Status Consciousness (PRINTED OUT)
July 02
Jesus was against the Pecking Order.
1. In any church: strife among members is a bad spirit
a. The fight for position
b. Power struggles
c. Jealousy
They are in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ
The Bible shows that Jesus arose from the grave as conqueror, we arose with Him
Rom 6:4,5 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection
Eph 2:5-6 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
a. We must know our status ,authority and rights in Christ-
b. Not in the church-setting
c. Then Satan will yield to us
But we see a story in the New Testament in
Luke 22:24 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. (25) And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. (26) But ye shall not be so; but he that is greatest among you , let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. (27) For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat? But I am among you as he that serveth.
2. Here we see a scene of where Jesus Himself faced death.
a. And even during the emotional Last Supper the disciples argued on who is the greatest
b. We can get so wrapped up in ourselves
c.that we cannot see what the Lord really wants us to do.
3. Even though the disciples were close to the Lord they did not really have the understanding of what the Lord had come to do.
a. Right in the shadows of the cross
b. the disciples were grasping for position
4. Our motives must be examined for doing something
a. ambition can trip us up
b. Romans 15:17-20: 17I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. 18For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, 19Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation: 21But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.
This was also before Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane (and the great spiritual warfare that He would experience)
a. Jesus was in the spirit and His disciples were in the flesh
b. We see in the Bible that Jesus went to the Garden to pray
Jesus was in such (spiritual warfare) that the angels came to minister to Him
Luke 22:43: And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. (44) And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (45) And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, (46) and said unto them, Why sleep ye? Rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation
Jesus’ words to the disciples in Luke 22:24–30 touch on this difficult issue.
The Lord often challenged the motives of His followers rather than their desires.
He realized that they wanted greatness for its own sake,
in order to lord it over others.
They sought position and power as means to personal gain,
not service to others.
There was ambition among the disciples; and it caused strife to be among them
Matt 20:25-28 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. (26) But it shall not be so among you: but, let him be your minister; (27) And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: (28) Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
a. In these vs Jesus was responding to a controversy among the disciples
b. Jesus revealed a unique style of authority—servant-leadership
. What does it mean to be a “slave” in order to become great (20:27)?
What does it mean to define leadership in terms of servant hood?
Jesus suggested that both involve seeking the highest good for others
—good as evaluated from God’s perspective.
In light of Jesus’ own example—particularly in giving up His own life as a “ransom for many” (20:28)—we can observe that servant leadership means:
• seeing ourselves as called by God to serve/lead others.
• knowing intimately the people we serve/lead.
• caring deeply about the people we serve/lead.
• being willing to sacrifice our own convenience to meet the needs of the people we serve/lead.
2 Cor 10:12: 12For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. 13But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule, which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you
In these verses he lays down three important principles that the spiritually motivated child of God will carefully consider:
(1) avoid human comparisons (v. 12);
a. Paul’s advice to esteem others above oneself
Phil. 2:3, 4. 3Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others
a. Paul was always careful to show that success was through Christ working in him and not his own ability
Rom. 15:17, 18 : 17I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. 18For I will not dare to speak of any of those things, which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,
Humility, honesty, and integrity are spiritual essentials for Christian maturity.
Greatness in His kingdom is servanthood—the opposite of the world’s view of greatness.
a. In the world you could be a great salesperson
b. Great athlete
c. Great scholar or performer
d. In Christianity the Lord tries our motives in all that we do.
1. It is not a power issue…
2. It is not that we can manipulate others or even control them
3. Jesus said the greatest is the servant
Servanthood begins in the heart.
Again, Jesus is concerned more about the attitudes in the hearts of His followers than with their works (see John 13:15–17).
15For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
Humility
Phil 2:3b: 3Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Romans 12:3 3For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
A. We must acknowledge who we are in Christ
b. Not what our status is our status is
David talks about the humble in Ps 39:4-6 4LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. 5Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. 6Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
The Psalm of Humility: Ps 131 A Song of degrees of David.
1 LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. 2Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. 3Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.
We learn from these texts that
three mottos. He wanted me to help me overcome this shortcoming.
I. The first motto is I must, "Choose to Lose".
A. I need to choose to lose to God, first and foremost.
1. I was reminded of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Luke 22: 39-46.
a. It was His words which rung out, "Not my will Lord, but your will."
b. I also remembered Phil. 2:5-7
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
c. I needed to decide to be vulnerable to God and follow the example of my mentor and leader Jesus Christ.
2. I needed to start saying, "Not my way nor the world’s way but God’s way."
B. I was also reminded that I needed to choose to lose to myself.
1. The "me first" mind set is rampant in society and has led our society to the edge of collapse. We have perversion, AIDS, unwanted pregnancies, violence, abortion, political scandal, and family breakups. The list could go on but the fact is, it is rooted in "me first" or what I call the "I" syndrome.
a. "I" syndrome has to do with statements like these:
1.) I want it now!
2.) I don’t want to hear your excuses!
3.) I deserve it!
4.) I am right!
5.) I want it done my way.
6.) I will quit if you do that!
b. Luke 14: 25-27 We have to die to self daily.
2. As leaders, we must continue to remember to choose to lose to ourselves. It means examining ourselves when we make decisions. We must ask what is my motive and remember the following passages of Scripture.
a. Phil. 2:3
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
b. James 3:16
16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
c. Prov. 18:1
18:1 An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment.
d. Psalm 119:36
36 Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
e. The Word of God clearly reveals that we are to not do anything from selfish ambition.
C. We need to choose to lose the "Image of Perfection".
1. To be a servant leader means to be genuine and vulnerable to others.
a.) Paul showed us his vulnerability by showing and writing that he makes mistakes.
1.) Romans 7:18-20
18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
b.) We must not appear to be perfect or flawless, but genuine.
c.) Paul also acknowledges this in I Cor. 2:3-5
3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
He came to Corinth in weakness and in fear.
d.) Paul showed that he does not have all the answers but that God is the source of power.
1.) Phil. 3: 12-13
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
D. Application: The decision to choose to lose to God, to self and to the image of perfection is essential in becoming a Servant Leader.
1. We must be vulnerable and obedient even to the point of death to serve God. It is also the vulnerability of being willing to open ourselves up. It means being willing to express personal needs, admitting one’s own limitations, or failures. It means having a teachable spirit, and especially being reluctant to appear the expert, the answer man, the final voice of authority. Remember the world’s view is to win at all costs.
T.S. Choosing to lose is step one, but the next motto I learned to repeat was, "No Pride".
II. The second motto is "No Pride".
A. The "No Pride" motto of Servant Leaders is rooted in humility.
1. Pride is the opposite of humility. We as Christian leaders, must continue to fight this battle. We must never think that we in our heavenly job, are superior to someone else.
a. Romans 12: 3-5
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others
b. It takes many spokes in a wheel for the tire to be attached to the hub. Everyone of these spokes is crucial for the strength of the wheel. Since Christ is the hub of the Christian faith, all the spokes flow from Him to the tire or the world. If a spoke is missing, it creates a weakness in the wheel.
c. This illustration shows us that everyone is valuable to the structure of the Church. No one should think that they are more important than someone else.
d. We need to remember that we are in our position because of Christ.
1.) II Cor. 3:5
5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.
2. Spurgeon makes this statement about pride: " . . pride is a breach of consecration. As soon as I begin to get proud of what I do, or what I am, what am I proud of? Why there is that pride, the act of taking away from God, His glory . . . Mark this, Christian, God will never give thee (you) strength to glorify thyself (yourself) . ." (247)
B. Christ the greatest leader of all demonstrated this Servant Leader quality.
1. Remember Luke 22: 24-30; and John 13: 1-17.
a. In verse 12 of John, Jesus after washing His disciples’ feet, asks them the question: "Do you understand what I have done for you?"
b. In verse 15, He tells them I have demonstrated how I want you guys to lead my church!
c. Also, remember Phil 2:8, "He humbled Himself."
d. Hybels states, "Jesus’ perspective was shaped by a deep sense of humility. It was a humility where none was called for; Jesus, as God, clearly deserved His titles, position, and praise. But as we have seen, Jesus "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped." He wanted instead, to relate with man on an equal level. Where religious leaders of His day relished the separation between themselves and "the common people", Jesus sought to break down the barriers, even those imposed by His divine rights. Humility was at the core of His philosophy. More times than not, He used His power for the powerless, showed love to the loveless, and served those who could not possibly return the favor. With characteristic consistency, He repeatedly rejected a Pecking Order based on conditional response." (121)
1.) See Matt. 23
C. Let’s not allow ourselves to buy into the world’s motto, "Be Proud". But do what is pleasing to God.
1. I Peter 3: 3,4
3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
2. Galatians 5: 19-25
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
3. We need to practice humility as prescribed by Christ in Matt. 5:11.
a.) To the world, this statement by Christ is a contradiction. They view humility, meekness, gentleness, etc., as "Blessed are the weak for they shall become door mats!", not to inherit the earth. They honestly believe that a leader is one who dominates, controls, manipulates, etc., another person by power not humility and meekness.
b.) The beatitudes in my view, describe a servant leader who is humble.
c.) Note: Matt. 23: 11-12
11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
D. Application: Servant leaders are those who repeatedly cry, "No Pride" every day. They are leaders who practice humility. They are ones who seize every opportunity to tear down pride in the church so that it will not destroy it. It’s a leader who uses servant characteristics to lead not worldly business practices. It’s one who continually reminds himself of
Prov. 16:18
18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
With humility being modeled in leadership each individual is treated with respect and dignity. It also gives permission to each person to contribute to the ministry without being intimidated or driven away.
T.S. The third motto the Lord revealed to me was the mind set of "I will not quit!"
II. The motto of, "I will not quit!"
A. This motto needs to become our mind set in the Church.
1. Paul modeled this mind set for us in Phil. 3:13,14
13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
2. Also II Tim.l 4:7
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith
3. A recent statistic encourages me. I must have this motto!
a.) 40% of those in full time ministry today, will not be there in 3 to 5 years.
4. I believe many quit when they experience a loss.
a.) It could be a loss of friendship or a plan they wanted to see.
1.) Consider how Jesus must have felt when one of His beloved staff turned against him. But even when Judas betrayed Him, Jesus did not quit. He was able to take the hit and keep going. He was determined to press on.
2.) Quote Jones, "Nobody can keep you down unless you decide not to rise again." (125)
3.) Servant Leaders do not quit when they suffer loss of their plan or way, but press on to the victory.
4.) Jesus never cried, "This is not fair the way they are treating me, I quit!"
B. Paul was determined. Phil 3: 13-14
1. He said, "I forget what is behind."
2. He did not dwell on past events or even His past failures. He repented, forgave Himself and moved on.
3. He took Deut. 6:5 to heart.
4. Notice Paul never allowed grudges to control Him. He preached love to those who persecuted Him. Phil 3:13-14.
5. He never got mad at God for the trials, but just pressed on to spread the Gospel. Acts 15: 36-41.
6. Paul wrote, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." (II Tim. 4:7-8)
C. It is important that we as Servant Leaders finish well. Not just start well, but finish well.
1. John Wesley spoke a lot about finishing well. We need to finish well and not quit!
D. Application: We as Servant Leaders must set our focus on Christ. We must mentally tell ourselves not to quit. We must remember that 40% of those in full time ministry today, will resign in 3 to 5 years. Why? Because they did not prepare themselves with the mind set, "I will not quit". I will make mistakes, have problems, but I will press on to the goal.
Conclusion:
Remember the mottos:
1. I choose to lose.
2. No Pride.
3. I will not quit.
