Team – Band, group, company, gang, partnership, squad, troop, league, unit.

The concept of a team was taken from harnessing or yoking together 2 or more animals. It was seen that when animals pulled together more could be accomplished than if one pulled alone. They could pull heavier loads & cover longer distances hence team became all about a group of 2 or more people pulling together in the same direction with a common goal.

No one can escape being in a team whether that be in a marriage, family, job or business, Church; so let’s look at some principles that will help us become a successful member of a team:

1) Team Agenda This means checking in at the door our own agenda in order to follow the team agenda. Today more than ever we live in an individualistic society where authority is frowned upon and fulfilling our own dream is all that matters and anything that gets in the way of my dream is pushed aside; and as Christians we can be so saturated in this way of thinking that when we join the Church it becomes difficult to fit in because when  asked to forgo our way to fit in with the team way we think people are against us, they are trying to stop us fulfilling our dream and doing what we think is right hence we leave and go to another Church or until we can find somewhere they will let us do our own thing.

God’s way is the opposite. Scripture teaches that if we will lay aside our dream in order to serve the team, over time God will manoeuvre us into the place He wants us to be and provide a platform for the fulfilling of our dream. Joseph served the team of Potiphar, the jail keeper and Pharaoh hence when the time was right God promoted Joseph to the position that suited his gifts and abilities and Joseph affected the whole world.

Will you lay aside your pride and humble yourself before God that He may use you in His way. Today God is looking for people to reach the nations with the Gospel of the Kingdom, people who are teachable, willing to learn His ways, open to the new thing He is doing.    YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Meditation Point: God’s way is always character first gifts second. Character harnesses gifts. Character is the doorway into the gifts.

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LIFE or DEATH

Rom 12:14 Bless and do not curse.

In Rom 12:14 Paul the apostle is teaching us how we should speak to others but we can also apply this scripture to ourselves and it’s called,‘Self Cursing or Self Blessing‘. Self cursing is where we speak negative words or phrases over ourselves; we say such things as,” I’m stupid, I’m an idiot, bad things always happen to me, I’ll never succeed, I don’t believe it, I’m gutted,broken hearted or devastated.”   These are just a few of the many curses we speak over ourselves and they are words of death.

Instead we are to speak blessings over ourselves. To bless means to speak well of so we must learn to think and speak well of ourselves and of who we are In Christ. ” Thank you Lord that in You I am strong, I will overcome my weaknesses, I am a new creation and am righteous, holy and without blame before you, I’m free from all guilt, accusation and condemnation, I’m forgiven and cleansed from all my sin, I am healed of all sickness and disease, I am fully accepted by you and live under the canopy of your unconditional, unchanging and eternal love. You are for me not against me and you work all things together for my good. I’m victorious an overcomer and more than a conqueror.”

We can replace every curse with a blessing and instead of speaking death we can speak LIFE to ourselves. Jesus said in Jn 6:63 “The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life.”   (KJV)

Meditation point: “Lord, point out to me and help me address any words of self cursing and death and replace them with words of self blessing and life.”

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The Silver Tongue

Prov 10:20  The tongue of the just is as choice silver   (KJV)
Silver in the Bible is symbolic of redemption. To redeem something means to rescue from loss or to restore honour, worth & reputation. This scripture is saying that we can use our tongue to rescue difficult situations, we can use our tongues to restore to people their dignity, to give them acceptance, to speak well of them.

In Jn Ch 4 Jesus is speaking to a woman at a well. He reveals to her that He knows she has been married 5 times and is currently living with a man but instead of condemning her He offers her the gift of salvation which she gladly receives. Jesus used His redemptive tongue to restore to this woman her honour, dignity and reputation.

Every day God will give to you and I opportunities to speak with a redemptive tongue. It may be we can encourage someone by complimenting their work or the way they dress;  we can speak kind words to someone who is hurting, words of hope to the person who feels a failure. Or we have been wronged by a friend but instead of using sharp, cutting words we speak with a healing tongue that restores the relationship.

Meditation point: God has given me the power of a redemptive tongue. How can I use it?

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Struck Dumb

Luke 1:18  Do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman.”  (The Message Bible)
Zechariah and Elizabeth had been praying for a child; one day the angel Gabriel visits Zechariah and tells him their prayers have been answered and his wife Elizabeth will give birth to a child and they are to call his name John (the baptist). But Zechariah begins to question Gabriel,”Are you sure, my wife is past the age of childbearing”.

At this response Gabriel strikes Zechariah dumb and tells him he won’t be able to speak until John is born. Why is this?   It’s because Zechariah was speaking doubt and unbelief and God cannot work in an atmosphere of doubt and unbelief. His words would have kept Elizabeth’s womb closed and thwarted the plan of God for their lives.

Whereas when Gabriel visited Mary to tell her she would give birth to a child (Jesus Christ), Mary’s response was to say,” Let it be done to me according to your word“.  Mary was speaking words of faith and trust in God’s word and created an atmosphere within which God could work and sure enough the Lord Jesus was born.

Every day you and I are faced by problems,difficulties and pressures; and we have to choose. Are we going to speak with a Zechariah spirit or a Mary spirit. A Zechariah spirit is a victims approach to God’s Word resulting in a defeated, depressed Christian lifestyle whereas a Mary spirit is a victors approach to God’s Word resulting in a successful, overcoming Christian lifestyle. 1 John 5:4  This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. (KJV)

Meditation Point:  When I’m faced with a problem, do I speak my own words of doubt and unbelief or God’s words of faith and trust.

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WORDS

Prov 15:1  A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire. (Message Bible)

The Book of Proverbs is the wisdom of God and  gives  advise on the proper way to use  our tongue, so let’s look at some of those ways. The scripture  says that a gentle tongue diffuses anger. Why is this?  Picture yourself talking to a person. You have to confront them about negative behaviour. If we speak words of sharp criticism, pointing out their faults and failures, they will immediately put up barriers and resist what we are saying; this is a natural defence that people erect at the first sign of aggression.  Our cutting words will also stir up anger in them and the conversation will descend into a quagmire of accusations.

Whereas if we speak to the person in gentle non aggressive language, directing our words not to their character but to their behaviour we will see their defences come down and the way is now open for us to find a solution to the problem.

Gal 6:1  Friends, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of humility, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.   Paul teaches we can only speak gentle words when we adopt a spirit of humility. This is a way most of us would rather not take because we have to be vulnerable. But if we will humble ourselves and put our trust in God,  He will work through our humility to resolve the situation.  And when we do His grace will flow and bring reconciliation and healing.1 Peter 5:5 All of you be clothed with humility, for”God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”   (NKJV)

Meditation Point: God’s Word tells us that confontation can only be successful from a spirit of humility and fully trusting God.

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BIT & BRIDLE

Ps 39:1 I said, “I will watch my ways, so that I don’t sin with my tongue. I will keep my mouth with a bridle. WEB.

Jam 3:3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. NIV.

To control the direction of a horse we put a bit and bridle upon it. The bit goes in the horse’s mouth and the bridle comprised of a head set and reign’s is attached to the bit; so when a rider wants the horse to go left they pull on the left reign which applies pressure to the bit signalling to the horse which way to go.

Scripture teaches us that the word of God acts like a bit & bridle and as we respond to the pressure of that word by speaking it out,  it will control the direction of our lives. So how will we know when to speak out (confess) God’s Word. It works like this; When the truth of the circumstances around us contradict the truth of God’s Word, we are to choose to speak God’s truth.

An example: Because of foolish decisions we go into debt. We confess our wrong to God and receive His forgiveness and grace. We now have a choice to either speak God’s Word of provision or speak the negative words of our situation. Remember it is our words that operate the Spirit realm for good or bad. We have the power in our tongue to speak life or death. As we hold to speaking God’s word despite the contrary circumstances and pressure to capitulate we will over time see God’s provision; and understand that the word’s of our mouth have directed the course of our life.

Meditation Point: Speaking & holding to God’s Word despite contrary circumstances will bring breakthrough in our lives.

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