The Presbyter's Page
Electronic Edition – June 2001
Original articles published February 1997
Section 12 - LA
District UPCI
Donald Bryan - Presbyter
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Sermon Thought:
“Strategies for Overcoming in the Endtimes"
You Can't
Believe Everything You Hear About Church Growth
Sermon Thought:
“Strategies
for Overcoming In The Endtimes”
Hebrews 12:26;27
“Whose
voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I
shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
And this word, Yet once more,
signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are
made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.”
The Apostle Paul warned that in the last days, that not only would perilous times come, but also men would have a form of godliness but deny the power of God (2 Timothy 3:1-7). Every Christian now understands the danger, evil, and destruction that we see in this generation. These are the last days, in which everything that can be shaken, will be shaken. What are the strategies for the church in this hour? How does a Christian not just cope, but overcome and become “more than a conqueror”? The Scripture gives us some strategies for the endtime.
Be Filled With the Spirit - A Christian has to know that he is filled with the Spirit. If not, he needs to pray until he has received that in-filling with a fresh new anointing.
Never Lose Sight of Eternity - Keep heaven before you and have an eternity consciousness. This life is not forever. Satan’s temptations seem small when you look at eternity.
Be Vigilant - Satan is always coming as a roaring lion and there is never a time when a Christian can ignore Satan. A child of God must always be sober and vigilant.
Be Led by the Spirit – “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). Unless you learn to be led by the Spirit, you will follow the dictates of your mind and your flesh. Get in tune with the Spirit.
Realize Spiritual Warfare is THE War – Although mankind has had very few years of peace on the earth, spiritual warfare is constant. Every Christian is fighting this spirit war. “For as we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities…”
Learn Your Weapons – The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God. Therefore, we must put on the whole armor of God and use the weapons God has given us.
Know the Devil’s Strategies – Satan’s strategy is still the same. Lies plus sin equals destruction. A Christian is not ignorant of Satan’s devices. He still comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
Stay in the House of God – The writer of Hebrews declared in Hebrews 10:25 to not forsake the assembling together, especially as you see the last days approach. Stay in the house of God and don’t let Satan do anything to separate you from God’s house and His people.
Don’t Quit – The race is won by those who finish.
People Principles
v
Remember,
human action can be modified to some extent, but human nature cannot be
changed.
v
Showing
your compassionate and caring nature will aid you in forging successful
relationships.
v
When
you extinguish hope, you create desperation.
v
Remember
that your followers generally want to believe that what they do is their own
idea and, more importantly, that it genuinely makes a difference.
v
If
you practice dictatorial leadership, you prepare yourself to be dictated to.
v
Delegate
responsibility and authority by empowering people to act on their own.
v
When
you make it to the top, turn and reach down for the person behind you.
v
You
must be consistently fair and decent in both the business and personal side of
life.
v
Never
add the weight of your character to a charge against a person without knowing
it to be true.
v
Never
crush a man out, thereby making him and his friends permanent enemies of your
organization.
v
Remember: Your organization will take on the
personality of its top leader.
v
It’s
not entirely safe to allow a misrepresentation to go uncontradicted.
v
Remember
that truth is generally the best vindication against slander.
v
Do
the very best you know how – the very best you can – keep doing so until the
end.
v
Make
consistency one of the main cogs in the machinery of your corporation.
v
Remember
that it is not best to swap horses when crossing streams.
v
Avoid
major conflict in the form of quarrels and arguments. You simply don’t have time for it.
v
If
you are a good leader, when your work is done, your aim fulfilled, your people
will say, “We did it ourselves.”
v
Try
not to feel insecure or threatened by your followers.
v
Let
disputing parties work out their differences by bringing them together and
guiding their dialogue.
v
When
your subordinates come up with good ideas, let them go ahead and try, but
monitor their progress.
v
Those
leaders who achieve something at the head of one group will eclipse those who
do nothing at the head of a hundred.
v
Leave
nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.
v
When
the occasion is piled high with difficulty, rise with it.
v
Think
anew and act anew.
v
Don’t
lose confidence in your people when they fail.
v
If
you never try, you’ll never succeed.
v
Remember
that the best leaders never stop learning.
v
Remember
that there will be times when you should simply not speak. Say to your listeners: “Kindly let me be
silent.”
v
Loyalty
is more often won through private conversation than in any other way.
v
Remember,
everyone likes a compliment.
If the Word of God were nothing more than information to be mentally processed, expressed, and humanly understood, the nature of the vessel through which it is given would not be so important. But, because the Word is alive and full of power, the channel through which it comes is of extreme importance. The nature of the minister is crucial to the ministry of the Word. The ministry of the Word is something apart from the minister of the Word. For real ministry to take place, the life of God – the Holy Spirit – must abide in the minister and in the Word. Te resurrected Word must be shared by resurrected ministers.
We Must Be Broken Vessels
The problem has never been in the Word itself, but in the minister. A lack of brokenness, the presence of mixed motives, self-seeking and a plethora of other problems keep the Word from being released in its power. Unless the minister is broken, self dilutes the pure Word of God and steals its power. We have much preaching today but so little ministering of the Word in power. In studying the lives of people who have effectively ministered the Word, certain characteristics are clear:
· They were prepared vessels. - No minister is given a text and told to begin preaching without inward and outward preparation. Yet through the years it seems that more and more emphasis has been given to outward preparation and less and less to inward. Brokenness, humility, selfishness and singular passion to know Christ and make Him known will bring about faith in the kingdom.
· They were able to hear God’s Word – The one distinguishing characteristic of all thouse who have shaped the Christian world is that they were able to hear from God for their era. God gave us folks like the sons of Issachar, who had “understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (I Chronicles 12:32).
· They discerned how and when to share the Word – The Word must have time to soak in the Spirit until all of it has applied to the one who will minister it.
The Ministry Of The
Word
The ministry of the Word refers to the work of the Word when it is shared. The Word of God itself, when spoken, becomes a life form and an energy source. How does a minister of the Word minister the ministry of the Word? There must first be revelation, or illumination. We must receive light – light that is more than intellectual understanding. If we are to walk in and by the Word, we must receive the light of the Word. Following the revelation or enlightenment there is the assimilation. Vital to the assimilation of light is the bringing of our minds into accord with His mind. God has made clear that His thoughts and ways are above ours.
Of prime importance in the assimilation process is personal implementation. All light must be assumed to apply to the person receiving it, and some light is for the person alone. We must not consider sharing what light we have received until it has been applied fully to our lives.
You
Can’t Believe Everything You Hear About Church Growth
Consultant Lyle Schaller busts 9 common myths about expansion and change:
Myth 1: If
we build it, they will come. Reality: Adding program staff usually precedes
constructing additional facilities.
Myth 2: Don’t
make changes in the first year. Reality: The wise pastor takes advantage of the
honeymoon period to:
(a)
earn
trust,
(b)
build
alliances with future-oriented leaders, and
(c)
initiate
overdue change.
Myth 3: Friendliness
makes visitors return. Reality: Most are asking, “Does this congregation
appear to be one that will be relevant and responsive to my religious needs?”
Myth 4:
Money precedes ministry. Reality: The three most common causes of low
financial support are
(a)
low
level of commitment resulting from low expectations,
(b)
the
absence of a compelling and unifying vision of what God is calling this
congregation to be and be about, and
(c)
inadequate
internal communication of the financial needs.
Myth 5:
Effective leaders are facilitators.
Reality: The enabler style of pastoral leadership is
appropriate in congregations that average forty or fewer at worship. The larger the size of the congregation, the
more important it is for the pastor to accept and fill the role of initiating
leader.
Myth 6:
Community growth means church growth.
Reality: A more common result is a sharp rise in the
level of “competition” among the churches.
New congregations are founded.
Existing churches upgrade their physical plants or relocate while
expanding staff and programming to reach the newcomers.
Myth 7:
Economy of scale applies to church.
Reality: Economy of scale rarely applies to
churches. The very large congregations
usually offer higher quality and more choices.
That requires more money per person.
Myth 8: Accommodate
everyone in one service. Reality: Instead ask, “How can we sharpen the
differences among existing services so each reaches and serves a clearly
defined constituency?”
Myth 9: Sermons
should be shorter. Reality: The number-one context for the length of
sermons is the size of the crowd. The
larger the crowd and the greater the emphasis on teaching, the longer the
sermon.
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