So we have discovered some of the signs of symptoms of an Orphan Spirit in a person’s life in our Christian Foundations Blog. The next question is how do we deal with this issues and continue to grow as Jesus followers? Here is an interesting YouTube by Leif Hetland and his journey through healing, published April 2012.
Leif tells the story of his search for love and affirmation during a broken childhood filled with sexual abuse and addiction and the baptism in God’s love that changed everything. This 1st step is to identify the Orphan Spirit.
“God has recently been imparting yet another level of revelation to me relate to the healing of the ‘orphaned Spirit’ in my own life. The “heart or spirit” of a man is the central place of government in a person’s life. It seems to me that one of the great strategies of the enemy is to keep this place of government locked up in the inability to trust, the fear of rejection and fear of real intimacy.Read more...(979 words, 2 images, estimated 3:55 mins reading time)
Here are some of the contrasts in being an Orphan and a Treasured Child in your view of our Creator God:
An Abandoned Orphan
A Treasured Child
Independent / self reliant
interdependent / acknowledge our need for Him and others.
Strive for praise, approval and acceptance of people out of doing
Totally accepted in God’s love and justified by His grace.
Self-rejection and comparisons with others, feeling humiliated at mistakes
Motivated by deep gratitude of unconditional love and acceptance by God with humility. Read more...(315 words, 1 image, estimated 1:16 mins reading time)
When we grow from being a slave to the world’s way of thinking and behaving, we begin to see more and more your true inheritance that comes from our relationship with Jesus Christ. By seeing what is in our Heart, we can change our thinking and behaving, which brings new growth.
If you feel you have stepped over that line from Slave to being a Steward for God, here is your Birth Certificate! I would suggest you print it off, think about it and then, when you are ready, sign and date this declaration. Read more...(375 words, 2 images, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)
In Stage 4, we make another leap jump in our faith – from being just a Steward in His House …. to being aware that we are His child, adopted into His family and growing into being an heir with Him. What a difference mindset!
However, it is here that we most often have to face an ‘Orphan spirit’ and learn what it means to be Welcomed and Adopted into God’s family. This is a transition from being ‘just a Steward’ when we are the servant and He is the Owner and Master of all things. Certainly He is that – Owner and Master of all things – but when we move into this stage of our Christian growth, we see a new and different relationship to that Owner. Read more...(533 words, 2 images, estimated 2:08 mins reading time)
One of the best books in this area is written by Jack Frost. His ‘Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship’ brought many in the body of Christ to see the slumbering spiritual condition of much of the church.
You can find many, many YouTube videos on this subject. We have chosen one by Jack Frost. In this hilarious demonstration In this hilarious demonstration Jack Frost illustrates a very serious theological issue – Our concept of God.
Are we orphans or children ? Do we have a loving Father. Our mindset is a filtering system that can lead to burnout in church. Jack Frost’s act reveals the pain of a mindset that is not comfortable with receiving the unconditional love of God. Read more...(352 words, 2 images, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)
From Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sons by Jack Frost
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A Word from the Lord:
"I have followed the flight of an eagle with My eyes. I have seen the mighty fish in the sea and they all give Me great pleasure ..… but do you know the greatest of all My creation is the Adam and Eve I created?
"Time has not changed My joy in seeing mankind grow. However, My heart has been saddened when I know the pleasure I wish to give My people, give to you My child. My ways are meant to be light, My burden easy. Religions and rules make the heaviness I wish to lift from My people.
"I long to draw you closer, to teach you deeper things of My Spirit. I need you to let your Heart rest in My love, to rest in My peace. I know the paths ahead for you. I have planned and will provide many treasures you have yet to see. Look for My hand and let Me guide you.
"I do know of your beginnings, of the painful places you have walked in your life. I have provided healing and grace to get up and go on … but know this, My child - I have never left your side. I have always walked with you, even when you cannot see My hand in your life. It is in times like this that I wish to grow your faith and trust.
"I have treasured your growth in following Me … and I want you to continue to seek Me for who I am, not what others have said about Me - or what the groups around you think.
"Look for Me and you will see Me in many layers in your life. I know your future; I know the dark places ahead and the places filled with sunshine and light. You will find Me in both places as I am moulding you and teaching you to walk with Me.
"Trust Me as you see the world around you. I will never leave you or walk away from you as I love you with a deep everlasting love. Yes, even when you make mistakes or take your eyes off the track. I am here! Rest in My peace and continue to let me fill you with My ways, with My treasures."
From Your Lord Jesus, your loving Father God via the Holy Spirit.
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To begin this section, let me tell you a story. 'Jenny' grew up in a semi-Christian home where she went to Sunday School every Sunday. It was probably more so that her parents had Sunday morning to themselves, away from their 4 children that they were sent to church. For whatever reason, little seeds grew in Jenny until she was a 20 year old and working in the church office.
She enjoyed her work and 'served well'. She even had a t-shirt made that said 'Steward of the Most High God'. She often marked her folders as 'Jenny, Steward of God'. This sounded like a good saying and to her, even sound doctrine … but it wasn't the whole truth. Something was missing.
She thought about leaving this group and looking for another church. Working in the church office made her feel like she belonged somewhere. She was the 'Helper to the Pastor' and that was how others saw her too.
They were her 'authority', her source of comfort and didn't they have the final say on what the Bible said? She wasn't really 'close' with any of them anyhow; none had tried to help her grow spiritually. She kept the rules of the church but quietly thought about 'church hopping someday'.
When she had a good day at work, she felt God smiled at her, even though her peers frequently excluded her in their church activities. She had her job with the church and they didn't. "Maybe they are just envious", she thought. "I need to protect what God has given me, especially since they don't understand me."
More and more she felt guarded and distrustful of others in the church and sometimes - if she let her thoughts go there - even felt the church pasters and leaders weren't doing the very best as stewards that they could have. "God was sole owner of everything and He had given me a job to do!" … and that was that as far as Jenny told herself.
So that was Jenny until the day her Mother died and she faced some hard truths. She was independent and could take care of herself but what about her family? One or two of the pastor's wives stopped by to offer their sad words but few others came.
The funeral wasn't very impressive as their money had been used for doctors. Jenny felt alone and lost, wanting to be loved by those she served but somehow, all this need and pride was mixed with isolation and being alone.
Sad and lonely, she went for a walk. "There's got to be more to God than this!" She began to question if she even knew the real Jesus and His love for her. At first, she didn't really feel like she could talk to HIM, the One who walked beside her. She didn't feel worthy; maybe she hadn't done enough? She was only His Steward …. but He saw her as so much more!
As Jenny walked and allowed His love to penetrate her independent, self-sufficient Heart. Her view of her walk as a Jesus follower began to change. Her view of being that 'Steward' began to melt into another sense of being His child first.
She began to feel gratitude for what the Lord was doing for her … and for her family. Never having known her biological father, she began to sense she really had a Father who just might cared for her. As the tears rolled down her face, she could she had turned her back on the real Source of her comfort, turned to the pastors who could never fill that need inside.
She could see that believing she was 'only His steward' had robbed her of knowing she was His child. Taking care of His things had replaced knowing she owned these things as His heir and beloved daughter.
She returned to the home she knew with greater peace than ever. She removed the labels 'Steward of God' of her folders and books. She replaced the labels with 'Growing child of God'. What a difference she felt!" (Names and places have been changed to protect 'Jenny's identity.)
As we begin this Stage 4 in our series From Slave to Bride, join us to find answers for your own life.