Knowing
the Lord is not the end of the matter,
but the beginning of the journey for
every believer. We become part of the
Lord’s army; we are His representatives
on earth. We are commissioned as
leaders of souls, bringing people into
an eternal relationship with their
creator.
When we come to know Jesus
Christ, the Holy Spirit fills us; the
Spirit of God directs our life, if we
allow him. Through the Spirit of God,
our bodies become instruments for the
Lord’s service in the spiritual war for
the souls of humanity.
Jesus trained the disciples to
be leaders, not followers, they were to
lead the lost to salvation. The
disciples started out as fishermen,
tax-collectors and revolutionaries, but
they were transformed by the Spirit of
God into world-changers. They became
leaders in the church, not because of
their own abilities, their leadership
came from the Spirit dwelling in them.
Jesus commanded them to stay in
Jerusalem until they received power from
the Spirit.
8 "But you shall receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you
shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
end of the earth." Acts 1:8
This same power which transformed this
group of common men into extraordinary
men was the Holy Spirit. This is the
same Spirit which dwells in every
believer. We have the same power
available to us to change nations;
therefore each of us should strive to be
leaders. We are to transform the world,
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The problem with many Christians is they
do not realize the power they have
dwelling within. They don’t know we are
called to be salt and light in dark
world; Jesus gave His church all
authority and power over the works of
Satan.
This point is illustrated with
the seventy disciples who were sent
throughout Jerusalem, when they returned
they were rejoicing over their power
through Christ. Jesus declared they
have the “authority” over all the “power
of the enemy”. This is the same
“authority” we have; we are only limited
by our flesh, which often gets in the
way of God’s Spirit. God wants us to be
leaders in a fallen world, we need to
run to our Christ appointed positions of
leadership.
17 Then the seventy returned with joy,
saying, "Lord, even the demons are
subject to us in Your name." 18 And He
said to them, "I saw Satan fall like
lightning from heaven. 19 "Behold, I
give you the authority to trample on
serpents and scorpions, and over all the
power of the enemy, and nothing shall by
any means hurt you. Luke 10:17-19
What is leadership?
A leader is someone who has a vision of
what he or she wants, and then inspires
others to share
that
vision. The world from the beginning
has had leaders, both good and bad. The
goal of a leader is to motivate people
to see and act on their vision. The
reason people submit to leadership can
vary, some allow others to lead them for
a variety of reasons, including;
intellect, beauty, power, wealth,
charisma, expertise or any number
reasons. Sometimes the leader just has
the answers the person wants to hear,
answers which suit their lifestyle and
desires.
Imagine if were wandering in a
forest, filled with trees stretching for
unknown miles, you don’t know where you
are going. While you are wondering, a
stranger appears who promises to lead
you to an exit. What choice do you
have? You don’t know where you are
going? You are lost; at least this
person seems like they know where they
are headed. In many ways,
this is what happens in life. We live
our life, trying to figure out the way;
sometimes we think we find someone who
knows their way around the forest.
They volunteer to lead us to the exit;
we go along because they sound like they
really do know. Only to find out, at a
future point they are as lost as we are.
When we find Christ, we find the exit in
the forest.
Knowing Christ, allows us to
return to the forest and find those who
are lost, and lead them to safety. When
we found Christ, we found the way
through the forest. Now we understand
the forest, now we have the ability to
rescue those lost like we were. This
requires the leadership ability that
comes through the Spirit as we are
transformed into the image of Jesus
Christ. We are then equipped by the
Spirit of God, through the armor of God
to reach and lead those who are lost.
Reaching and leading lost people is all
about being a leader, a leader of lost
people, bringing them to salvation. We
are the Lord’s warrior.
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in
the Lord and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that
you may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of
this age, against spiritual hosts of
wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:10-12
Our
leadership counters Satan
Satan was a leader, he led
one-third of the angels to rebel against
God’s leadership. Satan cast his
vision, and was able to convince the
other angels to follow. Today Satan’s
workers are still leading the rebellion
against God; they are the spiritual
force behind leaders in the world,
opposed to the Gospel. They are the
hunters of souls, who knowingly or
unknowingly keep lost people in under
Satan’s power. We as Christ
leaders/disciples oppose, Satan and his
fallen leadership.
The other day, my daughter was with me
in hunting store, as I looked for a
string for my bow. The shop also
provided taxidermy services, so we were
surrounded by the bodies and heads of
mounted animals. Tremendous specimens of
deer, elk, moose, bears, boars and rams
seemed to come to life as we walked
through the shop. As we left the store,
my daughter seemed very sad, tears
rolling down her face, because she
really loves animals and felt sad,
because they were killed and displayed.
Later she said, Dad wasn’t
that one of the saddest stores you ever
saw, because all those beautiful animals
were killed and displayed. I explained
to her God allows the hunting of
animals, and even though you or I might
not display them, there is nothing wrong
with it. However, I said Satan, in many
ways displays his hunted and captured
victims in many stores. Just like a
proud hunter, who vanquished a beautiful
specimen, Satan is proud of his trophies
of human souls. Souls made in the image
of God, captured and on display in
Satan’s trophy room.
I explained to her, we however
have the ability to rescue those souls
on display in Satan’s trophy room,
unlike those in the hunting store; there
is something we can do.
Our leadership counters Satan’s
leadership, Satan and his fallen angels
through human agencies lead the lost
into hell, we are called to counter his
work. Therefore we need to understand
how to lead, how to help people
understand the Gospel, without our flesh
getting in the way.
Using leadership principles
Leading people can be a hazardous
undertaking, because there are so many
conflicting messages in the world. Each
message is vying for the attention of
those who will listen. Donald Trump
leads people, telling them the way out
of the forest is by being wealthy and
successful. Hollywood stars and
starlets cast the vision fame and
fortune will bring you happiness. Some
preach the way of solving problems is by
solving Global Warming. Religious
leaders tell people if you just do
enough good works, then you will attain
eternity, it does not matter what your
faith is as long as your are “good.”
The “Born Again” believer must
compete with all these false messages
along with their false prophets to lead
lost people into eternity. This is why
it’s important for the believer to be
equipped with understanding leadership
principles. We need to ask the Lord to
equip us for the work at hand, gaining
from the experience of God’s word and
God’s people. Scripture is filled with
examples how God raises leaders up,
those who want to be used, God will
use. Let us pray for God to use us, and
transform us.
There were 12 who entered the
Promised Land, yet only 2 trusted the
Lord, both Joshua and Caleb became
leaders to Israel. Noah in the face of
adversity was preacher of righteousness
in the earth, before the flood, God used
him to him. Paul was willing to be
stoned for the Gospel, because he knew
it was true. Daniel was thrown into a
den of lions; Shadrach, Meshach and
Abendego were thrown into a burning
furnace. They knew and trusted the
Lord, they knew their message was
eternal, they were used as leaders,
because they made themselves available.
Before anybody can lead there
are basic principles which each of us
needs to know;
1. Know and
understand your vision (The Gospel)
2. Know why your
message is important for others to know.
3. Know how to
present your vision
4. Know how to
develop those you are leading
These same principles, even apply to
competing world-views. Leadership
principles are based on our human
nature. The goal is to cause people to
act, a change in behavior through the
cast vision.
Competing world views
The pattern is the same with
any message, which leads somebody to
action. We all respond to logical
reasons for our actions.
Its within the context of Christian
leadership, we need to know how should
we present the Gospel to lost people,
without our flesh getting in the way.
According to Dale Carnegie’s How to Win
friends and Influence People, there are
9 points to remember when leading
people. In Part 1, we will cover 4 of
the 9 points.
Part 1
1. If you are going to find
faults.......Begin with praise and
honest appreciation
Have you ever been on the
highway and a faster car is behind you?
The faster car then begins flashing its
lights, letting you know you are going
too slowly. How do you respond? Does a
part of you want to slow down? Is the
driver behind you “Praising” or
“Criticizing”? The driver behind you is
critical of your driving ability,
although many might move out his/her
way, the do it grudgingly, ill will is
created in the process.
This is part of human nature,
when confronted with negative and
critical comments about our work,
decisions or beliefs; it’s our nature to
become defensive. We want to defend
against any attack, especially if we
feel the attack unjust. And most
criticisms are taken as unjust, because
its human nature to justify our actions.
Before a critical comment is
spoken, first look for areas where the
person can be praised, or honest
appreciation can be made. For example
if a person is a co-worker and they make
offensive comments, how could you handle
the situation? First look for an area
where you can honestly praise him
before, you make the critical comment.
Dale Carnegie, in How to Win Friends
and Influence People, tells how
President McKinley used this principle.
One of the prominent Republicans of that
day had written a campaign speech that
he felt was just a trifle better than
Cicero and Patrick Henry and Daniel
Webster all rolled into one. With great
glee, this chap read his immortal speech
aloud to McKinley. The speech had its
fine points, but it just wouldn’t do.
It would have a tornado of criticism.
McKinley didn’t’ want to hurt the man’s
feelings. He must not kill the man’s
splendid enthusiasm, and yet head to say
“no.” Note how adroitly he did it.
“My friend, that is a
splendid speech, a magnificent speech,”
McKinley said, “No one could have
prepared a better one. There are many
occasions on which it would be precisely
the right thing to say, but is it quite
suitable to this particular occasion?
Sound and sober as it is from your
standpoint I must consider its effect
from the party’s standpoint. Now go home
and write a speech along the lines I
indicate, and send me a copy of it”
He did just that, McKinley
blue-penciled and help him rewrite his
second speech, and he became on the
effective speakers of the campaign.
Jesus when He wrote the letter
to the Seven Churches in Revelation, for
the most part prefaced his critical
comments, with commendation. For
example in the Church of Ephesus had
lost it’s “first love”, Jesus pointed
out what they were doing right first,
before he pointed out the faults.
1 "To the angel of the church of Ephesus
write, 'These things says He who holds
the seven stars in His right hand, who
walks in the midst of the seven golden
lampstands: 2 "I know your works, your
labor, your patience, and that you
cannot bear those who are evil. And you
have tested those who say they are
apostles and are not, and have found
them liars; 3 "and you have persevered
and have patience, and have labored for
My name's sake and have not become
weary. 4 "Nevertheless I have this
against you, that you have left your
first love. 5 "Remember therefore from
where you have fallen; repent and do the
first works, or else I will come to you
quickly and remove your lampstand from
its place-unless you repent.6 "But this
you have, that you hate the deeds of the
Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Revelation 2:1-6
In leading others, we should
follow the example of Jesus, lets look
for areas of praise and accomplishment,
before we find fault. The purpose of
finding fault is correct the direction,
someone might be going, to their harm.
2. To criticize and not be hated for
it..... Call attention to people’s
mistake indirectly.
At times, depending on the
situation, we might need to be
critical. There are ways to be critical
and not confrontational. The method is
using indirect criticism, letting the
person get the message, without having
to confront them with it. Dale Carnegie
uses the example of steel president
Charles Schwab to illustrate this point.
Charles Schwab was passing through one
of his steel mils one day at noon when
he came across some of his employees
smoking. Immediately above their heads
was a sign that said “No Smoking.” Did
Schwab point to the sign and say, “Can’t
you read?” Oh, no not Schwab. He walked
over to the men, handed each one a
cigar, and said, “I’ll appreciate it,
boys, if you will smoke these on the
outside.” They knew that he knew that
they had broken a rule—and they admired
him because he said nothing about it and
gave them a little present and made them
feel important.
Another method is known as
using a third party example, without
directly confronting someone. People
can get the message without a direct
confrontation. Direct confrontation can
often defeat a person, they feel like
they are backed into a corner. Indirect
confrontation such as Schwab used,
allowed workers to get the message
without feeling smothered by its words.
Jesus often used indirect
methods to illustrate His points. For
example, the Pharisees wanted Jesus to
say Jews should not pay taxes to
Caesar. They wanted Jesus to make a
direct critical statement; Jesus used
the image on a Roman coin to answer
their question.
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted
how they might entangle Him in His talk.
16 And they sent to Him their disciples
with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we
know that You are true, and teach the
way of God in truth; nor do You care
about anyone, for You do not regard the
person of men. 17 "Tell us, therefore,
what do You think? Is it lawful to pay
taxes to Caesar, or not?" 18 But Jesus
perceived their wickedness, and said,
"Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19
"Show Me the tax money." So they brought
Him a denarius. 20 And He said to them,
"Whose image and inscription is this?"
21 They said to Him, "Caesar's." And He
said to them, "Render therefore to
Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and
to God the things that are God's." 22
When they had heard these words, they
marveled, and left Him and went their
way.
Matthew 22;15-22
3. Talk about your own mistakes
first.... before criticizing the other
person
Trying to get someone to act,
by pointing out faults is like a
minefield. Many times the wrong comment
or suggestion can cause a bomb to go
off. We are very sensitive, and when we
human beings are backed into a corner we
tend to fight rather then give in. For
that reason, its important to
demonstrate our own humanity first,
before we make a comment at times.
A parent might, use himself as
an example to the child, how when he was
the child’s age, he also went through a
similar experience, how he felt when he
was confronted. The child then sees the
humanity, of the parent, and its easier
to take the criticism, because the child
knows the parent understands.
Paul constantly referred to his
own failures in his epistles, How he
persecuted the church and was least of
all saints, but by the Grace of God.
Paul when he was on trial for preaching
the Gospel, referred to his own mistake
how he persecuted the Church. He used
his own personal failure as an example,
he gave his persecutors grace.
6 "And now I stand and am judged for the
hope of the promise made by God to our
fathers. 7 "To this promise our twelve
tribes, earnestly serving God night and
day, hope to attain. For this hope's
sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the
Jews. 8 "Why should it be thought
incredible by you that God raises the
dead? 9 "Indeed, I myself thought I must
do many things contrary to the name of
Jesus of Nazareth. 10 "This I also did
in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I
shut up in prison, having received
authority from the chief priests; and
when they were put to death, I cast my
vote against them. 11 "And I punished
them often in every synagogue and
compelled them to blaspheme; and being
exceedingly enraged against them, I
persecuted them even to foreign cities.
12 "While thus occupied, as I journeyed
to Damascus with authority and
commission from the chief priests,
Acts 26:6-12
