The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already!” – John Buchan “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more & become more, you are a leader!” – John Quincy Adams

7. Follow the Leader!
1 Cor 11:1-3 So take me for your example, even
as I take Christ for mine. Now I am pleased to see
that you keep me in memory in all things, and
that you give attention to the teaching which was
handed down from me to you. But it is important
for you to keep this fact in mind, that the head of
every man is Christ; and the head of the woman
is the man, and the head of Christ is God.

8. I. The Example!
• 1 Pet 2:21 For to this you were called,
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving
us an example, that you should follow His
steps:
• 1 Jn 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought
himself also to walk just as He walked.

9. In the footsteps of Jesus!
• When we fail to follow the Leader, we have
no direction, no guidance, no light to see
where we are going! We stumble around in
darkness!
–Jer 10:23 O LORD, I know the way of man is
not in himself; It is not in man who walks to
direct his own steps.

10. A sinless Savior!
• 1 Pet 2:22 "Who committed no sin, Nor was
deceit found in His mouth“
• 2 Cor 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to
be sin for us, that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him.
• Heb 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who
cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but
was in all points tempted as we are, yet without
sin.

11. II. The Encouragement!
• Discouragement vs. encouragement!
–Discouragement = a loss of confidence or
enthusiasm; dispiritedness
–Encouragement = the action of giving someone
support, confidence, or hope
• Who does my relationship to God consist of?
–God, yes! Myself, yes! Others, yes!
–We are called upon to be in this together!

12. We Are The Body!
• There is “one” body, but many members!
–Rom. 12:5 “So in Christ we, though many, form
one body, and each member belongs to all the
others.”
–1 Cor. 12:14 & 27 For in fact the body is not one
member but many. Now you are the body of
Christ, and members individually.
• Christ is Head of the Body! (Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:18)

13. Faithfully Fit!
• 1 Tim 4:8 For bodily exercise profits a little,
but godliness is profitable for all things,
having promise of the life that now is and of
that which is to come.
• Jesus is our faith coach!
–He will always be here to help us make it to the
next level, to encourage us to keep going &
never give up!
–The Lord is our helper! (Heb. 13:5-6; Mt. 28:20)

14. III. The Edification!
• Edification = Building up the soul; spiritual
improvement; from Latin aedificationem = to
build up & construct with relations to the
soul!
• This is a word that is used in religious context
quite a bit! What I don’t want us to miss here
is the relationship of this to our spiritual lives,
to our souls!

15. Soul Food Served Here!
• If we are going to keep growing & gaining
ground, then this has to be the case!
• We have to “follow the Leader!”
–His example!
–His encouragement!
–His edification!
• We have to feed & feast on God’s Word to
build up our lives spiritually! (1 Pet. 2:2)

16. Growing in Christ!
• This is not about trying harder, but about
surrendering more!
• Eph. 3:17-19 so that Christ may dwell in your
hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted
and grounded in love, may be able to
comprehend with all the saints what is the
breadth and length and height and depth, and to
know the love of Christ which surpasses
knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the
fullness of God.

17. Conclusion:
• I have really enjoyed our study this year of
“forward-motion!”
• Together, forward & next inward!
–We are going to be studying the need to
“looking in-ward!”
• If you are here & you haven’t yet come to
follow the Leader, then today is the day!