Attributes of a Spiritual Leader (2)
Notes
Transcript
Handout
1. They are a follower of Jesus Christ
1. They are a follower of Jesus Christ
A leader is someone who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
2. They are willing to deny themselves
2. They are willing to deny themselves
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
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.
The tricky thing about a living sacrifice is that it tends to want to get off the altar
3. They are submissive to and filled with the Holy Spirit of God
3. They are submissive to and filled with the Holy Spirit of God
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
4. They possess and practice discipline in their lives
4. They possess and practice discipline in their lives
Maturity comes with acceptance of responsibility
keep going until the job is done
Let all things be done decently and in order.
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
5. They read the Word of God and good books consistently
5. They read the Word of God and good books consistently
You can learn a lot by reading the Bible, and even more by practicing it.
John Goetsch
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Blessed is the man
That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor standeth in the way of sinners,
Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
And in his law doth he meditate day and night.
The law of his God is in his heart;
None of his steps shall slide.
The law of thy mouth is better unto me
Than thousands of gold and silver.
MEM.
O how love I thy law!
It is my meditation all the day.
The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.
6. They seek, ask for, and use God’s wisdom
6. They seek, ask for, and use God’s wisdom
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
I love them that love me;
And those that seek me early shall find me.
Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
7. They are sincere and deeply care
7. They are sincere and deeply care
Rules without relationships breed rebellion
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.
For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
8. They have godly friends and stay accountable
8. They have godly friends and stay accountable
Those closest to you will determine the level of your success
Iron sharpeneth iron;
So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man.
A friend loveth at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
9. They know how to forgive
9. They know how to forgive
Spiritual people make big problems smaller
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
10. They find their acceptance in Christ
10. They find their acceptance in Christ
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
11. They pray for others
11. They pray for others
We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:
Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
12. They help others succeed
12. They help others succeed
True leadership is servant-leadership
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
13. They know the difference between ambition and vision
13. They know the difference between ambition and vision
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself:
But the simple pass on, and are punished.
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
They are able to articulate a vision
14. They possess a sense of urgency for God’s work
14. They possess a sense of urgency for God’s work
I’d rather (metaphorically) try to restrain a bull than to prod a goat
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
15. They stand on strong convictions
15. They stand on strong convictions
If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
16. They are kind
16. They are kind
“A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men.” —Thomas Carlyle
Never underestimate the importance of your attitude
Your attitude determines your altitude
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
17. They have a growing love for Jesus Christ
17. They have a growing love for Jesus Christ
The more an individual gets to know their Savior, the more they inevitably love their Savior
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
As the hart panteth after the water brooks,
So panteth my soul after thee, O God.
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
18. They love their family
18. They love their family
But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
19. They love the local church
19. They love the local church
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
because we love the Lord, we love what he loves. and He loved the church
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;