Search

2 MINUTE WARNING

WITH DOUG JOHNSON

Tag

leadership

487 Be … Then What?

The Bible calls all of us as believers to many things.

And one of them is to be:  Above Reproach

As we read below:

1 Timothy 3 1 Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

There are many things in this verse that we must read:

Faithful

Temperate

Self-Controlled

Respectable

Hospitable

Able To Teach

Not Given To Drunkenness

Not Violent But Gentle

Not Quarrelsome

Not A Lover Of Money

Must Manage His Family Well

Must Have A Good Reputation

Now, if you are A Recent Convert … what I have to say now is not for you.  You are to seek God, and pray, and learn His word, and meet with other SOLID BELIEVERS, and grow in your faith.

But most of us … we grow out of that … and now it is time to step up and do the very thing that that verse above requires.  It is time for us to walk into the calling that God has for us.  As a coach, I would say:  “Get Your Butt Going!”

  1.  You Are Called To Greater Things

Do not underestimate your influence, do not downplay it, and do not lazily disregard it.  Walk into your calling!

1 Peter 2 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

  1.  This Is Not An Optional Mandate

He calls us to ministry.  It is not our job to “regulate” the pastor.  We are not to sit in the back pew and say “he needs to do this and this and this …”  Nonsense.  We are to stand up and lead.  Start your ministry today, or at least tomorrow or Monday or have a plan.  And aim big!  The world is full of the lost.

Matthew 28 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 

24 “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 ” ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

  1.  The Gold Standard

Follow the playbook in your ministry.  The playbook is written in your Bible.  And Jesus … He is the Gold Standard.

Proverbs 17 3 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart. 

So yes,

Be Above Reproach

Be:

Faithful

Temperate

Self-Controlled

Respectable

Hospitable

Able To Teach

Not Given To Drunkenness

Not Violent But Gentle

Not Quarrelsome

Not A Lover Of Money

Must Manage His Family Well

But then what?

Get Your Butt Going!!

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Know anyone who might like these?  Encourage them to jump on to 2minutewarning.blog and hit the FOLLOW button!!!

Coach J

471 The Mountain In Front Of Us

If you are like me, you have some decisions in front of you that are INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.

This is not a heavy word.  It is an encouragement.

To remind you … “What You Have To Gain Is FAR GREATER Than What You Have To Lose”

So as you walk into the mountain in front of you … I have 4 pieces of advise.

1.  Decide To Be Great … (Not Your Position, Your Posture)

As the disciples jostled for position in a very unbalanced time, Jesus reminded them what being great truly was.

Mark 10 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

2.  Pick A Team (Loyalty Means Everything)

Our God is not a neutral decision.  I know which side I am declaring … and Joshua showed us how to do it.

Joshua 24 14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord . 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord .” 16 Then the people answered, “Fa

3.  Love Your Enemies (YOU Are The Lion!)

As I reminded one of my athletes this past spring — YOU are the lion.  Often we see lions showing themselves in the middle of the plain … and the animals scatter.  As we approach the mountain, we must remember that WE are the lion — not the scattering zebras.  And as a member of the winning team, it should never burden us to pray for, and love, our enemies.

Matthew 5 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you …

4.  Remember Who You Belong To (My Father Loves Me!)

Probably our most important verse in the entire Bible … our belonging to God and His love of us.  This is exemplified in in Zephaniah and we would do well to plant this verse on our hearts.

Zephaniah 3 17 The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

So go forward to the mountain.

And climb with Faith, Hope, and Alacrity.

To Him Be The Glory And The Kingdom And The Power … For Ever And Ever.

Amen.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Know anyone who might like these?  Encourage them to jump on to 2minutewarning.blog and hit the FOLLOW button!!!

Coach J

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑