BEHOLD WHAT MANNER OF LOVE.
“…All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” 1 Peter 5:5-6
Behold what manner of love and we found in Christ, who provided for us a garment of humility and also give us the choice to put it on. We are not forced to wear it. It is one of the garment that sit well on us as Christians, but still in His love and justice did not coerce us to wear it. He wore it all during His earthly ministry, even when He had all the authority as God in human flesh to do the contrary. The Love for His father’s will consumed Him. The love for the salvation of humanity was His very reason for wearing it even when those He came delivered tortured Him and dare Him to prove if He is the son of God. He knew He was from the Father and He will return to His Father. He had no identity crisis and that helped Him to be humble. Behold what manner of love, that God the Son will wear the garment of humanity, when all that was created was done by Him- the WORD that was from the beginning.
Time and time again in the Bible, we are enjoined to humble ourselves. This implies that the choice is ours. We can never make that choice until we have a clear sense of identity, because without it we may choose to be humble for the wrong reasons. How attractive are those who demonstrate genuine humility in all they do. In the world you have the educated, the uneducated, the rich, the poor, the lowly and the great. God’s expectation is to be humble regardless of the status. For followers of Christ, it is not an option. Christ showed us love by wearing the garment of humility right from birth in Bethlehem to the cross at Calvary. Behold what manner of Love the Father has shown on us; that His only begotten Son could show humility even to accept to die the death on the cross.
It was written of Sir James Simpson, the great surgeon who first discovered the anaesthetic properties in chloroform. He had a brilliant mind and was a great Christian. One day, one of his students asked him what was his greatest discovery, expecting him to say “the use of chloroform as an anaesthetic. He replied: “My greatest discovery was when I realised I was a sinner and that Jesus Christ was my Saviour”.
A mind characterised by humility is the mind that has no arrogance, no self-consciousness, and exhibit a greater concern for others than one self. This was how and the way Christ mind functioned. This is how our mind should function when His mind holds authority over ours. Christ is not making a demand on us of what He has not done himself. Philippians 2:5-11 affirms that: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
2. BEHOLD WHAT MANNER OF LOVE.
“For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia — your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore, we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead — Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (1 Thessalonians 1:4-10).
Behold what manner of love that the arms of Christ should be opened to receive us as His children, not born of human will but of the Spirit of God.
Those of us that lived in the 80s will be familiar with this games that looked very much alike. “Do as I do”- one person will be acting and the others will do as exactly as possible what he did. The other one is called “Imitation game”- one person will mention a thing and the others will act out what it does.
A story was told of a Sunday school teacher who decided to do the imitation game one Sunday morning. He said “Children, I will name something or someone and you will act out what it does- ready? Chicken- the children flapped their arms, cackled and crowed. Next it was duck, the chameleon, the goat and the elephant. The last one was JESUS. The children then got stock and it seems as if the excitement was fast disappearing with their long hesitation. One five-year-old child with a big smile on his face threw his arms wide open in welcome. The whole class went into another round of excitement and the teacher lifted up the child and applauded him. ARMS WIDE OPEN IN WELCOME!!!
How easily we tend to forget that we are products of an outstretched arms. Just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering; we are to imitate Him and spread this aura of love to people around us. It is the life of Jesus in us that encourages and enables us to walk through this earth as He did. The gospel is the demonstration of God’s love with arms wide open to care and welcome all that are in need of warmth.
Behold what manner of love that the arms of Christ’s welcome are always open. Behold what manner of love that He modelled this for us to imitate. May we imitate this love, so that when we speak about the Love of Christ, the wicked world will understand easily because it is seen in us. He opened His arms in love to strengthen ours when we choose to open them. The closer we walk with God, the closer we see His love and guidance. This gesture is love undying and we should behold it and celebrate.
3. LEADERS LIKE CHRIST
1 Timothy 3:6-7 “He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap.”
CHECKPOINTS FOR LEADERS LIKE CHRIST -CHECK YOUR GROWTH.
It is a good thing to be a leader. It is a good thing to want to be a leader. It is a noble task. It is a great task. It is a task worth doing. There may be cost involved. There may be a change in lifestyle needed. There might be aspects of your walk with Jesus that may not be the way that they should be. But it is not only worth doing, but doing well.
We need some checkpoints that will help us to achieve the absolute best; to impact others in the most effective way and to enjoy the journey of leadership that God has placed before you.
Check your growth. If you are a leader and you are giving out to others, then it really matters that you make sure you keep growing strongly as a Christian. If you are giving out without taking in, then you will run dry quickly. Maintaining your personal growth while you are a leader really matters. How do you gain that, by holding firmly to God’s word- imagine climbing a tall tree and you are trying to get a foothold on a branch and getting a handhold on one tiny branch, your whole weight is been supported by the branches, your life depends on how firmly you hang on, if you relax your grip for just one moment, your life may be endangered.
A Christ like leader is called to hold firmly to the trustworthy message. Hang on firmly to everything you have been taught from God’s word. Don’t stray for just one moment, your life depends on this. Five things you must do with the word of God: learn to hear, read, study, meditate and apply to your life every instruction in it. Don’t rush ahead of your spiritual maturity. Flee from sin. A leader needs to work hard to keep their life on track with what God’s word says. If you keep sin “close at hand”, you will eventually go back to it in a moment of weakness.
Do you desire to be a leader like Christ, and then flee from anything which would distract you from being a faithful leader and embrace all things that will get your closer to God?
WANTED!!! LEADERS LIKE CHRIST.
4. LEADERS LIKE CHRIST
1 Timothy 3:2 “Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, and able to teach.”
1 Timothy 3:7 “He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”
CHECKPOINTS FOR LEADERS LIKE CHRIST -CHECK YOUR CHARACTER AND REPUTATION.
Away from the last month check point-growth, let us examine another check point; a leader like Christ must check his or her character and reputation.
One of the most important lessons a leader can learn is how trust works. Every leader has a certain amount of cash in his pocket when he starts in a new leadership position. From then on, he either builds up his cash or pays it out. If he makes one bad decision after another, he keeps paying out, then one day, he is going to reach into his pocket and realize he is out of cash, when you are out of cash, you are out as a leader even if you are on the seat, you have character and reputation deficit.
How you are viewed by others- your reputation really matters if you want to be a Christ like leader. If people don’t respect you, if you don’t have good reputation with others, then it is unlikely they will ever let you have a good ministry with them.
But how can I control what others think about me? The reality is that you cannot. Sometimes people will have a wrong idea of what you are. Even Jesus was misunderstood, but then the real content of his character remain constant. Maybe you are an honest person, but others have misunderstood you or listened to rumor, that is your character is basically good, but your reputation is basically bad. It can work the other way as well. Perhaps you present yourself as being honest and with high moral standard but in reality you are bad, that is your character is basically bad, but your reputation is basically good.
A leader like Christ should know that your character is more than your reputation. That is exactly what Christ said when he challenged the religious leaders of his days. Their reputation looked great on the outside, but their character was rotten on the inside.
Matt 23:27-28 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which looks beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
Your character is more important than your reputation. Your reputation is what other people think you are, but your character is what you are really. Your reputation is what is seen on the outside while your character is what is real on the inside.
Jesus was a model, though he was misunderstood as Beelzebub, a glutton, a blasphemer, but because he had a right character inside, what later result was the change in his reputation because of his consistent character. Just a matter of time what is inside will always come out. You cannot hide your real identity for a long time.
Jesus said, you spend so much time making sure that you look clean on the outside, you are only deceiving people, God that gave you the assignment to lead his people knows. What you need to do is to clean up your act on the inside and then the outside will be clean as well. People will realize soon who you really are and that will be more lasting than the false notion they had. Reality is more powerful than assumption.
As a leader if your reputation is not what it should be, start the change from the inside out. Allow God to change your heart on the inside. Open your heart to the workings of the Holy Spirit. If you are letting God change and reshape what you are on the inside, then how others view you on the outside will change, if you are growing a character that is becoming more and more like Jesus himself, your reputation amongst others will change. He will work it out in his might, but packaging and pretending to be what you are not is like sitting on a time bomb.
Christ is willing to help us to look like him as people he commissions to lead his people. Change your character to be like Christ and the desired reputation will just effortlessly appear. How God will make the real one to be known is still the working of his power. Want as good reputation, have a good character- no short cut.
Another check point; your character and reputation.
WANTED!!! LEADERS LIKE CHRIST.
5. LEADERS LIKE CHRIST
Titus 1:7-9 “Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless — not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
CHECKPOINTS FOR LEADERS LIKE CHRIST –CHECK YOUR TEMPER.
Another check-point- your temper as a leader like Christ.
As Christian leaders, we have the need to deal with people across age brackets, backgrounds, social strata and intellectual layers. The approach and response of all these groups may vary. There is a saying that “laughter is contagious” the same holds true for other emotions. Our anger can affect not only ourselves but the people in our lives as well.
Generally, our temper can cause people to feel put off, upset, intimidated, afraid, or a handful of other unpleasant emotions. As leaders, we experience the full array of human emotion on regular basis. How we handle our emotions can make or mar our leadership.
Jesus himself experienced the full range of emotions but he owned them. He experienced emotions such as love, anger, frustration and loneliness. But his expression was always perfectly appropriate and perfectly timed.
As a leader like Christ, it may be true that someone can push you or provoke you and cause certain emotions like anger to begin to rise up in you; but you can choose to own it and choose what to do with it. It is either you lead your temper or they lead you.
Cain the first son of Adam and Eve who would have been a great leader and father, lost out because he could not handle his temper. Simeon and Levi lost their rightful place when Jacob was blessing his children, Jacob in Genesis 49 said, “let my soul not enter into their council because in anger they kill. Moses the great leader failed to manage his temper though provoked by the ungrateful Israelites. Naaman the great captain with leprosy was almost losing out of his miracles when he got furious and was about leaving in anger.
Our temper is a funny thing. Just when you think you have it totally under control, something powerful sneaks out and catches you unaware. Has there ever been a time in your life when you got angry and ended up hurting someone you care about? Do you ever feel like your anger might be getting out of control? Can you help yourself to calm down when you get angry? How do you express these feelings? Do you feel angry and unable to let something go? Do your anger causes feelings like guilt, remorse and shame especially if you act out in a way that you later regret?
They are some that are even tempered, they don’t flare up quickly, when things go wrong. They can usually remain pretty calm and stay on top of their emotions. I have also seen people that are completely different.
We must be careful, we can act wickedly and unknowingly even in our temper if not properly managed. People that we are supposed to protect, can be harmed unknowingly and thoughtlessly if we do not keep our anger under subjection.
Let’s look at the story of a youth leader Peter and a girl:
How dare she take my keys, here I am right in the middle of trying to help these kids by taking them home, many of them had curfews and we are running late, and this eleven years old girl stops the whole procedure by taking my keys. I chased after her. She raced into the church hall and slammed the door behind her. She was on the inside holding the door shut- I was on the outside trying to push my way in. I was a little bigger and stronger than her; slowly I inched the door opened. She resisted with all her might, but slowly I was conquering her, I opened the door so wide that she was pinned behind it against the brick wall, I know she was stuck behind the door, being pinned against the wall and I kept pushing, I was as mad as the hell and wanted to hurt her.”
One of my leader rushed in and exclaimed, Peter! what are you doing? I realized I was crushing the poor girl behind the door, and my only motive was revenge. My temper had got the better part of me, I backed up, realizing my sudden wickedness and I apologized.
Good leadership can be undermined by an uncontrolled temper. No wonder the Bible says to leaders, check your temper. Be aware of your danger points. Understand what pushes your buttons, make yourself accountable to others in your leadership team so that they can help stop you from getting over the edge.
Ephesians 4:26 “In your anger do not sin”—”
Desire to live like Christ, prayers, wise counsel and intentional effort, combined with selfless living, are key components that can help our emotions mature.
Wanted! Leaders that will be humble to work on their temper.
6. LEADERS LIKE CHRIST.
1 Timothy 3:1-3 “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.”
CHECKPOINTS FOR LEADERS LIKE CHRIST –CHECK YOUR WORDS.
Let us examine another checkpoint- your words as a leader like Christ.
May be you may be thinking- I cannot keep this standard, it is hard for me, I want to get out of leadership. Of a truth, Biblical leadership is at a high standard, but God want us to hang in there and be the very best that we are able to be.
1 Timothy 3:1 “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer,he desires a noble task.”
It is a good thing to be a leader. It is a good thing to want to be a leader. It is a noble task. It is a great task. It is a task worth doing. There may be cost involved. There may be a change in lifestyle needed. There might be aspects of your walk with Jesus that may not be the way that they should be. But it is not only worth doing, but doing well.
2 Timothy 2:23-26 “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”
Good leaders know that communicating the right ideas and messages is key. What we think becomes what we say, and what we say become what we do. If you want to lead your team to success, start using these words to get their thoughts and their actions to move in a right direction. A good leader should acknowledge the contribution of others. Leadership is not about grabbing the spotlight alone. People need to hear an acknowledgement of their efforts, even for small things. During Christ ministry, he at sundry times give commendations to people that responded to his question well, to one he said, you answered correctly.
There is no such thing as a flawless leader, which means that the best of the leader will make mistakes. A good leader will admit it with words and find a best way to fix it. Sometimes you are going to have to deal with interpersonal conflict. Sometimes you may be looking at a problem that is so new and daunting, sometimes you will think you have the perfect solution and be eager to launch your followers forward, use the words “let us” use your words to make everyone feel important. Christ knew what exactly to do and also knew that a young lad was with fishes and loaves of bread, but get the consent and involved the disciples to think on solution to the need. He multiplied the bread and fishes and the disciples felt involved.
When we feel we are right, we should be very careful that the other people’s dignity and worth is not dragged to the mud because we are right or we should not be loud to send a message of superiority or to prove a point. We should be careful with words like- nothing is good enough, everyone is making error and everything must change.
Finally, do you want to check how you are going to be a biblical leader? Then take note, the Lord’s servant must not quarrel. Check your words, they can make or mar your leadership. Wanted! Leaders that will be humble to work on their words, what they say and how they say it.
7. LEADERS LIKE CHRIST.
1 Timothy 3:1-3 “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violentbut gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.”
CHECKPOINTS FOR LEADERS LIKE CHRIST –CHECK YOUR ATTITUDE.
Let us examine another checkpoint- your attitude as a leader like Christ. Of a truth, Biblical leadership is at a high standard, but God still desire we be the very best that we are able to be.
One of the great things about God’s standard for leaders is that he treats us as a whole people. That is, there is not a set of standards for when we are leaders and then different set when we cease to hold leadership position. Each one of us is a whole person and God calls us to be faithful to him the whole time. So whether you are in leadership or not, one of the best way to stay accountable to God’s standard is to check our attitude in everything and every time. Let us point out few attitude- check; your attitude of hospitality or how gladly you share what you have with others. The essence of being hospitable is accepting that people are more important than your possessions.
Another attitude is kindness. Christ was not just nice to us or pleasant or polite, he was kind. He had genuine compassion for us, his heart was moved to sorrow for us. He lavished his love on us, he does for us what we simply do not deserve, he is actively and boldly kind in the way he deals with us.
Another hallmark of a Biblical leader is that he loves what is good. Let us check- do you really love it when something good happens to another person and not you? Do you really love it when something good is done by another person and not you? Do you really love it when you do something really good and someone else gets the credit? A leader like Christ is someone who loves what is good irrespective of who gets the credit.
Your attitude to life will determine the way you live. Every leader should work out for himself a fundamental attitude of life which is soundly Christ like. If one does not have a working tool for guidance of his own life, his decisions and judgements will be warped and his attitude wrong. Leadership can only function on the basis of Christ like attitude.
Christ has given these check points so the we can be Christ like leaders of reputable standard. He has also provided forgiveness when we fall short and walk away from his directions. He wants us to succeed and these check points are to help us. He has given us his Spirit that we might walk in his ways. Let us be high integrity leaders in his service, that we truly can be described as leaders like Christ above reproach and with Christ like attitude.
Philippians 2:3-8 ‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
8. LEADERS LIKE CHRIST.
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Luke 15:4-7
One of the three main tasks of a Leader like Christ- LEADERS LIKE CHRIST FIND THEIR SHEEP.
There are many things as a leader to do, and many things demands your attention. It then behoves on you to get your priorities right and also your relationship right to avoid doing the urgent and leave the important. As you go through the teachings and life of Christ, you will discover that one of the key element of a Christian leader is having a heart for those who are lost. A leader does not continue with the mentality of “whatever sheep that wants to follow will follow”. But have a real care and heart for those sheep that are not yet with him, those sheep who are refusing to follow, those sheep who have wandered away, those sheep who will not come ordinarily.
Christ experienced all these categories of people during His earthly ministry. He wept over those who would not come and embrace the security and eternal relationship He was offering; He was accused of relating with sinners and had a lot of influence on the oppressed and the cast out, people that have been written off by the established religious circles or what we may call now the established church.
When Christ calls us to leadership, he calls us to have the same heart for the outsiders as He had, he calls us to the first task of leadership- to find His lost and rejected sheep. We believe and hold that the difference between any human being or the difference between a sinner and a saint is the GRACE OF GOD, that also form our basis for operation and for our perception on leadership. We are called by Christ to intentionally go and search for the sheep who have wandered away- that was what Christ did.
Just like Christ, we will find set of followers that will be absolutely with us all the way, hanging on our every word- enthusiastic, keen, cooperative and spiritual. There are other sets that come along but are not interested, they behave badly most times and when confronted they will in turn accuse you of not being fair on them. The other group have nothing to do with you at all. We should not have the mentality of “leave them alone they will come if they belong here”. The heart and demand of Christ is to seek and find those that are lost. Lost in their sins, mistakes of fornication, mistakes of pregnancy outside marriage, having to nurse a child outside wedlock, involved in drugs and have sank in to depression, and any other person that is plagued with weaknesses and also is rejected by the society.
It may not be easy to bring them in, but it is possible because the person that gave the assignment is willing to support us. The stakes may be high, but it is possible, because the person that called us to be leaders like Him promised to be with us even to the close of the age.
The strength inspiring aid of this assurance by Christ has made the feeble mighty. Our expectation of direction, guardianship, success and happiness does not depend on our skill and expertise but on the word of the faithful and unchanging GOD. Our identity as leaders like Christ is confirmed by this hope. So we can go in this our strength and find the lost sheep and bring them in either with our words or actions.
9. LEADERS LIKE CHRIST.
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Luke 15:4-7
There are many things to do, and many things that demands your attention as a leader. It then behoves on you to get your priorities and relationship right to avoid doing the urgent and leave the important. As you go through the teachings and life of Christ, you will discover that one of the key element of a Christian leader is having a heart for those who are lost.
God desires to take us into the second task of a Leader like Christ- LEADERS LIKE CHRIST FEED THEIR SHEEP.
Once you have found your sheep, the next task is to feed your sheep. There is no need going all out, risking your life in some cases, burning out your comfort and strength to gather your sheep and have them all starve to death. The leader need to guide his sheep to a place of green pastures and also lead them to a source of clean water. Psalm 23:1-2 bear this fact out “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters.”
Leaders like Christ feed their sheep. Jesus as recorded in Mark 6:34 saw a large crowd and had compassion because they were sheep without a shepherd and then He began to teach them the word of God. The word of God is the only food required by the sheep for growth and vigour. As a leader, what is your feeding plan? How much of the Bible do you know and how effective can you dish it out to your sheep? Can your present it to the sheep in a balanced form? Do you feed the sheep with food that satisfy the stomach only or with what will nourish the soul unto salvation? Do you know the kind of food that nourishes the body but are harmful to the salvation of the soul? Do you serve food that will please the sheep even when you know it will not help them to grow? Do you lead them to the spring of living water that will refresh them and lead to eternal life? Do you seek the comfort of the sheep at the expense of the welfare of their souls?
The disciples of Christ were confused; not only because Christ was killed, but after three days again the tomb was empty. Jesus saw the need as a good leader to help them at this stage where they were weak and vulnerable. The only veritable means to strengthen them, help them and made them to stand after the trauma they experienced because of the trials, torture, cruxcification and death of their leader was recorded in Luke 24:27- Jesus began with Moses and all the Prophets what was said about Him. He led them through the scriptures about the salvation plan and how He is the fulfilment of that plan. How His life, death and resurrection was a fulfilment of that ultimate plan to redeem mankind. Jesus Himself set the example on how to feed the sheep, what a wonderful experience they had that Christ the Word of God led in the Bible study. He later commanded Peter as a leader to feed His sheep. Christ has given us a plan that will ensure the healthy growth of the sheep in His pasture, and it should become the priority of any leader that desire to work for Christ.
As a leader like Christ, the only way to feed the sheep is to lead them to the Bible and encourage them to live a life of holiness, a life that is a reflection of the life of Christ. To be an effective supplier of nutrient for the sheep; we must do the following- find out what God’s word really means, apply the word of God first to our lives and then help others to apply it to their lives.
Leaders like Christ wanted!!!
10. LEADERS LIKE CHRIST
Acts 20:28-32 “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
There are many things to do, and many things that demands your attention as a leader like Christ. It then behoves on you to get your priorities and relationship right to avoid doing the urgent and leave the important. As you go through the teachings and life of Christ, you will discover that one of the key elements of a Christian leader is having a heart for those who are lost.
God desires to take us into the third and last task of a Leader like Christ- LEADERS LIKE CHRIST GUARD THEIR SHEEP. Guarding your sheep really matters. If you think about an actual shepherd with actual sheep, then you will see that this makes a lot of sense and worthy of consideration. After putting your life on the line by finding them and working hard to guide them to green pasture and good water so that they can be fed and continue to grow strong and healthy; you need to guard them- so that they do not wander away, and so that wolves do not come in and devour them.
One of the real challenge of being a leader is having sheep that strays. A follower can sometimes be full of love for Christ for a period and for another period be in deep unrepentant sin. There are so many attractions and distractions to entice the people you are leading to walk away from living a godly life. The real part of your leadership task is to guard your sheep from going astray. Sometimes it means taking the extra time to care for one that is not even willing to cooperate. Sometimes it means the phone call at midnight and disrupted sleep. Sometimes it means travelling few kilometres to visit a distress person. Sometimes it simply means making a phone call to say ‘I haven’t seen you for a while now, is everything okay? Sometimes it will mean to call and asked if he arrives safely on the journey you prayed with him for. Sometimes it will mean asking if parents have paid the school fees and if he is comfortable in school. Or simply ask if he has enough food. A leader like Christ does not let the sheep wander away unattended to.
Another level of protection. We should guard our followers against the wolves who would ravage the flock of God. The wolves are not necessarily bad people from outside, they may be people from within the fellowship who may seek to lead the vulnerable and gullible sheep away from the true path that Jesus has laid out for them. As a leader like Christ, you need to guard the flock from the wolves by strong Bible teaching so that they achieve what Ephesians 4:14 says: “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.” You equip your sheep to be strong by applying good Bible teaching to their lives so that they will not be led astray by false teaching. What use will be your leadership period if people are led away from Christ? What use will be your leadership period if people’s knowledge about Christ does not increase? What use will be your leadership period if people’s love and obedience to Christ is not enhanced? What use will be your leadership period if people you lead are not made to be candidates of heaven?
Christ used himself as a model of a good shepherd and classified leadership into two: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” John 10:11-13.
Both leaders look the same for a while; both are seen caring for their sheep; how then do you tell the difference? What is the key that makes one a good shepherd and another a hired hand? Jesus explains that the essential difference is displayed when it gets hard, when the wolves come, when the leader has to make a decision as to whether he will protect his own life or protect the sheep. Whether his identity, honour, ego, recognition, welfare, resources are more important than the survival of the sheep.
What sort of leader are you? How do you handle it when things get tough and you are not getting the desired result? How do you deal with disappointment and when those you are leading let you down? How do you react when a client or a stakeholder is having a terrible time and have the need of someone to assist? What is your reaction when the person you are trying to help reciprocate with terrible gestures? What is your reaction when you receive insult instead of thank you? When you are castigated instead of appreciation? A hireling will back out, but a leader like Christ will stay. Which leader are you?
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