Generational

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Generational Dedication

2 Kings 11:17

"And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD'S people; between the king also and the people."

An interesting phrase is made in the verse above when it says, "And Jehoiada of made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people,..." This phrase is interesting because chose to serve God many times before. The first time Israel chose God was in Joshua's day. Joshua asked in Joshua 24, to choose whether they would serve the gods of the Amorites or Jehovah God. He made the statement, "...choose you this day whom ye will serve..." However, once again Israel chose God in this verse. We find in 2 Chronicles 15:8, that Asa chose God to be the One Whom they served. In the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we find they chose God to be their God. Even in the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar chose God to be the God of Babylon and made a law that anybody who served any other god would be put to death. Darius, the king, also made a decree that anyone who served any other god other than Daniel's God would be put to death. Several times in Israel's history they chose God to be their God.

Why is it that we find Israel chose God to be their God several times? The reason is because every generation must dedicate itself to serve the Lord. Every generation must decide if they will serve God. There were some generations in Israel's history that did not choose to serve God. Ahab was one of the kings who did evil in the sight of the Lord. He chose Baal over Jehovah God. Likewise, previous generations cannot choose God for you. Your parents may have chosen to serve God, but you must choose to serve God yourself. Just because previous generations made God the One Whom they served does not mean that He's the God whom we serve. Yet, if this generation wants God's blessing, then it must choose to make God the One Whom they will serve.

Every time a generation fails to dedicate themselves to God, we lose the lives of those who could pass God's truth to the next generation. This is why every generation must choose God. Every time we fail to choose God, then we fail to reach a generation for Christ. It is important that every generation makes a choice to serve God.

Moreover every generation must train the next generation to dedicate themselves to God. It is your responsibility to train your children to serve God. It is your responsibility to make sure that your children understand the importance of choosing God for their generation. It is your responsibility to make sure that your children understand that your choice to serve God is not good for them. Every generation must understand that they are the first generation for themselves to choose God. There is no second generation Christianity, there is only first generation Christianity. You must train the next generation to become the first ones of their generation to choose God. Every church must train the younger generation to choose God. Every nation must train the young generation to choose God. If we don't train the next generation to choose God, then that generation will stray from God and face His judgment.

Let me ask you, have you chosen God to be your God? Has there been a time in your life where you dedicated your life to God to make him your God for the rest of your life? Furthermore, not only must you make God the God whom you choose to serve, but you must choose Him to be your God on a daily basis. Be sure that every day when you wake up you make a dedicatory prayer to God to dedicate your life to serve Him for that day. That is the only way you will be successful in serving God on a daily basis. Then, be sure to train the generation that follows you the importance of choosing God to be their God.

Great, but...

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It's a Great Place, But...

2 Kings 2:19

"And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren."

One of the things I constantly have to remind people of when preaching revival meetings is that there is no perfect church. One of the stories that I often hear from preachers is how they lost some people because they became disgruntled with the pastor or the church. One of the reasons this happens is because these people who left found out that their church or pastor wasn't perfect. The sad part about this is that many times these people will move to another church only to find themselves unhappy once again because they found the imperfection in the new church. If these people are not careful, they will end up becoming church hoppers for the rest of their lives.

The men of Jericho came to Elisha about a problem they had in their city. When they described the city, they said, "...the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but..." These men found out that Jericho wasn't everything they thought it would be. They found out that Jericho had a water problem, which resulted in them not being able to grow food or crops. Instead of telling the people to move, Elisha told them to stay, but to work on the areas that needed improvement. Of course, the man of God helped with this by casting salt into the water and healing the waters. There are three things we can learn from this story that I believe can help you make your pleasant place of life a better place.

First, realize there is no perfect place. These men learned the hard way that there is no perfect place. No matter where you go, you will find problems. This is because every place is tainted by sin. No matter what church you attend, you will find problems with that church. No matter where you work, you will find problems with that place of employment. No matter who you marry, you will find that every person will have problems that you did not know about. Divorcing who you are married to and getting remarried is not the answer. The answer is realizing that there is no perfect person to marry.

Second, enjoy what you do have. Instead of dwelling on what you don't have, you need to focus upon that which you do have. Too often we dwell on the negatives in our life when there are many positives which we have. Don't dwell on the negatives of your spouse, rather enjoy their positives. Don't dwell on the negatives of your parents, rather enjoy their positives. Don't dwell on the negatives of a church, instead enjoy the positives that your church offers. Don't dwell on the negatives in your life, but dwell on the positives instead. Yes, you can always find the negatives, but you must find the positives and enjoy them.

Finally, work on improving the areas that need improvement. Instead of griping about the negatives, roll up your sleeves and get to work at improving the negatives. You can say, "It's a great place, but..." and never do anything to make it better, or you can say, "It's a great place, but I am going to work at making it a better place." It is a choice that you must make daily. You can complain about your negatives, or you can take the negatives and work at turning them into positives. Instead of griping about your pleasant place, work at improving it to a better place. Most likely that is why God placed you where you are because He knew you were the one who could make your pleasant place a better place. Don't stop at the "but" in life, but work at making it into the place that God wanted you to make it.

Pouting

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Quit Your Pouting

1 Kings 20:43

"And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria."

There's nothing worse than being around people who seem to pout all the time. When you are around those who pout, they annoy and wear on your emotions to the point that you don't want to be around them. The fact is pouters are people who are very selfish and filled with themselves. For instance, being around a spouse who pouts because they don't get their way can wear on a marriage. The person who constantly complains about their spouse not thinking about them can cause their spouse not to want to be around them. Children who pout cause strife inside the home. When a child pouts because they don't get their way, the other children will pick on them causing added stress to the home. Whether it's in the church, the workplace or just in society, pouters are people who you don't want to be around.

In the verse above, we find that Ahab was a pouter. Twice in the Scriptures we see that Ahab pouted when he didn't get his way; once in the verse above and then again in the next chapter. However, we find that when Ahab pouted, he was a person who let his feelings become known to everyone else. Being king of Israel should have caused him not to be someone who pouted. There's no place for leaders to pout. Likewise, there's no place for Christians to pout. Ahab had a God in Heaven who had blessed him in a tremendous way. Yet, because he didn't get everything that he wanted, like a little child he pouted in front of his wife and others. 

Do you find yourself pouting when you don't get your way? It's time that you quit your pouting and learn that God is a good God. Let me make this very clear, life is not about you. The whole reason why anyone pouts is because they seem to think that life revolves around them. Life is not about you and what you get. Life is about pleasing God and giving Him the glory in everything.

When you pout you make others around you miserable. A home that has a pouter is a miserable home. A church who has members who pout when they don't get their way is a church that is a miserable church. A staff that has a staff member who pouts when they don't get their way is a staff that is a miserable staff. Any place where you find people who pout, you find a place that is full stress which causes strife because someone didn't get their way.

The best way to quit pouting is to stop expecting anything in life. You don't need everything that you want. One of our biggest problems is we think that we deserve everything, when we really don't deserve anything. You will never stop pouting until you get to the point in your life when you don't expect anything from anybody. The only reason why you would pout is because you are selfish.

 Furthermore, if you want to quit your pouting then change your wanter. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." You will notice that when you delight in God, He changes your desires. The biggest reason why a person pouts is because their desires are about themselves. If you change your desires, then you'll stop thinking about yourself and you'll stop pouting.

We don't need Christians who pout, but we need Christians who rejoice in the Lord. You will never show the greatness of God to a world around you until you become a person who learns to quit pouting, accept what God has given to you, and rejoice and thank God for everything that He has brought your way. Be that Christian who changes your desires so that you never pout in your life.

Poor leader

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Three Characteristics of a Poor Leader

1 Kings 1:9

"And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by Enrogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants:"

We often hear and read about the characteristics of great leaders, but what are the characteristics of a poor leader? Just as it is important to be cognizant of what good leader is, it is also important for us to learn to identify those who would be poor leaders. Many times in our lives we must choose someone to be our leader. When you choose a pastor, you are choosing a leader. When you choose a school for your children, you are choosing a leader. In both of these cases, and in many instances, when we must choose a leader it would be good to identify their characteristics before making our choice.

The verse above shows us the characteristics of a poor leader. Adonijah, though he was a good man, was a very poor leader. Just because someone is a good man does not make him a good leader. When you look at his life, you find a man who desired to fill his dad's throne. However, though he desired that position, he was the wrong man to fill the position. When you study Adonijah's life there are three things we see that made him a poor leader.

First, he was filled with pride. In verse 5, we find that the Scriptures say that he exalted himself. The only reason why someone would try to exalt himself is because they are filled with pride. As an older pastor once told me, "Don't worry about promoting yourself because God knows your name and address. If God wants to exalt you, then He knows where to find you." If you are a leader, don't let your pride cause you to exalt yourself. You will never become a great leader by pushing yourself. Likewise, when choosing someone to be your leader, don't choose someone who constantly promotes themselves. If a preacher is always talking about what he has done, or talks about how great he is, then this is the type of man you don't want to be your pastor. You want a pastor who promotes God and not himself. Poor leaders are filled with pride and will exalt themselves.

Second, Adonijah forsook the pattern of older godly men. Instead of going to Nathan for direction, Adonijah went to Joab. Joab was not the godliest of men. A poor leader is one who does not go to the older godly men for counsel and patterns to follow. Instead they look to the present generation to determine their direction. When choosing a pastor, don't choose one who talks negatively about men from the past. Don't choose a pastor who follows a younger generation more than he follows the older generation. Poor leaders look to their peers for direction, while great leaders look to the past for their direction.

Third, Adonijah was a wasteful man. Verse 9 tells us that Adonijah slew sheep and oxen in abundance. This was a wasteful act. Poor leaders are wasteful with what they have. They're wasteful with their money. They're wasteful with their time. They are wasteful with their relationships. Poor leaders spend what they have instead of saving what they have. Be careful about placing yourself under someone who is wasteful. If they will waste what they have, then they will have no problem wasting your time, money and life.

Be careful with whom you choose to be your leader. Whomever you choose to be your leader will eventually determine your direction in life. Your leaders will determine what your children will eventually become. Your leaders will determine what kind Christian you will be later on in life. When choosing a leader, be careful that the ones whom you choose to follow do not carry these three characteristics of Adonijah. Choose to follow people who are humble, choose right associations and are frugal with what they have. By choosing the right leader you give your future a better chance to be successful and happy.

Zeal

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Uncontrolled Zeal

1 Samuel 21:2

"And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)"

The story from the verse above first takes place when Joshua led Israel to conquer the land of Canaan. After Joshua conquered Jericho and Ai, the Gibeonites knew that they would be destroyed because they were no match for God and Israel. The plan they contrived was to pretend that they were from a far country. They put on old clothes, brought moldy bread, and told Joshua that they had taken a long journey and wanted to make a treaty with Israel. Joshua unwisely made this treaty and later realized he had made a big mistake. God honored the treaty, and the Gibeonites were not to be destroyed when Israel invaded the land of Canaan.

Though the Scriptures do not tell us the exact story, it seems that Saul in his zeal tried to destroy the Gibeonites. In his zeal, he ignored a treaty that even God honored. According to the verse above, Saul had slain several of the Gibeonites in one of the battles while he was a young king. Though in his zeal Saul desired to honor the Lord, it led to sin, and the payment of that sin brought famine in the days when David was king.

This story shows us the importance of controlling our zeal with truth. We certainly need people who have a zeal for the LORD. In present day Christianity it seems that many Christians have a greater zeal for the world than they do for the LORD. However, we need some Christians who have a zeal for God. We need Christians with a zeal to fight sin. We need Christians with a zeal to lead people to Jesus Christ. We need Christians with a zeal to obey God's Word. We need Christians with a zeal to fulfill their obligations in the church. We need Christians who are zealous in their hatred of sin. The fact is, it would be great if every church had people who were filled with zeal.

However, zeal must be tempered with truth. If zeal is not tempered with truth, then zeal will lead to sin. I have watched men of God compromise truth because of their zeal to see souls saved. I have watched young Christians compromise the principle of separation for the sake of trying to get someone to church. In many cases, these Christians had a sincere desire. However, their sincere desire was not tempered by truth. If truth does not temper zeal, then zeal will lead to compromise.

Truth should always be the guiding factor in every Christian's life. The truth that I am talking about is the Word of God. The Word of God must be the guide that determines your actions. When the Word of God guides zeal, then zeal can accomplish great things for God. Yet, when zeal runs rampant without being tempered by the Word of God, then zeal will eventually lead to sin.

Christian, God wants you to be zealous for Him, but be sure that your zeal for God is tempered by His Word. Don't let zeal go unchecked, rather let the Word of God be the reins that pulls your zeal back when it will lead to sin or compromise. Zeal is a powerful tool that can be used by God, but uncontrolled zeal will lead you to sin. Be sure that with everything you do you allow the Word of God to be the guiding factor that determines whether or not you should do something.

Winning

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Winning Over the Heart

2 Samuel 15:6

"And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel."

As wicked as Absalom's disloyalty was to his father, we can still learn from his actions. The verse above says, "...so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel." Absalom stole the hearts of Israel so that he could take over the throne of Israel. Certainly he desired their hearts for the wrong purpose.

However, Proverbs 23:26 says, "My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways." You will notice that the father in Proverbs wanted the heart of his son so that he could get his son to follow whatever he asked him to do. Just like Absalom stole the hearts of the people, and the father wanted the heart of his son, likewise, every parent needs the heart of their child. Moreover, every leader also needs the heart of their follower. When you gain the heart of those you lead, then you can lead them in the way that God wants them to go. As I study this story, I find there are four things that Absalom did to win the people's hearts that you need to do to win the hearts of those whom you lead.

First, you must be among the people. Verse 2 says, "And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate:..." Absalom knew that if he spent time with the people, he would eventually be able to win their hearts. Every parent and leader needs to be around those whose hearts they want to win. A parent who is never with their child will not have the heart of their child. A pastor who's never with his people will never win the hearts of his people. A leader who is not with their followers will not win their hearts. No matter what your situation is, if you're going to win the hearts of those you lead,  then you must spend time with them.

Second, you must not act like you're above them. Absalom understood that he must live at the same level of the people. Too many leaders live above their people which only drives a wedge between them. As a leader, you need to live at the same level of your people so that you can win their heart over to you.

Third, help them with their problems. Absalom helped the people with their problems by helping them settle controversies they had with people and with life. Likewise, if you're going to win the hearts of your people, then you must be there to help them with their problems. One of the reasons why God allows followers to have problems is so that leaders can win their heart. The sad fact is too many leaders are absent when their followers have problems. If you want to win the heart of your followers, then you need to be there for them during their problems. Be there for them by listening to them. Sometimes all people need is someone who has a listening ear. Don't get so busy with your daily schedule that you don't have time to listen.

Fourth, have a dream with the people. Absalom had a dream with the people that they could work together to solve problems. You will notice that I did not say have a dream for the person, but have a dream with them. You and your followers must have dreams together. When you have a dream together, then you'll work together. When you work together, then you'll win their hearts.

Let Absalom's actions to gain the hearts of the people for a disloyal purpose be a lesson for you to gain the hearts of those whom you lead. Though he wanted their hearts to do wrong, you can try to gain the hearts of those you lead so that you can help them to become what God wants them to be.