The Virtues of True Spiritual Leadership

And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while.  When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’  But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’  And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?  Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him” (Luke 20:9-18).

Jesus had just confronted and laid bare the unbelieving hearts of the religious leaders. He was not through with them yet. He presented a parable where a vineyard represented the people whom the Lord brought up out of Egypt. He built a temple for them and established priests and leaders to keep them safe and to produce a good harvest of spiritual fruit. But these laborers degenerated, rejecting their Master’s law, His messengers and ultimately His “beloved Son”. On this day, a current generation of wicked leaders challenged Christ’s authority and His response provoked their hard hearts with a parable that reveals the serious responsibilities and requirements for a new kind of leadership. This is a timely truth for today as God has appointed leaders to care for another vineyard, His Church… “He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). There are important truths here for diligent, maturing disciples. To grow up into Christ, we must discern and follow only those leaders whom God has appointed and invested with the virtues of true spiritual leadership.

True spiritual leaders abide in the prophecy of God’s Word. In the parable, the Master sent servants three times to gather some of the fruit of the vineyard. Fruit is the result of seeds that have been carefully planted, nurtured, and harvested by the hand of a caring farmer. What a beautiful reflection of the work of the caring spiritual leader who is diligent to plant the Word of God in the hearts of young, growing disciples… “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:5-6). The seed that bears spiritual fruit is the Word of God… “The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). Do you have spiritual leaders that love and share the truth found in the prophecy of God’s Word?

True spiritual leaders acknowledge the presence of God’s Son. The religious leaders in today’s text felt threatened by the presence of Christ in their temple. He disrupted their plans and distracted their people. True spiritual leaders anticipate and rely upon the presence of Christ in all they do… “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him” (John 12:26). Do your pastors, teachers, elders, and deacons welcome and celebrate the presence of Christ in the fellowship and ministry where you are planted to grow?

True spiritual leaders accept the provision of God’s hand. Jesus restated His authority and sovereignty over His Church with a declaration that He will replace these fallen religious leaders. True spiritual leaders hold the reigns of ministry very lightly, recognizing that the ministry and their position belongs to Christ… “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD” (Ezekiel 34:15). Do your spiritual leaders encourage your trust in the perfect provision of Christ?

As we grow up into Christ, we learn to recognize and submit to those God has invested with…

The Virtues of True Spiritual Leadership.

The Heart that Cannot Believe

One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’  But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things” (Luke 20:1-8).

The religious leaders had heard His words and seen His miracles but still they could not believe. Their contention was with His words… “as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel”, and with His works… “He entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold” (Luke 19:45). Their concern was with the invisible authority that confirmed His teaching, preaching, and temple cleansing as well as with the undeniable power that produced the healing of the sick, the restoration of the broken, and the raising of the dead... “Tell us by what authority you do these things”. Their consternation was ultimately provoked by the cleansing of the temple and now they who most needed spiritual deliverance and healing confronted and sought to trap the One that came to set them free, but they were enslaved by the heart that cannot believe.

The unbelieving heart obeys the authority of men above the authority of God. One of life’s biggest questions has always been, Who’s in charge? How revealing that the biggest question in the hearts of the religious leaders was about authority. The did not ask how to preach, teach, or heal with the same effectiveness Christ demonstrated. They were not interested in connecting and sharing the ministry with Him so that many more people might benefit. No, their hearts were consumed with selfishness and fear that their own authority might be slipping away. True disciples are those who are totally surrendered to the authority and sovereignty of the Lord… “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Living and obeying the authority of God in an ungodly world confronts others with the question, Who’s in charge?

The unbelieving heart recognizes the acknowledgement of men above the acknowledgement of God. Jesus’ invocation of John into this confrontation was intended to compel a response to the One acknowledged by heaven. Through the words of the prophet John, God had acknowledged Jesus Christ as His Messiah… “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ (John 1:29). He hoped to provoke in the hearts of His audience, an awareness of their captivity and blindness so that they might see Him as the One who could set them free… “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18). Sharing His gospel releases His power to free captive hearts and open blind eyes to recognize the acknowledgement of God.

The unbelieving heart seeks the approval of men above the approval of God. The religious leaders could not answer Jesus because they feared the reaction of the crowd. We are reminded of this same fear controlling the heart of Pontius Pilate… “So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified” (Mark 15:15). As we mature in the faith we are less concerned about pleasing others and more fulfilled in pleasing and serving Christ… “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). Evidence of maturing faith is a growing desire to seek and enjoy the approval of God.

As we grow up into Christ, living for Him can confront and proclaim liberty to…

The Heart that Cannot Believe.

The Condition of Our Heart, His Temple

And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words” (Luke 19:45-48).

Upon His arrival in Jerusalem, Jesus went straight to the temple. In light of His mission, He went right to the heart of the matter since the temple was the heart of this precious city. Jesus knew that to impact a culture and a people He must start in their heart. This is true of the human heart too. It is His primary target. The Spirit teaches that the human heart is created to be the dwelling place of Christ… “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6). The Spirit inspired Paul to pray that true believers would experience an increasing awareness of the presence and rule of Christ in our hearts… “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,  from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:14-17). Jesus’ dramatic cleansing of the temple is a clear reflection of how much He cares for the condition of our heart, His temple.

Our heart is to be a place of purity. Though we are born again children of God, we live in a fallen and impure world. Our enemies are numerous and relentless in their aggressive efforts to distract us and make us ineffective and unproductive ambassadors, soldiers, and witnesses for Christ. We must be diligent to guard and keep our heart, the dwelling place of the Spirit of Christ, set apart from the corruption that engulfs us… “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Demonstrating His awareness of our struggle to keep our hearts pure in an unholy world, Jesus prayed for us… “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:15-17). As Christ conquers our heart we grow in purity and we are sanctified by His Word.

Our heart is to be a place of prayer. The whole purpose of the temple was connection with God. The whole purpose of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection is connection with God. Evidence that we are born again is echoing the first disciples’ increasing desire for connection with God through prayer… “Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray’” (Luke 11:1). As Christ conquers our heart it is transformed into a house of prayer.

Our heart is to be a place of prophecy. After the purity of the temple was restored, Jesus began to teach God’s Word daily. The word prophecy found in the New Testament comes from the root word for prophet, prophētēs in the Greek, that means inspired speaker. The Lord wants His Word firmly implanted in the purified heart of every true believer… “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). He also wants us set apart from sin and the corrupting influence of the world so we are able with the help of the Holy Spirit in word and deed to share His inspired Word with the hurting world around us… “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (John 17:14-18). As Christ conquers our heart we become more effective at sharing the prophecy of His inspired Word every day.

As we grow up into Christ, He fills our heart with His presence as He gracefully guards and keeps…

The Condition of Our Heart, His Temple.

The Time of Our Visitation

And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation” (Luke 19:41-44).

Within the walls of Jerusalem was the temple and dwelling place of God. The people in this city were Christ’s own family and household. Next to heaven, Jerusalem was the holiest place created. God and his angels dwelled there. All the service and worship of God was to be done in this city. Many of the patriarchs lived and were buried within the city limits of Jerusalem. It is also where Christ the Son of God had often come and walked in the flesh. Soon He would die and be buried here, and the miracle of His resurrection would forever set this city apart as holy unto God. The Church would soon be born here when the gift of the Holy Spirit would come upon His waiting disciples. Jesus will confirm the sanctity of Jerusalem with His return to the Mount of Olives at God’s appointed time. Yet Jesus prophesied the very near destruction of Jerusalem because its citizens, despite all of the previous witness of the prophets and now of Jesus Christ Himself, did not know the time of our visitation.

Like Jerusalem, we are often unresponsive to the presence of Christ. When we are born again, the Spirit of Christ takes up residence in our heart… “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6). He promised He will never leave us… “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). As we mature in the faith our awareness and responsiveness to Christ’s presence empowers us to live Godly lives in an ungodly world.

Like Jerusalem, we are often unmindful of the peace of Christ. Because of the special place Jerusalem holds in God’s heart, there can never be any lasting peace for its citizens until Christ claims it as His own… “At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart” (Jeremiah 3:17). Just as there will be no peace for the city of Jerusalem until Christ conquers it, there will never be any lasting peace in the human heart until Christ conquers it… “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15). After we have surrendered and seated Christ on the throne of our heart, we learn to keep our focus on Him through the trials of this earthly life… “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3). Christ promises to guard and protect our heart in His matchless peace… “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Maturing disciples rest in and reflect the perfect peace of Christ to a troubled world.

Like Jerusalem, we are often unaware of the pugnacity of Christ’s enemies. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because there was so much senseless suffering. He was about to defeat every spiritual enemy through the victory of the cross… “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:15). But the benefits of His victory are available only to those who believe in Him… “Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:5). Evidence that we are born of God is growing sensitivity to the work of our enemy and increasing faith in Jesus Christ the victorious Son of God!... “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4). Let the relentless pugnacity of the devil lead you to increasing faith and victory through Jesus Christ!

As we grow up into Christ, we increasingly reflect the inner presence of Christ as we enjoy more of…

The Time of Our Visitation.

The King that Serves Us

And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here.  If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’”  So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them.  And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”  And they said, “The Lord has need of it.”  And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.  And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.  As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”  He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Luke 19:28-40).

Jesus’ earthly mission was approaching its climax. From the earliest days of His public ministry He promised a new kingdom was soon to be established… “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 4:17). His signs, miracles, and wonders confirmed His divine authority and provided glimpses of the coming kingdom, but in His approach to Jerusalem, even as anticipation of His glorious and powerful reign grew, Christ revealed in very clear and intentional ways that He is the King that serves us!

Jesus is the sovereign King. His mission was well planned. His earthly ministry was winding down with a preaching, teaching, and healing crusade that concluded in Jerusalem exactly at the Passover. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to reveal the truth that Jesus came to fulfill the Passover… “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus was in total control of every moment of His passion week, from the triumphal entry to the resurrection. He affirmed that He is our sovereign King with these words… “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father” (John 10:17-18). Indeed, there is no part of a true disciple’s life that is not under the watchful eye and sovereign authority of the King that serves us!

Jesus is the strengthening King: Jesus empowered His disciples by sharing His authority with them. He sent two disciples into a village to secure a colt from its owners with nothing more than the words… “The Lord has need of it”. The disciples’ word moved the hearts of the colt's owners, and their own hearts were encouraged by a significant spiritual truth for all true disciples. Christ shares His authority with disciples who are fully engaged in His gospel sharing, kingdom building work… “And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal” (Luke 9:1-2). Indeed, we have strength to meet every need and overcome every enemy as we grow into effective, productive disciples of the King that serves us!

Jesus is the submissive King: in fulfilling prophecy and riding a colt, Jesus deflected praise toward His Father and the crowd got it... “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38). In this passion week, Christ would fulfill and illustrate the kind of submissive, sacrificial love He wants true disciples in every age to emulate… “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Indeed, when we are submissive to God’s will and to meeting the needs of others we become a clear reflection of the King that serves us!

As we grow up into Christ, we are increasingly filled with and reflecting the gentle power of…

The King that Serves Us.