Often we worry about other people way before we have really given ourselves enough of a look at. The journey of growth and success must come from the inside out. The first person that each leader must lead is themselves. There is no way to lead effectively without self-discipline. In Number 33 there is a recap of the entire journey out of the land of Egypt to Jordan. What a crazy trip! It ended up taking 40 years when it should've lasted 11 days. Why did it take so long? It was because they weren't prepared, the people were not ready for God's blessing until 40 years later.
How about you? How is your self-discipline? Plato said, " The first and best victory is to conquer self." If you want to be self-disciplined follow these points:
1. Challenge your excuses.
Get rid of the tendency to make excuses. If you come up with reasons why you aren't self-disciplined realize these are barriers to your success that must be removed. We all have reasons why it's not convenient and the leader gets rid of those reasons in their mind so they can go on to the next level.
2. Develop and maintain your priorities.
Everyone is busy, but the successful people have a plan. Figure out what is necessary to your goal and let the other stuff go. This will make it much easier to focus.
3. Stay focused on results.
Most of us want focus on the difficulty of the work that must be put in instead of focusing on the results. We have to stay away from doing what feels good and convenient and make sure we focus and pay the price that is necessary in full and up front. Keep in the front of your mind the benefits from accomplishing your goals and dive in.
4. Make a disciplined lifestyle your goal.
Self-discipline can't be a one-time event. It has to be an overall life philosophy. Develop systems and routines in all areas but specifically to the areas that are important to your main prioirities. Once you have them put them into play every day.
5. Rewards come at the end.
If you lack self-discipline it could be you are in the habit of eating dessert before you've eaten your vegetables. Success will always separate between the shirkers and the workers, because if it didn't we'd all be lazy.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Inner Circle
The people closest to us determine our level of success. Moses learned in the wilderness that he needed good leaders next to him to carry out God's plans. When people decide to be leaders that is a very important line that they cross in their lives. They no longer can rely on their own discpline and abilities to get things done but now their value depends on what they can get done through others. Moses taught us some great lessons:
1. Vision: See the land. Moses saw and reminded everyone of what God had already done in their lives and on their journey. He showed how God would fulfill His promise. Moses could clearly see this outcome, and he motivated others by his vision.
Deut. 1:6-8 "The LORD our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 'Turn and set your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negev and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 'See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them.'"
2. Delegation: Shared responsibilities. Moses put aside his ego and shared the responisibilities with others. He gave them authority over their jobs and it now became a team effort.
Deut. 1:9-12 "I spoke to you at that time, saying, 'I am not able to bear the burden of you alone. 'The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven in number. 'May the LORD, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand-fold more than you are and bless you, just as He has promised you! 'How can I alone bear the load and burden of you and your strife?"
3. Leadership: Selection of the leaders. Moses chose the inner circle from among those qualified, approved, and appointed according to their abilities.
Deut. 1:13-15 'Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.' "You answered me and said, 'The thing which you have said to do is good.' "So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and appointed them heads over you, leaders of thousands and of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and officers for your tribes."
4. Organization: he structured the leadership. Moses set up the system where the leaders could listen fairly, minister, make decisions based on principle, and any hard cases would still come to him.
Deut. 1:16-18 "Then I charged your judges at that time, saying, 'Hear the cases between your fellow countrymen, and judge righteously between a man and his fellow countryman, or the alien who is with him. 'You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God's. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.' "I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do."
1. Vision: See the land. Moses saw and reminded everyone of what God had already done in their lives and on their journey. He showed how God would fulfill His promise. Moses could clearly see this outcome, and he motivated others by his vision.
Deut. 1:6-8 "The LORD our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 'Turn and set your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negev and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 'See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them.'"
2. Delegation: Shared responsibilities. Moses put aside his ego and shared the responisibilities with others. He gave them authority over their jobs and it now became a team effort.
Deut. 1:9-12 "I spoke to you at that time, saying, 'I am not able to bear the burden of you alone. 'The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven in number. 'May the LORD, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand-fold more than you are and bless you, just as He has promised you! 'How can I alone bear the load and burden of you and your strife?"
3. Leadership: Selection of the leaders. Moses chose the inner circle from among those qualified, approved, and appointed according to their abilities.
Deut. 1:13-15 'Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.' "You answered me and said, 'The thing which you have said to do is good.' "So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and appointed them heads over you, leaders of thousands and of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and officers for your tribes."
4. Organization: he structured the leadership. Moses set up the system where the leaders could listen fairly, minister, make decisions based on principle, and any hard cases would still come to him.
Deut. 1:16-18 "Then I charged your judges at that time, saying, 'Hear the cases between your fellow countrymen, and judge righteously between a man and his fellow countryman, or the alien who is with him. 'You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God's. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.' "I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do."
Thursday, February 14, 2008
EMPOWER LEADERS
Leaders often wonder if it is really their job to create other leaders or simply inspire them and release them. A Pastor may wonder if their main role is on Sunday but the rest is all just extra. We were actually called to a much higher level by His word to equip other leaders to go lead. We are to identify, prepare, and release teams to work.
God did this very thing with Moses and the 70 leaders he had selected. Now what do these potential leaders need? God says:
1. Authority. Num. 11:16 And the Lord said to Moses, Send for seventy of the responsible men of Israel, who are in your opinion men of weight and authority over the people; make them come to the Tent of meeting and be there with you.
He had them stand with Moses.
2. Anointing. Num. 11:17 And I will come down and have talk with you there: and I will take some of the spirit which is on you and put it on them, and they will take part of the weight of the people off you, so that you do not have to take it by yourself.
He took the spirit that had been on Moses and would put the same on them.
3. Ownership of the vision. Num. 11:17
Again, he put the spirit on them as well.
4. Responisibility. Num. 11:17
They shall bear the burden of the people.
5. They need specific ministry roles. Num. 11:24 Moses went out and told the people what the LORD said. He gathered 70 of the leaders of the people and had them stand around the tent.
He placed them around the tabernacle.
6. They need to express their gifts. Num. 11:25 And Jehovah came down in the cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, but they did so no more.
When the spirit rested upon them they prophesied.
7. They need a secure leader who will release them to succeed. Num. 11:26-29 But there remained two men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the Spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but had not gone out unto the Tent; and they prophesied in the camp. And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of his chosen men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said unto him, Art thou jealous for my sake? would that all Jehovah's people were prophets, that Jehovah would put his Spirit upon them!
God did this very thing with Moses and the 70 leaders he had selected. Now what do these potential leaders need? God says:
1. Authority. Num. 11:16 And the Lord said to Moses, Send for seventy of the responsible men of Israel, who are in your opinion men of weight and authority over the people; make them come to the Tent of meeting and be there with you.
He had them stand with Moses.
2. Anointing. Num. 11:17 And I will come down and have talk with you there: and I will take some of the spirit which is on you and put it on them, and they will take part of the weight of the people off you, so that you do not have to take it by yourself.
He took the spirit that had been on Moses and would put the same on them.
3. Ownership of the vision. Num. 11:17
Again, he put the spirit on them as well.
4. Responisibility. Num. 11:17
They shall bear the burden of the people.
5. They need specific ministry roles. Num. 11:24 Moses went out and told the people what the LORD said. He gathered 70 of the leaders of the people and had them stand around the tent.
He placed them around the tabernacle.
6. They need to express their gifts. Num. 11:25 And Jehovah came down in the cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, but they did so no more.
When the spirit rested upon them they prophesied.
7. They need a secure leader who will release them to succeed. Num. 11:26-29 But there remained two men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the Spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but had not gone out unto the Tent; and they prophesied in the camp. And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of his chosen men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said unto him, Art thou jealous for my sake? would that all Jehovah's people were prophets, that Jehovah would put his Spirit upon them!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Rest and Refocus
What does the Sabbath mean to you and I? In Leviticus 35:1-55 we see God laying out the rules for the Sabbath and the year of Jubilee. These special times called for special behavior: God's people were to stop their usual labor, change their normal routines, and alter their routines. Let's consider how we as leaders can learn from these Sabbaths:
1. The people had a time of rest. Lev. 25:5 'Your harvest's aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year.' These special times God set aside for the land to rest and the people's lives.
2. This gave people a chance for redemption. Lev. 25:10 "Set apart the fiftieth year as holy, and proclaim liberty to everyone living in the land. This is your jubilee year. Every slave will be freed in order to return to his property and to his family." Every Israelite could return to their ancestors lands and redeem them just as God did with them.
3. There was time given to reflect. Lev. 25:12 "The jubilee year will be holy to you. You will eat what the field itself produces." It was a gift from God, meant to be holy.
4. It gave time for repair and reward. Lev. 25:18-19 "Obey my laws, and carefully follow my rules. Then you will live securely in the land. The land will give you its products, and you will eat all you want and live there securely." As a reward for following in God's will God would supply them with food and time to sharpen their ax.
5. There became time for relationships. Lev. 25:35-46 Everyone was to put people first over any material gains.
6. There would be time to refocus. Lev. 25:55 "The Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants. I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God." God reminds us that we are His and that He is our Lord.
1. The people had a time of rest. Lev. 25:5 'Your harvest's aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year.' These special times God set aside for the land to rest and the people's lives.
2. This gave people a chance for redemption. Lev. 25:10 "Set apart the fiftieth year as holy, and proclaim liberty to everyone living in the land. This is your jubilee year. Every slave will be freed in order to return to his property and to his family." Every Israelite could return to their ancestors lands and redeem them just as God did with them.
3. There was time given to reflect. Lev. 25:12 "The jubilee year will be holy to you. You will eat what the field itself produces." It was a gift from God, meant to be holy.
4. It gave time for repair and reward. Lev. 25:18-19 "Obey my laws, and carefully follow my rules. Then you will live securely in the land. The land will give you its products, and you will eat all you want and live there securely." As a reward for following in God's will God would supply them with food and time to sharpen their ax.
5. There became time for relationships. Lev. 25:35-46 Everyone was to put people first over any material gains.
6. There would be time to refocus. Lev. 25:55 "The Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants. I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God." God reminds us that we are His and that He is our Lord.
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