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1 Sam. 24:7-10 - David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave… David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground …. 9 David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, 'Behold, David seeks to harm you'? 10 " Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD had given you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, 'I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD'S anointed.' NASU
When you think of a leader that you know personally I am sure they said something that resonates within your mind from time to time. President Reagan in my mind was a leader and who can forget the influence he had with these words: "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Two years later Mr. Gorbachev opened the gate and had the wall torn down. That my friends is leadership, that my friends is influence.
Real leaders have a plan they believe in and will stick with it regardless of the opposition. They are not willing to be persuaded to change their plan even by those closest to them when they are fully convinced of their plan being the correct one. David proves to King Saul that other people are lying about him and that he is not the King's enemy. In the cave David cuts off a piece of the king's robe. Then once Saul leaves the cave David goes out and calls to the king. Bowing down before him to show respect he shows him the piece of his robe and says, If I were trying to kill you, you would be dead, but those who say I am your enemy are lying and this proves it. David not only influenced his men he has an influence on King Saul. Look what Saul says, in 1 Sam. 24:16-17 - Then Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 He said to David, "You are more righteous than I; for you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you.
Now there isn't any scripture to support my thoughts here and I am not teaching it as truth or doctrine. I am merely speculating when I say I believe David influenced his guys once again when he said, I am going out there and talk with the king. You don't have to agree with me on this point, but at least consider it. Can you hear those men? David you must be crazy. Have you lost your mind? You should have killed him when you had the chance but no you didn't want to do what every other leader would have done. (What about you- Would you have killed King Saul in the cave, if you had been in David's sandals?) Saul wants to kill you. He has brought a 3,000 man army out to find us. We are stuck in a cave with no possible way to escape and you want to go out and speak with the king. He is a certified mad man and you know it. We are all going to die. David, please rethink what you are about to do. Psalm 57 is a prayer of David's while he was in a cave. Was it this cave on this day? I don't know but what I do know is David completely believed God would answer his prayers and rescue him from the caves where he and his men have been hiding. David as I mentioned earlier goes out and addresses the king and the king rides home in shame. This my friends is Non-Traditional leadership at its best. You have a plan and you work that plan regardless of the opposition to that plan.
Think on These: Example isn't the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing. A good leader inspires men to have confidence in him; a great leader inspires them to have confidence in themselves. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Luke 22:28 - "You are those who have stood by Me in My trials;…" NASU
They didn't know who it was, but Jesus knew. It would be Judas. A name that is now synonymous with one who is a traitor. Judas has excused himself from the group and Jesus is sitting with the eleven disciples when He says these words, "You are those who have stood by Me in My trials…"
Do you have a picture of your close friend(s) in your mind? You know right now it doesn't matter what would happen to you day or night this person would be there for you. You might want to send them this devotion and tell them you know that whatever would happen to you you know they would be there for you. Tell them now while you can.
The first time he said it I wasn't sure where he was going with that statement. Then he finished by saying, "People who your mom and I thought were our friends vanished. They were no where to be found and our true friends became even closer to us during this time."
Just to have some one listen to what we are saying and encourage us that they will be with us all the way through to the end. Are you someone's back to back brother or sister? A person who is your back to back brother/sister is one who is there with you when you are in a fight. That person is saying I will make sure no one else jumps into this fight and I will protect your back from anyone who tries to help your enemy. Now get in there and win so we can go and celebrate.
You need to be there for your friends. You don't want people to betray you. Then you should not betray your friends. Don't be the kind of friend who says, "I would love to help you out, which way did you come in?" Think on These: A real friend will tell you your faults in times of prosperity, and will assist you with his hand and heart in times of adversity. The best recipe for making friends is be one yourself. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Luke 22:40 - When He arrived at the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."
NASU The Prayer That Changes Things We have all been informed to pray this prayer. This isn't the first time we see this command as we read our Bibles. It is also found in Matt. 6:9-13 and is a part of what is known as the model prayer: Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name….13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. NASU This is a very interesting command in this way. If we pray it we may never know the temptations that we were able to avoid. Think about it. We pray not to enter into temptation and the Lord answers our prayers and we don't enter into temptation. How are we going to know what temptation(s) we avoided? I guess when we get to heaven and we are informed do you remember praying for temptations to be avoided? Yes, well here is the temptation that was coming to make your life miserable but you avoided it because of your prayer. WOW! You see that Prayer changes things and there really is no way we would ever know to what extent. Temptations Are Strong Before you and I ever sin we are tempted. We must remember the temptation is NOT the SIN. It is only when we allow the temptation to defeat us that we will enter into sin. Again, temptation is not the sin. It is only an avenue that will lead to sin if we allow it. You and I both know that temptations have defeated us. They were stronger opponents than we thought. Some temptations have no affect on this person but totally devastates another. No alcoholic, or drug addict ever thought their first temptation to try the substance they are abusing was going to lead them where they are now. Imagine if they would have been praying, "Lord, may I never enter into that temptation." I think we all know there are some temptations going to come our way, but when they come if we have prayed to overcome them we will be the victors and not the losers. You know the temptations that defeat you. So pray for those temptations specifically to be avoided. Temptations Defeat The Disciples Jesus is in the Garden before His crucifixion and He tells His disciples "to pray that they may not enter into temptation." We know they don't pray. They go to sleep and then the temptations come their way. We will see Peter shortly denying three times that he even knows Jesus. While the other disciples run for their lives. You Can Defeat Your Temptations I believe we can defeat our temptations. I also believe they will be easier to defeat if we have prayed like the Lord has told us. Think on These: A person falls into temptation because he is unwilling to stand up against it. By yielding to temptation one may lose in a moment what it took a lifetime to acquire. When you flee from temptation DO NOT leave a forwarding address. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Luke 18:38-42 - And he called out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 39 Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, 41 "What do you want Me to do for you?" And he said, "Lord, I want to regain my sight!" 42 And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." NASU
His Faith Led Him To Try Something This blind man was led by his faith to yell out for Jesus to have mercy on him. Where has your faith been leading you? No, seriously, where has your faith been leading you? Have you ever met a person who was really alive? One guy says, "They have passion for something they want to accomplish." I say, "They have faith and are living accordingly. They aren't afraid to try something others would consider crazy." His Faith Was Opposed This man was crying out to Jesus and those who were leading him were sternly telling him to be quiet. Do you understand the ramifications of their advice? If he had listened he would have remained blind. You cannot expect people who don't have the faith you do to support you or even understand what you are trying to accomplish. If your faith is leading you to try something out of the ordinary and others are telling you to "forget about your crazy idea." You are probably on the right path. You need to know your faith in something will many times be opposed by others just like this blind man's faith was opposed. All great plans are opposed and many times from the ones you went to for support. The blind man was "STERNLY" told to be quiet by those who were leading him. The ones who were supposed to know what they were doing and where they were going were 100% wrong. We have probably all read the saying, "The Ark was built by amateurs and the Titanic by professionals." Has Your Faith Led You To Being Threatened Or Ridiculed? The blind man was threatened to "shut up" but that didn't stop him. In 1979 I wanted to go to Bible College and as I shared my idea with other people I could've received more support if I told them I wanted to rob a bank or Fort Knox. I was told this was the craziest idea that I have ever had and that I had a lot of crazy ones, but this was right up at the top. I was informed (as if I didn't know) that I had a family (3 children) and who was going to support my family if I were in college? I was reminded of my past in that I had been out of high school 9 years and if you will remember you weren't that great of a student in high school. Last but not least you have a great job as a union Boilermaker. You are going to throw away a job that some people would love to have to chase after this crazy dream? Faith Is Always Rewarded Well, as some of you know my faith led me to Eastern Christian College in August 1979 and I graduated in 1983 as the Salutatorian of my class and all three of my children survived the experience and pretty much every negative thing that was said to me about going to college NEVER HAPPENED. I do want you to know that my faith was tested while in college, but I kept believing and stuck to my plan. His Faith Was Rewarded The blind man and Jesus have an encounter and Jesus asks him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" He says, "Lord, I want to receive my sight!" In other words, his faith has led him here to ask Jesus for help. Have you ever wondered why those who were leading the way wanted him to be quiet? What were they thinking? It really doesn't matter what they were thinking because whatever it was they were wrong. Did you see what Jesus said? "Receive your sight; YOUR FAITH has made you well."His faith was rewarded because he would not listen to the naysayers. His faith was rewarded. Has your faith led you to your reward? What Reward Is Your Faith Going To Bring You? No, I am serious where is your faith going to lead you? We don't just read the Bible and say, "Oh that was nice, good for him or her." The Word of God is for us and it is to challenge us to Step Up and Step Out on Faith. So get your faith in gear and then let me know how and when it was rewarded. I can hardly wait to hear all the great conquests of your faith. Think on These: Mankind needs a faith that will not shrink when washed in the waters of adversity and affliction. Feed your faith and doubt will starve to death. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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