LESSON
28
Attributes of a Leader
Part 4
2 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.
XIII. RULETH WELL HIS OWN HOUSE
God places our
responsibilities in the family second only to our responsibilities in our covenant
with Him. God establishes the priority
of the family above your job, above your ministry, above your anointing. Too many ministers have forsaken their
families for the sake of their ministry.
1Tim. 5:8 But
if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he
hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
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You must take your proper role in your family to be a qualified leader.
THE
FAMILY UNIT IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH.
Without a strong family
unit you will never have a strong church.
Therefore a leader must be an example by having a strong family
unit. He must raise up his family in the
fear of the Lord. If you don't major on
your family, you are disqualified for leadership.
Eph. 6:4 And,
ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord.
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XIV. NOT A NOVICE
If you'll refer back to
the study on developing character, you will see the failings of putting a
novice into leadership. Saul was
anointed powerfully by God, but he was a novice and was not prepared to handle
the anointing or position.
The Bible warns us to
not put a novice into leadership, lest he be lifted up with pride. If a novice is lifted up in leadership too
quickly, he will almost always be filled with pride and he will fall into the
condemnation (not the temptation) of the devil.
Prov.
I Pet. 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He
may exalt you in due time.
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When a novice gets into
a place of leadership too early, usually he is not able in his maturity level
to handle authority over others and he begins to abuse that authority and take
the right of authority that he doesn't have.
A novice rarely understands the boundaries of authority.
In the study on
character we discussed that character takes time to build. So don't be in a rush; be PATIENT. The young in the Lord, if they are promoted
too fast, are prone to great failures.
In society and much of
the Christian community, we are more attracted to gift and talent rather than
character. A novice will self destruct
if correction does not take place.
The higher the position
of leadership, the greater the demand that is put on them to be spiritually
mature.
XV. GOOD REPORT OF THEM WITHOUT
A leader must be one
with a spotless reputation. How do
people talk about you? You must be known
for your good works. You can be the most
anointed individual on the earth, but if your poor reputation hinders people
from receiving your ministry, your anointing won't do anybody any good.
PEOPLE'S
FAITH IS RELEASED TO RECEIVE ONLY IF THEY ACCEPT YOU AS A SERVANT OF GOD.
Mark 6:5-6 And
He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands
upon a few sick folk, and healed [them].
And He marvelled because of their unbelief.
And He went round about the villages, teaching.
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In Jesus' home town they
wouldn't accept Him as a prophet of God and because of their unbelief He was
unable to perform many miracles.
Although Jesus' lifestyle was beyond reproach there were those who would
never accept Him as a servant of God, let alone the Son of God.
There will be people in
your life that will never accept the work God has done in you, but your
lifestyle should put their accusations to shame.
We must be very
conscious of our actions, because how we act influences how people receive from
us. They will know your heart by your
actions. Your actions prove what is in
your heart.
Everything you do in
life, must be done to create the most conducive atmosphere for people to
receive what you have to say.
The way you present
yourself, dress, talk, act, will speak of your character.
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.
Titus 2:7 In
all things showing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine
[showing] uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
I Pet.
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Below I list several
areas where your good works should be shown before the world; so that the
unsaved will see the Godly characteristics in you.
1) YOUR
CONVERSATION
Phil.
I Tim.
Prov.
Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupt speech proceed out of
your mouth, but such as is
good for edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear.
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The spirit of the world
says, "It doesn't matter how I live.
It doesn't matter how I look or how I speak. People must judge me by my heart." The Bible says that they will know your heart
by what you speak.
Matt.
A good tree cannot
produce bad fruit.
2) YOUR JOB PERFORMANCE
Eph. 6:5-7 Servants, be obedient to them that are
[your] masters according
to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto
Christ; Not with eyeservice,
as men pleasure; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the
heart; With good will doing service,
as to the Lord, and not to men.
Work as though Jesus
Christ was the one standing over you. Do
your work as unto the Lord. This means
that you don't take extra long breaks; you don't come in late and try to get
paid for full hours. Don't be lazy and
slothful.
I Tim. 6:1 Let
as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of
all honour, that the name of God and [his] doctrine
be not blasphemed.
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You dishonor God's name
when you say that you are a Christian and work like a slothful sluggard.
Titus 2:9-10 [Exhort]
servants to be obedient unto their own masters, [and] to please [them]
well in all [things]; not answering again;
Not purloining, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn
the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
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If we were to work as
hard as we are suppose to, businesses would want to hire Christians before
anyone else. We need to live in such a
way that they will adore the doctrine of God as a result of our work habits.
3)
IN LOVE AND CHARITY
Matt. 5:43-46 Ye
have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love
thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them
which despitefully use you, and persecute you; For if ye love them
which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?
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Love those that hate you
and talk bad about you. Don't talk bad
about them or get mad at them, but love them.
REMEMBER...
IT'S NOT WHO YOU SAY YOU ARE, IT'S WHO MEN
SAY YOU ARE.
Matt.
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XVI. LET THESE ALSO FIRST BE
PROVED
Every leader must be
tested and proved over time to see what is really inside of them. There are many character flaws that a good
personality can hide. Only time and
close observation can see some of these flaws.
Also, when a person is
proved, it establishes a sense of respect among those they work with. Remember this statement...
QUICK EXALTATION ALMOST ALWAYS LEADS TO SELF
DESTRUCTION.
Deut. 8:2 And
thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy
God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, [and] to
prove thee, to know what [was] in thine
heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments,
or not.
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God will test you and
prove you over time. Everyone that moves
into leadership must be proved. Don't despise
being proved, tested or watched.
In Review:
1. What
place of priority does family have in your life? What place should it have?
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2. What is
the foundation of the church?
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3. Name
some tendencies of a novice?
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4. What
usually happens when a novice is put into leadership too quickly? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Do
you judge yourself or others as leaders according to their gifts and talents or
based upon character?
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6. Do
people accept you as a servant of God?
If not, what do you think hinders them from receiving you as a servant
of God? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. List
several areas where your good works should reflect the character of God in your
life to the world.
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8. What
often hides character flaws? __________________________________________________________________
9.
Complete this sentence. Quick
_________________ almost always leads to self ___________________.
10. Have
you been despising being proved or tested?
Why or why not?
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