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May 1, 2005

 

“Leadership through the eyes of Christ”

May 1, 2005.  Pastor Matt

 

 

Intro:

2 Corinthians 5:15-17.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.  So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

 

we regard no one from a worldly point of view.

-         people either know the Lord or they do not

 

Instead of seeing people from the world's point of view, we must see them from Jesus’ point of view.  In other words, through the eyes of Jesus.

 

The question, then, becomes: How did Jesus see people?

 

 Today we are going to look at Leadership through Jesus’ eyes:

 

1 Samuel 16:1-13

 

God told Samuel to find a replacement for King Saul

Saul was being rejected by God because he disobeyed the Lord’s commands

 

1 Samuel 16

 

1.  The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."

 

6-7.  When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."  But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

 

The heart is the person’s character.  What a person does when no one is looking shows a lot about their character.. 

The only two people who really know how your relationship with the Lord is going is you and the Lord.  You can only pretend to be walking with the Lord for so long before people begin to figure out that you are walking around empty inside. 

 

When we consider somebody for leadership in the church, the first place to look is the heart. 

Regardless of the best resume in the world, if their heart is in the wrong place, then that is not the person.

Remember we are looking from God’s point of view and not the world’s.

I will pass on talent 8 days a week and pick the person whose heart is right with God

 

Why is this important?

 

Matthew 15: 18-20.  But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man `unclean.'  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.  These are what make a man `unclean';

 

Matthew 5:8.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

 

Matthew 12:34-35.  “...For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

 

Ever had a Freudian slip?

 

How do we do this?  How do we pick leadership from Jesus’ point of view?

 

Psalm 44:21.  God... knows the secrets of the heart.

 

Hebrews 4:13.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

 

First thing is that you do not look at the outside appearance.  The outside appearance is not the only thing we observe. 

 

1 Samuel 16:7.  But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him

 

We as humans are attracted to the world’s view of what a leader is but none of that impresses God

 

(God has been calling some of you to be leaders-even leaders in this church- and you have convinced yourself that you do not have leadership qualities.  But if God calls you, He sees who you are on the inside and He will equip you with everything else you will need.)

 

The second thing we must do is we must seek God’s guidance and ask Him to show us peoples’ hearts.

 

1 Samuel 16:7 (same verse) “...for I have rejected him...”

 

The key point is that God rejected him, not man.

God did not reject him for his looks. 

It is important that we listen to God and do what He says no matter what we think

If God rejects a leader, we need to listen to Him.  He knows what is best for us.

 

Remember that God sees what we can’t see in the heart

 

1 Samuel 16:8-11

 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either."  Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD chosen this one."  Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these."  So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?"   "There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep."   Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down  until he arrives."

 

God saw all of Jesse’s sons and had a specific one picked out

 

We as God’s people cannot settle for second to what God has planned. 

We can wait until God speaks because God’s way is always the better way.

 

 

All of Jesses sons had been invited to be a part of the ceremony/ the sacrifice but David was left in the field.  He was not even being considered for the job.  How little they must have thought of him!  And yet God chose the one everyone least expected.

 

If we look in the New Testament we can find another person who was called to be a leader of God’s people and who seemed like an unlikely candidate for ministry.

 

John 1:43-49

 

This is the story of Nathanael

Jesus was in the process of calling his 12 disciples. 

 

43-49.  The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."  Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.  Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

 

Jesus calls Philip and then Philip goes and tells Nathanael they had found the Savior.

 

 Look at Nathanel’s response:

46.  "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked.   "Come and see," said Philip.

 

Why did He respond this way?

 

Nazareth was in a region (county) called Galilee

The common belief was that people from that region were a substandard type of people 

These people were ethnically and religiously mixed region in which Jews were in the minority

These people lived so far from Jerusalem that they could not always make it into town for the religious festivals so they were considered not as serious about their religion.

There are not gong to be any rocket scientist/professional basketball players coming from ...

 

What does this have to do with Nathanael?

 

Guess where Nathanael was from?

Bethsaida......which is also part of Galilee

 

So, in reality, Nathaneal was asking, “Can anything good come from where I come from?”

 

He says, "Nobody who has ever amounted to anything has come from where I’m from"  Do you say the same thing about yourself?

 

Nathaneal did not think he was of value to anybody.  How could God uses a person like him?

 

Jesus’ response: 47-49.  When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."  "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.   Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."  Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."

 

Jesus saw his heart.  Jesus knew who he was on the inside.  Jesus believed in him.

 

Once Nathanael knew that Jesus believed in him, he in turn believed in Jesus and started following Him into ministry.

 

We have looked at two people that were called by God to serve Him.  Now we are going to look at ourselves. 

 

Can God use you?  Can He use me?  Is my heart in the place where He can use me?

 

Look at the second part of 2 Corinthians 5:15-17.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.  So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

 

What does it mean to be new?

-         This new creation means not new as in it adds to what we already are but actually means new in that we are new in nature. 

 

-         As a believer you are part of the new race called Christian.  Welcome to our weird world and stop trying to fit into the old world because you just are not cool their anymore

 

Can God use me? 

-         He cannot use the old you but He can use the new you.

 

-         The old you is the sinful man, the flesh, the side of you God wants to set you free from.

 

-         The old you is dead.  Dead things are useless.

 

Galatians 2:20.  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 

Remember that in 2 Corinthians 5: 15.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

 

Our life is not our own.  We live a new life for Him

 

For those of you who want to have a change of heart, I challenge you to spend time in the Word.

 

Hebrews 4:12.  For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

 

-         Spending time in the word can transform our hearts into hearts that can be used by God.

 

-         But not just spending time in the Word, but actually believe and doing what is says

 

God wants us to live for Him.  But He did not just leave us to hang out and dry.  He equipped us with a few things.

 

Maybe you think I can’t serve God because of.........

 

But you need to remember you are a new creation and God has made you new.

 

 

Ephesiqns 2:10.  For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

Same word created.  Now that we are recreated, God has great things planned for us to do if we will only let Him use us.

 

The new side of you is who you became when you decided to put your life in Jesus’ hands.

 

 

Regardless of your past, that past part of you is not you. 

 

Some of you used to be untrained bull dogs and are now tiny lap dogs. 

 

Get a hold of the concept that you are a new person.  You can walk away from the past hurts and live in the new life. 

 

You have that chance as a child of Christ except he does not want you to run away from all that you know to change, he wants you to change right were you are so those around you can see the change. 

 

You are changing from a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly. 

 

Let us see the change, lets us change with you, let us rejoice with each other over the change.

 

the gospel is best heard through those who have been broken and know that the Creator continues to bring dead things to life.

 

Maybe you don’t need to be new because you have life all figured out and like everything about yourself

 

 

Closing

I hope you can see today that God sees you differently than you see yourself.

I hope today that if God is calling you to serve him in ministry, that you will respond to that call.

We all have ministry to do and, as new creations, we all have the ability to begin serving him today.

 

Let us close in song as we thank him for seeing us through His eyes.  The altar is open for a time of response to whatever God is telling you and for prayer.