SERVANT LEADER

1. Servant knows who the master is: John 10:2-5
Sheep knows who the shepherd is and follows the shepherd, and no one else.

2. Leader is a servant in Kingdom of God: Mat 20:25-27; Mark 10:44
Leader must operate from a position of power and authority, but not for the purpose of having power, being ‘right’, or to elevate self, but from position of desire to elevate or serve others.

3. No reward for just doing duty: Luk 17:6-10
We expect thanks or recognition for doing work, especially when we think we did well. But the Bible says that a servant gets no thanks or reward for doing his / her job. On the other hand, there will come a day when we will be rewarded in heaven and our work will be found as treasure there. Mat 25:21, 23

4. A Christian is (or should be) always serving and is always a leader, always a teacher.
A. Col l 3:23 says we should do all things as though for Christ and not for people. Since we are Christ’s servants, this means we are 24/7 servants! This means that our job is ministry, our hobby is ministry, our sports are ministry. There is no such thing as a part-time minister, just as there could not be such a thing as a part-time pregnant woman! You either are or are not!
B. Mat 28:19 instructs the disciples to go and make disciples, teaching them to obey Christ. A disciple makes disciples, by definition here. If one is not making disciples, one is not a disciple. If your students are not making disciples, you have not made a disciple!

5. Heart or Mind?
We tend to think the heart is the measure of success in being a servant, but as the saying goes: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. We need to consciously control our minds and bodies to do the master’s will, and we need to ensure it is His will and not our own!
Romans 8:5 talks about having our mind on spiritual or fleshly (worldly) things. This does not refer to religious or secular matters, but to where our mind is, whether conscious to please Jesus or just unconsciously handle the matter of living, whether it be in religious activity (including ministry) or playing sports, for example.

6. Able to Give/Receive
A. Instruction - from any source
Our pride usually prevents us from learning new things, especially from subordinates. If we really have the paradigm that we are servant of those we lead, we should be eager to learn from them! Another aspect of this is that if we are unwilling or unable to learn, we cannot be good instructors. As noted above, a disciple is also a teacher, and must hone instruction skills.
B. Discipline: Hebrews 12:6 and 11, Prov 3:11, 15:31-32
God gives us the example by disciplining those he loves (and we are to love even our neighbors, more especially our subordinates), and we should welcome it, even though it is not pleasant at the time. This message is echoed throughout the Bible in various instructions and examples.
From the giving correction standpoint, we often are reluctant (or too eager) to correct because we don’t know about correction in love. Usually we correct with a negative attitude, thinking ourselves better, or ‘right.’ Correction in Love has the attitude recommended in Phil 2:3 . . . consider others better than yourself. If we have this attitude toward the other, and our correction is indeed intended to serve (help, build up, elevate) the other, then the correction can be received.

7. Position of Power
Servant Leader may seem to be a misnomer, or oxymoron, and in the world’s view this could not be effective, for the leader would become a doormat, or at best ineffective in commanding respect and discipline. A truly powerful person has no thought or need to protect him/her self. We need to lead (and serve) from this position of knowing who we are in Christ!

SOME WEDDING PHOTOS

THE VENUE on the SEA
THE LADIES

SUNSET VIEW

GOING FISHIING

Men's Study group - Harvesters Christian Fellowship

Jesus had already appeared to the disciples twice, so they knew he was around. They must have been waiting for his return appearance, yet he was slow in coming. Peter, always the impetuous and impatient one, seems to have given up hope that Jesus would return, and said "I’m going fishing." This is what he knew, it was his life before Jesus, and without Jesus, he would return to the old life.

We now live with the promise that Jesus will return, and we, too, often lose hope that he will really return. After all, it is already more than two thousand years! And we, too, after being born again and having experienced a closeness with Jesus, sometimes seem far from him, and are tempted to go back to our old lives and habits of before we met Jesus. The temptation to say "I’m going fishing" is great.

When they returned to the old life, these fishermen were not successful all night. Then someone appeared to them on the shore, asked if they had success, and they had to admit they had not. The person, actually Jesus, but they did not recognize him, told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. When they did so, they caught more fish that the net was designed for.

Many questions here.
Why did these men, who had lived for Jesus for 3 years, not recognize him? The Bible says they were only a football field away from shore. Yet they did not recognize him. Perhaps it was not yet light? Or perhaps like the men on the road to Emmaeus (Luke 24) their eyes were prevented from recognizing him?
What difference is left side of boat or right? The net goes under the boat, the water is the same, the fish are the same. Yet they obeyed him, and were successful.

Of interest is the fact that Jesus was a carpenter, not a fishermen. They were the fishermen, and knew the fishing business. Yet Jesus knew where the fish were better than they.

Many times in our lives Jesus appears to us, perhaps as a person we do not recognize, and gives instructions. Something inside us tells us it is right. When we obey, we will be successful. Sometimes we must trust our ‘instincts’ and be obedient even though we don’t know the person and what they are saying doesn’t make sense. Sometimes we ‘know better’ but for the particular instance it would be best to follow what might seem like unwise advice.

There are all kinds of lessons and questions in the passage of Jesus feeding them breakfast, but I want to focus on John’s statement that they did not dare ask who he was, because they already knew. Why does John write this? Why would it even be in their heads if they already knew? This passage must be in the Bible for a reason, a reason for us and other believers through the centuries. Why?

I leave you for now with this question, though we did discuss it on the Sunday following Easter in Tondo, Manila, Philippines.

This is a short version of what I preached at Bologo, outside Calatrava, Romblon, Tablas Island, Philippines

Easter is the Sunday in which we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, from the tomb. The scripture I chose for today was written for the Israelites, but we can apply the instructions and promises to our own lives as Christians, adopted into the family of God through the blood of Christ.

"Arise, shine, for your light has come,and the glory of the LORD rises upon you"

Today we remember the day that this light Himself rose from the dead, so that we could shine. His instruction to us: "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16, NIV) The glory of the Lord has risen upon us, so that we can shine. Certainly darkness is in the world all around us as people everywhere look for some meaning in life, some purpose, but see none, but grope in all the wrong places.

The promise that nations will come to our light assumes that our light is indeed shining as Jesus instructed, that our good deeds are notable, that our peace, joy, and love in the midst of trial and turmoil have become infectious to set people free from worry, fear, anger, bitterness. It assumes that we are carrying out the Great Commission to go into the world (that world of darkness around us) and make disciples. If we are doing that, people will be drawn to the light.

The death and resurrection make it possible. We must make it happen.

BORN AGAIN?

BORN AGAIN?

The term "born again"is a very popular Christian phrase today. Unfortunately, there is much misunderstanding about its meaning. In my seminars when I talk about the different "denominational languages" and how they create barriers between Christian groups and individuals, I often have the participants write out a short definition of the term to demonstrate the point. Examples of answers I have heard include:
"Someone who believes in Jesus."
"Someone who has repented from sin, accepted Jesus in his heart, and has been baptized."
"Someone who has received the Holy Spirit."
"Someone who has received the Holy Spirit as evidenced by speaking in tongues."
"Someone who has been saved and speaks in tongues."
Sometimes, the answer reveals the denominational training a person has had! The definitions shown above demonstrate some theological confusion. The confusion is revealed and hopefully dispelled when we begin to examine the biblical description of the term. This we do in the seminars and in this short study.

ORIGIN

The term was used by Jesus to explain spiritual things to Nicodemus, a Jewish leader:
JOHN 3:1-6 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."
In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
Jesus made it clear that even though we have been born of the flesh (through our mother), we must be born of the Spirit for us to enter the Kingdom of God. The capital S indicates that this refers to the Holy Spirit, the lower case s is for other spirits, in this case the human spirit. The Bible shows us why this Spiritual birth is necessary as well as what it is. For our study, we begin with the beginning, in Genesis.

MAN IS CREATED IN GOD'S IMAGE

GE 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:
God is a triune being: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We see three parts named. One is a central being, essence, one is in bodily form, another one is Spirit. Man also has three parts: a central thinking unit (mind or soul), plus a body, and a spirit. (See diagram in right column showing us created in God's Image)

ORIGINAL SIN: DEATH THAT REQUIRES RE-BIRTH

There was only one rule that Adam and Eve had to follow in the Garden of Eden:
GEN 2:17 ". . . but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
God said they would surely die when they ate of the fruit of that one tree. There was only one rule! The Bible records what happened:
gen 3:4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
The woman chose to obey what Satan said, and her own experience (seeing the fruit was good) rather than what God said, and ate the fruit, disobeying God.
Gen 3: 5-6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Adam also ate the fruit, in disobedience. They should have died at that time, according to God's words. Yet, when they ate, they did not appear to die. They lived long enough to be expelled from the Garden. They lived long enough to have two sons, who fought and one killed the other. They lived long enough for the dead son to be replaced with theirthird son, Seth. The Bible says Adam lived eight hundred years after that!
When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
So it would appear that they did not die right away. But just as looks were deceiving when Eve saw that the forbidden fruit was good to eat, so it is that it is deceiving to assume that just because a person is walking and talking that this person is really alive, in the Biblical and true sense. Death meant DEAD TO GOD. SIN IS LIKE A DOOR THAT CLOSES, SEPARATING US FROM GOD.
(Refer to diagram in right hand column showing closed door to God)

THE RE-BIRTH

Here the writer Paul refers to living, breathing people as being dead in sin, and gives the reason and circumstance: they were following the ways of Satan. There is another concept also introduced here which we will look into in greater detail when we look at Christian Maturity, and that is that satan is the ruler of the kingdom of this world. This also came to pass, just as the death of man, in that same episode in the Garden.
Man was created by God and given dominion, or rule, over the earth. By submitting to satan Adam placed man under the authority and control of satan, and man's dominion, the earth, became satan's dominion. Also, man's dominion over his mind and body became subject to the new ruler. Adam and Eve sold themselves to the devil: they and theirs, including their children, which are us, belong to satan.
Being born again means that the Spirit of God has breathed life into your dead spirit through accepting Jesus Christ's death as payment to purchase you from the former owner, satan. The purpose of being Born Again of the Spirit of God is to replace the dominion where it belongs, under God with man as the manager in charge. This repositioning of submission and authority allow man to again have a personal relationship with God, as before "the fall." Without it, man cannot have this relationship, cannot "enter the kingdom of God."
This is why Jesus said "You must be born again."
Eph 2:4-5 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.
Col 2:13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
(Refer to diagram in right hand column showing open door to God)

This is what Jesus called being "born again." Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
"You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'"

BORN AGAIN AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

I have had seminar participants who were confused about the relationship of the Holy Spirit and being Born Again. In this lesson we are not going to teach about the Holy Spirit, except to point out that one who has been "born again" is also "saved," or has "eternal life," and has the Holy Spirit, according to scripture. Jesus connected the Holy Spirit and eternal life in John 4:13-14: Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER, additional study:

John 3:1-8 Jesus told Nicodemus that being born again allows a person to do two things. Without being born again, no person can __________ or ______________ the _____________ ___ _______ .

Sin is like a door that closes and separates us from the ______________ __________ which gives our spirit life.

How does one become born again?

Look at Eph 2:4-10, 2 Cor 5:17, and 1 John 1:8-9, Rom 8:16-17.
What is the difference between one who is born again and one who is not?
If we are born again, and become alive to God through Christ, but then we sin again, is the door closed again and must we be born again each time we sin?

THE WORD - IN OTHER WORDS

Last week I was reading Psalm 119, which is all about God’s word, and I noticed that in the first nine verses this word is referred to with different words:

Psalm 119:1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.
Psalm 119:2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
Psalm 119:3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
Psalm 119:4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
Psalm 119:5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
Psalm 119:6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
Psalm 119:7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
Psalm 119:8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
Psalm 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

In order according to verse: law, testimonies, ways, precepts, statutes, commandments, righteous judgments, statutes, word.

Last night with the youth at my apartment (we had 10 last night) we explored this interesting facet of God’s word. We noticed that all the words refer to the same thing, yet each has a different ‘flavor’ and some have radically different connotations for us. For example, law, or statute, has a rather negative, heavy connotation, while testimony has a positive one.

What we came to realize is that all these words are used to describe how God presents himself to us. He presents his character (testimonies), his likes and dislikes (judgments), and his instructions on how to live the abundant life he created us to have. We also noticed that different versions of the Bible have some different words.

When we wondered why all these different words in the very beginning, we thought that we were being introduced to all the different words which would be used throughout this long psalm. We decided to check this out, choosing verses at random, and even went around the group choosing verses according to birth day or year. All had some reference to the word, and usually a specific application.

All agreed that reading Psalm 119 was tedious and boring, but that with this study it came alive and meaningful. One said that v 71 had ministered to her during a time of trouble. Two favorites, v 11 and 105, are well known and most had memorized them.

This study gave me a new perspective on God’s laws. It reveals who he is. Before, because of the words ‘law’ and ‘commandment’ and such, I had a view of heaviness, of burden, of ‘better do this or else . . .’ Now I see it just reveals his character, the character which he desires me to have as his child. It’s not threatening at all!

SEEING THE UNSEEN

One of my favorite topics is Seeing the Unseen, which is being able to ‘see’ the promises of God which we find in the Bible when our experience in this life is that we cannot yet see them in the physical. My favorite illustration is my praying for people for healing for 4 years with no visible results before finally I saw someone healed when I prayed for them. My friends and family thought I was nuts, with many actually telling me so, and telling me that while the Bible says it will happen, it doesn’t actually mean that. But I believed the promise in Mark 16:18 more than my experience: I could see the promise, I could see the unseen, and kept reaching for it until the unseen, the promise, became the reality in my life.

A closely related topic is comparison of Worldly View vs Heavenly View teaching, which has been mentioned nearly every time I talk for the past two years.

I have several modules and they keep growing, and more modules are added as I focus on this topic in sermons and in lectures. The 23rd Psalm is one of my favorite sources of module material for Seeing the Unseen, and Genesis 1:0 is perhaps my favorite module.

Just to summarize:
Psalm 23
v 1 is a statement of fact and then the result of that fact. The fact stated is that the Lord is my shepherd. Comment is that the Lord cares for me not only because he loves me, but it is his job, and there are several requirements inherent in this job, such as feeding me and protecting me, as well as others which we can examine in teaching. The result of this relationship is that I lack nothing. Not now, not ever.

The rest of the psalm gives examples of this provision which causes me to lack nothing: green pastures, still waters, refreshing and restoring, paths of righteousness, no fear, a feast table continually before me, anointing, overrunning cup, and goodness and mercy with me all the days of my life.
Since sometimes in life, these examples are not always seen, we need to learn to see the unseen in order to appropriate them for our lives. For now I will just mention the table which is before me in the presence of my enemies (v 5). This means between me and my enemy. If we can see the table, respond to the invitation of the Lord and enjoy the feast with the King of Kings rather than react to the attack of our enemy, the result of the experience in our life will be radically different. The point is that when we can see and appropriate the promises of God, the result of our experiences will be different than if we do not see the unseen promises which are in the Bible.

We cannot and will not experience the promises of God unless we are aware of them, can see them, and appropriate them. Salvation is one example of this of which I hope we are all aware. Until we knew about it we did not know to ask. Until we asked, we did not receive. When we are aware, and ask (appropriate, not all promises are appropriated in the same way, the Bible tells how to appropriate different ones) we will receive: it’s a promise! That’s why we need to keep informing people about the promise, the opportunity that can be available to them.

Another module which teaches this principle is Genesis 1:0. In this teaching, I ask people to turn to Gen 1:1. In the beginning . . .

Then I ask them to look at Genesis 1:0 and tell me what they see. Nothing. Before the beginning nothing existed. But everything already existed in the mind of God. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has put eternity into the hearts of men, but men cannot see or understand from beginning to end. It is only when God reveals it that they can see it.

From this nothing which is everything existing in the mind of God, God spoke the things that exist into existence. Basically, the teaching is that the Word of God (Jesus - John 1) lives in us (Col 1:27) and is still speaking through us, completing his creation in and through us. Eternity which has been put in our hearts is revealed to us as God desires, and we are his instruments to bring it to pass (Ephesians 2:10).

Well, I don’t have space here for all the examples and support scriptures, but this is powerful, and if you can get it, you will understand that the Creator of heaven and earth lives in you and is still creating, often through your words and actions. We become participants not only in his divine nature (2PE 1:4) but in his continuing creating into existing things which cannot be seen (Heb 11:3).

During the week God provided a demonstration of this teaching. See the story in UNEXPECTED TREASURE blog!