Spiritual Leadership (Part 1)

Spiritual Leadership Begins with the Qualifications of Church Leaders

No Compromise Radio. Thanks for tuning in to No Compromise Radio with pastor and author, Dr. Mike Abendroth. Today on No Compromise Radio, we'll be hearing Pastor Mike open the Word of God in a recent message he preached at Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

Now let's join Pastor Mike in progress as he preaches through the scriptures, verse by verse, with no compromise.

Have your Bibles please turn to 1 Timothy chapter 3, 1 Timothy chapter 3. And this morning we're going to talk about leadership, spiritual leadership. What values do we need for church leadership? And if the world has their say, we'll probably look for some kind of great eloquent rhetorician, some Marlboro man kind of natural born leader.

But I wonder what kind of leader God wants in His church. What kind of leader should you be praying for? What kind of leader should you aspire to be? And whether you're a man or woman qualified to be an elder or not, you ought to say to yourself, I want to be like leadership.

And if you look at 1 Timothy chapter 3, before we get into 1 Corinthians 4, I want to ask this question as I read through the first seven verses of 1 Timothy 3. What's the most amazing part of these seven verses?

What's the most remarkable aspect to these seven verses that Paul writes to give us the qualifications of a leader, an elder, an overseer of a New Testament church? What's the most remarkable thing? Let me read them and I'll ask the question again.

The saying is trustworthy, 1 Timothy 3, 1, if anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

He must manage his own household well with all dignity, keeping his children submissive. For someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.

Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. I ask you again, what's the most remarkable thing about those seven verses, the most remarkable feature on that list?

Well, here's what D .A. Carson would say, the most remarkable feature of this list is that it is unremarkable. Most amazing thing about that list is it's not that amazing. These are normal things that everyone should strive for, with the exception of skilled in teaching, able to teach, good teacher, apt to teach, aren't these qualifications that everyone should want to be?

Of course, hospitable, respectable, sober-minded, everything on this list, almost everything is required of every person in this church. If you go to the other New Testament passages, you think, this is me.

Leadership isn't just these people over here. Leadership exists for many reasons, including the fact that you should look to the leaders and say, I'd like to be like them. As they imitate Christ Jesus the Lord, I want to follow them.

Jesus isn't on the earth, but there are some people who are striving to act like Christ, I'm going to set my focus upon them. Now let's go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 4 to talk about a passage that Paul brings up about leadership.

I want to remind you this morning, I'm not just preaching to Pradeep, Dave, and Steve, and now you all can just check out, oh good, another one. Don't you love those sermons where your spouse really gets it, and you can just give the little elbow treatment, and you think, this is for you.

You say to someone, man, that was a great sermon at the church today, I wish you would have been there to hear it, because it had your name on it. Paul is talking to the church of Corinth, and he's trying to tell them, you're trying to pick a leader that the world promotes.

What kind of leader should we have? Great, smart, ambitious, driving, bottom line, get the job done, lots of followers, and you're trying to get the worldly kind of leader, and it's fracturing the church.

Because one person follows a certain kind of leader, and another person follows the other kind of leader, and Paul says, let me show you what real spiritual leadership is, to bind you together, but also for you to emulate.

It's not just these are what the leaders do, no, this is what the leaders do, so you can look at that and say, yeah, I want to be like that as well. This morning, we're going to look at spiritual leadership, and whether you're a leader at home, a leader at the work, if you're a leader at the church, or if you just want to act in a more godly fashion, commensurate with your position in Christ Jesus, then these are good verses for you.

Good verses in 1 Corinthians chapter 4, 1 through 7, as we look at eight descriptions of Christ-like leaders who should be followed and imitated. And I have to tell you, we'll only get to probably the first part of verse 1 today, and you'll see why, but these are excellent leadership qualities, and when you see these, you'll say, praise the Lord, we have some of those at the church, but we've got a better leader, Christ Jesus, who we're going to talk about today as well.

Eight descriptions found in chapter 4, verses 1 to 7, of Christ-like leaders who should be followed, prayed for, and imitated. So much so, go down to verse 16 in 1 Corinthians, this book that deals with problems in the church, and questions in the church.

In this context of spiritual leadership, verse 16, I urge you then, be imitators of me. This is not just, this is for a sermon for leaders, this is a sermon for leaders and those who would follow. If you look at verse 6, he says the same thing, essentially, in chapter 4, I've applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, so you would know.

This is good for the church. Paul writes to the church of Corinth and he says, you've been called by Christ before eternity began, God had your name and He chose you, He sent the Son to die for you, the Spirit sealed you, and in light of that, why all the trouble?

You're not living like you should. And so he corrects these problems, and we're still with the first problem of disunity, and it was the Corinthians' human evaluation of leaders that set them off on the wrong foot.

Let me give you the first description of Christ-like leadership that yields to unity, is number one, Christ-like leaders must be servants. This is, sounds weird to me already. Think of the greatest leaders in the world, that the world says are great leaders.

Go to Barnes and Nobles this week, Borders Bookstore, and say, could you please send me to the leadership section? And you'll go over to this big leadership section, and I don't think you're going to find one book on servant leadership.

I don't think you're going to find one. You're going to find books that say leadership at all costs. I have no political agenda when I say this, in general, Chicago-like politics. We don't care who you run over, you get to the top.

That's what the world says. But look at the passage, 1 Corinthians 4 .1. This is how one should regard us, as servants. Is that the first thing you think of when you think of leadership in the church?

He's tying it back to the last chapter, the last chapter where leaders should build Christ's church, faithfulness, servants. Now that is, there's a lot of different words for servants in the Bible. This is a unique one.

This is, just imagine a ship, back in the old days, there's no engines, no Everudes or some kind of Mercury engines, and then you have different tiers, and each tier is full of slaves rowing. Tier one, tier two, tier three, and the lower you get, the more scallywags you encounter.

They're usually at the very bottom, shackled, especially because they're so bad. And Paul says, when you think of leadership, here's how you should think of us. We are on the bottom tier of a big boat, rowing.

And the word for, in the Greek is, we're under rowers, we're at the very, very bottom, rowing. That's fascinating to me, under rowers, menial job, an envy job, nobody's, talking about the only somebody, Christ Jesus.

Back in chapter three, verse seven, so then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything but God who causes the growth. This is even lower than a deacon, this is lower than a table waiter.

This is the under rower of a war galley ship or a slave ship. This is somebody who says, I have no definition outside of myself, I am defined by my relationship to the master. My existence is defined by my master.

Now, already, here's what I start feeling, I can feel the pressure. All those kind of pyramid, structured leadership diagrams you see in corporate America, they're all wrong for the church. I'm up here, by the way, I'm the senior pastor, so I'm your boss.

Note to self, me, I'm your boss. I'm your under rower. Throws everything out of the window when you say, we vote, one man, one vote, one person, one vote, it's democratic, that's not how we're to look at leadership.

It immediately jettisons any kind of ambition, any kind of leader that says, I'm going to use you to get where I want to go. I need you as a stepping stone because if I really want to be the pastor of a thousand person church or 5 ,000 person church, I need you because I need stepping stones to get to the big kahuna.

That's what I need, and so I'm going to use you to get someplace. I don't know why pastors have churches that grow and then they always seem, the Lord leads them, doesn't he? He seems to just lead them in a mysterious way to bigger churches, bigger budgets, more money, higher salary, and closer to the beach.

I don't know why that is. I don't know why God never leads to dingier, grimier, third world countries. I'm led of the Lord to go to the place without electricity. That doesn't happen that often. For leaders and for you, ambition in the church, short of ambition for Christ's glory, is a heinous sin, hated by God.

Ambitious, yes, wanting to see the Lord's glory promoted and his name magnified, like today, may Christ's name be praised through baptisms. Wasn't that a good? I'm ambitious for that. I'm greedy for that.

But any kind of, look at me, here I'm going to use you to kind of get to the top, man said that kind of ambition, I mean, I couldn't write this, is a cause of madness, a secret poison, the mother of hypocrisy, the moth of holiness, the fruit of the spirit, another writer said, is not push, drive, climb, grasp, and trample.

But you know, ambition, it's just like, it's intoxicating, isn't it? Think, yeah, I'm going to get to the top wherever I am. So let's turn to Mark chapter 10 and see the real servant. I thought I can't talk about servants in the church without looking at Christ.

When you look at Christ and see him and his attitude, it's motivating. It's stimulating. It sets everything right. The I'm the boss, you're under me, it's set up right. We all vote. That's how we do things around here.

This sets that right. Ambition slays people. So you say, well, I'm not a leader, doesn't apply to me. You watch Jesus here and ask yourself, do I even consider my life a servant close to Jesus? Do I want to even be that?

Who wants to be a galley rower? When you look at Jesus this morning in Mark 10, you're going to want to. You're going to want to say, I'd do anything for that man, that God man. There's nobody like it.

Mark chapter 10, this is the best. And they were on the road going up to Jerusalem and Jesus was walking ahead of them. Mark 10, 32. We're talking about servant leadership here, incarnate. They were amazed and those who followed were afraid and talking, talking, taking the 12 again.

He began to tell them what was going to happen to them. Here they start going to Jerusalem and it's always up to Jerusalem, as you'll find out if you're going with us in February, because it's about 2500 feet above sea level.

And the old days, it would be this way. I would be a leader if I was a rabbi and I would walk places and guess who would be behind me? It'd be like the little, what do you call baby quail? Sometimes I see quail on my bike and you see the little mother quail and you see the quailettes back there.

What are those quails called? I don't know. I mean, they're funny names to things like animals who were in a kind of a herd. I know you're not hurting quail, but they just follow. They just walk right behind.

So the rabbi would be a teacher, a Jewish teacher, and he would walk and they literally would follow. And if you stopped and they weren't paying attention, you can just see the domino effect happen. And there are two groups following Jesus.

The first group were the 12 apostles. And it says, you notice the text, they were amazed. They kept on being amazed. Why? He's got his face set towards Jerusalem. You could cut the atmosphere with a knife because he is going to Jerusalem.

Eternal destiny is for Jesus to go to Jerusalem. In the past, you know, the authorities would confront and get after him and he would quietly sneak out. He would go another route. Past, you know, the authorities would confront and get after him and he would quietly sneak out.

He would go another route. His boldness, his resoluteness, he knows the danger, but he's going locked on target, a date with destiny. But there's another group. You see that in the text to those who followed were fearful.

Two different groups. Some were amazed and these are afraid, probably pilgrims, you know, adherents, and they don't understand what Jesus is going to do. And they're just afraid. Something big is going to happen.

We don't know what, but it's going to be bad. Got a bad feeling about this. Verse 33 of Mark 10. See, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be triumphant over all his enemies. Smash the Roman system down.

Hallelujah. The Messiah, the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priest and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. Similar to chapter 8. Similar to chapter 9.

Somebody is going to hand us over. A created human being who's sinful is going to hand over the creator, betray him, hand him over, deliver him. Just like the Bible says. Look at these eight future tense verbs that continue along with verse 34, and they will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him.

And after three days, he'll rise. So he'll be betrayed, condemned, delivered, mocked upon, mocked on, mocked, spit upon, flogged, executed, and then resurrected. Mark this congregation. It's always the cross before the crown.

We always want it the other way around. But it is built into the fabric of the universe and in the spiritual dimension, especially the cross always comes before the crown. It's always in that order. They didn't learn that lesson yet.

Verse 35, and James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said, oh, Jesus, don't go die. Oh, Jesus, we'll follow you wherever we go, wherever you go. Jesus, are you sure this is right? Jesus, do you think we should pray about this a little bit?

Jesus, what do you think we should do? Are you sure we're still on target? And what do they do? Jesus is going to be spit upon, mocked, killed, delivered, betrayed. And they said to him the exact opposite of spiritual leadership, that servant leadership.

Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. Glory before the cross. Crown before the cross. Now, Matthew says just before this verse, then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, bowing down and making request of him.

Jesus, you write your name on the check. We'll fill it out. You endorse it. All that death talk. I don't know what they were thinking. Maybe it's just a temporary setback. Maybe he's speaking figuratively.

Verse 36, what does he say to the ambitious, anti-servant leadership people? And he said to them, what do you want me to do for you? And they said to him, VIP seat, Jesus. Grant to us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.

Glory first. No crown ever, no cross ever. Now, I have to say something positively. The chapter before this in the Matthew account, Jesus said to them, truly, I say to you that you who have followed me in the regeneration, when the son of man will sit on his glorious throne, you also shall sit upon 12 thrones.

So they've been told after everything's been said and done, you get thrones. You get to sit on one of the 12 thrones. And now let's use mom to go up and talk a little bit. We want to make sure you get the best thrones.

They knew Jesus was the Messiah. I'll give him that too. They knew he was going to come in messianic glory. And now some of the worst news that these men could ever hear in their lives. And if you're a vain, ambitious, I've got to get to the top of whatever kind of place I'm in.

You might hear an echo of yourself and James and John, and then listen to these words. Jesus said to them, you do not know what you're asking. Particularly these men here, he says, are you able to drink the cup that I drink?

Are to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. Boys, let me remind you of God's program. You're in over your head. The way to get to the top in God's kingdom is not clutching, grabbing, striving, attacking.

The way to get to the top of God's program. Are you ready? You want to be a great leader? Want to be a great Christian? Know how you get there? You suffer. It's through suffering. And it's always through suffering.

You want glory, boys? Then you're going to get suffered. I'm afraid to pray that God would help me be less anxious. Because I know God's going to bring circumstances in my life. That it will work with me and on me to be not so anxious.

God, let me learn contentment. And then you think the second that comes out of my mouth, I could just lose everything I have. God, I want to do well for you and your kingdom. I want to matter. I want to do something that will last forever.

And the answer to that is, okay, you're going to suffer. And for these two men, do you see the figures of speech that Jesus uses? These metaphors, these analogies. And the first one is the cup. The first one is the cup.

You're going to get the cup. Are you sure you're able to drink this cup? To drink a cup back in those days meant to get your fill. You ever ran a long distance and then you think, I just need to rehydrate myself and get my fill.

That would be technically, here's the cup. But additionally, this figure of speech meant, this is a lot ordained by God. It's a symbol of something given by God. In the hand of the Lord is the cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices.

He pours it out on all the wickedness of the earth. And they drink it down to its very dregs. Judgment. The cup for the Jew is either a cup of joy. Here, have the cup. Passover cup. Or it was the cup of suffering.

Wrath. Judgment. And by the way, in the old days, in the Eastern days, if you're going to have a banquet and you were a king, you would pass the cup around. And if you got the cup from the king, you would drink the cup.

And you would be drinking the cup and you would be saying, I honor the king. I follow the king. He drank the cup and passed it. I drink it too. I'm in with the king. Jesus fell on his face, Matthew 26, and said, Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.

Yet not as I will, but as thou wilt. You boys want to get to the top? It's through suffering. And I'm going to drink the cup of God's eternal wrath. You sure you're ready? And then he gives another metaphor for suffering.

Different than our baptism today. But this is a metaphor for baptism in this context. For suffering. It's a metaphor for suffering. Baptism. Plunged into the depths of despair and suffering. Put underwater with some kind of trial.

I'm just under. I'm over my head. This happens to be with God's judgment. MacArthur says, Jesus was saying, Don't you realize by now that the way to eternal glory is not through worldly success and honor, but through suffering?

Haven't you heard what I've been teaching you about the persecuted being blessed and taking up your own crosses and following me?

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroff is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life-transforming power of God's Word through verse-by-verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

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