Restoration Of Fathers…A Sign Of The Apostolic & Prophetic Movement

One of the most encouraging things that I have witnessed to come out of the Apostolic & Prophetic movement in the church over the last ten to fifteen years is the answer to the problem that the Apostle Paul spoke of in First Corinthians Chapter Four.

 

“For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers…” 1 Corinthians 4:15a NKJV

 

As a bit of background let me state that I have been in the church for a long time. In fact I grew up in the church. I was Born Again at 5 years of age as a Baptist boy and received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit when I was a freshman in High School. I started teaching and preaching when I was 17 years old and am now 51…so I have been around for quite a while.

 

I have been blessed to grow up in a Christian home the son of two ministers of the Gospel. Even back when my Father was a Baptist Pastor I watched him mentor, train and raise up the next generation. He and my Mom have always been a Mother and Father to many spiritual kids. They have operated that way my whole life…even before we knew or understood that it was part of the calling of the Apostolic office that they both stand in today.

 

But they were the exception…not the rule! Most in the church had no interest in raising up the next generation. They just wanted to be teachers or preachers, but not Mothers and Fathers. To be perfectly honest…most that were coming up had little or no interest of honoring or submitting to a Mother or Father either.

 

We have had an older generation that did not want to be entangled with the younger generation, and a younger generation that thought their elders were not relevant and did not honor them. Meanwhile what we had was not God’s plan.

 

“Behold, I will send 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." Malachi 4:5&6 NKJV

 

The Prophet tells us of a day that is coming when the Prophetic anointing of Elijah will be released before the coming of the day of the Lord. Most people believe that this is speaking of John the Baptist, who came in the spirit of Elijah before Jesus’ first coming. May I submit to you that there will be a second fulfillment of this prophecy as well, just as the prophetic voice in the spirit of Elijah was released before so it will be released as well before Jesus second coming.

 

The interesting phrase in this text is: “great and dreadful day of the Lord.” We find this same thought in Peter’s sermon in Acts Chapter 2.

 

“I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.” Acts 2:19 & 20 NKJV

 

Other references that speak to this thought are: Zephaniah 1:14-18, 1 Corinthians 5:5, 1 Thessalonians 5:2 & 2 Peter 3:10.

 

The thought is this…the Prophetic voice will be released again before the second coming of Jesus just as it was released before His first coming. We have been walking in that prophetic release now for around twenty years now. The Prophetic, Prophecy and the Office of the Prophet are more accepted now than during any time in my Christian existence.

 

And with the release of that Prophetic anointing before Jesus comes again is the release of the Apostolic Fathering anointing. The hearts of the Fathers turned towards the Children, and the hearts of the Children turned towards the Fathers (and Mothers).

 

Today it is quite common to hear terms like Sonship, Mentor & Protégé to name a few. What are these pointing to? Leaders are interested in being more than just a teacher…but they want to actually impart into sons and daughters, speak into their lives, train them up, raise them up and mentor them. Also it seems that spiritual sons and daughters are learning to Honor the previous generation; seek their advice, wisdom counsel and even submit to their correction.

 

You see it takes two sides to make this work. One side that is willing to be a Mother or Father, and one side that is willing to have somebody speak into their life. Over the last ten to fifteen years I have observed steady growth in this area that is unlike any other time in my Christian experience. This lets me know that we are walking in the fulfillment of Malachi four and God’s Apostolic & Prophetic move in the earth.

 

Many are even like me at this time, walking in being both a Father and a Son at the same time. Because I am 51, there are many who are younger than me who I can mentor and speak into their lives. But I still have a generation that I honor, and receive from that speaks into my life. Thank God we are living in Days of Restoration…Restoration of the Hearts of Fathers to Children…and Children to Fathers…A sign of the Apostolic & Prophetic.

Back To The Blood Part 3

In our last blog we were discussing some of the benefits that we have because of the Blood of Jesus. We want to continue that thought in this blog with some more benefits we have as Believers because of the Blood.

 

The next benefit we want to discuss is RATIFICATION (of the New Covenant). This sounds like a mouthful, but it could be defined as: The act of confirming, approving or formally sanctioning the New Covenant. The New Testament is full of verses that deal with this benefit.

 

“And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.’” Luke 22:20 NASB

 

“In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’" 1 Corinthians 11:25 NASB

 

“So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever… That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal. For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool. Then he said, ‘This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.’ And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship… That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals. For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf.” Hebrews 9:11 & 12, 18-21, 23 & 24 NLT

 

The new covenant that we have, which is better than the old covenant, because Jesus Himself is the mediator of it (Hebrews 8:6). In fact we are told that Jesus is the guarantee of it (Hebrews 7:22). And it has been Ratified or Sanctioned by His Blood.

 

The next benefit of the Blood of Jesus is JUSTIFICATION. Justification means to be declared righteous. A good way to remember what Justified means is to think of it this way…Just as if I never sinned. This is the way God looks at us and thinks about us when He looks at us through the Blood of Jesus.

 

“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” Romans 5:9 NASB

 

“Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation (appeasement my insertion) in His blood through faith This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:24-26 NASB

 

The truth of the matter is, even though we have all sinned, (Romans 3:23), Because of Jesus shedding His Blood and it being applied to our lives…He is both Just and the Justifier…making us Just-as-if-I-never-sinned!

 

The last benefit of the Blood of Jesus we will consider is RECONCILIATION. Reconciliation can be defined as restoring to friendship or harmony. Before we were Born Again we were not in Harmony with God, but by the Blood of Jesus we are restored to harmony with God.

 

“But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ… and might reconcile them both (Jews & Gentiles my insertion) in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.” Ephesians 2:13 &16 NASB

 

“And through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.” Colossians 1:20-22 NASB

 

^“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:10 NASB

 

Because of the Blood of Jesus we have been Reconciled or brought into Harmony with God.

 

We don’t talk about the Blood of Jesus much anymore in the church…but we need to. There are benefits for us in the Blood of Jesus. There is an old Hymn of that church that I sang as a boy growing up that said: “There is Power in the Blood”! There is Power in the Blood…the Power of PURIFICATION, the Power of REDEMPTION, the Power of RECONCILIATION, the Power of JUSTIFICATION and the Power of RECONCILIATION!

 

Perhaps the words to the song Andre Crouch wrote sum it up best:

 

“The blood that Jesus shed for me, way back on Calvary; the blood that gives me strength from day to day, it will never lose its power…

 

It reaches to the highest mountain, it flows to the lowest valley; the blood that gives me strength from day to day, it will never lose its power…

 

It soothes my doubts and it calms my fears, and it dries all my tears; the blood that gives me strength from day to day, it will never lose its power.”