Skip to main content

Sacrificial Leadership

1 Corinthians 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ

    When you step into a leadership position, it is not something you can decide to do half-heartedly. Becoming a leader means giving your all. Like Christ, who emptied Himself and undeservedly died on the cross for our sins, we must be self-sacrificial.

Philippians 2:5-11
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant
,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!


Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.  (NIV)


    Being a leader means more than standing in front of others and showing them the way. Being a leader means giving up your own benefits for the benefit of others. We are to serve them and think of them as more important than ourselves.
    As leaders we will have to sacrifice our time, our relationships, our money, and our talents and abilities. All will be on the table to be used at His disposal. He has created us and blessed us to be a blessing to others and to point to Him. He didn't give us gifts and abilities to keep them to ourselves! He gave them to us to be used to His benefit.
    Of course, we sacrifice all these things out of our love for Christ and His people. For God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7)! Let us give to God the things that were His to begin with. Let us lead leaving everything on the table to be used. Let us put others before ourselves and lead like Jesus, sacrificing it all. And let us enjoy every second doing it!

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (ESV)
Romans 5:8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (ESV)
John 15:12-14 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (ESV)
Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (ESV)






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Listen Up

    Is Jesus talking to you? I hear many people wonder how to hear God's voice and what to listen for. I want to offer a bit of wisdom on the topic. If you are wondering if God is talking to you, the answer is yes. We were designed to have a relationship with our creator and He is always there trying to get ahold of you if you'll only pay a little attention.     How does God communicate with us? The first way is through His word. Those are direct words from God Himself, written through His people. The Bible is our instruction manual to life. Whatever difficulty we may be facing, there is always an answer in scripture. God, having known every need before we ever needed it, has already provided an answer. 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (ESV)     The second way God communicates with us is by talking directly to us. Just like Adam and Eve spok...

Multiplication Without Division

    The church environment is made to be the body and the family of Christ. We are supposed to love each other and support each other through everything. Sadly, this is not the attitude of most churches in America today. Unfortunately, many people bring the world into the church instead of bringing the church into the world.      A lot of people use the church as a place where they can jockey for positions and get recognized for their talents. They use it as a place where they can judge and condemn others from the safety of their own elite clique. They look down condescendingly on those they see sinning, while sweeping their own sin under the rug.  They cause division. This attitude comes straight out of the world without Christ.  Matthew 7:5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. (NIV)     A church is a place where we exalt Jesus and ...

Humble Pie

    One of the most valuable characteristics in our walk with Christ is humility. When we have the ability to humble ourselves before Jesus and accept His leading, we go far. But problems arise when we force our own way. Humility is a characteristic that allows us to accept correction and truth and grow stronger because of it. Pride keeps us tied down and unable to grow up in Christ.     We have our brothers and sisters around us to keep pointing us to Jesus. That means helping us through areas not aligned with Him and combating those areas with the truth. But if we get angry and reject those people, we miss out on growing up for sake of being "right" and lose the people Jesus put in our lives for His sake. It doesn't matter if we are right but only that we follow what Jesus calls right and good. He is the one true judge and if we respect His ultimate goodness and authority, we should aim to follow in His ways.     Do not let your pride stunt your spiri...