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This lesson will examine the difference between character and gifting, and then look at two of the schools God puts His prophets through: the school of brokenness and the school of humility.
We began last week exploring the topic of the character curriculum God puts his "prophets-in-the-making" through. It is important to realize there is a very distinct difference between gifting and character. The reality is, gifting does not insure character. Much of my life I have had a running dialog with God about how He seems at times to give away gifting to unscrupulous characters. (He promises someday I'll understand.. <grin>). The fact is,
Anointing DOES NOT automatically guarantee a persons correct doctrine, character or maturity level. This is a very, very important lesson to learn especially in this day when we are seeing a resurgence of many signs and wonders and supernatural giftings; making it critical that the church move in wisdom and discernment.
The sad lesson we see from Biblical as well as contemporary examples is that gifting without character and maturity can actually be a contributing agent to a ministers demise. We see King Saul, for example, who was a very gifted and charismatic leader, but whose lack of a foundation of character eventually caught up to him. Or we see Jonah, a prophet who had a severe unforgiveness problem and, though his ministry was very successful to the Ninevites, it only lead him to suicidal depression. (A later lesson will take an in-depth look at Jonah and the problem of angry prophets.)
With that concept in mind we can understand that God will demonstrate his wisdom and love through the "processes" he takes his prophets through as He prepares them for usefulness. It is not pleasant, but necessary. Hebrews 12:11 states: "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." It is with loving care that God goes about beating the "self-life" out of us so that we can be mightily used by Him. One man put it very well when he said "death to self" is like the insulation on an electrical wire so that God can pour his voltage through it with out it damaging everything the wire comes in contact with. If we have selfish motives intact, we become dangerous when the "juice" starts flowing.
We also need to see that God deals with a man or woman in terms of their entire lifetime as they invite Him to move them slowly but surely toward their destiny. He seems at times to not be in a hurry at all. Then at other times takes us on a crash course to learn some hard but necessary lesson. He does all this with our good as well as our usefulness in mind. Some of the more commonly recognized "schools" God puts his "prophets-in- training" through will be explored in this article and the next.
Brokenness is what rids a man of any confidence in his own soul's resources. We see an unbroken Moses after forty years of secular training in the finest leadership schools Egypt had to offer. He then realized he was called to be a deliverer so he went about trying to knock off the Egyptian army one guy at a time. His efforts only got him banished to the desert. Then we see him after 40 years of desert tempering and finally at 80 years of age we see a man who was called the meekest man on earth. Now he was ready to be used of God in a mighty way. Brokeness made the difference.
One who has been through God's "school" of brokenness is no longer marked by that obstinacy, hardness and sharpness which are hallmarks of an unbroken man. Meekness is the sign of brokeness. It is Jacob walking with a limp. It is Paul, admitting he was a persecutor of the Church. Meekness is not the same as weakness, but is characterized by a humble reliance on God's power and strength. Moses relied upon God's power, not his own. We see Moses, not defending himself to his accusers but rather falling on his face in intercession while God moves dramatically to defend him.
The one who is meek will also exhibit a sensitivity to others. They will be approachable and teachable instead of hard and unentreatable. The one who is meek is not arrogantly independent but rather recognizes his/her need for corporateness. The more confidence a person has in themselves at the beginning of this school, the longer and harder the breaking is. But when God accomplishes the work He is after, He can exhibit mighty signs and wonders through a person because He and they both know God will get the credit.
God's means and ways of introducing us to the "school" of brokenness are as varied and various as there are people. It usually looks like a grave failure within a persons life. It accomplishes the transformation from self confidence to God confidence. He knows just what it takes to bring any one of us to the end of our self. If you are one who has experienced exceptional brokenness or calamity in your life, it just might be the earmark of one of God's special projects. Akin to this is the school of humility.
Humility is essential for usefulness in the Kingdom of God. It is especially essential for His prophets. We must be free from pride so that our ministry does not vaunt self or attract others to us but rather testifies of Jesus, giving glory to Him.
God says He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. But humility is not low self esteem as some have thought. Nor is it simply the absence of pride. It can best be described as an absence of self, or a freedom from a pre-occupation with self. We must come to know at heart level and make peace with the fact that by our flesh, apart from Him, we can accomplish nothing (and at the same time through Him we can do all things).
One who is humble is free from having to defend himself or explain himself. It is freedom to serve in the lowest or highest position God decides to place you in. It is not gained by measuring ourselves by our selves or comparing ourselves among our selves but rather by seeing God! Isaiah got a glimpse of God in Isa. 6 and suddenly he had a right perspective on himself. It resulted in a confession and then a commissioning. He did not think of himself more highly than he ought nor more poorly than he ought, but had a sober and proper perspective. I do not think we have the capacity within ourselves of rightly assessing our own selves apart from God. This kind of humility is the result of seeing Him.
The goal of all these things is to bring the prophet to the place of utter and total dependence on Him; and thus to bring the prophet to the place of being a doer of God's will; a vessel of honor, useful to the Kings service. It is to bring the prophet to the place of being a friend of God and a carrier of God's own heart. The prophet is quarried and chiseled carefully to become a critical foundation stone in the church, and a champion throughout eternity.
Next time we will look at the "school" of offense and the "school" of aloneness and rejection.