Calling Godly Men to Serve and Lead

I would like you to turn your Bibles this morning to Exodus chapter 18, Exodus chapter 18, and let me read a portion of the text to you and confess that we are not going to spend all of our time here.

Exodus 18 · chapter mention Exodus 18 · chapter mention

We drew a book expositionally, and guess which book we are in right now? We're in John, and I have it on reasonable information that we'll probably be in John for another year and a half, maybe two, who knows?

You know, I have to tell you, there was a time in my life when I had a great hesitation in launching into the book of John. I really don't know why other than, well, I will tell you.

I started preaching in the book of John when I was called from Bethel to come here.

And there's always been that kind of pathological fear that if I start John, I'm not going to finish it, so let's not start the book.

But at 67, I have reasonable hope that I will be able to finish the book of John, Lord willing.

And it has been such an incredible blessing to me to be able to look week after week after week at the beauty and the holiness of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And my heart has grown in affection for Him.

Isn't it happening to you?

You've grown in your affection for the Lord Jesus.

It says this, as we learn more about Him, we grow to know Him, and that affects us.

And so the normal pattern is to work our way through a passage of Scripture, through a book.

Today is a topical sermon.

And if I were to ask my wife to give her opinion on how I do at topical sermons, she would say,

Eh, okay.

Well, she's a little more blunt than that.

But, you know, the truth of the matter is, so you have to add extra prayer when a pastor decides that it's appropriate to preach a topical sermon.

But this is necessary and appropriate.

The reason being that on December the 9th, our congregation is going to hold our annual meeting.

And while there are important budget matters that we are going to bring to your attention,

the truth of the matter is, is that the way in which we spend the money that God has provided is not as important as the individuals that we place in leadership.

And that's critical for us to understand.

And so this morning, as we come together, we want to spend time studying what the Word of God has to say about biblical leadership.

What are the characteristics?

What are the expectations that God has placed on leadership?

And why is biblical leadership so important to the testimony of Christ?

Next Sunday, as I mentioned earlier, we are going to have a commissioning service for Caleb and Charity.

And it's going to be a wonderful service in which you are going to hear Caleb and Charity give a short summary of the work of God in their life.

You're also going to hear Gary Crawford, who is the missionary that is overseeing the Jamaican field.

He is also going to be giving this congregation an exhortation in response to our responsibility of our ministry to Caleb and Charity.

And then it will be my privilege to preach a brief message.

Now, that's interesting, isn't it?

Two messages in one day.

You're going to have a great time.

And we will be finished by 1.30 or so.

Don't worry about it.

That's hyperbole.

Some of you are getting really nervous.

But next Sunday, that is a very, very special day for our congregation.

And I encourage you to that and keep it in prayer.

Let me come now to the passage that we're going to begin in.

And there in Exodus chapter 18, if you will look, it says there in verse 13,

Exodus 18 · chapter mention

The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning until evening.

When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said,

What is this that you are doing for the people?

Why do you sit alone and all the people stand around you from morning until evening?

And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to inquire of God.

When they have a dispute, they come to me, and I decide between one person and another,

and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.

Moses' father-in-law said to him, What you are doing is not good.

You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you.

You're not able to do it alone.

Now obey my voice, I will give you advice, and God be with you.

You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God,

and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws and make them know the way in which they must walk

and what they must do.

Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe,

and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

Let us pray.

Our Father God, as we take your word in hand, and we preface our study with prayer,

our time of prayer is a reflection of our dependence upon you,

and a reminder to our own soul of the fact that you're the one who must open our eyes

that we may behold wondrous truths of thy law.

And we ask this morning that the word would make a difference in the lives of your people,

that when we think about leadership, we think about leadership in the frame

and with the encouragement and instruction of the scriptures.

When men think about the responsibility of growing to be leaders in their homes and leaders in ministry,

that they would recognize that you have spoken clearly on these things,

and that our desire would be to be obedient and faithful and know the joy that comes from that.

And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

As we look at this passage, I want you to understand that it serves as a launching point

as we think, first of all, about the significance of godly leaders.

I want you to understand that God has ordained that leadership is very important

regardless of the environment in which it is placed.

And when we think about the importance of leadership,

we need to recognize that the reason that leadership is important

is because of their role and blessing that they are to God's people.

You look here in this passage in Exodus chapter 18,

Exodus 18 · chapter mention

and we're not going to dive into it in great detail,

but I want you to recognize that Moses, in the process of doing what he was going about doing

when Jethro arrived on the scene,

he was doing his best to meet the needs of people,

recognizing that the needs existed and that their heart's burdens need to be attended to.

The problem, as we see in this passage,

is that he was the only one that really had anything to do with meeting the needs of the people.

And as a result, guess what was happening?

People were standing around from morning till evening.

This was no waiting room environment.

How many of you waited in a doctor's office to be cared for?

Ever done that?

I mean, the doctor says,

be there on such and such a time,

and usually, because of our pathological fear of being overlooked,

when do we arrive?

Most of us arrive a little early,

we take care of the paperwork,

and then we sit around for however long it is,

and one thing goes on and on and on,

and pretty soon someone finally walks out and says,

you may come into the room and you go past the scale, right?

How many of you go past the scale?

How many of you get to skip that part?

I'm just checking.

You know, you go past the scale and you do that little deal,

and then you're waiting in the room how long?

Wait, wait, wait.

The privilege we have in waiting is generally we get to sit.

They, in the ancient culture,

weren't carrying around little camp chairs,

and they stood standing from morning to evening

waiting for the opportunity to speak to Moses,

and here is what Jethro observed.

He said, listen, let me help you understand.

This is going to wear you out,

and it's going to wear them out.

Eventually, when a need that exists in a person's heart is not met,

it ends up creating frustration,

and frustration breeds over into sinful behavior,

and here is Moses being instructed by Jethro,

if you continue doing this, it's going to cause harm.

Problems that aren't handled eventually end up creating heartache,

and so here we find Jethro giving advice to Moses,

and he says, listen, what you need to do

is you need to divide the needs up proportionally,

beginning thousands, hundreds, tens,

and what you will do is that you will recognize,

by doing this, you're going to meet those needs,

and as needs are recognized, you can address them.

I want you to think with me of another passage

in relationship to this that I don't need you to turn to,

but in Acts chapter 6, you'll remember

Acts 6 · chapter mention

that what happened in that case as the church grew,

it ended up where the needs of the widows,

particularly the Gentile widows were not being met,

and that created some turmoil,

some difficulty, and some argument,

and as a result, the apostles came together

and said, listen to the congregation,

you need to choose seven men

that are full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom,

have a good reputation,

and we are going to give them the task

of taking care of this responsibility,

and the purpose of that was to see to it

that the needs were met in adequate time.

I want you to understand that it is important

to realize that the role that God has assigned

to leadership is meeting the needs of people.

I want you to look at another passage

in relationship to that.

You're there in Exodus, but turn over,

if you would, to Numbers chapter 27.

Numbers 27 · chapter mention

One of the things that we need to recognize

about godly leadership is that they are really

a gift from the Lord.

Numbers chapter 27, verse 16 and 17.

Numbers 27:16

In Numbers 27, we are given a little bit

of the setting around which or in which

Moses is given information that he is going to die,

and his very, very instinctive desire

is found there in verse 16.

And let the Lord, this is Moses speaking to the Lord,

says, let the Lord, the God of spirits of all flesh,

appoint a man over the congregation,

who shall go out before them and come in before them,

who shall lead them out and bring them in,

that the congregation of the Lord

may not be a sheep without a shepherd.

So the Lord said to Moses, take Joshua, the son of Nun,

a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.

And what we find in this passage is here is Moses

towards the end of his life, recognizing the need

of God's people, and he says, listen, Lord,

you're going to take me out of the picture,

but my desire for the congregation,

for the people of God, the nation of Israel,

is that you provide leadership.

Good shepherds ultimately are gifts

from the great shepherd.

And a good shepherd cares for the flock of God

and serves the Lord by caring for his dear people

and blessing them and guiding them with the word

and with godly counsel.

I want you to recognize that the significance

of godly leadership is not only in that they serve

as a means of blessing, but they're also relatively

different from the world.

And I want you to see that.

Godly leadership are different

from the world's standard of leadership.

Boy, I tell you, as I was studying early this week

and praying about that, or last week,

I was really struck by what is happening

in our American culture with politics.

How many of you at this point are kind of brain dead

over the issue of what's happening

in the political scene?

It's like, you've got to be kidding me.

Anyway, I want you to think with me

about what Jesus had to say about leadership.

Turn in your Bible to Luke chapter 22,

Luke 22:24–27

verse 24 through 27.

Luke chapter 22, verse 24 through 27.

Luke 22:24–27

Incidentally, do remember that context

is very important to understanding Scripture.

And I think it's appropriate to recognize

this evening we're going to have the Lord's table.

We're going to come together and remind ourselves

of what the Lord Jesus did for us on the cross.

In this passage that we're looking at,

we find out that once again,

the disciples are having this intramural bickering

about who's going to be first.

That's what this is all about.

And it's taking place right after the Lord's Supper.

Now think with me just for a moment.

In the context of the Lord's Supper,

several very significant things had happened.

For one, remember when Jesus had said to the disciples,

one of you, you here together,

are going to betray me?

See, I have to tell you,

I am struck by the fact

that instead of every one of the disciples thinking,

well, I imagine it's Peter,

or I think it's John,

or I think it's Judas,

what did they say?

What did they say?

They actually ask a very perceptive question,

which is kind of a stunning thought to me.

They said, is it I?

Am I the one?

One, usually when something ill falls out

about somebody here did something,

we think, well, I know who did that.

It's him, right?

We're great finger pointers.

But strangely enough, they, whoa, it might be me.

Second, after they had celebrated the elements,

reminding themselves of what Jesus was going to do for them,

after that, what did he do with a towel and a wash basin?

He washed their feet.

And he said, listen, I'm giving this to you as an example

and a model of servanthood.

Right after that,

they fall into their favorite little intramural bickering

about who's going to be first.

Verse 24,

a dispute also arose among them

as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.

And he said to them,

the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them.

I want you to think with me just for a moment here

and pick up on this

because here are the disciples

having their little jockeying

for who was going to be most important in the kingdom.

And I want you to recognize how Jesus started into this.

Now, here are the disciples

all together,

right on the other side of the Lord's table.

And the first hint of Christ's disapproval

of their intramural bickering

comes out in the statement,

the kings of the Gentiles.

Now, think with me.

Why would I say that that was a little negative hint?

What did the good Jewish community think of Gentiles?

What was their attitude towards Gentiles?

Y'all here are my favorite Gentiles.

If he had said that,

what would have their Jewish flesh kind of risen up

and said,

who are you talking to?

Right?

He says,

the kings,

the despots,

the rulers,

the ones who are in charge in the Gentile nation.

And he says,

hey,

they're the ones

that think this way.

And so he takes this negative picture.

The kings of the Gentiles

exercise lordship over them.

When he used that little word lordship,

he was talking about

an individual

who was in complete control

of other people.

Complete control.

Absolute authority.

The one who had the right

of determining

not only what a person did,

but whether or not

the person continued to exist.

And he says,

the kings of the Gentiles,

they exercise lordship over them

and those in authority over them

are called benefactors.

Stop just for a moment.

Why do you think

the kings of the Gentiles

were called benefactors?

Were they really benefactors?

What's the answer?

Shake your head.

No.

They really weren't benefactors.

Do you think Herod

wanted to be called a benefactor?

The answer is yes.

About as much as

King,

how does it go here?

Kim Jong-il.

Yeah, there we go.

How many of you know

who Kim Jong-il is?

He is my favorite

despot.

If you want a classic illustration

of what a tyrant is,

Kim Jong-il,

or whatever his name is,

that's the classic one.

In North Korea,

people that he is unhappy with,

guess what happened to them?

They're blown up.

Or they're fed to dogs.

I mean,

there are all kinds of cruel things

that he does.

But you know what?

Do you know what his favorite title is?

Or one of his favorite titles?

Beloved leader.

Beloved leader.

You see,

those who were abusing their power

just love for people

to refer to them

as benefactors.

Dear leader.

Now,

with that kind of...

And there they're thinking,

yeah,

I'd like to be in complete control.

In fact,

I would like everybody

to talk to me nicely

and say,

oh,

you're the sweetest,

most wonderful leader

we've ever had.

And here's what Jesus says.

Look at the passage.

It shall not be so with you.

It shall not be so with you.

Well,

what a blow

to their crass immaturity.

Here they were

kind of bickering

about the matter

of who was going to be

the most important.

And Jesus says,

hey,

let me stop just for a moment

and help you guys understand

that this is the way

pagan,

unbelieving,

Gentiles think.

And it's not going to be

that way with you.

Those who lead

in the family of God

are to be known

for their servants' hearts.

You look there in the passage

and it says this,

rather let the greatest among you

become the youngest

than the leader

as one who serves.

For who is the greater,

one who reclines at the table

or one who serves?

It is not the one

who reclines at the table,

but I am among you

as one who serves.

And so when God's people

think about the matter

of biblical leadership,

I think it's important

for us to recognize

that the characteristic

of biblical leadership

is first and foremost

a servant's heart.

They're the ones

that should be counted on

to be up front on projects.

They're the ones

who should be counted on

to be willing to serve

the needs of other people.

They're the ones

who should be counted on

to be quiet and charitable

in the midst

of the turmoil of life.

Show me a humble,

godly servant

of the bride

and I will show you

a man that God

has been at work in

for a long time

to prepare him

for that task.

Do you realize

that men do not

become leaders

in the bride of Christ

just as an overnight process?

Everybody smiles

and says,

I got that one.

Yeah.

It takes time

to develop a servant's heart.

And by the way,

the best way

to test a servant's heart

is actually watch

and see how a person

what?

What?

Serves.

How a person serves.

I am very blessed

to stop and recognize

that in our fellowship

one of the things

that has been

such a rich encouragement

to this congregation

is the testimony

of servanthood

of all those

who have served

historically in this fellowship

as pastors and deacons.

It's a blessing.

It's a blessing.

Not one to be taken lightly

but one to be regarded

carefully as a recognition

of a congregation

that prayerfully

expect leadership

to actually be

what God expects them to be.

I want you to recognize

the significance

of godly leadership

also is the value

of their godly example.

Biblical leadership

in any and every role

is dependent

on godly exampleship.

There's no better illustration

of the sharp contrast

between the world's

expectations of leadership

and what you see

in the body of Christ.

Regardless

of what is going on

the expectation

of the word of God

is that those

who lead in the congregation

are models

of the character

that God is looking for

in godly men

and those who serve.

So I want you to think

with me here

that God recognizes

there is no alternative plan

for leadership

apart from godly character.

There's no alternative plan.

God's intention is this

is that those who lead

be examples

to the flock

in all things.

It's very interesting here

when you think about

the issue of godly character

in relationship

to leadership

to see how often

this characteristic

stands out

as front and center.

I recited the passage

in Exodus chapter 18

Exodus 18:21

verse 21

where you remember

Jethro gave advice

he said listen

here's what you are

to look for

here's what you are

to look for

and he spelled out

the characteristic

that you will find

very similar

to the ones

I want you to look

at a passage

and put your finger on it

in Acts chapter 6

Acts 6:3

verse 3

we find a similar

expectation

to what we found

back in Exodus

let's look at it

Acts chapter 6

Acts 6:3

verse 3

here are the character

qualifications

for those that are

to be leaders

in the body of Christ

therefore brothers

pick out from among you

seven men

of good repute

what does that mean

what's good repute mean

it means good example

good testimony

they're men

who have been tried

and who have been found

to be men

of sterling character

by the way

how is character proven

there's a saying

smooth seas

do not make good sailors

do you know what that means

it means that you figure out

the character of a man

under adversity

and in difficulty

you find out

whether a man

is willing to be a servant

when

there is a call

to help move

and fewer people

show up

than you would like

I love going to moves

when there's so many people

that we're all standing around

getting one little bag

or box a piece

but when I show up

at 67

and I find out

that I'm one of the main lifters

it's like

heaven help me

how many of you understand

what I mean by main lifters

okay

how many of you realize

that when you go

to unload a van

or a truck

or whatever else

there are things

that I think

should be left

to younger men

hollow out there guys

you know

but

you find out

what the servant's heart is

by the willingness

and readiness

to do it

under adversity

in Acts chapter 3

Acts 3 · chapter mention

it says here

you look for men

of good repute

good reputation

you look for men

full of the spirit

and how do we know

that a man

is full of the spirit

is that a

an unsolvable mystery

what's the answer

hello

it is telling us here

that you as God's people

are to look for

these qualifications

what are the characteristics

of a person

who is full of the spirit

hello

can anybody help me here

the fruit of the spirit

how do you know

what an apple tree is

you look underneath

the apple tree

in apple season

and what should you find

you should find apples

love

joy

peace

long suffering

patience

goodness

etc

so an individual

who is full of the spirit

in truth

is not a

dour

sour

grumpy

am I doing well with this

surly

person

have you ever been around

people that are just

kind of in a profound

funk most of the time

is that person

full of the spirit

what's the answer

no

no

now

I do want you to realize

that God has not

made all of us

to be equally expressive

hello everybody out there

just smile at me

because I want you to hear this

we have Jared

sitting over here

where's Jared

oh he's in the nursery

right now

that's right

how many of you

noticed that Jared

is a fairly

mellow bass player

is it a guitar

I don't know what

instrument it is

Seth

it's just like

it's one of those things

Jared is a very

mellow person

how many of you

noticed that

Mary is probably

on the other side

of the spectrum

okay

the real test

is if you put

Jared watching

the OSU

Michigan football

game

along with Mary

in the same room

you'd want to find out

that Jared

on a touchdown

was like

yeah

that's okay

Mary of course

doing cartwheels

you know

is like

yeah

am I right

Matthew

okay

God makes us

to be different

in our expression

but the issue

is this

is that

you can tell

when a person

is spirit filled

because their life

displays the characteristics

of the power

of the spirit of God

third thing it says

here in this passage

is that

full of wisdom

now when it says

full of wisdom

it is talking

about wisdom

that is from above

and that is wisdom

related to the word

of God

okay

at the end

of the day

wisdom

comes from God

and so

individuals

that you look for

to be leaders

are men

who know the word

and are dependent

upon it

let me have you look

at another passage

in relationship

to this issue

of godly character

and turn if you will

over to 1st Timothy

chapter 3

1st Timothy

chapter 3

we're recognizing

that God

has no plan

for leadership

apart from godly character

1st Timothy

chapter 3

beginning there

in verse 1

it says

the saying

is trustworthy

if any man

aspires

to the office

of overseer

he desires

a noble task

therefore

let the overseer

he must be

above reproach

he's an individual

whose reputation

is not sullied

by recurring

misbehaviors

he's a man

of one wife

he's sober minded

self controlled

respectable

hospitable

able to teach

not drunkard

not violent

but gentle

not quarrelsome

not a lover

of money

and as you work

your way through

both the passage

in relationship

to the overseer

the elder

the pastor

and to the deacon

one of the things

that you find

is that the issue

of godly character

stands front and center

final passage

in relationship

to this matter

of character

is over in

Hebrews chapter 13

Hebrews 13:7

verse 7

Hebrews chapter 13

Hebrews 13:7

verse 7

remember your leaders

put your finger on it

remember your leaders

those who spoke to you

the word of god

consider the outcome

of their way of life

and imitate their faith

remember your leaders

pay attention

is what god is saying here

pay attention

to your leaders

their role

in particular

is speaking

the word of god

to you

and modeling

a life

that displays

the character

of christ

so as you think

about the matter

of choosing

leadership

for the coming year

I want to encourage

you to remember

that what you're

looking for

is men

that are

examples

of biblical

character

there's something else

that I want you to see

and I'm going to make

a comparison here

in particular

between the role

of pastor

and between

the role of a deacon

and so go

if you will

there to 1st

Timothy

chapter 3

1st Timothy

chapter 3

we're going to be

looking at the

similarities

of godly leadership

we understand

the significance

of godly leadership

but what are the

similarities

that we are

looking for

you look there

in verse 8

and it says

deacon likewise

must be dignified

not double-tongued

etc

a little word

likewise

tells us a great deal

that I want us to

focus on briefly

this morning

the word argues

for viewing

pastors and

deacons as

similar

or viewing

overseers

bishops or

elders

whichever word

you're going to

use in this

case

and deacons

as being

similar

some have

made a great

deal of

distinction

between pastors

and deacons

between the

various offices

and while there

are distinctions

in terms of

role and

responsibility

there's not

distinction

in relationship

to character

and it's not

my intent

this morning

to carry on

the ongoing

argument

about the

differences

in government

in congregations

I am

persuaded

that the

scripture

cannot be

relied upon

to argue

persuasively

one side

or the other

of the issue

I do believe

that the

non-negotiable

is character

in leadership

and that is

the undeniable

argument

from the

passage in

Exodus

all the way

to the end

now notice

too here

that the

issue of

similarity

is not

about

tasks

but about

character

and what

we find

emphasized

in the

second part

of 1st

Timothy

chapter 3

is the

characteristics

of those

who are

going to

lead as

deacons

being

relatively

similar

to the

characteristics

of those

that are

going to

lead as

pastors

you look

there and

make a

quick comparison

between

chapter 3

verse 2

through 7

and then

the passage

that we

find carrying

on from

8 through

12

deacons

likewise

must be

dignified

not

double

tongued

not

addicted

to much

wine

not greedy

for dishonest

gain

they must

hold the

mystery of

the faith

with a clear

conscience

let them

first be

tested

then let

them serve

as deacons

if they

prove themselves

blameless

their wives

likewise

must be

dignified

not

slanders

sober

minded

faithful

in all

things

and so

when we

look at

this

I want

you to

understand

that

this matter

of similarity

between pastors

and deacons

is important

to understand

from a scriptural

premise

and one of the

things that you

can see

in our fellowship

is that those

who serve

as pastors

and those

who serve

as deacons

for all

practical purposes

have the same

character

qualifications

and have a

history of doing

so before you

as God's people

when you choose

a deacon

you're choosing

a man

who is one

who has

demonstrated

a servant's

heart

and godly

character

now the

underlying

purpose

in this

clear expectation

of character

being similar

is the fact

that godly

leadership

is expected

to be a reflection

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ

our chief

shepherd

and so

he is the

one who

at the end

of the day

godly leaders

are following

and he is

the one

that godly

leaders

are pointing

to

does that

make sense

why is it

important

in God's

people's

lives

that those

who lead

are men

of character

and good

reputation

why

fundamentally

because of

who they

lead for

and who

they represent

does that

make sense

they lead

on behalf

of Christ

the flock

does not

belong

to a man

it belongs

to the

Lord Jesus

Christ

who redeemed

it with

his own

blood

and those

who serve

as leaders

in the

fellowship

are responsible

to be sensitive

to that which

honors the one

who redeemed

the congregation

he is the

one that we're

looking to

and he is the

one that we

serve

and he is the

one that we're

bonded to

together

and so

when you

look for

leaders

you're looking

for individuals

that display

the heart

of Christ

I want you

to understand

as a result

of that

that pastors

and deacons

are to provide

a similar

model of

servanthood

of humility

and godliness

what you find

in a pastor

is something

that you should

find in a deacon

let me take you

back if I can

for a moment

back to Hebrews

Hebrews 13:7

chapter 13

verse 7

I love the

flow of the

passage here

Hebrews 13

is the

author coming

to the very

end of

his book

and one of

the things

that characterizes

the ends

of epistles

and scriptural

books

is that

they want

to wrap

it up

and give

you a good

summary

and stick

something

in your

mind

in relationship

to that

the matter

of biblical

leadership

comes out

we mark

what it says

there in

verse 7

it says

remember

your leaders

those who

spoke to you

the word

of God

consider

the outcome

of their

way of life

and imitate

their faith

and so when

it says

consider

it's giving

us a command

that you

as God's

people

are to

refresh

your memory

it's been

good for me

the last

several weeks

to remind

myself

of those

who have

served in

this congregation

as deacons

and the model

that they have

set for me

personally

I remember

them sitting

at the board

and making

decisions

and helping

as we work

through some

very difficult

things

I couldn't

help but

remember

Bill Driscoll

I couldn't

help but

remember

Hal Burchett

I couldn't

help but

remember

Tom Parsons

I remember

some of their

counsel together

when we were

working things

through in

relationship to

closing the

school

and when we

were working

things through

in relationship

to some of

the changes

that we've

made in our

fellowship

whether it's

small group

or music

ministry

and they

were men

that provided

godly counsel

and stability

in the flow

of those

things

I think

of my dad

who served

as a deacon

in fact one

of the harder

things that I

had to do

was say to

dad

I think

it's time

to let

somebody else

take up

the torch

and what a

desire

I remember

as he got

older and

older

he would

go to

every

he'd

ask me

on a

Friday

is there

a move

coming on

Saturday

he wanted

to go

with me

and he

was in

his 80s

and it

got to the

point where

I had to

he would

always say

so what

can I

carry

and I'd

get him

to stand

over the

side

when he

was about

85

and I'd

pick up

one of

these teeny

little boxes

and I'd

go over

and say

will you

take this

in

and then

I had

to be

careful

that he

didn't get

knocked over

in the

process

get the

box

in there

why was

he doing

that

why was

!

he

doing

that

he

wasn't

doing

that

to

receive

a

reward

from

people

who

said

thank

you

he

was

doing

it

because

he

was

a

lifetime

debtor

to

Jesus

now

listen

to me

carefully

a man

who

does

not

serve

under

that

sense

of

divine

obligation

is

missing

something

we

serve

because

of what

he

has

done

for

us

he's

made

us

debtors

to

the

cross

and

that

should

make

us

joyful

in

our

service

we

find

here

remember

your

leaders

those

who

spoke

to

you

the

word

of

God

consider

the

outcome

of

their

way

of

life

how

do

you

want

to

end

up

huh

how

do

you

want

to

end

up

as

I

get

older

and

I

get

closer

to

the

finish

line

I

think

more

often

of how

I

want

to

end

up

and

I

am

so

very

thankful

that

I

have

models

out

in

front

of

me

who

set

the

standard

and

made

it

clear

what

godly

leadership

and

servanthood

look

like

consider

the

outcome

of

their

way

of

life

what

was

their

trajectory

how

did

things

end

in

a

day

in

which

individuals

take

pleasure

in

self

gratification

I

remember

hearing

of

an

individual

that

was

going

to

retire

and

they

were

going

to

spend

the

next

three

years

driving

around

the

country

in

a

motor

home

kind

of

indulging

themselves

in

state

parks

and

whatever

whatever

whatever

and I

thought

well

you

know

not

going

to be

for

me

do

you

know

how

I

want

to end

up

I

want

to end

up

as

a

bride

as

a

!

servant

to

the bride

of

for

the

testimony

of

others

who

have

had

the

same

ambition

and

the

same

affection

and

it

is

my

pleasure

to

be

in

a

congregation

in

which

that

is

playing

out

now

mark

what

it

says

and

imitate

their

faith

you

know

what

that

means

imitate

it

means

to

follow

that

example

be

the

same

way

you

know

to

put

it

in

simple

terms

love

Christ

serve

like

them

so

when

we

think

this

morning

about

choosing

biblical

leadership

I

want

you

to

understand

that

God's

intention

first

of all

is

that

those

who

serve

among

God's

people

are

individuals

who

have

shown

the

work

of

Christ

in

growing

to

be

more

like

Jesus

isn't

that

right

secondly

God's

people

are

to

value

that

and

pray

for

that

encourage

that

and

then

choose

that

to

be

their

leaders

so

when

we

gather

together

to

attend

to

the

issue

of

choosing

biblical

leadership

one of the

things that

we want

to do

is to

say to

the

Lord

thank you

for the

ones

you

provided

and

thank you

for the

ones

you

will

provide

and

we

will

pray

for

them

and

support

them

and

seek

their

well

being

as

they

serve

as

servants

to the

bride

of

Christ

!

Let

me

our

Father God

this morning

as we

think in

very

practical

terms

about

the

value

that

you

have

placed

on

biblical

leadership

we're

thankful

first and

foremost

that

Jesus

Christ

is

the

principal

example

to

us

who

did

not

come

to

be

ministered

unto

but

to

minister

and

to

give

his

life

a

ransom

for

many

and

so

this

morning

as

we

think

about

leadership

we

want

to be

a

people

that

value

first

of

all