CRITERIA FOR PROMOTION I
MEMORIZE: Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches. Jeremiah 9:23
BIBLE READING 1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-29
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence
MESSAGE
I have come to discover from my walk with God that He usually promotes the most unlikely people. Our Bible reading for today tells us that the people who qualify for God’s promotion are usually those considered foolish, weak, little and unimportant. These are the kind of people God usually lifts up because He does not want anyone to take His glory. He does not want anyone thinking it was their achievements that made God choose them for promotion.
God chose Saul as the first king of Israel, even though the young man considered himself unworthy (1 Samuel 9:21). When Saul disobeyed and God wanted to promote someone else to his position, He sent Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s sons.
When Samuel asked Jesse to bring all his sons, David was not summoned because he was considered the least important among his sons. Jesse obviously thought there was absolutely no way David could be chosen as king, but that was exactly the fellow that God chose. God does not choose those who think they are wise, He chooses the foolish.
The moment you think you are the best man for the job, God actually sees you as the worst. You cannot succeed at any divine assignment by your own power and might but only by His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).
Anytime I travel and have the opportunity to speak with ministers in any nation, they always have one thing that they want me to address and that is the lack of unity amongst them. I often explain to them that the challenge is not that they do not want to be united; rather, it is a question of who will be the leader once they are united? I often go further to say, “If you realise that God usually chooses the foolish one to be the head, you won’t want to be that fellow, because being the head makes it obvious to everyone that you must be the most foolish of them all!”.
Beloved, if you realise that God will only choose the weak, the base, then you won’t struggle for positions. Keep doing exploits from whatever position you find yourself and rely completely on God as your source of help and direction. In due course, He will promote you far beyond your expectations.
KEY POINT
Don’t lobby for any position; dedicate yourself to doing the will of God and He will promote you at the right time.
BIBLE READING IN ONE YEAR: 1 CHRONICLES 10-12
HYMN 23 – TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE
1. Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise,
Let them flow in endless praise.
2. Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet, and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
3. Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.
4. Take my silver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose,
Every power as Thou shalt choose.
5. Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine:
Take my heart, it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.
