Leading from the Inside Out Conference
Sat: Inside Out: Cultivating Intimacy with God(Proverbs 3: 5-6)
By Rev Edmund Chan
Introduction:
Re-Defining Success: Anton Chekov’s ‘The Bet’
In the world of literature, world-renowned story teller Anton Chekov wrote a short story entitled “The Bet”. It begins in the setting of a lavish dinner party, hosted by a rich old banker. In the course of the party, they talked about capital punishment and solitary confinement. There was a young lawyer at the party, twenty-five years old, who said, “I will rather be imprisoned for life rather than to be executed by capital punishment.” The old banker disagreed. He said that he would rather die than to be imprisoned for life.
The debate between the luminaries and dignitaries at the party about life imprisonment and capital punishment were so huge, that the banker challenged the young lawyer, saying, “I challenge you, in your statement that you will rather be imprisoned for life than be executed, that you will not last more than five years in solitary confinement. I bet two million rubbles on that.” The young lawyer replied, “Five years? I can last fifteen years in solitary confinement.” With that, they shook hands, and the bet was on. So, if the young lawyer were to go into solitary confinement and last for fifteen years, he will receive the two million rubbles from the banker. The young lawyer is then confined in a lodge in the banker’s huge garden, and is placed under the strictest supervision. He was not allowed visitors.
During the young lawyer’s stay at the lodge, he passed his time by reading lots of books. He read six hundred volumes of books in the first four years of his confinement. He read the Gospels, and his heart and mind begin to change from the inside out.
The years began to pass by. The banker was losing his money because of his poor investments in the stock market. As his money was slowly depleted, the two million rubbles begin to mean more to the banker. In the fifteenth year of the young lawyer’s solitary confinement, the banker started to get more and more worried. The banker did not want to lose his money, so he decided to kill the young lawyer.
At 3a.m. in the morning on the last day of the fifteenth year, the old banker went to the lodge. The lawyer was now forty years old, slumped on his desk, fast asleep. The banker was ready to suffocate the lawyer with a pillow, therefore ending his life. However, he noticed a letter on the table that was addressed to him. He took the letter and began to read it.
In the gist of the letter, the lawyer wrote that he agreed to this bet for fame and fortune, to proof a point. But in the course of reading all those books during the years of his confinement, especially the Gospels, something changed from within him. He was now enlightened, and came to realise that the worldly things, including the two million rubbles, meant nothing to him, because he realised that enrichment comes from within. To proof that, before noon, when the contract is up, he will walk out of this place five hours before noon and break the contract, because the two million rubbles meant nothing to him.
The old banker began to weep. He began to despise himself and could not return to sleep. At 7a.m. his servant came and told him that the lawyer had disappeared, walked out and broke the contract, and therefore the bet was off. The banker had won. He could keep his two million rubbles. The banker went back to the lodge to confirm the lawyer’s disappearance, and took the letter. He kept it in a fire-proof safe.
As the story closes, readers are confronted with this question: “Who is the prisoner? The lawyer or the banker?”
Many of us think that leadership does not apply to us because we are not leaders. The truth is this:all of us are leaders! We all have some form of influence. If you are a parent, you are a leader. You lead our children. If you are a husband, you are a leader. You lead your wife and your family. Even if you are leading nobody in particular, the greatest leadership terrain still exists because you are called to lead yourself.
The fundamental principle of leadership is this: You cannot lead from the outside-in, true leadership is from the inside out.
As a Christian, there is a need to cultivate intimacy with God so that we know how to direct our lives and live it with purpose, meaning and intentionality.
There is a profound text in the ancient book that the Rabbis call the ‘hinge-pin’, whereby Judaism hinges upon, and this point is found in Proverbs 3:5-6. In this scripture, there are three keys on how to live from the inside out and how to live wisely before God. It helps us to radically redefine success in life and ministry so that we do not become a prisoner of life.
A Three Fold Wisdom as seen in Proverbs 3:5-6
- GOD Wants Us To Live Life from the INSIDE OUT
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart…in all your ways…”
God has designed us to live life from the inside out. As we observe the scripture above, the phrase “all your heart” precedes the phrase “all your ways”. This is an important divine order. It is not by chance that God presented it as such. In the context of this verse, the word “ways” not only refers to the direction of our lives but also the conduct of our lives, where we are headed and how we are leading our lives. But what comes first is the “inside”.
The fundamental principle of leadership is that we have to lead our lives from the inside out whereby the heart precedes the ways. The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. The heart is where it all begins.
To lead life from the inside out, we must live life from the upside-down. We must get our orders and instructions and wisdom from God, from on high, from the upside. God speaks revelation into our lives and it changes our hearts from within, so that our hearts may be true to Him, true to Christ’s character and the calling to which God has called us.
To live a directed life is a must. It is not just a directed life by which we are called to live, but a God-directed life. God has called us to live life from the inside out, whereby the heart precedes the ways, whereby the inside precedes the outside.
The Difference between the Inside Out and the Outside In
Life from the Outside-In emphasises on: / Life from the Inside out emphasises on:Accomplishment / Authenticity
Competence / Character
Rituals / Reality
Looking good / Being good
Doing / Being
Guard your heart. The condition of your heart is determined by the appetite of your heart. Whatever satisfies the appetite of your heart determines the state of your heart. If the heart is impoverished, darkened and disillusioned, it is satisfied by the wrong things. But if the condition of the heart is right, it hungers for the right things: the good, and the spiritual things.
God had designed for us to give attention to the inner condition of our hearts, living life from the inside out. The heart determines everything else in life.
The question for us is this: “What is the condition of your heart?”
- GOD Wants Us To Live Life WHOLEHEARTEDLY
“all your heart” and “all your ways”
God’s delight is when we live life from the inside out wholeheartedly. The word “all” means “all”!
Pastor Edmund made a Lordship decision in his life back in December 1975 when he came back to the Lord after backsliding for four years in high school. He made the Lordship decision with one resounding principle in his heart, which is,“If Jesus Christ is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all.” God does not want a discipleship commitment of 99%. He wants a wholehearted commitment. It is not possible by ourselves. That is why we need the Lord because the Christian life is a supernatural life.
The question we need to answer is this: “Is Christianity possible?” If it is not possible, let us not waste our time. If Christianity is possible, then let us give our all. The answer is that Christianity is only possible in Jesus Christ.That is why God made discipleship an absolute demand. Jesus does not want prominence in our lives. He wants pre-eminence in our lives.
The greatest discovery on the secret of the Christian life is when we realise that we cannot do it alone. The only way we can is by the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, who brought abundance into our lives and made all things new.
When we make Christ the Lord of our lives, it is His power, His grace, and His presence that direct and empower us to discipleship.Jesus thus becomes pre-eminent in our lives. Is it possible? In Him, it is. This is God’s desire that we walk with Him wholeheartedly.
Jimmy Carter, the former president of the United States, wrote an autobiography, and in telling his story, he told of a time when he graduated from the Navy Academy. He was a young official posted to different parts of the navy for his assignments. In order to be posted, these elite officials have to go through an interview with the Admiral, and from the interview, the cream of the crop are selected and given high level posting. As Jimmy stood before the Admiral for his interview, the Admiral asked him one question which he will never forget. The Admiral asked him,“Tell me son, have you done your best?” Jimmy answered, “Yes.” But then something gripped and convicted him. Jimmy paused for a moment and, head hanging down, said, “Well sir, I have not always done my best.” The Admiral asked him, “Why not the best?”
Jesus is the Son of the living God, and He gave His life for you and me. So the question for us is this, “Why not the best?” Why do we Christians give leftovers to God? We give Him the leftovers of our time, energy and resources, because we fail to understand that God has given His best for us.
There was a Malaysian athlete (Azizul Hasni Awang) who competed in a cycling competition. During the competition, as he cycled, he fell onto the ground and had a splinter in his leg. However, he jumped back onto the bike and kept on cycling to the finish line to win a bronze. Most people would have given up. In Pastor Edmund’s eyes, that cyclist was a gold medal champion. The cyclist gave his best, even with the splinter in his leg. We should likewise give our best in the world of discipleship and leadership. That is what God wants from us.
- GOD Wants Us To Live Life with HIM AT THE VERY CENTER
“Trust in the Lord…Acknowledge Him…”
The term “trust me” is a fascinating term.
Four Reasons whyit is hard to trust people:
1)People are not trustworthy
2)People want to help but are unable to do so
3)People are able to help but are unwilling to do so
4)People are able to help but they have an ulterior motive
Why is it so hard to trust God? God is trustworthy, He is not unable and not unwilling, and He has no hidden agenda. God is proven to be faithful, and His intentions are good, for He intends to bless His children. Yet, people still find it so hard to trust Him.
The truth is that people find it so hard to trust God because they are afraid of losing control. They are unable to let go. They want to have control.
Life can be very uncertain. That is why we need to trust in God’s faithfulness. Trusting God is something we must do daily. It is not something we do only for a period of time when things go the way we want them to. Even when things do not go the way we hoped, even when we are confused, insecure and uncertain, we must not lean on our own understanding but learn to trust in God’s timing and purpose. In uncertain times, when we do not know the future, we need to learn to trust the One who holds the future. We need to learn to let go and let God be in control.
You can trust the One who died for you. Jesus died for you. If you cannot trust the one who died for you, who then can you trust?
When you are worried about making ends meet, when you are concerned about your health, when you face problems at work, when you are anxious about your future, when life is spinning out of control, you can trust the One who died for you. When God called you to cultivate the inner life, He is inviting you to trust Him.We are afraid of committing ourselves to God because we do not realise how committed God is to us.
On missions, we do not fully understand the theology of mission. The mission field is where God has put us in, wherever He calls us to. Whether is it cross-culturally or in the marketplace, we are all called to missions.
The church is seduced, blinded and disillusioned. There is a reduced susceptibility to revival. We are respectable people. We go to church and attend cell group meetings and study the Bible. However, respectability becomes the obstacle to true revival. God wants us to put aside our respectability and trust in the Lord with all our hearts, to cultivate our inner life and give Him the best.
The ultimate question is this:‘Is your direction in life, the direction God intends for your life?’
Conclusion: You Can Trust Him Who Died For You!
Leading From the Inside Out Conference
Sun: When Your Dream is Yet Unfulfilled(Zechariah 4:6)
By Rev Edmund Chan
Introduction
Tommy went home after school, and explains to his father how he was always being picked by his teacher in class. The boy asked the father to go with him to school, so he went to the school with his son the next day. The history teacher posted the class a question, “Who signed the Declaration for Independence?” The history teacher directed the question to Tommy. The boy turns to his father, and says, “See, she picks on me again”. The father stood up with great concern, “Son, please admit if you signed it”. So much for history…
Three Significant Numbers
In leadership, history is very important. In Jewish history, there are 3 significant numbers:
- 586 B.C. – This is known as the Babylonian captivity (or Babylonian exile) over Jerusalem.
- 536 B.C. – The Persian Empire released the Jews, ending the captivity of Babylon. Also this was the start of thetemple rebuilding, but only half of the rebuilding was finished. Then, work on the Temple was stopped for 16 years. Any reputable developer would be embarrassed if the building project cannot be completed in 16 years.
- 520 BC – God’s word was spoken, the rebuilding of the temple was completed in 4 years, and in 516, and the temple was dedicated to the Lord. So what made the difference?
A leader knows that having a vision and plan alone is not enough. But what is important is to have something from the inside, something that is from on High, that it must be done and will be done. The power of God is perceived when the Word of God is received and believed. Something happens then. However, there are obstacles to dreams:
- Building may be hard, but rebuilding is even harder.
- The greater the dream, the greater the obstacle will be.
Three Principles
Rev Edmund Chan says that there are three core principles that he gleans from the reading of this text (Zechariah 4:6) in dealing with Unfulfilled Dreams:-
- The Principle of CONFIRMATION:
Make Sure that the Dream is from God
In God, no dream is hopeless. In Him, there will be promises from God.
“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you” (Zechariah 4:9).
The phrase, ‘His hands will also complete it’, represents God’s promise and God’s direction to us. Only can we fulfil these dreams, because it has been entrusted to us and hence, it becomes our responsibility, for example, the responsibility of our family.
In spite of the dreams that God has placed in your life, do not neglect your family (spouse, children, and parents). How you live your life determines how you lead. Hence, it is important to first practice personal leadership. Learn to set priorities right. Always remember this equation:‘BIG God, small problems; small God, BIG problems’. An illustration for this is adapted from Avengers. When Loki claimed to be god, Hulk picked him up and pounded him onto the floor like a ragged doll and said dismissively, “Puny god”. This is to say that; “Our God is big, all other gods are *puny*”.