An Apostolic Letter To An Apostolic Son

Traditionally theologians have referred to the Epistles of First and Second Timothy, as well as Titus as Pastoral Epistles. Nothing could be further from the Truth. Timothy and Titus were both Spiritual Sons to Apostle Paul and as such were being fathered, mentored and trained as young up and coming emerging Apostles in their own right.

If you read the New Testament through the Paradigm of an Apostolic Mindset, this will be quite clear. Paul clearly referred to Timothy as his son. (see 1 Corinthians 4: 17, 1 Timothy 1: 2 & 18 and 2 Timothy 1:2) Titus was also referred to as his son. (see Titus 1:4) With that in mind we are better off referring to these Epistles as Apostolic Epistles, not Pastoral Epistles.

I want to draw your attention to one passage from Apostle Paul’s first letter to Timothy:

“Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” 1 Timothy 4: 13-16 NKJV (Emphasis Mine)

I have highlighted some words in this passage that we should pay attention to as an Apostolic Father was writing to an Emerging Apostolic Son:

Ø  Reading

Ø  Exhortation

Ø  Doctrine

Ø  The Gift

Ø  Prophecy

Ø  Laying On Of Hands

Ø  Meditate

Ø  Doctrine (second time…just maybe it is important)

Ø  Continue

It is quite often that we get asked what Apostolic Ministry is all about and how does it differ from other types of ministry. This should be a PROOF TEXT for every Apostle and Emerging Apostle in the Body of Christ!

We could go into great detail on each one of these bullet points, but suffice it to say, each and every one of them are an integral part of Apostolic Ministry. These were things that Paul stressed to his Son Timothy. If we are going to be truly New Testament Apostolic all of these things will be part of what we do; and if we are going to raise up Apostolic Sons, we will stress these things to them just as Paul stressed them to Timothy.

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.

A Paradigm Shift Is Underway

Over the weekend I was privileged to be part of an Apostolic & Prophetic Gathering in Trenton, NJ where I was one of the speakers as well as a participant in the Question & Answer open panel forum. I was one of five members on the panel and for a little over an hour; we answered people’s questions about the Apostolic & Prophetic.

 

During my Father’s (Dr. Leo Fram) teaching time, he made an interesting statement: “The Church was never meant to be run by vote or committee.” Now to some that may seem like a very strange statement. Allow me to stretch your thinking please. Let me introduce you to a New Paradigm.

 

What exactly is a Paradigm anyway? Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines paradigm as: “a philosophical or theoretical framework of any kind.” It is the way we think about something or you could call it a mindset. There have been some mindsets or ways of thinking about things that have been prevalent in the Church for years…but in the current days of the Apostolic Reformation some of these old Paradigms are being challenged.

 

One such old Paradigm is that we must vote on every decision in the local church or appoint a committee to investigate all the options so that a wise decision can be made. Is this type of Paradigm really what the New Testament teaches? I submit to you absolutely not. Let us consider Acts chapter 15 for a case study.

 

You can read verses 1-29 to get the complete context, but we will just quote: “And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, ‘Men and brethren, listen to me: Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: [After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the Lord who does all these things.] Known to God from eternity are all His works. Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.’” Acts 15:13-21 NKJV

 

This passage is what is commonly known as the Jerusalem Council. There was great conflict between Jewish believers and Gentile believers over the issue of circumcision. Some of the Jewish believers were saying that Gentile believers had to not only accept Christ and His sacrifice to be saved, but also to be circumcised according to the Law of Moses. So a great discourse was entered into by the early Church leaders of the day including: Peter, Paul, Barnabas, Silas and James, the Lord’s half Brother and apparently the convener of the Council.

 

I want you to pay attention the bold type underlined phrases above: “Men and Brethren, Listen to Me” and “Therefore I Judge”. After all the discussion was done, the Apostle James got up and made a judgment…this was something that the Apostle James decreed…not something that the group voted on. The amazing thing is that after James made this decree…the discussion ended…there was no more debate. In fact in verse 28 we find these words: “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” Notice in the letter that they sent out…even though James made the “Apostolic Decree” everybody else came into agreement with it saying: “It Seemed Good To The Holy Spirit And To Us!”

 

This is a far cry from the way things are done in many churches and church circles today. People come up in arms saying that I Have To Have My Say. Once James made his decision…there was no more say. Can you see how some of our practices do not line up with New Testament practices? The Church is going through some major Paradigm shifts right now from Pastoral and Congregational mindsets into what God is restoring to the church, “An Apostolic Mindset”.

 

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” Acts 3:19-21 NKJV We are living in the days of the “Restoration Of All Things” and one of the things being restored is a new Paradigm…An Apostolic Mindset!