A sermon on leadership

Sermon Series: Follow Me As I Follow Christ – A Journey with Paul

Sermon #13: “Leading Like Paul Led”

Text: Philippians 4:9; 1 Corinthians 11:1

Introduction:

The story is told of a tribe of Native Americans who came to their Chief one autumn and asked him if the winter was going to be cold or not.
Not really knowing for sure how cold the winter would be, the chief replied that the winter was going to be cold and that the members of the village needed to collect wood to be prepared.
Being a good leader, the chief went ahead and called the National Weather Service and asked, “How cold is this winter going to be?”
The National Weather Service representative said, “This winter is going to be very cold.”
So the Chief went back to his people and encouraged them to collect even more wood to be prepared.”
One week later the Chief called the National Weather Service again and asked, “Is this winter going to be a very cold winter?”
“Yes,” the representative replied, “it’s actually going to be a very, very cold winter.”
So the Chief went back to his people and impressed on them the need to find every scrap of wood they could find.
Two weeks later the Chief called the National Weather Service again and asked, “Are you absolutely sure, that the winter is going to be very, very cold?”
“Absolutely,” the representative replied, “even colder than we thought because the Native Americans are collecting wood like crazy!”

This story raises the question of leadership: Who is leading whom?
Are the leaders truly leading the followers? Or are the followers leading the leaders?
Does the dog wag the tail, or does the tail wag the dog?
One of the simplest definitions of leadership is this: leadership is influence.
And because all of us have influence, all of us are leaders to one degree or another.
You and I are leaders to the degree that we influence others, either for good or for evil.

One of the greatest biblical leaders of all time is the Apostle Paul.
Today, as we continue our study of the life of Paul, I want us to focus on his example of leadership.
Paul encouraged the Christians he led to follow him as he followed Christ, and that is an excellent model for leadership.
My hope for today’s study is that we can learn to lead like Paul led.
Today, the format for our study of Paul’s leadership will come from two passages of Scripture.
We will look at Paul’s last meeting with the Ephesian elders, and his final words to them.
And we will look at something Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica as he reminded them of the way he ministered among them.
Let’s read both passages and give a little background about each and then let’s point out the leadership principles of Paul that we can glean from the two passages.

Paul’s Leadership Passages.
The first passage that reveals the principles of Paul’s leadership is Acts 20:13-38.
¹³ We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. ¹⁴ When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. ¹⁵ The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Kios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. ¹⁶ Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.

¹⁷ From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. ¹⁸ When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. ¹⁹ I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews. ²⁰ You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. ²¹ I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

²² “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. ²³ I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. ²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.

²⁵ “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. ²⁶ Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. ²⁷ For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. ²⁸ 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. ²⁹ I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. ³⁰ Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. ³¹ So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

32 “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. ³³ I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. ³⁴ You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. ³⁵ In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

³⁶ When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. ³⁷ They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. ³⁸ What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

Wouldn’t you have loved to have been there that day with the Ephesian elders?
Wouldn’t you have loved to hear these words from Paul and see the conviction with which he delivered them?
This meeting with the Ephesian elders occurred toward the end of Paul’s 3^rd missionary journey
As you can see on the map before you, Paul started this third journey from Antioch of Syria, the same place he began the previous two journeys.
Notice how he retraced the journey he had taken before.
He ended up in Ephesus where he stayed longer than any other place on any of his journeys, almost three years.
After leaving Ephesus, he traveled north and then west over to Macedonia and then down into Achaia.
Finally, when it was time to go to Jerusalem, Paul made a stop in Miletus and called for the Ephesian elders to come meet him there, and that’s when he delivered the words we read.
In a few minutes, I will point out some the leadership principles of Paul we learn from Acts 20.

The second passage that reveals the principles of Paul’s leadership is 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12.
¹ You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. ² We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. ³ For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. ⁴ On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. ⁵ You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed – God is our witness. ⁶ We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.

⁷ As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. ⁸ We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. ⁹ Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.

¹⁰ You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. ¹¹ For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, ¹² encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

The experiences that Paul was reminding the Thessalonians about occurred during the 2^nd missionary journey that we studied in our sermon two weeks ago when we did a survey of Paul’s 2^nd missionary journey.
Looking at a map of that second journey, we are reminded that Paul left Antioch of Syria and traveled through Phrygia and Galatia, but ended up in Troas after the Spirit prevented them from preaching the word in Asia and Bithynia.
It was then that Paul had the dream in which the man from Macedonia invited them to come there.
Paul and his companions left immediately and went Philippi, where they converted Lydia and her household, and then ended up in jail, which led to the conversion of the Philippian jailer and his household.
The imprisonment in Philippi is what Paul was referring to when he wrote to the Thessalonians saying, “we had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi.”
After leaving Philippi, Paul went to Thessalonica where Paul had success and planted a church with some of Jews, a large number of God-fearing Greeks, and not a few prominent women.
The Jews who didn’t follow Paul began to oppose him and rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace who formed a mob and started a riot in the city.
Paul and his companions left that night and went to Berea and then down to Athens and the rest of that 2^nd missionary journey.
How would you have liked to be among those first Christians in Thessalonica when Paul planted the church there on his 2^nd missionary journey?
When Paul wrote his first letter to the Thessalonians, he reminded them of the kind of ministry and leadership he had conducted among them as he taught and cared for that young church.
The first-century world was full of false spiritual leaders and charlatans, so it was easy for Paul’s critics and persecutors in Thessalonica to lump him in with those charlatans who ministered merely to gain personal power, wealth, and prestige.
Therefore, it was necessary for Paul to remind them of just how different and godly his ministry and leadership had been among them.
Let’s gather some of Paul’s leadership principles from his ministry with the Thessalonians and the Ephesians and see how they can be a model for our leadership and ministry.

Paul’s Leadership Principles
First, A Good Spiritual Leader Models Dependence on God’s Word.
Paul was a man of God who knew and depended on God’s Word.
Paul knew that the best thing he could do for others was to teach them what God’s Word said, and to encourage them to stick with God’s Word.
And so, in Paul’s speech to the Ephesian elders he said the following:
You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house (vs. 20).
For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God (vs. 27).
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 (vs. 32).
Paul knew if he could get those elders to stick with God’s Word then they would have what they needed to face the future and receive their inheritance.
When Paul wrote to Timothy, his understudy, he often reminded him of the importance of depending on God’s Word.
In 1 Timothy 4:13, Paul wrote: Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.
In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul wrote: And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.
In 2 Timothy 2:15, Paul wrote: Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
In 2 Timothy 3:14-17, Paul wrote: But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵ and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
In 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul wrote: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.
Nothing can replace the Word of God in the lives and ministries of all Christians, especially Christian leaders.
Paul was a good leader because he modeled a dependence on the Word of God.

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Second, A Good Spiritual Leader Models the Love of God in Caring for the Flock.
When Paul tried to describe his loving leadership at Thessalonica, he employed the illustration of loving parents.
Paul wrote: ⁷ but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. ⁸ We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.
Paul wrote: ¹¹ For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, ¹² encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
The church is the family of God.
God is our Heavenly Father and we are His spiritual children.
We are to be loving brothers and sisters to each other.
And those in leadership are to be like spiritual parents.
Good, loving leaders will embrace and employ the best characteristics of mothers and fathers.
Like a good spiritual mother, Paul said that he was gentle and caring.
Like a good spiritual father, Paul said that he encouraged, comforted and urged.
All good parents know that they must act lovingly toward their children, and this includes being gentle, and encouraging and comforting, but sometimes it also includes urging and correcting.
Good loving leaders are sensitive to the needs of those they are leading and they demonstrate an affection for them – you can feel the affection Paul had for those he led.
How sad it is when church leaders don’t demonstrate the love of God in their leadership.
How sad when they walk over people, or use them for their own purposes.
If anyone doesn’t really like people and have a heart to care for them, then they should do everyone a favor and stay out of leadership.
The last thing the church needs is mere bosses – what we need are leaders who treat others like loving mothers and fathers.
Paul was that kind of leader, and that’s what makes him an excellent example for us to follow.

Third, A Good Spiritual Leader Models Character.
Paul’s godly character included a number of important aspects – let’s touch on a few of them.
Paul was humble.
Paul told the Ephesian elders that he “served the Lord with great humility and with tears.” (vs. 19)
Biblical humility is a conscious awareness of our utter dependence on God.
A humble person is continually aware that all they are stems from God’s grace and power.
Paul was keenly aware of God’s grace and power in his life.
To the Corinthians he wrote, “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.” (2 Cor. 3:5)
Godly character includes that kind of humility and it makes someone a better leader.
Paul was a man of integrity and authenticity – he was the same person publicly and privately.
To the Ephesian elders, Paul said, “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia” (vs. 18).
To the Thessalonians, Paul wrote, “You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed” (vs. 10).
Good leaders practice what they preach – they are people of integrity and authenticity.
Paul was not deceptive.
Paul reminded the Thessalonians, “For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you” (vs. 3), and “You know we never used flattery” (vs. 4).
Paul avoided sleazy tactics and he stayed off the slimy path of manipulation.
Paul wasn’t greedy – he wasn’t in it for the money.
To the Ephesian elders, Paul said, “I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.” (vs. 33)
Paul reminded the Thessalonians, “Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.” (vs. 9)
There were times when Paul received financial support for his ministry, but there were others times when he worked to support himself.
The character of the godly leader must demonstrate that they are not in it for the money.
Sadly, there are some spiritual leaders who are in it for the money, and they make themselves rich by fleecing the flock.
Paul wasn’t a people pleaser.
Good leaders seek to please only God, they are not trying to please themselves or others.
To the Thessalonians, Paul wrote: We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts…We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. (vs. 4, 6)
A sure sign of personal insecurity is wanting to be liked by everyone – an insecure leader is dangerous!
Paul learned how to resist the trap of being a people pleaser.

Fourth, A Good Spiritual Leader Models Courage.
Paul demonstrated the courage to say what needed to be said, to do what needed to be done, and to go where he needed to go.
To the Ephesian elders, Paul said, “You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you” (vs. 20).
On one occasion, the apostle Paul had to confront the apostle Peter, face to face, because Peter was in the wrong – that took courage! (Gal. 2:11-14)
Leaders sometimes have to tell people things that are hard for them to hear, and it takes courage
Paul modeled courage when he went into dangerous places, and continued to minister in spite of beatings and imprisonments, and the threats on his life.
Good spiritual leaders trust in the Lord and walk in courage.

Finally, A Good Spiritual Leader Models Sacrifice.
Paul said to the Ephesian elders, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me.” (vs. 24)
Paul wrote to Timothy, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.” (2 Tim. 4:6)
To the Philippians, Paul wrote, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (1:21)
Paul lived a life of sacrifice, whether on the road or in prison, he suffered for Christ.
Jesus said this to Ananias about Saul of Tarsus who waited in a blinded state in Damasus: “This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15-16)
Spiritual leaders must be ready to suffer and to sacrifice.
Spiritual leaders must be ready to sacrifice their time and efforts, and to literally offer their lives in the service of God – they pour out their lives as a drink offering.
Paul did that, and that’s why he is such a good example for us to follow.

Conclusion:

Paul is such a good leadership example for us because he led by example.
Paul invites us to follow him as he follows Christ.

This notion of leading by example has been graphically illustrated by the U.S. Army infantry.
The Army infantry are the foot soldiers who do most of the front-line fighting.
The statue you see on the screen is the symbol of the infantry called “Follow Me” and is located at Fort Benning, Georgia.
It shows a soldier moving forward with his rifle pointing forward, his right arm is giving a “come ahead” motion, and his head is looking backward shouting “follow me!”
This symbol illustrates “leadership-by-example” as the soldier calls his men to follow him into the heart of the battle.
That’s good leadership on the physical battlefield, and that’s good leadership on the spiritual battlefield.

I want to encourage each of us to ask ourselves the following questions:
What kind of influence am I exerting?
Is my example one worthy of following?
Am I leading people closer to God or am I leading them away from God?
Which aspects of Paul’s leadership do I need to give more attention to?
Am I modeling dependence on God’s Word?
Am I modeling the love of God in caring for God’s flock?
Am I modeling character? (humility, integrity, not greed or people pleasing)
Am I modeling courage? (to say or do what God wants, to go where God sends)
Am I modeling sacrifice?
Like Paul, let’s strive to provide an example that says to others, “follow me as I follow Christ.”
If we do that, then we will be stronger Christians, better parents, and more effective leaders.
Let’s learn to lead like Paul!

Resources:

Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit, by Charles Swindoll, Word Publishing, 2002, Chapters 15.

“Who’s Leading You?” Sermon by A. Todd Coget, SermonCentral.com

David Owens