LESSON
26
Attributes of a Leader
Part 2
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.
IV. BE OF GOOD BEHAVIOUR
Psa. 101:2 I
will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within
my house with a perfect heart.
Even when David is at
home, he says he will behave himself in a perfect or right way.
I Cor.
13:5 (Love) does not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.
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How we are seen and
viewed is vitally important. It is an incorrect
statement to say people should not judge someone based upon their actions or
the way they present their lives. Our
behavior must be seen.
Matt. 5:16 Let
your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
We should live our lives
in such a way, that our lives shine before men like Christ. This will bring glory to the Father.
I Cor.
13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and
have not charity, I am become [as] sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
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If you are not walking
in love and move in the gifts, you are as a sounding brass and tinkling
cymbal. If you behave yourself unseemly,
your anointing is just a noise. It is
not received.
Phil.
Titus 3:8 [This
is] a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly,
that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good
works. These things are good and
profitable unto men.
I Pet.
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It is intended that your
behavior in private and in public be good behavior.
How we behave as
children reflects upon our parents. If
we behave badly, it does not bring a good report of our parents. If we behave well, it brings a good report on
our parents.
This is why Jesus said
let your good works shine before men that it may glorify your Father. Those who don't know God, develop their
attitude toward God by the way that you behave, good or bad. Your life should radiate the principles and
grace of Jesus.
You
are the only Bible many people will ever read.
YOUR
ACTIONS WILL ALWAYS SPEAK LOUDER THAN YOUR WORDS.
Let your life be a
testimony of Christ's redemptive power.
V. HOSPITALITY
Hospitality means to
give generous reception to strangers.
The implications are that we are to be kind and generous to all, just
like we would to our friends. We do this
because although we don't personally know all, Christ does, and He died for
them. Therefore we must reach out as Christ's ambassadors, to bring warmth and
acceptance even to strangers.
A leader must be given
to hospitality. Those that think they
are anointed, but will not lend a hand to help someone, proves their spiritual
immaturity. Don't isolate yourself to
where you won't help others.
Those that walk in a
"hyper spiritual plain" and don't make themselves available to
helping others are not walking according to a leader.
Rom.
Titus 1:8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
I Pet. 4:9 Use hospitality one to another without
grudging.
Heb. 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
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God will test you on
your hospitality. Treat people and honor
people in the same way you would treat and honor someone you highly
respect.
3 John 1:5 Beloved,
thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and
to strangers.
KINDNESS AND MERCY ARE TESTIMONIES OF
CHRIST'S REALITY.
Any "hyper
spirituality" of not relating to others is immaturity, instability, pride
and in violation to the Word of God.
Warmly receive strangers
with kindness and mercy and you will share the love of Christ. No one is so spiritual that they can't be
hospitable.
Learn how to treat and
honor people and they will respond to your words. Be hospitable to everyone in your church,
especially your pastors and leaders.
VI. APT TO TEACH
The phrase “apt to
teach” means a leader must have an ability and a tendency to teach the Word of
God. A leader will always teach the Word
and it's principles at every opportunity.
The ability to teach
comes over a period of time. It can be
developed. The tendency to teach must be
birthed on the inside of you.
Ex.
Ex.
Deut.
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Job 27:11 I
will teach you by the hand of God: [that] which [is] with the
Almighty will I not conceal.
Psa. 34:11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach
you the fear of the LORD.
Psa. 51:13 [Then] will I teach transgressors thy ways;
and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Matt. 28:19 Go
ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
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Acts
I Cor.
4:17 For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord,
who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I
teach every where in every church.
I Tim.
II Tim.
Heb. 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be
teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which [be] the first principles
of the oracles of God; and
are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
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IT IS ONE THING TO PREACH AT PEOPLE, IT IS
ANOTHER TO TEACH THE WAYS OF THE LORD.
All leaders have to be
inclined to teach.
METHODS
OF TEACHING CAN BE LEARNED, THE HEART OF A TEACHER MUST BE BIRTHED.
If you feel inadequate
to teach remember the following verse.
Luke
God will speak to you
and through you. He will give you the
ability to teach.
VII. NOT GIVEN TO WINE
Rom.
There is no place in the
Bible that flat out forbids you to have a drink of wine. If you're under 21 it is illegal to drink,
therefore until you're 21 you cannot drink scripturally. In this context, you must obey the laws of
the land.
The Bible forbids us to
become intoxicated or drunk. In
Drunk is a realm where
you are being affected by the influence of alcohol. Alcohol affects your ability to resist
temptation and causes you to lower your guard.
If you get enough alcohol in your system, there are things you will do,
that you normally would not. Many people
fall into sexual sin as a result of having a couple of drinks.
Drinking may be lawful,
but is it profitable and expedient?
Eph. 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.
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When we come across
areas such as this where there is no biblical command, we must then revert to a
scriptural test to see if this particular activity is proper.
I have chosen to list a
series of things, in no particular order, that you should use to test all such
questions of conduct.
1)
MOTIVE TEST
Why do you want to do
this activity?
Sometimes Christians use
their freedom in Christ as a licence to live on the
edge, to get away with as much as possible.
Are you doing this activity to keep some relationship with the
world?
Other times, the true
reason for holding onto questionable activities, is a manifestation of cleverly disguised
rebellion that is still in your heart. So
check your motive.
Even though the act may
be lawful, if you have a wrong motive, it is wrong for you.
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2)
PROFITABILITY
I Cor.
Does the activity profit
you at all? Will it have any benefit to
your spiritual life? Does it build you up, or does it cause you to doubt
yourself?
If the activity has no
spiritual profitability it doesn't necessarily mean it’s wrong, but it does
mean you should look into it further through some of the other tests.
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3)
STUMBLING BLOCKS
Rom.
I Cor.
Does this activity cause
someone else to stumble? Will it hurt or
damage the faith of someone else? If so,
it is probably something you should avoid for the sake of your brother and the
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4) APPEARANCE OF EVIL/COMPROMISED TESTIMONY
Rom.
I Thes.
Your life is viewed by
the world as a living testimony. Does
this activity send a message of absolute surrender to Christ? Some of these standards are dictated by the
particular culture that you're in. How
will men speak of you based upon this activity?
Remember this test does
not apply to outright biblical commands, those we do no matter what men say. We
must be people of good reputation, (we will deal with that later in our study).
If you will use these 4
basic tests, many of those grey areas will be cleared up.
The verse we are dealing
with here, is that leaders should not be given to much wine. That is quite self explanatory. For questions concerning social drinking just
simply apply the test and see what you get.
In Review:
1. What
in your life brings glory to the Father?
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2. When
is your anointing not received?
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3. What
speaks louder than words?
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4.
Define hospitality.
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5. God
is no respecter of persons. Are
you? ___________ Give an example in the Bible where God
instructed His people to avoid showing favoritism.
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6. Make
plans this week to do something special for someone you do not know very
well.
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7.
Explain the phrase apt to teach.
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8. What
are you doing to fulfilling the Great Commission by TEACHING all
nations?
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9. Do
you preach or teach to those around you?
Who has God placed on your heart to teach the Word of God to? Are you?
Why or why not?
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10. Who
gives you the ability to teach?
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10. Regarding
wine (alcohol), what does the Bible forbid?
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11. At
what point, does one know he is drunk? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
12. How
does alcohol affect someone?
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13. List the four steps in judging questionable areas of conduct? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________