We are in 2 Kings this morning. Please turn to 2 Kings 2, verse 9.
And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken from thee.
And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
Then turn to 2 Kings 18, from verse 1 through part of verse 7.
And it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.
He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah.
And he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.
He removed the high places, and brake the pillars, and cut down the Asherah; and he brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it; and he called it Nehushtan.
He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among them that were before him.
For he clave to the Lord, he departed not from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses.
And the Lord was with him; whithersoever he went forth he prospered.
Then turn to 2 Kings 22, the first two verses.
Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.
And he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.
First and Second Kings were originally one book. They cover practically the whole history of the kingly rule of the nation of the chosen people of God. Now, in First Kings, we begin to see the disruption; and in Second Kings, we find the downfall.
After Solomon died, the kingdom was divided into two: the northern kingdom of Israel, which comprised ten tribes, and the southern kingdom of Judah, of two tribes.
In each kingdom, we find nineteen kings. In the kingdom of Judah, these nineteen kings were all descendants of King David. We purposely leave out Athaliah, because she was the daughter of Ahab, and she tried to murder all the sons of David and usurped the throne for a few years. So, in the kingdom of Judah, you find nineteen kings. They were all descendants of King David. You have one dynasty.
But in the kingdom of Israel—that is, the northern kingdom—we also find nineteen kings, but they were of different dynasties. One would take over the kingdom from another and continue perhaps three or four generations at most; then another man would rise up and take over the kingdom. So these were not of one dynasty, but of a number of dynasties.
In the southern kingdom of Judah, we find there were some good kings, like Asa and Hezekiah. But in the northern kingdom of Israel, we could not find any good ones. They were all bad.
In God’s mercy, He sent prophets to both kingdoms, to testify against the kingdom of Judah and against the kingdom of Israel, calling them to return to God, to repent, and to keep the commandments that God had commanded them through Moses. But unfortunately, you find the people hardened their hearts, and eventually those kingdoms were destroyed.
The northern kingdom was destroyed first, in 721 BC, by the Assyrians. But the southern kingdom continued on for about one hundred and thirty years, a little over, because God remembered David and tried to keep a lamp there in that nation. But eventually, because of their disobedience, even the southern kingdom was destroyed by Babylon, around 588 BC. So that is the history we find in these two books of Kings.
Now, brothers and sisters, we mentioned last time that we are not just here studying ancient history. We know that these histories are in the Bible. In other words, they are the Word of God, and they are meant for us today. What are we to learn by reading and studying the history of the ancient people of God?
In a spiritual sense, God’s people today—those who are redeemed by the Lord—we are the kingdom of God. You remember, in 1 Peter 2:9, it is said:
But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.
So, brothers and sisters, in a very real sense, in a spiritual sense, God’s people—those who are redeemed of the Lord—are a holy nation. Of course, we have only one King, and our King is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the perfect King.
We are supposed to obey Him. We are supposed to do His will. We are supposed to be a witness and a testimony to Him. But unfortunately, we find through two thousand years of church history that God’s people today are like His chosen people in the old days. How we fail Him again and again. How we turn away from our Lord Jesus. How we begin to drift away and begin to notice things other than the Lord. How the world begins to come into the church. Eventually, you find the church has gone into apostasy.
But God, in His mercy, does send us His servants. He does send us revivals from time to time, trying to get us back to Him. But unfortunately, as a whole, you find the condition of God’s people is actually going downward instead of upward.
But thank God, we find in every age God has reserved for Himself that seven thousand. Elijah complained to God and said, “I am the only one left for You.” But God said, “I have My seven thousand.” And we do find in church history, no matter how the church has drifted away from God, in every age God has His seven thousand—those who are faithful by His grace to Him. In these people, God has maintained His testimony throughout the ages. That is a real comfort.
Second Kings begins with the passing away of Elijah and the coming into the ministry of Elisha. We know that Elisha succeeded Elijah in prophetic ministry.
The ministry of Elijah was judicial in nature. He brought judgment to the nation. The ministry of Elisha was merciful in nature. He brought life and resurrection to the people.
These two aspects must be in prophetic ministry. In other words, a prophetic ministry, on the one hand, does bring judgment to the people of God; but on the other hand, it brings in resurrection and life. We need God’s judgment that we may repent. But thank God, after we repent, there will be life. There will be resurrection. So this is what prophetic ministry ought to be.
From 2 Kings 1 through 2 Kings 13, we find the ministry of Elisha the prophet. In 2 Kings 17, we find the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel, followed by a comment of the Holy Spirit concerning their history.
From 2 Kings 18 through 2 Kings 20, we find a great revival under King Hezekiah. Then, from 2 Kings 22 through 2 Kings 23, we find another revival under King Josiah. These are the highlights we find in the second book of Kings.
For our fellowship this morning, we will concentrate on one prophet and two kings: the prophet Elisha, and the kings Hezekiah and Josiah. Both the prophet and the king represent leadership—spiritual leadership.
When we think of life in the body of Christ, we find that all are equal. In other words, we are all members of the body of Christ. As members of the body of Christ, no member is more important than another member.
The eye needs the ear; the hand needs the feet. Even though we are all different, yet so far as life is concerned, we share the same life. There is no difference. We are all equal before God.
So far as God’s grace is concerned, there is no reason why one brother or one sister should receive more grace than another brother or sister, because God gives His grace equally to all. The reason why some receive more and some receive less is not because God is partial in dispensing His grace; it is because of our capacity. Some receive more of Him; some do not seem to be able to. But anyway, so far as life is concerned, we are all equal before God.
But so far as work is concerned, we are in the kingdom of God. In the kingdom of God, we find there is not only divine order, but there are various positions.
In the kingdom of God, our Lord Jesus is the King. But under Him, you find He does give the church some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. These are the people for the ministry of God’s Word. They are to perfect the saints.
Then, on the other hand, you find God does raise up elders and deacons for the government of the church, to lead the people, to help them, and to build them up. So, dear brothers and sisters, when you come to the work of God, you find there is leadership.
Sometimes God’s people are so democratic that they feel that among God’s people there should be no leaders, or that we are all leaders. It is true: when it comes to life, we are all equal. But when God begins to work in His church, to build up His church, you find He does raise up leadership, and we need leadership. Because if there is no leadership, there is really no beauty.
Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are raised up by God to perfect the body of Christ—to perfect God’s people. Then, after God’s people are being perfected, that is, matured and equipped, every member of the body of Christ will begin to function and build up the body in love.
In other words, these people are God’s gift to the church. They are in spiritual leadership, leading God’s people by the Word of God. On the other hand, in the church God raises up elders and deacons. These are people with certain responsibilities, and through them God wants to shepherd and help the people to go on with the Lord.
The first group of people are like the prophets in Old Testament times, because the prophets minister God’s Word to His people. The second group of people are like the kings in Old Testament times. They are concerned more with government, shepherding, and service. So you find God does raise up leadership in the church.
Leadership is very important for the growth of the church. If the leadership is wrong—that is, if the leaders are selfish—then you find the whole nation suffers. You see that in the history of the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah. When you have a bad king, the whole nation comes under a curse. But if, by God’s grace, you find a good king—one who rules for God—then you find the whole nation is blessed.
Brothers and sisters, God’s people are sheep. I think everybody loves sheep. They look so lovely, so gentle, so good. Thank God for that. Every child of God is loving.
But sheep are the most ignorant. If a sheep goes astray, it never knows how to come back, not like a dog or a cat. If a sheep is stranded or puts its head into the thorns, it is never able to get itself out. It has to be helped out.
A sheep does not know its pasture, because it will eat anything that is before it. But sheep need a shepherd to choose the pasture for them. So you see, God’s people are like sheep. They are so good, so innocent, so ignorant.
That is the reason why you find in church history that whenever God raises up the right leadership, God’s people are blessed. But whenever you find bad leadership, God’s people can be led astray very quickly—almost overnight. They just follow whoever is leading them.
That is why it is so important that God give His church spiritual leadership: leadership that really comes from God, not from man; leadership that is not set up by man; leadership that is not grasped by ambitious people; but leadership that is ordained by God Himself.
When God gives His church those leaders whom He has raised up Himself, and those leaders are really leading the people in God, then you find how blessed God’s people will be.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we really need to ask the Lord and pray that God will raise up spiritual leadership in the church. I think as we enter into this last phase of the church period, we are at the end of the last days. We are in a day of great apostasy, a great falling away. We do find that many of God’s people are being led astray here and there.
They are innocent. We feel for them. But, brothers and sisters, this is the time that we need to pray and ask the Lord to raise up spiritual leadership for His people.
That is why Second Kings is so important. There we find how God raised up the prophet Elisha in the ministry of God’s Word to His people, and how God raised up King Hezekiah and King Josiah to lead the people back to God. We pray that God will do the same today.
Now let us go to Elisha. The very name Elisha means, “God is salvation.” He was the son of Shaphat, of Abel-meholah. Abel-meholah was in the valley of Jordan, in the tribe of Manasseh.
We first find him in 1 Kings 19. You remember, God commanded Elijah to go back and anoint Elisha to succeed him as the prophet. So Elijah went to Abel-meholah, and there he found Elisha.
What was Elisha doing? He was ploughing the field with twelve yoke of oxen, and he was with the twelfth.
Now, brothers and sisters, so far as prophetic ministry is concerned, number one, you find it is the sovereign choice of God. You remember our Lord Jesus said in John 15:16:
Ye did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide.
So far as prophetic ministry is concerned, first of all, we have to remember that it is God’s sovereign choice. It is not something that we want to do and ask for. Basically, God, in His sovereignty, will choose whomever He wants to choose. There is nothing for anyone to boast of or to grasp at. It is the sovereign choice of God.
But why is it that, out of the many young people in the nation of Israel, God should choose Elisha? On the one hand, you find everything is based upon God’s sovereign choice. But on the other hand, we need to ask the question: Why does God choose this one and not choose the other one for that prophetic ministry?
God must have seen something in that young man that made him different from the other young men. Or, to put it another way, God must have seen something in that young man that was worthy to be chosen.
What was that young man doing? He was ploughing the field—an ordinary work. But he was ploughing the field with twelve yoke of oxen. Have you ever seen a person ploughing the field with twelve yoke of oxen? Usually you see a man ploughing with one yoke of oxen. But he ploughed with twelve yoke of oxen.
On the one hand, it shows that he must have come from a well-to-do family. A well-to-do family can have twelve yoke of oxen. If you come from a well-to-do family that has twelve yoke of oxen, probably you will not plough anymore. You will hire people to do it, and you will just enjoy yourself and have a good time.
But not this young man. Even though he came from a rather rich family and could hire people to plough the field, you find that he himself was with the twelfth yoke of oxen. He was ploughing. In other words, this young man was diligent—very diligent.
I think it was D. L. Moody who said, “God will never use a lazy person.” He even said, “God will never save a lazy person, because that person is too lazy to believe in the Lord Jesus.”
Diligence. God saw in that young man a character—the character of diligence. Because that character was there, God chose him.
Not only that, but when that young man was working, he did not work half-heartedly. He put all twelve yoke of oxen to work. You find his whole heart was in the work. That was the kind of person God would like to use.
When Elijah came to him, without saying any word, he just put his mantle upon him—the prophet’s mantle. Do you know what happened? Elisha immediately ran to Elijah.
He said, “Let me go and say goodbye to my father and mother, and I will follow you.” Elijah said, “What have I done to you?”
Elisha went back, killed the oxen, used the implements of the oxen for firewood, gave the people food to eat, and left to follow Elijah.
Now, brothers and sisters, how could this happen so suddenly? It shows us that this young man, even while he was busily occupied with ploughing the field, had been exercised in heart before the Lord for some time. It was not an accident.
His heart had been exercised for the interest of God in the nation of Israel. He must have been praying. He must have been burdened before God. He must have been waiting upon God.
He was waiting to be called. He was ready. But he did not go out on his own. He would wait until God called him into that ministry. Yet he did not wait at home, idly waiting for the calling. While he was waiting for the calling, he diligently applied himself to whatever God had put in his hand at that moment, and with all his heart.
That is why, when Elijah put that mantle upon him, immediately he responded, because his heart was ready. You find that he just burned the bridge behind him and wholeheartedly followed Elijah.
Brothers and sisters, is our heart being exercised before God? When our hands seem to be on the plough, ploughing the fields, do we put ourselves wholeheartedly into the work that God has put in our hands at the moment?
But, dear brothers and sisters, is our whole interest, our whole burden, merely to have a hundredfold harvest from the field? Is that all? Or, when we are found in the fields, are we exercised with the interests of God upon this earth today?
Is our heart being burdened by God’s kingdom? Are we waiting upon God, ready to do whatever God may call us to do? In other words, we are not serving the world; we are serving God. Even when our hands are on the plough, our hearts are with God.
When the time comes, are we ready to respond, to burn the bridge behind us? On the other hand, brothers and sisters, if we do have a heart, a burden for the Lord’s work, do we just step out on our own and say, “Now, I am burdened; therefore, I have to do it. I cannot wait anymore”?
No. We have to wait until God’s call comes, at His time. But when that time comes, do not hesitate. Burn the bridge and follow the Lord.
Thirdly, you find Elisha responded. In 1 Kings 19:21, it says that Elisha ministered to Elijah. What does it mean to minister to Elijah?
If you go to 2 Kings 3, you know what it means: he poured water on the hands of Elijah. Today, we may not know what that means. But if you go to India, probably you will know. When you are in India, you eat with your hands. After you eat, somebody will pour water on your hands so that you can wash them and make them clean. In other words, it is the work of a servant.
Elisha was called to be a prophet. Probably you would fully expect him to begin to open his mouth and prophesy. But instead of that, what do you find Elisha doing? He was there pouring water on the hands of Elijah. He was doing the work of a servant.
Do you think it was beneath his dignity? He ought to have been prophesying, but you do not find him prophesying. You find he was there serving Elijah as an apprentice, as a disciple.
This is how spiritual leadership is raised up. If God is to raise you up as a leader, you first have to learn to be a learner. Before you can lead, you have to be discipled to Christ.
After all, leadership is not sitting on high and giving commands. Leadership is to be the servant of all. Therefore, the spirit of servanthood has to be developed.
Brothers and sisters, this was true with the twelve apostles and our Lord Jesus. The Lord called the twelve apostles, but they were to be with Him, learning of Him.
They were not merely to learn the skill of preaching. They had to learn to know the Lord, to learn His character—how He lived and how He acted. Brothers and sisters, this is what we need. We need to learn of Him. We need to learn His character and let His character characterize us. Then we are able to minister life to people.
So you find Elisha ministered to Elijah for a period, until God was calling Elijah up.
One day, Elijah told Elisha, “Stay here in Gilgal. I am going to Bethel.” Elisha said, “No, I will go with you.”
After they arrived at Bethel, Elijah said, “Stay here. I am going to Jericho.” Elisha said, “No, I am going with you to Jericho.” Then, when they were in Jericho, Elijah said, “Stay here. I am going over to Jordan.” Elisha said, “No, I am going with you.”
So they travelled all the way across the River Jordan. Then Elijah said, “I am leaving you. What do you want? You may ask.” Do you know what Elisha asked? He said, “Give me a double portion of your spirit.”
A double portion of the spirit of Elijah. What is the spirit of Elijah? The spirit of Elijah is the spirit of jealousy—the jealousy of God, jealous for God. That is the spirit of Elijah.
We know the spirit of Elijah especially at the time of his disappointment. When you are well, nobody really knows your spirit. The more civilized we are, the more we hide ourselves. We will not allow people to know our spirit, our real man.
But when we are in disappointment, in despair, all the façade goes down, and then our real person comes out. When do you see Elijah’s real person coming out—his spirit coming out? When he was disappointed.
He fled to Mount Sinai, and God said, “Elijah, why are you here? What are you doing here?” Elijah said, “Lord, I am jealous for You. I am jealous for Your right. Yet the whole nation is against me. They want to kill me.”
The spirit of Elijah is a spirit of jealousy. Do not misunderstand: there is nothing wrong with the word jealousy. Today, jealousy has a very bad connotation to us, but jealousy itself is not wrong. If you are jealous for the right thing, that is the best thing to do.
Our God is a jealous God, and we need the jealousy of God. We need to be jealous for God. We need to be so jealous that we do not want to see anything of God’s rights being deprived. We want God to be God. We want God to have everything that He deserves to have. That is being jealous for God.
Elijah was so jealous for God that his very life was in danger. Now Elisha came up and said, “Give me a double portion of your spirit.” This young man was really not ambitious for himself.
There is nothing wrong with being ambitious. Some people think that Christians should not be ambitious. No. Paul said, “I am ambitious.” That is the very word in 2 Corinthians. In the original, Paul said, “I am ambitious that I may please God in all things.”
A double portion of Elijah’s spirit means that Elisha wanted to be so jealous for God that he was willing to take double trials and double afflictions. It is costly.
In order to receive that double portion of the spirit of Elijah, Elisha had to travel all the way from Gilgal to Bethel, to Jericho, to Jordan.
We know Gilgal is the rolling away—the rolling away of the shame of Egypt, the rolling away of the flesh, where the flesh is completely dealt with. Brothers and sisters, if we desire to have a double portion of the spirit of Elijah, the first thing we need to see is that we need to have the flesh completely rolled away.
Then we need to go to Bethel, the house of God. We need to positively see what the house of God really is, and there we will live under an open heaven.
From there we go to Jericho. There will be spiritual conflict, and we will experience the victory of Christ. From there, we cross the River Jordan; that is, conformity to His death.
Brothers and sisters, after Elisha had gone through this, then when he came back he was able to minister life to every place that he visited.
In these thirteen chapters of 2 Kings, you find that, altogether, Elisha performed, if we may say so, fourteen miracles. People have different opinions about that, but that is all right. It simply shows how God used that man.
In all these miracles, he brought life and resurrection to the people. He opened the waters of Jordan. He healed the waters of Jericho.
It is true that he cursed the young men who came out of Bethel. In the original, they were not little boys; they were teenagers. Bethel was, at that time, a place of idolatry. Evidently, the priests of that idolatry sent these teenagers out to ridicule and mock Elisha—that is, to mock the interests of God.
They cried, “Go up, thou bald head; go up.” In other words, “Elijah went up; why do you not go up?” Of course, judgment came upon these teenagers.
Then you find that Elisha brought water in the desert for the three kings, that they might not perish. Again, you find he multiplied the oil in the vessel that the widow of one of the sons of the prophets had borrowed, to maintain her life.
He restored the life of the little boy of the Shunammite woman. He healed the poison in the pot. He multiplied the barley cakes to feed a hundred people. He healed the leprosy of Naaman.
He opened the eyes of his servant to see God’s horses and chariots surrounding the city. He proclaimed the victory over Syria. Even after he died, when a dead body touched his bones, that dead body was resurrected.
In other words, you find that it is a ministry of resurrection life. Dear brothers and sisters, how we need such ministry. We need a ministry of judgment, but we also need a ministry of life—of resurrection life.
That is what ministry really is: to impart the life of Christ to God’s people. How we need such ministry.
Now that is Elisha. I will not have time to go into both kings, but probably I will do one and leave the other for Second Chronicles.
You find in the record of Hezekiah that he came to the throne when he was twenty-five years old, and he was on the throne for twenty-nine years. The Bible says that Hezekiah followed the Lord, and he did everything that David his father did, without turning to the right or to the left.
Brothers and sisters, in the Old Testament, especially in the history of the kings, God measured every king by David, because David is the key.
David represents the king after God’s own heart. He was a man after God’s own heart, who would do all God’s will. That is what a king after God’s heart is. So God used this standard to measure every king in the books of Kings.
Some kings did not measure up in any way. They did not do what David did. Other kings may have done something that David did, but not all things. A few, you find, did everything that David did because their hearts were perfect toward God, as David’s heart was perfect. Hezekiah was one of them.
As a matter of fact, among the Jewish people, they consider three kings the most honourable. David was one, and Hezekiah was another. He followed the Lord with all his heart. He did everything that David did. He measured up to God’s standard.
Do you know that God has a standard by which to measure everything today too? God will measure not only ministry. God will measure life. God will measure work. God will measure everything today by one standard: the One who is greater than David, our Lord Jesus.
He will measure everything according to Him. In leadership, He will use the Lord Jesus as the measuring rod to see how much we measure up to His leadership. Do we do what He does, or what He has done? Or is there some way in which we deviate from Him?
How God’s heart will be pleased if He finds leadership measuring up to the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ. Hezekiah was one who measured up to David.
Number two, you find that Hezekiah trusted the Lord. In the fourteenth year of his reign, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came and seized the cities of Judah. He began to surround and lay siege to the city of Jerusalem, and he made unreasonable demands.
Here you find Hezekiah, under that kind of situation, trusting the Lord with his whole heart. He cried unto the Lord, and the Lord delivered him. Brothers and sisters, we need that kind of trust in the Lord.
Then, in the prime of his years, when he was thirty-nine years old, he was sick unto death. God sent Isaiah to him and said, “Set thy house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.”
Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and wept. He said, “God, remember, I pray Thee, how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in Thy sight. Now, in the prime of my years, I am dying.”
Because he wept before God, God’s heart was softened. God sent Isaiah back and said, “I have heard thy prayer. I will give thee fifteen more years. On the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord.”
Hezekiah said, “How do I know? Do I have a sign?” Isaiah said, “Yes. Do you want the shadow on the sundial of Ahaz to go forward ten degrees, or backward ten degrees?” Hezekiah said, “Backward.” So time went back ten degrees. Is that not wonderful?
We do not have time to try to prove this scientifically, but it has been proven. In the universe, we lost twenty-four hours, and these twenty-four hours can be found in Scripture, and the ten degrees are among them. Anyway, God gave him a sign. The dial went back ten degrees, and Hezekiah was healed. How he trusted and believed in God.
But unfortunately, his heart was not humbled by all that God had done. Instead, he began to be proud of himself. So, in these fifteen years, two terrible things happened.
One was this: in these fifteen years, the king of Babylon and the king of Assyria were enemies. When the king of Babylon heard that Hezekiah was healed, he sent emissaries to congratulate him. Hezekiah was so proud of his country, his riches, and his wealth that he was enticed by the emissaries. They were spies, and he showed them all the things in his kingdom.
Because of that, God told him that the whole nation, and everything he had, would be taken into captivity.
Number two: during these fifteen years, he begat a son, Manasseh. That son was one of the worst kings. Because of his sins, God determined to destroy the nation of Judah.
Dear brothers and sisters, there is a great lesson for us. If the Lord says, “Your time is up,” go gladly.
If you try to persuade God, God can be persuaded. You see, our God is so soft-hearted, so kind-hearted, that He can be persuaded. But that is not good for you.
Better submit yourself unto God, because everything He has ordained for you is the best for you—and for Him too.
So you find in King Hezekiah that, thank God, God did raise him up as a spiritual leader. Under his leadership, the nation did come back to God, temporarily at least. God also gave him Isaiah to help him in the work of restoration.
Even though, unfortunately, at the very end he fell into pride, that is a great lesson for leaders. All leaders are exposed to the peril of being proud.
If God does not use you, you have nothing to be proud of, and you may be jealous of other people. That is your danger. But if God should use you, then people may be jealous of you. You will not be jealous, but you may be proud.
Pride will be followed by a fall. So may the Lord have mercy upon us. On the one hand, may God raise up spiritual leadership; and on the other hand, may the leaders always keep humble before Him.
Dear Heavenly Father, we do commit these words into Thy hands, and pray that Thou wilt make them living, even life, to us.
Lord, we do pray that Thou wilt raise up spiritual leadership in the church, and pray that Thou wilt keep the leaders humble before Thee.
We do look forward to the day when Thou shalt return and establish Thy kingdom upon this earth, and righteousness shall reign over the whole earth. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.