A Leader is Born

     I've been thinking a lot about leadership and hearing about it over and over at my church (Covenant Worship Center) so I felt this morning that the Lord wanted to post something about it. He gave me a scripture a few months ago and it's just been sitting in the back of my mind until now when He gave me the revelation knowledge that goes with it. The scripture is found in Acts 1: 23-26 and it states:
     ²³ So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴ Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen ²⁵ to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” ²⁶ Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
Let me pause for a moment and give you some background information. Here we find the disciples after the death of Jesus. They are trying to find a 12th person to replace Judas, who has, at this point in the story, betrayed Jesus and killed himself out of guilt. 
     
     Several things arise from this short passage when thinking about leadership. The first thing to note is that the disciples kept with the standards that Jesus had set. There had always been 12 chosen followers when Jesus was alive so the disciples were paying their respects to their fallen leader by keeping with that tradition. When we find ourselves in a position of leadership, it is important that we recognize and acknowledge the fruits of those that have come before us. We are not laboring in this work our own and no one person will see the job through to completion. The Word says "being confident of this, that He that began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil 1:6 NIV). Many take this scripture to mean that as humans we are forever a "work in progress" and that is true but another way to look at it is in the larger scheme of things. God started this work of bringing souls into His kingdom long before He created us and He will be the one that carries it out to completion. We, in our flesh, bring nothing at all to the table. We are simply carriers of the Holy Spirit, which does the work. 
   
     The second thing we can draw from our main scripture is that there was a process to selecting the 12th disciple. They narrowed down their choices (earlier in the chapter you will find the criteria they used to get the final two men), sought the guidance of the Lord in prayer and allowed Him to work through casting the lots. [Side note: Casting lots was a common selection process. The idea is similar to drawing straws or throwing dice in that it removed man's influence out of the way. It is important to note that when lots were cast, they were done in the presence of the Lord.] A leader is often elected based on the characteristic they possess. We can be confident that God always allows the right man to be in a leadership for the purpose He has in mind. As followers, or those in lesser positions, it is so important that we not fall into the trap of critising those whose leadership we fall under. We can spend plenty of time and energy wondering why God chose the person whom He chose to be in position that they are in, griping and complaining about how little our own talents are not being used, or even being jealous and haughty in our thinking, telling ourselves (and anyone else who will listen) how much better a job we could be doing if only we would be allowed to lead. All of these attitudes are only manifestations of why God has not chosen to promote or elevate you into a higher position. So little of the work we are called to do is about us as people. We do not live our lives for ourselves but so that we will be a living testimony to the greatness of the God we serve. The more we get in our own way with our presumptuous, haughty attitudes, the more we grieve the Spirit and halt the work of the Kingdom. 
    
     The third thing we can draw from this Word is the fact that, even though Matthias was chosen over Barsabbas, we don't hear another word mentioned about either of these two men. The point here being is, again, it is not about the "doer" but the job being done. The sooner we realize this and take ourselves out of God's equation, the sooner we can make strides towards advancing the Kingdom. If you are still waiting on God to do something He's already done, if you are waiting to "have it all together" and are guilty of saying things like "He's still working on me", if you are too busy in the corner whining and complaining about how little your talents are being used, you are going to miss out on the mightiest move of God we have ever seen. The Word says "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him- but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit" (1 Cor 2:9,10 NIV). Note that all of the verbs in these verses (i.e. seen, heard, conceived, prepared) are past tense. Whatever God has in store for us, He has already done. That means, as believers or "those that love Him", He is waiting on us to do our part. We don't have to be at a special place in our life, we don't have to have a certain amount of money first, nor do we have to be perfect in our flesh before we can take up our assignments. All we need to have is a willingness, an availability and the Holy Spirit. 
    
     This is the part of the program where I bring you the next phase of Operation: Doin Me, and it is as follows: The future is now. So much of our lives is spent waiting on this vague concept of "the future". When exactly is this elusive "future" going to get here? Is it that it really isn't the right time or that we are letting too much of "us" get in the way? If we are operating purely in the Spirit, we would recognize that we serve a soon coming King and whatever "future" we are waiting on, has arrived. 


     For more on this topic, read the entire first chapter of Joshua.