As we draw this mini-series of “questions on the way to the airport” by a senior leader to a close … Let’s talk about the Sabbath. I asked all the leaders of this particular church if they kept a regular, weekly Sabbath. I defined this Sabbath as a decent quantity of time (not necessarily a whole day) where they focused on their relationship with God, rested, and generally spent downtime … not catching up on laundry, housework, banking, and shopping. So, quality as well as quantity. When I asked for a show of hands as to those who had a regular, weekly Sabbath … not one hand went up.

Here is another reason “life” was not being experienced by the individual leaders as well as why “life” did not flow at the assemblies of this local church.

God has Ten Commandments. And only one starts with the word “remember.” This is because God knew that in the rush of life and ministry we would tend to forget. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work …For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8-11)

The Sabbath is an integral part of our intimacy with God. This intimacy and resulting relationship is essential to seeing life released in any and all ministry. And, you determine the level of intimacy you have. You must be intentional about gaining and then maintaining this relationship. You must be focused and not allow things to distract you. Without this, those in ministry are working for God and not with God. Without this there is no “life” being experienced by the disciple or the local church.

So, take the time to establish and maintain a Sabbath. It does not need to be Saturday or Sunday. Paul tells us there are no “holy days” so pick the day that is best for you and slice out a good chunk of it for your personal Sabbath. No Sabbath means you are in sin as you have broken one of the Ten Commandments. The biblical definition of sin is “the transgression of the law” and keeping a Sabbath is part of that moral law known as the Ten Commandments. Time to climb out of sin!

This way you will come to be “rooted and grounded in love” because “God is love.” You will know “the mind of Christ’ (1 Corinthians 2:16); you will know the heart of God the Father (Matthew 5:8); and you will experience His feelings, His focus, His plans and His purpose (John 17:3). This is called intimacy – knowing the God we worship and serve.

When you were born again God gave you the “gift of eternal life” (Romans 6:23b). This gift is defined in John 17:3 as the supernatural ability to deeply, personally, and intimately know God the Father and Jesus, whom He sent.” It is time to unwrap the gift.

It was a great discussion on the way to airport. personal and powerful. Worth the whole trip into that city and local church. A life-transforming conversation.

On the way to the airport recently I was asked a number of powerfully important questions by a senior pastor and leader who, for all outward appearances, is very popular and very successful. One of those questions dealt with the real root and substance of the local church. He was talking about the basic, essential ingredient that is needed for a church to succeed.

My answer was that the very “life” of God needed to be felt, experienced, and received by the people attending any given service. It is the “life” of God that attracts people, brings people back, touches people, transforms people, and even brings them into the Kingdom. People, Christians and non-Christians, know when that “life” is present and when ‘it’ is not present. It is this “life” that draws them and this “life” must be experienced to keep them coming.

The Bible states (John 1:4) “In Him (Jesus) was life and the life was the light of men.” Jesus was not the ‘light.’ The “life” of God (Zoe) within Him was the light that drew men to Him. The word “life” is used by John, the apostle, 36 times in his Gospel account of the life and ministry of Jesus. He refers to it in several contexts.

First the word “life” is in reference to the actual creation of the world. It refers, in the broad sense, to the created world through His involvement as the agent of creation. John 1:3 states: “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life…”

However, the word “life” is also referring to the spiritual ands eternal life imparted as a gift through belief in Him. This is seen in John 3:15: “…that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” And in John 17:3: “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” We also see it in the writings of Paul, the apostle. For example, Ephesians 2:5: “…even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved…”

Thirdly, this “life” is the very life of God (Zoe). It is the very life and nature of God the Father in Jesus. And, in every believer there is also this life – the presence of God, the fruit of the Spirit (the character or nature of God), and the very essence of who He is. It all resides inside the born again believer. As a result, when true believers and disciples of the Lord Jesus come together this “life” should be evident. It should be encountered and experienced by all who are present and whose hearts are open. Jesus said, “when two or three are gathered in My Name, there am I…” and if He is there then “life” is there.

In the specific case we were discussing on the way to the airport, this life was missing in the local church. There was a well run, well designed event (let’s not call it a worship service) that contained singing, announcements, offering, and a teaching. But, there was no “life.” There was nothing moving in the spiritual realm. You didn’t need the Holy Spirit for anything that happened that night at the assembly. It was dead. There was no life. It was simply program and activity. And, a vast majority of the people there – by the look on their faces and their lack of response – knew that “life” was not there.

This “life” must first be experienced by each leader in the leadership team before it will be felt or seen in the weekly gathering. You cannot export what you do not have and have not experienced. And, having met with the leadership team during my visit, I would say that it was not there either. So, each leader must work to connect with the Living God and experience “life” for themselves. Then we can work on the assembly experiencing life. This means each leader must make time to be with Jesus and grow a depth of intimacy with Him that they have yet to achieve and experience.

I was on my way to the airport recently when the pastor who was driving me began to ask some serious questions. I was tired. It was the end of two weeks of ministry. And, I was facing two full days of airport layovers and flights. However, his questions were important and I worked hard to stay focused and answer them as best I could.

He asked me what his focus should be with his leaders. I had spent half a day with them earlier and had been asked to speak on “Intimacy with God.” It had been a powerful morning session of worship, teaching, and prophetic ministry. Then a few hours of fellowship over a late restaurant lunch. So, I had some idea of who the leaders were and where they were at spiritually. My answer: That there was a need to work on character.

Often we have the gifts of the Spirit flowing, we have decent teachings, we have great worship, and the numbers attending can be substantial and enough to have a dynamic movement and growth. However, all believers, especially leaders, need to focus on their character.

The base of character in one’s life is the fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22-23. So, we need to focus on the fruit of the Spirit and see these aspects of one’s character grow and mature.

However, we also need to focus on a number of other “character traits” as seen in daily life… an examination of which would help him, as the senior leader, know the nature of the character of each of his leaders…

1> Fruitfulness – Does the person, by their lifestyle and testimony, see people come to Christ on a regular basis.

2> Faith – What is the person believing for. What are they believing God for that is impossible if God does not move on their behalf. Matthew 10:29 speaks of personal faith and applying one’s faith towards something.

3> Faithful – Is the person faithful to the call as a disciple and to the ministry they are fulfilling. Most importantly, are they faithful in their attendance at the local church where they are leaders.

4> Finances – Paul tells Timothy to pick men who are of good reputation inside and outside the local church. If a leader is not handling their finances correctly and has a bad reputation with local businesses and banks then this is a clear character issue as they are living beyond their means. The leaders, as with all true disciples, should also be tithing to the local church and giving over and above the tithe.

5> Friends – Who are their friends? Bad company corrupts good morals the Book of Proverbs states. So, to know what a person is like you should see who they consider as friends and who they hang out with when they have down time.

6> Fun – What does the person do for fun? How a person entertains themselves in their off time speaks loudly to their character.

7> Family – Are there good relationships within the family? Do they have a decent relationship with their family members – children, wife, and other relatives? If those closest to you do not love and respect you then there is an issue.

These are all additions to the first mentioned character issue – the fruit of the Spirit.

So, I examine or look for these 8 things when determining character. This is especially true regarding someone you are thinking of placing into leadership. However, all believers should focus on character issues. We become so focused on skills, abilities, giftings, and callings that we often fail to focus on those things which are more basic and seriously foundational.

More on my ride to the airport tomorrow….