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The Spirit of God Comes
Posted by
Kent Copley
,
28 September 2012
·
1179 views
Over the last year I have been processing many things of ministry, such as leadership, and the challenges and decisions we are faced with daily.
I’ve been reading about Samuel, Saul and David. I’m enjoying the reading and studying. A few things have caught my attention. Growing up I wasn’t raised in a church, and I pretty much knew nothing of the things of God. I was “doing life” with no interest in the things of God. Really! However, as a twenty-year old God got a hold of me, and I invited Christ into my life. I became a completely different person. I could tell I was different, and people told me they could see the change. I poured through Scripture and got involved with youth ministry. After being in architecture for twenty years, the Lord called me to pastoral ministry. I’ve been serving at Moses Lake Alliance Church since 2003. Honestly, since I didn’t get some of those childhood Sunday school classes, I still feel like I’m still catching up.
So, I’m reading and studying 1 Kings trying to wrap my mind around the Israelite people and how they are once again abandoning their Lord and begging for an earthly king over God the Provider. Poor Saul, he never saw it coming. He wasn’t on a political track. Why would he since there was no previous track to become king of Israel? Through the Spirit to Samuel, Saul was picked to be king. It was Samuel’s job to mentor his own replacement. Think about it. Samuel the prophet, the last leader of a theocracy is teaching and training a man who will be the first of Israel’s monarchy. Awkward!
Even though the Lord expressed initial reservations on this matter He still empowers Saul. “He will deliver my people” (9:16), “Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you” (10:7), “God changed Saul’s heart” (10:9), “the Spirit of God came upon him in power” (10:10). There is so much to say on all that surrounds these passages, but one thing is clear to me, that God was going to work with this new system and structure and blessed a man to be king.
The Lord wants to use us for His purpose, for His glory with His Power, through His Spirit. We find Saul’s old self kick in. We don’t know much about Saul’s upbringing and his restraints, but we quickly see a distancing from God through his various actions. Does he become full of greed, power, or allow insecurities to take over? However, we want to define it, there is a large gap between Saul’s initial anointing as king and later his actions.
Leadership, and I’m finding especially with church leadership, requires us to live beyond self. To be on guard and not allowing old self to creep in is crucial. Daily we need God to change our hearts. When counseling people, strategizing over ministry, studying for a lesson, we must rely upon the power of the Spirit. Otherwise we too will fall short. It is His work, and we cannot do this on our own. I pray the Spirit of God comes upon you and whatever your hands finds to do, for God is with you. “Many, O Lord my god, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare” (Psalm 40:5).
I’ve been reading about Samuel, Saul and David. I’m enjoying the reading and studying. A few things have caught my attention. Growing up I wasn’t raised in a church, and I pretty much knew nothing of the things of God. I was “doing life” with no interest in the things of God. Really! However, as a twenty-year old God got a hold of me, and I invited Christ into my life. I became a completely different person. I could tell I was different, and people told me they could see the change. I poured through Scripture and got involved with youth ministry. After being in architecture for twenty years, the Lord called me to pastoral ministry. I’ve been serving at Moses Lake Alliance Church since 2003. Honestly, since I didn’t get some of those childhood Sunday school classes, I still feel like I’m still catching up.
So, I’m reading and studying 1 Kings trying to wrap my mind around the Israelite people and how they are once again abandoning their Lord and begging for an earthly king over God the Provider. Poor Saul, he never saw it coming. He wasn’t on a political track. Why would he since there was no previous track to become king of Israel? Through the Spirit to Samuel, Saul was picked to be king. It was Samuel’s job to mentor his own replacement. Think about it. Samuel the prophet, the last leader of a theocracy is teaching and training a man who will be the first of Israel’s monarchy. Awkward!
Even though the Lord expressed initial reservations on this matter He still empowers Saul. “He will deliver my people” (9:16), “Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you” (10:7), “God changed Saul’s heart” (10:9), “the Spirit of God came upon him in power” (10:10). There is so much to say on all that surrounds these passages, but one thing is clear to me, that God was going to work with this new system and structure and blessed a man to be king.
The Lord wants to use us for His purpose, for His glory with His Power, through His Spirit. We find Saul’s old self kick in. We don’t know much about Saul’s upbringing and his restraints, but we quickly see a distancing from God through his various actions. Does he become full of greed, power, or allow insecurities to take over? However, we want to define it, there is a large gap between Saul’s initial anointing as king and later his actions.
Leadership, and I’m finding especially with church leadership, requires us to live beyond self. To be on guard and not allowing old self to creep in is crucial. Daily we need God to change our hearts. When counseling people, strategizing over ministry, studying for a lesson, we must rely upon the power of the Spirit. Otherwise we too will fall short. It is His work, and we cannot do this on our own. I pray the Spirit of God comes upon you and whatever your hands finds to do, for God is with you. “Many, O Lord my god, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare” (Psalm 40:5).
- Don Sappington, Susan W, kevin l.eaton and 1 other like this
