Longing for Good Leaders

Study Notes

Modern Longings – Ancient Words:  Godly Leadership

Psalm 25

     I want to speak to you today about what the Bible consistently says is the heart of a godly leader.

     I think that this is a very relevant topic for us here at LAC with our Nominating Committee hard at work to bring us a list of candidates to step into elected leadership roles as well as with our Sr. Pastor Search Committee beginning its work to recommend someone to us to be the next Sr. Pastor.

     Let me make two preliminary points about the Bible’s description of godly leadership right now: 

     First, what the Bible teaches us about the heart of a godly leader may be hard for us to apply to our nation’s political candidates as we enter into our nation’s presidential campaign season.  By that, I mean that you may want to evaluate all the candidates running for office in light of the Bible’s words about what a godly leader’s character and ways should be like – I know I do that.  And, I will say this: All candidates who profess to be Christians have the same calling of applying their faith to their lives that all of us have i.e., they and we should be growing in ways that demonstrate Christlikeness in our workplaces. That is true of whether you are a politician, student, business person, or stay at home parent, etc. 

     When we make it known that we are followers of Jesus, the world will judge what Jesus is like by watching us!  And, that is very true of a Christian in politics.  Now, I am convinced that God sends his people into the political arena just like he sends his people into almost all careers.  But, you also need to know that the Bible always expects a godly leader to be very different from the leadership we will generally see in our world.  A true follower of Jesus will be salt and light in the world – not like the world.  Our main allegiance is always to the kingdom of God and that always makes it that we don’t fit well into one political ideology or another.

     Second, all of us have influence that we exert over others by the way we live our lives.  I say this because a can imagine some thinking that you don’t need to hear what God’s Word says about the heart of a godly leader because you’re not in a leadership role now, i.e., you’re not the CEO of a company, the chair of a committee or board, the parent in a family, the captain of a sports team, etc.  But, I want you to know that we all exert influence in countless ways each day of our lives.  This has become so clear to me as we’ve had three generations in our home over the past few weeks.  I’m the patriarch in the family, the oldest adult.  But, I can tell you any one of us can either bless or wreck the family peace in a matter of seconds.  A loud scream, and angry shout, an accusation that, “She hit me” can take us from harmony to misery in “the twinkling of an eye”.

     That is to say that what the Bible says about godly leadership – or godly influence – has something to say to each of us and to how we live in each relationship we have each day of our lives.  And, I know of no passage in the Bible that speaks more clearly about the heart of a godly leader than Psalm 25.

Psalm 25 Overview

     The superscription over Psalm 25 tells us it was a Psalm of King David.  From the earliest times that we have any Jewish or Christian commentaries on this Psalm, Scripture scholars have said it was written sometime after David had sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba, a sin that led to ongoing lying and cover-up and even to murder. You can read about it in 2 Sam 8-12.  The consequences of King David’s sins had affected David, his family and his nation – and David knew it.  In fact, notice how the Psalm ends in v. 22: “Deliver Israel, O God, from all her troubles.”  King David knew he was a main cause of those troubles.   

     So, this poem reveals all the emotions of a leader who knows he has done serious wrongs, wrongs that are damaging others.  He feels shame for what he has become that he expresses both at the beginning and the end.  He knows he is guilty and that he needs forgiveness.  He longs for a new start. 

     The Psalm itself is organized in a way that expresses those shifting emotions that we feel as human beings when we’re wrestling with shame and guilt.  Throughout the Psalm, David moves back and forth between a man who is repentant for his sin but still has hope that things might be different in the future. 

     What is Psalm 25 About?  A leader who believes in God has messed up badly. What he has done has far-reaching consequences.  So, he confesses his failure transparently, and seeks to have God take over the situation and make the future different from the past. 

     Remember that David was still the king.  Some of his most difficult years were ahead of him – but also some of his most fruitful.  So, take note of this now:  God did not write David off because of his failure but restored him to usefulness.  So, what do we see in this Psalm that makes it possible for imperfect people like David was -- and we all are -- to provide godly and health-giving influence in the lives of those we touch?

The Self-Awareness of a Godly Leader – Do not remember my rebellious ways (v.7). Forgive my iniquity for it is great (v.11b).  Take away all my sins (v.18b).

     Throughout this entire Psalm, I sense David refusing to do what he had done for many months after he had engaged in that series of sins starting with his adultery, i.e., he had tried to cover them up.  After the adultery and the murder that it led to, at least six months went by – and all the time David was wearing his kingly robes, worshipping with his people, and maybe even composing his psalms.  He behaved to all the world as if he was that good and just leader – the “practically perfect in every way” king -- that all thought him to be. 

     Have you ever done that sort of thing?  I ask that because I think there is a warning to us all in this!  This part of David’s story is one of sexual unfaithfulness, deceit, cover-up,  lying, disregard for others, abuse of authority… and many other sins.  But, if you come to this sermon and only think, “That David is nothing but a scoundrel.  I’m glad I’m not a sinner like he was” – then you’ve missed the point.  This is not a story meant to lead us to gloat over or condemn David.  It’s here to have us all examine our hearts – just as David did in Psalm 25.  And if you won’t do that in the light of Scripture today, know that there will come a day when God will break in to your life too. 

     Let me tell you this:  In being a sinner, David was as we all are.  Where David parted company with many others was not in being a sinner – but in how he responded to the conviction of God in his life when God’s prophet broke into his life and said, “David, you are the one who has done wrong.”

     So often, I’ve experienced church people when their sins have come out into the open.  Some hear God’s voice, feel remorse for a short time, and then go back to living as they did before. Others give up, leave the church and say, “I’m so horrible, I’ll quit everything.  I’ll never serve God again.”

     But, David did not do either of those things.  David confessed his sins, found forgiveness, and then made himself available to be used by God again.  However, this could happen only after he had become transparent about his sins and his desperate need of mercy.  After that, he lived differently: no pretenses, no self-congratulation.  God often does his greatest work in our lives when our illusions of superiority and self-sufficiency have been stripped away.

     What I see in the godly leaders I know are lives that are born out of the kind of self-awareness I see developing in David in Ps 25. He began to have qualities like:  Transparency (v.7), humility (v. 9a), a teachable spirit (v.9b), a fear of the Lord (vv.14-15), and a longing for personal integrity and uprightness (v.21).

     Let me tell you why I think this kind of self-awareness is key to godly leadership. I have discovered that the godly leaders who have brought grace and blessing to others in their churches or organizations have been those who have owned up to their own failures and their personal need of mercy and grace.  I know that failure and wrongdoing are those realities in all our lives that often cause shame and guilt.  But, they can also be the realities that enable us to give up any illusion that our own resources or plans or manipulative ways can get us out of the dark corners we often get ourselves and others into – as David had done.

     The foundational point for godly leadership is not discovering  new rules or techniques of how to manage people.  The starting point is this: Any of us who will influence others positively will come from a place of being aware of our own sin and being recipients God’s mercy and grace --  instead of from where many leaders in our world come from, i.e., from places of personal ego and pride.  If you accept the biblical teaching that all of us have fallen short of God’s glory, then you will understand that an essential part of godly leadership is the honest self-awareness that leads you to say, “I too have sinned and need God’s grace”.  When you do, that confession will almost inevitably be followed by engaging in the very, very deep spiritual work of opening up your inner life to God, allowing him to reveal to you the wounds inside you.  He then will be able to heal them, instead of you trying to conceal them. 

     And that brings us to a 2^nd trait we see in King David:

The God-Awareness of a Godly Leader –Your great love and mercy are from old (v.6).  Remember me according to your love for you are good (v.7). All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful…( v.10).  For the sake of your name, LORD, forgive… (v.11).

     David’s conversion from being a self-directed to a God-directed leader is communicated most poignantly in the opening line, "To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul."  This theme of surrender to God’s control reappears in v.2, "I put my trust in you ..." and again in v.5, "in you have I trusted all day long."

     This Psalm could have been a poem of despair because of the serious consequences of David’s failure, failure that led him to face opposition not only from enemy armies but from his own family and friends.  You can read the story of all this in 2 Samuel and 1 Kings.  But, what is at the heart of Ps 25 is a series of reflections on the nature of God and how God can restore any life that returns to him.  God can bring victory out of failure. So, David started the Psalm with a prayer of trust in God and an abiding hope in the ability of God to change things for the better. And, he ended it with an affirmation of God being good and upright.  In between, he massages on one side, an enduring legacy of his own misdeeds that resulted in guilt and shame with, on the other side, words of hope because of who God is. 

     Here’s how it happened for David.  In the midst of David covering up his misdeeds, God sent a preacher named Nathan who told David a story of a rich and powerful man in his kingdom who had stolen a poor man’s only precious possession.  Remember that David still was hiding his sins – so the king expressed indignance, “Who is that man?  I’ll deal with him!”  Only then did Nathan point the finger at King David in 2 Sam 12:11, “You are the man!”  Let me ask:  Is there anything in your life today about which God says that to you? 

     After hearing the severe consequences that must come because of his sin, David confessed in 12:13:  “I have sinned against the Lord.”  So, I must ask: Is there anything right now about which you need to say that to God?

     And, then, praise God, the Bible tells us how God responds to repentance like we see in David. Do you want to hear it right now?  To wrongs as serious as David’s were, Nathan told him without equivocation, “The Lord has taken away your sin.”  One more question: Do you need to hear God say that to you today?

     This is what led to David writing Ps 25.  Throughout this coming week, I hope you will read Psalm 25 through several times.  When you do, notice how, again and again, David remembered who God is. He wrote: God is love.  God is merciful.  God is just (or upright).  God is good.  God is faithful.  Read those words and remember that God still is all of those!

     But, I hope you will stop and ruminate on v.11 -- For the sake of your name, Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.  I’ve spoken to you before about this – but, maybe this time, this truth of Scripture will come home to your heart.  In v.11, David is remembering back to one of the most important passages in the lives of all his people.  Moses had asked God to tell him what God’s name is in Exodus 33-34.  To know a person’s name meant to know something deep and intimate about the person.  And, this is a part of how God had made known his name.  “I am the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness…, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet, I do not leave the guilty unpunished… (Ex 34:6-7).”

     Throughout the entire history of God’s family, people have looked again and again at those verses.  We human beings are fickle and ever-vacillating.  But, God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Godly leaders know this – and live our lives with the awareness that, when we do what is wrong, mistreat people, use our power only for ourselves, etc. God does not let evil go unpunished.  I declare that to you today.  What is in your life now that you need to confess and get right with God?

     But, let me also declare this to you today: if you turn to God in repentance and faith, he will forgive you.  More than that, he will begin make your life useful again.  That’s who God is.  And, God will always be who he is.  The godly leader is one who grows to know more and more about God – and then we lives our lives in light of who he is.  We know he is always present.  We live with only one fear, i.e., displeasing him.  That takes away all other fears we might face.  This is the effect of a constant “God-awareness on a godly leader.”

The Main Practice of a Godly Leader -- Help me know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths (v 4). Lead me in your truth and teach me (v. 5). God instructs sinners in the way…and teaches the humble (vv.5-6).

     I can only say a few words about this.  So, I’ll boil down what characterizes the central spiritual practice of a godly leader is this: A godly leader’s life is characterized by constant prayer.  As the Apostle Paul would write many centuries after King David lived: Pray without ceasing… for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thes 5:17).  The word for “not ceasing” does not mean “non-stop”.  It means “constantly recurring”.  Those who pray like this 1) have met God personally and are growing to know what God is like.  We also know 2) that God’s character never changes and that he is always with us.  Finally, those who pray like this 3) have surrendered our lives fully to God.  God is God! I am not God; nor are you.

     When this is true of us, it changes the way we use whatever influence we have.  We seek to forgive as he does.  We long for the best for others as God does.  I know all this is aspirational.  None of us are perfect yet.  So, consistent with my message about the heart of a godly leader is this verse Paul wrote for a young, developing leader named Timothy – Let everyone you influence see your progress, especially in your faith and in your understanding of God and his truth (1 Tim 4:15b-16a, Waybright version).  I hope you see that this is a call not to try to feign perfection, but to demonstrate ongoing growth as a follower of Jesus.

     Psalm 25 shows us what that kind of prayer life looks like:  David demonstrated a consistent desire to conform to the Lord’s will.  Notice how fervently he expressed this in prayer in vv. 4-5:

• Show me your ways, O Lord;
  • Teach me your paths;
    • Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are my God!

And then there is the beautiful assurance that God will indeed answer this kind of prayer in vv. 8-9:

• The Lord instructs sinners in his ways (thank you, Lord);
  • The Lord guides the humble in what is right (may it be);
    • The Lord teaches them in his way (how much we need it).

     I hope you see it.  For a godly leader, knowing about God is a starting point.  But, the Bible calls us to live life aware of the presence of God wherever we go.  The life of a godly leader should be a way of life that flows from living daily with God.  The impact of that is that we should use whatever authority or influence we have as God uses his authority in our lives, i.e., to serve others and not just please ourselves, to lift up others and not just to promote ourselves. That’s the kind of pastor I long to be.  I see that same heart in Pastor Jeff and all our pastoral team.  I saw it last Tuesday night in a meeting of your Ministry Council, i.e., how much your spiritual leaders want to lead in God’s ways and along God’s paths.  That’s the kind of leadership that we should pray for and look for as we move into our future too.

     Let’s all pray to that end.  Please pray for your pastoral and elected leaders here “without ceasing”.  If we will do that, we will find that this church will be the kind of church family that shows the world what God is like as they watch our lives together.  What is the phrase for that – for showing God’s way to the world?  Oh yes – it will be… “to the glory of God.”

Chinese Study Notes

遠古的話語—今天的渴望

敬虔的領袖

 

詩篇25

    

      我今天要談的是聖經中不斷提及的議題：“敬虔領袖之心”。這與我們教會目前的情況非常相關，因為提名委員會正努力列出未來教會領袖以及主任牧師人選。

      聖經所描述的敬虔領袖有兩個思考要點：

      首先，你可能覺得聖經提及的敬虔領袖之心很難應用在今天的政治家身上。我們很快要進入大選，你可能想用聖經標準評估這些候選人，看看他/她是否具有敬虔領袖的特質；我是會這樣評估的。所有聲稱基督徒的政治家都應該和我們一樣有呼召去活出信仰。我們都要一同成長，在工作中彰顯基督的樣式，不管你是政治家、學生、生意人或是家庭主婦。

      當我們說自己是耶穌門徒時，世人就會透過我們評判耶穌，對政治領域的基督徒尤其如此。我相信，神讓他的子民進入政界，就像他差遣子民進入其它領域一樣。但聖經說的敬虔領袖與今天我們世上的領袖有很大不同。耶穌的真門徒不屬於世界，而是世上的光和鹽。事實上，我們常常因著對神國度的忠心而對這樣或那樣的政治理念感到無所適從。

      第二，我們每一個人的生活方式都會影響他人。我這麼說是因為你們中有人可能不想聽聖經談及敬虔領袖之心，你會說你不是什麼領袖，不是CEO, 不是董事長，不是一家之主，不是球隊隊長。但要知道，我們每天都以無數的方式彼此影響。這一點我感受很深，因為過去幾周，我們家三代同堂；而我是家長，最老的長者；但我要說，其實每一個人都可以瞬間給家庭帶來或祝福或咒詛，比如尖叫、怒吼、一句“她打我”的告狀可能眨眼間就能破壞和諧氣氛。

      也就是說，聖經中談論的敬虔領袖和敬虔影響力，提醒我們每一個人在每一天生活中如何對待彼此關係。聖經中沒有另一處比詩25更清楚地講到敬虔領袖之心。

詩25總覽：

      詩的副標題就告訴我們這是大衛王的詩。關於這首詩，我們早就有許多猶太學者、基督教解經家說，這是大衛在與拔示巴通姦後寫的，而這個罪導致了後來的謊言、掩蓋、甚至謀殺；你可以從撒母耳節下8-12章看到。罪的後果影響到大衛、他的家和他的國。注意22節的結尾：“神啊，求你救贖以色列脫離他一切的愁苦。”大衛知道他的諸多愁苦的重要原因。

     這首詩展現了一個領袖在知道自己犯了重罪後的一切情感。他的罪傷害了別人，他對自己的所作所為感到恥辱，這在詩歌前後都表達出來。他自知有罪，需要赦免，他渴望一個新的開始。

      詩篇有層次表達了人在罪疚與恥辱中的那些情感感受，詩體是離合詩。想想英文能否寫出這樣的詩麼？當你想用Q或X 打頭的時候，會寫出什麼詞？這首詩與大衛的大多數詩不一樣，邏輯並不流暢；而是在一個人為罪悔改但仍然對未來有盼望的情感中來回來去。

詩25說了什麼?    一個信神的領袖現在弄得一團糟。而他所做的也帶來了嚴重後果。於是他敞開地承認自己的失敗，尋求神的赦免，並祈求一個不同以往的未來。

      要知道，此時大衛依然是王。他最難的幾年就要來了，但那也將是他收穫頗豐的幾年。神並沒有因大衛的失敗而除去他，相反，神恢復大衛成為一個有用的人。我們在詩篇中看到了到底是什麼使一個像大衛、像我們這樣不完美的人卻有可能給周圍人帶來敬虔、健康的影響？

一個敬虔領袖的自我意識 – 求 你 不 要 記 念 我 幼 年 的 罪 愆 和 我 的 過 犯 (7節)， 赦 免 我 的 罪 ， 因 為 我 的 罪 重 大  (11b)，  赦 免 我 一 切 的 罪(18b).

      縱觀全詩，我感到大衛在犯下通姦罪以及連帶的各種罪幾個月後正拒絕繼續掩蓋它們：在通姦和謀殺罪後的6個月期間，大衛常常穿著王服與百姓一起敬拜，也可能在那時寫了這首詩。他似乎對世界說自己是一個好的領袖，是“各樣事都做得完美”的王，他想讓大家有這樣的印象。

     你是否也做過類似的事？今天的詩歌對我們是一個警告！大衛的這部分生活充滿了通姦、欺騙、掩蓋、濫權等許多的罪……但如果你今天只是想：“大衛簡直一無是處，我慶倖自己不是像他那樣的罪人”，你就沒有抓到要點。我不是在講一個故事好讓我們檢查、責備大衛，而是要像大衛在詩25所做的那樣檢驗我們的心。如果你今天沒有在聖經光照下這樣做，有一天神也可能會破碎你的生命。

      讓我告訴你：我們和大衛一樣都是罪人，但大衛在神的先知闖入他的生活並指出“你就是犯罪的那個人”時，他對神定罪的回應與眾不同。

     我見過很多人，當他們的罪暴露以後，有人先是聽見了神的聲音，為罪難過一陣，然後又重蹈覆轍；有人乾脆放棄信仰，離開教會：“我太壞了，我放棄一切，不再事奉神了。”

     但是大衛沒有這樣，他承認自己的罪，找到了赦免，使自己得以被神再次使用。但這一切都因為他讓罪完全展現，並竭力尋求憐憫。從此，他活出不一樣的人生，不再自大虛偽。神常常在我們自我膨脹和自我滿足感破滅之後，在我們身上做其偉大的工作。

     當我從詩25上下文看敬虔領袖的生命時，我發現他們的生命都有如此的自我意識，像大衛就有這些品格：透明（7節）、謙卑（9a）、可教導的靈（9b），敬畏神（14-15），渴望自身正直完全（21節）。

     為什麼這種自我意識對敬虔領袖重要呢？我發現所有可以帶給人祝福和恩典的領袖都是自己曾經有過失敗並尋求過恩典與憐憫的人。我們生命中這樣的失敗會帶給我們羞恥和罪疚，但也會使我們放棄自己的計畫、資源、掌控，從而像大衛一樣出離我們曾經去過的黑暗角落。

     敬虔領袖的出發點不是找出什麼新法則或方法來管理民眾，事實上若我們要帶給人正能量的話，首先要認識到自己的罪，並接受神的恩典與憐憫，而不是像世上的領袖那樣從自我和驕傲出發。若你認可聖經所說我們人人都虧缺了神的榮耀，你就會明白敬虔領袖重要的部分是讓他誠實的自我意識說出：“我也犯罪，需要神的恩典。”如果你這樣做，在你認罪之後就會出現深刻的靈裡活動，讓你把內心向神敞開；而神要把你裡面的傷口顯現給你，然後他要治癒它們，而不是由你來掩蓋。

     讓我們看看大衛王的第二個特徵：

敬虔領袖的屬神意識 –你 的 憐 憫 和 慈 愛 是 亙 古 以 來 所 常 有 … 求 你 因 你 的 恩 惠 ， 按 你 的 慈 愛 記 念 我 （6-7）；凡 遵 守 他 的 約 和 他 法 度 的 人 ， 耶 和 華 都 以 慈 愛 誠 實 待 他 （10節），求 你 因 你 的 名 赦 免 我 的 罪……(11節)

     大衛的對話從自我導向轉向以神為導向，開啟了深刻和痛苦地溝通：“耶 和 華 啊 ， 我 的 心 仰 望 你！”這種向神的掌控降服的表達多次出現，比如“我 素 來 倚 靠 你”（2節），“我 終 日 等 候 你 ”（5節）。

     這首詩可能是絕望中的詩，因著大衛失敗的後果---讓他不僅面對敵人，還面對家人朋友的攻擊。你可以從撒母耳記下和列王紀上讀到。但詩25的核心是一系列對神性情的反思，以及思想神如何恢復那些歸回他的人。神能讓我們勝過失敗。所以大衛是用信靠的禱告開始，盼望神的能力改變一切，讓未來美好；最後他以確認神的美善和正直作為結束；而這中間他一方面承受罪帶來的羞恥和內疚，一方面因神的所是而深懷盼望。

      大衛身上發生了什麼呢？原來，在大衛掩蓋罪行的時候，神派了先知拿單給大衛講了一個故事，他國中有一個富人偷了窮人僅有的一隻羊。這時大衛還在掩蓋自己的罪，他義憤填膺：“他是誰，我要收拾他！”撒母耳記下12：11記著，拿單用手指著他說：“就是你！”我的問題是，你生命中有沒有什麼事讓神這樣說過你？

      大衛聽到了罪必須面對的嚴重後果後，在撒下12：13認罪：“我得罪了神！”我的問題是，現在你有沒有得罪神的事呢？

     然後大衛稱頌神。聖經告訴我們，神是如何回應大衛這樣悔改的，你現在要聽嗎？就像拿單指出大衛的罪，拿單也毫不含糊地宣告：“神已經除去你的罪！”再問你一個問題，你今天要聽見神這樣對你說麼？

     大衛於是寫了詩25。神的所是帶來了這樣的改變。神是聖潔的，一定要處罰罪；但神是慈愛的，也必有辦法赦免罪。

      接下來的一周裡，我盼望你多讀幾遍詩25，並要反復記住，大衛知道神的所是：神是愛，神是憐憫，神是公義，神是美善，神是信實。讀讀這些，記住神是這一切。

      我還盼望你可以在11節停下來反思：求 你 因 你 的 名 赦 免 我 的 罪 ， 因 為 我 的 罪 重 大 。
      我常常對你們說以下的真理，但盼望這真理今天能進入你的心：在11節，大衛紀念以色列人最重要的一個篇章，在出埃及記33-34， 摩西問神的名字。知道一個人的名字意味著更深、更親密地認識他，神於是回答說：“ 耶 和 華 ， 耶 和 華 ， 是 有 憐 憫 有 恩 典 的 神 ， 不 輕 易 發 怒 ， 並 有 豐 盛 的 慈 愛 和 誠 實 …… 為 千 萬 人 存 留 慈 愛 ， 赦 免 罪 孽 、 過 犯 ， 和 罪 惡 ， 萬 不 以 有 罪 的 為 無 罪 ……（出34：6-7）”

     在整個以色列歷史中，人們一遍遍地看這些話。人是易變不穩定的，但是神昨天、今天直到永遠都不改變。敬虔的領袖知道、也在生活中意識到這一點。當我們做錯了，錯待他人，濫用職權時，神不會把有罪當作無罪，我今天告訴了你們；那麼，你們現在有什麼要向神認罪、求神改變的麼？

     今天我也要宣告：若你們悔改轉向神，他必赦免你，還要讓你的生命重新被使用---這就是神的所是，他不改變。敬虔的領袖能不斷成長，更多認識神，讓生命活在他的光中。我們知道他的同在；我們只因得罪他而害怕---這就除去我們所面對的各樣恐懼。這就是“敬虔領袖屬神意識”的果效。

敬虔領袖的主要操練 --  求 你 將 你 的 道 指 示 我 ， 將 你 的 路 教 訓 我 (4節)；求 你 以 你 的 真 理 引 導 我 ， 教 訓 我 ( 5節)；他 必 指 示 罪 人 走 正 路 ， 必 按 公 平 引 領 謙 卑 人  (8-9).

     關於這一點，我只能簡單說，我要集中在敬虔領袖的屬靈操練上：他的一生由持續不斷的禱告所引導。大衛王之後幾百年，使徒保羅寫道：“不 住 的 禱 告 … 凡 事 謝 恩 ； 因 為 這 是 神 在 基 督 耶 穌 裡 向 你 們 所 定 的 旨 意 (帖前5：17)。“ 不住不是不停的意思，而是持續不斷的意思。那些如此禱告的人 1）已經個人性地遇見神，並在成長中認識神的性情；2）神的性情不改變，他總是與我們同在；3）把生命完全交給神，讓神成為神！我不是神，你也不是！

     認識到這點，就會改變我們影響他人的方式，我們就會向神尋求赦免，為別人求好處，就會渴望這些。人無完人，我們將從保羅給一個有潛力的年輕領袖提摩太的信中再看“敬虔領袖的心”：使 眾 人 看 出 你 的 長 進 來 。 你 要 謹 慎 自 己 和 自 己 的 教 訓 ， 要 在 這 些 事 上 恒 心（提前 4：15b-16a）。我盼望你不要假裝完美，而是顯出一個基督門徒的長進來。

     詩25告訴我們一個禱告的生命是什麼：大衛表現出合神心意的持續渴望，我們可以從4-5節看出是何等強烈：

• 求 你 將 你 的 道 指 示 我;
  • 將 你 的 路 教 訓 我 ！;
    • 把我帶入你的真理並教導我，因你是我的神！

而神在8-9節有一個確實的回應，也是一個美好的確據：

• 他 必 指 示 罪 人 走 正 路 (主，感謝你);
  • 他 必 按 公 平 引 領 謙 卑 人(願此成就);
    • 主將自己的道教導他們 (我們何等需要)。

      我盼望你們看到，作為一個敬虔領袖，認識神是第一步；但聖經呼召我們要意識到不論我們去哪裡，神都與我們同在。這個應用就是，我們要效法神，使用我們一切的權柄和影響力，服事他人而非讓自己享受；高抬別人而非自己！我願意成為這樣的牧師，這也是傑夫牧師和我們教牧團隊的心願。上週二晚上的事工會議上我看到了，你們的屬靈領袖是多麼想帶領你們按神的旨意行在神的路上。我們當為這樣的領袖禱告，盼望我們未來的領袖也是一樣。

      讓我們以禱告結束，請不住地為你們的牧師們和選出的領袖代禱。你們這麼做，就會讓世人看我們教會合一，看見我們正向世界彰顯神的所是。

那麼，如何用短語表達將神的道彰顯給世界呢？對，那就是：“榮耀歸給神！”

榮耀歸給神！

Greg Waybright 博士

主任牧師