Letters To Leaders – Truth, And Conviction

‘The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. ‘ 1 Timothy 1:5-7

This post is going to be a recap of the last two weeks. Last Sunday, Jeremy Smith, Lead Pastor of Crosspoint Church, preached on the subject of “Truth,” and this week, Sam Brown, Crosspoint Freeport Campus Pastor, continued in the sermon series on the subject of “Conviction.”

For context, we need to understand that everyone called to be a Christian is considered a leader. This link is the post from that message:

Truth – Only the TRUTH will advance the Kingdom of Heaven. Our source of that truth is the Word of God in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’ 2 Timothy 3:16-17

As Christian leaders, it is imperative to study the Word of God. And that study should be a daily discipline on the believer’s part.

‘Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ‘ Joshua 1:8

Meditate means to “think deeply” or “focus one’s mind for a period of time.” In a study on this chapter by Pastor Jon Courson, he referenced the idea of meditating as “chewing on.” I found this idea interesting because when we chew on our food, our saliva goes to work breaking down the food and releasing the nutrients into our bodies to sustain us.

If we think about our meditation on God’s Word as “chewing on it,” when we do this, we are releasing the power (nutrients) of scripture into our minds, strengthening our faith and God’s ability to use us to build the Kingdom of Heaven.

How often should we be in God’s Word? According to the verse from the Book of Joshua, it says day and night. The more we expose ourselves to the Word of God, the more it will affect our thoughts and actions.

The more the Word of God changes our lives, the more people see Jesus in our words, attitudes, and actions. In essence, we will be leading them to Jesus.

As we become more familiar with God’s Word, we will be better equipped to:

Teach – show or explain to someone how to do something. As we teach, our lives should reflect the subject we are trying to teach. This doesn’t mean that we have to be perfect.

‘Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ‘ Philippians 3:12-14

Our Christian walk should be an upward ascent. Our lives should reflect a change based on our study and mediation of God’s Word. And it should manifest in the fruit of the Spirit, LOVE.

Rebuke – express disapproval or criticism of someone because of their behavior or actions. As we do this, we need to come about this leading with grace. We also need to understand that we will be dealing with two groups of people: Believers and Non-Believers, and each group is handled differently.

Believers – we have more responsibility to do this in our ranks.

‘Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load. Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. ‘ Galatians 6:1-6

As we examine this scripture, there are a couple of keywords: “you who live by the Spirit.” If we are not “living by the Spirit,” we should be seeking someone to help us who is “living by the Spirit.”

‘ “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. ‘ Matthew 7:1-5

As we go about this part of our responsibility to each other, it is best to have a grip on the subject we are rebuking another for. Best that we do this in love with no emotional attachment to the outcome, or we could end up manipulating another to get the result we think is the best for that person.

‘And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.’ 2 Timothy 2:24-26

The key here is that “Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth…” God does the changing, not us. If a person is close to us, we can browbeat them into doing what we think they should, but the minute we stop applying the pressure, they will return to the old way.

But any change by God’s hand will never return to the old way. It will be permanent.

Unbelievers – As far as dealing with unbelievers, the only thing that will change their hearts is the Gospel. If we are not “living by the Spirit,” what we say will repel them more than attract them to the message of God’s grace.

Take comfort, though, with this thought; there will not be anyone ending up in hell who didn’t choose to be there. We have a loving and just God, and He will provide every opportunity for a person to accept His gift of grace.

God’s covenants are entirely fulfilled through Him. He will not force Himself on us, but He does give those who accept Jesus the faith to call on His Name.

‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ‘ Ephesians 2:8-10

‘For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ‘ Romans 12:3

Correct – to free from error, by truth. As we work with others, we need to know where to bring them in the Bible.

‘Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ‘ 2 Timothy 2:15

It is our responsibility to divide God’s Word rightly.

Leaders lead with the TRUTH.

Train – teach someone a particular skill or behavior through practice and instruction over some time. It is best to “walk the walk before we talk the talk.”

The church has taken a black eye over and over because of “leaders” in the church who have pointed the dirty end of a stick at both believers and unbelievers, only to be steeped in sin themselves.

‘So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. ‘ 1 Corinthians 10:12-13

Conviction – a firmly held belief. The Word of God should change how we think of ourselves and others.

Before God changed my heart, I promised myself that I would pick up the Bible and never put it down again. Earlier in my life, when I read the Bible, my life seemed pretty good.

When I made that decision, my life was a mess, relationally, financially, and spiritually. So from that point forward to this day, I have picked up the Bible and read it. The problem was my life didn’t get better; it gradually worsened to the point where I wanted to kill myself.

I had been reading the Bible to that point, examining the world through the lens of the Bible, and I concluded that I couldn’t change the world. And this thought overwhelmed me to the point of despair.

For the first time in my life, I reached out for help. Up to that point, I thought I was pretty self-sufficient. And I had some very loving people point me back to Jesus.

I continued my study, and through God’s grace, He revealed that I wasn’t to read the Bible with my focus on the world but that I was to read the Bible as a mirror examining my heart against its words.

I was convicted.

From that point, I allowed God’s Word to lead me. And through that, it has allowed me to help guide others to Jesus.

Examining our hearts against God’s Word will show us areas in our lives that we should be giving up to the Lord to change. And this should be a consistent practice as a believer in Jesus Christ.

‘Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. ‘ Psalms 51:10-12

‘Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. ‘ James 1:22-25

Your life leads those around you; are your thoughts, attitudes, and actions leading you closer to Jesus? If they are leading you towards a closer relationship with Jesus, this is the direction that you are directing those around you.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your saving grace and mercy.

Please let Your words guide my thoughts, attitudes, and actions.

I thank You for the opportunity that You have given me to point others to the love of Jesus.

I pray that You continue to let me see others with the same grace and mercy, You have provided me.

In the loving name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️