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Spiritual
Fathers
How important it is for your to have a spiritual father in your life,
especially if you are in full-time ministry? Hebrews 13:7 reads,
"Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you
the Word of God; whose faith follow..." We need someone to speak into
our lives just as Paul spoke into the lives of those he fathered in the
faith.
The crises of life comes to all of us, and the presence of a spiritual
father will make the difference in those times. For the believer, your
pastor is your spiritual father. You must obey God and attend the local
church God told you to attend, for this is the minister who is anointed to
be a spiritual figure in your life.
For those who are in the full-time ministry, God will lead you to submit
yourself to the fathering of a more seasoned minister.
In 2 Kings 6:1-7, we read: And the sons of the prophets said unto
Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too straight for
us. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a
beam, and let us make a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered,
Go ye. And one said, Be content, I pray thee and go with thy servants. And
he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to
Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was falling a beam, the ax head
fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, Master! for it was
borrowed. And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the
place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did
swim. Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand and
took it.
There is a spiritual application to this passage, as well as a natural
one. This young man had a spiritual father he could go to in a time of
need. Evidently, he trusted that Elisha would be able to do something
different for him than anyone else, for he went to the prophet for help
instead of one of his peers.
Just as this young man had lost his ax head and could no longer accomplish
his task without it, many believer's have lost the edge of the anointing
in their lives and are not able to accomplish their tasks without it. It
has sunk to the bottom and been covered over with the waters of adversity.
Just because it is out of sight doesn't mean that it can't be restored.
The young man was able to go to his father, and because of the anointing
upon the life of his father, Elisha was able to retrieve the lost ax head.
A spiritual father is a retriever of lost ax heads, of lost edges, of lost
revelations, and of lost anointings.
That young man knew better than to keep trying to accomplish his task by
beating that tree with only the ax handle. The man of God would have
distinguished the sound of the empty, dull, vain thud of an ax handle
striking the tree. Thank God for perceiving fathers who hear clearly.
Too many believers are making lots of spiritual noise, but it's only the
dull, fruitless thud of the ax handle striking the tree. You won't be able
to fool your spiritual father. He hears the thud. He knows that you'll
never fulfill your call until you get the edge of the anointing retrieved
and restored.
And a father's skill with his own anointing will help you retrieve the
anointing in your life if you have let it slip. We need the help of our
spiritual fathers!
But don't be mistaken. It's not by being a buddy or a pal or even a right
hand man to that spiritual father. It's not by dogging him to have
fellowship with you or to have lunch with you. We don't seek to know
people after the flesh, but after the spirit. By being in the church
services of our fathers, sitting under their anointings and teaching, our
answers are supplied, our clarity comes, and the sharp edges of the
anointing are retrieved.
Don't let anything keep you from the influence of your spiritual father.
He is a supply of the Spirit and one of the gifts that God gave unto men.
Don't be too familiar with him on a human level, but acknowledge, esteem
and honor him, and God will use him to aid you in times when a son needs a
father. |
