HOW BEST TO RELATE WITH YOUR SPIRITUAL FATHER

TEXT : Psalm 106:21-23 ATTRIBUTES OF A SPIRITUAL FATHER He is most of the time the HEAD of a Ministry or Denomination, Not necessarily your current Parish Pastor. He is the CARRIER of the VISION of the Ministry. He does not have to be OLDER than you “IN AGE”, older “IN CHRIST”, or older “IN MINISTRY”. Your Spiritual father can be YOUNGER than you in age. The role of a Spiritual father is NOT exclusively reserved only for Male Ministers. A woman can also be the “Spiritual Leader”, or “Senior Pastor of a Ministry or denomination. THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A SPIRITUAL FATHER He should REPRODUCE Christ like sons & daughters. He should TEACH AND TRAIN them in the way of the Lord. He should MOULD THEIR CHARACTER AND ATTITUDE. GEN.18:19. He should inculcate the RIGHT HABITS, MANNERS and ATTITUDE into their lives. E.g. Good manners. Humility, self-control, submission, personal discipline, decent dressing, love kindness, etc. He should CONSISTENTLY SHOW LOVE to them. He should consistently PRAY AND INTERCEDE for them. By so doing, he provides a SPIRITUAL COVERING & PROTECTION for them. He should bless their lives and future. He should prophecy over their lives & future. He should impact the “intangible” upon their lives. He should COUNSEL AND GUIDE them to make the right decisions. He should MOTIVATE AND ENCOURAGE them. He should HELP THEM TO DISCOVER AND ATTAIN THEIR DESTINY AND OPTIUM POTENTIALS He should GROOM THEM FOR LEADERSHIP. He should CORRECT & DISCIPLINES them when necessary VITAL LESSONS TO NOTE Your DESTINY and FUTURE is connected to YOUR Spiritual father (Not necessarily a prominent minister). THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN GOD’S VISION AND ASSIGNMENT FOR DIFFERENT MINISTRIES. ACCESSIBILITY TO YOUR FATHER (Some are the Spiritual father of Millions, Thousands, hundreds, or tens, of believers). Jesus model & levels of Accessibility, E.g. the 3 Inner circle (Peter, James & John), the 12 Apostles, the 70 disciples. The father of a very large biological family, e.g. 100 children and above WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SPEND AS MUCH TIME WITH ALL HIS CHILDREN compared to the father of a few children. However, where this kind of situation exist, it cannot serve as a good reason for any of the children to “adopt another father”, primarily for the purpose of having a father who would have more Time for them. Be CONSIDERATE AND UNDERSTANDING with him. ACT. 6: 1-4. THEIR PRIMARY MANDATE TO PRAY & PREACH WAS RESPECTED. THEY CANNOT DO CERTAIN THINGS FOR EVERY MEMBER OF THEIR LARGE CONGREGATION. THEY CANNOT GIVE THE SAME QUALITY OR MEASURE OF GIFTS OR ASSISTANCE TO EVERY MEMBER, WORKER, STAFF OR MINISTER OF THEIR MINISTRY. THEY CANNOT INVITE EVERY MEMBER TO THEIR PERSONAL OR FAMILY FUNCTIONS. THIS IS THE SAME REASON EVERY BIOLOGICAL FATHER ADOPTS FAMILY PLANNING. DON’T ABUSE YOUR CLOSE OR FREQUENT ACCESS TO THEM ACCESS is one of the best gifts or privilege a man can give to you. 2KG. 4:1-7. People who are THE CLOSEST TO A PASTOR ARE OFTEN THE ONES WHO DESPISE CORRECTION MOST TIMES. You can hang around “A CARRIER OF OBVIOUS GRACE” and yet, the grace of God upon that person may not smell on you. Why should the son of the prophet die in debt yet his wife ran to the same man he served and got a miracle? If you are close to a Pastor, double up YOUR WALK OF HONOUR. You will see their weakness but NEVER TAKE IT FOR GRANTED. You will see faults but DO NOT LET IT LEAD YOU INTO OFFENCE. Remember that THEY ARE MEN. HONOUR THEM. Honour is NOT worship. This is the rule - Anytime you see their faults, remember that it is because you have access. ACCESS IS A GIFT. Some people never stopped seeing Jesus as "the carpenter's son." May the Lord grant you more wisdom, to handle every open door of close or frequent ACCESS, to some very key People, that you will surely need to fulfil your Great Destiny. HONOUR YOUR SPIRITUAL FATHER E.g. Elisha vs Sons of the Prophets (Despite his faults) HONOUR The Attitude you display towards a man/leader will determine WHAT He shows to you in return E.g. HONOUR = FAVOUR ACCESS BLESSING FLOW OF HIS GRACE HELP PROTECTION. He HONOURS HIS FATHER WITH HIS SUBSTANCE E.g. Gifts, Money, personal accessories, means of transportation, housing, furniture, vacation expenses, etc. They personally GIVE to their Spiritual father, at least on an animal basis. They INFLUENCE their household and other church members to do the same. Many Christian don’t give to their Pastors. Some even discourage others from giving to their Pastor, including their spouse or children. #pastordavidizeiyamu #spiritualfather #reverend