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Lead Like Jesus
Sermon Series, Set 1
Developed by Bob Russell,
Former pastor Southeast Christian Church
Louisville, KY
3506 Professional Circle, Suite B
Augusta, GA 30909
800.383.6890 – t
706.863.8494 – t
706.863.9372 – f
www.LeadLikeJesus.com
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THE HEART OF A LEADER
Mark 6:31-56
A little five-year old girl at the county fair was just beginning to eat a massive ball ofcotton candy. A passerby asked, ‚How is such a tiny girl like you going to eat so
much cotton candy?‛ She simply responded, ‚Well<I’m a lot bigger on the inside
than I look on the outside!‛
In this series on ‚Leading Like Jesus,‛ we’re going to discuss what makes an
effective, Godly leader. The very first and probably the most important
characteristic, is the long-term, dynamic leader always has a huge heart – a heart that
is bigger on the inside than is evident on the outside. The opposite is true also. The
flash-in-the-pan, egotistical leader may impress people at first, but it’s soon evident
that there is more bluster on the outside than there is substance on the inside. The
servant leader who motivates the masses over the long haul is the one with a big
heart.
Jesus Christ is the perfect example of the kind of heart a successful leader
needs. Let’s examine several incidents from his life that are recorded in Mark 6.
Take note of how the huge heart of Jesus made him such an effective leader, and then
let’s seek to lead from within as he did.
Jesus’ Heart Was a Spirit-filled Heart.
‚Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance
to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Sothey went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.‛
Jesus withdrew from the crowds to be alone with God and refresh his spirit.
Though He loved people and was accessible to them, he wasn’t a glad-hander. He
didn’t spend every day from dawn to dusk socializing with people and ministering
to people. No matter how strong you are, that is emotionally draining and everyone
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needs a reprieve from it on occasion. While Jesus was fully God, he was also fully
man and he needed rest.
At the very beginning of his ministry Luke says that Jesus was full of the Holy
Spirit (Luke 4:1). To retain that healthy relationship with his Father, Jesus often
separated himself from the crowds to replenish his own spiritual energy. He spent
time alone with God. He got physical rest. He spent time developing and teaching
his closest disciples.
Here are two Coke cans. One is full; the other is completely empty.
Externally they don’t look any different. But just a little pressure on this one crushes
it. But I can put much greater pressure on the second can and it doesn’t buckle. Thedifference is one is empty and the other is full.
We often can’t see the content of a person’s character. We don’t know what’s
going on in the heart. But when people are easily crushed by pressure, temptation or
suffering it’s an indication of emptiness within.
When we read that a national Christian leader has cheated on his wife and
embarrassed the Kingdom of God, most everyone is shocked. We all ask, ‚What
happened?‛ ‚How could a guy preach so strongly about family values and yet not
be faithful to his own wife? He seemed so spiritual!‛
A.W. Tozer wrote that, ‘No man suddenly goes base‛. For some time, behind
the scenes there has been a gradual erosion of the inner man. There has been a slow
corruption of the heart in ways that are not discernable even by his closest friends.
But when the pressure comes, character counts – big time! The condition of the heart
really matters.
That’s why even Jesus took time out to replenish his spiritual energies. He was
not only sensitive to his own need to rest and renew his heart; he was sensitive to the
need of his associates to do the same. Sometimes high-energy leaders do not
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understand that their associates may not have the same level of vitality they do and
they wear them out. Not Jesus. He invited His disciples to come with him to rest.
Leading from the Inside Out
In his book, Conformed to His Image, author and teacher Ken Boa has an entire section
pointing out that a Godly leader leads from the inside out. ‚External action should
derive from internal reality, and this requires a rhythm of solitude and engagement,
restoration and application, intimacy with Christ and activity in the world.‛
‚The life of Jesus illustrates this pattern of seeking significant time to be alone
with the Father so that he would have the inner power and poise to deal with theoutward pressures imposed upon him by his friends and enemies. People who
work and minister without adequate restoration through prayer and meditation do
not have the interior resources to manifest the fruit of the Spirit in a stress-filled
world. During the quiet times of the devotional life, we gain the perspective and
power we need to live with character and composure in the context of daily
demands. ‚In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your
strength.‛ (Isaiah 30:15) (Ken Boa – Conformed to His Image, Zondervan 2001) (page
272)
A Christ-like leader’s heart should be filled with the Holy Spirit. A leader
should be like a full cup; he/she just splashes over and blesses others who are near.
But too often we feel like a half-empty vessels, having to tilt way over to pour
anything out. When the heart is empty, leading becomes forced and hypocritical.
Years ago when comedian Charlie Chaplain was visiting in Monaco, he saw
an advertisement for a ‚Charlie Chaplain look-alike contest.‛ He decided to enter it
anonymously<..and he came in 3rd !
Maybe people’s image of you is markedly different from who you really are
inside. They assume you are walking your talk and leading from inner strength. But
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in reality their perception of who you are is nothing like the reality of what’s on the
inside. Maybe there needs to be a regular replenishing of spiritual resources and a
renewing of the heart so that it is healthy.
Admittedly what renews one person spiritually may not work for someone
else. I have a preacher friend who writes his sermons at Starbucks. There is
something about being around people that energizes him. That would drain my
resources fast. I couldn’t concentrate in that environment. I need to be isolated from
people. But it works for him.
Sometimes young preachers ask me how I recharge my spiritual batteries.
When I tell them that I sit in my family room on Saturday night and watch tapes ofBill Gaither’s music to get spiritually recharged many of the young ministers nearly
gag at my answer. That old-style music doesn’t do anything for them! But it does
for me. I sing along and weep and am deeply moved and revitalized.
Once you understand what replenishes your spiritual well, carve out the time
for it to become a regular practice in your life so you can lead from within. Jesus did.
He withdrew from the crowds to a quiet place to fill his heart.
Devotional writer Oswald Chambers wrote, ‚If I am devoted to the cause of
humanity only, I will soon be exhausted and come to the place where my love will
falter; but if I love Jesus Christ personally and passionately, I can serve humanity
though men treat me as a doormat.‛
Jesus’ Heart, a Compassionate Heart
Mark 6:33-34 reads, ‚But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot
from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he
had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began
teaching them many things.‛
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If I had been Jesus I would have been really aggravated at this point. He really
needed some time off. He’d been drained by the demands of the huge crowds of
people. He’d taught them, healed them, listened to them. He and his disciples had
been so busy trying to minister to people they hadn’t even taken time to eat.
In addition to the people burdens, Jesus had just received news that a close
relative and friend, John the Baptist was dead. John was not much more than thirty
years old and yet he’d been brutally executed by King Herod. Jesus’ heart was
heavy-laden and he needed some time to grieve and be alone.
When Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Let’s go to the other side of the lake for a
retreat they were undoubtedly elated. They were looking forward to some time off.Peter probably said, ‚I’m going to sleep and fish for a week!‛ Thomas may have
quipped, ‘I’m going to get off to myself where no one can find me and read.‛ They
got into a boat and rowed their way to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
But when they neared the shore, to their horror, there were all these same
people waving to them, wanting to be ministered to by them again. Ken Blanchard
once said that if it hadn’t been for interruptions Jesus wouldn’t have had a ministry.
This is an unwelcome interruption; thousands of people had scurried around the lake
and beat Jesus and his disciples to the other side.
When I read this story I think of that popular movie, ‚What About Bob?‛
Psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin played by Richard Dreyfuss has been really looking
forward to a quiet vacation with his family. He goes to his retreat house on the lake
pumped up about his time off. But to his dismay he’s interrupted by Bob Wiley, an
extremely needy patient played by Bill Murray.
Bob Wiley takes a bus for miles, arrives in the vacation village, locates Dr.
Marvin’s house, knocks on his door and pitifully asks ‚Is this a bad time?‛ That
interruption is so resented by Dr. Marvin that it not only ruins his entire vacation, it
nearly destroys his relationship with his family.
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Jesus Had Compassion on the People
Jesus was looking for privacy but encountered a crowd. The people lined up on
shore waving to him, ‚We’re back! Is this a bad time?‛ But Jesus didn’t resent the
intrusion. Look at his reaction. ‚When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had
compassion on them and healed their sick.‛
A Christ-like leader responds to people the same way. We don’t see people
as a mass of humanity to be manipulated for our own personal advantage. Neither
do we resent people as interruptions to our personal agenda – we see them as sheep
needing a shepherd.
A shepherd loves his sheep and knows them by name. A shepherd feeds hissheep by leading them to green pastures and still waters. A shepherd finds the lost
sheep and rescues them from peril even though it’s inconvenient or dangerous. A
shepherd puts the needs of the sheep above his own. That takes a compassionate
heart.
When I was in fourth grade our church got a new preacher who significantly
impacted my life. He was just twenty-four years old and quite a contrast to the
eighty-three year old minister who had just retired. I quickly came to love Brother
Bob Phillips. I’m sure some older believers thought his preaching was shallow since
he was so young and just beginning, but when he preached he told stories that I
understood and could apply to my life. He used humor and laughed and was so
human that he made the Christian life appealing. ‚If I ever became a preacher that’s
the way I would preach,‛ I found myself thinking even as a ten year old.
But what impressed me most about Bob Phillips was that he was a shepherd
who had a compassionate heart for his sheep. My favorite memory of him occurred
one evening when I was in the dugout, getting ready for a little league baseball
game. I was really surprised to see Brother Bob standing outside the right field fence
all by himself. No one else on our team belonged to his church. He just came to see
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me play! I couldn’t get over that. That was time consuming but he was there
because he cared.
A few years later on a Friday night after an active week at a Christian service
camp, Bob Phillips came into the dorm and sat down on the end of my bed. He
somehow sensed I was a little troubled. An appeal had gone out for young men to
make commitments to become preachers of the gospel. I didn’t respond because I
hadn’t, ‚Felt the call‛ and I felt guilty about it. Bob gently patted me on the shoulder
and suggested that although I had not gone forward along with many others that it
was okay. He would be praying that if God laid it on my heart to become a preacher
in the future that I would be submissive to His will because I would, ‚make a goodone.‛
I can’t remember two paragraphs of what Bob Phillips preached, but his heart
for God and his compassion for people helped to shape my life and ministry for the
next five decades. That was leadership like Jesus.
Jesus Heart Was Also a Servant’s Heart
Look at Mark 6:35 and following. ‚By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples
came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late. Send the people
away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves
something to eat." But he answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him,
"That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on
bread and give it to them to eat?" "How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see."
When they found out, they said, "Five--and two fish." Then Jesus directed them to have all
the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds
and fifties.‛
Jesus was the most effective leader who ever lived because He was sensitive
to what people’s needs were. When the disciples suggested the people were hungry,
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Jesus didn’t flippantly dismiss the idea- ‚Let them eat cake!‛ ‚Isn’t spiritual food
enough for them? ‚They’re not going to starve to death if they miss one meal. This is
a good time to fast.‛
No, Jesus recognized the people were hungry and needed physical food.
Notice the contrast between Jesus and his disciples. They wanted to send the people
away. Jesus kept them there. They saw the cost as prohibitive. Jesus saw the
miraculous opportunity. They saw just one boy’s lunch being grossly insufficient.
Jesus saw one boy’s lunch as being multiplied into a bountiful meal. The Christ-like
leader sees opportunities where others see obstacles.
But Jesus was more than a visionary. He took appropriate action. He gotorganized. He had the people sit in groups of hundreds and fifties. He knew the fair
distribution of food would be much easier if they sat in smaller groups. He also
knew an accurate count of the people would be important in the future when this
miracle was retold.
Mark 6: 41- 44 reads, ‚Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to
heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before
the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and
the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the
men who had eaten was five thousand.‛
Jesus Didn’t Come to Be Served, But to Serve
Jesus met the needs of people where they were. He gave thanks for the food to
remind people that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift and with God all
things are possible. He broke the bread and a spectacular, inexplicable miracle took
place. We can’t explain it. Miracles are not meant to be explained but believed.
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Jesus said, ‚I didn’t come to be served but to serve.‛ A Christ-like leader has that
same spirit. A servant’s heart is sensitive to the needs of people and envisions
practical ways to meet those needs.
Ken Blanchard has pointed out that the two primary threats to the heart of a
leader are pride and fear. We become prideful and think we can lead on our own.
We neglect intimacy with Christ and edge God out by busyness and negligence. The
Bible warns that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.
(Proverbs 16:18). Pride leaves the heart empty and vulnerable to temptation and
discouragement.
I heard about a frog that lived in a farm pond for years. But one year a terribledrought dried up the pond and the frog realized he was doomed. He came up with
an ingenious idea, however. He persuaded two of his duck friends to carry a twig
between their bills and he would clutch onto the twig with his powerful jaws and
they could fly him out to another bigger pond where he could survive. When they
took off it was a spectacular sight. They soared above the barnyard and a local
farmer looked up and saw them and mused out loud, ‚What an ingenious idea! I
wonder who thought of that?‛ The frog couldn’t resist the opportunity to get the
credit and said, ‚I diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid~~~!!!‛ Pride is deadly! That’s why, ‚God resists the
proud but gives grace to the humble.‛
Fear is also an enemy of the heart. Fear refuses to trust God and walk by faith.
It seeks primarily comfort and security. It fails to act unless all the bases are covered.
Lee Iacocca once suggested that a good leader makes a decision when 95% of the
information is in. If the leader waits until he/she is 100% sure, it’s too late. But fear
freezes in the face of risk. It delays and defers to committees. That’s why the Bible
encourages leaders to be strong and courageous and reminds them that when the
Lord is leading there is no need to fear.
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The servant’s heart leads with humility and courage. It is willing for others to
have the glory and it is willing to take necessary risks that will benefit the majority.
It trusts God to provide through His miraculous power.
It’s interesting that in John’s account of the feeding of the 5000, the people
return the next day asking for Jesus to feed them again. He refused to do so, saying,
‚I’m not a bread Messiah. I’ve come to give you spiritual food that’s more
important. But because he wouldn’t feed them bread again, many of His followers
left and rejected him. Jesus asked the disciples if they would leave also. Peter
replied, ‚Lord, to whom shall we go, only you have the words of eternal life.‚
Jesus Meets More Than Physical Needs
Jesus was sensitive to people’s needs but he came to do more than meet physical
needs, he came to meet spiritual needs. That leadership meant he would be rejected
and wind up on a cross for the sins of the world. In dying he led his followers to
eternal life and the bread that would satisfy the soul. But he made it clear that, ‚Man
doesn’t live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.‛
Christ-like leaders don’t just give people what they want. They seek to
provide what people really need. What they need more than anything else is the
forgiveness of sins, the hope of eternal life and an ultimate purpose for living. Those
deepest needs of the heart can only be found through a commitment to Jesus Christ
as Lord and Savior.
‚Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and
he who believes in me will never be thirsty.‛ (John 6:35)
Pat Day and Elliot Walden are good friends and both are dedicated Christians.
Pat, a hall of fame jockey, and Elliott, a successful horse trainer, have led in
establishing a national chaplaincy program that ministers to the needs of the heart at
over two dozen race tracks across the country. Their ministry has already led
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hundreds to know and grow in Christ. Friends at racetracks jokingly refer to Pat and
Elliott as, ‚The God Squad.‛
Admittedly, the two look a little odd together. Elliott, who has trained over a
thousand thoroughbreds who have wound up in the winner’s circle stands 6’ 3‛ and
weighs around 230. Pat Day, a Hall of Fame jockey who has won all three legs of the
Triple Crown, is a little man who stands 4’ 11‛ and weighs less than 110 pounds.
Pat Day is a dedicated, unashamed Christian. He testifies that early in his
career he was involved in drug and alcohol abuse but his life was dramatically
transformed the day he became a born-again Christian. When he was interviewed on
national television immediately following his long-awaited Kentucky Derby win, thefirst words out of his mouth was a Scripture verse that praised God for His goodness.
When Elliott and Pat greet each other with a hug, bystanders can’t help but
smile a little. Elliott bends way over to gently embrace the diminutive man he could
easily lift onto his shoulders. Physically Pat is half the man Elliott is. If, however,
you were to ask Elliott Walden who has influenced his life more than any other
person, he’d point to Pat Day as his num ber one spiritual leader.
In fact Elliott gave his life to Christ a few years ago when Pat Day shared his
testimony. He still looks to Pat as a spiritual mentor and regards him as a giant in
the faith. Elliott will be the first to tell you, Pat Day influences him and thousands of
others because he’s a lot bigger on the inside than he is on the outside.
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THE HEAD OF A LEADER
Mark 10:35-45
Who in the world would want to be President of the United States? Don’t you
wonder about that sometimes? Being president is such a stressful job. The decisions
about the war, the economy, healthcare, etc. are life and death decisions that impact
so many people.
Who would want to be president and try to bring together all the diverse
views represented in Congress? How do you get the liberals and conservatives to
agree on anything? It has to be frustrating to try to build a consensus.The President lives under constant scrutiny too. Every day there is
unmerciful criticism from the media and sarcastic ridicule from comedians. Nearly
everyone evaluates your job performance – every day!
Who would want to be President? A lot of people. We have never had an
election where there was no one applying for the job. In fact, hundreds of leaders
from the political and business world jockey for the opportunity to run for president
most of their lives.
Two Motives of Leaders
There are primarily two motives behind the desire to be president or to hold any
position of leadership for that matter. One is the desire to make a positive difference.
That’s a noble motive. A leader feels called of God or driven by love of country to
enter the political arena to make the world a better place.
But there is a second motive - the desire to be important. This is a selfish
motive for leadership. What is it like to be able to wield so much power? To fly in
Air Force One? To have security guards protecting you and television cameras on
you? When you walk in the room every eye is on you. What’s it like to have people
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anxious to respond to your every request? People pay thousands of dollars to just
get their picture taken with you? What an ego-boost!
Those two motives compete for dominance in the head of every leader, every
day. Do we lead out of a desire to serve others or out of a desire to be served by
others? Do we think of our task as guiding people to a noble goal or using people to
advance our own agenda?
Whether it’s the President of the United States , the CEO of a company, the
foreman of an assembly line, the coach of a little league ball team, the teacher in a
classroom or a parent in the home, every leader struggles with motivation. How do I
envision my task? It’s a daily battle to keep our thinking straight and our motivespure. People can start out with a noble goal but power can corrupt anyone over
time.
The gospel of Mark records an occasion when Jesus Christ dealt with this very
issue in the minds of his closest disciples. The story is recorded in the gospel of Mark
the tenth chapter verses 35-45. Two of his closest disciples, James and John came to
him requesting positions of prominence in His coming Kingdom. We can learn a lot
about the way a leader ought to think from Jesus’ response to them.
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. ‛Teacher," they said,
"we want you to do for us whatever we ask." "What do you want me to do for
you?" he asked. They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at
your left in your glory." (Mark 10:35-45)
The Selfish Mindset of the World
The request of James and John doesn’t surprise us much. Almost everyone has
ambitions and wants to get ahead. A chapter in J Wallace Hamilton’s book, Horns
and Halos in Human Nature is entitled, ‚Drum Major Instincts.‛ He contended that
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we’re born with a desire to lead the parade, to stand in the spotlight, to be noticed by
others and be considered important. It’s instinctive.
You see that selfish instinct bubble up in little children. ‚Look at me,
Mommy!‛ ‚Me first!‛ ‚It’s Mine!‛ ‚See me, daddy!‛ Little children get jealous of
newborn siblings because they want to be first in their parent’s hearts. They don’t
want to play second fiddle.
Teenagers want to be first – in just about everything. They get jealous of those
who get higher grades, score more points, and get more attractive dates. They may
dress or act in bizarre ways just to get attention or be noticed.
We see the same drive for preeminence in adults. Watch athletic contests – it’sa competition for who is most important. Observe beauty pageants – it’s a
competition for who has the position of prominence. Take notice of office politics –
it’s often a maneuvering not just for more money, but for symbols of status.
Why do we build gigantic homes in the most prestigious neighborhoods? Do
we really need 10,000 square feet to live in – after the nest is empty? No. Usually we
have these outrageously huge homes and accumulate enormous indebtedness to
demonstrate our importance.
I say ‘usually’ because I asked one guy in his fifties why he had built a 14,000
square foot house when all his kids were gone. He said, ‚Well, it’s like this, in that
house, sometimes my wife can’t find me for two days!‛
James and John came to Jesus asking for positions of prominence and their
request shouldn’t shock us. It’s typical. It does surprise us a little that James and
John were so open about it. Most people are a little more subtle about their
ambitions but James and John were expressing a natural desire –to be important, to
have positions of influence in the coming Kingdom.
It’s interesting that Matthew’s gospel relates that James and John were
prodded by their mother. She came to Jesus asking, ‚Grant that these my sons can sit at
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your side in the coming kingdom.‛ That’s pretty natural too. Most parents want their
children to get ahead.
Entertainer Don Rickles says he got his start because of his mother. Rickles
was doing comedy in small clubs when his mother moved to Miami, Florida. She
learned that Frank Sinatra’s mother lived in Miami and deliberately positioned
herself to meet Mrs. Sinatra and eventually said, ‚If your son ever comes to town, I
want him to hear my son.‛
Frank Sinatra went to hear Don Rickles at his mother’s request. The comedian
was told whatever you do don’t insult Frank Sinatra, he is sensitive to that kind of
thing.‛ But Rickles was himself and ripped on Sinatra. Frank’s bodyguards flinched but Sinatra thought it was really funny and promoted him. Don Rickles got his start
in show business because his mother campaigned for him.
High school basketball coaches relate that one of their biggest headaches is
dealing with overly ambitious parents. Parents want their kids to play more, to get
more shots, to be the star of the team. One college coach told me, ‚Every high school
player thinks he can play at one level above where he can play and every parent
thinks his kid can play at two levels above where he can play.‛ Overly aggressive
parents want to live out their own fantasies and become important through their
children.
Look at how Jesus answered James and John and their mother. Mark 10:38-40 ,
"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am
going to drink?" "We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from
my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for
whom they have been prepared by my Father."
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Two Leadership Principles Jesus Taught
Notice two principles that Jesus taught here about the desire to lead. First, leadership
is almost always a lot tougher than we think it’s going to be. The disciples seem to
have forgotten what Jesus had just told them a few minutes before. Mark 10:33-34
reads, ‚We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the
chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over
to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he
will rise."
Jesus’ leadership role involved opposition, arrest, scourging and crucifixion.
‚Are you really ready to drink the cup I’m going to drink?‛ Jesus asked. They naivelysaid, ‚Oh yes, we’re ready!‛
We all have a tendency to see the other person’s job in its glamour moment
and fail to see the behind the scenes struggles. We see a doctor when he performs
successful surgery and saves someone’s life. The family thanks him and he drives
home in his expensive car to his big home and we say, ‚Wow! I’d like to be a doctor.‛
But we fail to see the years of expensive medical school, the hours and hours in study
and residency, the late night phone calls, the frustrating failures.
We see a basketball coach when he’s carried off the floor after a crucial victory
and we think, ‚It would be great to be a coach.‛ But we fail to see the late night
watching of game films, the frustrating losses, the rebellious athletes, the critical fans.
We see a CEO who draws a marvelous salary and who receives the applause
of shareholders for making the company prosperous and who is on the board of his
country clu b and we think, ‚I’d love to have my own company.‛ But we fail to see
the sleepless nights, the churning over weighty decisions, the anxiety of putting your
life-savings on the line, the critical letters and comments from angry employees.
‚Are you ready to drink from the cup I’m going to drink?‛ Jesus asked.
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Leadership is almost always a lot more difficult than we imagine. A long-term
leader has to have a tough mind-set and think long-term. He can’t be easily
discouraged or distracted. A Christ-like leader is mentally tough in the face of
adversity.
Leadership God-ordained
Secondly, leadership is a God-ordained call. In verses 39-40, ‚Jesus said to them, "You
will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These
places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father."
Notice Jesus didn’t say, ‚No one should desire to lead.‛ ‚It’s wrong for you to
want positions of prominence.‛ ‚We’re all going to be equal in the kingdom ofGod.‛ No, he said, ‚These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my
Father.‛
God ordains some people for leadership. It’s a gift you can polish and
improve but you can’t be a leader unless God has gifted you to lead and called you to
lead and prepared you to lead.
Henry Ford was once asked, ‚Who should be the leader?‛ He said, ‚That’s
like asking who should sing tenor in a quartet.‛ In other words, the tenor has got to
be the guy who is gifted with a tenor voice. Any other choice is a disaster. The
leader is one who is gifted and prepared by God to do so.
A positive example is Joseph in the Old Testament. When Pharaoh offered
Joseph the position as the second most powerful man in Egypt, he willingly accepted
the role. Joseph didn’t refuse it. He didn’t say, ‚Oh, I’m not qualified. I’m too young
and I’m a foreigner. I’ve been in prison.‛
Humility is not insecurity. Humility is finding out what gifts God has given
to you and then using those talents for His glory and not your own. So Joseph
immediately accepted the leadership position and went to work.
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Joseph didn’t feel guilty about the perks that came his way. You don’t read
that he refused to wear the gold chain, put on the signet ring, or ride in Pharaoh’s
chariot. He didn’t let those perks go to his head, but he took them in stride, because
he knew that God needed him in that position.
Proverbs 29:2 reads, ‚When the righteous thrive the people rejoice, but when the
wicked rule the people groan.‛ Joseph knew that if he didn’t accept the leadership
position there would be wicked, selfish people who would delight in taking it and
raking off all the profits for themselves. Then Egypt wouldn’t be prepared for the
famine and the people would suffer.
Psalm 75:6 says, ‚No one from the east or west or from the desert can exalt a man,but it is God who judges. He brings one down and he exalts the other.‛ Joseph knew that
God was exalting him and he accepted the role with grace. So it’s not wrong to have
a desire to lead. But understand it’s a difficult task and you must be gifted and
called to do it.
Mark 10: 41 says that when the other disciples heard about the brother’s
request for prominence, ‚they became indignant with James and John.‛ Why were the
other disciples angry at their friends? Was it because the two were being self-
promoting and unspiritual? I don’t think that’s it. They were angry because James
and John were trying to get ahead of them. They wanted the same positions of
power.
Abraham Lincoln was once asked what was wrong with his two sons. ‚Why
are they bickering?‛ He said, ‚The same thing is wrong with them that’s wrong
with the rest of the world. I have three walnuts and both want two.‛
There were only two seats beside Jesus and all twelve wanted one of those
seats of influence. This is what makes for turmoil on a team, politics in an office,
back-biting in a church, and strife within families.
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The 24th annual survey of high achievers in high school revealed 78% admitted
cheating regularly for grades. World magazine reported teachers are assisting
students in SAT scores and padding attendance figures to enhance their record.
Would you want a doctor, a pilot, a pharmacist who had bluffed his way through
training?
Like James and John people want seats of prominence –that’s natural. The
problem is that some are willing to cheat, lie, manipulate and sell their soul to get
there.
The Servant Mindset of JesusIn verses 42-45 we read, ‚ Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who
are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise
authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you
must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
The officials of the world love to exercise their authority. They love to bark
out orders, intimidate and threaten. Worldly leaders think leadership means
throwing their weight around.
I heard about a little boy who was fifteen minutes late getting home from his
school, which was only two blocks away. He came in obviously miffed about
something and his mother said, ‚Billy, I was worried about you. Why are you so
late?‛ He said, ‚Aw, Jeremy was the school-crossing guard today and he made us
wait for ten minutes until a car came so he could stop it.‛
Have you ever worked for a boss who loved to be in charge? He/she insisted
on titles and status symbols and submission to their authority? Jesus said, ‚Not so
with you! Whoever wants to be great among you should be the servant of all.‛
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Christian leadership is counter-culture in thinking. Instead of, ‚Lording it‛
over people, the Godly servant seeks to serve those under him. Instead of
demanding attention, the servant steps out of the spotlight and looks for ways to
make those he leads look good. Instead of making decisions based on image
enhancement, the servant leader’s decisions are based on what will enhance the
organization. The servant leader doesn’t demand respect, he earns respect simply
because he walks his talk and cares for others.
The new CEO of The Marley Cooling Tower Company in Louisville, Kentucky
was struggling to gain credibility with his employees. He had been called in from
the home office to run the company, a producer of large refrigeration equipment.But it was obvious to him that things weren’t going too well. The morale was low
because he had to begin by making serious cuts and he sensed the workers in the
factory resented him as an outsider and resisted his attempts to unite and motivate
them.
But then one day one of the workers in the factory had a massive heart attack
while working on the assembly line. The CEO, having taken a course in first aid,
raced in and administered CPR to the victim. When the workers on the line saw the
CEO on his knees, in the dirt and grease, caring a lot more for their stricken co-
worker than the expensive suit he was ruining, their attitude toward him changed
dramatically. Even though the stricken man died, the CEO says from that moment
on the employees showed a new respect for him and began to respond to his
leadership.
Jesus Demonstrated Servant Leadership
Jesus Christ didn’t just talk about servant leadership, he demonstrated it by getting
down and dirty with the common people. Notice how his unselfish thinking was
evident in this same chapter of Mark’s gospel.
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When some parents brought their little children to Jesus to bless them the
disciples tried to prevent them from interrupting the Lord. They thought Jesus had
more important things to do. But Jesus said, ‚No, let the little children come to me for
the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth anyone who will not receive
the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.‛
Jesus wasn’t too busy for the little people. These children couldn’t help his
image or advance His agenda but they were still important. Jesus didn’t give special
favoritism to the attractive, the rich or the famous. Beautiful people weren’t treated
differently than the common people.
In Mark 10:17 a rich young ruler came to him, saying, ‚What must I do to inheriteternal life?‛ The disciples must have thought, ‚This is more like it. This guy can
really help us. He can provide the kind of financial backing we need.‛ Jesus said, ‘Go
sell everything you have and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then
come, follow me.‛
The disciples must have been dumbfounded when they witnessed that. Jesus
never demanded that kind of sacrifice on the part of others. Why was he making it
so difficult for this influential man? They didn’t understand that Jesus was
demonstrating to the rich young ruler what his problem was – he loved riches more
than he loved God.
‚At this, the man’s face fell, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.‛ (v. 22)
Jesus didn’t show favoritism or make special concessions to the rich. His standards
were consistent for everyone. He was a servant leader, not an egotist who focused
just on catering to the important.
Contrast Jesus’ response to the rich young ruler with his response to a blind
beggar at the end of chapter 10. ‚As they came near Jericho a blind beggar from the side
of the road began screaming to Jesus to help him. ‚Son of David, have mercy on me.‛
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Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet. He was regarded as a nobody
but the pitiful man realized this was his only chance and he refused to be silenced.
He barked even more loudly, ‚Son of David have mercy on me.‛ Jesus stopped and said,
‚Call him.‛ He was brought to Jesus and the Lord asked, ‚What do you want me to do for
you?‛ He said, ‚Rabbi, I want to see.‛ "Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you."
Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.‛ (Mark 10:46-52)
Jesus’ thinking was counter-cultural. He let the rich man walk away and
searched out a poor beggar. He served those who couldn’t return the favor. He
served those who were in need even though they couldn’t give anything in return.
If we are to ‚Lead Like Jesus‛ we also need to think counter culturally. Wedon’t lead to accumulate more money, more power, or more attention. We lead to
benefit others. We give ourselves up for those who are in need of assistance. The
amazing thing is the more we lead like Jesus, the more effective our leadership
becomes.
The Level Five Leader
In his book From Good to Great , leadership guru Jim Collins surprisingly underscores
the importance of humility in business. He and his team spent years analyzing why
a few businesses moved from good to great and remained effective over a period of
time. One of the conclusions they drew is at the core of every great business is a,
‚Level Five‛ leader who does not have a gargantuan personal ego. Instead he is an
understated, humble servant leader. ‚More Abraham Lincoln, less General Patton,‛
Collins says.
Collins writes that a company would show a leap in performance under a
talented, yet egotistical leader, only to decline in later years. Lee Iacocca for example,
saved Chrysler from the brink of catastrophe, performing one of the most celebrated
turnarounds in American business history. Chrysler rose to a height of 2.9 times the
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market at a point about halfway through his tenure. Then, however, he diverted his
attention to making himself one of the most celebrated CEO’s in American business
history. He appeared regularly on talk shows and personally starred in over 80
commercials, entertained the idea of running for president of the United States
(Iacocca boasted, ‛I could handle the national economy in six months.‛). His book,
‚Iacocca,‛ sold 7 million copies and elevated him to rock star status. But in the
second half of his tenure, Chrysler’s stock fell 31 percent behind the general market.
Collins says Iacocca is a Level Four leader - strong charisma, great talent and
huge ego. But Level Five leaders embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility
and professional will. They are ambitious to be sure, but for the company notthemselves. They don’t aspire to be put on a pedestal. They are described as being
quiet, humble, reserved, gracious, mild-mannered, self-effacing, not believing their
own clippings, not demanding to be center stage.
Don’t you love it when the studies of the secular culture verify what the Word
of God has been saying all along? Proverbs 29:23 says, ‚A man’s pride brings him low,
but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.‛ 1 Peter 5:6 reads, ‚Humble yourselves, therefore,
under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.‛
George Washington was a good example of a level five leader. Time and
again he sacrificed his own welfare for that of his troops. He inspired soldiers to
endure hardships and fight with incredible courage. Following the revolutionary
war, King George of England anticipated that George Washington would be
crowned King of America. When he heard that Washington had no desire to be king
and just wanted to return to his home in Mount Vernon, King George couldn’t
believe it. ‚If he does that he’ll be the greatest man who ever lived,‛ the king of
England quipped. Washington did and that explains why a few years later the new
colonies insisted George Washington serve as the first president and why he’s
considered to be one of the greatest leaders America ever had.
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Jesus is the perfect example of a Level Five leader. His greatest act of service
was His willingness to die on the cross for the sins of the world. Jesus didn’t die a
martyr’s death but a vicarious death. Jesus died deliberately as a substitute for our
sins.
Imagine a condemned murderer during his final hours on death row. He
anxiously stalks the cell like a caged lion knowing that his execution is to take place
early the next morning. He’s fully aware that this is the end. All appeals have been
exhausted and there is no chance of a last second pardon. His dreaded date with
death, which has been on the calendar for over a year, is now only hours away.
But late that final evening the prison gate clangs open as a priest is admitted tohis cell and the two are left to talk in private. But this is no ordinary priest. He is the
identical twin brother of the condemned criminal. Since he’s dressed in the priestly
hood and robes, the eerie similarity between the two goes unnoticed by the prison
guards.
In the seclusion of the cell the priest persuades his brother to quickly exchange
clothing with him. A few minutes later the condemned criminal, now dressed in the
priestly garments, is escorted outside to freedom. The next morning it is the priest,
now dressed in prison garb, who is escorted to the electric chair and who willingly
dies in the place of his brother.
Jesus’ Sacrificial Love
It’s hard to imagine that kind of sacrificial love. It’s hard to fathom that kind of
unselfishness and grace. But that’s a picture of what Jesus Christ, our elder brother,
did for us. Since ‚the wages of sin is death‛ we stood condemned to die for our
multiple violations of God’s law. The Bible says we were, ‚dead in trespasses and sins.‛
But Jesus Christ came into the prison of this world to rescue us. He came ‚to
free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.‛ (Isaiah
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42:7) He came to willingly take the punishment that we rightfully deserve. He offers
to let us walk out into complete freedom dressed in the robe of His righteousness
while He accepts the death penalty on our behalf.
The prophet Isaiah wrote, ‚But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was
crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his
wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own
way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.‛ (Isaiah 53:5-6)
At Calvary the punishment that we deserve was heaped on the innocent body
and soul of Jesus. What amazing love! What incredible grace! What an unbelievable
sacrifice on our behalf! Because of what Jesus endured for us, when we trust him asSavior and Lord we are totally free from condemnation. Free from the second death.
Free from the guilt of our sin.
All that was made possible because Jesus was a servant leader who put our
welfare above His own life.
‚Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.‛ (Philippians 2:9-11)
“Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus.”
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THE HANDS OF A LEADER
Luke 6:45
A lonely, homesick soldier sat on his bunk late one night reading a love letter from
his girlfriend. She poured out her heart about how much she missed him and
wanted to hold him in her arms again. He could see the tear stains on the perfumed
note that she had written.
After six weeks of basic training his heart was so heavy he couldn’t stand it
any longer. He tossed a few items in his duffle bag and bolted for the exit right then
and there. As he raced through the gate an armed sentry yelled, ‚Halt!‛ ‚Halt or I’ll
shoot!‛ The determined young soldier just kept high-tailing it toward the airportand shouted back at the sentry, ‚My mom’s in heaven, my dad’s in hell and my
girlfriend’s in Chicago and I’m going to see one of them tonight!‛
When we really feel something deeply in our hearts, it’s going to burst forth
into behavior – right or wrong. Jesus said, ‚The good man brings good things out of the
good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his
heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.‛ (Luke 6:45)
Usually the clearest indication of what is going on down deep inside a person
is how they talk. The most reliable expression of who a person is, is their speech.
Someone said, ‚The mouth is the billboard of the heart.‛
Sometimes that’s good – If the heart is filled with the Holy Spirit and
compassion it will be evident by words that encourage and inspire. Sometimes it’s
bad – If the heart is filled with bitterness and hatred it will spew over into profanity
and threats.
But the point is this: there is a direct correlation between the internal thoughts
of the heart and the external behavior of an individual. Solomon said, ‚ As a man
thinks in his heart, so is he.‛ (Proverb 23:7)
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Today we are going to talk about the hands of a leader. The hands represent
behavior. Once our heart and head are in alignment, a change in behavior is to
occur. Leading like Jesus is not a theory; it is a lifestyle to be practiced in our total
life.
Jesus demonstrated how a leader should behave in his relationships with
other people. That behavior is illustrated clearly in four incidents recorded in the 6th
chapter of Luke – this same chapter where Jesus talked about the expressions of the
heart. Notice some facts about Jesus’ hands that anyone who wants to lead should
emulate.
Jesus’ Hands of Protection Verses 1-5 reveal that Jesus’ hands were hands of protection. “ One Sabbath Jesus was
going through the grain fields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them
in their hands and eat the kernels. Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what is
unlawful on the Sabbath?"
The disciples were being scrutinized by the legalists of their day. Someone
defined a legalist as a person who is afraid that someone somewhere is actually
enjoying himself. Legalists seem determined to suck the joy out of everyone’s life –
including their own.
The Pharisees were legalists. They considered themselves the watchdogs of
the law. They didn’t have much tolerance for anyone who didn’t follow their rigid
traditions. The Pharisees were offended that Jesus’ disciples were picking grain and
eating it on the Sabbath. That was work. They were harvesting and threshing on the
holy day.
Jesus came to His disciples’ defense. In verses 3-5, ‚Jesus answered them, "Have
you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the
house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat.
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And he also gave some to his companions." Then Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord
of the Sabbath."
Let’s say you drive through a yellow light that turns red as you enter the
intersection. Then you see a policeman sitting at the red light in the oncoming street
and your heart skips a beat. But then you glance in the rear view mirror and notice
that the guy behind you came through the light too. You’re relieved because you
know he’s a whole lot more guilty than you. If one of you is going to be stopped it’s
going to be him, not you. If the policeman pulled you over and let the guy behind
you off the hook, you’d be a little upset.
Jesus used that line of reasoning to show the Pharisees how hypocritical andunfair they were to find fault with His disciples. ‚Your hero David ate the consecrated
bread from the holy place in the tabernacle because he and his companions were hungry. You
never say a critical word about David and yet isn’t that a lot worse than picking and eating a
little grain on the Sabbath.‛
Jesus’ logic was irrefutable and defended the disciples against the Pharisees
accusations. A compassionate leader just naturally seeks to protect those who are
loved.
Southern comedian Jerry Clower relates that his son was the place-kicker on a
really good high school football team. In an all important game, his son missed a
critical field goal attempt and a loud-mouthed fan sitting three rows in front of
Clower started ripping on his son, calling him a loser and a choker.
Jerry Clower is a big man with a short temper. He said it took every bit of
Christianity he had to restrain himself from just ‚clocking‛ the guy. By the end of
the game he’d cooled down just a little but he couldn’t stand it any longer. He went
up to the loudmouth critic and towering over him growled, ‚Sir, I just want you to
know that Jesus Christ saved your life tonight!‛ The guy said, ‚What are you talking
about?‛ Clower said, ‚If I hadn’t become a Christian a few years ago, I would have
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killed you tonight with my bare hands when I heard you bad-mouthing my son.
Jesus Christ saved your life tonight!‛
If you love your child, you instinctively want to protect your child against
anyone who would do harm. 1 Corinthians 13:7 says, ‚Love always protects.‛
Jesus lovingly used his hands to protect his children. When he encountered
false teaching and immorality in the temple, he made a whip with cords and drove
out the moneychangers and released the caged animals. He explained, ‚My house is
to be a house of prayer and you’ve made it a den of thieves.‛
Any leader who cares about people will seek to protect them from that which
is potentially damaging to their welfare. Maybe its false teaching that can spreadlike gangrene (2 Timothy 2:17) Maybe it’s flagrant immorality that like yeast can
contaminate the whole loaf. (1 Corinthians 5:6) Maybe it’s a divisive spirit that hurts
morale and needs to be confronted. (Titus 3:10) A good leader is perceptive to
potential dangers and courageously deals with them when necessary.
Patrick Lencioni is a business consultant and author of the popular books, The
Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Five Temptations of a CEO. He tells that while
consulting with one business, he discovered the same concern in many interviews.
There was one vice-president named Fred whom nobody liked who was spreading a
rumor that the CEO had selected him as his successor.
Lencioni went to the CEO and said, ‚Have you tagged Fred to succeed you?‛
He said, ‚Oh no, Fred couldn’t do it. He’s not very respected by the staff.‛ Patrick
Lencioni said, ‘Do you know that he’s been telling people that you have chosen him
as the next CEO?‛ He responded, ‚Yes, I know he’s been spreading that rumor‛.
Lencioni asked, ‘Are you going to tell him to stop?‛
The CEO’s answer was, ‚I don’t have the time or energy to do that.‛ Lencioni
couldn’t get over his response. Think about that. Here was a guy creating
considerable unrest with an untruth. How much time would it take to pick up the
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phone, dial the number and say, ‚Hey , Fred! I understand you’re telling people I’ve
picked you for my successor. That ticks me off. You better stop or something bad is
going to happen to you. Have a good day. Goodbye!‛
Why don’t we do that? Why don’t we confront the predators that threaten the
flock? We say we don’t do it because we don’t want to upset the person. We don’t
want them to feel bad. So we let things ride.
But the real reason is we are people pleasers. We want people to like us and
we don’t want to feel bad. And the result is we all feel worse and the entire
organization suffers. That’s why the Bible says clearly, ‚If you have anything against
your brother go to him personally and tell him his fault, just between the two of you and if helistens to you, you have won your brother over.‛ (Matthew 18:15) A Christ-like leader’s
hands have to be hands of protection sometimes.
Jesus’ Healing Hands
In verses 6-10 of Luke 6 we see Jesus’ healing hands. “ On another Sabbath he went into
the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The
Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they
watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.‛
Jesus’ heart of compassion resulted in practical assistance to needy people.
Jesus noticed this person whose right hand was shriveled up. Was he injured at
work? Did he have carpel tunnel syndrome? Was it a birth defect?
We don’t know, but it certainly negatively impacted his life and made routine
activities difficult. Ever try to fasten a button or tie a bow with one hand? Ever try to
bait a hook or pound a nail with one hand? This guy’s ability to make a living was
terribly impeded.
Again the sniveling Pharisees were watching on the fringes to see if Jesus
would do something to justify criticism. If you try to lead, if you try to help people,
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not everyone will approve. There will always be some who resent your leadership
and seek to undermine your efforts.
They complain that you haven’t considered all the ramifications, filled out all
the appropriate forms or checked with all the supervisors or government agencies.
Maybe they accuse you of egotistical motives. Eventually they can wear you down
and discourage you from trying anything new or doing anything to help.
Jesus ignored the critics and sought to help the man with a disabled hand.
Read verses 8-10 with me. ‚But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man
with the shriveled hand, "Get up and stand in front of everyone." So he got up and stood
there. Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to doevil, to save life or to destroy it?" He looked around at them all, and then said to the man,
"Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was completely restored.‛
On January 25, 1999, a team of surgeons in Louisville, Kentucky performed
the first hand transplant in the United States. The news story reported that the
surgeons ‚attached a donor hand, wrist and portion of a forearm to a 37-year-old
man. The patient, Matthew David Scott of Absecon, New Jersey, lost his hand in a
1995 firecracker accident. The hospital said he had been using a prosthetic arm.‛
Newspaper photos of Matthew Scott revealed a man absolutely thrilled to
have a new hand. But two thousand years ago Jesus restored a withered hand
without any donor, any pain or any rehab. Think of the joy that this miracle brought
to the man who was healed. He had to be ecstatic.
So often Jesus touched people to heal them. He touched the untouchable
lepers and they were made whole. He touched the eyes of blind beggars and they
could see. He touched the ears of the deaf and they could hear. He touched the body
of a dead girl and she rose up.
If we want to lead like Jesus we should be perceptive to that which disables
people and limits their potential. Like Jesus we should seek to bring healing to those
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who are hurting. Like Jesus, we disregard the criticism we might receive and
overcome the cost of the procedure. A Christ-like leader is a healer of hurts and a
restorer of souls.
Jim McGinnis relates the account of an American soldier in Italy during World
War II. As he was walking through the mountains, he came upon a statue of Jesus.
It was partly hidden behind some tall weeds. As he approached the statue, he
noticed that the hands of Jesus were broken off and nowhere to be found. As he sat
meditating on the handless statue, an inspiration came to him which he wrote on a
piece of paper and placed under a rock at the base of the statue. He gave the statue a
6-word name – "I have no hands but yours." Suzie Snyder is a physician with such a keen mind that she is board certified
in both internal medicine and pediatrics. However, Suzie doesn’t live in a plush,
suburban home in the States but in a Spartan mission cabin in Kenya, Africa. Suzie
and her husband David, a business administrator, have operated a medical mission
in Massai land for over a decade. They live miles from electricity and modern
conveniences. In that remote place, they raise their children, minister to the hurting
and try to bring Christ to those who need Him so desperately. Suzie and David
have become the hands of Jesus to the needy in Massai land.
Charlie Vittitow leaves his successful dental practice in the U.S. several
months out of each year and does medical mission work in Afghanistan and other 3rd
world countries that are dangerous destinations. Charlie is not living the safe,
comfortable life style of many of his peers. He’s felt a burden for the needy and is
giving a good portion of his life to reaching out to them and trying to lead them to
Christ. Charlie has become the hands of Jesus in Afghanistan.
Doctors, dentists, nurses can minister to hurting bodies and bring healing by a
touch. But the rest of us can aid emotional healing by a touch – a comforting hand on
the shoulder of someone who is wounded, a warm handshake to someone who is
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lonely; a few handwritten words of concern can make all the difference in the world
to people who hurt.
On a short-term mission trip to the Ukraine in 1998, Bob and Kathy Drane fell
in love with a two-year old orphan girl named Olla that Kathy held in her arms. The
Dranes went against reasoned judgment, (both were in their late 40’s), adopted her
and brought her to America. Olla is their second child
That compassionate outreach turned into a series of incredible events that led
the Dranes to institute an adoption pipeline into the Ukraine that has resulted in an
organization called, ‚Hopeful Hearts.‛ As of this date , over 200 babies have been
adopted by Christian couples through that channel. Bob and Kathy Drane have become the hands of Jesus to two hundred children and their families. And they will
tell you they have never been more fulfilled.
If you would lead like Jesus, lift up your eyes and see the pitiful conditions of
God’s people. Find some way to reach out with your skillful hands to minister to
them and bring healing to them. People follow a leader who brings comfort to the
hurting.
Jesus’ Mentoring Hands
Jesus hands were also mentoring hands. Luke 6:12-16 reads, ‚One of those days Jesus
went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning
came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated
apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip,
Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot,
Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.‛
If you were Jesus and you were carefully selecting twelve men to help you
change the world, what kind of people would you choose? We’d probably choose
three of the world’s wealthiest men; three of the world’s best public speakers, three
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of the world’s best marketing agents and three of the world’s best legal minds. And
with that talented crew we’d seek to change the world.
But Jesus chose three fishermen, three more fishermen, three more fishermen,
a tax collector and two other ordinary guys to show that their power came from God
not from themselves. Jesus could have spent all his time with the masses but he
recognized the importance of choosing twelve individuals who could be trained to be
His representatives when He was gone.
In his book, The Twenty-One Irrefutable Laws of Leadership , John Maxwell writes,
‚Achievement comes to someone when he is able to do great things for himself.
Success comes when he empowers his followers to do great things with him.Significance comes when he develops leaders to do great things for him. But a legacy
is created only when a person puts his organization into the position to do great
things without him.‛
Jesus set the example of successful transitioning. He carefully handpicked
those twelve to spend time with Him and prepare them for their all-important
assignment of taking the gospel into the world in his absence.
Skip down in Luke 6 to the 40th verse: ‚A student is not above his teacher, but
everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.‛ If we’re going to lead like Jesus we
need to prepare other leaders to follow after us. Parents who pass the baton of faith
onto their children, business owners who plan to retire and especially church leaders
who want the church to continue to minister effectively for years to come are wise to
develop a practical transition plan.
In his book, Built to Last – Successful Habits of Visionary Companies , Jim Collins
quotes Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric as saying, ‚From now on, (Choosing my
successor) is the most important decision I’ll make. It occupies a considerable
amount of time everyday.‛ He spoke those words in 1991, nine years before his
anticipated retirement.
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Collins contrasts the century of successful transitions at General Electric with
the rapid turnover at Westinghouse, a waning competitor. Westinghouse hired
CEO’s from outside rather than training successors from within, as was the practice
at G.E. Collin’s advice is, ‚Preserve the Core‛, by promoting from within.
Some have no succession plan whatever and others even take delight in the
failure of the organization after they’re gone. I’ve known preachers who seem to
take delight if the church attendance goes down when they leave or if the
congregation is disgruntled with the new minister.
The real test of leadership is how well the team does in your absence. Have
you mentored others to continue on after you’ve gone? I used to think of mentoringas spending a designated time each week formally teaching younger, potential
leaders. That wasn’t very successful because it was mostly academic and in about
fifteen minutes I had emptied the contents of my mind and there wasn’t much left to
say.
Mentoring became more effective when I had interns sit with me in meetings,
go with me to speaking engagements and ride with me to funerals. The casual
conversation along the way, the observation of spontaneous situations, the
interaction with people did more to instruct than more formal, scheduled training.
The late Olin Hay, minister of the South Louisville Christian Church, inspired
more young men to enter ministry than almost any preacher I know. I once asked
Bill Gaslin, one of his mentees, what Olin said to inspire young men. He said, ‚I
can’t remember anything he said, it’s just who he was. When you were around him
you wanted to be what he was.‛
That was Jesus. Mark’s gospel puts it like this, ‚He appointed twelve--
designating them apostles --that they might be with him and that he might send them out to
preach. ‚ (Mark 3:14)
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Jesus’ Teaching Hands
Jesus’ hands were also teaching hands. The majority of Luke 6 contains a condensed
version of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, The Beatitudes. Love your enemies. Don’t
judge. Give and it will be given to you. You will know authentic believers by the
fruit of their lives. The wise man builds his house on the rock.
Jesus was the master teacher. He was the smartest man who ever lived and
yet He was able to communicate his wisdom in a way that the common people heard
him gladly. Once some temple police were sent to arrest Him but they became so
mesmerized by Jesus teaching they came back empty handed explaining, ‚We
couldn’t arrest Him! We never heard anyone teach like that before.‛ Wouldn’t you love to see a video of Jesus teaching? I’d like to listen to the
inflexion of His voice, analyze the pace of His words and see the expression on His
face.
I’d also like to observe His gestures. I doubt there were many clenched fists or
accusing fingers but there were probably many times his palms were open and his
hands extended in welcoming, gracious gestures.
He once taught patience by stooping down and writing something on the
ground. We don’t know what He actually wrote, but John never forgot that finger of
restraint writing on the ground.
He once taught humility by gathering a little child onto his lap, placing his
hands on them and saying, ‚Whoever would be great among you should become like little
child.‛
A leader is always a teacher. Our hands should be consistently used to point
the way to salvation and a meaningful life. Sometimes that is by verbal instruction,
more often it’s by correct example.
I lost my wedding ring many years ago when I was playing golf. But several
years later I found it in a little used pocket of my golf bag. By the time I found it my
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hands were a little thicker and the ring didn’t fit well. So I decided not to wear it
because when I did I was always fiddling with it. Surprisingly, my wife didn’t mind
that I went for well over three years without a ring - she said she trusted me!
A few years later, a woman in the church asked me why I didn’t wear a
wedding ring. When I explained she said, ‘I think it’s a poor example when you’re
teaching not to have a ring on your finger. People notice that and wonder about it.‛
That was such a minor matter to me. However, I thought, if people notice my hand
and it offends someone that I don’t have a ring on my finger, that’s a small
adjustment to make. So I had the ring expanded a little and started wearing it again.
Obviously leaders can’t respond to every critical comment that comes ourway. But we do need to be aware that we are being carefully scrutinized and
observed. People notice if we show up on time, participate in the special work day,
treat our families with respect, practice integrity with our expense account, dress
appropriately, and treat people fairly. A leader is not the exception but the example.
What we do speaks a lot louder than what we say. Our hands are teaching hands.
Our behavior is instructional behavior.
Jesus’ Sacrificial Hands
Jesus’ hands were sacrificial hands. One of Jesus most memorable lessons to His
disciples came on the final night in the upper room. He took a basin of water in one
hand and towel in the other and one by one washed His disciples’ feet. The disciples
were astonished. That was the task of a lowly slave or servant< or the lowest
disciple on the totem pole.
Simon Peter objected to Jesus doing such a menial task. It just wasn’t right! ,
‚Lord you’re not going to wash my feet!‛ Jesus said, ‚If I don’t wash your feet you have no
part in me.‛ Simon said, ‘Then wash my hands and my head as well. Wash all of me. I’m
in!‛
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When Jesus was finished he took advantage of the teachable moment and said,
‚Now, If I your teacher and master have washed your feet so you should also wash (You
expect Him to say MY feet) but he said, You ought to wash one another’s feet.‛
We’d be glad to wash Jesus feet. We’d stand in line to show Him our
appreciation. But he said we ought to wash each other’s feet. We are to serve one
another. The leader should not be one who sits on a pedestal and is served but the
leader gets on his hands and knees and washes the feet of those he leads.
As the ultimate demonstration of sacrifice, Jesus went to the cross. The Roman
soldiers drove spikes through the hands of Jesus – those same hands that had
protected the disciples, healed the hurting, mentored potential leaders and instructedthe multitudes.
Jesus made the supreme sacrifice as blood poured from his hands as well as
his forehead, his back, his feet, and then his side. ‚But God demonstrates his own love
for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been
justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!‛
(Romans 5:8-9)
No wonder following His resurrection from the dead, when Jesus appeared to
His astonished followers we read, ‚he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were
overjoyed when they saw the Lord.‛ (John 20:20)
Jesus had taught them that the most effective leaders are not arrogant prima
donnas demanding others serve them. The most effective, long-term leaders are
those who humbly stay off the pedestal, get down in the trenches and use their hands
to serve others.
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THE HABITS OF A LEADER
Luke 4:16-30
‚Please make sure your seat belt is securely fastened. The flight attendant will now
demonstrate how to fasten your seat belt.‛ You’ve got to be kidding me! Unless
you’ve been living under a rock for the last forty years you know how to fasten a seat
belt. How redundant! But everyone who flies regularly hears that instruction so
often we know it by heart.
Actually that repeated reminder is an F.A.A. requirement. The officials don’t
apologize for reviewing the basics because they want the fastening of seat belts, the
prohibitions against smoking and instructions about how to use an oxygen mask to become second nature to everyone who travels by air.
In this message we’re going to review the basic habits of a Christ-like leader.
A habit is a pattern of behavior that becomes so much a part of your regular routine
that it is performed automatically. You don’t have to think about it much; it’s just
ingrained in your routine and psyche.
C.S. Lewis once observed that Christians don’t need to be taught new ideas so
much as they need to be reminded of old truths. The habits we discuss today may
seem a bit redundant if you’ve been a Christian a long time. However, may I remind
you that you never graduate beyond the basics anymore than a frequent flyer is no
longer required to fasten the seat belt? These regular spiritual disciplines are the
foundation of our walk with Christ and the source of a leader’s ongoing effectiveness
and credibility. The leader who neglects them eventually becomes shallow and
ineffective. The leader who consistently practices them continues to deepen and
increases in influence with the passing of time.
Since our goal is to lead like Jesus, the most effective leader ever, let’s review
some of the habits that were evident in the life of Jesus and seek to develop and
maintain the same disciplines in our own lives.
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The Habit of Regular Worship
First, Jesus had the habit of regular worship. We read in Luke 4:16-30 that, ‚He went
to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the
synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.‛
Jesus went to church every Sabbath day. That was the custom of his parents,
Mary and Joseph. Jesus retained that habit after he left home. He didn’t quit
attending church when he got old enough to make decisions on his own. He didn’t
refuse to attend because He knew more than the local Rabbi. He didn’t complain
that the services were routine or boring.
Jesus regularly attended church and when he was out of town he visited thelocal synagogue wherever he was. That practice was repeated throughout His life
and some of the most significant events happened surrounding church attendance.
Matthew 12:9 ‚Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue,‛ (This was
in Galilee where he healed a man with a shriveled hand.)
Mark 1:21 ‚They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into
the synagogue and began to teach.‛ (The people were amazed at his teaching and that
day while in the synagogue he cast a demon out of a man.)
Mark 6:2 ‚When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many
who heard him were amazed. "Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's
this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles!‛
Luke 13:10-11 ‚On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a
woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and
could not straighten up at all.‛ (Jesus healed the woman of her infirmity right in the
church service.)
John 6 contains a well-known sermon of Jesus in which He said, ‚I am the bread
of life. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.‛ He said this while teaching in the
synagogue in Capernaum. (John 6:59)
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Jesus habitually went to church and participated in the worship. One of the
key habits of an effective Christian leader is weekly church attendance. We never
graduate beyond that. I hear people say, ‚I can be a Christian without going to
church regularly.‛ But that’s like a driver of a car saying, ‚I can drive without
stopping for gasoline.‛ If Jesus, who was perfect, felt it was important to attend
church regularly, how much more do those of us who are sinful need to do so?
Benefits of Regular Worship
Regular worship recharges our spiritual batteries. Regular worship gives testimony
to others about our faith. Regular worship gives us a sense of accountability toothers. We’re not living the Christian life as mavericks but as part of the body of
Christ. Regular worship develops healthy relationships that provide reinforcement
and encouragement.
Beth Moore is one of the most effective Bible teachers and Christian leaders of
our era. She has led thousands to a deeper understanding of the Scriptures. She
states that one of the keys to her ongoing, effective ministry is that she made a
commitment to teach Sunday School in her local church on a regular basis. Every
week Beth leads a class in her home church in the study of God’s Word. She turns
down many opportunities to speak to larger groups on weekends because she has a
loyalty to her local congregation.
That week-by-week preparation and participation has kept her well grounded
not only in the Bible but in meaningful relationship with other believers. She says
she would lose that depth and understanding if she were in not in worship on a
regular basis.
May I add two quick footnotes here? First, it’s a lot easier to go to church
every week than two or three times a month. If you get into the habit of attending
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church every week, it eliminates the question, ‚Are we going or aren’t we?‛ You just
go automatically.
Secondly, parents, insist that your children go with you every week - from the
time they are little until they leave home. If they are normal they will push up
against it sometimes and complain, ‚I don’t want to go, it’s boring.‛ ‚The kids don’t
like me.‛ Or, ‚I don’t get anything out of it.‛
Parents, you’re the spiritual leader of your home. What a great opportunity to
teach them that life is not all about excitement and doing what they want to do. If
you establish early on that they go every week, they eventually get the message and
quit protesting. Later they’ll admit that some of their best experiences and deepestfriendships were developed in church.
I hear indecisive parents say, ‚Well, I don’t want to turn my kids off to church
by making them go, so when they become teenagers I let them decide for
themselves.‛ What’s the lesson they learn when they are forced to go to school and
church is an option? They conclude that going to class and learning about math is
vital but going to church and learning about God is optional. For every person you
can find who claims, ‚I don’t go to church because my parents made me go when I
was little,‛ I’ll find you twenty who still go because their parents made them go
when they were little.
J.C. Penny who founded a very successful national department store chain
years ago said, ‚If a man is too busy to go to church twice a week, he’s got more
business than God intended for him to have.‛ Amen. ‚Jesus went into the synagogue
as his custom was.‛
The Habit of Reading Scripture
Jesus also had the custom of reading Scripture. Verse 16, ‚. . .and he stood up to read.
The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is
written:‛
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Jesus was very familiar with the Scripture. He had no problem finding the
exact place in Isaiah that he wanted to read. That was due in part to the fact that his
parents heeded the counsel of Moses recorded in Deuteronomy 11:18-21 ‚Fix these
words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on
your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and
when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the
doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children
may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers.‛
When Jesus was 12 years old he attended the Passover with his parents. When
it was over, he hung around ‚the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening tothem and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding
and his answers.‛ (Luke 2:46-47) As a young boy Jesus was growing in wisdom and
the knowledge of the Scriptures.
At the beginning of his ministry when Satan attacked him in the wilderness
Jesus responded by quoting the Scripture. ‚It is written, man does not live by bread
alone.‛ It is written, ‚Worship God only‛. ‚It is written, don’t put the Lord your God to
the test‛. Then Satan left him for a season.
When some tried to trap him by asking a trick question about heaven, Jesus
responded, (Mat 22:29) "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the
power of God.‛ He went on to quote a passage that they had often overlooked.
The man Jesus knew the Scriptures. He had the habit of reading them as a boy
and preaching from them as a spiritual leader.
If you want to lead like Jesus make Bible reading a part of your daily routine.
Underline passages that are meaningful to you or that you have questions about.
Use a good study Bible so you can look at the footnotes and the cross- references and
find answers to the questions that surface. Share what you’re studying with family
or friends and discuss it with them. Learn to memorize phrases or passages from
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Scripture. David said, ‚I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against
you.‛ (Psalm 119:11)
You will discover that the study of Scripture reinforces you, fills you with the
spirit and strengthens you to resist temptation. Charles Swindoll, well known
minister and author, once related an experience he had while leading a conference
hundreds of miles from home. After the final session everyone at the conference
headed home. He went back to his hotel to spend the night before flying out the next
morning. After eating a late dinner alone he got on the elevator and headed back up
to his room. Two provocatively dressed young women got on the elevator after him.
As he pushed the button for his floor, he politely asked them, ‚What floor?‛ Theyasked brazenly, ‚How about your floor?‛
Swindoll said he was somewhat flattered because he’d never been mistaken
for Robert Redford and as the elevator started up he realized he was all alone and no
one would have to know what he did that night.
But then he asked, ‚Do you know what was going through my mind as the
elevator slowly moved up to my floor? Not my church. Not my family. Not my
friends. A verse of Scripture kept coming to mind, ‚Be not deceived, God is not mocked
whatever a man sows that shall he also reap.‛
When the elevator stopped and the door opened, he made a passing comment
to the two young women that made it clear he didn’t intend on joining up with them.
Charles Swindoll said he went into his room and knelt down beside his bed
trembling, but thankful for the power of God’s word.
Paul wrote the young man Timothy (2 Tim 3:14-17) ‚But as for you, continue in
what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom
you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to
make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and
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is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of
God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.‛
The word of God is meat and milk for the soul. It needs to be digested daily.
The Habit of Nurturing Relationships
Jesus also had the habit of nurturing meaningful relationships. He didn’t just preach
about the need for being united with other believers and having close
companionship, he demonstrated it. Mark’s gospel relates, ‚He appointed twelve--
designating them apostles --that they might be with him and that he might send them out
to preach.‛ Jesus didn’t just select twelve disciples to mentor them, he also gathereddisciples that they might be with him. He needed close fellowship too.
In fact Jesus selected three of those disciples with whom he shared more
personal experiences and confidential information. Peter, James and John
constituted an inner circle of special trust. When Jesus was transfigured only Peter,
James and John were on the mountain peak to witness it. When Jairus’ daughter
was raised from the dead, only Peter, James and John were witnesses of the miracle.
When Jesus went into the inner sanctum of the Garden of Gethsemane, he wanted
those same three friends to be within a ‚stone’s throw‛ of him when he was in
agony.
Jesus had the habit of taking time to foster in-depth relationships. There are
three reasons every believer needs a commitment to regular fellowship with other
believers. The first is edification. The Bible says, ‚ As iron sharpens iron so does one
man sharpen another.‛ Other Christians enhance our walk with Christ by using their
musical, counseling and teaching gifts to edify us.
Secondly, we need close relationships to encourage us. First Thessalonians
5:11 says, ‚…encourage one another and build each other up.‛ We all experience times of
deep disappointment and painful suffering when we are more vulnerable to
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discouragement and temptation. We need strong believers to comfort and
encourage us to be faithful.
There’s a couple in our church who are very successful in their careers. He is
a physician and she is one of the most respected businesswomen in town. Recently
their twenty-nine year old son was diagnosed with a rare, rapidly growing malignant
tumor in his jawbone. He faces a permanently disfiguring operation and an
uncertain future. This couple is now being lifted up by the dozens of Christian
friends who are praying for them and emailing words of encouragement to them.
The father emailed friends, ‚We have no physical needs. But we really need your
prayers and encouragement.‛Perhaps your life is easy right now and you think you don’t need anyone. But
a time will come when you will need the comfort and encouragement that comes
from close, caring believers. God provides that in the fellowship of the church.
Solomon said, ‚Two are better than one, because if one falls down his friend can pick him
up.‛
The third reason we need the church is for accountability. James 5:16 says ‚. . .
confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer
of a righteous man is powerful and effective.‛ Every day we are confronted with fierce
temptations from the world and even the strongest leaders are vulnerable to falling.
When people lived in smaller communities where everyone knew everyone
else, there was kind of a built-in accountability that no longer exists for the majority
of us who live in metropolitan areas.
A friend told me he was driving through Sligo, Kentucky the other day –
population of about 300. There was a huge sign outside the grocery store that read,
‘Matthew Young – your last three checks bounced. Come see us.‛
That kind of moral accountability may still work in a small town. But since
most of us are living in large cities and we travel to places where we’re totally
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anonymous. Therefore, we need in-depth relationships with people who love us
enough to hold us accountable. We have to answer to them and we don’t want to
disappoint them. Hebrews 3:13 reads ‚…encourage one another daily, as long as it is
called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.‛
The Habit of Solitude and Prayer
Jesus also had the regular habit of solitude and prayer. Have you ever noticed how
often in Scripture Jesus spent time alone with his heavenly Father? At the beginning
of his ministry, following his baptism, Jesus went out into the wilderness for forty
days of solitude.Before he selected his closest disciples, he spent time alone with his
Father in prayer. Again and again we read that Jesus, the busiest man who ever
lived, a man who accomplished more in three years of ministry than anyone ever has
in a lifetime, withdrew to a solitary place and prayed.
Matthew 14:23 reads, ‚After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside
by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.
Mark 9:2 ‚ After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up
a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them.‛
Luke 5:16, But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Luke 22:32, ‚But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail."
Matthew 26:39 (In the garden of Gethsemane), ‚Going a little farther, he fell with
his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from
me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
Even in his dying moments on the cross Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them, for
they do not know what they are doing." And, ‚Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.‛
(Luke 23:34)
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Jesus prayed before he ate, he prayed before he selected his disciples, he
prayed before he surrendered his life to his enemies. No wonder when the disciples
wanted to be more effective they pleaded, ‚Lord teach us to pray like you pray.‛ (Luke
11:1)
Great spiritual leaders develop the habit of prayer. There’s a famous picture
of George Washington on his knees at Valley Forge praying for the Lord to intervene
and protect his feeble army which was threatened with cold and lack of provisions.
Abraham Lincoln said, ‚I have been driven to my knees many times by the
overwhelming conviction I had no place else to go. My own resources and that of
those about me were insufficient for the day.‛ A member of the secret service said he once walked by the oval office before
7:00 a.m. and saw the President of the United States lying face down, prostrate on the
floor of the oval office, his Bible open before him.
Prayer humbles us and reminds us that God is in charge and we aren’t.
Prayer develops a spirit of submission in us. It’s not so much asking God to do our
bidding as it is seeking to find God’s will and walking in it. But prayer also opens
the gate to the blessings of God. Someone suggested that almost all prayer can be
boiled down to two phrases: ‚Thank you‛ and ‚give me.‛
Jesus invited us to ask for his help. He said, ‚Ask and it will be given to you.
Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be open to you.‛ James wrote, ‚You want
something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You
quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.‛ (James 4:2)
Every one who wants to lead like Jesus should develop the habit of daily
prayer and regular solitude. Bill Hybels, pastor of the dynamic Willow Creek
Church in Chicago wrote a book with a memorable title, Too busy not to pray.
My friend Daniel is a native African, a dynamic Christian leader in a
predominantly Muslim country. In his native land Christianity is frowned upon and
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any evangelism is considered illegal and punishable by death. But Daniel specializes
in trying to win Muslim clerics to Christ. He has been beaten, imprisoned and his
home robbed and burned. Someone asked him about his prayer life and he said, he
prayed for God’s protection every morning. Then he added, ‚Not to pray would be
suicide.‛
With the daily stress of leadership and the downward pull of our culture, it is
almost becoming spiritual suicide not to develop the habit of daily prayer.
Jesus went a step beyond just praying when he fasted and prayed. At times
He chose to go without food to focus on spiritual issues. The Scriptures encourage
believers to periodically fast and pray to deepen our spiritual focus too. Jesus taught, "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for
they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have
received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so
that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen;
and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:16-18)
John Ortberg wrote, ‚Spiritual discipline is something that helps me love God
and people more.‛ If it’s not doing that, it is not a spiritual discipline; it’s a ritual, a
routine, maybe even a sin because it’s vain repetition. Fasting helps prevent prayer
from being a perfunctory habit and assures it is a genuine spiritual discipline.
The Habit of Regular Rest
One other habit of Jesus we need to note: Jesus had the custom of regular rest. Jesus
lived under the Old Testament law that required the Sabbath day be kept holy. That
holiness was not just worship; it included a period of rest. Exodus 20:8-11 reads,
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work. .
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divinity perspire? I don’t think so. God did not come to nightfall on the sixth day and
say, ‚Thank me , it’s Friday.‛ God is reinforcing a pattern that is essential for healthy,
productive living.‛
Truett Cathy is the founder and owner of Chick-Fil-A restaurants. He’s a
devout Christian and Sunday School teacher who decided he would keep his
restaurants closed on Sunday. He believes the Lord’s Day should be spent in the
worship of God and rest.
Junior Bridgeman who owns a couple hundred restaurants in another fast-
food chain and said, ‚Chick-Fil-A is a phenomenon. Everyone in the restaurant
business thinks Sunday is a critical day and their establishments must stay open tosurvive. But Truett Cathy closes on Sunday and he does the same amount of
business as those of us who keep open seven days a week. Go figure.‛
That’s another proof that God honors his word. On the seventh day God
rested and established a precedent for us to follow for our own good. Jesus took one
day in seven off and so should we.
A father wanted to impress his visiting relatives how well he had trained his
two-year-old son to trust in him. He placed the boy at one end of the huge dining
room table and told him to come to him on the opposite end. The toddler waddled
across the table and without even pausing to think leaped off the end into his father’s
arms. Everyone squealed with delight at the boy’s total trust in his dad’s ability to
catch him.
But after repeating the demonstration several times, the father added a
different twist. He placed his son at the end of the table and then reached over and
turned off the light switch. In the quiet darkness the father said, ‚Come on!‛
Everyone heard the patter of little feet across the table and then a squeal as the boy
leaped into the dependable, loving arms of his father at the other end. The boy had
repeated that activity so often in the light he could trust his father in the darkness.
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That’s the purpose of the spiritual disciplines we’ve discussed today. When
we attend worship, study God’s Word, nurture close relationships with believers,
spend quiet time in prayer and take time to rest, those Christ-like habits become
second nature to us. These spiritual disciplines train us to trust our Heavenly Father
in the light, so that we will instinctively rely completely on Him in the dark times of
the soul. Then, and only then, will we be prepared to lead like Jesus.