School of Inner Healing and Deliverance. The Father-heart of God and Identity

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Colin Rice
5 years ago
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1 School of Inner Healing and Deliverance The Father-heart of God and Identity Acknowledgements to Catch the Fire, Mark Stibbe and Jack Frost (Excerpt from Blessing your spirit by Sylvia Gunter & Arthur Burk): The most profound blessing our spirit needs to receive, and can receive, is the Father-heart of God, His special creation of us, His kind intention toward us, his matchless love for us, his glory revealed in us. This is a gold mine of identity and legitimacy from which to live out our birthright confidently and purposefully. To know the Father-heart of God nurtures belonging, inclusion and worth. and Mark Stibbe s definition of our true identity: No longer are we orphans and slaves; we are sons and daughters of the King of Kings. No longer is our identity tied up with what we do; it is now tied up inextricably with who we are. In Christ, we are the beloved, adopted sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Compare those two definitions above with the identity of an orphan: Written by an orphan adopted by Ronald Reagan: I grew up with a big hole inside me. Most adoptees grow up sensing that same hole inside them. That hole is our missing sense of identity, of belonging, of knowing our own unique place in the world. It starts small, but it grows year by year and experience by experience into a gnawing emptiness that we seek to fill any way we can. Many people spend their whole lives searching for something to fill that hole. (I would add that you don t necessarily have to be an orphan or adopted to feel like an orphan and have that that missing sense of identity) Everyone who comes for ministry will have an identity somewhere between their true identity and the identity of an orphan. What does Scripture say about our identity? Running throughout the whole Bible (from Genesis: in the beginning - to the end in Revelation) Scripture teaches that God is our Father and that He is loving and good and we are His children. The beginning - and the fall In the beginning God created Adam and Eve for them to be his children. Adam and Eve had a perfect relationship with God as Father but because of the fall they lost that intimate relationship and became spiritual orphans. The curse of fatherlessness can be traced right back to the fall. The restoration to Father But from the very beginning, even before creation, God knew this would happen and had a plan to restore his relationship to us as our Father through Jesus. Father said through Jesus in John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans 1

2 Jesus is the way to the Father I am the way, and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6 ) Jesus told his disciples he was going back to the Father and would prepare a place for us for eternity in Father s house (John 14:2-3) Jesus teaches us how to pray to God:- as our Father (Luke 11:2 ). In what is known as the Lord s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to address our prayers, personally and intimately, to our Father in Heaven to our Abba our Papa. In English money to me that means Daddy. Our new identity, where God restores us to our Heavenly Father, and we become beloved sons and daughters - starts once we receive Christ as our saviour. God becomes our Heavenly Father at a personal level. The role of a father in building identity We are going to look at the role of a father in building a child s identity. Mark Stibbe says: In the natural, a father calls a child to life. A father s role is to provide a safe, secure environment, but his deeper place is to call to life his child s real essence as a person. Needs can probably be condensed into four basic needs: the need for unconditional expressed love, the need to feel secure and comforted; the need for praise and affirmation and the need for a purpose in life. A father particularly imparts identity to his children. A son establishes his manhood and knows what his abilities are from the way his father pours into him, how his father relates to him, what he says to and about his son. A daughter knows she is a woman according to how her father relates to her, treats her, and what he says to and about her. If dad is not around physically or emotionally children can get damaged and struggle immensely with their identity and in accepting who they are. Symptoms of Poor Identity (Courtesy of Catch the Fire) When these basic needs are not met in childhood then we can grow up with a poor identity and when we come to faith - instead of being sons and daughters of Father God we can, to whatever degree, be what is known as spiritual orphans i.e. live as though God is our Master instead of God being our Heavenly Father. Look for any of the following symptoms (not exhaustive or exclusive to identity issues) but rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal if any of these symptoms relate specifically to identity issues. Deep feelings of abandonment Inward feelings of worthlessness Independence and self reliance Guarded and conditional Living by the love of Law Insecure and lacking peace 2

3 Striving for praise, approval and acceptance of man Feel like a servant or slave (doing out of duty to earn God s favour) A need for personal achievement as we seek to impress God and others (or no motivation to serve at all) Self-rejection - comparing self to others Seek comfort in counterfeit affections: addictions, compulsions, escapism, busyness, hyper-religious activity Competition, rivalry and jealousy towards others success and position See authority as a source of pain; difficulty receiving admonition; feelings easily hurt Spiritual ambition Poverty (fighting for what you can get) The more our identity is secured in God being our loving Father, the more we can live as true Sons or Daughters: Daily experiencing the Father s unconditional love and acceptance Having a close, intimate relationship with Him Being at peace and resting in His presence and love Living by the Law of Love Our service motivated by a deep gratitude for being unconditionally loved and accepted by God Feeling positive and affirmed because we know we have such value to God. Humility and unity valuing others and able to rejoice in their blessings and successes Sonship releases our inheritance. MINISTRY It is quite rare, I think, that someone will request extended prayer ministry because they know they have a poor identity, although I have had that happen. More often than not people ask for prayer ministry to do with other issues and difficulties and you discover that underneath they are living out of a poor or wrong identity. But if we recognise that someone coming for ministry actually has an underlying poor or wrong identity, how do we minister in this area? You can t cast out a wrong identity (spirit of poor identity come out! Wouldn t that be easy!) No it has to be displaced with the true identity of being a beloved child. Often people talk about an orphan spirit and this might confuse us into thinking we are talking about a demon. We are in fact referring to the person s own spirit that is in an orphan condition. There can be demonic spirits reinforcing this state such as abandonment, rejection etc. So we are not looking to cast out an orphan spirit we are looking to minister God s love to the orphan heart. God s love simply displaces the orphan ness in the heart and if there are any demons there they will go easily. So if basic needs are not met in childhood, can our Heavenly Father meet those needs? The answer of course is yes - so how then does He do this? Firstly, encountering the love of Abba, Father, Papa, Daddy: is a vital part of the healing process and secures us in our true identity. People we are praying for need a supernatural encounter with the love of Father-God in their area of need ministering a Godly positive experience to displace an ungodly negative one or to fill the hole /what was missing. 3

4 The most effective way to do this is, during ministry, speak out the truth of who they are (using scripture or prophecy), speaking it into their hearts, minds and spirits displacing the negative mindsets that are apparent and filling in the gaps of basic need. Ministry Tools that can be used: Identify the problem If you recognise a significant identity problem and don t know where to start you can always ask questions like: 1. What is your relationship with God like? (Father/Jesus or Holy Spirit) 2. What was your relationship with your earthly father like? 3. You can go through the list of symptoms and ask what particularly stands out for them. Blessing their hearts and spirits with Truth A good ministry tool specifically for identity to use is to bless their spirits with the truth of who they are. And a good place to start is their conception (but I always ask them first): You can begin to bless them starting from conception; and then each stage of life right through to adulthood if necessary. Speak out making a prophetic declaration over them God s truth from the perspective of his Father-heart towards them i.e. words of love and affirmation to do with them being chosen and loved by God, revealing how God sees them, affirming that God will protect and provide for them at each stage of life. You can then move on to baby in the womb and after that the day of their birth. I believe these first three stages are very significant in laying a foundation for a true identity that has been significantly damaged. Example of blessing/prophetic declaration: I bless your conception God knew you before you were conceived, He chose you to be created, He wanted a daughter (or son) and you are just what He wanted. You are not an accident. You are chosen. You are not conceived of a mother or father s will but because of the will of God. I then might move on to bless them growing in the womb. I bless you as you were growing in your mother s womb and God sees you, He is forming you, you are perfect, you are wanted and protected in that Holy place etc. You can read out parts of Psalm 139 over them e.g. God knit you together in your mother s womb; you are fearfully and wonderfully made; God s eyes saw your unformed body in the secret place etc. I move on to bless the day of their birth: I bless the day of your birth; God and the angels rejoiced when you were born. He brought you forth from your mother s womb. You are a beautiful daughter/son. Father God delights over his new daughter/son. If you feel led by the Holy Spirit it can be continued by blessing them in other stages in life e.g. baby, toddler, child, teenage, adult. Rely on Holy Spirit 4

5 In blessing them rely on the Holy Spirit, waiting for Him to reveal his specific words over that person. If you don t hear any specific words just speak what you know to be true by using God s words of love and affirmation from scripture. The spoken blessings help to displace any lack of acceptance and identity and strengthens their heart, spirit and emotions to believe they are known by God, chosen and a wanted son or daughter, loved, protected and provided for. It is like God puts in the missing pieces of identity into their hearts. Specific areas Quite often during this process the Holy Spirit might reveal specific areas of ministry that are needed to do with identity e.g. parents wanted a boy but got a girl which leads to confusion and feelings of rejection. Speak out loud over them words of affirmation God wanted a daughter, he chose you to be a girl before you were even conceived and is very pleased you are His daughter. We affirm you as female, we affirm you as God s beloved daughter. they were an unplanned pregnancy/not wanted: God chose you before you were conceived to be created. You are wanted by God. You are not an accident etc. Be aware that at different stages forgiveness may be needed: forgiveness of their father, mother or anyone who has not affirmed their identity. Attached are useful Scriptures that you can personalise and read over the prayee and also some Father blessings from the book Blessing your Spirit by Sylvia Gunter & Arthur Burk Eileen Cerrone School of Inner Healing & Deliverance November

Lesson 8 Return to Sonship

Lesson 8 Return to Sonship Every great story has a good ending and so does this one for you! It is all about turning your hearts towards home. The whole earth cries out for the revealing of the sons of