Leadership Qualities..... #1 CHARACTER.

Hello BraveHearts!
I've been so busy with the affairs of life -Family, marriage, children, ministry, working, preaching and teaching that I have been neglectful in keeping up with my post. However..I'm back.
Last night The meeting was awesome. We have focused our attention on Leadership and several qualities that are associated with it. The qualities that we will discuss, focus on, meditate upon, and encourage one another to obtain are taken from the book, "The 21 indispensable qualities of a Leader" by John C. Maxwell. It is a small yet insight book. It is a quick read however we will slowly meditate on the qualities spoken of in the book. I encourage anyone who will be attending the meetings to obtain the book. It is a great add to any library.

We should all aspire to become great leaders in our lives. We are all leading someone in some capacity. Some are leading a business that contains employees or you may be running a company and or department with your subordinates and colleagues. Some are leading ministries with a minor or massive following of people. Some are leading a wife and three children to a destination greater than where they are and some have the awesome task of leading themselves through high school, college and out of home with mom and dad to successful independent living. Everything rises and falls on leadership. I don't believe people are born into leadership. Leadership to me is a trait that can be honed and developed over time. A good leader is something you become on the inside and when that happens it will manifest outwardly and people will see a good leader.
When Jesus walked this earth he strives to teach his disciples leadership. If all he came to do is die on the cross for us then Jesus could have made a "B" line straight there; from the cradle to the grave. However, Jesus didn't just come to die he came also to train 12 men (Bravehearts) to become great leaders.
To lead means "to go before or with to show the way; conduct or escort" and if we are going to lead or go before anyone and show them the way we have to know what type of qualities make up a good leader so we can discipline ourselves to make those qualities a part of our character.
Speaking of character, that brings us to our first quality-The first quality of a good leader is CHARACTER.
What is Character? Character is the combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another. How you deal with life will tell others alot about your character. Going through a tough time doesn't necessarily build character but it will certainly reveal the type of character you have.
Character is more than you just "saying" that you have character. For example, do you tell people that you are an honest person or does your character prove you are honest by your actions. Your actions determine what type of character you have. If you constantly lie, cheat, manipulate, etc. then that will sum up your character. If you are a womanizer, flirt, manipulator, fornicator, then those actions sum up your character. When people hear your name what do you think they say about you? What they are saying might be an indication of your character. If you don't like what they are saying then change your actions which will change your character.
Please make a distinction in what I'm talking about; I'm not talking about making mistakes and learning from mistakes. I'm talking about how you live on a consistent basis- that's your character.

Proverbs 20:11 (NIV) "Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right."

In the above text Solomon mentions that people are known by their actions. What determines if you are mature or immature? Not age. What determines if you are a man or a child? Not strength. What determines if you are a Leader or a lump? One word,-- ACTIONS.
Strive to let your character be above criticism. Live right, it's your character, its the first step to a great leader. The people who depend on you are following your character!!

You must simply LEARN TO FIGHT!

John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

As men we must simple learn to FIGHT. When you look at and consider the above text you will see that tribulation and trouble is promised. Life is not perfect and problems occur every day; Righteous or unrighteous, godly or ungodly, believer or unbeliever, it does not matter what stance you take you will face something in life. So since we must face challenges and trouble we must simply learn to fight. When I say "fight", I am not talking about fighting physically or in the flesh (2 Corinthians 10).
Fighting as a Christian is a learned art. One should sit at the feet of the Holy Spirit and take time to learn His battle techniques. Read and meditate on Ephesians 6 and look at some of the equipment you must use to fight.

Remember, James 4:7 says,... resist the devil and he will flee from you"- The word "resist" literally means to "remain standing". The devil is trying to kill us, steal from us and he is trying to destroy our lives and if we are to resist him or remain standing we must LEARN TO FIGHT!

Jesus said that ever since the days of John the Baptist the kindom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. If we are going to take anything that the enemy is trying to steal from us we must Learn to Fight.
The Word is your weapon, confessing Gods promises out loud is a weapon, Praying in your understanding and praying in the Holy Ghost is a weapon, understanding the power of binding and loosening is a weapon, praying in unity and in agreement with others is a weapon- all of God's weapons are at your disposal and no weapon that the enemy trys to form against you will prosper!!

Even though we have to learn to fight we have something wonderful to our advantage, and its this...."the righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all"!!!!
You will never out grow warfare you must simply learn to fight!!!

ISOLATION EQUALS DEVASTATION

ECCLESIASTES 4:9-12 "TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE, BECAUSE THEY HAVE A GOOD RETURN FOR THEIR WORK: IF ONE FALLS DOWN, HIS FRIEND CAN HELP HIM UP. BUT PITY THE MAN WHO FALLS AND HAS NO ONE TO HELP HIM UP!...THOUGH ONE MAY BE OVERPOWERED, TWO CAN DEFEND THEMSELVES. A CORD OF THREE STRANDS IS NOT QUICKLY BROKEN."

This scripture and my above title should be self explanatory of what I'm trying to say, but let me elaborate.

Plenty of men want to fight their battles alone. This is one of the biggest mistakes you can ever make. Isolation is the first step toward devastation. Two are better than one. God has two (pun intended) much to say about this issue in his Word, lol.

At one time, Jesus gathered 70 anointed men (Luke 10:1) and sent them out in pairs not individually. There is power in numbers. That's why Jesus said if, "..If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for , it will be done for you by my Father in heaven."

This is something I struggle with to this day. I have been on my own since I entered my teenage years and as a result I initially always try to go at things alone. I am discovering that this is a bad habit that must be broken in my life. I am not only trying to get support from God (which is always important) but we as men need support from those we trust around us. Let's learn to get help when needed, learn to get support, learn to trust someone. Get a friend, get a mentor, get a prayer partner.

SEE YOUR BATTLE AS PREPARATION TO PROMOTION!

JAMES 1:12- BLESSED IS THE MAN THAT ENDURETH TEMPTATION: FOR WHEN HE IS TRIED HE WILL RECIEVE THE CROWN OF LIFE, WHICH THE LORD HAS PROMISED TO THEM THAT LOVE HIM.

I have a friend that sent the following in an email that I want to use as a basis to encourage you today.

"I love the line in Transformers II that goes, "fate rarely calls upon us at the moment of our choosing..." It underscore the importance of preparation.... spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, and financial. More often than not, great opportunities (challenges) present themselves when it is least convenient for us. The average person doesn't recognize this as an opportunity. They see only hardship and hope for it to pass without much impact on them. They don't allow themselves to transform into the person they can be to deal and handle the situation. I've been taught to seek out the hardest problems for those who deal with them will reap the greatest rewards (finances are but a part of the rewards). Shower me with hardship for I get tougher and the can handle even more. I know larger rewards are attached to these harder problems. That's why I loved your message today. You prayed for wisdom. That is exactly what I seek. For through wisdom I can handle the greater challenges."

As a warrior in the Kingdom of God you must be prepared to fight. Warfare may appear to be an obstacle to you, however, God will use it to determine your next promotion.

Remember, Daniel was promoted ONLY AFTER the lion's den. Job received a double blessing ONLY AFTER his suffering. Joseph (one of my favorites) reached the palace and controlled Pharaoh's wealth ONLY AFTER he went in the pit and through the prison. And more importantly, Jesus was promoted and exalted ONLY AFTER he was nailed to the cross. Dont run from the battle and don't quit because of it. Stay around to receive your crown. Your Award Ceremony is ONLY AFTER!!

3.14

Prepare your Minds for War!

"For in my inward man I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work withing my members". Romans 7 :22-23

Your mind is at War every single day! Every day that you arise to enjoy another day your mind will be bombarded by images, words, concepts, and thoughts. What you think about does matter, despite what some think or say. Another misconception that many people have is that you do not have control of your thoughts, but that is far from the truth!

YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS!

You must make your mind your servant. You must tell it what to do, you must tell it what to think, and you must tell it what to meditate on. Boss your mind around, it is your servant. When unholy, bad, negative and unproductive thoughts pop up in your mind resist those thoughts by opening your mouth and say what the Word says that contradict those negative thoughts.

Some believe that your heart is your subconscience mind where you store your thoughts. So fill your Mental Warehouse with the Word of God. What happens in your mind is likely to happen in your future ( as a man thinketh in his heart so is he...Proverbs 23:7). Practice meditating on the Word of God today to unlock your faith in His Word.

Brave Heart Baby, Brave Heart!!

"For God has not given us a spirit of Fear but of Power, Love and a Sound Mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).
God has not given us a spirit of Fear! That should be encouraging enough to pull a Brave attitude out of our hearts to help us confront anything that trys to rob from us, steal from us or may try to destroy us.

By looking at that verse please understand that Fear is a spirit, just like Faith is a spirit ( 2 Corinthians 4:13, "with the same spirit of faith,") and I believe that Fear comes the same way that Faith (Romans 10:17) comes which is by hearing and hearing by the word of Fear. The enemy, negative circumstances and even negative minded people (even those close to you) will say things/words that will get you to operate in fear. The enemy knows that Fear will make you run, tremble, quit, hide and it will paralize you. Fear is never productive rather to the contrary it is destructive.

I'm not sure what you are facing or how severe your problems may be but I do know that God doesn't want you to live in Fear at all. Don't be afraid to confront sin, don't be afraid to confront pornography, don't be afraid to confront your fits of wrath, don't be afraid to confront your pride, don't be afraid to confront the alcoholism, don't be afraid to confront your selfishness--DON'T BE AFRAID, DON'T BE AFRAID!!
God wants everyone that serves him to look their problem(s) right in the face, resist the spirit of Fear and with the courage that he supplies recognize that they cannot be defeated by life's problems because as Christians "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1st John 4:4).

God doesn't beget suckers, lames, or weak willed feeble people. A Brave God begets Brave men and therefore they must possess Brave Hearts!!

My Brother you are a Brave Heart.....a Brave Heart!

3.14