Prodigal: Here is a spiritual leader!

Me: I AGREE!

This is from A Spiritual Clinic by J. Oswald Sanders

Courses in leadership are the order of the day, a tacit admission that leaders are in short supply. The fact is that there has always been a dearth of leaders of the right caliber, whether it be in secular or in sacred realms. In the Scriptures God is frequently represented as searching for a man of a certain type. “The LORD has sought him a man after his own heart” (1 Sam 13:14). “I beheld, and lo, there was no man” (Jer 4:25). “Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see….if ye can find a man…that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it” (Jer. 5:1) “I sought for a man…that should…stand in the gap” (Ezek 22:30 ASV) And when He does discover a man who conforms to His spiritual requirements–a John Wesley, a William Booth, a Hudson Taylor, a Billy Graham–despite their obvious limitations and shortcomings, it seems as though there is no limit to what He will do for and through them.

One of the greatest needs of the church today is for authoritative, spiritual, and sacrificial leadership. Authoritative, because people love to be led by one who knows where he is going and who inspires their confidence. Spiritual, because a leadership which is carnal and explainable in terms of the natural, be it ever so competent, can result only in sterility and spiritual bankruptcy. Sacrificial, because it is modeled on the life of One who gave Himself a sacrifice for the whole world, and who stated that the path to leadership was by the lonely road of sacrificial service.

All things are possible to him that believeth (Mark 9:23)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org