World Class or Kingdom Class Leadership?

World Class or Kingdom Class Leadership?
Words of Faith 8-29-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Samuel 9
[1] There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish, son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. [2] He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites-- a head taller than any of the others.

So began the tumultuous history of the kings in Israel. Israel would have three kings under the United Monarchy-- Saul, David, and Solomon. Later, the kingdom would split into two, forming a Northern Kingdom called Israel and a Southern Kingdom called Judah. Eventually, there would be 44 more kings during this divided kingdom, some good and many bad. The ten tribes of the north were later scattered, and only the two tribes in the south-- Judah and Benjamin-- would remain to be identified as the Jewish people. Such was the legacy of the human kings.
But the Lord was sovereign in His watch over even these events. These first three kings were distinctive, with lessons to be learned from each. It is often said that Saul had no heart for God, David had a whole heart for God, and Solomon had a half heart for God. We will see why in the chapters ahead.
As Saul is introduced to the story, we learn that he is a tall and striking Benjamite. The most important lesson here is that the worldly vision of leadership is nearly always mistaken. Saul was a classic worldly leader-- handsome, tall, strong, and impressive. But he had no Godly qualifications to be king. In fact, he was pretty naive and un-kingly in many ways.
One of the spiritual lessons from this part of history is that God will sometimes give you what you want so that you might learn a lesson. The people begged for a king, and they got one. But as a king, Saul was greatly lacking. At first glance, Saul appeared to be a "world-class leader,"... but he was not a God-class leader. Though he had the appearance of a leader, his abilities did not match. Saul was not humble. He was prone to paranoia and jealousy. He was driven by ego and a desire for conquest. Saul was impulsive by nature and overstepped his bounds. He consulted occult practitioners and disobeyed God on several occasions. Saul eventually committed suicide. But most of all he did not have a heart wholly dedicated to God.
What do we gain from this? Little has actually changed. Humans like to pick leaders based on outward appearance rather than inward character. In our modern culture, reporters have been replaced by celebrity "news readers," and politicians are judged more by their $200 haircuts than the depth of their ideas or character. Preachers are often more about style than content. We can learn a great deal from this historical vignette. Godliness is not discerned by outward appearance or worldly appeal.
Israel had come to a place where Samuel was deemed "too old" to lead, and the people wanted a leader "like the world". Are we really that different today?
Even in church life, worship sometimes resembles a Las Vegas musical revue complete with motorized lights and fog machines rather than "spirit and truth." Preachers feel the pressure to dress in culturally relevant costumes rather than be themselves to compete for a market share of fickle migratory churchgoers looking for the newest trend in churchware.
The devotional lesson? If we shape our spiritual cravings after the ways of the world and the flesh, we will get what we seek... along with all the emptiness that comes with it. Worldly-styled leadership will deliver empty worldly solutions. What we really need is the rule of the sovereign King of kings administered through humble, godly leaders, authentic worship that is less concerned with the tune and beat than with the depth of connection with God, and teaching that brings us close to Jesus in the Word.

Father God, we desperately need a revival. We need revival based on divine kingship rather than in the style of human leadership. We need a revival that will heal us from the cultural misuses and abuses that have pulled us away from You. We need a renewal and cleansing of Your bride, the church, genuinely focused upon You rather than the latest trends or most recent styles. Draw us near to Your heart in ways that transcend style and focus us on Your truth. 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.