Developing Your Leadership Skills

Psalm 139  (ESV)

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them. 

God has a will not only for our lives, but also for each day.  God wants us to lead.  

I.  Leadership is influence. 

Matthew 7:16 (NLT)

16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.

Galatians 5:22-23  (NLT)

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. 

Leadership = serving.  

Mark 10:45  (NLT)

45 For even the Son of Man (Jesus) came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Luke 19:10 (NLT)

10 For the Son of Man (Jesus) came to seek and save those who are lost.”

Jesus is more concerned with what we do than what we say.  

Four secrets for serving. 

1. Serving isn't convenient.  

Matthew 5:41  (NLT) 

If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.

We must serve the takers and the jerks.  We must serve people who we know will not say thank you.  

Matthew 20:25-28(NLT)

25 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 

26 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 

27 and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 

This is how people know that we are believers.  We serve the takers.  The building is not the Church.  We are.

  

2.  Serving impacts the lives of others. 

28 For even the Son of Man (Jesus) came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

3. Serving involves giving which unlocks God's blessings.  

Luke 6:38 (NLT)

38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.

We must be a clearing house of God's blessings.

4. Serving positions you for your destiny. 

David was only delivering sandwiches to his brothers when He defeated Goliath the giant (1 Samuel 17). 

How do you expose pride?  It's when you're called upon to serve. 

   

James 4:6 (NLT)

 “God opposes the proud
    but gives grace to the humble.”

What has God called you too that you think is beneath you?

  

You'll find God serving.

  

Matthew 11:29 (NLT)

29 Take my (Jesus's) yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

It is the serving that prepares us be to able to handle God's blessing once they come.  

Lord Jesus, please save me.  You're the only one who can. 

Romans 10:13 (NLT)

13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Jeremy Foster, Hope City Church

https://hopecity.com/sermons/your-calling-wont-be-convenient-pastor-jeremy-foster/

Love Authentic?

Matthew 5:43-48 (ESV)

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 

1. Authentic love is rooted in truth.  

Jesus is talking about personal behavior not civil law. The teachers of Jesus's day wanted to hate their enemies; therefore, they added it to their teachings.  

44 But I (Jesus) say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 

2. Authentic love is radically different.  

The test of authentic love is when it's not returned.  Therefore, to love our neighbor, we must love our neighbor because our enemy and our neighbor might be the same person.  We must love people that we do not like.  

45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 

3. Authentic love goes beyond expectations.  

We must serve our enemies, pray for them, and die for them.  We do it to be like our Father in heaven and to be different from the world.  

Romans 5:10 (ESV)

10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 

47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 

48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

4. Authentic love is only possible through Jesus.  

You can't do it by yourself.  

Galatians 2:20  (ESV)

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Darryl Craft, Whitesburg Baptist Church

http://www.whitesburgbaptist.org/connect/messages/authentic-love/

Gideon

Judges 6:11-18 (ESV)

11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite,

while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 

12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? 

Don't let what's going on outside of us influence what's going on within us. 

And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

Don't be content knowing about God.  Pursue God until you have experienced Him for yourself (Jeremiah 29:13).    

14 And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 

15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel?

Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” 

God is attracted to people who realize that without Him they can do nothing, but with Him you can do anything.   

Don't suffer with comparison.  Don't doubt God's call upon your life.  Doubting only leads to more doubting.  

  

16 And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 

17 And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 

Don't do life alone.  Stay with fellowship with God and other believers.  Take a step toward God, and He'll take a step towards you.  

18 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”

When life's plan is unclear, let God's promises be your God.  When God's promises take the lead, He is your banner of victory.  

Matt Betz, Church of the Highlands

Revenge

How do you make things right when you have been wronged? 

The Law of Moses contained the civil law, the ceremonial law, and the moral law.  The law was to control excesses, unrestrained revenge, and to prevent reoccurrences.  

 

Matthew 5:20 (ESV)

20 For I (Jesus) tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

The religious leaders took Moses's law as a mandate for revenge which was not God's purpose.  They applied the civil law for the personal law which was not God's intent.  Jesus taught that we must turn from selfishness to selflessness.     

Matthew 5:38-42 (ESV)

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 

39 But I (Jesus) say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 

1. We must surrender our dignity for Christ.  

40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

 

2. We must surrender our security for Christ. 

41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

3. We must surrender our liberty for Christ.  

The Roman soldier could require a Jew to carry their packs one mile, but we must go beyond what we are required. The second mile is called the miracle mile where God could work in the soldier's heart.     

42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

4. We must surrender our property for Christ.  

The law teaches the same as Jesus.  We must not apply the civil law for the personal revenge.  

Leviticus 19:18 (ESV)

18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. 

Darryl Craft, Whitesburg Baptist Church

http://www.whitesburgbaptist.org/sermons/making-things-right-when-youve-been-wronged/