and the revelation he has received. True that he may be directive at times but he never replaces the Father or Jesus or the Holy Spirit and he speaks as a father would to an adult child. Ultimately the decision in a situation must be made by the individual.
Of course we are able to enter as individuals before the mercy seat, at anytime, by the price of the blood shed at the cross but not everyone knows what that means or even that they could. Certainly my prayers today are not the same as they were 30 years ago or even my understanding of what prayer is all about. If only I had had a spiritual father to have pointed it out I possibly could have mature quicker in this area.
About calling the pastor,father. True that every pastor is an elder but not every pastor is everyone's spiritual father. I do not believe that the elder that functions as a pastor (pastor-ing) is the head of the church. I believe that position can only be held by the groom Himself Jesus. Also I believe in the plurality of elders within the Body as well as in the Priesthood of Believers. I no longer accept that there is scriptural support for the dichotomy between clergy and laity. Therefore one could be an elder functioning as a pastor and not be the spiritual father for all around him.
How the Body lives (operates) without a man as the head is part of the journey on trusting Jesus for building His church and this does have many other trails we can discuss in the future. This statement does not eliminate the need of elders to lead from a relational standpoint.
The fourth question concerns the Scripture. While fatherhood is something by which God intends to reveal himself, I believe, we must tread carefully here because some of what we teach is frankly extra-biblical. We infer the idea that earthly fathers are supposed to teach us about the nature and ways of God. The idea of "spiritual fathers" is a further extension, one step farther from the security of the revelation of the Word. Some of the biblical justification offered for the principle will not fly.
Granted that any Biblical principle can be distorted by man but that does not negate the need for older men to teach younger men. These older men are simply fathers of the faith that help the younger men to look towards Father God himself. We see this not only in the New Testament, especially in Paul's writings, but also in Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
I can still remember the days when phrases as "Pillars of the Faith" and "Fathers of the Faith" were acceptable norms. Unfortunately with time these phrases have fallen into disrepute as man have soiled them with faulty application. In Africa there is no higher place in society than being declared as a respected papa and the worse thing a man can become to his genealogy forever is to be called a foolish papa. I digress.
Fathers are needed and do teach us about the Spiritual Father as long as they are reflections of the nature of Father God. God, in all His wisdom, has decided to utilize men to lead other men in the journey to a closer relationship with the Father. A father turning the hearts of sons towards the Father.
Paul was a "spiritual father" to the Corinthians, but because he had "birthed" them in Christ through the ministry of the Gospel. Let us also note that Paul did not require submission to his authority from the Corinthians because he was acting as a (Hebrew) father, rather than a Roman patriarch. Such a "birthing" through evangelism would appear to grant a spiritual authority in such a situation (and before anyone objects to my discussion of authority, let me point out that the letter's author makes the point that the family –and by implication the church family- is patriarchal, and he does so several times. Patriarchy strongly implies authority). It is the pastor/elder that is given authority by God in the sphere of the church according to Scripture (Heb 13:17; 1 Pet 5:1-5). Let us note that the submission of the younger men to the elder which is required in 1 Peter 5:6 is not to a "spiritual father" but to the elder/pastor of the local congregation.
Submission is definitely an anathema in our society today isn't it? We must never forget that man cannot replace the Father. Submission is to the Father and not men. When we submit to man we are to submit to the authority of God operating through man. This submission is only for the time or instance that God's authority is in operation. God's authority is found in His eternal Word and as the Spirit gives His Word in a situation we are to submit to the Father by submitting to His Word that is being delivered by a man and not to the man per se.
In 1 Peter 1:2 Peter is speaking about being obedient to Jesus Christ while Hebrews 13:17 is exhorting us to obey the elders, which may or may not be functioning as pastors, because they are watching and caring for us and not because of a title or position. Obey the ones that loving care for you and are pointing you towards a relationship with Father God. Why would one not "obey", follow the directions, if they benefit you in your journey? Again this is supposing the earlier sections on the new commandment on love, authority and spiritual fathers.
True that "birthing" gives one an inherent sense of fatherhood and authority but I know you understand that one does not have to "birth" to be a father because one could adopt and be a better father than some biological fathers.
What will not fly, Scripturally, is the idea that "a child is born, but a son is given." First, this refers to Christ, and only Christ, in any "spiritual" sense. Second, these two phrases are an example of Hebrew synonymous parallelism, a kind of poetry common in the Prophets as well as the Psalms. Both of these phrases refer to the one act of the Heavenly Father giving to us a savior – a savior and not a father. Moreover, Elisha was the apprentice, the official student (one might say the padawan) of Elijah. Their relationship is not typical of spiritual relationships except where one is a "student" of another, and "student-teacher" relationships are not permanent, especially not in the authority a teacher has over a student. Therefore, the biblical justification of "spiritual fathers" is very weak, one might say nearly non-existent. Where "mentoring" relationships are usually very healthy, a mentor does not exercise the authority of a father.
What I submit is that we need to be "padawans" from our Master Jedis if we are to learn about the force and operate properly within its limitations and not cross over. We are not perfect Jedis, unlike Jesus, so our relationships as teacher-student is not permanent and we move on when we have become more proficient with our lasers than our masters. What happens when one becomes more proficient than his sensei in martial arts? I would guess that the good sensei who wants the best for his student is to turn him over to a sensei who could teach him more. Like a music teacher, etc.
I plead with you, I beg you not to beat me up with the Star Wars examples that I am very limited with.
My response has obviously turned into a discussion of the authority of the "spiritual father." Such authority was not overtly claimed in the letter; however the implication seems very strong. On the one hand, we find a very strong emphasis on "patriarchy" in the family and this seems clearly extended to the spiritual family of the church. On the other, the author uses the language of a "restored" principle (i.e. "anointing"?) of spiritual fatherhood. In what sense is "spiritual fatherhood" restored? We have always had such people among us. What makes an Oswald Chambers or a Peter Marshall so influential is, I believe, the spiritual quality of fathering that comes through in their writings or sermons. Is the author claiming that "spiritual fatherhood" has been "restored" in the same way that some claim the "office" of apostle has been "restored?" If so, this is very shaky ground. An examination of the New Testament makes clear that only the "Apostles of the Lamb" or "Apostles of Christ" (same group) had spiritual authority in the church. The rest were "apostles of the church" such as Epaphroditus, the "apostle," or delegate, of the Philippian church (see the Greek of Phil 2:25 which is apostolos) or Barnabas who was the apostle of the church at Antioch (see Acts 13:1f). Such "apostles of the church" had only the authority granted them by the local church for their mission. I will leave aside the question of how Junia exercised authority in the "patriarchal" Roman church.
Spirutual fatherhood has existed as long as man has been on the earth. That is what Adam was to the human race after his fall and why he lived so long. So the concept of restoration of spiritual fathers is more along the line of our coming back to the Biblical principles that were instituted by God.
On a personal note I want you to know that this is not theoritical ramblings by me because I have seen it in action. I have spiritual father, who is older, who loves me and cres to see me move closer in maturing my relationship with Father God. I have had the privilege to be involved in starting house churches on these very same principles of Jesus being the head and He builds His church. In over 30 years of ministry I have never seen the same results of people growing in their relationships with their Lord. I have several that call me their spiritual father and I with trembling walk very carefully in this role. It is exciting to see disciples of Jesus maturing and all being dictated biblically and not by man's heartfelt, though non-biblical, methods of trying to reach God.
All this raises questions about the purpose, Scriptural justification, and legitimate authority which could be claimed for a "restored" spiritual fatherhood. Such questions are legitimate, I believe, even though spiritual fathering, or mentoring, has been going on for thousands of years. If we can answer these questions in submission to the revelation of Scripture we can stand on firm ground, established in healthy doctrine (see 2 Pet 1:20 and 1 Tim 1:10; 2 Tim 1:13).
Thanks for posting the letter, and for reading my response. May the Lord bless you richly.
Grace and Peace,
Jim
Spiritual Fathers by Sam Soleyn
Jesus came to show us the Father. The prophecy that proceeds His coming to do this is, in the last days God would send us the spirit of Elijah who would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers. Elijah being the prophet had the function to announce this event of the LORD.
After Adam sinned, man was separated from his Father. God's plan was to reconcile us to Himself by sending the spirit of fatherhood back to the earth. That spirit of fatherhood came in the LORD Jesus Christ who carried as one of His titles, "The Everlasting Father."
When Elijah was departing, his servant Elisha saw him as he was going up and cried out, "My father, my father." (See II Kings 2) The intention of God is that He would show us the Father through a human father. It was God's plan to reconcile us to Himself.
In what way does He show us the Father? The principle of the spirit of Elijah is you will see the father, the natural father, whose ways, attitudes and character will be a reflection of the heavenly Father. In that sense it is, "My father, my father"; the human father, modeling the attitude and character of God the Father.
God created man in His image and likeness. Not only is God a spirit but man is a spirit as well. So the nature of man, meaning the substance of man's being is like God. In that sense; God is a Spirit, man has a spirit.
Man got a spirit because God gave him a spirit out of the Person of God. The likeness of God is a different thing; you have to be discipled into the likeness. If you're going to be the son of someone, you have to be discipled in the attitude and character of that person. That's why the home is so important because the home is where you learn how to grow up to be like your father in attitude and character.
The New Testament refers to the 'household of', instead of the 'church of'. Today we hear men always proclaiming loudly, "This is my church." But the church of Jesus Christ is one household, belonging to God. Everything in the household of God was meant to be put under the headship of Christ.
Christ has distributed gifts to men by the Spirit so all men might grow up and become mature. Part of their maturity is that they would disciple others who would become fathers through the maturing process.
The intent of the LORD Jesus, by His own declaration, was to show us the Father. He said, "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father because the Father and I are One." So He's saying, "Look at Me and you'll see the Father"..."My Father, My Father."
To the twelve, Jesus was the father who showed them the Father; He was the Everlasting Father, who showed them God the Father by His attitude and character. The twelve learned the fatherhood of God, from the One who was their discipler. This concept is not a New Testament concept, but generated in Old Testament and passed on in the house of God.
God's household has always been patriarchally arranged. The Old Testament gives us good picture of this. There are two types of fathers; there is a human father and a spiritual father. A human father may be also a spiritual father but it's not to be assumed that it's one and the same. For example, I am the natural father of my children and as such I had the responsibility to raise them up to become responsible citizens. I also had the duty to raise them to show them God the Father.
As a natural father who is also a spiritual man, I had the dual role of being a spiritual and a natural father. I was a natural father to my children when they were young, as well as a spiritual father. My own children have had to grow to the place of recognizing that I was also their spiritual father. You see, there's a point at which children should leave father and mother, and in the case of a man who is married, unite with his wife, the two become one flesh.
My son Nick has done just that; he left our house, married, and now has established his own household. Presently he's 25, has a wife who is 24; but he's not capable of being her spiritual father. Why? Simple, he's too young to be a spiritual father to anybody. When he has children he'll be a natural father who is teaching his children spiritual things, but God has arranged the order of mankind that way. So although he is the husband, he needs a spiritual father, and his wife who is a believer needs a spiritual father as well. He is not old enough, or mature enough to be both her father in the LORD and her husband. So she needs her own spiritual father as he needs a spiritual father.
When your children grow up, they need to acknowledge and recognize that you are not only their natural father but also their spiritual father. And they're not obligated to treat you as their spiritual father. For example, I am the spiritual father of a number of people who have natural fathers.
For you to continue under the rule of your human father as your spiritual father there must be an adult agreement between both of you. My son and daughter would have to come to me and say, "Dad you're my natural father but now I recognize you also as my spiritual father." And your wife would need to come to you and say, "You're my husband but I recognize that you have come to that place of maturity where I'm willing and I'm able to submit to you as my spiritual father. You see, it's not automatic that someone is by virtue of human relationships, automatically part of a spiritual relationship. Spiritual relationships are by choice, that is, they must be chosen. You see, a child is born but a son is given and so relationships of a spiritual nature have to be chosen. And for that reason, I am not automatically the spiritual father of my adult children and I'm not automatically the spiritual father of my wife.
But you don't have to be an old man to be a spiritual father. Spiritual fatherhood is not determined by age nearly so much as it is determined by maturity. The household of God is arranged patriarchally; Jesus was the spiritual father of the twelve, and over the whole body of Christ, He is the Head of the body. So no man comes to the Father but by Jesus Christ who is our way and our truth and our life. He represents Himself to us by humans, humans who have adopted His character and it's His character in us that is the representation of the Father because He was perfectly representative of the Father. To this end, God has consented to be our Father because we are under the rule of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself is not our Father but He gives us access to the Father. You see, the fullness of who Jesus is...Jesus is the one, the human, earthly representation of God that we look to and say of Him, "My father, my father." So in that sense He is our father, but He really did come to show us The Father.
How is He today our father who shows us the Father? The answer is, He delegates His spot to a human being who becomes our human father. Now that human being has the character of the LORD Jesus Christ and so in that sense that human being is also our father; the father who represents Jesus' role out of which we see God the Father.
The model of the spirit of Elijah is a human father who shows us the heavenly Father. Jesus perfectly modeled the Father, when He was on the earth. Jesus showed the heavenly Father to the twelve. Jesus is not on the earth today, yet His character is in the hearts of human men, men who are like Christ. When we are like Christ, we are also like the Father. Why? Because Jesus was the perfect demonstration of who the Father is, "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father." The vision of Jesus and the Father collapses into one and now a human father is able to show us the heavenly Father, "My Father, My Father."
Here is Paul's take on it (See 1 Corinthians 4:14 and following), "I am not writing this to shame you but to warn you as my dear children." "Even though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ (or teachers in Christ) you do not have many fathers for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel, therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending 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. Some of you have become arrogant as if I were not coming to you." Now he's speaking as a father, "But I will come to you very soon if the LORD is willing and then I'll find out not only how these arrogant people are talking but what power they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. What do you prefer; shall I come to you with a whip or in love with a gentle spirit?"
This is a father speaking, reminds me of my own father. We had a number of children in our household when I was a child, I had five brothers and often the boys would be fighting in the bedroom when the light was out, not fighting in a mean and aggressive way, but we would do what brothers would do, we would tussle and hit each other. Many times we would fall out of our beds with loud sounds as we fell to the floor, giggling. At some point I would hear my father say, "Do you want me to come up there and deal with all of you?" Now everybody would be quiet and turn out the light and go to sleep. This is what Paul is saying here, he is saying, "Do you want me to come and deal with you?" How could he do that, how could he say that to them? Because he was their father. He said, "I became your father through this gospel." Paul himself was not married and had no children, so how could he be their father? Simple, a spiritual father does not necessarily have to be a human, natural father; you could be both as I explained earlier but you need a spiritual father to disciple you in the ways of God. Jesus was that father who discipled the twelve and He has shown the father to spiritual men who now can be spiritual fathers.
Earlier I spoke about how a woman needs a spiritual father who is different from her husband when she and her husband are young. When that husband matures, because this is not a matter of the flesh but of the spirit, that husband may also be the spiritual father. But that husband has to become mature and mature with the sufficiency to be able to show his wife the attitude and the character of the Father.
I want to further clarify by saying, when we speak of being the sons of God, we're not speaking about the issue of being male or female because sonship is that He is the Father of our spirits. So a woman is a son just as readily as a man is a son, because 'neither male nor female' has to do with the qualifications of being a son. We are sons who are not males and sons who are not females; it's neither. But a woman needs a spiritual father as readily as a man needs a spiritual father because a woman is a son just like a man is a son. It's easy to understand a man as a son, not so easy to understand a woman as a son because we have the mental block of thinking of a woman as female and a man as male. But sonship to God has nothing to do with either being a male or a female because He is the Father of our spirits.
The household of God was always arranged patriarchally. This idea of having spiritual fathers is not a new idea. The household of God was always arranged according to a patriarchal order. Think about it, how long did Adam live? The Scriptures say Adam live to be 930 years, that's nearly a thousand years from the time of his creation to the fall and we may assume that he was created as an adult male. So Adam lived and had the experiences of a man nearly a thousand years old. Why? Because the way that God taught the fathers in antiquity was through the original father who had talked with God; Adam was that father. God kept Adam alive for nearly a thousand years because he was the father from whom all the fathers would have learned the ways of God. Adam was approaching nearly the time of Noah and the flood before he died. So all the generations learned the ways of God as long as Adam lived.
The fact that Adam sinned did not mean that Adam had no further use to God; God used Adam to instruct the generations in the secrets of the earth that had been given to him. He imparted his understanding of the ways the systems of the world functioned. Human society, as a whole, has always been arranged on the basis of fathers. What's fascinating to me is that matriarchal societies are springing up everywhere, but a matriarchal society is not able to cure the ills of mankind because God did not establish a matriarchy; God established a patriarchy. It is not that men are more important to God than women, and this is not a social commentary that denies the need for women to be treated equally before the law, for matters of employment, and a whole host of things. It's not about that, it's about the order that God has created.
There is a glaring example in America, 70% of births to certain segments of our society are to single women. Now what is normally the fallout of that? Please understand, God bless women for standing in the place where men refuse to stand. I'm not against in any way those women, especially grand mothers who have tried to raise these sons and daughters, it's a hard thing to have to do; this is not the perfect thing. God put an order in society, now if we ignore God then that's another thing, if we choose not to retain God in our knowledge, then everything we do is reprobate from God's perspective.
But the reason we have such dreadful consequences to fatherlessness is that it is important to have Godly fathers. Now I'm not talking, again, about wicked men who abandon their families; some families are better off without these wicked and evil men. What we have done is we have assumed the worse of the genre and agreed that something that's not as bad is the perfect thing, that's rubbish. If we live in a society that says 'No' to the things of God, then what I'm saying doesn't make sense and it's not meant to order a society that rejects God. A society that rejects God is full of problems, it's a society that's waiting to implode; judgment is on it already. I don't have to speak judgment on it, the society that will not receive the LORD is condemned already, condemned to being far less than what God meant for humans to be. That's not my point; I'm speaking about the restoration of the human race to God the Father. That's our gospel, how Jesus came to restore and to reconcile God and man and He is the reconciliation of God and man.
The order of God from the beginning of time was that of fathers teaching their households. There are no fewer than six different meanings of the word 'father', from the father of an individual to a father of a people, to head of a household, to ancestors, to originator such as patron of a class, to a producer or a generator, to a benevolent protector, to someone known for respect and honor, or a ruler and a chief.
In the next paper I intend to pickup and discuss more the actual nature of fathering and fatherhood. What we are to expect out of the restoration of the principal of fatherhood to the people of God in the day of the LORD. The spirit of Elijah was sent to restore the hearts of fathers to children and the children to fathers as an indication of God restoring and reconciling the relationship to us as His children. The way this is to be done is by a human father who takes on the character of God the Father and causes the representation of God the Father to be visible to those of his household.
The old and New Testaments were arranged according to households, so it's a patriarchal household; the fathers of the Old Testament were the patriarchs, the fathers of the New Testament are spiritual fathers who have households of faith. These are not to be confused with church groups, they're households of faith and we'll speak to that in future discussions. I'm encouraging you to believe that in this new season you're seeing the restoration of God's household as God restores the hearts of fathers to the children. He's not going to destroy the land; He will restore that which has been lost.
WWW.SOLEYN.COM
After Adam sinned, man was separated from his Father. God's plan was to reconcile us to Himself by sending the spirit of fatherhood back to the earth. That spirit of fatherhood came in the LORD Jesus Christ who carried as one of His titles, "The Everlasting Father."
When Elijah was departing, his servant Elisha saw him as he was going up and cried out, "My father, my father." (See II Kings 2) The intention of God is that He would show us the Father through a human father. It was God's plan to reconcile us to Himself.
In what way does He show us the Father? The principle of the spirit of Elijah is you will see the father, the natural father, whose ways, attitudes and character will be a reflection of the heavenly Father. In that sense it is, "My father, my father"; the human father, modeling the attitude and character of God the Father.
God created man in His image and likeness. Not only is God a spirit but man is a spirit as well. So the nature of man, meaning the substance of man's being is like God. In that sense; God is a Spirit, man has a spirit.
Man got a spirit because God gave him a spirit out of the Person of God. The likeness of God is a different thing; you have to be discipled into the likeness. If you're going to be the son of someone, you have to be discipled in the attitude and character of that person. That's why the home is so important because the home is where you learn how to grow up to be like your father in attitude and character.
The New Testament refers to the 'household of', instead of the 'church of'. Today we hear men always proclaiming loudly, "This is my church." But the church of Jesus Christ is one household, belonging to God. Everything in the household of God was meant to be put under the headship of Christ.
Christ has distributed gifts to men by the Spirit so all men might grow up and become mature. Part of their maturity is that they would disciple others who would become fathers through the maturing process.
The intent of the LORD Jesus, by His own declaration, was to show us the Father. He said, "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father because the Father and I are One." So He's saying, "Look at Me and you'll see the Father"..."My Father, My Father."
To the twelve, Jesus was the father who showed them the Father; He was the Everlasting Father, who showed them God the Father by His attitude and character. The twelve learned the fatherhood of God, from the One who was their discipler. This concept is not a New Testament concept, but generated in Old Testament and passed on in the house of God.
God's household has always been patriarchally arranged. The Old Testament gives us good picture of this. There are two types of fathers; there is a human father and a spiritual father. A human father may be also a spiritual father but it's not to be assumed that it's one and the same. For example, I am the natural father of my children and as such I had the responsibility to raise them up to become responsible citizens. I also had the duty to raise them to show them God the Father.
As a natural father who is also a spiritual man, I had the dual role of being a spiritual and a natural father. I was a natural father to my children when they were young, as well as a spiritual father. My own children have had to grow to the place of recognizing that I was also their spiritual father. You see, there's a point at which children should leave father and mother, and in the case of a man who is married, unite with his wife, the two become one flesh.
My son Nick has done just that; he left our house, married, and now has established his own household. Presently he's 25, has a wife who is 24; but he's not capable of being her spiritual father. Why? Simple, he's too young to be a spiritual father to anybody. When he has children he'll be a natural father who is teaching his children spiritual things, but God has arranged the order of mankind that way. So although he is the husband, he needs a spiritual father, and his wife who is a believer needs a spiritual father as well. He is not old enough, or mature enough to be both her father in the LORD and her husband. So she needs her own spiritual father as he needs a spiritual father.
When your children grow up, they need to acknowledge and recognize that you are not only their natural father but also their spiritual father. And they're not obligated to treat you as their spiritual father. For example, I am the spiritual father of a number of people who have natural fathers.
For you to continue under the rule of your human father as your spiritual father there must be an adult agreement between both of you. My son and daughter would have to come to me and say, "Dad you're my natural father but now I recognize you also as my spiritual father." And your wife would need to come to you and say, "You're my husband but I recognize that you have come to that place of maturity where I'm willing and I'm able to submit to you as my spiritual father. You see, it's not automatic that someone is by virtue of human relationships, automatically part of a spiritual relationship. Spiritual relationships are by choice, that is, they must be chosen. You see, a child is born but a son is given and so relationships of a spiritual nature have to be chosen. And for that reason, I am not automatically the spiritual father of my adult children and I'm not automatically the spiritual father of my wife.
But you don't have to be an old man to be a spiritual father. Spiritual fatherhood is not determined by age nearly so much as it is determined by maturity. The household of God is arranged patriarchally; Jesus was the spiritual father of the twelve, and over the whole body of Christ, He is the Head of the body. So no man comes to the Father but by Jesus Christ who is our way and our truth and our life. He represents Himself to us by humans, humans who have adopted His character and it's His character in us that is the representation of the Father because He was perfectly representative of the Father. To this end, God has consented to be our Father because we are under the rule of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself is not our Father but He gives us access to the Father. You see, the fullness of who Jesus is...Jesus is the one, the human, earthly representation of God that we look to and say of Him, "My father, my father." So in that sense He is our father, but He really did come to show us The Father.
How is He today our father who shows us the Father? The answer is, He delegates His spot to a human being who becomes our human father. Now that human being has the character of the LORD Jesus Christ and so in that sense that human being is also our father; the father who represents Jesus' role out of which we see God the Father.
The model of the spirit of Elijah is a human father who shows us the heavenly Father. Jesus perfectly modeled the Father, when He was on the earth. Jesus showed the heavenly Father to the twelve. Jesus is not on the earth today, yet His character is in the hearts of human men, men who are like Christ. When we are like Christ, we are also like the Father. Why? Because Jesus was the perfect demonstration of who the Father is, "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father." The vision of Jesus and the Father collapses into one and now a human father is able to show us the heavenly Father, "My Father, My Father."
Here is Paul's take on it (See 1 Corinthians 4:14 and following), "I am not writing this to shame you but to warn you as my dear children." "Even though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ (or teachers in Christ) you do not have many fathers for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel, therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending 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. Some of you have become arrogant as if I were not coming to you." Now he's speaking as a father, "But I will come to you very soon if the LORD is willing and then I'll find out not only how these arrogant people are talking but what power they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. What do you prefer; shall I come to you with a whip or in love with a gentle spirit?"
This is a father speaking, reminds me of my own father. We had a number of children in our household when I was a child, I had five brothers and often the boys would be fighting in the bedroom when the light was out, not fighting in a mean and aggressive way, but we would do what brothers would do, we would tussle and hit each other. Many times we would fall out of our beds with loud sounds as we fell to the floor, giggling. At some point I would hear my father say, "Do you want me to come up there and deal with all of you?" Now everybody would be quiet and turn out the light and go to sleep. This is what Paul is saying here, he is saying, "Do you want me to come and deal with you?" How could he do that, how could he say that to them? Because he was their father. He said, "I became your father through this gospel." Paul himself was not married and had no children, so how could he be their father? Simple, a spiritual father does not necessarily have to be a human, natural father; you could be both as I explained earlier but you need a spiritual father to disciple you in the ways of God. Jesus was that father who discipled the twelve and He has shown the father to spiritual men who now can be spiritual fathers.
Earlier I spoke about how a woman needs a spiritual father who is different from her husband when she and her husband are young. When that husband matures, because this is not a matter of the flesh but of the spirit, that husband may also be the spiritual father. But that husband has to become mature and mature with the sufficiency to be able to show his wife the attitude and the character of the Father.
I want to further clarify by saying, when we speak of being the sons of God, we're not speaking about the issue of being male or female because sonship is that He is the Father of our spirits. So a woman is a son just as readily as a man is a son, because 'neither male nor female' has to do with the qualifications of being a son. We are sons who are not males and sons who are not females; it's neither. But a woman needs a spiritual father as readily as a man needs a spiritual father because a woman is a son just like a man is a son. It's easy to understand a man as a son, not so easy to understand a woman as a son because we have the mental block of thinking of a woman as female and a man as male. But sonship to God has nothing to do with either being a male or a female because He is the Father of our spirits.
The household of God was always arranged patriarchally. This idea of having spiritual fathers is not a new idea. The household of God was always arranged according to a patriarchal order. Think about it, how long did Adam live? The Scriptures say Adam live to be 930 years, that's nearly a thousand years from the time of his creation to the fall and we may assume that he was created as an adult male. So Adam lived and had the experiences of a man nearly a thousand years old. Why? Because the way that God taught the fathers in antiquity was through the original father who had talked with God; Adam was that father. God kept Adam alive for nearly a thousand years because he was the father from whom all the fathers would have learned the ways of God. Adam was approaching nearly the time of Noah and the flood before he died. So all the generations learned the ways of God as long as Adam lived.
The fact that Adam sinned did not mean that Adam had no further use to God; God used Adam to instruct the generations in the secrets of the earth that had been given to him. He imparted his understanding of the ways the systems of the world functioned. Human society, as a whole, has always been arranged on the basis of fathers. What's fascinating to me is that matriarchal societies are springing up everywhere, but a matriarchal society is not able to cure the ills of mankind because God did not establish a matriarchy; God established a patriarchy. It is not that men are more important to God than women, and this is not a social commentary that denies the need for women to be treated equally before the law, for matters of employment, and a whole host of things. It's not about that, it's about the order that God has created.
There is a glaring example in America, 70% of births to certain segments of our society are to single women. Now what is normally the fallout of that? Please understand, God bless women for standing in the place where men refuse to stand. I'm not against in any way those women, especially grand mothers who have tried to raise these sons and daughters, it's a hard thing to have to do; this is not the perfect thing. God put an order in society, now if we ignore God then that's another thing, if we choose not to retain God in our knowledge, then everything we do is reprobate from God's perspective.
But the reason we have such dreadful consequences to fatherlessness is that it is important to have Godly fathers. Now I'm not talking, again, about wicked men who abandon their families; some families are better off without these wicked and evil men. What we have done is we have assumed the worse of the genre and agreed that something that's not as bad is the perfect thing, that's rubbish. If we live in a society that says 'No' to the things of God, then what I'm saying doesn't make sense and it's not meant to order a society that rejects God. A society that rejects God is full of problems, it's a society that's waiting to implode; judgment is on it already. I don't have to speak judgment on it, the society that will not receive the LORD is condemned already, condemned to being far less than what God meant for humans to be. That's not my point; I'm speaking about the restoration of the human race to God the Father. That's our gospel, how Jesus came to restore and to reconcile God and man and He is the reconciliation of God and man.
The order of God from the beginning of time was that of fathers teaching their households. There are no fewer than six different meanings of the word 'father', from the father of an individual to a father of a people, to head of a household, to ancestors, to originator such as patron of a class, to a producer or a generator, to a benevolent protector, to someone known for respect and honor, or a ruler and a chief.
In the next paper I intend to pickup and discuss more the actual nature of fathering and fatherhood. What we are to expect out of the restoration of the principal of fatherhood to the people of God in the day of the LORD. The spirit of Elijah was sent to restore the hearts of fathers to children and the children to fathers as an indication of God restoring and reconciling the relationship to us as His children. The way this is to be done is by a human father who takes on the character of God the Father and causes the representation of God the Father to be visible to those of his household.
The old and New Testaments were arranged according to households, so it's a patriarchal household; the fathers of the Old Testament were the patriarchs, the fathers of the New Testament are spiritual fathers who have households of faith. These are not to be confused with church groups, they're households of faith and we'll speak to that in future discussions. I'm encouraging you to believe that in this new season you're seeing the restoration of God's household as God restores the hearts of fathers to the children. He's not going to destroy the land; He will restore that which has been lost.
WWW.SOLEYN.COM
Sunday, December 21, 2008
The Apostolic Age
by Ben Girod
Dec 19, 2008
Malachi Chapter 4
Verse 1
For behold the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly shall be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up, says the LORD of hosts, that will leave them neither root nor branch.
Malachi chapter 4 contains a deeply probing message for the Church in our day—a message which could not possibly be more pertinent this very hour.
I believe the "burning oven" of which Malachi prophesy’s, has arrived. It is up to us, leaders most critically, to decide just what do as we face this oven. This oven represents a judgment that is coming on some of Gods greatest servants, to cleanse and to purify to depths and degrees like no generation before us.
What may have been acceptable in ages past, will no longer meet with God’s standard in this hour—the hour of the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21). The heat is being turned up to the degree that no subtleness or hidden caverns of pride within us may endure its flame. It will ultimately burn to stubble!
As we are nearing the time of Jesus’ second coming and the restoration of all things, I find in my personal life that God is turning-up a severe degree of heat, exposing various facets of pride which are still in operation deep within. For those of us who are called in this hour to carry a leadership mantle for God’s redemptive purposes; to speak healing, restoration and reconciliation to Body of Christ at large; He is demanding implicit and unquestioned obedience.
We are at this time entering the great harvest on the heals of the collective labors of all the generations who have gone before (John 4:37-38). As we engage such the harvest, pride in any measure will be unacceptable in God’s presence, and charred beyond recognition in his “burning oven” of cleansing. Granted free reign in our lives to do so, He will violently burn this curse into ashes before us, leaving neither root nor branch. This must occur if we are to be used to the fullest within His End-Times purposes.
Consider with me for a moment, what pride looks like in relation to other sins and our walk with the Lord in general. I believe all of us would agree that pride was the driving force behind Lucifer’s downfall, and consequently the downfall of mankind through our first parents. Pride does not buffet, nor work in the illicit and more obvious manner in which other sins do. Rather, through the fall, and unlike other sins, we inherit this curse through natural birth. As we mature, we are often wholly unconscious of its residency within. Neither can we readily comprehend how deeply we are stained with such a malignancy. It permeates our entire being. It distorts our thinking, blinds our eyes, controls our demeanor, and governs our conduct.
I have observed over the course of many decades, in my own life as well as in the lives of countless others, that to be born again and to become a child of God does not necessarily mean that the curse of pride is eradicated from our lives—nor is it possible for us to escape the clutches of such in our own strength. I speak to this probing truth not from a position of mental ascent, but rather through that of dawning a posture rooted in Habakkuk 2:1, which reads: I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected.
Lately I find the Holy Spirit with increased frequency bringing correction in my life, especially that within the arena of my personal ambitions. It is a daily challenge and a daily discipline, to walk in the sensitivity-of-spirit required to hear Him. I never cease to be appalled at the depths to which this curse has stained my soul. God in His mercy, at times will lift this veil, granting us full view of our depravity. Otherwise we remain ignorant of its deluding and misleading influence in our lives. We often remain wholly unaware of its presence. This state bares sobering contrast to the posture required to begin treading in the most holy place (Heb. 9:6-8 and 10:19-23). For many, this is an undiscovered realm in God’s Kingdom. To enter the most holy place requires of us that we tread softly, carefully, and with reverence; for this is the hushed place, and the very presence of the Most High. Accordingly, Malachi poses this question in chapter 3 verse 2: Who can endure the day of His coming?
The “day of His coming” speaks to the call to ready ourselves to meet God here and now. Yet it is impossible for us to meet Him, without coming face to face with the condition of our hearts (Ex. 20:18-20). As we wholly contend to meet with God, we will die to self. The "old man" cannot live in His presence (Ex. 33:20). It seems the Lord is often willing to take His time in this process, as He sits over us patiently waiting for the gold within to be purified. This purification spans the course of our lives (Mal. 3:1-3). Ultimately and often suddenly, He will visit His temple and dwell there (we are the temple) to covenant with us. Without this indwelling, as the result of His purification, it is impossible for us to bring Him an offering of righteousness, rendering us ineffectual workers in His Kingdom.
Becoming a born again child of God does not initially grant that we are walking in this level of light and truth (John 3:18-21). Many of us, having been born again, have yet remained in the shadows for much of our lives, the shadows of compromise, which prevents us from acting as conduits of reconciliation and redemption in the body of Christ. There is no power in the shadows. There can be no compromising where God’s presence calls for action—the ongoing act of yielding to His purification (see Acts 5:1-10). As we begin to embrace a lifestyle of discipleship and walk into greater light, the shadows will dissipate. This is accomplished in and through Jesus, who was given all authority in both Heaven and earth to purge these shadows. Here is the key: We facilitate His perfecting work of the cross and resurrection in making disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20)—when we first submit to His discipleship within the deepest caverns of our hearts.
Let us pause for a moment and ask this of ourselves: What is the cost of discipleship? It starts with salvation, which is a free gift. This is perhaps where most evangelical movements are presently operating. But discipleship thereafter comes at the cost of our very lives—placed on the continual altar of sacrifice. Let us look at one instance in Paul’s life, where he speaks about this.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in dispair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you (2 Cor. 4:7-12).
We must ask ourselves: Has it become a reality, that death must have its way in our personal lives, so that it may bring life to others? Or, is this still foreign theology to us? It is yet beyond our comprehension of what it means to die, that our brother might live? (Col.1:24, Rom.15:1-2) How else will we be effective in our ministries, most especially within the apostolic mantles that some carry? The apostolic call does not come by way of our seminars, notable training and commissioning, or in our intellectual abilities, but rather through the pain and anguish of death as we observe in Paul’s life (Luke 14:26-33). Paul was a greatly learned man, but his learning was reduced to an ash heap in comparison to the glory of the cross which he continually preached and embraced (Phil. 3:7-9).
Verse 2
But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.
One of the critical elements needed for an effective ministry in any field, is that of a holy fear of God. As long as we are walking in an area I refer to as that of being "in the shadows," the fear of God is not fully in operation in our lives. In this state, our obedience is still that out of convenience, rather then being unconditional. The holy fear of God will not allow us to take any shortcuts to our destinies. Obedience is not an option. Obedience must of necessity become a choice, for it will lead us only one way—to that of the cross. The glory of the cross will then perform its perfect work within our personal lives, as exemplified by Jesus Himself, as He led the way (John 13:26-35).
The result of our obedience will be that of the Son of Righteousness dwelling within us with healing in His wings, healing in our souls, healing in our spirits, and healing in our bodies—perfecting us for service in His Kingdom.
Having at one time been a farmer, I know that stall-fed calves epitomize the grand blessing and joy for any farmer as he prepares them for feasting and celebration, not unlike that depicted in Luke 15:23. I believe we need to find ourselves first, in this kind of poverty, as a prodigal son, before the Lord will fully restore us, much less use us. It is while on this journey of restoration and healing from our deep poverty (“blessed are the poor in spirit”) that He will then in secrecy, begin showing us some of His priceless pearls and treasures that are hidden from the eyes of the mediocre (Matt. 13:11, 45-46).
There are untold mysteries and hidden treasures in the Word of God that He jealously guards and selectively releases (Is 45:3). We are told not to cast these pearls or treasures to the dogs or swine (Matt. 7:6). These treasures are reserved for those who have exercised patience and who have proven themselves trustworthy in His sight.
Verse 3
You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this, says the Lord of hosts.
We now find ourselves in a place with God where we are empowered to trample to ashes the wickedness in our own hearts. But it also means that the wickedness surrounding us, or coming against us, must also submit to the power of God that is in operation within us. To the limits the Lord has allowed the soles of our feet to tread—is the same extent to which He will give us the people or nations for His Kingdom (Josh. 1:3 and Ps. 2:8). It seems we are now in this very day, where He is doing these things through those who have sacrificially yielded themselves to His preparation.
Verse 4
Remember the law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel , with the statutes and judgments.
The apostle Peter spoke about this: For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God" (1 Peter 4:17a). Until God’s statutes and judgments are established within our hearts by His Spirit, it is vain to think we will be used to our fullest in His Kingdom, no matter how many other great qualities or gifts we may possess. There are some who might intimidate or impress us with their superior qualities, eloquent speeches, powerfully prophetic gifts, or with impressive followings; yet these personalities are often those who ignore God’s protocol in their own lives. You may etch this in stone: No one will ever perform Gods "end-times" mandate, unless they have from the beginning, met with and accepted His conditions or protocol.
Consider 1 John 2:24, which reads: Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning, If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. It is my belief that this is one of the most overlooked passages of scripture in the bible, as it holds a strategic key which will enable us to prevail in our callings. To break this command, means severing our God given mandate. Many, if not all of us, have at times violated this passage in one area or another. This violation always warrants repentance, if we are to be restored. It is at this juncture, that I have observed through the years where many lose their way; not because God does not remind them, but because of the humility it takes to again be restored—humility which requires hearing and heeding His voice. The failure to do so is a terrible tragedy.
We often start the race so well, but then, with but one flick of an unrepentant attitude, we can completely lose site of our course, and blindness sets-in. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you (John12:35). I know of no other posture that will stand the test of time, than that rooted in one word: Humility. The lack of this precious virtue will insure that all that we set our hands to within the work of the ministry, will ultimately wind up in the refuse pile.
We need to take a retreat for a week somewhere remote, and do nothing but soak in the words of Philippians 2:5-11 (i.e., making ourselves “…of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant…”). How do we know when we fall short of His requirements in this regard? The answer is found in 1 John 2:20, 27 (the anointing of the Holy One “…teaches us concerning all things…”). If we do not seek to understand what the Lord really is saying here, I fear we will not be qualified for the long haul, nor understand the requirements of walking in the apostolic call. As long as we are operating from the shadows, we may never have the sensitivity in the Spirit to pick this up. We will invariably overrule what the Spirit is saying to us, in favor of our own personal advantage and agendas. This is why God prompts us to meditate on the phrase, "Remember the law of Moses.”
To meet the requirements of Gods statutes and judgments is a most necessary criterion in this hour. He is redeeming His work in the nations through those who trust and obey Him. To use the phrase, "born again” or Spirit filled," will by itself no longer cut it, when it comes to unconditional obedience. I speak without apology. If we obey, we will in the end, not only come into His perfect law of liberty, but our work will be stamped with His blessing, for we must not only remember His Word, we must also understand that we may only accomplish it through our obedience (James1:25).
Verses 5-6
Behold, I will sent you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 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.
Who was Elijah? We know nothing of his early years or how he achieved his fire and power which he demonstrated throughout his ministry. We only know that he came from the region of Gilead which is in the northern part of Israel , in the shadow of Mt. Hermon . We first meet him as he explodes onto the scene when he confronts King Ahab (1 Kings 17:1). His messages were never filtered through flesh. Rather his words were direct and to the point. He broke through some of Israel ’s greatest depravity, inclusive of Baal worship as seen on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18:19). He knew the God whom he served (2 Kings 1:9-10). He did not confer with flesh and blood (Gal, 1:15-17). Nor did he see the corruption of death, but was translated into heaven (2 Kings 2:9-14).
This is the power that is coming again in these days through men and women that have been groomed somewhere in the wilderness, away from the limelight. They will explode onto the scene from seemingly nowhere, demonstrating power of untold dimensions. Most of us do not think in terms of already living in the great or dreadful days of the Lord, but I believe we are, in fact (Amos 8:11-12). Agreed, the Church is making great strides, but the famine is nevertheless still reaching from sea to sea, from continent to continent. Untold millions are still perishing in the Muslim world alone. Until we are put on with the spirit of Elijah, we can only helplessly look on with no power to turn the tide in the nations for the Lord. The spirit of Elijah must be facilitated in the nations by the power of the Spirit, in order for our work to be effective. Here the question arises: How shall we go about doing this in a practical manner? Let’s bring this much closer home.
The Spirit of Elijah will commence its work, first of all, in our homes. It will begin with the fathers, who carry the spiritual mantle for their families.
I grew up in a conservative Anabaptist setting (Old Order Amish), where large families are an integral part of their faith and culture. For many years, I continually took notice, that as many families grew up, almost without fail divisions would develop between fathers and sons, mothers and daughters. Rarely did I see families remain intact, working together in a peaceful atmosphere. For years this troubled me. For these I observed, were painful situations. In time, as our own family grew up, with five daughters and four sons, I was put to the test in what I had observed in others. It seemed all the teaching I had in raising up a family, and all the books I read on the subject, failed me. Many times in despair, I would implore the Lord for guidance and wisdom. In the end, it seemed I became a complete failure. In the process, I would often use discipline, or negotiation methods which I thought were rooted in great understanding and discernment. Yet, I saw that in most matters, I failed to get to the heart of the matter. As time unfolded however, little by little I discovered that for a family to flow in serenity and in an atmosphere of peace, it must come at the cost of my life being placed on the altar—the altar of sacrifice, that my children might live. This was also an altar of love (no matter what had been committed), an altar of encouragement (even where mistakes were made), an altar of unreserved blessing (whether it was deserved or not). I finally began to see God in every detail as our communication took new turns. Hearts melted, reservations between us disappeared, and innocence in their hearts was restored. Quality time together was spent in outings, fishing, or just the enjoyment of each other’s presence. I still at times weep at my ignorance, and over the times I have so utterly failed them..
Today my four sons own and operate CBS Construction Co. Their primary work is that in the arena of log home construction. In the course of time, they have developed great skill in the field of log home building. Over the years, and while observing their team at work, I have discovered that it is virtually an impossibility for family members to flow in harmony, with due respect towards one another, in the absence of a fathers blessing. We fathers must have an enlarged heart. We hold the key to cover conflicts, or to speak life and blessings where disagreements have come. We hold the key to stimulate healing where peace and understanding will flow, overshadowing any conflict. This is where quietness of soul and unity in the heart reigns supreme, when children have this covering by their fathers.
The anguished soul will discover these hidden treasures while in the valley of decision (Joel 3:14). Unless the Spirit of Elijah comes and touches the hearts of us fathers, we may never be able to properly fulfill our call and commission to our sons and daughters. But as we by faith, move towards this goal, it will surprise us as to how easily the sons are entreated in turning their hearts back to we fathers. I believe the Elijah-call on us fathers today is supreme, if we are to prevent the threatened curse that would otherwise come upon us. As we fathers stand-in for our sons and daughters, we cover them from the shame or disgrace that may otherwise overshadow them. In this way they may enter the grand finale of their own calling and destiny and thereby usher-in the promise of the Kingdom (1 John 2:12-14 and Matt. 19:14).
I know that Elijah’s coming has yet a greater significance in the nations. But without the healing and reconciliation of the family structure, how will God use us in the nations? Is my thinking primitive and without basis? I do not think so. If we cannot find the heart of God within our own personal life, families and homes, how will He entrust us for greater things to come? We fathers must carry this personal testimony of overcoming, in our homes and families, to be able to facilitate what is needed in the nations. It is not only by the blood, but also by our testimony, that we will in the end defeat satan. This may come at the cost of our lives. Do not despair however, for that is where true life begins (Rev. 12:11)
*****
Ben Girod is an Amish Bishop residing in the outskirts of Libby Montana with his wife Barbara. Ben is team leader of Anabaptist Connections—a ministry devoted to the international healing and reconciliation of the Swiss/German Reformed Church and Anabaptists. Anabaptist Connections is equally devoted to ushering Anabaptists into the fullness of life in the Spirit. For more information, as well as directions for obtaining a copy of Ben’s book, Baptized by Fire—The Gethsemane Way , you may view the following web address: www.anabaptistconnections.org
Dec 19, 2008
Malachi Chapter 4
Verse 1
For behold the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly shall be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up, says the LORD of hosts, that will leave them neither root nor branch.
Malachi chapter 4 contains a deeply probing message for the Church in our day—a message which could not possibly be more pertinent this very hour.
I believe the "burning oven" of which Malachi prophesy’s, has arrived. It is up to us, leaders most critically, to decide just what do as we face this oven. This oven represents a judgment that is coming on some of Gods greatest servants, to cleanse and to purify to depths and degrees like no generation before us.
What may have been acceptable in ages past, will no longer meet with God’s standard in this hour—the hour of the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21). The heat is being turned up to the degree that no subtleness or hidden caverns of pride within us may endure its flame. It will ultimately burn to stubble!
As we are nearing the time of Jesus’ second coming and the restoration of all things, I find in my personal life that God is turning-up a severe degree of heat, exposing various facets of pride which are still in operation deep within. For those of us who are called in this hour to carry a leadership mantle for God’s redemptive purposes; to speak healing, restoration and reconciliation to Body of Christ at large; He is demanding implicit and unquestioned obedience.
We are at this time entering the great harvest on the heals of the collective labors of all the generations who have gone before (John 4:37-38). As we engage such the harvest, pride in any measure will be unacceptable in God’s presence, and charred beyond recognition in his “burning oven” of cleansing. Granted free reign in our lives to do so, He will violently burn this curse into ashes before us, leaving neither root nor branch. This must occur if we are to be used to the fullest within His End-Times purposes.
Consider with me for a moment, what pride looks like in relation to other sins and our walk with the Lord in general. I believe all of us would agree that pride was the driving force behind Lucifer’s downfall, and consequently the downfall of mankind through our first parents. Pride does not buffet, nor work in the illicit and more obvious manner in which other sins do. Rather, through the fall, and unlike other sins, we inherit this curse through natural birth. As we mature, we are often wholly unconscious of its residency within. Neither can we readily comprehend how deeply we are stained with such a malignancy. It permeates our entire being. It distorts our thinking, blinds our eyes, controls our demeanor, and governs our conduct.
I have observed over the course of many decades, in my own life as well as in the lives of countless others, that to be born again and to become a child of God does not necessarily mean that the curse of pride is eradicated from our lives—nor is it possible for us to escape the clutches of such in our own strength. I speak to this probing truth not from a position of mental ascent, but rather through that of dawning a posture rooted in Habakkuk 2:1, which reads: I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected.
Lately I find the Holy Spirit with increased frequency bringing correction in my life, especially that within the arena of my personal ambitions. It is a daily challenge and a daily discipline, to walk in the sensitivity-of-spirit required to hear Him. I never cease to be appalled at the depths to which this curse has stained my soul. God in His mercy, at times will lift this veil, granting us full view of our depravity. Otherwise we remain ignorant of its deluding and misleading influence in our lives. We often remain wholly unaware of its presence. This state bares sobering contrast to the posture required to begin treading in the most holy place (Heb. 9:6-8 and 10:19-23). For many, this is an undiscovered realm in God’s Kingdom. To enter the most holy place requires of us that we tread softly, carefully, and with reverence; for this is the hushed place, and the very presence of the Most High. Accordingly, Malachi poses this question in chapter 3 verse 2: Who can endure the day of His coming?
The “day of His coming” speaks to the call to ready ourselves to meet God here and now. Yet it is impossible for us to meet Him, without coming face to face with the condition of our hearts (Ex. 20:18-20). As we wholly contend to meet with God, we will die to self. The "old man" cannot live in His presence (Ex. 33:20). It seems the Lord is often willing to take His time in this process, as He sits over us patiently waiting for the gold within to be purified. This purification spans the course of our lives (Mal. 3:1-3). Ultimately and often suddenly, He will visit His temple and dwell there (we are the temple) to covenant with us. Without this indwelling, as the result of His purification, it is impossible for us to bring Him an offering of righteousness, rendering us ineffectual workers in His Kingdom.
Becoming a born again child of God does not initially grant that we are walking in this level of light and truth (John 3:18-21). Many of us, having been born again, have yet remained in the shadows for much of our lives, the shadows of compromise, which prevents us from acting as conduits of reconciliation and redemption in the body of Christ. There is no power in the shadows. There can be no compromising where God’s presence calls for action—the ongoing act of yielding to His purification (see Acts 5:1-10). As we begin to embrace a lifestyle of discipleship and walk into greater light, the shadows will dissipate. This is accomplished in and through Jesus, who was given all authority in both Heaven and earth to purge these shadows. Here is the key: We facilitate His perfecting work of the cross and resurrection in making disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20)—when we first submit to His discipleship within the deepest caverns of our hearts.
Let us pause for a moment and ask this of ourselves: What is the cost of discipleship? It starts with salvation, which is a free gift. This is perhaps where most evangelical movements are presently operating. But discipleship thereafter comes at the cost of our very lives—placed on the continual altar of sacrifice. Let us look at one instance in Paul’s life, where he speaks about this.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in dispair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you (2 Cor. 4:7-12).
We must ask ourselves: Has it become a reality, that death must have its way in our personal lives, so that it may bring life to others? Or, is this still foreign theology to us? It is yet beyond our comprehension of what it means to die, that our brother might live? (Col.1:24, Rom.15:1-2) How else will we be effective in our ministries, most especially within the apostolic mantles that some carry? The apostolic call does not come by way of our seminars, notable training and commissioning, or in our intellectual abilities, but rather through the pain and anguish of death as we observe in Paul’s life (Luke 14:26-33). Paul was a greatly learned man, but his learning was reduced to an ash heap in comparison to the glory of the cross which he continually preached and embraced (Phil. 3:7-9).
Verse 2
But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.
One of the critical elements needed for an effective ministry in any field, is that of a holy fear of God. As long as we are walking in an area I refer to as that of being "in the shadows," the fear of God is not fully in operation in our lives. In this state, our obedience is still that out of convenience, rather then being unconditional. The holy fear of God will not allow us to take any shortcuts to our destinies. Obedience is not an option. Obedience must of necessity become a choice, for it will lead us only one way—to that of the cross. The glory of the cross will then perform its perfect work within our personal lives, as exemplified by Jesus Himself, as He led the way (John 13:26-35).
The result of our obedience will be that of the Son of Righteousness dwelling within us with healing in His wings, healing in our souls, healing in our spirits, and healing in our bodies—perfecting us for service in His Kingdom.
Having at one time been a farmer, I know that stall-fed calves epitomize the grand blessing and joy for any farmer as he prepares them for feasting and celebration, not unlike that depicted in Luke 15:23. I believe we need to find ourselves first, in this kind of poverty, as a prodigal son, before the Lord will fully restore us, much less use us. It is while on this journey of restoration and healing from our deep poverty (“blessed are the poor in spirit”) that He will then in secrecy, begin showing us some of His priceless pearls and treasures that are hidden from the eyes of the mediocre (Matt. 13:11, 45-46).
There are untold mysteries and hidden treasures in the Word of God that He jealously guards and selectively releases (Is 45:3). We are told not to cast these pearls or treasures to the dogs or swine (Matt. 7:6). These treasures are reserved for those who have exercised patience and who have proven themselves trustworthy in His sight.
Verse 3
You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this, says the Lord of hosts.
We now find ourselves in a place with God where we are empowered to trample to ashes the wickedness in our own hearts. But it also means that the wickedness surrounding us, or coming against us, must also submit to the power of God that is in operation within us. To the limits the Lord has allowed the soles of our feet to tread—is the same extent to which He will give us the people or nations for His Kingdom (Josh. 1:3 and Ps. 2:8). It seems we are now in this very day, where He is doing these things through those who have sacrificially yielded themselves to His preparation.
Verse 4
Remember the law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel , with the statutes and judgments.
The apostle Peter spoke about this: For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God" (1 Peter 4:17a). Until God’s statutes and judgments are established within our hearts by His Spirit, it is vain to think we will be used to our fullest in His Kingdom, no matter how many other great qualities or gifts we may possess. There are some who might intimidate or impress us with their superior qualities, eloquent speeches, powerfully prophetic gifts, or with impressive followings; yet these personalities are often those who ignore God’s protocol in their own lives. You may etch this in stone: No one will ever perform Gods "end-times" mandate, unless they have from the beginning, met with and accepted His conditions or protocol.
Consider 1 John 2:24, which reads: Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning, If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. It is my belief that this is one of the most overlooked passages of scripture in the bible, as it holds a strategic key which will enable us to prevail in our callings. To break this command, means severing our God given mandate. Many, if not all of us, have at times violated this passage in one area or another. This violation always warrants repentance, if we are to be restored. It is at this juncture, that I have observed through the years where many lose their way; not because God does not remind them, but because of the humility it takes to again be restored—humility which requires hearing and heeding His voice. The failure to do so is a terrible tragedy.
We often start the race so well, but then, with but one flick of an unrepentant attitude, we can completely lose site of our course, and blindness sets-in. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you (John12:35). I know of no other posture that will stand the test of time, than that rooted in one word: Humility. The lack of this precious virtue will insure that all that we set our hands to within the work of the ministry, will ultimately wind up in the refuse pile.
We need to take a retreat for a week somewhere remote, and do nothing but soak in the words of Philippians 2:5-11 (i.e., making ourselves “…of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant…”). How do we know when we fall short of His requirements in this regard? The answer is found in 1 John 2:20, 27 (the anointing of the Holy One “…teaches us concerning all things…”). If we do not seek to understand what the Lord really is saying here, I fear we will not be qualified for the long haul, nor understand the requirements of walking in the apostolic call. As long as we are operating from the shadows, we may never have the sensitivity in the Spirit to pick this up. We will invariably overrule what the Spirit is saying to us, in favor of our own personal advantage and agendas. This is why God prompts us to meditate on the phrase, "Remember the law of Moses.”
To meet the requirements of Gods statutes and judgments is a most necessary criterion in this hour. He is redeeming His work in the nations through those who trust and obey Him. To use the phrase, "born again” or Spirit filled," will by itself no longer cut it, when it comes to unconditional obedience. I speak without apology. If we obey, we will in the end, not only come into His perfect law of liberty, but our work will be stamped with His blessing, for we must not only remember His Word, we must also understand that we may only accomplish it through our obedience (James1:25).
Verses 5-6
Behold, I will sent you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 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.
Who was Elijah? We know nothing of his early years or how he achieved his fire and power which he demonstrated throughout his ministry. We only know that he came from the region of Gilead which is in the northern part of Israel , in the shadow of Mt. Hermon . We first meet him as he explodes onto the scene when he confronts King Ahab (1 Kings 17:1). His messages were never filtered through flesh. Rather his words were direct and to the point. He broke through some of Israel ’s greatest depravity, inclusive of Baal worship as seen on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18:19). He knew the God whom he served (2 Kings 1:9-10). He did not confer with flesh and blood (Gal, 1:15-17). Nor did he see the corruption of death, but was translated into heaven (2 Kings 2:9-14).
This is the power that is coming again in these days through men and women that have been groomed somewhere in the wilderness, away from the limelight. They will explode onto the scene from seemingly nowhere, demonstrating power of untold dimensions. Most of us do not think in terms of already living in the great or dreadful days of the Lord, but I believe we are, in fact (Amos 8:11-12). Agreed, the Church is making great strides, but the famine is nevertheless still reaching from sea to sea, from continent to continent. Untold millions are still perishing in the Muslim world alone. Until we are put on with the spirit of Elijah, we can only helplessly look on with no power to turn the tide in the nations for the Lord. The spirit of Elijah must be facilitated in the nations by the power of the Spirit, in order for our work to be effective. Here the question arises: How shall we go about doing this in a practical manner? Let’s bring this much closer home.
The Spirit of Elijah will commence its work, first of all, in our homes. It will begin with the fathers, who carry the spiritual mantle for their families.
I grew up in a conservative Anabaptist setting (Old Order Amish), where large families are an integral part of their faith and culture. For many years, I continually took notice, that as many families grew up, almost without fail divisions would develop between fathers and sons, mothers and daughters. Rarely did I see families remain intact, working together in a peaceful atmosphere. For years this troubled me. For these I observed, were painful situations. In time, as our own family grew up, with five daughters and four sons, I was put to the test in what I had observed in others. It seemed all the teaching I had in raising up a family, and all the books I read on the subject, failed me. Many times in despair, I would implore the Lord for guidance and wisdom. In the end, it seemed I became a complete failure. In the process, I would often use discipline, or negotiation methods which I thought were rooted in great understanding and discernment. Yet, I saw that in most matters, I failed to get to the heart of the matter. As time unfolded however, little by little I discovered that for a family to flow in serenity and in an atmosphere of peace, it must come at the cost of my life being placed on the altar—the altar of sacrifice, that my children might live. This was also an altar of love (no matter what had been committed), an altar of encouragement (even where mistakes were made), an altar of unreserved blessing (whether it was deserved or not). I finally began to see God in every detail as our communication took new turns. Hearts melted, reservations between us disappeared, and innocence in their hearts was restored. Quality time together was spent in outings, fishing, or just the enjoyment of each other’s presence. I still at times weep at my ignorance, and over the times I have so utterly failed them..
Today my four sons own and operate CBS Construction Co. Their primary work is that in the arena of log home construction. In the course of time, they have developed great skill in the field of log home building. Over the years, and while observing their team at work, I have discovered that it is virtually an impossibility for family members to flow in harmony, with due respect towards one another, in the absence of a fathers blessing. We fathers must have an enlarged heart. We hold the key to cover conflicts, or to speak life and blessings where disagreements have come. We hold the key to stimulate healing where peace and understanding will flow, overshadowing any conflict. This is where quietness of soul and unity in the heart reigns supreme, when children have this covering by their fathers.
The anguished soul will discover these hidden treasures while in the valley of decision (Joel 3:14). Unless the Spirit of Elijah comes and touches the hearts of us fathers, we may never be able to properly fulfill our call and commission to our sons and daughters. But as we by faith, move towards this goal, it will surprise us as to how easily the sons are entreated in turning their hearts back to we fathers. I believe the Elijah-call on us fathers today is supreme, if we are to prevent the threatened curse that would otherwise come upon us. As we fathers stand-in for our sons and daughters, we cover them from the shame or disgrace that may otherwise overshadow them. In this way they may enter the grand finale of their own calling and destiny and thereby usher-in the promise of the Kingdom (1 John 2:12-14 and Matt. 19:14).
I know that Elijah’s coming has yet a greater significance in the nations. But without the healing and reconciliation of the family structure, how will God use us in the nations? Is my thinking primitive and without basis? I do not think so. If we cannot find the heart of God within our own personal life, families and homes, how will He entrust us for greater things to come? We fathers must carry this personal testimony of overcoming, in our homes and families, to be able to facilitate what is needed in the nations. It is not only by the blood, but also by our testimony, that we will in the end defeat satan. This may come at the cost of our lives. Do not despair however, for that is where true life begins (Rev. 12:11)
*****
Ben Girod is an Amish Bishop residing in the outskirts of Libby Montana with his wife Barbara. Ben is team leader of Anabaptist Connections—a ministry devoted to the international healing and reconciliation of the Swiss/German Reformed Church and Anabaptists. Anabaptist Connections is equally devoted to ushering Anabaptists into the fullness of life in the Spirit. For more information, as well as directions for obtaining a copy of Ben’s book, Baptized by Fire—The Gethsemane Way , you may view the following web address: www.anabaptistconnections.org
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