MEMORISE:
For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 1 Corinthians 4:15
READ: 2 Kings 3:11-12
11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.
12 And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
MESSAGE:
These days, people just call anyone “Daddy” in the church, and not necessarily out of respect as it is done in the Yoruba culture. You need to be careful who you call your father; Apostle Paul told the church in Corinth that they have only one father but many instructors, as seen in our memory verse for today.
I miss the good old days when we all used to call each other ‘Bro’ or ‘Sis’. The choice of who you call your father has a lot to do with your destiny. In our Bible reading for today, the only introduction that Elisha needed was that his Father-in-the-Lord was Elijah and Jehoshaphat immediately concluded that “The word of the Lord is with him.”
First you cannot be greater than your father, at least not while he is still alive. Luke 6:40 says:
“The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.”
Whoever your father is sets limit to how far you can go in life. This information alone is enough to make you careful with respect to whom you refer to as “My Father-in-the-Lord.”
Secondly, anointing flows from the head downwards, so if you don’t check that the character of whoever you make your head is very good, well, he could be passing a dangerous anointing to you. It is from my Father (Pa Josiah Akindayomi) that I learnt that holiness is the master key; it is from him that I learnt discipline. His anointing was not the kind that you use to extort money from congregants, it was not the kind that needed a special concoction for it to work. I inherited the pure anointing of God from him.
It is not wise to choose a Father-in-the-Lord by yourself; ask God who your father should be. Your destination in life will determine whom you should understudy. The affluence, eloquence and large congregation of a man does not necessarily make him fit to father you. My Father-in-the-Lord had none of those things. He was illiterate, yet God told me to submit to him. Today, I give God the glory that Pa Josiah Akindayomi was my Father-in-the-Lord.
KEY POINT:
Let God choose a Father-in-the-Lord for you. Don’t call everyone Daddy.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 59- 63.
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 1: ALL HAIL THE POWER.
1. All hail the pow’r of Jesus’ Name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all!
2. Ye chosen seed of Israel’s race,
Ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all!
3. Let every kindred, every tribe,
On this terrestrial ball,
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all!
4. Oh, that with yonder sacred throng
We at His feet may fall!
We’ll join the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all!
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