Archive for the 'Leadership' Category
Act 5:38-39 ESV
(38) So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail;
(39) but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!" So they took his advice,Mat 7:15-20 ESV
(15) "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
(16) You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
(17) So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
(18) A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
(19) Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
(20) Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
How can you tell if a so-called move of God is really God or just the works of men?
Time and fruit…
Time
I recall a conversation I had with a brother after one service when he told that he me was going to get married to a young lady that he hardly knew. The witness I had in my heart was that this was a very bad move. I also knew he wouldn’t listen. He could tell by the expression on my face that I was trouble by this news and he asked with a smug smile on his face “what, you don’t think it’s a good ideal?”. I paused and said “time will tell”, and it did, their marriage was troubled from the start and ended in divorce.
Time will always tell on you….
Fruit
After almost 15 years in the ministry I’ve come to this very profound conclusion. If it waddles, has a feathers and likes water, it’s a duck. I don’t care if it says it’s an eagle and wears a very nice eagle suit, I don’t care if it graduated from eagle academy and has all the proper documentation…if what you say you are doesn’t line up with what you’re doing then houston we have a problem.
Actions are fruit and fruit reveal the true nature of a thing.
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photo by ifmuth
I was reading through John chapter 5 when I noticed this…
Joh 5:5-10 ESV
(5) One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
(6) When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?"
(7) The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me."
(8) Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk."
(9) And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.
(10) So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed."
The religious leaders didn’t really care that a man who had been crippled for 38 years had just been made whole and could now walk! Their only concern was with their interpretation of the rules.
You may been an angry preacher if your more interested in maintaining the necessary standard than meeting the needs of people.
Joh 5:13-15 ESV
(13) Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.
(14) Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you."
(15) The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.
Of all the bad things a preacher can be accused of doing I’m thinking that actually healing somebody wouldn’t be on the top of the list, but this act seemed to drive them into a murderous rage.
You may be an angry preacher if God touching people lives and meeting their needs in a way that may be different than the way you would do it makes you mad.
Joh 5:16-20 ESV
(16) And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
(17) But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working."
(18) This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
(19) So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
(20) For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.
The final straw was when Jesus claimed to have a personal intimate relationship with God.
You may be an angry preacher if you resent peoples claims of an intimate relationship with God when it’s different from your own relationship with God.
The really sad part about the whole situation described in John chapter 5 is that these men who had dedicated their lives to serving God actually missed the greatest move of God because of offence. They couldn’t get pass the personality and methods of Jesus to see who He really was…
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While watching the clip this scripture came to mind…
Luk 14:28-30 ESV
(28) For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
(29) Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
(30) saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Obama is a paper tiger but I’m starting to get the sense that McCain is trying to find a way to lose this thing…
My NEWSMAX article on the McCain Campaign turning down a meeting between Billy Graham and Senator McCain prompted outrage from the Senator’s staff. And then desperate calls from John McCain staffers to the Graham Association prompted clarifications from their side too.
But inconsistencies abounded. The two couldn’t get their stories straight. As our daddy’s explain to us when we are young, “always tell the truth and then you won’t have to remember what you said.”
If you don’t know the story, start with this link and then come back and I’ll catch you up.
(via doug wead)
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