32 Biblical Life & Leadership Principles in Serving God

So, we're covering now Part 2 of the 32 Biblical Life and Leadership Principles in Serving God. That's what it's called. Part 2 is from number 17 through number 32. We already covered Part 1. These are life principles that I have seen being applied that are particularly important in our lives. So, let's start with number 17. I hope you can see it well enough. This one is called Standing in the Gap. Ezekiel 22 verse 29. I'll read that. Ezekiel 22 verse 29. God speaks here and says, I have found no one that would stand up and teach about God's way, about repentance and change.

Therefore, I have poured out my indignation on them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath, and I have recompensed their deeds on their own hearts, says the Lord God. In a sense, our work is standing in the gap, letting people know what's going to happen, if this world doesn't repent in time. So, we have to be willing to stand in the gap, be brave for God. 1 Corinthians 16 verse 13 says, Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith.

Be courageous. Be strong. New Living Translation. So, that's one of the biblical principles in life and leadership to serve God. There are times when you just have to stand and fill that gap. Nobody else wants to do it. You go ahead. Fill in the gap. Defend God's way. Let's go to... I have the pointer, so I'll just go ahead and go to the next point.

This one has to do with a Greek word that's used in Revelation 2, 26, and also 20 verse 7. And he who overcomes, the Greek term is Nikau. That's where you get the word Nike, which means victory after a competition. Christ says, And he who overcomes and keeps my works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations. So, Christ is going to give great responsibilities to those who overcome, who persevere in the faith. Don't give up. Don't give in. Those who overcome will eventually be rewarded with everything that we know of. The whole material universe is part of Christ's inheritance, and we are co-heirs with Christ.

Revelation 27 also says basically the same thing. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. So, this includes men and women of faith. The great reward. The Bible says, Don't let anybody take that crown that God has offered us to be under Christ. Now, God had everyone here in mind when he called them. If you look back in your past, there were moments in your life where God was preparing you to one day come into the church. That's what he says about foreknowing that I have people that I have positions for them, and these are the people that I am calling.

And so, it's a great blessing to be part of that group. Principle number 19. Galatians 6.3. Galatians 6.3. Verse 3. It says, For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each shall bear his own load.

We have a personal responsibility before God. And as it was mentioned in the first message, what is power, what is wealth, and what is pride. And here's another scripture that deals with, be careful with pride. If you think you're something, when he is nothing. Without God, we are nothing. But with God, we are something. If he's working in us. But it's to his glory and honor, and not ours. So that's the doughnut principle. And basically, get rid of that center part, the doughnut hole. Get rid of that ego, and be able to be a doughnut without that ego.

Being there, try to remove it. It's not about us being the center, but about others being the center. That's the way God thinks. That's the way Jesus Christ, who is God also thinks. Next principle, number 20. Ecclesiastes 4-4.

Solomon concluded, Again, I saw that for all toil, and every skillful work, a man is envied by his neighbor. This is also vanity and grasping for the wind. So, for anyone that has accomplishments, you are going to be envied by others. That is just a principle you have to understand, and we have to avoid envy. And here's the famous Rembrandt, and he painted a picture of King Saul, when David was playing the harp. And notice, if you can, he's looking at David with envy. He's ready to kill David, because he knew David was a better man than him. David was doing the right things. Saul wasn't. And so, here Saul is being envious of David. And we can get into that wrong attitude, too. Somebody does things better than us, let's give God the glory, because that can be something that God is going to be pleased with and advance the work. Next slide. Here's one fish jumping from a little fishbowl to a larger fishbowl. Second Peter, chapter 2, verse 3. Second Peter, chapter 2, verse 3. Second Peter 3, verse 18. That's what I meant.

It says, But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Don't be satisfied with where you are in your learning. Continue to improve. Don't just be satisfied with what you know. You have to grow in knowledge and the grace of Jesus Christ. That takes time. It takes study to do that. It doesn't come automatically. And in 1 Peter 4, 11 through 12, it says, should be verse 10 to 11, rather. Verse 10, it says, And each one has received a gift, as each one has received a gift, minister or use it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God, as God wants us to preach His word, not our words. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with ability which God supplies. Be diligent that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Remember, always try to grow and improve your skills and gifts from God. Remember whom we serve. He wants to see growth, spiritual growth.

Let's go to another principle. This is the principle of the 10 lepers.

In Luke 17 and verse 11, Christ illustrates what happened here. Luke 17 and 11 says, Now it happened as he went to Jerusalem that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as he entered a certain village, there met him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. At that time, lepers, because their disease was contagious, they could not have physical contact with others, so they all had to live together.

And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, master, have mercy on us.

So when he saw them, he said to them, Go, show yourselves to the priest. And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. They were healed of that terrible disease.

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned and with a loud voice, glorified God and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. He wasn't even an Israelite.

He was someone that was ostracized by the Israelites, and yet he was the one that came back. So Jesus answered and said, Were there not ten cleansed?

But where are the nine?

Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?

And he said to him, Arise, go your way, your faith has made you well.

And so the principle is, don't expect to be always thanked for what you do for others.

Remember, only one of the ten lepers, a Samaritan, gave Christ thanks. So do it for God. Because many times, if you're looking for appreciation or to be given thanks for what you do, you're going to be frustrated. You're going to be disappointed. But if we're doing it for God, it doesn't matter.

You are not there to receive praises of men.

Next principle.

Proverbs 10, verse 19.

Proverbs 10, verse 19.

It says, in the multitude of words, sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.

So a person that just talks, talks, talks many times gets himself into trouble because he talked too much and maybe divulged some things they shouldn't have. But if you're careful, remember to sip up your mouth about things others have no business knowing about the matter.

Also, Proverbs 16, 28 says a twisted person spreads rumors.

They don't even confirm whether it's true or not. They want to tickle somebody's fancy and be able to go, and have you heard this and have you heard that? They didn't confirm it.

And a whispering gossip ruins good friendships.

Person gets in between, says some indiscretions, and all of a sudden good friends are separated because a person was a blabber mouth. They had no business doing that. They didn't have to say it. It wasn't their business.

Let's go to Principle number 24.

Philippians 4 verses 3 and 4.

Philippians 4 verses 3 and 4.

It says, And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Rejoice in the Lord always.

Again, I will say rejoice. In other words, stay positive.

Don't let your attitudes get worse.

Stay positive in a mostly negative world.

Except you will be unfairly criticized, but still do what is right before God.

We've got such great blessings being called by God. Looking forward to that wonderful kingdom of God.

We're going to be tested.

Satan's going to be out there trying to tempt us and make us fall, but we've got God the Father and Jesus Christ, and they're on their throne. Nobody can unseat them. Satan can't unseat them. He's not in charge. God is.

Let's go to the next principle.

Luke 16 verse 10 and 11.

It says in verse 10, this is a principle of God's kingdom.

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much.

And he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to you your trust, the true riches?

So we need to take care of God's money better than your own.

And be faithful. That responsibility is given to you. No matter how small they are, if you're faithful over small details and carry them out, then given more responsibility, you continue to be that way. You've already have the pattern. You've already internalized those principles, getting things done on time. In 2 Kings 12 verse 15, in the new living translation, when they were fixing the temple, it says, no accounting of this money was required from the construction supervisors because they were honest and trustworthy men. And so we have examples of people that could handle money, who could distribute them, and be honest and trustworthy. And we have that type of team here, the financial team, Jean Uptergraf, Shelly Thomas, in particular. They're the ones that do the accounting. They do the depositing. They do the reporting. And they've done a wonderful job. And Tower also can include her. And people receive receipts, so they can deduct that from their taxes. And we have an auditing firm that's outside of us. Each year they go through the books. We give receipts for everything.

And make sure God's money goes where it should. And so we have to give an example of that.

All right. Next principle, Colossians 4-6.

It says, let your speech always be with grace, season with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. So you see the rooster painting the hen and making her thinner.

So learn to be diplomatic when speaking with others about race, weight, and other delicate matters. This is what Paul was talking about here in Colossians 4. Let me read it to you in another version.

Here in the Good News Bible version, it says, your speech should always be pleasant and interesting, and you should know how to give the right answer to everyone.

So we should be, learn to be diplomatic.

Don't blur about things that then later on you will regret that hurt people's feelings. Okay, principle number 27.

James 1, 27. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

So again, this is a principle of God's kingdom. You don't leave the orphans or widows on their own. On their own, you care about it. You help as you can. Nobody's going to see what you're doing there except God, and he will bless. And God puts orphans and widows in the church, primarily to see how they are being taken care of. And there you are, God's jewels. They're very precious to God. Woe be unto anyone that doesn't take care of them, doesn't see what their needs are, because they're going through troubles. The second part is keep yourself unspotted from the world, because a person can be all day taking care of widows, but what about your personal life? Are you letting the world adulterate your mind, corrupt you? That's equally as important. So don't forget to do the small things like keeping up with those that are sick or alone, and be generous with them.

All right, let's go to number 28. Understand the reality of God's calling and church life. 1 Corinthians 1, 26 through 28. It says, For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wives according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has called the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world, and the things which are despised.

God has chosen, and the things which are not, in other words, are not impressive, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. And so the reality is that we're a small church. We're pretty insignificant. You can go and look at all the churches, and you're going to see all the fancy cars, and all the fancy ornate things going on. God has always had the weak and humble, and those that don't impress others. In a sense, it reminds me in Hebrews, and here's another scripture, Hebrews 11, about Moses.

Hebrews 11 verse 24, it says, by faith. In other words, because Moses loved God's way, he had faith that this was his way of life. Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. And this is interesting because through many of those Egyptian dynasties of kings, queens, that it was the queen's side that brought more of the new kings. So, being the son of Pharaoh's daughter, he could well have been the next Pharaoh in Egypt. Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, which would have been at the Egyptian court, esteeming the reproach of Christ, the persecutions, the sufferings of following God, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. For he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. These are all these contrasts. How can you see something that is invisible? By faith, he knew God was there. God was watching what he was doing, and he wanted to please God. And so, the reality in the church is, it's not impressive, but it's where God's truths are, and where God is working a great purpose down here below, not with the fancy and powerful people. Again, the first message talked about that. Not too many people here with power and wealth.

In 1 Corinthians 11, verse 19, this is from the God's Word version, it says, factions, which has to do with divisions or splits, have to exist in order to make it clear who the genuine believers among you are. And so, yes, we're going to have all kinds of things that come up, and you have to discern what's going on. Where are the genuine believers? Who are the ones that are doing things according to God's will and show the fruits of it? They're honest, they're dedicated, they're not inflated, they don't think they're the head honcho to take care of things.

That's the reality of the church. Let's go to the 30th principle.

Oh, okay, I skipped one here because I was on the bottom of the page instead of the side.

John 10 10. Oops, did I go? Okay, too many. Okay. John 10 10, where Christ said, I came to give you life and to give it in abundance.

Learn to balance your life. Christ gave us that abundant life, and just like one of these gyroscopes, we have to balance our life. There's our religious side, but there's also the physical side. And to have an abundant life, you can't dedicate everything 24 hours a day studying the Bible. At the same time, you can't spend all the time just doing physical things, just like in a plane. The plane has four, normally, four gyroscopes. One in the nose of the plane, one in the tail of the plane, one on each side of the plane. And that gyroscope, it doesn't matter what type of turbulence there is, they're always pointing straight up. And that's how you can have an automatic pilot on a plane. Steve Hogan would know that. That because of these gyroscopes, the plane will balance itself. And we need to have an internal spiritual gyroscope to balance ourselves. What happens? Get back vertically to God. In 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 7, it says, For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Again, three elements of God's spirit. We have to balance them.

Power, yes, we have that conviction, that strength that God gives us, but we have to balance that. Because you can be like a child in a military tank, where you start pushing buttons and you start blowing things away. You can do that with religion and just destroy any relationship. Also, God gives us love. Love balances power. But if you only have love and not power, that's not going to work either. And then of a sound mind, a balanced mind.

The term is here of a bone that is properly set and that it is sound. It works as it should.

So we have to balance all of these elements. Let's go to principle number 30.

Ecclesiastes 3 verse 1. You know, to everything there is a time. So you have to know how to pace yourself.

The example of firemen, as you can see here, firemen, they're taking a break.

Sometimes no fires are going on for a long time. And then all of a sudden, five fires break out.

And just like what happened with these fires north of us, they spent days, probably, without sleeping, a wink. And so you have to pace yourself. Adjust to moments of inactivity and then of intense activity. Sometimes fighting five fires at the same time. And so, yes, sometimes you're on the go. Many things happening, you're busy and everything. But then afterwards, take time to wind down. Because you can't be always just rushing. You need to recover that energy.

Enjoy something else. I personally, I love to play tennis. So three times a week at 7.30 in the morning, I'm out there, pick up games. That, to me, is my stress management time. That's when I get all of that stress out of my system. And others will run. Others will do all types of exercise. But to me, that is non-negotiable. Winter, spring, summer, or fall. Because to me, that's the way I can pace myself. I feel like a million bucks afterwards with a nice shower and everything else ready to go.

But whatever it is, whatever is your passion, make sure you do something that helps you relax, get the stress out of your system. You are responsible for your own body.

And you have to take care of it. Exercise is very important.

Point number 31.

Matthew 10 verse 16. Christ said, Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Have the balance between being astute and discerning as a snake, but guileless, which means innocent. Don't do harm as a dove.

So we have to have, again, the balance. Don't put yourself in situations that you're just going to get in all kinds of trouble. Avoid it. Be clever. Be astute. But at the same time, be innocent, harmless as a dove.

Okay, so we've reached the final principle now. Principle number 32.

Ecclesiastes 7 verse 16. This is from the voice translation. It says, Do not act overly righteous, and do not think yourself wiser than others. Why go and ruin yourself? In other words, be regarded with contempt or with derision. That's from the Wycliffe translation. So we have to be careful not to look like, oh yeah, we're so righteous, and we all fall short before God. And don't think you're wiser than others.

Give people a chance to speak their mind.

Because if you don't, then people will not want to talk with you because you're the only one that's talking. Or with derision, which means I don't like that person because they always put me down or I feel dumb around them. A good sailor should first learn the ropes of the ship from an experienced sailor. So here's the principle. Don't act way beyond what you're capable of. Just like a person that comes into the ship and he's a know-it-all. Oh, I don't know. I'll figure out the ropes, how to make the knots, and everything on my own. And pretty soon, you can actually cause a bad accident. The sails, the mast. Because everything has a system in place. Be humble enough to learn from somebody with more experience. And don't come out and just think that, okay, well, this is my style and I'm going to do it my way. Okay, please learn from those experience why they do things. If you want to go out and then you can master it later on, fine. But don't start with your own ideas of how to do things and to not learn from anyone else. That's don't be a know-it-all.

So those are some of the principles I can share with you. I'm still working on them.

I hope they will be as much help as they have been to me in my life.