The Presbyter's Page
Electronic Edition - September 2000
Original articles published February 2000
Section 12 - LA
District UPCI
Donald Bryan - Presbyter
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Sermon
Thought: “Preach Jesus”
Sermon Thought:
“Preach
Jesus”
Scripture Text – I Corinthians 1:21-24
Have you ever wondered why the church is in the world? Is it to praise and worship? We will do that in heaven. The thing we can do here that we will not do in heaven is to reach the lost. So, the prime objective of the church is simply “Preach Jesus.”
The role of preaching Jesus is not limited to
pastors and evangelists. Every believer
has been called to let his light shine and to be salt. Every believer is to proclaim the good news
– Jesus saves!
Jesus Is The Message
Have you noticed how easy it is to talk to strangers about the weather
or children or the job, but not to talk about Jesus?
But, Jesus is the message.
v
To
the lost, Jesus is the way.
v
To
the lonely, Jesus is the friend that sticks closer than a brother.
v
To
the child, Jesus is the Father to the fatherless.
v
To
the sick, Jesus is the Great Physician.
v
To
the addicted, Jesus is the Deliverer.
v
To
the broken hearted, Jesus heals the heart.
v
To
the dying, Jesus is the resurrection.
v
To
the sinner, Jesus is the Savior.
v
To
the church, Jesus is the Lord.
Jesus is the message. He is the
answer. He is the hope for the
hopeless, help for the helpless, and balm for the wounded. Buddha says, “There is a way,” Muhammad
says, “Look for the way,” and Confucius says, “Seek the way,” but Jesus says,
“I am the way.” Preach Jesus!
There Is Power In The Message
Paul
said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God
unto salvation…”! The book of Acts
teaches us that God works most powerfully through churches that preach
Jesus. Preaching Jesus changes lives,
as Peter saw on the day of Pentecost when 3,000 souls were saved. It wasn’t the message of Darwin that changed
my life. It wasn’t the message of
self-help or democracy that brought peace to this troubled soul. No!
It was the message of Jesus. It
was the message of the healing stream that flowed from Emmanuel’s veins. Preach Jesus! There is power in the message.
Power to open prison doors of sin.
Power to lift the condemnation.
Power to overcome guilt.
We Have Been Empowered To Preach The Message
In Acts 1:8, Jesus said, “Ye shall receive power… and ye shall be witnesses…” God didn’t give the church power simply to shout. He gives power to be witnesses. The power of God is never nearer than when you talk about Jesus. Preach Jesus to that neighbor whose husband left her. Preach Jesus to that addicted soul. Preach Jesus! You have the authority to be a witness.
Jesus
is the message; there is power in the message and you are empowered to preach
the message. Preach Jesus!
How To Stay Focused
In a world of constant distractions, learning to achieve and sustain a laser-like focus on your priorities gives you an enormous competitive advantage in the marketplace – as well as enormous benefits to your personal life. If keeping your focus has never been harder, the payoffs have never been better. How do you achieve laser-like concentration? I’m going to share with you seven principles of achieving and sustaining an intense, productive and energizing focus.
1. Keep the Big Picture in Mind. To successfully sustain you focus, you must first have a big-picture view of your goals and priorities, and a clear vision of what you hope to accomplish. After all, achieving an intense and sustained focus is not an end in itself, but a powerful means of achieving your long-term goals. The clearer, and more specific and more vividly you visualize the big picture of what you hope to accomplish, the more successfully you can focus on the means of achieving it.
2. Set Goals That Excite You. One characteristic shared by virtually every highly successful person is that they had big dreams and specific goals. The higher you aim, the higher you’ll go – even if you fail to hit your target. And if you shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll still land among the stars.
3. Be Mindful. By targeting your attention with laser-beam accuracy to the matter at hand, you are literally unable to entertain destructive thoughts. Concentrating on the present reality eliminates fear of future possibilities. In this way, being mindful not only increases your effectiveness, it enhances your peace of mind.
4. Track Your Progress. When you see the advances you have made, it is easier to concentrate on covering the ground that remains. Tracking your past progress enables you to enter unfamiliar terrain with the confidence that comes from success and experience. Some strategies that will help enable you to monitor and accelerate your progress include setting deadlines, taking time for re-evaluation and allowing for adjustments.
5. Use Time As Your Servant. Counting time is not nearly as important as making time count. Here are some management strategies that will help you stay focused:
v Tackle the most difficult aspects of your mission during your “prime time” – your period of greatest productivity and energy.
v Deal decisively with interruptions. Think and write down ways to prevent such interruptions from happening in the first place. It is best to avoid them whenever possible.
v Learn to say “no.” Sustaining your focus on your priorities will require that you decline invitations, refuse requests, and even pass up some interesting opportunities.
6. Keep Your Balance. The purpose of keeping your focus is to enable you to spend your time and energy on the people and things that are most important. Just as keeping your balance is essential to enjoying the benefits of your achievements.
7. Anticipate Obstacles. To sustain your focus and achieve your goals, yu must not only anticipate obstacles, you must prepare for them.
Relationships make
us or break us. From the quality of our
family time to our interactions at work, our relationships are largely
responsible for our success or failure.
To be successful in life, you must learn how to get along with
people. Here are a few guidelines to
help you develop “Positive People Skills”:
Ø
Take the focus off yourself. People who focus on themselves
when interacting with others rarely build positive lasting relationships. Become a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves. Allow them to ask questions. Pay attention to the answers.
Ø Care and know a lot about others. I often say that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. All the skills and education in the world will never impress anyone as much as genuine heartfelt care for themselves. Knowing a lot about people is a real display of your care for them, and it creates a lasting bond.
Ø Don’t underestimate anyone’s value. In spite of our human desire for large-scale influence, we really make an impact on people one at a time. And we can miss some important opportunities to connect if we dismiss or overlook people we meet every day. Meet others with anticipation, and every encounter can yield positive results.
Ø Always bring something to the table. In the best relationships, both parties give and receive. To give in your relationships, bring something positive “to the table” when you meet, such as ideas, opportunities and resources. Besides giving, be willing to receive from the other person. We all enjoy the feeling that comes from helping someone else.
Ø Use conflict as a tool, not a weapon. The presence of conflict in a relationship is natural. Damage only occurs when we react inappropriately. Try to use conflict as a tool – to learn more about the other person and find a solution that serves both of you. Relationships that endure conflict become stronger and deeper.
Ø Be credible and consistent. Few things damage a friendship more severely than breaking a trust. That happens when a person is inconsistent – when his words and actions don’t match or when he stops fulfilling his obligations. Relationships dissolve quickly when others can’t count on you, so say what you mean and stick to your word.
People skills can be learned, so work at improving them. If you already have a talent for working
with others, keep fine-tuning your abilities.
Either way, with improved people skills, your potential for success is
nearly limitless.
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.
Leadership
That Works; Hope and Direction for Church and Parachurch Leaders in Today’s
Complex World by Leith
Anderson
List Price: $16.99 Our Price: $15.29 You
Save: $1.70 (10%)
This
book outlines the changes required and the complex issues to be faced to
provide 21st century leadership for the church. Anderson, who also wrote Dying
for Change, outlines clear and practical steps for leaders in this culture
to take. This book is a must read!
Becoming
a Contagious Christian (paperback)
by Bill
Hybels, Mark
Mittelberg
List Price: $12.99 Our Price: $11.69 You
Save: $1.30 (10%)
This
book describes how to teach your people to be effective soul-winners and
evangelistically minded. Most churches
aren’t outreach oriented. Hybels feels
that all of them can be and shows how to do it. In fact, if you are interested in conducting lessons for the
members of your congregation, the authors have compiled a complete set of
products to help you, including study guides, overheads, lesson plans and
more. Just click Contagious
Christian Study Materials to see the entire group of products.
The
Empowered Communicator: 7 Keys to Unlocking an Audience
by Calvin
Miller
List Price: $11.99 Our Price: $10.79 You Save: $1.20 (10%)
As
a speaker, have you ever wondered if you were connecting with the
listeners? Miller notes that today’s
listener is skeptical. Their questions
– about the speaker’s integrity or hidden agenda, the value of the message to
their lives, etc. – build a wall between them and the speaker. So, what do you do? In his book, Miller
reveals seven specific keys to unlock any audience.
Spread the Word!
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