FRUSTRATIONS OF SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP-II—Luke 9:37-45
Jesus’ frustration with unbelief was manifest in His healing of a demon possessed boy.
Spiritual Leaders face frustrations arising from unbelief.
Ministry produces frustrations for the minister.
Where do spiritual leaders encounter frustrations?
12 places where frustrations arise in spiritual leadership.
Frustration for spiritual leaders arises out of...
1. DESCENT ENCOUNTERS(:37a) From the mountain
2. SOCIAL ENCOUNTERS(:37b) Engage the public
3. ANONYMOUS ENCOUNTERS(:38a)
Unknown people
4. FORCED ENCOUNTERS(:38) Demanding people
5—Frustration for spiritual leaders arises out of
FELT NEED ENCOUNTERS(:38)
—Explanation:(:38)
:38—“And behold, a man from the multitude shouted out, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy,”
“My only boy”—Unique—Carry on the family name.
My very life is bound up in this person/event/circumstance.
—Argumentation:
Mat. 6:31-34—“Do not be anxious then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’ “For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom & His righteousness; & all these things shall be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
—Illustration:
Hospitalized/Depressed/Miserable/Felt Need is to escape/Need Encouragement & Listening ear/
Taken a major test/Worry & fret over it thinking you’ve failed/Really sought God’s power in it?
Mother or Father in nursing home/FELT NEED ENCOUNTERS
—Application:
?What are your FELT NEEDs?
?FELT NEED ENCOUNTERS leave you frustrated?
?You willing to accept the frustrations of spiritual leadership?
6—Frustration for spiritual leaders arises out of
IDENTIFICATION ENCOUNTERS(:39)
—Explanation:(:39) Sympathy/Compassion/
:39—‘& behold, a spirit seizes him, & he suddenly screams, & it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth, & as it mauls him, it scarcely leaves him.”
“Seizes”—lambanw—To take in hand; Catch, take or appropriate for one’s self.
“Screams”—krazw—‘To cry out harshly, often of inarticulate & brutish, animal-like sound’.
“Convulsion”—sparassw—To convulse, tear or rend.
“Mauls/Bruising”—suntribw—Break into pieces; Crush; Tear one’s body.
“Scarcely leaves”—mogiV from mogoV—‘to toil’—With difficulty.
The parallel in Mat. 17:15-17 tells us that the boy was designated as a “lunatic” or ‘moonstruck’ thus describing any mental illness or madness which was commonly assumed to be influenced by the moon. The word also used to describe various physical nervous convulsive disorders including epilepsy. BUT the boy’s problem was not merely physiological or mental but spiritual/demonic. Therefore his situation is far worse than any mere medical condition, & thus Jesus “rebuked him”(the boy/demon) causing it “come out of him”. Actually the demon may be exploiting & exacerbating an existing physical ailment.
—Argumentation:
Heb. 5:1-2—“For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts & sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant & misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness;”—The Church a holy priesthood!
Heb. 4:14-16—“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy & may find grace to help in time of need.”
2Cor. 1:3-4—“Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies & God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
Rom. 15:1—“Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength & not just please ourselves.”
—Illustration:
Homeless shelter/Involve myself with their plight/ IDENTIFICATION ENCOUNTERS
—Application:
?IDENTIFICATION ENCOUNTERS leave you frustrated?
?You willing to accept the frustrations of spiritual leadership?
7—Frustration for spiritual leaders arises out of
DESPERATE ENCOUNTERS(:40)
—Explanation:(:40)
:40—“And I begged Your disciples to cast it out, & they could not.”
“I begged Your disciples”—
“They could not”—
Tried every conceivable avenue...BUT have you tried giving it to God?!
—Mk. 5:25-28—“And a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, & had endured much at the hands of many physicians, & had spent all that she had & was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse, after hearing about Jesus, came up in the crowd behind Him, & touched His cloak. For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I shall get well.””
—Argumentation:
Mat. 11:28-30—“Come to Me, all who are weary & heavy-laden, & I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you, & learn from Me, for I am gentle & humble in heart; & YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy, & My load is light.””
Mat. 5:4,6—“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”....“Blessed are those who hunger & thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
—Illustration:
Football/Tampa Bay/#94 ran ball in for touchdown/BUT #94 was offsides!—So Desperate for the touchdown that he forfeited it!/DESPERATE ENCOUNTERS
—Application:
Spend all their time on the human solution to the problem...
...But then they face it every hour too!
?DESPERATE ENCOUNTERS leave you frustrated?
This must not end in frustration but it can.
?You willing to accept the frustrations of spiritual leadership?
8—Frustration for spiritual leaders arises out of
DISAPPOINTMENT/CONDITIONED ENCOUNTERS(:40)
—Explanation:(:40)
:40—“And I begged Your disciples to cast it out, & they could not.”
“They could not”—
Lk. 9:1—“And He called the twelve together, & gave them power & authority over all the demons, & to heal diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God, & to perform healing.”
Mat. 17:19-21—“Then the disciples came to Jesus privately & said, “Why could we not cast it out?” And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ & it shall move; & nothing shall be impossible to you. [“But this kind does not go out except by prayer & fasting.”]”
Mk. 9:28-29—“And when He had come into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.””
Who/What suffers when the church fails?—The church & the populace. The lost are Conditioned to think that there is no power in Christ Himself, seeing only the flesh unsurrendered to the Spirit. Thus Christianity can appear to be a mere ‘religion’.
—Argumentation:
1Cor. 4:18-20—“Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, & I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power.”
2Tim. 3:2-5—“For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; & avoid such men as these.”
Mat. 23:27—“Woe to you, scribes & Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones & all uncleanness.”—Religious trend-setters
Isa. 29:13-14—“Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the discernment of their discerning men shall be concealed.”
Rom. 2:23-24—“You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.”
Ezek. 36:20-23—“When they[Israel] came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD; yet they have come out of His land.’ “But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went. “Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,” It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. “And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.”
Tit. 2:11-14—“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness & worldly desires & to live sensibly, righteously & godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope & the appearing of the glory of our great God & Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed & purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
—Illustration:
Community disappointed with the Church/No power of God is evident/Social Club atmosphere/We must take on responsibilities of not discrediting Christ/ DISAPPOINTMENT ENCOUNTERS
How do we[‘the Church’] conduct business?
—Application:
?DISAPPOINTMENT ENCOUNTERS leave you frustrated?
?You willing to accept the frustrations of spiritual leadership?
—CONCLUSION—
Action:
Frustration for spiritual leaders arises out of...
FELT NEED Encounters(:38)
IDENTIFICATION Encounters(:39)
DESPERATE Encounters(:40)
DISAPPOINTMENT/Conditioned Encounters(:40)
DESCENT ENCOUNTERS(:37a) From the mountain
SOCIAL ENCOUNTERS(:37b) Public engagement
ANONYMOUS ENCOUNTERS(:38a) Unknown people
FORCED ENCOUNTERS(:38) Demands of giftedness
Presented 12/08/02pm to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 39897
