Pacific Rim Christian College

Pacific Rim Christian College exists to disciple emerging Christian leaders by developing their theology, ministry skills, and character in order to win souls, plant fruitful churches, and lead as exemplary Ambassadors for Christ in the ministry and marketplace.

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Keeping Our Spirit Fresh

Wayne Cordeiro

You communicate in three ways: through your words, your gestures, and through your spirit. Which do you think is most important?

I bet you guessed it. Not through our words, but the spirit with which we speak those words. That is what gives our words meaning, depth, credence.

But our spirit can flag. We become fatigued with the daily-ness of leading, and we end up still doing the deeds but they are done "absent of spirit." Zephaniah teaches us a leadership lesson that would do us well to heed:

"It will come about at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are stagnant in spirit ... (Zeph 1:12)

"Stagnant in spirit."

What a graphic picture. A spirit that is putrid, rotting, decaying, and rancid. Not a pretty sight. But it's a reality and a fact of life. Zephaniah tells us that our spirit is prone to getting rancid and stale. Without intentional maintenance, our hearts go bad, like the moldy fruit in the icebox that we forgot was there since last summer.

The people of Judah had let their spirits go beyond their expiration date without renewing it. It was now musty and the sell-by date had outlived its freshness label, and now it was decomposing rapidly.

Our spirit has an expiration date ... I think its "every morning." Every morning, each day it has to be refreshed and updated. That's how God made us. Like farm fresh produce, if it's last week's harvest, it's too old.

I need to stay current with the Holy Spirit as He renews my spirit every morning ... for my family, my ministry, my physical health, my speaking and teaching. They will all go stale if I do not renew my spirit. Otherwise, I will go "stagnant in spirit" and I become dull to God.

Judah did. So can we.

That is why my time in the Word each morning is a non negotiable. I must renew my spirit for what is before me.

For today. For this weekend. For life.

A Leader's Prayer:

"Lord Jesus, please renew my spirit today. I have so much to do, and often I flag in my spirit and get polarized. I need to have the zest of heaven. As a leader, I need to keep my wits about me and my spirit strong. Will you help me to do that on a consistent basis? Thank you for your care and love!"

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I ran long distances for 20 yrs and ran a hand ful of Maranthons. It felt good to run, My routines were to lift weights, swim, do arobics, and run. It felt good. When I would skip and work out my body would remind me to exercise, My body wanted to maintain that good feeling. I also had a prayer life, before I went to bed I would get on my knees, Reading His word and studying was done regularly. Why because my Spirit wanted to feel good. Today, I have semi retired from long distances, My body takes a little longer to jump into those 10 mile runs. A truth that I have discovered is that the Holy Spirit does not tire, He is the same Today as He is Tomarrow and will be Forever. So, treat yourself to a long run in prayer or a refreshing time in the word .It will feel good and the result will be good. I thank God that there is no price increases for His Spirit we can fill ourselves with a fresh anointing every day.. I pray that my Spirit who is willing will win the battle over my body, if He does i'll be a sweet savory smell to my Lord In Christ Michael

Submitted by Michael Alonzo - September 14th, 2008

Hi Pastor Wayne, I am truly grateful for journaling. It is the single greatest tool I have learned in the past ten years of ministry. My congregation is now replete with people doing the same. I am eternally grateful for God's work in you and through you. Yours and His, Todd

Submitted by Todd Marcy - August 11th, 2008

Hey Pastor Wayne! I thank God for you and the gifts He has placed in you and Anna. Glad to be on this list and I'm very glad that you are a pastor's pastor. Hope to see you in Jan. at DCAT. Pastor Dave

Submitted by Pastor Dave McAlister - August 11th, 2008

Thanks for the inclusion! This is great... at least what I could read of it. The point size is too small for these eyes of mine... and I'm 20/20. Blessings on you once again! Harlyn

Submitted by Harlyn - August 9th, 2008

This is a wonderful site! Mentoring Leaders is so imperative to creating a healthy church. Leaders must be trained and mentored. A person may have leadership qualities but we all still require CONTINUAL training and mentoring to move forward in what God intends for us to do. This is the only way that we will be able to accurately portray and pass on God's Spirit. Thank you for this resource. This is going to be invaluable to me.

Submitted by Jocelyn Lewis - August 9th, 2008

A very very timely word. Expiration date...what an interesting concept. Life can be so be we forget to stop and check the expiration dates... good stuff

Submitted by Rod Chaulk - August 9th, 2008

What an encouragement to be sensitive to my spiritual condition. Sometimes I give too much power to grace. Yes, it's amazing and marvelous, but it's not designed to do what only I can do. I must daily choose to receive from the infinite resources God has provided to me. "But you, keep your head in all situations. Endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." - 2 Timothy 4:5

Submitted by Greg Laskowski - August 9th, 2008

This is sweet stuff here Wayne! So true that if the spirit goes sour, so does everything else. Lord, keep our spirits fresh and on fire!

Submitted by Paul Kuzma - August 7th, 2008

Great Wayne. Can I say your 'Divine Mentor' book has had a profound impact on my devotional life and it 's principles are catching on very easily as I share with others in my church too. We have several 'Divine Mentor' books doing the rounds now, to great effect. Thank you for all you do to help us as leaders. Stewart Patrick Gisborne, NZ.

Submitted by Stewart Patrick - August 7th, 2008

In my line of work, your message comes in as an inspiration and motivation for me to go on. As a department head, with 20 people to oversee daily is quite a challenge. "God Bless You Wayne Cordeiro", for reminding us of what the The Good Lord expect of us.

Submitted by Susie Coloma - August 7th, 2008

Welcome back Pastor Wayne! Altho we miss you when you're not here, we know you're out & about doing God's work & it gets us all excited. God is so awesome that my sister-in-law & her family (my husband's sister, moved to Beaverton, OR about 6-8 years ago) were finally able to hook up with Pastor Randy's church when you & the worship team were there & loved it! They come to New Hope Farrington with us when they're in town, their son is a regular with us. and they've been searching for a church like New Hope there for a long time. They didn't know what Foursquare was so they'd never checked out Pastor Randy's church (brought up Catholic). So now that they know, they'll be regulars there, it's only 10 minutes away for them! Just wanted to thank you for changing me & my 'ohana's lives. Thank you for being obedient to God's calling & being such an awesome mentor for all of us at New Hope! Pastor Aaron was great last nite! Me & my small group sisters at work were just talking about "worry" & truly trusting God so you don't need to worry! We meet during lunch on Wednesdays, so again, God's timing was just perfect! I was there when Pastor Aaron did his first mid-week message & I've seen his confidence grow, he's so comfortable now...As a parent too, thinking of how God molds us into beautiful new creations, I get all teary... Pastor Elwin was awesome as usual, we are always in very capable hands, and he didn't make too many "PW" jokes :-) Just wanted to say "Hi" and thank you for putting me on this Mentoring Leaders email. These are valuable gems for me that I'll keep & apply to my daily living. In Christ, Steph <>< P.S. My son is getting married Aug. 16th after a 10 year romance with his high school sweeheart. Pastor Larry will be marrying them on a beach on the North Shore, with Dane & Fred playing worship songs. Never in my life did I ever imagine being so "connected" to a church! New Hope has changed me & my family forever, and forever we'll be grateful to you for your obedience & to God for His mercy & grace!!

Submitted by Steph Keolanui-Cachola - August 7th, 2008