Do What They Ask You To Do

Years ago, when I began receiving opportunities/invitations to minister in my home church & in other churches, my pastor taught me...“If they ask you to sing, don’t preach. If they ask you to preach, don’t sing.”

He was teaching me to do exactly what I was asked to do & to not try & freestyle. In my young understanding, I submitted to this.

I now know that my pastor was imparting much wisdom in my life. He was teaching to honor protocol & to be a submitted & seated son. He was teaching me ministerial etiquette. He was teaching me about order, function & authority. He was helping me hone my gift & walk worthy of my vocation.

We need Spiritual Fathers who will CHEER for us, CORRECT us, & CHALLENGE us. This is a great need in ministry training today.

Sadly, it seems, more & more, we are seeing the rise & fall of superstar speakers who think they're the next, ________ & want to rent a warehouse, preach into a camera & have someone follow them around with a camera as they display their newest wardrobe & walk from the Green room to the pulpit. 🤦🏻‍♂️

QUESTION: How is Christ being exalted & sinners being saved...by us watching you be filmed walking to the make-up chair, dressing room, green room, the platform & then behind the scenes to be toweled down by 10 armorbearers?

A revival of HUMILITY would do us well. 🔥

If they ask you to preach...PREACH.
If they ask you to sing...SING.

Do WHAT you're asked, WHEN you're asked, WHERE you're asked, HOW you're asked & don't forget WHY you were asked in the first place.

Good teaching will keep you.
Russell Hylton

@Leaguership

www.russellhylton.com 

Watch Out For Charlatans!

“Walk with the wise & become wise; associate with fools & get in trouble.” Proverbs 13:20

We are living in a time where believers must guard themselves from spiritual charlatans.

What is a CHARLATAN? A charlatan (also called a swindler) is a person practicing quackery or some similar confidence trick or deception in order to obtain money, fame or other advantages via some form of pretense or deception. Synonyms for charlatan include shyster, quack, or faker.

Sadly, there are many self-proclaimed "apostles, prophets & pastors" who prey on weak minded believers by enticing their thirst & curiosity for the "supernatural" with a so called "WORD FROM THE LORD"...which really aren't words from The Lord, but rather flesh driven trickery to control, manipulate & keep a cycle of dependency on them rather than Christ.

This is one reason why we need true pastors & true spiritual fathers/mothers in our life. They help guide our discernment through sound biblical teaching. They protect us from charlatans & those who would take advantage of our good nature & innocence.

As a shepherd, you take great care in leading, feeding & protecting those whom you've been entrusted. It pains you to see folks fanged by the teeth of carnivorous wolves who make cloaked promises of positions, titles & familiarity. True spiritual discernment can see through the veil of appearances & anyone with even a natural eye can see a person's track record in both the natural & spiritual. God will reveal it & has.

I caution people to avoid associations with this spirit. It is "another spirit" masquerading around the body of Christ. It longs for the affirmation of fatherhood but was never legitimately birthed. It appears to have the structure of biblical theology but it's foundation is pride & self-promotion. Discerning believers should not let its poison have access to their life.

Romans 16:17-18 "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."

You cannot cover what remains uncovered.

You cannot lead what will not be led.

However, you can continue to teach the truth, model & love unconditionally. Father's don't leave the porch. They remain on the porch with a watchful eye for prodigals on the horizon.

Some more information that is helpful...

Fathering The Fatherless (Part 1)

Sent or Went...that is the Question

The Forerunner Generation (Part 1)

The Forerunner Generation (Part 2)

The Forerunner Generation (Part 3)

The Forerunner Generation (Part 4)

Are you a SON or a HIRELING?

Things A Son Needs From His Father

👊🏽 Happy Father's Day weekend to all the great fathers who handle their business! If you don't handle it, start now! It’s never too late!

💪🏽 Make the most of Father’s Day! If you have one, please bless him in some way. If you don’t, find a father you admire & bless them! Good men need appreciation...& others need encouragement!

🙏🏽 Jesus, at an early age, was found in the synagogue, tending to the Father’s business (Luke 2:49). Why entertain the enemy’s distractions when God’s inheritance is at stake?

I pray Sunday’s & Wednesday’s will be a primary priority in the spiritual rhythm of every father’s life. We get one shot at this! Don’t miss it by chasing tomorrow.

Join me at Bfwc Indy on Father’s Day! 8:30 AM | 11 AM

bfwc.net

Remain In His Gravitational Pull

I took this Sunday morning, on my way to church. It was such a beautiful sunrise that I pulled over, on top of the big bridge on Ronald Regan Pkwy & had this stir in my spirit:

“God is like the sun & we are like one of the planets. We can only have our orbit correct if we stay within the gravitational pull.”

I can count on God telling the sun to rise & set each day. The question is, “Can God count on me being where I’m supposed to be?”

I want to live life in such a way that my wife, my children, grandchildren, family & friends know that they can count on me to remain in orbit to God’s gravitational pull. I don’t ever want them to wonder if I’ll be faithful or fruitful as a Christian (FIRST) a husband, parent, leader, pastor, friend, etc.

By God’s grace, my daughter has never had to wonder “Why doesn’t daddy go to church?” Or “Why doesn’t daddy live for God?”

By the grace of God, I never want to cause my family to be burdened with my inability to get my stuff together & LEAD my home spiritually.

For all the men out there, who are running this race called life...REMEMBER who gave you LIFE....Jesus! Don’t ever become too cocky, prideful, arrogant & a “know-it-all” to live this life with your own agenda. You’re not in charge. Jesus is. Each of us will stand before God & give an account for what we did & what we didn’t do. I pray we allow The Holy Spirit to convict us, lead us & draw us to a continual devotional intimacy with Yahweh.

Don’t miss the sunrise, because you have sleep in your eye!

Leading Your Family

Every man bears the responsibility of leading his family forward in faith. Much weight & responsibility is laid upon the man.

• His family depends on him to provide for them.
• His family depends on him to pray over them.
• His family depends on him to lead them in spiritual growth.
• His family depends on him to not slip back into sin.
• His family depends on him to be a watchman on the wall.
• His family depends on him to remain committed to God.
• His family depends on him to attend church faithfully.
• His family depends on him to not make excuses but adjustments.
• His family depends on him to be ALL in...nothing wavering.

As a man, son, husband, father, Christian, Pastor, etc...I know full well the weight men must carry today. In a world that offers you so many temptations...so many chances to quit...so many opportunities to slip up...MEN MUST stay ROOTED & GROUNDED in CHRIST without wavering!

Are you slipping?
Are your desires for God slipping?
Are you becoming distracted?
Are you allowing generational bondage crop up it's head in your life?

David said, "But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone." Psalm 73:2

He admitted that he was beginning to slip.

Friends, there is an intimate connection between the heart & the feet! When men doubt the righteousness of God, their own integrity begins to waver.

I challenge you today...DON'T LET YOUR FEET SLIP...it will COST you dearly.

Be careful of who you're receiving counsel from. If you let the blind lead you, you'll end up in the ditch.

In His Grip,

Pastor Hylton

Serving The Way Jesus Did

“I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.”
‭‭John‬ ‭13:15‬ ‭

Jesus washed the feet of those He called to carry His message...even the one who would betray Him. Jesus modeled humility. He taught us to humble ourselves & serve one another in love.

You cannot HONOR one another without HUMILITY.

I’ll never forget this past Father’s Day...when the men of @bfwcindy #fightclub washed my feet & said, “We have you surrounded in strength & we are here to serve.” Tears were flowing & my heart overwhelmed at this display of Christlikeness.

Every pastor needs an army of men & women around them who are committed to the Gospel of Jesus with Red Hot PASSION! It’s an honor to serve & lead people who have counted the cost to take up the CROSS.

May we serve others the same way Jesus served His disciples.

#ROOM

Always Honor

Yes, you're called.
Yes, you're gifted.
Yes, you will make an impact.
You have everything BUT a mantle.
That is gained by HONOR.

MANTLES can't be stolen, negotiated or imitated. Mantles "fall to you" when HONOR is given.

Your relationships with your Leaders, colleagues & followers can't survive the staleness of FAMILIARITY. It must be renewed regularly. Find new ways to HONOR each other.

Never take for granted the relationships afforded to you through RELATIONAL HONORING. You have access TO others, because you were given access THROUGH someone else’s relationships.

☝🏽This is a comprehensive mixture of protocol, etiquette & alignment. If you can learn & live these...you’ll experience opportunities through HONOR.

ALWAYS HONOR.

You don't have to bad mouth, dishonor, cut down or betray anyone to fulfill God’s call on your life. That's an awful seed to sow...and dishonor is a boomerang.

I’ve seen it in my lifetime. People who cause a mess for someone else...rest assured...they will reap a mess somewhere in their own life. It’s a principle. That’s why we should always HONOR.

Keep your mouth & hands off of people. They belong to God...just like you do. Choose to HONOR God, even if someone else is dishonorable. God will HONOR you.

We can’t teach enough about HONOR in the church & our culture.

Here are four things that I now know:
1. Disagreement is unavoidable.
2. Disrespect is unacceptable.
3. Disloyalty is unforgettable.
4. Dishonor is untreatable.

Keep HONORING my friends. God will BLESS you!

What My Father Taught Me

This is my father...Rev. Ray Hylton.  

He is... 

My pops

My mentor

My council

My spiritual father

My pastor

My friend

My listener

My voice of reason

My example

My corrector

My encourager

My prayer partner

My confidant

I want to thank him for teaching me about the power of SACRIFICE. He taught me about the power of a strong work ethic, spiritual disciplines, devotion unto The Lord & family life.

My father worked 30 years in a factory and pastored a church at the same time (for many of those years & he still does). Before that, he served in a local church & held up the arms of our pastors. He was FAITHFUL & FRUITFUL  and I rarely recall a time that we didn't attend service. I watched my parents clean the church, pick up people for church, drive the bus, teach classes, serve in the altar, cook meals, shovel snow, mop floors, raise other people's children, and the list goes on.

My parents raised us (my sister Venita & I) to run after God with our whole heart. They never acted "bothered" when they were asked to DO more or GIVE more. They just DID what they did out of DEVOTION unto The Lord.

You see, they knew that SACRIFICE has the ability to get God's attention. Anytime you read in Scripture of someone making a SACRIFICE unto The Lord, it always moved the hand of God to manifest a miracle!  

Sometimes God is looking to see how FAR we'll go and how MUCH we'll give.  When we live "OUT OF OUR DEVOTION" unto The Lord...we are willing to make any sacrifice and it's not even a sacrifice!

Parents who make God & Church optional shouldn't be surprised when their kids will not make Him a priority either. 

I'm definitely not perfect. I strive to be half the man my father is. 

One thing I desire to do before I leave this planet is leave a LEGACY for my kids...AND GRANDKIDS :)...that I loved JESUS so much that I was willing to DO WHATEVER He asked me to do...and not COMPLAIN about HOW MUCH I DO as if HE is a BURDEN or a TIME CONSTRAINT.

You can never do enough for Him...so we musn't kid ourselves to think that we already do enough for Jesus.  Friend, when we're standing at the crossroads between LIFE & DEATH...we won't be saying, "I did too much for The Lord", we'll be saying, "I wish I would have done more."

Give your all...because He gave His.