Acting Among Them

Acting Among Them
Words of Faith 9-6-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Samuel 10
[10] When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying. [11] When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, "What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?" [12] A man who lived there answered, "And who is their father?" So it became a saying: "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

Saul had been anointed by the prophet Samuel to be the king. What an amazing encounter! After Saul left Samuel, the promised signs came to pass. Perhaps the most unexpected was that Saul walked among the prophets. This was not like Saul at all! He had not been a "holy guy." In fact, people were so shocked at this that a proverb was created, which was quoted to describe any sort of totally unexpected and unexplainable phenomenon: Is Saul also among the prophets? This was actually part of the pop culture of the day.
Just imagine that for a moment. What if you had a big change for the Lord and a popular saying was created about you, which people quoted whenever they encountered something unbelievable? "Why, that's like so-and-so going to church!" Ha ha ha. That is what happened to Saul. Clearly, there was some question as to whether this could actually be real, and the people mocked the experience Saul seemed to have had with God. Was there a good reason?
Were people just being mean, or was there more to the issue of whether these changes were genuine? The text says that the Spirit of God came upon Saul in power. Clearly, Saul could not have done anything without the power of God. But the Hebrew is very interesting, saying that "he joined in their prophesying." The verb means literally, "he acted like a prophet among them." In other words, he was a prophet to all outward appearances because he could enter into their activities. But we don't know if Saul really was a prophet. As he "entered into their activities," there were people who knew Saul who questioned whether what they saw was real.
The question is an important one. To be a leader, does one need to really be gifted by God or simply appear to be gifted by God? Is perception reality? Is that enough if a leader can run with the right spiritual people? To lead the people, does a person need to actually exercise the gifts that they claim, or is it enough that they "act like a leader among them"?
The truth is that Jesus had some very strong things to say about those who "acted like religious leaders" but were, in fact, empty of God. Perception was not reality. He called them hypocrites or "religious actors." Some of Jesus' strongest words were reserved for such people who were white-washed on the outside but dead on the inside.
We live in a time when leadership has never been more critical. The authenticity of leaders has never been more important. We need leaders who actually exercise the gifting of God, not just people who have attended the seminars. We need leaders who have the gifting to discern the truth of God and walk in it, not just leaders who can act like a leader among them. We need to be leaders who know the difference.

Father God, give me discernment not to simply go with the popular thing but with the true thing. Give me the wisdom to tell when God is leading through a person or if they are just acting like a leader among us. Give me ears to hear Your voice calling me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.