I'm Leading

Recap

Are You In?

I’m In!

Invited - Everyone has a place in God’s family

Invaluable - You have unique gifts to be used by God for his glory

Accountable - Discipleship in community, rough edges knocked off as being SANCTIFIED

Influential - spheres of influence. Using your networks to point people towards Jesus

Invested - giving time/talent/treasure

Leading = today!

Remember: we have been divinely designed. Each day we wake up with a purpose!

Introduction

Think of some leaders - can be famous or not... What makes them good or bad? What are the attributes that make a leader good or bad?

Donald Trump - in the midst of crisis and chos opted to hold up a bible outside of a church. Q: ‘Is it your Bible, Mr President?’ A: ‘It is A Bible’

Football managers as leaders…

Of course, it is possible that someone can read a Bible and not be transformed, but what might have been more powerful and successful than Trump holidng up the Bible would have been opening it and allowing himself to be challenged.

Particularly, it might have challenged any notions he had around what it takes/looks like to be a good leader.

The best type of leadership? The leader ship of Jesus! Jesus subverted what it looked like and meant to be a leader as he walked on earth in human form.

Big Idea - We need to balance our aspiration and ambition with the right attitude.

What do I mean? Aim high for the glory of God. In the workplace, in education, wherever you are. Strive for excellence, but do it to bring glory to the name of Jesus, not to climb the ladder and grow your own empire.

Jer 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

Consistency of character is key when it comes to leadership and the Christian life in general. In fact, when it comes to serving Jesus in his church/world, character is more important than competency. We are ambassadors of Christ and need to act in a way which points people towards his goodness, not away from him.

It is when we have the wrong attitude about ourselves and towards others that we see the fruit of division rather than unity. There is a reason it takes more effort to be united than divided in the world where sinful people are involved!

But I’m not a leader!

WRONG! To a degree, everybody has some sort of leadership calling/responsibility. It might be short term as you oversee a team at work, it might be as a parent to children, it might be more explicit 0 if you are an HR manager to a large department of people looking to you or manage project then people are looking to you.

Matthew 20:20-28

Matthew 20:20–28 ESV

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Two close relatives of Jesus are keen to have the position of honour when Jesus inaugurates his kingdom. It is an innocent enough question in some senses, but reveals they are missing the point of what Jesus is doing with them.

Remember, a hype is buuilding up around who Jesus is! He is (unintentionally) building a reputation. The disciples want their share in it!

The ‘indignant’ response of the other ten reveals not that they knew better than James and John, but that they were annoyed they’d been beaten to asking the question. Can we see the sinful nature of the heart revealing itself here?!

The cup the disciples expected was glory, honour, recognition, privilege as part of the conquoring kingdom Jesus was about to lead/usher in.

Of course, the reality of the cup Jesus was about to face was drinking down to the dregs the cup of God’s wrath. All of God’s righteous fury, full strength, stored up because of the sin and rebellion of people made in his image. People who had chosen to live contrary to God’s commands, creating idols for themselves, driving a deeper wedge between themselves and their creator with every breath they took. This cup was the cup we all deserved and Jesus, in humility, sacrifice and submission to his Father, drank that cup on our behalf.

The just reward for our violence, arrogance, oppression and hunger for power has been taken by Jesus.

Jeremiah 25:15 ESV

Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.

Leading as a Son

Jesus knew who he was!

Matthew 17:5 “He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.””

Matthew 3:17 “and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.””

Important to recognise that Jesus was fully God and fully man (so we have limitations/differences). But his knowledge of how the Father saw him enabled him to lead from a place of clarity and confidence. Knowing our identity is vitally important - if we do not, we will be leading from a place of insecurity and instability.

Leading as a Shepherd

John 10 is full of language around the image of Jesus being a shepherd, caring for his flock, leading them and guiding them, sustaining them and directing them by his voice. As followers of Jesus we recognise the voice of our shepherd!

Are we listening to him or ourselves?

Leading as a Servant

This is key for Jesus. He subverts the cultural expectation of leading/power and this is the challenge he brings to the disciples! He brings it now to us. Just like the first century, we see power, authoirty, position and privilege as noble and honourable, something we somehow have assumed we deserve and then should be celebrated.

‘The rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them’ - these people exercise their power, making sure people know who is in charge! BUT NOT SO WITH YOU! To be great you must be a servant! This is the challenging teaching of Jesus about what greatness looks like.

Of course, this marks Jesus ministry.

He washed the disciples feet. He spent time with the outcasts and rejects, the sinners and the sick.

He is truly humble. He left the glory and splendour of heaven to walk amongst the brokenness of humanity, exchanging comfort to be be born into the sharp, stabbing straw in a feeding trough, dying with the sharp, stabbing nails and thorns on a cross.

It is normal for us to be self-serving. Seeking that which serves us and makes us feel happy, striving to get our own way. But this is not what Jesus commands us to do. He calls us to serve others, putting them ahead of ourselves.

Leading Sacrificially

The Good Shepherd became a lamb, laying down his life for the sheep.

He put everyone else ahead of himself (so contrary to our human nature!)

We need to take up our cross and follow Jesus! A servant is not above their master. If Jesus suffered and lived sacrifically do we not think that we should too?

If we are striving for recognition for what we are doing, seeking affirmation from man for every little thing we do, are we really living humbly and sacrificially?!

Leading Strategically

Jesus had a vision of the kingdom (bringing heaven to earth as the KOG breaks in, and will one day break in in all its fullness)

Jesus had a vision for his ministry (to bring liberty to the captives and healing to the sick)

Do we know what God has called us to do? Have we fully comprehended what God has called us to do as we serve him in the world and what our part looks like?

Unpacking our Identity

We are accpeted - we have been adopted as Sons and Daughters of God. Because of Jesus we freely receive the love of God and it is unconditional. We cannot earn it, neither do we need to try and repay a debt we think we owe. Jesus has done this.

We are annointed - at the point of believing we are filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit continues to empower us as believers, giving us the gifts and supernatural power/ability to lead/serve.

We have authority - Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Jesus gives us authority to go out into the world!

We are accountable - If we’ve been sent, we owe a report to the one who has sent us! Are we doing what the Father has called us to do in Christ, or are we doing what we want to do?

John 5:19 “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”