In this episode Pastor Jason and Seth talk about sermon content from this past Sunday and answer the question, "Do leaders have to serve?" As leaders we are great at pushing people to serve and to get plugged in, but does that require us to serve as well?
In this episode Pastor Jason and Seth talk about sermon content from this past Sunday and answer the question, "Do leaders have to serve?" As leaders we are great at pushing people to serve and to get plugged in, but does that require us to serve as well?
Welcome to Pastor to Pastor with Jason is Seth. We're honored that you took time to listen or to watch on YouTube today. We got a good one Pastor Jason. Yeah, I'm excited. So we are gonna talk about typically the format that we have here pastor pastor is all about iron sharpening iron. Absolutely. And so what we like to do those we like to get a little personal talk about kind of what happened Sunday sermons that we, that we talked about, and then maybe some family stuff, right. Yeah, making it personal. And, and then we got a something for today for leadership in terms of not just leadership, really, if you think about it, but the question that leaders don't have to serve, right is do leaders, leaders, they do not have to serve and we're gonna find out all we tell themselves. Yeah, but I'm excited. I'm gonna jump right in. I want to, I want to shout out my son, Levi, he's six. And he got a great report card this week. You know, I don't know if you know this. That's right. In kindergarten, they still get report cards. But man, we're gonna go to the trampoline park J. And I'm gonna find out how old I am. When I start jumping and how out of shape I am and how bad my asthma is. Let me let me just give you a piece of advice. Don't do it. Now we're gonna have a good time. I'm excited. I'm like a big kid, man. But um, Sunday was good for us. Somebody was Sunday was really good for us. We celebrated um, I don't know if you know this, but this month is passionate wife Appreciation Month. Yeah. And so we took time to honor of course, my wife, but the church also honored her for her role in what she does for the for the ministry and stuff, but then we preached we are wrapping up our from feelings to field series. I know you've been hearing about it for the past five weeks, but there's a lot of emotions that we deal with. Yeah. There's a lot of things that God is trying us to be led by, and what those are not is our feelings. So we're learning to be led by the Spirit. And one of the things we talked about was being being led by the Spirit and understanding that you are enough. Not this. I'm unworthy. I'm never enough. But what the Spirit says when you carry him you are enough now, just I don't know if you know this, but you by yourself. You're not enough. No, I'm not. I mean, I'm big fella. But I still no, no, that's right. You're not enough. But with you and Jesus, you are enough. Why? Because we're you lie. He has the abundance. Bible says where you're weak, you will find strength in him. Whatever void you have, he has the ability to fill those voids. So with you and Jesus, you have enough and so priests out of a story. Most people know David and Goliath if you've been in services or in church for a little bit of time, you've heard that story. You know about David a lot. I actually told you to I really don't like preaching that message. And what do you tell me about it, though? I said that because it's coming to us doesn't mean it's common to everybody. Yeah. And that's so powerful. I've never thought of it that way. I kind of dreaded preaching it. But I knew I needed to just do what the Lord has given me. But that's a great thought. You never know who's going to walk into your church. You never know who's going to need to hear what God's giving you even if it's not for you, most of the messages hit home first. But some of them are like, okay, alright, it must not be for me, but it's going for somebody who's going to walk in the room. And so we talked about that David and Goliath and our preaching in a way I really have never really thought about preaching it. And it was a the idea that you are enough. Saul and David had two different perspectives. Saul was looking at himself through the lens of fear. And I'm not enough. So when David comes in and says, Hey, you got a problem with this big Philistine? Don't worry. Yeah, I'm a problem solver. There you go. I'll take care of your problem. And I've always overlooked it but I've never focused on it was that solves response was him to him was That's ridiculous. That is ridiculous. You're a young boy. This man has been in war all his life, you're gonna lose. And David Seville, let me tell you why I got confidence. Because when did when the lion came. And when the bear came, I had a club and I destroyed him because God rescued me. What we noticed this Sunday was that David had confidence to know he was enough because he knew who he carried. Even when he came and confronted Goliath himself. He looked at Goliath and said, you couldn't be with a spear, a sword and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord amongst them. So no matter what you think you're equipped with, I'm the most equipped because I am literally carrying the one who is the King of kings, the Lord of lords. The great I am the one the first Alas, beginning to end the one. I've got the power. I got the bow. Yeah, right. So we talked about that. And oftentimes how we have if we can only reproduce what's on the inside of us. Yeah. So So fear was inside of him. All of his troops were they captivated by fear So when David shows up with faith, and he's being pushed by faith, that's what he produces. And because of that, we know the story. He defeats Goliath. And here's the reality to this story as well, is that even though Saul wanted David to put on his armor, David, realize that I can't fight my battles the way that you fought your battles. I don't know if you know this, but I'm not a carpenter. If you looked at me and say, Hey, build me a table, here's some wood, here's some nails. Right? Here's some nails, here's the hammer, the level all this measuring tape, all this stuff, build a table, I wouldn't know where to start. Yeah. Because I'm not being equipped. I haven't had a track record where the Lord has brought me through building things. But what I do know is if you give me a Bible, and you give me a microphone, I will know what to do with those things. And so even a little deeper in that thought is you never do what somebody has called you to do you do what God's called you to do. I can't always fight my battles and lead my people the way that you lead yours. We are called to do the things that God has called us to do. So when Saul was like, man, it's ridiculous. But go ahead. He said, okay, because my faith and confidence in God and I'm enough because he's enough. And so that was kind of the gist of what we talked about this Sunday, is understanding that we're enough because God is with us. We're always enough when he's in the mix. Yeah, we had and it really kind of goes into what I talked about. But in terms of what's going on at CrossPoint and in my life, right is so we're recording this actually a little bit later today than normal because my 17 year old got his wisdom teeth taken out here. I feel for him. So I've been you know, riding around listening to the I wish I could post the picture he'd killed me though but have him in the car in the car ride home he was he said just this this is my this is my lip. No way. Yes way. It's your it's your video that stuff. Yeah. Or why did Don't you worry. I got some stuff for later. It might just show up sometimes somewhere and never know. You go. But yeah. And so you know if any of you know my wife, Anna, she is coming through. She's on the victory side of cancer. Praise the Lord. Amen. The Lord has definitely and I say victory side. When you're in the Lord, you always victorious. But what's really cool though, is that she's they've completely removed cancer from her body. And she's been through chemo and she's now going through the hormone therapy, we praise the lord of at avoided radiation. So she had breast cancer. So she is going through the hormone therapy portion of it, but I'm gonna tell you, man, and this is just a testament of how good God is, is the grace. She's walked through going through the whole cancer thing. It has been inspiring to me, even a minister of the word I've seen, you know, crazy miracles, but just to see her go through and have to go through it to walk through with the grace that she has. And we're talking about somebody who wouldn't stand up and say anything in front of anybody. Oh, yeah, years ago, right. And then the It wasn't even a year ago, she stands up in front of a stadium with people giving her testimony of how you know, God brought through cancer. So it's been a miracle. It's been awesome to watch. It's been tough to go through. But it's been amazing to watch her her go through it and come out on the other side, stronger interfaith encouraging other people interfaith and it's just it's been amazing. It's been a mate, amazing to watch the journey, and to go through it to be to help support her and to help her go through it. I love. But it's been it's been interesting, but really what you preached on and what I just talked about talks about really what I was hitting on, and we started this new series called battlefield Sunday. Now battlefield Sunday. Oh, my Lord, come on. Take it back. Now. Don't get me ready to Oregon. Yeah. Get your tambourine. I'll let you run around a little bit. But no, she, she she's done great. And but we've been through this battle, we've been to this battlefield. And it is a series battlefield is about the different battlefields that we face that we fight on. Because Second Corinthians 10, three through six, Paul makes it clear that we're in a war, right? And the worst thing we do is I think, as pastors as leaders, as other Christians is say, Hey, you're saved, good luck, good job, go forth and do great things. And then they get you know, a couple of days after you get saved you get hit with reality, right? And then you're like, Oh, my goodness. There are times where even in your walk, you're going to experience more, more frustration, more heartache, more aggravation than you've experienced when you were in the world. Because let's be honest, you're not really too much of a target. Right? When you're on the enemy side. Absolutely. Well, when you're on the the winning side, when you're on the Lord's side, it changes thing, he started. Gotcha. So there's no need to attack you and challenge you the way he does. You're just blamed in I talked about this too. So we talked about the battlefield itself. We talked about psychological warfare, the battlefield of your mind. Like that's, that's what a lot of military might comes from. They want to change the mentality. And that's really what happens when you're blinded in Scripture makes it clear that Satan blinds us. You don't you don't see things accurately, you don't see what's really happening. You know, Scripture tells us that we fight not against flesh and blood but against spirits, principalities, and places. And so when you're unaware, you think you're fighting flesh. But that's the enemy blinding you to what's truly affecting you. Yeah, I talked about it Sunday, how Jesus looked at Peter, when Peter was trying to tell him, You don't have to go to the cross. And Jesus rebuke Satan and Peter. And I was like, could you imagine what it felt like to be Peter in that moment? You're like, no, no, you know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. Maybe you do. Know. But I mean, you know, he blinds us, the enemy blinds us to the truth to what we're really fighting. He blinds us. And that's what I'm talking about Sunday was psychological warfare, how he, he likes to, there are these different I took five different five different warfare tactics and psychological warfare. I talked about the the news outlets, I talked about the media, high control social media, how you control social media to win battles, and to change information. And I talked about leaflets, dropping leaflets, I talked about false flags. I talked about shock. And all I talked about these different tactics that the enemy will use that we use in warfare that the knot, you know, our government uses in warfare and the other governments using warfare, and also how the enemy uses that same tactic in warfare. You think about it goes right in with it, you think about Eve, right? When she was deceived in the garden, psychological warfare, he just planted a seed with a question. And it took root, it bloomed and turn into the fall of mankind. And so that was psychological warfare. So I talked about that. That's really what we talked about Sunday. So it was great. It was a lot of great information and a lot of messages afterward, people telling me that they'd never, you know, thought of things that way, and had spent all day thinking about it. So it was great. It was great to bring to light how the enemy blinds us. And it's good, because the scripture that's why I always says renew the way you think, change the way you think Romans 12 To change the pattern of the way you think. And then he says this, Let this mind be a made us also in Christ Jesus. I think we should do this concept every day, we should always say God, renew my mind. That is mind being me, that's also in you. Let me think the way that you want me to think let me operate in the way you want me to operate. Because there's a war. Absolutely. We we don't see the half of it that God is protecting us from and that the mental protection that he gives us, man is there. Yeah. And you think to it made me think about when you said that made me think about in India, when you know, we call for Call of salvation. And altar is flooded with people. I mean, we're talking about hundreds of people, and you're standing and you're like, Okay, where do I start writing, right? And then we just start calling. I remember one specific time, we started calling for those who felt like they had a demonic presence, a dark presence in their life to come forth, and they come forth, and there were hundreds of people. And we're like, how do you separate and decipher who to go to? Yeah, so we just started calling for the light of heaven. We just started calling a fire of God to come down and illuminate the darkness. In the moment, we started praying that forever these people, you see faces shifting and you see eyes doing crazy things and body parts doing crazy things. I'm telling you, this stuff is real. Yeah, absolutely. It is absolutely real. And just because you can't see it, necessarily. It doesn't mean that it's not there. All right, and when you start imploring or employing the weapons of warfare, but let me repeat the whole of the mess here. When you when you start, when you start employing the weapons given us in warfare, you'll start to see some crazy things happen. Yeah. But anyway, we could talk on that for a while. We need to do a podcast on India. Yeah, we do. It'd be a long one. It would, it would. Yeah, that's awesome. Man. It's so needed is so needed. We a lot of times we preach on things that we see in the natural, yeah, those things that we can see and notice, but those things that we can that we don't realize that have us bound and those attacks that are coming. Those are the things we really need to address. And so let's shift man, let's we're going to talk a little bit about leadership and should leaders serve, you know, should they serve? There are a lot of churches and culture and things were that way I don't think they do where they're it's more about being served. But I think you I don't find anywhere in scripture where Christ came to be served. In fact, he said I didn't come to serve. Come to say that any company could change the world. I came to save the world. I didn't come to be served but to serve, right? Yeah, absolutely. I think that even when you look at pastoring, I'd say 10%. And that is very generous of being a pastor is preaching. Yeah. 90% of it is serving people. Yeah, leading them counseling them being available to them. I shared this with you, but the as your title grows, so does your servitude. Server to does not diminish just because you get higher on the pay scale. Yeah, you're actually living you should serve at a greater capacity. Because what you do is what you expect others to do that are following you and stuff. And so I know you've got some things you want to talk about. But I always think when I think of servitude, I always think of Mark nine, where the disciples are walking and Jesus is listening to him. And they're, you know, they're talking about who's the greatest like, Peters like, Joe Peters, like I walked on the water. Well, yeah. Well, John says, I'm the one that he loves. He said he loved me. So you know, on the greatest of Bartholomew, we'll start talking in there like, nobody even knew you were at Isabeau. Burr like, relax. It's a Jesus comes in. He's like what you're talking about? And when you notice that scripture, they don't even answer Him. The Bible says Jesus knew that ever just trying to figure out who was the greatest. I mean, think about, you're literally walking with Jesus, the greatest servant of all, the greatest miracle worker of all, and you're trying to bicker about who's the greatest. I mean, you gotta be insane. Yeah, to think that. It's like me playing basketball with Michael Jordan, I talked about how you should see me shoot the basketball. Yeah. And so we understand this is that, if you want to be great, you've got to serve, we should be the first one to pick up a chair. If you're single. Pick up a chair, man, certain girls, you got to serve as hard. You know, pick up a chair, I mean, I would always tell our leaders is if you're leading any type of team, I don't care if it's worship, if it's kid ministry, student ministry, if it's an outreach, be the last one to leave, and be the hardest worker, because people are watching you, and how hard and how great you serve is what they will. That's the level they will get to. But they see you just overlooking serving because you have a title, then that will be the quarter that you create in your church. So if you don't have a servant quarter, you have to look at yourself first as the leader as the pastor. Yeah. And so if you want to be great, learn to serve, learn to surf is everything everything that Christ did, we have a class here when it's called the next step class. And it's the next step in your data growth track to becoming a member here at CrossPoint. And so we have a so the first thing we do is we just talk about the first meeting that we have is called peaks with the pastor. And so we just we just have a meeting, talking about the church, where it was, where it is, where it's going, it's all about me. And we just get to know people. The second meet the second time is the next step class and we talk about because we like to plug people in, like in people in is super important and allowing them to serve. A servant is a form of worship. In fact, you know, First Peter 410, through 11 says, as each one of you have received a gift, Minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers let him do it, as with the ability, which God supplies, that in all things, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. So as we serve, we're serving for the glory of God. And so we talked about that with the next step class. It's a step up and your accountability. It's a step up and you're and you're being accountable to step up and your commitment. Commitment is a step up. Because when you start serving, I love this story, not to get sidetracked. I like rabbit holes. But as well as we're, I remember very clearly picking up Caleb from school one day, and some lady there was a lady outside and so Caleb rolls the window down. He says, Remember everything you do do for the glory of God. And I'm like, All right, Galen. What's your breach? Afterward the lady came up was telling me she said I want you to know he is such an encouragement to me and to other people and just you know, him sharing scripts and stuff. So it was really cool. Seeing that but it is everything we do. We here's what we don't. Here's what I think we forget. We forget we're in a battlefield. We also forget that we are ambassadors. We are ambassadors of Christ, we carry on us, the ambassador ship we represent Christ Himself. Right. And I remember when that leadership class stick is that stood out to me so much with Reverend Moore Smith he was talking about when Jesus was right before his crucified, there's a story of two different pots. Both were leaders were talking about Jesus and Pilate are two different pots. And one of them a true leader washed, washed His disciples feet. And then the other one, he washed his hands. So you're as leaders, you're either Washington feet or you're washing your hands. You're the one serving other people or you're serving yourself, you'll have nothing to do with it. Yeah. And so I believe that we have got to be the ones washing the feet and the higher up you go, I believe you're right. The higher up you go. The more serving you should be doing. Absolutely. And it's it's not just within the church. Is this concept the weird a lot of the world if you're really only serving in the church, you're really just blending in with every other light that's there. Yeah, we're gonna we're go out and to serve, go to the hedges in the hallways goes to those outside of church. How do you represent Christ? Do you represent it with a servant's heart? or hang out too busy? Yeah, I want to challenge ourselves with this Acts chapter nine. Verse 36, says there was a believer in japa named Tabitha which is Greek for Dorcas, why in the world? Would they name somebody Dorcas she was always doing kind things for others, and helping with the poor. So what she do is she what she would admit she made clothes for the poor and see, but she was known for helping widows. This is what she was known for. She was known for always being kind to people, and helping the poor. Self Evaluation right now. Okay, let's just pause for self evaluation. If you asked around, what would you be known for? What would you be known? For? Now? That's a tough question. Ask your spouse. Ask your kids. What's Mom? What's dad? What am I known for? When you think of me? Is it? I'm known for? Always have an attitude? Am I known for always being selfish? My known for always staying on the video game? Am I known for always? Being away from the home? What do you mean? Oh, am I known for just always working? What are we known for? And I just want to tell you this, Jason, the the need, the needs are always greater than your comfort. In terms of serving, if there's a need, stop what you're doing, fulfill the need. I'm a firm believer in this and I tell our people just don't rely on church. If you're in Walmart, and you see a need. It's because God highlighted it to you for you to do something about it. Yeah, that's a way God is creating opportunities for you to serve. We said this last week, to know what to do and not do it is a sin. So if God is tugging the Holy Spirit is tugging me to serve someone even in the middle of a supermarket. But I refuse to do it. I'm kind of rebellion is a is a tough word to put there, but a rebellion against what God's telling me to do. Whereas a servant's heart to where I can realize that needs are greater than my comfort. If the Lord needs me to do something, there's needs to be met. Let me be here I am. Lord, send me Yeah, I think your level of servanthood reveals what it was that was in your heart. Because think about it, how often times do we walk in Walmart, or Kmart or target or any other store, looking for opportunity to serve? Most of the time, we want to get in get out. But if we were intentional in our time, and if we realized that if I mean, a whole lot of this walk is transforming of your mind is the renewing of your mind, right talks about is realizing that we're not in the flesh. And all this all this is a melting pot together, man, right? We're not in our flesh, like we are born of the Spirit, right? And so we need to be thinking of things in the spiritual world in the spiritual realm, instead of the fleshly realm. I'm here, but this isn't my home. And so we need to be thinking about how we're supposed to be. Yeah. And that comes by, by the renewing of your mind about looking for opportunity, and in time to be able to how can I serve? How can I so one thing I love about India is it gives you the opportunity to be able to focus like I'm here for ministry, this is all I'm going to do. Yeah, forget my net. Yeah. Don't forget the net. All right, they nothing needs are greater than your comfort. There ain't nothing better than that Indian that when you go, Oh, my goodness to change your life. But no, I mean, but really, like, if you think about our focus is is I'm seeing people I'm like, How can I share Jesus with them? Right, how can I share Jesus with them and that we should be like that not just overseas, but we should be like that here have so everybody should be looking for opportunity. Yeah. Because if we really understood what Hal was like, if we truly understood it, we would not win want people to go there? Wow, please don't go don't Why would you go? Gee, God says, Why would you perish? Like why? Like, and if we would truly see what we're saved from, and I believe it, I truly believe, if God will give it if he would pull back the veil for at least a second, let us see what we're escaping. Yeah. Or we would be on the edge of the cliff telling people don't go, don't go. And we will be willing to serve people more like it would change, it would change the way we change the way. Absolutely, and, and to leaders that are listening, you know, don't one of the most backward things that you can do is serve everybody else better than you serve your family. You know, we're called to serve, but but how do we serve our family? Do we serve our spouse? Do we serve our kids? Do we serve those that are in proximity to us as well, because you're misrepresenting Christ to them, but representing him well to others. And you want to be able to influence your family? Well, you want to be that leader, you know, I'm talking to most of the males of the house, the leaders of the House, you, you want to be able to set the standard of servitude, serve your wife, I had to learn to make the bed, Jason, I do not like making the bed. But because my wife wants it, I serve her in that capacity. My wife doesn't drink coffee, but she makes me coffee, because it's just an act of service. It's not marriage counseling. It's just a serving, like we really want to serve. And so as leaders, I want to be able to reflect my heart for others, but also for my family, I want to serve them as well. And for those of you looking for a spouse, the first thing you look for in wanting to deliver the Lord into how do they serve? Yep. Because if they serve other people, they're gonna take care of you. Yep. And they should be reciprocating that service. Yep. And I will say this, I don't know what all else you have to say. But for the leaders back to our very original question is the leaders have to serve. Always remember this, that you set the quarter of your house, both the spiritual house and your physical house. Lead by example. Baba says eat when you talk about scripture says Wives submit to your husband will husband submit to the Lord the Lord submitting to him and serving serve your home will serve your ministry well. And that will create a quarter that you're expecting out of other people. Once the word that I remember you telling this always stuck with me was a story of Taylor's response to you one day, when you were in Goldsboro. And she said, Well treat me how you? Oh, yeah, yeah. When I hear this all the time, and I used to be very, um, I used to hate sharing it, because it revealed my heart. How it was out of place. Yeah. And one day Taylor, were in an argument. And she stopped to argument and she says, You know what, just treat me the way that you treat our volunteers, because you would never talk to me the way you talk to them. You would never treat me and man, from there. I've been a stickler. I'm not perfect. And I share this in my leadership. If you come on any leadership, I don't care if you're a worship leader, your discipleship leader, your circle leader, you hear this story? Because it matters how you lead your home because it's a home won't support you. Then you can expect support outside. Now don't don't be a preacher who gets all the celebration from your congregants, but your wife is just bitter towards you because of how you act at home. That's a whole nother topic, bro. But I mean, mean it when you really get this there could be healing in your home. In one way to start doing that is serving. Yeah. And you know, so that I've got here is serving is actually healthy for us. Yeah, you know, x 2035. Paul's talking, he's like, I've shown you in every way by laboring. He didn't say by standing in the pulpit, not by running and shout and not by he says, I've shown you every way by laboring like this, that you must support the week. And remember the words of Lord Jesus Christ who said It is more blessed to give than to receive. In the moment we catch that the moment we hear here's something I'm trying to find the way to release in a sermon is that we have been given the cure to a lot of our physical and spiritual and mental ailment, ailments and illnesses by by serving, right, because I'm gonna tell you some something about Tuesday. And the way my wheat works and the way my body schedule is is come Tuesday, man, I'm kind of hitting the end of my I've poured out all I can pour out. But when I go out on Tuesdays, and I hold that sign, I'm pulling for prayer. It does something for me, man, it recharges and renews me when people pull in and I'm able to pray for people and I see things change in their life. Yeah, I hear your story. You hear the stories? Yeah, testimonies. Absolutely. And we have People circle back around. We've been doing this year and a half now we see people circle back around and tell us the the miracles and the answers to prayer that God has given. And it just reinvigorates me. I think, I think there's a lot of reasons why churches are dying in their vision and the fire and the different things that because of not seeing salvations Yeah, because everybody knows you've been doing this for a little while, you know, there ain't nothing that will set you on fire, like a new convert. There ain't nothing that will bring back that zeal, like seeing somebody come to the knowledge of Christ. Yep. And that's just an example. We're serving in the word is the same thing when when when you're depressed. We said a little about worshiping. When you're really depressed. We come out of that depression by making other people smile. Yeah, it's better to give than to receive. And when we start seeing things that way, even if you don't feel like it, if you feel called to do it, do it. Yep. And when we start serving other people, something about seeing other people smile makes me smile. Yeah. And it will change, it will change the atmosphere will change how you feel will change the mood of change. Your vibe will change. whatever word you want to put in there, it will change you episode. Apps. Like, I would just encourage you in more ways than one, whether it was through the sermons or the sermon content or just this leadership development. If it's been a blessing to you do us a favor, share, write a review, comment, follow subscribe. Let's just get this word out. It's always good for us. So we would assume that it's good for other people. And so thank you for taking the time. Jason. Pastor Jason is going to bless you and then we'll, we'll cut it up. All right. So from number 624, through 26, it says, The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift his countenance upon you and give you peace. I love the way you're smiling through that. A god bless you. We'll see you next time. See you later.