The answers provided below in the Message Based Discussion Questions are for the Message presented on April 27, 2014. They are designed to stimulate thinking and not prevent it. Please consider how you would answer the questions.

How do you prepare leadership in Jesus?

1) Train them to know who they are in the Jesus 4:11-12

• Be who you are in Jesus 1 Tim. 4:12a;
  • Acts 16:1-5; 1 Tim. 5:23; Col. 2:9-10
• Why do people look down on you? 1 Tim. 4:12a; Matt 13:54-57
• Let God grow you spiritually by pursuing Him 1 Tim. 4:12b
  • Speech [word] – Matt 12:35-37; Jam. 3:1-12
  • Conduct – behavior – godliness. 1 Pet. 3:1-2
  • Love – action for the benefit of others. 1 John 3:16;4:10
  • Spirit – empowerment Eph. 5:18; 1:18-19
  • Faith – Rom. 14:23
  • Purity –1 Jn. 2:15-16

2) Train them to know His Word by His Spirit 4:13-14

3) Train them to absorb His Word for transformation 4:15

4) Train them by training yourself 4:16

Jesus is our Lord!  He is waiting on leaders to step ahead and lead!

• Know who you are in Jesus! Forget about what others say if they joke, make cute cuts, put down and take anything away from the gold you have in Jesus. Col. 2:9-10.
• Pursue holiness and God will use you in great ways in His joy!

Message Based Discussion Questions

1) Have you ever served in a leadership position? What did you like about it? What did you not like about it?

• Several – husband, father, pastor,…
• The opportunity to learn how to set the example, but see how short I fell
• The opportunity to try to be like Jesus, but realize apart from His Spirit, I failed too often.

Digging Deeper:

2) Is it important to know who you are? _yes__ Why? Did God know who He was? (Ex. 3:14) Why is it important to know who you are in Jesus rather than what you perceive you are (or what others perceive) in the world?

• If we don’t know who we are, then we won’t know what we are to do.
• God knew “I am who I am.” He knew what to do.
• It’s important to know who I am in Jesus, because that is the issue, not who I am. I am merely a glove in the Redeemer’s hand. I am ambassador for the King of Kings. I am a reconciler for the God of the universe. I am His and He is all that I am.

3) Can you think of any Biblical characters who “arrived”? _no, there were none, but Jesus___ What Scripture would you use to support your conclusions? (Take Joseph in Genesis as an example. Cf. Gen. 37:3-10; 39:7-9; 41:15-16; 42:30; 45:1-3; 50:18-20. Did he think he thought he had arrived?)

• John 8:58
• Joseph was favored by Jacob, but he did not need to make an issue of his dreams Gen. 37:3-10
  • He knew he was under God’s authority, even though he ruled in Potiphar’s household Gen. 39:7-9
  • He recognized his power to interpret dreams came from God Gen. 41:15-16
  • His brothers accused him of rough language Gen. 42:30 (after they sold him into slavery!)
  • He revealed himself to his brothers in joy Gen. 45:1-3
  • He knew he was under the sovereign will of God and he had not arrived himself Gen. 50:18-20
  • You might have other examples

4) Are there additional characteristics that could be added to the list of 1 Timothy 4:12? _These cover leadership well_ Which ones would you add if you could? Are they covered in what is listed? How so or how not?

• Anything else to be added could be covered in these six, but they might amplify specific aspects of these six.
• For example, “loyalty” would be covered in conduct and love. Integrity would be covered in faith and purity. Respect would be covered in conduct, love and faith. Faithfulness is covered in conduct, spirit and faith.
• The additional words bring out additional values that could be emphasized if necessary.

Making application to the message:

5) What are several things someone else at Grace could do in order to grow in the six areas mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:12?

• “They” could watch their words more carefully, be more active in proving their love for others like going to visit or bring a meal.
• “They” could depend on the Spirit more and teach a class or forgive or help someone get over their baggage.
• “They” could remove bad DVDs, books or websites that pull their mind from Jesus
• “They” could seek the holiness of God in dress (modest), food (fasting), entertainment (getting rid of some of the extraneous cable options)
• “They” could step out of their comfort zone and risk leading a class, discipling a person or serving as an usher.

6) How would you disciple someone to grow in the six categories mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:12?

• Challenge and commit to holy speech.
• Be held accountable for foul language, cute cuts or extraneous language.
• Have an accountability group to ask questions about specific conduct behaviors.
• Challenge to risk stepping out of his comfort zone and trust the empowerment of God’s Spirit
• Challenge to two “love actions” a week for his family
• Determine what two comfort zones need to be stepped out of for growth
• Determine what time waster or mind polluters need to be removed for purity. Act on them.

7) Examine the list below. Which of those principles are more difficult than others? Why?

• Standing alone, because there is no audible voice from God.
• Making decisions others are not willing to make, because it goes against what “normal” people might do.

Myron Rush identifies tough issues facing every Christian leader in The New Leader. We are wise to ponder them slowly.

• – You must be willing to stand alone.
• – You must be willing to go against public opinion in order to promote what you believe.
• – You must be willing to risk failure.
• – You must become master of your emotions.
• – You must strive to remain above reproach.
• – You must be willing to make decisions others don’t want to make.
• – You must be willing to say no at times, even when you’d like to say yes.
• – You must sometimes be willing to sacrifice personal interests for the good of the group.
• – You must never be content with the average; you must always strive for the best.
• – People must be more important to you than possessions.
• – You will have to work harder to keep your life in balance than people do who are not leaders.

Paul Borthwick, Leading the Way, Navpress, 1989, pp. 177-178.