LESSON
25
Attributes of a Leader
All of us are called to
be a leader. We are called to grow
spiritually to that of an elder. We are
all called to a spiritual plain of maturity so that we can teach others and
bring them into maturity. This is the
primary role of an elder. The primary
role of a deacon is to serve and meet the natural needs of others.
The Attributes Of A Leader is for you to apply to your own life. Do not use this teaching as a judge to those
in leadership above you.
The anointing of God
without character will always lead to self-destruction. If you are going to be in leadership, these
are the characteristics (not gifts) that you must have. If your character is acceptable before God,
then He can trust you with the gifts.
I Tim. 3:2-7,10 A
bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant,
sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt
to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy
lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in
subjection with all gravity; (For if a
man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of
God?) Not a novice, lest
being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover
he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he
fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
And let these also
first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being
[found] blameless.
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From the above
scriptures we are going to study 16 key attributes and qualifications of
leaders.
I. BLAMELESS
A bishop (or one that is
in leadership) must be blameless. In
other words, he must be a person who lives his life in such a way that it will not
bring blame or accusation upon his life.
We are not speaking of false accusations. Persecution does happen. The leader must live his life in such a way
that it would not bring reproach on his own life.
Rom.
If you're going to be a
mature leader, you must stop thinking selfishly in regards to your own
spiritual walk. Most of us look at our
spiritual walk and do those things according to the Word by our own
convictions, instead of taking into consideration how it would effect others.
You must be one who is
willing to live your life in such a way, that when people look at you, they
think of you as a man or woman of God with character and integrity.
I Thes.
II Pet.
Phil. 2:14-15 Do
all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the
midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the
world;
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This means that if we
are asked to do something for the Lord, we must not complain or dispute the
issue, so that we may walk blameless.
Eph. 5:27 That He might present it to Himself a glorious church,
not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without
blemish.
Eph. 1:4 According as He hath chosen us in Him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love:
Col. 1:22 In the body of His flesh through death, to present you
holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight:
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We all have our
shortcomings or faults. A leader takes
the time to examine his life and adjusts those areas in his life that are not
pleasing to the Lord and those areas that would cause reproach to come from
without.
II. VIGILANT
The Websters
dictionary definition of vigilant is as follows: watchful, alert,
circumspect. In other
words, a person who is watchful on all sides.
We must always keep
watch of our lives, our actions, our thoughts and what is going on around
us. Jesus warned us to always keep a
watch. Be on the alert.
I Pet. 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh
about, seeking whom he may devour.
A leader is one who
watches and is aware of what is going on around him in the natural and
spiritual realms.
It's amazing how most of
us in our Christian walk live our lives so loosely. We don't watch our thoughts, actions and the
things that are going on around us. The
devil can bring an attack, simply because we aren't watchful.
Matt. 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Beware of the seasons
and times of the spirit.
Matt. 26:41 Watch
and pray, that ye enter
not into temptation: the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.
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In a very practical
sense, many times as Christians we will go to a movie or accept an invitation
to a party and we do not go with our guards up.
We end up allowing ourselves to be influenced and affected by wrong
spirits, wrong ways of thinking , wrong philosophies
and wrong principles. We don't even
realize what we have done, because we have failed to be watchful.
The implication is that
if we are not watching we are very easily subject to temptation, and falling
into temptation. The reason many of us
struggle in our Christian walk is because we are not aggressively looking out
for what the devil is planning for us, in our thought life, and in keeping our
actions in check in every aspect of our lives.
Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these
things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of
If you are to escape the
coming destruction upon the world, you must be watchful and alert in regards to
the signs of the times. We must walk in prayer, that we may be accounted worthy to escape.
The devil is not
dumb. If the devil was so dumb, he would
not have the world so duped and deceived.
The Bible says that he is cunning, crafty and the father of all
sin. The devil is not dumb, but he be
overcome.
1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them:
because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.
There will be multitudes
of those who go to church that will not end up in the rapture, or with the Lord
Jesus Christ, because they are not watchful in their Christian walk. They will be deceived by the endtime delusion that is coming upon the world. They will be trapped into it, because they
were not watching and praying and being cautious in their lives.
Acts 20:31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I
ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
Col. 4:2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the
same with thanksgiving;
II Tim. 4:5 But watch
thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist,
make full proof of thy ministry.
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The implication is also
that you stay ready for the second coming of Christ.
A leader must stay
constantly alert of his spiritual condition.
He must give no place for the devil to gain a stronghold.
Eph.
Many Christians are not
vigilant in their mouth. They do not
watch what they speak. They don't watch
the kind of jokes that they entertain with.
Eph. 5:3-4 But
fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named
among you, as becometh saints; neither
filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient:
but rather giving of thanks.
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This means unprofitable
joking or jokes with sexual connotations.
Foolish jesting means to just be silly.
It means one who is trying to make a joke of everything. If you look at a person's life who is always being silly you will find that they are not a
person who is watchful in what they do.
They will involve themselves in questionable areas of activity. However, there is a place for joking.
Prov.
Be alert to the jokes
that you engage in. Remember to keep
watch over your thoughts, actions and watch for the traps laid by the devil.
III. SOBER
I Thes.
5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as
[do] others; but let us watch and be
sober.
The
definition of sober means to be moderate as to opinion or passion; to be clear
and level-minded. A leader is not to be given to extremes, but in
all things is to be moderate. Extremes
are a sign of immaturity and instability.
Most churches are split
over some form of doctrine. Someone in
the church got a hold of a doctrine with such an extreme passion, without any
regard to how it would affect the lives of others and caused a split in their
church.
If you're going to be in
discipleship, you must endure the pain of discipleship.
A person who dresses
according to the extremes of our society has violated the principle of being
sober.
1 Tim. 2:9-10 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in
modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not
with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly
array; but (which becometh women professing
godliness) with good works.
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We are not to be given
to extremes, because it gives a place for the devil to attack your life. If you are extreme in doctrine, you are placing
preeminence on one doctrine or one biblical truth over all other truths, to the
exclusion of other doctrines or truths.
All things are lawful,
but not all things are expedient. There are
things that are lawful by rules of scripture, but they are not profitable. As a mature Christian we must be one that is
sober.
I Pet. 4:7 But the end of all things is
at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
I Thes. 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober,
putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of
salvation.
Titus 2:6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
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This young generation
has a tendency to be extreme in their passions and opinions. The Bible requires even the young men and
women to be sober. We are trying to grow
up to the full measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
BALANCE IS THE KEY TO LIFE.
Live your life in
balance. Don't be subject to extremes.
The Bible is to be our judge of balanced truth, not the world. Let the Word be our guide.
ALL TRUTHS ARE BALANCED BY THE INCLUSION OF
ALL TRUTH.
In Review:
1. What
is the primary role of an elder? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A
deacon?
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2. What
scripture reference do the 16 attributes of a leader come from?
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3.
Explain what is meant by being blameless.
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4.
Define sober.
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5.
Complete this sentence. Extremes
are a sign of _________________ and ____________________.
6.
Before you do something or say something, do you take in to
consideration how it would effect others?
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7. When
you are asked to do something, do you do it without murmuring and
complaining? _________________________________
If not, how can you look at it differently in
order to change your attitude?
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8.
Define vigilant.
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9. How
does the Bible describe the devil? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
10. Are
you constantly alert of your spiritual condition? How often are you aware of the second coming
of Christ?
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11. What kind of joking does the Bible forbid?
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12. What
is the key to life?
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