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Jesus showed us God as a Father of love. He showed us the real heart that God wants to develop within every one of us, a heart turned toward our children.
The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.
(Prov. 20:7)
We are in the middle of a revolution, a revolution of fatherhood. A revolution to bring the power of godly leadership and manhood back into the hands of godly fathers.

It's the cry of our day -- men who will stand up and be men in their own homes. Men whose focus is not the corporate ladder or the golf course. Men whose hearts are turned toward their families.

In 1989 the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, "There is going to be a revival of fatherhood in the land. It will take place in natural fathers as well as spiritual fathers. They will begin to take on the role of being fathers to their children."

Immediately I began to seek God regarding my own role as a father. As I did, I saw that there was a real deficit in fatherhood in our land. According to one study, the average father spends less than one minute a day of meaningful, uninterrupted time with each of his children. Another study concluded that more than 26 percent of the children in America are living in single-parent homes - the majority with their mothers.

Statistics like this make one thing obvious: The success of a man has been rated by everything except by taking on the real responsibility of fatherhood. Some of the most lauded businessmen, and even ministers, have suffered tragic failure in their families.

Families everywhere are crying out for desperately needed guidance and direction from the dads. In the absence of that input, mothers have been burdened with much of the role of fatherhood. Often, the mom is the only parent who gives any meaningful spiritual input into the family.

Obviously, real fatherhood is much more than just providing financially for the family. Webster's dictionary tells us fatherhood is "godhood in the paternal aspect."

The Bible describes the father as one who is to the family what God is to the Body of Christ. Some of the things God is to believers include provider, teacher, guide, comforter, counselor and strengthener. A father is to represent these roles to his family as he imitates and is empowered by the fatherhood of God.

To do this successfully, a real father should look for every opportunity to instill in his children the qualities and values that will help sustain them and direct them to God. He should train them according to the Word of God as Ephesians 6:4 instructs, "Fathers, don't over-correct your children or make it difficult for them to obey the commandment. Bring them up with Christian teaching in Christian discipline" (New Testament in Modern English, J.B. Phillips).

The Anointing for Fatherhood
One of the real joys of the day we live in is that God has provided an empowering for fatherhood like the world has never seen. This anointing for fatherhood was prophesied in the very last words of the Old Testament:
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
(Mal. 4:5-6)
That prophecy links the revival of fatherhood directly to the move of God in preparing the way for the return of the Lord. This is good news! In this last-days outpouring of God's Spirit, there is an anointing for us to be the kind of fathers God has created us to be.

To enter into this anointing, first understand that this revolution of fatherhood does not begin in you. True fatherhood begins in the heart of God. All authority and importance associated with fatherhood on earth derive from the divine fatherhood of God in heaven.

Ephesians 3:14-15 says, "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named."

The 20th Century New Testament translation of verse 15 reads, "from whom all 'fatherhood' in Heaven and on earth derives its name."

Jesus showed us God as a Father of love. He showed us the real heart that God wants to develop within every one of us, a heart turned toward our children. That's the heart Abraham had. God said His reason for making covenant with Abraham was because:
I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
(Gen. 18:19)
Abraham did instill in his children, and they in their children, the desire to keep the way of the Lord. And God's promises to them were fulfilled as they followed His ways. Because of this, when God spoke to Moses years later, He identified Himself not just as the God of Abraham, but the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

We, like Abraham, can create in our children a desire to keep the way of the Lord. By expressing the heart of Father God, we can begin a tradition and a heritage in our own families. If we will impart the love of God into their lives, we will see changes that affect not only our children but also our children's children to the glory of God.

Restoring the Blessing
One of the most powerful ways we are to express the heart of Father God to our children is to bless them. In Bible times this was most clearly seen in the father's blessing of his firstborn son. Isaac's younger son Jacob so desired this blessing that he tricked his older brother Esau into giving the blessing of the firstborn to him.

When he realized what he had done, Esau was left with a bitter void and craving nothing else could fill. His bitter cry is echoed by so many today: "Bless me, even me also, O my father..." (Gen. 27:38).

Our children cry out desperately for our approval. They cry out to know that we appreciate and accept them unconditionally. The blessing of a father is so important that many adults, who never felt their father's approval, spend a lifetime looking for it from others. They have an empty yearning they try to fulfill through careers, relationships and empty pursuits.

God is repairing this breach of divine order. He is the Heavenly Father Who equips single mothers to minister in families where there is no husband and father. And He is showing a new generation of mighty men how to bless their families.

One aspect of the word bless is simply to say good about someone. It means we are to purposely open our hearts and impart the acceptance and approval that our wives and children crave.

Realize that your words carry spiritual power. With your words of love and faith, you can affect your children in the same way that God's words of love and faith affect us. Your commitments of time and interest will be a voice of blessing in your household. Your touch and loving embrace will give your family the sense of acceptance and love that they need.

Imitators of Father God
You are not alone in your quest to be the father God created you to be. He has equipped you. He has poured out His Holy Spirit to bring His mighty men to a place of valor in their most important arena, their family.

The Holy Spirit is here to help restore a standard of godly fatherhood. No more renegade fathers. No more deserters from their positions. No more fathers who set aside covenant life and refuse to stand in the rightful place of love and authority.

Get in on the revolution now. Reach out and rise up in the anointing He has provided for you. God in you will make you into a wonderful source of blessing to your household. He will help you overcome the obstacles and fears that have prevented you from expressing your love.

You can be a reflection of His fatherhood. You are equipped to represent His heart to your family. In Him you can do all things. Stand up in God today and confess:
I thank You, Lord, that the Anointed One and His Anointing live in me. Because of that anointing, I will be the father I am created to be. My heart is turned toward my children, and I will train them to keep Your ways and receive their inheritance in covenant with You. I thank You that You have chosen me to represent Your heart of love to my family. I do not set aside my covenant with You or with them. And I thank You that by Your Holy Spirit I am raised up as a mighty man of valor before my family. Amen.
Source: One Word From God Can Change Your Family
by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers

Author Biography

Dennis Burke, Ph.D.
Web site: Dennis Burke Ministries
 
Since 1979, Dennis Burke has led multitudes of believers into the biblical principles of faith, healing, love, prosperity, and righteousness. Through the Insights: the Way to a New Life magazine, books, eBooks, CDs, and mp3 resources, Dennis has brought revelation knowledge on the truths of God's Word. He has taught Christians everywhere to know God more deeply and overcome the challenges life brings through faith in God's Word.
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