We do thank the Lord for gathering us together here tonight. You may feel that my voice is a little different, as it is, but I trust the Lord to carry me through.
We come together at this time to be before the Lord concerning this matter of spiritual leadership. I am going to speak on this subject, and my brother Ernie will also speak on it. I will speak more on leadership, and our brother will speak more on shepherding.
For our time together, I would like to divide it into two sessions. Tonight is the first session, and I would like to share with you concerning spiritual leaders. Then, God willing, on the Lord’s Day, we will share together on spiritual leadership.
Now, will you please turn to the Book of Judges, Judges 5? This is the song of Deborah and Barak. C. A. Coates says that this song is a song of divine leadership, so we can learn much about leadership in this song. I am not going to read the whole song, but I will pick a few verses.
Judges 5:2:
For that the leaders took the lead in Israel,
For that the people offered themselves willingly,
Bless the Lord.
Judges 5:6-7:
In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath,
In the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied,
And the travellers walked through byways.
The rulers ceased in Israel, they ceased,
Until that I Deborah arose,
That I arose a mother in Israel.
Judges 5:9:
My heart is toward the governors of Israel,
That offered themselves willingly among the people:
Bless the Lord.
Judges 5:14-15:
Out of Ephraim came down they whose root is in Amalek;
After thee, Benjamin, among thy peoples;
Out of Machir came down governors,
And out of Zebulun they that handle the marshal’s staff.
And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
As was Issachar, so was Barak.
Probably we will just read these few verses. In verse 2 it says, “For that the leaders took the lead in Israel, for that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord.” Here you find the leaders, and you find the people. When leaders lead and the people offer themselves willingly, this is the time to bless the Lord.
In other words, you need leaders and you need people. When you have the right leaders with the right people, it is a matter of great rejoicing.
Suppose you do not have leaders. Then the people, however willing they may be, do not know what to do. Or suppose you have the people, but you do not have the right leaders. The people are there, but they do not know what to do. Or if you have leaders but do not have the people, what can the leaders do?
So you find that you need leaders and you need people. You need these two to come together. When they come together, let us bless the Lord.
You know, the children of Israel were in the promised land. But because they were not obedient to the Lord or faithful to the Lord, you find in the history of the Book of Judges that they were repeatedly oppressed by their enemies.
When they were oppressed by their enemies, they cried unto the Lord. The Lord raised up judges—leaders—for them, to deliver them from the oppression of their enemies.
God raised up Ehud, and through Ehud God delivered the children of Israel from Moab. The land had rest for eighty years. After that came Shamgar. God used Shamgar to deliver the children of Israel from the Philistines.
But strangely, you find in verse 6: “In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.”
In other words, even though there was Shamgar, and God used him to deliver the children of Israel from the Philistines, somehow, even in the days of Shamgar, the highways were unused. People did not travel on the highways. Highways should be the place where you travel, but instead they went by crooked paths.
It shows that there was not peace during the days of Shamgar. Then it says, “The rulers ceased in Israel.” Now, we do not know exactly why such a thing happened. Maybe Shamgar was not a very strong leader. He was a judge, and God used him, but he might not have been able to really lead the people.
Or it might be that the people would not listen to the leaders. They would go their own way. When such a situation happens, there is no peace. People are afraid to travel on the highways because there is danger, and they have to take crooked paths—small paths.
To put it spiritually, you will find that when such a situation happens, the highway of holiness is deserted, and people go in crooked and evil ways. When that situation continues, leaders cease in Israel. There will be no more leaders.
That was the situation when God raised up Deborah. She said, “The rulers ceased in Israel, they ceased, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.” Thank God that He raised up Deborah.
Deborah was a mother in Israel. What do you mean by “mother”? Of course, she was a woman, but mother means one who travails. God raised up Deborah, a person who travailed before the Lord.
Out of a travailing prayer, she was able to inspire Barak to fight the Canaanites. Deborah means “bee,” and Brother Sparks said that Deborah was like a bee buzzing around the ears of Barak, probably even stinging him to push him into battle.
Now, you know, that is what leadership is. A leader is a person who travails in prayer. A leader is a person who sees the situation.
Many people are in the same situation, but they do not have any feeling. If you do not have any feeling, you are not a leader. But when you are put in a situation and the Lord gives you a feeling—a strong feeling, a burden—and that burden becomes so strong that you have to travail in prayer, then out of that travailing prayer you have a vision. You know what needs to be done.
You may not be the person to do it, but you must be the person to inspire other people to do it. It is expected of a leader to inspire.
Here you find that through the inspiration of Deborah, Barak rose up—another leader. It was not just one Deborah. Besides Deborah, you have Barak. Then, when Barak was raised up, God raised up many other leaders: the governors, the princes in Issachar, those who handled the ruler’s staff in Zebulun, and governors who came down from Machir.
In other words, you find many, many leaders coming up. We tend to think of leaders in the singular number. We think that God will raise up one person to be the leader, and that is it. But in this song, you find that God raised up many levels of leaders.
Deborah was at one level, travailing and inspiring. Barak was at another level; he was organizing and leading. Then below Barak, you find many princes, governors, and rulers. These leaders each had some people whom they led. Together, you find that God did a marvelous work. The victory was won.
Now, brothers and sisters, apply this to us today. We are God’s people, and we are in the promised land. Our promised land is the land of Christ. Christ is our promised land.
Being in the promised land, we are supposed to know and enjoy the unsearchable riches of Christ. That is what we are to be. That is what God has provided and given to us as His people.
But unfortunately, we find that oftentimes we are not able to really enter into all the riches of Christ. Instead, we find ourselves beset with troubles and oppressions. It seems as if our enemy often gets the ascendancy instead of our having the ascendancy.
God promised that no enemy could stand before the children of Israel. God has promised us that no enemy can stand before us. We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. But oftentimes we find that we are being conquered. Why is it?
You find this situation especially when there is a lack of leaders—spiritual leaders. When there is a lack of spiritual leaders, the people disintegrate. They do not know what to do.
Oftentimes we say God’s people are good. They are like sheep. But we know sheep are very ignorant; they need to be led by shepherds. So, if in the church of God there is a lack of leadership, the people just do not know what to do. They disintegrate.
Not only that, but gradually we will not travel on the highway of holiness. Instead, we will begin to walk the crooked paths. Heresy will come in. Untruth will come in. All kinds of deception will come in. It is because there is a lack of leadership.
In Judges 5:8 we read:
They chose new gods;
Then was war in the gates:
Was there a shield or spear seen
Among forty thousand in Israel?
There is war, but do you see any shield or spear among forty thousand in Israel? What does that mean? It does not mean that there was no shield or spear among the forty thousand of Israel. Certainly, they had them, because later on it is proven. But they were not seen; in other words, they were not used.
People did not know how to use their weapons. The shield is defensive; the spear is offensive. But they did not know how to use the defensive weapon, neither did they know how to use the offensive weapon. The weapons were there, but they did not know how to use them.
Now, is it not true with us today? When there is no leader, or no proper leader, no spiritual leader, or when the people are not offering themselves willingly to the Lord, even though God has provided for us spiritual weapons, we do not put them on and we do not use them.
If we do not use them, how can we fight a battle? We cannot. That is the situation. So you can see how important and necessary spiritual leadership is.
The problem with God’s church today is a lack of spiritual leadership. I have to underline the word spiritual, because there is no lack of leaders, but there is a lack of spiritual leaders.
That is the reason why we feel it is important for us to come together and consider before the Lord this matter of spiritual leadership. First of all, I would like to raise the question: How are leaders raised?
Number one: leaders are raised by the sovereign will of God. In the Book of Judges, it is said that God raised up judges to deliver the children of Israel from those who spoiled them.
In John 15, our Lord Jesus said:
Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you,
That ye should go and bear fruit.
Here you find that leaders are raised up by the sovereignty of God. They are not self-appointed, nor are they appointed by man or organization.
You remember in Galatians 1, Paul said:
Paul, an apostle (not from men, neither through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead).
An apostle is a leader, and Paul said that it was not from man nor through man. In other words, it was not by man himself—that is self-appointment—nor was it through man, perhaps through an organization or through another man making him a leader. No. Spiritual leaders are raised by God. It is God’s prerogative.
Spiritual leaders are not volunteers; they are drafted by God. This is the first principle. If we understand that principle, it will solve many problems in the church.
Many problems in the church concerning leadership are because there are many who appoint themselves as leaders. If you do not appoint yourself as a leader, somebody else may do that to you. An organization may do it for you. We have all kinds of named leaders today.
That is the basis of many problems we have in the church today. Again I say, God’s people are good; all the problems are with the leaders. Because leaders are self-appointed or appointed by men, you can expect all these problems.
If we can hold on to this first basic principle—that leaders are raised up by the sovereignty of God—then I think this whole matter of leadership is solved. Because if leadership is appointed by God, God will back it up. That leadership will be under God’s sovereignty, under God’s authority, and will be rightly used by God.
Think of Moses. Moses was born to die. He was not born to live, because when he was born, he was under the sentence of death. Pharaoh had decreed that all the male children of Israel, after they were born, must be thrown into the river. Moses was born at that time.
But God sovereignly kept him. God had a sovereign will upon that baby. Somehow, his parents sensed it. The Bible says they saw the baby was beautiful.
Now, I often say that in the eyes of parents every baby is beautiful. Why was it especially that Moses’ parents saw him beautiful, so that they kept him for three months and tried to preserve his life?
I believe that “beautiful” there has a deeper meaning. It does not mean physical beauty. In the sight of God, this baby was beautiful because God had a purpose upon that life. Somehow Moses’ parents sensed it, and God, in a marvelous way, kept the boy.
When Moses was nursed by his own mother until he was weaned, evidently his mother must have tried to infuse into that boy a sense of destiny: that he was meant for God. Otherwise, why should God deliver this one out of all the babies? God must have had a meaning in it.
When he grew up in Pharaoh’s court, he learned all the learning of Egypt. But Egypt could not cure him of this sense of divine destiny. When he was forty years old, it came into his mind to go out and see his brethren who were in slavery. His sense of destiny was of God.
But the timing and the method were not of God. Instead of waiting for God to call him, he stepped out on his own. He was forty years old, and probably thought that was the time to begin the work. He was fully confident that he could do it, because he was mighty in words and deeds. But he failed.
He paid for it with forty years in the wilderness. All that he had learned in Egypt came to nothing. He began to know himself and came to the end of his own life. At eighty years old, he had no more ambition and no more plan. It was at that time that the calling of God came upon him.
It shows that leaders are raised by the sovereign will of God. What a leader Moses was.
Or take a person in the New Testament: Paul. Paul himself was amazed, in Galatians, that God had set him apart even from his mother’s womb. Then, one day, by God’s grace, he was called on the road to Damascus.
Even when he was in his mother’s womb, God had already set him apart. God had a purpose in that life. He did not know it. He was trying to fulfill his own purpose and walking opposite to God’s purpose. He was like a stubborn ox kicking against the goad. He was not serving God’s will; he was serving his own will.
But God let him go so far and no further. He was arrested by God while he was approaching Damascus. God called him. God turned him back. It was the sovereign will of God.
Now, brothers and sisters, in a sense we all have a sense of destiny, especially after we are saved. I think that sense of destiny grows within us. Why? Because even before the foundation of the world, God chose us.
If you were chosen before the foundation of the world, certainly there is a destiny there. You do not know it, but hopefully this sense of destiny will grow within you. Yet you still need to wait for His call, because leaders are raised by the sovereign will of God.
If we step out before the time, if we step out on our own, you will find that it will probably hinder instead of facilitate.
Secondly, leaders come from learners. There is no such thing as born leaders in the spiritual realm.
It is very interesting. Because leaders are raised up by God, we may think that if this is the case, a leader does not need to learn anything. He just comes on the scene, and he is a leader.
In the secular world, there are born leaders. In other words, people may be born with leadership capacity. But even so, they have to learn. They have to strive, struggle, be ambitious, and push ahead until finally they reach a place of leadership.
But in the spiritual realm, there is no such thing as born leaders. Why? Because God has no use for that which is natural. If you are naturally endowed with leadership capacity, if you have a dynamic personality and a driving temperament, that may bring you somewhere in the world. But in the spiritual realm, it makes it even more difficult for you to get there.
A. W. Tozer, I suppose, said that the rule of thumb for leadership is this: when you push yourself into leadership, that disqualifies you.
Brother Sparks said God raises up leaders with two “cannots”—not those who can, but those who cannot. Number one: you have been dealt with by the Lord so much that you consider yourself as nothing and can do nothing. Then God picks you.
Number two: when God takes you, no matter how unwilling you are, you cannot escape. You are called. That is the way leaders come into being.
If you are too able, you are left. But if you are a little bit “cannot,” probably God will choose you. How true it is: when God chooses a person to lead, he has no way to escape. He cannot escape.
Oftentimes, you find that God chooses leaders who do not want to be leaders. If you want to be a leader, you are disqualified. If you do not want to be a leader and God has drafted you, then you cannot escape.
In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul says:
Consider your calling, brethren, that not many are wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble:
But God chose the foolish things of the world, that He might put to shame them that are wise;
And God chose the weak things of the world, that He might put to shame the things that are strong;
And the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God choose, yea and the things that are not, that He might bring to nought the things that are:
That no flesh should glory before God.
You may have heard of Saint Francis of Assisi, that poor man of Assisi. How God used that man. One day his companion, Brother Masseo, looked at him and said, “Why you? Why you?”
Francis said, “What do you mean?” And he said, “Why, of all the people in the world, did God choose you? You are not beautiful. You are not noble. Why do people listen to you? Why do people follow you? Why?”
When Francis heard that, he lifted up his hands to heaven, full of joy and ecstasy. He knelt down and worshiped God. Then he turned to Masseo and said, “You want to know why? Because God is looking to and fro throughout the whole world, and He could not find a sinner more sinful, more useless, more mean than I. That is the reason why God used me.”
So, you see, it is not natural talent. It is not born leaders. If you have the natural capacity for leadership, natural talents, it makes it even more difficult for you to become a leader. Why? Because you have to unlearn yourself more than those who do not have those capacities.
Leaders are learners. Learn from whom? If you turn to Acts 3:15:
And killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
Then Acts 5:31:
Him did God exalt with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.
In what I have read, you find that the same Greek word is translated differently. In Acts 3:15, it is “Prince of life”; in Acts 5:31, it is “Prince” or “Leader.”
Actually, this word is used in the New Testament four times. It is used in Acts 3:15, Acts 5:31, Hebrews 2:10, and Hebrews 12:2.
In Hebrews 2:10, He is the Leader of our salvation. In Hebrews 12:2, some versions say “Author,” but actually it is the same word. This is a very special word. It is only used four times in the New Testament, and it is only applied to our Lord.
It means not only a leader, but an originator—One who sets the matter of leadership on its course. To put it another way, He is the Leader. He lays down the course of spiritual leadership.
If you want to know what spiritual leadership is, you have to learn from Him, because that is what He is. Now, brothers and sisters, do we see this? If we see this, then there is no born leader. Why? Because you have to learn of Him.
He says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me.” In a sense, leaders are learners. If you do not want to learn, you will never be a leader. You have to learn from the Lord.
This is what discipleship really means. Disciples are learners. You learn from the Lord. Whether other people help you to learn, or whether you learn directly, you learn from the Lord.
That is the reason I feel very strongly that in the New Testament there is no such thing as a disciple of a man. We are all disciples of Christ. God may use you to disciple people to Christ, but they are not your disciples. They do not learn from you; they learn from the Lord indirectly through you.
Some people asked Brother Watchman Nee, “How many disciples do you have?” His answer was, “I have none, thank God.” We are all learners. We need to learn from the Lord—learn Him.
When our Lord Jesus was on earth, that is what He did. He called the disciples, and they learned of Him. The more you learn of Him, the more leadership you have. The less you learn of Him, the less leadership you have. If you do not learn of Him, there is no leadership there. He is the leadership.
That is the reason why it is so essential that we learn. Do not be so proud as if you know everything. Leadership cannot be produced in a school set up by men. You have to learn it in the school of Christ.
Do not just learn about Him; you have to learn Him. That constitutes leadership.
Think of Elisha. Elisha was chosen by God to succeed Elijah as prophet. While he was plowing the field with twelve yoke of oxen—you know, whenever he did anything, he did it wholeheartedly and diligently—Elijah came and threw the mantle upon him. Elisha immediately understood what it meant: the mantle of the prophet had fallen on him.
He responded. But did Elisha prophesy immediately? Did he perform miracles right away? No. The Bible says he poured water on the hands of Elijah. He learned.
You may say, “God has called me to be a prophet. What has that to do with pouring water on people’s hands?” If you are in India, you will understand. In India, you eat with your hand, and after you eat, somebody comes and pours water on your hands to clean them.
That is the work of a servant—the work of a maid, of a slave girl. That is the meanest work. What has that to do with prophesying? But it has much to do with prophesying. If you do not know how to pour water on the hands of somebody, you may never prophesy.
We have to learn. There are many instances I can relate. Even Paul had to learn. He was under Barnabas for some time. So leaders are learners. The more you learn, the better you are able to lead.
Thirdly, leaders come from the rank and file. The normal way leaders are raised up is from among the rank and file.
When our Lord Jesus was on earth, many followed Him, especially during the first part of His ministry. Everybody wanted Him. But then He began to say certain things, and the Bible says many disciples left Him.
But out of the disciples, He chose twelve. Of course, our Lord Jesus had more than twelve disciples. Even after He was resurrected, He appeared to five hundred brethren. But from the multitudes, from the five hundred, our Lord chose twelve and trained them.
Think of Timothy, the young man. Why did Paul take him instead of other young people there in Lystra and Iconium? Because this young man, after he was saved, was diligent in studying the Word and began to function in the local assemblies in Lystra and Iconium.
You find that God’s servants normally are produced from the church itself. Of course, pioneering work is different. God may send someone somewhere to do pioneering work. But ordinarily, in the building up of the church, ministry is produced. Ministers are produced out of the assembly itself.
There is a real advantage in this. Why? Because the training is not academic; the training is practical. It is not out of touch with real life. It is true.
Because it is proven, God is able to use that young man in a greater work. That is how workers are produced. The local assembly is the best training ground for workers. If we are faithful in small things, God will commit bigger things to us.
This is not only true with workers. This is true with elders and deacons. Where do these elders come from? Not by transporting some spiritual person from somewhere else, putting him here, and saying, “Be the elder there.” No.
Elders are raised up among the rank and file. People are saved and come together. Through some time, some people begin to manifest their sense of responsibility and prove to be responsible. That is how elders are raised up. Deacons are raised up in the same way.
So you find that in the way leaders are raised up, there are at least these three principles:
All right, let us say something about the indispensable qualities of spirituality. There are many qualities that leaders should have, but for our time we will just mention three.
Number one: vision. A leader is a person who leads the way. Therefore, he must be one who sees—who sees a little further than other people.
More than that, he is a person who leads the way, or he may be the person who opens the way. Our Lord Jesus said of the Pharisees that they were like the blind leading the blind.
If a leader does not see the way ahead or the destination, then he is leading as a blind person leading the blind. The people do not see, and the leader has not seen. When the blind lead the blind, both fall into the ditch.
A leader is a person who sees. He sees the Invisible One. He sees God’s purpose through the ages. He not only sees the way; he also sees the goal.
Leaders are shepherds, and shepherds lead. The sheep do not know how to choose the pasture, but the shepherd chooses the pastures for the sheep. He has been to those pastures himself first. He knows them, and so he leads the sheep to the right pasture at the right time.
Brothers and sisters, this is absolutely necessary. It is a quality that must be there: a leader is a person who sees. In his spirit, he has seen the Lord. He has seen the mind of the Lord. He has seen what God is after. He sees the way and knows how to lead there.
It is not enough just to see the goal; you have to see the way to that goal. In other words, you have been there. Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt because he was out first.
We say Abraham is the father of faith. Faith is not the goal; faith is the way. What did Abraham see? The Bible says that the God of glory appeared to him in Ur of the Chaldees. In other words, he saw the glory of the Lord. He saw the God of glory, and he followed Him.
Abraham did not know where he was going, but he knew Whom he was following. He received a promise—the promise of the Seed. Was that seed Isaac? In John 8, our Lord Jesus said:
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad.
In other words, Abraham saw the Lord, the Seed. Finally, he saw Him. Faith is the way to that vision.
Not only that, he was promised the land, Canaan. But was it merely Canaan? No. Throughout his life he was a sojourner and stranger in the promised land. But he saw. What did he see? In Hebrews 11 it says that he saw the city with foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God—the New Jerusalem.
Brothers and sisters, Abraham saw. He was a man of vision, and that vision gave him courage, faith, separation, endurance, and strength.
Moses was the same. In Hebrews it is said that he was willing to bear the reproach of Christ instead of the treasures of Egypt. In other words, he saw Christ. He saw the Invisible One, and because he saw, he was able to endure.
Think of what Moses went through with the people. It would break a thousand hearts, but he persevered. Why? Because he saw.
Think of Paul. Toward the end of his life, he could testify:
Wherefore, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.
That is why I am here. That explains it. Brothers and sisters, what is most needed in leaders is seeing. Do we really see? Do we see the Invisible One?
If you only see the visible, you are blind. If you only see the immediate need, you are blind. You need to see the ultimate. You need to see God. You need to see His heart and His mind.
Nothing gives you a sense of purpose, destiny, endurance, and cohesion more than vision. Without vision, the people disintegrate. Without vision, the people scatter. Without vision, the people perish.
That is true—very true. We see God’s people perishing everywhere. We see God’s people disintegrating everywhere, each holding on to something. Why? Because the leaders do not have vision. May God give vision.
Second: character. Character is an essential quality of a leader. It is not so much ability; it is character.
Our Lord Jesus spent three years with His twelve. During those three years, what our Lord did with them was more in the area of character than skill. The Lord did not tell them how to preach, but He showed them how to be humble. It is character-building that makes leadership.
When you come to 1 Timothy and Titus, to the qualifications of elders and deacons, you find it is not so much ability; it is all character.
In the early days of the church, when they chose seven to serve tables, they had to choose men full of the Holy Spirit, of good report, and of wisdom. A person of good report is character. Being full of the Holy Spirit is character. Wisdom may be ability, but you find it is mainly character.
That is the reason why a novice should not be an elder. Why? Because character takes time to be developed.
Thank God, we have a life—the life of Christ in us. This life has a new nature, but that new nature needs to be developed into character. The Holy Spirit is doing this work in our lives.
That is what discipleship is. That is what the Holy Spirit is doing today in each one of us: building the character of Christ in us—love, peace, joy, gentleness, meekness, and so forth—that Christ may be formed in character.
That is what God requires in leaders. We see much of God’s work destroyed by capable men. They are too able, but they lack character. They not only destroy all that they have built up, but more besides. What is required of leaders is character.
Thirdly: power. By power, I mean anointing. You read the Old Testament, and you find that whether you are to be a king, a prophet, or a priest, you need to be anointed with oil.
It is anointing that gives the power, authority, and effectiveness for service. That is why, when our Lord Jesus came out at thirty years of age, before He began His ministry, He took the place of death for the world. He went down into baptism.
After He did that, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit not only descended, but abode—dwelt—in Him as a dove. He was anointed of the Lord.
In His first message, He used Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Because He anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor.
Throughout His life, you find that He was full of anointing, always in anointing, and never came out of that anointing. Therefore, He spoke with authority and performed with power.
Think of the one hundred and twenty disciples. They were there in the upper room. They were the Lord’s; they loved the Lord. Yet the Lord said, “Wait until you receive the power from on high.”
On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came, and they were anointed. It was under that anointing that, within thirty years, they conquered the world of that time.
Now, brothers and sisters, leaders need to know this anointing. Why? The anointing gives you the presence and the power of God.
Saul was anointed, but he got out of that anointing. He acted on his own. David was anointed, but he always acted under the anointing. That is the difference.
Brothers and sisters, if God raises you up as leaders, at whatever level or of whatever measure, you need the anointing of the Lord. That is your credential. That is your power. That is your authority.
People can sense it in your life. People can sense it in what you do. People can sense it in what you say: the anointing of the Lord acting in you. That is the difference.
So we need to seek that anointing. We need to be emptied in order to be filled. We need to be broken in order to be released. We need to go to death in order to enter into resurrection. We need to be delivered out of ourselves in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Brothers and sisters, leaders are all the anointed of the Lord.
I think probably for tonight this should be enough. Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we are touching something that is very dear to Thy heart and very essential to Thy church. We ask Thee, Lord, that we may, by Thy Holy Spirit, really hear Thy voice; that we may humble ourselves before Thee and allow Thee to lead us to where Thou wouldst have us go, and to use us in whatever way Thou wouldst have us serve.
Lord, we are before Thee, a people foolish and nothing, but we do praise and thank Thee that Thou wantest us to be Thine and to be used to serve Thy church.
Lord, do speak to each one of us, and bring us to that place where Thou canst use us as leaders: to lead, to inspire, to help Thy people accomplish Thy purpose. To Thee be the glory, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.