In the previous blog I gave 5 ways to help you excel in giving. Here are five more…

1. Give in order to invest in the future

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven…” (Mt 6:19-20). Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God…In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life (1 Tim 6:17-19).

How interesting: God has no problem with us ‘hoarding’ up treasure for ourselves…so long as it is in the right place – in heaven, not on earth. Imagine that you lived in England and you were 20 years old, but that you planned to retire at the age of 60 by the sea in Spain. The laws of Spain stipulated that you could not bring any money into Spain with you when you arrived, or at any time after your arrival. But that before you arrived you could deposit a maximum of 100 pounds per month into your Spanish bank account. What would you do? I expect that you would diligently send your 100 pounds through every month for 40 years, so that you had enough to retire on. God encourages us to do the same for heaven. Although the bible doesn’t tell us everything about heaven, it does tell us that we can store up blessings for ourselves in advance.

2. Giving is more about how much we keep than how much we give

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. (Ps 24:1). What do you have that you did not receive? (1 Cor 4:7) Because wealth is relative, this principle ‘levels the playing field’ for all of us by making giving an issue of proportion rather than amount. The issue is not so much the amount that we give, but rather the amount of faith and trust in God that is represented by the amount that we give. God’s interest seems to be more in how much we keep than how much we give.

3. Give so that you feel it

But King David replied to Araunah, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing” (2 Sam 24:24).

4. Give ‘beyond’ your ability

And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints (2 Cor 8:1-4). What a great attitude! They saw giving as a privilege to contend for and they even gave ‘beyond’ their ability. The issue here is one of faith. Give to the point where you need to trust God to help you to come out right at the end of each month. What a thrilling way to live.

5. Give from a place of contentment

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Heb 13:5-6). Godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Tim 6:6). The world system works to make us discontent with what we have so that we will buy more and more. In contrast to this, God urges us to get content with what we have and not be continually running after more and more (Mt 6:32). A practical way to do this is to work out what you need to live modestly, and then ‘close the loop’ so that extra income can be given away.

// Originally posted on Godfirst Blog //

Although there are just over 200 verses in the bible on faith, and about the same number on salvation, there are over 2,300 references to finance & money. As leaders, we must help our people come to grips with the impact of money on their souls. Here are five tips:

1. Give to constantly choose God over Mammon

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (Lk 16:13). Jesus speaks straight about this: he gives money a capital ‘M’ and says, point blank, that Money and all it represents, contends with him for the throne of your life. Mammon is not the same thing as money, rather it is the spirit behind money. As with most demonic activities, the assault is one of deception…it tells us that a little more money will make us happier, that we need just a few more possessions to be satisfied, and that having more money or possessions will make us more popular and more powerful. It tells you that your net worth as an individual is based on your net wealth. And, wait for it, the only way to defeat Mammon is to consistently give money away.

2. Give so that God can entrust you with greater responsibility

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? (Lk 16:10-12). The correct handling of money is imperative before God will entrust you with true riches. I have never met a person who is being significantly used by God who has not first lined up his handling of money with what the Bible teaches. And sadly, I know people who would burst into a fruitful life if only they would submit to God’s ways in the realm of finance.

3. Give without ‘sneering’

The Pharisees, who love money, heard this and were sneering at Jesus (Lk 16:14). If you get twitchy when you are provoked to give away money and be generous, it might indicate that you are actually more attached to money than you think you are.

4. Give to stay free from the love of money

People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1 Tim 6:9-10). Note that money is not the problem, rather the love of money is. Giving money away to God in a regular, generous and cheerful manner is the sure way to ‘fall out of love’ with money.

5. Give to get

Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously (2 Cor 9:6). Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure that you use it will be measured back to you (Lk 6:38). God has set a law in place in the universe called ‘sowing and reaping’. This happens rather obviously when a farmer sows seed, but also happens when a Christian ‘sows’ his money. God says that he will organise that this person receives a decent ‘return’ on what they sowed. How wonderful! Not only do we give in order to stay free from the dangers of love for money and reliance on money, but we also get more of it…to give more…to get more…to give more…and along the way all this giving keeps us gloriously free from the snares of Mammon. There was a man, some called him mad. The more he gave the more he had (John Bunyan).

// Originally Posted on Godfirst Blog //

Paul wanted followership based on heart-felt conviction. He wanted people to follow him because deep down they really wanted to, not because they 'had to' or because 'Paul says we must do that'. He wanted them to follow him with 'a clear conscience' (2 Cor. 4:2; 2 Cor. 5:11). Here are some ways that leaders can help people follow with a clear conscience:

1. BE CONVINCED YOURSELF

When a leader lacks conviction about a doctrine or strategy, followers catch the uncertain vibe and their conscience may begin to rebel.

2. GIVE THOROUGH AND COMPELLING THEOLOGICAL REASONS

When correcting the doctrine of the Galatians and Corinthians, Paul was very thorough. He contended and persuaded them with well-laid-out truth. Rather than rely on personality pull or bullying, he let truth do the heavy lifting to help them line up their consciences with what you wanted from them.

3. GIVE THOROUGH AND COMPELLING STRATEGIC REASONS

It is important to go beyond 'the elders and I have decided…' For example, when embarking on a new initiative such as planting a church, starting a new Sunday meeting, or purchasing property, present the vision to the people in a compelling and thorough manner. Talk them through how and why God seems to be leading you. Lay out the prophetic, logical, and situational factors. You want them to come out of that meeting persuaded within themselves that this is a good plan that they can back with a clear conscience.

4. ACKNOWLEDGE AND ADDRESS CONCERNS AND DIFFICULTIES

Don't gloss over the concerns and difficulties that lie ahead. On the contrary, I usually find it best to pre-empt and honestly lay out the challenges up front. Three years ago when we embarked on an audacious land project, at a church meeting I invited everyone to shout out the potential pitfalls and fears concerning starting to raise millions of dollars. They threw them into the middle like hand-grenades … and we defused most of them. People were reassured.

5. REASSURE THAT YOU ARE CONTINUOUSLY LOOKING TO GOD TO CONFIRM

Speaking your faith is essential, but also articulate that you are open to God's direction and leading at every stage of the initiative. It helps people to know that the leadership is pliable and constantly looking to God to confirm the direction you have embarked on.

6. HAVE A CULTURE OF ROBUST DISCUSSION AND DEBATE

If you have one of the foolish and controlling environments where to question the leadership is on par with 'rebellion' or 'challenging the Lord's anointed', then you and your church have serious problems! On the contrary, actively develop a culture where no question is too silly or faithless, and model being open to the advice of your people.

7. DON'T ASK ALL AT ONCE FOR MORE THAN PEOPLE CAN REASONABLY GIVE YOU

I have started two churches from absolute scratch. On both occasions I gathered a few friends and asked them to give me 'just three months' to help get the church started. I said, 'after three months we will know whether or not God is with us'. This cut-off point helped them commit with a clear conscience. And all of them ended up staying way beyond the three months!

8. KEEP 'MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY' FOR LAST RESORT

As leaders we have an ace in the hole called 'my way or the highway' or 'please, just trust me on this one'. But I recommend you hold this back for when you really, really need it. Persuade, don't bulldoze.

In my last post I encouraged you that to grow as a leader, you needed to nurture and grow your own zeal. But how do you do that? Here are a few suggestions to assist in maintaining red-hot zeal for God.

Time with Jesus.

Spending time alone with Jesus results in a myriad of good things, including an impartation of his zeal. I come away from my times with God burning with his authority, love, and zeal. He is the ultimate stoker of zeal and in fact, without regular time with him we run the risk of developing zeal for the job, zeal without knowledge, or other equally dangerous counterfeits of the real zeal.

Get hold of "the faith" for yourself.

Paul says we are to each get our own grip on the faith (1 Timothy 3:9). Make sure you believe what you believe with a clear conscience, both about doctrine and the mission of your church.

Allow hardship, setbacks, and suffering to develop your own conviction and zeal.

Relentless zeal is produced through tough times. See them through, and the hardships will stoke the fires of zeal. Seasons of frustratingly slow church growth have always made me dig deep into God, purify my motives, and reaffirm my zeal for the advance of God's kingdom.

Keep taking risks.

Continuously stepping out of your comfort zone and staying on the faith-stretch keeps the adrenaline levels high, but more importantly, allows you to keep seeing God in action—feel the zeal, baby! So don't take your cloak or wallet with you; let God arise. The taking of risks is not much in vogue in our "health and safety" paranoid culture, and this is one of Satan's most cunning plans to castrate true leadership. Leadership presupposes forward motion, not just managing the status quo. Here's the math: no risk taking, no forward motion.

Avoid dead works like the plague.

Dead works are "doing the stuff" because we have to, and it is "what us Christians have to do." Yuk. These are works void of love and faith, and they will profit you nothing, others little, and are an offense to God. Also, you won't get any rewards for them! A pastor of another church attended Godfirst for six weeks to see what he could learn. At the end he said to me, "I have never seen such a generous and hardworking church, but in the last six weeks I haven't heard you tell anyone to do anything. How does that work?" I talked him through the difference between God-fueled living and dead-works-fueled living.

Think on the cloud of witnesses.

In preparation for a trip to the USA, I've been reading American history. I read about General Patton who, as a young soldier in World War I, was paralyzed with fear during a brutal skirmish with the enemy. Cowering behind cover, he got a vision of the long line of military ancestors watching him from above. Stirred by his heritage, he jumped to his feet and led the charge shouting at the top of his voice, "It is time for another Patton to die!" We are watched by a cloud of zealots (Hebrews 12); let's get out there and lead another charge!

Ever wondered how Titus went from zero to hero—from an unknown nobody to one of the most respected apostolic figures in the New Testament? I can spot three distinct milestones that he passed that we can imitate. Check out the first 2 by clicking here.

Milestone 3: Gaining my own zeal

This is the big one. On the journey to maturity and leadership, many pass Milestones 1 and 2, yet find Milestone 3 elusive. Milestone 3 is the place of gaining your own zeal. Take a look at what Paul says of Titus: "But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord. As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit." (2 Corinthians 8:16-17, 23)

What a jump! Titus goes from being the tag-on servant-hearted guy to a leader in his own right whom Paul now speaks of as "my partner and fellow worker." How did this radical promotion happen? Answer: Titus gained his own zeal.

At Milestone 3 something clicks, and we develop zeal, enthusiasm, and initiative derived directly from God. We begin to do things not primarily because we are told to or asked to, but because God's zeal is welling up inside us and becoming our own zeal. The things that God and Paul were passionate about had now also become Titus' passion. He owned the mission for himself. At Milestone 3 our fire is stoked from within us by God more than by a "Paul" outside of us.

Biblical examples of Milestone 3

Isaiah hit the third milestone when he voluntarily responded to God's general call. Deep within, he found his own zeal for the call. Nehemiah hit the third milestone when he took personal responsibility to rebuild Jerusalem. He was serving God just fine at Milestone 2, but then everything changed when the zeal of God for Jerusalem became his zeal for Jerusalem. Who told him to do it? God. Where was the fire? In his belly. When confronted by Goliath, 10,000 Israeli troops stayed at Milestone 1 or 2, and only David made the leap to Milestone 3. In the next part, I will look at ways to burn hot and long with your own zeal from God.

Ever wondered how Titus went from zero to hero?  How he went from an unknown to one of the most respected apostolic figures in the New Testament? I can spot three distinct milestones that he passed that we can imitate.

Milestone 1: Show up and be willing

Titus first appears in scripture in Galatians 2:1 as the tag-on team member to Jerusalem. Paul introduces Titus saying, "Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me." Titus is not the main guy. He is not even the number two guy. He is the tag-on guy. Not George Michael but, uh, the other one. Titus got involved because Paul asked him to join in, and Titus said yes. Isn't this usually how it all starts, with our attachment being more to the leader than to God? "Sure, I will help you put out the chairs" or "Lead a small group? I'll give it a go but please help me!" Milestone 1 is simply to show up and be willing. Good things begin to happen to people who faithfully show up.

Milestone 2: Serve, serve, serve!

It seems that Titus acquitted himself well on the trip to Jerusalem, so now Paul begins to push his buttons to see if he is willing to serve. The second time that we encounter Titus is when he is mentioned as the one that Paul asked to carry a letter to Corinth (2 Corinthians 7), a letter that scholars refer to as "the severe letter." He was the postman to Corinth carrying unpopular cargo—welcome to step two: willingness to do menial tasks. Not being in the limelight tests whether we will represent our leader faithfully. Would the church in Corinth shoot the messenger? Would Titus distance himself from Paul's letter or represent him faithfully? The second milestone is the Copernican revolution that moves self away from the center of our universe and into service. Good things begin to happen to people who faithfully serve.

In my next post, I will look at two other milestones that moved Titus forward in God's plan for his life.

Definition

The teacher is someone who has a proven, anointed, effective and consistent gift of teaching God’s word. He is also able to develop others in their teaching gift. There is reason to believe that Paul referred to the pastor / teacher as one gift, so whether you agree with that or not, it is hard to imagine a pastor that can’t teach, or a teacher who is not pastoral!

How could I develop into being a teacher?

In an earlier blog in this series we looked at the ‘motivational’ Gift of Teaching from Romans 12. An Ephesians 4 teacher is simply someone with a mature and anointed teaching gift. So, the way to develop into an Ephesians 4 teacher is to focus on developing the Gift of Teaching and see if God promotes you to the office of a teacher. Here is a repeat of the earlier blog on the Gift of Teaching:

A Definition of the Gift of Teaching

The Gift of Teaching (Romans 12) is the special ability that God gives to people to explain and apply the Bible, in a way that helps others learn easily, enjoyably and effectively. It is a per-requisite of being an elder/pastor (1 Tim 3:2&9 and Titus 1:9-16). The ‘person’ gift of the Teacher mentioned in Ephesians 4 would be a person that has a very mature and recognized gift of teaching.

Examples from scripture

• Neh 8:8:

‘They read from the book of the law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read’

• Acts 18:24-28:

‘Apollos was a learned man with a thorough knowledge of the scriptures…he spoke with great fervour and taught about Jesus accurately… he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.’

• Peter in Acts 2 and Paul later in Acts exhibit the gift of teaching from Old Testament scriptures.

• Jesus: referred to as the Great Teacher in Mt 23:10.

• Heb 12:26-28: Teachers are those who (1) Read scripture (2) Explain it (3) Apply it to our lives.

How will I know if I have this gift?

You will enjoy research, study and reading, but you will also be a gifted communicator. You will be concerned for biblical accuracy and context. When you discover a new truth, you will long to pass it on to others. You will get great satisfaction out of someone ‘getting it’. The best teachers are those with both good content and good delivery. People will tell you that they enjoy the way you preach/teach/lead the bible study. People will be pleased when they find out it is you who is preaching/teaching. Please note that some people are excellent researchers and very studious but are no good at delivering the truth to others. These people are better off serving someone who is good at the delivery side of things by researching and writing books and so on. Also remember that there are different capacities and types of this gift, so not everyone will be suited to the same teaching context. Some people thrive on small, interactive groups, and others on preaching to large groups.

How can I grow in this gift?

Pray for more of it. Study diligently. Seek out a mentor to learn from with the same attitude of Elisha in 2 Kings 2:2-9.

Definition

The words pastor and elder and overseer and shepherd are used interchangeably in the New Testament. He is one who is gifted by God to assume a long-term personal responsibility for the spiritual welfare of a group of believers. He guards, guides and governs the flock, as a shepherd would do to sheep. He is also able to equip others to be pastoral.

Qualifications for Pastors/Elders

There are comprehensive lists of some of the necessary character and gifting qualifications for pastors in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

Pastors Guard

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears (Acts 20:28-31). Watch your life and doctrine closely (1 Tim 4:16)

From these scriptures we can see that pastors must guard themselves from sin and the works of the world, flesh and devil, and guard the flock from heresy and from divisive or dangerous people.

Pastors Guide

Pastors guide the church like shepherds do their sheep (Acts 20:28f and 1 Peter 5:1-4). Pastors are out-in-front as the primary vision-bearers and pace setters. They lead their church into the likeness of Christ, and on mission into the neighborhoods and nations.

Pastors Govern

Governing means to direct the affairs of the church (1 Tim 5:17) which needs to be done diligently (Rms 12:8). Pastors govern the church through:
• Setting the vision, strategy, direction and pace of the church
• The appointment of leaders (1 Tim 5:22)
• Through handling the finances (Acts 11:30)
• Thorough discipleship of the believers
• Performing church discipline when necessary

This is #26 in a series of blogs by PJ on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. This blog deals with the gift of the evangelist.

Definition

Whilst we are all called to evangelize (Mk 1:16-18), an evangelist is someone with a proven, anointed, effective and consistent evangelistic ability to win souls to Christ, and to equip believers to be evangelistic.

Biblical Examples

Philip:

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city (Acts 8:4-8).

Paul
Paul has to be our primary example of an evangelist. He was totally committed to going into a new town or city and preaching and living to bring people to faith in Christ.

How can I grow towards the office of an evangelist?

1. By giving yourself to personally winning people to Christ. As you increasingly do this you will learn how to be effective in it yourself and how to teach others to be effective in it.
2. Read books and take courses on evangelism. Spend time around a genuine evangelist to learn from them.
3. By studying to understand culture so that you are able to bring the gospel in a relevant manner…

The Evangelist and Culture

Culture refers to the way that people think and live. The evangelist needs to avoid two extremes: either the ‘Mirror’ Church that engages so thoroughly with culture that it compromises in the name of being relevant and simply reflects society back to itself, or the ‘Bomb Shelter’ church that fails to engage with culture at all, content to create an isolated community, relieved that all those wicked people out there can’t get in.

Paul in Athens

Paul in Athens (Acts 17) is a superb model where he examines their culture to gain understanding of how they think, then he uses their culture to point to Christ in a clear, relevant and humble manner without compromise.

He looked and learned

He examined their culture: movies, mags, media, idols and icons. He was curious to find out what made them ‘tick’, and what questions they already had that would provide a natural opening for the gospel. Then, on finding the opening he preached a clear and uncompromising gospel.

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This post was originally published on the GodFirst Blog.

Definition

While we are all called to pursue the spiritual gift of prophecy (1 Cor 14:1), and while some of us will have more of a God-given prophetic temperament, God raises up some people with a proven, anointed, effective and consistent prophetic ability. The Old Testament is loaded with prophets, but a fine example of a New Testament prophet is Agabus:

During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul (Acts 11:27-30).

After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, `In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ” When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.” (Acts 21:10-14)

How can I develop into the office of a prophet?

Follow the teachings and principles laid out in the earlier blogs about the gift of prophecy and ‘being prophetic’, and faithfully serve the church with your gift. If this is an office that God has for you, he will promote you in due time by others recognising your growing gift.

Prophets will bring weighty words

Prophets will be able to bring the full range of prophetic words, but will be unique in that they will bring weighty words that can shape a whole church or region of churches. For example, the prophecy of Agabus regarding the famine was weighed and acted upon by the leaders in Antioch, including Barnabas and Paul. The group of prophets seem to have been sent by the Jerusalem church and it led to a corporate response in a well led and well taught church.

Prophets should be accountable

Luke describes the prophets who went to Antioch as ‘from Jerusalem’ (Acts 11:27). It is important to know where prophets come from and whether they are recognised as prophets at home base.

Prophets should operate in submission to apostolic ministry

Paul tested those who claimed to be prophets by whether or not they recognized his apostolic doctrine and practice: ‘If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored (1 Cor 14:37-38).

Prophets should not be insecure and melancholic

Dave Devenish writes:

‘Sometimes prophets are described as being insecure or easily suffering rejection or having melancholic tendencies, but we will be hard pressed to find that consistently in scripture, although Jeremiah and Elijah did have some ‘bad days at the office’. We need to see what is lack of sanctification or unresolved personal history and what is genuinely prophetic sensitivity. It is particularly difficult though for prophets if what they say is ignored or not commented upon which may in fact be because we agree but have not told them! Sometimes living with a future picture that has not yet been fulfilled or listened to can be frustrating for a prophet. However Silas seems to be a model of balanced, patient leadership to which we should encourage prophets to aspire.’

Prophets will operate in the other revelation gifts (discerning of spirits, word of wisdom, word of knowledge) and often in the gift of healing as well.