Leadership
A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to teardown and a time to rebuild.
(Eccl. 3:3)
Tearing Down & Re-building
This part of the series look at the things in our lives that creates a distance between us and God. It encourages us to tear them down -- a necessary activity in order to reap the harvest.
The kill and tear-down in this phrase can mean the same thing. Likewise, healing and rebuilding is the same. Once we are born-again, children of the Living God, ‘old things are pass and behold, all things are made new.’ We have to allow God to kill self so that the Holy Spirit comes alive in us.
Unfortunately, many of us still live under the influence of the ‘old’ while professing Christ, but not truly possessing Christ. So we read the words of the bible and quote them very well, in any given situation, but we do not truly understand what we read and say. And hence, the Word become just words, and is not evident in the way we live our lives.
We read a verse like this one and we use it to ‘tear’ each other down; killing each other with harmful words, gossip etc.,. This is not the way it was meant to be. We are encouraged to care for each other and commanded to love each other. To love, cancels out the need to harm. If we are truly worshiping the Living God, we will desire to see the church in union, and not create division among ourselves.
If there is division in your local church, then it is time to kill the spirit of negativity in the church and make way for the healing process to begin; the rebuilding of union. We cannot stand as one if we stand divided. Unity is required for the church to grow and move forward. In this sense it’s time to tear down the wall of:
• Segregation/discrimination in any form is the work of the enemy – kill it.
• Self (own desires) blocks access to the richness of the Kingdom of God – its time for self to die.
• Hypocrisy cannot remain among you. Wherever you find it there is also:
dishonesty, distrust, jealousy, envy, gossip and anger just to name a few. Be truthful in all your ways
• Greed will cause you to steal – get rid of it, it doesn’t belong in the house of God.
• Pride will find you hindering help towards your spiritual growth and others’ – it must die in order for Christ to come alive in you.
• Hatred is the very nature of the enemy of Christ. You are still in darkness if you cannot truly love your brothers and sisters. Spend some time with God and ask Him to give you a dose of love each morning so it can defuse the spirit of hate within you.
• Intimidation/ spirit of fear is what the enemy uses to keep our new babes from growing and to discourage those willing hearts who just want to work for Christ. Check your behaviour and see if you are allowing the enemy to use you to intimidate others. Then ask God to cleanse you and renew a right spirit within you.
• Foul language cannot be coming from the same mouth that is being used to ‘praise God’ – that’s hypocrisy – kill it.
• Idolatry – that has to go before you can move any further on this journey. You cannot serve two masters. God is a jealous God. He created you and He alone is worthy of your praise. Worship Him and Him alone.
• Fornicating and adultery do not belong in the temple of God. If this is part of your lifestyle, God wants you to be holy. So clear the clutter from your life and start to live right.
• Depression is the enemy’s key to keeping you bound. Whatever issues causes you to feel so low that you can’t give God the praise He deserves – face up to it, allow God to help you deal with it and reclaim your sanity. It is not God’s desire that any of us should lose our way.
• Abuse in any form is wrong. It is a tool of the enemy to suppress the innocent. Do not abuse the children of God by lording it over them – that’s abusing your leadership position. Whatever form of abuse you are involved in – release it into the hands of God. He will cast it from you as far as the east is from the west. Repent and ask God’s forgiveness, then move on into the new light you have found.
• Revenge should not come into play. ‘Vengeance is Mine.’ Says the Lord. So when someone chastises you in the name of love. Accept the correction and allow it to help you grow.
These are all evil desires. ‘Sinful desires should not have a home with God’s children’ (1st Peter 1:14). These desires are produced by the old self. Remember: All people have sinned. Sin begins in the mind and it has consequences. And because God must punish sin, it is your responsibility to:
1. Recognise your own faults;
2. Confess them to God;
3. Ask God’s forgiveness; then
4. Teach the flock from the Word of God; and
5. Encourage them to do the same.
Some people don’t recognise that what they are doing is wrong. Therefore, it is necessary to call a spirit by name. That way, they can be aware of their wrong-doing and seek to reconcile with God. This will also highlight the point that one day they will give account to God for everything they do.
• TEAR DOWN negativity within the body – NOT each other;
- God loves the sinner but hate the sin;
- Love your brothers and sisters enough to show them the error of their ways and help them to make things right in the eyes of the Lord. That is love, and this action is necessary because we need each other in order to survive on this journey.
Invest in the growth of each other. This aids the healing and rebuilding process which results in a harvest, individually and as a body.
How to reap the harvest:
Having a head means that you can see, hear, smell, think and speak (tell of what you’ve seen, heard, smelt or thought about) but that’s as far as you are capable of going. Without the hands to physically do something about what has been said, it becomes a game of repetition. You become an empty barrel or clanging sound. And without the feet to move forward, you are trapped in the building from where you speak. Only those who know where you are can find you and so the element of outreach is stifled.
As a body there are many parts – each with its unique abilities. They all need to be used for the harvest to be evident. So let us begin the process of tearing-down and rebuilding. Through this process, the wheat will be separated from the tare and the body of Christ can unite, grow & produce fruits, then move towards reaping the harvest. It is time for the body of Christ to UNITE.
© 2007 J. S. Ramkissoon
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Season's Change continues under the Leadership theme and is an analysis of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. This is in relation to the spiritual growth of a believer. Some of these areas, though vital to a believer's growth, are often marginalised or ignored. This action then contributes to the spiritual death of many believers and the de-motivation of our leaders.
Verse one gives an overall picture of bringing us to the knowledge that there is a designated time for everything. "There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under the heaven." This flows through the series and shows the importance of each activity on our journey as believers.
This series developed, from the article ‘My Beloved Child’, as a leadership tool to help the church towards growth. Though the articles are targeted at leaders, they are written in a simple form so that any believer reading the articles can find tips within, to help towards spiritual growth.
To read the other parts of this article you can visit: http://www.write2shine.com/Season_s_Change.html
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