On my forty- third birthday I received the following text: “This will be your best year yet!” My thoughts were a blend of intense excitement and mild disbelief. How can anyone predict something like that with any amount of accuracy? Maybe you’ve had a similar experience. Someone said you were going to accomplish what seemed impossible. In reality, what you may think is impossible is completely possible in the eyes of others. Why? Because others often see in us, what we can’t see in ourselves.

                              .

One year later, my mentor/friend was right. Amazing things happened in the past year and continue to happen. Because he said they would? Maybe. It’s more likely he knew where the path I was on was headed. It’s not where we say we’re going that makes all the difference, it’s where we’re actually going. Again, my friend’s text made me scratch my head. Have you ever read the bible and scratched your head? In Romans 12:6-8 there is a passage that used to make me scratch my head: “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.” (King James Version). Sounds good, right? But what in the world is Paul talking about?

Today I want to talk about prophecy or preaching and show and make a connection with another verse in this passage that clarifies things a bit. What is prophecy?  Prophecy in this case means prediction (scriptural or other). Sometimes we are able to predict accurately based on what the bible says as well as our life experience, our senses, etc.  “If you see someone headed for a cliff and they have no brakes, it’s not too hard to predict their future.” At the same time, if you see someone repeatedly taking the steps necessary to reach their goal, you can pretty well predict they will.

Again, it’s probably good to note that prophecy is based on evidence, be it scriptural or otherwise. Makes sense right? Sadly, there are people who know the bible from cover to cover yet use it as a sword to defend themselves and their philosophy. Their defensiveness and the fact they feel threatened are usually nothing more than evidence of insecurity and immaturity. I like to pray for these people rather than argue with them.  We need more people like these with firm beliefs and passion. But these types of people will never be truly effective until they gain a measure of self- control and discipline.

We need more people like these with firm beliefs and passion. But these types of people will never be truly effective until they gain a measure of self- control and discipline.

In fact, the prophesying Paul speaks of in this passage, directly addresses this very issue. If you read further along in the passage, Paul clarifies what it means to prophesy, he writes: “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” (Romans 12:9, KJV). This is amazing to me! In our preaching, we tend to focus on how the truth applies to others. Paul knows this and he corrects this tendency by commanding us to focus on how the truth applies to us. It’s like Paul is saying: “Hey, Preacher (leader, Mom, Dad, boss, etc.) Be real, genuine, sincere in your love. Utterly defeat that which is evil. Glue yourself to the good and don’t let go. Take this medicine yourself before you go dishing it out to others.” The lesson is people need to see the truth being lived out as well as hear it. You know the addage: “Practice what you preach.”

Dissimulation is hypocrisy. Dissimulation is saying one thing and doing another when we think nobody is watching. Psalm 78:72 says of David: “So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hand.” David’s key character traits were character and competence. As leaders, we’d do well to follow his example. Gene Getz said it this way: “A man who is able to teach is a person who is not in bondage to himself.” We’re not talking about a man or woman who is perfect. We’re talking about someone who is perfectly honest…with themselves and others. The Word of God will offend people, but God forbid that I should be the source of offense as a minister of the New Testament. According to this passage, I am to receive the charge if I am to effectively preach to others.

There’s just something about the cleaning of the inside of the cup that makes the outside clean. Some of you have experienced this while doing dishes. If you’re a politically correct recycler, you wash the peanut butter or mayonnaise jar out with a dish rag. In the process, you really have to reach down in there and swirl the rag to get out the last dregs. What happens? You know what happens. By the time you are done washing out the inside, the outside sparkles! What happened? In the process of working on the inside, the cloth and your hand came in contact with the outside.

In retrospect, the more we attend to the receiving of God’s word, the greater the impact we’ll make in preaching. You can call it what you want, modeling, show and tell, discipleship, leadership. The point is the people we lead will only grow as much as we grow. Which leads to the question, are you growing? If so, what steps are you taking to become all you were made to be? The fact is we cannot teach others the truth without knowledge of it ourselves.

Besides the bible, there are two other good places to begin our journey.

1)Read. Read. And Read some more. Pat Morley wrote: “I’m often amazed at how a man will get a hold of a book and how God will use the book to get ahold of the man!”. The leaders I see making a difference in their own lives as well as the lives of others are readers. Remember the addage “readers are leaders.”

2) Study a man or woman who has been successful in your area of interest. This is a big one!  Notice I said ‘study’, not copy. Remember, we cleave to that which is good. We see Ruth doing this in the Old Testament with her mother-in law Naomi. Take six months to a year and follow….o.k, stalk….a great leader. Find out not just what they say and do, but how they think. The temptation is to follow many. Select one leader in the covey and focus on him or her. There’s a reason they’re successful, find out why.

When my friend texted me, he wasn’t just believing I was going to experience good luck. He knew the secret that when it comes to success, we make our own luck. If you are living your life based on principles rather than luck, you can be sure the results you’re looking for are on the way. Don’t change a thing. Keep planting continually and you will continually harvest a crop. Remember, there are seasons when you just keep planting the seed and God gives the increase. The other side of the success coin isn’t failure, it’s growth. You will fall, you will make mistakes, you will fail. But if you’ll allow God’s Word and God’s people to speak into your life before opening your mouth and living your life, then you’ll have something to say to others. Those are Paul’s words, not mine.

In the weeks to come, we’ll talk about ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership and mercy. I hope you’ll stick around to see what the bible teaches us about these subjects!