Spiritual Father or Spiritual Failure

I did not realize it at the time, but God had an impartation for me. He delivered that impartation through a man. My help had come. I now had a spiritual father. My life and ministry have never been the same. There was an immediate sense of security and a settling in my spirit that I was in the right place now as Dr. Dufresne became my spiritual father. I now had the covering that I needed. I was no longer fatherless. The fathered minister and believer will always experience more than ever possible had they chosen to be fatherless. I pray this book will cause faith to grow in your heart concerning this valuable gift that God has given His church, the spiritual father.

Scripture indicates that men throughout history have been anointed to stand as spiritual fathers. These men do not take the place of God, but they are used by God to father those in the Body of Christ. God is the God of order. A spiritual father is often used to establish divine order over a period of time. Paul wrote, “...And the rest will I set in order when I come.” (1 Corinthians 11:34) Paul indicated that, as a spiritual father, he had the authority to set things in divine order. Notice that he would set “the rest” in order. Some order had already been established in the church at Corinth, but a spiritual father was required to order the remaining areas. That was my situation in 1994. An impartation through my spiritual father equipped me to make the necessary adjustments in my life and in my ministry. The area in my life that had been wanting was now filled. The fathered minister and believer will always experience more than ever possible had they chosen to be fatherless.

Dr. Michael P. Jacobs is founding pastor of Church on the Rock in New Albany, Indiana and has been in ministry for over 35 years. Along with authoring several books, including Spiritual Father or Spiritual Failure, he currently serves as a board member of Dr. Ed Dufresne’s “Fresh Oil Fellowship.” A pastor to several pastors and missionaries, Pastor Jacobs has ministered on more than 80 mission trips and travels extensively throughout the United States ministering the Word of God. Physical healings, deliverance, and a tangible anointing are evident in his meetings. His wife, Diana, his daughter and son-in-law, Jessica and Jacob, and his son and daughter-in-law, Jordan and Lauren, are also involved with him in the ministry.