We continue with the series on the Household of Faith and will in this session focus on the Practical Aspects of the Household of Faith.

We have come to a place of understanding that this is the model and governmental structure through which God wants to establish His purposes in the Earth. In order to be part of what God is doing in this season you have to be locked into the Household of Faith and the grace that we call Father.

Now in the Greek the word for father is “PATER” The root of the word PATER is the word PATRIA – This carries the meaning of FAMILY. From this we can clearly see that the character of the family is the spirit of the father. Without a father there can not be a family. We know that the father carries the seed of the family. We have agreed over the past weeks that there is the grace that we call father that we need within the Household of Faith in order not to become a widows or orphan’s house. The House will carry in it the dominant grace of the father of that house. Please now do not react and shout heretic – heretic. I am not speaking about the man, the human person I am speaking of the resident grace in that human person that we call father. It is the dominant grace of that grace that will be manifested in and through that Household.

We have to eradicate our old mindsets where we see ourselves as a member of a church. Let me post this question to you this morning and ask you how many of you sitting here this morning still sees yourself as a member of a church which we call the 777^th Precinct ARC?

If this is how you are seeing yourself within this Household you are missing the mark and still stuck in a second day mindset. You have to see the members of this Household as part of your family. I am the patriarchal father of this house and the only way that you should see yourself within this household is being a son of a father within this Household of Faith. You are not a member of the ministry or of the Wordschool or of the fellowship. If you are serious about this season and aligning yourself to the Word of God you will position yourself accurately as a son in this House.

I want to encourage all of you to take a copy of the series of Dominion through Covenant of Dr Sagie Govender in Durban and listen and meditate on the four messages. It will really challenge you and bring you to a deeper understanding of the importance of what we have been studying over the past couple of weeks.

You have to see yourself as a son of someone – not a member of some church.

1Sa 17:55-58

(55) When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, as your soul lives, O king, I cannot tell.

(56) And the king said, “Inquire whose son the stripling is.”

(57) When David returned from killing Goliath the Philistine, Abner brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.

(58) And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”

When Saul questioned David’s identity he asked the question - ‘Whose son is this? He did not ask him who are you ….. He asked him who is your father. We have to understand that in this season you can only be validated through your lineage. You have to prove your lineage by pointing out your father. Not the personality of a man, but the grace resident within a man called father.

Gen 2:21-24

(21) And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and while he slept, He took one of his ribs or a part of his side and closed up the [place with] flesh.

(22) And the rib or part of his side which the Lord God had taken from the man He built up and made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

(23) Then Adam said, “This [creature] is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of a man.”

(24) Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. [Matthew 19:5; 1 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 5:31-33]

The word for built up used here is the word “banah”. This is the same word that we have been studying around the Household of Faith.

H1129 - בּנה

bânâh - BDB Definition:

1) to build, rebuild, establish, cause to continue

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to build, rebuild

1a2) to build a house (i.e., establish a family)

We see then that Eve was produced from Adam’s rib: = benah = God built the rib of a man to become a woman, to become the womb (the womb-man) which is able to produce sons.

This is also a picture of the church where the church is the woman taken from the rib of the man CHRIST in order to produce the sons.

Eph 5:30-33

(30) Because we are members (parts) of His body.

(31) For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. [Genesis 2:24]

(32) This mystery is very great, but I speak concerning [the relation of] Christ and the church.

(33) However, let each man of you [without exception] love his wife as [being in a sense] his very own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband [that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly]. [I Pet. 3:2]

Look again at verse 32 – Paul is speaking here of the mystery of marriage in relation to Christ and the church.

Thus we see again this picture emerges that the church is taken from the rib of Christ in order to produce the sons. We thus see Christ as the Bridegroom, the husband, the Household of Faith as the womb that produces sons. If you take a step back you will see this manifested in the multilayer facets just as I explained the multilayer with regards to the setman and the different Households of faith with you before.

Rev 12:1-17

(1) And a great sign (wonder)--[warning of future events of ominous significance] appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and with a crown like garland (tiara) of twelve stars on her head.

(2) She was pregnant and she cried out in her birth pangs, in the anguish of her delivery.

This scripture portrays the Church as a governmental structure (picture of a crown on the head of the woman – ruling over the day and night – this woman is pregnant with a child)

The crown which is an emblem of rulership has twelve stars which we know is a picture of governance and the apostolic. We know well that even today the enemy wants to kill sons. He will endeavor to stop the son from being birthed.

We must remember that the church is in a constant state of pregnancy and of giving birth.

Gen. 2:24

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh

Let us also take a moment and look at the picture of sonship that is being portrayed in this scripture.

Genesis 4:25-26 - Gen 5:1- 6

25 Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.”

26 To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.

Chapter 5

1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.

2 He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created.

3 When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.

4 Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters.

5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.

6 Seth lived one hundred and five years, and became the father of Enosh.

No man can produce a son in the natural. There has to be spiritual begetting through the energizing work of the Holy Spirit. Natural sons can become the spiritual sons of father that is not their biological father. In this case the natural father of the sons must allow his sons to LEAVE him and cleave to the spiritual father.

Luk 3:38

(38) The son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. [Genesis 5:3-32; Genesis 11:10-26; Ruth 4:18-22; 1 Chronicles 1:1-4, 24-28; 1 Chronicles 2:1-15]

Any man who wants to be called a son of God has to be made in the likeness of God. You produce the nature of God the Father in the sons, not your own personality or character. If we do that we are making clones and that is not the commissioning that we received from God. God do not produce clones but true sons. The grace that a father brings to his sons is not specific to race, cultural or personality. Yet we have to understand that, that grace is communicated through his flesh or human-ness.

Gen 1:26

(26) God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. [Psalms 104:30; Hebrews 1:2; Hebrews 11:3]

Two things that God said that He wants to do with man – He wants to create man in His image and in create man in His likeness.

God wanted to create us in his IMAGE and LIKENESS

H6754 – IMAGE - tselem

BDB Definition:

1) image

1a) images (of tumours, mice, heathen gods)

1b) image, likeness (of resemblance)

1c) mere, empty, image, semblance (figuratively)

A representative type / figure of oneself

A representation of the perfection of God’s knowledge

God said let us make man in our image

You have to look at yourself as one reflection the nature and character of God.

The word “image” is the word “tselem” – Hebrew and means a shade, a figure, a resemblance, a representative type of oneself. It also means a phantom (ghost), a representative figure or an idol. It means the representation of the perfection of God’s knowledge.

When God created you in His image it was the perfection of His knowledge that came together and was shaped into a human being. Through God making us in the image of Him – “let us (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) make man in our image”. The personification (image, representation, and characterisation) of the deity came into existence in human flesh. You cannot just look at yourself as a person being born. No, you have been made by God after He created you before time existed.

Adam was the one representing God. He came to represent God to the earth. Adam was the one to represent the Father in the earth as he subdues it and exercise dominion. That was how Adam was to represent the Father. That is being created in His likeness.

Idol – an idol really has no intrinsic (inherent, built-in, basic, essential, fundamental, central, natural, real, genuine) power of it self rather it represents a demonic force that operates through it. If you pick up a statue of Buddha – there is no life in that thing. There is a force behind it and when you start to worship this thing, the force behind it will get activated in your life.

That is what it means to be created in His likeness. We were created, but in ourselves we don’t have power. But because we move from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light, there is a force that operates through us. That is the force of the One that we represent here on earth – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

That is why God made man in His image. The word “image” is actually a function.

To be created in God’s image is to be an accurate representative of God on the earth, a function that we fulfil here on earth. The function is that we are God’s representative on the earth. The power we represent or the force that is behind us – that force empowers us to fulfil a function of representing Him that has created and formed us. All of us were made in the image of God. So, all of us need to fulfil this function by yielding to the force or the power behind or in us. All of us need to be an accurate representative of God in the earth. That is why a true father is after the accurate representation of Christ in the earth.

H1823 – LIKENESS - demûth

BDB Definition:

1) Likeness, similitude (noun feminine)

2) in the likeness of, like as (adverb)

“Let us make man after Our Likeness” – so we were made after the likeness of God. The word “likeness” is the word “d^emûth” - it means let us make a model or a pattern of ourselves; a similitude (similarity, likeness, resemblance, identicalness, equality, equivalence, uniformity) or a shape; like fashion, like manner; to compare; to be liken unto God.

Likeness seems to have more to do with the ‘like’ nature or character rather than the function.

So image has to do with the function and likeness has to do with the nature and the character of what we represent.

From this it is clear that God is after sons that will represent Him in the earth in both character and function. We can not afford to allow race, gender or culture to manifest itself in the sons. If we build according to race, gender or culture we are again only busy building according to a new level of tribalism and not the Kingdom of God. It is through the grace that we call FATHER that we see the image and likeness of God the Father manifested in the lives of the sons. An accurate father will transmit this grace to the sons in the House. We see this in the life of Adam and his sons.

After Cain and Abel, Adam produced Seth as an exact representation of God’s nature contained in Abel.

Gen 5:3

(3) When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, after his image; and he named him Seth.

(4) After he had Seth, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

(5) So altogether Adam lived 930 years, and he died.

Surely there had to have been other sons. There were no contraceptives. What we see here is that it took 130 years for a son to be produced in image and likeness to replace the son Abel that was killed.

Gen 5:6-8

(6) When Seth was 105 years old, Enosh was born.

(7) Seth lived after the birth of Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters.

(8) So Seth lived 912 years, and he died.

Again we see this principle also in the life of Seth. He produced one son in image and likeness in the 912 years and yet the scripture clearly indicates that he had other sons and daughters.

We have to understand that the apostolic works on image, likeness and sonship and not on the second day principles of church growth.

Gen 10:1-10

(1) This is the history of the generations (descendants) of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The sons born to them after the flood were:

(2) The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

(3) The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

(4) The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

(5) From these the coastland peoples spread. [These are the sons of Japheth] in their lands, each with his own language, by their families within their nations.

(6) The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt [Mizraim], Put, and Canaan.

(7) The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.

(8) Cush became the father of Nimrod; he was the first to be a mighty man on the earth.

(9) He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.

(10) The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar [in Babylonia].

The Kingdom of Nimrod was Babel. This is very significant because he established the kingdom but not the kingdom of God. In this season we have to be careful of the spirit of the hunter – it will produce networks. It will establish networks of false unity and humanism and compromise.

Let’s also take a moment and look at the life of Jesus. We know from scripture that when He was 12 years old His mother and father still took care of Him. God only spoke to Mary when she got pregnant through the Holy Spirit. After that God spoke to Joseph as the father. God consistently informed Joseph and gave instructions.

God spoke to Joseph to go to Egypt. God spoke to Joseph as to when Pharaoh was going to die. From this we see clearly the governmental structure demonstrated by God.

WHO ARE FATHERS?

The first reaction we usually get on this is that you are to call no one on earth your father. Let us deal with that religious mindset and allow scripture to interpret scripture.

Mat 23:1-10

(1) Then Jesus said to the multitudes and to His disciples,

(2) The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses' seat [of authority].

(3) So observe and practice all they tell you; but do not do what they do, for they preach, but do not practice.

(4) They tie up heavy loads, hard to bear, and place them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger to help bear them.

(5) They do all their works to be seen of men; for they make wide their phylacteries (small cases enclosing certain Scripture passages, worn during prayer on the left arm and forehead) and make long their fringes [worn by all male Israelites, according to the command]. [Exodus 13:9; Numbers 15:38; Deuteronomy 6:8]

(6) And they take pleasure in and [thus] love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,

(7) And to be greeted with honor in the marketplaces and to have people call them rabbi.

(8) But you are not to be called rabbi (teacher), for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers.

(9) And do not call anyone [in the church] on earth father, for you have one Father, Who is in heaven.

(10) And you must not be called masters (leaders), for you have one Master (Leader), the Christ.

(11) He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

(12) Whoever exalts himself [with haughtiness and empty pride] shall be humbled (brought low), and whoever humbles himself [whoever has a modest opinion of himself and behaves accordingly] shall be raised to honor.

In this current apostolic season the one clear distinguishing feature that we see in all true and accurate fathers is that we can not preach a message that we do not live. The message that I preach to you as sons of this Household is not so much the words that I speak but the life that I live and that what you see demonstrated in my home and family. You can not take my teachings and go and preach them. You have to study not only the teaching but also the lifestyle that I live as the father of this House. We only have to look at the life of Jesus and His disciples to see it manifested there as well. Consistently Jesus was saying to His disciples…. I and the Father are one. If you have seen me you have seen the Father.

This model of what I have been teaching on as the Household of Faith must be studied here in this environment in which we live and operate as a Household. We can not go from here to the nations and go and teach them if there is no model that accurately represent both in image and likeness God the Father and His Kingdom and rulership. If you see one of the sons not acting accurately in what I teach and preach you can not now go and refuse to allow that to destroy that which God is building in this place. You have to lock into that grace we call Father and allow that to manifest in and through you life.

From this scripture we see that the Pharisees sit in the seat of delegated authority yet they did not live the message they preach. This passage is not saying that you must not call anyone Father, teacher or leader – because other scriptures refer to this and support it (cf. See all the writings of Paul in his letters.) The principle of this passage is: If you do not live by what you preach, then do not call yourself FATHER.

V5 they seek to impress and gain acceptance through excessive dress. Scripture interprets scripture. The issue here is: If a man is not practicing what he is preaching, he cannot be called ‘Father’.

THE CORBAN MINDSET

Mar 7:10-13

(10) For Moses said, Honor (revere with tenderness of feeling and deference) your father and your mother, and, He who curses or reviles or speaks evil of or abuses or treats improperly his father or mother, let him surely die. [Exodus 20:12; 21:17; Leviticus 20:9; Deuteronomy 5:16]

(11) But [as for you] you say, a man is exempt if he tells [his] father or [his] mother, What you would otherwise have gained from me [everything I have that would have been of use to you] is Corban, that is, is a gift [already given as an offering to God],

(12) Then you no longer are permitting him to do anything for [his] father or mother [but are letting him off from helping them].

(13) Thus you are nullifying and making void and of no effect [the authority of] the Word of God through your tradition, which you [in turn] hand on. And many things of this kind you are doing.

In context of our modern day frame of reference we would refer to one being in fulltime ministry here. He would receive his gifts or income and then will turn around and renounce his responsibility towards his earthly father. He would make excuses and say that everything that he has is dedicated to the temple. This is way in which people would deny their responsibility towards their father and shout CORBAN. This is an abomination before God.

Mal 1:6

(6) A son honors his father and a servant his master. If then I am a Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is the [reverent] fear due me? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise My name. You say how and in what way have we despised Your name?

You can not shout Corban and not honor your father. You have to honor your father even with your substance.

Father = (Grk.) Pater (3962 in Strongs)

= Human father

= Remote progenitor – that brings to you a certain grace

= One who provides covering

A True father will provide covering to you. He will have the ability to analyze all the areas of your life – and uncovers every area of lack and need. He will provide to you the ability to grow and develop into maturity.

He will also come and cover you in the area of your need in order that you are no longer in need.

Father = (Heb.) AB = remote progenitor. A good example for this would be Rebecca in Canada. We are a great distance apart in the physical. Thousands of kilometers…..

Even over this great physical distance, fathering can take place (remote progenitor) – this takes place in the spirit. You cover by your situational position in Christ over someone. This is a spiritual connection. In the same way I and Renette have many that we father over this great distance. The requirement however is that person needs to bow the knee to the grace of the man who covers you. You can not receive that grace if you do not bow to it and recognize it. This takes place in the spirit. True covering comes when you bow to the grace in the man that covers you, and not so much to the man. For many of us our greatest struggle is to look past the man and engage the grace in the man.

Covering comes from the spirit. It comes from your situational position in Christ over a person. It is the Christ in the person that brings about the covering. If you do not position yourself under that grace there is no covering.

Psa 133:3

(3) It is like the dew of [lofty] Mount Hermon and the dew that comes on the hills of Zion; for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, even life forevermore [upon the high and the lowly].

God has already commanded His blessing there. When you do this you receive immediately:

• Spiritual immunity
• Spiritual Provision
• Everything that is in the treasury of God for you in that man.

Eph 6:1-4

(1) Children, obey your parents in the Lord [as His representatives], for this is just and right.

(2) Honor (esteem and value as precious) your father and your mother--this is the first commandment with a promise--[Exodus 20:12]

(3) That all may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth.

(4) Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.

This is a two way process – both the father and the son has to engage one another

1Th 2:1-12

(1) For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming among you was not useless and fruitless.

(2) But though we had already suffered and been outrageously treated at Philippi, as you know, yet in [the strength of] our God we summoned courage to proclaim to you unfalteringly the good news (the Gospel) with earnest contention and much conflict and great opposition.

(3) For our appeal [in preaching] does not [originate] from delusion or error or impure purpose or motive, nor in fraud or deceit.

(4) But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the glad tidings (the Gospel), so we speak not to please men but to please God, Who tests our hearts [expecting them to be approved].

(5) For as you well know, we never resorted either to words of flattery or to any cloak to conceal greedy motives or pretexts for gain, [as] God is our witness.

(6) Nor did we seek to extract praise and honor and glory from men, either from you or from anyone else, though we might have asserted our authority [stood on our dignity and claimed honor] as apostles (special missionaries) of Christ (the Messiah).

(7) But we behaved gently when we were among you, like a devoted mother nursing and cherishing her own children.

(8) So, being thus tenderly and affectionately desirous of you, we continued to share with you not only God's good news (the Gospel) but also our own lives as well, for you had become so very dear to us.

(9) For you recall our hard toil and struggles, brethren. We worked night and day [and plied our trade] in order not to be a burden to any of you [for our support] while we proclaimed the glad tidings (the Gospel) of God to you.

(10) You are witnesses, [yes] and God [also], how unworldly and upright and blameless was our behavior toward you believers [who adhered to and trusted in and relied on our Lord Jesus Christ].

(11) For you know how, as a father [dealing with] his children, we used to exhort each of you personally, stimulating and encouraging and charging you

(12) To live lives worthy of God, Who calls you into His own kingdom and the glorious blessedness [into which true believers will enter after Christ's return].

V. 7 AS A NURSING MOTHER

The nursing mother grace comes out of apostolic grace. Mothers have a soft spot for sons. The mothering dimension to the church needs to be brought back – there has to be tender loving care – but there is also an authority in this.

1Th 2:7,8,11

(7) But we behaved gently when we were among you, like a devoted mother nursing and cherishing her own children.

(8) So, being thus tenderly and affectionately desirous of you, we continued to share with you not only God's good news (the Gospel) but also our own lives as well, for you had become so very dear to us.

(11) For you know how, as a father [dealing with] his children, we used to exhort each of you personally, stimulating and encouraging and charging you

There needs to be tenderness as well as discipline and authority. This authority comes with gentleness. You will find both paternal and maternal grace in the fathering grace. It has nothing to do with gender.

You have to look for the image of God the father in the man that you call your spiritual father. You are looking for exact representation of the Father.