Compelling Communication

Leaders move people from one perspective to another by skilled and passionate communication that stirs the hearts and challenges the minds; their words mobilise masses to change direction and exert effort for a common cause.

In this short video Kobus Meyer (pastor at Shofar Christian Church in Durbanville, South Africa) gives practical advice on how leaders can communicate with compelling passion and clarity, moving people into action.

Scripture

John 1:6-8, 29-34

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³² And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³ I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

Observations and reflection

Context: In these two portions of text the evangelist introduces the ministry of John the Baptist, and records how he pointed out Jesus as the Messiah.

1. Verses 29-34 describes what is introduced in verses 6-8. Can you identify the phrases in verses 29-34 that correlate and explain the following phrase about the ministry of John the Baptist from verses 6-8?

• “sent from God”
• “to bear witness”
• “that all might believe”
• “not the light”

2. John the Baptist was a powerful transformational leader who had a tremendous impact in Israel, bringing the nation as whole to repentance (Matthew 3:5-6). Carefully look at verses 6-8 to understand his ministry attitude; how should this impact your attitude towards leadership?

• “sent from God”
• “to bear witness”
• “that all might believe”
• “not the light”

Personal reflection and application

John the Baptist was a powerful transformational leader who had a tremendous impact in Israel during his day, leading the whole nation to God in repentance (Matthew 3:5-6). His words cut to the heart because he preached to move people to faith and action – his goal in preaching was “that all might believe” (John 1:7).

1. Consider your aim in communicating to the group you are leading. Would you say that you normally speak as though

• to give your opinion?
• to give direction?
• to persuade others?
• to move people to action?

2. What is the difference between the above four approaches to communication in terms of (i) content (what you say) and (ii) style (how you say it)?
3. Construct the simple sentence “there is a God” in such a way
   1. to give your opinion.
   2. to give direction.
   3. to persuade others.
   4. to move people to action.

Prayer

Consider the life and ministry of John the Baptist who preached a hard message in the dessert, and people from all of Israel came to hear and changed their ways to fear God again.  Pray for that grace from God to speak fearlessly and in such a compelling way that people will respond in faith and obey God when you lead and speak and his behalf.

Practical Evangelism 2 – Who Jesus is

The aim of this devotional study is to reflect on and apply John the Baptist witness of Jesus Christ.

Scriptures

John 1:29-34

29  The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  30  This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’  31  I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32  And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.  33  I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’  34  And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

Observation and reflection

Context: This event took place in the week leading up to Passover, the feast by which the Jews celebrate God’s great deliverance of the ancestors from Egyptian slavery.  During this festival every family ought to slaughter a lamb and eat unleavened bread while retelling the history of this great deliverance.

1. List everything that John the Baptist reveals about
   1. The identity of Jesus.
   2. The ministry of Jesus.
2. From where does John get his confidence about the identity and ministry of Jesus? [verses 32-34]
3. Considering the context and timing of this witness of Jesus, why John’s declaring of Jesus being “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world” draw so much attention? And what would that mean for the Jews who came out to be baptized by John?

Personal reflection and Application

From this portion we can learn that John’s witness has three important elements: (1) a witness to who Jesus is; (2) a witness to what Jesus has done; (3) a witness to how someone can personally know Him.

1. Prepare to witness like John:
   1. John announced Jesus as “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world”, “one on Whom the Spirit rests” (or “the Christ/ Anointed One of God”), and “the Son of God”. Who do you KNOW Jesus to be?
   2. John witnessed that Jesus would die for the sins of the world. What do you KNOW has Jesus done for you personally?
   3. John knew Jesus by the voice of God and the Spirit of God – he had a special revelation of who Jesus was and what He would do. How do you KNOW Jesus?  And how can someone KNOW Him the way you do?
2. Contact a Christian friend – make an appointment to share this with him/ her. Ask him/her for feedback.
3. Find a non-believer and ask them if you can share something personal with them – then witness to them about who you know Jesus is, what He has done and how he/she can know Him.

Prayer

Thank God for what Jesus has done for you.  Ask for boldness and accuracy to witness in sincerity.

Motivational Gifts 2 – the perceiver

The aim of the devotional bible study is to grow in the understanding and appreciation of motivational gift of the perceiver (also called “prophet”).

Scripture

Luke 3:1-20

1  …the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

4  As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5  Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, 6  and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'”

7  He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8  Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9  Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”  10  And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?”  11  And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”

12  Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”  13  And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.”

14  Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

15  As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16  John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17  His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” 18  So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.

19  But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20  added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.

Observations

Note: in the reading of today’s Text we will focus on the character and motives of John the Baptist to better understand the motivational gifts of the perceiver / prophet. This is one of the seven motivational gifts (also called “the gifts of the Father” according to 1 Corinthians 12:4-6) each person is born with which drives his/her actions.

1. Perceiver / prophetically motivated people generally have the following characteristics. How can you identify them in the personality and ministry of John the Baptist?  Comment and give verse references from the Scripture above.
   1. Honesty and truth is central to their life.
   2. They have a strong sense of justice and have a strong sense of conviction.
   3. They are driven by obedience, and seek to move others towards it.
   4. They crave sincerity and despise hypocrisy – they want to see change in others.
   5. Their life radiates moral excellence and goodness, and inspire that in others.
   6. They are generally confident people who speak up for the truth even if it hurts.
2. Where did John the Baptist spend most of his time? What does that suggest of the relationships of the perceiver motivated person?
3. Considering the imprisonment and later execution of John the Baptist (Luke 9:7-9), what honorable characteristic do we see in perceiver motivated people? [hint: why was he locked up and later killed?]

Reflections:

1. Looking at John the Baptist as an example of a perceiver / prophetically gifted person – what should a person with this motivational gift be cautious of when confronting people? [hint: how can they be easily misunderstood in terms of their behavior?]
2. Considering the characteristics listed in Observation question 1 above, why do we consider perceiver motivated people as “gifts from God the Father”? i.e. how do they benefit me, you and the world around us?

Application and Prayer

Note: If you have not completed the free online motivational gift test, do so now: www.gifttest.org

1. Are you a strong perceiver / prophet motivated person? Considering the life example of John the Baptist:
   1. What are you grateful for about your gift, which you must cherish?
   2. What must you be cautious about in your interactions with others?
   3. What must you cherish with all your heart and guard with all your strength? [hint: if you betray this you betray yourself and your witness falls apart]
   4. Thank God for how he made you, and pray that you may grow in a love for the truth, a sensitivity to His Spirit, for confidence and humility to speak the truth in love, and lastly for grace to walk in integrity all your days.
2. Who do you know that are strongly perceiver / prophet motivated?
   1. Thank them for their good influence in your life – be specific about what they have challenged you with and how that helped you walk in righteousness and the fear of God.
   2. Thank God for them and their influence for the good in your life. Pray that God will bless with a greater love for the truth, sensitivity to His Spirit, greater boldness and humility to speak the truth in love, and that they may live true to their God-given conscience.

Knowing Jesus 6

The Aim of this devotional study is to learn about Jesus’ identity from a confession of Jesus.

Scripture

John 1:19-34

19  And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”  20  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”  21  And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”  22  So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23  He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24  (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.)

25  They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”  26  John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27  even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

28  These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29  The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  30  This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’  31  I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32  And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.  33  I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’  34  And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

Observations

Note: Every single story recorded in John’s gospel is written to give a revelation of who Jesus is, so that the reader may have faith in Jesus – refer to John 20:30-31 “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

1. What was the ministry of John the Baptist? And what was the purpose of his ministry? (see verse 31).
2. Looking at these verses, what can you learn about the identity and ministry of Jesus from John the Baptist’s sayings? (Take special notice of the names and titles attributed to Jesus.)
3. This event occurred the week before Passover feast, and every Jewish family was looking for a lamb to be slaughtered to celebrate the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt; what did it mean when John called Jesus “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”? (verse 29)
4. What did John mean when he said about Jesus “After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’” (verse 30) Why did he need to say that to the crowd gathering around him?

Application and prayer

1. John’s hearers were Jews who believed and God and came to be baptized with water as a sign of repentance, to make God number one in their lives (refer to Acts 19:1-7). However, John pointed them towards Jesus, saying he alone could take away their sins.  Think back on your life – was there ever a moment when you, seeking God, received revelation that Jesus is the only he who could take away your sins?  Relive that moment, and thank God for it.  Are you still living with the reality that Jesus only can make you clean before God?  Commit to that!
2. John said that Jesus was more important (in ministry and person) to himself. Take some time and think how your life reflects – or does not reflect – that truth.  In which ways can you show today (and this week) that Jesus is superior to you?
3. Spend some time and worship Jesus as The Lamb of God that took your sins away, the Christ who baptizes with the Holy Spirit (read “makes us children of God”), the Superior One, and the Son of God.