FATHER GOD
FATHER GOD
And the Blessing of Honor to the Father
Preached by: Carolyn Sissom
Father’s Day, Sunday, June 21, 2009
Today at the close of the service, we are honoring all of our fathers with Texas Ranger badges. Also, we will be wearing these badges at the Big White Tent Revival and giving them to our guests.
I want to honor the Fathers of this church today and Godly Fathers in the ministry who are honorable spiritual leaders in the church. I wish to honor my own Father who has gone on to be with the Lord.
Malachi 4:5-6: “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their father, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
In Bible times, the father was the male parent of a household charged with the responsibility of providing for the family and giving religious instruction to the children. This is our heritage as God’s children. When we understand the love and provision of the Father, we feel safe and secure. Children have a right to grown up in safety and security.
Father God is so great that we have no one with whom to compare Him. He is the “Fairest of ten thousand” and the “Lily of the Valley”, “the Bright and Morning Star”, “the King of kings”, “the Lord of Lords”. As beautiful as these words are none of them expresses the greatness of our Father God.
The name of God, “Jehovah-Jireh” (“the Lord will see and provide”) has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Phil. 4:19) and all things are upheld by Him. (Col. 1:17). The psalmist declared, “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in His holy habitation. Like a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those that fear him.” (Ps. 68:5; 103:13)
Within the Godhead, Jesus and the Father are one (Jn. 17:22) “And the glory which you gave me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one.” Jesus said, “He that has seen me has seen the Father.” (Jn. 14:9b) Isaiah prophesied that one of Messiah’s designations would be, “The everlasting Father”. (Isa. 9:6) “for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, counselor, the mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Although Jesus is one with the Father, during His earthly ministry He continually gave preeminence to the Father by acknowledging His will as supreme. Jesus said, “If you love me, you would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father; for my Father is greater than I.” Here lies the spiritual principle that caused Jesus to walk in a state of continual provision. It is the missing link for many believers today. This is one of the keys to the Kingdom.
In Proverbs 4, we hear the words of Solomon as he honors his father, David. He gives fourteen commandments and blessings of obeying the words of a Godly Father. “Hear you children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. For I give you a good doctrine, forsake not my law. For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, and said unto me, Let your heart retain my words; keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom, get understanding; forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve you, love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you. She will bring you to honor, when you embrace her. She shall give to your head an ornament of grace and a crown of glory shall she deliver to you.
This is a promise of the Lord. One of the functions of the prophetic ministry is to declare the Father’s blessing to the children and to teach the children to honor their Fathers. Father’s day is not just a materialistic day to increase retail sales. Honoring your Father will give you the blessing of an ornament of grace and a crown of glory for your head. Honor your Father and Mother is a commandment to obey and with it comes a long and good life.
Families in the United States of America are under attack. The spirit of anti-christ is trying to redefine the sanctity of marriage established by the Lord as between a man and a woman. The day may soon come when we will preach the Word of God at great risk. We will soon find out who is called to preach the gospel and who is preaching for noses, names and nickels. If the Hate Crimes bill is passed, there will soon be a separation of the tares and the wheat among preachers. .
The Lord established the family before he established the church. When Adam and Even sinned, this was the first dysfunctional family. So it is today, when sin enters the family, the result is dysfunction. We can blame Adam or Eve. They both sinned. When they sinned, grief and sorrow came in to their lives. Wherever we have a crack in Godly authority in the family, that is an open door for satan to enter.
When God’s children have knowledge of the God of the anointing it becomes a natural thing for them to love and submit to Him. Our hearts yearn for this kind of divine authority. The Father yearns to provide His authority for us. “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.”
The psalmist David clearly expressed this in Psalm 91. “He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” God has cast His shadow of protection and provision over all the earth. Those who dwell in the secret place shall receive His glory.” (Lori Wilke – The Costly Anointing)
In the book, The Costly Anointing by: Lori Wilke, she writes the account of a vision received by a modern-day prophet in the spring of 1984. She doesn’t give the prophet’s name, but it is a good story.
The Baseball Game:
This man of God was caught up in the spirit where he and the Lord stood to observe a baseball game. The Lord’s team was playing against the devil’s team. The Lord’s team was at bat, the score was tired zero to zero and it was the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs. Love came up to bat, swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because Love never fails. The next batter up was Faith, who also got a single because Faith works with Love. The next batter was Godly Wisdom. Satan wound up and threw the first pitch, but Godly Wisdom does not swing at satan’s pitches—ball one. Three more pitches and Godly Wisdom was on with a walk. The bases are loaded.
The Lord then turned and said He was going to bring up the star player. Up to the plate stepped Grace. No one recognized him and he sure didn’t look like he could do much. Satan’s team relaxed and he wound up and fired his first pitch, thinking he had this game won. To everyone’s surprise, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever seen it hit before. Satan was not worried since his center fielder, the Prince of the air had let very few ever get by him. He leaped to catch the ball, but it went right through his glove, hitting him in the head and knocking him o the ground. The Lord’s team won.
The Lord then asked the man if he knew why Love, Faith and godly Wisdom could get hits but could not win the game. The Lord explained, “if your love, faith and wisdom had won the game you would think you had done it by yourself. Love, faith and wisdom will get you on base, but only My grace will carry you home.”
The Lord has promised the restoration of families in these last days. It seems we are in the ninth inning with two outs with all of the wickedness going on in the world and the validation of that wickedness by our government authorities, Satan must be thinking he has won the game.
The Lord’s prophets in the spirit of Elijah will again raise their voices and begin to declare Grace, Grace unto it. We must pray and ask the Lord to heal our land, families and government by his Great Grace.
(2 Kings 2: 1-3) “Elijah the prophet was greatly anointed. His servant, Elisha, was sure that if he stuck with it long enough he would get the prophet’s mantle. He was determined that nothing would prevent that and refused to leave his master’s side. Elijah tested him, saying “Elisha, why don’t you stay here while I go to Bethel?” Because he loved Elijah and desired the anointing, Elisha’s answer was, “I will not leave you.”
Elijah tested him a second time, saying that he must go to Jericho and suggesting that it was not necessary for Elisha to accompany him. His answer was still the same” “I will not leave you.”
A third time Elijah tested his servant. He told him he needed to go to Jordan and suggested he stay back. Nothing could change Elisha’s mind. Determined to receive the anointing of God more than anything else in life, he had left his oxen, his plowing and the only life he had known. He would not be turned aside.
When the got to Jordan, an amazing thing happened; Elijah took his mantle, folded it, and struck the water of the river with it. When he did this, the waters began to move here and there until a path was opened in the river---as it had been in the days of Joshua---and the two of them crossed over together on dry land. (Vs. 7-8)
When they got to the other side of the river, Elijah asked his servant if he had any last request. Was there anything special he needed? Was there something on his heart? Elijah wanted to bless him one last time. “Ask what I shall give thee.” He said (v.9). (This is the principle of the Father’s blessing and/or the spiritual Father).
More than any other thing in his life Elisha wanted God’s anointing. Everything else seemed insignificant compared to speaking God’s word as Elijah had spoken it and delivering the sick and oppressed as Elijah had done. Nothing else mattered than obtaining God’s power in his life to do miracles for God’s glory.
If he could have anything he wanted, why not ask for a double portion of the anointing? That’s exactly what he did. “I pray you let a double portion of your spirit be upon me” Elisha had doubled the miracles in his ministry, twice as many as Elijah had done.
He received the Father’s blessing. He honored Elijah as a spiritual Father. The principal
of an ornament of grace and a crown of glory will be the blessing
of those who honor their Father.
The spirit of Elijah will turn the hearts of the Father to the children and the
heart of the children to the Fathers. With this will come a double
portion of miracles and blessing to the church as it did with Elisha
and Jesus. If people rebel against this principle, then the Lord will smite the earth with a curse.
Many are looking for a man to appear with the annointing of Elijah. The Word of God does not say that it will be a man, but the Spirit of Elijah. Elish hasked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit. Let us pray and ask the Lord to give us the Spirit of Elijah.
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
As indicated a quoted from the Costly Anointing by: Lori Wilke. All scripture is from K.J.V. Comments, prophetic words and conclusions are my own.