Serving Successfully Among the Saints, Part 3a

Let me remind you that we are in our study of 1 Peter in chapter 4 and we've taken a break just in verses 10 and 11.

To talk to you concerning the gifts that Peter addresses: the speaking gifts as well as the support gifts. And he mentioned them because they were important in terms of preparing for the coming of our Lord, helping us to understand that we need to be involved in serving our Lord by serving one another. And so he talks about the speaking gifts. And if you have one of those, you are to speak with the utterances of God. That is, you are to speak the word of God. And we talked about that a couple of weeks ago.

He says, if you have a support gift, if you have a serving gift, then you need to do it with the strength that God Himself supplies. God equips us and enables us to use these gifts in a very powerful way, and we need his strength to make it from day to day. And the support gifts in Scripture are those gifts that enable the body of Christ to function at a level that will enable people. To grow in their walk with the Lord. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is the intimate fellowship within the body of Christ.

This is where Where people are used by God in such a strategic and significant way that the needs of people are ministered to. And we've said it to you many times: that when you go to church designed and focused On ministry, that you might somehow serve your fellow man with the gifts God has given to you. Your needs will always be met. Those who don't have their needs being met, whatever they may be, is not because someone's not meeting their needs, it's because they are not ministering as God wants them to minister.

That is, if you seek to serve your God by serving your fellow man, by exercising your giftedness, what's going to happen is that your needs begin to decrease. Because you see the increase of the people's needs around you. You become so preoccupied with ministering to them, you don't have time to think about what you need. And God, in a very significant way, comes around and begins to meet your needs through other people who exercise their giftedness. And the support gifts are used in such a magnificent way in the body.

We talked about two of them last week, the gift of service and the gift of help. So we want to cover the remaining six this evening. And so we'll pick it up with the gift of leadership. The gift of leadership and then the gift of administration. Both of them have oversight responsibilities, but they are support gifts in the body of Christ. And maybe you have one of these gifts. Maybe you were here last week and you, Well, I don't have the gift of service, and I know I don't have the gift of help, but maybe you have the gift of leadership.

Maybe you have the gift of administration or discernment or. Showing mercy or giving or faith. All those gifts encompass the support gifts. But let's talk about the gift of leadership. This past week, I was listening to One of our news commentators, as well as there's an article in Newsweek magazine about the Democratic Party and the situations that went on with John Kerry as he was running for president. And one of the things that was at the forefront in this interview on television was the very fact that every time they made a decision within the campaign of the Democratic Party, Mr.

Kerry would take out a cell phone and call a hundred different people to make sure they made the right decision. And what happened is that the Democratic Party had to take a cell phone away from him because every time they made a decision, he would want to reverse the decision after talking to people outside the campaign. And the newscom here said, it would seem to me like this man has a hard time making a decision. And if this man can't make a decision to run his own campaign, how can he make decisions to run the country of the United States of America?

Now think about that. If you're going to be a leader, you have to be a decision maker, right? You've got to be able to make decisions and stick with those decisions. Now, having said that, understand that the gift of leadership is completely different. than leadership in the world. You need to understand that. These gifts are empowered by God. They are very significant gifts given to the body of Christ so the body of Christ functions. Leading in the church is different than leading society. The qualifications are different, the emphasis is different, and you're dealing with an organism, not an organization.

Granted, that organism is organized, but it is an organism Overseen by the head of the church, who is Christ him. And Christ gives men to the church. Women to the church who have the gift of leadership, the gift of administration, who are able to motivate, oversee, and lead people toward growth in Christ Jesus. You've seen leaders. Some of them are great motivators. Others were better at organization. Some work best in front of people. There are some leaders that don't work so well in front of people.

They work better in an office behind a desk. There are some leaders who like to add lib. Others need to have charts and over so that people can see the diagrams that they draw up. There are some leaders that are excitable, enthusiastic. Others are steady, calm, and quiet. There are some who keep no schedules, but there's others who are extremely disciplined in all their schedule. There are some who, when you walk into their office, their desks are completely cluttered. You walk into some offices of leaders and they are completely spotless.

There are some who are fun to be around. There are other leaders who are dry and boring and not fun to be around. I say all that because we have these ideas of what a leader looks like and how he should be, and if it doesn't match our criteria, then that person probably must not be a leader. Well, you need to understand the gift of leadership as well as the gift of administration because they are different. But they both have oversight responsibilities. So let me try to explain them to you because people do have different styles of leadership.

Favorite Bible, Romans chapter 12. Verse number eight. It's where the gift of leadership is mentioned. It says, He who leads. With diligence. In other words, if you're going to lead, you've got to lead a certain kind of way. He's speaking about the gifts in Romans chapter 12. Remember there's Romans 12, there's 1 Corinthians 12, there's 1 Peter 4, and Ephesians 4, the four great passages that speak about spiritual gifts. Romans chapter 12 speaks about the gift of leadership, he who leads. Now the word pro is a word that means to stand before.

It's a word that means to rule, to lead, to manage, to have charge over. And when the word to rule is used, it doesn't mean that you rule with. iron rod or simply giving orders to people. No, it means that you are able to motivate people to reach a specific objective. You rule them, you stand before them, you manage them that they might reach a specific objective. Eight times it's used in the New Testament. And it is the ability to lead others in meaningful endeavors that demonstrate personal care and concern to meet their needs and encourage their growth.

Turn over to 1 Timothy chapter 3 and listen to what it says here in verses 4 and 5. Speaking of the elder in the church, it says he must be one who manages his own household well. He must be able to rule in his household. That is, he must be able to oversee his household well. And then it says, keeping his children under control with all dignity. But if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church? Of God. Now, here the illustration is used of the father figure.

Now, think about this as fathers. You need to be able to lead your homes, right? All men need to be able to lead in some capacity their homes, to manage well their homes, to stand before their homes, to be the organizers of their home, to be the motivator. Their home, right? That's what men need to do. And the qualification for the elder in the church is that somehow, as he stands before the church, he must be able to manage well the church because why? The church is like the family. And so one of the qualifications for choosing men to lead in the church is to look at their children, to look at his wife.

Is he able to motivate his wife, stimulate his wife, lead his wife? Is he able to do that with his children? Because that will give you an idea of how we can do it in the church. Because the church is like a family, it's a much bigger family than your own personal family, but it's like a family. We're a body. And therefore, you have to deal with people in the church just like you deal with people in your home. And so the word is used to describe how a father manages well his own h. Understand this.

It's not about giving orders to people. A lot of times, people like to think that the man's job is just to bark orders at people. I wish it was that easy. Do the dishes, pick up your clothes, do the laundry, that kind of thing. It's not that easy. You got to motivate people. You've got to lead by example, right? You got to be able to do that enthusiastically. Notice this.

Five out of the eight times pro is used, it's used with the adverb kal, which means well. Excellent. Look over to 1 Timothy 5:17. Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor. That is, those who manage, those who oversee. They need to do it well. They need to do it in a way that's excellent and noble. Also, notice this.

Back to Romans chapter 12, verse number 8. I think this is so important. He who leads needs to lead with diligence. Diligence. Sp is the word. It means, listen, are you ready for this? With speed. Haste. Know what that means? That means if you have the gift of leadership, you're not a procrastinator. If you're a procrastinator, you probably don't have a gift. Okay? Because you lead with diligence, you lead with haste, you lead with speed. There is no idle time, there is no downtime. When you see what Needs to happen, you get it done.

You don't wait to get it done, you get it done. You make sure someone gets it done. You motivate others to make sure it gets it done. That's what the gift of leadership does. It's able to see the need and respond to the need with great speed. Now that's important, isn't it? Think about that back in your families as fathers. We see a need and we look at it and we think, well, you know, maybe I should handle that now.

Maybe I won't. You know, maybe I'll handle it tomorrow or the next day. But you know what? If you have the gift of leadership, you need to do it speedily. Now, that doesn't mean that because I don't have the gift, I can procrastinate. I can be idle. I can sit back and do nothing. No, it doesn't mean that. Why? Because these people who exercise these gifts give us a muddle in how we should live our lives. And that's very important for us to understand. Listen, if you have the gift of leadership, there's one thing you don't do.

And that is, you are not lazy because you do it with diligence. You lead with diligence, with speed, with haste. You're on top of it. You don't let grass grow underneath your feet. Because there's no time for the grass to grow. You got things you got to do, places you got to go, people you got to see, you got to make sure things get done. Why? Because you want to motivate people, encourage people toward a certain objective. And of course, in the church, that's Christ-likeness. Now, that doesn't mean that every elder has the qualification of the spiritual gift of leadership.

They might. It doesn't mean they have to have that giftedness because there's a difference between the office of elder and the spiritual gift of leadership. But they have a responsibility to lead in a way that honors the L. The basic test of leadership is the ability to meet the needs of those You are leading. That's the basic characteristic of the spiritual gift of leadership. You see to it that proper goals are accomplished in the lives of the people you oversee. That's why it says in 1 Timothy 3, verse number, those key words But if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?

You got to take care of the church. You see, leadership takes care of the church. The man with the gift of leadership who stands before the people has the ability to take care of people's needs. And that's extremely important. Now listen, I've said this to you before. I think it's important. When you take care of people's lives, You are able to give them direction. You are to show loving interest for their own spiritual growth and what's happening in their lives. I'm reminded of the Chinese proverb I've shared with you before: to him who thinks he leads, yet has no one following him.

Only taketh a walk. Isn't that good? There's a lot of people who think they have the gift of leadership, but nobody's following. The Chinese proverb says you're just taking a walk because no one's following. You see, the issue in leadership is that. There's a certain magnetism about that because you are trying to draw people into the presence of God and move them in that direction. And people want to follow that kind of leadership. And so, if you think you have the gift, and yet you see no one following you, wake up, smell the coffee, you probably don't have the gift.

Okay? Let's move on to the next one, the gift of administration. This is a different Greek word, kubernes. We get our English word cybernetics. Cybernetics is the science that studies the brain relative to governing the body. The body functions as the brain tells it to function. Kubernetes is a word used in the Bible that means helmsman or the one who steers the ship. When you think about the man who steers the ship, the ship is a huge vessel in the water, but it's moved and directed by one individual who is the helmsman of the ship.

That's the one with the gift of administration. Over in 1 Corinthians 12, this is what it says. It says this in verse number Twenty-eight It says, And God has appointed in the church First apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, help, then, what's it say?

Administrations, Kubernetes. It's the ability to give direction. It's the ability to make decisions. On behalf of others, that results in efficient operation and the accomplishment of goals. It's used only three times in the New Testament. It's used in 1 Corinthians 12, 28, the verse we just read, Acts 27, 11, and Revelation 18, 17. Acts 27, 11, it Translated governments. But the bottom line is, it's a word that deals with the helmsman of the ship. It's the one who gives the ship direction, who steers it in the right location.

So that it ends up in the right spot. That's the one with the gift of administration. For a better word or for a better definition, it's the one who knows how to pilot the ship. That's one with the gift of administration. We tend to think that a person with administration is a guy who just, you know, is able to write things down and sit behind a desk and work on a computer, and they're very administrative. Well, that's not how the Bible defines it because this one is one who is able to give direction clearly And move what it is he wants to move in the direction it needs to be.

He is the pilot of the ship, he's responsible for decision-making. He's responsible for direction. He doesn't own the ship. He just steers the ship. His responsibility for directing the ship on its voyage. Now, listen: the character and conduct of the one with this gift is extremely vital amidst advers. The storm. The one with the gift of administration, the one who pilots the ship, the one who is able to give the ship proper direction, that person's leadership. Rises to the top when the storm is at its height.

That person has the ability. To calm the people, to make the decisions. In the Septuagint, it's translated counsel, it's translated wise man. He has the ability to communicate the truth in such a way that he's able to calm people in the midst of a storm. He has the ability to weather the storm, to get the ship back on course so that it doesn't capsize, so that it doesn't turn over. That's the man with the gift of administration. I can recall the time when I was 20 years of age and I traveled with the summer team when I was in college and we were traveling around and I was in the back of a van.

There were nine of us on this team and I happened to be in the back of the van at the time and one of the guys on the team was driving. There were five guys and four girls. And for 10 weeks, for three summers in college, I traveled with his team, going around the different camps and teaching clinics and presenting the gospel and preaching the gospel. We were on our way in upstate New York and we were traveling down this back road and the guy who was driving was talking to me and I was in the back and we were singing songs and all of a sudden we went into this intersection.

And I don't know if you've ever been in a car accident or not, but this There's a reason why when you watch a movie, the car accidents are in slow motion. Because when you're in a car accident, it's like everything happens in slow motion. So here we are traveling. He's driving the van and he's looking in the rearview mirror, looking at me, and I'm talking to him. And as I'm talking to him, I see this car out of the corner of my eye. And there's this intersection in front of us. Well, we're not slowing down.

We just keep right on going. And so just as we are about to enter the intersection. What do I do? I get up out of my seat. I'm in the back of the van. Get up out of my seat and try to tell the man who is driving to stop. So I'm coming up out of my seat saying, Ian, there is a BAM! Car, real late, you know what I'm saying? And we got hit, and we went up on the side of this curb and into the housing development of people's lives. Just missed a fire hydrant, just missed a little boy on his bike, and the young man was able to bring it to a stop.

And there we sat. No one said a word, you know? And I said, We got to get out of here. Everybody up out of the van. I'm going to go check on the people that hit us, okay? You, you make a phone call to the school because they have to know we're in an accident. Okay, you take these girls, sit them down over there, and you go to this house and you call the cops. Let them know what happened. And I'm going go check on the people that we just had. So I went over as an old man, it was an old lady, and he got hit, and he had cut right above his eye, and got the ambulance there.

We got things going. But it was at that time that I realized that I had the gift of administration. Because it was during the time of adversity when no one knew what to do, somebody had to do something. Somebody had to give direction, someone had to make a decision, someone had to lead the ship back to shore. Well, that was my job. So I did. And that's where we went. And luckily, praise the Lord, no one, not luckily, but praise the Lord, nobody was hurt. And everything was, we were able to get back on the road, get another van, and the Lord took care of everything.

But in the midst of a storm, In the midst of adversity, when you rise to the top to give clear direction to people, now you know you got the gift. That's how you know you got that gift. Because people in the midst of a storm are chaotic. They don't know what to do. They don't know where to go. They don know what to say. Someone's got to give them direction, right? Someone has to take the bull by the horn and, you know what? This is where we got to go. This is what we got to do. This is how it's going to get done.

And you see, in the church, the church is like a big ship that needs to be steered properly. And therefore, you got to have people who can make decisions on that ship, especially during times of storm, that keep people on track. And that's what the gift of administration does. They are concerned that the church is always on track, never off track. Both need each other. The one with the gift of leadership, the one with the gift of administration. One man said this way: the one with the gift of administration.

Is the one who shows accountability for what happens. The one with the gift of leadership is the one who makes things happen. The one with the gift of administration puts things down on paper very easily. The one with the gift of leadership finds it hard to write things down. The moment that they get to administration needs time al from people. The moment that they get to leadership loves to be with people. The one with the gift of leadership is one who responds quickly, but the one with the gift of administration is slower at making decisions because he thinks things through in a logical, systematical kind of way.

The one with the gift of administration knows why we can't do things now. The one with the gift of leadership wonders why we can't get it done now.

See? One is more of a motivator, the other more of an organizer. But both give direction to people that they might reach the goals they need to attain.