Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
As leaders, we labor for eternal testimonies in those we lead. Those testimonies are transformations of hearts and minds that manifest in character, nature, way, power, and authority that are life-giving in substance and produce an inheritance that passes on to the generations of children and children’s children. They are the substance of true scribes in the kingdom of God.
Matthew 13:52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
A householder is the head of a house that passes on an inheritance to their children and their children’s children that transforms their world by heavenly things. Those heavenly things are things that have never been seen before and heavenly things that were antique and lost before their time. When someone realizes that the purpose of life is God’s kingdom, they accept the responsibility of who they are. They are then able to say, ‘here I am’ and they then unlock things that have never been and give continued destiny to things that were before. This is a testimony of gold, silver, and precious stone. It endures through the testing fires of time and becomes more enduring and valuable by the resisting forces of hell.
1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.
The fire of God is not meant to destroy eternal realities. It purifies them. It burns the temporary things but refines the things that carry the substance of eternal life. These are the things of gold, silver, and precious stones. In biblical symbolism, gold is a testimony of divine influence. Silver is a testimony of redemptive power. Precious stones are symbolic of heavenly testimonies. Gold, silver, and precious stones are eternal by nature. Wood, hay, and straw are symbolic of human nature. They symbolize comfort, prosperity, and natural inheritances. These can be symbolic of the works of ministry that we do as leaders. They can represent our church functions, our mission organizations, our training schools, and any form we use to facilitate ministry in some way. As leaders we must know that what God does in the lives of those we lead is eternal, while the ministries that we use to facilitate those testimonies are only temporary. Our structures, methods, and means of ministry will change and even expire, but the testimony of God in the hearts and minds of those we lead is eternal. We cannot measure our success by the things of wood, hay, or straw. The true measurement of our leadership is seen in the personal connections with God found by those we lead. Our leadership is not meant to be bound to those in our immediate care, but it is even seen in the testimonies of God found in the lives in those who have moved beyond our immediate ministries. We will not know the full record until things are summed up in Christ for the glory of our heavenly Father. We live to see a personal connection with God in the hearts and minds of those we lead. This is the connection to the foundation of Jesus Christ. God’s field, God’s building, is not limited to our ministries. It is bigger than any form of ministry or structure we create. It is meant to fill the earth with a harvest for the glory of God in all things. As leaders we live to lead others in being part of something bigger than any form of wood, hay, or straw that we can create. We lead to assist God’s sons and daughters in making personal connections to God that exhibit eternal inheritances for the glory of God.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
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