Pulpit Truth

WEDNESDAY'S WORD: Psalm 23:1

7/25/2018

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."
~ Psalm 23:1

If you are like most who were born, or now live in the "Bible-belt" of our nation, then you are familiar with the wonderful 23rd Psalm. God inspired David to write this beautiful song that so marvelously describes the relationship between a faithful shepherd and his beloved sheep.

David, a mighty warrior and successful king, grew up as a shepherd boy in the pastures of a family farm near Bethlehem. He knew well how that sheep demanded a keen, tender, firm and brave shepherd to guide and guard them. David spoke personally in this Psalm, yet he also spoke prophetically, as he looked forward to the greatest of all shepherds, the Lord Jesus Christ!

The role of the sheep in this passage is very simple. The are to hear and heed the voice of the Shepherd. He does everything else. He leads them in the right way. He chooses their paths for them. He insures that those paths are ones that the sheep can walk in safety. He doesn't send them along the journey alone, but goes before them. He locates the green pastures and the calm waters necessary for life, and lovingly leads them to His provision. The sheep have no need of planning; no decisions to make; no anxious thoughts of failure. They have absolutely nothing to do but to trust themselves entirely to the care and compassion of the Shepherd, and to follow Him wherever he leads. Isn't it all very simple? You see, friend, there is nothing complicated about obeying completely the One Who is eternally trustworthy; and neither is there anything complicated in obeying with perfect confidence the glorious Shepherd who promises to each one of us an experience of abundant life!

No wonder David could say, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." Is He your shepherd?

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WEDNESDAY'S WORD: ROMANS 12:8

7/18/2018

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"He who leads, should lead with diligence."
Romans 12:8

In my previous post concerning spiritual gifts, I referenced the teaching of Dr. Charles Stanley, who is the long time pastor of the First Baptist Church, Atlanta. In his study, Ministering through Spiritual Gifts, he states that the seven gifts named in Romans 12:3-8 are perpetual gifts, while the other gifts found in the New Testament are only revealed during special circumstances. He states that every believer will have one of these seven perpetual gifts, perhaps more, but one will be more dominate than the others. He also says that these gifts are resident in a person's life at birth, and will become fully operative for its God-given purposes after that person is born again. He further says that these "gifts span the course of a person's life. They might be manifested in slightly different ways, in different situations, with varying degrees of intensity, but the identity of the gift remains intact and is unchangeable." Because leadership is listed as one of these seven perpetual gifts, and because of Dr. Stanley's belief concerning these gifts, the question that I posed in the title of this post should be re-visited. Are leaders born or made?

I have often been involved in discussions concerning leadership, both spiritual and secular. Some argue that leaders are born, while others argue that leaders are made. I was blessed to become friends with Dak Prescott when he was the third string quarterback at Mississippi State University. Because of his size, I thought he was either a tight end or linebacker. He was an exceptional young man that I had numerous conversations with. He was polite, kind, humble, and would eagerly listen to me as I shared biblical truth with him. As he eventually led MSU football to unprecedented success, I read articles of his leadership. It was interesting to read how as a high school player coming to Big Dawg Camps, he would vocally encourage and uplift the other players going through difficult workouts and weight training exercises. As a teenager, Dak displayed leadership skills that are now well known from his success as a Bulldog, as well as with the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL.

In my final semester at MSU, I was in a class focused upon personal skills and techniques of successful leaders. Just a few weeks into the course, we were divided up into groups of seven to eight students. We were told that we would be getting an assignment to form a corporation, and each group would have to name a president, vice-president, and a secretary/treasurer. We were then told to form our chairs in circles, according to our group placement, and discuss and decide who the officers would be for each corporation. I remember like it was yesterday as we noisily moved our chairs around to get in place. In my group, there were a couple of students that I had met in other classes, but the rest were basically strangers. I looked at the other students, who were all quiet and looking at everyone else in awkward silence, when I finally said: "Okay, let's do this. I'll begin with me, giving you all my name, where I'm from, why I chose this particular major, and any other pertinent information that might be helpful for us to know each other. Then we'll go around the circle and allow each of you to do the same. That way, we can make an informed decision concerning our corporate officers."

After everyone had the chance to speak, I said: "Alright, we should now discuss who needs to be our president. Any suggestions?"

A guy immediately said, "You, I move that we name you as our president."

"Why me?"

"Because you've already started acting like our president, I nominate you."

"I second his nomination," was the reply of a young lady, "and also move that the floor be closed for any further nominations."

Well, guess what? I became the president! The student who nominated me became the vice-president, and one in our group who was getting a double major in business management, along with banking and finance, was named our secretary/treasurer. When our professor realized that all groups had named their officers, he asked for a list of names from each corporation, and had us return our chairs into their regular location. Then he said: "The corporation assignment is over with. Later in the semester, we will have case studies and assignments to prepare you for the corporate world. But this brief exercise was all about recognizing leadership qualities. I believe that leaders are born, not made. Now we are going to discuss why each group chose their particular officers, and how they chose them."

I realize that others think differently. In one of Bobby Bowden's books on leadership, he states that anyone can be groomed, coached and encouraged to become a great leader. I understand what he said, but I don't fully embrace his analogy. I am convinced that Dr. Stanley is correct, and especially is this so in the spiritual realm. Leaders are born. There is something unexplainable about a person who has that take-charge attitude. Yes, those with leadership skills need to have those skills developed. The opportunity to hone those skills are invaluable in preparing a leader to face greater, and more diverse, responsibilities. And in this honing process, personal failures are often the catalyst for ultimate success. In fact, Bowden said, "People that are brilliant and successful, we think they've just always been that way. That's not the case. Most of them have had some tough adversity in their life. It's prepared them. I've never felt like you could develop character without adversity. A guy who has all the money he needs and never faced any hard times, he won't have any character. But when you've had it tough, and you've had it rough, and you thought you were at the end of the rope, and you work your way out of it, that's the way you build character." Though I may not agree with everything he says about leaders, I whole-heartedly agree with Coach Bowden's understanding of adversity preparing and maturing a person to possess strong leadership qualities.

Do you have the spiritual gift of leadership? If you do, it's not because you desire to be the head hog at the slop hole! Please excuse my country humor, but I trust you can understand that simple terminology. If you desire to lead so that you might have the preeminence, you've not been gifted with spiritual leadership. This mindset clearly demonstrates a self-centered, egotistical, and unhealthy focus upon the praise and applause of men. Those who are gifted as true spiritual leaders will be those who express the attitude and actions of Christ, Who got up from the table, laid aside His garments, took a towel to gird Himself, and washed the disciples feet. Jesus is our example of an humble, pure, holy, and perfect leader. As we follow Him and His example, it will be no problem for others to decide to follow us. Why? Because they will know that we are following Jesus. Amen!

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WEDNESDAY'S WORD: Ephesians 4:11-12

7/11/2018

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"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists,
and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for
the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."
Ephesians 4:11-12

The past two years have been incredible experiences of God's grace. When my nephew approached me during the invitation on Father's Day of 2016 to ask me to go with him to the altar, I knew that the Lord was going to do something new and fresh in my life. Since that experience I have been challenged often concerning my daily surrender to His leadership, and He has placed within me a strong desire to make His word known in a variety of ways. My focus remains locked upon Jesus. I am secure in His love, and I will praise Him for all that He is doing, and shall do, during the remaining years of my earthly life.

Years ago a dear pastor friend, Jim Holcomb, told me this: "Charles, you are a prophet. And with this spiritual gift that God has entrusted unto you, your journey will not be easy. Those who are prophets are often lonely, despised, and mistreated. You know this, you've read their testimonies in scripture. And I've seen the prophet in you time and time again. I've prayed with you when your tears would flow like a river for the lost and backslidden, revealing your tender heart of love and compassion. But I've also seen you stand firm against the lying tongues of those who misunderstood and hated you, displaying a backbone of hardened steel. You're a prophet. Life and ministry won't be easy for you, but always remember this: God loves prophets!"

This is somewhat like the word that Bill Stafford said in a conference when he was scheduled to preach following my message. It was the first time that he had heard me, and I'll never forget his words when he stepped to the pulpit: "My-my, Bro. Charles, what a message to the church. Amen! You know, son, I've been praying for you throughout my ministry. Yes sir, you are an answer to prayer. Amen! For years, YEARS, I've been praying that God would raise up someone that can make folks mad faster than I can. You're that man! AMEN! Yes sir, that's the message this modern, apostate church needs to hear. They don't want to hear it, but they need to hear it. Praise God! You're style of preaching, mercy, it'll knock the shout out of 'em, brother. AMEN!" For those of you who knew Bro. Bill when he was healthy, you can hear his voice and see his face, as he tells me this with that big, wonderful smile. I was subsequently blessed to travel around the world with this precious servant of God working in affiliation with the International Congress of Revival.

Ron Lynch, an evangelist friend, encouraged me years ago as I was entering into a season of itinerant ministry: "Charles, pastors need to hear you. They won't invite you to come to their churches until they hear you." This was long before the use of social media and internet sites made it so much easier to see and hear someone. But following a hard message I preached at a conference on revival, where we were sharing the preaching responsibilities, he said: "Charles, I've been telling you that pastors need to hear you. But I'm telling you, man, if they hear that kind of message, they're not going to have you!" I love these three men, and I have wonderful memories of fellowshipping and worshiping with all of them that I hope to cherish for the rest of my life.

What spiritual gift, or gifts, has God given you? I believe that there are twenty-seven gifts that are revealed in the New Testament that God sovereignly chooses to give His children. Charles Stanley believes that seven of these gifts are "perpetual" in nature, while the others are "seasonal." He teaches that the perpetual gifts are placed in a believer's life while they are developing in the womb, and these gifts stay with that person throughout their life. These seven are prophecy, service, teaching (which also includes pastoring), exhortation, giving, administration, and mercy. The seasonal gifts, however, come upon a believer when a basic need arises that needs supernatural attention. Examples would be evangelism, wisdom, hospitality, tongues, intercession, miracles, etc.

Although some might argue over the exact number of gifts, or take exception to the way Dr. Stanley puts them into two separate camps, the truth remains that all of God's children have been given certain spiritual gifts. And these gifts equips all believers to do the work of ministry, which results in the edifying, or building, or strengthening of the body of Christ. Therefore, important questions must be asked: Have you discovered your spiritual gifts? Are you developing your spiritual gifts? And are you displaying your spiritual gifts?

Do not be fearful, nor intimidated, to serve the Lord Jesus with the gift (or gifts) that He has so graciously given to you. Perhaps your gift will be a little more palatable than those who are gifted as prophets. But if He has given you a gift that will cause you to be misunderstood, or even despised when you use it in His power, do not be afraid, beloved, for He has promised to never leave you, nor forsake you. Praise the Lord!

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Pulpit Truth

WEDNESDAY'S WORD: Psalm 23:1

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."
~ Psalm 23:1

WEDNESDAY'S WORD: ROMANS 12:8

"He who leads, should lead with diligence."
Romans 12:8

WEDNESDAY'S WORD: Ephesians 4:11-12

TO GET THE WEDNESDAY'S WORD DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX SUBSCRIBE HERE.

Charles Smith

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Pulpit Truth

WEDNESDAY'S WORD: Psalm 23:1

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."~ Psalm 23:1

WEDNESDAY'S WORD: ROMANS 12:8

"He who leads, should lead with diligence."Romans 12:8​

WEDNESDAY'S WORD: Ephesians 4:11-12

​TO GET THE WEDNESDAY'S WORD DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX SUBSCRIBE HERE.

Charles Smith

Archives

Categories

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."
~ Psalm 23:1

"He who leads, should lead with diligence."
Romans 12:8

TO GET THE WEDNESDAY'S WORD DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX SUBSCRIBE HERE.