Misc. Leadership Principles – Part Six

And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. – Mathew 9: 10

Why did Jesus Christ do this? The answer is in verse 12.

But when Jesus heard that [the criticism from the Pharisees – Read verse 11], he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. – Matthew 9: 12

You need to understand that it is the people who suffer and are sinners that need God’s deliverance more than others. We should not hesitate to help these people. They are the ones who are really searching and most often will listen to the Word of God. It is not fellowship with darkness when your intention is to witness to someone. If they refuse to hear you and believe, then you should politely excuse yourself and leave. Don’t be too hasty. Sometimes a person will fool you and just turn around and believe. I usually try twice and maybe a third time. Again, Jesus explains his actions.

But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. – Matthew 9: 13

When you read verse 11, you should remember that the enemy will almost always get his two cents in when the Word of God is moving. It’s a pattern of the devil and you must learn his patterns. It makes him and his methods predictable allowing you to counter his moves even before he makes them.

Now let’s move on to a parable that Jesus Christ spoke. But first, why did Jesus Christ speak in so many parables? Did you ever think about that because the answer may surprise you. Jesus Christ was never rude to people, but often he was in difficult positions. There were people in his audience that were not capable of understanding what he was trying to teach them and Jesus Christ knew it. So without appearing rude to those people, he taught in parables which were, in ways, like a puzzle. Jesus Christ knew that only certain dedicated believers would understand the parable. And that way, the unbelieving believers would not be offended, but simply unable to understand. It is not hard to teach using a parable as I have done so in home fellowships. Now let’s go to the parable(s) that Jesus Christ spoke and learn more about a part of ourselves that can always cause us a problem – our old man.

First, Jesus Christ uses a simple parable which is more like an example.

No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up [repatch the garment] taketh away from the garment [makes it look worse], and the rent [tear] is made worse. – Matthew 9: 16

Jesus Christ was very wise, always doing God’s Will, and in this case he was preparing the believers, who would understand, for the next very important principle.

Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. – Matthew 9: 17

Back in Biblical times, the materials used to hold wine were referred to as bottles, however they were really made out of sheepskin or some other similar material. The point is that they could only be used once. New wine would cause the ‘bottles’ to stretch and possibly burst. THEY PUT NEW WINE INTO NEW WINESKINS AND BOTH ARE PRESERVED.

This is a figure of speech called an allegory and is stressing the fact THAT YOU CANNOT REFORM THE OLD NATURE. Reckon the old man dead - do not try to change him. Put on the new man. Forget about your old man. Keep putting on the mind of Christ – renew your mind. Keep doing your best, listen to God and do what He says and STAY IN FELLOWSHIP. God will do the rest.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. -- Romans 12: 1, 2

But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ [in your mind], and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. – Romans 13: 14

This principle is extremely important to understand and apply. You cannot get rid of the old man or change him. You can put on new thoughts from the Word which will overwhelm that old man nature. Here is how I refer to this situation. I try to put all my old man thoughts in a separate dormant corner of my mind. I picture him being locked in an airtight shed. I try never to let those thoughts escape. It is difficult at times and you will make that mistake once in a while. But, as I say, so many times, do your best. The power of God in Christ in you is always greater than what is in the world.

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. – I John 4: 4

The following teaches more on the principle you simply cannot get away from throughout the Bible – the Law of Believing. These next sections are on the subject of healing and a new and important principle also.

While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. – Matthew 9: 18 - 21

People were running to Jesus Christ for healing. Here in the latter part of the above record was a woman that was seriously ill for 12 years. And imagine, in the crowds that were following Jesus Christ, he felt this woman touch the hem of his garment. God Almighty then told Jesus Christ that this woman was ready to be healed. Why? Because she was at the point where she BELIEVED. Jesus Christ was constantly getting Word of Knowledge from God and he always did the Father’s Will. Let’s see what happened when she touched the hem of his garment.

But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith [pistis – BELIEVING] hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. -- Matthew 9: 22

Jesus Christ said: “YOUR BELIEVING HAS MADE THEE WHOLE”. It is the same God today – it is the same power available to us today.

Now let’s look at the former record about the ruler whose daughter had passed away.

And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. – Matthew 9: 24

Can you imagine this? Jesus Christ knew what he was doing and yet they all laughed him to scorn. It sounds like what some people do today when we share God’s Word with them, doesn’t it? Watch this develop. And make sure you pick up on a new principle here that you must learn to apply. It’s not hard. Just politely get rid of the unbelievers when you are about to use God’s power.

But when the people were put forth [Jesus Christ put the unbelievers out of the room], he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. – Matthew 9: 25

Well, Glory Halleluiah. The people weren’t laughing now, were they? They were probably shaking in their boots….or sandals! Notice that Jesus Christ did not enter the room until the mockers and unbelievers were put out. REMEMBER THIS PRINCIPLE. You will need it. Let me touch on the last verse in this record.

And the fame [of Jesus Christ] hereof went abroad into all that land. - Matthew 9: 26

Be careful of this!!! Remember, it is God’s power, not yours. ALWAYS give the glory to God. This is how counterfeit churches rise up. People begin to worship the leader and not God. It happens – I’ve seen it happen. Once you get on a head trip, you’ve had it. Satan will bring you and your Ministry to it’s knees. When people write to me and imply that I am something great, I tell them to give the glory to God, and not to me. Give God’s Word the glory and nothing but the Word. God is His Word.

Something else is on my mind and I want to share it with you. It’s this ‘Statement of Faith” thing. CHAPTER AND VERSE, PLEASE? There is nothing in the Bible that says anything about a statement of faith. Man and his religion made it up! Also, the Nicene Creed! Where in the world is that in the Word of God? It’s religious dogma and full of errors and private interpretation – guesswork. But let me tell you something. The god of this world really pushes things like that. If he can get you to think on nonsense, he distracts you from the only thing that defeats him, and that is the RIGHTLY DIVIDED WORD OF GOD. Got it? Don’t forget it.

Before we move on, let’s make sure we understand how important the law of believing is if we want to manifest the more than abundant life. You must have believing if you are to be healed or receive any of the blessings and treasures mentioned in the Word of God. I have stated that there are about 1000 promises in the Bible. How many do you know? Take a look at and read verses 27 to 31. Again, these blind men were healed because they BELIEVED. Look at verse 29.

Then [Jesus] touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith [believing] be it unto you. – Matthew 9: 29

Could God make it any simpler?

Now let’s get to a principle that we discussed before. Let me tell you that if you are going to stand strong on God’s Word, you are going to face persecution from the unbelievers. You should rejoice – I do. The enemy is not going to bother you if you are doing nothing. This next example is exactly what I am referring to.

As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. – Matthew 9: 32, 33

Now watch, listen, and learn just like I did.

But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils. – Matthew 9: 34

There it is – Satan inspiring unbelievers to criticize and look at what they said. You see, devil spirits in Satan’s kingdom actually have ranks in power. You need to understand the Greek words for devil spirits to understand this. Daimonion are lower ranking devil spirits in power, while daimon are the more powerful ruling devil spirits. Daimon actually tell daimonian what to do. It’s that simple. There is a record in the gospels where daimon and daimonion were in conflict and the daimon cast out the daimonion that were inflicting a person. Far out, right? It’s not a fact, it’s truth. What does this mean? Satan casting out Satan which results in the conclusion that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Satan’s kingdom will not stand – it cannot.

The Pharisees actually accused Jesus Christ of having a ruling devil spirit and using it to cast out a less powerful devil spirit. You see how little the Pharisees knew about the rightly divided Word. They couldn’t care less about the mute who was delivered because their hearts were evil. You WILL meet people like this. How did Jesus Christ react to this? He didn’t. He continued to go about teaching the Word and healing people. If you only knew how important this principle is, you would pound it into your renewed mind until it permeated every fiber of your being. I did a teaching called “Don’t React”. It will drive your personal adversary crazy. Let’s go to verse 37.

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. – Matthew 9: 37, 38

The literal meaning of this verse is that there are many, many people that need to hear the rightly divided Word of God (i.e. The harvest truly is plenteous), but the strong-standing committed believers needed to reap this harvest are few. Jesus Christ exhorted his disciples to pray to God that He would supply this need. We always need more and more dedicated believers to speak and therefore move God’s Word. That is why we must stand together with unity of purpose. Look at the Christ in your fellow believers, not their personality traits. We need to work together and not be divided. We just learned that a house divided cannot stand.

A second and most important leadership principle inherent in this verse is the necessity and power of prayer. Jesus Christ exhorted his disciples to pray to God that He would supply a need. We must also learn to pray every day for our needs, not our greeds. If you have not yet learned to pray in the spirit (speaking in tongues), then pray with your understanding. For obvious reasons, many years ago, I did not realize the importance of this principle of prayer until a woman of God taught it to me. Be aware that anyone can be tricked and distracted from important principles by your personal adversary.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive even the very elect. -- Matthew 24: 24

Satan has a ’spirit of error’ among many others, but this spirit is self-explanatory. We can go on for many years practicing wrong doctrine such as not praying and not even know it. That is one of the main purposes of this web site – so that you do not make these mistakes. Early on, I did learn the principle of tithing. That’s why I have 2 cars just bought brand new for cash and a classic Corvette – also paid for. God did that – I didn’t. We used to tithe enough money a month to pay a mortgage – just gave it away to the Ministry that taught me God’s Word rightly divided. It gets simpler, the more you renew your mind, to APPLY God’s Word in your everyday life. The pressure and tribulation seems to never stop, but what good is the power of God in Christ in us if we never get a chance to use it? The suffering we may feel at times does not compare to what an unbeliever goes through. Keeping God first is the best way to live in this second heaven and earth as we look forward to the third with Christ’s return.

Let’s now open up Chapter 10 of Matthew and then close this ninth teaching under this category. There will be one more teaching under The Leadership Principles of Jesus Christ for the time being for a total of 10. TEN is one of the perfect numbers and signifies the PERFECTION of DIVINE ORDER. TEN signifies COMPLETENESS of ORDER and we should strive to do all things decent and in order.

Let all things be done decently and in order. – I Corinthians 14: 40

And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave unto them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal [attend to] all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. – Matthew 10: 1

It is the same God today and we have the same power. Do we believe it? Let’s take a look at and do a short word study on the term ‘power’. In Greek, there is the word dunamis for power and it means inherent power. This is like the power in a car battery when the car is not running. The power is dormant. The word power in this verse is the Greek word exousia and it means exercised power. That’s what happens when we turn the key in the car and the battery starts the car. See the difference? Quite simple.

Jesus Christ gave his disciples active [exousia] power, which is dunamis put into operation. We have that same power, if we believe, against unclean spirits and we do have the power of healing. If the sickness or problem is due to spiritual oppression, when a devil spirit is cast out, the cause is removed and the effects will disappear. You should keep in mind that all sicknesses are not spiritual. The field of healing is not the easiest to understand, so I am teaching you all that I know without any guesswork or opinions.

Can you imagine all the leadership principles we have covered in only 9 chapters of Matthew and 1 verse in chapter 10? As I already mentioned, to keep this web site in balance, there will be one more teaching in this category for now so that we can move on to other areas.

In the meantime, I realize there is a lot to learn, but just take it easy and apply one principle at a time. God will surely help you. He does not respect persons, only conditions. Addict yourself to the true God and watch the enemy run.

There are two (2) keys to establishing the mark of quality in your walk with God:

1. Humility

2. Spiritual toughness/ Ability

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. – James 4: 7

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