Come Before Winter

 

A journalist once asked me what I considered to be one of the biggest regrets of my many years of ministry. Without hesitation, I answered, "Not teaching the people I pastored how to honor their father in the ministry." The fact is, back then I did not know to.

"A son honors his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is My honor? And if I be a master, where is My fear? Says the Lord of hosts unto you, O, priests..." (Malachi 1:6).

I could list the names of many great men of God who I have known in my lifetime who were never shown honor in their later years of ministry.  Some of them gave up the time that they should been using to nurture their own families, to try to keep other people's lives and families from falling apart.  How many miles did they drive to visit a hospital and pray for the sick and the dying or to visit someone who needed to be encouraged and lifted up? Furthermore, what about the countless calls at any hour of the day or night from frightened or despondent saints?

The apostle Paul was a ministry father to a Lycaenian youth, Timothy. To the church at Corinth he wrote, "I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church" (1 Cor. 4:17, emphasis added).

 "This order I give to you, Timothy, my son..." (1 Tim. 1:18, emphasis added).

 "You, Timothy, my dear son..." (2 Tim. 1:2, emphasis added).

 "You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 2:1, emphasis added).

 In this closing hour in the life of the great apostle, he writes these last words and makes a final appeal to "please bring me the cloak I left at Troas…do your best to come before winter” (2 Tim. 4:13, 21, emphasis added). This man, who had clothed so many, needed to be clothed.  At the end of his life and by his own admission having "finished the course" (2 Tim. 4:7), he finally stated in grave resignation, "no man stood with me, but all men forsook me" (2 Tim. 4:16).

A father in ministry is someone with whom you have a "relationship" in the Spirit. He may not be the one who brought you to God, but you feel a kinship to that person in the Holy Ghost. You feel connected to him. You lovingly and willingly submit to the spiritual revelation that the Holy Ghost flows through him to you. The words that he speaks into your life cause something to "leap" in your spirit (Luke 1:41).  You may not always like what he has to say, but because he "watches for your soul," he will, of necessity, tell you the truth in love.

Many of us today just go "church shopping" and when we find one that we think we like, we will assimilate ourselves with that gathering and begin throwing our tithe into the offering plate or bucket, thinking that is what God requires of us.  Notwithstanding, if relationship has not been established in the Spirit, as much as the church can probably use our money, we are, for the most part, just throwing it on to unproven ground. And then, we wonder why we do not prosper or reap a harvest!  I was raised on a farm and if I learned anything, it is that scattered seed does not bring harvest. Those who come into spiritual maturity will cease jumping from pillar to post!  They will submit to an apostolic ministry (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher) to whom they graciously and consistently give to of  their prayers, their encouragement, their blessing and honor with their giving!

I have always tithed up to my father in ministry.  Years ago, when I pastored board-governed churches, I was occasionally "called on the carpet" by the deacons as to why I did not tithe back into the church.  I replied, "Because it is not scriptural. It is ridiculous to begin with, when you stop and think about it. I draw a salary from the church, of which a large portion of it comes from the tithes of the congregation.  Then, I turn around and give it back? That is not tithing; it is recycling!  It is like taking your money out of one pocket and putting it into another pocket." 

The direction of our giving is always up, not down. The Bible says of Abraham that he "gave a tenth part of all" to Melchizedek (Heb. 7:2), and hence "the lesser was blessed by the greater "(Heb. 7:2, 7, NAS). The tithe must always go up so the connection can be made all the way to the head! When the oil was poured out on Aaron, it was poured on his head so it could flow all the way down to the skirts of the garment, a type of the church (see Psalm 133). Leaving fathers out leaves a disconnection.

In almost every society, save for the attitude in a substructure of the American mindset,  the modus operandi is that our parents nurtured us when we were young, and in honor, the children take care of their parents when they can no longer adequately care for themselves. The key to all spiritual revelation is first, the natural, then the spiritual. Pause here to reflect a moment. How many men and women of God have given their lives for the gospel, raised up churches, raised up sons in ministry, and now are languishing in dishonor and even poverty? How many men and women of God are still desperately trying to hold on and serve in pulpits and ministry places and continue because they have no means of income or support? Now that the “winter” of their lives is here, their only means of livelihood is derived from their ability to continue to minister and attempt to survive on the meager hand-outs or token offerings that someone will give them. Their “Timothy’s” (sons in ministry) should be bringing cloaks to clothe them.    

In his classic book, You Have Not Many Fathers, Dr. Mark Hanby writes, “There is a terrible breach in the household of God. Fathers in ministry have not been given proper honor. They poured out their lives, but are receiving little or nothing back. A son is to pour water on the hands of his ministry father before he is ever separate from him (2 Kings 3:11b). The imperative today is to bridge the generation gap between father and son in ministry. If not, the Lord promised to send a curse on the earth.” The curse is already here, which is why thousands of our pulpits are occupied by powerless preachers who are little more than motivational speakers. However, there is no real sovereign move of God anymore.

A popular praise and worship song begins with the words, "These are the days of Elijah, declaring the word of the Lord..." Apocalyptic analysts and so-called prophetic gurus, who have everyone expecting a literal return of the prophet Elijah, miss the whole point.  The "spirit" of Elijah, a father in ministry to Elisha (2 Kings 2: 12) calls for restoration of that spiritual relationship between fathers and sons.  Only when that is restored, will we again see and experience the power of Elijah's God in the earth!

If we have a father in the ministry, where is his honor? Is it being held in escrow, until full inheritance is received on "the other side," in heaven? Or are we refusing to honor where honor is due?

Almost everyone in my generation has heard the name, H. C. Noah.  Brother Noah pastored Oak Cliff Assembly of God in Dallas, Texas for more than three decades. This great man of God was a dynamic force for the gospel and was a faithful servant to the Lord throughout his ministry, during the good times and the bad. I recall on one occasion, witnessing hundreds of people receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit in a single service!

Years later, when he could no longer pastor, he was placed in a nursing home about a half a mile from where I live today. It was sad to see the emaciation that the years had levied upon his small frame. I recall us seeing him one time in a local Mexican restaurant. He was in a wheel chair.  My wife walked up to him and told him what a great impact he had made in her life and how favored and blessed of God multitudes had been to have known him.

His was so kind and graciously accepted her comments.  As she walked away, some of his family members who sat at the table with him were overheard to say, “Who was that person? Do you know that person?” As Caroline walked away, she said to me, “It doesn’t matter if anybody knows who I am. It only matters that people remember who he is.”

I would see him from time to time, sitting alone in that wheel chair and think, “This is all wrong!  It shouldn’t be ending like this! Where are the crowds who once clambered for his time? Where are the sheep that looked for his nurturing? He is now left alone to finish out his days upon this earth, trying desperately to grasp onto the dignity that he once had.”

We must follow the order of God in carrying the burden of ministry. Fathers cannot carry the burden alone. If spiritual sons will honor their spiritual fathers in ministry, we can restore the breach in the house of God.