It was one of those questions that grabbed me hard. Acts 4:7, “By what power and/or by what name did you do this?” This was a question asked of Peter and John by religious leaders after the healing of a beggar. It reminds me of a similar question that Jesus asked the religious leaders in Luke 20:4: “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?”
Every leader needs to regularly think about this issue. What drives and motivates me? Where is the power coming from? For whose glory am I doing it? Is the work based on heaven’s anointing or man’s approval?
As I prayed, I journaled the following thoughts:
By what power?
I am reminded of the words of the late Fred Smith, businessman and spiritual mentor to many leaders, “Remember the power comes through you not from you.” Is it all about me or all about Jesus? Is it His power or is the ministry based on:
- My gifts
- My personality
- My capacity
- My charisma
- My passion
- My experience
By What name?
By the name of Jesus and for the glory of Jesus or is it for the name and fame of Dave Kraft? Is it all about:
- My dreams
- My reputation
- My goals
- My plans
- My programs
- My ideas
I love I Corinthians 15:10 in The Message, “But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let His grace go to waste. Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do. God giving me the energy to do it.” (underlining mine)
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