Wednesday: The Early Leaders
It is of no small interest and importance that in choosing leaders, Jesus picked from among the humbler, less-educated class of people. Christ did not choose the learning or eloquence of the Sanhedrin. Passing by the self-righteous teachers, the Master Worker chose humble, unlearned men to proclaim the truths that were to move the world. These men He purposed to train and educate as the leaders of His church. They in turn were to educate others and send them out with the gospel message. That they might have success in their work they were to be given the power of the Holy Spirit. Not by human might or human wisdom was the gospel to be proclaimed, but by the power of God.
-Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 17.
Image © Providence Collection from GoodSalt.com
What do the following texts tells us about why Christ chose the ones He did to lead His church, as opposed to those whom many might deem as having the qualities needed for leadership? Zeph. 2:3, Matt. 11:29, Jer. 50:31, Isa. 57:15.
We must, though, be careful to not make wrong assumptions about why Jesus chose the ones that He did. Jesus was not against the educated or learned class; He Himself displayed, at a young age (Luke 2:46, 47), a great deal of knowledge. It’s just that so often those with the most education, wealth, or power aren’t ready to humble themselves in the way that one, especially a leader, needs to in order for the Lord to be able to use them. This is not always the case, of course; the Lord did use such men (think of Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea; see also Acts 6:7). It just means that so often these types tend not to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Read 1 Corinthians 9:19 and Philippians 2:3. What traits are expressed here, and why are these traits so crucial, not just for a leader but for anyone who professes the name of Christ? How can we learn to possess these traits in our own lives?
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It is always a struggle for people placed in positions of authority and power to stay humble. Like money, power and authority tends to corrupt. Both King Saul and Solomon along with a lot of David’s life experienced the dangers of having importance and authority even though they started out very humble. The question, therefore, is how does one stay humble under the pressures of prominence?
I think the best way to keep your feet on the ground so to speak is by just staying aware of reality. Reality being that all you have gained/experienced both belongs to God and is as a result of His blessing. I think if you have you eyes totally fixed on God rather than your surroundings, no matter what your position, whether in poverty or prominence, you can be able to have a stable character. A character which God would be happy with. Which is obviously easier said then done, but all is possible through Gods grace.
I thought of Daniel 2:27-30 as an example of this; rather then becoming boastful at his ability before the king he attributed everything to God.
Having held a position of prominence in church administration as a lay person for 18 years I have been humbled by the way God uses ordinary men to do His work. A person who is not connected to God, or makes himself/herself available for God to work through, will be seen for who they are by those who elect them into the position of prominence. Keep smiling.
Daniel is one amongst many that exhibits humility in 'prominence' His secret constant communication with heaven. He had royal blood too if I am not mistaken but this lad exhibits unprecedented humility and wisdom that is consistent in his life. I am a babe in the faith but this truth stands true 'much is wrought by prayer than this world ever dreams'
We r servants love 4 others must take the highest priority....
Seek yee first the Kindom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.
Remember that God has a task that only you and I can accomplish, he will get it done, though he may have to reconstruct us. I wonder how the "old Josep" would have survived his tribulations as a political leader?
To be humble is to be close to God Himself.
Only them that are humble will do the will and keep the commandments of our Lord because God will work with them.
Looking at Joseph in the Bible ,he was so humble untill his brothers could talk bad about him and sell him out but he did not react or fight back to them.but at the end of it he become so great that all his brothers admired him.
The humble will be filled by the HOLY SPIRIT and will go into the world as we are commanded by Christ Himself and they will work in the fine yard of God.they will renew their strength like eagle and never faint in the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Only the humble will do the work of God.
In order to be worthy leaders before the Lord ready to serve,1. we must be sincere to the Holy spirit for repentance. 2. Be a slave to each others needs in order to win many to Christ Jesus. 3. Value other peoples interests as your own. 4. Above all as a church ready to win many souls, we should be like minded people, one in spirit and mind.As we remain focused to true discipleship, may the Lord through the Holy spirit that He commissioned, keep on reviving us in our christian walk as we accomplish the work of evangelism that we have been task with as our teacher who is JESUS CHRIST did.AMEN.
If we are close to Jesus we will be anchored with Him. We must intentionally learn from Him to become like Him (Matthew 11:29). The safeguard of leadership is in the realm of redemption. Committed Christian leaders always will do what it takes to promote God's will and purpose and will be quick to step aside for it to succeed.
Jesus is our greatest example. He did it by rising up early in the morning and communicating with His father. He had ultimate power here on Earth, but He never used it. This was done by staying in constant contact with God. We can do the same.
Many times we are placed in ''positions of trust'' to show humility, but instead we laud it over our subordinates. God expects us to be witnesses for Him in whatever position we are placed in. May God help us to be humble and show others the love of God.
The only way to stay humble is through Christ. I have learned the hard way not to trust on myself, "For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me." (Psalms 44:6) I ask God constantly to keep me grounded.
Moses deemed himself unworthy to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt but God qualified him by equipping him with all that he needed to defeat Pharaoh and his majestic army
God choose the humble for example, Moses, Jeremiah and others. But what about Apostle Paul who persecuted the Christians and yet preached the good news to the Gentiles?
many times if the bible did not say specifically a good person had a good character, people assumed that person did not had that characteristic. but that is not true. all of the bible characters who will be going to heaven must had to possess the fruit of the spirit. the names mentioned are only used as examples for us.
praise him,praise him all ye little children God is love,God is love./matt26;11"for ye have the poor always with you;but me ye have not always".Christ is showing us through his life the servants role,humility.its the beatitudes.the enmity of man strives against the will of Christ,its the complete opposite of Jesus morals.the glory of Christ is the law,He has reconciled us unto himself so that the perfectness of his character might be a reflection in us, shinning for all the world to see.we are all sinners in need of our savior.Christ became the bondservant of the Father,the purchase blood of the master to set us free.blessings
May GOD help us to be humble.
Can anyone say if their is a difference between meek and being humble. many people used it interchangable. for example, meekness is one part of the fruit of the spirit.
2. can we say of ourself we are meek or humble, or someone has to see those qualities in us. what do you think?
people that are humble don't even recognize their humility, because it is God that gives the desire, the will and the ability to do of his good pleasure. Meekness is a fruit of the spirit. Meekness is being God fearing, righteous, humble, teachable, totally dependent on God for everything, patient and enduring, persevering under trials. Self has to be out of the way. We cannot be self centered, self righteous, self sufficient, or have self control. God wants complete control of our lives. We have to give him all and acknowledge him in every area of our lives. We have to die to self every second, minute, hr. of each day. With self in the way, this is impossible but with God operating inside of us all things are possible.
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out of the way, this is our most difficult changellenge
Dear Marva, I am of the opinion that humility is a very volatile attribute, hence we can easily lose it if we are not careful. The moment we start addressing ourselves as being humble, is the moment we start losing it. We should always strive for the mastery, rather than resting on our oars.
"Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly of heart..."
If we take Jesus' yoke daily, what other results could we expect? When we see ourselves as not needing this yoke, we will stumble. It must be as vital to us as the air we breathe and the food we eat to live. Zephaniah tells us "seek meekness and seek righteousness", and Jesus has showed us how. As long as we realize our great need of His constant presence and power, what could overcome us?
Being willing to learn, follow, trust and obey are qualities that Christ can use whether we're poor, rich or in-between. If we want to be used by God we must be emptied of our own sufficiency in winning souls. We have to realize that we must bring to the spiritual table our whole selves. Knowing that it's only God's message, His Spirit, His gifts, His plan that will succeed in winning others permanently to Him. It's really impossible to disciple in God's name without Him, but many times we do try. That is why after an exciting harvest we aren't successful with retention.