Spiritual Leaders Role with the Vision

Buying in to the revelation of God is where the vision comes to life. But here is the thing with the revelation of God, it cannot be forced upon another. I cannot be given an edict from someone else and expect to carry it out blindly, that is compliance and not commitment or buying in. As I have written based on my study, the buy in comes from our receiving the revelation of God for ourselves and following the will of Him.

The question asked by Henry and Richard Blackaby is this: “How are you helping others grow in their relationship with God?” Well, how are you and what does that mean to the others? For me it is by discipling. First understanding what discipling is and next sharing that with others so they will understand and then share themselves. This is helping others to find the LORD through study and learning and thereby opening them up to receive the revelations of God for their lives.

So, the role of the spiritual leader with the vision is communication. As a spiritual leader, we are to share the gospel and the revelation that we have received. Not to command others to follow us, but to lead others to follow God. Our role is to bring others into the family of God as witnesses for Him, not to convert them, but to allow for God to reveal to them His glory, His agenda, and His will for them.

“¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” – Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)

What do you believe your role to be as a spiritual leader? Are you to deliver and expect all to follow your vision? What if you were to bring the people to God for His glory, agenda, and will to be revealed to them by Him?

Look to Work from God’s Agenda

I do understand, when looking to lead, there is an agenda or a goal or a destination that is being worked. It only makes sense, otherwise what is the point, getting people to follow aimlessly. In virtually every leadership book, periodical, class, or seminar I have been exposed, leadership is almost pointless without purpose.

Jesus had an agenda, a goal, a destination as He was leading the disciples. He was aware of the mission. He understood the purpose. The thing is, it was not His agenda, but the Father’s. Jesus came, rather was sent to this world to carry out the Father’s agenda. He was set to do work of the Father and not His own. Jesus was the workman carrying out the mission.

As Jesus went through this world before He did anything, He consulted the Father to get the lay of the land and understand the mission at that moment. Before His actions, Jesus prayed to the Father. Jesus followed the agenda of the Father at every turn. He was in tune with God and knew that it was not His own will, but the Father’s for all things to happen.

“³⁶And he said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.’” – Mark 14:36 (ESV)

Jesus was always looking keenly for the next part of the agenda to play out. He was looking for and always willing to accomplish the Father’s plan. Jesus was not just bringing a group of people on a journey to nowhere, He was leading based on an agenda. It was the agenda of the Father.

This is to be our approach as well. As disciples we are to follow an agenda. The agenda will lead to the goal, destination, or result we are to accomplish. The thing is, that agenda is not our own but the agenda of the Father. I have to remember every day to have restless eyes as I seek to work the agenda of the Father. I am to be in communication with the Father as Jesus was to get the direction I am to take. At each turn I am to reach out to the Father to understand as much as He can and/or will give me. I am to follow the LORD’s direction and work to accomplish His agenda.

What is leading you? Are you out there working on accomplishing your own work to get somewhere you want to be? What if you were to work the agenda of the Father and followed his direction to accomplish His agenda?

Concern Yourself with Good

This morning as usual, I read the entire chapter or full titled section to gain context for my study. I found it more challenging this morning as I read through Proverbs 24 as I was looking for the context and not just allowing the verse/stanza to speak for itself.

“¹⁹Fret not yourself because of evildoers,

and be not envious of the wicked,

²⁰for the evil man has no future;

the lamp of the wicked will be put out.”

— Proverbs 24:19-20 (ESV)

The above is where I was led this morning for my Bible Study. Proverbs is always a good and interesting place for me be. It is really, in my view, a collection of what to do and what to stay away from. Even the introduction in my ESV Bible indicates that it is a “collection of Israelite wisdom literature”. The verses and stanzas can stand by themselves in a lot of cases.

I am to concern myself with good and know that evil and wickedness will be taken care of by the LORD. When I am presented with evil and wicked, I am to move on and turn to good with my attention and focus. Yes, there is a time for me to work to overcome darkness with the light of the LORD. He will give me those opportunities as I seek to do the Will of the LORD. But, I am also to remember that if/when the LORD is not accepted, I am to move on.

“¹⁴And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” – Matthew 10:14-15 (ESV)

There is no kingdom gain from the continued concern with the evil and wicked. I will only waste away as I try to change them as after all, I cannot, only the LORD can. I plant seeds of the LORD and then He takes over to grow in the heart. Once I have completed my work, I am to move on to the next.

Yes, I can and should continue to pray that God’s Will be done in the heart of the evil and wicked. I am to ask that the LORD continue to do His work. But, I am to move on and not concern myself with more work, once my work is done. I am to move on to the good and devote my concern there.

So, as noted in verse 19 from Proverbs 24 above, I have to “fret not” with regard to that of the evildoers and the wicked. I have to move on to the good and do the work the LORD has for me.

What is your thought on interactions with the evil and wicked? Are you pouring and concerning all of yourself into them? What if you were to plant the seed and then move on to the next good, allowing the LORD to grow the seed?

It is All God’s Will

Everything in this world is from God, and I mean everything.

“¹⁰But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?’” – Job 2:10a (ESV)

See above from the book of Job. Job understood that everything comes from God. He did not expect that only good would come from God, but that all things would come from Him. And Job was not alone, take Abraham. He understood to follow God through it all, even if that meant sacrificing his son Isaac. And take Noah, he understood the destruction of the world through flood was of God just as the safety of his family on the ark. Everything is from God and is His Will.

It is hard to accept that bad things happen as a part of God’s Will. We attribute all things good to God and cannot understand when things are not good that they are indeed part of His will. When things are against us, we do not accept that it is all part of His plan for this world and our lives. Yet it is the ebb and flow of our life that we have to trust from the LORD. He allows things to happen for the benefit of His overall plan, which we are not aware of, no matter how much we want or believe we should.

Our conversations with the LORD daily, prayer, are the place where we find out what is in store for the short run. God let’s us in on the immediate actions that are needed and that these will lead to the accomplishments of His plans.

In the now, I have some knee pain which leads me to not get my morning/daily exercise. This led me to add my health to my prayer list. I have daily conversations with the LORD asking Him for relief. The interesting thing is that as I look at things, I am getting a little bit more sleep, as I am delaying getting out of bed for about 45 minutes in the mornings and that in and of itself results in a little better health. The LORD is working on my health in the now by taking away something, yes, but adding another area that I was not thinking.

I have to remember that the LORD has my interests in mind as He takes me through this world to work for His glory and the completion of tasks as needed for His will to manifest. I have to remember the last part of verse 10 from above that I did not add until here:

“¹⁰In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” – Job 2:10b (ESV)

What is your view of all that comes or happens in your life? Are you looking to the LORD for only the good? What if you realized it is all for the Will of God?

You will be Allowed to Do the Work of God

This morning I am in the book of Ezra. I am reminded here that the work of God will be allowed and encouraged.

“²⁵And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And those who do not know them, you shall teach. ²⁶Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.” – Ezra 7:25-26 (ESV)

Here we have the words from Artaxerxes of Persia to Ezra that he is to do the work of the LORD and those who do not obey are to be held to account for their actions, or lack thereof.

You see, the House of the LORD was decreed to be rebuilt and even as it was, there was some work and convincing that the decree was still in effect. Once it was finished, it was dedicated and then Ezra went out to teach the people of the Law of the LORD and the law of man. Ezra was not just sent allowed to teach, but was encouraged to do so by the king and it was ordered that he should have provision from the cities and towns to do so.

Here we have the work of the LORD commissioned to take place. The commissioning came from the LORD and He made it possible to happen even encouraged by man.

We find ourselves daily in conflict with the law of man within the law of the LORD. But is there really a conflict or is that conflict just imagined. You see, the LORD makes possible for that which is in His Will. Our role is simply to do His Will with faith that He will do all that He says He will. When we are in the Will of God, we are allowed to do the work and as we can see in the passage above, are encouraged to do the work as well.

What actions are you doing in the Will of God? Are you finding conflict or are you avoiding the work due to imagined conflict? What if you approached the work in the Will of God from the place of faith and know that you are allowed and even encouraged to do so?

No Stopping God’s Will

The Israelite people were headed to the promised land. They were following the path that the LORD had for them. Nothing was getting in their way or would stop them.

“²¹Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, ²²’Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.’ ²³But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and came to Jahaz and fought against Israel.” – Numbers 21:21-23 (ESV)

Sihon would not let Israel pass through his land. Think about this, they would be on the “highway” which had been established as a trade route. Israel did the decent thing of asking for permission to pass through on that highway and Sihon said no. Now, yes the Israeli group was a rather large one, but, they indicated to stay on the road and even asked. Sihon not only said no, but went out to destroy Israel as well.

This is where we find that the LORD will not be stopped.

“²⁴And Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. ²⁵And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages.” – Numbers 21:24-25 (ESV)

Sihon came to destroy God’s people and instead was destroyed.

I have to remember that when I am in God’s Will and doing that which He has for me to accomplish, He will not be stopped or defeated. I may not see the end result in the moment as Israel was turned away to take another route. But, stopping God’s Will is not going to happen. God will provide the way to complete the task He has for us whether to go around the obstacle that is presented or, as with the case of the Israelites, He will take us through the obstacle. The ultimate thing to remember is that there is no stopping God’s Will.

What happens when you encounter obstacles? Do you work hard to find a way through them on your own? What if you focused on God’s Will and realized that there is no stopping His Will?

We Submit to God’s Will

It is hard. Submitting to God’s will that is. There are times when it is very difficult to see His will as it is obscured by the circumstances of the moment. Let’s take Hagar for instance.

“⁶But Abram said to Sarai, ‘Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.’ Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.” – Genesis 16:6 (ESV)

Hagar was a servant of Sarai and at the direction of Sarai, became the wife of Abram. They conceived a child and Sarai was none to happy, even though that was the plan in the first place. Hagar was in a difficult position and as such decided to flee the scene as she was unable to see just what the blessing and will of God was to be. Hagar had submitted to authority of her master and was put in a position that she was not necessarily prepared to handle.

That is when Hagar met up with the angel of the LORD and her eyes were opened to His will. The angel of the LORD let her know that where the times were going to be difficult, big plans for her and her child were to come. Hagar was to return to Sarai and Abram, give birth to the child and watch as he would be the beginning of a great number of descendants.

“⁹The angel of the Lord said to her, ‘Return to your mistress and submit to her.’ ¹⁰The angel of the Lord also said to her, ‘I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.’” – Genesis 16:9-10 (ESV)

The situation had gotten in the way of Hagar seeing the will of the LORD. She submitted to the will of her master, but had not found the way to submit to her ultimate master, the LORD. Once she found herself alone with her thoughts, the angel of the LORD came to her and she was able to see the will of the LORD and found it to be wonderful, even if it would take time to play out.

I have to remember that I must submit to the LORD. He is my Father and master and His will is to be done. For me to be opened to His will, I have to be alone with my thought and allow the angel of the LORD to come to me and open my eyes to the LORD’s will. And then I will submit to His will to carry it out regardless of the time it takes.

What is you view on the LORD’s will? Are you willing to submit to His will, or are you even able to identify it? What if you were to find some alone time and allow the angel of the LORD to come to you and open your eyes to His will and then you submit to it more than you have submitted to your masters in this world?

Overcome Evil with Good

This morning as I continue my study of the word “overcome” I come again to the overcoming of evil as I did once before. I found that the darkness (evil) does not overcome the light of the LORD. And this morning I am reminded that we overcome evil (darkness) with good and that good is the LORD.

“²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” and “²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:21 & 2 (ESV)

I know, again I quote verses in reverse order of their writings. Verse 21 tells of how to overcome but, without the context of verse 2 there is some lacking in what is good. I learned a lot of years ago that in the study of God’s Word, it is important to read before and after the verse of focus to fully understand the context so as to apply our lives to God’s Word as opposed to fitting Him into our lives.

I need good in my life to overcome evil. Where does that good come from except from the LORD. I have to be in His Word daily to understand just where He would have me go and what He would have me do. When I am focused on the will of God for and in my life, I am able to find the good in all things. With that good I will be able to shine bright for the LORD and the darkness will be cast away. Evil has no chance against the good that is Jesus Christ. And it is up to me to bring that good to the world always.

Now, I know that I will be beaten down from time to time. I have in my past felt as though I am not getting anywhere and that the whole world was/is against me. Lori and I have been in the situation where we feel as though God may not be with us. We felt as though the evil one was winning. But we keep with Christ, looking to Him for guidance and comfort and over time, He brings us through to the other side. We have overcome the evil as we have stayed with God and the good that He is. We have found ourselves better for coming through and overcoming.

“⁵I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5 (ESV)

God is good and good overcomes evil. For me I have to remain in Him and He will remain in me so that I can do all things.

How are you overcoming evil? Are you looking for the physical to break you free? What if you remained in God who is good and allowed Him to overcome evil?

Confidence for the Day of Judgment

Tears of joy is what should come when being judged. You see, when I abide in and follow the commands of the LORD, I am on the right side of judgment.

“¹⁶So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.” – 1 John 4:16-17 (ESV)

It is with confidence that I enter each day. I know that I am with the LORD and He is with me. I know that I am working for Him and all the actions I take for the LORD are in line with His Will. Knowing that I am adhering to God’s Law and that His Law is greater than man’s law, I am confident in those actions. Therefore, any judgment that come from my actions are of no consequence as my actions would be considered righteous and I should be joyous in knowing that I have done the LORD’s Work.

Now we come to the judgment day. When I have taken on the actions of the LORD daily, I know that I have been righteous in my actions and on that day will be held to account for them. Again, I should be joyous in knowing that I have done the LORD’s Work and that He will reward me. I also will not be surprised where I am held to account on that day for where I was not adhering to the LORD’s Will and again be joyous knowing that I have been open to again having them read out.

Confidence is provided by God for all that I have done. Whether those actions are for or against the LORD, I am to be held to account and should know that all will be read out. I come to the judgment day knowing that all is known and my joy of being there should be evident in my tears. Not tears of fear and anguish, but tears of joy for the heavenly reward.

What does your confidence level look like? Are you worried about what may be found out or about the punishment to come? What if you had the confidence in the LORD that you have done all that you were to do and that now it is time to be rewarded on that judgment day?

Revisit the Ten Commandments

As a corporate trainer and my wife as a teacher, we understand the importance of having rules and setting expectations. People want order and structure to understand what they can and cannot do. Even those who do not follow the rules want them so that they understand what it is they are working toward, in their case, breaking those rules. In our roles as educators, we often have to revisit the rules and expectations to bring things back in line. We do not come back to the rules and expectations to rule over others, but to ensure that we are able to progress in an orderly, efficient, and effective manner.

God gave us rules and expectations in the form of the Ten Commandments. And if you remember, He gave them directly to the people and did not work through a proxy (Moses or Aaron) that was there as the leaders of the people at the time. God set forth what and how we were to act daily as people.

This morning, I am reading in Deuteronomy in chapter 5 which leads with the topic of the Ten Commandments. Here, Moses is revisiting and reminding the people of the rules and expectations that were given to them by God directly.

“¹And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them…⁴The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, ⁵while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said: ⁶”I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”’” – Deuteronomy 5:1,&4-6 (ESV)

Often, we just keep moving forward and forget all that we have learned in the interest of learning more. Where that is not a bad approach to growth and improvement, it is also important to remember that which we have already learned. As a history teacher, my wife Lori makes it a point to remind that we learn from history so as not to repeat it, or to repeat those things that worked. The rules and expectations that are in place are there for the same purpose.

God’s rules and expectations, the Ten Commandments, were put in place to give us guidance into how to progress through this world in the interest of doing the Will of God. They are set up as the framework of a society that loves the LORD and will do all to advance Him throughout the rest of the world. It is important to revisit these rules and expectations, the Ten Commandments from time to time to ensure that we are indeed following the framework that was laid out for us from the very beginning.

What rules and expectations are you able to recall? Are you even aware that they are applicable even today? What if you revisited the rules and expectations, the Ten Commandments, set forth by God regularly to guide and direct you through this world?