Parental Pictures of Spiritual Leadership, Part 2 A

A spiritual leader has to have a mothering side and a fathering side. This by God's design. There is the need for us to be both father and mother. To our spiritual children. The balance of these two is essential for effective spiritual leadership.

Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson. About a decade ago, the National Academy of Sciences finished an in-depth study of the brains of males and females. Their conclusion, men and women think differently. In general, men tend to be more logical than women, while women tend to be more emotional than men.

Now, if you find yourself saying, you mean scientists have just now figured that out? I'm right there with you. Certainly, the bottom line is the differences in thinking between men and women are nothing new. That's part of God's design. But does that mean that there's no overlap between how men and women think?

Or no overlap between the roles that they should have in the family and society or even in the church? Don't women need to be strong and show leadership at times? And don't men need to display a gentle, caring affection like a mother with a young child in certain situations? Consider all of that today as John MacArthur. continues his current study, leading the charge.

And now here's John with the lesson. We return to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. And our text Verses seven through twelve. The title we have given to this section is Parental Pictures of a Spiritual Leader. I am constantly amazed.

At how much the New Testament says about spiritual leadership in the church. As one who has studied For many, many years the New Testament I see again and again The emphasis placed on the matter of leadership. Obviously. From the very beginning of creation, God had established in the human realm the need for leadership. And even in the first marriage between Adam and Eve, God established Adam as the leader.

And from the time that God began his redemptive purpose. And unfolded it in human history, there were always those who were given the role of spiritual leadership. In every family there was a husband and a father. There were patriarchs whose leadership influenced not just a family, but a whole tribe of people. There were prophets and priests.

They were judges. There were kings, there were military leaders. Always God Mediating in one way or another His will and His word and His purpose through spiritual leaders. You come into the New Testament, and the greatest leader of all appears, Jesus Christ, and immediately begins the process of training leaders. calls to himself An apparently random collection of men, and yet chosen from before the foundation of the world.

to be trained to be leaders. In order that when Jesus left They, being filled with the indwelling Holy Spirit, might produce more leaders for the church. And those leaders might reproduce themselves throughout the centuries until we finally arrive today. And still the premium is on the training of spiritual leaders. Because this is at the very heart.

Of the unfolding of divine purpose in the world, we shall not be surprised then to find that it is repeated often in the scripture. how important leadership really is. But what continues to thrill me and amaze me, I confess, Is how many, many different ways the Holy Spirit speaks to the matter of leadership. You think that you have just sort of wrapped your arms around it all, and you are exposed to a whole new understanding. Which thrills and challenges and excites the heart as well as informing the mind.

That has been my experience in coming to this particular text. For in this text, Paul identifies himself As a leader in two Pictures. In verse 11, he says, we proved really to be a father to you. In verse 7, he says, we proved also to be a mother to you. And a spiritual leader has to have a mothering side and a fathering side.

This by God's design. There is the need for us to be both father and mother. to our spiritual children. And so Paul gives us the portrait in verses seven through nine. of the spiritual leader as a mother or fulfilling the feminine role.

And a spiritual leader as a father in verses 10 to 12, fulfilling the masculine role. The balance of these two is essential. for effective spiritual leadership. And may I hasten to add here that We're talking here about men as spiritual leaders. And men must be both mother and father.

to their children in the faith. Paul was such an effective spiritual leader. That when he was being empowered by the Spirit of God. He was able to become a living pattern. for us to follow.

And this particular instruction could come in a no more compelling portion of Scripture than in 1 Thessalonians, since the Thessalonian church was such a remarkable church. While the apostle was only there for a few weeks, he had an amazing impact. On the people, and the church that was established was a pure and powerful church. in a very strategic city. Paul, just a few weeks after leaving them, can write back to them and say, I know, I am confident, you are brethren, beloved by God, you are elect, as he says in chapter 1, verse 4.

He affirms in verse 1 that they were all in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 2, he says, I can be thankful for all of you. Here was a redeemed elect. church. He said to them in verse 3 that you have a work of faith, you have a labor of love, and you have a steadfastness of hope that proves that you're genuine.

In verse 5, he says, You were the object of some powerful preaching. In verse 6, you became imitators of us and of the Lord. In verse 7, you became examples to everyone else. In verse 8, you trumpeted out the gospel. In verse 9, your life was transformed and you became servants of a living and true God.

In verse 10, you're waiting for the return of Jesus. All this in a matter of a few weeks. A remarkable mission. They were a real church, a regenerate church. A powerful church.

And yet There were some detractors. Who apparently had come along and said to these Thessalonian Christians, now that Paul, Silas, and Timothy had left town. Paul is no different than the rest of the charlatans and fakers and religious frauds of the world. All he wants is your money. Your possessions.

He wants to abuse you, to manipulate you. He wants power. He wants control over you. He may even want sexual favors from your women. He is a deceiver.

He's like all of the rest of the fakers on every corner and in every agura or marketplace who are deceiving and beguiling the unwitting victims, capturing their bodies, their minds, their money, their possessions for himself. He's just another one of them. And so, apparently, in chapter two, Paul has to remind them. of the genuineness of his leadership. the genuineness of his heart, And so he writes in this chapter.

And says, basically, please remember what you know to be true about me. And over and over again, he says, as you know, as you know, as you recall, you are witnesses. He says it throughout that first Part of the chapter. You remember how I was. You remember my leadership.

You know I wasn't a fake. You know I wasn't a fraud. You know I took nothing from you.

So, here in this marvelous section, verses 1 through 12, as he reminds them of the character of his spiritual leadership, he gives to us principles for effective spiritual leadership. And in verses 1 to 6, we got the inside look. At what characterized the inside of that man, and we saw tenacity, integrity, authority, accountability, and humility.

Now, starting in verse 7, we get the outside view, and he shows himself as a mother and a father. He mothered them and he fathered them. Let me just read the verses to you to set it in your mind again. Verse 7, but we proved to be gentle among you as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having thus a fond affection for you, we were well pleasing to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.

For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day, so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaim to you the gospel of God. Twice he says the goal was to proclaim to you the gospel of God, God's good news, in all of its fullness. That was our goal. And in doing it, we proved to be like a nursing mother. And every spiritual leader has to do that.

Now, let's look at that. Male part of leadership, that father part, rather than the mother part. Yeah. And let me talk generally about what makes a man a man. May I do that?

I think it's vital to our understanding of this text.

Now let me see if I can get you to grasp this. If I were to ask you what is the most Basic fundamental virtue of manliness. I might get a lot of different answers, so let me help you. What is The one trait that evidences distinctive Manliness. What is the Solitary quality foundational to manhood.

That's a fair question. Let's see if we can't find an answer. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 16. 1 Corinthians chapter 16. And please look with me at verse 13.

Now, if you know anything about the Corinthian church, you know that they were a church given over to. Compromise, right? They were weak. Sinful compromising So forth.

So in 1 Corinthians 16, 13, Paul says something to them that is most interesting. After reminding them to be on the alert and stand firm in the faith, in verse 13, he says, Act like men.

Now let me ask you a question. How do men act?

Now, in our society, they act any way they want. Would you please notice the next command in that verse, which is an explanatory to the previous one: act like men, be what? Strong. Be strong. The verb there, act like men.

That verb. is a very, very interesting verb. It means to conduct oneself in a courageous way. It means to conduct oneself in a courageous way. You know how men act?

They have courage and they have. Strength. Put those two words together and you have the old word fortitude. The dictionary says fortitude is courage and strength. They have strength of conviction and they have the courage to stand on it.

Fortitude. That's how men act. Men are strong. Men are courageous. Men are not vacillating, they're not made by God to be weak, depressed, defeated.

John Calvin said of this verse: He stirs them up to a manly fortitude. A real man wants to face life with courage. He believes certain things, and he's going to stand on his belief. He has been called by God to achieve certain things, and he's going to achieve those things. He's going to be courageous, whatever the opposition, and he's going to make his move.

He's going to do what he believes is right, and he's going to pay the price. He's going to make the hard decisions, and if he makes a bad first one, he'll make a quick, better second one. And he'll adjust. That's a man. That's a manly man.

This little phrase here in 1 Corinthians 16, 13. Doesn't appear anywhere else in the New Testament.

So, if we want to get a little richness to it, we've got to go back to the Old Testament. And the Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint. Because there were 70 men involved. That Greek translation of the Old Testament. of course uses New Testament Greek, and so we can see How The New Testament Greek terms used here were used in the Old Testament, and we see some very, very wonderful insights.

Let's go all the way back to Deuteronomy chapter 31. Deuteronomy 31.

Now, follow closely because I want to move rapidly, but I think you're going to be greatly encouraged by this. Moses is speaking to Israel. Reminding them he's 120 years old. And he's gonna Turn the reins over to Joshua. In verse 3, Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, just as the Lord has spoken.

And the Lord will do to them just as he did to Sihon and Nog, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land when he destroyed them. And the Lord will deliver them up before you. And you shall do to them according to all the commandments which I commanded you.

Now, look what he says. Verse 6. Be strong and courageous. There's the same terminology. From 1 Corinthians 16.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel: Be strong and courageous. That's how men act.

Act like men. Men act with strength and courage. They're decisive. They're leaders. And their leadership is based upon that strength of conviction, that strength of character, that strength of virtue, and that courage that will not compromise.

Down in verse 23. of the same chapter. Then he commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, Be strong and courageous. That's how men act. Look with me at Second Samuel Chapter 10.

And verse 12. Be strong and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God. Joab and the troops are moving out, and he says, be strong and courageous. That's how men act. First Kings chapter two.

1 Kings chapter 2. David? came near to the time to die. He charges Solomon, his son, what are you going to say, father, to your son? What are you going to say in your last hours?

What's the most important word to give your son? You want him to be a man? Here's what David said to Solomon: Verse 2: I'm going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. Men are strong.

And men are courageous. By God's design they are. That's how God designed man to be. Strong and courageous. First Chronicles Chapter XXII.

opens that up to us even Further? Verse 11. David talking to Solomon.

Now, my son, the Lord be with you, that you may be successful and build the house of the Lord your God, just as he has spoken concerning you. 1 Chronicles 22:12.

Now, only the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you shall prosper. If you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel, be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. The point is this: look. You're going to go out there and be a leader.

you're going to have to face all kinds of opposition. You want to live for God, keep the law, observe the commandments, do what is right, and when you get attacked, don't waver. Be strong and courageous. Let me tell you. The heart of every woman longs for that kind of man.

A man who is strong and courageous. And gentlemen, you want to know what kind of sun you would like to produce? You would like to produce one who is strong and courageous, who is strong in his faith, who is strong in the things of God, who is strong in his understanding and discretion and wisdom, and who has the courage of his conviction to live boldly the way he knows God wants him to live. And you have the responsibility to teach your sons to live like that. That's your responsibility.

That's what a father is supposed to do. And you do that. by being strong and courageous yourself. You do that by living according to the courage of your convictions yourself. That's David's message to his son.

Be A man Be a man. B Strong and courageous. Don't be fearful and don't be dismayed. Second Chronicles chapter 32. 2 Chronicles in a completely different setting.

Regarding Sennacherib Verse 7, we read, Be strong and courageous, says Hezekiah. Do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor because of all the multitude which is with him. Listen to this: for the one with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh. But with us is the Lord our God.

Be a man. Be courageous. Be strong. And that's maleness. And it transfers right over into the spiritual dimension.

Boy, I can remember. When America looked at men as heroes, Because they were courageous. Because they were strong. And now it looks down on men who have the courage of their convictions. and elevates the compromisers.

But how can we be so strong? How can a man be strong and courageous? One last Old Testament passage which uses the same terminology, Joshua 1. Joshua 1. Verse 2.

Moses, my servant, is dead.

Now, therefore, arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them to the sons of Israel. This, by the way, is the Lord speaking. You're going to get every place the sole of your foot treads. I've given it all to you, just as I told Moses.

So they're moving into the land.

Now, what is God's word? To Joshua. Verse six. And this to him and to all the people. Be strong.

And courageous. Strong and courageous. Verse 7. Only be strong and courageous. This time, very courageous.

Verse 9 Do not tremble or be dismayed.

Now here it is. Compelling words. You're going into hard places. You're going into a battlefield. You're going in to take a land.

Be strong and courageous. Act like men. But on what basis? On where do I find this? Fortitude to deal with difficulty, face challenge, meet the enemy, contend with problems and obstacles, bear pain, press to a difficult goal.

Follow the thought. Back at verse 5. The first Undergirding. Verity. God says, end of verse 5, I will be with you.

I will not fail you or forsake you. The first thing that gives you Courage in spiritual leadership is the presence of God. The presence of God. I'm there, he says. I won't leave you and I won't fail you.

Secondly, verse 6: Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. All you're going to do is take what I have promised. Second principle of fortitude: the cause was just. God is present and the cause is just. The cause is right.

Thirdly, Verse 7 says, Be careful to do according to the law. which Moses my servant commanded? Don't turn to the right or the left. and you'll have success. Verse 8 elucidates on it.

This book of the law, the Holy Scripture, don't let it depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night. Be careful to do according to all that is written in it, and you'll make your way prosperous and you'll have success. What moves me to courage and strength? One, the presence of God.

Two, the cause is just. Three, the unfailing sovereign power of God. He says you'll succeed. Courage and spiritual leadership, the manliness is undergirded by the presence of God, the just cause, and the unfailing promise to be fulfilled by His sovereign power. People sometimes say To me, well, you know, sometimes you say things that cause problems and you get in trouble and you create issues.

Does that concern you? Not primarily at all. What concerns me is: is it right? Is the cause just? Is this the truth?

Do I know that God is with me in this enterprise, and do I have the promise of success because it is consistent with His Word? That's what matters. This is a virtue that makes a man a man: courage and strength. And this is very necessary in spiritual leadership. A spiritual leader is decisive.

He is a risk-taker. He is bold. He is strong. He is courageous. He doesn't fear making a wrong decision because he's humble enough to turn it around and make a right one.

That's decisiveness. If you want to raise a son, who is a man who is strong. and courageous. and what he believes and what he lives for. Then you must set the standard.

That is true for a father. And that is true for a spiritual leader. That's John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary. The title of his current series here on Grace to You, Leading the Charge.

Now, a point that John has noted: acknowledging a mistake can actually be one of the most courageous actions any leader could take. That's certainly true in the context of a family, particularly with fathers. And along those lines, let me mention John's book called Brave Dad. It shows you what your spiritual leadership should look like as a father, and it unpacks essential truths that you need to teach your children. This would be a great book to give to the dads in your life.

Maybe as a late Father's Day gift, you could order Brave Dad by contacting us today. You can call us at 80055GRACE or you can go to our website gty.org. Shipping is free for Brave Dad. The cost of the book is $11. Brave Dad is also available in Spanish.

Again, to get your copy, Go to gty.org or call us at 800-55 GRACE. And keep in mind, there is a wide range of free Bible study resources available at the website gty.org. Perhaps a friend or a family member or a neighbor has asked you a theological question that you really don't know how to answer, maybe about the creation versus evolution debate or the character of saving faith or a supposed contradiction in the Bible. No matter the question, I encourage you to go to our website, gty.org, and there you will find sermons, blog articles, devotionals that just might answer your question. Our website, again, gty.org.

Now, for John MacArthur and the entire Grace to You staff, I'm Bill Johnson. Thanks for making this broadcast part of your day. And join us again tomorrow as John unpacks the clear scriptural role of fathers. Learn what it means to be a godly leader in the home. Be here for another 30 minutes of Unleashing God's Truth one verse at a time on the next Grace to You.