1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,500 God, our hearts are humbled before you. 2 00:00:05,500 --> 00:00:08,500 As we realize afresh and anew this morning, 3 00:00:08,500 --> 00:00:11,900 your great love for us and all that you have done 4 00:00:11,900 --> 00:00:16,100 to demonstrate that love and the sacrifice of your son 5 00:00:17,300 --> 00:00:19,680 and we saying hallelujah to the land. 6 00:00:20,900 --> 00:00:21,740 Amen. 7 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:26,460 Folks, I invite you to open your Bible with me 8 00:00:26,460 --> 00:00:28,560 to 1 Corinthians chapter four this morning 9 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:30,980 and I want to again encourage you as Dave did 10 00:00:30,980 --> 00:00:35,220 to come next Sunday at an alternate hour. 11 00:00:35,220 --> 00:00:36,960 How many of you enjoy coming at nine o'clock? 12 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,020 Would you lift your hands? 13 00:00:39,020 --> 00:00:41,460 If you're not lifting your hand, why are you here? 14 00:00:41,460 --> 00:00:46,460 But anyway, we would love all of you to come next Sunday, 15 00:00:47,980 --> 00:00:50,520 next weekend, but if you could pick another hour, 16 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,120 that would really, really help us. 17 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:54,700 And so to entice you a little bit, 18 00:00:54,700 --> 00:00:56,860 we have breakfast prepared for those who come 19 00:00:56,860 --> 00:00:59,020 to the Sunrise service. 20 00:00:59,020 --> 00:01:00,740 It's at eight o'clock when we get out, 21 00:01:00,740 --> 00:01:03,220 it will be out there ready for you to enjoy 22 00:01:03,220 --> 00:01:07,260 and those of you coming on time to the 8.15 service, 23 00:01:07,260 --> 00:01:09,260 we'll get to enjoy it too because the breakfast 24 00:01:09,260 --> 00:01:11,900 goes away at 8.15. 25 00:01:13,820 --> 00:01:14,980 At 8.15. 26 00:01:16,220 --> 00:01:17,060 All right. 27 00:01:18,820 --> 00:01:21,300 Today we want to think about being God's kind of leader 28 00:01:21,300 --> 00:01:23,080 in a broken world. 29 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:28,080 A fallen world is always going to define leadership 30 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:31,260 differently than God. 31 00:01:32,540 --> 00:01:35,840 Our world defines leadership as making your mark 32 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:38,520 or getting a name for yourself. 33 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:40,580 That's how the world looks at leadership. 34 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:46,320 But God looks at leadership as laying down your life 35 00:01:46,320 --> 00:01:47,660 for somebody else. 36 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,920 Some would even evaluate Jesus as a failure. 37 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:54,280 They look at Palm Sunday that we celebrate today 38 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:57,320 as the high watermark of Jesus' ministry. 39 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,920 And from there they think it all went downhill. 40 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:02,960 He should have taken advantage of the moment. 41 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:05,920 He should have caused the crowds to rise up against Rome 42 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,120 and proclaimed himself the king and overthrown Rome. 43 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:15,440 But Jesus knew that leadership wasn't doing that. 44 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:20,240 Leadership was being in a room with your disciples, 45 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:25,040 putting on a robe of a servant 46 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,320 and stooping down to wash their feet. 47 00:02:29,580 --> 00:02:30,540 That's leadership. 48 00:02:33,580 --> 00:02:37,160 No leader in the world has taught us more about leadership 49 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:38,020 than Jesus. 50 00:02:39,460 --> 00:02:41,840 The principles that he taught and exemplified 51 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:45,240 are the very ones that align with God's order 52 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:46,360 and God's kingdom. 53 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:50,720 And while those principles seem very foreign 54 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,600 to a fallen, sin-cursed world like ours 55 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:56,560 with itself-centered ways, 56 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:01,240 Jesus' principles of leadership ultimately succeed. 57 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:06,920 Make the leader successful as God defines success. 58 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:09,640 We might ask the question, what is a leader? 59 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:10,520 What is a leader? 60 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:12,360 Let me give you a working definition of it. 61 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,040 It's not perfect, but it says this. 62 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:20,040 A leader, a leader influences, inspires, 63 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:24,280 equips and empowers others. 64 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,160 Now let's just stop there for a moment. 65 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:29,260 Leadership always involves a leader and others. 66 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,160 If you think you're a leader and there are no others, 67 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:34,280 you better think again. 68 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:40,280 And so what does a leader do with the others 69 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:42,120 who are following? 70 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:44,920 He inspires them, he equips them, 71 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,840 he persuades them, and he empowers them. 72 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:52,120 The definition continues by saying he does all of this 73 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:54,360 toward a common goal or vision. 74 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,580 In other words, a leader does not inspire 75 00:03:58,580 --> 00:04:00,840 and equip people toward his agenda. 76 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,080 A leader inspires, equips and so forth 77 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:10,220 toward a common shared vision that they all have together. 78 00:04:10,220 --> 00:04:15,220 And so in this sense, a husband is a leader, 79 00:04:16,660 --> 00:04:19,780 a leader of his home, his wife. 80 00:04:19,780 --> 00:04:24,120 Mom and dad are leaders, leaders of their children. 81 00:04:25,220 --> 00:04:27,740 A teacher, whether it be in a sunny school setting 82 00:04:27,740 --> 00:04:31,100 or if it be in a private school or a public school, 83 00:04:31,100 --> 00:04:33,800 a teacher, a teacher is a leader. 84 00:04:35,900 --> 00:04:38,220 An office manager is a leader. 85 00:04:38,220 --> 00:04:41,980 A CEO is certainly a leader. 86 00:04:41,980 --> 00:04:44,900 A foreman of a crew is a leader. 87 00:04:44,900 --> 00:04:48,540 So is a team captain or a quarterback or a coach. 88 00:04:50,060 --> 00:04:51,860 An usher is a leader. 89 00:04:53,260 --> 00:04:54,900 Greeters are leaders. 90 00:04:56,700 --> 00:05:00,340 Those who are in ministry leading others 91 00:05:00,340 --> 00:05:02,780 can be considered God's leaders. 92 00:05:04,020 --> 00:05:07,020 People who are in the worship band, the worship choir, 93 00:05:07,020 --> 00:05:09,980 anyone who stands up in front are leaders. 94 00:05:11,100 --> 00:05:13,140 And leadership is not easy. 95 00:05:13,140 --> 00:05:14,380 We all know this, right? 96 00:05:15,340 --> 00:05:17,720 President Clinton was speaking one time 97 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:19,180 in Galesburg, Illinois, and he said, 98 00:05:19,180 --> 00:05:22,100 running a country is a lot like running a cemetery. 99 00:05:23,460 --> 00:05:25,140 You've got a lot of people under you 100 00:05:25,140 --> 00:05:26,460 and nobody's listening. 101 00:05:26,460 --> 00:05:29,860 Do you ever feel that way as a parent? 102 00:05:31,500 --> 00:05:33,900 Your company, whatever group you're leading 103 00:05:33,900 --> 00:05:38,740 or trying to lead, elders and deacons and pastors are leaders. 104 00:05:40,500 --> 00:05:42,420 Warren Benes is a guru of leadership. 105 00:05:42,420 --> 00:05:44,340 He and Bert Nannis wrote a book some time ago 106 00:05:44,340 --> 00:05:47,780 called Leaders, The Strategies for Taking Charge. 107 00:05:47,780 --> 00:05:52,460 And in the book he talks about five myths about leadership. 108 00:05:52,460 --> 00:05:54,620 Five myths about leadership. 109 00:05:54,620 --> 00:05:56,940 First one is that leadership is a rare skill. 110 00:05:58,580 --> 00:05:59,440 That's not true. 111 00:06:00,700 --> 00:06:02,520 It shouldn't be, it can't be, 112 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:06,520 because we're all in some aspect of our lives, leaders. 113 00:06:07,740 --> 00:06:12,060 The second myth is that leaders are born not made. 114 00:06:12,060 --> 00:06:16,320 Now leaders are born, but leaders are also made. 115 00:06:17,420 --> 00:06:19,820 Most leadership skills can be learned 116 00:06:19,820 --> 00:06:21,340 and those who have it naturally 117 00:06:21,340 --> 00:06:23,860 can find their skills enhanced by training. 118 00:06:25,580 --> 00:06:29,420 A third myth is that leaders rather are charismatic. 119 00:06:29,420 --> 00:06:31,540 Some are not. 120 00:06:32,580 --> 00:06:34,940 Take our president for example. 121 00:06:34,940 --> 00:06:37,540 It's painful sometimes to listen to him speak, 122 00:06:38,900 --> 00:06:39,840 but he is a leader. 123 00:06:42,300 --> 00:06:45,980 A fourth myth is that leadership exists only at the top 124 00:06:45,980 --> 00:06:47,620 of an organization. 125 00:06:47,620 --> 00:06:50,460 Nothing could be further from the truth. 126 00:06:50,460 --> 00:06:53,260 Leadership exists throughout an organization 127 00:06:53,260 --> 00:06:54,540 if it's successful, 128 00:06:54,540 --> 00:06:58,220 because you need leadership on every level. 129 00:07:00,380 --> 00:07:04,300 A fifth myth is that the leader controls, 130 00:07:04,300 --> 00:07:07,080 directs, prods, and manipulates. 131 00:07:08,540 --> 00:07:09,700 That is a myth. 132 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:14,000 The truth about leadership is this. 133 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,680 That leadership is not the exercise of power. 134 00:07:18,660 --> 00:07:21,280 It is the empowerment of others. 135 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:25,440 That's what leadership, real leadership, is all about. 136 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:27,600 Not the exercise of power, 137 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:33,200 but the empowerment of others, releasing them 138 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:37,620 to work alongside him or her toward a common goal. 139 00:07:37,620 --> 00:07:39,720 Some get confused about that. 140 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:43,200 So what I hope we'll learn today from God's word is this. 141 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:45,360 That God's kind of leader, 142 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,320 God's kind of leader will experience 143 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:49,400 God's kind of success. 144 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:51,400 Now that raises the question. 145 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:54,600 What is God's definition of success? 146 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:57,520 And here's how I would put it. 147 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:02,520 God defines success as living one's life aligned with his will 148 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:08,280 and thus realizing the purpose for which he created us. 149 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:11,560 That's what success is. 150 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:13,400 It's not how famous you become, 151 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:15,080 what position you attain, 152 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:16,400 what position you're in, 153 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:17,400 what position you're in, 154 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:20,000 how you become, what position you attain, 155 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:22,800 how many material possessions you have, 156 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:24,920 how well known you are, no, no, no, no. 157 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:29,520 God defines success as aligning your life with his will 158 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:33,800 and in doing that realizing the purpose 159 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:36,180 for which he created you. 160 00:08:37,560 --> 00:08:38,740 Are you a success? 161 00:08:41,940 --> 00:08:45,140 The choice is yours and how you align your life. 162 00:08:45,140 --> 00:08:49,220 Now Paul became God's kind of leader. 163 00:08:50,460 --> 00:08:52,460 Paul was converted as a young man. 164 00:08:53,940 --> 00:08:57,700 He was appointed by Jesus personally as an apostle. 165 00:08:58,540 --> 00:09:00,860 Jesus gave him the opportunity 166 00:09:00,860 --> 00:09:03,540 to exert extraordinary influence 167 00:09:03,540 --> 00:09:06,300 among the followers of Jesus. 168 00:09:06,300 --> 00:09:07,740 Even until this very day, 169 00:09:07,740 --> 00:09:09,100 we're looking at one of the letters 170 00:09:09,100 --> 00:09:13,580 that Paul wrote by the inspiration of God's spirit. 171 00:09:13,580 --> 00:09:17,100 Paul became God's kind of leader. 172 00:09:17,100 --> 00:09:18,780 And in the text we're looking at today, 173 00:09:18,780 --> 00:09:21,460 he talks about his leadership, 174 00:09:21,460 --> 00:09:24,600 how he views this whole role 175 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:27,920 that all of us have in some respect as leaders. 176 00:09:29,540 --> 00:09:31,760 He says this, first Corinthians four. 177 00:09:32,620 --> 00:09:37,620 So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ 178 00:09:37,620 --> 00:09:42,620 as those entrusted with the secret things of God. 179 00:09:44,340 --> 00:09:48,500 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust 180 00:09:48,500 --> 00:09:50,820 must prove faithful. 181 00:09:50,820 --> 00:09:54,540 I care very little if I am judged by you 182 00:09:54,540 --> 00:09:56,860 or by any human court. 183 00:09:56,860 --> 00:09:59,380 Indeed, I do not even judge myself. 184 00:10:00,340 --> 00:10:04,660 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. 185 00:10:04,660 --> 00:10:07,960 It is the Lord who judges me. 186 00:10:08,980 --> 00:10:11,740 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time. 187 00:10:11,740 --> 00:10:13,940 Wait till the Lord comes. 188 00:10:13,940 --> 00:10:17,260 He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness 189 00:10:17,260 --> 00:10:20,820 and will expose the motives of men's hearts. 190 00:10:20,820 --> 00:10:25,320 At that time, each will receive his praise from God. 191 00:10:26,220 --> 00:10:29,780 Now brothers, I have applied these things to myself 192 00:10:29,780 --> 00:10:31,140 and to Paul us for your benefit 193 00:10:31,140 --> 00:10:33,260 so that you may learn from us 194 00:10:33,260 --> 00:10:35,180 the meaning of the saying, 195 00:10:35,180 --> 00:10:37,300 do not go beyond what is written. 196 00:10:38,380 --> 00:10:41,820 Now that saying must have been a rabbinical statement 197 00:10:41,820 --> 00:10:42,660 of that day. 198 00:10:42,660 --> 00:10:43,780 Paul is drawing upon it. 199 00:10:43,780 --> 00:10:45,300 As a rabbi, he would know them. 200 00:10:46,380 --> 00:10:47,860 And the rabbis apparently were saying, 201 00:10:47,860 --> 00:10:49,820 do not go beyond what is written. 202 00:10:51,700 --> 00:10:53,500 What is written, that is, in the scriptures. 203 00:10:53,500 --> 00:10:56,820 They were saying adhere to the scriptures. 204 00:10:56,820 --> 00:10:59,340 And Paul is saying the same thing. 205 00:10:59,340 --> 00:11:03,020 What are the scriptures, what have the scriptures said? 206 00:11:03,020 --> 00:11:05,300 They have said, do not boast in man. 207 00:11:06,860 --> 00:11:08,060 If you're going to boast, 208 00:11:08,060 --> 00:11:11,480 boast in the Lord that you know him. 209 00:11:12,660 --> 00:11:15,740 And so Paul says, then you will not take pride 210 00:11:15,740 --> 00:11:18,060 in one man over against another 211 00:11:18,060 --> 00:11:20,260 if you take heed to the scriptures. 212 00:11:20,260 --> 00:11:22,540 For who makes you different from anyone else? 213 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:25,580 What do you have that you did not receive? 214 00:11:25,580 --> 00:11:27,680 And if you did receive it, why do you boast 215 00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:29,900 as though you did not? 216 00:11:29,900 --> 00:11:31,300 Let's pray, Lord God. 217 00:11:31,300 --> 00:11:34,740 I pray that you will by the Holy Spirit 218 00:11:34,740 --> 00:11:36,900 be our teacher and right upon our hearts 219 00:11:36,900 --> 00:11:39,940 those lessons of leadership that we need to learn 220 00:11:39,940 --> 00:11:42,200 for the sake of our families, our workplaces, 221 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:45,500 our church and every arena of our life. 222 00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:47,820 And I pray this in Jesus' name, amen. 223 00:11:49,940 --> 00:11:51,100 The first thing that Paul does 224 00:11:51,100 --> 00:11:53,460 is to give us a couple of pictures 225 00:11:53,460 --> 00:11:54,860 of God's kind of leader. 226 00:11:56,220 --> 00:11:57,320 Of God's kind of leader. 227 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:02,320 Now, this is unlike what the world's kind of leader is 228 00:12:03,540 --> 00:12:06,180 or what we think of as the world's kind of leader. 229 00:12:06,180 --> 00:12:07,500 When we think of the world's leaders, 230 00:12:07,500 --> 00:12:09,380 we think of Trump. 231 00:12:10,700 --> 00:12:12,180 We think of Iacocca. 232 00:12:13,340 --> 00:12:15,500 We think of Welch. 233 00:12:15,500 --> 00:12:17,160 We think of Jobs. 234 00:12:18,100 --> 00:12:19,320 Or we think of Clinton. 235 00:12:20,460 --> 00:12:21,420 Or Pelosi. 236 00:12:22,860 --> 00:12:24,080 Or we think of Ellison. 237 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:28,520 Now, these are all leaders in various arenas of life 238 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:30,240 and the world looks at them and says, 239 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:32,080 these are leaders. 240 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:35,600 And summed up in one word, 241 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:39,340 the world's idea of leadership is power. 242 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:45,120 Gaining power and then using that power 243 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:47,100 to accomplish your ends. 244 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:52,620 In the world, there is therefore a jockeying for position. 245 00:12:52,620 --> 00:12:56,240 There is a pecking order that's established 246 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:58,720 and there are commonly power plays 247 00:13:00,680 --> 00:13:04,440 so that leaders can accumulate more power and influence. 248 00:13:05,560 --> 00:13:08,700 That is not God's kind of leadership. 249 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:11,520 The first picture that Paul gives us 250 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:15,240 of God's kind of leader is that of a servant. 251 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:20,240 He says, men should think of us as servants of Christ. 252 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:25,080 Now, it's a very special word that Paul chooses here. 253 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:28,200 It's a word he only uses here himself. 254 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,320 Luke, as we'll see, uses it elsewhere, 255 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:34,280 but only here does Paul use this word. 256 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:36,760 It's the word under-rower. 257 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,240 Think of us as the under-rowers of Christ. 258 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:43,560 You say, what in the world is that? 259 00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:46,600 Paul is drawing upon a nautical understanding of that day. 260 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:49,160 The Phoenicians, the ancient Phoenicians, 261 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:52,280 built large, large ships that were called 262 00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:55,080 byrenes and trirenes. 263 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:58,240 These ships were used in both commerce and in war, 264 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:00,520 and you've seen pictures of them perhaps. 265 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:03,400 They're the ships with layers of rowers 266 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:05,480 who are empowering this ship. 267 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:08,500 They're propelling the ship by their muscles. 268 00:14:08,500 --> 00:14:13,500 Now, it was difficult to be a roar on any level, 269 00:14:14,780 --> 00:14:16,260 but when you got down to the second 270 00:14:16,260 --> 00:14:21,100 or even the third layer of rowers, it was tough, 271 00:14:22,740 --> 00:14:24,700 because all the stuff from up above 272 00:14:24,700 --> 00:14:27,260 dripped through the ship down to where you were, 273 00:14:29,820 --> 00:14:34,020 and so there you were stuck as a slave, as an under-rower. 274 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:38,220 But that is the word that Paul uses here. 275 00:14:38,220 --> 00:14:40,180 He says, if you want to think of us as a leader, 276 00:14:40,180 --> 00:14:45,180 think of us as under-rowers that belong to Jesus Christ. 277 00:14:45,180 --> 00:14:47,940 The word came to mean an assistant, 278 00:14:47,940 --> 00:14:50,220 one who is subordinate to another person 279 00:14:50,220 --> 00:14:51,460 to carry out a function. 280 00:14:52,780 --> 00:14:57,780 Now, for example, Luke uses this word of John Mark, 281 00:14:58,140 --> 00:15:00,380 the nephew of Barnabas in Acts chapter 13, 282 00:15:00,380 --> 00:15:04,300 when he says, and when Barnabas and Saul reached Salamis, 283 00:15:04,300 --> 00:15:06,140 they began to proclaim the word of God 284 00:15:06,140 --> 00:15:07,580 in the synagogue of the Jews. 285 00:15:07,580 --> 00:15:12,160 They had also John as their under-rower, 286 00:15:13,340 --> 00:15:14,820 as their assistant. 287 00:15:14,820 --> 00:15:18,460 He was along to help them, their gopher. 288 00:15:20,860 --> 00:15:23,580 In Acts chapter 26, Luke again uses the term, 289 00:15:23,580 --> 00:15:25,700 and he puts this word into the mouth of Jesus, 290 00:15:25,700 --> 00:15:29,220 who's talking to Paul when Jesus meets with Paul 291 00:15:29,220 --> 00:15:30,860 and commissions him and says, 292 00:15:30,860 --> 00:15:33,820 arise, stand on your feet for this purpose 293 00:15:33,820 --> 00:15:36,460 I have appeared to you, to appoint you, 294 00:15:36,460 --> 00:15:40,820 an under-rower, an assistant. 295 00:15:41,820 --> 00:15:44,500 Paul, I am appointing you as my gopher, 296 00:15:46,180 --> 00:15:49,500 and my minister, not only to the things that you've seen, 297 00:15:49,500 --> 00:15:52,540 but in those things to which I will appear unto you. 298 00:15:54,820 --> 00:15:57,840 The significance is this, that God's kind of leader 299 00:15:57,840 --> 00:15:59,900 has the attitude of a servant. 300 00:16:01,580 --> 00:16:05,020 God's kind of leader sees himself carrying out 301 00:16:05,020 --> 00:16:10,020 his assignment on behalf of the superior one. 302 00:16:11,100 --> 00:16:13,820 That is servant leadership. 303 00:16:13,820 --> 00:16:17,060 Max de Prie, who is another author of leadership, 304 00:16:17,060 --> 00:16:18,860 says something essentially like this, 305 00:16:18,860 --> 00:16:23,860 the first job of a leader is to help the followers 306 00:16:23,860 --> 00:16:28,620 see reality, to define reality for them. 307 00:16:30,300 --> 00:16:34,740 He says the last job of a leader is to say thank you, 308 00:16:34,740 --> 00:16:35,920 as he leaves. 309 00:16:37,380 --> 00:16:39,500 And he says everything else in between 310 00:16:39,500 --> 00:16:41,140 is the work of a servant. 311 00:16:45,140 --> 00:16:47,300 That's God's kind of leader. 312 00:16:47,300 --> 00:16:49,500 Now Paul uses a second word, 313 00:16:49,500 --> 00:16:51,540 the NIV doesn't actually use this noun, 314 00:16:51,540 --> 00:16:54,340 but it's in the original text and in some translations, 315 00:16:54,340 --> 00:16:56,540 it's the word steward. 316 00:16:56,540 --> 00:16:58,980 The NIV says entrusted with, 317 00:16:58,980 --> 00:17:01,900 ones who are entrusted with, same idea. 318 00:17:01,900 --> 00:17:06,260 A steward was a household manager. 319 00:17:06,260 --> 00:17:09,380 That is somebody who manages the household 320 00:17:09,380 --> 00:17:10,620 of a wealthy patron. 321 00:17:12,420 --> 00:17:15,820 It's one who is the executor of an estate. 322 00:17:16,740 --> 00:17:19,660 It's like Eliezer was to Abraham of old. 323 00:17:21,220 --> 00:17:26,220 A steward is one who is free to use his master's resources 324 00:17:26,380 --> 00:17:28,060 in keeping with the parameters 325 00:17:28,060 --> 00:17:33,060 of the responsibilities given to him. 326 00:17:33,060 --> 00:17:35,940 Now Paul felt himself to be a steward. 327 00:17:35,940 --> 00:17:39,060 He said God has entrusted to us 328 00:17:39,060 --> 00:17:44,060 the deep things of God, the mysteries of God, 329 00:17:44,500 --> 00:17:46,340 and we're responsible for those. 330 00:17:48,340 --> 00:17:51,940 Now in our world there are numerous styles of leadership. 331 00:17:51,940 --> 00:17:53,780 They are defined in a variety of ways. 332 00:17:53,780 --> 00:17:55,900 For example, there is what might be called 333 00:17:55,900 --> 00:17:59,820 authoritative leadership, some might call it dictatorship. 334 00:18:01,260 --> 00:18:05,760 There is bureaucratic leadership, these of the government. 335 00:18:07,100 --> 00:18:08,980 There is consensus leadership, 336 00:18:08,980 --> 00:18:11,460 there is visionary leadership. 337 00:18:11,460 --> 00:18:14,940 And frankly all of these styles of leadership 338 00:18:14,940 --> 00:18:16,640 can be found in the Bible. 339 00:18:18,260 --> 00:18:22,180 And the fact is that God uses a variety of styles 340 00:18:22,180 --> 00:18:25,780 of leadership, but the one that aligns most closely 341 00:18:25,780 --> 00:18:29,020 to his heart is servant leadership. 342 00:18:30,900 --> 00:18:35,660 And serving others must always, always, always be the goal. 343 00:18:35,660 --> 00:18:38,700 No matter what style of leadership we may be using. 344 00:18:39,860 --> 00:18:44,120 One who is authoritative must never cross the line 345 00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:45,980 and be authoritarian. 346 00:18:48,060 --> 00:18:51,260 One who is bureaucratic in his style of leadership 347 00:18:51,260 --> 00:18:54,380 must keep the focus on people 348 00:18:54,380 --> 00:18:57,380 and not upon the preservation of the status quo 349 00:18:57,380 --> 00:19:02,380 and the system that he's using, and so forth. 350 00:19:04,180 --> 00:19:07,940 Jesus exalts servant leadership 351 00:19:08,900 --> 00:19:11,060 in his teaching of his disciples. 352 00:19:11,060 --> 00:19:14,540 You remember that John and James, 353 00:19:14,540 --> 00:19:17,340 his brother came to Jesus with just a little request. 354 00:19:18,300 --> 00:19:21,080 And that was that when his kingdom would come, 355 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:25,080 they could sit one at his right hand and one at his left. 356 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:26,720 And they ask it humbly, of course. 357 00:19:27,980 --> 00:19:29,340 I say that tongue in cheek. 358 00:19:31,300 --> 00:19:33,120 And the other 10 heard about it. 359 00:19:34,140 --> 00:19:35,940 And their response was that, hey, 360 00:19:35,940 --> 00:19:37,420 you haven't learned what leadership is, 361 00:19:37,420 --> 00:19:39,180 their response was that they were indignant 362 00:19:39,180 --> 00:19:42,180 that they didn't get the question in first. 363 00:19:42,180 --> 00:19:44,220 So Jesus calls them all together and he says, 364 00:19:44,220 --> 00:19:46,780 you know that those who are regarded 365 00:19:46,780 --> 00:19:49,340 as rulers of the Gentiles, 366 00:19:49,340 --> 00:19:51,520 here is the world's kind of leadership. 367 00:19:53,060 --> 00:19:57,080 He says, the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them. 368 00:19:58,820 --> 00:20:02,420 They lord it over the Gentiles. 369 00:20:02,420 --> 00:20:06,620 And their high officials exercise authority over them. 370 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:11,020 That is the world's definition of leadership. 371 00:20:12,460 --> 00:20:15,100 And then Jesus says, I want you to notice 372 00:20:15,100 --> 00:20:20,100 those next four words, not so with you. 373 00:20:23,060 --> 00:20:25,540 How much more clear could Jesus be 374 00:20:26,620 --> 00:20:30,660 than we who are his followers are not to practice 375 00:20:30,660 --> 00:20:33,740 the kind of leadership that the world uses. 376 00:20:35,300 --> 00:20:40,300 Instead, Jesus says, whoever wants to become great 377 00:20:40,980 --> 00:20:43,780 among you must first be your what? 378 00:20:43,780 --> 00:20:44,860 Your servant. 379 00:20:44,860 --> 00:20:48,220 And whoever wants to be first must be what? 380 00:20:48,220 --> 00:20:50,100 Slave of all. 381 00:20:50,100 --> 00:20:51,700 And then he points to himself 382 00:20:51,700 --> 00:20:54,780 as one who exemplifies that very principle. 383 00:20:54,780 --> 00:20:56,700 So here's what I'm trying to say. 384 00:20:56,700 --> 00:21:00,740 That God's kind of leader functions as a servant. 385 00:21:02,180 --> 00:21:04,640 Now we may have a variety of styles naturally 386 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:06,660 that come to us, that's part of the diversity 387 00:21:06,660 --> 00:21:08,580 and the variety that God has given us. 388 00:21:10,380 --> 00:21:11,880 We don't all lead the same way, 389 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:14,180 but at the heart of whatever style of leadership 390 00:21:14,180 --> 00:21:18,360 we may have must be the spirit and the heart of a servant. 391 00:21:19,780 --> 00:21:21,780 Now I want us to look quickly at some principles 392 00:21:21,780 --> 00:21:24,140 for God's kind of leadership. 393 00:21:24,140 --> 00:21:26,540 We see them in verses two through seven. 394 00:21:26,540 --> 00:21:30,620 You know, principles are overarching laws, 395 00:21:30,620 --> 00:21:32,380 we might call them. 396 00:21:32,380 --> 00:21:35,340 They apply in most cases, they're like proverbs, 397 00:21:35,340 --> 00:21:39,080 they're generally statements of truth. 398 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:41,900 There are exceptions always to principles. 399 00:21:41,900 --> 00:21:44,260 Let's think about some of the principles of leadership 400 00:21:44,260 --> 00:21:47,140 that are aligned with what God says. 401 00:21:47,140 --> 00:21:50,380 First of all, an effective leader varies his style 402 00:21:50,380 --> 00:21:52,980 of leadership according to the context of his work. 403 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:59,720 A leader has to change his styles as his context changes. 404 00:22:00,860 --> 00:22:04,020 I can't tell you how many times I have seen businessmen 405 00:22:04,020 --> 00:22:07,820 who are entrepreneurs in their style of leadership, 406 00:22:07,820 --> 00:22:10,740 who start a business and they are extremely successful 407 00:22:10,740 --> 00:22:12,880 until the company gets to a certain point. 408 00:22:14,820 --> 00:22:17,020 And then they can't let go, 409 00:22:17,020 --> 00:22:19,660 or they don't know how to change the way 410 00:22:19,660 --> 00:22:22,820 they are leading their company. 411 00:22:22,820 --> 00:22:24,460 And the result is that the company 412 00:22:24,460 --> 00:22:26,560 that was going up like this suddenly begins 413 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:28,300 to go down like this, 414 00:22:30,140 --> 00:22:32,780 because they could not change the style 415 00:22:32,780 --> 00:22:34,820 of their leadership as the company grew. 416 00:22:34,820 --> 00:22:39,820 Parents learn this lesson to be successful parents. 417 00:22:42,660 --> 00:22:46,180 You cannot parent a teenager the way you parent a toddler, 418 00:22:46,180 --> 00:22:47,020 right? 419 00:22:47,900 --> 00:22:50,180 As the context of your home changes, 420 00:22:50,180 --> 00:22:54,300 your parental leadership has to change, it's not easy. 421 00:22:55,540 --> 00:22:57,780 And talk about having people who are under you 422 00:22:57,780 --> 00:22:58,780 who aren't listening. 423 00:22:58,780 --> 00:23:03,780 But a wise parent learns to change 424 00:23:06,780 --> 00:23:10,100 his way of leading as the children grow older. 425 00:23:11,940 --> 00:23:14,180 I've seen this in churches. 426 00:23:14,180 --> 00:23:17,860 Or pastors who come into an organization, a church, 427 00:23:17,860 --> 00:23:20,900 and they build it up and the church responds 428 00:23:20,900 --> 00:23:24,080 and the church grows to a certain point. 429 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,580 And then because they cannot change their style 430 00:23:28,580 --> 00:23:31,580 of leadership that has brought them to that point, 431 00:23:31,580 --> 00:23:35,420 but the organization demands difference in leadership, 432 00:23:35,420 --> 00:23:37,260 the church begins to decline. 433 00:23:39,540 --> 00:23:42,340 It doesn't make any difference what realm it is in. 434 00:23:42,340 --> 00:23:43,680 This principle is true. 435 00:23:44,580 --> 00:23:47,420 An effective leader varies his style of leadership 436 00:23:47,420 --> 00:23:49,260 according to the context of his work. 437 00:23:49,260 --> 00:23:50,540 And if he can't vary it, 438 00:23:50,540 --> 00:23:52,980 then he needs to get out of the way 439 00:23:52,980 --> 00:23:54,260 and let someone else lead. 440 00:23:54,260 --> 00:23:59,260 Second principle, it isn't what you do 441 00:23:59,300 --> 00:24:00,900 but what you teach others to do 442 00:24:00,900 --> 00:24:02,380 that makes you a great leader. 443 00:24:03,460 --> 00:24:06,100 You think about that, that's very convicting to me. 444 00:24:07,660 --> 00:24:10,060 Because the way I'm wired is easier for me to do 445 00:24:10,060 --> 00:24:12,060 than it is to teach somebody else to do. 446 00:24:13,540 --> 00:24:17,100 How this is applied to you and your leadership 447 00:24:17,100 --> 00:24:19,700 will be different than somebody else perhaps. 448 00:24:19,700 --> 00:24:22,920 But remember, part of leadership is teaching others to do. 449 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:25,640 Not just doing ourselves. 450 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:28,760 Third, it's never necessary for a leader 451 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:30,520 to speak about his accomplishments. 452 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:33,720 His accomplishments will speak for him. 453 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:39,640 Number four, a shortage of leaders 454 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:42,040 creates a shortage of followers. 455 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:43,880 And a shortage of followers produces 456 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:45,520 a shortage of future leaders. 457 00:24:46,460 --> 00:24:47,840 Do you see the picture here? 458 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:51,360 There's a process. 459 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:55,320 What is vital for any church, 460 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:57,560 what is vital for any organization or business 461 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:00,600 is that future leaders be continually developed. 462 00:25:01,740 --> 00:25:04,240 That's part of the responsibility of leadership. 463 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:07,440 And that brings me to the last principle 464 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:08,880 and that is if you want to know 465 00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:11,240 how good a person's leadership skills are, 466 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:13,640 look at the number of people he has trained 467 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:15,080 to do what he is doing. 468 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:18,600 That applies in a variety of different ways 469 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:21,000 depending upon what we're doing in our leadership. 470 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,240 But the point is we need to be training others. 471 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:26,800 Now Paul brings to our attention here 472 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:30,680 some biblical principles about leadership, 473 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:31,600 God's kind of leader. 474 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:36,080 Number one, a leader must personify trust. 475 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:40,720 Folks trust is the very currency of leadership. 476 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:42,380 It's true in a home context. 477 00:25:42,380 --> 00:25:46,300 It's true in a business, it's true in a church, 478 00:25:46,300 --> 00:25:49,120 wherever you are, in a community, in government. 479 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:52,580 Now please understand when Paul says 480 00:25:52,580 --> 00:25:56,300 it's required that a person be found faithful 481 00:25:56,300 --> 00:25:59,580 or trustworthy, he's not saying that a person 482 00:25:59,580 --> 00:26:01,700 as a leader has to be perfect 483 00:26:01,700 --> 00:26:04,100 because that would thin the ranks considerably. 484 00:26:06,380 --> 00:26:08,700 Brilliance is not mentioned here, 485 00:26:08,700 --> 00:26:11,060 charisma is not mentioned here, 486 00:26:11,060 --> 00:26:15,260 ability is not mentioned, but dependability is. 487 00:26:16,500 --> 00:26:19,920 What is demanded is faithfulness or reliability. 488 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:22,100 You can do without many qualities in leadership 489 00:26:22,100 --> 00:26:25,340 but you cannot do without being trustworthy. 490 00:26:26,860 --> 00:26:29,900 To be faithful means to stick to a task. 491 00:26:29,900 --> 00:26:31,940 It means to follow through with a commitment. 492 00:26:31,940 --> 00:26:35,420 It means to keep one's word, whatever the cost, 493 00:26:35,420 --> 00:26:36,740 to one's own welfare. 494 00:26:36,740 --> 00:26:40,300 If you've made a vow, keep the vow, the Bible says. 495 00:26:41,220 --> 00:26:43,180 That's faithfulness. 496 00:26:43,180 --> 00:26:48,180 Folks, our world today is in a crisis of trust. 497 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:52,780 We no longer believe in the promises of our leaders 498 00:26:54,300 --> 00:26:58,500 and we have become largely cynical about what they say. 499 00:26:58,500 --> 00:27:03,500 Unfortunately, there's been reason for us to lose trust. 500 00:27:06,780 --> 00:27:11,700 Today in this world of political campaigns, 501 00:27:11,700 --> 00:27:15,720 we have aspiring leaders who promise things 502 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:18,580 that we absolutely know they cannot deliver. 503 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,340 A bank employee was due for a good promotion 504 00:27:26,340 --> 00:27:28,140 and one day he was eating lunch, 505 00:27:28,140 --> 00:27:29,420 and he didn't know that behind him 506 00:27:29,420 --> 00:27:32,620 in the line of the cafeteria was the president of the bank. 507 00:27:33,860 --> 00:27:36,420 And this employee was getting his lunch together 508 00:27:36,420 --> 00:27:38,980 and he got some bread and he decided 509 00:27:38,980 --> 00:27:43,620 to take a couple of little slabs of butter. 510 00:27:43,620 --> 00:27:45,260 And it was in those days, not today, 511 00:27:45,260 --> 00:27:47,780 but in those days when they cost two cents a piece. 512 00:27:48,780 --> 00:27:50,740 So he slipped them underneath the bread 513 00:27:51,620 --> 00:27:53,340 so the cashier wouldn't see them. 514 00:27:53,340 --> 00:27:57,100 Four cents, but guess who did see it? 515 00:27:58,300 --> 00:28:00,700 And when the time came for his promotion, 516 00:28:00,700 --> 00:28:04,140 he didn't get it because the president of the bank, 517 00:28:04,140 --> 00:28:07,380 rightly I think, assumed if he cannot be trusted 518 00:28:07,380 --> 00:28:09,640 with four cents worth of butter, 519 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:12,480 how can I trust him with the resources of this bank? 520 00:28:15,980 --> 00:28:18,540 It applies to husbands and our roles in the home. 521 00:28:18,540 --> 00:28:23,540 What's required of us is that we be faithful to our spouses. 522 00:28:28,020 --> 00:28:29,500 Faithful in every way. 523 00:28:30,380 --> 00:28:35,060 What is required of employers is that we be reliable 524 00:28:35,060 --> 00:28:39,340 to those who are employed by us, 525 00:28:39,340 --> 00:28:42,580 who hold in trust what we've committed to them. 526 00:28:44,460 --> 00:28:47,900 What's required of volunteers in our leadership 527 00:28:47,900 --> 00:28:52,280 is that we complete the promises that we make in our service. 528 00:28:53,740 --> 00:28:55,500 From time to time I hear people say, 529 00:28:55,500 --> 00:28:58,580 oh, you know, I had so many volunteers for this event 530 00:28:58,580 --> 00:29:01,940 or this job and half of them didn't show up. 531 00:29:03,380 --> 00:29:06,120 What's required is faithfulness, keeping our word. 532 00:29:08,460 --> 00:29:10,460 We who are ministry leaders have been entrusted 533 00:29:10,460 --> 00:29:12,100 with a scope of responsibility. 534 00:29:12,100 --> 00:29:14,380 What's required of us is faithfulness. 535 00:29:14,380 --> 00:29:18,700 A leader, according to the Bible, must be faithful. 536 00:29:18,700 --> 00:29:20,180 The second principle that is given here, 537 00:29:20,180 --> 00:29:22,340 and that is a leader must practice integrity. 538 00:29:23,940 --> 00:29:26,180 We might say above reproach. 539 00:29:26,180 --> 00:29:28,260 Integrity refers to wholeness. 540 00:29:29,260 --> 00:29:34,260 An integer in mathematics refers to a whole number, 541 00:29:34,260 --> 00:29:35,660 not a fraction. 542 00:29:36,540 --> 00:29:39,620 And so one who is a person of integrity is a whole person. 543 00:29:39,620 --> 00:29:42,260 He doesn't have his life compartmentalized 544 00:29:42,260 --> 00:29:44,620 so that he lives one way on Sunday 545 00:29:44,620 --> 00:29:46,420 and another way the rest of the week. 546 00:29:47,740 --> 00:29:50,220 He doesn't talk one way around Christians 547 00:29:50,220 --> 00:29:52,420 and another way around people he works with. 548 00:29:53,660 --> 00:29:56,160 He's whole, integrity. 549 00:29:57,460 --> 00:29:58,660 You wanna know about integrity? 550 00:29:58,660 --> 00:30:00,940 Ask the people of New York State this weekend. 551 00:30:03,020 --> 00:30:05,920 Now Paul's conscience about his integrity was clear. 552 00:30:08,500 --> 00:30:10,540 The conscience, by the way, as somebody said, 553 00:30:10,540 --> 00:30:12,260 is what makes the boy tell his parents 554 00:30:12,260 --> 00:30:13,500 before his sister does. 555 00:30:15,580 --> 00:30:18,180 The conscience is that inner echo in us 556 00:30:18,180 --> 00:30:21,600 that tells us whether we're living according to our values, 557 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:24,420 but just like a radio, it can be turned down. 558 00:30:25,860 --> 00:30:27,380 Paul's conscience was turned up 559 00:30:27,380 --> 00:30:30,940 but, and he didn't sense anything wrong, 560 00:30:30,940 --> 00:30:35,040 but he says, I don't really rely on my own conscience even. 561 00:30:36,260 --> 00:30:37,980 Paul apparently was being criticized 562 00:30:37,980 --> 00:30:39,340 by some people in Corinth. 563 00:30:39,340 --> 00:30:41,420 They had accused him of something 564 00:30:41,420 --> 00:30:43,900 and so he says, basically, I want you to know 565 00:30:43,900 --> 00:30:47,940 that how you examine me makes no difference. 566 00:30:48,780 --> 00:30:50,700 Or any court of men. 567 00:30:50,700 --> 00:30:54,260 I'm not really concerned about that judgment. 568 00:30:54,260 --> 00:30:56,700 And he says, frankly, even though my conscience is clear, 569 00:30:56,700 --> 00:30:59,820 I'm careful about the way I judge myself. 570 00:30:59,820 --> 00:31:01,860 He says, the judgment that counts 571 00:31:01,860 --> 00:31:04,540 is the one that will happen when Jesus comes. 572 00:31:04,540 --> 00:31:08,500 And then we will all get our due reward. 573 00:31:10,300 --> 00:31:12,060 Paul is pointing here to the integrity 574 00:31:12,060 --> 00:31:14,220 that he felt was in his life, 575 00:31:14,220 --> 00:31:16,700 but he was genuinely careful about that. 576 00:31:18,580 --> 00:31:20,140 He says, I don't judge myself, 577 00:31:20,140 --> 00:31:22,060 I defer it to the coming of Christ. 578 00:31:23,300 --> 00:31:25,420 You know, you and I need to be careful too 579 00:31:25,420 --> 00:31:30,340 about critiquing others, pointing the finger at them, 580 00:31:30,340 --> 00:31:33,420 while at the same time, perhaps harboring 581 00:31:33,420 --> 00:31:35,860 in our own lives areas that are not whole. 582 00:31:38,900 --> 00:31:42,060 Just like Paul, we need to look at ourselves first 583 00:31:42,060 --> 00:31:44,620 and then realize that we can even deceive ourselves 584 00:31:44,620 --> 00:31:47,700 about ourselves and say, Lord, you know me. 585 00:31:47,700 --> 00:31:50,180 And I live with a clean conscience, 586 00:31:50,180 --> 00:31:53,180 but I recognize one day I will stand before you. 587 00:31:53,180 --> 00:31:54,540 If we can live that way, folks, 588 00:31:54,540 --> 00:31:57,940 we will be people of integrity in our leadership. 589 00:31:57,940 --> 00:32:00,660 Leaders must be whole themselves 590 00:32:00,660 --> 00:32:04,900 to lead others to wholeness. 591 00:32:04,900 --> 00:32:08,740 If you wanna lead your family to being a whole family, 592 00:32:08,740 --> 00:32:12,340 be a whole person, a person of integrity. 593 00:32:13,820 --> 00:32:16,380 Number three, a leader must possess humility, 594 00:32:17,180 --> 00:32:18,460 verses six and seven. 595 00:32:19,380 --> 00:32:22,220 Now the Corinthians exuded some arrogance, 596 00:32:22,220 --> 00:32:25,060 which had resulted in some party lines in their church. 597 00:32:25,060 --> 00:32:26,380 They had divided themselves up 598 00:32:26,380 --> 00:32:28,420 and they boasted in their heroes. 599 00:32:28,420 --> 00:32:30,660 They went beyond what is written. 600 00:32:30,660 --> 00:32:35,660 In contrast, Paul wrote with an open meekness 601 00:32:36,500 --> 00:32:38,380 about his role as a leader. 602 00:32:39,700 --> 00:32:43,780 And then he asks them three hard questions 603 00:32:43,780 --> 00:32:46,220 that will humble any thinking person. 604 00:32:46,220 --> 00:32:48,980 He says, who makes you different from anyone else? 605 00:32:50,820 --> 00:32:52,980 Like the Corinthians, we can get the feeling 606 00:32:52,980 --> 00:32:54,620 that we're pretty special people, 607 00:32:54,620 --> 00:32:58,500 that we're a cut above everybody else, 608 00:32:58,500 --> 00:33:00,460 that we deserve something special, 609 00:33:01,380 --> 00:33:02,860 that we're VIPs. 610 00:33:04,100 --> 00:33:05,660 And Paul just asked the question, 611 00:33:08,060 --> 00:33:11,460 why do you think that you're better than anyone else? 612 00:33:11,460 --> 00:33:12,900 He follows up with a second question. 613 00:33:12,900 --> 00:33:15,940 He says, what do you have that you did not receive? 614 00:33:17,100 --> 00:33:18,860 You think you're special because of something? 615 00:33:18,860 --> 00:33:21,140 Well, why is that so special? 616 00:33:21,140 --> 00:33:22,160 You received it. 617 00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:24,360 Who do we receive it from? 618 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:29,120 God, we all receive whatever we have from God. 619 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:31,080 And he says, finally, and if you did receive it, 620 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:35,040 why do you boast as though you did not receive it? 621 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:38,120 As though somehow this was inherently yours. 622 00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:43,980 When it comes to character, the God's kind of leader, 623 00:33:43,980 --> 00:33:45,680 what counts is character. 624 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:50,280 Someone has written, character isn't inherited. 625 00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:55,280 One builds it daily by the way one thinks and acts, 626 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:58,560 thought by thought, action by action. 627 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:02,520 If one lets fear or hate or anger take possession 628 00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:07,400 of the mind, they become self-forged chains. 629 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:14,740 The world's kind of leader lives in chains. 630 00:34:14,740 --> 00:34:17,760 But God's kind of leader lives in freedom. 631 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:21,960 There are three questions that every leader needs to ponder 632 00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:23,520 with these I close. 633 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:28,200 Number one, to what extent am I a successful leader 634 00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:30,240 as God defines it? 635 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:35,560 In my role as a dad, in my role as a husband, 636 00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:38,360 in my role as an employer, as a manager, 637 00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:41,840 as a foreman of a shift, my role as a pastor, 638 00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:46,840 my role as a teacher, am I successful 639 00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:48,020 as God defines it? 640 00:34:48,020 --> 00:34:52,020 Have I aligned my life with God's will? 641 00:34:52,020 --> 00:34:55,580 And therefore I'm realizing God's purpose for me. 642 00:34:57,700 --> 00:34:59,520 A second question, how can the qualities 643 00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:02,020 of servant leadership become more apparent in me? 644 00:35:02,940 --> 00:35:06,260 God is so concerned that you and I lead 645 00:35:06,260 --> 00:35:09,620 with a servant heart that he sends us through experiences 646 00:35:09,620 --> 00:35:11,520 that are sometimes really tough. 647 00:35:12,740 --> 00:35:15,160 And so I need to ask this question so do you. 648 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:18,680 How can the qualities of servant leadership 649 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:19,760 become more apparent? 650 00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:23,420 What do I need to change about me? 651 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:29,220 So that I am leading as a servant. 652 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:33,240 And third, am I cooperating with God 653 00:35:33,240 --> 00:35:34,980 as he seeks to grow them in me? 654 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:38,200 Do I have a spirit of submission 655 00:35:39,040 --> 00:35:41,560 to what God is doing in me, trying to change me? 656 00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:45,680 You see with God, what success is not so much 657 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:49,120 what you do as what you what? 658 00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:52,440 That's right, what you are. 659 00:35:52,440 --> 00:35:54,240 That's what God is concerned about. 660 00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:57,360 God's kind of leader. 661 00:35:59,500 --> 00:36:01,300 God's kind of leader in a broken world. 662 00:36:01,300 --> 00:36:03,720 Folks, the world today is longing 663 00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:05,100 for this kind of leadership. 664 00:36:05,100 --> 00:36:08,320 It doesn't know it, but when it sees it, it respects it. 665 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:12,960 And the most important thing about being God's kind of leader 666 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:16,680 is that it brings God's kind of success. 667 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:19,020 Is that the kind of success you want? 668 00:36:19,020 --> 00:36:19,860 I know you do. 669 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:22,840 And here's how you get there. 670 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:48,840 Let's pray.