God is a gracious and loving God. Some of you may have heard about six youths that were murdered one half hour’s drive from me in
For two weeks Pastor Allan Kasumgami from
One piece of news regarding my work at attaining a funding grant for the Missions Conference in
WHAT IS GOD PREPARING YOU FOR?
When Peter fell into a trance in Acts 10 and had the vision about the sheet coming down from heaven with all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles and birds on it, he was in for one of the biggest shocks of his life. A voice spoke to him three times, telling him to eat of these things which were unclean to Jews. He was not about to defile his Jewish heritage.
Yet when the servants and soldier of the Gentile Cornelius sought an audience with Peter, the Spirit told Peter to meet them and he obeyed. These Gentiles entered a Jewish home and fellowshipped with him.
For Peter the vision of eating unclean things and allowing Gentiles into the home were extremely radical, both going against the traditions and cultures the Jews and Peter held dearly. It was a new chapter in the history of the Church. God was breaking up prejudices and stereotypes with this event.
As spiritual leaders we must choose whether we will obey men (traditions, biases, cultures, traditions, peer pressure) or God. We need to flush out the differences between what is Biblical and cultural Christianity. Years ago I was told, “Don’t let your theology (or culture), get in the way of your ministry.” The culture part has been added because it is easy to justify the way I am used to doing something or a practice I have been involved in, that it can keep me from carrying out my obedience to the Spirit’s leading.
Jesus in John 8 had every right and justification to throw the first of many stones at the adulterous woman, who was brought by the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. She was caught in an adulterous act and the Law stated that one was then to be stoned to death. It was a clear as day. Yet He did not let His theology get in the way of ministering. He saw her heart and offered forgiveness. Jesus was not advocating the concept that grace abounds, so it is okay to sin. Rather He was offering grace, knowing the heart and encouraging the woman to repent and be changed.
Peter’s culture and traditions screamed at him not to accept the vision of eating unclean creatures because is was all that he had known. His religious background was interwoven with Biblical truth and the two were in separate. We tend to view how we live our various portions of Scripture as the only way. For example, it is tradition to have church on Sunday mornings. People argue over the idea of moving the church service to another day, even to the point of saying it is not Biblical or “un”Christian.
Due to the fact that
That is one example of determining what is Biblical versus cultural Christianity. Again for those God has called to be spiritual leaders of the Church, we need to follow the Spirit’s leading and be bold to go against the flow of tradition and cuture when God leads us in a different direction. It was not easy for Peter, nor is for us, but his obedience opened the door for Gentiles to be a part of the Body of Christ here on earth.
COKE BOTTLE ILLUSTRATION
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The lesson of the Coke bottle at its simplest is that no matter what the label on the container, it is the contents of the container that spill out. In much the same way, no matter the label that is placed on us, it is out of the overflow of our hearts that our mouths speak (Luke
We also need to recognize that the world around us does not naturally fill us with good things. These are things that come from the Holy Spirit dwelling within us (John
Another application that can be made is with 2 bottles – 1 small and 1 large – pointing out that as the level of our influence increases, our “capacity for spillage” also increases.
YOUTH MINISTRY INSIGHT
Here is a story and idea about having your youth work at serving people in your city or village. Your youth group will receive positive reactions from people and may introduce people not familiar with your group.
A group of teenager and adults with Teen Missions International traveled to a Muslim town in
During the time there the TMI people were cordial, friendly and the towns people enjoyed having them there. Building the outhouse was such a joy for the mayor of the city that when it was completed, he wanted to have a dedication ceremony. Painting the outside blue was the final step in the project so the dedication occurred after that.
The Mayor invited all the people from that city, plus dignitaries from their regional government and surrounding cities. He had the Teen Missions students and adults sitting in front of the huge audience for they were being honored for serving their city by doing this project. Speeches were made, refreshments were served and Teen Missions was requested to return to the city the following summer.
Here in this Muslim city, Christian teens impacted people of other world religions by serving them. They won the right to be heard (sharing their faith) by serving. These students did exactly as Jesus did for the He came to earth to serve by giving up His life as a ransom for each of our sinful lives (Mark
Do not ever let anyone say you are not old enough to make an impact in someone else’s life. Whom can you serve today with a simple act of kindness? It does not need to be a huge spectacular thing; perhaps only the person to whom the act was done for will ever know someone served him/her.
You will be living out your faith and living as Jesus did on earth. Serving is one of the most impacting ways to influence people, whether someone who is already a Christian or a person of a different religion.
SCRIPTURE-BASED PRAYERS
To Have Your People Pray For You and Other Pastors
- Father, I thank You that no weapons formed against my pastor will prosper. Every tongue raised against my shepherd will be cast down. Rumors and gossip will be turned aside. For _______ will be still before the Lord and wait on You. My pastor will dwell in the shadow of the Most High God and will be delivered from terror, darts of doubt, and diseases (Ps. 91:5-6). Set Your angels about my pastor (Ps. 91:11) and no power of the enemy shall harm ________ (Lk.
- Lord, let _______ have a discerning mind to prioritize the precious minutes in the day. Let my pastor discern what is most important and be guarded against the tyranny of the urgent (2 Cor.
QUOTES ON LEADERSHIP
“No one needs to aspire to leadership in the work of God who is not prepared to pay a price greater than his contemporaries and colleagues are willing to pay. True leadership always extracts a heavy toll on the whole man, and the more effective the leadership is, the higher the price to be paid.” J. Oswald Sanders
“A man’s ability to make and maintain enduring friendships will in general be the measure of his ability to lead.” J. Oswald Sanders
“It is a rare person who comes along and raises the standards of excellence, who captures the hearts of many and who inspires a group of individuals on to achieve the impossible.” Successories
“Leadership is the ability to translate vision into reality” Warren Bennis
“Authority is given to serve, not to set you apart.” John Bevere
“A sign of a great leader is the proper placement of people.” John Maxwell
