Defining Success by Kingdom Standards

When you look at your church and its core values and vision how would you define success?

How would you compare the success of your church's core values and vision with the priorities of Jesus and the teachings of scripture?

When people meet you or the people that attend your church do they want to come and see what Jesus is doing among you?

Has your church gotten stuck in a cultural or generation version of the Christian life that is no longer appealing to those seeking Jesus?

One place to evaluate success in the local church is to examine the priorities of Jesus and the New Testament writers. Another way to evaluate Biblical success is to study the lives of people in the Old Testament who were considered pleasing and favored of God.

Scripture points to two specific areas that make a person pleasing to God in the Old Testament.
1. The first is having 'a heart after God' 1 Sa 13:14: But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command." NIV.

2. The second is obedience to God's Word. 1 Sam 15:22: Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. NIV

Jesus also came 'to do the will of the Father' powered by the Holy Spirit.

1. In fact Phil 2:5-11 says that Jesus humbled or emptied Himself. 'Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. NASU'

2. He operated by the father’s authority and the Holy Spirit's power so that he would be the perfect model for us. Jn 17:4 “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. NASU

3. Mt 3:16-17: 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." NIV

The next two places we need to look are the command of Jesus and teaching of the Apostles.

1.First, to continue His work by making disciples of all nations. Mt 28:19-20, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."NIV

2. Second, to equip God’s people. Eph 4:11-13, And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. NASU

If you evaluate what we are doing and compare it with these verses, how is your church doing? Is the next generation of leaders flourishing among us or are they being driven away or held in captivity to our old ways of doing things?

We are commanded to be making, equipping and releasing into leadership the next group or generation of disciples on a continual basis.

We should follow the model of Paul and continue our relationship as partners and co-laborers with the next generation of leaders as we release them to lead and make disciples of all nations.

This will assure them of support and help them to continue the work that Jesus began to do and teach us about! We will need to allow them their vision and their God inspired methods. New wine needs new wineskins! God is raising up young Davids and Debras. They should be doing Great exploits for God and not starting God's work over again.

Can it be said of us that we are equipping the next generation to do great and mighty things and become men and women of valor as they do the will of the Father, empowered by the Holy Spirit in our world today?

IF WE CAN SAY YES, THAT IS KiINGDOM SUCCESS!




You will hear Him say
'Well done you good and faithful servant!'

Copyright © 2008 Wayne Newcomb

The Priorities of The Kingdom

Our Primary Purpose Today as followers of Jesus of Nazareth is to have:

1. A Fresh understanding of Our Calling.
2. Participation in What Jesus Began to Do and Teach, Acts1:1."

All that Jesus did flowed out of His relationship with the father and His willingness to do the will of the Father powered by the Holy Spirit. We must have that same model if we are to please Him and be useful to Him. This model consist of:

1. Our active seeking first the Kingdom of God and Loving the Lord with all our mind and heart and strength.
a. To give Him pleasure and to esteem Him as our first love with a daily relationship that keeps Him first and our life in Him fresh and alive. The visions, plans and programs He has put within us to accomplish will fail without His life flowing freely each day. His life in us must be renewed by a daily relationship in His presence and His Word with times of deep worship and constant life giving prayer.
b. We must also have strategic encounters with Him if our zeal is to be kept properly focused and our spiritual health maintained.

2. Our participation as catalyst for proclamation and bringing forth the Kingdom of God in others. God has given us the gifts, experience, anointing and calling for:

a. Being a Catalyst in Making Disciples of All Nations

This calling has four key aspects:
1. Equipping believers to move from a life changing experience to living a life that is changed and growing in God's grace, His Word and Spirit.
2. Discipling those who have been changed to become life changers who's life in Jesus is a catalyst, which causes others to want a life changing relationship with God.
3. Training and Releasing a new generation of believers to live as passionate Spirit filled disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, so that, the proclamation of the Good News is made known to every people group throughout the Earth.
4. Mentoring and Coaching new and existing leaders to fulfill their calling to "Do What Jesus Began to do and Teach."

These key aspects are founded in having, the Heart of the Father, the Mind of Christ and the Power of the Spirit.

b. Being His messenger and vessel for the outflow of His majesty and grace and power requires that we remain sensitive and available to each opportunity the Lord provides for the expression of His life and truth toward others so that we do not miss the blessing and joy his work through us.

1. We must always remember that His ways are not our ways and that they are as far above our ways as the heavens are above the earth.
2. We must seek Him in every endeavor remembering that we cannot rely on yesterday's victory or anointing. We must seek His wisdom and walk in His presence with each new challenge.
3. He may reveal His ways to us with His power and might or the still small voice.

The Holy Spirit speaks with great power in Ephesians 4 where we see that the ministry offices are given to the church to continue what Jesus began to do and teach and that every believer is to be a part as described in Romans 12 of the things that Jesus began to do and teach.

Eph 4:11-14
11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as
prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12
for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of
the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature
which belongs to the fullness of Christ. NASU

Ro 12:1-13
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. NASU

So let us boldly and passionately:

1. Seek first the Kingdom of God

2. Do the work of the Kingdom; Raise up, equip and release Disciples of all people groups and nations.

3. Build up one another

4. Seek to Become mature to the full measure of Christ!

It's all by His Grace and Power

Equipper
Copyright © 2008 Wayne Newcomb
http://www.equippersnetwork.com/

Kingdom Dynamics

The Kingdom of God is a relational Kingdom made possible by God the Father our creator and the Life, Death and Resurrection of the Jesus the Messiah. He has restored our relationship with the father through His shed blood and empowered us by His resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit of God into our lives.

This relationship has two primary functional elements, the vertical and the horizontal. In His presence daily we adore and cherish him and out of this adoration of Him naturally flows our ambassadorial or representative role in which we become kingdom catalyst in the lives of others.

All that Jesus did flowed out of His relationship with the father and His willingness to do the will of the Father as He was empowered by the Holy Spirit. We must operate out of that same model if we are to please Him and be useful to Him in doing all that Jesus began to do and teach. These two elements of our relationship with the King are described in more detail in the following sections.

1. Vertical: Seek first the Kingdom of God and Love the Lord with all our mind and heart and strength.
a. To give Him pleasure and to esteem Him as our first love with a daily relationship that keeps Him first and our life in Him fresh and alive. The visions plans and programs He has put within us to accomplish will fail without His life flowing freely each day. His life in us must be renewed by a daily relationship in His presence and His Word with times of worship and constant prayer. b. We must also have strategic encounters with Him if our zeal is to be kept properly focused and our spiritual health maintained.

2. Horizontal: To be a Catalyst for the proclamation and bringing forth of the Kingdom of God in others. Our role as an catalytic ambassador and witnesses is one in which we act as a stimulus to cause others to become partakers in the Kingdom of God and thus have this twofold relationship with Him and become;

a. Leaders in Making Disciples of All Nations This calling has four key aspects:
1. Equipping believers to move from a life changing experience to living a life that is changed and growing in God's grace, His word and spirit.
2. Discipling those who have been changed to become life changers who's life in Jesus is a catalyst, which causes others to want a life changing relationship with God.
3. Training and Releasing a new generation of believers to live as passionate disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, so that, the proclamation of the Good News is made known to every people group throughout the Earth.
4. Mentoring and Coaching new and existing leaders to fulfill their calling to "Do What Jesus Began to do and Teach."

b. Sensitive and Available to the King within each opportunity He provides for kingdom ministry so that we represent Him and His kingdom in such a way that others are motivated to come into relationship with the King, thereby expanding the Kingdom by making disciples of all nations.

Jesus ministry and instructional model was a relational one. He imparted truth by both teaching and doing what he taught. He had the disciples go with Him, walk with Him and be with Him daily. They experienced daily in the context of a relational model the coming of King and the Kingdom of God. It was not theory or speculation.

Jesus ministered to people in the context of their lives. His ministry and teaching made sense to the people on a practical level and to those whose heart was open to the Spirit and truth of God's Kingdom as He revealed it to their inner man.

Today, if we will seek to birth Kingdom life in every aspect of our daily life and our gatherings as believers it will be easier to be those who are Making Disciples of All Nations as outlined above.

Seek to be a Kingdom catalytic agent today, causing others to seek first the Kingdom of God! Copyright © 2008 Wayne Newcomb

Webster's Dictionary Define a catalyst as follows:

Catalyst cat·a·lyst
Pronunciation: \ˈka-tə-ləst\
Function: noun
Date: 1902
1 : a substance that enables a chemical reaction to proceed at a usually faster rate or under different conditions (as at a lower temperature) than otherwise possible
2 : an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action

Catalytic Cat·a·lyt·ic
Pronunciation: \ˌka-tə-ˈli-tik\
Function: adjective
Date: 1836 :
causing, involving, or relating to catalysis — cat·a·lyt·i·cal·ly \-ˈli-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Artwork: The Power of Prayer by Danny Hahlbohm @http://www.allposters.com/gallery

Hunger for The Kingdom Of Heaven

Today people are turning away from many local churches and seeking new gatherings of believers where the presence, power and work of the Kingdom of Heaven is evident from the fresh presence and work of the Holy Spirit among them. People always prefer the new wine, the fresh oil and manna from God because there is life in it that begins life in everything it touches.

They are also hungering for the restoration of relationships with God and other believers. The people of this generation want more than nice people with a form of religion just as those in the New Testament did. 2 Tim 3:4-5 ...Rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! NKJV

In the book of Acts there are repeated references of the believers being filled with the Holy Spirit? These references are in two basic categories:
1. The baptism of the Holy Spirit or initial experience
2. Fresh fillings of the Spirit as the believers gathered and God worked in and through them by His Spirit.
These fresh fillings were the proof that the Spirit and life of God were present and at work. The "Kingdom of Heaven" or "Kingdom of God" is at the very heart of all Jesus did and said. In fact, you could say that His teaching was the proclamation and His actions or works were the doing or demonstration of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus did His signs and wonders by the Spirits Power and the Father’s authority.
Phil 2:5-11 speak about him humbling himself. His water baptism with the Spirit coming on Him shows us that He did theses mighty signs by the Spirit's power.
John 17 Jesus proclaims that He has done all that the father commanded.

When we read the Gospels and the New Testament, we repeatedly see the terms "Kingdom of Heaven" used 32 times in Matthew and "Kingdom of God" used 70 times from Matthew to II Thessalonians. This concept, more than any other, depicts the impact and purpose of Jesus coming.
The Jewish people longed for Messiah to come and to restore Israel as an independent state with God ruling over His people. Throughout the intertestamental period or that period between the Old and New Testaments leaders rose up who had as their primary purpose to see to it that Israel would be a free nation again.

God, however, had another plan. This plan was revealed in the Old Testament, but the true meaning was hidden from most. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them. In Acts 28:23-30 Paul teaches about the Kingdom of God and Jesus from the five books of Moses and the prophets. We know that the Old Testament law, sacrifices, and prophecies are but a shadow of what Jesus the Messiah (or the Christ) came to do and teach.

This Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus came to proclaim was not what many expected, an earthly Kingdom; it was instead the completion or fulfillment of what they should have expected, and because of this, it was even greater than their expectations.

Let’s look at few key verses in order to understand more about this Kingdom of God.
1. In Mk 1:15 we see Jesus telling us the time is fulfilled (there is no more waiting needed); the kingdom of God is near; turn from your sins and believe the good news (Gospel).
2. In I Cor. 15:50 Paul tells those to whom he is writing that flesh and blood cannot inherit this kingdom because the flesh does not last forever.
3. In Acts 28:23-30 it says that if the people hear and obey the good news, they would be cured or mended by God. He would cause them to be well again. This would be healing for the whole person; this would include the body, the soul, and the spirit.

"The Gospel is more than asbestos underwear for the soul." It is about the restoration and freedom of people under the rule or reign of God as their savior and king or lord. The Kingdom of God as made evident in the New Testament is a Kingdom of people being moved by Holy Spirit of God.

If we are to have truly New Testament Church that can once again turn the world upside down and reach this generation with Gospel message of life, it must be one in the power of the Spirit. Let me repeat what I said earlier. The people of this generation want more than nice people with a form of religion just as those in the New Testament did. 2 Tim 3:4-5 ...Rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! NKJV They hunger for the life giving Spirit of the one true God to be present and at work in and around their lives, just like God planned when He created them! They desire relationship with God that is alive and vibrant not stale.

Will you join me in asking God to give us Spirit filled Churches and leaders who will never be the same because of their own encounters with God, which will result that this generation can taste and see that Lord is good and they can discover Him in all His splendor, majesty and be in awe that He chooses to work through and with us?

The Kingdom of Heaven requires the Spirit of the King working in us and through us to others.!

To you it has been granted ...

To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,

NASU

Mt 13:11a

I Believe in...

Someone asked me how I would describe my outlook on life as a Christian. Below is a partial answer.

I Believe
1. In a passionate pursuit of knowing, experiencing and enjoying God and in bringing others along on the adventure;

2. In equipping, mending, nurturing, building up, challenging,
releasing, mentoring, inspiring, motivating and encouraging the
people around me;

3. In being a servant leader who will be responsible and accountable to the team I am a part of;

4. In the unfolding, creative, and fresh work of God for every group of people;

5. In dreaming and praying big while being faithful with those who are around you;

6. In allowing, encouraging and supporting others to follow the calling and dreams in their life;

7. In working hard to do my part and allowing God to do His;

8. In the wonder of God's endless, creative and unique style of accomplishing His will among people;

9. In one day hearing Him say, well done you who have been a good and faithful servant.

10. In the local gathering of believers (Church) as the starting place to accomplish all that Jesus began to do and teach.

You can find more information about me and the Equippers Network at my blog sites:
The Equippers Network Ministry Hub http://equippersnetwork.com/ this site is the home base for all of my blogs and has the Equippers Network ministry Mission and Vision spelled out.

It is all by His Grace
The Equipper

Artwork, Walking in the Light by Graham Braddock
http://www.christian-artprints.com/

The Lost Art of Practicing His Presence

The Presence of God in the Life of each believer is to be enjoyed as well as cherished. We would do well to develop our relationship with God above all others. When we do we will not be blown about by every new wind of doctrine or be influenced by the opinions of others, instead of being influenced by the Word of God.

Passionate Spirit filled and led disciples will thrive as they learn to dwell in the presence of God and the truth of His Word. These must become more important to us than the influence of friends and the current fad or ways of the World. There are several good classic books on God's presence.

A new book that will help you build up your walk with God is"The Lost Art of Practicing His Presence"by James W. Goll.

Your heart has been created for the Presence of God, and it is not complete without His Presence living within. Nay-sayers try to convince you that His Presence is elusive and subjective, but their voice is silenced by the desire yearning from within for a union with your Lord and Creator. As a credible response for those who want to fill that inner void with His perfect union, The Lost Art of Practicing His Presence was written.

Click on the link below to read my whole article on theis book. http://equipperstoolbox.blogspot.com/

Catch a Vision of Him then You can Fulfill His Call

What is your perception of God? Is it grand and full of wonder? Or is it small and common place. The Bible gives us several glimpses of God that reveal his majesty power and greatness. These passages display the wonder of His might and His Glory.

Catch the Vision
If we are to grasp the Call of God on our life we must understand His majesty and greatness. We some times say He is the creator and sustainer of our faith in quoting from the Book of Hebrews. But when is the last time you had a reminder of God as Creator of all that exist?

Job 38:4-5 Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Declare to Me, if you have and know understanding. Who determined the measures of the earth, if you know? Or who stretched the measuring line upon it? AMP

Read all of Job chapters 38-42 to get the full picture.

My Job Encounter: Can you keep your lungs and eyes working? Early in my walk with God I had made a bad choice and I had a God encounter that forever changed my walk with God. God reminded me of what I had learned in high school about the workings of my eyes in all of the details. Then He asked if I wanted to keep them working? He then went on to my lungs and once again reminded me in detail of how they worked and He asked me again if I wanted to keep them working. Realizing that on my own I could not I was struck with awe and fear. My relationship with God took a giant step on that day. I had a renewed and clear understanding of His might, majesty and holiness.

Rev 1:12-16 Our next scriptural view of God's Majesty today is this passage.
12 Then I turned to see [whose was] the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lamp stands, 13 And in the midst of the lamp stands [One] like a Son of Man, clothed with a robe which reached to His feet and with a girdle of gold about His breast.

Dan 7:13; 10:5. 14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, [as white] as snow, and His eyes [flashed] like a flame of fire. [Dan 7:9.] 15 His feet glowed like burnished (bright) bronze as it is refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.

[Dan 10:6.] 16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and from His mouth there came forth a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full power at midday. [Ex 34:29.] AMP

Read all of Revelation chapters 1-5 to get a start of this inside look at the wonder of God and His workings. Answer the call Isa 6:1-3 and 6:8 This passage brings the majesty of God into a new context.
...I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying: 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" NIV

The end result of a clear revelation of the majesty and power of God should be awe, fear and a willingness to do what He ask of desires with all of our strength and might. It should fire us up to run the race that is set before us!

Run the Race to Win and Fulfill the Call
When we begin to have the eyes of our heart opened and begin to comprehend the power and work of God within us, when we review the great cloud of witnesses that have gone before us and are reminded of the price Jesus paid for His victory on our behalf we are motivated to not grow weary and lose heart but to look to Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith and the originator of our Call for all that is needed to Fulfill the Call!

Ephesians 1:18-22 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Heb 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. NIV

Will you answer His call today?

He is waiting to hear your reply!

Artwork "Manifold Majesty" by Graham Braddock @ http://www.majesticartworks.com/

Equippers Network Ministry Hub Launch

Equippers Network Ministry Hub has been launched. You can click on the link below or above to read the whole thing. Below is the beginning. http://www.equippersnetwork.com

MINISTRY OBJECTIVE/OVERVIEW

"Empowering churches, Individual believers, Market place and Ministry leaders to fulfill God's heart in the earth today according to Ephesians 4:11 -13 To:
1. Fulfill their call to release the Life of Jesus among the people of the earth.
2. Build up fellow believers/followers of Jesus.
3. Encourage and assist believers to grow into maturity, reaching the full stature of Christ."

The Equippers Network exists to help you fulfill God's calling and to minister His revolutionary life today. We are experiencing a dramatic change in ideas or practice in the Church today as we seek to fulfill God's plan to make disciples of all nations.

George Barna states in Growing True Disciples; "We need to be igniting and nurturing people’s passion for God and get out of their way.” Those with a unique Vision, those who are called by God need continuous mentoring and training if they are to be sent forth as radical, healthy people of the Spirit who are focused on accomplishing what Jesus has called them to at all cost.

The Equippers Network Vision is to mend, equip, train, mentor and release people into cutting edge Spirit led ministry that flows from God's heart. My passion is to help believers fulfill to the fullest measure God's Call on their life by Coaching and Training them as God works in them, so that they can fulfill Ephesians 4:12-13 to:

1. Birth, Develop and Mature the calling or assignment God has given them vision for.
2. Build up believers by means of connecting them with others who are seeking to fulfill God’s vision for their life.

3. Bring believers to Maturity as passionate followers of Jesus the Messiah by means of Relational Discipleship, Coaching, Mentoring, and Hands on Training and Teaching.

God the Great Creator has given us the His unique ability to create and have the vision to create ministry. These Creative Visions for Ministries flow from His calling in the believer’s life and all that he has created us to uniquely be by His grace and power working in us.

Go to Equippers Network new Ministry Hub @ http://www.equippersnetwork.com/ to read all about it!

It is All by His Grace
The Equipper

What Does Success Look Like at Your Church (Revisited)

When you look at your church and its core values and vision how would you define success?

How would you compare the success of your church's core values and vision with the priorities of Jesus and the teachings of scripture?

When people meet you or the people that attend your church do they want to come and see what Jesus is doing among you?

Has your church gotten stuck in a cultural or generation version of the Christian life that is no longer appealing to those seeking Jesus?

One place to evaluate success in the local church is to examine the priorities of Jesus and the New Testament writers. Another way to evaluate Biblical success is to study the lives of people in the Old Testament who were considered pleasing and favored of God.

Scripture points to two specific areas that make a person pleasing to God in the Old Testament.
1. The first is having 'a heart after God' 1 Sa 13:14: But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command." NIV.
2. The second is obedience to God's Word. 1 Sam 15:22: Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. NIV

Jesus also came 'to do the will of the Father' powered by the Holy Spirit.
1. In fact Phil 2:5-11 says that Jesus humbled or emptied Himself. 'Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. NASU'
2. He operated by the father’s authority and the Holy Spirit's power so that he would be the perfect model for us. Jn 17:4 “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. NASU
3. Mt 3:16-17: 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." NIV

The next two places we need to look are the command of Jesus and teaching of the Apostles.
1.First, to continue His work by making disciples of all nations. Mt 28:19-20, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."NIV
2. Second, to equip God’s people. Eph 4:11-13, And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. NASU
__________________________________________________________
If you evaluate what we are doing and compare it with these verses, how is your church doing?
Is the next generation of leaders flourishing among us or are they being driven away or held in captivity to our old ways of doing things?
__________________________________________________________
We are commanded to be making, equipping and releasing into leadership the next group or generation of disciples on a continual basis.
We should follow the model of Paul and continue our relationship as partners and co-laborers with the next generation of leaders as we release them to lead and make disciples of all nations.
This will assure them of support and help them to continue the work that Jesus began to do and teach us about!
__________________________________________________________
We will need to allow them their vision and their God inspired methods. New wine needs new wineskins! God is raising up young Davids and Debras. They should be doing Great exploits for God and not starting God's work over again.

Can it be said of us that we are equipping the next generation to do great and mighty things and become men and women of valor as they do the will of the Father, empowered by the Holy Spirit in our world today?

IF WE CAN SAY YES, THAT IS SUCCESS!