Leadership 103
Scripture Reading - Acts 6:1-3 KJV
1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
Greetings fellow believer in the Mighty Name of Jesus in today’s lesson we will continue our conversation on “Leadership”. In our first Lesson Leadership 101 we taught on the three principles that every good leader should be they are 1) Open to Hear, 2) Quick to Adjust and 3) Slow to Step. Stating that a “godly leader” listens openly to hear what the group is saying to leadership, then that “leader” quickly adjusts to all good advice that was shared and after that the “godly leader” shall proceed with a clearly communicated safe pace knowing slow and steady typically gets the job done. In Leadership 102 we mentioned that a “good leader” must have “vision”. We stated that spiritual insight is a must because spiritual insight allows the leader to see some distance into the future which is necessary to see exactly where you are going. Today’s reference scriptures point out three quality characteristics of a Godly leader. Therefore we will discuss these three characteristics to better understand our Christian leaders and why many leaders are not godly leaders. The three characteristics are honesty, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom. Just by studying the first godly trait of honest is why we concluded that this specifically describes a godly leader. We know that Satan is the father (original source) of all lies according to John 8:44 KJV. So if lying is the opposite of being honest it will explain why we have such poor “leadership” by many ungodly people in the earth. Many “leaders” will not be honest because it takes extra strength and transparency. It is much easier to lie to someone if their performance is subpar then to face them head on and discuss what problems you are seeing in their behavior. We know also that some “leaders” will fire people for issues not related to performance but they won’t be open and clear (transparent) about it to their face, which leaves people in darkness and that darkness causes mental bondage and confusion. So if you are not total honest with all people you interact with you will not be suitable for God’s Leadership position because His standards are much higher than those in the world. Honesty is the best policy. We are to maintain a position of honesty while speaking the truth in love.-Refer to Ephesians 4:15 The second characteristic of being full of the Holy Ghost also points towards the “leader” being a believer in God. No one can ever be full of the Holy Ghost without believing in God, so know that focusing upon being filled with God’s Holy Spirit is a prerequisite for “God’s Leadership program”. We (ihlcc) don’t necessary believe that all “Leaders of God” must be filled with the Holy Spirit with the outward evidence of speaking in tongues because we believe there were many godly Old Testament “leaders” who never spoke in tongues. However, what we believe this is talking about is those believers who demonstrate on a regular (consistent) basis the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Simply put when you are full of the fruit of the Holy Spirit you are most definitely full of the Holy Spirit. Therefore to qualify for “God’s Leadership Program” we must be developed in love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance according to Galatians 5:22, 23. These fruits are designed to help you work with people and these fruit will help you work for people because the fruit of the Holy Spirit helps to let you see people in a whole new light. This is exactly why it is a requirement as opposed to just a suggestion. We need to minister God’s Spirit (His Fruit) to others to have them succeed and that is why we must possess it first so that we can accurately lead others into new prosperous heights in God. Yes, even when we lead unbelievers the fruit of God can be and should be used, we just avoid mentioning the Name of Jesus unless they ask us about the beautiful fruit we are sharing with them. In our (ihlcc) personal life it was the fruit of Angela (being the fruit of the Holy Spirit) that lead me to God, not the quoting of scripture or her profound knowledge of the Holy Bible. In essence God so loved the world that showed His Love (in the person of Jesus Christ) and that demonstration of Love persuaded us to follow Him wherever He may go and wherever we need to go. Amen! The third characteristic is wisdom. Wisdom is so crucial for good leadership because wisdom allows you to escape the traps of the wicked one. Remember, we mentioned in another lesson (Leadership 102) that the godly leader must have some insight into the future so it is no surprise that wisdom fits right into that requirement. Some have said, “Wisdom is the ability to use the knowledge you have with good understanding at the right time.” Another person has proclaimed, “Wisdom is the ability to see tomorrow’s outcome for decisions made today. These statements are true, so we look for wisdom in handling all people issues because if your timing is off it could permanently damage the relationship. According to James 3:17 KJV “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” Therefore we can see unbelievers would rarely tap into this category of wisdom and only certain godly believers are able to operate in the wisdom from above. This is why we (ihlcc) firmly believe that not everyone is ready (prepared, spiritually matured) for “leadership” and that is OK. We simply suggest that you do whatever you can to be ready for “leadership” and if you see some of these things lacking in your present day “leadership” then develop them so that you will be stronger in the areas you lack. Remember, your Heavenly Father God and your Lord Jesus Christ are the “ultimate leaders” of all things, so if they can “lead” the earth and all the people upon the earth they have no problem at all showing you how to be the “best leader” you can be. The good news is they have already given us their secrets to success in the Holy Bible we just need to get the revelation of them to apply them in our everyday lives. Yes, as stated before you are already a “leader” in Christ Jesus because you are called to lead others unto God, just remember the success of your “leadership” is not based upon your intellect or wisdom but rather your honesty in God, being full of God’s Spirit and walking in the wisdom of God as king Solomon to govern God’s people and any person upon the earth unbelievers included.-Refer to 1 Kings 3:5-14 Amen!