The Genuine Example of Leadership

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. 

John 17:17-26

Clothed in Righteousness

Often what you put on can determine how you feel.  When you have just the right dress, suit, shirt, shoes or hat, it adds something to your overall demeanor. By the same token, you could put something on that is very uncomfortable or isn't suitable for an occasion, it can make you feel less than you should.

What if you had worms and clods of dust all over your body?  How would you feel.? In Job 7:5, Job describes this very condition. He had so many negative things hit him all at once.  By all worldly standards he could have felt very badly about himself and in an irrecoverable funk. Righteousness was on his side:

I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. Job 29:14

The word 'clothed' in this verse is use seven times in the book of Job. This is the 5th use.  Righteousness put his mind in a different place. It was a grace place, gave him confidence and guarded his heart.

And that ye put on (clothe with) the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Ephesians 4:24

Under the New Testament covenant,God has given us something to clothe us that is permanent. It works from the inside out. It is God's wonderful gift of holy spirit. Righteousness is confidence, assurance and access to God without worrying about where we have failed or fallen short.  God's love is so much bigger that we can ever imagine. When we get to the place of really believing it, we are released from anything that pulls us down. Job lived in the Old Testament time; we live in the New Testament time after the resurrection  and ascension of Jesus Christ. We are connected in a unique way to our God. There are plenty of negative things going on on around us, but God's gift informs us and equips us to handle what ever comes up and produce fruit of the spirit when we utilize that gift and trust him:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (slow to anger), gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness(coachable), temperance (self-control): against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

These qualities don't need to be legislated like the works of the flesh. It is great to be around people who understand the spirit of God as it works in each of our lives. It is 'church' in the true Biblical sense of the word.

What Are We afraid Of?

God is so good to us:

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.......2 Timothy 1:7-8

The word for 'fear'  is translated from the greek word 'deilias' (Strongs #1167). It is used in this form only here in 2 Timothy.  There is a relative of this word found in 4 other places: Matthew 8:6, Mark 4:40, Hebrews 12:28, Revelation 21:8. This word for fear has been defined as the fear of losing, dread and timidity that causes one to stand back from God.

The fear of losing is rampant today. People constantly compare one another to each other. Ambitious rivalry is everywhere. People are so afraid of losing that they lie, gossip,  and demean each other just to get ahead or get to the top of I don't know what. I wonder how many people really know how serious it is to call good evil and evil good.

The more you have confidence in God and how he really sees us despite our warts and failings, the the greater the capacity to love becomes.  We are not in competition with anyone.  The competition is in our own minds for our own minds.  Sometimes it is such a good thing to say to God, 'Hey God keep me posted on where this is from or where I am going with this in my mind' when we start thinking about something or even when we evaluate what is going on around us. The ultimate goal in any situation is power, love and sound thinking. These three qualities work together for good. Love is center-stage to both power and sound thinking.

We need not be ashamed, politely correct, reticent or scared to share how good God is. The love he has planted in our hearts will facilitate the power needed and the sound thinking to help others even if they are enemies. When David dealt with Saul the word says:

14 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord was with him. I Samuel 18:14

How much God can help each one of us is easy to see when we look in the New Testament . God is so, so good to us!