C3 Church Atlanta Online

C3 Church Atlanta Online


Spiritual Leadership - Part 10 - Jesus, Leaders Face Defining Moments

December 01, 2013

There are several different kinds of moments in life that a leader will have to face:


Moments of Temptation: Jesus faced temptation. In Luke 4, we see Him being tempted by the devil, and each time, Jesus refuted the temptation with the Word of God. The devil will try to tempt you to compromise your stance on God’s Word so that you will become weak. God’s Word is the bottom line. Stand on it.


Moments of Rejection: Jesus was rejected. We see this further on in Luke 4. He was rejected in His hometown. Everyone gets rejected; a leader especially for we stand up for what is unpopular. Any moment we go against the social flow, we will be rejected, but stand firm, for God is with us.
Moments of Limited Resources: These are moments when we stepped out in faith but feel limited in the natural. Jesus is the God of more than enough. He shows this in the feeding of the 5000. When we know where our resources come from, we know that we do not need to fear lack. Jesus is our provider.
Moments of Isolation: There will be times when we as leaders will feel alone. Jesus, when He was on the cross, felt so alone that He called out to God asking, “Why have You forsaken me?†We will feel alone but that does not mean we are alone. God is always there with us.
Moments of Disappointment: In John 6:66, it says that many disciples turned away and deserted Jesus soon after He began preaching things that did not make much sense to them or were too challenging. Jesus knew what it felt like to be disappointed. The people who left were not simple people who came to listen; they were disciples, friend, and people He had begun to pour into and grow. These kinds of people—who we love and trust—can and will disappoint us.
Moments of Personal Loss: Jesus felts the loss of His friend, Lazarus. He knew He was going to bring him back, but that did not stop the fact that it hurt Him to lose a friend. We will face times of pain and loss.
Moments of Anger: Anger is not a bad thing. Righteous anger that is controlled is a great motivator! Anger uncontrolled is dangerous. Jesus got angry twice in the gospels. Both times was when He was angered by the religious crowd. Do not be surprised when you get angry.
Moments of Inadequacy: This is part of being human. We will always feel like we are unable to do what it is God has called us to do. Jesus understood, but He also knew where to seek His worth. When we know who we are in God, we know that He will fill the inadequacies.
Moments of Betrayal: We all know the verses that back this one. Judas was one of the twelve, yet he betrayed Jesus. There are people who we have grown, who were a part of our team, and who have done life with us who will betray us.
Moments of Accusation: Jesus stood before the Jewish council while witnesses gave false testimony about Him. This is a scary thought—to be accused of something we did not do and to have witnesses brought against us. That is part of leadership. We will be in the line of fire.
Moments of Abuse: We can begin to feel abused and used if we forget why we are leading. God, His Kingdom, and His will are, ideally, our motivations. If they are not, we will quickly begin to feel the hurt of leadership. So, we should check our motivations and realign with God’s will so we can withstand these moments of abuse.
Moments of Loneliness: Jesus told His disciples in John 16:32 and 33 that they were going to run away and leave Him to face His fate alone. Leaders will experience loneliness. They will have to face trials and challenges alone. It is in these moments that we can remember that God is always with us even if we feel alone.