Day 31

I Samuel 8-10

VALIANT MEN

Valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched – I Sam. 10:26

            God honored Israel’s request to be like other nations by giving them a king.  Samuel felt rejected, but God quickly told him not to take it personally, it was really the Almighty that had been rejected (see 10:19).  So God gives Israel an athletic leader whose height made him conspicuous in any crowd.    God then gave him a new heart, made him a new man, and the Spirit of God came upon him…  However that was not enough.  God touched the hearts of brave men to help him.

            Here is God’s formula for leadership:  A new heart, a new man, the Spirit of God, and courageous men whom God has touched.  When God calls a leader, He raises up men to bolster him.  Kingdom leaders come in many varieties, and they rely on trustworthy men who have been brushed by God.  God knows the kind of men every leader needs.  God may have to weed out a few tares, but the result is “the man” who leads the field and the men who guard his steps. 

            Moses had his men; Jesus had his men; Paul had his men.  A God-called man always teams up with God-called men.  The world has heard of Charles Finney who was the revivalist in the 2^nd Great Awakening.  Not many have heard the name of “Father Nash” who went to the cities where Finney would preach, and spend weeks praying for the Spirit of God to move on that community.  The lone wolf individualism of American legend is not the standard operating procedure for Bible leaders.

            The men are as important as “the man.”  Everyone wants to be “the man.”  God spends as much time on “the men.”  There are more men called as associate leaders than primary leaders.  The men are as vital to “the man” as John the Baptist was to Jesus.  It is safe to say that a movement is known by the men who follow “the man.” 

God, touch the hearts of men.