Tag: Religion

How Should We Motivate Those We Lead?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Leadership, Pastoral5 Comments

Old Brick Church

How should godly leaders motivate those they lead? The first king of Israel, Saul, provides a good case study.

Why Saul?

Saul, along with David, Samuel, and Jonathan are the main characters of the books of 1 and 2 Samuel. After reading through these two books, you might wonder why I chose Saul for a case study on leadership instead of Samuel or David. After all Saul is the inadequate leader the Lord rejects for David, who is the man after His own heart. I chose Saul not for his positive example, but for his negative. In other words, his actions show us how we shouldn’t lead.

Goliath’s Challenge

In 1 Samuel 17, Israel faces off against the Philistines. As they are set for battle, a man from the Philistine camp emerges who is 9 feet tall, decked in armor weighing 121 lbs, carrying a spear that is 15 lbs and as thick as the fat end of a baseball bat. Goliath is his name, and he is calling Israel to send a man to fight him in a winner take all match.

Goliath’s challenge is met with fear, anxiety, and distress. Not a man in Israel is willing to fight Goliath. Knowing the hesitancy of his men, Saul does what any leader would do. He attempts to motivate a man to take up the challenge.

How does he motivate his men?

In 1 Samuel 17:25, Saul promises the man who defeats Goliath great riches, his daughter’s hand in marriage, and freedom from taxes. Essentially, Saul motivates his men with worldly possessions.

Saul’s rewards were extended to all the men in Israel, not just a special group. Everyone in the army knows what Saul is offering, but none are willing to risk their lives against Goliath.

Saul’s motivation shows us what not to do

Saul’s actions show exactly why he was rejected as the king over Israel. He doesn’t trust God, nor does he lead his people to trust God. Instead he attempts to exploit his people’s idolatrous hearts.

Saul’s action are exactly the opposite of what a godly leader should do.

Godly leaders don’t push their people toward idolatry. Godly leaders pull their people away from idolatry toward God.

Why did Saul lead in this way?

He didn’t trust God. He focused on the challenge in front of him instead of remembering the Lord’s promises and His past victories. Not only had God promised them the land, but He had defeated the Ammonites, Amalekites, and Philistines under Saul’s rule already. Instead of reflecting on these things, he allowed his fear to take over.

What we learn

When we don’t trust God and lead out of fear, we start planning and thinking in worldly terms. We leave God out of the picture, and we attempt to lead guided by our own fallen intellect, which is woefully inadequate. Turning within and leading our people by exploiting their idolatrous hearts is not the answer. Instead we must turn ourselves and our people to God.

Question for Reflection

  1. How do you lead? Do you turn your people to God, or to the world?

40 Days of Prayer Devotionals – Day 1

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals2 Comments

Devotional Day 1

Day 1 – The Heart of Moses (Deuteronomy 9)

Deuteronomy 9 puts Moses’ heart front and center. Moses recounts Israel’s history of unfaithfulness despite God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises. Starting with the Golden Calf and continuing with their failure to take the Promised Land, Moses confronts Israel with their idolatry, unfaithfulness, and lack of fear of and trust in God.

The Golden Calf

If you remember, the Lord redeemed Israel from the hand of the Egyptians in the Exodus. A clear indication that He is an all-powerful God worthy to be worshipped. Instead of recognizing God’s power and worshipping the One True God, Israel fashioned a Golden Calf and bowed down to it.

The Failure to Take the Promised Land

If confronting them with their idolatry was not enough, Moses also reminds Israel of their failure to trust and fear God. God had promised them and their forefathers – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – a land of their own possession. At the site of it’s inhabitants, Israel shrunk back. Instead of trusting God to provide military victory, they feared the people.

Forty Days of Prayer

After each failure, Moses prostrated himself 40 days before the Lord for the people. Why intercede for a rebellious people, asking the Lord to preserve them?

Moses did so because he loved and cared for them. He desired they experience the Lord’s blessings. As well as he was zealous for God’s glory. For those reasons, Moses twice spent forty days and nights in prayer for the nation of Israel.

The Challenge

Shouldn’t we care for and love those in our nation? Shouldn’t that love drive us to our knees praying the Lord would change their hearts? We think so. For that reason, we want to challenge you to intercede for your nation, your state, your city, your community, your neighbors, your church family and your immediate family. Won’t you join us as we first ask God to change our hearts to be more like Moses’ and then by interceding in prayer for those around us from April 1st – May 10th?

Resource

If you would like more information about 40 Days of Prayer, including how you can download a PDF copy of the information and link with us on social media, visit our website: sycamoredecatur.com/40DaysofPrayer

Christian Accountability

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Leadership, Pastoral10 Comments

Church

What do you think about Christian accountability? Do you think it is abused? Do you think it is negative? Do you think we should hold each other accountability? Beyond what you think, what does the Bible say? What does it tell us we should do? How does it tell us we should exercise accountability in the body? 1 Samuel 15 provides us with an excellent model.

Background

Saul has disobeyed God by not completing the mission God gave him. Instead of completely destroying the Amalekites, he spared king Agag’s life and allowed his people to keep the best cattle to sacrifice to the Lord. As well as he setup a monument to himself in Carmel.

Samuel received word from the Lord regarding Saul’s actions, goes and confronts him, calling him to repent while also delivering bad news. The Lord has rejected him as king over Israel.

Samuel’s actions both tell us accountability is biblical as well as they provide us with a model to follow. Let’s look at the model Samuel gives us.

Model for Accountability

(1) We should grieve over others sins because they have offended a holy God.

The first action we should take when we learn of another brother or sister’s sin is to grieve. Sin is an affront to God. It’s rebellion against Him. Knowing another brother or sister is in sin, should cause us to grieve.

(2) We should go to the person and confront them with their sin.

After grieving, prayer for wisdom, and checking our own heart’s motives, we should confront the sinning brother or sister, bringing their sin to light and calling them to repent. Of course, we must not do this in a high-handed, judgmental, or self-promoting way, but in a loving and wise manner.

(3) We must confront them with God’s Word.

Samuel doesn’t come to Saul with his own word. He comes with God’s Word. When we go to another brother or sister in sin, we must go with God’s Word as well. Allowing Scripture to point out their sin is important because it is what is judging them, not us. All we are doing is pronouncing God’s judgment on them via Scripture. In this way, we are acting as God’s messenger, not their judge.

(4) We must call them to repent. 

Confrontation should not occur for confrontations sake. Rather, its purpose is that the confronted sinner will repent of their sin and enjoy restored fellowship with the Lord. Calling the wayward to repent is an important step of accountability. One we must not neglect because it is what the whole process is driving toward.

Motivation for Accountability

For some, accountability is an uneasy topic. It is something they would never dream of doing. For that reason, let me provide you with motivation to hold others accountable and to seek it out yourself.

(1) As God’s people we should reflect His character to the world for His glory.

If we are in sin, we cannot reflect God’s character to the world. Instead, we are actually misrepresenting God, especially if we call ourselves Christians. By holding each other accountable, we are fighting for the purity of Jesus’ bride – the church – and for God’s glory. We should do this and desire this because the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

(2) Unrepentant sinners hinder the church’s witness to the world.

This is why the world sees many Christians as hypocrites. If we want to regain our name in the world, we have to start calling people to repent of their sin and to follow God. Accountable then becomes a way for the church to fight for its witness in the world.

(3) Accountability is for your joy.

When we live in obedience to God, we experience the most joy. Think about a time when you were living in rebellion to God. Were you joyful then? I know that when I am in rebellion to God, I am not joyful. Now think about a time, when you were living in line with God’s commands, were you joyful then? I know that is the time when I am the most joyful.

Accountable, confronting others with their sin, and calling them to repentance is far from negative, rather it is a way for us to fight for other’s joy.

(4) Accountability helps us finish the race.

Salvation is pictured both as a definitive historical event that happens in our life and as something to be attained at the end of our life. By holding others accountability, we help them to finish the race. We help them to obtain salvation.

James 5:19-20 says,

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Conclusion

For those reasons and more, we should hold others accountable. It is a grace – gift – God has given us. It is not something negative. It actually is something positive, and something we should desire.

 Questions for Reflection

  1. How do you view accountability?
  2. Do you seek out accountability?
  3. How does your church, small group, etc, promote accountability among its members?
  4. Are there any other motivations you would add to the list?

Resource

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Abortion Video: 3801 Lancaster

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Family, Practical2 Comments

Here is a chilling look at how far some are willing to go to have abortions and perform abortions. Please pray those in our country will see abortion for what it is – the murder of an innocent human life.

Does God Help Those Who Help Themselves?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

Does God Help Those Who Help Themselves?

Recently, an article of mine was published at Gospel Centered Discipleship. I want to highlight that article today on the blog, so you will have access to it. Here is how it begins:

America is a hard working nation. The average workweek is no longer 40 hours a week, but 50, 60, or even 70 hours a week. Why do we work so hard and for so long? We have been told no one is going to do it for us and so we operate under the mentality that we have to go out there and earn it ourselves. While that is partly true in the secular world, it is not true when it comes to salvation found in Christ. Sadly, many have applied this concept of ‘earning it yourself’ to Christian life. They live by the motto ‘God helps those who help themselves.’ If we do our part, then God will do his part. Even though that may sound right to our ears and in our culture, it is not true.

You can read the rest of my article here.

Resource

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Reach the City w/ the Gospel | Part 3

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Evangelism, Pastoral, Practical1 Comment

In my last post in this series, I presented a Modified Romans Road method. It centered around the idea of bad news and good news. Today, I will briefly discuss the Way of the Master.

The Way of the Master

The Way of the Master is used and taught by Kurt Cameron and Ray Comfort. It is a method that works best in cultures where its members desire to be considered a good person. The Bible Belt, for instance, is one such culture. That is not to say The Way of the Master would not be useful outside the Bible Belt. It is just that those in the Bible Belt often gravitate toward a desire to be considered a good person, whereas those outside of it have typically rejected this idea and don’t care about being considered good. Those are sweeping judgments and are not backed up by hard facts, so give this method a try wherever you live.

The Purpose

The point of The Way of the Master is to show those who desire to be good that they are not as good as they thought, but that they are actually sinners. By using this method, we can hopefully cause people to see where they stand with God.

The Method

The Way of the Master takes the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount and combines them.

For instance, you may ask someone a question like one of the following:

(1) Have ever committed adultery?

Now, most people have not actually committed the act, but Jesus heightens the expectation in His Sermon by telling us that those who have looked at a women with lust have committed adultery in their heart.

(2) Have ever murdered someone?

Now most people have never physically murdered anyone, but Jesus again heightens the expectation in His Sermon by telling us that those who hate are guilty of murder.

How does a thought relate to the physical act?

The idea is that if there were no outward restraints – social, legal, etc – we would commit the physical act. Since there are outward restraints, we typically refrain from committing the actual act. Instead, we think about doing it. Jesus tells us that those thoughts are equal to the actual act.

Why does that make us sinners?

Jesus is measuring our heart, not whether or not we have the ability to exercise physical restraint. In doing so, Jesus is showing us that our heart is corrupt, and we are inherently sinful.

What does our sin do?

Our sin is what separates us from God. God cannot have a relationship with a sinner because He is holy. In order for God to have a relationship with us, we must be perfect, but we are not perfect. Our sinful actions prove that we are not perfect. So then, no matter how many good things we do, we can never be good enough to mend our own relationship with God because those who are not perfect can never make themselves perfect.

Think about it like this: I attended the University of Georgia for my undergrad. They calculated GPA on a 4.0 system. Those who had a 4.0 never made below an A in any of their classes, they were perfect students.

If you happened to slip up and make a B in just one class, you would never be able to bring your GPA back up to a 4.0 no matter how many A’s you made. The best you could hope for was a 3.99. Even though you were close to that perfect 4.0, you could never attain it. No matter how hard you worked, it was always just out of reach.

Our relationship is like that with God. No matter how good we try to be, our relationship with Him will always be out of reach because we are not perfect and we can never be perfect. Not just because we have committed a sin once in our life, but because we, as humans, are inherently sinful. In other words, we are born imperfect. Sinners from our mother’s womb we come.

Wrap Up

Without going to much further, I hope you get the picture that this technique is meant to help you show others that they are not as good as they thought. They are not good because they are sinners. The reason they sin is because they are inherently sinful. It is their sin that separates them from God. Sin they cannot get rid of on their own no matter how hard they try because it is part of our nature. Only Jesus Christ can cover our sin with His blood. Thus, restoring our relationship with the Father.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Can you walk someone through a gospel presentation using the method outlined above?
  2. Is there anyway I can help you understand this method better?

Resources

The Way of the Master Website

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