Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “kingdom leaders”

The Basics are Basic #2

ASSURANCE OF SALVATION

Memory verse:

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1 John 5:11-12

What is the Meaning of Eternal Life?

John 17:3  Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Colossians 3:4  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Eternal life is a personal relationship with God which lasts eternally and begins the moment we put our trust in Jesus as our Savior.

How Do We Obtain Eternal Life?

John 1:12  Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God–

John 5:24  “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

John 20:31  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Acts 16:31  They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household.”

Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–

1 John 5:11-12  And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Eternal life begins the moment we put our trust in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.  At that moment we become a child of God, a member of God’s eternal family (Romans 8:15-16).

Can Eternal Life Be Lost?

John 10:27-30  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

John 14:16-17  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Romans 8:35-39  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 1:13-14  And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 4:30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Philippians 1:6  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 10:12-14  But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.  Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

1 Peter 1:5  who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

2 John 1:2  because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

Eternal life cannot be lost. God’s Holy Spirit, who lives within all true believers, is our seal and guarantee of eternal life.  If we seek to live a life of obedience to Christ and His Word we will grow in our relationship with God.

What Happens When Believers Sin?

1. When God’s children (believers) sin, communication with their Heavenly Father is hindered, but they remain God’s children. We are not removed from God’s family.

Isaiah 59:2  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

1 Peter 3:7  Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

2. Believers who fall into sin must confess their sins to God in prayer so that their communication with their Heavenly Father can be restored again.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

3.  If a “Christian” falls into sin and then begins to mock Christ, it is obvious that they never truly believed.

1 John 2:18-19  Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.  They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

The Basics are Basic #1

THE GOSPEL

Memory verse:

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”
John 5:24

What is the Meaning of the Gospel?

1.  The bible says that there are three things that are common to all people:  1) all have sinned (Romans 3:23), 2) all will die (Romans 5:12) and 3) all will stand before God in judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

2.  Because of sin, people are separated from God and will die; death is physical, but also spiritual separation from God; God who is Most Holy, cannot relate with man who is sinful.

3.  People often seek to bridge the gap of separation back to God by various means such as trying to live a good, moral life or being faithful in their religion.

4.  But God says that all these good deeds will not help us bridge this gap and end the separation (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Mankind needs a Savior who is able to bridge this gap and bring them to God.

5.  Jesus Christ came to deliver mankind from death; to “bring us to God.” He was put to death to pay the penalty for our sin and raised from the dead as proof that salvation is through Him.  Jesus is the bridge to bring people back to a right relationship with God (1 Peter 3:18).  He is the Savior!

6.  God offers eternal life with Himself and the forgiveness of sin if we fulfill two conditions:  1) we must hear the gospel and 2) we must believe (John 5:24).

7.  By believing we put our trust in Christ to save us from our sin and renounce our sinful ways.  We must invite Him into our life (John 1:12; Revelation 3:20).

You can have your sins forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life now by praying and asking God to forgive you and telling Him you want Jesus as your Savior.

Prayer is simply talking with God.  Our words are not as important as the attitude of our heart.  We place our trust in Christ by praying a prayer like this:

“Dear Heavenly Father, I admit that I am a sinner.  I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for me.  I trust Jesus to forgive my sins right now.  Let me start a new and meaningful life with you today.  Amen.”

You have heard the gospel.  Have you believed and put your trust in Jesus?

Retirement – Is it Biblical?

Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere
your God. I am the LORD.       Leviticus 19:32

The bible does not speak specifically to the subject of retirement.  But just because this topic is not addressed, we must not conclude that retirement is unbiblical.  The bible does not address riding in an airplane, but we don’t conclude therefore that airplane rides are unbiblical.

The bible does address the subject of aging and treatment of the elderly.  Therefore, though we may not have an organizational obligation to those who are older, we do have a moral and a biblical obligation to them.

Elders
The OT elders and the NT elders were people of influence and authority.  While not exactly equivalent, we can draw guidance from both examples of how they contributed to the work of God and how they were to be treated by others.

Peter reminds us, “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed:  Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older.”  (1 Peter 5:1-5)  Note that these passages speak to both attitudes and contribution for the elders.  And Paul says, “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.” (1 Timothy 5:17)

The Aging
Leviticus 19:32 exhorts us to, “Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.”  James 1:27 also reminds us, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Passages that address the treatment of aging parents are also instructive for us.  Jesus made sure that his own mother was well cared for after His death by entrusting her care to the Apostle John (see John 19:25-27).  It’s fascinating to contemplate that the care of Jesus’ mother was remanded to an apostle and not to one of His own family members.

Paul instructs Timothy concerning the care of aging parents, “But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.”  (1 Timothy 5:8)  He continues, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8)

 

Retirement – A Modern Concept?

Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere
your God. I am the LORD.     Leviticus 19:32

The LORD said to Moses, “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the Tent of Meeting, but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves must not do the work.      Numbers 8:23-26

The concept of retirement from work into a season of leisure, self-enjoyment and self-fulfillment took root in the 1950s in America.  Workers were encouraged to save for the future with those savings being used for self-indulgence and personal pleasure – a reward for the hard work one had to ‘endure’ during their working career.  Communities for ‘seniors’ emerged and the concept of a leisurely season of retirement after a work career ended became a destination.

With increasing longevity and life-expectancy growing dramatically due to improvements in health care, workers can now expect that their retirement years may be longer than their working years.  Increasing cost of living, increasing medical costs, and poor financial planning lead to aging American workers seeking to extend their working years so that they have income to live and possibly save for a longer than expected life.  Seniors working as Wal-Mart greeters and counter help at McDonald’s are now common.

The fracturing of the American family and the geographical scattering of children from their parents compound any possible means of caring for an aging population.  Few churches have adequate means or a vision for caring for the aging in their congregations.

What does the bible say about aging and caring for the aging? What should be the responsibilities of the local church toward our aging congregations?  Are there different expectations for aging Christian workers contrasted with marketplace workers?  What do we believe about the subject of retirement?

More to come….

Retirement Age at 65?

Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere
your God. I am the LORD.    Leviticus 19:32

The LORD said to Moses, “This applies to the Levites:  Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the Tent of Meeting, but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer.  They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves must not do the work.    Numbers 8:23-26

Retirement is a modern concept.  Cotton Mather, the Puritan firebrand, in the early 1700s attempted to encourage aging workers to consider being “…pleased with the Retirement you are dismissed into.”  This concept did not mean the worker would receive a monthly pension; rather it was an encouragement for the older to step aside and let the younger have a place of contribution.  Until the Industrial Revolution, mankind simply worked until they could work no longer.  It was the move away from primarily an agrarian society and to a factory work environment that was less physically demanding that gave older workers an opportunity to continue to work to increasingly older age.

In 1883, Chancellor van Bismarck of Germany had to face the growing attraction of the Marxists who were promising aging German factory workers an old age pension.  To counter the Marxists, van Bismarck offered to pay the German factory workers to stop working and receive a monthly payment from the government.*  He chose the age of 65 as the age to stop working.  It is interesting to note that the life expectancy in Germany at the time was 62 years of age!

By 1935 the Depression was in full bloom and President Franklin D. Roosevelt had to address the issue of caring for aging American workers who had lost their savings in the Depression and had little support to make it to old age.  The Social Security Act of 1935 established the age of 65 as the retirement age for American workers.  It is also interesting to note that the life expectancy for American workers in 1935 was 58 for men and 62 for women.  And now, with the Amended Social Security Act of 1988, the retirement age is gradually being raised to 67 by the year 2025 with life expectancy for men being 76 and women being 81.

It would seem that the age of 65 is a seemingly random and one adopted in a context very different from today’s.  But what about the entire concept of retirement?  Is it something that we should be aiming for?  More to come….

*  N.Y. Times, The History of Retirement, From Early Man to A.A.R.P.    March 21, 1999

A History of US Revivals

The history of America has been marked by multiple great movements of God’s Spirit. These intense periods of the Spirit’s activity begin with a deep work in the hearts of believers and then moves outward into the hearts and lives of those that don’t know Christ. Christians are “revived” in their walk with God as they confess sin and their renewed heart gives boldness in their witness to the unsaved.

Most church historians would agree that there have been six periods of revival in America. Let’s examine these revivals and draw some parallels for today.

1730-40 Revival The Great Awakening
The first movement of the Spirit of God in America occurred before American independence. The Great Awakening saw many of the colonists touched in a profound way. There were few colleges in the colonies during this time, but those that did exist were profoundly visited.

1805-06 Revival The 2nd Great Awakening
The 2nd Great Awakening began around 1805 and lasted for more than two decades. Though historians differ as to the exact dates, none doubt the profound work of God in the lives of many, especially the college students of the day.

At small Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, three students met in dorm room for prayer and Scripture reading. A student mob gathered outside the door swearing and shouting threats to stop the meeting or suffer the consequences. College president John Blair came to investigate the uproar and after discovering the cause, was vexed in his spirit at the moral state of his student body. The next week the meeting met in the president’s parlor with one-half the student body present. Revival swept the college and the country.

At Yale College “a spiritual revival took place that shook the institution to its center” In a letter from a student to his mother he wrote, “Yale college is a little temple: prayer and praise seem to be the delight of the greater part of the students while those who are still unfeeling are awed into respectful silence.”

1857-58 Revival The Prayer Revival
The third movement of God’s Spirit began with a noon prayer meeting in New York City on Sept. 23, 1857. Six people gathered to pray for the city and their neighborhoods. Within 6 months 10,000 gathered daily for noonday prayer in New York and the revival moved to campuses across America. The YMCA came to America from England, expanded into collegiate ministry in 1858, and was on 180 campuses by 1884.

1905-06 Revival
The fourth visitation of God occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century. “Never in the history of universities have there been so many genuine spiritual awakenings among students.” The seeds in this revival were found in the 1886 Mt. Hermon student conference with D.L. Moody for 250 students. The Princeton Covenant was created by a small group of students at the conference and later signed by thousands, pledging themselves to foreign missions.

1949-50 Revival
Two students from Los Angeles drove 2,300 miles to Minneapolis to pray with Dr. J. Edwin Orr and Dr. Billy Graham for campus revival. Orr preached at Bethel Chapel soon thereafter and, “there was much prayer in the dormitories, followed by intense conviction of sin among the students in chapel and in classroom…Conviction was relieved only by outright confession, restitution, restoration or conversion to God.” In October 1955, the NY Times stated, “more than 1,200 of the nation’s 1,900 colleges and universities now have a ‘religious emphasis week’ of some sort.”

1970’s Jesus Movement
Revival broke out at Asbury College in Kentucky in 1970 and moved to secular campuses. Campus ministers in California who were witnessing to the radical students began to see many converted! Hundreds were converted and baptized in the Pacific Ocean! It is estimated that 250,000 students came to Christ during the next few years.

Are we on the verge of another great movement of the Spirit of God in America?  Let’s pray and ask God for it to begin with us!

Practical 1-2-1 Discipling

I began to work with Steve on a weekly basis, helping to build the basics of the Christian life into his life. Just as a builder comes to the building site with a plan, I too planned beforehand what I desired to share with Steve at each meeting.

These follow up plans consisted of short bible lessons related to the topic I had planned to share. I had previously done a bible study on the topic and summarized this study into a short lesson that I could impart to another individual. Each lesson consisted of a motivation section (a verse, quote, example) to help build anticipation for the topic and then the lesson, a few verses related to the given topic. Whenever possible I tried to share from one central passage rather than multiple verses in different bible books. Examples would be: servanthood – John 13, love – 1 Corinthians 13, faith – Hebrews 11, or the Lordship of Christ – Luke 14:25-35.

Once compiled, these follow up plans are saved for future opportunities to share with others that the Lord may bring into my life. I collect these follow up plans in a follow up notebook. Then when the Lord brings others into my life that He would have me to help, I’m ready with ideas on how to begin.

Just as a builder must start with a foundation, I wanted to lay a solid foundation in Steve’s life. We worked on such foundational topics as assurance of salvation, quiet time, prayer, Scripture memory, meditation, obedience, witnessing, fellowship, and the importance of God’s Word. After being assured that the foundation was solid, I began to help Steve in other areas of his life, seeking to build on top of this solid foundation.

These ‘superstructure’ of the building that I was seeking to construct in Steve’s life, by God’s grace and with His help, consisted of three general areas: doctrine (used in the broadest sense of knowledge of God’s Word), character, and ministry (the ability to personally help others).

When discipling another, be sure to have the mindset of a builder, not a doctor.  The doctor mentality waits for the ‘patient’ to describe their latest symptoms and then dispenses some ‘spiritual medicine.’  This attitude only builds increasing dependence upon the doctor.  But a builder proactively builds into the life of another seeking to build dependence upon Christ instead of themselves.

Be a disciplemaking builder, not a doctor!

Leave Your Nets

16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.
19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Jesus recruited the busy and the successful. Note that both sets of brothers were actively engaged in their jobs when Jesus encountered them. They were fishing partners (Luke 5:10) along with the father of James and John. And it seems that they were good fishermen as they had formed a limited partnership and had hired employees.

Just because they had an established career and no doubt expectations from father Zebedee that his boys would take over for him one day, Jesus did not hesitate to ask them to leave that vocation and join Him in a new one. If we are not careful, we can fall into thinking that the busy and successful, or those with clear professional career paths, should not be recruited to staff roles, either full-time or associate. We must not hesitate to recruit those whom God is calling out of a fear of taking them from a lucrative job.

Navigator staff is not for everyone. Certainly we need many, many more conventional income laborers to see our Calling fulfilled and the movement advance into all the nations. But for some, becoming a full-time, vocational Navigator is the right thing. Our job is to simply ask them to prayerfully consider whether God would have them to leave their nets and come with us. Some will be called by God to do so. It’s a high calling and a great privilege to become a Navigator staff person.

So who is it that God has placed in front of you that you should be asking to prayerfully consider leaving their nets and coming to co-labor with us?

Bold Prayer Requests

Jesus encourages us to make bold requests. He says, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9-11). In other words, because God loves us and wants what is best for us, He will not give us something that would be harmful or detrimental for us. He loves us too much for that.

Suppose one of my three children came to me and said, “Dad, I’d like you to give me a stick of dynamite for my birthday.” How would I respond? Obviously, I would not give it to them because of the danger. Having been refused, they continue to plead saying, “But I really, really want the dynamite, Dad! Please get me some!” Though they would ask me a thousand times (even with fasting) I would not give them what they wanted.

Why not? Well, not because I’m not capable or because I don’t want to meet their requests. The reason I don’t give them what they ask for is because I love them too much to give them something that could be harmful for them. Jesus says, if we who are evil and fallen in our natures can show that kind of reasoning and love, how much more will the love of our heavenly Father prevent Him from answering a request with something that will bring us harm.

James 4:3 says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” If we are seeking something with wrong motives, James says that we won’t get it. That is all; God will say, “Sorry, but the answer to that request is ‘no.’” He does not add, “And I will teach you never to ask for something like that again, you terrible person!” We simply won’t get what we request.

So pray and ask boldly!  But, always with the attitude that I submit my desires and will to His desires and will for me for I trust Him to always do what’s best for me.

When Promises Don’t Come True

It was another exasperating, faith-challenging confrontation with the Indonesian Immigration Office. Our yearly visa renewal was in trouble again. We’d experienced this numerous times during our ten years in the country and so, once again, I reminded the Lord of our desire for an extension and recruited others to pray on our behalf. I reminded Him of Philippians 4:19, stating that this visa was a need and He had promised to meet all of our needs. I also prayed over Psalm 37:4, saying that it was our heart’s desire to stay and serve Him there, so please grant yet another renewal. We had seen several miracles in previous years regarding visa renewals, so I was confident that God would once again come through.

Imagine my shock and disappointment when the letter that came from Immigration was not our yearly renewal, but a denial of any extension and an “invitation” to leave the country. Why had God not answered? We had prayed over the same request, used the same promises, recruited the same, if not more, people to pray with us. But this time God had said “no.” Can God’s promises be trusted? Why weren’t our prayers answered according to our desires?

Some time later I was studying Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before he was crucified. In Mark 14:32-42 we see a remarkable exchange between Jesus and His Father. Jesus was deeply distressed and troubled by the reality of the crucifixion and having to become sin for all mankind (vv. 33-34), so He came to His Father with a specific request, “Take this cup from me.” He based it upon the reality that, “everything is possible for you,” (v. 36) therefore certainly there must be another way other than this death. Had not God promised that if we call upon Him in times of trouble, He will deliver us (Psalm 50:15)? Had not Jesus Himself said that if we ask anything in His name He will do it? He prayed three times; certainly the Father would know His sincerity. Certainly the Father would answer.

But we find an amazing thing! The Father let His Son die on the cross the next day, taking upon Himself the sin of all mankind. Why did God not answer Jesus’ request? But then it hit me—God had answered! But, the answer was “no.” Jesus Himself had received a “no” answer in prayer! Why? Was it because He had some unconfessed sin? Certainly not—He was sinless! Was He not sincere in His request? No—He repeated His request until he sweat blood (Luke 22:44). The Father did not grant His request because His perfect plan required His Son’s sacrificial death. There was no other way!

A key insight is found in Mark 14:36b where Jesus says, “Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Though Jesus made a specific request, His underlying attitude was not a demanding of His own will, but rather, a surrender to the will of the Father. We too must assume this attitude when we pray. Not a fatalistic attitude in which we subliminally say, “I know it isn’t going to do any good to pray, but just in case…” But rather a prayer life that is bold in it’s specific requests, yet surrendered to our Heavenly Father’s higher will, knowing that His will is best. Someone has said, “God’s will is what you would choose if you knew everything that He knows.”

Praying over and claiming the promises of God as found in Scripture is a wonderful means of praying. But the promises are given as anchors for our hope when times of pressure come, not levers to make God do what we want He to do. We make specific requests related to specific Scriptural promises, but we also submit to the good and perfect will of our Father. We trust Him even when we don’t get the answer we expect, when it does not feel so good, and even when don’t understand.

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