Let's look at Matthew 9, and I like to read starting in verse 35 and just get a feel  what happened in Jesus' day, how this applies to house church planting, how  this applies to being a spiritual father or spiritual mother. In chapter 9:35 Jesus  went through all the towns and villages. He was teaching in the synagogues,  preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every  disease. Amazing time. All the miracles were happening, as all the people were  watching Jesus following him, just fantastic. And in verse 36 says, When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them. That's such a key planting House  churches, we don't start house church because we want to start some new  thing. We started. We have a compassion God gave us for people. We just want to see people's lives change. We want to see people grow closer to Jesus. This  is when he saw the crowds. He had compassion on them because they were  harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Now here we go again.  Sheep needs shepherds. That's why we need to start churches. That's why we  need to start house churches. There are millions of people in this world, millions  who have come to Christ and that solidly connected to a church. So we look at  planting a house church. First of all, we're looking at the unsaved, or come into  the kingdom, become part of the house church. But also, there could be many  people who they've made a commitment to Christ, but they haven't really grown  much. I understand that when I was age 11, I made a commitment to Christ. I  grew very little until I was 18, made a fresh commitment to the Lord, and then  got involved in a small group Bible study, kind of a house fellowship. And that  changed my life, and I've never been the same since. So he says, here they  were helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. We need shepherds. Then he  said to his disciples, who's willing to see in verse 37 the harvest is plentiful, but  the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore to send out workers  into his harvest field. So we need to pray the Lord, there's a harvest. We need  workers for the harvest. So as you're praying, you want to start a house church.  As you're praying, ask God for two kinds of people, asking for labors for the  harvest, asking for new believers to come into the kingdom of God. If you have  all these new believers, and you're the only mature one, it's gonna be very  difficult. You can only disciple so many people, because most house church  leaders are bi vocational. They have an enterprise of some kind, they have a job of some kind, they have a business of some kind. So we obviously need labor  through a harvest. Now, it's interesting what happened when you go to the next  verse, which is chapter 10:1, he then called His 12, gave them authority to drive  out evil spirits and heal every disease and every sickness. Now, who were the  ones that he had called he had who were the ones who were the harvesters?  Well, the harvesters initially, they were simply those who were with him. So  when you have a house fellowship or house church, and you're starting you  become a spiritual father, spiritual mother, and you're training others become a  spiritual fathers, and others, they will be the harvesters for the next generation. I 

believe we're living in a time in history when God's going to pour out his Spirit in  amazing ways. I know that the Joel prophecy that was confirmed in Acts 2, in  the last days, God says, I'll pour out my spirit in all flesh. Sons and daughters  were prophesied. Young men will see visions, old men will dream, dreams. I  know some of that was fulfilled. Then I know there are other times in history,  church history, where there's great revivals where God did that again. I believe  he's saving the best for last, but I believe we're in a season right now where the  Lord is doing he say, look, there's a harvest coming. Prepare the fields, prepare  the people, the labors, prepare the barn, so to speak, for the harvest is coming.  So I grew up a farm boy, and there's these farming analogies have helped me  so much. And in the winter, where I live is there's lots of snow. Often we've had  snow up to the top of our door. And be good and get out of our house in the  summer, it's very hot, but harvest time is summer. Springtime. We plant. We  have four seasons here in America where I live. And in the springtime you plant,  you plant the crops. In the summer, they grow end of summer and beginning of  fall's when you have harvest time, then you're going to the depths of winter. Was very, very difficult, very, very cold. But you know what happened when I was  young, my father, who's in charge of the farm, and I was helping him on the  farm, he's allowed. We got to get them. We got to get the barns prepared. We  have to get the equipment prepared. We get the barn ready, because next  summer there will be a harvest. So I mean, now's the time to prepare for the  harvest. Now's the time to take the metal from the Lord, to be a spiritual father,  spiritual mother, and begin to train others to do the same. You know, we can  take them through CLI we can take them through Bible schools, all those things  that are extremely important. But they also need personal mentoring. They need they need to watch you be a spiritual father, you be a spiritual mother, and then  they'll also be learning to do the same thing. So now's the time that we're  preparing the way for the harvest, that God's gonna bring our belief to our  planet, that we can trust him to do that. So but it now's the time to prepare for  the harvest is coming now let Me talk to you a bit more about get a bit deeper  into what it means to be a spiritual father or a spiritual mother, because this is  something we model God the Father modeled for us, Jesus, modeled it. Paul  modeled it. Paul had Timothy and Titus and Aquila and Priscilla and Silas. He  had all those that he mentored in their mentoring the next generation. See God  isn't just calling, many of you to start a house church, he's called you start a  house church that starts house churches, that starts house churches. But  everyone needs leadership, and those in leadership, maybe those who have this call from God to be just the love people have compassion for people be a  spiritual father and spiritual mother. They say, what is a spiritual father? Rather  look like when, many ways, a spiritual fathers, like a natural father, a lot of ways, a natural father is a protector to the family, is a counselor to the family. God  doing his is children, and like a mother office, I mean spiritual mother, obviously 

much the same. And if children lack a role model, both naturally and spiritually,  often it's difficult for them to achieve their destiny. So we want to see this curse  of fatherlessness that we've been talking about the last few sessions. We've  seen this broken. This curse has come in this generation. But God, God says,  last days I'm going to change hearts, turn the hearts of fathers to children,  children, the fathers. I want to be on board with what God the Father is doing.  So my heart can also, also be changed. Yeah, there's a term we use in America. It's called absentee dads. It's when there's no father in the family, the absentee  dads. And, you know, I find there's a lot of absentee dads in the church, and  God wants to change that house. Church is a simplistic model for us to see  spiritual fathers and mothers we release. So what God's doing today. God is  restoring a sense of responsibility for us, not just to be great teachers or, you  know, many pastors, all they think about is what we have to get a sermon, we  have to have a staff, and all those things and and that may be part of it for you,  depending what God's called you to do. But there's much deeper so relationship with God, a relationship with those disciples, those spiritual sons and daughters  that God's given us this their scriptures all over the Bible verses, all the Bible  who talk about this, I'm gonna continue to give you some of these scriptures.  One would be Psalm 68:6. God sets the lonely and family. They usually think  that's speaking of the orphan. Well, it is for their many spiritual orphans, and  God wants a certain in families. I'd be where the most productive families could  be, the family of God, which comes to a house church. A house church family,  because God is restoring family to his church. I remember being in Eastern  Europe one time driving the airport with a man who had been involved in seeing  God do amazing things in the nation. But he said, praise God. Finally, at this  point in my life, he said, God's brought spiritual fathers into my life because  something had shifted, something had changed. There are many examples of  spiritual fathers and mothers in the scriptures. For example, Jesus of 12, or  Jesus Peter, James and John the three. There's Paul to Timothy, Elijah to  Elisha. There's Moses to Joshua. Again, the list can go on and on, and you see  this family connection in the Old Testament and also in the New Testament. And  of course, in the Old Testament, you have the tribes and the clans and the  families. In the New Testament, your people met in house to house, as I we  keep say, talk about the 20:20 vision Acts 20:20 Paul said, I met you publicly.  And then he said, I administer publicly. And also he said to you, house to house,  but bottom line is this all built on relationship? I've been asking a young  generation, everywhere I love, a younger generation, I've been asking them,  What are you looking for in the church today, what are you looking for? And they tell me and did hang on their culture. You might say that in a different way. Four  basic things, if you're a young person, you see, if this does not apply to you see, number one, looking for relationship. They want real Christianity. With this real  relationship. They don't want you to be part of a of a meeting or a system. 

Number two, they say, I want Authentic Christianity. I want people to be real. I  want this to be authentic. Number three, they say, I want the freedom to be  creative. House church is extremely open for creativity. Because every house  church, even though there some common denominators, they all look different in that so creativity, obviously is expressed there. And number four, interesting  enough. Young men and women tell me I'm looking for intergenerational  connections. I was someone. Just recently, someone told me, I want someone  to tell me what to do, but I want someone to be there to bounce things off of and  be there to mentor me and help me fulfill where God's place placed in my life.  Now here's the blessing of it all, spiritual fathering and spiritual mothering means each of these needs and house church is a great new wineskin that'll cause  these needs to be met in the younger generation. But house church isn't just for  the young, it's for all generations. And I'm so glad you're part of this course, so  we can learn more about this. Now let's turn to I John. I John 2:12-14. I'm going to read. This, make a few comments on it, and then we're gonna come back in  the next session and really dig into this. I John 2:12-14. I write you dear children  because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I write you  fathers because you've known him is from the beginning, I write you young men  because you've overcome the evil one. I write you dear children, because  you've known the Father. I write to you fathers because you've known him is  from the beginning. And I write you young men because you're strong and the  word of God lives in you and you've overcome the evil one. Now we see in this  scripture, just these verses 12, 13, and 14, three different categories of  believers. In Jesus Christ, we see spiritual babies, spiritual children. We see  spiritual young men, I'd say young men and young women. And we see spiritual  fathers and spiritual mothers. Now the goal is that both naturally and spiritually,  that we all get to the place will become followers and mothers. But the truth is,  most churches, even some house churches, I must admit, most churches,  whether mega churches, especially there, I see this even many community  churches and some house churches, I find that many in the church are either  spiritual children or their spiritual young men or women, with very few spiritual  fathers or mothers. Now we're to talk in the next session about how someone, if  their spiritual child, they can be trained to become a spiritual young man, a  woman, if they're a spiritual young man, a woman, how they can be trained and  how they be encouraged and exhorted to become a spiritual father in a spiritual  mother, because that's the cry of God's heart that we become a spiritual fathers  and spiritual mothers to this generation and again, house church is an amazing  wineskin for this to be accomplished 



Last modified: Monday, October 7, 2024, 8:04 AM