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Voddie Baucham - Leading As A Servant · Voddie Baucham Sermons

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: That's just great.
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  Speaker 2: You quote Spurgeon on leadership and then say, come do something.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Appreciate that. It is a joy, a privilege, and an
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  Speaker 2: honor to be back here again. I have looked forward
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  Speaker 2: to this for quite some time. I'm excited about this opportunity.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: I'm grateful to those who have invited me. I am
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  Speaker 2: grateful for the privilege to stand here In this place
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  Speaker 2: that means so much to so many.
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  Speaker 1: And to have tonight.
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: Had the opportunity for the first time to meet one
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  Speaker 2: of my heroes and a man who has taught me
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  Speaker 2: so much from afar.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: And Dr.
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  Speaker 2: McArthur, I just wanted to say to you that I
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  Speaker 2: am extremely grateful to you for the investment that you
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  Speaker 2: have made in so many. And I want you to
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  Speaker 2: know that you need to count me among those. My
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  Speaker 2: task tonight is to address the issue of leading as
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  Speaker 2: a servant. Now, in order to do this, I need
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  Speaker 2: to put the concept into context. Because so much of
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  Speaker 2: what we understand about leadership comes from a culture that
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  Speaker 2: is in many ways broken. And when I say a
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  Speaker 2: culture that is in many ways broken, I am not
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  Speaker 2: talking about lost, dying people out there without Christ who
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  Speaker 2: don't know any better. I am talking about those within
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  Speaker 2: the context and confines of the church who have a
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  Speaker 2: broken understanding of God's word, of God's truth, and as
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  Speaker 2: a result have in many instances presented this idea of
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  Speaker 2: leadership in general and servant leadership in particular in a
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  Speaker 2: manner that does not serve us well. Let me explain what.
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  Speaker 1: I mean by that.
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  Speaker 2: There are many out there who write on leadership, teach
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  Speaker 2: on leadership, but basically what they have done is they've
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  Speaker 2: communicated this idea that the Bible is a book of
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  Speaker 2: principles to be mined for the sake of success.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: And if you just go to the Bible... and dig out.
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  Speaker 2: Those nuggets, it will serve you well and you will succeed.
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  Speaker 2: That is a gross misrepresentation of the scriptures. The Bible
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  Speaker 2: is not about principles that you mine for your success.
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  Speaker 2: The Bible is God's revelation that of his plan and
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  Speaker 2: redemptive history that finds its apex in the person and
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  Speaker 2: work of Jesus Christ. And to treat the Bible like
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  Speaker 2: a book of principles that you go and get out
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  Speaker 2: to serve yourself is like a person who treats sex
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  Speaker 2: like something to enjoy outside of the context and confines
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  Speaker 2: of marriage.
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  Speaker 1: It is inappropriate.
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  Speaker 2: And so, I am arguing that it is impossible for
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  Speaker 2: us to understand leadership at all, let alone servant leadership,
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  Speaker 2: outside of the context and confines of the Bible, why
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  Speaker 2: the Bible was given to us, what the Bible is
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  Speaker 2: all about, and what God is working in those of
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  Speaker 2: us who belong to Him. So, with that in mind,
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  Speaker 2: open your Bibles, if you will. To the book of Ephesians.
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  Speaker 2: Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. If you don't have
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  Speaker 2: your Bible, just sit there and look guilty. Ephesians chapter 4.
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  Speaker 1: Actually, sit there and look on with someone else.
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  Speaker 2: Now, I want you to understand this about the book
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  Speaker 2: of Ephesians because it goes to what I just said
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  Speaker 2: a moment ago. The book of Ephesians is divided into
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  Speaker 2: two halves. The first three chapters of the book of
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  Speaker 2: Ephesians are about our orthodoxy or right believing. The last
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  Speaker 2: three chapters are about our orthopraxy or our right behaving.
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  Speaker 2: Or you could say the first three chapters are about indicatives,
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  Speaker 2: the last three chapters about imperatives. In the first three chapters,
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  Speaker 2: we find those indicatives. An indicative would be that is
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  Speaker 2: a piano. I'm indicating what that is. An imperative, go
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  Speaker 2: play the piano. Now, why is this important? Here's why
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  Speaker 2: it's important. In order to understand the Christian life, you
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  Speaker 2: have to understand indicatives and imperatives together. If all you
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  Speaker 2: have is imperatives, you end up with works righteousness. Do this,
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  Speaker 2: do that, don't do this, don't do that, and that's it.
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  Speaker 2: But when you have the indicatives, which tell us who
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  Speaker 2: we are in Christ and what we have in Christ,
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  Speaker 2: we then understand the power that has been granted to
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  Speaker 2: us to accomplish the imperatives and our motivation to to
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  Speaker 2: accomplish the imperatives as well. So these indicatives and imperatives
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  Speaker 2: must go hand in hand. So when we get to
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  Speaker 2: the second half of the book of Ephesians, we need
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  Speaker 2: to remember what happened in the first half so that
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  Speaker 2: we know from whence we get the power to obey
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  Speaker 2: and from whence we get the motivation to obey. Now
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  Speaker 2: we're in Ephesians chapter 4, which is the second half
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  Speaker 2: of It's the imperative half. So we find imperatives here
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  Speaker 2: in the second half, but we're going to demonstrate how
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  Speaker 2: these imperatives are rooted in the indicatives of the first half.
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  Speaker 1: What does all that have to do with what I
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  Speaker 1: said earlier?
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  Speaker 2: If we just mind principles about leadership, and we say,
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  Speaker 2: you want to be a good leader?
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  Speaker 1: Do this. Do that. Don't do this. Don't do that.
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  Speaker 1: What are those?
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  Speaker 2: Imperatives.
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  Speaker 1: Imperatives. Where are the indicatives?
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  Speaker 2: And this is what worries me about individuals who write
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  Speaker 2: leadership books disguising the fact that they're Christian. Because you
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  Speaker 2: have all indicatives or all imperatives and no indicatives. So
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  Speaker 2: if you don't have the indicatives that say who we
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  Speaker 2: are in Christ.
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  Speaker 2: And why it is that we ought to be doing
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  Speaker 2: what we're doing. But all you have is imperatives that say,
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  Speaker 2: go do this and go do that. What are you
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  Speaker 2: going to be motivated by? And what are you going
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  Speaker 2: to depend upon? You're going to depend upon your own
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  Speaker 2: ability to accomplish whatever those imperatives are. And you're going
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  Speaker 2: to be motivated by your own greed and your own self-interest.
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  Speaker 1: That's it.
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  Speaker 2: And that is woefully insufficient for those of us who
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  Speaker 2: know and follow Christ. So as we understand servant leadership,
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  Speaker 2: begin with me here in chapter 4. We'll go back
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  Speaker 2: and put these things together. I therefore, a prisoner of
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  Speaker 2: the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy
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  Speaker 2: of the calling to which you have been called. That
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  Speaker 2: therefore phrase goes back to the indicatives in the first
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  Speaker 2: three chapters. So because of all of these things that
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  Speaker 2: I have said are true about you, I'm now calling
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  Speaker 2: you to live in a certain way. With all humility
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  Speaker 2: and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.
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  Speaker 1: Eager to maintain the unity.
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  Speaker 2: Of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is
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  Speaker 2: one body, one spirit, just as you were called in
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  Speaker 2: one hope that belongs to your call. One Lord, one faith,
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  Speaker 2: one baptism, one God and father of all who is
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  Speaker 2: over all and through all and in all. But grace
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  Speaker 2: was given to each one of us according to the
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  Speaker 2: measure of Christ's gift. Therefore, it says, when he ascended
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  Speaker 2: on high, he led a host of captives and gave
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  Speaker 2: gifts to men. In saying he ascended, what does it
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  Speaker 2: mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions,
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  Speaker 2: the earth? He who descended is the one who also
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  Speaker 2: ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill
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  Speaker 2: all things. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists,
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  Speaker 2: the shepherds and teachers. To equip the saints for the
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  Speaker 2: work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: Until we all attain to the unity.
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  Speaker 2: Of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son
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  Speaker 2: of God to a mature manhood, to the measure of
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  Speaker 2: the stature of the fullness of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: So, we may no longer....
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  Speaker 2: We are to grow up in every way into him
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  Speaker 2: who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body,
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  Speaker 2: joined and held together by every joint with which it
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  Speaker 2: is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the
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  Speaker 2: body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
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  Speaker 1: Amen. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. So where's the servant leadership?
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  Speaker 1: He gave.
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  Speaker 2: Apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers, leaders in the church.
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  Speaker 2: In order to understand leadership, we have to understand it
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  Speaker 2: in context. And the contexts to which I will give
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  Speaker 2: my attention over these two days are the context primarily
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  Speaker 2: of the church and the home. There's also a sense
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  Speaker 2: in which there is this leadership within the government, but
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  Speaker 2: that's not my assignment. Those three institutions that God has
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  Speaker 2: given us, but I want to talk about the issue
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  Speaker 2: of the church and the home. And tomorrow I'll talk
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  Speaker 2: about how those things overlap and servant leadership in the home.
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  Speaker 2: But specifically tonight, we see this picture of servant leaders
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  Speaker 2: in the church, in the context of God's people.
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  Speaker 1: So, We're not just talking about leadership principles in general.
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  Speaker 2: We're not just talking about things that we go and
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  Speaker 2: gather up for ourselves in order that we might place
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  Speaker 2: ourselves in some kind of leadership position. We're looking at
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  Speaker 2: leadership in this particular context so that we understand the
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  Speaker 2: way it's designed to work and thereby understand how these
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  Speaker 2: principles apply to us.
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  Speaker 1: Here's something you have to understand.
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  Speaker 2: Servant leadership is not a means to an end. In
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  Speaker 2: other words, we don't learn how to be servant leaders
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  Speaker 2: so that someday we can become leaders. That would be
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  Speaker 2: using servant leadership as a means to an end. That
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  Speaker 2: would be you trying to put yourself in a position
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  Speaker 2: of leadership. That would be completely and utterly inappropriate, as
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  Speaker 2: we'll see momentarily. The reason that that's inappropriate is because
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  Speaker 2: we see in verse 11 that servant leaders are called, gifted,
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  Speaker 2: and given as it relates to the church. Go back
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  Speaker 2: with me again, if you will, and look beginning there
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  Speaker 2: at verse 10.
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  Speaker 1: He who descended.
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  Speaker 2: We saw earlier that he gave gifts to men. So
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  Speaker 2: I'm arguing that these positions of leadership are not positions
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  Speaker 2: that men merely grasp for themselves. But servant leaders are
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  Speaker 2: actually individuals who are called, who are gifted, and who
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  Speaker 2: are given by God. So when we look, for example,
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  Speaker 2: at leadership in the church, we're looking first and foremost
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  Speaker 2: at called men.
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  Speaker 1: Has God called a man?
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  Speaker 2: No. Has God gifted a man? And has God then
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  Speaker 2: given that man to the church? Now, usually when we
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  Speaker 2: define call, it's completely subjective. And when someone says that
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  Speaker 2: they're called, they come to you and they say, God
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  Speaker 2: called me to be whatever. And we are supposed to
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  Speaker 2: just merely bow and say, congratulations. I'll never forget. I
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  Speaker 2: didn't grow up in church. I told you this last
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  Speaker 2: time I was here. I grew up in South Central LA,
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  Speaker 2: was raised by a single teenage Buddhist mother, never heard
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  Speaker 2: the gospel until my freshman year in college. So it
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  Speaker 2: was a little over a year and a half later
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  Speaker 2: when I had my first opportunity to stand up and
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  Speaker 2: share God's word with a group of people.
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  Speaker 1: And it just messed me up. I'm still not over it.
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  Speaker 2: And some friends of mine had taken me with them
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  Speaker 2: and given me this opportunity. And they could see that
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  Speaker 2: I was really wrestling with this. And they said, well,
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  Speaker 2: anything you want to talk about? And all I could
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  Speaker 2: say was, I just, I feel like I found what
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  Speaker 2: I was created to do. I didn't have all the terminology,
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  Speaker 2: you know, especially I live in Houston. And down south,
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  Speaker 2: people talk about surrendering to preach. Anybody heard that terminology before?
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  Speaker 2: You know, I surrendered to preach when I was, yeah, whatever.
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  Speaker 1: Surrendered? Why are you surrendered to preach? I ran to preach. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Surrender to being a welder or something. And so I
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  Speaker 1: didn't know the terminology.
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  Speaker 2: So I went and I told my pastor and I said, pastor, I,
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  Speaker 2: I don't know what's going on, but I just feel like, just,
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  Speaker 2: I feel like God made me to be a preacher.
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  Speaker 2: And I don't know if any of you have ever
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  Speaker 2: been in a traditional black missionary Baptist church before.
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  Speaker 1: But if you have, you will.
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  Speaker 2: Recognize precisely what my pastor said to me right after
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  Speaker 2: I told him that I believe that God made me
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  Speaker 2: to be a preacher. He pulled out his calendar and
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  Speaker 2: he said, third Sunday of next month, we'll all find out.
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  Speaker 1: Well, there it was. But I want you to hear something.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm not arguing that that's a way that it
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  Speaker 2: always ought to be done. But contrast that idea. You
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  Speaker 2: say God's called you. Let's see if you're gifted with
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  Speaker 2: this idea. Okay, go to seminary, get some credentials, and
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  Speaker 2: then get you a job. One says, I'm looking for
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  Speaker 2: calling and gifting. The other says, I'm looking for credentials.
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  Speaker 2: I'm not arguing that it's an either or. I went
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  Speaker 2: and got me some book learning. But when we talk
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  Speaker 2: about the leadership of God's people, God has the prerogative.
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  Speaker 1: He's the one who calls people.
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  Speaker 2: And gifts, and gives these called and gifted men to
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  Speaker 2: the church. And I would add another, qualified, called, gifted, qualified,
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  Speaker 2: given to the church. It's amazing to me how many
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  Speaker 2: men profess to be called of God to lead his
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  Speaker 2: church in spite of the fact that they do not
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  Speaker 2: meet the biblical requirements clearly outlined in scripture. As though
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  Speaker 2: those were just superfluous or optional writings. If you can't
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  Speaker 2: say amen, you ought to say ouch. There are qualifications there.
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  Speaker 2: That must be met. Again, we'll talk about those more
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  Speaker 2: on tomorrow. So a servant leader is not someone who's
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  Speaker 2: just good at serving and therefore becomes a leader. A
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  Speaker 2: servant leader is someone whom God calls, gifts, and then
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  Speaker 2: gives to the church as a qualified leader who then
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  Speaker 2: is obligated to function as a servant to the church.
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  Speaker 2: It didn't go the other way around. You're a servant,
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  Speaker 2: therefore we put you in the position of leadership. No,
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  Speaker 2: you are called of God. You are gifted of God.
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  Speaker 2: You are given to the church. You're qualified for this position. Therefore,
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  Speaker 2: go serve the church. Why is it important that we
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  Speaker 2: understand this? Because servant leaders represent Christ and his authority.
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  Speaker 2: Let me say that again. Servant leaders represent Christ and
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  Speaker 2: his authority. Look with me, if you will, just here
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  Speaker 2: in this book. First of all, we have here the
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  Speaker 2: apostles and the prophets. Now, the apostles and prophets, those
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  Speaker 2: are not individuals office-wise that we have around today, right?
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  Speaker 1: Amen, somebody.
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  Speaker 2: I know we got people on television who call themselves
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  Speaker 2: apostle this and apostle that and.
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  Speaker 1: Prophet this and prophet that.
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  Speaker 2: No. Wish I could make that a little clearer, but
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  Speaker 2: that's all I got. In fact, earlier in the very
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  Speaker 2: same letter, we find that the apostles and prophets are
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  Speaker 2: the foundation upon which the church is built. My house
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  Speaker 2: only has one foundation. I don't know about you. We
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  Speaker 2: don't have a new foundation of apostles and prophets. There's
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  Speaker 2: some who argue that this evangelist office we still have,
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  Speaker 2: some who argue that we don't, but really that's neither
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  Speaker 2: here nor there. What we concentrate on is that last
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  Speaker 2: one that shepherd teacher which is really one office but
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  Speaker 2: notice the word there shepherd teacher.
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  Speaker 1: Shepherd. Who is the good shepherd? That is Christ himself.
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  Speaker 2: So Christ refers to the leaders in his church by
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  Speaker 2: his title of shepherd. That's who he is. Therefore, that's
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  Speaker 2: who they are. By the way, a shepherd is a
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  Speaker 2: servant leader.
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  Speaker 1: Why?
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  Speaker 2: Because if you don't serve sheep, they die.
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  Speaker 1: Amen.
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  Speaker 2: Sheep don't serve you. If you think sheep serve you,
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  Speaker 2: you've never met a sheep. But this is Christ, the
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  Speaker 2: good shepherd. And what does the good shepherd do?
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  Speaker 1: He lays down his life for the sheep.
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  Speaker 2: That word that we have there, that idea of a pastor,
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  Speaker 2: it is a shepherd.
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  Speaker 1: That's the term. It's a shepherd. It's a shepherd.
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  Speaker 2: But not only do we see it there, that the
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  Speaker 2: person who leads in this context represents Christ and his authority,
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  Speaker 2: but also later on in chapter 5, we see husbands
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  Speaker 2: who are heads of their wives.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, who is the husband or the bridegroom?
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  Speaker 2: Christ!
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  Speaker 1: Christ!
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  Speaker 2: Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and
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  Speaker 2: gave himself up for her. What is he trying to do?
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  Speaker 2: He is working to sanctify her. So the husband serves
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  Speaker 2: his wife as her head and her leader, representing whom?
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  Speaker 1: Christ. Christ. Christ. Well, then you go a little bit further.
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  Speaker 2: Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring
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  Speaker 2: them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Huh,
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  Speaker 2: wonder whose title father is borrowed from. It's God's title.
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  Speaker 2: And he says to a man as he leads his
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  Speaker 2: children away, And knowing who God is and how to
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  Speaker 2: follow God, that you do it as a representative of
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  Speaker 2: my authority. So much so that he says to children, children,
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  Speaker 2: obey your parents and the Lord for this is right.
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  Speaker 2: Honor your father and your mother. This is the first
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  Speaker 2: commandment with a promise. Here's what's interesting about that command.
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  Speaker 2: Usually in the second half of the book of Ephesians,
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  Speaker 2: Paul gives the imperatives, but he always points back to
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  Speaker 2: the indicative. That's the reason for the imperative. And we'll
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  Speaker 2: get to that in a moment. You do this and
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  Speaker 2: here's why you do it. Because this is who you
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  Speaker 2: are in Christ.
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  Speaker 1: With children, he doesn't point back to an indicative. It's
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  Speaker 1: pure law.
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  Speaker 2: Obey your parents like you obey God. You going to
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  Speaker 2: give me some motivation for that? Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: So that you can live long. And I'm hoping that's
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  Speaker 1: all you need. But what's the title? Father.
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  Speaker 2: Father. Then at the end of the household codes, by
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  Speaker 2: the way, every time you see the household codes in
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  Speaker 2: the New Testament, you see slaves and masters. Why?
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  Speaker 1: Common part of the household in the first century. Interesting. Master.
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  Speaker 1: Who's that? God in Christ.
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  Speaker 2: See, servant leadership is, is a representation of Christ and
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  Speaker 2: his authority in whatever context.
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  Speaker 1: We've been called.
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  Speaker 2: This is why it bothers me so much when you
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  Speaker 2: read about so-called servant leadership with no reference to Christ.
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  Speaker 2: You cannot understand servant leadership apart from Christ who did
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: not come here to be served but to serve.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: He's the ultimate servant leader.
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: But you also cannot understand it apart from Christ because
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: as a servant leader, you represent Christ and his authority.
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: You can't divorce that from the overall message of the Bible.
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: We mustn't do that.
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: We mustn't.
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: By the way, is that not humbling for those of
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: you who wear one of those titles? Pastor, husband, father, master, boss.
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: Is it not humbling to know that you are an
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: earthly representation of the authority of Jesus Christ himself?
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: Does that not drive you to your knees?
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: And it is the exact opposite of the idea that
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: servant leadership is somehow this new key that will advance
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: you further in the success of your career. Servant leadership
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: is a frightening thing. Because it's about Christ and his authority.
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: We also see that the goal of servant leadership is
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: to maximize Christ's glory in others.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: Hear that again.
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: The goal of servant leadership is to maximize Christ's glory
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: in others.
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: Why do I say this?
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: Well, look at verses 12 through 16 of chapter 4.
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: We'll see what he's given to the church there in
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: chapter 11.
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: Why?
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: To equip the saints for works of ministry, for building
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: up the body of Christ until we all attain to
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: Son of God, to a mature manhood, to the measure
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: We may no longer.
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: Be children tossed to and fro by the waves and
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning,
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: by craftiness, in deceitful schemes, so on and so forth.
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: What is the goal here? That Christ's glory might be maximized.
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: In order to understand this, we have to go back
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: to some of these indicatives. Because what Paul just did
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: was covered a whole lot of the indicatives of the
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: first three chapters there in this imperative. Notice, if you will,
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: he says that Christ might fill all things there in
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: verse 10. If you go back to Ephesians chapter 1,
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: and here's what you see. There's a pattern in the
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: book of Ephesians. At the end of the first three chapters,
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: there is this crescendo. That basically reminds us of the indicatives.
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: And this crescendo is always about three things. Christ, his body,
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: and the unity thereof. It is the glory of Christ.
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: It is the body of Christ, the church, and it
• 27:49
  Speaker 2: is the unity of the body of Christ, the church.
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: That's the crescendo at the end of every chapter in
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: the indicative.
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: Half of the book of Ephesians.
• 27:58
  Speaker 2: Then when we come to the imperatives, he always reminds
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: us of the indicatives. Why? Because that's our power to
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: do these things and it's our motivation to do these things.
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: So what is the power that we have to bring
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: about this unity in the body of Christ? By the way,
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: that's our motivation, the unity of the body of Christ.
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: So go back with me to chapter 1.
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: Look in chapter 1 and begin in verse 22. 22.
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: And he put all things under his feet.
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: That's the father putting all things under the son's feet
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: and gave him the son as head over all things.
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: To the church. There's Christ. There's his body, which is
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: his body.
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: The fullness of him who fills all and all.
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: So when Paul goes.
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: To verse 10 in chapter 4, talking about why God
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: gave these leaders to the church and what these leaders
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: are supposed to do, he goes back to the indicatives
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: earlier on in chapter 1 that is about Christ and
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: his fullness and about Christ filling all in all. It
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: is that Christ might be preeminent. So the work of
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: the shepherd is not so that he himself might get
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: fat off the sheep as Ezekiel basically rebukes the shepherds
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: of Israel for. But the work of the shepherd is
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: that Christ might gain glory as his fullness. is manifested
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: in the lives for which the shepherd is responsible. That's
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: the goal.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: Christ's glory.
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: As he fills all in all. We'll see that tomorrow
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: as we talk about the husband and his leadership in
• 30:02
  Speaker 2: his home. What is my goal there? that Christ might
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: fill my wife, that Christ might fill my children, that
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: Christ's glory might be maximized in my home as he
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: fills all in all. I cannot be responsible for all
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: in all out there, but in those four walls where
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: I share his title, I work to maximize his glory.
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: among those for whom I'm responsible and for whom I'll
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: be held accountable. As a pastor, I can't do anything
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: about everybody else's church, but my work in the place
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: where he's called me is that he might fill the
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: place to overflow, that.
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: His glory might be known.
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: Amen. How dare we remove Christ from the concept of
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: servant leadership. Listen to these words in Colossians chapter 1.
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: of all creation. For by him all things were created
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: through him and for him. And he is before all things.
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: In him all things hold together. He is the head
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: of the body of the church. He is the beginning,
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might
• 31:39
  Speaker 2: have preeminence. Don't you dare lead for you. Don't you
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: dare lead people so that they might serve you. No,
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: we lead people that Christ might be glorified as he
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: fills all in all. Not only that, that we might
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: grow up into him who's the head. We see that
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: there in verse 15 and following. Rather, speaking the truth
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: in love, we are to grow up in every way
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: the whole body joined and held together by every joint
• 32:31
  Speaker 2: with which it is equipped. When each part is working properly,
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: makes the body grow so that it builds itself up
• 32:42
  Speaker 2: in love. By the way, I want you to go
• 32:46
  Speaker 2: down with me a little bit, just a few verses later,
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: and I want you to see a passage that.
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: We usually quote as just law. You just need to
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: do this because it's right.
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: And I want you to see the indicatives and the
• 32:59
  Speaker 2: imperatives working together here as we see an outworking of
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: this very principle of speaking the truth in love with
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: the goal of Christ, his body, and its unity. Look
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: at me beginning in verse 25. Therefore, having put away falsehood,
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: by the way, is that an indicative or an imperative?
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: It's an indicative.
• 33:23
  Speaker 2: You've put away falsehood. Let each one of you speak
• 33:27
  Speaker 2: the truth with his neighbor. There's the imperative, right? Now,
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: look at what comes right after it. For we are
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: members of one another.
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: There's the indicative.
• 33:39
  Speaker 2: In other words, I want to tell you how to
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: speak to one another. You speak the truth in love.
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: First of all, you can do this because you put
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: away falsehood, which according to the paragraph immediately preceding means
• 33:52
  Speaker 2: that you're born again. You've taken off the old. You've
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: put on the new. You are a new creature in Christ.
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: Therefore.
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: You can do this. But secondly, you do it because
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: we are members of one another. And later on, don't
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: let any coarse talk come out of your mouth, but
• 34:07
  Speaker 2: only those things which are good for what?
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: Building up. What's that about? Christ, his body, and its unity.
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: It's not just pure law.
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: This is about Christ and his body and his unity.
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: We want Christ's body to be built up. We want
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: it to be unified.
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: Why?
• 34:36
  Speaker 2: Because Christ is glorified when his body is built up.
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: Christ is glorified when his body is unified.
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: Go with me, if you will, to chapter 5 and
• 34:49
  Speaker 2: begin at verse 25.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: And look at this with new eyes.
• 34:57
  Speaker 2: Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: gave himself up for her. Again, there's enough, okay? Love
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: your wife like Christ loved the church. He's your example.
• 35:09
  Speaker 2: He gave himself up for her.
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: But why?
• 35:12
  Speaker 2: Why? That he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: the washing of water with the word. So that he
• 35:20
  Speaker 2: might present the church to himself in splendor without spot
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: or wrinkle or any such thing.
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: That she might be holy and without blemish.
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: In the same way husbands should love their wives as
• 35:32
  Speaker 2: their own bodies.
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: He who loves his wife loves himself.
• 35:36
  Speaker 2: For no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes
• 35:39
  Speaker 2: and cherishes it because we are members of I'm sorry,
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ does the
• 35:46
  Speaker 2: church because we are members of his body. Therefore, man
• 35:49
  Speaker 2: shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to
• 35:51
  Speaker 2: his wife and the two shall become one flesh.
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: What's that about? Christ, his body, and its unity. What's
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: my goal?
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: And my shepherd leadership and my wife. It is the
• 36:16
  Speaker 2: one flesh union of Christ and his church. That's my goal.
• 36:24
  Speaker 2: The last piece. Again, we're maximizing Christ's glory in others
• 36:32
  Speaker 2: that the body might be built up in love.
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: Now go back to chapter two.
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: And let's look at the crescendo in chapter 2 and
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: the crescendo in chapter 3. Beginning there, verse 19 of
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: chapter 2. Again, each of the first three chapters ends
• 36:51
  Speaker 2: with this crescendo. He gives you the indicatives in the chapter,
• 36:56
  Speaker 2: and then at the end, it builds to a close.
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: So then.
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are
• 37:04
  Speaker 2: fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household
• 37:07
  Speaker 2: of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
• 37:10
  Speaker 2: Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole
• 37:14
  Speaker 2: structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in
• 37:17
  Speaker 2: the Lord. In him you also are being built together
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: What is the goal here?
• 37:28
  Speaker 2: That the body might be built up into a dwelling
• 37:30
  Speaker 2: place for God. That's the goal of shepherd leadership. That
• 37:34
  Speaker 2: Christ might be glorified as others are built up by
• 37:39
  Speaker 2: my work. Look at the crescendo in chapter 3. Go
• 37:45
  Speaker 2: back with me in verse 14 of chapter 3. For
• 37:56
  Speaker 2: this reason, I bow my knee before the father from
• 37:58
  Speaker 2: whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: That according to the riches of his glory, he may
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: in your inner being. So that Christ may dwell in
• 38:12
  Speaker 2: your hearts through faith. That you, being rooted and grounded
• 38:15
  Speaker 2: in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the
• 38:19
  Speaker 2: saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth.
• 38:24
  Speaker 2: And to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.
• 38:27
  Speaker 2: That you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
• 38:36
  Speaker 2: Are you beginning to see why it is a travesty
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: to separate the idea of servant leadership from.
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: The idea of the gospel? It is only.
• 38:53
  Speaker 2: When we come to know Christ in the pardon of
• 38:57
  Speaker 2: our sins that we first and foremost understand are endued
• 39:05
  Speaker 2: with the power to accomplish these things. And secondly, have
• 39:11
  Speaker 2: the motivation to do these things. We no longer live
• 39:16
  Speaker 2: for ourselves, but for Christ and for his body and
• 39:21
  Speaker 2: for its unity.
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: That becomes the goal.
• 39:24
  Speaker 2: And so he gives these gifted, called, qualified men as
• 39:29
  Speaker 2: gifts to the church to what end that through their
• 39:33
  Speaker 2: work of serving those whom they're called to lead Christ
• 39:38
  Speaker 2: might be glorified as he fills all and all as
• 39:43
  Speaker 2: it's built up into a body of And as it
• 39:49
  Speaker 2: begins to resemble its head, who is Christ. That's what
• 39:56
  Speaker 2: servant leadership is about.
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: Otherwise, it would make no sense. Jesus said, if you
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: want to be the leader, you become servant. The servant,
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: or more accurately, the slave. I knew Dr.
• 40:17
  Speaker 2: MacArthur was God. I looked over there because I've heard
• 40:19
  Speaker 2: him teach on the use of that word and how
• 40:22
  Speaker 2: we translate that word. We don't like the word slave.
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: It just makes us uncomfortable. But that's the word. Try
• 40:29
  Speaker 2: this on for size. Jesus says, you know, if you
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: want to be a leader, what you really need to
• 40:34
  Speaker 2: do is you need to become the slave.
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: And then here we are two millennia later.
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: And we say, listen, if you really want to do
• 40:43
  Speaker 2: well in business and make a lot of money, you
• 40:49
  Speaker 2: need to try that whole servant leadership path technique that
• 40:55
  Speaker 2: Jesus gave. Because that technique will take you straight to
• 40:59
  Speaker 2: the top.
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: How ironic.
• 41:05
  Speaker 2: More appropriately, how blasphemous. That is not my savior. He
• 41:17
  Speaker 2: is the model of servant leadership. What does he do
• 41:24
  Speaker 2: as our servant leader? First of all, his humiliation does
• 41:34
  Speaker 2: not begin at the cross. His humiliation begins with his incarnation.
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: That's his first act as a servant leader. That's what
• 41:48
  Speaker 2: my Jesus did. So here he is, the creator of
• 41:51
  Speaker 2: the universe. And he wraps himself in human flesh. Not
• 41:56
  Speaker 2: only that, but wrapped in human flesh, he submits himself
• 42:00
  Speaker 2: as an obedient son, not only to sinful parents, but
• 42:05
  Speaker 2: to parents who sin against him. Not only to sinful
• 42:09
  Speaker 2: parents who sin against him, but sinful parents whom he
• 42:12
  Speaker 2: created who sin against him. And he submits to them
• 42:15
  Speaker 2: in everything. How's your submission to mom and dad going?
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: Isn't that interesting?
• 42:26
  Speaker 2: You have a problem submitting to mom and dad because
• 42:29
  Speaker 2: they're not just quite up to snuff.
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: You didn't make anything.
• 42:44
  Speaker 2: Christ, a servant leader, then takes upon sins of those
• 42:53
  Speaker 2: whom he serves. And he dies in their stead.
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: But why? For his father's glory. That's why. Does he
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: get exalted? Yes, he does. By his father. After he dies.
• 43:23
  Speaker 2: Yes. You and I as servant leaders, what do we do?
• 43:33
  Speaker 2: We give ourselves away as slaves and we serve those
• 43:40
  Speaker 2: to whom we've been called. Experiencing humiliation if necessary in
• 43:50
  Speaker 2: the process.
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: Why?
• 43:56
  Speaker 2: So that eventually we can become well-known the most dangerous
• 44:00
  Speaker 2: thing that could ever happen to a servant leader.
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: No.
• 44:06
  Speaker 2: So that Christ might be glorified in the lives of
• 44:10
  Speaker 2: those whom we serve.
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: That's why.
• 44:20
  Speaker 2: You know, when that happens, not only do you not
• 44:23
  Speaker 2: turn it around and seek the higher position and the notoriety,
• 44:28
  Speaker 2: but you're actually terrified of it. Because it makes it
• 44:34
  Speaker 2: more and more difficult to be humble. And you walk
• 44:43
  Speaker 2: around and people look at you and they say things
• 44:46
  Speaker 2: like I said to Dr. MacArthur about how much you
• 44:49
  Speaker 2: meant to him. And when a servant leader hears that,
• 44:54
  Speaker 2: you know, one of the things that goes through his
• 44:55
  Speaker 2: mind is, Oh, how terrible it would be for me
• 45:01
  Speaker 2: to take that into myself and rob God of his glory.
• 45:13
  Speaker 2: Serving leadership is not about you becoming rich. It's not
• 45:17
  Speaker 2: about you becoming well-known. It's about you making much of
• 45:22
  Speaker 2: Christ and he will not share his glory with another.
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: But I can't do that. Sure you can.
• 45:35
  Speaker 2: Because if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creature.
• 45:41
  Speaker 2: Old things have passed away. New things will come. You
• 45:44
  Speaker 2: have what is necessary to do it. And you also
• 45:47
  Speaker 2: have the proper motivation to do it.
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: What is it?
• 45:51
  Speaker 2: It is your love and adoration for the one who
• 45:54
  Speaker 2: has redeemed you. that you turn into a desire to
• 45:59
  Speaker 2: serve and bring the best out of those whom he
• 46:06
  Speaker 2: calls you to lead. In the words of that theologian,
• 46:16
  Speaker 2: Forrest Gump, that's all I have to say about that.
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: Let's pray.
• 46:35
  Speaker 2: Father, we live in a celebrity culture, and there is
• 46:40
  Speaker 2: simply no escaping it. We have people who are celebrities,
• 46:49
  Speaker 2: people who pretend to be celebrities, people who think they're celebrities,
• 46:52
  Speaker 2: and people who want to be celebrities. Unfortunately, this is
• 46:58
  Speaker 2: as true inside the church as it is outside. Grant
• 47:07
  Speaker 2: us humility. Open our eyes so that we might see
• 47:14
  Speaker 2: how egregious this is. That we might serve your people
• 47:25
  Speaker 2: with your glory in view. That we might honor Recognize
• 47:35
  Speaker 2: all praise that comes to us.
• 47:37
  Speaker 1: As belonging to you and you alone. That we might.
• 47:46
  Speaker 2: Constantly run to the cross in order to renew the
• 47:51
  Speaker 2: strength necessary to serve with this kind of humility. And
• 48:00
  Speaker 2: that we might rejoice with much rejoicing as we see
• 48:06
  Speaker 2: those whom we have the privilege of leading grow in
• 48:10
  Speaker 2: grace as a result of your work in and through us.
• 48:25
  Speaker 2: Grant that as we do this, we might make much
• 48:28
  Speaker 2: of Christ, his body, and the unity thereof. For it
• 48:35
  Speaker 2: is in his name and for his sake that we
• 48:38
  Speaker 2: pray and ask all these things. Amen.