FOR JESUS’ LOVE 11
Leadership Traits
By
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (August 19, 2017)
“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” (St. John 21:15-17, King James Version [Christ’s charge to Peter]}
Greetings in the Holy Name of Jesus,
My sisters and brothers, I am hear to tell you throughout history the FACE OFF used to define leadership traits within a person with the nerves and stamina within a person to rise above the riffraff and excel in temperament to influence the people but not every FACE OFF is good for the people or the influence of every FACE OFF good for the people. Let me tell you when David faced Bathsheba his right hand man’s wife watched her as she bathed below him right in front of the palace right below where he stood every day to look out from his balcony to see the people down below in the streets where his military men soldiers lived when they were not on duty for his kingship at war in some distant land. There she was, Bathsheba right in full view taking a bath in front of King David for in some way although she alluded a certain innocence in his approaches to her of loyalty to her husband the king’s right-hand man readers of the Holy Word obviously think why did she bathe at the time known to the people when he would stand on his balcony to look down and out at the people in his city. Bathsheba let her womanly body face the king in all her nakedness, for he had already approached her naked when he took off his shirt and danced for the ark of the covenant returning to the kingdom so why did she encourage with the nakedness of her body in the sensual pleasures of saying in silence, My Lord, watch me bathe.
Most importantly, Bathsheba’s FACE OFF to King David caused King David to kill her husband in order to take his wife. Accordingly, King David protected Bathsheba from the sting of the law that a married woman should be stoned to death for adultery. Bathsheba’s FACE OFF did not toppled King David’s rulership like the people’s FACE OFF standing against God with Prophet Samuel toppled King Saul’s rulership and lineage in rulership, for God wiped out his rulership when he obeyed public opinion the popular trending opinion-of-the-day of the people and disobeyed his God. God let the dogs FACE Jezebel and the eunuchs—the castrated priests FACE her to bring about her death falling from the balcony and the dogs licked her blood. In modern society especially in the deep south, tradition of a FACE OFF to
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discern the truth for a liar could not look a person in his eyes with out showing discomfort believed to be a strategy to search out the truth in a person to ascertain the truth of a matter. However, nowadays, folks can look you right in the eyes and lie still having practiced not showing any emotion or uneasiness so that they can lie with a straight face. In hard times everyone wants to rise to the top to leadership for the money, the fame---the fortunes that come but not every one that rises to the top in leadership is good for the people when they lead by their purpose---their desperation not to go back in poverty--- not chosen of God and surely not in the will of God for the purpose of conducting the business of God just in fear of poverty. You just might have an Anti-Christ, an unbeliever, one who sets the people up for persecution just as Judas Iscariot betrayed his Lord Jesus, in competition---the competition between the Levite priesthood and the scepter of priesthood leadership remaining in Judah---the priesthood of Jesus under Melchisedec the same as given to Abraham.
More importantly, a FACE OFF means just as much as the enemy is no longer in the closet sending others to face you and do you harm, as it means the enemy is now out of the closet facing you getting a name for his acts of defiance standing on your back getting ready to break your back in order to launch his campaign his career to success leaving you broken busted and disgusted as the old folks said when leadership came through the cities and the towns with the slick talk of free speech and what the people need even if the pressure of competition forced them to use skin color to pull an audience saying we are alike in skin color so you must be loyal to me because we share the same skin color come witness for me and stand by me let me lead you out of the stench of poverty back to white folks in control in wealth oppressing his brother---those other folks, the black folks, the minorities that just came, the Jews that just came—the new arrivals and the rest of the minorities that will not take a stand to fight for the power and wealth of the land treat them just like any black person or Jew—leave them out of the power and wealth. Is that the message? The same message of a thief that influenced the white people in the early days to take all the wealth that came to America. But then again, they say, it was a thief that hung next to Jesus and received his forgiveness and a promise that he would be with him in heaven.
However, there was another thief that did not receive or even ask for forgiveness and debated Jesus while he hung on the cross, not giving up the need to have power over his Lord. This is the type of temperament that rules or tries to rule our days those who must have the power who must have the wealth not given to them from God but who have convinced the people to give over their power and their wealth to them---they stole it. Yes, there was another thief that tried to steal the power of Jesus even while he hung on the cross. Did not Saul who became Apostle Paul when Jesus took him blinded him on the road to Damascus for the ministry of Christ Jesus, face Stephen in the streets---convince the people that the first Evangelist Stephen was ignorant of the law and should not speak to the people and who insisted that the people stone Stephen to death, for speaking the law of which he was ignorant of, for Saul felt superior in his knowledge having been educated by the most learned Greek of his land---he despised those who pretended to know when they were uneducated and only tried to get the wealth of God coming down for the ministry of the law?
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Saul named after King Saul was loyal to the Levites and the Levitical priesthood, only and did not want Judah to win over the people. Saul was just as dogged in keeping the wealth maintaining the status quo of the Levitical priesthood as modern thinkers that speak loud keep white folks in the wealth keep America white. Is that not why Jesus took Saul from the Levites and made him Apostle Paul? You think and you say where is God and where is Jesus in a this cut throat wicked intentions of taking the wealth controlling the wealth and leaving the rest of the nation behind to struggle in the murkiness of the darkness of poverty scratching in the dirt for each meal they eat having to outpace work ten times harder or act like they worked ten times harder to get the job steal the job from his neighbor or to sabotage the work ethics so the rule of thumb is all things are fair in love and war not Jesus love thy neighbor. Let us put Jesus first and put Jesus in the details not the devil for God will see us through every protest rally with the objective to take America back which speaks loudly, let us oppress, use and break the backs of the black folks again like we have been doing---take everything and let the hardship fall on them.
In closing, I tell you, God is still sitting on the throne up high looking down low hearing the cries of the people at the spiritual rally where the people speak to God honoring Jesus as the head priest. You know let us take America back does not mean let us white folks take America back for America is a nation of many nations. For the glory of God we humbly remain lifted up in spirit to worship God. In the Name of Jesus. Christ be with you.
Amen.
