Averting Disqualification

Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 9:26-27

By  Pastor E.A Adeboye
General Overseer,
Redeemed Christian Church of God 


A grave peril of Christian leadership is that of disqualification.  Every Christian leader must be obedient, prayerful, watchful, temperate and self-disciplined so that after acting as a herald who bids others into the Kingdom of God, he himself should not miss Heaven.  As a leader, it is possible to be disqualified by God.  In 1 Samuel 15:20-24, we see Saul being disqualified by God:

    
               "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.  Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king."  
                                1 Samuel 15:23


No person is indispensable.   As a Christian leader, you should always be conscious of the fact that God has substitutes.   I pray that you will not be rejected by God in Jesus' Name.  One factor that is responsible for disqualification is disobedience.  Sacrifice is good, but obedience is better than sacrifice.   In our service to God, we should always bear in mind that what He requires from us is total obedience.  Haphazard obedience is worse than outright disobedience.  If you want to serve God and not be disqualified, you must be ready to obey everything the Lord asks you to do.  Obey all His commandments regardless of whether they are convenient or not.  Another stumbling block that leads to disqualification is carelessness.  Many Christians are careless.  They compromise their stand, yet they do not want to be disqualified.  A careless and irresponsible servant might end up becoming disqualified by the Lord.  In order not be disqualified, you should watch and pray ( Matthew 24:42).  A Christian leader should be watchful and careful of all little foxes that destroy ambition, strife, gluttony, lust, dishonesty, malice, not studying and obeying the word of God, impatience, talkativeness, etc.   To avoid being disqualified by the Lord, we should live holy and practice the principle of self-assessment. 

1.  Assess yourself on a daily basis to confirm that you are still in the Lord.
2.  Assess the motive behind your service, the level of your zeal, the level of commitment and your relationship with fellow Christians who are also serving the Lord.

Does your relationship enhance the commitment of others to the service of the Lord?  if the answer to this question is no, change.  Are you drawing people to Heaven or to Hell by your behaviour?  How watchful and prayerful are you?


Beloved sisters, this message has deeply ministered to my spirit man and it has brought conviction to my heart which has resulted in the Holy Spirit beginning to deal with me in those areas that need changing.  And so, I decided to share it with you as well, especially those of you serving in any leadership roles  in your local assembly, ministry or other christian based organizations. 

We shall not be disqualified in Jesus name!  

Effective Leadership

"And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in Moses His servant." - Exodus 14:31
What makes an effective Christian leader today? Is it charisma? Is it ability? Is it communication and oratory skills? God's view of an effective leader has nothing to do with these qualities. They may be a part of an effective leader. However, the core attribute of a Christian leader is his integrity with God and his obedience to follow Him. When this happens, God manifests His power in and through that leader. Moses was effective because he was willing to obey the commands God gave him. When Moses did this, God manifested His presence in him. The result was that people followed. They followed because they saw God working in and through the man. They saw that this man was worthy of following because God's anointing was on him.

When people see the Lord's power manifested in your life, they will have a healthy fear of the Lord. They will look at you and say, "This person has something I don't have that is worthy of more investigation." Your challenge is to seek the Lord with a whole heart, resulting in God's power being manifested in the daily activities of your life. When this happens, you can expect others to be drawn to what they see in you. The problem with many Christians today is that non-Christians see nothing different about the way they live to motivate the unsaved to desire their faith.

What makes you different from your neighbor? Is your experience with God noticeably different from that of the man next door? If you're not experiencing regular encounters with God, it's time to ask why not. We don't live day-to-day for the next spiritual experience, but we should see by-products of a life centered in God that is reflected in fruit from His presence in our lives.



TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1,
by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.
06-05-2012