Obedience before Promotion

Based on the scriptures and personal experiences, I believe that obedience to man is necessary in the eyes of God before promotion into leadership roles. As we have discussed in other courses, we must be able to serve another man before leading. We have several examples in the Bible. Joshua served as Moses assistant in the book of Exodus. He remained faithful and obedient to Moses even when others were resistant and disobedient. I believe that Joshua learned from Moses, his mentor, on how to persevere, how to lead disgruntled people, how to stay faithful to God's plan and maybe how not to let anger hinder his ability to lead. Many lessons were learned through followship. As a result, Joshua was the personally appointed successor to Moses (Deuteronomy 31:1–8; 34:9) and a charismatic warrior who led Israel in the conquest of Canaan after the Exodus from Egypt. Elijah and Elisha's relationship was similar. Elijah was spiritually rewarded with double portion of anointing because of his faithfulness with fallowing Elisha. 2 Kings 2:6 ¶ And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.
9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. I believe that serving is the threshold of leadership. How we behave under others speaks volumes as to how we will handle the spiritual and natural business of God's kingdom. The humility, heart posture and willingness to follow are the greatest indications of the character of the leader in the making.

I agree the posture of the heart is so important! These days, people think they can skip servanthood and still get the anointing. Joshua and Elisha proved that the worker gets the double portion. So true.