IDENTITY LOSS IN MINISTRY
Joshua did not lose his identity by following Moses.
Elisha did not lose his identity by following Elisha.
Timothy did not lose his identity by following Paul.
But some people in our time have lost their identities as men of God by following some people they were never meant to follow.
In their quest to be like their spiritual fathers, they dress like them and even imitate their voices.
To some, this spiritual fatherhood thing has become a franchise. It can be purchased to grow your ministry. Because the man of God they have chosen to follow is popular and has a large following, they want to build a ministry based on his brand. It may work for you, but it will steal your identity at last.
Loss of identity happens when you create an idol for yourself and follow the person in the name of “spiritual father” instead of following a true father in the Lord chosen for you by God to help you fulfil your assignment.
A good example that true fathers are sent to us by God is when the Lord asked Elijah to anoint Elisha to take his place as Prophet.
1 Kings 19: 15-16
“And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.”
The above scripture tells us how God sent Elijah the prophet to anoint two people as kings and one person as a prophet. Our focus is on Elisha who would later become a mentee of the Prophet Elijah.
You can see clearly that unlike many young preachers in our time who are too desperate to become the next famous person in Christendom and have chosen mentors for themselves (spiritual fathers as they call them), it was God who sent Elijah to train Elisha for the office of the Prophet.
Throughout their time together as mentor and mentee, Elisha called Elijah “my father” not “my spiritual father”.
Elijah on the other hand never addressed himself as “spiritual father” to Elisha. They both knew that no man has the right to arrogate such title to himself.
Yesterday during service in our church, the Lord said to us, “This generation has no fear of I, the Lord.” Indeed, this generation does not fear God. We are just to prideful. And this is dangerous. If we continue in this foolishness pride we are walking in, Mathew 7 :21-23 will become our portion. God forbid.
When you see the way we behave, it would appear that we the pastors of today are more spiritual than the prophets and Apostles of old who fathered many sons but never refered to themselves as spiritual fathers no anyone.
May I say that the Bible does not support anything called “spiritual father” as a title for mortal men. God alone is our Spiritual Father. It is therefore wrong to address a man as spiritual father, but sadly, many have chosen to do that.
Back to the substantive issue, true fathers in the Lord are sent to us by God the Father to put us on the right path according to Hi’s plan for us. We don’t go about searching for fathers in the Lord by ourselves. God sends them to us. No matter where we are, when it is time, they will locate us and fulfill the mandate God has given them for us. Elisha is a good example. God chose Elijah as a father for him.
Another example is Moses and Joshua. When Moses was about to be taken away, the Lord asked him to lay hands on Joshua to take his t Meanwhile, Joshua had spent years in training under Moses. God was preparing him for the assignment. And when it was time God made him take over from Moses.
Apostle Paul raised many sons for the Lord. Timothy was one of them. Yet, Timothy never referred to Paul as his spiritual father. In the two letters to Timothy, Paul reffered to him as his “Son in the Lord” and not spiritual son.
Again, it was Paul that found and adopted Timothy as his son in the faith. It was not Timothy that went begging him to become his father as has become the manner of many young men of God in our time who are buying fatherhood with money.
Truth be told, true fathers in the Lord want to see their children do better than them. They know it is their duty to raise others to continue the commission God has assigned to them. So they pour into them all they have received from the Lord.
The worst part of today’s pastors mindset is that we are not ready to serve. We are looking for anointing to buy. In the course of that we sell our identity to men who are building their own empires instead of advancing the kingdom of God.
Don’t buy a spiritual father for yourself. He will steal your identity. Wait on God to give you a father in the faith. When that father locates you, he will love you as his own flesh and blood and help you to fulfill your calling to the glory of God.
Truthbetold, if you are too desperate and refuses to wait on the Lord to give you a father according to his plan for your life, you will end up in the belly of sharks who pose as spiritual fathers instead of true fathers in the faith. The choice is yours. God bless you.