ABRAHAM’S CALL TO THE FATHERHOOD OF NATIONS (Pt. 3)

ABRAHAM’S CALL TO THE FATHERHOOD OF NATIONS (Pt. 3)

It takes fathers to give birth to sons. It takes fathers to give birth to movements and ministries. It takes fathers to raise sons who will build cities both spiritual and natural.

Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. (Isaiah 51:1-2.)
And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee
(Genesis 17: 3-6.)

The Revelation of Fatherhood

It takes fathers to give birth to sons. It takes fathers to give birth to movements and ministries. It takes fathers to raise sons who will build cities both spiritual and natural. The city of Jerusalem, we are told from the Scripture, was built by David, a descendant of Abraham. The Lord said to Abraham that he would make him a father of nations and kings would come out of him. Out of functioning as a father, Abraham was also a king, a priest and a prophet. He functioned in these three roles.

From the Scripture, it is clear that those who are called to do certain things that have to do with the destiny of nation(s) are given these three dimensions. Take Moses for instance. He was a priest, he was a prophet and a king. In Exodus 32 he referred to himself as a king. David was a prophet, a priest and a king. Samuel was a prophet, a king and a priest. These three were in Abraham. Abraham was a prophet. It takes prophets to raise prophets. It takes kings to give birth to kings and to raise them as one. It takes priests to give birth to priests.  This concept is very clear in the Scripture.

In the ancient world usually fathers were both priests and kings. You see this in the case of Jezebel. The Scripture says that her father was a king of Ethbaal. Her father was both king and priest and that was why she could go in the strength of her father’s altar of wickedness to do what she did in the land of Israel. I am glad because this is what God is unveiling for us. I believe God is bringing us into this understanding and into the reality of this thing and the way to journey into it.

For us to function as fathers, we must be priests. What happens to many people in leadership is that they do not grow and deepen their priesthood first. Their fatherhood then becomes autocratic, domineering and controlling because there is no priesthood.  First and foremost, the heart of a father should be the heart of a priest to cry in intercessions. The joy of a father is to raise sons and daughters who will be greater than himself; that he would sit down and see his sons and daughters doing great things.

In Isaiah 51, the Lord says, I called him alone.  Look unto him. Abraham is a pattern. He is an example to follow. If you want to follow Me, look at Abraham, the Lord says. Not only Abraham but look unto Sarah (for motherhood). Sarah’s ministry was embedded in Abraham’s ministry. We must understand that as well. Sarah has nothing apart from Abraham.

From Genesis 12 and 13, three things were always associated with Abraham’s journey:

1. His Altars

Wherever Abraham went, he raised altars and grew his altars. The highest altar he raised was when he offered Isaac. I believe an altar speaks of the Cross as we need to carry our cross daily   in our following Christ. It speaks of consecration. It speaks of sacrifice. It speaks of where we lay down our will and self. It is a place of brokenness. Altar is a place of communion. The altar that Abraham raised was still alive and speaking even when his grandson Jacob passed through that place.  Angels were still ascending and descending on that altar in Genesis 28. Today we understand altar this way; that I am called to be an altar as individual and I can also raise altars. A man of altars who lives his life before God is a man that has power to raise altars.

The Bible says we have an altar where we eat (have communion with God) and that not all can partake of it (See Hebrews 13). Altars exist at different levels and we must understand the journey of Abraham in raising different altars wherever he went. It was to establish a communion between heaven and earth. It was also a place for him to offer and surrender himself like when he came up from Egypt; he went back to his first altar and surrendered in rededication of himself. It is a place of dedication, consecration and communion and offering. Without these we cannot grow in our journey to fatherhood; it is impossible.

Read Part 4 Here

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