LOOKING FOR A CREDIBLE, AUTHENTIC LEADER

SERMON STARTER

          This is the last Sunday before we vote on the Executive and Legislative leadership of our country for the next four years. This sermon makes no attempt to tell voters who to vote for Text Tuesday. We do, however, wish to recommend certain traits of character that we feel will make excellent leadership for our country. I am teaching this material with an eye on my own character and the character of my listeners.

          It is interesting to note that we usually end up electing representatives that are like ourselves. If they truly do represent us, then they have the same or similar flaws and sins that we do. This sermon explores the painful reality of the kind of character(s) that we have placed in the past into places of authority. It also extols the Biblical ideals of credibility and authenticity that we need today.

          My advice is simple: GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!!

  

 

Sheepfold Ministries, November 2, 2008

Election Sunday - Pastor Phil Roland

LOOKING FOR A CREDIBLE, AUTHENTIC LEADER

1 Timothy 1:4 - Various Texts

WORD STUDIES:

CREDIBLE - Latin, credo, meaning “I believe.” If something is credible, it is believable. A credible witness is one whose testimony is trustworthy. His life and his words line up together.

AUTHENTIC – Greek, authen-ti-kos, meaning “conforming to the original” or “reproducing the essential features” of something, as in “authentic French cuisine.” If something is authentic, it is not a fake or an imitation.

CREDIBLE, AUTHENTIC

The words together refer to someone who can be trusted because they are what they profess to be: the “Real Deal,” and “What you See is What you Get.”

 

I.  RANDOM OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CREDIBILITY

1)  Credibility is earned over a long period of time

2)  Credibility is NOT about what you do or say. It’s about who you are on the inside

3)  You cannot demand credibility

4)  You cannot fool the people closest to you forever

5) Your ministry will have lasting impact in the direct proportion to the integrity of your own life

6)  The greatest enemies of integrity are pride, arrogance, isolation and excessive self-confidence

7) The more gifted and successful you are the easier it is to fake your way through life

8)  Credibility once lost is difficult to impossible to retain

 

II.  QUALITIES OF A CREDIBLE, AUTHENTIC LEADER

1)  Honesty

2)  Willing to admit your faults

3)  Consistency

4) Kindness under pressure

5)  Accountability in the small areas of life

6)  Willing to answer hard questions

7)  Quick to take blame, quick to praise others

8)  Lack of pomposity (Not take oneself too seriously)

9)  Know your own limitations

10) Tasks responsibility for personal problems

11) Confront-able

12) Handles anger appropriately

13) Doesn’t take offense easily

14) Keeps their word

III.  A CREDIBLE AUTHENTIC LEADER HAS INTEGRITY

A.     Biblical Persons of Integrity

1.  Old Testament: Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Ruth, David, Nathan, Jehoshapat, Elijah, Hezekiah, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Zerubbabel, Haggai, Malachi

2. New Testament: Mary, James, Peter, Paul, John, Titus, Timothy

            B. The Biblical Ultimate Man of Integrity is JESUS CHRIST

                  1. Contrasts with world of compromise, unbelief and idolatry

                  2. World’s only blameless person

            C. His Enemies Plotted to Destroy Him But Couldn’t – Matt. 22:16

“And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we

know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about

anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.”

      1. They laid plans to trap him with his words – v. 15

      2. Even his enemies had to acknowledge Jesus’ integrity

D. Jesus was a Was a “Man Without Guile”

 

IV.  A CREDIBLE, AUTHENTIC LEADER TELLS THE TRUTH EVEN WHEN IT HURTS

            A. Once Lost, You Can Never Get Your Integrity Back

                  1. Truth is the Heart and Soul of Integrity – John 14:6

                        ”Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

                  2. Jesus came as a witness to the truth – John 18:37

“Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered,

"You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.

Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

            B. Americans Have Lost their Trust in Institutional Truthfulness

                   1. Politics: Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton

                   2. Media: Pre-Election Poles: Subjective and Fraudulent

                   3. Religion: Bakker, Swaggart, Haggard, Todd Bentley

                   4. Financial: Housing Crisis, Stock Market, Petroleum Prices

V.  A CREDIBLE, AUTHENTIC LEADER KEEPS HIS PROMISES

            A. God Blesses and Person Who Keeps Their Word – Ps. 15:4

            “(God) honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts,”

            B. Biblical Warning Against Hasty Vows – Eccles. 5:1-7; esp. v. 5

            “When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in

fools. Pay what you have vowed; Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.”

            C. Practical Implications:

                  1. Keep Your Appointments

                  2. Arrive at Work on Time

                  3. Pay Your Bills on Time

                  4. Do not Over-Promise to Gain Approval of Another

                  5. Tell the Truth about Your Product or Services

                  6. Refuse to Exaggerate

                 7. Abide by the Terms of Your Contracts

                 8. Stay Within Your Budget

                 9. Remember HER Birthday

                10. Attend Your Child’s Ballgames

                11. Get Out of Bed When the Alarm Goes Off

                12. Finish What You Start

                13. Give to People the Money You Promised Them

                14. Give Back the Money You Didn’t Spent

                15. Make FEWER Promises and Keep the Ones You Make

            D. Learn to Say “NO” – The Problem is Over-Commitment

VI.  A CREDIBLE, AUTHENTIC LEADER NEVER WALKS AWAY

          A. General Norman Schwarzkopf’s Secret of Success

                        1. “I NEVER walk past a problem!”

                        2. Procrastination is ALWAYS Expensive

                        3. Ignoring Problems Does Not Make them Go Away

            B. Your Can Trust the Wounds of a Friend – Prov. 27:6

            “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”

                        1. “Toadies” tell you what you want to hear

                        2. An Authentic Leader and Friend Will Tell You’re the Truth

VII.  A CREDIBLE, AUTHENTIC LEADER REALIZES YOU CAN’T FOOL GOD

          A. God Knows Who You Are on the Inside

     1. Nothing is Hidden from Him – Hebrews 4:13

      “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and

        open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

B. God Knows the Truth – Psalm 139:23,24

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;

 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”

 

Heavenly Father,

I invite you to shine the light of your truth into every part of my life. Thank you for knowing me completely and loving me anyway. Search me, try me, test me, and show me what you find. Where I am not honest and true, do whatever it takes to make me credible and authentic so that my life will bring glory to you. Make me like Jesus so that people who follow me become more like him.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.