58_A Father's Leadership.pdf

Volume XV, Issue 3

L EGACY

OF D EREK P RINCE

A Father’s Leadership

The father chooses the way his family will go.

In the office of fatherhood God has united the greatest privileges of leadership with the

greatest responsibilities of leadership. This theme runs through Scripture from beginning to

end. In the days of fearful evil, immediately before the flood, there was one man who found

grace in God’s sight—Noah. To Noah God said: “Come into the ark, you and all your

household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation”

(Genesis 7:1). It was the righteousness of Noah that provided a covering for his whole

household. Because Noah took his rightful place before God as head of his house, he had

the privilege of bringing his entire family with him into the ark.

Taking Leadership in the Home

may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”

God chose Abraham for one primary reason: He

knew He could count on him to train and

discipline his children and his household in the

way of the Lord. What tremendous importance

God must attach to this aspect of a man’s character!

God expected Abraham to “command” his

children and his household. The word command

sounds undemocratic to some Western ears. But it

is the key word in this passage. There are times

when a man has both the right and the duty to

command. When he stands as God’s representative

and governor in his home, he must not be weak

and compromising. He must say firmly to his wife

ater—after the flood—God began to look

for a man who would become the head of

a special nation, destined to bring unique

blessings to all mankind. Eventually God

found the man He was looking for in the person of

Abraham. Genesis 18:19 reveals the special

element in Abraham’s character that caused God to

choose him over all the men of his day: “For l have

known him, in order that he may command his children

and his household after him, that they keep the way of

the L ORD , to do righteousness and justice, that the L ORD

T HE T EACHING

Volume XV, Issue 3

and children, “I require you to

do so-and-so.”

Some men may ask, “What

will my wife and children say?

They aren’t used to hearing me

speak like that!”

May I suggest how they will

react? It may take them several

minutes to recover from the

shock, but eventually they will

say, “At last—we’ve got a man in

the house!” Both the wife and

the children know in their hearts

who ought to lead, and they will

respond to a father who takes his

rightful place. Many women

have taken the lead in the home

by default because their husband

failed to do it; and they would be

happy to give it up if the man

would take over.

he never led them out again!

When God’s judgment fell upon

the city, Lot lost his entire family,

except two daughters (Genesis

19:15–26).

Fathers, let me say this

plainly: If you know the way of

the Lord, do not take the same

foolish course as Lot. You may

lead your family into Sodom—

into the world with its sinful

pleasures and enticements. You

may make the world the center

of life in your home. Then the

day may come when you tire of

the world and turn back to the

way of God. But remember this:

Your family may not be willing

to follow you any longer. You

who led them into Sodom may

never be able to lead them out

again!

decision to serve the Lord. But

how could he be so sure his

family would serve the Lord?

Then one day I understood the

basis of Joshua’s assurance. He

had taken his God-given

position as priest, prophet and

king in his home. Therefore he

knew he could count on the

faithfulness of God to honor him

in that position—by answering

his priestly intercession for his

family, by confirming his

prophetic declaration made on

their behalf, and by upholding

his kingly authority over them.

Joshua’s assurance was based not

on what he was in himself, but

on God’s faithfulness to the office

of fatherhood which he held.

The Faith of a Father

The Failure of Lot

Joshua’s Choice

Let us turn on to one of the

most frequently quoted passages

of the New Testament—Acts

16:30–31. The Philippian jailer,

under deep conviction, asks of

Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I

do to be saved?” Their answer is,

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,

and you will be saved, you and

your household.”

One day as I was quoting this

promise to a lady who was

concerned for the salvation of

her family, the Holy Spirit spoke

gently but firmly to my spirit:

“You are misapplying that

promise. It was not spoken to

woman, but to a man. As a

We have seen that it was the

character and conduct of

Abraham in his home that

commended him to God.

However, Abraham’s nephew,

Lot, stands in sad contrast. Lot

started out with Abraham. He

had seen God’s blessings and

had heard God’s promises.

Nevertheless he made a wicked

and foolish decision. He chose to

lead his family into the degraded

city of Sodom (Genesis 13:10–

13).

The lesson of Lot moves me

deeply each time I ponder it. He

led his family into Sodom, but

Let us look at another leader

of God’s people—Joshua. At the

end of his life, having brought

Israel into the Promised Land,

Joshua challenges them with a

decision: “Choose for yourselves

this day whom you will serve” —

either the heathen gods of Egypt

or Canaan, or the Lord Himself,

your Deliverer. Then Joshua

adds, “But as for me and my house,

we will serve the L ORD ” (Joshua

24:15).

For years I marveled at these

words of Joshua. Obviously, he

could make his own personal

the teaching legacy of derek prince | dpm archive

Volume XV, Issue 3

husband and father, the Philip-

pian jailer had a God-given right

to claim the salvation of his

whole family.” God has given to

every father, by virtue of his

position, both the right and the

responsibility to exercise faith

for the salvation of his family.

Does this mean that other

members of the family can be

saved solely on the basis of the

father’s faith, without exercising

individual faith for themselves?

No, it does not mean that. What

it means is that, through the

faith and ministry of the father

in his God-given office, each

member of his family will come

to personal faith in Christ and

will thus be saved.

This is not to say that a family

cannot be saved through the

faith of a believing mother or

some other member. Rahab, the

harlot in Jericho, provides a

beautiful picture of a woman

whose faith and courage brought

salvation to her whole family.

Out of the midst of the total

destruction of the city where she

lived, “The young men who had

been spies went in and brought out

Rahab, her father, her mother, her

brothers, and all that she had”

(Joshua 6:23). All these were the

fruit of Rahab’s faith.

However, the father has a

different relationship to his

family from that of any other

member. If he takes his God-

given position as head of his

house, there goes with it the

God-given right to claim the

salvation of his household. This

right is based not merely on the

father’s individual faith, but on

the office of fatherhood he holds.

God’s obligation is to the office,

not merely to the man.

“Lord, help us to remember that

our children are blessings, not

burdens!” Somehow I formed

the impression that he did not

expect a positive answer to his

prayer.

As parents, we may be sure of

one thing: Our children will

recognize our true attitude

toward them—whether we feel

they are burdens or blessings.

And they will react accordingly.

If we fail to discipline and

relate to our children in such a

way that demonstrates we enjoy

them, what will be the

alternative? Deuteronomy 28:41

tells us plainly— “they shall go

into captivity.” Has this not

happened to millions of children

in our Western civilization? They

have “gone into captivity”—to

drugs, illicit sex, the occult and

countless other snares of Satan.

Such children are in captivity

just as surely as if they had been

carried off into slavery by some

foreign power. The responsi-

bility lies at the door of the

fathers who have failed to relate

to their children and teach them

the law of God.

Results of

Delinquent Fathers

The Word of God offers many

warnings concerning the evil

results that will follow when

parents—and especially fathers

—fail to fulfill their God-given

responsibilities in the home. In

Deuteronomy 28:15–68 we find

a long list of curses that God

warned Israel would come upon

them if they were disobedient to

His law. While reading through

this list one day, I was struck by

verse 41: “Thou shalt beget sons

and daughters, but thou shalt not

enjoy them: for they shall go into

captivity” ( KJV ). (This is ad-

dressed primarily to fathers,

since the word “beget” describes

the father’s part in procreation.)

The simple thought occurred

to me that children are given to

us by God that we may “enjoy”

them. They are intended to be an

ever-present source of delight to

us as their parents. Yet how

many parents today are really

enjoying their children? I

remember once hearing a Baptist

preacher with a large family pray,

Communicating

God’s Law

Malachi 2:7 pictures the priest

as the guardian and interpreter

of God’s law: “For the lips of a

priest should keep knowledge, and

people should seek the law from his

the teaching legacy of derek prince | dpm archive

Volume XV, Issue 3

mouth.” (The “knowledge” re-

ferred to here is the knowledge

of God’s law.) As priest in his

home, each father has this

responsibility—to guard and to

interpret the law of God for his

family.

What if the fathers/priests in a

nation fail in their responsibility?

In Hosea 4:6 God sums up the

tragic situation that results: “My

people are destroyed for lack of

knowledge. Because you have

rejected knowledge, I also will reject

you from being priest for Me;

because you have forgotten the law

of your God, I also will forget your

children.”

What a fearful thing it is when

God Himself tells us that He will

“forget” our children! When a

father rejects the knowledge of

God’s law, he is no longer fit to

exercise his priestly ministry on

behalf of his family. As a result,

the children lose the protection of

a father’s authority and covering

and become prey to all the snares

and deceptions of Satan. Why is

our land today filled with God-

forgotten children—children

who are strangers to the covenant

promises and provisions of God?

Because their fathers have

forgotten the law of God!

also a promise:

the fathers will repent and

humble themselves before their

children, then the children’s

hearts will also turn to their

fathers. But the first move is with

the fathers.

Fathers, I challenge you to be

men! Rise up and take your

position, under God, as the head

of your house! If you have been

a renegade, repent and ask your

wife and children to forgive you.

Be reconciled with them. Then

lead your family into God’s full

provision for them.

Behold, I will send you Elijah

the prophet before the coming

of the great and dreadful day

of the L ORD . And he will turn

the hearts of the fathers to the

children, and the hearts of the

children to their fathers, lest I

come and strike the earth

with a curse.

By prophetic revelation, the

Bible here depicts the most

urgent social problem of the

period immediately preceding

the close of the age: divided,

strife-torn homes, with parents

and children alienated from each

other. How accurate God’s Word

is! It is precisely this situation

that confronts us today. Unless it

can be reversed, there is only

one possible outcome—a curse

upon the whole earth.

However, God promises to

send a ministry that will “turn the

hearts of the fathers to the children,

and the hearts of the children to

their fathers.” Thank God, the

situation is not hopeless!

Reconciliation and restoration in

our homes are yet possible. This

is the message of God’s Spirit to

us today.

But we must observe the

order that God’s Word estab-

lishes. First, the fathers must

turn to their children. Recon-

ciliation in each home must

begin from the father’s side. If

Adapted from a New Wine article

entitled “Fatherhood, Part 3.”

For further study, we recom-

mend Derek Prince’s 2-part

DVD message:

Husbands and Fathers

We are making this material available to

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Reproduction of articles from

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tribution is permitted. To

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encouragement by e-mail,

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Derek Prince Ministries

P.O. Box 19501

Charlotte, NC 28219

704.357.3556

www.derekprince.org

A Word of Promise

In Malachi 4:5–6 the final

word left to us in the Old

Testament is a curse—but it is

TL073

the teaching legacy of derek prince | dpm archive

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