1 Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
Sometimes leaders lose sight of serving. We are stewards, not owners. A steward is someone who manages the property and affairs of another. As servant/leaders, we don't own God's people and resources. We are stewards of the "mysteries of God" which means that we understand and fulfill the purposes of God as revealed in His Word. A mystery is not something hidden, but something revealed to people who have "ears to hear."
Jesus spoke in parables to sift out those who came for the "show" from those who really wanted to serve and follow Him. Everyone listens, but not many truly "hear." Those who wanted to hear stayed around after the crowd stopped listening, They asked for understanding.
Being an effective leader begins with being an effective servant.
Servants Seek to:
- Follow the example of Jesus in life and practice (John 12:26, Heb. 12: 28)
- Serve others as unto the Lord and in seeking to please Him (Gal. 1:10, Eph 6:5-7, Col. 3:22-23, Tit. 2:9-10. 1 Pet. 2:17-19)
- Let others evaluate their progress (Prov. 27:2, 1 Tim. 3:10, 12)
- Maintain a pure heart and attitude toward their leaders and all others (not judgmental)
- Resist the temptation to advance themselves
- Accept the consequences of their decisions and do not blame others for shortcomings (Like David and the Prodigal Son)
- Follow instructions and are prompt to fulfil responsibilities (Matt. 24: 44-49) Some people only work when you watch them.
- Work to remove instability from their lives born of doubt, unbelief, distrust and unforgiveness (Eph. 4:32, Jam. 1:6-8)
- Communicate clearly and sincerely with others (1 Cor. 5:8)
- Highly esteem their leaders and follow their godly example (1 Thess. 5: 3, 1 Tim 6:1)
- Place the interests of the Christ’s church over their person interests (Phil. 2:3)
- Promote the purpose and vision of God, not themselves (2 Cor. 4:5)
Psalm 126:1 (NLT) A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. When the LORD restored his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! 2 We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, "What amazing things the LORD has done for them." 3 Yes, the LORD has done amazing things for us! What joy! 4 Restore our fortunes, LORD, as streams renew the desert. 5 Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. 6 They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.
With all the challenges the people of Israel faced, there were times when they could rejoice in God's deliverance. This Psalm is called "A song for the ascent to Jerusalem." Note the word "ascent." To ascend is to go up. Returning from exile to Jerusalem felt like going UP after having experienced a season of going DOWN.
Because of Jesus, we can rejoice that we have ascended to a new life that is being renewed day by day. Today and everyday, we can rejoice, singing songs of joy, and enjoy laughter, all the while letting our light shine so others can see that we have been blessed by a mighty and loving God.
We may experience difficult seasons even while we are trusting in God. These seasons may produce tears, but our tears show our trust and devotion in God as we continue to plant seeds of faith.
Such faith and faithfulness never goes unrewarded. Harvest always follows seedtime. Our God is faithful and he keeps all his promises!
God's streams bring renewal to your desert-like places!
1 Peter 1:13, Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance.
Your loins is the pelvic region of your body. In ancient times “girding the loins” meant to gather up long garments and tighten them up around your hips and waist so that you could run, do battle, or do something productive.
Have you ever seen a young trying to run with his pants sagging? Have you ever had the experience of getting some loose garment caught on something? This shows the importance of girding your loins.
To “gird up the loins of your mind” is to put your mind and thinking in a position to be useful to the Spirit of God, and not to your flesh. To be sober is to take a serious attitude. Resting upon the grace of God means to rely upon the power of God so that we can live in obedience to Him and avoid the condition of reverting back to our old ways.
A renewed mind is a terrible thing to waste.
James 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
James lays out practical steps for "saving" our souls, (the mind, will, and emotions):
- Lay aside filthiness and wickedness. Can a Christian act wickedly? Unfortunately, yes. In New Testament Greek, filthiness is defined as, "defile, dishonor." Wickeness is defined as: “malice, ill-will, not ashamed to break rules.” There can be no advance when unconfessed sin is present.
- Receive the implanted Word with meekness. The implanted Word is the word that is placed in you by God and others. It’s like the vegetables your mother made you eat, when you would have preferred to eat cake and pies. We wanted candy, but needed good nutrition. Pastors and spiritual leaders must implant the Word. Sometimes folk just want to have church, but God wants the Word implanted. You need meekness when the word being implanted rubs you the wrong way.
- The result of the implanted Word is the saving, or restoring and renewal of the soul. Your soul is your mind, will and emotions. How you think, how you choose, and how you feel, all need to be “saved” in the sense of becoming more Christlike.
James 1:23-24 describes the problem with believers who do not renew their minds. Seeing the condition, but not acting to change it.
James 1:25 describes believers who practice renewing of their minds. Such persons are hearers and doers of the Word and the "work" of the Lord.
Psalm 119:10, I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 12 Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees
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Lasting motivations come from the Spirit of God. We need to hide God’s words in our hearts.
Definition of motivation: A desire to achieve a goal, combined with the energy to work towards that goal.
Motivation is the characteristic that is required in order to achieve anything in life. Without it you will give up at the first sign of adversity. The purpose of motivation is to inspire, instigate and encourage a person to do their best.
There is positive and negative motivation. Positive motivation includes enjoyment and optimism with the tasks that you are involved in. Negative motivation involves undertaking tasks because there will be undesirable outcomes if tasks are not completed.
In today’s world, we experience too much negative motivation. People act only to avoid greater pain. There is no joy in this. Negative motivation is drudgery, which is exhausting, boring, unpleasant work.
Godly motivation produces joy along with consistent, positive actions.
“A vision without a task is but a dream, a task without a vision is drudgery, a vision and a task is the hope of the world.” (From a Church in Sussex, England c.1730.)
