I wanted to follow up our ACTS Meeting yesterday by sending out the notes we used.   It’s great stuff!  If you missed the meeting yesterday, the audio will be available on the Focal Pointe blog by Wednesday of this week.  Check it out!

Have a great week everyone!

Shane

ACTS-8/29/10

Leading People Who Don’t Have To Follow

True leadership is all about Influence .

“Leadership is influence.” – John C. Maxwell

“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.”

- Ken Blanchard

True leadership is having Character .

True leadership Multiplies Itself  .

Hebrew Method…

·        I do it…

·        I do it – and you watch .

·        You do it – and I watch .

·        You do it

Jesus modeled this…

“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.” (Matthew 9:35 ESV)

He did it.

“Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38 ESV)

He did it, and they watched.

“And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.” (Matthew 10:1 ESV)

They did it, and he watched.

“These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them…” (Matthew 10:5 ESV)

They did it.

[4] “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved-”

(Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV)

I really liked Pastor Shane’s devotional title last week; “In Christ”. As I make my way through the book of Ephesians, I am reminded and encouraged over and over…In Christ. God’s mercy on us flows from his own loving heart, not from anything that we’ve done to deserve it. How encouraging! Christians, rejoice in hope because of God’s incredible grace and free salvation. We’ve been saved! In Christ, we’ve been made alive! And you know what? In Christ, we’ve also been made one; one body of believers. Take a look at another passage from Ephesians and be encouraged.

[18] “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. [19] So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,”

(Ephesians 2:18-19 ESV)

We are no longer strangers. We are fellow citizens with the saints! Paul uses words that were common to political life in ancient cities like Ephesus. Strangers were complete foreigners with no rights or privileges, and aliens were non-citizens who dwelt in the city and were accorded only customary privileges as neighbors. Only citizens had full protections and rights in the city. Friends, we have full protections and rights as citizens and members of the household of God. Isn’t it nice to be reminded sometimes? I invite you to join Pastor Shane and me in reading through the book of Ephesians for the remainder of this month. After all, we are alive, and we are one! Let’s be encouraged together!

Have a wonderful week!

Shawn

“And behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17 ESV)

I really appreciate last week’s devotional. Something Pastor Shane wrote really stuck with me throughout the week, “Friends, God is always pleased with humility and dependence!  This is what Jesus himself was commended for!” This is a great point and it causes me to wonder; could we be doing a better job of following Jesus’ example here? I know there are some days when I could look back and answer a great big “YES!” to that question. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say. I think that my level of dependence on God is directly related to my level of humility. If I could possess greater humility, my dependence on God could increase exponentially. Have you ever made that connection? A Psalm of David helped me greatly in my efforts to figure this out.

“He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.” (Psalm 25:9 ESV)

As I become more humble, I begin to realize my size compared to God. I begin to better understand how in-control He really is and how in-dependence I truly need to live. I become more open to His leading; to Him teaching me His way. When I catch a glimpse of how big and how great and how mighty and how powerful God is, I am humbled, and my dependence on Him can only be amplified. Have you caught your glimpse? Are you living humbly in-dependence? Seriously think about this one. Let’s try to be like Jesus this week!

Blessings,

Shawn

“Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:13 ESV)

Sometimes I try to imagine what it must have been like to have been Paul’s apprentice. Paul seems to have filled the role of mentor in Timothy’s life, yet Paul treated him respectfully as a close friend and partner. I am very blessed that Pastor Shane has chosen to play a similar role in my life; guiding me and helping me mature. I must tell you that as the apprentice, I feel a great sense of responsibility. I want to make sure that things are done in a manner that Pastor Shane would approve of, and this can sometimes be a heavy burden. But this privilege and responsibility also stretches and shapes me, so that I can be better prepared for what God would call me to do in the future.

Who is your apprentice? To whom are you giving the great privilege and responsibility of being mentored by you? How’s it going?

Friends, we’ve got to follow Paul’s example here and help others along. I am consistent in mentoring a few different men, and I have yet to find anything more rewarding than watching a close friend mature in Christ. One of those friends just took over my role as Assimilation Coach with Celebrate Recovery, and he’ll probably do a better job with that than I did. What could happen with your ministry if you decided to raise up an apprentice? Would you have more time to dream bigger; to think more about the big picture? What will happen if you don’t? Probably nothing; and this should be one of our biggest fears.

So today, ask yourself “Who will it be?” And if you’ve already found your apprentice, pour a little more into that person this week!

Blessings,

Shawn

[27] Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. [28] And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. [29] Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? [30] Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?

(1 Corinthians 12:27-30 ESV)

The purpose of spiritual gifts is to build up the body of Christ, which is the church. All of the gifts are meant to benefit the church; to contribute to building others up. The question is; what are you doing with yours? Or better yet, do you know what your spiritual gifts are? In verse 29 of the above scripture, Paul asks a rhetorical question “Are all apostles?” The answer is obviously no, setting us up to answer no to each of the following questions as well. This implies that the Holy Spirit does not give the same gifts to everyone, which leads me to believe that we each have our gifts for very specific reasons. Awesome!

Friends, the road to putting your gifts to work for God is really pretty short. We have many opportunities here at NorthPointe for you to explore. The journey to mastering the use of those gifts however, is just that; a journey. And as a fellow traveler, I want to encourage you to find the adventure in the journey. Look beyond yourself, look beyond what you’re doing right now, look beyond tomorrow. What do you think God will have you doing with your gifts next year? What do you think He’ll have you doing with what He gave you in ten years?

I saw a really cool shirt in a sporting goods store the other day. The writing on it said “Never Stop Exploring”. Let that be an encouragement to all of us. Never stop exploring! Never stop asking God what he wants you to do with the gifts he’s given to you. And if you aren’t sure what those gifts are, you can begin exploring right now. Check out the link to a Spiritual Gift Assessment and start your adventure today.

Blessings,

Shawn

[12] In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. [13] And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:

(Luke 6:12-13 ESV)

When we teach on this scripture, we usually point to the fact that Jesus prayed all night before coming to a decision. But another observation relating to these verses has occurred to me. What would it have been like to be one of the disciples of Jesus during this time? What would they have been thinking while he was up there praying? Who will it be? Will he choose me? Will I get the call? When will we know? Where will he send us? And then, when the time had come, when the waiting was over, when Jesus named the twelve apostles…Adventure!

Adventure! Can you feel it? Can you imagine? Can you put yourself there? Now think about your life. Think about your ministry. Can you still feel it? Friends, as Christ-Followers, our lives and our ministries are extensions of the adventures of the original twelve. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually see Jesus feed five thousand people? You can! What about being part of the conversion of thousands of people in a single day? You can! And some of you have. So how about wondering “What will He call me to do next?” or “Where will He send me next?” Could it be your neighbor’s house to share a meal? How about Southwest Fresno to help fix up an old church? The possibilities are endless.

There are really only a couple of things necessary for an adventure; equipment and a guide. This week, I encourage you to seek God’s guidance with an adventurous mindset. You never know what, who or where may be around the next corner!

May God bless your adventure with Him!

Shawn

P.S. A bunch of NorthPointer’s are getting together to attend The Global Leadership Summit. We’re getting some equipment for our adventure! For more info, contact shawnmeyer@nothpointe.org

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (ESV)

Friends, in the midst of hardship, we can have “peace” in fellowship with Christ.

The Hebrew word for “peace” (shalom) had a much richer implication than the English word does. It not only conveyed the absence of conflict and turmoil but also the idea of positive blessing, especially in terms of a true relationship with God. When I think of the word “peace“, I simply think of not being at war. But this is not what Jesus means. Jesus is speaking of a deep, rich feeling of peace in your heart and blessing in your life. But how can we have this feeling of shalom in the midst of hardship? Well…

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Colossians 3:2 (ESV)

Every time I do this I feel peace, but it takes practice. We have been given the power to set our minds on whatever we choose. The choice becomes more difficult to make during hardship, but nevertheless, we have the power to set our minds; to make the choice. My ninety day exercise program was much less difficult on day eighty than it was on day two. I had to make the choice, daily, to exercise the muscles that were weak. It’s not easy for me to set my mind on things that are above when the thing right in front of me is making me angry. Trust me; I really do know how this feels! But the more I exercise those muscles, the more I practice this discipline, the easier it gets. I just have to make the choice.

You will experience hardship again in your life. What will your choice be?

God bless you in every choice you make,

Shawn

Philippians 1:12 (ESV) “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel…”

Paul assures the Philippians that, even though he is in prison, the gospel is still advancing. He has total confidence that no matter what, he will be delivered and Jesus will be honored.

Paul knows that the Philippians are upset over his imprisonment, so he encourages them by pointing out that his tough times are resulting in the advancement of the gospel. His joyfulness in difficult circumstances should serve as an example for us to also rejoice, even in difficult times. Easier said than done, isn’t it? Paul didn’t just rejoice after tough times, he rejoiced during tough times. How can we remember to rejoice during tough times?

For starters, try thinking about some difficult circumstances you’ve faced in the past that God has later used to help others. Would it have been helpful to know then, while you were actually in the middle of experiencing the pain that God was going to use that time later? Now you know, but did you know then? You can, and you should.

That’s the very experience you can think of next time you are in conflict, anger, hurt, sorrow, pain, fear, resentment. Think about that time and think about the fact that God used it. He will use this time too. Paul explains in the book of Romans that “all things work together for good”.

Romans 8:28 (ESV) “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

“All things” means even the tough times. So how will God use the difficult circumstances you find yourself in next? How will He use the complicated situation you’re in now? I encourage you to prayerfully consider Philippians 1:12 and Romans 8:28 this week.

God bless you in all times,

Shawn

Genesis 1:4 (ESV) “And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.”

We all know from science that darkness cannot occupy the same space as light. We also know that the speed of light is 186,282.397 miles per second. But what is the speed of darkness? I propose that the speed of darkness is the rate at which light disappears. Spiritually speaking, I think darkness enters at the very moment that light exits. This is the moment the enemy is waiting for every day.

Friends, we must be faster than the speed of darkness! Jesus brings true knowledge, moral purity, and the light that shows the very presence of God into this dark world. And we don’t have to remain in darkness if we believe in Him!

John 12:46 (ESV) “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”

The reference to light and darkness here continues on the concept from Genesis. In fact, you’ll find this motif throughout the Bible. Light and dark are not supposed to occupy the same space at the same time, scientifically or spiritually. But how do we ensure that darkness doesn’t enter? Well, we must never allow the light to exit! I think sometimes we don’t realize the transition is taking place until it’s too late; until darkness has taken over. We could really help ourselves by memorizing a “go to” verse for times when darkness threatens. Mine is Psalm 91:1-2 (ESV) “1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

How can you be faster than the speed of darkness? What will be your “go to” verse? There is no better time than this week to choose it!

Blessings,

Shawn

Philippians 4:8 (ESV)

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Paul encourages us to think about and practice Christian virtues. We are supposed to fill our minds with things that will inspire the worship of God and service to others. But why? Well, for starters, Paul knew something back then that we also know today. Your spiritual condition will affect and infect your ministry. For better or for worse, you’re contagious! So you must be thinking about true, honorable, pure and excellent things if you want that to be the outcome of your life and ministry.

Last week, Pastor Shane touched on the fact that we are “a house for the Holy Spirit”, and His house is holy. We are holy! And we must make every effort to set our minds upon holy things. Look at what Paul says in Romans 8:6 (ESV) “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”

Do you want peace in your life? Are you finding it difficult to achieve peace in your ministry? Friends, you are free to choose your thoughts. Commit to setting your mind on the Spirit this week! Let God give you His peace. “…if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

God bless,

Shawn