Overcoming An Orphan Mentality

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A. You were a childhood orphan in the flesh.

1. Your parents died when you were young.
2. Your parents gave you away when you were a baby.

B. You had parents who treated you as an orphan.   "Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged"  (Colossians 3:21).
C. You may have received an orphan mentality through generational curses.
D. An orphan mentality may have come through a word curse.

1. Someone may have jokingly stated you must have been an orphan.
2. Someone deliberately mislead you to believe that you were an orphan.

E. There may simply have been the enemy's intrusion into your thoughts that you were an orphan.
F. You may have come to believe that God left you as an orphan through an emotional trauma or disappointing circumstance.

A. Mephibosheth had an orphan mentality.

David desired to show favor toward the house of Saul after Saul's death.   "And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet"  (II Samuel 9:3).  David provided everything for him.  "Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants"  (II Samuel 9:10).  David, the king, adopted Mephibosheth as one of his own sons.  "Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons"  (II Samuel 9:11).  However, Mephibosheth had an orphan mentality.  "And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace"  (II Samuel 19:24).  Later when David return from battle Mephibosheth failed to go meet the king. He said that no one saddled a donkey for him; furthermore he went on to declare,  "For all of my father's house were but dead men before my lord the king: yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet to cry any more unto the king?"  (II Samuel 19:28).  Although he was adopted as the son of the king with all the rights as a son, he was timid about asking for anything.  Many Believers today wrestle with asking God for anything.  Why?  They feel that they have not been perfect enough to receive anything.  However, God did not adopt us because we are perfect, but because he loves us.  We simply chose to receive His love, by allowing Him to become our Lord.

B. In the story of the prodigal son, we find that both sons had somewhat an orphan mentality.  (Luke 15:11-32).

The prodigal son, started by demanding his portion of his inheritance, basically saying, "Father, I wish you were dead.  Give me my inheritance now!"  He spent all that he had, then decided to return home to see if his father would allow him just to be a servant (a slave). "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,  And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants"  (Luke 15:18-19).   Although he was a son, he did not see himself as a son.  The elder son who was performance oriented slaved in the field for his father.  Though he was the elder son with legal right to twice as much inheritance as the younger son, he had failed to ask his father for anything and was jealous when his father gave the younger son a homecoming party.  "And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:  But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.  And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.  It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found"  (Luke 15:28-32).

"When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up"  (Psalms 27:10).

"Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John 14:17-18).

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father"  (Romans 8:15).

"To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons"  (Galatians 4:5).

"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace"  (Ephesians 1:5-7).

We also have the picture of Hosea adopting the two children who were born out of Gomer's whoredom. (Hosea 1-3).   "And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms"  (Hosea 2:4).  In the book of I Peter, we see the adoption.  "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy"  (I Peter 2:9-10). We were, in one sense, like child named "no mercy" (Loruhamah) and "not my people" (Loammi) of Hosea in chapter one, but we are now chosen and adopted into the family of God.

God first chose us.  "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love"  (Ephesians 1:4).  "We love him, because he first loved us"  (I John 4:19).   God went to the orphan home of the world and saw you.  Yes, you!  Then he chose you to become His child.  Now, our part is to choose to accept His love.

Believers are sealed by the Spirit.  "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise"  (Ephesians 1:13).  This is a stamp of God's approval.  Why?  because He has made us perfect in the spirit-man.  "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified"  (Hebrews 10:14).  Believers, you are perfect! You may say, "But I know that I am not perfect and you just don't know all the bad things that I do."  Hey!  God had declared you to be perfect.  Are you going to argue with God?

A. He will never leave us.  "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee"  (Hebrews 13:5).  He will never disown us.

B. God supplies all our needs.  "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus"  (Philippians 4:19).

C. There are things which accompany (go along with) our salvation.  "But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak"  (Hebrews 6:9).

D. We have access to all the promises. "For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us"  (II Corinthians 1:20).

E. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.  "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together"  (Romans 8:17).  "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise"  (Galatians 3:29).  What belongs to Jesus also belongs to us.

F. God enjoys giving us His kingdom. "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom"  (Luke 12:32).

G. The kingdom is now.  "And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,  Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting"  (Luke 18:29-30).

I. If God is for us, no one can be against us.  "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"  (Romans 8:31).

K. God can make everything work together for our good  "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose"  (Romans 8:28).

L. God freely gives us all things. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"  (Romans 8:32). 

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