Chapter 16 Ezra

Ezra: The Spiritual Leader

Case Studies in Biblical Leaders

Spiritual Leadership:Moving people onto God’s agenda.

J. Oswald Sanders wrote a popular book entitled Spiritual Leadership in which he states, “A God-appointed spiritual leader is perfectly safe when, and only when, he walks humbly with his God . . .”

Introduction

Spiritual leaders have been largely neglected in American business in recent decades.

Spiritual leaders face unique problems as they attempt to exert their influence which often results in these leaders ignoring the importance of the spiritual dynamic of leadership.

Introduction

The pressures and responsibilities of ministry make it easy for leaders to be sidetracked and fail to nurture their own walk with God.

This is even more pronounced with success.

Prosperity tends to discourage interest in spiritual things.

Introduction

Spiritual leaders are constantly engaged in spiritual warfare.

Spiritual leaders tend to have the ‘melancholy’ temperament (S in the DISC model).

Often such leaders deal with deeper times of communion with God, followed by periods of depression.

Introduction

People often fall at their strongest point. Therefore people with a great passion for God may be tempted to wander after other passions that hinder their relationship with God.

Spiritual leaders seeking to be like Christ will often face the same kind of resistance Christ faced.

Introduction

Spiritual leaders need to walk

with God before they can lead others into a

deeper experience with

God.

Powerful Truth

He prepared himself for ministry before ministry opportunities became apparent.

He learned how to work with those in authority to get what he needed for effective spiritual ministry.


Ezra 7:9This Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon Him.


Ezra made walking with God and teaching biblical principles to others the priority of his life:

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel (Ezra 7:10)

Do “spiritual” people need to study?


Ezra was able to recognize the hand of God at work. In response to the resources made available, by the king, Ezra responded:

Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, and has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes (Ezra 7:27-28)


Ezra practiced the spiritual discipline of fasting and prayer as a means of humbling himself before the Lord when faced with challenges.

In addition, Ezra practiced “identificational repentance” in his personal prayer life:


Ezra 9:5-6

5 At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God. 6 And I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.


Ezra’s leadership is further recorded in the book of Nehemiah, depicting Ezra as reading and explaining the Law of God to bring the people to repentance.

Ezra’s purpose was to lead the people to make personal commitments to God so they could continually live by the principles of Scripture.


A book that really resonated with people a few years ago was written by Henry Blackaby, entitled, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God.

Experiencing God

Blackaby outlines several steps involved in experiencing God through knowing and doing His will.

Experiencing God

Step One: Recognize that God is always at work around you.Example: Israelites crying out under Egyptian oppression did not know that God was already on the case.

Experiencing God

Step Two: Understand that God pursues a loving relationship that is real and personal.Example: The Lord meeting with Moses on the mountain.

Experiencing God

Step Three: Know that God speaks by the Holy Spirit, through the Bible, prayer circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways

Experiencing God

Step Four: Know that God’s invitation for you work with Him always results in a crisis of belief that requires faith and obedience. Example: The call of Moses to speak to Pharaoh.

Experiencing God

Step Five: Be prepared, because joining what God is doing involves making major adjustments in your life.Example: God told Moses to return to Egypt.

Experiencing God

Step Six: Understand that you come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.

Experiencing God

Natural vs Spiritual Leadership

As believers, we recognize the value of imitating Jesus and His leadership style. But if we really think about it, it’s strange that we try to emulate a leader who never developed an organization, regularly encouraged people to stop following Him, and ultimately saw His death as the pinnacle of His accomplishments.

Jesus was not a manager. His primary role was to function as a spiritual leader.

Michael Hyatt6 Characteristics of Spiritual Leaders

http://michaelhyatt.com/characteristics-of-spiritual-leaders.html

Here are six characteristics that identify most spiritual leaders:1) They lead others into their own encounters with God. One of the most effective things about Jesus’ lifestyle was that He didn’t switch into another mode to introduce His disciples to the reality of God.



2) They lead others to discover their own purpose and identity. Spiritual leadership is characterized by great generosity. A spiritual leader genuinely wants others to fully discover who they were made to be.



3) They lead others into transformation—not just production. When the goal is spiritual growth and health, production will always be a natural outcome. People function at their peak when they function out of identity.



4) They impact their atmosphere. While we may not stop a tempest with our words, spiritual leaders recognize that they can change the “temperature” of a room, interaction, or relationship. When there is tension, fear, or apathy, a spiritual leader can transform the immediate power of these storms and restore vision, vitality and hope.



5) They help people see old things in new ways. Many people are stuck not in their circumstances, but in their perspectives and paradigms. The word “repent” means “to think differently, or to think in a different way.” Jesus called people to look again at old realities through new eyes. Changing ways of thinking always precedes meaningful change.



6) They gain a following because of who they are—not because of a position they hold. Spiritual leaders can be found in secular organizations, in the same way managers and organizational leaders can be found in religious ones.



Chapter 16 Ezra

Education

Transcript of Chapter 16 Ezra