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!  

Responding to God's Love

John 3:16

by Dr Charles Stanley

God has to be true to Himself.  People are foolish to entertain the hope that He will ignore justice and sacrifice holiness in order to allow unbelievers into heaven.  Living a mostly moral life will not satisfy a righteous Judge.

As much as the Lord loves us and desires to save us from our sins, He can not deny His holiness by accepting sin in His presence.  The Father is pristine perfection - a holy Being who, by His very nature, must condemn all sin.  Therefore, it is the height of egotism to think that God will bend both His law and His nature to welcome one whom still bears the stain of wrongdoing.

There is not one person who's good enough to enter heaven on his or her own merit.  Everyone of us needs Jesus.  The stain of sin is washed clean only by the sacrifice of God's holy and blameless Son.  Those who believe in Christ are forgiven their wrongs and cloaked in His righteousness ( 2 Cor:5:21).

Let me make it very clear that trusting Jesus is far more than giving  intellectual assent to His existence- that's something even the Devil acknowledges.  A true believer enters into a relationship with the One who loves his soul enough to save him from eternal punishment.

Those who remain tightly wrapped in their mantle of sin cannot hope to sneak into heaven.  God's holy nature demands perfection, and since we can't provide this for ourselves, the Lord has given it to all who believe in Him.  He has exchanged our filty rags for a cloak of righteousness (Zech. 3:4).