The
Presbyter's Page
Electronic
Edition - May 2000
Original articles published March 1997
Section 12 - LA District UPCI
Donald Bryan - Presbyter
The E-mail editions of The Presbyter's Page are never sent unsolicited. If
you believe you have received this newsletter in error, or wish to be removed
from our mailing list, visit our web site at: http://www.pentecostalsonline.org/articles.html.
Near the top of that page, you will find a box where you may unsubscribe
simply by entering your e-mail address, highlighting the
"unsubscribe" button and clicking on the "Submit" button.
Brother Donald Bryan may be contacted directly at DBryanUPC@aol.com. You can also contact
us by writing to webmaster@pentecostalsonline.org.
Sermon
Thought: "The Fear of Winning”
Sermon Thought: "The Fear of Winning"
(Scripture
text from I Samuel 15:17)
“When
Thou Wast Little in Thine Own Sight”
How many people
have entered a contest, like the Reader’s Digest Sweepstakes, and really
believed they were going to win? So
many of us have lost so many times, that when the chips are down, most people
really don’t expect to win. We talk
about the disappointment of losing, when in reality, most people have the
expectation of losing.
And, what you
believe, not just know, is generally what is going to happen. Proverbs 23:7 “For as a man thinketh in
his heart, so is he.” “Thinketh”
means “to act as a gate-keeper.” What
we believe acts as a gate to determine our actions. And eventually, we believe our own prophecy. The only difference then in the winners and
the losers is what happens in the mind.
The losers expect no one to pray through. The winners believe God is drawing all men. The losers say, “I can’t worship or
rejoice.” The winners say, “The blood
makes me worthy.” Do you know where
defeat occurs? It’s not in
circumstances or in the problems. It’s
in the mind. And if you’re standing on
Jesus and His Word, He has made no plans for your defeat either.
Why do people
expect to lose? Part of the cause is
the fear of winning. Winning is growth,
responsibility, change and new direction.
Most often it’s easier to get the “losers limp” than it is to grow. But God wants to heal us of this destructive
feeling of not being worthy or able to be used. God has confidence in the church and He is very interested in His
kingdom advancing through the church.
In I Samuel 15,
Saul is being called into question about incomplete obedience in destroying the
Amalekites. Why did Saul fail? Could it be that Saul didn’t really
appreciate the fact of how much God was depending upon Saul to complete His
Word? Four hundred years prior to this,
God had told Joshua to write in the book that He would destroy the
Amalekites. And now Saul, “who was
little in his own eyes,” fails to completely finish God’s Word.
Saul
unquestionably was humble or fearful at the beginning of his reign. Saul tried and made great effort, but
perhaps didn’t see himself as God saw him.
God was wanting a winner, not excuses.
Perhaps Saul never really expected to win – but planned merely to make
an effort and that would be sufficient.
Regardless, he lost it all.
Many people are
not receiving miracles in their lives because their “expecter” has
expired. Once they had dreams, now they
have doubts. The future looked bright,
now it looks bleak. Better days ahead
have been clouded by bitter days behind.
They are in trouble. If this has
happened to you, revitalize your expecter by adopting the following principles:
·
Your life must be
influenced by your expectations, not your experience.
·
Your life must be
influenced by your expectations, not by other’s examples.
·
Your life must be
influenced by your expectations, not your exhilaration.
No other area in your life will reveal your
discipline more than your ability to conquer your fears and instead, expect God
to help you. God has called you and He
will anoint you. Expect that when the
battle is over, you will be victorious through Christ who can do all things.
The key element in the church is leadership. Your ability to lead is the lid on your ministry. A minister’s ministry will never rise higher than his leadership. So, what are the key ingredients of leadership? Listed are the ABC’s of leadership.
Leaders Attract People…
As a leader,
you attract who you are, now who you want. So, what attracts people?
People are attracted to:
1.
Appearance
– A positive, kind demeanor will always attract people more than a scowl,
frown, or negative appearance.
2.
Community
– People are attracted to leaders who create the atmosphere of being on the same
team.
3.
Confidence
– 90% of your church people are insecure.
People want security and are attracted to it. Be confident.
4.
Excitement
– Don’t be boring. If you want to find
the temperature of the church, stick a thermometer in the leader’s mouth.
5.
Encouragement
– Keep an encouraging atmosphere and always say something to encourage your
people.
6.
Significance
– People want to feel they are part of something that matters and is
important. Build significance.
7.
Relationship
Skills – People are attracted to someone who understands how to relate to
people.
8.
Hope
– Hope is the foundation of all change.
No hope – no action. Give people
a reason to hope and they will be attracted to you.
9.
Vision
– Dissatisfaction and discouragement are not caused by the absence of things,
but the absence of vision.
10.
Charisma
– A person with charisma is simply people-oriented, and not self-oriented.
Leaders Believe in People…
Most people
don’t believe in themselves. It’s not
what you are that holds you back, it’s what you think you are not! Most people have few if anyone who believes
in them. Further, most people know when
someone believes in them. The goal of
many leaders is to get people to think more highly of the leader. The goal of a great leader is to help the
people think more highly of themselves.
Most people will do anything within their power to embrace a leader’s
belief in them. Therefore, leaders
believe in people.
Leaders Connect With People…
Leaders must
connect with people through integrity, passion, and understanding. A major mistake that many leaders make is
thinking that connecting is the follower’s responsibility when it’s really the
leader’s. How do you connect with
people?
1.
Value
people. You cannot make another person
feel worthwhile if you secretly feel that the person is a nobody.
2.
Possess
a “Make-a-Difference” mindset. You must
believe that you, what you share, and that the person you share it with will
make a difference.
3.
Look
for common ground. Remember the 101%
principle that says, “Find the 1% you agree with and give it 100% of your
effort.”
4.
Understand
and discover the temperaments of people.
Much of our behavior is not right or wrong – it’s perspective. To the choleric, connect with strength. To the melancholy, connect with focus. To the phlegmatic, connect with
assurance. To the sanguine, connect
with excitement. To everyone, connect
with authenticity.
5.
Understand
and discover the gifts and abilities of others.
6.
Handle
yourself differently than others. To
handle yourself, use your head. To handle
others, use your heart.
7.
Stand
with people during the tough times.
8.
Don’t
take others for granted.
The
ABC’s of Leadership:
Attract…Believe…Connect.
1.
Don’t live beyond your
income.
2.
Don’t be a stingy
person.
3.
Don’t preach your
doubts.
4.
Don’t preach so much
against things but preach principles.
5.
Don’t be tempted on any
occasion not to preach your best.
6.
Don’t be looking for a
larger field or another call.
7.
Don’t be a pessimist.
8.
Don’t deal in off-color
stories.
9.
Don’t lose your temper
in public.
10. Don’t overlook the Bible when looking for preaching
texts.
11. Don’t be jealous of your fellow ministers.
12. Don’t scold or deal in personalities.
13. Don’t be artificial or insensitive.
14. Don’t belittle little things.
15. Don’t be lazy.
16. Don’t neglect the sick and sorrowing.
17. Don’t betray a confidence.
18. Don’t fail to keep your appointments.
19. Don’t allow anyone to dictate your message.
20. Don’t fail to pray.
See your people as they could be, not as they
are. You cannot go any higher than your
own self-image. Are you gonna get any
better, or is this it?
Pastor Bryan and/or other members of the Pentecostals Online ministry
staff personally recommend the books listed below. They are available for purchase through our virtual on-line
bookstore through our affiliation with Amazon.com, the world’s largest on-line
bookstore. We invite you to take a look
at the many new Christian books, tapes and CD’s available through our link to
Amazon’s Christian Books and Music sections, or to visit the Electronics or
Toys sections. Proceeds from any sales
go toward maintaining our web site and the First Pentecostal Church Building
Fund. Thank you for your patronage.
Intercessory
Prayer by Dutch Sheets (Regal Publishers Paperback - June 1997)
Our Price: $10.99
An excellent book
on prayer. Of all the books you’ll read
on prayer, none compares to this one. Sheets
does an excellent job at explaining the necessity and the whys of prayer. You’ll get teaching lessons from it. I recommend it!
Navigating
the Winds of Change
by Lynn
Anderson, Leith Anderson (Designer). Paperback (December 1996)
Our Price: $12.99
This is an
unusually good book on how to manage change in the church. The book deals with
how to face the winds of change that are facing the church as it heads into the
21st century. Excellent reading.
Slouching
Towards Gomorrah : Modern Liberalism and American Decline by Robert H. Bork
(Paperback - June 1997)
Our Price: $11.20
This book by U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Robert Bork describes the influence of modern liberalism
and the decline of the American culture. Bork states that the American culture
is rotting because of the loss of influence of the family, community and
church. Further, he concludes that the only real hope for America is a
religious awakening. If you want to see where we are and the need for a strong
church, read this book.
If your interest is in music, we have all the
Dove
Award Winners. Check out the winning artists and the projects that made
them winners, including Steven Curtis Chapman, Ginny Owens, Michael W. Smith,
Sixpence None the Richer, Anointed, and others.
Also this month the Jesus Mini Series will be
broadcast. Expect this broadcast to
open the door and prepare many folks to be interested in hearing the
Gospel. Music from the soundtrack is
already making waves on Christian radio stations around the country and should
also be hitting the country and secular rock channels with artists such as LeAnn
Rimes, Hootie and the Blow Fish, Yolanda Adams and others listed below.
Jesus-Music
From & Inspired By The Epic Mini Series-Soundtrack
Our
Price: $12.58
You
Save: $5.39 (30%)
Includes:
I
Need You – LeAnn Rimes Spirit in the
Sky – DC Talk
Fly
to You – Avalon Heaven to Earth – Michael English
When
You Walked Into My Life – Jaci Velasquez Jesus
Theme – Patrick Williams
Nobody
Ever (Only You) – Steven Curtis Chapman,
and others!