Christ-follower, Husband, Dad, Pastor

servant

September 30, 2014

Do Something Extraordinary

God wants ordinary people like you and me to do extraordinary things for His glory. Extraordinary incidents testify God is working through us. Our steps of faith show the people around us how great HE is. It really is not about us. Our attitude needs to match John the Baptist who declared about Christ, “He must increase; I must decrease.” Stay humble and let God do His thing.

“The people who KNOW THEIR GOD shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God].” (Daniel 11:32b AMP)

Relationship with God opens the door for exploits – not in your own might, but in His power. When you know your God, you display great STRENGTH. When you know your God, you take quick ACTION. When you know your God, you act valiantly. When you know your God, you STAND FIRM. When you know your God, you prosper. When you know your God, you battle against kingdom of darkness. When you know your God, you DO EXPLOITS.

If you are thinking “I can’t do that”, you are the exact one to whom God is calling today. God works through ordinary people. God doesn’t quit on His projects until the job is completed, and He isn’t finished making you into what He wants. The worst thing you could do is disqualify yourself by giving up.

You are qualified to do something – simply because you are a believer. God has a plan and purpose for you. The enemy desires to stop or steal what God wants to give to you. Don’t let the devil steal it! Accept the reality Christ’s forgiveness. You blew it in the past, okay, but the blood of Jesus cleanses. God forgives. You can do exploits, not because you are perfect, but because you are in Christ. Don’t worry if its messy, you can do something significant.

God saved you to serve. Saved people serve people. Find a need and fill it; find a hurt and heal it. The bigger the need you fill the bigger the glory God receives. Do something extraordinary for the Lord. Serve Him by serving others at work, at home, at church.

God works through ordinary people. Let Him work through you. Do something extraordinary for His glory.

March 28, 2013

Audience of One

Are you living before One Audience – the Lord Jesus Christ? To what audience are you playing? You will either play to an Audience of One or to an audience of many. Do you desire to please God or impress people?

When you aren’t seeking to be noticed or publicized or praised, you are released to accomplish great things for God’s Kingdom. Perhaps that is reason  Valley Fellowship Church has made such a significant impact – we want to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in the Tennessee Valley and around the world. We don’t do what we do to get praise for ourselves. We want to see Jesus exalted!

Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth, but His essential audience was not people who surrounded Him. Jesus said, “I always do the things that are pleasing to Him [Heavenly Father].” (John 8:29b NASB) Jesus wasn’t interested in crowd approval (John 5:44) and He rebuked His listeners, “How could you possibly believe? You like to have your friends praise you, and you don’t care about praise that the only God can give!” (John 5:44 CEV)

“Most of us, whether we are aware of it or not, do things with an eye to the approval of some audience or other. The question is not whether we have an audience but which audience we have. . . . A life lived listening to the decisive call of God is a life lived before one audience that trumps all others – the Audience of One.” (Os Guinness, The Call, p. 70)

Paul was a God-pleaser, not a man-pleaser. I agree with Kent Hughes assessment that “Paul would have loved Eric Liddell—the runner who placed spiritual conviction and loyalty to Christ above Olympic or national glory!” (Acts: The Church Afire, p. 289) Paul lived his life before an Audience of One. Consider his words:

  • “We do not aim to please men, but to please God who knows us through and through.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4 PHILLIPS)
  •  “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” (Galatians 1:10 NLT)
  • “Be assured that when we speak to you we’re not after crowd approval—only God approval.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4 MSG)

The Gospel of John criticizes the leaders of Jesus’ day who “were more concerned about what people thought of them than about what God thought of them.” (John 12:43 GW) Are you playing your life before an Audience of One, or playing before many: your peers, your neighbors, your mentors, your family? Who you choose as your audience has a tremendous impact upon your life.

People adjust their lifestyle based upon the people around them. Children attune their own tastes, pursuing parental praise. Employees perform for a boss, or will be fired. Students adjust to the wishes of a teacher. Writers heed their readers, putting pen to what sells. Basketball players respond to fans, drawing energy, heart to play. Teenagers play to their peers, claiming to be an individual, yet listening to what others listen, dressing comparably to their friends, even styling their hair like their cliché. Have you noticed how your audience shapes your life?

The Puritans lived as if they had swallowed gyroscopes; we modern Christians live as if we have swallowed Gallup polls. Or as Martin Luther King wrote in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, “in those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.” Leaders or panderers? Gyroscope or Gallup poll? Thermostat or thermometer? Only those who practice the presence of the Audience of One can hope to attain the former and escape the latter. (The Call, p. 73)

To live before an Audience of One is to consider what He thinks as what counts the most. Satisfying life results from pleasing God, not pouring out your energy for temporal praise. Seeking to live for an Audience of One — the Lord Jesus Christ —liberates you from operating out of a response to what others say about you. Make the decision now to surrender your life and your lifestyle to the Lord. Ultimate success is not fame, fortune, or power, but hearing God’s commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

March 25, 2013

How to Exercise Authority Without Being Authoritarian

Authority can be found but not the way most of the world goes after it. You don’t push others  down for the Lord to lift you up. Jesus Christ models servant leadership; He turns worldly power systems and values upside-down. Christ-followers are not to adopt the “king-of-the-mountain” mentality of worldly leadership.

You have witnessed a boss, a coach, a politician, a policeman, or a parent “throw their weight around” and  you understand the reality “when people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads” (Mark 10:42 MSG). Perhaps, your heart cried out like the writer of Ecclesiastes 4:1 (NIRV), “I looked and saw how much people were suffering on this earth. I saw the tears of those who are suffering . . . Power is on the side of those who beat them down. Those who are suffering don’t have anyone to comfort them.”

But Christ’s call to leadership is counter-cultural. You ARE to be a leader – one who exercises authority without becoming authoritarian.

You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.  (Mark 10:42-45 NLT)

God’s Word warns, “Among leaders who lack insight, abuse abounds.” (Proverbs 28:16a MSG) God expects His delegated authority to be exercised with wisdom, not abuse. In 10 Choices: A Proven Plan to Change Your Life Forever, Chicago pastor James MacDonald offers tips for evaluating how we are handling the authority entrusted to us:

I know I’m abusing my authority when I keep reminding people of my title and my position.
I know I’m abusing my authority when I expect or demand privilege.
I know I’m abusing my authority when I become comfortable with personal praise.
I know I’m abusing my authority when I resent, react, or am threatened by challenges to my authority.
I know I’m abusing my authority when I’m unmoved by an individual. (p. 227-230)

Cherish the nature of the authority entrusted to you. As you esteem God’s leadership and respect your co-laborers in God’s House, a dimension of authority is entrusted to you. You must exercise this empowerment with Godly wisdom. With recognition of God’s call, you seriously and humbly undertake service with appreciation of Christ as the head of the body.

How do you exercise authority without becoming authoritarian?

#1  Serve – Don’t Decree.

You aren’t called to dominate and dictate.“If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35 NIV)

Leadership is not getting above others in prestige and power.  It is servantship – getting down under the load of human need to bear it sacrificially and redemptively.  According to this standard, the measure of greatness is not prominence but humility, not excellence but faithfulness, not authority but obedience, not being served but service… leadership is servantship.  (Gaines S. Dobbins, Learning to Lead, 1968, p. 31)

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Don’t look down on others.“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” (Romans 12:3 NIV)

Even though we had some standing as Christ’s apostles, we never threw our weight around or tried to come across as important, with you or anyone else. We weren’t aloof with you. We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children. (1 Thessalonians 2:6-7 MSG)

#3  Model – Don’t Dominate.

“Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.” (1 Peter 5:3 NLT) Great leadership is not lording-over or striving for superiority, for leadership involves sacrifice and service. Paul lived this, “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.” (Philippians 3:17 NIV)

#4  Associate – Don’t Strut.

Don’t be stuck-up or toffee-nosed. “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” (Romans 12:10 NLT) We are equal in Christ. One is not superior to another. Male, female, young, old, whatever race or background – we share communion and fellowship in ONE Body.

#5  Mutually Submit – Don’t Intimidate.

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21 NIV) Coercive bullying is not a spiritual gift, even if at times it looks as if something is accomplished. Strong-arming does not pay heavenly dividends and intimidation will not yield lasting results.

Living under authority necessitates accountability to those who have placed you in your position – your leaders and your Lord. Jesus Christ is Lord! Respect the distinction between Lordship and leadership!

Are you leading and influencing others in a direction which furthers God’s Kingdom purposes?

February 27, 2013

You are saved by grace but you serve by choice.

I appreciate the staff at Valley Fellowship Church! Pastor Will Umbarger is an anointed minister and a great pastor for young adults at Valley Fellowship, but this afternoon, I caught Pastor Will installing a lock in a VFCA classroom. Why? He understands service!

Valley Fellowship Christian Academy Open House is Saturday afternoon, and Will is doing what was needed to have this classroom ready for guests. You are welcome to join us on Saturday, March 2, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Please, drop by! You can get more information at http://valleyfellowship.com/academy_home.php. The teachers and staff are BIG reasons why VFCA is the best school in Huntsville, Alabama (and beyond!). They understand that service is required of a servant of God.

Are you willing to do what’s necessary to serve in God’s kingdom?

If everyone in your local church was just like you, what kind of church would your church be?

All-out surrender is demanded of a servant. The “serve me” mentality of modern culture goes against what Jesus says in Mark 10:35-45. Jesus talks of being a servant. “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant (v. 43 NIV); For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (v. 45 NIV).”

For the Greek the highest ideal was self-determination expressed in freedom. Thus the Greek looked upon the slave as an inferior kind of person. It would have been contradictory to the Greek ideal to speak of becoming a servant to another, even to God. Christianity stood this ideal upon its head. (Harper’s Bible Dictionary, Harper & Row, 1985)

Hebrew slaves were to be freed after a period of time, but someone who had been a slave, then set free, could by choice commit to serve the master for life. I think that is the imagery that Paul (Rom 1:1), James (James 1:1), Simon Peter (2 Peter 1:1), and Jude (Jude 1)  highlighted.

You are saved by grace but you serve by choice. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV)

You must choose to submit to God’s control. Are you ready to serve God by serving others?

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