Leadership in Context

If you are going to increase your capacity, you have to take advantage of what you already have. Today we are pulling an episode from the archives on increasing your capacity. People tend to complain about what they don’t have, but they don’t fill up what they do have. The greatest mark of a leader is that a leader leads himself.

Capacity is what you can take hold of, what you can handle. Today we are pulling an episode from the archives. Increasing your capacity doesn’t mean you have to get a new talent. It means you have to use the talents you have more effectively. For leaders, the key way to drill down is learning the power of “yes” and “no.” If you say no to the right things, you’ll be able to say yes to the right thi...

How can we say that love never fails? True love, godly love, is always representing Christ. It is being like Jesus. Love never fails because love always honors God. 

There is a pattern in Scripture of a baptizing of the Holy Spirit after salvation through the laying on of hands. In the majority of those times, the evidence of that happening is that they spoke in tongues. We are edified and emboldened when we pray in the Spirit. When we are praying in the Holy Spirit, our spiritual antenna gets pointed in the right direction. 

Angels are still active beings, creative for the purpose of worshiping God. They are not to be used to authenticate spiritual experiences. But they are part of the supernatural and we need to not forget about them. We can call on the Lord to send them to minister to us.

In everything we do, there’s this one thing we should always do—forget what’s behind us and look forward. Today we are pulling an episode from the archives, the Prize of Leadership. When we look forward and not behind, we can press toward the goal of the prize. If we are pressing forward, the prize is that God will always be calling us to greater things. The prize is God trusting you. The prize is...

You get stronger when you lift weights. If you run away from any of the pain points in leadership, you won’t get stronger in them. You will only get stronger when you press through them. Today we are pulling an episode from the archives, the Pain of Leadership.

Leadership is ministry; it’s serving. Today we are pulling an episode from the archives, the Privilege of Leadership. The God of Heaven, the God that spoke the galaxies into existence, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the sender of the Holy Spirit trusts you to do great things in His Name. We need to treat that like it is a privilege all the time.

God wants to release the Holy Spirit through His Church–not just when we are gathered together, but when we are out and about throughout the week. Scripture promises that “these signs shall follow those who believe.” But if there is no believing, there is nothing to follow. When there is nothing to follow, there will be no signs and wonders. Who is the person in your life who is waving their arms...

The culture cannot dictate the design that God has for the family unit. The world is ruthless and the standard has been lowered. The enemy wants to take out the masculine definition of protection and providing. We need men who are going to stand up to provide and lead their families. Ask yourself: What do we want our families to look like and are our actions leading to that desired outcome?

If you want to follow Jesus, survival of self is not guaranteed. To follow Jesus, we must be willing to pick up our cross and follow Him wherever He leads. Denial is the reality of courageous men. What you say yes to and what you say no to are the seeds of your destiny. When was the last time you said no to your flesh?

Courage is contagious, when a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others often stiffened. –Billy Graham Fear is a reaction, but courage is a decision. When we make that decision, we need to acknowledge our fears, accept responsibility, and activate a plan of action so that we can move forward in obedience to the Lord.

Don’t just cut off the giant’s head. Display it and testify of what God has done. The enemy would rather steal the seed than chop down the forest. But we can turn the moment into momentum by celebrating what God is doing. When God is doing something, we need to seal it with the word of our testimony.

When you obey God, there is always a blessing from God. But often, obedience yields a negative reward from men. Courage allows us to focus on obedience and standing for Truth instead of focusing on the ramifications of that obedience.

You will repeat what you replay. Who are you listening to? What are you listening to? Are you feeding yourself something that is poisoning you? Fear comes by hearing the word of the devil. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. 

Where have you lost your anointing? Where have you lost your edge? When we aren’t doing the things we once did (giving, serving, sharing, pursuing the Lord), we can go back to the point where we lost it and get it back. It may not be easy to get to. But through humility and repentance, we can go back, take responsibility, and pick up that ax head.

The purpose of delegation is not to take something off one person’s plate and put it on another person’s plate. The purpose is having the right thing on the right person’s plate. Delegation is the heart of multiplication.

It’s important to know how to have sincere conversations, even if they are uncomfortable. Do remember that each conversation has three people involved—you, the other person, and God. Do ask clarifying questions. Do enter the conversation open-hearted, open-minded, and with open ears. Don’t prejudge the conversation. Don’t feel like you have to come to a conclusion in that moment. And don’t procras...

We all have a measure of faith and we need to use that faith effectively. Faith comes by the Word. Faith has a confession. Faith has corresponding actions. Faith has an awareness of righteousness.

If you are thinking about yourself, then God is not working through you at that moment. If God has to humble you, it means that you have not been humbling yourself. A humble person doesn’t think about me first. A humble person isn’t focused on how something impacts them, what they get out of it, or what others will think of them. God loves humility.

How we handle trials shows who we are, but how we handle privilege shows our character even more. We should never come to a place where our privilege stops us from being a servant or being accountable. Serving God is a privilege and that means not taking advantage of every opportunity. 

God’s Truth is settled in Heaven. There are no new Truths. There is a lot of weirdness in the body of Christ. Proclaimed revelation needs to be tested. Does it match the Word? Is there an application for the revelation? Is the person carrying the revelation consistent, competent, and do they have character? Is the person open to being critiqued? 

In the midst of the chaos, the brokenness and destruction, there are a group of people in Ukraine who are expanding the Kingdom. Pastor Keith and the team are back from Ukraine. Today he shares with us about that trip. The video and update referenced in today’s podcast is up on NRP’s social media. You can find it by searching NRPastors.

You cannot be led by the Spirit and be fearful. Often, leaders are led by fear rather than discernment, concern, or stewardship. Fear will not lead us into the future of God. An atmosphere full of faith will lead to equipping and empowering.

Strong is not bad. It’s a lot easier to get things done when you have strong horses pulling the wagon. Harnessing and steering them takes a lot less effort than trying to drag someone out of the stable and get them moving.