Christian Leadership
Happy Fathers Day!!!!
A small boy’s definition of Father’s Day: “It’s just like Mother’s Day only you don’t spend as much.”
Definition of a father… “A father is a man who carries pictures in his wallet where his money used to be.”
What better motivates us to show kindness towards others…love for self or love for God?
“Do nothing from selfishness…but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”Philippians 2:3-4
Faith and works go hand in hand. A Christian is one whom Christ uses to carry out His work on earth. Therefore, serving God is more than just something we do; working for the Lord also defines who we are.
Jesus borrows our voice to tell His story and uses our life to demonstrate His grace and glory. Good deeds are a believer’s labor of love.
“And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in Moses His servant.” – Exodus 14:31
What makes an effective Christian leader today?(Which we all are in some areas- ex. Parenting) Is it charisma? Is it ability? Is it communication and oratory skills?
* God’s view of an effective leader has nothing to do with these qualities. They may be a part of an effective leader.
***However, the core attribute of a Christian Leader is his Integrity with God and his Obedience to follow Him.
When this happens, God manifests His power in and through that leader.
Moses was effective because he was willing to obey the commands God gave him. When Moses did this, God manifested His presence in him.
The result was that people followed. *They followed because they saw God working in and through the man.
* They saw that this man was worthy of following because God’s anointing was on him.
When people see the Lord’s power manifested in your life:
* They will have a healthy fear of the Lord.
* They will look at you and say, “This person has something I don’t have that is worthy of more investigation.”
**Your challenge is to seek the Lord with a whole heart, Resulting in God’s power being manifested in the daily activities of your life.
**When this happens, you can expect others to be drawn to what they see in YOU, But make sure that God gets ALL the Glory and Praise. When we start saying “I”or “we” did this or that—-BE CAREFUL—-Pride may be setting in!
*The problem with many of us Christians today is that non-Christians see nothing different about the way they live to motivate the unsaved to desire their faith.
Today, all who believe in Jesus are clothed in his Sonship. And the heavenly Father receives us as intimately as he receives his own Son.
Why?
It’s because of our spiritual union with Christ. Through his crucifixion and
resurrection, Jesus has made us one with the Father. “That they all may be
one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in
us…I in them, and thou in me” (John 17:21–23).
What makes you different from your neighbor? Is your experience with God noticeably different from that of the man next door? If you’re not experiencing regular encounters with God, it’s time to ask why not.
We don’t live day-to-day for the NEXT spiritual Experience, BUT we should see by-products of a life centered in God that is reflected in FRUIT from His presence in our lives
1 Thess. 2:11 As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his own children, 12 exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you live in a way worthy of God who calls you to his own kingdom and his glory.
The template for Paul’s leadership in the church at Thessalonica is that he lived holy, righteous and blameless so he could encourage, comfort and urge the Thessalonians to live lives worthy of God. Paul wanted his behavior to help, not hurt, the gospel.
Because God called us all to some form of leadership, we need to guard our behavior like Paul did so His work in the lives of believers won’t be underminded.
And what good will it do to live a holy, righteous and blameless life if I don’t encourage, comfort and urge others to live lives worthy of God?
Lord the only way I can lead a holy, righteous and blameless life is to submit to the power of your Spirit within me. Today I want to yeild to the indwelling power of your Spirit to live a life you can use to encourage, comfort and urge others. Lord bless all fathers on this day and help most of us men to identify our true feelings and then how to share them with our family members. Feelings are something that us men on the average must learn to do because we have been taught feelings are not a natural trait because if we do share our feelings, society often portrays them as weak. But Lord you tell us “Blessed are the meek( strength in control), for they will inherit the earth. God deliberately uses the weak to confound worldly wisdom. (Matthew 5:5).
The passage(1 Corinthians 1:25-29) reminds me that God chose parents for their exact assignment. And even when we feel weak as parents His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Lord we Surrender our parenting to You. We Ask for Your help daily. Indeed You Lord will use us to shame the worldly wise and powerful. And when we see Your glory in the lives of our children we will remember to praise You shamelessly?
Only as we set “self” aside and allow God’s Love to flow through us will we find true meaning and purpose for our lives.
“He who has found His Life shall lose it, and he who has lost His Life for My sake shall find it.”Matthew 10:39
Even when we blow it badly and fail to remain an open, cleansed vessel for the Lord, He doesn’t stop loving us.
“The steps of a man are established by the Lord…When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.”Psalm 37:23-24
Lord Bless ALL the fathers this Fathers Day! Amen