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.

Ephesians 3:7-9 (ESV)
⁷ Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.  ⁸ To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.

Paul declares that he was “made a minister” not because he was Judaism’s golden boy, not because he belonged to God’s Fortune 500, not even because he was more able or capable.   The means of Paul’s ministry was singular.  It was grace.  He writes, “to me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given”.  You see, Paul understood, as we should, that he ministered not because he deserved it and certainly not because he had earned it, but because of the wonderful grace of God given to him by the working of God’s own power.

Friends, the closer we get to the Lord, the more we realize how insufficient we are to get close to the Lord.  The closer we get, the more we see the sin in our lives that might have previously gone unnoticed.  Notice that the closer Paul walked with the Lord, the more astonished he became that God would use him in ministry.   For example, he writes in 1 Corinthians 15:9, “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” or 1 Timothy 1:15, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. This saying is true, and it can be trusted. I was the worst sinner of all!” Are you beginning to see a pattern? Paul the Apostle, whose resume reads, “least of all the saints”, “least of the apostles”, “the worst sinner of all”, “unworthy to be called an apostle”.  He says, “I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace”.

Be encouraged and reflective this week!  God makes you a minister by the “working of his power”.  Draw close to the Lord this week.  Allow him to convict you, cleanse you, refresh you and empower you for his good work to “bring to light for everyone”.  Gang, God loves you and is going to change lives through you as you center yourself on Him.

God bless you this week!

Shane

[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

Ephesians 1:1-6 (ESV)
¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: ² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Paul writes to the church whom he calls “saints”.  Of course, this isn’t because they were so “saintly”, rather, they were secure.  You see the church in Ephesus, like all others, needed to work out the kinks and wrinkles.  We know this because later in this same letter Paul reminds them to “no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds… dark and in their understanding, alienated from the life of God” (4:17-18).  Or similarly in the book of Revelations, chapter 2, Jesus himself writes to this same church a word of warning and concern about what motivates their behaviors.

And yet, for all their difficulties, there’s no doubt about the favor that God has for them.  For example, notice the language, “faithful”, “blessed with every spiritual blessing”, “chose us”, “holy and blameless”, “predestined”, “adoption as sons”.  Does it get any better?

It begs the question, how can this be? How can God accept, love and demonstrate such great favor, to a people so marred with imperfection?

Well, if I’m honest, it’s the same question I ask about myself. How can God accept me?  I am so riddled with doubt and stained with sin.  I struggle with the simplest things.  The truth is I have trouble accepting myself, let alone knowing and believing that a holy God does.

And then the answer comes.  Ringing true in my heart and speaking peace to my soul, two simple words, “in Christ”.  In fact, if you reread these six verses you’ll see that four times we are reminded that we don’t stand alone or stand apart.  We are “in Christ”.  This means that everything that God sees is “in Christ”. You see, the real struggle is not earning God’s favor or performing that he would love me. Rather, it’s conforming to what he already sees me to be!  You’ve heard the term “rose colored glasses”? Gods are blood-stained!  We are in Christ Everything I do, everything I am, everything I will ever be or achieve will be measured “in Christ”.

Leader, be encouraged this week! Stop measuring yourself against the mediocrity of your own performance and certainly don’t get caught in the trap of believing you’re doing it independently of Jesus.  Jesus said, “as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” John 15:4.  We are “in Christ” as he put it “to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved“.

God bless you.

Shane

“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

Isaiah 10:15 ESV

Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?  As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!

Where do we get the power for effectiveness in ministry?  Jesus knew.  You might remember when Jesus walked the dusty road from Galilee toward the Jordan intent upon being baptized by John.  The scripture reads, “John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented and when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:14-17 (ESV).  Now gang, John was not wrong about Jesus.  Jesus truly had all the right to be the baptizer, not the baptizee.  But even Jesus depended on someone didn’t he?  He looked to The Father.   He knew that apart from the Father his effectiveness would be squashed.  Perhaps this is the message God was trying to convey to the nation of Assyria when he prompts the prophet to ask, “Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?  As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood! You see, Assyria is a mere tool in the hand of God as are we.  Friends, God is always pleased with humility and dependence!  This is what Jesus himself was commended for!  So let me ask it again.  Where does the power for effectiveness in ministry come?  How about effectiveness as a husband, wife, friend, father or mother?  Jesus knows.  And so, for that reason, Jesus humbled himself not just before the Father but also before John.  He said, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting.” And he was baptized as a sign of dependence to Him who truly gives all the power for every good thing.  And God said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”   Amen.

Shane

“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

He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

Proverbs 19:17 (NIV)

Truer words have never been spoken.  Jesus reminded his followers of this when he said…

“Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me-you did it to me.’

Matthew 25:34-40 (The Message)

As far back as the Old Testament and at the dawn of the New Testament Jesus equates the love that we share with those in need with the love we have for him in the most literal way.

For that reason, it’s an honor for me to announce a service project in which we get to love Jesus by loving and helping a Fresno church in their time of need.

New Light for New Life church in Southwest Fresno needs volunteers to help with an “Extreme Church Makeover.”  We need skilled and non-skilled help with drywall, plumbing, painting, electrical, and landscaping.  This project will begin Monday July 26 and continue all that week with “Big Saturday” work days on July 31 and August 1st.  Check out the insert in your bulletin for all the details!

Thank you for all you do to make NorthPointe Church a reflection of Jesus’ love!

Blessings,

Shane

[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