R1537 5 Essentials Spiritual Leadership, Continue

God has an encouraging word for you and me today. As we continue the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton and his message on leadership.

That's right. If you missed yesterday. Dr. Donald catch up in just a moment about the five essentials of spiritual leadership open God's word together. I pray that you will know that were here for you.

We love to pray for you right now there are some that we've been praying for with regard to the mantle of leadership students. Just the other day at last week and as a matter fact about the wonderful responsibility of realizing that people are following.

Sometimes we don't even realize it. So let's leave them to Jesus Christ you like to pray with someone where available. 866-899-WORD is the number that is 866-899-9673 or me this online@theencouragingword.org now. Today's message with Dr. Don Wilton people up and excitement all about actually start doing it.

But two days into it, you can't smell them for dust people you want to look for all the people who will bear all the way just giving you some thoughts you spiritually, we talking about. Don't be like a modern-day American politician in America. All we hear is yada yada yada yada yada yada yada yada yada yada yada we gonna lick them and then I don't do what they say they were gonna do, and as a spiritual leader as a father is a mother, be careful of your word that you yeah baby yeah and you're maybe not when it comes to the things that you do for the Lord Jesus and that's with in the context of all the challenges that we who doesn't have a challenge you doesn't make many mistakes who doesn't somebody against God. So the first thing you can say about him on this trip. As you lift good leaders behind them. Secondly, recognize the importance of mentoring when we get down into chapter 16 in verse one. Following we get this beautiful picture of this man name Timothy. Timothy was a young man in fact Paul was to write two letters to Timothy just chock full of instruction. If you want a mentoring manual don't read the two latest Timothy one Timothy in two Timothy done read it.

I was just filled with instructions for people like me and like you, but it's really essentially about spiritual mentoring and this was very important to the apostle as he went about doing what God was telling him to do. And by the way that's in the midst of all the things that were going on. What a hardship number three Paul carried with him very important instructions very important instructions.

You remember back in acts chapter 15 before they sit out on the second missionary journey. They gathered together in Jerusalem was called the Jerusalem Council.

I like that it's just the Jerusalem Council and all these leaders got together and they made some very important decisions.

As believers, and when Paul left to go on his journey, meeting with people teaching others mentoring and a bubble sharing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He carried with him very important instructions, and amongst those instructions was the instructions on how we should live in the world in which we find out so so in the context of this journey it's go back care in the context of this journey we got to go on this trip with them from Antioch through the province of Sollecito to Lister to accompany him they were going to come all the way across Europe through the province of Mysia. I read about that in just a little while. Write your to this spot with something very very special happen in all of this journey, Paul finds himself as a leader amongst a very diverse people and he's ministering as I lead to young people and to older people and believers everywhere. He's building up the church and he carries with him these important instructions, but he doesn't keep those instructions in his pocket.

Leaders do not pocket instructions they share them like teach them and they demonstrate them.

You know, amongst many other things in the Jerusalem Council was how they should live morally and essentially they were there were two bombs of the Jerusalem Council instruction number one, was that believers must live moral lives abstain from sexual immorality. That's what it's spelled out.

Be very careful how you live and what you do with your body. In fact, the Bible is very clear about our conduct one man one woman for one lifetime. The Bible is very clear about sexuality. The Bible is very clear when it comes to sin against God. Paul didn't keep this any pocket. He didn't hide it away. He gonna pay in front of people and he said, let me share with you how we should live, because these are some of the greatest challenges that will fight any Tron seizure, and then he said not only should you live moral lives in accordance with the standards of God's word but you also need never to become a stumbling block, little word stumbling block is very important. It's right there in chapter 15 in verse 29 he says that you abstain what is being sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is being strangled and from sexual immorality. And if you keep to these things and hold yourself to these truths. You will do well. Why did he talk about not eating food sacrificed to idols because if they in fact did, and there was nothing spiritual leader wrong about that. It would, in and of itself become a stumbling block to the very people who needed to hear the truth about the love of God in Christ Jesus all things are lawful, but not all things are expedient. The many things that you are not as believers can do, but we ought not to because if we do our sons and daughters are watching us.

So how you doing dad what language comes out of your mouth. How do you speak to your children's mother. How do you behave on the golf course look better change the subject took his arm and again the trouble most of us know what it means to turn a five on into a helicopter blade. We know that we know that we've all been there and it's a good practice and we love the sound that's why we do it you know every time we do that someone's watching the tough one is not what they do well and lift good leaders behind recognize the importance of mentoring in my carried important instructions, but they also heard the Holy Spirit say no. Did you notice that it happened twice here in this text. The Bible says when they attempted going by funnier, the Holy Spirit said notice to take another look quickly here arrived. See by sending you up to the top at some major problems, so how many times have we done this I mean I've done this a thousand. We will do, we will site will look I'm headed in this direction came all the way Plato he wanted. They wanted to go back up into the top part of Asia and God said no any questions. By the way God doesn't have to give us reasons.

God sometimes just sees no kind of frustrates people like me because I want to know why, but God doesn't see the same needs sometimes but he's gracious enough to give us the why. On many occasions, but in this case Paul and Silas, no question about it.

They heard the Holy Spirit say no number five they determined to be obedient.

They determined to be obedient. The Bible says in verse nine and 10 that this vision appeared to Paul and said, listen, come on over here to Macedonia and I love verse 10, when Paul had seen the vision immediately. We sort to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. You want me to show you what it means to be spiritually determined to be spiritually obedient to God.

They did three things holding someone he sold the vision so church if we going to lead into the next generation. What's the first thing we must do see what God sign see the vision number two. He got radiant once one of my favorite little cute little sayings and sometimes sits and thinks, and other times I just sits. You know sometimes we do, we just we got a good idea. We float that audition we keep floating that idea, but we don't get ready to take action. Number three.

He concluded that God had called. That's a powerful statement all right five essential elements five essentials of spiritual leadership. What all day in our language avail number one get the right people around you may say something very lovingly to you to us.

Be very careful about who you hang around with and who you gather around you. Careful about who you listening to watch out your spiritual leadership can become seriously diminished by the influence of the wrong people. Spiritual leadership is so critical you know people in a lot of places if you don't mind him. I hope you don't think I'm bragging, but people talk a lot about the joy in the unity of First Baptist Church Spartanburg is it's not the case in so many churches in so many places and I have the privilege of speaking to young pastas a lot. That point they get the right people around you. I thank God for you. This issue of the right people get the right people on the right bus for the right journey, then get them sitting in the right seats on the right bus. Spiritual leadership is a powerful thing. God has given us. Point number one. The first essential of spiritual leadership is to get the right people around you because the greatest leaders in this world spiritually listen and are counseled by the greatest spiritual leaders. Nobody lives on an island and you want to do it on your own. You are not powerful enough, you not big enough. You're not important enough you don't own enough, you sit there and you paddle your own canoe and you going to do it on your own and you don't need to listen to anybody else you are sorry my friend and you are going to forward you going to trip you going to mess up somewhere because God is placed around us, man and woman who are spiritually done. Let me tell you something.

Paul had the fortitude. I don't know all the details about why is the wherefores and all the race but I know he looked up and he said Silas you're the man let's go Dr. Billy Graham said to me 20 years ago God let me tell you something find all spiritual leaders, men and women of spiritual intuition and influence. Pull up your chair next to them and never let them leave your side. Number two men told the right generation the next generation talking about the five essentials of spiritual leadership. Get the right people around you. Number two main tool the next generation. Every man ought to have a Timothy who sitting at your feet all you two important who's listening to you who are you pouring into who are you raising up today is not about me it's about our sons and our daughters. We all tomorrow because Jesus is already there and what he does to those of us who are a little older and have been a lot longer at what we are doing is he translates the position in which we sit into the influence which we parse on main goals are spiritual influences. Nobody knew that better than the apostle Paul. Number three. Speak up about God's instruction speak up about God's instructions. You're listening to Dr. Don Wilton and there's so much more to come. In today's message. The five essentials of spiritual leadership that we continue in just a moment, but Dr. Don Wilton remind you of our phone number and or ways to connect on the web.

The Encouraging Word.org is the website. It's a way to connect keyboard to keyboard to cover ways to follow some socials your social sewer.

We would love to connect you and encourage you there. I will challenge you to spend some time on a daily basis in God's word is one of the principles that Dr. Don reminds us, often of its essential to spiritual growth would got to be eating feeding on the word of God every day.

I want to think the jump starts my day is a special email that I get from Dr. Wilson about 6 o'clock in the morning you can sign up for right now. The daily Encouraging Word email it's actually free. Of course, you can sign up on our website, The Encouraging Word.org or just text the word daily. That's right the word daily to 30500 will send you a hotlink and by this time tomorrow you were receiving that Encouraging Word from Dr. Wilton in your email box.

Again, just text the word daily to 30500 now back today's message with Dr. Don Wilton for them all gather Jerusalem counseled taken place and all the rest of it. I tell you what Paul and Silas. These men they went from place to place in lifesaving.

This is the way it works.

This is the way it works mainly told the next generation poor your life into tomorrow and what you pour into them on the instructions that God has allowed you by his grace to accumulate and to know to be true because of the authority of God's word and the practice of your own life you can test to the truth of the authority of God in every way because you've run the gamut. That's why you are a leader you know better, my friend, you shouldn't behave like that because you know that you know better, you've got something to say spiritual leadership. You cannot sit there and watch bad behavior if in fact you know that God's instructions are written in your heart that God will bless you for that parse it on. Teach your children, teach them, they will rise up and call you blessed and children that rise up and go beyond thank you for teaching me how to play golf which is very important but say daddy I thank you because you have shown me Jesus. That's what really matters.

That's what really matters. Number four. Listen to the spirit. For the fourth essential spiritual leadership. These all deep foods just pull going on this second journey got the right people around him.

He men told the next generation spoke up about God's instructions before he listen to the spirit. He listen to the spirit. What what incredible leadership attribute, and it's not easy to do would be. Not that we as men and women who are spiritual leaders are people who really listen to the spirit. When someone comes and sees. Do you believe God is saying yeah or nay or turn left turn right. Are you able to say you know I really believe in my heart that this is what God is saying that's another whole subject discerning the will of God to huge subject.

Listen to the spirit. Number five, Garrett is just do what God said. I love when we get down to verse 10.

Just do what God says. That's what they did, God said don't go.

They want you to come over here to Macedonia. I said let's go to what God sees being at the center of God's will is the greatest thing that you could ever do you know this Paul squeaker, a man came up to me and he said to me, Dr. Wilton, do you remember me. I looked at him looked at him looked at him again and I said, sort of, any said well my name's David Neeson. I was one of your students many years ago when you warm and just had a radiant face and he said he said you know my whole life changed one night I said really he said yeah that was in Alabama just south of Mobile, Alabama said, tell me about it soon as he started talking. I knew what he was talking about because I just met the older retired pasta was responsible for this.

His name is pasta Andy Hepburn and probably 35, 38 years ago this man invited me to preacher revival in these church just south of Mobile, Alabama, off the I 10 between Baron Pascagoula, Mississippi where the squirrel lives, and I remember getting in my motorcar and I took five seminary students with me.

Five. We will pardon my motorcar.

Karen will remember this because I used to carry them all over the country with me and I was a young man myself and we went to the revival and I preach this Sunday morning through Friday night. They were with me on Friday. Not and at the end of the whole. We had a wonderful time.

God just blasting the place was packed out of the end of the whole thing pasta Andy Hepburn said not Don, would you just sit there for a minute and I got out some garbage bags and they said we just want to bless Don Wilton and take up an offering. I thought I like this kind of blessing you know spatially. Back in those days, and they parse that thing around. They had a garbage bag food with training.

I mean, just food with change dollars and whatever arches and just he just handed it to me. I mean, so your I am walking out the church with a bag of money you know and I got into the motorcar in the parking lot stood in the parking lot. A man walked up to my door with five students and they tap on the door. Hand me $100 bill.

He said want you boys go get something to eat so we went and got some to eat. Then we got on the interstate and we stopped at the first rest stop just near Pascagoula, Mississippi, and I took that big bag and I handed it to these five students in my motorcar acid guys just count how much the sea so they started counting dimes in dollars and cents. I mean at times. I mean it was really a handsome wonderful love offering and when we got to it. I said well okay, what is such and such divided by five. It turned out to be like $500 a person oxidize each one of you split that up and you take.

I don't know that there was another wound spoken. What I do know was the next day I had this line of seminary students knocking on my office door, saying, can we go with you to the revival next week but you know that so blessed me because a man now 38 years later, walked up to me and said to me just a little thing in the motorcar on an interstate just did something in the trajectory of my life. Today he himself is a wonderful posture serving the Lord loving people learning like all of us. Yep, there are five 1050 900,000 essentials of spiritual leadership because the bottom line. Jesus when he comes into your heart and into mine. Just like he did with Paul on the road to Damascus. He changes people like you and me.

You know, he forgives us of our sin, brought sound name in the Lamb's book of life, and he sets us on a new path way we become different as CEOs of our companies. We come we become different doctors, we become different teachers life group leaders. We become different plumbers and coaches and athletes and students will become different moms and dads. We just become different because Jesus is there and he calls us to lead others you know him would you bow your heads with me today. Every head bowed, you given your life to Christ you trust him as your Savior. Turn your life over to him. I invite you to do so. Jesus changed my life.

I'm one of a million of us to look back and see so many stones over which we stumbled and send that we've committed mistakes that we've made questions we've never uncertain opportunities that we've let slip through our fingers that all man today. This is it. That's what it means when you go back to Antioch you go back to home base.

When you look at God's word and you listen to God's spirit. You hear him saying come on over here. You become convinced that God is calling you look at me today. That's what this is.

I thank God for you each one every opportunity.

I invite you today to come to give your life to Christ to root stone, stand up and be counted.

Turn over new leaf off the garden new fresh commitment in resolving your heart not tell you if you just allow me to celebrate alongside of you. You can't shake me because God put us together in my life is never been the same. Because of you and I thank God for spiritual leaders. Let stand together. You, as we sing today. We believe God put this together got even put the fact that you are listening to this broadcast right now from Dr. Don Wilton because it's a message to say God loves you.

He has a plan to help you turn over a new leaf. If you like to have someone pray with you.

Here's our phone number 86689. That's 866-899-9673 or meet us online@theencouragingword.org and one more thought from Dr. Wilton. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I'm so happy to hear that wanting to pray this prayer with me today. Dear God, I know that you love me very, very much and I know that the Lord Jesus Christ came and died on the cross so that I might be forgiven of my sin today, I repent of my sin. I confess my sin to you, and I invite you to come into my heart and into my life by faith in Jesus name I pray.

If you pray that prayer, let me be the first want to welcome you to the family of God. This is wonderful. I hope that you know how much I'm going to be praying for you and how very important this is for me. Call us so that we can talk to you and connect you in the right place so you can begin this wonderful journey.

And in just a moment I'm in a come back with the final word the Lord spoken to you. Let us share with you some wonderful resources that will help you grow in your life with Christ, if you given your heart to Christ, you need to tell someone why not tell Dr. Don emailing Don doin@theencouragingword.org he would love to hear from you. We love to connect again. The phone number is 86689. That's 866-899-9673.

I just want to say thank you to so many who are helping us share the love of Christ all over the world right now as encouragers of The Encouraging Word hello my friends I want to speak to you personally today from my heart to you.

I don't think there is ever a better more important time for us to respond to our will and by standing up for righteousness.

Now with this in mind I would like to invite you to become your seat. Together we can impact lines both now and more time The Encouraging Word and listener supported and to know that you are standing with me financially, enables me to do the hard and just say I want to become and encourage. Thank you so much for helping number one more time is 866899 word 866-899-9673 this online@theencouragingword.org