Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
We cannot teach people to know God. We can only point them to the One they know. It is the Holy Spirit within each of us that is the true teacher of life. All external teachers can only teach by way of information, but Holy Spirit teaches by way of transformation. It is not a matter of taking someone by the hand and leading them. It is a matter of having hearts and minds that are transformed by the character, nature, way, power, and authority of God from within.
Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
The kingdom of God is an Internal kingdom that affects the external kingdoms of the world by changing the internal nature of our hearts and minds. As leaders, we point people to the internal kingdom of God in their hearts. When we seek first the kingdom of God in our lives the fruit of the spirit will be evident. The fruit of life will surround us. Our lives will be established through a personal relationship with God in our hearts. The kingdom of God is a constant coming in kingdom within us.
When leading people questions are often better than answers. How is that working for you? What did God say to you? What do you sense? Is that true to the character of God? What is your heart telling you? Do you have peace? Do you have faith and a release in your heart that this is life? When we seek to give people answers externally we take them by the hand to lead them. We must lead in a way that makes people responsible in their own relationship with God in their lives.
The ark of the presence of God rests upon the shoulders of each priest and no human being is a priest on behalf of other human beings. We are all priests into our God we are all priests onto our God. In the old covenant there were priests who served on behalf the people. This was never God’s perfect will. God wanted all His children to be kings and priests before Him. In the new covenant leaders serve to assist others to become priests. In the old covenant there were kings on behalf of the people. In the new covenant we lead others to become kings in their own lives. Each one is responsible for their own world and each one’s world is dependent upon a personal relationship with God in their hearts. We cannot be people of God on behalf of others. We lead others to become people of God. Being people of God is a very personal thing. It is the fruit of a personal relationship with God in our hearts. Leaders lead others to find a personal connection with God in their own hearts. Leaders can demonstrate the principles, patterns, and values of God in their own lives as examples for others to follow, but mere principles, patterns, and values are not teachers that transform hearts and minds. They only inform them. Only God can write what those principles, patterns, and values upon the human heart and mind. We can point others to use the principles, patterns, and values of God but those things cannot teach them to know Him. They can only inspire them to know Him. Paul told Timothy to be an example that would inspire those who follow.
1 Timothy 4:7 But have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness, 8 for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. 10 In fact, we labor and strive for this, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, especially of those who believe. 11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. 15 Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers. (HCSB)
Leaders have a responsibility to lead, but that is not to take them by the hand and lead them. Anything that we do must only serve to activate the internal kingdom of God in the hearts of those to whom God sends us. As leaders we are an example that others can inspire others to find God in their lives as we find Him in ours. Only God can empower us to be as we should be in Christ. As leaders we lead others to manage their own lives. We don’t manage their lives for them. This is also true for each of us as parents to our children, members of our family, and citizens of our community. Being the people of God is dependent upon each of us being joined to God in our hearts.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
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House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728
