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Displaying items by tag: leadership
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Wednesday, 20 April 2016 10:31

Unity in Leadership when Satan Attacks

A key component of leadership is maintaining unity in the midst of the enemy's attacks. Often well-intentioned men need to be trained in how to handle Satan's attacks--especially when he seeks to discourage, divide and discredit God's servants. The following study can be used on a retreat, at a leadership meeting, in a conference breakout session, etc. Feel free to modify this for your purposes. Thanks and God Bless!

when God is blessing and satan is attacking

Introduction

1) Where in the life of _________ is God working?

a. _________________________________________________________________

b. _________________________________________________________________

c. _________________________________________________________________


2) What threat does this create to Satan and the demonic world?

a. _________________________________________________________________

b. _________________________________________________________________

c. _________________________________________________________________

When God is working

Introduction

3) The Bible is full of examples of when God is working. Where in scripture do we see God working and what does it look like?

purify and strengthen

4) Read Exodus 4:24-26. In verse 24, what was the Lord seeking to do?

a. In verse 25, what did Zipporah do? What does this imply Moses had not done yet?

b. Why does the Lord require purity in His leaders?

c. In what ways can serving as a leader actually purify us?

d. Even though purification is not easy, why is it a good thing?

e. What are some dangers if we don’t grow in the Lord, while we serve as leaders?

5) Read 1 Samuel 30:1-6. What was happening in this account?

a. In verse 4, how did the people respond to the tragedy in verses 1-3? In a sense, where did they “go to” for strength and comfort?

b. We can see how much this strengthened and comforted them in verse 6. What were the people talking about doing? Why?

c. At the end of verse 6, what did David do?

d. When people are “taking up stones” against us, how do we strengthen ourselves in the Lord?

e. How can we strengthen one another in the Lord?

when satan is working  

Discourage and derail

6) Read Job 1:10-12. When Satan sought to bring Job to doubt God, he attacked Job’s family, finances and health. How might losses like these…

a. Discourage God’s servants?

b. Cause them to doubt God?

c. Cause them to lose the ability to have the time or focus on serving Christ and His people?

7) What kinds of things can happen to God’s servants to discourage them?

Anger and Unforgiveness

8) Read Ephesians 4:27. This verse says to not be angry and to not give the devil a foothold. How can anger get our focus off of Christ and His kingdom, and thereby giving Satan a foothold?

9) 2 Corinthians 2:11 speaks heavily of forgiveness as it relates to galvanizing a church against the schemes of Satan. Why is forgiveness so critical to a healthy church?

a. Why does Satan’s schemes seek to create attitudes of unforgiveness amongst God’s people? What does this produce amongst God’s people?

b. If we see an attitude of unforgiveness, how should we address it?

Divide and Conquer

10) Read Jude 16. This verse lists several attitudes that hinder the work of God. What do these attitudes look like and how do they hinder God’s work?

a. Grumblers & fault finders

b. Following after their own lusts (e.g. desires, opinions)

c. Speaking arrogantly

d. Flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage

11) Read 1 Timothy 5:19. This verse says to not receive an accusation against an elder unless there are two or more witnesses. Timothy was a godly church leader; why would Paul need to warn him about receiving accusations about other leaders?

a. How does that relate to the steps of reconciliation given by Jesus in Matthew 18:15-17?

b. If Timothy were to receive every accusation against an elder, without this requirement of 2 or 3 witnesses, what would likely happen to that leader or ministry?

12) Absalom at the City Gates – 2 Samuel 15:1-12

a. Satan rarely uses a crackpot to cause disunity. Who was Absalom? What was he like?

b. In verse 2, what was Absalom doing? Why did he rise early?

c. How did Absalom’s counsel create a seed of doubt in the minds of others? What impact did that have on David’s ability to minister? (c.f. verse 6) Why?

d. What response, or lack of response, did we see in David and the rest of the leaders? How did their silence contribute to the problem?  Who should they have talked to? What should they have said?


13) What principles can we glean for maintaining unity when people start creating an “us/them” or “divide and conquer” approach to the leadership?

a. _________________________________________________________________

b. _________________________________________________________________

c. _________________________________________________________________

Confusion and Disorder

14) Paul and the Fortune Telling Slave - Acts 16:14-22

d. How was God working in verses 14-15?

e. What was the slave girl doing in verse 17? What effect did this have?

f. How much of what she saying was untrue? How can saying “accurate” information be a detriment?


g. When Paul commanded the spirit to leave her, in verse 18, how was it viewed in the community? Why can the “right” response appear wrong to some people?


h. This fortune-telling slave created a situation that could not be resolved cleanly. How was this effective in undermining the ministry of Paul?

15) What principles can we glean for maintaining unity when there Satan created confusion and disorder?

a. _________________________________________________________________

b. _________________________________________________________________

c. _________________________________________________________________

Conclusion

16) 2 Corinthians 4:7–12 “7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; 8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death works in us, but life in you.”

a. In verse 7, what is at stake in Paul’s ministry?

b. When Paul is not crushed, not despairing, etc. is that because Satan has given up his assault against Paul? If not, why is Paul strong in the face of such trials?

c. Why does Paul talk about “we”? How can we help one another when facing these kinds of trials in our ministries?


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Tuesday, 14 December 2010 07:52

Leadership Principles from the Life of Moses

Leadership Principles from the Life of Moses

I have been reading through Exodus in my quiet times lately and here are some practical leadership principles that I have been encouraged by:
1) Often God's leaders have humble beginnings (e.g. Moses being born into a peasant's home).
2) At times, God's leaders have great opportunities for skill development (e.g. Moses growing up in Pharaoh's home).
3) Often times, immature future leaders see great injustices and act impertinently. They have the ability to see what is wrong and what needs to be changed, but they lack the proper judgment to know what the best course of action would be. Likewise, they lack the proper self control to respond in the wise, measured way that Christ would (e.g. Moses killing the Egyptian).
4) God's leaders are not perfect (e.g. Moses killing the Egyptian).
5) Because God's leaders are not perfect, and many commit serious sin, He will only greatly uses those who come to the point of full humility.
6) God's leaders respect and honor Him (e.g. Moses taking off his shoes before the Lord in Exodus 3:5).
7) It may take many years before God's leaders are properly and fully humbled, fully to the point of obeying the Lord rather than their own flesh (e.g. Moses going to Midian.
8) God will give His leaders clear vision, as in Exodus 3:7-10, and His leaders must find a way in their hearts to surrender to His direction and obey.
9) God's leaders may (and should) feel a strong sense of inadequacy, this allows them to fully rely upon God so that what is accomplished is of Him (e.g. Moses saying to God, "who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?" in Exodus 3:11).
10) God's leaders will often be blind to their own potential (e.g. Moses asking God "Who am I?" which is a silly question considering that he was the only Jew in the land who personally knew Pharaoh, had a relationship with him, understood him, and had the personal training to know how to conduct himself before Pharaoh).
11) God's leaders must be fully obedient to Him, pure in all aspects of their lives. This principle comes form that strange couple of verses in Exodus 4:24-26 where God was angry with Moses for not circumscising his son. It was Moses' wife, Zipporah, who recognized the need for absolute righteousness in all respects, so she circumscised the boy. When God has enlisted a person into His leadership, they had better not trifle with disobedience.
12) Often God will provide other people who will help carry the load--God did this wth Aaron, who was a co-leader with Moses after Exodus 4.
13) Often, people will not believe or respond properly to the notion that they are accountable to God. When Moses first told Pharaoh about God's call upon the Jews, he said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go." (Exodus 5:2).
14) Sometimes our first attempts to lead may result in a worsening of the situation, but even if people pronounce condemnation upon us, the Lord might be in that situation none-the-less. This happened with Moses and the Jews when he first sought to deliver them. Rather than obliging them, Pharaoh made their tasks harder. Rather than being grateful to Moses, the people condemned Moses and said, "Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you hvce made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh..." (Exodus 5:21).
15) Sometimes, things will get worse before they get better. This was the case with Moses, Pharaoh and the Jews. Their situation worsened and when Moses complained to the Lord, He said "Now you shall see what I will do..." (Exodus 6:1).
16) Often the Lord will allow perplexing problems into our lives to demonstrate His power. He said as much in Exodus 6:7, "...then you shall know that I am teh Lord your God..." Likewise, the Lord is about His glory and His name. At times this may mean that His leaders will endure hardship and mocking from those who disbelieve.
17) Sometimes the people will be so frightened, exhausted, hurt, scarred that they are unable to heed the voice of their leaders. This was the case with Moses in Exodus 6:9 where it says, "Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage."
18) Regardless of the people's reaction, God calls His leaders to be faithful and lead, as He did to Moses in Exodus 6:10-12.
19) Leaders need to encourage and strengthen those around them (Deut 3:28) and not be embittered against those who may surpass them according to God's design.
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