September 13, 2024
Leadership
Pt. 2, The Implementation of the Vision
This month we are talking about “Leadership”. Last week I introduced the theme with step one: Vision. Any leader that doesn’t have a vision, i.e., doesn’t know where he is going or what he wants to accomplish, is worse than no leader at all. He (or she) will simply drag their following through the same maze that they are in. Solomon said it like this: Where there is no vision (meaning a Divine instruction or revelation), the people perish… (Proverbs 29:18). So first, to be good leaders, we must have a vision of where we need to go.
Jesus Christ was and is the World’s greatest Visionary Leader; He provided the Divine vision (revelation) that this sinful World needs to avoid certain condemnation. His Vision, even before the beginning of the Creation, was to harvest human souls, souls that in His foreknowledge, He knew would rebel! And “whosoever will” was welcomed to come into His Spiritual Kingdom.
But good leaders need more than just a “vision”! In addition to knowing where they are going, they also need to know HOW TO GET THERE! Successful leaders need to know HOW to implement their vision. Jesus not only had a vision (a Divine plan or mission), but as The Creator, He knew how to implement His vision. In the fullness of time, He first sent John the Baptizer to preach repentance and to prepare a following, at TEAM. Jesus then took that TEAM of 12 men and personally trained them for over three years. After Jesus’ substitutionary payment for sin on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead, He commissioned His Holy Spirit to implement a new role: the role of “Comforter” (meaning Advocate, Intercessor, and Guide). In His role of Comforter, the Holy Spirit would…
1) testify of Jesus (John 15:26),
2) He would guide born-again believers into all truth (John 16:13),
3) He would reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8), (convict the lost), and He would
4) administrate and empower a brand-new institution for this new dispensation, the Local New Testament Church.
God’s vision has always been to redeem his Creation: all of it! But this redemption focused especially upon humanity, upon men and women who were and are created in His image, with eternal spirits, that will never die. Jesus’ vision was to rescue those who are perishing in sin and He implemented that vision at the Cross of Calvary. He died as our perfect substitute, totally paying the sin debt of every human being. All that a person must do to appropriate God’s gift of redemption is…
1) admit to God (agree WITH God) that he/she is a sinner (Romans 3:23), and as such, totally lost, undone, and separated from God,
2) believe (have complete faith) in the efficacy of Christ’s substitutionary death, burial, and miraculous resurrection, AND understand that it is Christ ALONE that saves by grace, and that it can never be by works (Ephesians 2:8, 9), and finally…
3) call out FOR that salvation (For whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved, Romans 10:13). We appropriate God’s free gift of salvation by asking for it! The dying thief on the cross asked in this manner, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom (Luke 23:42). The praying publican in the parable of the Pharisee and Publican asked like this, God be merciful to me, a sinner (Luke 18:13).
Christ’s implementation of his Vision was made possible by the Cross. He then implemented a 3-part battle plan called “The Great Commission”, and he gave this commission to the institution of the Local, Visible, New Testament Church. Empowered by the Comforter, local churches are to 1) preach the Gospel (good news) and evangelize the fields which are white unto harvest, 2) then they are to baptize (immerse in water) those who repent and believe, and finally they are to train (disciple or teach) converts to join in the battle for souls.
Jesus had The Vision, and He implemented His Vision. And His Local, Scriptural, New Testament Churches have been carrying on this implementation by the power and authority of the Holy Spirit for nigh on 2000 years. So the big question is, “Are you a part of His Team?”
God bless and consider!
Leadership, Pt. 1
September 6, 2024 • Central Baptist Church
September 6, 2024
Leadership
Part 1, The Vision
Leadership! “Leadership” has been the buzzword in the corporate and political arenas for decades, maybe centuries, and in military arenas for millennia. Corporations spend a lot of money and time attempting to train and groom their officers, managers, supervisors, and bosses in leadership philosophies. And, of course, our military is all about leadership.
One of the most controversial figures in recent military leadership was General George S. Patton. Called “Old Blood and Guts” by his men, Patton was the epitome of swagger and political IN-correctness. He said it as he saw it (usually to the dismay of his commanders), and he often gave boisterous, rousing, and very “frank” speeches to those in his command in an attempt to motivate and inspire. There may have never been an American military leader who was more hated and, at the same time, more respected by his soldiers.
But, with all the baggage that came with General Patton, there also came an amazing quality: vision! Patton was a brilliant military strategist; he had read and studied virtually every major military battle waged since the Persians and Greeks. He was also one of the most assertive Type-A personalities that has ever existed! One of his most famous quotes was, “Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way!” Consequently, when this cocky, boisterous visionary was placed in charge of a fighting force, he was truly a man to be reckoned with.
Bible-believers understand that God raises up men and women, …for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). And I am convinced that God used George Patton, even as profane and coarse as the man was, to contribute to an Allied Victory in WWII. You see, a commander, a supervisor, a boss … a leader… may have lots of training, schooling, classes, and grooming, but unless they have a genuine VISION of what needs to be accomplished, they are ineffective and even a detriment to the cause of their organization. God says through the inspired writings of Solomon: Where there is no vision, the people perish… (Proverbs 29:18).
The word “vision” here in Proverbs 29:18 refers to a revelation from God. George Patton may have had a superior military “vision”, but the vision that men and women have always needed more is a Divine vision, a Divine directive, and a Divine direction and goal. Because without it, people will truly perish! Jesus Christ, the Eternal God-Man, was the greatest visionary who has ever lived. He was and is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, and as such, He did and still does offer the greatest leadership that has ever been offered to human beings. For about 3 ½ years Jesus led and trained just 12 men, and when sent out, the Holy Spirit used these men to change our world.
Do you have a vision? Do you know where you are going? Do you know what REALLY needs to be done? And do you know how to accomplish what REALLY needs to be done? If you don’t, you are just part of the problem; you are just a part of this World’s chaos and confusion! Humankind manically fights cultural and ideological battles. Many believe that global warming and ecological issues are our most dangerous threats. Still, others divide and hate each other over religious tenets and the possession of strategic pieces of land.
Jesus Christ, the Eternal God-Man, was and is the greatest leader and visionary that has ever lived. Jesus is the Greatest Leader because His prescription for humanity is the only Truth, and consequently, it is deadly urgent. His mission was to offer His own perfect, sinless blood as a universal solvent for mankind’s sinful nature and then to point humanity to a re-born relationship with God, through repentance and faith IN His sacrifice. Jesus cried out, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6).
Friends, our only choice is to follow Jesus’ Divine VISION… or perish. Even plain-speaking George Patton could not have made it clearer and more urgent.
God bless and consider!
Leaning Hard, Pt. 5
August 30, 2024
Leaning Hard
Pt. 5 – Safe and Secure from All Alarms
Our theme for the month has been “Leaning Hard”. We’ve been exploring human-kind’s relationship needs and dependencies. Humans have been designed as relational beings in all three of our created dimensions: physical, emotional (the soul), and spiritual. And we’ve been looking at how humanity has expressed these relationship needs through our Level II philosophy outlet: pop-culture (i.e., through songs, movies, and literature). We’ll close out this month’s theme with God’s prescription for security in an increasingly insecure and violent world!
If there is anything with which all lucid and sane people would agree, it is this fact: our planet is literally convulsing with violence, hatred, uncertainty, calamity, threat of war, disease, famine, weather extremes, and natural disasters. Entropy is working its slow but sure decay, and not only in the physical realm, but socially and morally as well. The liberals blame weapons. The conservatives blame liberals. The activists blame Global Warming, melting ice packs, and El Niño. And the Users just say there isn’t enough marijuana to go around!
The intellectuals (and wanna-be intellectuals) of this world seek solutions to these “entropic problems” through politics, social reform, education, and liberal thinking (i.e., tolerance of anything and everything is the answer to all things). Other factions seek change through domination, violence, terrorism, and war. And still others seek change and ultimate stability primarily through religious cooperation. But, if a person is honest, he would have to admit that none of mankind’s Humanistic attempts to bring about peace, harmony, and utopia have worked so far, and it seems that this planet has only become a more dangerous and uncertain place.
The TRUTH is that our crumbling societies, the degeneration of our morals, and the geometric rise of hatred and polarization is a natural function of our depraved human nature! WE are the problem. AND our mess was predicted long ago… in fact almost 2 millennia ago.
The Apostle Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote in his very last epistle,
2 Timothy 3:1-5 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof…
And Peter foretold that our end-days would be characterized by scoffers: men and women who mock God, mock at the warnings of God, and mock at Christians who attempt to warn them of the sure judgment of an Almighty, Holy God.
2 Peter. 3:3, 4 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
Yes, friends, the picture is bleak! It’s bleak because human beings, in and of themselves, don’t have answers. In fact, as previously stated, WE ARE THE PROBLEM! As Walt Kelly’s Pogo the Possum quipped, “We have met the enemy, and he is us!”[1] All that this world possesses is hope in hope. Time and time again our societies have applied previously-failed “solutions” to impossible problems. It is as if we realize that nothing we can do will actually work, so instead of seeking what WILL work, we just reapply the failed “remedies” in a more panicked and frenetic pace. It’s as if we know that the band-aid won’t actually fix the broken dam, but if we apply enough band-aids, in a quick enough manner, that it actually might work! Do you remember the cliché definition of insanity? It is this: doing the same thing over, and over again… and then expecting different results! Friends, our world is mad and is becoming more and more mad!
So, what IS the answer? Where can we lean? Upon what or whom can we trust? Human-kind’s only hope is in a man that we in the West call Jesus of Nazareth. Others call him Hey-Sooce, or Yeshua, or Yehoshuah. We can have ultimate and sure hope in this man who lived on this Earth for about 33 years, some 2 millennia ago, because He is the God-Man! He is our Creator, He has overpowered death, He is alive forevermore, and He is coming again! The Son of God incarnated Himself some 2000 years ago; He became a man to rescue us spiritually from this sinking ship we call The World. Jesus, the Eternal Son of God, is the only Way to God, He is The Truth, and he is The Life (John 14:6).
Here is reality according to the Scriptures: this world isn’t going to survive. Mankind’s only hope is a way out! And that Way is through a relationship with the God-Man Jesus. We must be forgiven, spiritually rebirthed, and thereby made citizens of God’s current spiritual Kingdom.
The hymnists Elijah Hoffman and Anthony Showalter expressed our sure Hope in a beautiful poem called Leaning on the Everlasting Arms [2]. The lyrics read,
1-What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Refrain:
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.
2-O how sweet to walk, In this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Refrain
3-What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Refrain
So, in what or Whom are you leaning? Are you leaning upon a political system or party? Are you leaning upon science (so called)? Are you leaning upon the world’s financial system? Are you leaning upon a religion or a dogma? Are you leaning upon a toked-up stupor?
Friends, we can only have blessed peace, we can only have joy, we can only be safe and secure, when we lean on the Everlasting Arms of our Creator God! And we make our leaning efficacious by admitting our hopelessness and repenting of our sins, by trusting (believing) in Christ ALONE, and then by calling out to Him as did that dying thief, as did that repentant publican, God be merciful to me a sinner! (Luke 18:13).
Lean on the Lord Jesus. O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. (Psalm 95:1)
God bless and consider!
[1] https://en.http://wikipedia.org/wiki/pogo_(comic_strip)
[2] https://en.http://wikipedia.org/wiki/leaning_on_the_everlasting_arms
