September 25, 2005

The Apostle with a Foot-shaped Mouth

Matthew 16:13-23

Opening Words: They were not saints. They were not scholars. They were not even religious sages. Among them there were fishermen. There was a hated tax collector and a political zealot. Let me say this clearly. They were common men with an uncommon calling. They were hopelessly human and that is exactly why they speak to us!

In Matthew 10, Mark 3, Luke 6 we find the names of the disciples recorded. Each list begins with the name Simon Peter and ends with the name Judas Iscariot. The order of those names is significant. Peter was the leader of the group. He had the personality to be the leader of the group. Peter was eager, aggressive, bold and outspoken. John Macarthur calls Peter “the apostle with the foot shaped mouth.” More importantly, Jesus wanted Peter to be their leader. No other disciple is mentioned more in the Gospels then Peter. Today, in memory of Peter, the apostle with the foot-shaped mouth, we are going to look at leadership. This is my question for you today, "Are you a person of integrity?"

Introduction

On April 12, 1945 Vice President Harry Truman was summoned to the White House. He was shown into Eleanor Roosevelt's sitting room, where she told him that President Roosevelt was dead. After a moment of stunned silence Truman asked her, "Is there anything I can do for you?" She slowly shook her head. "Is there anything we can do for you?" she said, "For you're the one in trouble now." It is not easy being a leader.

General John Galvin, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and Commander-in-Chief of U.S. European Command, was asked, "What was it like to be in charge of so many forces?" His reply: "I often feel like the director of a cemetery. I have a lot of people under me, but nobody listens."

Can I state the obvious? We live in a time when there is a shortage of real leaders. Is there any part of our world that doesn’t need leadership? We need international leadership to confront some massive problems. We need leadership in Washington to confront the problems that are facing this nation. We need leadership at the state level of government to attract some new jobs to the buckeye state. We need leaders at the local level to lead this area out of the wilderness. We need leadership on the School Board to educate our children. We need leadership in the homes be a positive example to the young. We need leadership in the church so we can make the Gospel speak to a new generation. I don’t want to sound critical but I have a guaranteed appointment. We have a surplus of criticizers and a shortage of leaders.

Body

It is from this angel that we are going to look at Peter this morning. Peter was a leader and we need some leadership. Perhaps there is a leader hiding inside of you? Today, I am going to look at three words that will help you develop your leadership potential. Each one is illustrated in this morning’s passage. So if you are ready for my three words say, “Amen!”

The first word is the word integrity. Webster defines integrity as, “the quality of adhering to high moral principles or professional standards.” It comes from the mathematical term integer or whole number. It is strong. People of integrity are strong. People of integrity are solid. Their yes is a yes and their no is a no. They mean what they say. They live life at a higher standard. Peter was a person of integrity. In this morning’s passage Peter speaks his mind. There is nothing hypocritical about him. He exposes to the world exactly what he believes. With all of his limitations, no one can question the fact that Peter was a man of integrity. That is the one quality that makes him a great leader. Can the same thing be said about you? Are you a person of integrity?  

Several years ago, George Gallup, the famous pollster from Princeton, New Jersey, asked 1300 corporate leaders from around the country this question. What are three qualities needed for leadership? Gallup assumed he would come up with dozens of answers but to his amazement 71% of those who answered came up with a single one word answer, INTEGRITY! It doesn’t matter what other qualities you hold. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.

Steven Carter of the Yale University Law School stood up to give a commencement address at another college. To the graduates and their family members and friends he began by saying, “Today, I am going to talk about a single word - INTEGRITY!” When the audience heard that word they stood and applauded for several minutes. Carter was not surprised. He said, “There is a crisis of integrity in our society. We need to place integrity in the center of our personal and private lives. Without integrity, the American ideal will crumble.”

We are in the disciple making business! It goes without saying. If you are a disciple of Jesus then you are a person of integrity. You need to be like Peter, the rock. You need to be solid. You need to be committed to God and live your life at a higher standard. The church is unique because we are talking about commitment but the rest of society is talking about non-commitment. We live in a society that has grown enchanted with non-commitment. Our time many want non-commitment friendships, non-commitment memberships, non-commitment marriages and non-commitment sex. That is one of the reason we run against the grain of society. We promote commitment and others are talking about non-commitment. If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ then you are saying you are committed to Jesus. Everything you do in this world reflex upon Jesus. You better be a person of integrity. You are representing the Master! Are you a person of integrity? The only thing you really need to be a leader is integrity. If you think you can remember that say, “Amen!”

The second word is the word duplicity. Webster defines duplicity as, “double minded.” It means you say one thing to one person and something completely different to another person. The foundation for duplicity is deception. People who claim the word duplicity do not have a core of integrity. Sadly, we seem to have surplus of leaders who can be characterized as people of duplicity, not integrity. Entire occupational groups are known for speaking out of both sides of their mouths.

I love the story of the two old ladies who were walking through a cemetery. They were reading the headstones and came across one which read: HERE LIES JOHN SMITH, A POLITIAN AND AN HONEST MAN. One of the ladies said, “Isn’t that too bad. They had to put two people in one grave!” True leaders are people of integrity. They say what they mean! Are you a person of integrity?

Expediency

The third word is the word expediency. Webster defines expediency as, “the use of methods that bring the most immediate benefits, based on practical rather than moral considerations.” In other words, the only thing that really matters is the bottom line. It doesn’t matter who you step on to succeed. We don’t need people of expediency. We need leaders of integrity.

There was a young Jewish boy who grew up in Germany. He loved his parents. They thought they were people of integrity. Their family life revolved around the synagogue. He was taught that the Jews were God’s chosen people. They believed in the God of our Old Testament, the Yahweh God. One day his father moved the family to a new community. It was a wealthy community so the father could make more money to help his family. The only problem was everybody in that new town was Lutheran. There was no synagogue. The Jewish family joined the Lutheran Church. The boy said to his father, “Dad, I thought we were Jewish? Why are we joining a Lutheran Church?” The father said, “We are joining the Lutheran Church because it will be good for business. It will help us be accepted.” That Jewish boy was looking for a father of integrity, not duplicity or expediency. The boy was disillusioned.

When that Jewish boy grew up he went to London to study. He didn’t go to the synagogue or the Lutheran Church. He didn’t worship at all because he was bitter against all religion. Instead, he went to the library and studied the great philosophers and economists. He said, “Religion is the opiate of society. Religion simply drugs the masses. There is nothing to religion.” That Jewish boy was Karl Marx the author of The Communist Manifesto. Millions believed those words and world was changed because Karl Marx’s father was not a man of integrity, but a man of expediency. Are you a person of integrity? 

Conclusion

Peter was a leader. Peter was a man of integrity. He was solid. Peter was not a man who was just concerned with personal gain. Peter was not a man who spoke out of both sides of his mouth. Peter was a man of integrity.

Let me end with a quick question. Imagine George Gallup goes and talks to the people in our lives, our family members, our friends and our business contacts. Gallup asks them a single question. He asks them to name five people of integrity. Do you believe you would be on their list? Are you a person of integrity?