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.