PREACHED: OL,
“LEADERSHIP SELF-ANALYSIS”
INTRODUCTION:
j M.C. Rice…article… “Self-Examination”
A. “We should examine ourselves: It will lead
to humility, to repentance, to greater faith, a right state of obedience to the
Master, and a greater spiritual enjoyment. These are all elements we need to
cultivate and to strengthen. We need to frequently take stock of ourselves.”
k Self-examination—A
great Biblical theme:
A. Psa 26:2. “Prove me, O Lord, and try
me; test my heart and my mind…”
I Cor
II
Cor 13:5. “Examine yourselves to see whether you are
in the faith. Test yourselves…”
Gal 6:4. “…let each one test his own work…”
B. Self-examination
can be a painful process -
1. May see things that we need to change…
2. But
it is only through the process of scrutinizing both our weaknesses and
strengths that we can grow!
“One
day I looked at myself,
The self that Christ could see;
I saw the person I am today,
And the one I ought to be.
I saw how little I really pray,
How little I really do;
I saw the influence of my life,
How little of it was true!
I saw the bundle of faults
and fears,
I ought to law on the shelf;
I had given a little bit to God,
But I hadn’t given myself.
I came from seeing myself,
With my mind made up to be,
The sort of person that
Christ can use,
With a heart He can always see.”
l No
group in the church needs self-examination more than leadership!
A. Tonight—leadership
self-analysis
B. 10
questions -
1. Doesn’t
not exhaust the process
2.
Stimulates
our thinking
3. Promotes further thought
DISCUSSION:
u HOW MUCH TIME DO I SPEND STUDYING MY BIBLE EACH DAY?
A. Consistent
study!
B. A
deacon “must hold the mystery of the
faith…”
1. You can’t hold what you do not know!
2. In fact, the Greek word for “hold” means a “continued holding and a lasting
possession.”
3. But
they are sincere and apply what they study because they are to hold the mystery
of the faith with a “clear conscience…”
C. To
the elders in
D. Luke
described the Christians in
v DO I MAINTAIN A REGULAR PRAYER VIGIL?
A.
I Th 5:17
Acts 12:5. “Peter
was kept in prison, but earnest prayer (to strain or stretch) was made for
him.”
Acts
Acts 6:4. “But
we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word…”
1. Elders
are to be “examples” to the church, I
Peter 5:3.
a. Should
not both the elders and the deacons lead the church by example in their prayer
lives?
1) James 5:14-16. “Is anyone among you sick?
Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him… the
prayer of faith will save the one who is sick…The prayer of a righteous person
has great power as it is working…”
Ž HOW WILLING AM I TO CONFRONT SIN?
A. Confrontation
is never pleasant either in anticipation or in the event itself—BUT IT IS
NECESSARY!
1. It
is never less painful to cut a dog’s tail off an inch at a time!
B. Prime
example, Acts 14,15—Paul
and the false teachers -
1. But
we also see the elders and the apostles stepping up to the plate and
confronting the issue head-on and providing a firm, though probably, with some,
an unpopular decision based on scripture.
C. Two
questions: Gal 4:16. “Have
I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?” Gal 1:10. “Am I seeking the approval of
man or of God?”
1. Implications:
“I am willing to become
your enemy to tell you the truth, because I would rather have
God’s approval than man’s!”
a. And
that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is what is essential to confrontation!
C. Another
example…Paul confronting Peter & those who would not associate with the
Gentiles:
1. Gal
2:11-14. “When Cephas
(Peter) came to
fearing
the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along
with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I
saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all,’If you,
though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force
Gentiles to live like Jews?”
x HOW WELL DO I DEAL WITH LITTLE
THINGS?
A. Why
would I mention that?
1. Jer 12:5. “If you have raced with men
on foot and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses?”
2. Luke 16:10. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and the
one who is dishonest in a very little will be dishonest in much.”
3. Our
ability to deal with the big challenges is often determined by our willingness
to deal with the little ones!
y HOW
MUCH TIME AM I WILLING TO GIVE TO BE A LEADER?
A.
Luke
9:23
Matt4:19,
20
B. But
there is another question that may determine my use of time…
‘ ARE
THERE OTHER THINGS MORE IMPORTANT TO ME THAN THE LORD AND HIS CAUSE?
A. The Lord challenged Peter as a leader with
a question, “Simon, son of John, do you
love me more than these?” (John
21:15)
B. Matt
{ HOW
RESILENT AM I WHEN I FACE DISCOURAGE-MENT AND DEFEAT?
A. John K. Williams, the former head of the Alabama
Association for Mental Health, in an article entitled, “How Well-Adjusted Are
You?” describes the emotionally healthy person:
1. “He makes his own decisions, and then
accepts responsibility for making them. When he makes a
mistake, he acknowledge-es it. But instead of
crying over it, he resolves never to make the same error again. He profits by
his mistakes. In short, the mentally healthy person does whatever he undertakes
to the best of his ability. If the result is not perfect, he doesn’t fret but
tries to do better the next time.”
“ DO
I INTERACT WELL WITH OTHERS? DO PEOPLE FIND ME PLIABLE OR STUBBORNLY
OPINION-ATED AND ALWAYS DEMANDING MY OWN WAY?
A. I’ll
never forget a cartoon that Sue and I read and chuckled about several years
ago, “Be reasonable, do it my way.”
B. Of course, we must never
compromise truth!
1. Gal 1:8, 9. “But even if we or an angel
from heaven should preach a gospel contrary…”
V 10. For am I now seeking the approval of men or
of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were
still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
C. And
yet, Paul advocated abandonment of self-interest!
1. Phil 2:3, 4. “Do nothing from rivalry or
conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let
each of you look not only to his own interests, but
also to the interests of others.”
} THOUGH
I AM NOT PERFECT, AM I COMMITTED TO CONSISTENT, CONSCIENTIOUS PERSONAL GROWTH
AND DEVELOPMENT?
A. II Pet 3:18
~ DO I ACKNOWLEDGE MY
WEAKNESSES?
A. Great
Bible leaders recognized their weaknesses:
1.
Moses
Gideon
Isaiah
Solomon
Paul