The Ruler

Supernatural Gifts of Grace

When you and I operate in our special enabling in the church, we not only access our potential and the joy of serving the Lord, we also protect others from taking too much on themselves

7 supernatural enabling given by the Spirit of God

Romans 12:6–8 KJV 1900

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Romans 12:14 (KJV 1900)

14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

• Able to visualize final results

When a major project is given to an organizer, he is able

to picture the completed task and what it will take to accomplish

it. When Nehemiah was given the task of removing the "great

affliction and reproach of God's people in Jerusalem." he immediately visualized the need to rebuild the walls.

Nehemiah 1:2–3 KJV 1900

2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

God allowed His people to be taken into captivity as a way of chastising disobedience.

The rubble was cleared the walls were rebuilt in 52 days

• Need loyalty in associates

In order for an organizer to visualize the completion

a task, he needs to know who and what his resources are. Since the

efficiency of his entire operation depends upon the faithfulness of

the workers, he would rather have fewer that he can count on than more that he cannot count on. Nehemiah required an oath of cooperation from the rulers, nobles, and people.

It is a blessing to know you can count on another brother and sister in Christ.

Faithful teammates

Are you committed

Nehemiah 5:1–13 KJV 1900

1 And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews. 2 For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live. 3 Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth. 4 There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards. 5 Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards. 6 And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. 7 Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them. 8 And I said unto them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found nothing to answer. 9 Also I said, It is not good that ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies? 10 I likewise, and my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury. 11 Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them. 12 Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they should do according to this promise. 13 Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the Lord. And the people did according to this promise.

• Ability to delegate

An organizer knows which tasks to delegate and which he

must do himself. He also is able to sense which workers will need

more assistance than others. Organizers are able to naturally maintain a continued accountability with their workers. Nehemiah delegated the building of the walls, but he retained responsibility for dealing with the enemies.

Nehemiah 4:13 KJV 1900

13 Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

We have to learn to delegate

There are enemies

He organized the protection of the city

A trowel working and a sword protecting

We are in warfare - be willing to build and battle

• Withstand Reactions to Tasks

Once an organizer commits himself to a task, he is willing to endure much opposition to his leadership. This reaction may come From insiders or outsiders. However, he knows that without the continuous pressures that he must exert, the final goal will not be achieved. Nehemiah responded to persistent opposition from outside enemies and fellow workers. (See Nehemiah 4:8-18.)

There will be enemies on the outside and discouraged people on the inside.

We cannot stop our forward progression - press forward

more gospel outreach

more discipleship

more bringing those we care about to church

We’re not looking to get out we’re looking to get more involved

• Make jobs look easy

An organizer has the ability to take seemingly impossible tasks and break them down into achievable goals. Nehemiah took the huge task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and broke it down into smaller sections which each family or group was able to complete. (See Nehemiah 3:1-32.)

Organized families to accomplish tasks in a very detailed pastor

We need organizers

• Very alert to details

An organizer notices what others might consider small details, but which he knows are essential in order for the project to be completed in the proper way. He also tends to remove himself from distracting details in order to focus on the ultimate goal. Nehemiah did not get involved in actual building;

however, he removed obstacles such as financial pressures which would have hindered the workers. (See Nehemiah 5:1-13.)

A special mind for details and how those pieces Go together

Organized the supplies

Organized the people and the job was completed

• Complete tasks quickly

The efficiency of organizers begins before they start a project by checking out and securing needed resources. Nehemiah secured timber from the king's forest before the rebuilding began. Organizers also also place workers according to their strengths and weaknesses so that maximum productivity can be achieved.

Early completion of tasks

They like to accomplish tasks

• Able to be decisive

Because the final goal is clearly visualized by the organizer, he is able to quickly evaluate requests and situations and make firm decisions. Nehemiah was consistently invited by his enemies to come and have a conference with them. His decision not to come was immediate and decisive.

• Completion involves cleanup

In an organizer's mind the job is not finished until everything is back in its place. He will inspire and encourage workers to complete a job by approval, praise, reproof, and challenge. The organizer's final joy is seeing all the parts come together. It doesn't matter to him if others appreciate the job as long as he knows it was accomplished according to the plans laid out.

Involving others

A Plan coming together

Misuses

• Viewing people only as resources

If an organizer is in the position of authority, he can simply

direct people based upon his gift of of seeing the bigger picture.

However, if he is not in this position, he must earn the right to be heard. Then he must patiently explain that all the steps which he sees are required to reach the goal. An organizer will tend to make suggestions and then react Or become discouraged when these are not followed.

They like to be in charge - but if you’re not in a God-given leadership position, you must learn to follow

• Building loyalty with favoritism

An organizer is very sensitive to loyalty. He depends upon it to accomplish his goals or the goals others have for him. An organizer in charge of a work

may single out individuals whom he thinks are especially important to his goals and show them favoritism or partiality. If he is not in charge, he

he may cause disharmony by openly expressing frustration.

• Using delegation to avoid work

Work is good, delegation is good

We shouldn’t mind working

When a person with the gift of organization is not in charge, it

is easy for him to delegate his responsibilities to others. His

work may be completed; however, he will miss the character training

and other objectives which the one who assigned him the task

had in mind. His authority and others may then react to him and

accuse him of laziness and irresponsibility.

Organizers need to work also

• Being unresponsive to appeals

When an organizer who is in charge of a

project rejects valid suggestions or closes his

ears to grievances, pressures result. These

cause him to become harsh or even resign.

When an organizer is not responsive to

directions from his authorities, he must be

disciplined. If he reacts, he will build patterns

of resentment and pride.

Authority is so important no matter who we are

• Putting projects ahead of people

When an organizer reacts to people who do not have his spiritual gift, he is usually focusing only on their inefficiency and disorganization. By reacting, he overlooks their real needs and potential and damages important relationships and the potential ministry which God intended for him.

• Overlooking workers' serious faults

If an organizer is given a position of authority in the local church, he will appoint workers on the basis of their ability to get the job done. If serious character flaws are discovered in a valuable worker, the organizer will be reluctant to dismiss him. Failure to do so, however, will communicate approval and acceptance of the behavior and will cause reaction or imitation by others.

Spiritual strength is so important

• Failing to explain or praise

When an organizer is put in charge of several people to accomplish a job, he may tend to give instructions without explanation. This neglect causes fellow workers to feel like pawns in a chess game. Their feelings of being

used are intensified if they are not given proper praise or appreciation when the work is done.

Parents learn to praise good behaviour

• Forcing decisions on others

An organizer can misuse his special abilities of persuasion and decisiveness by coercing others to help him achieve personal ambitions. They can also be misused on They legitimate jobs by insensitivity to the schedules, weariness, or personal priorities of his workers.

• Losing interest in finished job

The fulfillment of an organizer is to see a job completed. However, before moving on to a new job he must make proper provision for maintenance of the completed job. When this trait is carried over into the personal life of an organizer, he is never content with the things that he has or that he has done.

Suffering allows us to be sensitive to the hurts of others

Get involved

Use your gifts