Merry Christmas to you from Pastor Harvey

Jesus gave His life for ours.

Christmas Day is here! Celebrate the birth of our savior and Lord; the One who came on Christmas Day, left on Ascension Day, lives Today, and will return on The Day.

Even as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us also celebrate His life within us, and look forward to the day of His return. Have a very Merry Christmas to our friends in Africa, Asia, South America, Europe and right here in the United States of America.

Wellness of Soul for Leaders

A marketing plan for your business or ministry will not bring wellness of soul.

Leaders may have an image of prosperity but a soul of poverty. They can present themselves and their ministry persona as an image of success based upon world standards. However, their soul is in chaos and they know not true prosperity. 3 John 2 says "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers." (NAS) I like the NIV translation which says "that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well."

Many people in leadership strive for outward success and prosperity, but ignore inner success and prosperity. Their soul is not getting along well!! They are born-again, spirit-filled and preach a good message, but they are a mess inside. They do not know prosperity in the context of this scripture. They have refused the refining fire that brings prosperity of soul.

A marketing plan for your business or ministry will not bring wellness of soul. A better sound system will not bring wellness of soul. A more obedient, talented leadership team to support you will not bring you wellness of soul.

Wellness of soul comes as you let the wellness of your spirit-man take control. You let the fire of God burn away the walls of your heart that separate your soul from the intimacy you so greatly desire in your spirit. You put your image and your ministry on the alter to be burned away leaving only the pure, the holy, the good works that HE prepared for you to do. It’s not easy but it is necessary. It brings true prosperity of soul! This concludes a short series on the refining fire of grace--God’s awesome consuming fire!

Refined Leadership Brings Forth New Life

Forest fire the morning after.

Refined leadership brings forth new life. Our lives are often mired down with things that hinder, entangle and cast a shadow on our leadership.

Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Anything that hinders or entangles us limits our leadership. It may not be evident to all, but it limits our race and limits the life of God flowing from us. The fire of refinement will burn away the old, entangled weeds and dead works causing life to spring forth in our leadership.

I think of the forests in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado where I live. Decades of banning fires have caused old trees to cast a shadow over the forest floor keeping new life from emerging. Government ‘fire bans’ effectively preserve old trees and limit rejuvenation of the forest. However, as soon as a fire burns through the forest, sunlight finds its way to the forest floor and new trees, shrubs, and flowers spring forth immediately. It’s an awesome thing to behold as the fire burns away the old and brings forth life abundantly.

Leaders must be careful not to cast a shadow over the life of their ministry by banning the fire of the Spirit. Let it burn. Your leadership and your ministry will bring forth new life!

Refined Leadership Brings Forth Joy and Worship

We lay it on the altar to be consumed by the fire of His grace.

Refined leadership brings forth joy and worship because it is the natural response to being refined by the fire of grace. The Father approves of this ‘sacrifice’ of our life for His life and the people rejoice at God’s approval.

Moses and Aaron were told to present certain offerings and sacrifices in Leviticus 9:23,24. After presenting the sacrifice it says the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it they shouted for joy and fell face down.

Under the new covenant we lay down, or sacrifice, our life-- that is, the flesh-based life that is our desire, for the spirit-based life that is His desire. We lay it on the altar to be consumed by the fire of His grace. The Father’s approval is not because of the perfection of our sacrifice, but because of the perfection of His sacrifice. The refining fire consumes what we have offered, the old man, and refined leadership springs forth, and. . . the people rejoice and worship the Father for His goodness and grace.

As a leader you must know by faith that going through a refining fire has joy and worship on the other side. It’s worth it!!!

Refined Leaders Lead by Example

We can only live the right stuff if we allow the refining fire of grace transform us.
It is then that we can expect that the silver, gold and precious gems of our
life are an encouragement and an example to all who see and follow us.

Refined leaders lead by example. Leaders expect followers to exhibit the gold, silver and precious gems of the kingdom, yet the leader themselves often do not. I’ve often seen and heard leaders in ministry and business give great messages and issue good edicts while they choose a separate pathway. They speak the right stuff but don’t live the right stuff.

Paul directed Timothy, the leader of the church in Ephesus, to ‘watch your life and doctrine closely’ (1 Tim. 4:16). A leader may preach the kingdom of God, but live the kingdom of man. His or her followers look for the fruit of a kingdom lifestyle; the gold, silver and precious gems of good works prepared before the foundation of the earth (Eph. 2:10; 1 Cor. 3:12-15), but don’t see it exemplified by the leader.

We must lead by example, willing to be refined to the point our spirit-man dominates our life. For every believer in Jesus Christ, whether a leader or not, the spirit-man is completely refined, regenerated, and made righteous fulfilling the scripture that says Jesus took our sin so that we become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). We then become transformed into that same image of righteousness as we transform our thinking and renew our minds. Our hearts (where we make decisions) then lead us to become exemplary leaders.

From the heart will flow the righteousness of God for the people we lead and the culture we influence. We can only live the right stuff if we allow the refining fire of grace transform us. It is then that we can expect that the silver, gold and precious gems of our life are an encouragement and an example to all who see and follow us.

Refined Leadership Becomes Reality as We Submit to the Fire of God’s Grace

In tough times we have a door of opportunity to submit to the refining fire.
We submit to it by faith-- not knowing the outcome, experiencing the emotional turmoil,
and facing uncertain response from those who watch.

Refined leadership becomes reality as we submit to the fire of God’s grace, bringing not only positional change in our relationship with the Father, but "walking-talking" change in our ministry and leadership. However, most leaders are busy with the business of business or the business of ministry. We seldom take deliberate time to walk through this fire of refining. We choose to ignore things that hinder and entangle our leadership.

We all have a measure of true soul refinement, but in areas of our heart yet to be changed, we present an image that only APPEARS refined. It is the image for public consumption. The impurities, coarseness and extraneous matter resident in the heart may only be revealed at home, in private, or in the darkness. In those areas of the heart we have resisted His fire. Scripture says do not put out the Spirit’s fire! (1Thess. 5:19)

But God is faithful! Hallelujah!! He extends great mercy and grace even as we resist the refining fire. He allows us to harvest in trials and troubles that come to us, not from Him but from our sowing. He allows the harvest but never leaves us or forsakes us. It is often in these difficult times that leaders come face to face with their hearts. We face the consequences of the unrefined heart. 1 Peter 1:7 says ‘these things (trials) have come so that your faith-- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.'

In tough times we have a door of opportunity to submit to the refining fire. We submit to it by faith-- not knowing the outcome, experiencing the emotional turmoil, and facing uncertain response from those who watch. But it is only as we walk through this door of opportunity that genuine, substantive refinement of the soul takes place. We choose the refining fire of the Spirit and we fix our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2). He is faithful to bring us through to the other side where there is praise, glory and honor! Jesus will not only be revealed in eternity, but here and now as He is revealed through us!

Refined Leadership: Walking the Talk

The ‘fire’ of the New Testament is an invisible fire, that becomes visible only through the believer’s submission to it. It becomes visible as we willingly allow grace, yes grace, to burn within you.

Refined Leadership stands out from the rest of society and even from much of the church. Refined leadership does not mix world systems and kingdom systems. Refined leadership relates to the Father our of the new covenant, not the old covenant. Refined leadership exhibits not only the words of refinement but the behavior of refinement. Refined leaders walk the talk.

Many leaders in business and in the church expect dramatic change from those they lead, while those same leaders are often content with talking about a walk they have yet to take. Now you might ask: ‘do I really know any leaders who have have been greatly refined?’ I would say that nobody in leadership has done this perfectly, but many do it increasingly. These are leaders who are being changed before your eyes. They are leaders who publicly acknowledge their own inadequacies and mistakes, and are transparent in who they have been and who they are becoming. They acknowledge they have not arrived yet as the perfect leader!!!

Refined leadership is about changing into the person God called you to be, not only in your spirit, but outwardly as you are refined by grace, becoming stable in His unshakable kingdom. It is the fire of God that causes the change.

We often only ascribe ‘fire’ to the Old Testament. That kind of fire was a physical fire that consumed offerings, consumed materials, and consumed nations. The ‘fire’ of the New Testament is an invisible fire, that becomes visible only through the believer’s submission to it. It becomes visible as we willingly allow grace, yes grace, to burn within you.

John the Baptist prophesied this in Luke 3:16 saying‘I will baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with Fire’. The era of grace is the era of the power to change, allowing the consuming fire of God to burn away all impurity leaving only silver, gold and precious gems of a new kingdom in your heart, mind and body. But, to be a refined leader you must submit to the fire before you can walk the talk. More to come!

Refined Leadership: Refined from the Inside Out

The real person, the creation of God, the life of God, and the identity of Christ is in our spirit. Our struggle, then, is allowing God’s refining fire to burn in our soul to the point we think, act and even look like the refined inner man. . .the brand new creation, the image of Christ.

Leaders in the church must exhibit ‘refined leadership’ if they expect the people who follow them to be transformed into the image of Christ. To be refined is to be free from impurity and extraneous matter; having coarseness and vulgarity polished away. The Greek word puroomai is used to mean something is heated to such a high temperature that all impurity is burned away and that which is left is pure, as in refined metals. A second Greek word used in the new testament is katakaio meaning to ‘burn utterly or completely.’

With this post I begin a series encouraging ‘refined leadership’ for business and the church. Hebrews 12: 28-29 says ‘Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire!’ When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we receive a unshakable kingdom into our spirit-man. Our spirit is totally transformed into the image of God by the consuming fire of God. Everything that was old is passed away (2 Cor. 5:17). That which was passed away was impure, coarse, and contaminated with extraneous stuff of the world. So it is when we accept Christ as Lord and Savior and receive the unshakable kingdom.

Our spirit-man, that inner core of our being, is completely refined by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. So, why does the church and its leaders struggle with the old; with what was supposed to be passed away? It is because our outer man (body) and our middle man (soul) has yet to be transformed and come into agreement with what God has done to our spirit-man. The real person, the creation of God, the life of God, and the identity of Christ is in our spirit. Our struggle, then, is allowing God’s refining fire to burn in our soul to the point we think, act and even look like the refined inner man. . .the brand new creation, the image of Christ.

Watch for the next post as I encourage you through this refining fire on The Crossfire Minute.