"In the natural life our ambitions alter as we develop; in the Christian life the goal is given at the beginning, the beginning and the end are the same, our Lord Himself. We start with Christ and we end with Him - 'until we all attain the stature of the manhood of Christ Jesus,' not to our idea of what the Christian life should be. The aim of the missionary is to do God's will, not to be useful, not to win the heathen; he is useful and he does win the heathen, but that is not his aim. His aim is to do the will of his Lord."
-Oswald Chambers
"The sense of sacrifice appeals readily to a young Christian...The 'go' of preparation is to let the word of God scrutinize. The sense of heroic sacrifice is not good enough. The thing the Holy Spirit is detecting in you is the disposition that will never work in His service."
- Oswald Chambers
"Sanctification is a lifelong process and not an event."
2 Chronicles 22:11
"So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, hid Joash from Athaliah so that she would not put him to death."
2 Chronicles 23 - Jehoiada makes Joash king and makes a covenant with the people and the king that they would be God's people
2 Chronicles 24:2
"Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest."
2 Chronicles 24:17-18a, 22
"But after the death of Johoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them. They abandoned the house of the Lord...Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which his father Johoiada had shown him, but her murdered his son."
Wow. Leadership really does matter... and motive does as well. Jehoiada and his wife saved Joash from being murdered... and then they anoint him as the rightful king and lead him to be a great king for the people.. he restores the temple and destroys idol worship.. until Jehoiada dies. After that, Joash goes crazy and turns the people away from God. Jehoiada's son, Zechariah, comes to rebuke the king and the people, but Joash has him killed. The son of the man who saved his life, he murders. How did such a turn happen? Jehoiada walked in God's will for the purpose of honoring God and obeying Him. Joash followed Jehoiada's leading until his presence was gone. Joash never learned to follow God's will. So, once Jehoiada was gone, Joash rebelled against God's will and murdered the son of the one who had given him such a life. After Zechariah is killed, God brings judgment on Joash and the people. The importance of leadership is really seen in this passage. Godly leadership will save lives and draw nations to God. Ungodly leadership will destroy the lives of the ones who would seek to save their people.. and it ultimately brings destruction on the entire nation.
So, for me today. God is really continuing to teach me about leadership from My Upmost for His Highest and from His word. He knew I would be reading these two things together... this year.. at this time.. and this season in my life. He is giving me application and examples and facing me with a question. Will I become the leader He has called me to be?
Leadership is a gift form God, and it only fails if we walk outside of His will. If one will walk in His will, however, it will save lives and lead peoples to Him. To be that kind of man, though, requires the scrutiny of God's word. The Holy Spirit must bring to light all that which is in me that would hinder me from walking in that way, and as He does this work, He will teach me to know the will of God. A truly godly leader has had his character and metal tested and knows the will of God. In all things, he desires to walk out that will. This gives one the power to stand on His word and not be tossed around by the approval of man. Why? If our aim is God Himself - knowing Him and walking in His will - the approval of man does not matter because the approval of God is all we seek! This is freedom. In this type of life there is complete freedom to be you without fear because you know that all you are is God's. This is the life and leadership I desire. But I also see from this passage in 2 Chronicles 24 the importance of reproducing leadership. Jehoiada taught Joash to do a lot of good, but he must not have dealt with Joash's heart and character. Why do I say that? The moment Jehoiada is gone, Joash turns form God and even murders Jehoiada's son. So if leadership ends with me, it will fail. If leadership ends with God, it will never fail. The point of leadership is not me or anyone else but God, and when we lead people to God and the scrutiny of His word, He will transform their heart and character and pass on truly godly leadership from generation to generation... when this type of leadership/discipleship happens, all the ends of the earth will be reached and Christ will return. Then why are we not motivated to do it? Why do I so often fail to pursue this? The wickedness of my heart. It desires the approval of man and the satisfaction of the flesh, but may Christ crucify it! That is not the purpose for which I was created, nor anyone for that matter. We were created by Him and for Him - to know Him and be satisfied in Him alone. If this is our upmost goal, which is the true Christian life goal, then we will find Him. We will know His will and walk in it, and this generation and those to come will be changed forever. It is time to stop playing around. It begins though, with truly allowing God to scrutinize all that I am. It was easy when He called me to salvation to admit my need and hand things over, but it is harder now. Sanctification, though, is not an event or moment, but a lifestyle. I have to allow and desire for Him to bring all that I am - everything - under His rule and will. For this to happen, He must be the goal and the motivation. Nothing else will satisfy or last. It is so easy to get excited at the chance to reach the nations.. but reaching the nations is not the goal. Don't hear me wrong when I say that. The goal is not the nations. The goal is God. The reason we lay our lives down for the nations is to obey God. The reason anyone would respond to the gospel is God. It is not about me or us in any way. It is about Him. So if my goal is the nations and not knowing and savoring Christ, then I will fail. If my goal is knowing and savoring Christ, then the nations will be reached. When I can get my head around that truth, it will motivate me to allow Him to bring every sin, even the tinniest, under the scrutiny of His eye and hand it over to Him.
"Father, I beg you to shine your light into my heart - to reveal all that I am. Use Your Word and Your Holy Spirit to convict and transform my heart in all things. Bring all that I am under Your will, no matter how hard it is and how much it hurts, for this is the reason I was made - to know You and obey You. May Your passion become my passion. May Your will be my will. Destroy my pride and selfishness and replace them with true humility and sacrificial love. I ask these things that I might live a life worthy of Your name, that I might please You in every good thing, that I might bear fruit for Your kingdom, and most of all, that I might walk in Your will. May my motivation and goal be You and You alone. I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen."
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