Engaging fired up leaders who know who they are in Christ and are ready for the challenges of leading with integrity in society today and in the future. This is done by understanding and discussing Biblical Insight into Leadership principles and practices. There has only been one perfect role model for leadership. That only role model has been Jesus Christ.
I enjoy incorporating worship music into my blog posts. Some people enjoy listening while they read and others listen at the end.
What is truth? At the
surface it sounds like it should be an easy answer to offer. But as we see in our world today, truth is
becoming increasingly difficult to define.
Jesus said that the truth will set us free. Truth is a freeing word. But yet for a concept that should seem solid
there is so much disagreement about truth and who gets to define truth and how
truth should even be defined.
When I taught college writing classes I often did an
assignment where students would have to identify truth and opinion in
writing. Truth had facts that could not
be challenged. Truth was accepted ideas.
“The earth is the third planet from the
sun and has one moon,” is a truth. We
can verify this information. It is
accepted. On the other hand a statement
like “A raging fire is a terrifying thing,” is an opinion. It may be fact to one person, but to others
it may not be. We can debate this
concept, this idea. We can each have our
own interpretation of the fire.
There is a confidence in knowing what is true. This confidence can translate into confidence
for leaders and teachers. Leaders and
teachers want to be people of integrity who live lives of truth. But in our postmodern world what is truth and
what is opinion have become virtually interchanged. Many people will present opinion as truth. Leaders and teachers need to know truth. But with flexibility of truth, leaders and
teachers are sometimes left wondering just what is true.
As leaders who follow Christ we are confronted with
countless variations on the concept of truth.
In the past people held truth to a specific standard, truth was verifiable,
testable, and knowable. But in the postmodern
world truth is being defined by personal view and experiences and understanding
of those experience. A blending of
culture, experiences, and personal ideas combine to create a version of truth
defined by a specific person.
This flexible variation of truth, based in one’s
experiences, is presenting new challenges to leaders who want to follow Christ. Leading from the truth that is found in God’s
Word is not popular with the postmodern person who does not hold to a universal
truth found in Scripture. For these
postmodern people, biblical truth is often seen as intolerant. For the postmodern person personal conviction
is the base of postmodern morality.
When teaching the postmodern person, leaders must rely on
the Holy Spirit to make Gospel truths understandable and appealing. For the leader in a postmodern world leaders
need to begin with human needs. But this
does not mean watering down the Gospel message.
In teaching, leaders should remain fully committed to the Bible and
Scriptural authority. The message stays
the same, but the manner in which it gets communicated differs.
What is exciting today is that postmodern people will go on
the journey. They just won’t accept
something because we say it is so. But
the process of going on the journey builds commitment. As people discover for themselves the truth
of God’s Word they internalize it at a level where commitment is built. We see this commitment reveal itself with
strongly held conviction.
If we lead and teach from the truthfulness of Scripture, then
there is room and space for the Holy Spirit to convince people that God’s Word
is true; that the Word is the truth that will set them free. The Holy Spirit helps us trust God’s Word as
He makes it alive and real to us.
We can no longer assume that the people we work with, lead,
or teach are all working and living from the same worldview. Today, there has been so much blending and
mixing that biblical truth has become intertwined in ways that makes it easy to
challenge. Ultimately it is the Holy
Spirit that reveals the authority of Scripture.
When we lead and teach from this place, this foundation, then the
timeless truths of Scripture have the power to transform lives. What is important is to live and work from
the truth of Scripture.
God says that your name is capable. God says you can.
Sometimes we can be our own worst critic. We can be our own worst enemy. We can talk ourselves out of doing something
before we have even tried.
Philippians 4:13 (NIV): 13I can do
all this through him who gives me strength.
The Greek for strengthens me is endunamounti which literally means, “who empowers me”. It is God who empowers us to do what He has
called us to do.
Next to John 3:16 Philippians 4:13 is well quoted. We often see athletes quote Philippians 4:13
or write it somewhere on themselves when they are about to go on the field and
go against a formidable team described as stronger, better, or more
talented. The world may even say that
the apparent underdog team is highly successful according to the standards of
the game. But the members of the team
may still be unsure about their ability to win the game. Others may be screaming to get you out of the
game. But God says when we have an
attitude that is trusting in Him and aligned with His purpose, we can do all
things.
(Please watch the Video clip: Woodlawn: “Bring it In”)
I’ve met many people who are considered highly successful
according to the standards of the world.
They rise to positions of leadership, authority, and influence. They have awards to show their skills. They have the education to support their
position. Other people often call upon
the experience for advice or consultation on projects. And even with all of these worldly accolades,
many of them feel incompetent, insecure, and incapable. And then there are some other people who talk
themselves out of being successful and even sabotage themselves because they
believe that they don’t have the skills necessary.
(Video clip: Facing the Giants: “Narrow Way”)
Success isn’t always about the outward symbols. Those who understand what Scripture says find
the success that God has planned for them.
Those who are willing to play by God’s rules find His rewards and
blessings on their lives.
Sometimes our challenges seem too big. But when we think that there is not a way,
God will provide a way. Our ability to
do what God desires and has planned for us comes not from our own ability,
ingenuity, or spirituality, but from His enabling power.
(Please watch the Video clip: Woodlawn: “On this Day”)
Philippians 4:13 (NIV): 13I can do
all this through him who gives me strength.
Closing
God calls you capable.
When the odds seem against you… when all hope appears lost… this is just
the time when God is able to do more than we can ever imagine and it is all for
His glory. It is about leaning in on
Christ who gives us strength. We can
endure and achieve all things that Christ intends for us as we rely on His
presence, power, and purposes.
Paul, the writer of Philippians maintained a right and
positive attitude on any day, regardless of how it was going. Paul was an apostle who practiced what he
preached and taught.
Conclusion
But God says that we have value, we have worth. God says we are forgivable. God calls us capable. We have the skills and talents to do the work
that we have been called to do. We all
need to stop believing the lies that the enemy would use to undermine our worth. We need to start believing the promises of
God. God will never leave us. God’s plans are to prosper us and make us
successful. He will give us the strength
we need to do what needs to be done.
No matter what garbage people in your past have heaped on
you, God will take that and create beauty. God gives us beauty for ashes. Take a step and start praying and declaring
over yourself that you are valuable; you are loveable; you are capable; you are
forgivable; and that you are a child of God.
Believe what God has promised about you and for you. Believe that God says, “Yes you can!”.
We
are going to explore that in Christ we are forgivable. From the very beginning God had the plan for
forgiveness and reconciliation.
Many
times the tendency is to think that we have somehow "let God down."
That we could have done something that was so horrible that even He is unable
to forgive us. Last week we even talked
about thinking that we were not able to receive the gift of salvation offered
in Christ because we have done the unthinkable.
And this myth is often a reason why some people will not even come to
Church. That they cannot enter a church
until they get their lives in order.
But
God says that there is nothing so bad that He will ever keep His love and
forgiveness from you.
Ephesians 1:4-7 (NIV): 4For he chose us in him before the creation
of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us
for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure
and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in
the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.
God
promises to forgive us. So we
are going to cover three points.
-We are forgivable
-We need to repent
-We get a fresh start
We are
Forgivable
There
is nothing so bad that we could ever do.
Remember God knows the condition of the human heart. To claim the promise of forgiveness we need to
trust God. In Isaiah 43:25 we have a
great promise from the Lord.
Isaiah 43:25 (NIV): 25“I, even I, am he who blots out your
transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.
In
Christ, God calls us forgivable. God
forgives sin completely. We should
direct all glory to God alone for our salvation that He vows to us through His
one and only Son Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 5: 18 – 19 (NIV): 18All this is from God, who
reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not
counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of
reconciliation.
When
we believe that Christ has completed the atoning work for us on the cross and
that in Him we have salvation and eternal life we claim the promise of being
forgiven for our sins.
We need to Repent
We
have the promise of God’s forgiveness.
There is something that we must do and that is to repent, or turn away,
from the sinful life we are living and turn to God.
Acts 3:19 (NIV): 19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins
may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Those
who repent (turn away from their sin and turn to God) and ask for forgiveness
will be forgiven.
Psalm 51: 3-4 (NIV): 3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is
always before me. 4Against you, you
only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in
your verdict and justified when you judge.
We
first recognize that we have sinned; that we have done wrong. All of us have sinned and need to examine our
hearts for any areas that are not pleasing to God. A time of examination is a perfect time to
get right with God in any way needed. The repentance will be characterized by a
changed life and attitude, not just by sorrow or emotional feelings of
regret. Repentance requires a change in
action and direction.
When
we have wholeheartedly repented for our sins and we believe in our heart that
Jesus Christ died and rose for the forgiveness of sins we must never doubt that
we are indeed forgiven and that God has remembered no more those sins. We cannot pick those sins up again. What has been confessed and forgiven is not
to be taken back up. We must have
fullness of faith in the forgiveness.
We Get A Fresh
Start
When
we are forgiven for our sins (and believe in fullness of faith) we receive
absolution. In other words, in our faith
in Christ we are given a fresh start. Each day God’s mercy is new and
fresh.
1 Peter 1: 3-4 (NIV): 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an
inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in
heaven for you,
Peter
reminds us in these verses that because Christ died and rose from the dead, we
have been given a fresh start. In Christ
we have the promise of a new life, forgiven of our sins. God is to be praised for saving us. This hope of salvation is a rock solid
promise of God. Our redemption and eternal life with the inheritance are
guaranteed by Christ’s resurrection.
1 Corinthians 1:30 (NIV): 30It is because of him that you are in
Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness,
holiness and redemption.
All
of our life, both physical and spiritual, comes from God. We are alive because of Christ. It is all because of Jesus that we are alive.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV): 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the
new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
God
has forgiven (redeemed and restored) the believer into a new way of
existence. This new life is as a person
of faith in Jesus Christ who desires to live for Him alone. When we are in Christ, when we find our
identity in Christ, the old sinful nature, the sinful flesh, dies and the
believer is under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
Ephesians 4: 22 – 24 (NIV): 22You were taught, with regard to your
former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its
deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put
on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
In
baptism our old sinful life is drowned and we are given a new life. Through daily repentance we fight to keep the
old sinful nature from resurfacing.
From the beginning God has considered His creation
good. This is a promise we can believe
in and a promise we can take to the bank. The enemy will try to tell you that you do not
matter. That you are not valuable. That you deserve no respect. That you are not lovable. No matter what you
have done. No matter what mistakes you
have made. No matter what anyone else
says about you… God believes that you are valuable and lovable.
He believes this so much so that He sent His One and Only
Son, Jesus Christ to die for us so that we may have eternal life with Him. God will never forsake any of us. He loves you with a love that only He can
offer. He believes in your value. We need to believe this promise so that we
can love others and express our love for God the Father.
Tonight we are going to cover:
-You Are Valuable
-You Are Respectable
-You Are Lovable
God desires that we are successful. In our success we bring God glory, honor, and
praise. To be successful we need to
realize that in Christ we are valuable, respectable, and lovable. When we rightfully bring God these in worship
and thanksgiving we point others to the greatness of God.
(1)You Are
Valuable
What makes something valuable? Is it something that is rare? Is it something that is precious? Is it something that we cannot do
without? Just what does make something
valuable? Who determines whether
something is valuable?
Luke 12:24 (NIV): 24Consider the
ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds
them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!
God desires that we are free from worry and anxiety. God will make sure that we have everything
that we need. Now this is not to be
confused with those things that we desire as wants. God will give us those things that are good
for us. He will never give us what will
not be good for us. Jesus tells the
disciples here that we are to trust God.
If God will provide for the birds, then we can rest in the promise that
He will provide for our needs as well.
God believes that we are valuable. To God we are priceless.
(2)You Are Respectable
What does “esteem” mean?
When we hear about being esteemed what are we talking about? We are talking about respect. There are many people though who do not feel
that they deserve this respect. But
Scripture reminds us that we are worthy of respect. Daniel writes something about the angels that
is not found anywhere else in Scripture.
The good angels do battle with evil angels in defense of men.
Daniel 10:19 (NIV): 19“Do not be
afraid, you who are highly esteemed,” he said. “Peace! Be strong now; be
strong.”
Earlier in this 10th chapter of Daniel we hear
that Daniel has no strength. Daniel
repeatedly spoke of his weakness and prayed for his need to be
strengthened. There are times when we
feel weak and God loves us so much that He provides strength in those times we
feel weakest and lacking respect.
(3)You Are Lovable
God loves us. God’s
love is constant. It is not today I love
you and tomorrow I don’t. It is not
conditional love based on what you do.
God’s love is unconditional and constant. God’s love is consistent.
Isaiah 54:10 (NIV): 10Though the
mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you
will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has
compassion on you.
Here mountains are talking about the world. The world may fall apart. The hills may come down. But God’s love and His promises are
permanent. We are redeemed, forgiven,
and accounted righteous by Christ’s sacrifice.
Conclusion
God desires that we come to Him and bring Him glory, praise,
and honor. There is rejoicing in heaven
every time a person repents and turns to God and believes in Jesus Christ,
God’s only Son and our Lord and Savior.
In God’s promises all throughout Scripture we are reminded that we are
valuable because He loves all of us and He has accepted you in Christ. In Christ we are free to live as God intended
us to live.
Why does God love us in this way? Because He finds the value in each and every
one of us as His children. God will
always love us with a love that honestly we do not deserve. God loves us so much that as recorded in John
3:16, He sent His only son to save us by a death on a cross to pay a price that
we could not pay. There is nothing that
we can do to earn the love except receive the gift of faith through God’s grace
and love. We can never “do” enough to
earn this type of unconditional love.
That is why we need Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
God surrounds us with His love. His love which is constant, unfailing, and
not dependent on what we do or do not do.
In God’s eyes in Christ we are valuable and we are lovable no matter
what we have done.
Prayer
Heavenly Father. Your
everlasting and permanent Word promises that we are Your children. Let your Holy Word remind us that in Christ
You see each of us as valuable and lovable.
Let us be reminded that Your love is never ending, always abounding, and
never changing. Your love is not based
on what we do. Amen!
How
do you define yourself? What is it that
determines your identity? Is it your
physical characteristics? Is your
identity determined by your parents? Are
you more like your mom or dad?
Is
your identity found in your personality?
Is your identity formed by your experiences? Is identity based on what you do? Is your identity based on your hobbies or
work? Is it based on your school?
Is
your identity defined by your latest update on facebook, instagram, twitter?
Over
the next several weeks we are going to explore who we are in Christ. Christ
came so that we can have life and have it to the full.
Identity
is defined as the distinguishing character or personality of an individual.
We
can often confuse what the world claims our identity to be and what our
identity is in Christ.
In
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) we learn that we gain a new identity in Christ. 17Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is
here!
God
has redeemed, restored, and recreated the believer as a person of faith in
Christ. God sees you through His son Jesus Christ. Our identity is in Christ. God desires for us to grow into the image or
likeness of Christ. In Christ the sinful
flesh has died and the believer surrenders to the Lordship of Jesus.
Through
the next couple of weeks we are going to take a closer look at how God sees us
through Christ.
We
are going to examine what is meant by our identity in Christ. We’ll look at how this identity is formed and
shaped in three areas.
· - The messages of the world.
· - God made us with a purpose.
· - The promise is this: You are a child of God.
(1)The messages
of the world.
Good,
bad, ugly, or indifferent, we are constantly bombarded by messages. The messages that the world provides gives us
a clue about the identity that the world would have for us. And by “world” we mean our culture; our
society.
To
the world image is of the utmost importance.
The world has us compare ourselves to others. How do we look? Do we wear the right clothes? Do we make the right amount of money? The world uses messages that cause you to
question your perfection. The world
causes us to take on names like “disappointment” “regret” “weak” “fear”
“failure”.
The
messages of the work cause you to question whether you are thin enough, strong
enough, smart enough. Do you have what
it takes? Use this product and more
people will like you. The world’s
message for your identity is that you need to make a lot of money, gain power,
and gain prestige and fame. And if you
do not gain those things you are a failure.
Using the world’s definition of identity can lead us to feel condemned. Using the world’s definition of identity can
lead us to choose something that dishonors God and separate us from His love.
And
this is not the plan that God has for you.
His plan calls you to be seen through His son Jesus Christ.
Romans 12:2 (NIV): 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but
be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
We
are taught through Scripture to not conform to the pattern or teaching of the
world. The world is not stable. The world deals with trends, fads, popularity
polls, and passing fancies. The patterns
of the world place unrealistic expectations on us. We become concerned about how many people
like our latest post or photo on social media.
The messages of the world get in the way of being who God created you to
be.
(2)God Made You
With a Purpose
You
have been wonderfully created by God and redeemed by the work Christ completed
on the cross. As a child of God you have
a purpose. God has a role for you to
play.
Psalm 139: 13 – 16 (NIV):
13For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s
womb. 14I praise you because I am
fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
I know that full well. 15My
frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was
woven together in the depths of the earth.
16Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were
written in your book before one of them came to be.
We
are God’s creation. There is nothing
hidden from God as we grew. God has
written out our entire life story. Even
though we are each created after the fall in the Garden, God acknowledges and
claims us as His work.
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV): 10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ
Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
When
we become aligned to God’s purpose for our lives; His plan; His agenda the work
we do is not to gain our salvation, but is a result of being saved and aligned
with God’s purpose for our life. We
therefore cannot lay claim to the work or the results of the work, for God
created these for us to do in Christ.
(3)The Promise is
This: You Are a Child of God
If
you are a believer in Christ, this means to think of yourself as "Who you
are in Christ." Remember "you
are a child of the One True King."
We can be slaves of the world or we can be free in Christ. In Christ, you have been set free from the
bondages (the messages, the desires) of the world. You have been set free from the condemnation
that comes from not being considered good enough.
Galatians 4:7 (NIV): 7So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child;
and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
By
God’s grace, each of us can regard ourselves as an heir to all spiritual
blessings. For many this can become a
mind boggling thought. And many consider
themselves undeserving us this heirship that they have in Christ. This is an incredible promise.
When
we need reminding that we are the children of God we just need to turn our
attention to Romans 8: 16-17.
Romans 8: 16-17 (NIV): 16The Spirit himself testifies with our
spirit that we are God’s children. 17Now if we are children, then we are
heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his
sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
This
is a great promise. It can’t get any
better. To be a co-heir with Christ means
to have all the blessings that God has for us.
The Holy Spirit assures us that we are God’s children. No matter what we have done or by what name
we may have been called or assumed, the promise is that we are redeemed by
Jesus Christ and made full heirs to the promise of Abraham. Our full status as God’s children makes us
beneficiaries of everything Christ posses.
Christ has given us access to the Father. We are truly co-heirs.
By
being God’s children, we gain an inheritance, the promise which Paul had
earlier described in Romans —
Romans 4:13-16 (NIV): 13It was not through the law that Abraham and
his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but
through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14For if those who depend on the
law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, 15because the
law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.
16Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace
and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of
the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us
all.
So
we are no longer slaves to the law. In
Christ the Law has been fulfilled. People
could not keep the Law as it had been given.
The Law became a bondage to the people.
We are co-heirs through Christ. Paul
reminds his listeners and readers that we should not ever return to the life of
slavery that we have been saved from.
In
the victory of the Cross we have a new and eternal life. As God’s child we can enjoy the riches of His
blessings. As God’s children we are not
to take on the names of regret, guilt, shame, and defeat.
As
we are reminded in Romans 8:16, the Holy Spirit tells that we are adopted as God’s
children. We are children of the One
True King. We have been set free by the
work that Christ did for us on the cross.
He paid a price that we could never have paid. We are God’s children. In that promise we can stand firm.
PRAYER - Lord, we pray that You
will help us truly understand our uniqueness.
Help us to see ourselves not a sum of our failures or successes but as
You see us, as your children. We thank
You for salvation through Jesus Christ and that we have taken on His identity
as we are clothed in His righteousness, Amen.
