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

Shacked Up

Christians don't shack up with their boyfriends/girlfriends & then float along in life, serve in ministry, pretend to be one thing at church while living in sin. It's a terrible testimony. It's learned behavior. It's sin. It's wrong. It shouldn't be celebrated...it should be repented of.

When there is true REPENTANCE, there will be REVIVAL in our lives & homes...then that REVIVAL will sweep into the church.

If you're sinning. Stop.

I rebuke this manipulating spirit in the name of Jesus.

When we know better, we should do better. Knowing right from wrong doesn't mean you don't or won't sin. Knowing right from wrong is an awareness God put in us. We have ALL sinned & come short of the glory of God. So, I do not say these things as a sinless person...but as a person whose sins are cleansed. Everyday, I'm clinging to the cross of Jesus.

And for anyone that says, "Pastor we aren't supposed to judge." Let me encourage you to believe the Scriptures. One of which teaches us that we are entitled to make a righteous judgement if we ourselves are willing to be judged by the same judgement.

As God's children, although we must be cautious in our judgments concerning ourselves & others, we cannot ignore our Lord's commands that instruct us to make judgments. In John 7:24, Jesus said "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment"

But what does it mean to judge with righteous judgment? Jesus revealed this earlier in John 5:30: Jesus spoke, saying, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."

If we seek and follow the true will of God, which can only be found in His word, then when it comes time for us to help people discern between right & wrong, then we will not judge with our opinions or what we think is right, but just like the mind that Christ had, we will only seek to do the will of the Father. Following the limitations for judgment that are taught throughout the Scriptures, all we are to do in order to judge righteous judgment is to hear God's word, & judge using His standard.

How can anyone honestly say that Jesus didn't judge? For that matter, when our Lord's true followers make righteous judgments, based on His word, in order to expose sin & help the lost to be saved, why would anyone ever think that Jesus would condemn them for that? Jesus has plainly revealed that those who abide in His ways will judge with righteous judgment.

Friends, if you love your family & friends enough to not want them to spend eternity in HELL...you'll love them enough to teach them the TRUTH of The Word of God. We don't celebrate or tolerate sin. We love anyone & everyone who sins (including ourselves) to the point that we would rather they find their way out of bondage into the marvelous grace of Jesus Christ.

Ask yourself?

"Am I sending a mixed message to my family?"

"Do I live one way at church & another at home?"

"Do my children have respect for me, based on my character?"

"Am I leading my children to a consecrated life in Christ?"

Lots to ponder today. Love you all.

Blessed Are The Fraudulent or Faithful?

Luke 12:37  “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.”

Faithfulness is a quality that is very often lacking in the moral fabric of men. It is an interesting attribute in that it requires something that every individual can provide. Anyone can & should be faithful. However, the Scripture says, “a faithful man who can find?” (Proverbs 20:6). It is difficult to find someone who is faithful & who remains faithful. We all know those who seemed to want to be faithful & appeared to be faithful for a while, but in time, they did not keep the charge that was committed to them.

True faithfulness is not something that is demonstrated initially, or even occasionally. A married person who is occasionally unfaithful to his or her spouse is not considered faithful. God intends for us to be faithful until death or until He comes. Our text tells us that there will be a special blessing for those “servants” who remain true to the Lord.

The Scripture says, “Blessed are those servants.” We are God’s servants. We belong to Him & we have committed ourselves to serve Him. We are not to serve our own interests & agendas, but we are to serve our Master, Jesus Christ. How long are we to serve? Until we are no longer excited about serving? Until our bodies are old & aching? We are to serve Him until He comes. THE BLESSED MAN is the servant “whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching.” The Lord Jesus Christ will come again to this earth. We are to serve our Savior until He comes. Have you ever known someone who seemed to be a loyal worker as long as someone was watching over him, or until the supervisor was out of sight? This is not a description of faithful service.

When Jesus comes, or when we go to be with the Lord, will we be found faithful? Those who are faithful will be rewarded. To those He finds watching, the Bible says, “he shall gird himself & make them to sit down to meat & will come forth & serve them.” This blessing is reserved for those who are found faithfully serving Jesus to the end. He will serve those who have been faithful servants. May He find us faithful.