Amen. All right. Well, thank you very much for being here tonight. It's always a pleasure, of course, to be at Faithful Wood Baptist Church, and I want to just begin, of course, by thanking Pastor Anderson and Ms. Susana, of course, their dear friends, close friends to us, and I always appreciate the invitation and to be able to be here, and I want to say, of course, also thank you to Brother Chris and Brother Corbin for all of the just hospitality,
and it's a great, great crowd here on a Wednesday night, and I appreciate you coming. I think last year I came towards the end of the MEGA conference, and this year I'm at the beginning, so the good thing for me is that if I don't preach a good sermon, you've got like ten other preachers coming, and you won't remember it, so that'll be good.
But I appreciate the opportunity to be here. I have my oldest son with me, Joshua, tonight, and we are planning on being here for the missions conference, and I think for the missions conference I'll have my entire family for, I think, the entire week or most of the week, so we're looking forward to that as well.
I'd like you to look down at the last verse in the chapter there, 1 Timothy chapter 4, and verse number 16. The Bible says,
And tonight I'm preaching on a subject that is a subject that is interesting to me, something that I like to think a lot about, something that I like to study about, something that I've been studying about recently,
and I'm preaching on the subject of leadership, and not just leadership, but I'm specifically preaching on the subject of self-leadership, and the reason that I want to show you this verse here in 1 Timothy chapter 4, in verse 16, if you notice just the first part of the verse, it says,
That word heed means to pay attention to, or to notice, to give concern to, and I want you to notice here in 1 Timothy 4.16, we are commanded, the apostle Paul writing under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, speaking to a young leader, Timothy, of course in this pastoral epistle, he gives him this advice to take heed unto thyself.
I'd like you to keep your place there in 1 Timothy chapter 4, we're going to come right back to it, but go with me real quickly to the Gospel of Luke, towards the beginning of the New Testament, you've got Matthew, Mark, and then the Gospel of Luke, Luke chapter 17.
I want you to notice that this phrase, or this idea, of taking heed unto yourself is seen throughout the Bible, Luke chapter 17, in verse number 3.
I want you to notice what the Bible says here, Luke 17.3, the Bible says, take heed, this is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking, he said, take heed to yourselves.
Notice it's very similar to what Paul said in 1 Timothy 4.16, take heed unto thyself. Luke 17.3, take heed to yourselves.
Go to Acts chapter 20, if you would, Acts chapter 20, and verse number 28, you're there in Luke, you'll go past John, into the book of Acts, Acts chapter 20.
Do me a favor, when you get to Acts, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there, because we're going to leave it and come back to it, and I'd like you to be able to get to those passages quickly.
In Acts chapter 4 and Acts chapter 20, I want you to notice that in Acts chapter 20, like 1 Timothy 4, we again have the apostle Paul speaking to leaders.
In Acts chapter 20, he has gathered the elders of Ephesus together, and in Acts 20 and verse 28, he gives them this challenge, he says,
take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
So I want you to notice that this phrase is seen throughout the Bible, take heed unto thyself, take heed to yourself, take heed therefore unto yourself.
And when I see that phrase, I think of self-leadership, this idea that we are to be concerned with ourselves.
We are to notice, take notice, take concern for our own selves.
Now, keep your place there if you would. Acts chapter 20, go back to 1 Timothy chapter 4.
Just by way of introduction, let me just make a couple of statements regarding this idea of self-leadership.
Because maybe you're here tonight and you're thinking, why should I care about this, or why would this be of any benefit to me?
And let me just speak to those of you, to those of us that are leaders.
A self-leadership is important for those of us that are leaders.
Now, maybe you're here tonight and you think, you say, I don't know if I'm a leader, but please understand this.
If you are anybody who's following you or anybody that is looking towards you for any sort of direction, then you are a leader.
It's not just the pastor who's a leader, although of course a pastor is a spiritual leader.
It's not just the deacon who's a leader, although the deacon holds a position of leadership.
But every husband is a leader. Every father is a leader. Every mother is a leader.
Every older sibling is a leader, even to younger siblings.
And you might be surprised where you find yourself in a leadership position.
And the reason that you need to concern yourself with this idea of self-leadership is because self-leadership and proper self-leadership is the only way to be a leader worth following.
I mean, we all know, if you've lived for any sort of length of time, we all know that guy, right?
He may have a position of leadership. He may have a title of leadership.
He's got the title of manager or he's got the title of foreman. He's got the title of business owner or the title of CEO.
We even know some who have the title of pastor and they have the position of leadership, but their lives are a mess.
Their lives are not something that we would want to respect or emulate or want to honor.
And the truth is this, that self-leadership and proper self-leadership is the only way to be a leader worth following.
Are you there in 1 Timothy 4? Look at verse 16 again. Notice what it says.
Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine. Continue in them. Notice these words.
For in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, notice the last part of the verse, and them that hear thee.
The truth is this, that self-leadership is the only way to be a leader worth following.
And in the Bible we have this principle, this idea regarding leadership.
That leadership always begins from the most inward part and it moves outward.
Leadership always begins in the most inward part and it moves outward.
We have an example of this right here in the book of 1 Timothy.
You're there in 1 Timothy 4. Look back to 1 Timothy 3. Just real quickly, 1 Timothy 3.
Of course in 1 Timothy 3 you've got the passage regarding the pastoral qualifications and the qualifications that somebody has to meet in order to be a pastor.
Notice what the Bible says in 1 Timothy 3 and verse 4.
The Bible says, one that ruleth well his own house. This is referring to someone who would potentially be a pastor.
One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity.
Notice verse 5, for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?
And here we see the principle in application.
The idea is this, that if you cannot rule your own house, how would you be able to rule the house of God?
And the idea is this, that leadership always begins inwardly first and then moves outwardly.
Now we can take it a step further and say this, that if you cannot rule yourself, how could you rule your house?
And if you cannot rule your house, how could you rule the house of God?
And the idea is this, that self-leadership is required for anyone who wants to be a leader
because self-leadership and proper execution of self-leadership is the only way to be a leader worth following.
You must be able to lead yourself well before you can lead others well.
The Bible says this, he that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls.
It is a city that is open for attack. It is a city that is vulnerable.
And we must become good at leading ourselves.
So self-leadership is something that is needed if you are going to be a leader worth following.
But let me just say this, because some of you are here tonight and you're saying,
well then this definitely doesn't apply to me because I'm not married and I don't have children
and they haven't given me a promotion in years and no one's looking at me for leadership
and no one's looking at me for any sort of direction.
But let me say this, not only is self-leadership needed for a leader to become someone worth following,
but self-leadership is needed if you are going to succeed in life.
Notice it again, 1 Timothy 4, 16, take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine, continue in them.
Notice this phrase, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee.
The idea is this, and of course the save there is not talking about spiritual salvation, not talking about going to heaven.
The idea is this, that if we are to save our lives, if we are to make the most out of our lives,
if we are to reach our full potential, we must take heed unto ourselves.
And even if you're here and you say, I do not lead in any sort of capacity, let me say this,
that is not true because you lead at least one person and it is yourself.
And wouldn't you say that the person that stares at you in the mirror is the most difficult person to lead?
I mean wouldn't you say that the person that you have the most trouble with when it comes to leadership
is the one that stares at you in your reflection?
So self-leadership is something that we must master.
Self-leadership is something that we must get a hold of if we are to succeed in the Christian life.
Yes, for those of us that are leaders, because it is the only way to become a leader worth following,
but even more than that, it is the only way to reach your full potential.
It's the only way to succeed in life.
So what I'd like to do tonight is I'd like to give you three principles regarding this idea of self-leadership.
Three principles that should be able to guide you in the attempt to lead yourself well.
And if you're taking notes, and I always encourage you to take notes, then maybe you can jot these down
and you can use these as a reference for yourself to help yourself to be able to lead yourself well.
Now I'd like you to go to Proverbs if you would. Proverbs chapter 29.
If you open up your Bible just right in the center, you're more than likely following the book of Psalms.
Right after Psalms you have the book of Proverbs.
Brother Chris made sure to tell me that there was a clean rag here for me because I think last year I took somebody else's.
So I'll use this one and then I'll leave this one for the next preacher and then we can sell it on eBay or something.
Principles of self-leadership. I'd like to give you three principles regarding the idea of self-leadership.
Number one, first principle of self-leadership is the principle of direction.
The first self-leadership principle that I want you to grasp tonight or understand tonight is the principle of direction.
In Proverbs 29 and verse 18, it's a very well-known verse. I'm sure you've heard it before.
Proverbs 29 and 18, the Bible says this,
Where there is no vision, the people perish.
But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Now you're there in Proverbs 29. Do me a favor. Keep your place there in Proverbs.
You can go ahead and lose your place in 1 Timothy. We're not going to go back to 1 Timothy.
Keep your place in Proverbs. Keep your place in Acts.
Those are the only places I'm going to ask you to keep your place and I'll be done with those announcements.
But keep your place there in Proverbs 29.
I want you to notice that the Bible says this,
Where there is no vision, the people perish.
And the reason that I bring you to this verse to talk about the principle of direction
is because you and I need to understand that no one builds anything by accident.
Nothing ever gets built by mistake.
Today I was having lunch with brother Chris Segura and he was telling me about his trip to Dubai
and he was telling me about all the different adventures and things he had there.
One of the things he was telling me about was how impressive the buildings are there.
And they constructed these massive skyscrapers and they're very impressive.
But I will submit to you tonight that no one ever built anything.
It doesn't matter if it's a giant skyscraper or if it's a sand castle on the shore of a beach done by a six-year-old kid.
Nothing ever got built by mistake.
No one ever woke up one day and said,
Well, you know, I didn't intend to do this, but look, I built a bridge.
I don't know how it happened, but notice this building, notice this skyscraper, notice this house.
Notice the truth is this, that no one builds anything by accident.
You say, how do things get built?
Somebody gets a vision.
Somebody begins to dream.
Somebody begins to think to themselves,
Hey, we could do this, we could accomplish this.
Here are the plans, here are the ways that this could be done.
And though we understand that when it comes structurally, we understand that when it comes to a building,
I want you to understand that it is the same in every area of life.
If you're going to build a family for the glory of God, it's not going to happen by mistake.
It's not going to happen by accident.
If you're going to build a marriage that is honoring to the Lord, it's not going to happen by mistake.
If you're going to build a business, it's not going to happen by mistake.
Maybe there are some young men here tonight who desire to go into the ministry
and they look at a church like this church, Faithful Word Baptist Church, and the great, amazing ministry that it is.
Please understand that this was not built by mistake.
This was not built by just this kind of wishy-washy, just kind of aiming at nothing, trying.
You don't knock every door in an entire state without having a vision.
You don't start churches and have mission trips.
You don't have hundreds and thousands of salvation without somebody getting a vision
because the Bible says where there is no vision, the people perish.
And when it comes to soul winning, that's very literal.
I want you to understand that the first principle of self-leadership, it is the principle of direction.
You've got to get a vision.
You're there in Proverbs. Keep your place there in Proverbs.
If you kept your place in Acts, go from Acts to Ephesians.
Acts, Romans, 1, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians.
Ephesians chapter 3.
You ought to dream.
You ought to get a dream for your life.
You ought to get a vision for your life.
You parents, you ought to get a dream for your children.
The Bible says, you go to Ephesians, but in Psalm 45, 16, the Bible says,
Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
The Bible says that we have the ability to make our children princes.
The idea there of being a prince is not royalty.
It's the idea of being first or being ahead.
The same wording as principality.
The idea is that we can help our children, like it was said of Daniel and the three Hebrew children,
that they were ten times better.
But you need to understand that none of that happens by accident.
None of that happens by mistake.
You and I, if we're going to lead ourselves well, we've got to get a vision.
Here's what I want to say to you.
I want to say, dream big.
Someone said it this way, attempt great things for God, expect great things from God.
Ephesians 3 and verse 20, are you there? Look at it.
Ephesians 3, 20, the Bible says this about God,
Now unto him that is able, now unto him that is able, notice it,
to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us.
You know, I think the problem that we have is that sometimes we have too small of a vision.
Sometimes we don't dream big enough.
And as Christians, I want to encourage you tonight to get some dreams and get some big dreams
and get some dreams regarding your spiritual life.
Get some dreams regarding your family.
Get some dreams regarding whatever ministries that you're involved in and that you're a part of.
Hey, get some dreams because let me tell you something.
God is bigger than the biggest dream you have.
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.
Whatever dream you have, God is bigger than that dream.
Whatever idea you have, God is bigger than that idea.
I want to encourage you to dream big.
I like in the Old Testament the story of Elijah and Elisha
when Elijah told Elisha that he was getting ready to go.
And he said, Elisha, ask for whatever you want.
And if you see me go, when I go, then you'll get it.
And Elisha, he said, I want a double portion of your spirit.
And this was Elisha talking to one of the greatest men in all of the Bible, the prophet Elijah.
He said, what's your dream, Elisha?
He said, I want a double portion of what you have.
And I like what Elijah said to Elisha when he said, thou has asked a hard thing, nevertheless.
He said, that's really hard.
That's very difficult.
That's not going to be easy.
But he said, we have a God that can do the difficult.
We have a God that can do that which is not easy.
And I want to encourage you tonight, you ought to dream.
And you ought to dream big.
You ought to have a big dream.
Now, oftentimes we think so small.
Oftentimes I talk to parents as a pastor.
I do a lot of helping parents and sometimes giving them counsel and advice and things.
And I've learned that a lot of times parents, they get this idea that if they can just provide a house,
if they can provide a shelter, if they can provide clothes,
if they can provide three square meals a day for 18 years and the kid, you know, doesn't die,
then they've succeeded.
And don't misunderstand me.
It is important to provide shelter.
It is important to provide clothing.
It is important to provide three square healthy meals a day.
But if that's your dream, if that's your vision, if that's your standard of what good parenting is,
are you really accomplishing much more than the state penetration?
I mean the local jails?
I'm talking about the prison system.
Don't they provide shelter?
Don't they provide clothing?
Don't they provide three square meals a day?
I'm just here to tell you, maybe you ought to get a dream.
Maybe you ought to dream big.
Maybe you ought to have a dream for what God can do in your life and with your family and with your influence
and with the time that God has given you.
Now here's one reason why I think we tend to aim low.
And let me tell you something.
You've got a pastor here who aims high every time.
And I've never known a man who's got who.
His idea is if we're going to do it, go big.
I mean I think he even preached a sermon, go big or go home.
And that's how Pastor Anderson is.
He's just bigger than life.
If he's going to do it, it's going to be big, it's going to be hard, it's going to be difficult.
And look, that's how all of us ought to live our lives.
Now why is it that we oftentimes do not?
We aim low.
We just kind of get this idea like, well this is good enough.
Where I'm at is good enough.
What I'm doing is good enough.
What I'm accomplishing is good enough.
Why do we stay there?
It is because of a lack of faith.
I mean let's just be honest.
It's a lack of faith.
Look down at a verse again, Ephesians 3.20.
Now unto Him, I want you to notice these words, that is able.
Now unto Him that is able to do, exceeding, abundantly, above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us.
I want you to understand something.
Salvation is obviously something that is promised to us.
When it comes to faith regarding salvation, we believe that God will
because God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
The Bible promises salvation so our faith is a faith that believes that if we call upon Him for salvation
in faith, believing that He will save us, then He will because He said He would.
But please understand something.
The entire Christian life is a life of faith.
The Bible says the just shall live by faith.
Now the problem is that there are sometimes things that are not spelled out specifically in the Bible
regarding whether we should try or whether we should go or we're not sure regarding God's will in the matter.
So I want you to understand that when it comes to faith not connected to a specific promise in the Bible.
There are some things that are promised in the Bible.
God said it in the Bible and if God said it, that's it.
We just take it to the bank.
But when it comes to exercising faith in other areas, faith is not believing that God will.
It is simply believing that God can.
Now you say, well give me an example.
Okay, how about the three Hebrew children?
Remember when they were going to be thrown into the fiery furnace?
They said to Nebuchadnezzar, our God is able to deliver us.
I love that.
But you know what they said right after that?
They said, but if not, we're still not going to vow.
Why would they say that?
Because though God is able to deliver them, they did not know for sure that it was God's will to deliver them.
It may have been God's will for them to die in that fire.
It may have been God's will for them to not be delivered.
And here's all I'm saying to you, is that in the Christian life sometimes, like the fiery furnace,
the three young Hebrews in the fiery furnace,
we don't know exactly what the will of God may or may not be.
And in those instances, faith is not believing that God will, but it is believing that God can.
Because when we pray, our church family right now is praying for a little baby that's sick.
Tragic situation.
When we pray, not knowing what God's will is, we don't say, God you will and you must
and if you don't, I'll be angry and holding it. No, no, no.
Faith is this, believing that God can, and if God wills, God will.
But if God does not will, faith is believing that God knows best.
Faith is believing that God can, and faith is also believing that when God doesn't, it's because He knew best.
You say, why do you bring this up regarding self-leadership? Here's why.
Because faith is believing that God can.
See, the Bible tells us all over the Bible that God can.
You don't have to turn to these pageants. Let me just read them for you real quickly.
I'll just read a few of these for you.
Matthew 19, 26.
But Jesus beheld them and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Luke 1, 37.
For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Luke 18, 27.
And He said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
Genesis 18, 14.
Is anything too hard for the Lord?
See, faith is us simply saying God can.
Well, do you think God will? He will if He wants to.
We pray according to His will, but sometimes God's will is different than our will.
Sometimes God does deliver, and sometimes God lets Stephen, the first martyr in the New Testament, die.
Because it's God's will.
Faith is believing not that God will, but that God can.
And if you get a hold of that, if you realize that faith is believing that God can,
if you get a hold of these verses that say, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
For with God nothing shall be impossible.
The things that are impossible with men are possible with God.
If you get a hold of those verses, it should give you hope to be able to say,
to be able to say, It's possible.
It's possible.
You're praying for this baby. You think God will heal him?
I don't know what God's will is, but I can tell you this, it's possible.
We're in a contract right now.
We're getting ready to, maybe in the next six months or so, move into a new church facility.
Our church right now, on Sunday mornings, we run somewhere around 220, 230.
We're getting ready to move into a 400 seat auditorium.
Maybe in the next six months or so.
And since we've been moving in this direction, I've had some people in their hearts not in the wrong place,
but they'll ask, You think we can fill a 400 seat auditorium?
And my response is always this, It's possible.
I don't know that God will.
I know that God can, and I know that if we labor together with God, that God can do whatever God wants to do.
But here's the point, It's possible.
If we begin there with this idea, It's possible.
See, you may be here today, and you've been struggling with some sort of addiction or habitual sin,
and you've been struggling with it, and you've been wondering, Can I get victory in this area?
And you're discouraged and depressed, and you say, I don't even know that I can take the next step.
But can you begin here? It's possible. It's possible.
Maybe your marriage isn't doing well. Maybe it hasn't been doing well for a while.
And you're here on a Wednesday night because you think, We need church and we need God.
And I would say, You do need church and you do need God.
And you think, I'm not even sure if this will start, and I'm not even sure if this will work,
and I'm not even sure what the future holds for us.
But I will say this, Start here. It's possible. It's possible.
Is it possible to raise young people today? Is it possible to raise teenagers, to be young fundamentalists?
Is it possible to raise the next generation and to be able to give them?
I often tell our church family, There is no success without succession.
I'm glad that we are soul winning fundamentalists. I'm glad that we are King James only.
I'm glad that we are hard preaching. I'm glad that we take a strong stand against the Sodomite movement.
I'm glad for all of that. But if we do not hand that to the next generation, then it will be a failure.
And people think, In this day and age, is it possible to raise young people that go to the altered pure?
Is it possible to raise young people that take up the mantle like Elisha from Elijah,
and that will go out and become the next soul winning leaders of the new IFB?
Is it possible? And my response is, I don't know. But I can tell you this, It's possible.
I don't know that it will happen. I'm working for it to happen. I'm doing everything in my power.
And I know that every preacher and parent is doing the same. But we must begin there.
Why don't you dream big? You say, Why should I dream big? Because it's possible.
Because with men, it may be impossible. But with God, all things are possible.
You say, But can I do it? I don't know if you can do it. And I don't know if I can do it.
But I know this, that I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.
With men, it may be impossible. But you ought to get used to just saying this, It's possible.
Will God answer that prayer? I don't know if He will, but it's possible.
Will God part the Red Sea? Maybe He will. Maybe He won't. I know this, It's possible.
The principle of direction. No one builds anything by accident. You must get a vision for your future.
If you're there in Ephesians, go to Philippians if you would. Philippians chapter 3.
Not only does no one build anything by accident, therefore you must get a vision.
Let me say this, no one gets anywhere by accident, so you have to get a goal.
You don't get to a destination by aimlessly walking around doing nothing.
Now we understand that. I made it today from Sacramento, California to Phoenix, Arizona,
because I woke up this morning, my son and I woke up this morning with an intention to make it here.
That required some steps. It required us getting to the airport, it required us going through security,
it required us getting to the right gate for the right plane, it required us getting on that plane.
See, no one gets anywhere by accident. You're trying to get somewhere specifically, you have to get a goal.
And you say, well, I don't have any goals. Well, first let's begin with this, a vision.
Dream. Dream big. You say, why should I dream big? Because it's possible. It's possible.
You've got to dream big because it's possible. And then you've got to get a goal.
Notice there in Philippians chapter 3 and verse 12, the Bible says this, this is the apostle Paul speaking,
he says, not as though I had already attained. Now the apostle Paul is arguably the greatest soul winner,
the greatest missionary, the greatest evangelist that ever lived.
I mean, I'm not saying he's the greatest man who ever lived. Jesus said John was the greatest born of women.
But when it comes to ministry and starting churches and getting stuff done,
I mean, you could make the argument that Paul was probably the greatest when it came to soul winning,
church planting, missions work. And here's what he said.
There's a man that wrote much of the New Testament. He said, not as though I had already attained.
What does that mean? He says, I have not yet arrived. He said, I have not yet achieved.
He says, I have not yet succeeded. He said, not as though I had already attained.
Either we're already perfect, the word perfect means complete or whole or mature.
What does he say? Paul is saying, I still have some growing to do.
He said, I'm not already perfect. He says, but I follow after. I love that little phrase, I follow after.
That's the apostle Paul's way of saying, I'm working on it. He said, I'm not attained.
He said, I'm not perfect. He said, I'm not achieved. He said, but I follow after. I'm working at it.
If that, I may be apprehended for that which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Verse 13, brethren, he says, I count not myself to be apprehended.
Again, he says, I'm not achieved. I'm not attained. I'm not grasped.
He says, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth into those things which are before,
he says, I press toward the mark.
I think in this verse we find out the secret to the apostle Paul's success.
And it is this, that he had a direction. He knew where he was going.
He said, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
See, no one gets anywhere by accident. You have to have a goal. You have to have a direction.
You say, how do I get a direction? Well, begin with a dream.
Get a vision. Dream big. Why? Because it's possible.
And then get a goal. Get a direction. And start moving in that direction.
Because listen to me, no one gets anywhere by accident.
And here's what you need to understand.
Direction determines destination.
Directions, not intentions.
Because people will often, over 12 years of ministry, my wife and I have counseled many individuals,
and sometimes marriages that are falling apart, and people will make statements like this,
I never intended for my marriage of 20 years to end.
I never intended for this to happen with my children.
I never intended for X. I never intended for Y.
I never intended, look, you can go down to the prison and hear story after story of people saying,
I never intended to spend 10 years in prison.
I never intended. Homeless people do not intend to live homeless.
Addicted people do not intend to live in addiction.
No one wakes up as a young child and goes to school and has the conversation with all the different school kids there.
And nobody says, well, I want to grow up to be an astronaut.
I want to grow up to be the president of the United States.
I want to grow up to be a meth addict. That's my goal in life.
Nobody says that.
You say, well, how do people end up there? Why is it that there's so many people that have ended up where they never intended to be?
And it is this, because direction, not intentions, determine destination.
And though you never intended, you never intended to have a bad marriage, you had a lot of direction.
See, you may be leaning in a direction that is directing you towards divorce.
You never intended for that, but that's where you're leading.
You never intended for that, but that's where you're going.
No one gets anywhere by accident.
People, you look at a marriage, and it's a happy marriage, and it's a faithful marriage, and it's a great marriage,
and they, oh, well, they must have found the love of their life.
They must have found their soulmate.
No, they worked at it. They worked hard at it.
They put effort into that thing.
They decided, somebody decided, hey, we're going to have a godly, biblical, Christ-centered marriage.
So what direction are you headed?
What direction are you headed in your marriage, in your child-rearing, with your health, with your finances, spiritually?
Where are you headed?
Because if you're going to lead yourself well, you must understand the principle of direction.
No one builds anything by accident.
No one gets anywhere by accident.
You have to have a vision, and you have to move in that direction.
Paul said, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus.
Go to Romans chapter 12.
If you kept your place in Acts, right after Acts, you have the book of Romans, Romans chapter 12.
That's principle number one. I've got three of them.
I know it's hot, so I'll try to move quickly through the other two.
We're talking about principles for self-leadership.
The first principle was the principle of direction.
Here's the second principle. It is the principle of development.
The principle of development.
The Bible says, and common sense would tell you this, that we all have God-given natural gifts and talents.
Romans chapter 12 and verse 4, the Bible says this,
For as we have many members in one body,
This is of course talking about a local assembly, a church, using the illustration of a body regarding a church.
He says, for as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office.
Not all members have the same position. They might do different things.
He says, so we being many are one body in Christ, and everyone members one of another.
Notice verse 6.
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us.
The Bible says that you and I have different gifts.
Now, the Bible here specifically is talking about spiritual gifts.
The Bible teaches that when you got saved, the Holy Spirit came to indwell you, and then you were given some spiritual gifts.
But it's more than that. There are what I call spiritual gifts, and then there are natural gifts.
There are some things that you are innately talented in.
We could call them a gift or an aptitude, something that you're just naturally good at.
We all have God-given natural gifts.
You don't have to turn here. You stay there in Romans, but let me read to you from 1 Peter chapter 4.
The Bible says, as every man hath received the gifts, even so minister the same.
Verse 11 says, if any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.
If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God given.
We all have God-given natural gifts and talents.
I don't have to know you to know that you have a talent.
You have something that you are naturally or spiritually good at.
In Romans chapter 12, we have a list of some of these spiritual gifts.
In verse 6, we have the gift of prophecy. That's what we would call preaching.
Some people have a natural ability to be able to stand up.
They have an aptitude to be able to stand up in front of people and speak publicly.
That is something that some people naturally have and some people don't.
They're just talented in that way.
In verse 7, we have the gift of ministry. This is the gift of serving.
This might seem silly to you, maybe, I don't know, but I know that in ministry we have found
that we should all serve. But there are some people that just come naturally to that.
They actually enjoy it. They like being of service and they like to help and they have a gift of ministry.
Others have a gift of teaching. Same verse, verse 7.
A gift of teaching, an aptitude to teach and to be able to explain things and help people understand difficult concepts.
In verse 8, some people have a gift of exhortation. They're just good encouragers.
There are some people that if someone in the church is struggling, my wife and I, we want to get them around so-and-so
because we know so-and-so is going to encourage them.
There are other people that when somebody is struggling, we think, make sure they stay away from so-and-so.
Because so-and-so doesn't have the gift of a filter.
Because so-and-so doesn't have the gift of empathy.
We're not mad at so-and-so, but let's just not let them be around so-and-so.
Some people have a gift of exhortation. Some people have a gift of giving.
Now we should all give, but some people, they actually enjoy giving.
We really like those. The gift of giving. The pastors always like those that have the gift of giving.
Some people have the gift of ruling. Verse 8, he that ruleth.
This is, again, administration, leadership. Some people have the gift of mercy.
These are gifts that people have been given.
Let me just kind of help you with this idea of gift.
Sometimes people ask me, why do you know if you're gifted in something?
There's lots of ways, and it doesn't involve taking a survey online, although I'm not necessarily against that.
You say, how can I know if I have a gift, a spiritual gift or a natural gift?
Here's what I would say. If you're naturally good at something and it energizes you, it's probably a gift.
If you're not so good at something or it drains you, it's probably not a gift.
For example, I have a gift of ruling, or what the Bible would call ruling.
I would call it administration, organization. I'm a very organized individual.
Have you ever been to our church? Have you ever been to any of our events?
Obviously, all pastors are organized to some extent, but I tend to take it to an extreme.
But it's because it's just something that naturally comes to me.
To me, it's not draining. To some people, sitting there creating a to-do list and a plan and a sequence and this and that, a flowchart.
All those things would be very draining to them. But to me, they're not draining. They energize me. It's a gift.
So at our church with our staff, even though I'm the pastor,
I still generally oversee anything that requires some sort of planning and strategic planning.
I like to have my hands in that because it's just something I'm naturally gifted at.
It's something that energizes me. Where to others, it might drain them, to me it energizes me.
And there's things that other people get energized from that is kind of draining to me.
So we all have different gifts. We all have different abilities. We all have different things that God has given us.
Now when it comes to gifts, because we're talking about development, we're talking about self-development.
When it comes to gifts, there's this age-old controversy, right?
And people often like to, is it a talent or is it a skill?
Are they a gifted speaker because they're just talented and gifted in that area?
Or have they worked hard at it and just became a good public speaker?
Are they a gifted whatever just because it's talent, because it's natural, it's innate in them, it's natural?
Or have they worked hard at it? And what I would say to you to answer that question is this, it's both!
And look, just think athletically. Think of athletes, those of you that are worldly.
Think of the athletes that just stand out, right?
Because look, in every sport, everybody that plays professional anything is good at that.
I mean, right? Anybody who plays for the MLB is a good baseball player.
I mean, you can take the worst MLB player and put them at our Fourth of July softball league and they're going to just beat us all, right?
Anybody who plays anything professionally is good at that, but yet there are those who stand out, right?
The Michael Jordans, the Derek Jeters, the LeBron James, the Michael Phelps.
I mean, there are just some individuals that the fact that I know their name says something,
because I hate watching sports or knowing anything about sports.
And the fact that they become these household names.
How do you become a household name as a basketball player?
How do you become a household name as a golf player?
How do you become a household name as a swimmer?
I mean, how does that happen?
And here's what I want you to understand, that oftentimes what you and I do is when we're naturally good at something,
because we're naturally good at it, we tend to phone that in.
We tend to kind of not work very hard at it.
We tend to kind of just, well, I'm kind of good at it, right?
So I'm not going to work very hard in that. I'm just going to leave that to the last minute.
I'll just wing it.
And then what we like to do is we'll say, well, I'm not good at X.
I'm not good at Y. I'm not good at Z.
So I'm going to focus a lot of attention there trying to get that to be better.
But listen to me.
The secret to fulfilling your potential is not trying to get better at what you're not good at.
It's trying to get better at what you're naturally good at.
Because every pastor eventually becomes an okay speaker.
I mean, if you do it three times a week for 10 years, you're going to get better.
But not everybody is a Pastor Anderson.
Do you understand what I'm saying?
Some people are exceptional, not because they work at what they're not good at,
but because they find the thing they're good at and they work at it.
This is the principle of self-development.
It is the idea that you have to find what you're naturally gifted at, what you're naturally good at,
what comes natural to you or spiritually good at, spiritually to you, and then develop it.
See, when you look at Romans chapter 12, what's interesting to me about this passage about spiritual gifts
is that it's not just a list of spiritual gifts.
We usually, when we think of spiritual gifts, we think of Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and we say,
here's a list of spiritual gifts.
The interesting thing is that when you read it, you realize it's not a list of spiritual gifts.
Now, it does list spiritual gifts, but it's not given solely as a list of spiritual gifts.
You say, what is it given at?
It's given as a challenge to use your spiritual gifts.
Look at it, Romans 12, verse 6.
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, there's the gift of prophecy,
but why is he bringing that up?
Here's what he's saying.
If you have the gift of prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith.
What is he saying?
Here's what he's saying.
If you're good at preaching, you should preach.
Look at verse 7, or ministry.
If you're good at ministry, let us wait on our ministry.
That word wait is like a waiter.
Let us wait.
Let us serve.
If you have the gift of ministry, let us wait on our ministry.
Or he that teacheth on teaching.
Or he that exhorteth on exhortation.
Or he that giveth, notice, notice the words, let him do it.
He said, hey, you're good at giving?
You have the gift of giving?
Praise the Lord.
Let him do it.
Let him do it with simplicity.
He that ruleth with diligence.
He that showeth mercy with cheerfulness.
The idea is that you and I have to begin to do the things that we are good at.
What does that mean?
It means that we need to develop ourselves.
If you're going to be a self-leader, if you're going to be someone who leads yourself well,
not only do you need to understand the principle of direction, but you need to understand the principle of development.
You need to understand that the Bible says that we are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
That we are to be getting better every day.
You need to be working on yourself.
Please do not misunderstand what I'm about to say and I'm not trying to be rude to you, but I'm trying to help you.
Just because you are a husband does not mean that you are a good husband.
And I understand all the wives are like, yeah, well, yeah.
But just because you're a wife does not mean you're a good wife.
Just because, this ought to break your heart.
Just because you have children, just because you are a father does not mean you are a good father.
Just because you are a mother does not mean that you are a good mother.
I mean, you should know this is Faithful Word Baptist Church.
You know that not all churches are created equal?
I mean, some churches are better than others.
If you're listening to this online and you find yourself, look, you go to the best church in your area and there's some deal breakers.
Salvation, the Scriptures, the King James Bible, and soul winning.
You find a church that's right on salvation, right on Scripture, right on the King James Bible, right on soul winning.
You go there and that's great.
But please understand that.
That and Faithful Word are not the same thing.
Because some churches are better than others.
Just because you are a church doesn't mean you're a good church.
Just because you are a father does not mean you're a good father.
Just because you are a mother does not mean you're a good father.
Hey, I have to learn a long time ago.
Just because I am a pastor does not mean I'm a good pastor.
Some pastors are better than others.
Some managers are better than others.
Some, whatever, fill in the blank, are better than others.
You say, how do you get there?
You develop yourself.
You work at it.
You work on it.
You decide and you realize that if you're going to lead yourself well, you must lead yourself in the area of direction.
You've got to have a destination that you're headed to.
You've got to have a goal.
You need to dream big.
You need to get a vision.
You need to tell yourself, it's possible.
And then you've got to start working on yourself.
You need to start developing yourself.
You need to start figuring out what are your gifts and what has God gifted you and start using that and developing that and strengthening that.
And start leading yourself well.
Let me give you the third principle and we'll be done tonight.
Go to the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, if you would, 1 Samuel chapter 30.
1 Samuel chapter 30.
If you can find the one and two books that are all clustered together, 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 1 Samuel chapter 30.
We're talking about principles for self-leadership.
I said, number one, we must understand the principle of direction.
No one builds anything by accident.
No one gets anywhere by accident.
You've got to get a vision and you've got to get a goal.
We talked about the principle of development.
We all have God-given natural talents, but we must develop those God-given natural talents.
We can't just tell the world, well, here I am.
If Paul says I have not apprehended, if Paul says I am not perfect, if Paul says I can still grow, then let me tell you something.
If Paul can still grow, you and I can still grow.
You and I can get better.
You and I can develop ourselves.
And look, all I'm saying is this, that if God decided to give me the six wonderful children that He gave me, that He gave me and my wife,
I don't want to rip them off by saying, sorry, you were born into my family and I just suck as a dad.
Sorry. Draw the line.
You know, I don't think my wife should be punished because I tricked her into marrying me.
You don't think this happens? People get married and then all of a sudden it's like, you know, right after the I do, it's like, that's a different man.
I mean, he was this way before marriage and now he's this.
I mean, it was like he was nice, now he's not.
You know, he was thin and then it's like he like stopped sucking in or something.
It's just like, it's like I do and it's like boom.
And it's like, what happened?
And I'm just saying to you that you and I must learn to develop ourselves if we're going to lead ourselves well.
Number three, principles of self-leadership. We've got the third principle that is the principle of determination.
Determination.
In 1 Samuel chapter 30, we have a story of one of the greatest leaders in the Bible, a man by the name David.
You know David.
1 Samuel 30 and verse 1, the Bible says that it came to pass when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day that the Amalekites had invaded the south and Ziklag had smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire.
And had taken the women captives that were therein, they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away and went on their way.
So David and his men came to the city and behold it was burned with fire and their wives and their sons and their daughters were taken captives.
Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept until they had no more power to weep.
And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahimnoam, the Jezrelites, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal, the Carmelite.
Here we find David at a very low place in his life.
He comes back from battle with his men and he finds that their city has been raided and that all the women and children have been carried away captive.
I want you to notice that the people during a time of distress do what people tend to do. They blame the leader.
They blame David. Notice verse 6.
And David was greatly distressed, for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters.
Please understand something.
That people will often, and please don't misunderstand what I'm about to say because what I'm saying does not come from a heart of bitterness or anything like that.
It's just an observation.
But people will often encourage you when you don't need it and not encourage you when you do need it.
In fact, people will often encourage you when you're on a high, when things are going well, everything's going well, church attendance is up, offerings are up, souls are getting saved, things are going well.
Everybody's like, wow, you're amazing, you're great, that's wonderful.
But when things aren't going well and you need somebody to say, hey, it's all right, hey, you'll be fine.
Usually it is those times where people tend to kick you when you're down.
Say, well, I know I was clapping over here, but the whole time I was thinking, this ship's going down.
I don't want to say it, but let me just say, I told you so, though I didn't tell you so, but I thought it.
And what I found is that people often encourage you when you don't need it and don't encourage you when you do need it.
And here David finds himself, I mean, David himself has also lost his family.
His wives have also been carried away. His children have also been carried away.
He is feeling what everyone else is feeling, but the Bible says that they spake of stoning him.
So what did David do?
You know the verse and you know the passage, one of the greatest leadership passages of the Bible.
But David, verse 6, last part of verse 6, but David encouraged himself and the Lord his God.
Let me tell you something, if you're going to be someone who leads yourself well, you're going to have to develop the principle of direction.
You're going to have to develop the principle of development, but you're also going to have to develop the principle of determination.
The principle of saying, like Job said, though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.
That I'm not going to quit. I'm not going to give up. I'm going to stay at this thing. I'm not going to be done.
Our church, my wife and I started our church, Verity Baptist Church, over 12 years ago in September.
We'll be celebrating 13 years of ministry and when we started, we started in our living room.
One of our members literally from day one was your pastor's dad, Brother Ray Anderson.
Brother Ray and Ms. Denise Anderson have literally been members of our church, literally since day one and I'm thankful for them.
But you know we started in our living room. We spent 18 months meeting in our living room.
And during those 18 months, we started our church and of course we began knocking doors and we began reaching people.
And we had a handful of people like Brother Ray Anderson and my family and things that were there to begin with.
But when we first started growing and started reaching people, it was all just, this was before the new IFB was a thing.
When we started Verity Baptist Church, the new IFB wasn't, there was no new IFB. It was just Faithful Word Baptist Church and then us.
And we began to reach people and you know we spent 18 months in the house meeting in our living room.
And the Lord began to grow our church and help our church and we got to the place where we started running somewhere 30 and 35 and 40 in our living room.
I remember Pastor Anderson came to preach for us in our living room and we had a high attendance of 66 people, which 66 people may not sound like a lot of people.
But you try to get 66 people in your living room and it will feel like a lot of people. It will feel as hot as this room.
And we began to grow and we got to the point where we thought, okay I think it's time for us to go find a building.
And I had some of the guys in the church say, Pastor I think it's time for us to go find a building. I said, yeah I think so.
So we went and we rented a little building right down the street from our church. A little 800 square foot building.
Honestly it was not much bigger than our living room and dining room and downstairs bedroom that we were using for the church.
Not much bigger but the point was to just get out of the house. Because we didn't have a house.
We didn't have furniture. We had a little table that we would bring in and bring out and we had no furniture.
The kids loved it because we just had this big open room the whole week.
And the church was growing and we thought, okay I think it's time. Let's go rent a building.
So we went and rented an 800 square foot building. Signed the lease and said, yeah I think it's time.
Our last service in the house was our 4th of July service. 4th of July fell on a Wednesday night.
So we had a 4th of July service and we had fireworks in the front yard. We had 42 in attendance that Wednesday night.
Last service in the house, 42 in attendance. Moved into our new building right at the beginning of July.
By the time we got to September, which was our church's anniversary, we had grown from 42 to 20.
We lost half of our church. We didn't have a church split but it felt like a church split but we didn't have a church split.
One family got transferred to a different location so they moved and some people got backslidden.
Some people didn't like the fact that we were leaving the house because they liked the house.
This reason or that reason but we lost people and by September, just a few months later, our anniversary, we had 20 in attendance for our anniversary service.
And I remember just thinking to myself, why did I do this? Why did I leave the house?
Now I've got this payment. Now I've got this burden. Now I've got this lease.
Why didn't these people tell me they were all going to quit the church before I signed the lease?
You know, I remember just being so down, just so discouraged. It felt like a failure.
I remember your pastor saying to me, the only way to fail is to quit. The only way to fail is to quit.
What was he saying? He said stay with it. Stay at it. Determination.
See sometimes in those low moments, you've got to strengthen yourself in the Lord.
Sometimes you've got to decide, you know what, I'm going to stay at this thing. I'm not going to quit. I'm not going to go back. I'm not going to be done.
And you know, at that moment in our church's anniversary, we call it family and friend day, and it was our family and friend day service, and we have 20 people there.
You know, I had to remind myself that God can. And I didn't know that God will, but I knew that God could.
And I had to remind myself that if we had grown to 40 before, we could grow to 40 again.
And I didn't know if we ever would grow to 40 again, but I knew this, it's possible.
And sometimes you just have to pick yourself up when you don't feel like it, and sometimes you just have to get to work and get back to it when you don't want to, when all you want to do is quit.
And nobody's encouraging you along the way. You just need to say, I'm going to stick with this thing. It is the principle of determination.
You say, what happened? Around December we started growing again.
By the time our one year anniversary, our next year anniversary came, we had outgrown the building and we moved to a 1600 square foot building.
We moved to the 1600 square foot building and we signed the one year lease.
By the time we had been there for eight months, we had outgrown the building and we were so full that we had to actually pay to get us out of the lease and go to our next building, which was a 4600 square foot building.
So what happened there? We grew to about 200, then I got on the news.
We lost some people.
But you know, the thing about faith is this, that once you've seen God do it once, you say, we've been here before.
We've been down before. We've been at the bottom of the ninth.
We've been here before. And I don't know that God can. I don't know that God will, but I know that God can.
And I know that it's possible and I'm just going to stay with it.
And listen, I'm not done raising my children. And I'm not done passing my church. And I'm not done being married.
And I'm only 37 years old and I still got a lot of life in me. I hope I have a lot of life in me.
And I'm telling you this, that self leadership tells you, you've got to dream big. You've got to get a direction.
You've got to get some determination. And you've got to say, I'm going to do it for the glory of God.
I'm not going to quit on my marriage. I'm not going to quit on my children. I'm not going to quit on the ministry.
I'm not going to quit because the only way to fail is to quit. So stay with it. Stick with it.
The principle of determination. Go to Acts chapter 13 and we'll finish up. You kept your place in Acts. Acts chapter 13.
Remember David? He encouraged himself in the Lord. One of the greatest leaders in the Bible.
And you and I would remember David for probably one of his greatest moments which was slaying Goliath.
But I want you to notice what the Bible remembers David for. Acts 13, 36.
This was written hundreds of years after the life of David. Acts 13, 36. And here's what they said about David.
For David, after he had served his own generation, by the will of God, fell on sleep and was laid unto his fathers and saw corruption.
It's interesting to me that when the Holy Spirit of God brings up David in the book of Acts, hundreds of years after David,
he does not bring up his greatest feat, killing Goliath. He doesn't even bring up his lowest moment, his adultery with Bathsheba.
But he simply says this after he had served his own generation.
Please understand this. The only way for you and I to get rewarded in heaven,
and the only way for you and I to be remembered on earth has to do with how we served others, how we helped others, how we invested in others.
We ought to live our lives in such a way that we keep our own funerals in mind.
We ought to live our lives in such a way where we consider what will my children say at my funeral?
What will my spouse say at my funeral? What will my church people say at my funeral?
What will my neighbors say at my funeral? What will my co-workers say at my funeral?
We ought to live our lives in such a way that if you want to be rewarded in heaven, if you want to be remembered on earth, it has to do with how you served others.
And the only way to do that well is to lead yourself well.
Because the only way to become a leader worth following is to lead yourself well.
To learn these principles, the principle of direction, get a vision, get a goal.
The principle of development. I have natural gifts, but I have to develop those gifts because I have not arrived.
Just because I am does not mean I am a good one.
The principle of determination. When others won't encourage, encourage yourself in the Lord.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, Lord we love you. We thank you.
I do thank you for this church. I thank you for Pastor Anderson and Mrs. Anderson.
And how they have invested themselves into these dear people.
Lord, I do pray for us. I pray that you would help us to determine to lead ourselves well.
Help us to dream big because it is possible.
Help us to develop ourselves so that we can do better.
Help us to get determination and to not quit.
Lord, I pray you would help us to lead ourselves well so that we can lead others well.
In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.