“The Price Of Leadership”

PROPOSITION: You must pay to be a Christian leader.

There are at least nine prices you must pay before you’ve “paid” the price of leadership.

1A.   First, You must “pay” the price of salvation.
1B.      Stop fooling yourself (Psalm 14.1)
2B.      Stop lying to yourself (First John 1.6, 10)
3B.      Stop deceiving yourself (James 1.21-22)
Before you can lead men to where they ought to go, before you can point your child in the right direction, you must be going to heaven yourself and be pointed to Christ yourself.

2A.   Second, You must pay the price of preparation.
1B.      Preparation involves pressure (James 1.2-4)
2B.      Preparation involves persecution (Second Timothy 3.12; John 15.20)
3B.      Preparation involves pain
1C.         As when Saul was rejected in Jerusalem
2C.         As when Mark was rejected by Paul
3C.         As when Cretians were rebuked by Titus as Paul’s direction (Titus 1.13)
You must be willing to remain in that place where God has chosen to prepare you for your life’s work.

3A.   Third, You must pay the price of education.
1B.      Education involves reading (First Timothy 4.13)
2B.      Education involves learning (Second Timothy 3.7)
3B.      Education involves studying the Word of God (Second Timothy 2.15)
4B.      Education involves knowing God, knowing Christ, and knowing yourself (Philippians 3.10)

4A.   Fourth, You must pay the price of maturation.
1B.      The kinds of maturity
1C.         Physical (Luke 2.40; First Timothy 4.12)
2C.         Emotional
3C.         Spiritual (First John 2.12-14)
2B.      The capacities of maturity
1C.         Reproductivity
2C.         Stability
3C.         Vitality as opposed to hyperactivity
3B.      The coming of maturity
1C.         Requires time
2C.         Requires experience
3C.         Requires exertion (Second Peter 1.5)

5A.   Fifth, You Must Pay The Price of Deprecation (humility).
1B.      It is the wisdom of Solomon (Proverbs 18.12)
2B.      It is the way of our Lord (Philippians 2.5-11)
3B.      It is the witness of God’s grace (First Corinthians 15.10)

6A.   Sixth, You Must Pay the Price of Exaltation (danger)
1B.      Notice the work God’s grace performs (Joshua 3.7; First Chronicles 29.25; First Thessalonians 5.13; Ephesians 5.33)
2B.      Notice the warning God’s wisdom provides (First Timothy 3.6; Proverbs 18.12)

7A.   Seven, You Must Pay the Price of Communication.
1B.      The necessity of confidentiality (Proverbs 10.19; 12.23; 15.2; 19.14)
2B.      The need of communication (Proverbs 27.5)

8A.   Eighth, You Must Pay The Price of Delegation.
1B.      There must be training (Matthew 28.18-20; Second Timothy 2.2)
2B.      here must be trust (Christ sending forth disciples)
1C.         This involves the opportunity to fail.
2C.         This involves the opportunity to recover.

9A.   Ninth, You Must Pay the Price of Confrontation.
1B.      You must confront Satan (Matthew 16.18; Ephesians 6.11; First Peter 5.8)
2B.      You must confront sinners
1C.         Don’t put in a good word for Jesus, win souls!
2C.         You must win souls to be obedient.
3C.         You must win souls to have a ministry in this church.
3B.      You must confront Christians (Matthew 18.15; Galatians 6.1)
4B.      You must confront your own sin

Conclusion:
1.      You may think, “Boy, that’s a lot of stuff just to be a leader. I’m glad I’m not a leader.”
2.      You may not be one, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be a leader.
3.      Are you a mother? Are you a father? Are you a foreman? A Sunday school teacher? Then you are a leader.
4.      Are you a Christian? If so, then you’ve been called to be a leader.  At least, someone who leads men to Christ.
5.      Whatever you are doing now is leading. You are either leading people toward or away from the Savior.