Fathers in a Fatherless World

We live in a world that is in desperate need of fathers, both naturally and spiritually. Statistics in the US show that today twenty-two million, or four out of every ten homes, is fatherless. People are desperate for a father in their lives, someone they can trust and to whom they can turn and know that they will be there for them. I believe there is a call on the church to step up and be fathers in their community or place of influence. Even though this word is a call to fathers, the Biblical principles are just as important to mothers.

 

1 Thessalonians 2:10-12 says, “You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.” NIV

 

Fatherhood is first established by who we are and not what we do. Paul lays out some basic characteristics for us as fathers. We are to be holy. This is not a call to perfection but a commitment not to compromise and to be quick to deal with sin in our life through transparency and repentance. People are looking for real fathers, not ones who are faking it.  Being holy is not about being perfect but being honest.

 

We as fathers are to be righteous and blameless. Righteousness has to do with our relationship with God the Father. He is our ultimate example of fatherhood. Being an effective father requires that we must walk in communion with Him and obedience to Him. The mantle of fatherly authority is only possible as we submit to the Father of all. Being blameless is not perfection but a constant awareness that we do not live unto ourselves. Our lives are a living example of God the Father to the world and especially to those in our area of influence.

 

As fathers, we need to be constant encouragers, speaking affirmation and value into those around us. In a world that promotes wrong values we need to affirm right values. I have heard it said that the church has lost its moral authority to speak into the world. As fathers, we must live holy, righteous, and blameless lives in order to earn the authority to be a father in someone else’s life.  As a father we need to bring comfort to those in need and crises. Being a father requires us to lay down our lives for another, being there for them even when it doesn’t fit into our schedule.

 

As a fathers, we must urge our sons to walk worthy of God. Walking worthy is not about a list of does and don’ts but about bringing your sons in relationship to God and enlarging their vision and faith in who they can be in God. God is calling us to be fathers in our home, church, place of employment and community. Today, become a father to someone who is desperate for a father in his life. Often times we feel inadequate as fathers, but the Father of fathers dwells in us by His Spirit to enable us to be the father He has called us and empowered us to be.

 

Andy Clark

Inclusive Environment

Acts chapter two is a record of the grand entrance of the Holy Spirit into the life of the church. The Spirit did not come in quietly but with “a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, …. then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them, ….and they all began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The sound was so loud that the Bible said “the multitude came together,…. and everyone heard them speak in his own language.”

The Holy Spirit definitely wanted everyone’s attention. When Jesus walked on the earth, His teaching and miracles attracted people from every walk of life, and out of this diverse group of people He called an equally diverse group to be His disciples, one-hundred and twenty of whom were in the upper room seeking for the promise of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit made His grand entrance, the Bible records in Acts 2:5 that He attracted “Jews from every nation under heaven.”  The writer records the names of fifteen of these nations that heard the disciples praising God in their own language. If you were to look for these nations on a map, they cover a 360 degree circle around Israel, fanning in every direction on the face of the globe.

None of this happened by chance. God is very intentional in all that He does. Why did Jesus and the Holy Spirit’s ministry attract such a diversity of people?  I believe it is because God by His very nature is inclusive, and everything He does is inclusive. Why then are we as the church so exclusive? We exclude people by our traditions, doctrines, and practices. We surround ourselves with people who act and think just like we do.

Jesus is not calling us to sameness but to oneness. Jesus prayer for us is “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”  Inclusion is not watering down your belief or condoning that which is wrong. Inclusion is loving people where they are and allowing the diversity to enlarge us and our vision and understanding of God. It is having “fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." (I Peter 4:8) It is removing the plank from our eye before we attempt to remove the speck four of our brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:4-5) It is by love, trusting the Holy Spirit to do His work in each of our lives as He sees fit according to His unique will and plan for each of us.

We need to cultivate an inclusive environment. The conclusion of the grand entrance of the Holy Spirit among this diverse group of nationalities, traditions and practices is recorded in Acts 2:46-47, “Now all who believed (3,000 diverse people) continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

Andy Clark

Jesus Journey

As you read in my devotional last week entitled “Jesus,” the only hope for our world that groans in the bondage of sin is the manifestation of the children of God, that is Jesus Christ in us the hope of glory. (Romans 8:17, Colossians 1:27) For God’s glory to manifest in us we must walk the Jesus journey.

The summary of the first thirty years of Jesus’ journey are written in Luke 2:52,

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Jesus is twelve years old and has gone to the temple with his parents, and Luke records in 2:47

“And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.” Though Jesus had revelation knowledge that surpassed the greatest teachers of His day, he spent His first thirty years growing “in wisdom and stature, and favor with God and men.”  We can become so busy with life that we do not allow time in our journey for God to develop His character in us. When we watch the Olympics, we will see people who have spent a lifetime of discipline in developing the character and skills necessary to stand for a moment on the world stage. Whatever we do in life, our Jesus journey begins with the disciplines of a Christlike character in us. We do not live according to the values of this world but by the values revealed to us in His Word and developed in us by submission to our heavenly coach, the Holy Spirit.

The next phase of Jesus’ journey is recorded in Luke 3:22, “and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased." Wherever our journey takes us, the voice of affirmation over our lives must come from heaven. While Jesus grew in favor with man, the affirmation of who he was and what he did came only from the Father. No matter what kind of work we do, our only measure of success and sense of fulfillment can come from God. God’s pleasure with His son did not come from performance, because Jesus’ ministry had not yet begun. God’s pleasure was with Jesus the carpenter who had learned to walk as a son in a love relationship of submission and obedience.

The Jesus journey continues with the test of identity and character in the wilderness in Luke chapter four. The repeated challenge of the enemy was “If you are the son of God,” then prove it. Jesus’ consistent response was “It is written.” Satan constantly tests our identity and our character through success and suffering. He constantly flaunts the world before us, tempting us to measure ourselves by those around us, what we see and what we feel, instead of the Word of God.

The conclusion of Jesus’ journey is in Acts 10:38, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” This can be the testimony of your journey when your identity and life is hidden in Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, you can do good works that God has ordained for you and bring healing to those around you.

Andy Clark

Jesus

Jesus said, “If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all peoples to myself.” John 12:23

I have a friend who played both college and professional basketball and now pastors a growing church that is bursting at the seams. His call to ministry was birthed out of an encounter with Jesus Christ that radically changed his life and created in him a passion for Jesus that marked his basketball career, life, and ministry.

As we look out over our decaying world, our only salvation is a generation that is radically turned on to and passionate about Jesus Christ. Christianity, especially in the West has become too much of a private relationship with Christ. Jesus said, “If I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” Jesus’ death and resurrection was a very public matter, out front where all could see. Jesus told the Jewish leaders, who arrested him, what I have done and taught has been in the open for everyone to hear. The mark of the early church was a bold and public confession of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)  We become so caught up with building churches, programs and ministries to attract people that we loose sight of the central attraction to Christianity and that is Jesus Christ. Somehow, lifting up Jesus is not enough of an attraction to appeal to our modern world. We feel this need to compete with the glitz of our modern age and sugar coat Jesus to make him palatable to our day and age. Relational and social evangelism, the trend of our day, is a wonderful thing, but without an open passion for Jesus it cannot stand.

Jesus is the star attraction of Christianity. Yes, there are many who will ridicule, oppose, and persecute the name of Jesus, but without Jesus we have nothing but a vain and empty religion. When we build our lives, reputation, family, work, church, and ministry on an open and public confession of Jesus Christ, He will draw people to himself and build a church that the gates of hell cannot prevail against.

Philippians 2:9-11says, “Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Ask the Holy Spirit today to help you take Jesus out of the closet and make an open confession so that He can draw all people to himself and glorify God the Father.

Andy Clark

Enlarge Your Capacity

Last week I was lying on my bed about 11pm at night in my hotel room in Bungoma, Kenya, praying and meditating on what I was going to share on Community Transformation the next morning at the Leadership Conference, and the Lord dropped two Scriptures in my heart defining two essential elements to community transformation.

The first Scripture was Isaiah 54:2-3: "Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited.”

The first essential element to community transformation is to enlarge your personal capacity. The command is for you to enlarge the place of your tent. It goes on to say, do not spare, don’t hold back, go all out, and allow the Holy Spirit to stretch you and lengthen your cords. Do not settle for the status quo, but allow the Spirit to stretch your faith, your capacity to love, forgive, and to serve. Allow the Spirit to nurture, develop and sharpen your God-given gifts and talents. As you grow, drive down your stakes deep into God so that you will not be blown away by the tempests of life.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” Do not allow the temptations and cares of life to rob you of your potential in Christ. Your ability to resist spiritual mediocrity will not only enlarge your capacity, but also affect your descendents and their place of habitation.

The second essential element to community transformation is found in Genesis 5:5:

“Then He (the Lord) brought him (Abraham) outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him,” So shall your descendants be.”  What did the Lord bring Abraham outside of? His tent. For community transformation God not only needs to enlarge your capacity but also your vision. Because Abraham had left his country and laid down everything in his pursuit and obedience, God blessed Abraham beyond his wildest imagination. God had enlarged his tent so that he had over 800 servants who could fight and livestock beyond numbering.

However, at one hundred years of age Abraham had not received the son of promise, and God called him out of his tent to look at the stars and believe for the impossible, that he would be the father of nations. I don’t know where you are today, but God wants to do the impossible through you. First of all, you need to resist complacency, allow Him to enlarge your capacity, then step out of your limitations into His limitlessness and believe Him for the impossible.

Andy Clark

Everlasting Destiny

In Genesis 17:4-6, God appeared to Abraham and said, "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.” God goes on to tell Abraham that this was an everlasting covenant and that the land of Canaan was an everlasting possession.

This everlasting covenant and possession was established by God through the giving of a new name, for a new name brings a new destiny. When we are born again, we are given a new name, a new identity, and a new destiny. Our identity is no longer defined by the name of our earthly parents, lineage and nationality. People, circumstances, position and possessions no longer define who we are.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” We have to begin to see ourselves as God sees us, if we are going to be able to manifest His glory in the earth. Abram was ninety-nine years old when God gave him his new name. He had no son, no land, and no inheritance. However, when God gave him a new name, God set in motion an everlasting covenant and possession that no force on earth or demon in hell could rob from him.

1 Peter 1:23 says we have “been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” We have an everlasting covenant through the blood of Christ and an eternal possession through His resurrection. When we were born again, God gave us a new identity and set in motion in us an everlasting covenant, purpose and destiny that no person or circumstances can eradicate as we abide in Him.

Revelations 2:17 says, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it."' We live in a world that is attempting to rob us of our identity, everlasting covenant, and destiny as defined by the incorruptible word of God that lives and abides forever.

It is time to take a stand for who we are as children of God, so that His glory may be revealed through us in the earth and we come into the fullness of our destiny. “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (I John 3:2-3)

Andy Clark

Embracing God

Genesis 32:24-28 “Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!" So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob." And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."

In verse 28 it says “you have struggled with God …. and have prevailed. Jacob wrestled or more accurately embraced God all night. Even after God touched his hip socket, Jacob would not let go until God blessed him with a new identity. Instead of Jacob the “deceiver” he became Israel “Prince with God or He Strives with God.” Jacob would not settle for anything less than his full inheritance.

Why could God not get free from Jacob? How can a mortal man wrestle with God and prevail? THE KEY! God cannot break the embrace of faith. The blessing was Jacobs. It was established by God in Genesis 25:23 and declared by Jacob’s father, Isaac, in Genesis 27:27-29. Esau who represents the flesh was coming to take Jacob’s blessing. Jacob did not fight or wrestle with Esau, the flesh, natural man, circumstances, (we do not wrestle with flesh and blood) but Jacob embraced God the true source of the blessing and did not let go of God until the promise was confirmed and established.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) There is perseverance, a diligent seeking of God to receive the promises that He has given to us. God desires that we pursue Him. He is not withholding something from us but challenging us to go after Him and to walk with Him into the fullness of what He has planned for us.

“By faith Abraham, even though he was past age-and Sarah herself was barren-was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.” (Hebrews 11:11) Notice the focus of Abraham’s faith was on the faithfulness of God. For 25 years Abraham embraced God, not the promise but the giver of the promise. And the Bible says that he was called “the Friend of God.” (James 2:23)

What greater thing is there in life than to be called the friend of God. When we embrace God, we embrace everything that He is. And it is out of that intimate relationship that everything else in life flows.

Andy Clark