James Meehan - Your Most Powerful Leadership Tool
- Watch
- Audio
- Get involved
Hello, today we are going to talk about why most people fail in their goals and their resolutions every year, and why so many people give up on following Jesus when it gets hard. And what I’m gonna present to you is the suggestion that it is the same reason for both things. Now, before we get into all of that, I just need to say how grateful I am to be back with you here at Switch because this really is the best place that you can be on a Wednesday night. And the fact that you are here in January, kicking off the year by putting God first, by surrounding yourself with great friends, choosing to grow in your faith, that’s a really, really big deal.
I wish I was as smart as you are when I was your age, because the truth is I wasn’t even close. I was so far from God and the things of God that I just wish I would’ve had a friend like you or maybe a friend like the one who invited you here tonight to help me see how much better life with Jesus really is. Now for today’s message I want to challenge you to do a couple of things so that you can get the most out of it. Thing number one is to actually pay attention, to listen to the words that are coming out of my mouth, that you’re gonna see on the screen, to not be a distraction to the people around you because even if you’re not super interested in what I’m saying, I promise you other people around you are.
So do not make their experience worse because you do not have the self-control to keep your mouth shut. The next thing is to take notes. We believe very, very strongly that the more you take notes during this time, the better equipped you will be to have meaningful conversations at the end of our night tonight, and the more effectively you’ll be able to apply the truth of God’s Word that we’re gonna talk about to your life so it actually changes you and changes you into the kind of person who can influence others in a positive way. That is my request of you, pay attention and take notes.
Now, if you are ready to get into the meat of this message, can somebody say, I’m ready? Alright, question for you. How many of you have ever heard that people do what they see other people do? Or said another way, monkey see, monkey do. Have you ever heard the line that attitude reflects leadership? If you’re familiar with the movie «Remember the Titans,» it ends with captain that the attitude that you have is often a reflection of the people that are leading you. Have you ever heard the idea that the most powerful leadership tool available is your example? Have you ever heard that people are gonna hear what you say but they’re gonna believe what you do?
One of my favorite versions of this from the movie «Batman Begins» way back in the day with Christian Bale, and wasn’t, yes, Rachel Dawes, his love interest, that was her name, she said, «It’s not who you are on the inside, but it’s what you do that defines you». All of these lines, all these quotes are communicating the same idea. That your example is powerful. That what you do matters immensely. Another way of saying it, actions speak louder than words. And so as we talk about what it means to be young leaders, and maybe you don’t actually see yourself as a leader, I wanna tell you how we see you, though. We truly believe that you are not the leaders of tomorrow, but you, your generation, students, you are the leaders of today, because today you can make a difference.
Today is the day that we are living in and today is the day that God has given you to use your influence for good, not just for you, but for the people around you. Your actions speak louder than your words. And we’re gonna see this idea echoed in the words of Paul the Apostle to his apprentice, Timothy, who was a young leader entrusted with leading a church. And one of the things that’s gonna show up over and over again as we talk about these ideas today, as we read this scripture, as we continue in this series is this. That the choices you make today determine the person you become tomorrow. The choices that you make today determine the person you become tomorrow.
And this is one of the things that I wish as a teenager I would have understood, because I for sure bought into the idea that my choices would matter someday, but like the stuff that I do today doesn’t really make that big of a difference. Because you know, I’m still just like figuring out who I am and what I want to do and who my friends are and what it is that I’m made to do, so I got plenty of time. And yeah, maybe you do. But the choices that you make every day are moving you in a direction. And for many of us that is oftentimes not actually the direction we want to be moving in. It is making us into the kind of person that we don’t actually want to be.
That’s why today you being here I think is really, really special and it is worth celebrating. Because when you make a choice today to put God first, you are making a choice today to become the kind of person in the future who honors God with their whole life. Who is the kind of person who becomes capable of truly loving God and truly loving others. The choices that you make today determine the person you become tomorrow. So, 1 Timothy 4, we’re gonna read some words from the Apostle Paul. In verse 7, he offers this bit of advice. «Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives' tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly».
Now this is from the Apostle Paul to a leader named Timothy. But the beauty of God’s Word is that it spoke truth when it was originally written and it speaks truth to us today. There is power in these words that God wants to reveal to you. «Train yourself to be godly. Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come».
Now whatever your New Year’s goals slash resolutions are, if any of them have something to do with being physically healthy, that is good. The Bible says it, it is good, physical training. But training for godliness is much better. So if as you think about what you want to be true of you this year that was not true of you last year, if becoming more like Jesus isn’t anywhere in the picture, then please come up with a new picture. Because becoming like Jesus, trusting Him with your whole life and letting Him transform you from the inside out is the greatest calling of your life. It offers benefits not just now, but in eternity. Paul goes on to say, «This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. This is why we work hard and we continue to struggle».
Following Jesus is hard work. Following Jesus will require you to struggle because life is hard, but God is good, and He is with you in the struggle. Paul continues, he says, «For our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers». So train yourself to be godly, how do we do that? The way that we train ourselves to be godly is we train ourselves to do what we can and we trust God to do what we cannot. It is a combination of our efforts and His goodness. We train ourselves to do what we can and we trust God to do what we cannot. Because there is stuff that is yours to do and there is stuff that only God can do.
The Apostle Paul, though, is not done. He continues on in verse 11 and he tells us this. He says, «To teach these things and insist that everyone learn them». Pay attention, «Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example,» set an example, be someone other people look to, «to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers and teaching them». Be an example.
So I’m gonna answer the thing about why so many people give up on their goals and their resolutions and why so many people give up on following Jesus when it gets hard. And the answer that I’m gonna show you on the screen is not going to make sense at first, but I still want you to write it down 'cause then I will explain it. So here is the answer. Nope, go back. Train to become godly by becoming a godly example. Train to become godly by becoming a godly example. Now, if you’re paying close attention, you might be wondering, how does that even make sense? You’re training me to become something by becoming that something. It’s like if I were to say, hey, train to become an influencer by becoming influential. Train to become a great musician by becoming a great musician. It’s kind of like that but there’s a little bit of a difference here.
The difference is it’s about becoming an example, and an example is someone that other people look to. The reason why so many people give up on their resolutions and their goals is because their goals and their resolutions are all about them. The reason so many people give up on following Jesus is because following Jesus is all about them. And if your only motivation is to benefit yourself and not be a blessing to others, then that motivation runs out really, really quick when it gets hard on you.
When I first became a Christian, I had this really weird situation where I went from immediately being saved to being a small group leader for a group of freshman guys. And it was like so quick that I realized, oh my goodness, I better get my stuff together, because I went from not following Jesus last week to this week now I’ve got to teach these freshman dudes who Jesus is and what that means. There’s a problem, I just met the guy. I don’t know how to follow Him. I got a whole bunch of yucky sin in my life that I need to clean up. But because me growing in my faith wasn’t just about me, there were other people depending on me, the level of motivation and urgency that brought was so much more than if I would’ve just sat comfortably attending church, waiting until I felt like I was ready to start leading other people.
And I think this is the wisdom what the Apostle Paul is saying to Timothy and what God wants to say to you. That when your goals, when your faith only serves you, it’s gonna run out really, really quickly. We follow a Savior who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. And if we are to become godly, to become like God, then that means becoming the kind of people who aren’t just in this life for ourselves, but we are always looking out for the good of others. And when your goals, when your dreams, when your desires go beyond you, those goals, those dreams, and those desires will be strong enough to carry you through the struggles and the hardships that come along the way.
One of my favorite memories with my dad was we were a part of this men’s ministry that was called Band of Brothers. It was based off of the «Band of Brothers» TV show that was about this group of military guys in World War II. And at the start of this men’s ministry, all of the dudes would gather around in a circle and the biggest dude with the deepest voice and the manliest beard, his name was Curtis, he would ask the question, «Why are we here»? But he would do it way manlier than I just did. And everybody would respond, «So others may live». And he would ask it again, «Why are we here»? «So others may live». «Why are we here»? «So others may live».
Why did Jesus come? Jesus came so that you might have life, and life to the full. Jesus left heaven and all the comfort that was there, He became a human being like you and like me so that He could bring life to all who were lost. So why are you chasing the goals that you’ve come up with? Why do you want to grow in the different areas that you’ve decided you want to get better in? Why are you doing the stuff that you do every single day? If it’s just to benefit yourself, then it’s really easy to cut corners and slack off. But when there are others depending on you, all of a sudden the urgency and the stakes go way up.
I love this story of these two dudes who went to the bathroom and they’re standing next to each other at the urinals, and somehow, I don’t know how, but somehow one of the dudes drops a $5 bill into the urinal. And then, I don’t know how but somehow, he proceeds to pee all over it. And somehow, I don’t know how, don’t ask me how it worked, maybe they didn’t have the divider, the other guy sees all of this and says, «Dang, man, that sucks. You just lost five bucks». And then the dude who peed on his own $5 pulls a 50 out of his wallet, throws it in next to the 5, and then grabs them both out. And the dude who’s just observing is like stunned. «What? Why would you throw $50 into the urinal and why’d you grab it? That’s extra gross». And the dude just looks at him and says, «Man, 'cause I’m not about to stick my hand in a urinal for five bucks, but I’ll do it for 55 bucks».
The point of the story is doing hard things is always hard, but you’ve gotta have a reason that actually makes it worth it. This is why, if you want to become godly, it matters that you recognize your responsibility as a follower of Jesus to become a godly example. This is why if you want to be become better at your sport, it matters that your motivation is not just so that other people think you are awesome, but it’s so that you can better help your team win. This is why it matters that if you want to be a better student, it is not just so that you can make great grades, but so that you can help others who are struggling.
When you set a goal, when you have a desire or a dream, if it’s only about you, chances are really good you’ll give up. And when following Jesus is only about you, you’re not following Jesus. Because Jesus wants to lead you to become the kind of person who loves and serves others the same way that Jesus came to love and serve us. Train to become godly by becoming a godly example. Now, what does it mean to be a godly example? That is what this next slide is here to show us. It is someone whose words, whose actions, whose relationships, whose faith and whose purity are a reflection of Jesus' character. Those five qualities are the qualities that Paul described in the scripture we just read. He said, «In what you say, how you live, in your love, your faith, your purity».
A godly example is somebody who has these qualities that are a reflection of Jesus' character. Because to become godly means to become like God. It means to become like Jesus. So I’m gonna put those qualities on the screen and I just want you to kind of look at them and think about, in your own life, how are you doing at your words, your actions, your relationships, your faith and your purity being a reflection of Jesus' character? Now hopefully, hopefully all of us are honest and humble enough to recognize that none of us are achieving the standard of Jesus because we are flawed human beings that fall short.
But there’s probably one of those areas that most jumps out to you as the one that you need to work on the most if you actually want to be become a godly example. Like maybe you’re pretty good at some of them, you feel pretty confident in one area, but there’s probably one that you recognize is the area that needs the most work. For me, it is my words. I have this problem of saying almost everything that I’m thinking, but like without thinking about it. And sometimes this can just lead to some silly miscommunications. Sometimes this can lead to me making a joke that wasn’t well thought out and wasn’t funny and caused offense to somebody else. And and other times this can cause me to say things that are hurtful to the people I love the most.
The other day I was getting my son ready to go to school and for me to go to work and it seemed like everything that could go wrong in that process was going wrong. Like the car wouldn’t start. He would not put his shoes on. I had to go back in and find my bag because I had left it. And I just continued to get more and more frustrated. And my wife comes up and she’s trying to help, but where she’s standing requires me to step and go around her. And for whatever reason, and the reason is because I’m a flawed human being who messes up, that was the straw that broke my back. And so, way more harshly than I want to admit, I said, «Hey, if you’re not gonna help, then please move out of the way».
And like thankfully that’s better than what I would’ve said 10 years ago before I started following Jesus, but the fact that that was my response to the person I love most in the world who was genuinely trying to be helpful because I was being thoughtless and I was being careless with my words is embarrassing to me. And what’s even more embarrassing is that as I got in the car and drove my son to school, I was justifying in my brain why it was okay that I said what I said. And so like I literally had to stop myself and ask God to shut me up and to remind me who He’s called me to be. And then eventually, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I mustered up the courage and the humility to tell my wife I was so out of line and I’m really sorry I said what I said, will you please forgive me? And thankfully, because she is much more godly in her words than I am, she said, «Absolutely, I forgive you and I love you».
That’s one instance from this week. If we go back over the course of the last month, I could probably rattle off a whole bunch more. So for me, when it comes to growing in godliness, I know that the area I need to work on the most is my words, because I want my words to be thoughtful and careful to the people who hear them, but far too often they’re thoughtless and careless. So what about you? What area of your life, whether it’s your words, your actions, your relationships, your faith or your purity, are you going to work on to become a godly example?
And I want you to just pick one of those things. And then when we go to our small groups here in a little bit, I want you to share honestly with your group which one of those things you want to work on the most, so that together as a group we can honestly talk about where we’re lacking and we can encourage and challenge each other to grow in these areas, because there is a role that is ours to play in the process of becoming like Jesus and we need the help of people and we need the help of the Holy Spirit, and the beauty of you being here is, guess what? The Holy Spirit is with you and there are people here at Switch who want to help you. So think of that thing and get ready to talk about it in your Switch groups.
Before we close, I wanna give you two scriptures that I find incredibly convicting and also comforting. The first scripture tells us the standard, the ridiculously high and unattainable standard that God has called all of us to live. It’s right here, 1 John 2. It says, «Whoever claims to live in Him, in Christ, must live as Jesus did». Whoever calls themself a Christian must live as Jesus lived. Are you doing that? I’m trying my best, but I’m not living up to that standard. That’s why the next verse I think is so comforting. It is the good news of the Gospel. In Hebrews, we are told about the grace of Jesus. We are told that «we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven».
Who is that High Priest? It is Jesus the Son of God. So, «Let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest, Jesus, He understands our weaknesses, He knows our shortcomings, He is not blind to our faults, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin». That means that Jesus never got it wrong. Jesus always got it right. And instead of that making Him judgmental, it made Him compassionate. «So let us come boldly, confidently to the throne of our gracious God, because there we will receive not condemnation but mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most». You have been called by God to become godly, to become like Jesus. And there’s a part that you are meant to play, to train yourself to become godly. And there is so much that only God can do. But the good news is that God wants to help you in your time of need.
And so, Lord Jesus, we come before You right now, so grateful for Your grace that is more than enough, so grateful for the love that You showed us by living a perfect and sinless life. We ask that in our time of need that You meet us there with what we need. Grace, mercy, kindness, power. God, give us the strength to be and do all You have called us to. We pray all this in Jesus' name, amen and amen.