WEBVTT 00:00:02.919 --> 00:00:05.360 Let's open our rivals together now please to 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:11.460 the book of 1st Corinthians. Today we continue 00:00:11.460 --> 00:00:16.579 looking at the situation in the Corinthian Church. 00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:21.760 And in that paragraph that we began in verse 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:26.920 18 of 1st Corinthians 3, today, I want us to 00:00:26.920 --> 00:00:34.899 think about what makes a successful leader. We 00:00:34.899 --> 00:00:39.780 expect leaders to be trained as well as born. 00:00:40.579 --> 00:00:43.200 Among those places where we think of them as 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:47.579 being trained are military academies. I came 00:00:47.579 --> 00:00:52.920 across a list recently of some employee performance 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:57.759 reports from the Royal Navy and Marine Officers 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:02.579 Academy. officers obviously were being evaluated 00:01:02.579 --> 00:01:05.040 in terms of what their future would hold. I thought 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:08.439 you might be interested in hearing some of the 00:01:08.439 --> 00:01:14.159 evaluations of these officers. One commander 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:16.939 said regarding an officer, his men would follow 00:01:16.939 --> 00:01:21.599 him anywhere, but only out of curiosity. That's 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:26.239 not leadership. The other said this officer really 00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:29.599 is not so much of a has -been. but more of a 00:01:29.599 --> 00:01:33.459 depth of what he won't be. Get the picture on 00:01:33.459 --> 00:01:37.439 that one. In other sense, since my last report, 00:01:37.459 --> 00:01:40.760 he has reached block bottom and has started to 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:43.579 dig. You get the picture, this guy's in trouble. 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:48.519 This could probably go for a few teenagers, too. 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:51.319 Works well when under constant supervision and 00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:58.700 cornered like a rat in a trap. one that I can 00:01:58.700 --> 00:02:01.599 identify with. I don't know about you, but the 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:04.359 officer in charge says when she opens her mouth, 00:02:04.579 --> 00:02:07.560 it seems that this is only to change what was 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:15.379 previously in there. But one of my favorites 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:18.879 is this officer should go far, and the sooner 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:25.759 he starts, the better. We're going to see here 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:29.030 today in the text before us. Paul talks about 00:02:29.030 --> 00:02:32.330 leadership in a sort of an indirect way. Important 00:02:32.330 --> 00:02:35.090 lessons for us knowing whatever role of leadership 00:02:35.090 --> 00:02:38.629 we have. We're going to apply it especially to 00:02:38.629 --> 00:02:41.789 ministry leadership, but believe me, it applies 00:02:41.789 --> 00:02:44.330 in your family, it applies in the company you 00:02:44.330 --> 00:02:49.009 work for, whatever arena where you are, one who 00:02:49.009 --> 00:02:52.689 deserves the influence over others. What we talk 00:02:52.689 --> 00:02:56.819 about today is very practical for you. I'll remind 00:02:56.819 --> 00:02:59.360 you that the first concern of Paul's heart, as 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:03.719 he writes, this church in Corinth centers on 00:03:03.719 --> 00:03:08.319 the divisive attitude which the congregation 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:14.379 had toward leaders. In our study last week, we 00:03:14.379 --> 00:03:17.460 saw that Paul is reminding these people that 00:03:17.460 --> 00:03:21.479 each of their leaders is unique, but that they're 00:03:21.479 --> 00:03:26.219 all equal. That is, they're all nothing really 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:29.240 in comparison to God. They shouldn't boast in 00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:34.500 leaders who really are nothing. When one considers 00:03:34.500 --> 00:03:38.319 God, he speaks about the diversity of gifts, 00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:42.120 but the fact that they function as a team. And 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:44.360 therefore, don't divide the team up by picking 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:48.460 your favorite leader. He says, each one will 00:03:48.460 --> 00:03:50.979 receive his own reward for his faithful labor. 00:03:51.949 --> 00:03:55.229 who reminds them that they belong to God. The 00:03:55.229 --> 00:03:57.530 leaders belong to God, not to the Corinthians. 00:03:58.849 --> 00:04:01.610 And that God's purpose for them is to build up 00:04:01.610 --> 00:04:05.870 the church. So Paul's point is, if that's God's 00:04:05.870 --> 00:04:09.590 purpose for your leaders to build you up, then 00:04:09.590 --> 00:04:13.830 why are you tearing yourselves down over the 00:04:13.830 --> 00:04:17.290 personalities of your leaders? By picking your 00:04:17.290 --> 00:04:20.189 favorites and dividing yourselves into parties. 00:04:21.550 --> 00:04:26.209 He has to summary exhortations to these celebrity 00:04:26.209 --> 00:04:28.370 conscious believers, and that's what we begin 00:04:28.370 --> 00:04:32.230 with in verse 18. He says, let no man deceive 00:04:32.230 --> 00:04:35.850 himself. If any man among you thinks that he 00:04:35.850 --> 00:04:38.569 is wise in this age, let him become foolish, 00:04:38.730 --> 00:04:42.649 that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this 00:04:42.649 --> 00:04:46.430 world is foolishness before God. That is written, 00:04:46.529 --> 00:04:49.970 he is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness. 00:04:50.069 --> 00:04:53.600 And again, The Lord knows the reasonings of the 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:58.779 wise, that they're useless. So then let no one 00:04:58.779 --> 00:05:02.620 boast in men, for all things belong to you, whether 00:05:02.620 --> 00:05:06.040 Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life 00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:08.660 or death or things present or things to come. 00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:13.740 All things belong to you, and you belong to Christ, 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:19.019 and Christ belongs to God. summary of exhortations, 00:05:19.019 --> 00:05:23.399 he says, first, let no man deceive himself. The 00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:27.180 kind of thinking that they were using in the 00:05:27.180 --> 00:05:32.519 church, leading to division, was foolish and 00:05:32.519 --> 00:05:38.160 worldly. That is, to absolve men, to follow after 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:42.899 men. The second exhortation is in verse 21 where 00:05:42.899 --> 00:05:47.959 he says, let no one boast in men. It's needless 00:05:47.959 --> 00:05:50.439 to most admit anyway, he says, because they all 00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:54.759 belong to you. You don't have to divide yourselves 00:05:54.759 --> 00:05:58.939 up and follow your favorite preacher. They all 00:05:58.939 --> 00:06:01.839 belong to you, just like you belong to Christ 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:05.939 and Christ to God. So you see what he does here, 00:06:05.939 --> 00:06:09.519 he says, get your eyes off of them and focus 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:15.300 on Christ. Focus on the Lord, because that's 00:06:15.300 --> 00:06:20.439 where unity comes from. As he goes on, Paul uses 00:06:20.439 --> 00:06:24.540 two word pictures to illustrate an appropriate 00:06:24.540 --> 00:06:27.500 way to be of God's servants. He says, let a man 00:06:27.500 --> 00:06:33.300 regard us, who? Peter, Paul, Paulus, other ministry 00:06:33.300 --> 00:06:37.339 leaders. Let a man regard us in this manner as 00:06:37.339 --> 00:06:42.480 servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:47.060 of God. We'll want to read the rest of the text 00:06:47.060 --> 00:06:50.389 through verse seven. In this case, moreover, 00:06:50.449 --> 00:06:52.810 it is required of stewards that one be found 00:06:52.810 --> 00:06:56.050 trustworthy, but to me it is a very small thing 00:06:56.050 --> 00:06:59.069 that I should be examined by you or by any human 00:06:59.069 --> 00:07:02.670 court. In fact, I do not even examine myself. 00:07:03.829 --> 00:07:06.569 I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet 00:07:06.569 --> 00:07:11.050 I am not, by this, acquitted. But the one who 00:07:11.050 --> 00:07:13.829 examines me is the Lord. Therefore, do not go 00:07:13.829 --> 00:07:17.629 on passing judgment before the time. But wait 00:07:17.629 --> 00:07:20.069 until the Lord comes. who will both bring to 00:07:20.069 --> 00:07:23.410 light the things hidden in the darkness and dispose 00:07:23.410 --> 00:07:27.490 the millions of men's hearts. And then each man's 00:07:27.490 --> 00:07:31.149 praise will come to him from God. Now these things, 00:07:31.329 --> 00:07:33.990 brethren, I have figuratively applied my to myself 00:07:33.990 --> 00:07:38.009 in applause for your sakes. Then in us you men 00:07:38.009 --> 00:07:41.129 are not to exceed what is written, but in order 00:07:41.129 --> 00:07:44.149 that no one of you might become arrogant on behalf 00:07:44.149 --> 00:07:49.189 of one against the other. who regard you as superior. 00:07:50.589 --> 00:07:53.430 And what do you have that you did not receive? 00:07:54.389 --> 00:07:57.009 But if you did receive it, why do you boast as 00:07:57.009 --> 00:08:01.389 if you had not received it? Let us, in verse 00:08:01.389 --> 00:08:07.290 one, the two pictures of God's servants. He calls 00:08:07.290 --> 00:08:12.629 us, first, the servants of Christ. The word servant. 00:08:12.620 --> 00:08:16.459 here is a particular one. It is used only here 00:08:16.459 --> 00:08:22.779 in all of Paul's writings. It is a word that 00:08:22.779 --> 00:08:27.079 has a nautical origin. Some of you from your 00:08:27.079 --> 00:08:31.019 ancient history will remember that the Phoenicians 00:08:31.019 --> 00:08:38.080 were a very powerful seagoing nation. They developed 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:41.360 ships and among those were ships called the Byron, 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:47.470 Byrene. of the trireme. These were galleys that 00:08:47.470 --> 00:08:51.809 were used for commerce, but even more often for 00:08:51.809 --> 00:08:56.429 warfare. The trireme, for example, had three 00:08:56.429 --> 00:09:03.309 banks of oarsmen. There was one on top, and another, 00:09:04.250 --> 00:09:09.169 and then another. The lowest bank of oarsmen 00:09:09.169 --> 00:09:11.720 were usually just the a few inches above the 00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:15.940 waterline and right next to the hull. So in the 00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:19.080 case of a ship being rammed, you can see that 00:09:19.080 --> 00:09:20.759 their lives weren't worth much, and actually 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:24.700 that's why they were there. They were called 00:09:24.700 --> 00:09:29.860 the under rowers. And all of the whatever that 00:09:29.860 --> 00:09:33.240 would drip down from above would end up on them, 00:09:34.259 --> 00:09:36.940 and that vulnerable and lost of all positions 00:09:36.940 --> 00:09:42.539 on the triory. the word that Paul uses here. 00:09:44.580 --> 00:09:48.360 He says, what are the other low words of Christ? 00:09:49.539 --> 00:09:52.059 Now the word over the hundreds of years leading 00:09:52.059 --> 00:09:56.440 up to the time of Paul came to have a broader 00:09:56.440 --> 00:09:59.100 meaning and meant the one who is in a subordinate 00:09:59.100 --> 00:10:03.779 position, the one who is an assistant. For example, 00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:07.440 it is used with John Mark in Acts 13 where it 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:11.519 says regarding Paul and Barnabas, that they had 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:15.879 John as their helper. It's this word, John was 00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:20.720 their assistant. It is used by Jesus of Paul 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:24.460 in Acts 26 where he says, I have appeared to 00:10:24.460 --> 00:10:28.860 you to appoint you a minister and a witness. 00:10:29.419 --> 00:10:33.899 The word minister there is the same word. Paul, 00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:38.799 I am appointing you as my subordinate. I am appointing 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:45.840 you as my assistant by orderly, and is a witness 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:50.440 of the gospel. So Paul says if you want to think 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:54.059 of us, think of us first of all as those who 00:10:54.059 --> 00:10:59.320 are the lowest of the low. As those of us who 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:02.379 are the under roars of a trireme, who are in 00:11:02.379 --> 00:11:05.700 a subordinate position. That's what we are. We 00:11:05.700 --> 00:11:07.679 are the servants of Christ. And then he says 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:11.580 we're also the stewards. of the mysteries of 00:11:11.580 --> 00:11:15.500 God. A steward is not an unusual work for you. 00:11:16.460 --> 00:11:18.740 Most of you know that a steward in those days 00:11:18.740 --> 00:11:25.639 was the manager of a household. A wealthy patrician 00:11:25.639 --> 00:11:29.899 would appoint a steward to care for all of his 00:11:29.899 --> 00:11:33.500 affairs. This man would have no need of affording 00:11:33.500 --> 00:11:36.440 him, would have prescribed limits, but within 00:11:36.440 --> 00:11:38.740 those limits he could do what he wanted to do. 00:11:39.960 --> 00:11:42.840 And ultimately the steward was accountable to 00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:47.580 his employer. So Paul says if you want to think 00:11:47.580 --> 00:11:51.200 of us, think of us as that way. Not as heroes, 00:11:51.460 --> 00:11:54.759 but celebrities. But think of us as stewards. 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:59.220 That God is appointed over his deep truths. Those 00:11:59.220 --> 00:12:02.779 things that the world cannot discover. Those 00:12:02.779 --> 00:12:06.960 things that God has revealed to us. The mysteries 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:11.379 of God. Since we are the managers, we are the 00:12:11.379 --> 00:12:14.100 stewards of those things, and to God we must 00:12:14.100 --> 00:12:19.100 give an account. Now using these two terms, Paul 00:12:19.100 --> 00:12:21.480 is telling us that serving as a Christian leader 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:28.340 is a privilege and a responsibility. It's a privilege 00:12:28.340 --> 00:12:32.879 and a responsibility. So I ask the question today, 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:35.559 when one is in a place of leadership, what makes 00:12:35.559 --> 00:12:41.700 for success? As we said, I don't know the key 00:12:41.700 --> 00:12:44.299 to success, but the key to failure is trying 00:12:44.299 --> 00:12:48.960 to please everybody. Some wise words spoken there. 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:53.100 But what I want to find out from God's word is 00:12:53.100 --> 00:12:57.279 what makes for success. I believe that what we're 00:12:57.279 --> 00:12:59.539 going to discover here applies to any position 00:12:59.539 --> 00:13:02.120 of influence and authority that any person here 00:13:02.120 --> 00:13:06.039 might have. And what we're going to see is that 00:13:06.039 --> 00:13:14.389 success, true success, success is rooted in character. 00:13:18.429 --> 00:13:21.389 What are the qualities of character that Paul 00:13:21.389 --> 00:13:25.110 elaborates on here with regard to successful 00:13:25.110 --> 00:13:29.049 leadership? I believe the first thing he says 00:13:29.049 --> 00:13:31.750 is this, the Christian leader must personify 00:13:31.750 --> 00:13:37.470 trust. Notice he says in verse 2, it is required 00:13:37.470 --> 00:13:41.639 of stewards They'll want to be found trustworthy. 00:13:43.580 --> 00:13:49.039 If you work for anybody, you are a steward. It 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:52.620 may be over police department. It may be over 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:59.440 the the secretarial pool in your office. You 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:03.820 may be a steward with regard to a sales district. 00:14:04.539 --> 00:14:07.100 But if you work for somebody, something has been 00:14:07.100 --> 00:14:08.860 committed to you. That's what you're being paid 00:14:08.860 --> 00:14:13.129 for. But what it says here is that if we're Christians 00:14:13.129 --> 00:14:17.149 and leaders, we must personify trust. It says 00:14:17.149 --> 00:14:24.590 it is required that we be found faithful. Notice 00:14:24.590 --> 00:14:28.269 that he doesn't say that sinlessness is required. 00:14:28.669 --> 00:14:31.309 Thank God for that or none of us would ever be 00:14:31.309 --> 00:14:35.450 successful in leadership. He does not say that 00:14:35.450 --> 00:14:44.059 brilliance or ability or career He doesn't tell 00:14:44.059 --> 00:14:48.500 us here the personality or eloquence is what 00:14:48.500 --> 00:14:51.899 makes a successful leader. Not any of these things 00:14:51.899 --> 00:14:54.519 can benefit a leader. Don't misunderstand me. 00:14:55.000 --> 00:15:00.120 But they are not requisites. What is required 00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:04.080 is faithfulness. That is what is sought after. 00:15:04.100 --> 00:15:08.519 That is what is demanded. That one be found reliable 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:15.480 and agent. without many qualities and attributes 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:20.559 as a leader, but he cannot do without faithfulness 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:24.860 to his responsibilities. Of all of the amenities 00:15:24.860 --> 00:15:29.559 of a leader that he can possess, none outweighs 00:15:29.559 --> 00:15:36.539 the ten ability. One who is faithful is one who 00:15:36.539 --> 00:15:41.240 sticks to a task. He is one who sees his duty 00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:45.220 through to its outcome. He is one who keeps his 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:49.500 word whatever the cost to his own welfare. That 00:15:49.500 --> 00:16:02.120 is a faithful man, a faithful woman. God requires 00:16:02.120 --> 00:16:05.679 us to be faithful. He does not require us to 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:12.139 have certain talents. In the end, a person who 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:16.299 is an employer or who is a master, wants to know 00:16:16.299 --> 00:16:19.179 that those in whom he has invested leadership 00:16:19.179 --> 00:16:22.940 will be faithful, that it will be counted on. 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:29.700 I believe that we are in a crisis of trust in 00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:36.480 our society. I believe that we are in a crisis 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:39.340 of trust with regards to personal relationships, 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:51.100 to marriage. crisis with regards to business, 00:16:53.899 --> 00:17:00.679 to the media, to politics. Robert Hoover said 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:02.940 in an article in the New York Times, August 9, 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:07.880 1964, that there is a lack of honor in government. 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:20.289 The walls of the whole people are poisoned. I'll 00:17:20.289 --> 00:17:25.569 read you a couple of quotes. In 1971, Mr. United 00:17:25.569 --> 00:17:29.190 States Senator said, it is my personal feeling 00:17:29.190 --> 00:17:33.230 that the legalization of abortion on demand is 00:17:33.230 --> 00:17:36.569 not in accordance with the value of human life. 00:17:37.490 --> 00:17:40.170 Wanted or unwanted, I believe that human life, 00:17:40.349 --> 00:17:43.569 even at its earliest stages, has certain rights 00:17:43.569 --> 00:17:46.710 which must be recognized, the right to be born. 00:17:50.190 --> 00:17:54.890 the same United States Senator, a few years later, 00:17:55.269 --> 00:17:59.329 said this. Many of us oppose this legislation, 00:18:00.369 --> 00:18:04.710 that is the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, and 00:18:04.710 --> 00:18:07.109 believers should not pass in any form this measure 00:18:07.109 --> 00:18:09.589 is the latest attack by some of our colleagues 00:18:09.589 --> 00:18:12.470 in their continuing all -out assault against 00:18:12.470 --> 00:18:15.710 a woman's constitutional right to choose whether 00:18:15.710 --> 00:18:21.720 to continue her pregnancy. The same man. a senator 00:18:21.720 --> 00:18:29.779 from Massachusetts, but I will not name. Listen 00:18:29.779 --> 00:18:35.000 to this. I am opposed to abortion and to a government 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:38.299 ending of abortion, the statement of a governor 00:18:38.299 --> 00:18:44.700 of Arkansas in 1986. Last year, with regard to 00:18:44.700 --> 00:18:47.759 the partial birth abortion ban, he says, I have 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:50.059 always believed that the decision to have I have 00:18:50.059 --> 00:18:53.329 always been He says that the decision to have 00:18:53.329 --> 00:18:55.569 an abortion generally should be between a woman, 00:18:55.750 --> 00:18:59.670 her doctor, her conscience, and her God, as he 00:18:59.670 --> 00:19:02.950 betood that Bill protecting the life of babies. 00:19:04.309 --> 00:19:10.890 We have a crisis of trust in our society, and 00:19:10.890 --> 00:19:15.549 it's on all levels. We have media that demand 00:19:15.549 --> 00:19:19.289 the right to publish whatever they want to publish. 00:19:19.390 --> 00:19:27.480 The problem is... If we cannot trust what they 00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:29.339 publish, should they have the right to publish 00:19:29.339 --> 00:19:33.680 it? That has to be asked. Does the population 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:43.539 have to allow itself to be lied to? What can 00:19:43.539 --> 00:19:54.099 we say about business? and shady feelings that 00:19:54.099 --> 00:19:56.599 are going on at all levels of business. I'm not 00:19:56.599 --> 00:19:59.180 saying everybody's dishonest. Please don't misunderstand 00:19:59.180 --> 00:20:03.339 me. But I think most of us are aware today that 00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:08.180 in our society we have a crisis of truthfulness. 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:12.599 And what the American people are longing for 00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:15.599 are people who will simply tell them what they 00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:34.039 really believe and who will act. me that honors 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:40.140 truthfulness. You may not get the promotion that 00:20:40.140 --> 00:20:42.720 you would like to get because you are an honest 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:46.180 and truthful, trustworthy person. That doesn't 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:51.019 mean that you're not successful. Success may 00:20:51.019 --> 00:20:55.420 be not getting that promotion. Yet, in getting 00:20:55.420 --> 00:21:17.380 it, you have to compromise your character. of 00:21:17.380 --> 00:21:20.759 the bank to eat, and a little denounced to him, 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:23.299 the president of the bank was behind him in the 00:21:23.299 --> 00:21:28.059 line and saw this employee take two pats of butter 00:21:28.059 --> 00:21:33.420 and hide it under his bread. So he wouldn't have 00:21:33.420 --> 00:21:38.059 to pay for two pats of butter. You know what, 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:41.099 the president of the bank noted that act of dishonesty 00:21:41.099 --> 00:21:45.839 that cost him his promotion. That's any sense 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:47.980 of weather. The man did not get what he was longing 00:21:47.980 --> 00:21:53.660 for. People are looking for trustworthiness in 00:21:53.660 --> 00:21:57.559 leadership. And so my point is, determine in 00:21:57.559 --> 00:22:01.200 your heart to be a person worthy of the trust 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:06.579 of others. I love that song, and I think we've 00:22:06.579 --> 00:22:09.079 even had it sung here a number of times. May 00:22:09.079 --> 00:22:15.059 all who come behind us, find us one. Faithful. 00:22:20.680 --> 00:22:27.500 can be depended upon. It is required in a Christian 00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:31.720 leader that he be found faked. There's a second 00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:33.880 character quality that I see in verses three 00:22:33.880 --> 00:22:37.059 through five. Was he here that a Christian leader 00:22:37.059 --> 00:22:42.279 must practice integrity? Paul's conscience was 00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:48.599 clear. He did not know anything against him. 00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:55.880 You know that conscience within us is what is 00:22:55.880 --> 00:23:00.660 the echo, the inner echo of our value system. 00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:05.160 Like a radio it can be, it can get on the wrong 00:23:05.160 --> 00:23:10.480 channel, or it can even be turned off. But inside 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:13.140 there, God has built within us that the echo 00:23:13.140 --> 00:23:16.400 changed our own value system. So what I said, 00:23:16.500 --> 00:23:18.460 the conscience is what makes the little boy tell 00:23:18.460 --> 00:23:28.640 his mother before his sister does. ever done. 00:23:29.859 --> 00:23:32.700 His conscience testified that he was a man of 00:23:32.700 --> 00:23:36.279 integrity, but apparently Paul was being criticized 00:23:36.279 --> 00:23:40.339 and accused of something. That's what the language 00:23:40.339 --> 00:23:43.519 here indicates. No one would expect that because 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:47.740 Paul was a leader. Richard Nixon, in their view 00:23:47.740 --> 00:23:52.180 in 1978, said, if any individual wants to be 00:23:52.180 --> 00:23:55.339 a leader and isn't controversial, that means 00:23:55.339 --> 00:24:03.259 he never stood for it. and apparently there were 00:24:03.259 --> 00:24:06.279 those who were stirring up accusations about 00:24:06.279 --> 00:24:09.859 him, but Paul says, my conscience is clear, that 00:24:09.859 --> 00:24:15.980 the examination was not of concern to them. And 00:24:15.980 --> 00:24:18.140 in fact, he says here in verse 3 that there are 00:24:18.140 --> 00:24:54.000 three exams that really don't count at all. against 00:24:54.000 --> 00:25:00.880 myself, yet I am not by this acquitted." Notice 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:05.640 the genuine devoutness there. He deferred all 00:25:05.640 --> 00:25:09.240 examination and all judgment of his methods and 00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:12.200 his motives to the future coming of Christ in 00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:16.180 verse 5. He says, that is the examination when 00:25:16.180 --> 00:25:19.579 Jesus comes. That is the examination I want to 00:25:19.579 --> 00:25:24.960 pass. He says, because then... is unknown to 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:28.440 be eliminated. The things hidden in darkness, 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:32.039 the moments of my heart, all of those things 00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:35.099 are going to be on the table for all to see. 00:25:37.900 --> 00:25:41.460 But that is true of all of us. Some of us get 00:25:41.460 --> 00:25:44.759 very hyper about what others might think of us. 00:25:45.539 --> 00:25:47.579 And of course, there is a sense in which that's 00:25:47.579 --> 00:25:50.880 appropriate. But the ultimate exams ought to 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:59.130 give us pause about what we're doing. There is 00:25:59.130 --> 00:26:01.170 that encouragement at the end of verse 5 when 00:26:01.170 --> 00:26:04.869 he says, then, each man's praise will come to 00:26:04.869 --> 00:26:08.769 him from God. In other words, he suggests here 00:26:08.769 --> 00:26:11.130 that in the end, God is the one who will bring 00:26:11.130 --> 00:26:15.950 forth praise for each one. And he does say each 00:26:15.950 --> 00:26:21.730 one. To some point here really is that we must 00:26:21.730 --> 00:26:29.680 be very careful about... ourselves into the business 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:34.079 of trying to examine their motives. Jesus warned 00:26:34.079 --> 00:26:36.599 us about that kind of judgment, that we ought 00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:39.279 not to judge what we ourselves can judge. We 00:26:39.279 --> 00:26:44.619 can't reload it. Actions we can see. And we can't 00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:47.299 evaluate what they've got motives. But they've 00:26:47.299 --> 00:26:49.299 given things. We have to be very careful about 00:26:49.299 --> 00:26:53.200 that. What Paul is saying is here I am a person 00:26:53.200 --> 00:26:58.720 of integrity as much as I know my heart. And 00:26:58.720 --> 00:27:00.680 so I'm saying to you that a Christian leader 00:27:00.680 --> 00:27:04.839 must practice integrity. A parent has set their 00:27:04.839 --> 00:27:09.019 will to be a person who lives before God with 00:27:09.019 --> 00:27:15.180 a clear conscience, a clear conscience. Oscar 00:27:15.180 --> 00:27:19.339 Wilde was born in 1854 and died 46 years later. 00:27:21.259 --> 00:27:28.170 I'm sorry to say, think of Irish. of his Irish 00:27:28.170 --> 00:27:32.410 roots to write for Britain and all of the English 00:27:32.410 --> 00:27:37.049 world. Some of the remarkable materials, including 00:27:37.049 --> 00:27:45.569 plays, got reflections upon his time. Oscar Wilde 00:27:45.569 --> 00:27:52.890 was a rather eccentric person, and married and 00:27:52.890 --> 00:27:58.589 had two children, but in the end was gay. his 00:27:58.589 --> 00:28:01.349 wife, and the way he lived it became an open 00:28:01.349 --> 00:28:06.809 scandal in all of Victorian Britain. And in the 00:28:06.809 --> 00:28:09.609 end, here's what he said, I let myself be lured 00:28:09.609 --> 00:28:13.490 into long spells of senseless and sensual views. 00:28:15.210 --> 00:28:17.410 Tired of being on the heights, I deliberately 00:28:17.410 --> 00:28:21.369 went to the depths in search of new sensations. 00:28:22.549 --> 00:28:25.049 I grew careless of the lives of others. I forgot 00:28:25.049 --> 00:28:30.099 that every little action or unnamed character. 00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:34.339 And therefore, what one has done in the secret 00:28:34.339 --> 00:28:38.440 chamber, one has someday to cry aloud from the 00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:44.279 housetop. I ceased to be lured over myself. I 00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:47.440 was no longer the captain of my soul and did 00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:50.779 not know it. I allowed pleasure to dominate me. 00:28:50.920 --> 00:28:57.339 I ended in horrible disgrace. Do you find that 00:28:57.339 --> 00:29:05.700 sad? If we want to avoid that kind of an ending, 00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:08.420 it depends upon the level of decisions that we 00:29:08.420 --> 00:29:12.420 make day by day. And whether we are better than 00:29:12.420 --> 00:29:16.039 the women of integrity, they'll finally let me 00:29:16.039 --> 00:30:12.539 say that a question later. all of those things. 00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:15.000 Well, Paul's point is, which of those are estimated 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:22.680 with you? Well, let me ask, what do you have 00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:27.259 that you did not receive? What do I have? I have 00:30:27.259 --> 00:30:31.420 a position in life. I have a amount of money, 00:30:31.420 --> 00:30:45.769 perhaps. I have... How can you be arrogant about 00:30:45.769 --> 00:30:50.849 that? It's not your doing. But he says, why do 00:30:50.849 --> 00:30:53.930 you boast as if you had not received these things? 00:30:55.390 --> 00:31:00.569 This is about what we do in our society. You 00:31:00.569 --> 00:31:02.609 see, if we want to be a successful leader in 00:31:02.609 --> 00:31:05.190 the eyes of God, we must be people who possess 00:31:05.190 --> 00:31:09.250 humility. Dr. Paul Ray said, if you want an extra 00:31:09.250 --> 00:31:14.470 success, just have a message of greatness. Don't 00:31:14.470 --> 00:31:18.269 look at the glaring vans of Broadway. Listen, 00:31:18.269 --> 00:31:22.009 rather, for the trickle of water splashing into 00:31:22.009 --> 00:31:26.470 a basin, while God incarnate in humility that 00:31:26.470 --> 00:31:56.420 makes pain. So my point is, seek to lead a Christ 00:31:56.420 --> 00:32:01.740 -filled life of balance, having a happy perspective 00:32:01.740 --> 00:32:05.180 of who you are and yet regarding others as more 00:32:05.180 --> 00:32:25.910 important than you. And I'll select what we do 00:32:25.910 --> 00:32:31.970 as what we are. Success is rooted in character. 00:32:33.490 --> 00:32:36.750 Helen Degan Douglas, in a speech at Marble College 00:32:36.750 --> 00:32:41.730 in 1975, said, character isn't inherited. One 00:32:41.730 --> 00:32:45.109 grows it daily by the way one thinks and acts. 00:33:15.880 --> 00:33:57.839 out there in this broad wide expo. you wish. 00:36:25.389 --> 00:36:29.650 If nothing you will today, ask Jesus Christ to 00:36:29.650 --> 00:36:37.269 live your life. Right now it's meant to be. We're 00:36:37.269 --> 00:36:44.409 not afraid that we might today walk as new people, 00:36:44.969 --> 00:36:47.269 those who have been created in the image of Jesus 00:36:47.269 --> 00:36:51.190 Christ, who are alive in Him, being forgiven 00:36:51.190 --> 00:36:55.449 of all our sin, and being alive and being Yep.