| August 11, 2002 | George 'Buzz' Rundlett | |
| Marks of a Christian |
Last week, Pastor Vibert gave a compelling sermon on "The ideal leader." He said that Jesus was the ideal leader because he never fails in his leadership. I would like to take that just a step further: Anytime one can get another to do something for them....that's leadership. It doesn't matter if you put the fire in the other person's heart or under their rear end, if they do it, then that's leadership, pure and simple.
However, leadership is far more complicated than that. Leadership defined is the art, (not a science) of influencing and directing people in such a way as to obtain their willing obedience, confidence, respect and loyal cooperation in order to accomplish some sort of a task. Can one be a leader if there is no follower? Can there be a teacher without a student? Can you have a doctor without a patient? I don't know, but how about this question...Can a person be a leader and a follower at the same time? The answer is 'yes'! I will explain later.
Jesus is the ethical leader of our church. Jesus tells the story that the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. A stranger, they will not follow... for they do not know the voice of strangers. (John 10). We may be sure that if the sheep are following a certain shepherd, they belong to that shepherd. Jesus was speaking about Christians. Living the life of a Christian means to follow Jesus just as the sheep followed their own shepherd. The flock belongs to Jesus and he belongs to the flock. I belong to Jesus, and he belongs to me.
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I don't need anything when the Lord is my shepherd because he provides everything. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. When 'He maketh me'...that's leadership. By the way, green pastures aren't too shabby. Green pastures means plenty to eat and it's usually a setting of peace and tranquility. He leadeth me, (again, Jesus is leading) beside the still waters. Still waters is very good. The water is not aggressive, it's usually in the flat lands. Still water is cool and there is plenty of it. I have everything I need: green pastures and still waters. I am content and happy in this serene setting. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name sake. Every path in the name of Christianity is right. They are true and with light. They are never false and in the dark. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. I fear nothing when I am with the Lord. I feel no threat about anything. He will search for me when I am lost and he will rescue me from the bramble bushes and thickets when I am caught in them. I really like this next line...it is the title of the hymn we just sang. It is, "Surely goodness and mercy...shall follow me all the days of my life." To follow me, makes me the leader. Is that the best we can hope for is goodness and mercy following us for the rest of our lives. I would almost admit that it is, but there is something better than that. Here comes the kicker: "And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." It doesn't get any better than that. Our life on earth is but a snap shot in time, but eternal life within the Lord's house is the most we can ever hope for. It don't get any better than that!
So let's take this word LEAD and make an acronym out of it. We can make it into four words that make up the marks of a Christian: The Marks of a Christian There are certain marks by which we can be recognized as followers of Jesus. They begin with the letters of the word L E A D. Love, Endurance, Action, Devotion.
The Mark of Love: "He who does not love does not know God; for God is love." (1 John 4: 8) The Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to love people whom we could not otherwise love. The Holy Spirit also gives us a love for Jesus and a desire to follow him. All of us here today are here because we love Jesus. We love God. We wouldn't be here if we didn't love God. God loves to be loved. David had a very chaotic and messed up life but he was still favored by God because David loved God. God loves to be loved.
The Mark of Endurance: We must endure, thrive, flourish and make our love grow for Jesus. We cannot let it fade. We can do this by: Regular study of the Bible. Attending a Bible class regularly. Regular practice in Christian living...it helps us endure the resistance to temptation. Building a team spirit by having fellowship with other Christians. Having Christian friends with whom we can talk and play and worship builds endurance.
The Mark of Action: "Faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2: 17 NIV). Being honest, unselfish, and responsible. Being kind and considerate of other people. Being witnesses by the way we live and the way we speak. Giving financial support to our church and other Christian causes. Taking part in the Christian life of the church. Caring for people who need our help. Doing the things that Jesus has commanded us. Jesus taught us how to live a Godly life. He taught us how to pray. He taught us patience, kindness, 'turn the other cheek', forgiveness, contrition, salvation, baptism, love one another, love for the poor, the helpless, the depressed and oppressed. If we live with Jesus being the perfect model, we will walk on the paths of righteousness and goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life.
The Mark of Devotion: We want to worship God. We want to celebrate his faithfulness. We appreciate His love and care. We take part regularly in the worship services of our church. We pay close attention to the preaching of God's message. We join regularly in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. We have private personal devotions alone with God, and we have public devotions. Personal devotion may be having an altar in your own home. I hope you don't have a computer, or a home entertainment theater or a television for an altar. I hope that your altar is a place like a prayer station that you can go to in order to commune with God. You can pray there and study God's word there. I hope each and everyone of you have an altar in your home.
For public devotion, I can think of one man that probably was one of the greatest converts that ever lived for Jesus. Perhaps Paul was one of the greatest promoters of the propagation of the Christian faith that ever lived. He lived, breathed, studied, worshipped Jesus. He thought about Jesus and he wrote about Jesus. Of the 27 Books of the New Testament, it is said that Paul wrote fourteen of them. Paul wanted to convert as many people as he could to the Christian faith. He helped build churches and he professed his faith to God so ambitiously.
We can do the same. We can bring people to church and let them discover for themselves what a beautiful faith it is. When they come to church they can hear Pastor Vibert preach God's word. They can see the spirit of Christian fellowship amongst us. They can see how peaceful our hearts are. They need this; perhaps all they need is a little 'nudge'. You will have planted the seed. When will the seed germinate and sprout? Will it happen that day, in a week, month or year. No one knows when the seed will take hold, but you have planted the seed. It would be wonderful to fill this room five times a day. I can see Pastor Vibert sliding down in his chair and clutching his heart.
This world needs more people to come to Christianity because the Devil is so busy doing his thing. There are people out there that snatch children right out of their homes. There is terrorism, war, pestilence and famine. There are oppressed people that are hungry for the word of God. There are downtrodden people who need the comfort of God's word. That is our job. Our job is to forget being the "Silent majority" but to be more vocal about the goodness of God. We need to fill this Sanctuary five times a day. There are neighbors out there that need to see the peace and serenity that God puts in our hearts.
We wear the marks of a Christian, so we are models for Jesus. We lead for Jesus as we follow for Jesus. There used to be a popular phrase that went like this: "Keep the faith" Well, I disagree with that phrase. I prefer, "Pass it around." That's what we must do. We must pass it on. Let us pray.
PRAYER: The whole Christian life, from beginning to end, is a life of faith. The secret of living as we Christians is to have faith in Jesus to lead us through life. Because we have faith in Jesus: The Holy Spirit fills us with love for God and foe other people.. The Holy Spirit shows us how to gain endurance through study, exercise and fellowship with other Christians. Because our faith in Jesus is expressed in what we do, we take action in ways that show that we are Christians. Because our faith leads us to respect God, we show our devotion by worshiping him with other Christians and in personal devotions. In the name of Jesus, Amen.