We are Moving Forward

hon·or

ˈänər

noun

1. 1.

   high respect; esteem.

   "his portrait hangs in the place of honor"

   synonyms:

   distinction, recognition, privilege, glory, kudos, cachet, prestige, merit,credit;
2. 2.

   a privilege.

   "the great poet of whom it is my honor to speak tonight"

   synonyms:

   privilege, pleasure, pride, joy;

verb

1. 1.

   regard with great respect.

   "Joyce has now learned to honor her father's memory"

   synonyms:

   esteem, respect, admire, defer to, look up to;
2. 2.

   fulfill (an obligation) or keep (an agreement). 

   "make sure the franchisees honor the terms of the contract"

   synonyms:

   fulfill, observe, keep, obey, heed, follow, carry out, discharge,implement, execute, effect;

this is the official definition according to Miriam Webster, but what we learned last weekend was so much more. 

Pastor said it like this: 

"Honor elevates everything around it."

If you are a person of honor God will answer when you pray. Think that this is a bold statement... then look at our key text 1 Chron 4:9 - Now Jabez was more Honorable than his brothers... this is the reason God answered his prayers!

So what does this mean for us? We as the Dream Team get to lead the people in Honor! when Pastor Randy Speaks we pull on the word. We Get excited about the Teaching and we show it. We tithe and give offerings, and we pray for our Pastor that God would give him the grace to deliver the word with excellence.

We want to better equip you as leaders to do better in any area so be on the lookout for more changes coming to the blog, including a new blog page! no longer will you have to remember the super long address to sign on to this blog! Our new blog will be fresnodt.wordpress.com super easy right!  

Building!

Hey volunteers there are just 2 more weekends left in the recruit 1 campaign! Did you know by recruiting you are actually doing the word of God? In his last message to the disciples Jesus told them to go and make disciples. Even as far back as the garden of Eden God told Adam that he was to go and multiply!! We thought that you could use an encouraging word in this aria and one of the best builders of teams on the planet has something to say on the subject.

Check out what John Maxwell has to say about building leadership:

Anyone who has constructed sandcastles knows how fragile they can be. Minutes after they’re made, incoming waves swoop in to swallow them up and wash them away. Sadly, many leaders’ legacies suffer the same fate. They diligently build an organization for years only to see it disintegrate as soon as they've gone.
There is no lasting success without successors. If you do not identify, equip, and develop a leader to carry on the work you have begun, then it’s likely to unravel once you transition elsewhere. As Max De Pree has said, “Succession is one of the key responsibilities of leadership.”

Training a successor is difficult because they usually make mistakes early on. As the incumbent leader, it feels as if everything will go more smoothly if you just stay in the driver’s seat. In fact, it will go easier. That is, until you leave, and then everything is in danger of falling apart. It may take a successor several months to get acquainted with new leadership responsibilities. While the road may be rocky at first, eventually they will learn the skills needed to lead and can be trusted to successfully guide the organization in your absence.
However, training a successor isn't just a last-minute chore—something to do on the way out the door. Rather, you can prepare your successor now through the character you display, the choices you make, and the seeds you sow.

1) Character

Having character means being and becoming a moral example. As leaders, we teach what we know, but we reproduce what we are. In other words, people do what people see. Integrity—being true to yourself—and honesty—being truthful with others—are two traits essential to character. When your life and work displays impeccable character, then your example will linger on in the hearts and minds of your teammates long after you have departed.

2. Choices 

Obviously, the consequences of our choices have repercussions, but our approach to decision-making also impacts others. To make the right decisions consistently, we can’t let external influence or peer pressure cause us to ignore our conscience and do something unethical. Instead, we must be guided by vision and values. When developing successors, show them how to think clearly about options and how to select carefully among alternatives. That is, share the process by which you draw on your knowledge, experiences, moral conscience, and sense of purpose to make difficult decisions.

3. Consequences

Whether positive or negative, our actions have consequences. Yesterday’s bad choices cause us to spend today repairing the messes we've made, whereas the wise choices of the past position us to take advantage of today’s opportunities. Success is based on the seeds you sow, not the harvest you reap. If you sow wisely and diligently, the harvest is automatic. Sow daily in the lives of others, by adding value to them, and your investment will compound over time.


Thought to Ponder
Whose influence has shaped your life and leadership in a profoundly positive way? What enabled him or her to make such an impact on you?

Truly a Year like no other

I came across this blog today and thought what better than to let everyone in on this little secret....and keep this in mind, that this year is going to be different IF you position your self for the blessing. You position your self by renewing your mind. with that thought check out what Pastor Kong He has to say on the subject of fulfilled promises.

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life."
Prov. 13:12

Very often, well-meaning Christians hear the preaching of the Word and they are promised, "that God will fulfill our dreams and visions ... that God will grant us the desires of our hearts."

Yet how many of us have promises that we are standing on, that are yet to be fulfilled?When promises for our lives are not fulfilled, we can become easily discouraged. We also become susceptible to the devil's attacks and may start to doubt God's love and faithfulness toward us.

Too often I have see many discouraged ones grow to despise the Word of the Lord in their lives because of unfulfilled promises, becoming hardened, cynical, negative and full of unbelief.

When I was growing up as a young man in church during the 1980's, I had many friends who were just like me. We had a call, a destiny. We were on fire. Many of us attended Bible colleges and night classes to study more of God's Word.

We all had promises and powerful prophecies given to us. Some of us were prophesied to be evangelists, prophets and have great ministries for the Lord! But time past ... and the promises were not fulfilled.

Some of my peers eventually walked out of God's will for their lives, while others ended up on the sideline watching Christianity as spectators.

Just how did I get through that period of discouragement and wait out the fulfillment of God's promises in my life? How do we get the promises of God released into our lives?

ABRAHAM: THE MAN WITH GREAT PROMISES FROM GOD

You know, Abraham spent a great part of His life waiting for his promises to be fulfilled."Now the Lord had said to Abram:

"Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you." Gen. 12:1

"So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him ... And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran." Gen. 12:4

Bible scholars tell us that this was not the first time that God called him out. Apparently, the first time God spoke to Abram was 25 years earlier.

Now, what exactly did God promise him? If you will read in verses 2 and 3, you will see that there are exactly 7 promises given to Abram. But most of these promises were not fulfilled immediately.

You see, to become a great nation, you've first got to have many descendants. But how can you talk about descendants when you don't even have a son?

Abraham didn't have his son Isaac until he was 100 years old! God's promise to give him a son took 25-50 years to come to pass!

IT IS EASY TO PROSPER IN MATERIAL THINGS!

While the promise of a son took a long time to come to pass, the promise of prosperity was very quickly fulfilled in Abraham's life!

The truth is, prosperity and financial miracles occur most frequently. Yet, the devil deceives us into thinking that it is rare for God to work financial miracles. Just look at the next few verses:

"Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South.Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold." Gen. 13:1-2

"Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together." Gen. 13:6

Friends, here is something about prosperity that we don't realize. It doesn't take a lot of faith to enter into prosperity. The money that we put into our offering bucket ... God calls it a seed. The Bible says that when you sow a seed, you'll reap a harvest.

Now, do you think a farmer must be a great man of faith to harvest a crop? No! The power of reproduction is in the seed. If you take a good seed and sow it into good ground ... whether you have faith or not ... it will grow into a harvest!

It doesn't take nearly as much faith as a lot of people think. What does it take to have prosperity in the Lord? It basically takes obedience to His Word!

God says, "Give, and it will be given to you!" The moment that financial seed goes into the ground, there is power in that seed to do the rest of the work. You don't need faith in that seed, you just need faith in the Word!

Entering into prosperity is not difficult: it just takes simple OBEDIENCE to God's Word.Pay your tithe faithfully, give your offerings generously, don't make it a habit to get into debt, keep your life in order. If you observe the Laws of the Harvest, you WILL get a big harvest!While God's promise of prosperity was fulfilled in Abraham's life, the rest of the promises did not come to pass.

DIFFERENT POWER FOR DIFFERENT PROMISES!

There are certain promises that all of hell will rise up to stop from being fulfilled. One of those is the promise of a great nation that will bless the whole world. All of hell rose up to fight that one! Then all of a sudden, 3 simple things happened in Abraham's life.  Abraham responded correctly to these 3 things and saw the "After" come into his life (refer to the teaching from the last night of fasting 1-29-14). When that "After" came, all the promises of God came flooding into his life!

"After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." Gen. 15:1

Abraham had come to a point where he felt like giving up ...

"But Abram said, "Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" Gen. 15:2-3

If you cannot see it, you will never have it. You can have stacks and stacks of prophecies given to you, but until you can see your vision through the eyes of your spirit ... it will never come to pass! Now, without a vision the people perish. The devil will do his utmost to stop you from seeing the fulfillment of your promise.