LISTEN NOW! (Or WATCH FULL PROGRAM!) During a time of prayer and the Holy Spirit being poured out powerfully upon people being prayed for, a young boy shifted the entire atmosphere when he asked for a new dad. This is such an embodiment of the heart of God. God is a Father to the fatherless. For ten years, we walked out sharing the Father’s heart during the Father and Son Camping Trips so that sons could spend an entire weekend of undivided attention with fathers. Bishop David Thomas is a man who understands this deep need for there to be fathers in the Church who raise up spiritual sons and daughters. Bishop Thomas was recently asked about what his thoughts are regarding sons and daughters in the Church.
Bishop Thomas begins to share his heart as he begins to describe his own journey of searching for a spiritual father in ministry. “I would go to older men in the ministry, and I would say ‘I don’t know what I’m doing. How do you do this? How do you do that?’” It is deeply heartbreaking to hear the answers that he was repeatedly given in response. Bishop Thomas continues, “Over and over, to the point where I quit asking, I was told this; ‘that they learned the hard way, I’d have to learn the hard way.’” Despite these surprising responses, Bishop Thomas concluded that he wouldn’t repeat the same words. “I determined that someday I’m not going to be the young guy, and I’m never going to say that.” He continues, “I’m going to impart to you anything that I’ve learned, from every failure, every mess up, and I don’t want you to have to learn the hard way. I want you to learn from my mistakes, not from yours.”
This is such an important paradigm to embrace and understand. So many people perceive that they have nothing to offer because of the mistakes they made in their lives. The mere fact that you have existed, and experienced the lessons of life’s journeys that you have, that you didn’t quit, and you still stand, is a testament to what you have for those who are younger than you, those who have not experienced what you have.
There used to be a day where we turned to God for wisdom, where we turned towards our elders for the wisdom that we needed to walk through in life’s seasons. Just because Google is at our fingertips, doesn’t mean we have the answers that we need. One is knowledge, and the other is wisdom. These are two totally different paradigms. God’s order of family, and fathers in the Church is so important. You cannot walk out being a father if you have never experienced having a father in your life. In the same way, young women cannot walk out being a spiritual mother without having a spiritual mother in their life to help them navigate the seasons of life.
We do this in the Vine Fellowship Family as we desire everyone to know the love of God through the unity of His family, the Church. So many people surrounded by large crowds of people while they are dying in the midst of them. We need close relationships of people in our lives that intimately care about what we are going through, and who will stand alongside us as we walk them out. God has called us to love God, love others, and lead others to do the same. You can fill your heart with joy knowing that God has a plan and a purpose for you, for you to know the love of His Church when you see people come together in His name. See the full discussion about the vital need of spiritual fathers and mothers in the Church, and so much more. Also shared in this segment: Bishop David Thomas, spiritual fathers, family, Koinonia, Church of His Presence, relationship, and love. Greg and John shared in this segment.
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