The problem in the Church today is that we have four types of people, or should I, say sons in the Church. We have orphans, we have prodigals, we have vagabonds and we have bastards.
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.)
Different Kinds of Sons
1. Orphans
The problem in the Church today is that we have four types of people, or should I, say sons in the Church. We have orphans, we have prodigals, we have vagabonds and we have bastards. I say this with heaviness. There are people in the Church who don’t know their fathers or mothers; they are orphans. There are people in the Church who are prodigals, they are to be fathered and raised but they ask for their inheritance too quickly. The Bible says those who ask for their inheritance too quickly or hastily shall not be blessed (Proverbs 20:21). God gives you somebody to follow, who will father you and raise you but you are in a hurry. You may be prayed for, somebody may lay hands on you telling you he is releasing you into your calling but it is not going to last.
2. Vagabonds
Then we have vagabonds. These are those who have knowingly rejected their fathers and the Bible says vagabonds will beg for bread. We have people today in the Church who are begging for bread spiritually and even natural bread. They have to read somebody’s book or listen to somebody’s CD to get a sermon, because their heaven is closed.
3. Bastards
Then there are bastards. Bastards are illegitimate sons. Their birth is questionable. In a spiritual sense, the born again experience of these people is questionable. Bastards by nature do not take or submit to correction (Hebrews 12: 5-8). But I thank God that we have true sons. Whatever we are called to do we are called to raise sons. We cannot raise sons if we are not fathers. And we cannot become fathers if we ourselves have not been properly fathered.
My greatest blessing was while I was in pastoral ministry for about eight or more years, the Lord began to tell me that I needed a father. I thought going to a Bible college, being in the ministry and doing well and praying for people and seeing miracles, signs and wonders was all but the Lord said to me that I needed a father. I began to pray to the Lord about it and He led me to a man I had never met before. The Lord asked me to go and see him. I had to travel out of town to go and find him.
When I saw him, I told him that the Lord asked me to come and see him. He said for what? I said to him, the Lord had been speaking some things to me that I didn’t even understand and He asked me to come and sit at your feet. I will ever be grateful to God for sending me to a father. I will say that most of what I am doing today comes out of that encounter, out of the training, the impartation, the laying on of hands and the speakings.
You will need a father. I believe this generation needs fathers. We must raise sons. But we must have fathers. Abraham was called to be a father. The journey to become a father is a long, often lonely and painful, journey. You will face rejection, betrayal and all kinds of things. But if you are called to be a father, the opposition will never deter you. The experiences are to deepen your priesthood and to enlarge your heart. Halleluyah! Blessed be the name of the Lord.
