Your Influence Is Greater Than You Think

Psalm 23: 1-4

In today’s sermon, Pastor Colin introduces a new series focused on leadership, drawing inspiration from the life of Elijah. However, this week serves as an introduction to the broader concept of leadership and how to manifest godly influence. Pastor Colin’s message revolves around understanding leadership from a biblical perspective, specifically through the lens of Psalm 23. He emphasizes that true leadership is about going on a journey and taking others along, which Jesus exemplifies through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. In essence, leadership starts not with individual talents but with the direction one is heading.

Pastor Colin then delves into self-assessment, encouraging congregants to reflect on their influence and consequent direction in life. Throughout the sermon, he poses thoughtful questions on prayer, service, belief, confession, worship, giving, and outreach, urging the congregation to consider their personal spiritual journey and its connection to their leadership roles. As leaders or influencers in various capacities—whether at home, work, church, or any social sphere—we are called to examine where we stand in relation to following Christ. It’s a call to a life marked by godly pursuit, impacting the lives of others positively through the example of our walk in faith and the fervour of our following Jesus.

1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:03,680 Today we begin a new series entitled Leadership. 2 00:00:03,680 –> 00:00:08,000 And I’ve given it the subtitle The Surprising Influence 3 00:00:08,000 –> 00:00:10,620 of a Godly Life. 4 00:00:10,620 –> 00:00:12,760 Now the focus of our series is going to be 5 00:00:12,760 –> 00:00:16,740 on the life of Elijah, but today is an introduction. 6 00:00:16,740 –> 00:00:19,379 We’ll get to Elijah next week. 7 00:00:19,379 –> 00:00:23,459 Today I want us to grasp what leadership is 8 00:00:23,459 –> 00:00:27,920 and how you can go about exercising godly leadership. 9 00:00:27,920 –> 00:00:29,700 So today we have two things. 10 00:00:30,440 –> 00:00:32,080 One is a definition that I want 11 00:00:32,080 –> 00:00:34,720 to draw directly out of Psalm 23, 12 00:00:34,720 –> 00:00:39,520 and then I want to lead you in a self-assessment 13 00:00:39,520 –> 00:00:43,400 of where you are in relation to your influence 14 00:00:43,400 –> 00:00:45,139 on the lives of other people. 15 00:00:45,139 –> 00:00:48,439 It’s something that I’ve been doing in my own life 16 00:00:48,439 –> 00:00:50,560 and want to bring that to you 17 00:00:50,560 –> 00:00:54,660 as we launch into the series today. 18 00:00:54,660 –> 00:00:56,380 So let’s turn to Psalm 23, 19 00:00:56,380 –> 00:00:59,419 where David affirms what is true for every believer, 20 00:00:59,419 –> 00:01:02,299 the Lord is my Shepherd. 21 00:01:02,299 –> 00:01:05,040 And I cannot hear these words as a Christian 22 00:01:05,040 –> 00:01:06,699 looking this side of the cross 23 00:01:06,699 –> 00:01:09,300 without of course hearing the words of Jesus say, 24 00:01:09,300 –> 00:01:11,419 I am the Good Shepherd. 25 00:01:11,419 –> 00:01:13,080 I give my life from the sheep. 26 00:01:13,080 –> 00:01:14,459 I know my sheep by name. 27 00:01:14,459 –> 00:01:18,540 I call them, and they are mine. 28 00:01:18,540 –> 00:01:20,139 Now I want to draw your attention today 29 00:01:20,139 –> 00:01:22,900 to just three words about this shepherd 30 00:01:22,900 –> 00:01:26,660 who is the Lord and his relationship to the Christian. 31 00:01:26,660 –> 00:01:28,419 And they’re in verse three. 32 00:01:28,419 –> 00:01:33,419 These three words, he leads me. 33 00:01:33,660 –> 00:01:35,820 Just these three words today. 34 00:01:35,820 –> 00:01:40,239 He leads me. 35 00:01:40,239 –> 00:01:43,180 You will find them, of course, also in verse two. 36 00:01:43,180 –> 00:01:48,180 The same words, he leads me. 37 00:01:48,580 –> 00:01:50,019 And you will find the same image, 38 00:01:50,019 –> 00:01:52,620 though not the same words in verse four, 39 00:01:52,620 –> 00:01:54,540 even though I walk through the valley 40 00:01:54,540 –> 00:01:57,139 of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil 41 00:01:57,139 –> 00:01:59,000 for you are with me. 42 00:01:59,000 –> 00:02:00,160 The image here is the same. 43 00:02:00,160 –> 00:02:02,459 You’re leading me even when I go through the valley 44 00:02:02,459 –> 00:02:04,779 of the shadow of death, and your rod, 45 00:02:04,779 –> 00:02:07,900 and your staff, they comfort me. 46 00:02:09,139 –> 00:02:11,419 And I’ve been reflecting just on these words 47 00:02:11,419 –> 00:02:13,119 and on this marvelous reality. 48 00:02:13,119 –> 00:02:17,419 As a Christian believer, he leads me. 49 00:02:18,860 –> 00:02:21,919 Now where does he lead me? 50 00:02:23,160 –> 00:02:25,539 And the answer to that is very clear in this psalm 51 00:02:25,539 –> 00:02:28,399 that he leads me where he has already gone. 52 00:02:29,240 –> 00:02:30,860 So verse three, it says he leads me 53 00:02:30,860 –> 00:02:32,899 in paths of righteousness. 54 00:02:32,899 –> 00:02:33,740 Why? 55 00:02:33,740 –> 00:02:35,300 Because the paths of righteousness are the paths 56 00:02:35,300 –> 00:02:37,539 on which he has walked and walks. 57 00:02:37,539 –> 00:02:40,199 He fulfills all righteousness. 58 00:02:40,199 –> 00:02:43,800 Verse two, he leads me beside the still waters. 59 00:02:43,800 –> 00:02:44,639 Why? 60 00:02:44,639 –> 00:02:46,619 Because the place of refreshment and the place 61 00:02:46,619 –> 00:02:48,860 of joy is where he already is. 62 00:02:48,860 –> 00:02:50,740 That’s why he’s able to lead me there. 63 00:02:50,740 –> 00:02:53,419 Even when I go through the valley of the shadow of death, 64 00:02:53,419 –> 00:02:55,759 I’m safe, beause he leads me there, 65 00:02:55,759 –> 00:02:58,960 and death is a place where he has already been, 66 00:02:58,960 –> 00:03:01,059 and because he has passed through that in triumph, 67 00:03:01,059 –> 00:03:03,279 that is how he is able to take me through that, 68 00:03:03,279 –> 00:03:05,720 and that is my comfort when I go through it, 69 00:03:05,720 –> 00:03:07,500 and beyond that, what’s he gonna do? 70 00:03:07,500 –> 00:03:10,619 He’s going to lead me into glory, 71 00:03:10,619 –> 00:03:14,600 where he already is, seated at the right hand of the father. 72 00:03:14,600 –> 00:03:17,880 That’s why he says, I’m going to prepare a place for you, 73 00:03:17,880 –> 00:03:20,080 that’s leadership, you see, I’m going ahead of you, 74 00:03:20,080 –> 00:03:22,380 I’m going to prepare a place for you so that 75 00:03:22,419 –> 00:03:26,039 where I am, you may be also. 76 00:03:27,059 –> 00:03:29,979 And so I try just to soak my mind 77 00:03:29,979 –> 00:03:34,220 in what it means for Jesus Christ to lead me, 78 00:03:34,220 –> 00:03:37,100 which is his great promise as the shepherd of the sheep, 79 00:03:37,100 –> 00:03:39,339 and out of that, I offer to you 80 00:03:39,339 –> 00:03:41,619 this definition of leadership. 81 00:03:41,619 –> 00:03:44,100 That leaders then are people 82 00:03:44,100 –> 00:03:46,639 who set out on a journey 83 00:03:46,639 –> 00:03:49,220 and take others with them. 84 00:03:49,220 –> 00:03:51,860 Supremely, that is what Jesus Christ has done 85 00:03:51,860 –> 00:03:53,839 for us through his incarnation, 86 00:03:53,839 –> 00:03:55,759 through his life, his death, and his resurrection, 87 00:03:55,759 –> 00:03:57,779 and his ascension. 88 00:03:57,779 –> 00:04:01,320 And he calls us to this. 89 00:04:01,320 –> 00:04:03,339 Leaders are people who set out 90 00:04:03,339 –> 00:04:07,220 on a journey and take others with them. 91 00:04:07,220 –> 00:04:10,300 Now notice there are two parts to this definition. 92 00:04:10,300 –> 00:04:14,039 Leaders are people who set out on a journey. 93 00:04:14,039 –> 00:04:18,140 In other words, a leader can only take people 94 00:04:18,140 –> 00:04:21,700 in a direction that he or she is already traveling. 95 00:04:21,700 –> 00:04:23,739 You cannot take other people to a place 96 00:04:23,739 –> 00:04:24,839 that you have not gone 97 00:04:24,839 –> 00:04:27,339 or to which you are not going yourself. 98 00:04:28,339 –> 00:04:33,339 That is why godly leadership begins not with gifts 99 00:04:33,359 –> 00:04:34,940 but with direction. 100 00:04:35,980 –> 00:04:37,980 The key question is not, oh how, 101 00:04:37,980 –> 00:04:39,179 what are this man’s gifts? 102 00:04:39,179 –> 00:04:40,459 What are this woman’s gifts? 103 00:04:40,459 –> 00:04:41,959 What’s their personality? 104 00:04:41,959 –> 00:04:44,880 How magnetic is their attraction to other people? 105 00:04:44,880 –> 00:04:46,220 That’s not the key question 106 00:04:46,220 –> 00:04:48,119 when it comes to spiritual leadership. 107 00:04:49,059 –> 00:04:51,679 The first question is not gifts, 108 00:04:51,679 –> 00:04:54,119 it is the question of direction. 109 00:04:54,119 –> 00:04:56,079 Where are you going? 110 00:04:56,079 –> 00:04:58,380 Where are you in your journey? 111 00:04:58,380 –> 00:04:59,559 And that’s why we’re beginning 112 00:04:59,559 –> 00:05:01,519 with a self-assessment today. 113 00:05:01,519 –> 00:05:03,559 What progress are you making? 114 00:05:03,559 –> 00:05:04,380 What progress? 115 00:05:04,380 –> 00:05:05,220 Where are you? 116 00:05:06,160 –> 00:05:07,959 Secondly in this definition you’ll notice 117 00:05:07,959 –> 00:05:11,220 that leaders are people who take others with them. 118 00:05:11,220 –> 00:05:13,459 Oswald Saunders recalls an occasion 119 00:05:13,459 –> 00:05:16,359 when a large group of key missionary leaders 120 00:05:16,440 –> 00:05:19,299 were gathering together in China 121 00:05:19,299 –> 00:05:20,839 and they were talking, 122 00:05:20,839 –> 00:05:23,260 representatives of different societies, 123 00:05:23,260 –> 00:05:26,239 about what qualifies a person for leadership. 124 00:05:26,239 –> 00:05:29,299 And of course there was plenty of vigorous debate. 125 00:05:29,299 –> 00:05:31,359 And Saunders says, at one point the leader 126 00:05:31,359 –> 00:05:34,239 of the China Inland Mission as it was then called, 127 00:05:34,239 –> 00:05:37,600 a man by the name of D. E. Host said this. 128 00:05:37,600 –> 00:05:41,239 He said, it occurs to me that perhaps 129 00:05:41,239 –> 00:05:43,359 the best test of leadership 130 00:05:43,359 –> 00:05:46,420 and whether a man is qualified to be a leader 131 00:05:47,359 –> 00:05:50,760 is to ask the question, is anybody following him? 132 00:05:51,679 –> 00:05:53,119 Very perceptive. 133 00:05:53,119 –> 00:05:54,200 Is anyone following? 134 00:05:55,859 –> 00:05:58,399 So leaders of people who set out on a journey, 135 00:05:58,399 –> 00:06:01,000 there’s movement in the leader’s life. 136 00:06:01,000 –> 00:06:03,579 He’s going someplace, she’s going someplace 137 00:06:05,119 –> 00:06:07,179 and there are others who are following. 138 00:06:07,179 –> 00:06:09,140 They’re drawn, they’re attracted 139 00:06:09,140 –> 00:06:11,040 and they’re influenced. 140 00:06:12,019 –> 00:06:14,420 Now just letting that definition 141 00:06:14,420 –> 00:06:18,299 that I’ve drawn from Psalm 23 sink into our minds, 142 00:06:18,299 –> 00:06:20,339 it follows that there are three ways 143 00:06:20,339 –> 00:06:22,600 in which leaders most commonly fail. 144 00:06:23,500 –> 00:06:25,660 If you think about leadership failures 145 00:06:25,660 –> 00:06:29,679 that you have seen or that you have been close to, 146 00:06:29,679 –> 00:06:32,459 you’ve been able to observe it may very well be 147 00:06:32,459 –> 00:06:33,640 that what you have seen 148 00:06:33,640 –> 00:06:36,000 falls into one of these three categories. 149 00:06:36,940 –> 00:06:40,540 Leadership fails, one, when leaders themselves 150 00:06:40,600 –> 00:06:41,720 are not on the move. 151 00:06:42,859 –> 00:06:46,320 A man or a woman who is not going any place 152 00:06:46,320 –> 00:06:47,619 is a custodian, 153 00:06:48,619 –> 00:06:49,480 not a leader. 154 00:06:50,660 –> 00:06:52,200 This can be true in the home. 155 00:06:53,299 –> 00:06:55,380 Here’s a father or a mother 156 00:06:55,380 –> 00:06:59,179 who’s part of the church and you believe certain things, 157 00:06:59,179 –> 00:07:00,519 but it’s static. 158 00:07:01,459 –> 00:07:04,859 In your life, there is no evidence of growth. 159 00:07:04,859 –> 00:07:07,059 There isn’t life in your faith. 160 00:07:07,059 –> 00:07:09,519 It’s simply, I believe these things. 161 00:07:10,320 –> 00:07:11,600 And your children see this. 162 00:07:13,140 –> 00:07:15,799 And they are not inspired to follow a custodian 163 00:07:15,799 –> 00:07:17,480 because a custodian is not going anywhere. 164 00:07:17,480 –> 00:07:19,720 He’s just kind of holding onto something. 165 00:07:20,899 –> 00:07:22,880 And of course it’s the same in business, 166 00:07:23,799 –> 00:07:24,940 and it’s the same in the church. 167 00:07:24,940 –> 00:07:28,500 People will not follow those who are not going some place, 168 00:07:28,500 –> 00:07:32,480 to whom there is not movement in their lives. 169 00:07:32,480 –> 00:07:35,640 So leadership fails when a leader is not on the move. 170 00:07:35,640 –> 00:07:37,679 There’s no progress that’s observable 171 00:07:37,679 –> 00:07:38,880 in that person’s life. 172 00:07:39,040 –> 00:07:41,220 That’s not someone you will ever want to follow 173 00:07:41,220 –> 00:07:43,019 because they’re not going any place. 174 00:07:44,119 –> 00:07:46,260 Second, leadership fails when a leader 175 00:07:46,260 –> 00:07:48,179 is heading in the wrong direction. 176 00:07:49,019 –> 00:07:50,959 So you think about this definition. 177 00:07:50,959 –> 00:07:53,600 Leadership is a person who’s set out on a journey 178 00:07:53,600 –> 00:07:57,079 and is taking people with him or her. 179 00:07:57,079 –> 00:08:00,359 Adolf Hitler was an outstanding leader. 180 00:08:01,399 –> 00:08:03,339 Many people followed him, 181 00:08:04,480 –> 00:08:07,279 but he chose completely and utterly the wrong direction. 182 00:08:08,239 –> 00:08:11,100 Think of this, Satan himself 183 00:08:11,100 –> 00:08:13,760 has remarkable leadership gifts. 184 00:08:15,279 –> 00:08:18,040 One-third of the angels of heaven followed him 185 00:08:18,040 –> 00:08:20,700 in his rebellion against Almighty God, one third. 186 00:08:22,640 –> 00:08:25,920 Satan is always leading people into sin 187 00:08:25,920 –> 00:08:28,239 and he’s very effective at doing it. 188 00:08:28,239 –> 00:08:29,920 He is a big following. 189 00:08:31,339 –> 00:08:33,020 He’s an outstanding leader, 190 00:08:34,000 –> 00:08:38,760 but he is always leading in the wrong direction. 191 00:08:41,559 –> 00:08:46,400 So the size of influence is not the thing to look at. 192 00:08:47,419 –> 00:08:50,039 The style in which a person walks 193 00:08:50,039 –> 00:08:52,859 is not what you should set your attention on, 194 00:08:52,859 –> 00:08:54,640 it’s the direction and friends, 195 00:08:54,640 –> 00:08:57,640 it is easy to be impressed with, as it were, 196 00:08:57,640 –> 00:08:59,919 the style of a person’s walk 197 00:08:59,919 –> 00:09:01,599 and to focus attention on that 198 00:09:01,599 –> 00:09:03,960 rather than on the direction of their journey. 199 00:09:05,280 –> 00:09:06,960 So just to be very practical, 200 00:09:06,960 –> 00:09:08,559 behind your obedience to Christ, 201 00:09:08,559 –> 00:09:11,679 the biggest decision you will ever make in your life, 202 00:09:11,679 –> 00:09:12,780 if you come to be married, 203 00:09:12,780 –> 00:09:15,520 will be your decision as to who to marry. 204 00:09:15,520 –> 00:09:16,580 And here’s what happens, 205 00:09:16,580 –> 00:09:18,619 you meet some guy, you meet some girl, 206 00:09:18,619 –> 00:09:19,479 and they draw you, 207 00:09:19,479 –> 00:09:21,119 and you’re taken by the way they look, 208 00:09:21,119 –> 00:09:22,640 and you’re taken by the way they talk, 209 00:09:22,640 –> 00:09:25,000 and you’re flattered by the interest 210 00:09:25,000 –> 00:09:26,599 that they are taking in you, 211 00:09:26,599 –> 00:09:28,260 you like their style. 212 00:09:29,080 –> 00:09:31,200 And you like their company. 213 00:09:32,539 –> 00:09:36,900 But what do you know about the direction of their life? 214 00:09:36,900 –> 00:09:38,000 That’s the question. 215 00:09:39,200 –> 00:09:43,039 Not the style with which they are walking, really cool. 216 00:09:44,140 –> 00:09:46,599 But the direction in which they are going. 217 00:09:46,599 –> 00:09:48,479 What is motivating the heart? 218 00:09:48,479 –> 00:09:50,940 That’s the question you’ve got to understand. 219 00:09:50,940 –> 00:09:55,260 Because how can two walk together unless they be agreed? 220 00:09:56,260 –> 00:09:59,900 The same principle applies in choosing the closest friends 221 00:09:59,900 –> 00:10:02,239 who will have the greatest influence on your life. 222 00:10:02,239 –> 00:10:03,919 Where are they headed? 223 00:10:03,919 –> 00:10:05,780 Because it will have influence on you. 224 00:10:06,900 –> 00:10:08,700 It applies to the way in which we, 225 00:10:08,700 –> 00:10:11,219 the spheres in which we choose leaders in business, 226 00:10:11,219 –> 00:10:13,479 in school, in church. 227 00:10:14,380 –> 00:10:16,099 What should we be looking for 228 00:10:16,099 –> 00:10:18,179 in those who are appointed to leadership? 229 00:10:19,380 –> 00:10:23,179 I ask that question in relation to choosing interns. 230 00:10:24,140 –> 00:10:28,140 What should we be looking for in the younger people 231 00:10:28,140 –> 00:10:29,700 who aspire to leadership, 232 00:10:29,700 –> 00:10:32,460 in whom we will choose to invest our time 233 00:10:32,460 –> 00:10:34,940 and our energies in the life of the church? 234 00:10:34,940 –> 00:10:36,440 What should we be looking for? 235 00:10:37,479 –> 00:10:39,780 I think about this in relation to the responsibilities 236 00:10:39,780 –> 00:10:41,219 of the nominating committee, 237 00:10:41,219 –> 00:10:42,820 choosing lay leaders of the church. 238 00:10:42,820 –> 00:10:44,419 What should we be looking for? 239 00:10:44,419 –> 00:10:45,419 That’s the question. 240 00:10:46,479 –> 00:10:48,900 I think this in terms of the responsibility 241 00:10:48,900 –> 00:10:52,460 given to pastors in choosing leaders for life groups 242 00:10:52,659 –> 00:10:54,159 and for other ministries. 243 00:10:55,739 –> 00:10:57,099 I’ll tell you, over the years, 244 00:10:57,099 –> 00:10:59,700 I’ve had the great, great privilege 245 00:10:59,700 –> 00:11:03,559 of serving on many, many search teams 246 00:11:03,559 –> 00:11:07,340 and sifting through many, many applications 247 00:11:07,340 –> 00:11:09,239 of folks who want to be in ministry. 248 00:11:11,020 –> 00:11:13,659 I was asked to give a reference for someone 249 00:11:15,119 –> 00:11:18,479 from another church phoned up in another city. 250 00:11:19,580 –> 00:11:22,020 And they were interviewing someone who was known to me 251 00:11:23,000 –> 00:11:24,979 and they wanted a reference and conversation over the phone, 252 00:11:24,979 –> 00:11:26,260 the usual kind of thing. 253 00:11:27,200 –> 00:11:28,780 And so, I said to this person 254 00:11:28,780 –> 00:11:31,140 who was on that church’s committee, 255 00:11:31,140 –> 00:11:33,559 I said, well, now, what are you looking for 256 00:11:33,559 –> 00:11:34,419 in a youth pastor? 257 00:11:34,419 –> 00:11:36,619 He said, well, we’re just looking for someone 258 00:11:36,619 –> 00:11:38,739 who really connects. 259 00:11:38,739 –> 00:11:41,219 And then he said, we’re really looking 260 00:11:41,219 –> 00:11:43,700 for a pied piper of kids. 261 00:11:44,659 –> 00:11:46,599 And I thought, well, that is fascinating. 262 00:11:47,419 –> 00:11:49,580 The pied piper had immense pull. 263 00:11:49,580 –> 00:11:51,140 All kinds of kids followed him. 264 00:11:51,179 –> 00:11:53,419 But, you remember what happened at the end of the story? 265 00:11:53,419 –> 00:11:56,159 He took them right over the edge of the cliff. 266 00:11:56,159 –> 00:11:57,500 You don’t want to trust your kids 267 00:11:57,500 –> 00:11:59,780 to the pied piper, right? 268 00:11:59,780 –> 00:12:03,419 But he’s compellingly powerful 269 00:12:03,419 –> 00:12:06,280 in the magnetism of his personality. 270 00:12:07,460 –> 00:12:09,260 But, he’s chosen the wrong direction. 271 00:12:10,979 –> 00:12:13,440 Don’t want to trust your kids to that guy, do you? 272 00:12:14,619 –> 00:12:17,460 So, sure, we need to think about gifts of leadership, 273 00:12:17,460 –> 00:12:19,299 but what I’m urging you to do here 274 00:12:19,340 –> 00:12:21,679 is to think more deeply than just the first things 275 00:12:21,679 –> 00:12:24,099 that come to our minds. 276 00:12:24,099 –> 00:12:25,619 Gifts of leadership matter. 277 00:12:25,619 –> 00:12:27,619 Sure, connection matters, big time, 278 00:12:27,619 –> 00:12:29,460 personality matters, yes, 279 00:12:29,460 –> 00:12:34,460 but the first question is not the style of a person’s walk, 280 00:12:36,059 –> 00:12:39,700 but the direction of that person’s journey. 281 00:12:41,059 –> 00:12:42,419 And where will they take those 282 00:12:42,419 –> 00:12:43,960 who are entrusted to their care? 283 00:12:43,960 –> 00:12:46,500 That’s what matters if we’re thinking spiritually 284 00:12:47,760 –> 00:12:49,020 about all these things. 285 00:12:50,299 –> 00:12:53,739 So leadership fails when a leader is not on the move. 286 00:12:53,739 –> 00:12:55,739 He’s going no place, she’s going no place, 287 00:12:55,739 –> 00:12:58,380 become a custodian, not a leader. 288 00:12:59,539 –> 00:13:01,380 Leadership fails when a leader 289 00:13:01,380 –> 00:13:03,419 is heading in the wrong direction, 290 00:13:03,419 –> 00:13:05,080 and leadership fails, thirdly, 291 00:13:05,080 –> 00:13:08,559 when a leader becomes isolated. 292 00:13:08,559 –> 00:13:11,320 Why, because leadership involves taking people with you, 293 00:13:12,539 –> 00:13:16,179 and what was the goal of Jesus’ life? 294 00:13:16,179 –> 00:13:17,239 To enter heaven? 295 00:13:17,840 –> 00:13:19,880 No, He came from heaven. 296 00:13:19,880 –> 00:13:22,479 His goal was much bigger than to enter heaven. 297 00:13:22,479 –> 00:13:26,260 His goal was to have a great company of people 298 00:13:26,260 –> 00:13:29,359 from every nation, tribe, and language in heaven with Him. 299 00:13:29,359 –> 00:13:31,679 It was about who He was going to bring. 300 00:13:32,760 –> 00:13:33,900 That’s the key issue, 301 00:13:34,960 –> 00:13:37,200 and the Good Shepherd is all about leading the sheep 302 00:13:37,200 –> 00:13:38,599 so that on the last day, 303 00:13:38,599 –> 00:13:40,200 the Lord Jesus Christ will stand 304 00:13:40,200 –> 00:13:41,380 in the presence of the Father, 305 00:13:41,380 –> 00:13:42,640 the book of Hebrews tells us, 306 00:13:42,640 –> 00:13:43,479 and He will say, 307 00:13:43,479 –> 00:13:46,799 here I am, and the children that God has given Me. 308 00:13:46,880 –> 00:13:49,299 What a marvelous moment that is going to be 309 00:13:49,299 –> 00:13:52,719 in the entire assembled company of the redeemed. 310 00:13:52,719 –> 00:13:54,780 And He never loses one of His sheep, 311 00:13:55,679 –> 00:13:56,859 never out of touch. 312 00:13:58,320 –> 00:14:01,440 And so good leaders give their lives to people. 313 00:14:01,440 –> 00:14:04,320 They resist the temptation to become self-absorbed. 314 00:14:04,320 –> 00:14:06,679 They resist the constant temptation 315 00:14:06,679 –> 00:14:08,320 that is on every leader’s shoulders 316 00:14:08,320 –> 00:14:10,200 to sort of withdraw. 317 00:14:12,000 –> 00:14:14,039 And so here we have a definition of leadership 318 00:14:14,039 –> 00:14:16,440 taken from Christ the Great Shepherd. 319 00:14:17,500 –> 00:14:20,159 Leaders are people who set out on a journey 320 00:14:21,359 –> 00:14:26,359 and take others with them. 321 00:14:28,640 –> 00:14:30,739 Now having established what leadership is 322 00:14:30,739 –> 00:14:33,760 and given a framework for us to think about that together, 323 00:14:34,840 –> 00:14:38,320 I want to give to you three invitations today, 324 00:14:38,320 –> 00:14:40,460 and here’s the first. 325 00:14:40,460 –> 00:14:43,239 I invite you today first to consider 326 00:14:43,239 –> 00:14:46,359 your sphere of influence, 327 00:14:46,359 –> 00:14:49,820 to ask the question, who can you take with you? 328 00:14:50,760 –> 00:14:53,820 Who can you take with you? 329 00:14:55,340 –> 00:14:57,219 Now this is important because I know that 330 00:14:57,219 –> 00:14:59,380 some of us may be thinking already, 331 00:14:59,380 –> 00:15:02,859 hey a series on leadership won’t have anything for me. 332 00:15:03,960 –> 00:15:06,619 And you may be thinking, well I’m not a leader, 333 00:15:06,619 –> 00:15:10,760 I don’t do stuff upfront, I don’t lead anything, 334 00:15:10,760 –> 00:15:12,599 I don’t have leadership gifts, 335 00:15:12,599 –> 00:15:14,500 I’m the kind of person who wants to stay 336 00:15:14,559 –> 00:15:16,479 more quietly in the background. 337 00:15:16,479 –> 00:15:19,640 And so these next weeks I’ll need to take a pass. 338 00:15:19,640 –> 00:15:20,700 I hope it’s good for others 339 00:15:20,700 –> 00:15:22,979 but there won’t be anything for me. 340 00:15:22,979 –> 00:15:24,440 Now I know that some of us will be thinking that 341 00:15:24,440 –> 00:15:28,340 and so my first challenge here is to get all of us on board 342 00:15:28,340 –> 00:15:31,559 because the word of God here is for everyone 343 00:15:31,559 –> 00:15:33,760 and I want you to see how it relates to you. 344 00:15:35,020 –> 00:15:40,020 Very simply, God has placed you whoever you are 345 00:15:40,020 –> 00:15:45,020 at the center of a circle of influence. 346 00:15:45,900 –> 00:15:48,059 And I want you to do something with me right now 347 00:15:48,059 –> 00:15:51,380 if you would, grab a pencil or a pen, 348 00:15:51,380 –> 00:15:53,960 grab the piece of paper that is in the worship folder 349 00:15:53,960 –> 00:15:57,299 and draw a box on that piece of paper 350 00:15:57,299 –> 00:16:00,700 and divide the box into four sections, 351 00:16:00,700 –> 00:16:03,140 into four boxes within the box. 352 00:16:03,140 –> 00:16:06,940 And in the first box I want you to write 353 00:16:07,000 –> 00:16:09,580 the words friends, 354 00:16:09,580 –> 00:16:10,780 the word friends. 355 00:16:11,640 –> 00:16:14,219 I want you to think about your friends. 356 00:16:15,140 –> 00:16:17,299 God has placed them next to you. 357 00:16:18,260 –> 00:16:23,260 God has given you influence in the lives of your friends. 358 00:16:23,619 –> 00:16:25,179 The only question is going to be 359 00:16:25,179 –> 00:16:27,340 what kind of influence that will be. 360 00:16:27,340 –> 00:16:29,619 So I want you to use that box, 361 00:16:29,619 –> 00:16:32,340 beginning now and then over this coming week, 362 00:16:32,340 –> 00:16:33,739 I want you to fill that box out, 363 00:16:33,739 –> 00:16:36,080 you will very quickly find that the box needs 364 00:16:36,159 –> 00:16:38,440 to become a sheet of paper in and of itself 365 00:16:38,440 –> 00:16:41,280 because God has given to you a circle of influence 366 00:16:41,280 –> 00:16:43,280 among your friends. 367 00:16:43,280 –> 00:16:46,119 And your influence on these people 368 00:16:46,119 –> 00:16:49,039 will depend on where you are headed 369 00:16:49,039 –> 00:16:51,659 and the pace at which you are moving. 370 00:16:53,479 –> 00:16:54,520 Then in the second box, 371 00:16:54,520 –> 00:16:57,299 I want you to write the simple word, family, 372 00:16:57,299 –> 00:17:00,400 and you can start filling this box out as well. 373 00:17:00,400 –> 00:17:03,140 And you may find not everyone’s gonna fill out 374 00:17:03,140 –> 00:17:04,920 a whole lot of stuff in every box 375 00:17:04,920 –> 00:17:06,660 but you will find at least one box 376 00:17:06,660 –> 00:17:08,420 in which you’re filling out a lot of stuff. 377 00:17:08,420 –> 00:17:09,520 And for many of us, 378 00:17:09,520 –> 00:17:11,479 by the time you’ve written in children 379 00:17:11,479 –> 00:17:13,660 and grandchildren and brothers and sisters 380 00:17:13,660 –> 00:17:16,300 and uncles and cousins and second cousins 381 00:17:16,300 –> 00:17:17,920 and all the rest of it, 382 00:17:17,920 –> 00:17:21,520 you will find that there is a very substantial 383 00:17:21,520 –> 00:17:24,439 sphere of influence in which God has placed you 384 00:17:24,439 –> 00:17:25,280 at the centre. 385 00:17:27,219 –> 00:17:29,300 And you can’t write down the names here 386 00:17:30,199 –> 00:17:33,380 but remember to include the children not yet born. 387 00:17:35,599 –> 00:17:39,619 The children who may be born of your line 388 00:17:39,619 –> 00:17:42,540 in 50 years or 100 years 389 00:17:42,540 –> 00:17:44,359 if Jesus Christ is not returned. 390 00:17:46,479 –> 00:17:48,859 I want to encourage every mother and every father 391 00:17:48,859 –> 00:17:52,020 and every grandparent in the congregation today 392 00:17:52,020 –> 00:17:55,160 in the vigorous pursuit of a godly life 393 00:17:55,160 –> 00:17:57,979 for the good of future generations 394 00:17:57,979 –> 00:18:00,040 and for the glory of Jesus Christ. 395 00:18:01,459 –> 00:18:04,420 You know the name of Jonathan Edwards and his wife Sarah. 396 00:18:05,000 –> 00:18:07,239 They were godly parents 397 00:18:07,239 –> 00:18:10,839 who set the course of their lives to honor Christ 398 00:18:10,839 –> 00:18:13,199 and to be faithful in the middle of the ministry 399 00:18:13,199 –> 00:18:15,579 that God entrusted to them 400 00:18:15,579 –> 00:18:17,599 in the raising of their children 401 00:18:17,599 –> 00:18:19,920 and in the establishing of a godly home. 402 00:18:21,160 –> 00:18:24,239 And one writer has studied the descendants 403 00:18:24,239 –> 00:18:29,239 who came from this one couple, Jonathan and Sarah Edwards. 404 00:18:29,959 –> 00:18:32,040 And do you know that if you take that one couple 405 00:18:32,040 –> 00:18:34,680 and trace the descendants that came from their line 406 00:18:35,420 –> 00:18:40,180 their direct descendents include, and I quote, 407 00:18:40,180 –> 00:18:44,979 one United States vice president, three U.S. senators, 408 00:18:44,979 –> 00:18:49,979 three governors, three mayors, 13 college presidents, 409 00:18:50,119 –> 00:18:55,119 30 judges, 65 professors, 80 public office holders, 410 00:18:55,640 –> 00:19:00,319 100 lawyers, and 100 missionaries, 411 00:19:01,560 –> 00:19:04,180 100 missionaries from one couple? 412 00:19:05,900 –> 00:19:08,839 The influence of one godly mother, 413 00:19:08,839 –> 00:19:11,439 the influence of one godly father, 414 00:19:11,439 –> 00:19:13,280 massive potential for good 415 00:19:13,280 –> 00:19:15,900 over generations way beyond your lifetime. 416 00:19:15,900 –> 00:19:18,400 What will it be for Jonathan and Sara Edwards 417 00:19:18,400 –> 00:19:20,500 to see the full fruit of their ministry 418 00:19:20,500 –> 00:19:22,719 over centuries after their lifetime 419 00:19:22,719 –> 00:19:24,180 in the presence Jesus? 420 00:19:26,000 –> 00:19:28,119 God has placed you at the center 421 00:19:28,119 –> 00:19:31,520 of a circle of influence in your family. 422 00:19:32,839 –> 00:19:34,459 Third box. 423 00:19:34,500 –> 00:19:35,699 Think about your work. 424 00:19:36,780 –> 00:19:38,579 God has placed you at the center 425 00:19:38,579 –> 00:19:41,000 of another sphere of influence there. 426 00:19:41,000 –> 00:19:43,300 Some of you are in sales. 427 00:19:43,300 –> 00:19:44,579 You have an order book. 428 00:19:44,579 –> 00:19:46,660 Think about your order book. 429 00:19:46,660 –> 00:19:48,380 Think of whose names are there. 430 00:19:48,380 –> 00:19:51,219 There are folks there for whom Christ has died. 431 00:19:53,119 –> 00:19:54,680 Some of you are in business. 432 00:19:55,979 –> 00:19:59,859 Think about the people that you are privileged to employ 433 00:19:59,859 –> 00:20:03,339 and God has placed them in your direct sphere of influence. 434 00:20:03,339 –> 00:20:04,420 Some of you teach. 435 00:20:04,420 –> 00:20:05,619 Think about the classroom. 436 00:20:05,619 –> 00:20:08,719 Think about your colleagues on the staff. 437 00:20:08,719 –> 00:20:13,160 Some of these folks are not Christians, perhaps many, 438 00:20:14,119 –> 00:20:17,459 and for many of them, you may be the nearest 439 00:20:17,459 –> 00:20:21,739 that they ever get to the light of Jesus Christ. 440 00:20:23,219 –> 00:20:26,359 God has placed you at the center of a sphere of influence. 441 00:20:27,219 –> 00:20:28,280 It’s what leadership’s all about. 442 00:20:28,280 –> 00:20:29,900 What is that influence gonna be? 443 00:20:30,859 –> 00:20:33,280 Four, think about your church. 444 00:20:34,459 –> 00:20:38,420 God has joined us together as the Body of Christ. 445 00:20:38,420 –> 00:20:40,380 Some of us are full of joy. 446 00:20:40,380 –> 00:20:43,219 Some of us are quite hard to please. 447 00:20:43,219 –> 00:20:44,619 What will your influence be? 448 00:20:45,959 –> 00:20:48,500 What will be the effect of your trajectory, 449 00:20:48,500 –> 00:20:52,000 your thoughts, your conversation on people who are around you? 450 00:20:52,000 –> 00:20:53,060 What will they become like? 451 00:20:53,060 –> 00:20:54,260 They’ll become like you. 452 00:20:55,800 –> 00:20:58,479 Some are full of faith, some are full of fear. 453 00:20:59,459 –> 00:21:01,839 What will your influence be? 454 00:21:01,839 –> 00:21:04,160 Your influence matters 455 00:21:04,160 –> 00:21:06,839 to the whole trajectory of the Body of Christ. 456 00:21:08,520 –> 00:21:11,780 Early one morning, a man by the name of Henry Varley 457 00:21:12,640 –> 00:21:15,380 was in a prayer meeting, a few other men, 458 00:21:16,719 –> 00:21:20,819 and during the meeting, Varley was moved to say this. 459 00:21:20,819 –> 00:21:22,520 He said, the world is yet to see 460 00:21:22,520 –> 00:21:25,260 what God can do with and for and through and in 461 00:21:25,260 –> 00:21:28,599 a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to him, 462 00:21:30,099 –> 00:21:31,880 and there was another man in that prayer meeting 463 00:21:31,880 –> 00:21:33,920 who heard Varley say these words, 464 00:21:35,619 –> 00:21:38,400 and he said, by God’s grace, I want to be that man. 465 00:21:39,800 –> 00:21:41,000 His name was D. L. Moody. 466 00:21:42,900 –> 00:21:44,660 What kind of influence do you have? 467 00:21:46,959 –> 00:21:51,180 Christians desperately, desperately, desperately 468 00:21:51,219 –> 00:21:55,339 in our culture need to feel the heat of a light 469 00:21:55,339 –> 00:21:58,979 that is, a life that is seriously devoted to Jesus Christ. 470 00:21:58,979 –> 00:22:00,819 Why should that not be you? 471 00:22:02,219 –> 00:22:05,420 Why should it not be you on the college campus? 472 00:22:05,420 –> 00:22:06,880 Why should it not be you in business? 473 00:22:06,880 –> 00:22:09,479 Why should it not be you in your neighborhood? 474 00:22:09,479 –> 00:22:11,260 Why should it not be you right here 475 00:22:11,260 –> 00:22:13,540 where Christians need to see a model 476 00:22:13,540 –> 00:22:18,280 of a more stretched-out following after Jesus Christ? 477 00:22:18,319 –> 00:22:20,439 God has placed you at the center 478 00:22:20,439 –> 00:22:22,439 of multiple spheres of influence, 479 00:22:24,280 –> 00:22:26,619 so please promise me this, let it be settled now. 480 00:22:26,619 –> 00:22:29,239 Never say during the series there’s nothing here for me 481 00:22:29,239 –> 00:22:31,719 because you’re at the center of all these spheres 482 00:22:31,719 –> 00:22:32,900 and your influence matters. 483 00:22:32,900 –> 00:22:35,359 The only question is what that influence will be, 484 00:22:37,400 –> 00:22:41,400 so consider your sphere of influence. 485 00:22:41,400 –> 00:22:46,199 Friends, family, work, church. 486 00:22:49,280 –> 00:22:53,199 It’s much bigger than we sometimes think, much bigger. 487 00:22:55,839 –> 00:22:59,000 Then I want to give this second invitation to you. 488 00:23:00,900 –> 00:23:02,880 I want to invite you with me 489 00:23:02,880 –> 00:23:06,400 to consider your present position. 490 00:23:07,819 –> 00:23:09,939 Where are you in your journey? 491 00:23:11,839 –> 00:23:16,239 It is very important from time to time in a Christian life, 492 00:23:16,280 –> 00:23:18,619 you’re following Christ perhaps for many years. 493 00:23:18,619 –> 00:23:21,359 It is very, very important, from time to time, 494 00:23:21,359 –> 00:23:26,359 to have a moment where you stop and assess 495 00:23:27,140 –> 00:23:29,459 where you actually are in relation 496 00:23:29,459 –> 00:23:31,680 to your following after Jesus Christ. 497 00:23:32,800 –> 00:23:34,319 I don’t know when you last did that, 498 00:23:34,319 –> 00:23:37,040 had a serious review of where you are in your life 499 00:23:37,040 –> 00:23:39,880 in relation to your following after Jesus Christ. 500 00:23:39,880 –> 00:23:42,900 He leads me in, what does my following look like. 501 00:23:43,780 –> 00:23:48,520 Preparing for this series has, along with other things, 502 00:23:48,520 –> 00:23:52,180 thrown me into the middle of that in my own life. 503 00:23:52,180 –> 00:23:57,000 And I’m inviting you to make that assessment 504 00:23:57,000 –> 00:24:00,140 of your life now, today, and I want to offer 505 00:24:00,140 –> 00:24:03,160 to you seven questions. 506 00:24:03,160 –> 00:24:06,099 And they’re simply questions that I have 507 00:24:06,099 –> 00:24:08,260 personally been wrestling with, 508 00:24:08,260 –> 00:24:11,439 using as search lights in my own life 509 00:24:11,979 –> 00:24:16,339 over these last days and weeks. 510 00:24:16,339 –> 00:24:18,760 This has been a significant year in my life. 511 00:24:18,760 –> 00:24:22,920 I have now served here as long as I served in London. 512 00:24:24,219 –> 00:24:27,640 So, I’ve had two ministries, one was 16 years, 513 00:24:27,640 –> 00:24:30,459 this one 16 years to this point and grateful 514 00:24:30,459 –> 00:24:33,640 for the privilege of looking forward, 515 00:24:33,640 –> 00:24:35,339 but it’s a moment in life. 516 00:24:36,760 –> 00:24:38,780 So I’ve been a pastor now 32 years 517 00:24:38,780 –> 00:24:42,099 and that has forced the question into my mind. 518 00:24:42,099 –> 00:24:43,319 Now, where am I now? 519 00:24:45,000 –> 00:24:46,560 Where is their growth? 520 00:24:47,800 –> 00:24:50,060 Where has ground been lost? 521 00:24:51,579 –> 00:24:53,400 I am sure that there are other questions 522 00:24:53,400 –> 00:24:54,540 that could be added to the list, 523 00:24:54,540 –> 00:24:57,619 so you please add your own as many as you want, 524 00:24:57,619 –> 00:25:01,540 but I urge you to note these down and to use them 525 00:25:01,540 –> 00:25:04,619 and to say this is a moment in which I am being challenged 526 00:25:04,660 –> 00:25:09,020 and to assess in the light of where I can influence others 527 00:25:09,020 –> 00:25:11,900 where I am and where I’m going myself. 528 00:25:13,979 –> 00:25:18,979 Question number one, am I praying with faith? 529 00:25:21,660 –> 00:25:24,479 I could have just set the question, am I praying, 530 00:25:24,479 –> 00:25:26,739 and that would be a good question, 531 00:25:26,739 –> 00:25:28,459 but this question goes further. 532 00:25:29,739 –> 00:25:32,660 In Luke chapter 18, the Lord Jesus teaches us, 533 00:25:32,660 –> 00:25:35,800 he says that we ought always to pray. 534 00:25:36,800 –> 00:25:39,800 But at the end of the section in which he teaches us 535 00:25:39,800 –> 00:25:42,719 that we ought always to pray, he asks a question. 536 00:25:42,719 –> 00:25:45,619 And the question is, when the son of man comes, 537 00:25:45,619 –> 00:25:48,140 will he find faith on the earth? 538 00:25:49,380 –> 00:25:51,520 Why did Jesus not ask the question 539 00:25:51,520 –> 00:25:53,239 since he’s teaching about prayer? 540 00:25:53,239 –> 00:25:56,119 Why did he not say, when the son of man comes, 541 00:25:56,119 –> 00:25:58,319 will he find prayer on the earth? 542 00:26:00,079 –> 00:26:01,180 And here’s the answer. 543 00:26:01,520 –> 00:26:04,900 Because what matters is not that I say my prayers 544 00:26:04,900 –> 00:26:09,459 like the pharisees did or like millions of people 545 00:26:09,459 –> 00:26:12,459 in all religions around the world are regularly doing. 546 00:26:12,459 –> 00:26:14,140 What really matters and what Jesus is getting at 547 00:26:14,140 –> 00:26:16,500 and challenging me with is this question, 548 00:26:16,500 –> 00:26:19,040 am I praying with faith? 549 00:26:20,300 –> 00:26:23,579 Do I have confidence in God to do more than I can do? 550 00:26:23,579 –> 00:26:27,319 Or have I wandered into a spiritual wasteland 551 00:26:27,319 –> 00:26:30,939 in which I evaluate everything in terms of what I see 552 00:26:31,119 –> 00:26:32,680 as being humanly possible? 553 00:26:34,099 –> 00:26:35,920 Which is the easiest thing in the world to do 554 00:26:35,920 –> 00:26:38,900 once you’ve been a Christian for 10, 20 or 30 years. 555 00:26:40,699 –> 00:26:41,900 Am I praying with faith? 556 00:26:42,739 –> 00:26:47,319 Second, am I serving with zeal? 557 00:26:48,439 –> 00:26:49,780 I chose that word deliberately 558 00:26:49,780 –> 00:26:52,060 because it’s straight out of the Bible. 559 00:26:52,060 –> 00:26:54,599 Romans chapter 12 in verse eight says 560 00:26:54,599 –> 00:26:59,560 that the one who leads must lead with zeal. 561 00:26:59,579 –> 00:27:01,119 There’s something about heat here, 562 00:27:01,119 –> 00:27:02,800 there’s something about passion here, 563 00:27:02,800 –> 00:27:04,780 there’s something about commitment here, 564 00:27:04,780 –> 00:27:08,579 there’s something about direction here. 565 00:27:10,260 –> 00:27:12,319 The leader must care passionately 566 00:27:12,319 –> 00:27:14,099 about where he or she is going 567 00:27:14,099 –> 00:27:17,300 and about the progress of others also. 568 00:27:17,300 –> 00:27:19,959 That’s why in 1st Peter, Peter says of leaders, 569 00:27:19,959 –> 00:27:22,060 be shepherds of God’s flock 570 00:27:24,079 –> 00:27:25,579 that is under your care. 571 00:27:26,540 –> 00:27:28,619 Serve as overseers, as pastors, 572 00:27:28,719 –> 00:27:30,680 as board members, leaders, or whatever. 573 00:27:31,739 –> 00:27:34,699 Not because you must, 574 00:27:36,099 –> 00:27:38,180 but because you’re willing, 575 00:27:38,180 –> 00:27:40,439 as God wants you to be. 576 00:27:42,239 –> 00:27:46,000 And there can so easily be a sense of a treadmill 577 00:27:46,000 –> 00:27:49,880 of life that somehow gets into 578 00:27:49,880 –> 00:27:53,739 the way in which we are living for God. 579 00:27:54,420 –> 00:27:55,260 It’s thought out. 580 00:27:56,660 –> 00:27:58,880 You know that scene in the film Parenthood. 581 00:27:59,819 –> 00:28:03,579 Steve Martin plays an overworked father 582 00:28:03,579 –> 00:28:05,280 trying his best with a family 583 00:28:05,280 –> 00:28:07,339 that’s under all kinds of pressures. 584 00:28:08,459 –> 00:28:09,579 Towards the end of the film, 585 00:28:09,579 –> 00:28:11,500 he quits his job. 586 00:28:11,500 –> 00:28:15,180 When he gets home, he finds the kids running wild, 587 00:28:15,180 –> 00:28:17,439 and then his wife tells him, in that moment, 588 00:28:17,439 –> 00:28:21,140 that she is, guess what, pregnant. 589 00:28:21,140 –> 00:28:22,560 He does not react well. 590 00:28:22,560 –> 00:28:23,719 Have you seen the film? 591 00:28:24,579 –> 00:28:29,579 And it’s time to take his son to a baseball game. 592 00:28:31,660 –> 00:28:33,619 And, of course, his wife wants the two of them 593 00:28:33,619 –> 00:28:35,339 to sit down and talk, and she says, 594 00:28:35,339 –> 00:28:37,819 do you have to go, do you have to go? 595 00:28:37,819 –> 00:28:41,660 And he says, my whole life is have to. 596 00:28:42,959 –> 00:28:44,359 No, you’ve been there. 597 00:28:45,420 –> 00:28:46,420 And I’ve been there. 598 00:28:47,939 –> 00:28:49,939 And the line resonates, because every human being 599 00:28:49,939 –> 00:28:52,640 knows what it is to be in that kind of experience. 600 00:28:54,420 –> 00:28:58,780 But friend, that is not a place 601 00:28:58,780 –> 00:29:01,540 from which you can lead others. 602 00:29:03,420 –> 00:29:06,839 Am I serving with zeal? 603 00:29:08,780 –> 00:29:11,180 I’m not giving you answers here, 604 00:29:11,180 –> 00:29:12,920 I’m just raising questions, 605 00:29:13,900 –> 00:29:18,260 because I want you to feel how much we need 606 00:29:18,260 –> 00:29:20,260 the instruction of the Word of God 607 00:29:21,160 –> 00:29:22,719 in what it means to be a person 608 00:29:22,760 –> 00:29:25,099 who goes someplace and takes others with them. 609 00:29:27,219 –> 00:29:29,699 So I hope this is awakening some sense of need in you, 610 00:29:29,699 –> 00:29:32,300 some sense of, I just can’t keep drifting 611 00:29:32,300 –> 00:29:35,939 through church week by week, what’s happening to me? 612 00:29:37,500 –> 00:29:41,579 Trying to raise concern about the state of your own heart 613 00:29:43,420 –> 00:29:45,739 that will lead to a genuine hunger after God. 614 00:29:47,719 –> 00:29:50,880 Third question, am I believing with confidence? 615 00:29:51,880 –> 00:29:54,319 God says the gospel is the power of God 616 00:29:54,319 –> 00:29:56,400 for the salvation of everyone who believes. 617 00:29:56,400 –> 00:29:58,000 Do I really believe that? 618 00:29:59,479 –> 00:30:02,339 I pray for an unbelieving friend or relative. 619 00:30:03,339 –> 00:30:06,160 Do I believe that God is able to save them 620 00:30:06,160 –> 00:30:07,439 through the gospel? 621 00:30:08,920 –> 00:30:10,400 I struggle with a temptation, 622 00:30:10,400 –> 00:30:12,560 with a habit that is difficult to overcome. 623 00:30:12,560 –> 00:30:15,359 Do I believe that God is able to deliver me 624 00:30:15,359 –> 00:30:16,520 through the gospel? 625 00:30:18,280 –> 00:30:19,199 I become tired. 626 00:30:19,199 –> 00:30:20,400 I become discouraged. 627 00:30:20,560 –> 00:30:23,079 I begin to wonder how long can I continue. 628 00:30:23,079 –> 00:30:25,439 Do I believe that the God who saved me 629 00:30:25,439 –> 00:30:26,640 is able to keep me? 630 00:30:26,640 –> 00:30:28,599 Do I believe these things? 631 00:30:29,839 –> 00:30:30,939 To ask my heart. 632 00:30:32,800 –> 00:30:35,439 Number four, am I confessing with humility? 633 00:30:36,400 –> 00:30:39,500 Martin Luther said, it was the first of his 95 theses, 634 00:30:39,500 –> 00:30:42,520 when our Lord and Master Jesus Christ says repent, 635 00:30:42,520 –> 00:30:47,280 he calls a person to a life of repentance. 636 00:30:47,280 –> 00:30:49,199 In other words, repentance is not a prayer 637 00:30:49,219 –> 00:30:50,819 at the beginning of the Christian life. 638 00:30:50,819 –> 00:30:55,819 It is a life of turning ever more fully to Jesus Christ, 639 00:30:57,219 –> 00:31:00,199 and the life of repentance is not a life of misery. 640 00:31:00,199 –> 00:31:01,680 It is a life of growth. 641 00:31:01,680 –> 00:31:03,400 It is a life in which the Holy Spirit 642 00:31:03,400 –> 00:31:05,819 is constantly opening your eyes 643 00:31:05,819 –> 00:31:08,579 to how you can take the next step now 644 00:31:08,579 –> 00:31:10,260 to become more like Jesus, 645 00:31:12,260 –> 00:31:14,260 and a process of examination like this 646 00:31:14,260 –> 00:31:17,520 may be the very means by which that reality 647 00:31:17,520 –> 00:31:19,359 starts connecting with your life. 648 00:31:20,699 –> 00:31:23,439 A Christian is a person who at any time 649 00:31:23,439 –> 00:31:26,180 has light to see what there needs to be more of 650 00:31:26,180 –> 00:31:28,260 in their life and what there needs to be less of 651 00:31:28,260 –> 00:31:31,719 in their life, and what that leads to 652 00:31:31,719 –> 00:31:34,619 is a life that is characterized 653 00:31:34,619 –> 00:31:37,079 amongst many other things like thanksgiving 654 00:31:37,079 –> 00:31:38,319 and praise and worship. 655 00:31:38,319 –> 00:31:41,560 It is also characterized by confession 656 00:31:42,420 –> 00:31:45,300 in which you see your needs. 657 00:31:46,479 –> 00:31:48,880 You see your failings, you see your sins, 658 00:31:50,579 –> 00:31:55,579 and you keep bringing them under the blood of Christ 659 00:31:56,140 –> 00:31:58,520 so that you do not waste your life 660 00:31:58,520 –> 00:32:03,180 in the shallow waters of a compromised obedience. 661 00:32:04,359 –> 00:32:07,000 Can you name a sin that you have confessed 662 00:32:07,000 –> 00:32:10,719 in the last week, in the last month? 663 00:32:13,199 –> 00:32:16,939 Because if you’ve lost the sense of being 664 00:32:16,939 –> 00:32:19,959 a sinner who needs to confess before God 665 00:32:19,959 –> 00:32:23,119 30, 40 years down the track of the Christian life, 666 00:32:23,119 –> 00:32:25,439 then it will begin to play out in your worship. 667 00:32:25,439 –> 00:32:27,260 Your heart will begin to go cold. 668 00:32:27,260 –> 00:32:29,140 The sense of what God has done for you 669 00:32:29,140 –> 00:32:32,839 in the cross of Jesus Christ will not shine 670 00:32:33,140 –> 00:32:37,979 because your eyes will become very dull 671 00:32:37,979 –> 00:32:40,319 to your need of it after these years 672 00:32:40,319 –> 00:32:41,520 you’ve been a Christian. 673 00:32:42,880 –> 00:32:45,040 It feels like something you used to need, 674 00:32:45,040 –> 00:32:47,739 but it’s not a sense of need 675 00:32:47,739 –> 00:32:49,839 that’s with you burning bright now. 676 00:32:51,660 –> 00:32:53,699 And that leads straight into number five. 677 00:32:54,640 –> 00:32:57,140 Am I worshiping with joy? 678 00:32:58,560 –> 00:32:59,719 I come to worship. 679 00:33:00,520 –> 00:33:04,599 Do I participate or do I observe? 680 00:33:06,280 –> 00:33:08,420 In the presence of Jesus there will not be 681 00:33:08,420 –> 00:33:11,079 a single redeemed person who stands there 682 00:33:11,079 –> 00:33:13,000 with their arms folded listening 683 00:33:13,000 –> 00:33:15,300 to the singing of the angels. 684 00:33:17,420 –> 00:33:18,979 We will all sing. 685 00:33:20,420 –> 00:33:23,979 We will all shout with praise and joy to God. 686 00:33:25,760 –> 00:33:27,459 Am I worshiping with joy? 687 00:33:27,459 –> 00:33:28,680 If not, why not? 688 00:33:28,680 –> 00:33:29,939 What is wrong with me? 689 00:33:31,939 –> 00:33:34,660 Number six, am I giving with gladness? 690 00:33:35,699 –> 00:33:38,780 Giving is a register of love within marriage. 691 00:33:38,780 –> 00:33:42,319 A marriage that is marked by withholding is not healthy. 692 00:33:43,959 –> 00:33:47,400 And a Christian who is marked by withholding is not healthy. 693 00:33:48,439 –> 00:33:51,660 Giving is a register of love to Christ 694 00:33:51,660 –> 00:33:54,380 and love to the bride of Christ. 695 00:33:54,380 –> 00:33:57,599 And I express my love to Christ in many ways 696 00:33:57,619 –> 00:34:00,219 and one of them is that I give to the bride. 697 00:34:01,119 –> 00:34:04,920 I worked to earn money and I give it gladly to the bride. 698 00:34:06,579 –> 00:34:07,579 Is that true of me? 699 00:34:09,100 –> 00:34:10,280 Or am I tiring of that? 700 00:34:12,260 –> 00:34:15,320 Number seven, am I reaching out with love? 701 00:34:16,739 –> 00:34:18,199 Here we are in a world of need 702 00:34:18,199 –> 00:34:22,260 where some Christians are stretched out in sacrifice 703 00:34:23,959 –> 00:34:27,020 so that lost people on their way to an eternal darkness 704 00:34:27,100 –> 00:34:30,320 may see the light of Christ through the gospel and be saved. 705 00:34:32,379 –> 00:34:35,860 So I’m asking you with passion 706 00:34:35,860 –> 00:34:38,399 because this comes out of questions 707 00:34:38,399 –> 00:34:43,280 I have been deeply asking in my own life in these days. 708 00:34:44,939 –> 00:34:46,560 Where are you in this journey? 709 00:34:46,560 –> 00:34:47,399 Where are you? 710 00:34:48,879 –> 00:34:50,840 Where are you headed? 711 00:34:50,840 –> 00:34:52,000 Have you stopped? 712 00:34:52,840 –> 00:34:57,239 Are you actually further back than you were 10 years ago? 713 00:34:57,239 –> 00:34:58,739 I’ll tell you candidly, friends, 714 00:34:58,739 –> 00:35:01,439 I have given myself a mixed report. 715 00:35:03,100 –> 00:35:04,840 Some areas where there is growth. 716 00:35:06,360 –> 00:35:07,860 Some where there is decline. 717 00:35:09,719 –> 00:35:12,139 And God is using these questions 718 00:35:12,139 –> 00:35:17,139 to bring to my attention what needs to be addressed 719 00:35:17,899 –> 00:35:21,300 and I commend them to you. 720 00:35:23,419 –> 00:35:26,159 So I want you to consider your sphere of influence. 721 00:35:28,060 –> 00:35:32,080 I want you to consider where you are. 722 00:35:33,659 –> 00:35:35,739 And just very, very briefly in this last moment 723 00:35:35,739 –> 00:35:38,239 I want you to consider who you are following, 724 00:35:40,080 –> 00:35:42,620 and just to ponder this question in this last moment, 725 00:35:42,620 –> 00:35:45,419 what will following Jesus Christ mean for you today? 726 00:35:45,419 –> 00:35:47,300 I hope you are a follower of Jesus Christ. 727 00:35:47,300 –> 00:35:48,139 If you’re not, 728 00:35:48,139 –> 00:35:50,179 that you will become a follower of Jesus Christ, 729 00:35:50,179 –> 00:35:51,840 that you’ll begin on this journey. 730 00:35:54,100 –> 00:35:55,899 The mark of a godly leader 731 00:35:55,899 –> 00:35:59,260 is that he or she is first a godly follower. 732 00:36:01,419 –> 00:36:03,379 Leadership begins by learning to follow, 733 00:36:03,379 –> 00:36:06,500 can you say today, Jesus Christ leads me? 734 00:36:06,500 –> 00:36:07,659 Can you really say that? 735 00:36:07,659 –> 00:36:09,120 He leads me! 736 00:36:10,679 –> 00:36:12,340 That’s why there’s movement in my life. 737 00:36:12,340 –> 00:36:14,439 That’s where there’s following in my life. 738 00:36:16,419 –> 00:36:17,899 Now, friend, only Jesus Christ 739 00:36:17,899 –> 00:36:19,379 knows where he will lead you. 740 00:36:21,139 –> 00:36:24,580 Only Jesus Christ knows what he has in store for you. 741 00:36:24,580 –> 00:36:26,060 But you can be sure of this, 742 00:36:26,060 –> 00:36:29,239 that there will be gifts of grace in abundance. 743 00:36:30,199 –> 00:36:31,840 And that they will be mixed in 744 00:36:31,840 –> 00:36:34,580 with shattered dreams and intense pressures 745 00:36:34,580 –> 00:36:36,379 and great sacrifices. 746 00:36:36,379 –> 00:36:38,860 And if, in a world of convenience, 747 00:36:38,860 –> 00:36:40,500 there are many people who are 748 00:36:40,500 –> 00:36:42,500 not interested in that kind of journey. 749 00:36:43,260 –> 00:36:47,239 Following Jesus Christ will lead you to take up a cross 750 00:36:47,239 –> 00:36:50,199 and it will not end there, 751 00:36:50,199 –> 00:36:51,620 because following Jesus Christ 752 00:36:51,620 –> 00:36:54,840 will lead you into glory. 753 00:36:54,840 –> 00:36:56,979 And he suffered, the Bible says, 754 00:36:56,979 –> 00:37:01,000 as an example that we may follow in his footsteps. 755 00:37:01,939 –> 00:37:02,879 Say, that’s not possible. 756 00:37:02,879 –> 00:37:04,580 He forgave people who wounded him. 757 00:37:05,919 –> 00:37:07,620 He was in agony, and he reached out 758 00:37:07,620 –> 00:37:08,719 to care more about others 759 00:37:08,719 –> 00:37:10,719 than he cared about himself. 760 00:37:11,379 –> 00:37:14,899 He trusted the father when he could not even feel 761 00:37:14,899 –> 00:37:17,280 the father’s presence in his hour of pain. 762 00:37:19,100 –> 00:37:21,540 How could I possibly do that only in one way? 763 00:37:21,540 –> 00:37:25,719 By his spirit living in you. 764 00:37:25,719 –> 00:37:27,820 You can’t do this on your own. 765 00:37:27,820 –> 00:37:30,879 It’s not in you to live like this. 766 00:37:30,879 –> 00:37:32,560 Left to yourself you will settle 767 00:37:32,560 –> 00:37:35,260 into a Christianized comfort zone 768 00:37:35,260 –> 00:37:37,360 and the people around you will do the same, 769 00:37:37,360 –> 00:37:39,800 because that will be your influence. 770 00:37:40,580 –> 00:37:43,139 There’s only one way to live this life. 771 00:37:44,919 –> 00:37:49,280 Christ awakens the desire for this life within you. 772 00:37:49,280 –> 00:37:50,800 That’s my prayer for today. 773 00:37:50,800 –> 00:37:55,439 That christ will awaken this desire for this life in you. 774 00:37:57,560 –> 00:38:00,139 That like D.L. Moody who heard Henry Varley say 775 00:38:00,139 –> 00:38:01,840 the world is yet to see what God can do 776 00:38:01,840 –> 00:38:04,699 with one man or indeed one woman 777 00:38:04,699 –> 00:38:08,439 who is wholly and unreservedly committed to him 778 00:38:08,459 –> 00:38:10,679 that by God’s grace you would say today 779 00:38:10,679 –> 00:38:14,080 I want to be that man, I want to be that woman. 780 00:38:14,080 –> 00:38:16,080 I want to go after that. 781 00:38:16,879 –> 00:38:19,360 Christ awakens this desire within you 782 00:38:19,360 –> 00:38:23,260 and then Christ gives this life to you 783 00:38:23,260 –> 00:38:26,520 and Christ walks this journey with you. 784 00:38:28,139 –> 00:38:31,000 Listen to these words of Chris Tomlin, 785 00:38:31,000 –> 00:38:34,820 where you go I’ll go, where you stay I’ll stay, 786 00:38:35,100 –> 00:38:38,600 when you move I’ll move, I will follow you. 787 00:38:40,000 –> 00:38:44,159 Who you love, I’ll love, how you serve, I’ll serve. 788 00:38:45,719 –> 00:38:48,899 If this life I lose, I will follow you. 789 00:38:50,780 –> 00:38:52,739 In you there’s life everlasting, 790 00:38:52,739 –> 00:38:54,899 in you there is freedom for my soul, 791 00:38:54,899 –> 00:38:59,060 in you there’s joy, unending joy, and I will follow. 792 00:39:00,020 –> 00:39:02,620 Who you love, I’ll love. 793 00:39:02,620 –> 00:39:04,699 How you serve, I’ll serve. 794 00:39:05,659 –> 00:39:09,840 If this life I lose, I will follow you, I will follow you, 795 00:39:13,919 –> 00:39:15,500 I will follow you. 796 00:39:18,739 –> 00:39:22,899 Father, as you shine the search light of your word 797 00:39:24,760 –> 00:39:27,939 into our souls, we want to be those who are led 798 00:39:27,939 –> 00:39:30,780 by Christ and are quick to follow. 799 00:39:30,780 –> 00:39:34,120 And so right now, we’re asking that you will do 800 00:39:34,120 –> 00:39:37,020 a new work in our lives, that you will show to me 801 00:39:37,020 –> 00:39:41,020 where I need to exercise faith and trust in you. 802 00:39:42,780 –> 00:39:46,020 What sin I need to abandon decisively. 803 00:39:47,179 –> 00:39:50,179 What initiative of faith I can take. 804 00:39:51,820 –> 00:39:55,820 Lord, grant that in these days, beginning today, 805 00:39:56,139 –> 00:39:57,760 a fresh wind of your Holy Spirit, 806 00:39:57,760 –> 00:40:00,580 may blow through this congregation 807 00:40:01,979 –> 00:40:05,399 for our good and for your eternal glory. 808 00:40:08,419 –> 00:40:12,159 And we pray these things in Jesus name, amen.

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Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

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