The Presbyter's Page
Electronic Edition - July 2000
Original articles published February 1996
Section 12 - LA
District UPCI
Donald Bryan - Presbyter
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Sermon
Thought: “The Battle After the
Breakthrough”
How to
Communicate to Change Lives
Time
Management: The 5 Major Time Wasters
Lincoln’s
Principles On Leadership
Sermon Thought:
“The
Battle After the Breakthrough”
Scripture Text – Matthew 3:16-17, 4:1-2
There will be a battle after every breakthrough in God. That battle will be centered upon one main front: The Word. Will we believe the Word during the time of testing, or will we fall back to our former state of unbelief and bondage?
Predictably after a major breakthrough in the Spirit, Satan comes to
test God’s Word and our words. In this
narrative, Jesus has been baptized and the confirmation comes with the divine
utterance, “This is My Beloved Son.”
How clear this message is!
Suddenly Jesus is in intense spiritual conflict and the heart of the
conflict was the very word Jesus had just received. The challenge was, “If you are the Son of God.”
Whenever a word from God is spoken, expect that it will be
contested. The battle will be fought
over what God has said and the battle won’t be won by just “binding” and
loosing”, but it will be won with Christ-like character and holding fast to the
Word. Before we will walk in what is
spoken, God will allow Satan to test us.
Every word will be tested in three ways:
Test #1: The
Birds of the Air – The bird in this parable is Satan.
“When anyone hears the word and does not understand it, the wicked one
comes.” Each must have their own experience
with God or they are prey for Satan.
Test #2:
Shallowness – Quick growth is not necessarily the best growth. A Christian must build strong foundations so
that he is not toppled by trials.
Test #3: The Cares and Worries
of the World – The enemy uses fear to work just as God uses faith. In fact, fear is faith for the things you
don’t want. Cares and worries keep our
focus on the world. If Jesus was
contested on the Word He had received, so will we. But stand strong, speak the Word, and breakthrough!
How To Communicate To Change
Lives
Why do preachers
preach? Since the goal of preaching is
to change lives, preaching is the ultimate tool for church growth. But how can you be effective in
communication through preaching? Listed
below are eight questions to ask about your preaching.
1.
Who will I be preaching to? Asking
questions like, “What are their needs?”, “What are their hurts?”, and, “What
are their interests?”, will help us focus on where the people are. Why ask?
Because although there are three things that always get one’s attention:
·
Things
that threaten us.
·
Things
that are unusual.
·
Things
that we value.
A preacher can only consistently keep people’s attention by focusing on what people value.
2. What does the bible say about their needs? Since the Bible is the Book of Life, is will have the answer to peoples needs! The preacher’s task is to show the Bible to be relevant for today’s needs.
3. What is the most practical way to say it? Application is the central task in preaching. So, preaching must be practical enough for people to know what to do. How to make preaching more practical?
· Always aim for action.
· Tell the people why.
· Show them how.
Exhortation without explanation leads to frustration. Too often people respond to a message with the expression, “Yes, but how?” In other words, I agree with what you’re saying, but how do I do it?
4. What is the most positive way to say it? Jesus never tried to convert anyone with anger. Although the Scriptures clearly warn of judgment, negative preaching only produces negative people. Promote the positive alternatives to sin and preach humbly.
5. What is the most encouraging way to say it? Everyone has three fundamental needs:
· To have their faith reinforced,
· To have their hope renewed,
· To have their love restored.
The key to encouraging people is don’t just tell it like it is, but also tell it like it could be.
6.
What is the simplest way to say it? Jesus taught profound truth in simple
ways. Since a person forgets 90 to 95%
of what they hear in seventy-two hours, the sermon needs to be definable in a
single thought. How do you simplify the
sermon?
· Condense the message into a single sentence.
· Avoid using religious terms.
· Keep your outline simple.
· Make your application fit.
· Never make a point without a picture.
7.
What is the most personal way to say it? People today are skeptical and resistant
to sales pitches, so the message must be made personal – “He’s preaching to
me!” How do you preach with impact?
·
Honestly share your struggles.
·
Honestly share your progress.
·
Share what you are learning.
8. What is the most interesting way to say it? To the unchurched, dull preaching is unforgivable. Vary your delivery! Jesus told stories about people and He also used humor. Humor relaxes people, makes painful medicine easier to accept and creates positive emotions.
In summary, good effective preaching is
not just an accident. It should be
thought through. Finally, the most
effective key to preaching is simply LOVE PEOPLE…..
The 5 Major Time Wasters
1.
Spreading yourself too thin by trying to do too many things at
once.
·
Suggestion: You must set priorities for each day and, if
necessary, each hour. Get the most
important things done first.
2.
Being afraid to delegate.
·
Suggestion: Convince yourself that it’s not necessary to
do everything yourself. You can still
be certain things are being done the way you want them to be when you delegate.
3.
Not wanting to say “no” to requests.
·
Suggestion: You can’t say “yes” to everything without
spreading yourself too thin. Decide
what you must do – and want to do. Say
“no” to all other requests.
4.
Being a slave to the telephone.
·
Suggestion: Have others screen your calls. Use an answering machine when you don’t want
to be disturbed. Schedule a telephone
hour to return calls.
5.
Procrastinating.
·
Suggestion: Get those unpleasant chores done first if
they’re important. Divide large tasks
into smaller ones. Reward yourself when
you accomplish something.
All rights reserved. This article original by Dr. Jan Yager appeared in
Redbook (August, 1990). Reprinted with permission from the copyright holder
Dr. Jan Yager who is a sociologist, management consultant, and author of
Creative Time Management for the New Millennium (Hannacroix Creek Books,
1999).
http://www.JanYager.com
Lincoln’s Principles On
Leadership
Taken from “Lincoln on Leadership”, by Donald T. Phillips, Warner Books
v
It
is important that the people know you come among them without fear.
v Remember, human action can
be modified to some extent, but human nature cannot be changed.
v When you extinguish hope,
you create desperation.
v You must be consistently
fair and decent, in both the business and the personal side of life.
v Remember: Your organization will take on the
personality of its top leader.
v Do the very best you know
how – the very best you can – and keep doing it until the end.
v Avoid major conflict in the
form of quarrels and arguments . you
simply don’t have time for it.
v Make consistency one of the
main cogs in the machinery of your organization.
v Try not to feel insecure or
threatened by your followers.
v When the occasion is piled
high with difficulty, rise with it.
Think anew and act anew.
v Remember that the best
leaders never stop learning.
v Don’t lose confidence in
your people when they fail.
v Loyalty is more often won
through private conversation than in any other way.
v Don’t forget that humor is a
major component of your ability to persuade people.
v When effecting renewal, call
on the past, relate it to the present, and then use them both to provide a link
to the future.
v Everywhere you go, at every
conceivable opportunity, reaffirm, reassert and remind everyone of the basic
principles upon which your organization was founded.
v Always let your subordinates
know that the honor will be all theirs if they succeed and the blame will be
all yours if they fail.
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