Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Do you live in an APOSTOLIC house? (Part 1)

An Apostolic household places a demand on fathering. It is a household where a demand is being placed on every family member to grow to a place of maturity in Christ.

Apostolic houses are not looking just for members to attend but they are looking for sons who are willing and ready to commit to a lifelong covenant relationship.

  • The purpose of an apostolic house is to lead people into their position of Kingship in Christ.

In order for you and me to come to that place of maturity in Christ we need to follow the pattern as God has set it in place in the Word and which we also see manifested from the life of Jesus with His disciples.

We see how Jesus through the model of father and son relationship equipped and grew his disciples to a place of maturity in Christ.

Jesus had the spirit of Sonship.

  • The word "son" means one who is submitted to another.
  • Jesus was completely submitted to His father, that is why when He was 30 years old, when He was baptized by John, the Father spoke from Heaven, "this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased."
  • From that time he was baptized in the Holy Spirit and received power and authority for his public ministry.
  • He began to minister with the authority that was given to him by His Father.
  • So through Jesus' obedience He has now become our High Priest.

In the same way that Jesus progressed from faithful son to High Priest, we too have to start out by learning to be faithful sons in our relationship with God.

  • Jesus said, if you have seen me you have seen my Father, for the Father and I are one.
  • Isaiah tells us "unto us a child is born, unto us a SON IS GIVEN, his name shall be called, ...... EVERLASTING FATHER, ... "
  • So today Jesus is also our Father, as He is one with His Father, He is the image of the Father.

Today we as the church need this same spirit of sonship that Jesus had with His Father.

  • The relationship of spiritual father to spiritual son.
  • We need to show the true nature of God to the world.
  • Jesus came to reveal God is a Father.
  • The Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father.
  • The nature of God is God is a Father and God is love.

Jesus prayed in John17:21 that the world needs to believe that the Father sent the Son.

  • In order for this to happen the church needs to show the same kind of unity in our relationships inside the church.
  • The secret for winning nations in not better organizations or better preaching or even more churches.
  • Love is the key, love that joins the hearts of people together, the church in unity, this will draw the world into the church to find salvation.

SONSHIP: As a Household of faith we then place a demand on sonship. Sonship consists of the following attributes:

  • S - Sons that will Submit to the Spiritual Father and Set man of the House;
  • O - Take Ownership of the vision;
  • N - Bear the Nature and personality of the set man and spiritual father;
  • S - Support the set man;
  • H - Honor the set man;
  • I - Intimate with the set man;
  • P - Protect the set man.