Faith and Endurance

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Greetings,

Being a believer is not a matter of ministry. It is a matter of being the family of God that ministers life to others. This requires us to embrace the character of sons and daughters of God and not just the gifting. Paul instructed Timothy in regard to the character of the family of God.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Paul instructed Timothy that leaders were to turn away from people who were self-seeking in their motives, agendas, and ways. Our responsibility is not just to lead people into the works of God; it is even more to lead them into the character of God. Leadership is about accepting responsibility in the family of God to lead members of the family into the inheritance of the character, nature, way, power, and authority of the family of God. The body of Christ is to be the body of Christ, not pretenders or those who mascaraed in the name of Christ to receive the benefits of being inheritors of Christ. Leaders must recognize who is in their sphere of influence and make it their objective to focus on Christ in all things. Leaders must teach those they lead to do the same. The self-seeking rebels of Timothy’s day were like the self-seeking rebels in every generation. They are those who seek to deceive gullible and vulnerable people for their own personal gain.

2 Timothy 3:6-9 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jane’s and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

Paul likened the rebellious of heart to that of Janes and Jambres. There is no record in the Bible of who Janes and Jambres were, but Hebrew tradition speculates that these were two magicians that resisted Moses by counterfeiting the works of Moses in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt in the time of the plagues in Egypt and the deliverance of Israel. If this is the case, these rebellious individuals in the church were being compared to soothsaying magicians in the kingdom of darkness. Self-seeking ways and self-seeking agendas have no place in the hearts of believers. Leaders must accept the responsibly of dealing with such. Leaders do not seek to control the rebellious, they simply give no room for their rebellious voice in the community of life.

Timothy had carefully observed Paul’s doctrine and manner of life. He had embraced and carried on with Paul’s example of purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, and afflictions. These were examples to Timothy of what one might expect to have to endure when endeavoring to live godly in Christ Jesus. These are things expected of all believers, but especially of leaders.

2 Timothy 3:10-12 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra — what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Leaders must know and teach others to desire to live godly in Christ Jesus even in the face of resistance. When we seek to live godly in Christ we will suffer persecutions of various kinds. Some will not endure. As there was in Paul’s day, there will be evil men and imposters who seek to deceive the untaught and unstable in every generation.

2 Timothy 3:13-15 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Leaders must set an example of endurance and continuing in what God has given in in the midst of persecution. Pressure doesn’t define a leader; it simply reveals that they are a leader. Pressure doesn’t define a believer in Christ, it simply reveals who a true believer is. Leaders set an example for the church community to follow. In order to do so, they must model a clear understanding of the purpose of Scripture so those they lead can do the same. Leaders must know the purpose of Scripture, embrace that purpose, and present it to those they lead. Knowing Scripture is essential. It is a witness to the inner voice of God within our hearts. Hearing God will change our way of life and Scripture is profitable for our doctrine – our way of life. Scripture is profitable for reproof, for bringing Christ out of our hearts. Scripture is profitable for correction, keeping us in the path of life. Scripture is profitable for righteousness, keeping us dependent upon God in all things. Leaders must live in this process and lead those they are responsible for into the same process of transformation and testimony.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson




Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

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A Leader Corrects

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Greetings,

Leaders must know how to avoid foolish and worthless disputes. These things do not produce life but only create strife. Our words must give life to others, not destroy them. Foolish debates only destroy. This is the way of the world, not the way of the community of God. It is ok for us to disagree with others but is not ok to be disagreeable in our hearts towards them.

2 Timothy 2:23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.

Leaders must not quarrel but be gentle, able to teach, be patient, and in humility correct those who oppose them and what God is giving through them to the church. These are a responsibility carried by those appointed by God to lead in His church. This is not just true for leaders, but leaders must lead in this testimony. The community of God is different than the communities of the world and leaders in God’s community must set an example of the character, nature, way, power, and authority of God.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

The goal of a leader’s correction to those they lead is that God might grant repentance to those who oppose the truth. A leader is willing to bring correction that those in opposition will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil of which they have been taken captive to do the devil’s will. Correction is not a punishment for being bad. The goal of correction is to keep someone in the path of life. Leaders must know that correction is an act of love, and they must never shy away from the responsibility of correcting those they are responsible for. That correction must agree with the Holy Spirit in the life of each believer so each one receives the true transformation than can only come by God working in the human heart. Correction is never merely about our actions; it is about our hearts. Correction given by a leader should be with the same attitude and desire of a father loving his children.  

Correction is a blessing and not a curse. God corrects us because He loves us. His correction is not a thing of shame, but a willingness on God’s part to keep us in the path of life. Leadership has a responsibility of bringing correction to those they lead when it is necessary.

Leaders set an example in the character, nature, way, power, and authority of Christ to those they lead. Leadership is not about ministry. It is about community. We lead for the sake of the expression of the community of Christ that God has sent us to. We minister the life of Christ because we are the community of Christ. Being the family of God is more important than doing the works of the family. We do the works of Christ because we are the body of Christ. Surely doing the works of Christ is both important and essential, but we do them because of who we are. What we do doesn’t necessarily define who we are, but who we are will for sure define what we do.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson




Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

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Embracing Inner Change

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Greetings,

A leader is to set an example of being someone who is approved by God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed. It is not about Scripture knowledge, but of family character.

2 Timothy 2:15-18 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.

A Leader opens the door for all to come into the growing dynamic of becoming a testimony of Spirit and Truth. Leaders must shun profane and idle babblings, for they only increase to more ungodliness. The apostle Paul was even bold enough to name some by name who had caused division in the family of God. Hymenaeus and Philetus were these kinds of people, and their babblings spread like cancer in the body of Christ. Cancer cells are cells that seek to consume other cells in the body to sustain their own personal propagation. They destroy the life of the body for their own appetites and desires. Leaders have a responsibility in the body of Christ to protect the healthy cells from destructive individuals or heresies that rob the body of true life. Self-seeking agendas have no place in the body of Christ. We do not judge the world for their selfish ways, but those same selfish ways must not be a part of the community of God.

Leaders do not just set an example for others in their actions. They set an example for those they lead in matters of the heart. Therefore, leaders must be vulnerable, transparent, and willing to constantly be transformed in their character. Leaders must depart from iniquity and teach those they lead to do the same. Iniquity is not sin. Iniquity is an issue of the heart. It is a weakness within that is vulnerable to transgression and thus it leads us to be disconnected from our true-life source, which is God. Iniquity leads to transgression, transgression leads to sin, and the result of sin is death. The root of it all is in the iniquities of our hearts. Iniquities are not places of shame within us; they are the inner marks of weakness that reveal to us a need for God and a dependency upon God in who we are. When God visits iniquities, they become healed by His grace. An iniquity will leave a tattoo within our lives that reminds us of the amazing grace of God at work within us. God does want us to flee from sin, but being willing to depart from the inner weaknesses that lead to sin is the real issue of change in our lives. How we were born is not necessarily how we were meant to be. We have all been born with inherited strengths and weaknesses. Kingdom of God scribes allows the Holy Spirit to write within their hearts and minds. In doing this they unlock new things never seen and redeem antique and lost things within their family line. God visiting the inner core of who we are makes us become who we were meant to be. Leaders must willingly embrace this process and seek to lead others into the same.

2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

We must all recognize that in the church there will be both vessels of honor and dishonor. Those that are vessels of dishonor only prove those who are vessels of honor. We must all seek to be vessels of honor and leaders are to set an example for others to follow in this pursuit. A vessel of love is proved to be a vessel of love when faced with a vessel of hate. A vessel of forgiveness is proved to be a vessel of forgiveness when faced with a vessel of unforgiveness. Leaders must be examples in seeking to be vessels of honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. The testimony of being children of God is to make decisions for others based upon who we are in Christ, not what others deserve outside of Christ. This is not merely a matter of our actions, but a matter of our hearts.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

Leaders set an example and teach others to flee youthful lusts, and to pursue righteous, faith, love, and peace. True righteousness is a dependency upon God, not a focus of mere self-discipline to do right things. Faith is a supernatural testimony of intimacy with God that is exhibited through hearing His voice within our hearts. It defies natural sight and empowers us to be faithful to God in all things. Love is measured by a willingness to make sacrifices for the sake of others. Peace is the testimony of no gap between God and us. These are attributes of true life and leaders are more concerned with these characteristics in their lives than mere works, events, projects, or any kind of gifts in ministry.

2 Timothy 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson




Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

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Faithful Endurance

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Greetings,

If you have ever made the statement, “It’s not fair”, you have made a statement of truth. Life is not fair. It is life! Everyone is given a measure, a boundary, and an opportunity to affect this world with the life they live. Life is not meant to be fair; every life is an opportunity for the testimony of God’s love to shine through that life to the world around them. Leaders have been given a responsibility for the sake of others. They must set an example of how the love of God and the testimony of God prevail in all things. Their measure, their boundary, and their opportunity to affect this world is for the sake of those they lead. A leader will suffer trouble as though they are an evildoer, this is part of pressing through for the sake of others as a leader.  The apostle Paul suffered even to imprisonment.

2 Timothy 3:8-10 Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

A leader endures things for the sake of those they lead. Being a leader means you have been given a grace and an anointing to take people where they have never been before. Leaders must press through things that resist what God wants to do in and through them so that those they lead can break through to the things of God in their lives. I believe that the number one testimony of sent authority is endurance. To live for Christ is to endure for Christ, thus leaders must be the first to endure for the testimony of Christ in their lives. How can we say we are the character of Christ without facing things that oppose His character in our lives? God gives a special grace to leaders to endure things for the sake of those He has given them to lead. When we receive God-sent authority in our lives we also become inheritors of the heavenly harvests obtained through the endurance of their lives. Endurance is the strength of faithfulness and faithfulness is the inspiration of one’s ability to endure.

2 Timothy 2:11-13 This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

To remain faithful to Him is to reign with Him, thus faithfulness is the path to authority in all of our lives. Leaders must set an example in this and lead others into the same. Jesus gave His life for us; thus our testimony is to give life to others. This is to live for Him. Leaders set an example in the character, nature, way, power, and authority of giving life as Jesus gave His life for us. This is the true testimony of reigning in life. Our victory over all things is found in the empowerment of God’s life within us in all things. Our confession of Jesus is the testimony of His life within us. He does not seek to deny anyone, but only the testimony of His life within us is a testimony of His life-giving nature through us. This is the testimony of our faith – a response to His life within us that is seen as life for others. We are the body of Christ and leaders set an example to follow in this. They activate, facilitate, and release those within their measure of rule to become true to the nature of the family of God. Timothy was to remind his appointed leaders of these things and to set this example to the flock.

2 Timothy 2:14 Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers.

A leader is not to strive about words that have no prophet but only ruin those who become bound by those meaningless teachings. The focus of every leader must be God and the family of God. It is not about disputes and arguments that lead to destructive testimonies in the family of God. Foolish theological debates and wrangling about religious views and perceptions do not serve to give life. They only prove to produce divisive debates that propagate foolish heresies. These are things found in the kingdoms of the world but are not attributes of those who are motivated by the internal kingdom of God’s love.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson




Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

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A Purpose of Harvest

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Greetings,

I want to continue today with some further thoughts on the law of harvest. Every leader must understand the principle of harvest and they must commit their leadership to the harvest set before them in the task of their leading. I believe the law of harvest to be the highest law, the fullest boundary, and the greatest liberty of the kingdom. It is the place where the end determines a beginning. It is where life mandates relationship. Harvest is the place where hope beckons life-giving decisions. A vision of the harvest mandates the actions of the process to that harvest. It is essential that we understand the character, nature, way, power, and authority of the Author of the harvest if we are going to walk out the daily steps of the process of that harvest. God is the one who gives the harvest for He is the Creator, the Supplier, and the Finisher of all things. To attempt to walk out the steps to the harvest by any other way than the way of God will produce results that are less than and perverted from the destiny of true harvest. The law of harvest requires the service of the law of sowing and reaping. The law of harvest must be approached by accessing the divine laws of order. We are not under laws; laws are under us. They serve us as we walk in the character, nature, way, power, and authority of Christ. Those laws can be seen as principals, patterns, or values in our lives. They are the testimony of the right path to culmination and harvest. The path to harvest includes sowing, cultivating, watering, managing, inventing, creating, and many other aspects of empowering the harvest determined in our lives. False things must be removed, and true things must be cultivated in order to attain the goal of the completed fruit. The end result of God’s harvest is always food for others and seed for future generations.

God wants our lives to be like trees. We must branch out to become sources of fruit to be eaten by others and places that offer a touch of healing for the hope of the generations to come. I believe this is true for every harvest. Even when working a simple job or accomplishing menial tasks, the harvest must be within the environment of our endeavors in order to produce life beyond ourselves. The harvest can never be simply to pay our bills. That kind of harvest is only eaten with a bitter stomach and carries the forever disappointing news of never having enough.

The harvest that God has for us involves the vision that God has for the world because of us.

We often think of harvest in terms of thousands and abundance beyond our wildest dreams, but what if our harvest is to cause just a few to think as thousands and to see themselves beyond their wildest dreams. To cause one life to become the fullest life that lives to give life to others would propagate a harvest that would ultimately change the world. Blessing produces blessing, multiplying propagates multiplying, possessing secures possessing, and the influence of life fills life with life.

The harvest of my marriage is a ripe old age with my wife that has treasures of memories, discoveries, and values attained together. But more than these the harvest of Bonnie and I together is for our children and our children’s children to have the inherited substance of family life and abundance that becomes a treasure that multiplies to the generations to come. How many dreams came to pass because of us? That is a true question of harvest. How did the character, nature, way, power, and authority of God expand in the lives of those who came out from us? That is a question of harvest.

King David understood the principles of the law of harvest. His sights were always set upon the harvest. He did not live for himself, but for the generations to come. When he was faced with trouble, he could pray a righteous prayer of rescue.

Psalms 144:10 The One who gives salvation to kings, Who delivers David His servant from the deadly sword. 11 Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouth speaks lying words, and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood—

Why did David pray the prayer of rescue? He didn’t pray for his own needs to be met or for his own comfort. It was for that which was beyond and because of his life that he prayed.

Psalms 144: 12  That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as pillars, sculptured in palace style; 13 That our barns may be full, supplying all kinds of produce; that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields; 14 That our oxen may be well laden; that there be no breaking in or going out; that there be no outcry in our streets. 15 Happy are the people who are in such a state; happy are the people whose God is the LORD!

True sons and daughters of God live to produce sons and daughters. The harvest is sons and daughters; therefore we must live to be fathers and mothers. True kingdom influencers live to export produce from barns and provisions from abundant flocks. The harvest is for barns and flocks to provide supply for the world in which we live; therefore we must live to be producers and farmers of life. True harvest is to create a better world behind us than was before us; therefore we must live to change the world in which we live.

I pray that you each get a vision for harvest and live your life to the fullest that even the harvest of pleasure would reveal the goodness and the kindness of God to the world you live in. May God inspire your dreams and your visions to be according to the law of harvest and may you be committed to the character, nature, way, power, and authority of Christ in completing the joy of life. Only being true to who He is will produce the harvest that He has for your life. May God inspire your thoughts to be thoughts of harvest for the sake of others around you and for the generations that follow you in this life.

2 Timothy 2:3-7 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson




Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

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Live for the Harvest

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Greetings,

Leader’s lead others in a path of faith regarding their calling, testimony, and purpose in Christ. The purpose of each one’s life is harvest. Harvest is what gives life to others beyond us and because of us. Who we are in Christ empowers us to give the life of Christ to our world. Paul told Timothy that he was to endure like a good soldier, compete like a good athlete, and work hard like a good farmer. The path of a leader is meant to fulfill the purpose for which they lead. That purpose is what I call the law of harvest

A leader must think in a manner of a soldier, athlete, and farmer. A leader thinks with a purpose-focused mind. Let’s think about Biblical meditation a minute. Meditation in the world is a process of emptying our minds of everything to receive some form of serenity. Biblical meditation is to fill our thoughts with all that is of God in order to see the character, nature, way, power, and authority of God birthed within our hearts and souls. We choose to look at what God says and what He is like in order to receive a transformation by the metamorphosis of our minds. It is a principle of the law of harvest. We choose to see how it is in heaven and then we submit the lesser laws of our thoughts and lives in order to reap that heavenly harvest in our lives. Leaders must understand this principle well.

God determines the harvest before He determines the sowing. Our eyes have not seen, our ears haven’t heard, and our thoughts haven’t thought of the things God has prepared for us; but He has revealed it all to us by the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:9, 10). This is the law of harvest. We know the end in our spirits before we can even know the beginning in our minds. We must choose to submit to this greater law of harvest in everything we do. I hope that I am challenging your thoughts. I am not attempting to answer all the questions or explain all of the details of the law of harvest in this letter. I am simply seeking to provoke you to think according to a greater calling, purpose, and destiny as a leader.

God has determined an end, but we must start with a beginning. We must never despise the day of small beginnings, because great destiny requires many small beginnings. When we think small beginnings, God thinks harvest.

Isaiah 46:9, 10 Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,’

The law of harvest demands that we sow seed in order to reap a crop, but we must see the crop in a spiritual realty before we can choose to labor in the natural. Leaders must see where they are going in the Spirit before they see it in the natural harvest fields of life. The labor of every leader must be towards a spiritual goal seen in heaven. Not everything that we sow is purposed by God for us to reap, but everything that God has purposed for us to reap requires us to sow. We don’t sow to reap. We sow because we see the harvest. Ishmael was a result of the law of sowing and reaping while Isaac was the result of the law of harvest. We don’t sow seed because we want to see a harvest. We see a harvest, so we sow seed. Leaders lead people to live their lives by the vision of a heavenly harvest. What God says, we can do. What God makes known in heaven, we can receive here on earth. Leaders must be men and women of faith who lead others to become the same. We see the harvest, so we sow seed. Blindly sowing seed is seed sown from unbelief. As leaders we must live for the harvest!

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson




Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Posted in #leadershipinthechurch, #newcovenantleaders, Leadership Development | Comments Off on Live for the Harvest

Leading for a Harvest

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Being a leader means standing fast when others want to quit. A leader takes people into territories of faith and the opposite of faith is natural sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Since sight is the opposite of faith, someone who walks a path of faith will likely encounter things that intimidate him or her on the journey. A leader must know how to press through in faith when natural experiences seem to threaten them. In Paul’s instructions to Timothy, Timothy was to endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, compete as an athlete in a competition, and be as a hard-working farmer in the field of purpose.

2 Timothy 2:3-7 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

Being a leader is to be a soldier in a war. At times a leader will feel threatened in their spiritual, emotional, and even physical life, but they must fight the battle to win. Being a leader is like being in an athletic race of competition and the race must be run according to the rules. This includes the training process, the physical fitness plan, and all the rules of engagement in the race. Those rules are not rules of law. They are boundaries necessary for success. We do not just lead to lead; we lead to accomplish our task. We lead to be successful in our endeavors. We lead to win! Being a leader is also like being a farmer. One must work hard but also one be the first to eat the fruit of their labors. The fruit of the harvest is life to the world! A farmer lives with the law of harvest and submits the lesser laws of sowing, tilling, watering, weeding, etc. to the greater law of the vision of harvest. Like a farmer, a leader sees, believes, labors, reaps, and experiences the taste and benefits of the crops desired before the harvest goes to market.

In light of these things, every leader must understand what I call the law of harvest. I believe this is a spiritual law and it is determined in heaven and its benefits are seen in the earth. The lesser laws of first fruits, first things, sowing and reaping, gravity, density, and numerous laws of physics all serve this law of harvest. When we pray, “Let Your kingdom come, Let Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”, we are praying according to the law of harvest. Harvest is how it is in heaven. Leaders must see things as they are in heaven in order to lead earthly people into heavenly realities.

God wants for us to live our lives by the law of harvest, but most people choose to live their lives by the lesser laws. Most Christians think that living their lives by the law of sowing and reaping is the way to go. No true farmer lives by the law of sowing and reaping. A true farmer lives by the law of harvest and knows that he will have to also choose the law of sowing and reaping to serve that greater law of harvest. No farmer simply scatters seeds and hopes to get a crop. He determines what crop he wants long before he sows the seed. Leaders must do likewise in their role of leadership in the fields of Christ’s harvest. A farmer decides in his heart and mind as to what the market demands, how many acres are needed, how much seed is needed, what soil conditions are required, what growing care must be provided, and many other things before he even puts a seed in the ground. The law of harvest demands the service of the lesser laws of nature. The law of sowing and reaping might mathematically say that 1+1=2, but the law of harvest says that if you want 2 you must get 1+ another 1. The law of harvest sees 2 before it demands 1. That is a bit simple, but it is a way of describing the law of harvest in mathematics.

Leaders must think thoughts of harvest, not merely ones of sowing. God has purposed for everything to end in harvest (Mt. 13:39). The end of every age is culminated in harvest. Everything about every age must serve the purpose of the culmination of that age. It must serve harvest. Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him. He didn’t just blindly hope everything would work out. He saw a harvest and then did everything to accomplish that end. He was willing to embrace the suffering of the cross for the great harvest that would follow. It is a kingdom principle and a spiritual law of heaven.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of: www.ted4leaders.com www.ted4you.com or www.houseofbreadministry.org. Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to: House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225 To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year. Our Ministry Information Is: House of Bread Ministry 3210 Meridian St. Bellingham, WA 98225-1728
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An Attitude of Love

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Greetings,

Paul was redemptive in his attitude towards those who had disconnected from him and were caught up in some deception of life. Paul also commended the faithful, for the sake of others who would follow in the example of the same. He understood that those who served him in love were also examples of the love of Christ for others to follow in life. Onesiphorus was such a man, who perhaps was caught up in some of the same deception as Phygellus and Hermogenes.

2 Timothy 1:16-18 The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.

Paul’s prayer was that the Lord would grant Onesiphorus mercy, surely implying that he needed mercy for challenges that perhaps came to him through the lives of Phygellus and Hermogenes or maybe even some error in his own life. It appears that shaking in the present moment didn’t negate Paul’s recognition of this man’s love for him. Whatever the situation was, Paul was stirred in his love for him. Leaders must know that even in the difficult times of betrayal, abandonment, or some opposition inspired by deception, that an attitude of love and the substance of love was to be in the heart of those who lead. Love is the true substance of leadership, and it is the bond of any expression of the community of God.

Paul presented to Timothy that many had turned away from him, but Timothy was to be strong in the grace that is Christ Jesus. Leaders cannot allow the wounding in their hearts caused by others to affect their attitude towards them or towards anyone as they continue in their responsibility of leading in the community of God. No matter what human conflicts a leader faces, they must never allow the actions of others to affect their attitude and willingness to give life to others. This is a supernatural testimony of the work of God’s grace in the human heart. Enduring the challenges of others and continuing strong in the grace of Christ is a part of leadership. This is more important than the tasks of ministry. It is about maintaining the character of Christ in all things.

2 Timothy 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 

Leaders must not just lead tasks of ministry. They must lead people. They must seek to multiply the life given to them by God in the lives of others. Discipleship is not about teaching others what to do in life. It is about increasing the inheritance of life given by God in the generations that follow. The increase of God’s government and peace is a grace to be multiplied in the generations of the family of God. There should always be a multigenerational focus. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Israel. God is the God of Paul, Timothy, faithful men, and others also. This is what I call a one-hundred-year plan.

2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 

Every leader should seek to live in this standard of inheritance in the community of Christ. Timothy was to take the things he had heard from Paul and to commit them to faithful men who would be able to teach others also. The focus of father is to live for the sake of the children and the children’s children. This attribute should be in the heart of every leader.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of: www.ted4leaders.com www.ted4you.com or www.houseofbreadministry.org. Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to: House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225 To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year. Our Ministry Information Is: House of Bread Ministry 3210 Meridian St. Bellingham, WA 98225-1728
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Leader’s Endure

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Greetings,

Leaders must know that suffering is part of the process of revealing the true testimony of Christ’s life to those they lead. Paul told Timothy to share in his suffering for the testimony of the Lord. The testimony of the Lord in our lives can only be revealed through the testing of our faith. Leaders must embrace a willingness to endure for the sake of their responsibility in Christ. Endurance is a key to the process of receiving the character of Christ in our lives. Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him. We must also endure the cup given to us in life for the joy that is set before us. That joy is that the future generations of men and women in Christ will know a greater fullness of Christ because of who are and what we do today.

2 Timothy 1:8-12 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

The true mark of sent authority is endurance. That endurance leads to a testimony of life for the sake of others. It is through endurance that the purpose of God in our lives is revealed, and the testimony of His grace is empowered. This is when the light and life of Christ in us is truly made known.

As leaders we have a responsibility of both a heritage and an inheritance for the sake of those we lead. Leadership is not simply a skill learned and then a task we do to simply perform some role of ministry. I believe that leadership is more like taking your spot in a relay race. A leader receives the baton given them from those who have run the race thus far. Paul told Timothy to hold fast in presenting a pattern of sound words that he had received from Paul. He was to embrace those things with the faith and love given to his own life through Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 1:13-14 Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

The role of leadership is one of being responsible for what has been given to you through the heritage of leaders before and the substance of the Holy Spirit, Who was the author in the lives of those who led before and the author of the role of leadership in the present. A leader must depend upon and seek to be intimate with the Holy Spirit in keeping to the task given to them by God in Christ. Paul commended Timothy for his faithfulness to these things and gave examples of others who had abandoned the responsibility given to them by God. When Paul named those who had failed, he was not attempting to pass a judgment upon them, but to warn, protect, and guide others to stay fast in the call of God in their lives.

2 Timothy 1:15 This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. 

Authority represents authority and when a leader rejects those who have been sent to them as spiritual fathers, they themselves become spiritual renegades. They can hardly set an example of the faith to others since faith includes faithfulness to those that God sends and to the task that God sends them to do. I believe that the number one mark of authority is endurance. It is not just endurance for the sake of enduring, but endurance to be true to who God has made them to be and endurance in all that God has given them to do. It is endurance in love, hope, and faith for the sake of the community of God that they have been joined to.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson




Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

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Gift and Herritage

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Greetings,

As we read the letters written by Paul to Timothy, we must notice the depth of relationship expressed from Paul’s heart to Timothy. It was not just the writing of a leader to another leader who was accountable to them for some tasks of ministry. It was a heart-felt expression of a spiritual father to a spiritual son. I believe that it is important for every church leader to identify those who are spiritual fathers in their lives. Some are no doubt spiritual teachers, or spiritual mentors, but only a few are spiritual fathers. Paul understood this very well in that he wrote that there are many teachers, but only a few spiritual fathers.

1 Corinthians 4:15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

Paul’s words to Timothy were words of relationship, not words for denominations or non-denominations of ministry structure of organizational accountability. This is the testimony of true life in the family of God.

2 Timothy 1:1, 2  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul’s expression to Timothy was one of love and affection. He recognized that his own role as a leader was one of spiritual inheritance and that Timothy must be aware that his role was also one of the same. Being a leader is not a matter of merely being qualified to lead or supervise in tasks of ministry. It is a role of spiritual inheritance and responsibility. Paul was a testimony to his forefathers in the faith and Timothy was a testimony to the faith of his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. Notice, Paul knew Timothy’s family, their character, their love, and their spiritual testimony.

If we consider Jesus, He had a role of being a spiritual father to twelve men. He was not over hundreds of churches and hundreds of ministries. I have often heard so-called apostolic leaders cite how hundreds of churches are in relationship with them. My question to them would be for them to tell me the name of family members, family history, and spiritual heritage of those they claim to be in relationship with. Being a leader involves being in an intimate relationship with God-sent authority in their lives. It is a matter of relationship, not ministry task or gifting. It is a matter of Divine connection and destiny.

2 Timothy 1:3-5 I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day,  greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy,  when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. 

Timothy was to remember his spiritual heritage and to stir up the gift of God that was in him through the laying on of the hands of Paul. Every leader must be able to recognize their spiritual heritage and to recognize that what God has given them is a gift from heaven. It is not a matter of qualification by human strength or skill. It is a matter of gift and grace given by God from heaven. Every leader is responsible before God to stir up what God has put within them for the sake of those they lead.

2 Timothy 1:6, 7 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Every leader must understand and embrace the love that God has for them, the power of His purpose and presence in their lives, and the strategy of thinking given to them by God’s grace. God’s love for them is not merely a love for them, but a love to be shown and given to those they lead. Perfect love casts out all fear, and when a leader knows the love of God, they can walk in the power that God has given them. When they walk with confidence in the power that God has given them their thinking becomes clear and the strategy of leading rises up from within them.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson




Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Posted in #leadershipinthechurch, #newcovenantleaders, Leadership Development | Comments Off on Gift and Herritage