Revealing the Orphan Heart, part 2

God has called us to walk in unity.

1. Pursue His presence

2. Genuine love and affection

3. Honest Conversations

Core thoughts...

• God is a perfect Father

• Trinity is a family

• We were created from this patten

• Sin separated us

• The Son made a way

• Redeemed as sons and daughters

• We belong in His family

2 Corinthians 6:18 [NLT], And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. 

"How deep that Orphan Heart took root in our hearts was determined by how we were raised."

There is no such thing as a perfect parent. 

Basic needs of a child...

• Physical touch

• Feel physically and emotionally safe

• Trust

• Unconditionally accepted and loved

• Enjoyed and cherished

• Praised and affirmed

• Self-esteem and value

• Reassured as special

• A gift from God

"It is not enough for a parent to have loving feelings for their kids, those feelings must be communicated and expressed in a way that is meaningful to the child."

Types of fathers...

• Stable and Loving

• Performance-Oriented

• Passive

• Workaholic

• Absent

• Authoritative

• Selfish

• Abusive

"The role that a FATHER plays in our lives is extremely important, because it is his responsibility to impart our identity, call out our value and worth, to speak into our destiny, to cultivate our talents and abilities.  It is his responsibility to lead us into our faith and to mold/shape our courage for life's challenges!  He is the protector of our innocence and purity.  He provides us with a sense of belonging.  It is his responsibility to affirm us by telling us that we have what it takes...our lives mean something...that we can make a difference...that we can become who God has called us to be." 

Psalm 127:4 [NLT], Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior's hands.

A mother shows love through...

1. Affectionate Touch

2. Eye Contact

3. Tone of Voice

Nurture; "to cause something to come forth."

"As our mom's nurtured us as children they imparted compassion, tenderness, empathy, affection, comfort, and intimacy.  Their nurturing taught us how to have faith in others and gave us the ability to trust others when they expressed their love towards us.  Our mom's taught us how to commune and connect with others, to bond with them beyond surface level, to show vulnerability, to know and to be known emotionally.  The taught us how to trust relationships when they held us, cuddled us and cared for us."  

Psalm 22:9 [NIV], Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother's breast.

Orphans...

• God is a master whom they must appease

• can't trust anyone

• independent/self-reliant

• relate to God through the law

• short end of the stick

• insecure

• struggle with self-rejection

• rarely feel at peace

• don't know how to rest

• fear of trusting, abandonment, and intimacy

• addicted to the approval of man

• serve to impress God

• perform out of duty

• strive for purity to win favor and avoid judgment

• feel guilty and shameful

• escape life thru counterfeit affections

• relate to others thru competition, rivalry, or jealous

• in conflict resort to accusation and exposure of people's faults

• see authority as a source of pain

• unteachable attitude

• guarded and conditional in their expressions of love

• make others perform for their love

• struggle with giving and receiving love

• view God's presence as distant and conditional

• slaves to fear and mistrust

• view themselves as servants/slaves, not a child of God

• desire to be seen as spiritually mature

• fear the future because they are unsure of their inheritance in the Kingdom

Where do we go from here?

"The first step in Repositioning our hearts to Sonship is through forgiveness."

Luke 23:34 [NLT], "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing."