1. THE PRINCIPLE OF LEADERSHIP – MINISTRY

• Ministry isn’t just about actions and words. It’s an impartation of life. This should be the one aim of all leadership ministries.
• What we “have” goes out from us to another person.
• Godly character originates in the Presence (literally = “face”) of God.
• It’s from the “secret place” that true leadership and motivation spring. Our unction to lead arises out of abiding in this place. Anything that substitutes this will bring death! Don’t feed them knowledge (Gen. 2:17), people need, and want, Life!
• When others submit to our leadership, when they receive “ministry” from us it can effect their spirit, soul, body or a combination of 2 or 3 of these.
• This is why leadership is an act of Serving. You are giving of yourself to others. You actually “serve them up” a portion of yourself! Do you really want to give someone else a part of what you’re really like inside?
• Who we are in the Secret Place with God determines our ministry destiny. People subconsciously (or consciously!) are looking to see Jesus in us

2. TOUCHING THE HEART

• Our leadership must touch the heart if it is to bring life to others. Leadership is not about “leading” people; it’s about bringing them to a place of life in Christ ( = life in the Anointing).
• The quality of our leadership is determined by what deposit of spiritual life we leave behind after we’ve gone. It isn’t always the case we’ll be recognised as good leaders while we’re still in the position of Leader!
• God’s life flows between people in the realm of our spirit man. If there’s no such flow happening between hearts, even though there might be a genuine impartation of help and assistance to the recipient’s body or soul, there has been no spiritual life imparted.
• Aim always to do this. No matter how often you fail in it, aim for it. See it as your goal; to be remembered as a leader who imparted life to others.
• Like it or not, our ministry will reproduce itself in the life of others! A sobering thought. Each ministry tends to reproduce itself in others.
• Some ministries and leaders actually try to duplicate themselves in others; they knowingly or unknowingly produce clones.
• Always be on guard that you’re not out to duplicate yourself in others. Reproducing what life you have in others is acceptable, but don’t clone yourself.

3. IT IS GOD’S HOUSE

• As we lead God’s people we must realise that the House of God is being built in the Heavens.
• It’s expression will be manifest on the earth, but the reality of it is in the Heavenlies.
• We are to learn to minister from a position of being seated with Christ. We must have a perspective, authority and a sense of destiny established in the heavens if we are to build successfully on the earth. (1 Cor. 3:10 – let each one take heed how he builds ).
• We are servants and builders. Our heart attitude is vital. A sign of Godly leadership is when we see lives built and joined together through the Holy Spirit.
• Man’s ability to lead will bring people into bondage and eventually destroy them. Godly leadership builds and strengthens. This can be used as a thermometer to check the validity of our leadership.
• As we are faithful and obedient to God’s call on our lives, He will extend our sphere of leadership. Recognise your boundaries at each stage of growth as a Leader. Do not go beyond them until God has released you into that new level. One sign of mature leadership is practical wisdom!
• Aim for quality of leadership; avoid the desire to want to be recognised as someone who is important, has a calling, is a good leader, etc.
• Sadly, it’s pride or the lack of recognition that’s the greatest fault of Christian leadership today.

4. THE PRICE!

• Everything that we do as leaders will be tested by God. He will do this to see whether our work is good or bad, fruitful or barren. He does this for our benefit, so we can see if we’ve built properly or not.
• God wants something that will stand. There is darkness ahead of us, so He will test and refine what we do as leaders. Only what He approves of will stand in that day (Heb. 12:26-27 – “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.)
• So there is a price to pay. No-one should even think of becoming a leader of God’s people unless they’re willing to lay down their own ambition and pay the price. If you don’t it will catch up with you and haunt your ministry all the days of your life!
• In the end there is one basic, eternal and life imparting truth that stands out above all other leadership qualities and principles; we can only pass on to others what we have experienced in our own lives through the grace of God.
• We can only pass on to others what we have experienced in our own lives through the grace of God.

Teaching by Peter McArthur

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• Are we doing this?
• The Lord has told us to “be” about a number of things that are for our spiritual and physical benefit. In some cases ignoring them will be to the detriment of our lives
• Possibly the greatest threat to today’s Church is the laxity with which we treat the Word. For example, how many of us are habitually watching and praying to escape the things that are coming? (Luke 21: 36). Are we serious about this?
• “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers“. (1 Peter 4:7)
• Here we are quite specifically told to do something: be watchful, be at prayer, be serious about it. Are we?

PAYING ATTENTION

• There are a number of scriptures that urge us to be alert. Each one of these texts insists that we pay attention to what the Spirit is saying through the text. Meditate on these verses.
• “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13)
• “Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless” (2 Peter 3:12-14)
• “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13 )
• “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2 )
• “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philipians 3:20 )
• “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do‘.” (Luke 17:10)
• Are we doing these things?

ACTING ON OUR BELIEF

• The Word is given for our edification (= building up). If we don’t act out what it clearly says, we will not grow to our full stature (Ephesians 4: 13).
• For instance, we might fully believe in a literal, personal and physical return of Jesus to earth. But if we’re not “looking for it” and “eagerly awaiting” His return, then we are NOT fully believing the Word! To “believe” in Greek means more than to give mental assent; it also means to “act on“.
• In fact 2 Peter 3: 12 says that we should be looking for the return of Jesus and in doing so we actually hasten His coming. Now that’s challenging theology! But that’s what the Bible says.
• If we’re actively looking for the Lord’s return, eagerly desiring it, and looking forward to it happening, then we’re helping it to come about. I don’t understand all the meaning behind it but that’s what the Word of God says – we hasten His return.
• So on this level alone we can see that we’re being commanded by God to do something. So there must be other verses that are “directive texts” that we’ve probably overlooked as well.
• Paul encourages us to keep a right focus, on heavenly issues not on earthly concerns. Even on this level, if we did this and acted on the Word we’d be a whole lot better off. How many times a day do we lose our focus and let the world redirect our gaze? The Word is giving us the antidote – set your mind on things above (Colossians 3: 2).

NEXT STEP

• Most of the difficulties we face revolve around not bridging the gap between “doctrine” and “application”.
• We believe alright but often find it hard to act out that belief and apply it to our daily walk.
• This is one of the most glaring omissions in training and equipping today’s saints. We know an awful lot about doctrines and teachings, but not so much on how to apply them so that they bring us to maturity.
• The Jewish (and therefore Biblical) concept of equipping was to teach “on the job” – hence Jesus’ statement “Come follow me” and see what I do. There are plenty out there who will teach you, but not so many who will show you how to apply that teaching.
• I believe that this will be rectified in the coming release of the Five Fold ministry.But even if we didn’t have the Biblical concept of leadership (ie. local Elders and trans-local Five Fold ministry), we still have the Word to instruct us.

As seen earlier, there are a number of texts that insist that we “perform” them. Doing what they say. I encourage and challenge you to re-read those Scriptures and begin to do what they say. The rewards come only when we do what the Word says should be done.

The Issachar Ministry

Teaching by
Peter McArthur

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