Participants: Jill Morikone (Host), Molly Steenson, Pr. Tom Ferguson, Shelley Quinn, Pr. John Dinzey
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP000019S
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00:01 The Bible tells us
00:32 Hello, we want to welcome you to another 3ABN Sabbath School 00:36 Panel. We're so glad that you have joined us as we open up 00:39 God's word and study. My name is Jill Morikone and we want to 00:43 welcome you. We are studying, if you're just joining us for the 00:46 first time, we're studying the Adult Sabbath School Quarterly 00:50 this is put out by the Seventh Day Adventist Church. This 00:53 quarter is Feed My Sheep. We're studying the epistles of 00:56 1 and 2 Peter. We are in lesson number 7 talking about Servant 01:02 Leadership. I want to encourage you before I introduce our panel 01:06 I want to encourage you to go to the website if you do not 01:09 have a quarterly for yourself, you can download the quarterly 01:12 and you can follow along as we discuss. Now of course we'll be 01:16 sharing insights that maybe aren't necessarily in there 01:19 but we're using this quarterly as a guide. Our website is 01:22 absg.adventist.org That website once again 01:29 this is put out by the General Conference of SDA 01:32 absg that's Adult Bible Study Guide. adventist.org 01:40 I want to introduce our panel that we have here. To my left 01:44 is Pr. Tom Ferguson with the Marion District and you pastor 01:47 several churches here in Southern Illinois. It's a joy 01:50 to have you here. Brother John Dinzey, General Manager of 01:54 3ABN Latino Network and we are privileged to have you here 01:57 Great to be here by God's grace 01:59 Amen. Sister Shelley Quinn and you are Program Development 02:03 Manager and we're so glad that you are here. And Molly Steenson 02:07 who happens to be our boss, Vice President here at 3 ABN 02:10 and General Manager and each one of these men and women of 02:14 God are students of the Word and not only that they practice 02:19 what they preach. They seek to walk before God in humility of 02:22 heart and walk out that servant leadership that we are talking 02:27 about here today. Before we go any further we wanna go to the 02:30 Lord in prayer. And Bro. John would you open up in prayer 02:33 for us? Sure, let's go to the Lord in prayer. 02:36 Our loving heavenly Father, we thank you so much for the 02:40 Scriptures that are able to make us wise unto salvation 02:42 And we pray Lord that as we open the Scriptures, You will 02:46 bless us with the Holy Spirit to share that which You want 02:49 Your children to hear. We pray Lord that You will bless them 02:54 also that are joining us through out the world that they may gain 02:59 fresh inspiration from the study of Your Holy Word and we ask 03:04 You Lord for this blessing in Jesus' holy and blessed name 03:07 Amen. Amen. Our memory text is taken from 1 Peter 5, verse 7 03:14 we're gonna recite it together here from the New King James 03:17 Version of the Bible. I want to encourage you to open up your 03:20 Bibles and study along with us. Take notes as we share here 03:24 today. So we're in 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon Him 03:30 for He cares for you. Amen. We're talking today about 03:35 Servant Leadership. And leadership is a hot topic 03:38 you could say today, in today's culture there's many books 03:42 many programs out there on how to successfully lead 03:47 whether it's an organization or company, I'm thinking of 03:50 the 7 habits of highly effective leadership. Now, I'm not saying 03:55 that's not a bad book, that's not a good book. However, 04:00 today we're looking at Biblical concepts of leadership 04:03 Servant Leadership. We're gonna look at leadership in the early 04:06 Christian church, what that looked like. Leadership with 04:09 deacons and elders. Leadership as a shepherd, the overseer 04:13 as 1 Peter calls it of the flock of God. One who leads, 04:17 who protects, who sacrifices. We'll also look at the 04:20 requirements of leadership, Godly leadership, spirituality 04:24 servant leadership, humility, and how to deal with the devil 04:30 as a roaring lion. So, I'm excited about our discussion 04:34 today. On Sunday's lesson we look at elders in the early 04:38 church. And let's turn to Acts chapter 6. We're gonna start 04:41 there instead of with 1 Peter Now this passage in Acts 6 04:47 is actually discussing deacons in the early church. So this is 04:51 even before they established elders. This is deacons in the 04:54 early church. If you think about the early church. Acts chapter 1 04:58 remember there were the 12 apostles, really there were 11 05:02 and then they cast lots and found an apostle to take the 05:07 place of Judas and then they had 12. And there were 120 05:11 in that upper room when the Holy Spirit was poured out 05:15 in Acts chapter 2, Peter preached that magnificent sermon 05:18 and the church grew dramatically from 120 to 3000. If you look at 05:24 Acts chapter 4, I think there's 5000 men now in the church 05:29 and then you think women and children. So the church is 05:31 growing exponentially. But with that growth came some challenges 05:36 The need for more oversight or leadership in the church and we 05:40 see that in Acts 6:1. Pr. Tom you wanna read that? 05:43 Now in those days when the number of disciples was 05:47 multiplying there arose a complaint against the Hebrews 05:49 by the Hellenists because their widows were neglected in the 05:52 daily distribution. Now the Hebrews were the Jewish 05:56 Christians from Palestine. They spoke Aramaic or Hebrew and 06:01 or Hebrew. Now the Hellenists were Jewish Christians from 06:04 outside of Palestine and they spoke Greek. 06:09 And, it reminds me, part of my growing up years took place 06:14 we called it "An Adventist Ghetto". Now, an Adventist 06:18 Ghetto would be, we said the salt was piled behind the rock 06:22 wall. Now that's kind of like an idiom but we're to be the salt 06:25 and the light of the world and we said we hid, as it were, 06:30 behind a rock wall, meaning that it was a concentration 06:34 of believers who didn't get out and evangelize much in the 06:39 community, who kind of stayed together instead of reaching 06:42 out to the world. And to me, I don't know I didn't live back 06:45 in the time of Jerusalem but I can imagine it was maybe an 06:48 early Christian ghetto you could say, like everyone's 06:51 gathered together. So these Hellenists, these Jewish 06:54 Christians who came from outside Jerusalem, probably felt like 06:57 outsiders a little. Not like they belonged there in Jerusalem 07:02 and they had some discussions saying our widows are neglected 07:06 Now maybe they were neglected, I don't know, but they needed 07:09 some oversight so they decided to appoint some deacons. 07:13 We're gonna look at the qualifications of the deacons 07:15 who were appointed. And John you wanna read, we'll read 07:18 verses 2 through 4. 07:21 Of which chapter? Chapter 6. Then the 12 called the multitude 07:26 of the disciples unto them and said, it is not reason that we 07:30 should leave the word of God and serve tables. Wherefore 07:33 brethren, look ye out among you 7 men of honest report, full of 07:38 the Holy Ghost and wisdom who we may appoint over this business 07:43 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the 07:47 ministry of the Word. So the apostles said we're given to 07:52 the ministry of the Word. We're given to prayer. We need to 07:54 keep evangelizing and preaching we need to set some people 07:57 who can lead, who can deal with oversight, who can handle this 08:01 issue and make sure that the Greek widows are getting what 08:05 they actually need. And I see 3 qualities there. 08:09 This is in verse 3. Seek out among you 7 men of good 08:14 reputation. The word in Greek for reputation is to bear 08:18 witness or testify. Now a reputation really testifies 08:24 to the kind of person you are. You can say your reputation 08:28 precedes you. You know you hear Oh I heard about so and so and 08:32 they're a godly person. So these were people of good reputation 08:36 Quality No. 2. Full of the Holy Spirit. Meaning full, abounding 08:43 and completely occupied with the Holy Spirit. And to me 08:47 if you're filled up with the Holy Spirit there's no room 08:50 for self. There's no room for pride. There's no room for 08:54 I want to do it my way. Completely emptied. If you're 08:58 filled with the Holy Spirit, there's no room for anything 09:00 else. And the 3rd quality, and wisdom. They were men of 09:04 reputation, good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit 09:08 and wisdom. They needed wisdom to arbitrate here in the 09:12 situation, wisdom to lead, wisdom to see how to do it 09:15 Now the interesting thing is the 7 men who were chosen 09:18 I don't know if there's anything to make of this or not 09:21 all their names are Greek names. Now I don't know, it's just 09:26 interesting to me because it was the Greeks who felt like 09:29 we're not getting our fair share and the men who were chosen 09:33 were all Greek names. But we'll see, Shelley do you want to read 09:36 verses 5 and 6. Verse 5, Acts chapter 6. And the saying 09:41 pleased the whole multitude and they chose Stephen, a man full 09:45 of faith and Holy Spirit and Philip, Procorus, Nicanor 09:50 Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch whom they 09:56 set before the apostles and when they had prayed they laid hands 09:59 on them. The reason I gave you that one because I don't 10:02 wanna read all those difficult names. Ha... 10:05 You did a fabulous job. So they laid hands on them 10:12 and this follows a Biblical teaching that was in the Old 10:17 Testament. Moses laid hands on Joshua commissioning him for 10:22 office and giving him new status and authority. And in the 10:25 church today we do that when we ordain deacons, lay hands 10:29 on them establishing their commissioning for their calling 10:32 and the same with elders and they were set apart. In verse 7 10:35 the Word of God spread and the number of disciples multiplied 10:40 greatly in Jerusalem and a great many of the priests were 10:43 obedient to the faith. So as a result of this leadership 10:47 this new leadership with the deacons, the Word of God 10:50 spread. Now let's look at elders This is Acts chapter 14 10:56 Acts 14, we'll look at verses 21-23 and Molly we'll see if 11:02 you get that you wanna read that? Actually I'm so sorry 11:06 before you read that, just a little back story, verse 19 11:09 the Jews from Antioch and Iconium came and they were 11:14 opposed to Paul, they stoned him, put him out of the city 11:17 they thought that he was dead but he was not. And then the 11:21 next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. That way 11:24 we know when we get to verse 21 who they is Paul and Barnabas 11:27 Go ahead Molly. Acts 14:21-23 And when they had preached the 11:33 gospel to that city and had taught many they returned again 11:37 to Lystra and to Iconium and Antioch confirming the souls 11:41 of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith 11:45 and that we must through much tribulation enter into the 11:49 kingdom of God. And when they had foreordained them elders 11:55 in every church and had prayed with fasting, they commended 12:00 them to the Lord on whom they believed. So Paul and Barnabas 12:05 were going back to these newly established churches to 12:07 strengthen the believers. To appoint elders in every church 12:12 to carry out the oversight in the church and they prayed 12:15 with fasting and then commended them to the Lord. 12:19 In our remaining moments here I just want to look at a little 12:23 bit of the role of the elders in the early church and pastor 12:25 Tom is going to take the baton and carry it. So let's look at 12:29 just a couple verses one chapter over this, Acts 15. We know 12:33 Acts 15 there was this disagreement of roles in the 12:35 early Christian church, discussion over whether 12:38 circumcision is necessary for salvation. And they came 12:42 together to make the decision. Acts 15:6, Now the apostles 12:47 and elders came together to consider this matter. So this 12:51 shows us that elders are supposed to come together to 12:54 make decisions regarding discussions, disagreements 12:59 handling issues that arise in the church. One more verse I 13:03 wanna look at is 1 Timothy chapter 5 13:08 and verse 17. Paul's writing here to Timothy 13:15 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double 13:20 honor, especially those who labor in word and doctrine 13:23 So elders are supposed to rule over church. They're called to 13:28 labor in word and in doctrine And then Pr. Tom I think 13:33 you take us back to 1 Peter and we'll look at some more 13:36 of the role of the elders. 13:38 Yes, as you mentioned one of the things that we read several 13:43 times is the word disciple. And the first thing a leader, 13:47 a spiritual leader must be is a disciple of Jesus, Amen, 13:51 and what that really means in a holistic way. 13:54 Also, I'd like us to turn to 1 Peter chapter 5 14:03 It's interesting that God is a God of order and it is in that 14:09 order that He accomplishes the work of the church 14:11 This is the apple of His eye, with all of our flaws, but He 14:15 does establish leadership in the church for a purpose. 14:18 And if you go to 1 Peter 5:2 it says 'Shepherd the flock of 14:23 God which is among you, serving as overseers not by compulsion 14:28 but willingly. Not for dishonest gain but eagerly.' You know 14:34 after pastoring now for about 15 years, one thing I notice 14:39 how valuable an elder is. A pastor really is an elder 14:43 as well as the local church elders. So we do have a calling 14:50 that is a heavy responsibility. And in shepherding what it says 14:56 says here in the first portion of the verse, it says Willing 14:58 now really if you think about it that's willing even though 15:02 you are persecuted. One of the things about leadership and any 15:08 one who has been in a position of leadership knows this, 15:10 is that it's easy to be criticized. 15:16 Nobody can relate to this, can they? It's easy to be criticized 15:20 and I remember you know as I come into a new district 15:23 and I've been there a year or two and I would see some unrest 15:26 about an elder or maybe the elders. The people are not 15:31 satisfied and they'd been there 15-20 years faithfully serving 15:36 as an elder and I always tell them you know in the Adventist 15:39 Church occasionally a pastor comes, eventually they'll leave 15:44 but the elders are there after each time a new pastor comes 15:48 and goes. So they don't have that privilege of leaving. So 15:53 one of the things I wanna mention is be sensitive 15:56 If God has called elders in your church to lead the flock 16:00 and to be a shepherd to oversee to prepare sermons, to deliver 16:04 those sermons, to teach the word to maybe be involved with 16:08 anointing's, involved with visitation, it's so easy for 16:13 the flesh to criticize. Either I don't like that person 16:16 I don't like the way they do things. I don't like what they 16:18 are saying but that person is called of God and when they have 16:23 hands laid on them, usually rarely have I ever seen where 16:27 someone is an elder where the church isn't saying that person 16:29 needs to be an elder. They really should be an elder 16:32 It's been going on for a while That's because God is working 16:35 in and through them and they see the qualities that that 16:38 person is an elder and with someone who's chosen of God 16:41 needs our support. They need to be able to serve willingly 16:46 and realize that they will go through some persecution 16:50 in spite of their serving the Lord. Another thing is, eagerly 16:57 when I see that overseeing willingly, not for dishonest 17:01 gain but eagerly. Eagerly serving others. 17:06 A desire to serve the needs of the people that God has called 17:10 you to. Understanding that as God's under shepherd you are 17:13 you have a responsibility to meet the needs of people around 17:16 you and be willing to do that eagerly and not reluctantly 17:21 The other thing you see in that verse is being examples 17:25 You know in another lesson it was brought out that if you 17:28 read the writings of Peter, he sounds a lot like Paul 17:32 Well if you go through the New Testament you realize that Paul 17:36 was a mentor. He was an instructor. He corrected 17:40 Peter on a regular basis. And Peter arrived, he needed that 17:45 mentoring so that there he is replicating as Paul had even 17:49 said to copy him, right? As he's showing you the way 17:54 the Lord is. So you need to be an example. What you are as an 17:58 elder in a local church, you need to be replicatable. 18:03 Oh, I like that. 18:05 We must realize that's what we're called to do. We must be 18:10 servant leaders. We must be disciples of Jesus and disciples 18:14 in discipling others for the purpose of them making disciples 18:22 It is a, you know one thing when you think of the word 18:25 leader. What is a leader? In my mind there is a mission 18:31 and a vision for a church. Their hearts and minds are aligned 18:36 with that mission and that vision that God has put on the 18:38 hearts and minds of the other flock. They go first. 18:42 They take that risk. They step forward. You know as studies 18:47 are done they find that in some of these studies that one in 10 18:52 pastors are leaders. Really? Wow. Yeah. Incredible. 19:00 Often times we can get caught up in serving the needs and not 19:05 and lose our vision, where we're going. 19:08 So as a result, churches go by 5, 10, 15 years there's not much 19:13 change. And I have found too that if you're not growing 19:17 you're going. So there is that force working against the church 19:21 Could I just say something? Sure In Alaska there's a saying 19:25 that the speed of the leader is the speed of the pack and 19:28 they're referring to the dog sled. The leaders however fast 19:34 the two dogs that are up front are going is how fast the pack 19:38 will go. And that's true for a church. Yeah. 19:44 So an elder is also a spiritual parent. Now really what that 19:48 means is there are some members that maybe aren't people 19:52 that are attending that aren't born again. 19:54 They haven't experienced that. There are others that are 19:56 children in the faith. There are others that are young adults 19:58 in the faith and there are others that are actually 20:02 mature enough to look at the people and actually be moved 20:07 with compassion for the needs that they have and have a 20:09 desire to fill it. I'm always, it warms my heart when I see 20:15 an elder say, Hey you know I started a Bible Study with 20:18 so and so, is that ok? Yeah. Just moved by God to help 20:25 reach out to others. And it's also looking at how to involve 20:32 the members, as many as possible members. What happens is 20:38 often times it's 15% of the church doing 85% of the work 20:43 and spiritual leadership needs to realize God has called all 20:48 of us into the body of Christ so everyone needs to be 20:50 um part of this process in order for everyone to experience 20:54 this spiritual growth. So we need to be, you know another 20:58 thing I think of is we need to be training others to replace us 21:05 Train others to replace us. I think that really is a big part 21:10 of being an elder, being a spiritual leader. Encouraging 21:13 other things to grow. An elder should be a soul winner. 21:20 I think that often times if we are elders in a church we need 21:26 to ask ourselves how long has it been since I have won a soul 21:28 or do I even know how to lead someone to Christ? 21:33 And there are a lot of our members that have never 21:35 experienced that for themselves. And a good elder will actually 21:40 not only be doing that but also be yoking up with others and 21:43 teaching them how to do it. It is a big part of it. 21:47 A good elder must be growing in knowledge and effectiveness 21:56 I've seen people that had been deacons which I think is a 22:00 wonderful training ground for elders, and I watched them 22:05 stumble through sermons, I watched them try to come out 22:09 of that shell they're in and then 10 years later they're 22:12 the head elder of the church. And I watched the Lord do this 22:15 over and over again. Because they're willing to grow in their 22:19 knowledge and in their effectiveness 22:23 as a result. You know the church is a place where there's a lot 22:28 of sheep and like sheep we go astray. And an elder is someone 22:35 who, my mind just went to the different types of soil 22:39 an elder should be someone who is in that rich soil, that is 22:44 the one that goes through the hard times, the refining times 22:47 and others are watching them closely and they're seeing them 22:50 hang on in faith and that is encouraging to everyone else. 22:54 Also, what does the good Shepherd do? 22:59 They lead the sheep to the rich food of His word. 23:04 And they lead the sheep to fresh water. 23:09 A place where they can get refreshed. In other words, 23:12 the presence of the Holy Spirit when the church comes together 23:15 it's the leadership that really needs to be filled to 23:18 overflowing with the presence of God so that they can lead 23:21 worship. Nothing is worse than coming together and going 23:26 through the rote things and not experiencing worship. And I 23:30 think there are too many churches that are dying because 23:35 that is really the crux of the matter I think right there. 23:40 We also, they need to be washed and cleansed by a fresh 23:45 anointing of the Spirit. A good shepherd looks for the lost 23:48 sheep. I don't know how long it's been since we looked 23:55 maybe at our church's list. We have a certain number of 23:57 people that are on the books but how many are actually 24:00 worshipping with us. How many that have drifted away have been 24:04 reached out to, in the last year, in the last 5 years? 24:10 A spiritual leader, a servant leader, an elder is someone who 24:15 looks for the lost sheep as under shepherds for Christ 24:18 Wonderful, that's precious. 24:20 A good elder is an agent for binding the wounds. 24:26 You know there are a lot of wounds that occur in a church 24:30 and a good elder is sensitive to that, and works toward 24:34 the healing process. Amen. What a wonderful list of 24:37 qualities. One of my favorites that you mentioned was willing 24:41 to grow, and that's a beautiful trait. Bro. John, you have 24:45 Servant Leadership. Yes. Servant Leadership, when we 24:49 look at this, it almost sounds like there is a contradiction 24:54 You're either a servant or you are a leader some people think 24:56 But this is what a Christian leader is to be, a servant 25:01 of the others. I remember several years ago at 3ABN 25:05 when it was suggested some restructuring, and because 25:11 of the nature of 3ABN as a family they said these are 25:15 servant leaders that we have identified among you. And it 25:19 was very, very interesting to bring that concept before the 25:23 3ABN family. I'd like to ask one of you to read 1 Peter 5:3 25:32 to get us moving in the servant leadership. 25:36 Does someone have that can read that? 25:40 Not as being lords over these entrusted to you but being 25:44 examples to the flock. Amen Now it's interesting that 25:50 as you look at Peter, he learned many lessons from Jesus Christ 25:57 And now he's understanding that he must be an example to the 26:03 flock. And I think of some scenes in the life of Peter 26:09 and Jesus together and we'll talk a little bit about that 26:13 in a moment. But here are some crucial principles of leadership 26:17 in 1 Peter 5:3. And one of the things I'd like to highlight at 26:22 this point, highlight at this point is that in 1 Peter 5:3, 26:27 it says, Neither as being lords over God's heritage. So the 26:31 leaders must remember that the family, the Christian family 26:37 they are God's heritage. And so they are not to lord over 26:43 them like a dictator. And so here when it says lording over 26:48 where it says as a dictator, don't be like a dictator among 26:51 God's people. Be an example he says. Now I mentioned there 26:57 several scenes come to mind as we look at 1 Peter 5:3 27:02 and that is after Peter had denied Christ 3 times, and Jesus 27:07 after He was resurrected has this nice wonderful conversation 27:12 with Peter. He says, Peter do you love me? 3 times the same 27:19 question. But one of the things that Jesus said to Peter was 27:23 Feed my sheep. It goes in line with what Pr. Tom was mentioning 27:31 that we are to shepherd, feed the flock of God and Jesus says 27:36 Feed my sheep. They are God's heritage. They are the, we are 27:41 the sheep of the Lord and Jesus is the Chief Shepherd 27:45 So here a leader is to follow the example of Jesus, just as 27:51 Paul said, be imitators of me as I am of Christ. 27:56 So a leader is to follow the example of Christ. Christ was a 27:59 servant. I came not to be served but to serve. And there are some 28:04 wonderful, wonderful lessons. I'm not even looking at the 28:06 time at this point. Wonderful, wonderful lessons here and one 28:10 of the other points I'd like to bring out is that leaders 28:14 must be servants. We must be examples to the flock. 28:19 And so I maybe going a little bit into others', just to kinda 28:23 touch a little bit. In verse 4 it says, and when the Chief 28:28 Shepherd shall appear you shall receive a crown of glory that 28:31 fadeth not away. This is one of those things that Peter 28:35 mentions, not for us to focus on, hey there's a crown of glory 28:39 this is wonderful, but just to remember that Jesus is the 28:43 Chief Shepherd and a servant leader we are to follow His 28:48 example and there are blessings for God's children and a, 28:55 just as Pr. Tom said we are to be preparing others to be 29:00 leaders as well. So this part here about, neither as being 29:05 lords over God's heritage is helping to put in check the 29:12 leaders, to understand that this is not the role, you're not 29:15 to be a dictator but an example and to feed the flock 29:19 as Jesus did. And now I wanna go to another scene. 29:24 and it was very very interesting what took place at the Lord's 29:29 Supper. We call it the Lord's Supper. Here is Jesus with the 29:32 disciples and they're sitting there and there are the elements 29:36 that are needed to wash the feet, these were travelers they 29:40 came, their feet were dusty and Jesus was waiting to see what's 29:44 going to happen. To see which one of the disciples is going to 29:47 get up to wash the feet of the other disciples. Unfortunately 29:51 they had been talking about when I, I'm going to be doing this 29:54 they were looking at being in a high place. And Jesus has to 29:59 teach them a very valuable lesson. 30:05 Jesus begins to grab the things and begins to wash the disciples 30:09 feet. And Peter that wrote First and Second Peter, when Jesus 30:14 gets to Peter, Peter understands he is humbled. He is 30:18 understanding that he should've been doing this. He says, Lord 30:20 you're not washing my feet But Jesus is giving him an 30:24 example and Peter does not understand the meaning of this 30:28 precious moment of washing his feet. And it had to do about 30:32 spiritual cleansing not just about physical cleansing 30:34 spiritual cleansing that must take place that we must have 30:38 periodically in our Christian walk. And so here is Jesus 30:43 saying to them, giving them an example. But then I'd like to 30:48 ask somebody to read, maybe Pr. Tom if you can help me read 30:53 here in John chapter 13 31:00 and I have to get my bearing on which verses 31:03 because Jesus says to them 31:11 He says, how about verses 12 and 13, Pr. Tom 31:15 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments and 31:18 sat down again He said to them Do you know what I have done 31:22 to you? You call me teacher and Lord and you say well 31:26 for so I am. And so as Jesus says this to them He's trying 31:32 to help them understand, I have done that which a servant is 31:36 supposed to do but it does not lessen who I am 31:41 I am Master and Lord. His dignity has not been lessened 31:45 He is still Master and Lord and even though He is serving 31:50 He's still the Master and Lord. And even though a leader 31:53 is in some instances serving he is still the leader and 31:58 should be respected as the leader. And I'm remembering 32:02 the time of David. David was being pursued by Saul, and 32:10 Saul was trying to kill him, he would throw a javelin at him 32:14 a spear to kill David that was ministering to him in music 32:19 and two times David had the opportunity to just chop his 32:23 head off and that's what some people would say, Hey David 32:26 this is your chance, chop his head off. But David understood 32:31 something. How can I do this? This is God's anointed. 32:35 So I believe here even though there is the message for us 32:40 as the leader is not to be a dictator, God's family should 32:45 understand that the leaders have been chosen by God and there 32:48 should be a certain amount of respect for them. They are God's 32:51 anointed. Because they are God's anointed the leader must 32:56 remember I am God's anointed I am to be an example as well 33:00 as a servant. And so these are valuable lessons for us and I 33:04 see that time is escaping from us. And there is another time 33:09 when two individuals, well this goes into Matthew chapter 20 33:15 In Matthew chapter 20 we have some very interesting words 33:20 beginning in verse 20. I'm going to read Matthew 20:20-23 33:26 Then came to Him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons 33:31 worshipping Him and desiring a certain thing of Him 33:35 And He said unto her, what wilt thou? She said unto Him 33:38 grant that these two, my sons, may sit the one on the right 33:44 hand and the other on the left in Thy kingdom. 33:46 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask 33:49 are you able to drink of the cup I shall drink of and to be 33:54 baptized with the baptism that I am to be baptized with? 33:57 They said unto Him, we are able. And so here is a caution 34:03 that Jesus gives them. Jesus tenderly instructed them 34:07 that we are to be servants. There is in Philippians 2, a 34:14 wonderful passage that perhaps we can just read it 34:17 In Philippians chapter 2, to remember that Jesus our example 34:24 humbled Himself as much as one can humble himself. 34:29 So in Philippians 2, I'll begin reading in verse 4, look not 34:33 every man on his own things but let every man also on the things 34:36 of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ 34:41 Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery 34:44 to be equal with God but made Himself of no reputation 34:48 and took upon Himself the form of a servant and was made 34:53 in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man 34:57 He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death 35:01 on the cross. How perfect of a transition that is for me. 35:06 And so this is our example, Jesus. 35:09 Amen. So Johnny you've just led up to it, this is one of the 35:14 Scriptures we're gonna read here in just a second, but I have 35:16 Wednesday's which is clothed with humility. Because this is 35:21 another characteristic that servant leader should have 35:24 and it is in recognizing the Lord Jesus Christ as our 35:32 recognizing His lordship essentially and respecting Him 35:36 So let's look at 1 Peter 5 and we're going to read, Molly 35:43 you wanna read verses 5-7. 5-7, 1 Peter chapter 5 35:49 Likewise you younger submit yourselves to the elder 35:52 Yea, all of you be subject one to another. And be clothed 35:56 with humility for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace 36:00 to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand 36:04 of God that you may be exalted in due season. Casting all your 36:09 care upon Him for He careth for you. 36:12 Amen. So what we see here is that God expects His children 36:17 to have a mutual, humble cooperation with each other. 36:22 I mean this is, and I'm gonna read what you just read Johnny 36:26 that if we're going to be clothed with humility we have to 36:31 let the mind of Christ be in us. So let's look once again at 36:35 Philippians 2 verses 5-8. I'll just read those very quickly 36:41 Revisiting Philippians 2, verses 5-8. 36:45 This is really a command to us. Let this mind be in you which 36:50 was also in Christ Jesus. Paul tells us we've been given the 36:54 mind of Christ. Here it is. Here it is. The mind of Christ 36:59 is revealed in the Bible. So he says, who, now he's gonna tell 37:04 us what this mind is. Who, speaking of Christ, being in the 37:07 form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God 37:10 He knew that was His due right, but He made Himself of no 37:14 reputation taking the form of a bondservant and He came in the 37:19 likeness of men. So here we have God the creator who is 37:24 condescending, not just to the created order of an angel 37:30 he condescended beyond that first order down to the order 37:35 of a man. That would be like you Tom instead of becoming 37:42 a dog, becoming a cockroach to save the cockroaches 37:45 I mean if you think about that it's mind blowing that He did 37:49 this. Yeah. He said being found in the appearance of a man 37:56 He humbled Himself and became obedient even to the point 38:00 of death. It amazes me, the humility of the Godhead 38:09 Here Christ is God, He comes down here, He makes Himself 38:13 John 8:28 He says that He only speaks the things that the 38:18 Father tells Him to speak. He said He only does what the 38:21 Father tells Him to do. So He comes down here and he humbles 38:25 Himself and He is totally dependent upon God the Father 38:28 and the Holy Spirit just as we have to be. 38:32 And then the Spirit, Jesus said, when the Spirit comes He brings 38:38 glory to Christ. So Christ is bringing glory to the Father 38:44 in the end? God is exalting the Father, I mean the Son 38:50 It's just so amazing. So when you think about pride 38:53 pride is the root of all prejudice. Prejudice is thinking 38:58 I'm better than you are. So pride is the root of all 39:02 prejudice. Pride is the root of the spirit of offence. 39:06 You can't be offended unless your pride is wounded. It's 39:09 pride that keeps older people from trying to understand 39:13 younger people. It's pride that keeps younger people from 39:16 appreciating what the older people have to say. 39:19 But in 1 Timothy chapter 5 Paul told Timothy in verses 39:24 1 and 2, 1 Timothy 5. He said don't sharply censure or rebuke 39:31 an older man. But entreat and plead with him as you would 39:36 with a father. Treat younger men like your brothers. Treat 39:40 older women like your mother and younger women like your 39:43 sisters in all purity. So humility accepts that we can 39:49 all learn from each other. Pride causes us to, humility 39:54 makes us reach out to others seeing them as equals. Pride 40:01 causes us to be concerned about receiving recognition. Have you 40:05 ever done that? I mean, I just I didn't think of myself 40:08 as prideful but I remember once when I did something, a major 40:12 project and somebody got all the recognition for it 40:15 and it was like, I did that, I didn't even get recognized 40:19 That's pride. Pride causes us to believe that the control 40:25 of our life is in our hands. 40:28 I mean we worry because we don't fully trust God. Pride 40:34 causes us to believe that our sins are too big for God to 40:37 forgive them and conversely pride causes us to think that 40:42 our sins aren't so bad, you know they're of lesser 40:46 consequence than others. Pride causes us to be judgmental 40:50 and critical. In Luke 18, Jesus tells the story of the 2 men 40:56 who go to pray. One's a Pharisee one's a tax collector. 41:02 So the Pharisee goes and what is he? Oh God I thank you that 41:07 I'm not like this man. I pay my tithe, I do this, I do that 41:13 and you see his pride, whereas when the tax collector is 41:21 standing before the Lord what he does is, you know, he's not 41:26 saying I fast twice a week, I pay my tithe regularly 41:29 what the tax collector is saying is, Oh Lord I'm so unworthy 41:34 of you, I'm so unworthy, beating his chest and he's 41:39 asking God to be merciful to him. What does Jesus say at the 41:43 end? Who goes home justified? Who goes home with their sins 41:48 forgiven? It's the one who humbled himself before the Lord 41:53 So humility is more than just the opposite of arrogance and 41:58 conceit. Humility is absolute total dependence upon God. Amen 42:05 That's what humility is. We've got to trust God with all of our 42:10 daily struggles, with all of our concerns. We've got to 42:14 trust God with all of our sin. And at the root of humility 42:20 root of humility, the essence of God. It's the essence of His 42:27 self-sacrificing love. That's what at the root of humility 42:31 So in 1 Peter chapter 5, going back to Peter 42:37 it's interesting what he says in verse 6. In verse 6 he says 42:42 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God 42:46 and it's the same mighty hand that delivered the Hebrews 42:50 from the bondage of slavery and gave them the promised land 42:53 He says humble yourselves that He may exalt you, that He can 42:57 lift you up in due time. He's looking to the culmination 43:02 of world history here. Casting all your care upon Him 43:06 for He cares for you. One thing that we have to continually 43:11 remember is that God is greatly concerned with the lives of 43:16 His children, with the welfare of His children. It makes me 43:20 think of 1 John chapter 3 and verse 1 where John says 43:26 Ah, his mind is blown and he says, Behold what manner of 43:32 love the Father has shown to us that we should be called 43:36 the children of God, that we've been adopted. So humility 43:43 the end from the beginning as you do. So Lord I need you 43:50 I want your direction in my life. Now it's interesting in 43:54 our lesson, he mentioned that, he was speaking, Peter was 43:58 speaking to a stratified society in other words there were 44:02 people who were the higher class, the rich, the elite 44:08 they were powerful. Like a caste system? Caste system 44:11 They had lower ranked class, lower ranked and then the slaves 44:15 were the lowest of the lowest. So when you think about humility 44:21 their societal and cultural understanding of humility 44:26 meant that you were weak and that you were poor and that 44:28 you were powerless. So what Peter is describing here is 44:31 something that, the word humility was kind of associated 44:36 with people without status. So he's telling us here 44:42 hey if you humble yourself, God will exalt you. 44:46 Humility is something they didn't expect to hear from him 44:50 but that is our proper attitude toward our God and creator 44:55 and it should characterize our relationship to Him and also 44:59 to each other because all Christians are equal, we're all 45:03 sinners saved by God's grace. When we come to the foot of 45:06 the cross, we're all on equal footing. And it's relatively 45:10 easy to be humble to people who are above us but we've got to 45:16 remember that humility is that we will be humble to people 45:20 who are also of lower status. Amen. 45:24 Good transition too and don't you find I pick up with 1 Peter 45:31 5:8-10 and it's like a roaring lion. Now I think it's 45:36 interesting that Peter is talking about humility 45:39 humble yourself under the mighty hand of God 45:42 then he goes straight to a warning. Now we know that 45:47 First and Second Peter, Peter was writing to a people that 45:51 were under a great persecution The great controversy was 45:55 being played out in a mighty manner right before their 45:59 very eyes. I think we're seeing some of that today as a matter 46:02 of fact. But Peter goes straight to the heart of the matter 46:07 which is the root of the great controversy. And again that's in 46:11 1 Peter 5:8, but before we read that I want us to look at 46:15 Revelation 12. I want to read Revelation 12 verse 7 to 9 46:24 Before we look at 1 Peter 5:8-10 let me read this to you 46:30 And war broke out in heaven, Michael and His angels fought 46:34 with the dragon and the dragon and his angels fought but they 46:39 did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven 46:43 any longer. So the great dragon was cast out that serpent of old 46:50 called Devil and Satan who deceives the whole world and he 46:56 was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him 47:00 So let me ask you a question, Panel where is Satan and his 47:06 angels now? Right here. They were cast out to the earth. 47:11 Now this is what Peter is addressing. So let's go back 47:14 now to 1 Peter chapter 5, we're going to look at verses 8-10 47:21 And Peter says, again just talking about humility, now 47:27 he's gonna go to a warning. Be sober. What does that word 47:32 sober mean? It doesn't mean just not to be inebriated 47:36 with alcohol. It means to be serious. Be serious about this 47:41 thing, be vigilant, be watchful. Because why? Because your 47:46 adversary, what is an adversary? An opponent? That's an opponent. 47:51 An enemy. Someone that wants to do you harm. Your adversary 47:56 the who? The devil. Now who got cast out from heaven? 48:02 The devil. Walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he 48:10 may devour. Now what is the devil doing? Walking about 48:15 like a roaring lion seeking whom he may do good for? No. 48:21 whom he may devour. Peter wants us to understand that the devil 48:26 is sly and he's crafty and he wants us to know what he's 48:31 up to. Satan means, the definition of Satan, adversary 48:37 The definition of devil, one who accuses and one who slanders 48:45 So your adversary will accuse you. Have you ever heard of the 48:48 accuser of the brethren? He is the adversary, he's a slanderer 48:54 The picture here's that Satan acts like a lion. What does a 49:00 lion do? Circling the flock at night, seeing if there's one 49:05 sheep that strays away from the security and protection of 49:09 the shepherd and the flock so that he can pick it off and 49:13 devour or destroy. Oh there's a Scripture that says, forsake 49:18 not the assembling of yourselves together. There is safety, just 49:22 stay in the fold. Stay vitally connected to one another. 49:26 The enemy walks about. Walks about, that sounds like he's 49:30 prowling about. He's always looking for an opportunity 49:35 to discourage and catch us unaware. Peter knows this 49:40 from experience. I'm going to take you back to some examples 49:44 with Peter. Luke 22:31. Christ has told Peter, Christ Himself 49:52 told Peter that Satan was prowling around looking for an 49:56 opportunity to get Peter. That's Luke 22:31. Here's what He says 50:01 And the Lord said, Simon Simon, that's Simon Peter 50:05 indeed Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat 50:12 Now let's fast forward to Mark 14, we're gonna look at verses 50:19 39-41. So Jesus has warned Satan has warned Peter that Satan's 50:26 gonna sift him. Now did Peter stay alert? Let's look at 50:32 Mark 14:39-41. Then he came, Jesus, this is in the garden of 50:38 Gethsemane and Jesus went to pray right before He's going 50:44 to be betrayed, right before His crucifixion. He's in the 50:47 Garden of Gethsemane. You know the prayer He prays, Oh Father 50:51 if this cup can pass from me, nevertheless not my will but 50:54 Thine be done. He took three people with Him to the Garden 50:57 of Gethsemane, who were they? Peter, James and John. Peter was 51:00 there. Ok now all three of them Peter, James and John were 51:04 there but let's read this, Mark 14:39-41. Shelley if you've got 51:09 that would you read that please? Again, he's speaking of Christ 51:12 went away and prayed and spoke the same words and when He 51:15 returned He found them asleep again for their eyes were 51:17 heavy and they did not know what to answer Him. Then He 51:21 came the third time and said to them, Are you still sleeping 51:25 and resting? It is enough, the hour has come. Behold the Son 51:29 of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 51:31 Yes, and in verse 39 He said, could you not watch for one hour 51:37 And so how many times did Jesus come back to, that's 37 51:45 that's verse 37. Ok. How many times did Jesus come back 51:51 and find them sleeping? Three times. Interesting. How many 51:56 times did Peter betray Jesus? Three times. Peter woke up 52:02 remember when Peter woke up and what was happening? 52:05 They were coming to take Jesus and what did Peter do 52:08 immediately? He drew his sword and cut off the ear. And then 52:14 after that is when he denied Christ. So see Peter in giving 52:19 this warning about the roaring lion he's not speaking in theory 52:24 Peter is speaking from experience. He knew what he was 52:28 talking about. Have you ever heard anyone teach that a 52:32 roaring lion is a harmless lion I've heard that. I've heard it 52:38 Don't believe that for one minute. He's prowling, he's 52:42 always active, he's dangerous, talking about the Devil and 52:45 Satan that roaring lion. That roar is supposed to scatter 52:52 the sheep. Scare them and cause them to depart. 52:56 And the point being, he will harm you. Satan doesn't just 53:02 want to scare us, just scatter us Pastor he wants to destroy us 53:08 That would be John 10:10. The thief cometh not but to kill 53:14 steal and destroy. Ah, but Jesus says, I have come to give you 53:20 life and to give that more abundantly. Steal, kill and 53:23 destroy. He steals the word, he kills us spiritually then he 53:29 destroys us completely. Steal, kill and destroy. 53:32 Ok, let's go on now. Peter says in verse 9, Resist him 53:40 We're back in 1 Peter 5, looking now at verse 9, Resist him 53:46 steadfast in the faith. Resist the devil. What does James 4:7 53:52 unto God and He will draw nigh unto you. Let's finish this 53:59 Resist him steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same 54:02 sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world 54:05 but may the God of all grace who called us to His eternal 54:10 glory by Christ Jesus after you have suffered a while 54:14 perfect, that means mature you, establish you and strengthen 54:19 and settle you. So that's the power of Almighty God 54:22 Now I wanted to give you some good news and I'll give you 54:25 some bad news. I think I'll give you the bad news first 54:28 Do you know that we're in a Great controversy? 54:30 There is an enemy out there. The Great Controversy is between 54:35 Satan, the Devil, the one that we were just talking about 54:38 this roaring lion and the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the bad 54:42 news. Another bad news, we're right in the middle of it. 54:45 Satan is after us. Now let me give you the good news 54:50 On the side of light, on our side is the Lord Jesus Christ 54:55 and what is the Lord Jesus Christ, He's our Leader 54:59 what did He accomplish at Calvary? He totally defeated 55:04 the enemy. We've read, as Danny Shelton would say, the end of 55:08 the book. We know how this thing plays out. We are 55:12 overcomers by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our 55:16 testimony. So he goes about as a roaring lion, he is out to kill 55:21 steal and destroy but we are victorious through the Word 55:25 of the Lord Jesus Christ and through His blood. 55:29 So don't be concerned, be victorious. 55:31 You know I just have to add, greater is He that is in us 55:35 than He who is in the world. So He's given us spiritual 55:38 armor, He's given us all of the weapons that we need 55:42 But we do need to be sober and vigilant. It was wonderful 55:47 The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through 55:50 God for the pulling down of strongholds. I am encouraged 55:53 Christ has won the victory, He won the battle and He won it 55:57 in our behalf and in Jesus we can stand and be victorious 56:02 We're talking this week about Servant Leadership 56:06 And a final question for the Panel. We only have a couple 56:09 moments so keep your answers brief here. If I were to ask you 56:13 what would be one of the most important qualities of a leader 56:18 What would you say? Humility I would say humility 56:21 because that's total dependence upon the Lord, so to me that's 56:27 the most important. Anyone else? If you're not willing 56:30 to serve those God has given you responsibility for, you're 56:33 certainly not fit to lead them. Humility prepares you to be 56:40 a servant. yes, Amen. You understand that Jesus humbled 56:44 Himself as we follow His example and humble ourselves we are 56:47 prepared to be servants. Amen 56:49 Pr. Tom. This thought is more of an application thought. 56:53 Look at what you've seen displayed today, humility 56:56 is the kingdom of heaven. It's the way God operates, it's the 57:00 way all of His kingdom operates. And how do you compare, how 57:06 have you compared? And where is it that the Lord wants to 57:09 work in you? Amen. To create that transformation in you. 57:12 Thank you so much. We're so glad that you have joined us today 57:16 Such a privilege to open up God's Word, to study about 57:19 Servant Leadership and I know many of you watching are leaders 57:23 in your local community, at your job area, in your church 57:27 or maybe you're leadership in training. Maybe you're young 57:30 but God is growing you right now. So we want to encourage 57:33 you. Walk in humility. Seek the Father's face. Be willing to be 57:39 mentored by other people or if you're older mentor the 57:43 younger people. We want to encourage you to check out 57:45 your local Seventh-Day Adventist Church and visit 57:48 Become a part of a church community. Next week our 57:52 lesson is Jesus in the writings of Peter 57:55 And we're looking forward to sharing with you again next week 57:59 Know that on behalf of our panel, Molly Steenson 58:02 Shelley Quinn, John Dinzey and Pr. Tom Ferguson we love you 58:05 and we pray for you. God bless you and keep you. |
Revised 2024-06-03