by
Stuart Briscoe Torchbearers? Fellowship England
CALL OF A LEADER
O NE OF THE GREATEST NEEDS of the church today is adequate lead ership. We need to look into our own hearts to see if we are allowing- our lives to be the kind in this area which God would desire. One of the greatest examples for leadership was God’s man, David. Let us think of him in comparison with our own lives. Throughout the narrative of David’s life, he is linked with other people. At first it is with Samuel, as he was originally called to he a lead er. Israel, apart from God, had de cided they wanted a king. While Saul started off well, things soon began to disintegrate. At the end he was prov en in his own house to be totally un satisfactory to God and to the people. The Lord told Samuel He had some one better. While the old prophet didn’t realize it, David was that man. Jesse was told to parade his sons for the selection, beginning with the eld est. Samuel was very impressed. But they went on down the list until all seven of his sons had appeared and been rejected. Samuel asked Jesse, “Do you have any more sons?” This was when he seemed to remember David, who, after all, just looked after sheep. God had told his ser vant, “Don’t look on his countenance or on the height of his stature.” The secret is always that God doesn’t see as man sees. The Lord looks on the heart. There are so many extremes today that we must turn from them and follow the principles which the Lord has ordained. Young men are growing their hair long. Young la dies are wearing their skirts shorter and shorter. We look at the extremes of people’s lives. Sometimes, although I deplore both short skirts and long hair, un
derneath the facade are young peo ple who are truly seeking souls. How many of us have been confronted with people whose exteriors repelled us? We know them on the inside, as it were. It was David’s heart which impressed the Lord. Here was the raw material from which He would make a leader. David told us a lot about his own heart (Psm. 24:3, 4). Here he points out, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that clean hands and a pure heart are vital requisites if one is to be used for the Lord. Do you know anyone like this? It’s the thoughts and the intentions of our heart which God says are only evil continually. People may look one way on the outside and be different in side. The Bible says God hasn’t found a just man upon the face of the earth. All have sinned and fallen short of His glory. What is God go ing to do? Must His cause disinte grate for this reason? Will He cease to work? Of course not, for the Lord desires to cleanse hearts and make them pure. The first thing we need to bear in mind is that if we are ever going to make an impact for God, then it is absolutely imperative that we get our hearts washed clean. Of course, before we can be cleansed from all unrighteousness, we have to believe that we are unrighteous. We have to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, through His death and resur rection, is able to give us complete pardon. S a lv a tio n is by grace through faith. Would you say that you have the kind of heart God needs? What about your internal at titude toward the Lord? In Psalm 26:2, David petitions, “Examine me, 0 Lord, and prove me; try my reins 3
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