Spiritual Parenting

The Lord led me to bring this message on Father's Day so I left our series on church life for this week. We'll get back to it soon. For the audio of this message you will need to go to rvwc.podbean.com and listen. Again, these notes are not a manuscript and are only meant for an aid to the message preached.

A fatherless generation needs parenting, spiritually.

Kids in schools - as young as age 8 are cutting, suicidal, and depressed. Their parents are willing to give them away. 

Deuteronomy 10:11-22 (NIV)

[11] “Go,” the LORD said to me, “and lead the people on their way, so that they may enter and possess the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.”

 Fear the LORD

[12] And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, [13] and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

 [14] To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. [15] Yet the LORD set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today. [16] Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. [17] For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. [18] He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. [19] And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. [20] Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. [21] He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. [22] Your forefathers who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Psalms 68:4-5 (NIV)

[4] Sing to God, sing praise to his name, 

extol him who rides on the clouds*— 

his name is the LORD— 

and rejoice before him.

[5] A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, 

is God in his holy dwelling.

Paul gives an exhortation concerning fathering people. 

1 Corinthians 4:15-16 (NIV)

[15] Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. [16] Therefore I urge you to imitate me.

Paul claims to be a father to them in Christ through the gospel. We may not be fathers in Christ through the gospel but we may be through the church. We are in the same church and belong to one another. Are we being spiritual parents to those who are younger. 

In John's first letter he addresses three groupings of people in the church...

1 John 2:10-17 (NIV)

[10] Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him* to make him stumble. [11] But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

[12] I write to you, dear children,

because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.

[13] I write to you, fathers, 

because you have known him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men, 

because you have overcome the evil one.

I write to you, dear children,

because you have known the Father.

[14] I write to you, fathers, 

because you have known him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men, 

because you are strong,

and the word of God lives in you,

and you have overcome the evil one.

 [15] Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. [16] For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. [17] The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Children, Fathers, Young Men

Now, in that day and culture, women did not figure as prominently in the church as they do today so the language would seem to exclude mothers and young women. But I believe that God includes mothers and young women today. The early church had not yet come into the full realization of the promise that was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost where it was proclaimed that men and women would prophesy.  Listen to this....

Acts 2:14-18 (NIV)

 [14] Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. [15] These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! [16] No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

[17] “‘In the last days, God says, 

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions, 

your old men will dream dreams.

[18] Even on my servants, both men and women, 

I will pour out my Spirit in those days, 

and they will prophesy.

When God made man and placed him in the garden, He said that it was not good for the man to be alone so he took something out of man and using man material made a woman. Only after the fall into sin was it said that the man would rule over the woman. Genesis 3:16  Since the curse of sin has been lifted by Jesus on the cross there is no need for man to rule over woman. Man should rule with woman in partnership as equals because woman is a part of man, not separate from him. This is so real that God says that those who are united in marriage are one flesh. There is no inferior place for women in the kingdom of God.

So, today, I am calling mothers and fathers to rise up and take your place in the life of this church.  The first thing we all need to do is adopt some kids and take some young men and women into our circle of care. 

1 Peter 1:22 (NIV)

[22] Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.* 

10 times the phrase "love one another" occurs in the NT, 5 of them in 1 John alone.

1 Corinthians 14:1-5 (NIV)

 [14:1] Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. [2] For anyone who speaks in a tongue* does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.* [3] But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. [4] He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. [5] I would like every one of you to speak in tongues,* but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues,* unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.

There are three things I would like to challenge those of us who are spiritual parents to do today. 

Prayerfully pick someone to pray for

Prayerfully plan to prophesy over them - speaking words that encourage, comfort, and strengthen

Prayerfully plan to engage them in conversation, in cards, or electronically (fb, txt, email, twitter)