1. Am I praying with faith?
I could have asked, “Am I praying?” That would be a good question, but this question goes further. In Luke 18, Jesus teaches us that we ought always to pray. Then at the end of that teaching he asks a question: “When the son of man comes will he find faith on the earth?” Notice, He doesn’t ask, “Will the son of man find prayer on the earth?” but “Will the son of man find faith on the earth?” Why? Because what matters is not that I am saying my prayers, like the Pharisees did, and like millions of people in all religions around the world do.
What matters is that I’m praying with faith. Do I have confidence in God to do more than I can do? Or have I wandered into the spiritual wasteland of evaluating everything in terms of what I see as humanly possible—the easiest thing to do when you’ve been a Christian for 10, 20, 30 years.
2. Am I serving with zeal?
I take this question straight from the Scriptures. Romans 12:8 says “The one who leads,” must lead “with zeal.” There’s something about passion here, something about vision and something about direction. The leader must care passionately about where he or she is going. 1 Peter 5:2 says to leaders, “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers, not because you must but because you are willing as God wants you to be.”
In the film, Parenthood, Steve Martin plays an overworked father trying to do his best for a family under pressure. One day he quits his job, and when he gets home, he finds the kids running wild and his wife tells him that she is pregnant. He does not react well. Then when it’s time to take his son to a baseball game, his wife wants to talk and she says, “Do you have to?” He says, “My whole life is ‘have to.’” You’ve been there, and so have I. But that’s not a place from which we can lead others. Are you serving with zeal?
3. Am I believing with confidence?
God says that “the gospel… is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Do I believe that? Do I believe that when I pray for an unbelieving friend or relative? Do I believe that God is able to save them through the Gospel?
When I struggle with a powerful temptation, with a habit that is difficult to overcome, do I believe that God is able to deliver me through the Gospel? When I become tired, get discouraged, begin to wonder how long I can continue, do I believe that the God who saved me is able to keep me?
4. Am I confessing with humility?
Martin Luther said “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent,’ He meant that the whole life of a believer should be repentance.” Christ calls us, not to a prayer of repentance, but to a life of repentance, a life of turning ever more fully to Jesus Christ.
A life of repentance is not a life of misery, but a life of growth. It’s a life in which the Holy Spirit is constantly opening your eyes to how you can take the next step in becoming more like Jesus. A process of examination like this may begin to connect this reality with your life now.
A Christian is a person who has light to see what there needs to be less of and what there needs to be more of in his or her life. This leads to a life of confession, in which you see your sins and your failings, and you keep bringing them under the blood of Christ.
When you live life like this, you don’t waste your life in the shallow water of compromised obedience, instead you launch out into the deep oceans of following Christ. Can you name a sin that you have confessed in the last week? In the last month?
5. Am I worshipping with joy?
I come to worship. Do I participate or do I observe? In the presence of Jesus, there will not be a single person with their arms folded, listening to the angels and observing the worship. We will all sing. We will all shout for joy. Ask yourself, “Am I worshipping with joy?” If not, why not?
6. Am I giving with gladness?
Giving is an indicator of love within marriage. A marriage that’s marked by withholding is not healthy. Giving is also an indicator of your love for Christ and your love for the bride of Christ. “I work to earn money that I gladly give to the bride.” Is that true of me? Or am I tiring of that?
7. Am I reaching out with love?
Here we are in a world of need, and some Christians are stretched out in sacrifice, so that lost people on their way to an eternal darkness may see the light of Christ through the Gospel and be saved. What about you?
Click here to watch “Leadership Defined” on YouTube.
Post Adapted from the Sermon “Leadership Defined” from the series “Leadership: The Surprising Influence of a Godly Life” by Pastor Colin Smith.
