Open:
Sadly, it has happened again. Another prominent leader has fallen. On April 3, Florida megachurch pastor Bob Coy resigned from his 20,000 member Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale congregation over a "moral failing." His church's website states he confessed to a moral failing in his life that disqualifies him from continuing his leadership role at the church he has led since its founding in 1985. According to the Huffington Post, extramarital affairs and a longstanding problem with pornography appear to have been the reason. Tragically, we have become so accustomed to this kind of news that it rarely registers more than a "that's too bad" response from most of us.
I grieve for him, his family, his congregation, and the Christian community. We should pray for them. What I would like to do this morning is turn this into a teachable moment for us, and point to a biblical example of a prominent leader who "fell." By examining the experience of Saul, we'll see that leaders rarely fall. Instead, we may detect a downward spiral that took place over time. This is a warning to each of us. Rarely does anyone experience a sudden moral failure. Such a fall actually develops over time by falling into repeated moral traps. We may begin well, but apart from remaining in God and his Word, we may find ourselves spiraling downward out of control.
I. Trap 1: Saul made rash decisions and promises and failed to live up to them.
1. Saul's rash decisions & promises had is in common-- they were made during highly emotional moments.
- Beware the trap of making rash decisions and promises during highly emotional moments in your life.
2. Some thoughts about decisions and promises:
1) Don't over-promise.
2) Write down decisions and promises as an aid to remembering them.
3) Follow-up on every decision & promise.
II. Trap 2: Saul was overly influenced by the opinions of others.
Saul wanted to look good in front of people and wanted popularity more than to please God.
Ways that people listen to others:
1. The selfish way-- listen to no one
2. The survey way-- listen to everyone (poll taker)
3. The suicide way-- listen to the wrong ones
4. The successful way-- listen to the right people (Proverbs 13:10)
III. Trap 3: Saul vacillated between self-deprecation and self-glorification.
Both extremes are harmful:
1. Self-deprecation -- actually a ploy for attention and/or refusal to own-up to failure.
2. Self-glorification-- rivals God for praise that belongs to him.
IV. Trap 4: Saul showed diminishing interest in the things of God.
How do we gain a passion for Christ?
1. Have a personal relationship with Christ.
2. Have a growing relationship with Christ.
3. Stubbornly refuse any distraction from your allegiance to Christ.
Close:
Failure is not inevitable if we protect ourselves from falling away from God in the smaller traps that endanger along the way.
(Dane Fowlkes, Ph.D.)
No comments:
Post a Comment