The word father is a very powerful word. It is an honor of God. It is what we call God. It is what we quote to mean somebody who created you, who put you together. The one who put you together always knows you better than anybody else. Somebody you call a father, first of all, we have the biological father, that’s the one who put you together; is proud of you; he saw your nakedness; he dressed you; he trained you; he educated you and now, he sends you off so that you can leave as his legacy. That is one aspect of a father.
The second aspect of the father is, “Our Father Who Art in Heaven” [Matthew 6:9]. Our Lord Jesus Christ specifically told us that don’t call anybody here on earth father [Matthew 23:9]. Why? He was trying to tell us that this kind of a Father He was introducing was above what man can do for you. He is above what your biological father can do for you. He is above what your adopted father can do for you. He is above what your spiritual father can do, because the moment He steps into your life and He becomes your Father then He, the Father is going to take care much more than what this earthly father can take you.
There are some scriptures which I wanted to share with you briefly and I believe they will be a blessing to you. The bible clearly says, honor your mother and your father that your days may be many on earth [Exodus 20:12]. So, the determining factor of your days here on earth is by honoring your mother and your father.
Apostle Paul was very strong on fatherhood and he spoke so many things at many times and when you look at his writings especially in the 1st Corinthians chapter 4 verse 15, he says, For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel [NASB]. Because the gospel is recreative. It’s a re-creation. It builds you up again. It recreates and establishes you again and again.
In Genesis chapter 45 verse 8, it says, Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt [NASB]. Joseph is telling his brothers; you may think that you are the ones who brought me. Have you ever realized some people do bad things to you and when they see you succeeding where they thought you would collapse, they say, well I’m glad I did that to you otherwise you wouldn’t have turned out that way. When we were in primary school, whenever you fell math or something else, they would ask you to bring a stick and they didn’t just give you some few sticks; they flogged and beat you to death. And now when they see you have succeeded, you have studied and you are somewhere, then the teacher[s] would say, I am glad I punished you whenever you did something wrong or otherwise you would have turned out to be bad. No, I was going to turn out anyway because there was a God in heaven who knew my destiny; who knew that He could help me and carry me through. Child of God, there is always an attachment to something that has happened to you and people claim that because they did that to you, they were helping you to become better.
In the Book of Judges, you see they say to him, “be silent.” Judges 18 verse 19, And they said to him, “Be quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us; be a father and a priest to us. [Is it] better for you to be a priest to the household of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” So, fatherhood can be so localized. Once you realize the potential of the word and the anointing of a father, you can pastor the whole tribe and the whole nation. So, they grabbed this man and said, “put your hand on your mouth and come-on come-out so that nobody hears that we are taking you because this man has monopolized you.” The anointing of a father is never for a household but it is a generation. it is a national, that’s why it’s very important for you to learn how you talk to the fathers. You can’t talk to the fathers of the land or nation as though you are talking to your houseboy or your age mates. There has to be respect like when you are talking to the president, you can’t simply say, you Museveni. NO, that is insulting the office. Yes, his name may be Museveni, but you are insulting the office of the father of a nation. Like to say, Kabaka–Kabaka–Kabaka; Yes, he may be a Kabaka [king] but he is a father of so many clans in Buganda. Or Omukama or the archbishop or something else and you are still ridiculing people.
There’s today’s kind of loose talk; you know, they attack everybody on social media. They just abuse and talk about people regardless of the age and of the time. You are missing the power of recreation and of regeneration which can take you to another level. Somebody of my peers and of my age, I can talk to you and say, no you do this and you do that. For example, I can be talking with Pastor Jessica and I say you Jessica [pastor]! You know me and her privately, we are lovers and friends and I can call her name and she can also mention my name and say Robert [Dr] but oftentimes you hear me in public, I have never addressed her as Jessica. Why? Why do I call her pastor Jessica? And she has never addressed me as Robert. Why? Because you don’t only carry the office you are having as a person, you are also carrying the office of God which is upon you whenever you are a leader of the people. I am appealing to the people of Uganda and the people in Europe, please desist from that familiarity complex, that you are always abusing and insulting people who carry the anointing of fatherhood to turn you into something else, and God will bless you mightily.
There is something also in scripture, I know that I have a few minutes, but it says in Proverbs 23 verse 24, The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him [NIV]. I rejoice in Robert [Jr], I rejoice in Naxa. Today Naxa, I and his mother were talking. In fact she wrote a letter, I wish I’d brought it here and read it to the people. His mother said that she came to Miracle Centre when she was 24 years old and Naxa was 5 months. She actually said, she came with borrowed clothes. She said, “now I’m glad that my son [Naxa] has gone to the best schools and he is a biochemist. Naxa has studied and is now the youth pastor, and his sister was awarded with a government scholarship to go and study at Makerere University Business School.” In other words, she was giving her testimony; “Now I have my own school; now I don’t have to give a hundred Shillings that I used to come with which was a change after I bought something.” I’m talking about her because she’s acting as a mother and a father, because a father anointing is so very important.
People don’t understand when you say I have a spiritual father. Your spiritual father may be a woman because that has nothing to do with gender. Fatherhood and motherhood has nothing to do with gender. Mother Teresa of Calcutta India never gave birth to a child but everybody called her mother. We have so many people who have come into our lives and they have become fathers to us, not because they are biologically our fathers but they operated into that office so fantastic and so wonderful, and now we are a better people and nation. That’s why it’s very important you become so honorable when you have such a son.
Paul writes to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 1, Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers [NASB]. He says, don’t sharply criticize and attack. Like in this politics, we have seen so many people abusing each other and calling each other names, but when someone raises to that call whether he is 35 years old or 76 years old, please talk to them nicely and you will be blessed. Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces [2 Kings 2:12 NASB]. What caused Elisha to tear his clothes and become naked? Because his father [Elijah] had gone. Elijah and Elisha were of the same generation but when he saw him no more, he cried my father, my father.
I trust you have been blessed with this text about “The Heart of a Father” and to watch the rebroadcast of this message, click on this link: https://youtu.be/sadm3oOkTNA
Missions Department – Robert Kayanja Ministries
