Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the month “June, 2023”

26 Jun 2023

Wholehearted Obedience

Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. … He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly. 2 Chronicles 25:1-2 NIV

Beware of half-hearted obedience! You may be compliant on the outside, but your hearts are far from what the Lord desires. Jesus rebuked the Jewish leaders for their hypocrisy, ” ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.'” Matthew 15:8-9 NIV

Obedience to God is a matter first of our hearts and then our actions. These two must be aligned for wholehearted obedience instead of half-hearted obedience.

Amaziah was a king of conflicting values. There were times during his leadership when he obeyed God. Yet, there were other times when he rebelled and disobeyed. Thus, the author of 2 Chronicles says of him, ‘he did what was right, but not wholeheartedly.’

The word ‘mediocre’ comes from two Latin roots which literally means, ‘half-way up the mountain.’ A half-hearted obedience is one sets off for the summit, but settles for half-way to the top!

Is your leadership ‘mediocre?’ Have you settled for half-way to the summit?

Do you find yourself struggling with wholehearted obedience to God?

It’s never too late to change your heart and obey wholeheartedly the direction the Lord has given.

Do it today!

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , , , ,
19 Jun 2023

Beware of Lighting Your Own Fires

Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on their God. 11 But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment. Isaiah 50:10-11 NIV

All Kingdom leaders have times when they do not know what to do, how to do it, or when to execute it. When leaders arrive at these pivotal moments they have a choice to make. They can choose to trust in the Lord and rely upon God to show them the way forward or they can trust in their own thinking/logic/experience and reap the consequence.

Those who trust in God and obey Him will not be forsaken or forgotten. He will lead you forward – in His way and in His time. Note what He promises in Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) : Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. He will show you the path to take! Count on it!

But this promise comes with a caution to ‘not depend upon your own understanding.’ The word ‘depend’ or in the NIV it says, ‘lean upon,’ means to place your full weight for support in it. Thus, as we seek the path to take we don’t use our logic/experience alone to find the way forward. Don’t put your full weight upon this for God’s ways are often different for our ways. See Isaiah 55:8-9. Use your mind, but don’t rely solely upon it! Those who do trust in themselves, who ‘walk in the light of their own fires’ will reap the consequences. The law of the harvest cannot be avoided – we reap what we sow.

What choices are you facing today? What light do you have from the Lord? Are you obediently following?

What light are you creating by setting your own torches ablaze? Are you willing to forsake your own self-created light and repent in order to follow Him?

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , ,
12 Jun 2023

A Leader’s Timing

Note the response of Jesus in both of the following incidents and His sense of timing regarding His overall mission. 

When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”  “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”  John 2:3-4 NIV

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.  John 17:1 NIV

Jesus was very aware of why the Father had sent Him and He states that He completed the mission when praying in John 17 in the upper room.  He says in John 17:4, “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” He had a task to do and a timetable within which to accomplish it.  No, He didn’t need a Gantt chart to manage all of the components of this world-alternating mission!  But He was very aware that as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, He was to be sacrificed on the Passover.  His timing had to be perfectly aligned to accomplish all He intended. And it was!

A Kingdom leader’s sense of timing related to the mission is essential for the best outcomes.  One may have the right initiatives in mind, but if the timing related to the mission is not right, it can lead to confusion, mission delays, and set back.  A leader must not only know what to do, but also when to do it! 

When the timing is right, Kingdom leaders can expect confirmation from the Lord.  For the Lord does not want us wondering about His work that He has asked us to accomplish. 

But if the timing is wrong, expect the Lord to raise up a ‘slow’ sign as we reflect and rethink the timing of our initiatives.  You will know when it is right to move ahead or when it is best to slow down and rethink the intended actions – both the ‘when’ and the ‘what.’ 

Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , ,
05 Jun 2023

“I Am” All You Need

The Lord is continually seeking to remind us to depend upon Him. He states and restates that “I am” all that you need in life and leadership. Trust in me!

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” Exodus 3:13-14 ESV

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 ESV

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35 ESV

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 ESV

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58 ESV

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9 ESV

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11 ESV

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live… John 11:25 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 ESV

So, how is your dependence on the great “I Am?”

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks and tagged , , , , , , , , ,

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