Something To Point To

You know & others know if what you have Is real.

Jesus chose Lazarus to be His EVIDENCE. When the haters came (and they always do), He didn't have to rely on Lazarus' preaching, singing or instagram reels. All he had to do was POINT to Lazarus & all Lazarus had to do was just sit there & BREATHE.

Lazarus was the EVIDENCE of Jesus' power.

What can people point to in your life that proves there is a reality to everything you claim to be real in your life?

Perhaps your faithfulness or fruitfulness? The evidence will be the things that are WORKING in your life.

I believe that I should be my own BEST CUSTOMER!

• You must practice what you preach.
• It must work in your life first.
• You can't ask others to do what you're not willing to do yourself.
I PREACH SALVATION by grace through faith in Jesus because I know it to be true.
I TEACH LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES because they are working for me.
I TEACH TITHES/STEWARDSHIP because it is working for me.
I TEACH FATHER/SON APOSTOLIC COVERING because it is working for me.

If people can get a hold of it & work it and stay with it...IT WILL produce the kind of results that they want!

It is vital to have a spiritual covering! On this side of the resurrection, everything God will do THROUGH you will be EMPOWERED through ALIGNMENT.

Do you have something to point to? Until you have your own evidence, you will need evidence of those who are birthing you into your double portion.

Leaguership
Russell Hylton

Humility, Tears & Trials

Acts 20:18-19

And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility & with tears & with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews.”

HUMILITY, TEARS & TRIALS

Think for a moment about the most humiliating thing that has ever happened to you. Do you bring that up very often in conversations? Have you worked at forgetting or even denying that it ever happened?

Serving others is difficult enough as it is, given that our ego prefers to be served. Yet, in this passage of Scripture, Paul comments on his service to God by saying it was with all humility & tears & trials.

Some people are only willing to serve others if they get credit for it. But, even if we are uncomfortable with getting credit, neither do we want to be humiliated in our service. And serving with tears & trials isn’t especially welcome either.

Paul knowingly served under all of those circumstances, yet he’s not bragging. Rather, he says these things to encourage people who will find themselves serving under similar conditions.

Throughout the world, serving with humility, tears & trials are the norm for Christians. But, here in the USA we’ve had circumstances that are anything but the norm. People growing up in the United States, during the 20th century, were not all believers in Jesus as Savior. However, practically all US citizens received training to think from a Biblical worldview. They generally agreed on what was right & what was wrong. Christian beliefs were RESPECTED even if they were not adhered to.

Though the term didn’t exist then, it was completely out of the question that anyone would even try to CANCEL someone for teaching the things that Jesus taught. For example, the Word of God makes it perfectly clear that human existence begins with CONCEPTION. Human ACCOUNTABILITY for sin begins at that same point. Regarding every human being, God created specific individuals, each one in a unique relationship with their heavenly Father. And He created them as male & as female.

For years now, scholars, politicians & all manner of leaders, have been trying to & succeeding in deconstructing society. They’ve been tearing it down, tearing it apart, & tearing it into a million unrecognizable pieces. And not all of their deconstructing was wrong. The racism exemplified by the KKK needed to be attacked & deconstructed. The sexism of the 20th century USA was damaging & confining in ways that were not unlike slavery in some respects. Men & women, of all races, should have equal opportunities for education & service according to the vocations that our heavenly Creator gives to us individually.

In spite of its obvious & serious faults, the United States has provided equal opportunity in far greater ways than probably any civilization prior to it. The devil is now, in the 21st century, orchestrating it's destruction. The tragedy of it all, is that a huge percentage of our population is buying into it.

Research has suggested today, only 6% of self-described Christians have a true Biblical worldview. So, it’s pretty safe to say that non-Christians do not in any way look at life through the teachings of Jesus. In that context, serving the Lord with all humility & with tears & with trials will become much more commonplace in the next few years.

Paul, & Jesus too, did not want us to become discouraged. However, we need to see our calling in realistic terms. No more rose-colored glasses or holier-than-thou views of what it is to be a child of God. Satan is waging war against us & against the kingdom of God. The nation of Ukraine has no more illusions about the intentions of Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation.” He is waging war & killing thousands of Ukrainian citizens. The war that Satan is waging on all of humanity is even more serious than that. To top it off...our sinful nature, even that of Christians, gladly works with him.

As Paul so aptly put it, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:18-19)

Given that reality, it’s no wonder Paul’s service to the Lord was with all humility, tears & trials. He wasn’t only at war with Satan & the world’s unbelievers...Paul was at war with himself. You & I live with that same reality & passing on our faith in Christ to others will become marked more & more by all humility, tears & trials.

Boasting

The desire to "start from zero" just to be able to boast that "I did my own thing" is a deception intended to steal your inheritance.

Everything we have is because of JESUS! So, rather than boast about your STANDING...boast about His LIFTING. After all, it's Jesus who keeps picking us up!

God wants nothing that originates with us. "Not of works lest any man should boast." Everyone in heaven is there by GRACE.

God gives platforms.

Men build stages.

God says, "Hide thyself then prove thyself!"

Men say, "Promote thyself! Boast thyself!"

DON'T boast about your APPEARANCE. (e.g., beard, tats, hair, weight, cleavage, butt, muscles, etc.)

DON'T boast about your POSSESSIONS. (e.g., house, cars, toys, money, job, etc.)

DO boast about what The Lord has done & is doing!

DO boast about His goodness!

DO boast about souls being saved!

DO thank Him publicly for health, long life, blessings, goodness & mercy!

Always point to Him in everything. He deserves the praise!

Love is patient and kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud...it keeps no record of wrongs. (1 Corinthians 13)

I will bless the LORD at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth my soul shall make her boast in the LORD! (Psalm 34)

Leaguership

UNCOMMON LEADERSHIP 101 - SACRIFICE

UNCOMMON LEADERSHIP 101 - SACRIFICE

1. Investing in you requires SACRIFICE. God will send people to support you, encourage you & invest in your dream...but you ultimately have to be willing to make the necessary sacrifices.

2. Always keep people in your circle who aren’t there just for the success but for the SACRIFICE.

3. People see the highlights, but don't see the SACRIFICE you had to make along the way.

4. I promise you, everything I’m enjoying today is because I LISTENED to my Leader’s instructions & made SACRIFICES that paid off! You don’t get the crown without the cross.

5. You can get locked out of the harvest because you don't participate in the SACRIFICE!

6. God wants ALL of you, not merely the parts you deem presentable; give everything to Him. If you dedicate yourself to God, even when it’s uncomfortable, He will honor your SACRIFICE.

Ambition

Many years ago, Beverly & I were going through a season of uncertainty. (Well, actually, God was maturing me & I found myself looking at the grass in someone else's yard while I was struggling with my purpose, place & plan.)

I remember talking myself into doing something that seemed exciting. Doing so required us to move. I also remember justifying it to everyone & looking for people to agree with me. Because I wanted this so bad...for the very first time in my life...I didn't seek counsel. I told my leaders what I was going to do...rather than asking them to bathe this major decision In prayer.

I made the decision on my own. It was good at first. But then things got really rough. (Much rougher than the "season of uncertainty", I previously mentioned.) Bottom line...I missed God & our family paid a price for it.

In hindsight, I asked myself, "Why didn't someone ask me the hard questions? Why didn't someone force me to see all the things I couldn't see?" I made a vow to God many years later that if I was ever in a position to speak into someone's life, I would do so without fear of offending the person who needed to hear It. I knew that if someone would have been the "bad guy" & told me what I didn't want to hear, at the time, it probably would have spared my family some of the grief I put us in.

Since then, I've been able to bring counsel to many people. Some we've helped & some we wish could have helped. I also adopted the philosophy, "Inquire" or "Inform." Which means = when someone comes to me & says, "God told me..." then I already know they aren't talking with me to inquire prayer & fasting...but rather informing me of what they are going to do. I recognize the approach...because, like I said, many years ago I did the same thing.

It took me years to understand that "some things are taught" & "some things are caught." You can learn from other people what TO DO & what NOT TO DO, if you pay close attention.

Best advice I could give someone, "Always seek counsel." The Bible said that wisdom is in a multitude of counselors. And for those who say, "I can make my own decisions...God speaks to me."...yes, you are correct...He does. However, God will use men to confirm what He has spoken. We need a covering that cares more about the well being of our family than they do about our ambition.

At the end of the day, you'll get to your destiny...at an even greater acceleration...if you walk in alignment in every step.

Every Blessing!

#DearPreacher

 

As a Pastor, I believe:

•Jesus died for sinners.
•Morality can’t be legislated.
•I must preach the Word & live my convictions.
•I owe love to all.
•We must stand up for the voiceless.
•The Church must spend more time reaching the world & less time judging it.

So…

• Don't preach your convictions. Preach the Word & live your convictions!
• Truth is multicultural. If you just preach the Word, it will fit everyone.
• Preach the word, in & out of season.
• Preach the word when they like you & when they don't.
• Preach the word with love & grace.
• Preach! If your commitment is to "relevance", you'll need to keep up with every trend. So just preach the Word. Set the trend!

Every Blessing!

It Didn't Just Happen

Frederick Douglass said, “Without a Struggle, there can be no Progress." So true!

Trees don’t become mature overnight. There are years of maturing, development, pruning & weathering required for said tree to stand rooted, bare fruit & extend its branches & blossoms to those who seek it’s shelter.

• Don’t take advice from people who’ve never done what you do. They may only know in theory but lack the practicum to provide wise counsel.

• Unless you want the aggravation, hardship, hurt & headache that someone went through to reach the point they’re at right now…don’t desire their anointing. It cost them a great cost to have what they have.

• Allow God to mold you into the one-of-a-kind leader you are. He will keep the clay wet with your tears & bend you with his tender touch.

• Learn to discern people who only want your gift & not you. Everyone has issues they need to work through. However, if you allow their daddy issues, family dysfunction or superstar ambition bleed into your life…you’ll spend months/years delayed & distracted from your life call. At some point, you have to let Jonah go.

You are God’s masterpiece! He has a beautiful plan for your life. Don’t let a setback keep you from your set up!

You didn’t just get here! Trust the process. 

Every Blessing!

Gossip

1. It takes COURAGE & COURTESY to walk in INTEGRITY. If you listen to garbage about someone...who is not present...you have no courage, courtesy or integrity.

2. Every act of GOSSIP is a betrayal. If you are not an eyewitness, you are a false witness. When you repeat what someone else has said, you are a garbage peddler.

3. Did you know that people who gossip are actually HIDING their own shame?

4. It is everyone’s job to PROTECT your CIRCLE from becoming a haunt for demons. Demons can’t possess Believers; but they attach to & express themselves through pride, selfish ambition, condemnation, gossip, offense, malice & hypocrisy.

5. When gossips gossip they usually gossip to gossips who spread the gossip until it gets back to those they were gossiping about.

Don't let gossip decide who your friends will be. Discern the voice of jealousy, the spirit of envy & the bile of bitterness.

Keep your lips pure on this sensational Saturday! 

Win A Soul Today!

I'm thankful for the decisions, to follow Jesus, that take place in our services & at the altar.  However, I think the greater opportunities take place in our everyday living...at school, work, neighborhoods & in the marketplace.  That's why it's imperative to continue to train Christians to share their faith publicly & have experiences of leading people to Jesus.  

No offense towards any church affiliation or even "denomination"....but personally having a strong background in the Baptist church, it is my observation that there is a great emphasis on soul-winning that I don't always see emphasized as strongly in other churches. In Pentecostal churches, "sometimes" our emphasis is dominantly being filled with the Holy Ghost & what formula was said over you when you were water baptized. 

Having the upbringing of both great churches, I believe it's imperative that we teach every disciple to be a "disciple maker" from Conversion-to-Empowerment-to-Life Call!  The cycle of becoming a disciple & then being a disciple maker should repeatedly be on loop in our life....all the way to the grave.

Questions:  

• Who are you presently discipling?  
• What is the name of the last person you led to Jesus & then discipled?  
• Isn't that what Matthew 28:19-20 is all about (The Great Commission)?

In my experience, people who are constantly leading others to Christ (conversions in the marketplace, school, work, etc.) don't have time to be offended, get sideways with the Pastor/church or remain self-serving.  Their FOCUS is on souls.  They are consumed with what consumed our Savior..."not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."

It's Saturday...it's an excellent opportunity to count the number of people in your life who need a relationship with Jesus!  Send them a text & ask them to join you in church on Sunday.  It might be just the second time they read a bible...you being their first. 

Every Blessing,

Pastor Hylton

Can You Be Trusted?

When you place your TRUST in someone, you're confirming your confidence in their integrity, ability & character. That is not a light thing. In fact, when you give someone your trust, you are giving them a very close space near your heart...an area that is tender & willingly open. For trust to continue, there must be a sacred covenant of loyalty & an internal decision not to misuse that trust.

One example: As a pastor/minister, when I stand in someone else's pulpit...I realize that I am there by invitation & given latitude to operate in my gifts & abilities for the glory of God & the good of those who have placed their trust in me. I am careful to operate in proper alignment with the leadership of the house & not to assume that I can just "take my liberty", because of the anointing (empowerment to serve) I sense. I always bare in mind that I am invited to function in my calling & gift in divine alignment with the angel of the house. I don't "freestyle" or "pull rabbits out of hats" when I have the mic. Trust has been placed in me either through relational equity or experience, to carry the continuity of the house...being mindful of the climate & culture of the house while fulfilling my assignment.

I have seen trust trampled on because of showmanship & personal desire. Sadly, when you can no longer trust a person to operate in proper protocol, you can no longer ENTRUST them with responsibility. To entrust means to give over (something) to another for care, protection or performance.

Basically, there are two kinds of people who seek to be in a relationship with you: 1) Those who want what's in your heart. 2) Those who want what's in your hand. You have to discern the difference. It's one thing for you to enter into people's lives...but another to entrust your life to them.

One way that I've learned to gauge trust is in the way someone talks to me about someone else. If they reveal entrusted secrets to you & you still entrust them with your secrets...you're just asking for heartbreak.

Years ago, someone I trusted spoke negatively to me about a mutual friend. I was rather shocked, not at the things they were trying to allude to in a negative connotation, but because I knew this person they were talking bad about had been very good to them & I too held that person in high regard. I didn't immediately pull back my trust in this person, but I watched the way they operated from that point forward & eventually knew that I couldn't carry the same level of relationship with them as I had before. I realized that if they talked about someone else to me...they would talk about me to someone else, too.

Now, don't get me wrong. I believe in repentance, restoration & plenty of "second chances”. I've extended many olive branches in my life & I've also had olive branches extended to me, as well. I believe in graceful relationships. I believe that we should see the best in one another...be honest & forthright with one another...not seek to plot someone's downfall with hearsay, secret meetings, plots & schemes. Thankfully, those things backfire on people who live like that. It is ALWAYS best to talk with a person face-to-face, rather than to believe what's being said about them. True covenant relationship is, "I will talk with you...not about you."

Once trust is broken, it's difficult to recover it. However, it can be recovered through the help of The Lord. It might be a marriage relationship, ministry relationship, employee/employer relationship, etc. God is able to restore all things.

To be trusted is a big deal. To be loved & trusted is a great responsibility. Manage both well.

Every Blessing,

Russell Hylton

Leaguership