A Test for Leadership

Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice...I am the gate for the sheep.

John 10:1-3, 7

In Jesus' day sheep were sometimes kept in pens made of stone walls with a single gate for access. Briers were sometimes put on top of the wall as a sort of makeshift, first-century barbed wire to keep intruders out. And a watchman was hired to sleep at the gate to guard the sheep. Jesus uses this well-known shepherding practice to give us a test for evaluating leaders in the church. 

In this context, there's only one reason anyone would climb into the pen over the wall and that's because he is a thief who “comes to steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). So whether or not a man enters by the gate tells you all you need to know about his relationship to the sheep. 

Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees about how they are preying on God’s people and leading them astray from the true Shepherd. These religious leaders are like thieves who are more interested in fleecing the sheep than caring for them. They look out only for their own interests, and you better believe people try to get in our churches to do the same. 

So, be careful who you choose to follow. Do they come in Jesus’ name? Are their teachings in keeping with His? Are they like Him? These are the most important questions you can ask of any leader! If they don’t measure up to this standard then don’t follow them! Remember, those who come in their own name or climb in over the wall are here to “steal, kill, or destroy.” So, don’t choose leaders based on anything other than their validation in Jesus. He alone is the test.  

It sounds simple, but we mess it up all the time. We choose a youth pastor based on his jeans, or his hair, or his skill with a guitar. We choose a Sunday School class based on the teacher’s speaking ability. We vote for someone to be a deacon based on their age (young or old). We give importance to all these things when the only thing that really matters is, "Are they coming through the gate?" And to those who are leaders in the church, watch yourself and be careful how you choose to lead. Make sure you always enter through the gate. Stay true to Jesus' life and teachings. Know that if you begin to lead His sheep astray, Jesus will protect His flock.

That One Time Peter Told Jesus to Go Away (W.o.W. Rewind)

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

Luke 5:8

Everyone wanted to get closer to Jesus. Once, while Jesus was teaching by the Sea of Galilee, the crowds pressed in on Him.  As the crowd inched forward I imagine Jesus' feet finally met the water. Seeing Peter's fishing boat nearby Jesus put it to good use. They put the boat out a little from the shore and Jesus sat down to teach.

When His sermon was over Jesus told Peter to go out into the deep water and let down his nets for a catch. Peter knows this breaks every rule of fishing. There is a zero percent chance this is going to work. Yet for whatever reason, Peter did it. The nets were so full of fish that Peter couldn't haul them in by himself. He called his partners over and they filled two boats so full of fish that they were both in danger of sinking. 

That's when Peter looked over at Jesus. This miracle that was tailor made for a fisherman had given him a glimpse of who Jesus really was. So right there in the boat, knee deep in fish. Peter falls down before Jesus and asks Him to leave. 

Peter's response seems odd at first. Everyone wants to get closer to Jesus. The crowds had been pressing in on Him. But here is Peter, enjoying next level intimacy with Jesus and wanting to get away. He's sharing a small boat with Jesus receiving personal miracles, and yet he's telling Jesus to get away from him.

But Peter's response isn't all that odd or unique really. Consider Isaiah's response when he entered God's presence in a vision. "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips..." (Isaiah 6:5). When God first spoke to Moses at the burning bush Moses hid his face in fear (Exodus 3:6). When the people of Israel heard God speak at Mt. Sinai from the midst of the cloud and the fire, they were so afraid that they told Moses not to let God speak to them anymore (Exodus 20:18-21).

The key to understanding Peter's response is in the second half of verse eight. Peter asks Jesus to leave him because he is a sinner. When Peter got a glimpse of who Jesus really was it made him more acutely aware of his own sinfulness. Far from a rejection of Jesus, Peter's statement is a form of worship. It's like he was saying, "I am unworthy to be in Your presence." 

When was the last time you felt unworthy of God? How long has it been since you were so moved by a passage of Scripture or so overwhelmed by the power of His presence in some place that you said to God "I am unworthy of You. I don't deserve You." This is the appropriate human response to entering God's presence. If we don't occasionally respond to God in this way then we have a problem. Either we think too highly of ourselves, we think too little of God, or we simply aren't seeing how good God really is. Take some time today to fall down before the holy God and declare yourself unworthy.

A Primer for Praise

On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord:

Oh, give thanks to the Lord! 

Call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the peoples!

Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; 

Talk of all His wondrous works!

Glory in His holy name; 

Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!

I Chronicles 16:7-10

Upon bringing the ark up to Jerusalem and establishing the worshiping order of priests, David gives them this psalm to sing. I wonder if that means this was the very first psalm in the Hebrew psalter we now know as the book of psalms? If so it would have been a very good place to start because it walks God's people through all the basic methods of worshiping God. It's like a primer for praise. 

First we give thanks. What a simple but effective way to begin worship! Everyone knows how to say thank you, plus by fixing our mind on the blessings God has given us we are naturally led into other forms of praise. 

Next, we're urged to call on God in prayer which we should never forget to do. Then we give Him glory among the nations by telling of all His glorious deeds. Following that we lift our voices in songs and conversations of praise. Finally, we lose ourselves in worship, seeking nothing from God, but only God Himself.

Verse 10 serves as a powerful reminder of how different God is from other gods. Whether we consider the idols worshiped in King David's day or the idols of Hinduism and Buddhism worshiped today, these gods are all pursued as a means to an end. Worshipers pray to them and offer sacrifices to them to get something from them. They seek a good harvest of crops, or a child amid infertility, or more success and prosperity. We seek all of these things from God as well, but they are not the core reason why we seek Him. God is the only god who is good enough and worthy enough to be sought not as a means to something else but as an end in Himself. We come before God in worship to seek Him, not just gifts from His hand. 

So, use this pattern of praise to seek God's face today (v11). He is worth it, and you'll find a joy like no other in His presence.

The Ultimate Imitation of Christ (W.o.W. Rewind)

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

At any given moment most of us have a burden, some heaviness or trouble in our lives. If you are anything like me, then you are acutely aware of your own burdens and almost completely oblivious to those of anyone else around you. It's true. Serving others, thinking of others, being considerate- these aren't my natural strong suits. So when I came across this verse, I was prompted by the Spirit to ask myself this question. "Do I help bear the burdens of other believers?"

The second half of the verse reveals just how important this question really is. It tells us that if we are helping to bear burdens then we are fulfilling the law of Christ. So if we aren't, then we must be failing to fulfill Christ's law. 

Why is this so important? The ESV study Bible adds a helpful footnote here. "To bear one another's burdens is the supreme imitation of Jesus, the ultimate burden bearer" (p.2255). Think for a moment about Jesus as the ultimate burden bearer. 1 Peter 2:24 says, "'He himself bore our sins' in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness." Galatians 3:13 reveals that "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us." But perhaps Isaiah 53:4-5 puts it best of all: 

Surely he took up (bore) our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

In Christ we have been set free from the Old Testament law; we are no longer obligated to observe times and seasons. So what is this law of Christ? We are obligated by the grace and freedom we have received through Jesus to live for God as His servants, obeying His commands. Jesus taught us that the second greatest command of God is to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). If we are to fulfill Jesus' teaching, if we are to obey His commands, then we must bear one another's burdens.

All of us know a believer with a burden. Stop right now and think of at least one.

Now, prayerfully and considerately, do something about it. Help bear that burden. Encourage them. Pray for them. Serve them. Come alongside and mourn with them. Volunteer to help them get some work done. Give generously to them. Remember that we are called to love one another as a family- a new family, created through Jesus, as we are adopted as God's children. So do something to lighten the load of a brother or sister in Christ today. 

For further reading

• John 13:1-17 & 34- Consider Christ's service through the lens of a powerfully symbolic act.
• 2 Corinthians 8:9- The prince of heaven becomes a poor carpenter with no place to lay his head so that we might be saved.