Tag Archives: Jesus Christ

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Your Good Just Might Not be Good Enough

As people of God we want so much of God but we do and give so little for Him. Do you really know Him? Or maybe I should say do you really want to know Him?

Proverbs 21:2, 14:12, 16:25
Galatians 6:7-9, 1 Kings 18:21, Matthew 7:20-24

There’s a saying… “a little knowledge makes a person dangerous.” When most people gain a little knowledge about the Bible they believe that they are a Christian authority and their understanding is somewhat absolute even though they may not want to admit it. They fill that their understanding of the Bible gives them the right to speak for all
Christians, and from that they begin in corporate their own personal belief system into what ever the biblical topic being discuss is, according to the way they feel concerning what the Word of God is saying. They will begin to impose their understanding on everybody and thing. And a lot of times, this leads to a new belief system that contradicts the Bible all the time. Then that belief doctrine will begin to become infectious and nine time’s out of ten because there may be some kind of relationship or emotional attachment involved that people will begin to equate
this as being true words of Jesus.

People usually will follow after someone they care about when it comes to listening to the Word of Jesus instead of only listening to the the Word of Jesus Christ as to not hurt others feelings.

Proverbs 21:2
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts.

 

The word Ponder means ‘to think.”

Isaiah 5:18-23
Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

For those who think they know Jesus will begin to justify what they do in His name with a surety! It’s the people who tend to believe they know what a Christian is supposed to be like, but never had a relationship with Jesus. They don’t love Him, they really only heard of Him have a lot of mouth service all because they read the Bible like a book as in a fairy tale and only to be taken as such. Not as the true inspirational words from Jesus and the only way to know this is to travel down the road of salvation, to find out first who Jesus is and what He means to world and personally to you.

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Don’t Let Another Man’s Burden Become Your Test

People have a way of uploading to you their mess. We’ve been allowing people to download mess back and jack us up. The burden of them, what they’re going through becomes our test. Allowing people to put weights upon your life, and then wanting you to deal with it. They dump and dump. Some of us make good dumping grounds. If I dump usually its off of me. But now my burden becomes your test. We have our own to deal with. So if you have some dumping to do, don’t dump it on me. I don’t want the mess you’re in to become my mess. Burden, loads, responsibilities…When you grab a hold of something from someone else, it becomes your responsibility. I don’t want someone else cross to become my burden.

Burden: Greek word is baros meaning load, abundance, authority, weight. Anything pressing on one physical thing.

I understand what you’re going through, but when you take someone else burden it makes a demand on one’s life, spirit, resources, time…most people don’t realize that. When you look at a test. What is a test? Everyone has been to school. When you take a test its a critical examination and evaluation of ones trial. How many have done an evaluation on yourself? Did you find yourself wanting? Lacking? The point is…how often do we admit our failures to ourselves? I have come to the conclusion its a daily battle to exist and a daily war to walk upright before God. Daily. The Bible tells us no one knows what tomorrow will bring. One day you’ll be all together, with inspiration of wisdom, and you think wow, I must be going somewhere. Then the next day, you are miserable and think everyone hates you. The point is that one moment we’re this way, another moment were that way, but we don’t even realize there is a day-to-day life we lead, and live walk and breath. You cannot fix things that moment. You cannot fix things that day or hour or month. Even the world can’t fix problems because it’s not them who are fixers, they are causers.

How many have ever had an evil thought? Think about it, so the negativity in the air is also because of what you thought and did. So, this world is the way it is because of us. We have allowed another man or woman’s burden to become ours and we’ve spread that disease like never before. People use the term, “I hate your guts.” No one’s ever seen your guts, how would you hate someone you’ve never had a gut to gut relationship with? You walk away feeling proud, and then when you walk away you say “why did I say that.” Now you’ve taken over someones problem. Have you ever thought about why you hate an individual? Because it didn’t meet a personal need or physical awareness, because they kept you from being fulfilled by a thing. So you traded your love for hate. How could you love one moment and hate the next? Sometimes we don’t even have to say we hate, we just live a life of hate toward that individual. How many are carrying others burdens right now? How many are in a test today? Did you create that test?

When you look at a test scenario, evaluation of yourself, a lot of times we get mad at a person because it’s expressing who we are. We’ve painted a picture of us being something different, but the truth comes out of what we really are. When our mind has told us that we are what we made ourselves out to be, then we get mad at the person calling us out. Then we inspire others to see our point of view. When we set a trap for ourselves, the Lord tells us to love everyone. But Lord I can’t love someone who treated me bad, talked about me, stabbed me in the back, called me names…sometimes we’ll reap things we’ve done from a long time ago… thought we got away with it, when the Lord says He has a time for us. Then we don’t understand and say “Lord why me? I’m the one that loves You.” As you define love and relationship in your life, what are the elements you use to define love?

How many forgive people? The sort of prayer that says “Lord I forgive them for what they’ve done and what they’re doing.” When you allow the hardship and burden of someone else to become your difficult state, then they become a detriment to yourself. You may not have said it out loud, but you may have acted like it. Its like this…you speak things into existence. Out of your mouth you condementh yourself. And that is just after you sang “I could sing of your love forever.” When you come into the house of God, I don’t want you to leave the same way you came. Most come jacked up, broken, confused, and then whats next? Did I speak about trials earlier…if you didn’t get it right the first time…you’re going to repeat it. And it doesn’t come on a time schedule. It comes when you are doing everything you like under the sun. Weigh it before you say it. Before things come out your mouth out of hatred, anger, lust, even love, make sure you weigh it against the heart and mind of God. Don’t say anything out your mouth that hasn’t been checked. The words that come out of your mouth vibrate. Everything has a vibration to it and it is stored in objects. If you take the test of someone else upon yourself when no one asks you to, then if they get an F, you get an F. Don’t get mad when the result is not positive toward you. Don’t get upset and say “Lord that wasn’t my test it was their test.” The Lord will look at you and say “were you in agreement with them or did you entertain it?” Your test is your test. So if someone is in a test, say I don’t want your test. Your test is a mess. If you aren’t able to bear it, or go through your own personal test, how will you bear it? Another man’s burden will not be mine.

Galatians 6:1-18

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Don’t call someone out of their name, or say you hate their guts or say you can’t stand them. “Galatians 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.” “Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” When it says this, it doesn’t mean bear another persons sin. Your walk is your walk. If I see another person going through, I will help, but I won’t bear it. How do you help? By praying that God’s will be done in his life, not to grab it and try to work a will, but to pray that God’s will be done. So if you take on another persons burden in another way other than prayer, it becomes your test, and it’s not what God has given you. Now, you’re bearing another’s burden through prayer because its your brother/sister, don’t get involved. We get sick, they get well and we’re still sick. Don’t hold onto some else’s burden because if they go down hill, so will you.

Jonah was given a command to go to Nineva to preach to the heathen man. The Lord said that if he preached to them, they would repent. He instead took his burden to a great fish. He said swallow me! If you do then I don’t have to say what He has to do. You’d rather be swallowed by a big fish than to do what the Lord told you to do, then you deserve everything coming to you. But the Lord didn’t let that happen. So the fish spat him out. He made a 2 weeks journey in 2 days, and did what God told him. When someone is disobedient to God, don’t be around them, run. When a grenade goes off, does it make distinctions about whom it will blow up? No it blows up everything. So if God is after someone because of their disobedience and you are associated with them, you will take the burden too. Rather you should pray that God deals with them, that God delivers them from themselves.

Why do we go through for someone else’s mess? I want to go through my own trials, because its something I didn’t get right. I don’t want you to go through for me because I won’t get the point. I won’t get it if I don’t go through because the Lord takes us through to make us, not to break us. You can’t go through what another person goes through because God is dealing with them individually. You have to realize you help people better by allowing God to take them through. God is trying to let us know He wants to make us.

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Warring Against the Mess in the Flesh

How many times have you started out doing what was the right thing to do but it turned out worse? You started out with a good intention. Did you know that good intentions are not good enough? We try to do things that our Lord would be happy and pleased over. In dealing with life itself you must understand that the first word that you see in the word “intention,” is intent. The word intent is starting something, but not completing that thing. For example, he did have intentions to save money, but he never held on to any money. She intended getting a good job in her field, but never took the time to search out her field. There needs to be some action behind the intentions. I have intentions to go get food, but if I don’t cough up money to get the food, I won’t get it. With intentions there is always a presence of a struggle with you or some opposing factor in your life that causes you not to fulfill the intention. Good intentions are not good enough.

Good intentions without action behind it means nothing. If you don’t put fire behind your intention, that intention dies. How would you like if the Lord only intended to die for us? If He’d not put action behind it, we’d be a most miserable people. If you really intend to do something, it would have been done. So when you are in a warring with your flesh, its a conflict. I’m glad the Lord didn’t get cold feet when it came to us. I’d rather for someone to say that they can’t do something, than to say they intend to do something, and don’t do it. When thinking if a person will go forward with doing something for someone else they say “Well how did they treat me last week? They didn’t treat me right. They borrowed money from me last time. No I don’t like them. You borrow money and didn’t pay me back.” The other person says “I was intent on paying you back.” We’re always in a conflict with ourselves. We do things for people according to if they did something for us. Conflict and intentions have a hand in hand relationship, because conflict keeps you from carrying out intentions. Opposition keeps you from carrying out intentions. Your attitude towards a person keeps you from being a brother or sister in Christ to that person. There is war between brothers and sisters in Christ. If a brother or sister didn’t do something we didn’t like, we hold back brotherly love. The Bible says we should care about others more than ourselves. If we don’t, we spread discord because a sister or brother didn’t get the love needed, and so they spread bitterness and it trickles down to the next person. We ought to know how to talk to our brothers and sisters, motivating them to do good and not to do jackedupness. I don’t want you to leave hurt. If we don’t do go to our brothers, their hurt will be internalized and the hurt will be spread. Care about your brother or sister. Isn’t something how we get jealous? We have so much opposition. Why because there is a selfish nature inherited by humans. Jesus with the disciples who were going to dinner rebuked Jesus for sitting with publicans and sinners. Jesus said He came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. We must not have a selfish mentality.

James 1:5-8

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

We want to look good before other peoples eyes, because our intentions are not good. There is a war and conflict going on. Don’t think God is going to answer you when you have a mindset to do things for show. Did you know being a Christian is a lonely road? You go through a lot of trials and tests, because He wants to make you. We say to the Lord, why are You taking me through all this? Why me? I don’t want to go through another test? We complain through the entire thing, then at the end, we say Lord, it was good for me to go through that. There is always a conflict because our flesh wants to kick against everything. We say I’ll go help sister or brother so and so clean their house, because its filthy. You work tirelessly. When you get to your own house, you’re so tired and fall asleep, and miss your time with Lord because you were too busy doing something for someone else. When you have an intent to do something, make sure you carry it out.

How do we get beyond not carrying out our intentions? Its selfishness. It’s alright to be selfish, but not to the detriment of being with Him. When we have intentions the pray, and we don’t what kept us? Its the warring that takes place in our lives, souls, and day to day operation. We intend to do good, but you can’t be double minded as James says. When you’re warring it means a struggle between opposing forces. The word conflict is a clash between forces. There is a clash inside of you. What are you warring against? What things are distracting you? Phone calls, frivolous things? But you just told Jesus that you don’t have time. We make the time for what we want to make time for, and then we complain when we think Christ isn’t coming on time. When we get in trouble when do we want Jesus? Before hand so when we get in trouble we don’t need to worry about calling Him. Can you imagine Jesus talking to the Father about us saying “oh Lord.” Then the Father says to Jesus, “Well You died for them.” Our intent needs to be carried out. The Lord asks one thing of us: to Love Him. Then He said after you love Me, love others. He didn’t ask you for your car or to burn 20, 000 houses to sacrifice to Him, He just said love Me, and as you love Me, love one another. Its your reasonable service just to love. So when you intend to do something, don’t intend, just do it. Its you who makes the promises you don’t keep.

Do you remember Samson? He had all that strength to be used for Lord, but he was fighting against the people who were fighting against his people, the Philistines. He had a conflict. How about David? He had conflicts. How about Saul? People don’t realize that these conflicts in their lives were destroying their communication and walk with God.

Proverbs 16:1-9

The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits. Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right. A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

A man plans his ways, but God guides his steps in the way they should go. There is a way that seems right to a man, a woman, a child, but the end thereof is death. Your mind plays tricks on you. If your mind is jacked up, then how will your way be? Those who think themselves something are nothing. When you think your something, your nothing, there is a way that seems right to man, but the end thereof is the way of death. When you think you’re something, then your end is death.

Point your finger at yourself and say “You’re always getting me into trouble.” No one makes you do anything. You do things because you want to. You remember the old song “The devil’s on my back.” The devil isn’t on your back, if he was, you’d be all jacked up. He doesn’t care about you. He has too many other things to do than to be on your back. The Lord is the one that cares about you. Satan just doesn’t want you to win more souls to God. Satan knows there is a God and he trembles. You hear some people say “I ain’t scared of no God,” meanwhile, Satan, God archenemy trembles at Him. We need to realize that we can’t beat God or jack Him up.

Make sure the intents of your heart are genuine.

Further reading on this topic: Proverbs 17:14-20,1 Corinthians 1:9-17, Philippians 2:1-16

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Broken in Pieces

Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Psalm 147:1-11

Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

In the Bible it says that He will mend broken hearts, heal broken hearts (Psalm 147:3). The broken pieces in our minds, in our thoughts, they tend to keep tearing at our very being. Memories, broken memories of our past, seem to rip and pull at our hearts, saying what could have, maybe what should have. Those very things are a constant hurt and pain to our very souls. Broken pieces. As I said before broken dreams. I know we’ve all had hopes and aspirations of a future for us, or lives, families, jobs, our very relationships, only to have had them dashed, destroyed; we have fallen victim to broken pieces. These broken pieces. We have been wounded to the point where we feel sometimes like we can’t go on. These broken pieces of memories, of dreams, keep reoccurring in our lives. Some people can not proceed forward in their lives due to the fact that they keep reliving those broken memories, broken dreams, those broken pieces. We have not proceeded further in our relationships with others, in our pursuit of life. Even in liberty, we have not even pursued liberty, to be set free from the things that bind us. Lay aside ever weight (that means broken pieces) every sin that does so easily beset us. The broken dreams.

Some of us had a dream of being someone important, someone who has achieved goals in their lives, to assist or help someone else achieve their goals, only to have had it dashed away and become broken pieces in our lives. Some of us had the hopes and dreams of finding the right woman or man who will fulfill our hopes and desires of life, someone we can confide in, talk to in peace. Someone that can console us when we’re going through troubles in our walk. We thought that we would find the ultimate mate, have a family, kids, one or two maybe even three kids. Have a family; extension of ourselves. Something that we can look up to and feel proud about. Someone that we can feel happy about. Some people say their life would be complete if they could find that perfect individual. But the individual they did pursue and found a relationship with at the time, they even knew that they should not have been with that individual. They knew that they were not compatible with that individual. But out of the hopes of having a relationship, they pursued it further and further to the point that they were all in and locked in. They confided, consoled, they let their heart flow toward that individual, hoping that it would be reciprocated, only to find out that that individual had ulterior motives; Had a hidden agenda for their live, and it led you down the road of despair. Then you began to feel unloved, undesired, that no one even cared about who you were, not your outward appearance but who you were inside. That comes from you placing all your hopes and desires in that situation. Already knowing that it would come to not. You shunned friends and family, set aside wisdom from leaders, pushed away any form of help. Now you are at the end of your rope.

You had a desire to be in a company, to be needed at your job. To desire someone to see your abilities at what you do. Only winding up to be passed over by your bosses for someone who was less qualified. You begin to get angry on your job, because you had put trust, hopes, dreams and expectations on that job. A lot of times what we do as human beings is we place ourselves in a dream state looking with a dream mind, saving up a situation that is not in existence, but is something we desire to be or have. Along with those dreams, we have attached a lifestyle a situation, ambition, and all these types of emotional connections. So when it does not turn out the way we dreamed it to be; they become a broken dream, that you were not healed of; They become broken pieces.

We push that to the back of our minds, and out of the way of our hearts. We had family members, relatives, kin, who when we grew up we thought that they cared a whole lot about us. Who we thought would make provision for us in their lives. We thought that they would be for us, no matter what situation we got in. As we progressed in our maturity in life, they slowly but surely began to dissipate in our live. But we built a foundation around them saying that “I am who I am because of who I’m connected to.” So our identity was through them and how they perceived us. Then we find out the some of them wanted to use us for their own glory for their own pursuit. Now our hopes and expectations have been broken. We have broken pieces.

You started going to Church as a young child. You saw the way individuals loved and helped around the House of God. You saw how you could count on those individuals in the House of God. So you build an expectation when you get older that that same type of love, consideration and concern will still be there when you mature. But I tell you again you are living in a dream world. Satan has pull the wool over your eyes so you can only see the good things about people. But the reality is there is none good. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is only one good man and that is Jesus Christ. But we have built our expectation on the individuals around us. We have seen how their love for others begins to supersede our understanding of what love is because we see them performing the acts of love to us as we understand. We have to perceive that everybody in the church is not right. Everybody in the house of God is going through a test that always winds up being a mess that will cause you to have stress. Know this, we have to realize one thing, if there is no test in your life, then there is no growth in your soul towards Christ. Now these individuals in the house of God, they’re not trying to set you up, but their going through their own stress, tests, ambitions and their own coping with life, whatever life throws at them. So all the time it may not appear to be that they’re saved. But know this they’re going through their own test that has broken pieces. I tell you without broken pieces in your life, God cannot get you out of the strife that you are going through.

We need to be able to call on the Lord in our time of need. You need to be able to call on the Lord in your time of stress. “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me” (Psalm 50:15).

2 Peter 2:7-9

And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

This is when it was concerning Lot being delivered from Gomorrah. How many have ever been in a situation, whether on your job or some location where the conversation went left, because those people were of the world, and the conversation that they spoke about remained in your mind as part of the broken pieces of your memory? The conversation got wickeder, being fed by others around you. As it would be, they all became part of the broken pieces and the broken thoughts of your mind. This explains what a Child of God goes through today whether with his family, job or community. These are all part of the broken pieces, thoughts or dreams that are aligned with that individual. You’re being vexed day in and day out with these conversations. But the Lord God knows how to deliver the Godly out of the temptation and to reserve the unjust unto the day to be punished. So its up to us to keep ourselves in the midst of the broken dreams and pieces of our heart to maintain, never give up or give in to the situations that we’re in. Whether its in a relationship with a man or woman, family members who seem to be talking against us, or whether they are church folks which seem to be attacking us. Whether it with people on our jobs, our bosses or co-workers. Whether its with our community, we have to never give in and never give up, holding on to that faith, to that confidence in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that He will deliver you from that situation.

Psalms 47:3

He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

The Lord will heal those scars, those broken pieces. But He can only heal those broken pieces, scars and broken dreams if you release them to Him and leave it there. He can’t deliver you from anything if you constantly give it to Him, then take it back; He can never deliver it. But if you constantly dwell on it, you take it back. How can Christ heal you when you keep refusing the medicine? He said He will fix the broken heart and bind up your wounds. I’ve never seen anyone go to the hospital to get healed, and leave the same day they got in there. Back and forth, they go into the hospital then they change their mind, they go in and change their mind. How can you get healing for our Lord Jesus Christ if you don’t take your burden and leave it there?

Psalm 55:22

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

To be healed of the broken pieces, dreams, and heart, you need to carry all those things to the Lord, and genuinely leave them with Him. Think no more of them, and move on in your life for growth in your Christian walk. Don’t leave them at the altar of God and come back and pick them up. You will never be delivered no matter how much you pray if you continually take them from the Lord.

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True Leadership

People in this world are looking for true leaders. Someone that they can follow, who follows Jesus Christ, who will love them with their whole hearts. Not someone who will use, extort, abuse, steal, lie, or patronize them in the face or around others. Someone that will not belittle them but love and care for them and their family.

 

1 Kings 18:1-39

And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lordcame to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.  And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah?  And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord‘s prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.  And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.  And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:  And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.  And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.  And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.  And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.

 

These people didn’t understand what a leader was. Didn’t understanding that when you are sent from God, true leaders of God will be backed up by God. We look at Aaron, who sinned before God by making a golden calf. He was stripped of every authority representing our Lord and Saviour and he died and his sons because there was no more lineage until God restored the Levi lineage. This was an example of a bad leader. With Elijah, after God consumed the offering, it was laid to rest, no more serving Baal. Even today, they have erected in the city of New York Baal Temple Walls, and also in London, England in 2016. The one in New York was in Times Square, a 50ft arch. Things have not changed, just as it was in Elijah’s days, people today have fallen away from the one true God, by their leaders, by people who are not true leaders. If you remember what I said earlier, people are looking for leaders who are not going to extort them, abuse them, lie to them, or even belittle or patronize them. They are looking for leaders who will tell them the truth. The leaders today are falling into the same footsteps of the Prophets of Baal. There are six recommendations that I have for being a true leader in this day and age of GOd.

 

  1. Fear God
  2. Being a Man of truth
  3. Hating covetousness
  4. Obedience
  5. Caring for and loving others
  6. Faithful to God and the people

 

These are the 6 main attributes of a true leader for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, otherwise, you aren’t a leader you are a liar. If you can’t do these things, you can’ t be God’s leader. Everyone wants to be a leader when it is convenient. But when the brass tacks get down, then you disappear, because you don’t want the responsibility of being a leader, being hurt or found out. You don’t want all of that, but you want all the glory with being a leader.

 

Romans 8:30-31

Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

 

When the Lord call’s you to be a leader, these 6 things have to be a part of you, if they are not you can never be a leader. The Lord will take you through some things to be a man or woman in the leadership of God.