• Being a father is one of the most challenging responsibilities that exist. It is also one of the most rewarding and one of our greatest privileges as men to embrace, with God’s help. A healthy and uninterrupted relationship between a father and a son/daughter greatly helps to create a positive self-image. It will therefore have a positive influence on his or her aspirations and relationships. Today’s message… The important call to be a spiritual father so we can raise up strong mature disciples of Jesus.

Luke 11:2 (NKJV)

So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

Fathers Role:

1. Teach & Discipline
2. Love & Bless
3. Protect & Provide

Fathers help provide:

1. Identity
2. Self-Esteem
3. Feeling of Purpose
4. View of God

Struggles for Daughters without Fathers

1. Increased Approval
2. Unrealistic Expectations
3. Heart Fortress
4. Loneliness Fear
5. Male Affirmation
6. Idealized Perfection
7. Selection Fears

Struggles for Sons without Fathers

1. Victim Mentality
2. Self-Blame
3. Aggressive Anger
4. Depression
5. Inferiority Complex (Low self-esteem)
6. Fear of Failure
7. Sexual Activity

John 8:37-39 (ESV)

37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,

Your behavior dictates who your father is.

We are all born into a family of sin. But we have the opportunity to be reborn into the family of God. And then God becomes our Father.

Romans 8:15-17 (NLT)

15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

2 Corinthians 6:18 (NLT)

And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.”

Psalm 27:10 (ESV)

For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in.

Psalm 68:5 (NLT)

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy.

John 14:18 (NLT)

No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.

WHAT IS A SPIRITUAL FATHER

• Provide a safe environment of love and an empowering dynamic
• Good son
• Carry personal integrity and authentic experiences in God to share
• Create a great deal of freedom (Not an idol)
• Bring a spiritual covering and protection
• Help enhance the way you think
• Lead you into maturity
• Release an impartation into your life (a mantle)
• Bring accountability and correction
• Release an inheritance

WHAT IS NOT A SPIRITUAL FATHER

• He is not a replacement for the real deal, God our Father.
• He does not attempt to be a biological father.

Four Key Takeaways on the importance of Spiritual Fathers

#1) ADMONITION & ACCOUNTABILITY

1 Corinthians 4:14-15 (ESV)

14 I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

• admonish –– urge, express warning as a caring father, to not provoke but in a gentle, earnest manner. (Ephesians 6:4)

Ephesians 6:4 (ESV)

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

• countless guides in Christ –– Paul recognizes them as many evangelical teachers.
• I highly encourage that, like Paul, we become spiritual parents who guide others through love, correction, and example.

#2) IMITATE & ILLUMINATE

1 Corinthians 4:16-17 (ESV)

16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me. 17 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.

• imitator = mimētēs = one who does what others do; one who is like another; follower; model

We are called to transfer the NATURE & CHARACTER of God.

• Spiritual fathers are called to lead by example.
• If we are more like Timothy, we will help pass down a legacy of faithfulness… Reminding us that as disciples of Jesus we are called to be living example of His love and teachings.

1 Corinthians 11:1 (ESV)

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

1 Peter 2:21 (ESV)

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

1 Thessalonians 1:6 (ESV)

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,

#3) ENTRUST & EMPOWER

2 Timothy 2:1-2 (NLT)

Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

• As believers, we are equipped by Christ to mentor and empower others. This is the way we can make a long lasting impact in our community through generations.
• \A great way to be a mentor or spiritual father is through individual Godly appointed connections.
• By passing on spiritual wisdom and truth, believers nurture future generations who will continue the cycle of discipleship, reflecting Christ’s method of mentoring His disciples.

#4) RECOUNT & REMEMBER

Psalm 78:4-7 (NLT)

4 We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders.

5 For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children,

6 so the next generation might know them— even the children not yet born— and they in turn will teach their own children.

7 So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.

• We must recount and remember the glorious things God did for us through our failures and successes.
• This point emphasizes the Christ-like responsibility of ensuring that every generation is aware of God’s unwavering faithfulness, thereby cultivating a legacy of faith and resilience.

CONCLUSION

• Every believer is called to embrace the role of a spiritual parent, fostering spiritual growth and community by intentionally investing in the lives of others. This type of relationship helps ushers a culture of strong mature disciples of Jesus.