IV
Leaders Must Go Outside The Camp
The Aroma of Inspiration
If I told you that the wisdom to solve the difficult challenges that
you face was available to you in a particular place every morning,
would you come to that place? If
I told you that there was a place where you could obtain secrets
about your business, family or organization that would bring
success, would you go there to find them? If I said there was a
place where you could go to find peace in the midst of your turmoil,
wisdom for raising your children, acceptance in the midst of all
your rejection, practical insight into your finances, creative
solutions for every one of life’s problems, would you run to that
place? Would that place have value to you? The answer to all these
questions and many more is obvious. That place is available to all
of us, and I can tell you from personal experience, you will find
all of the above and much more, in that place. You will find that
place “outside the camp.” It is a place of solitude where you can
meet God. It is a place of worship and study; it is a place where
the One True God can reach down from Heaven and pour His life and
insight into you. It is a wonderful place and it is the place that
all leaders must find every day.
Inspired Leadership
When crisis comes to a nation, God will raise up a leader to be His
voice. When there is a crisis in a business or a government, God
will raise up a leader. When
transition from the existing paradigm to a new level of freedom for
God’s people is about to take place, God will once again raise up a
leader. These leaders aren’t always the ones with the loudest voices
or the most influence. They usually are not the most obvious. Most
of the time, they are reluctant but obedient bondservants. They may
be overlooked by others. We see this when Samuel prayed his way
through Jessie’s sons looking for the next King of Israel, who
happened to be David (I Samuel 16). However, God’s leaders have
always had an aroma about their lives that comes from time in His
presence. This aroma is a by-product of worship, prayer, and the
presence of God.
There are leaders who are born to lead. We can watch children at
play to observe this dynamic. One of the children sets the rules of
the game for everyone else. This, too, is a gift from God, whether
we recognize it as such or not. He determines this kind of
characteristic in the heart of people. (Psalms
139:13
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's
womb.
NIV)
The ability to lead people is something that is inborn. Certainly,
there are techniques and refinements that we can learn to help us be
more effective, but the ability to lead people is clearly a gift
from God. Many people have been given a gift to lead others on some
level, but because of circumstances, negative input from others,
timidity or other factors, their gift is hindered in its development
and they may never exercise the gift they have been given.
In the Kingdom, there is another kind of leader who has the same
kind of gift, but who also carries the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit. These are leaders who are anointed, inspired worshippers who
are destined to implement the strategies of the Lord in their day.
It is not enough that we have a destiny for this kind of thing. We
must also accept the cost of that destiny – and there will be a
cost. A leader who is
divinely inspired will learn to find the time for inspiration in the
presence of the Lord. Divinely inspired leadership, whether in
business, government, or ministry, is always filtered through the
insight and expertise of the Father.
I have spoken with many people in the marketplace around the world,
who seem to have great difficulty with the most important aspect of
leadership in the Kingdom: time with God. The reasons for not
setting aside time with the Lord are always the same, no matter
where I go in the world: “There is just not enough time in my day.”
“I don’t get anything out of it.”
“I’m too busy.”
It is always a perception of value that causes this response. We
make time in our busy lives for the things that have the highest
value. This is always the case.
Time alone with God is basic to life as a believer. Yet, if you are
a leader with a destiny to implement God’s strategies, time with Him
is not optional. Anointed and inspired leaders have to position
themselves for the anointing and inspiration. Those things don’t
come from being self-assured; they come from the Lord. Commitment to
this kind of time away from everything will always be contested
ground. However, it is essential, if you are to be a leader in the
Kingdom, that you conquer that ground. You will lead on a lower
level if you try to lead without God's insight.
Moses Had No Resumé
Moses was a man who was appointed by the Lord to leadership in a
critical time in the history of God’s people. Outwardly, he had few
qualifications for the job. He was a fugitive and a shepherd for his
father-in-law. He didn’t even own the business! When he was
appointed to this task by the Lord, the only leadership on his
resume for the previous 40 years was leading sheep. Moses had been
so broken during those 40 years that when the Lord came to him in
the burning bush, he said, “You must have the wrong guy. I can’t
speak to people.” Yet when he accepted the task that the Lord set
before him, he came to understand something that has been
illustrated for us throughout Scripture – all of God’s leaders
learned to spend time alone with Him to draw from His wisdom to lead
others.
Moses knew the only way he could accomplish this task was to draw
from God’s resource of wisdom and insight. He had been so broken and
humbled during his 40 years in the seemingly insignificant role as a
shepherd that to the natural eye he was unimportant and
insignificant. Shepherds didn’t occupy a position of prominence in
the culture of the day. He could not go to the Scripture for
encouragement, because there was no Scripture. He was alone.
What disqualified him for leadership in the eyes of everyone else
was the very thing that qualified him in God’s eyes.
His humility, meekness and dependence on the Lord afforded him one
of the most envied positions in the history of our world – a friend
of God.
Joshua Generation
Not only did Moses communicate regularly with God,
“…just as a man speaks to his
friend,” (Exodus
33:11),
but there was another very important dynamic taking place. Because
the Lord is the ultimate strategic thinker, He is always
multi-generational. He allowed Moses to train and mentor the next
generation of leaders. Whether Moses knew it or not, God was seeding
the next leader of
In
Exodus 33:11,
the Hebrew word for “a young man” 1 means
Joshua was likely in his teenage years. I have often pictured this
scene in Exodus in the following way:
Moses would finish conversing with God and Joshua would say,
“Moses, the Tent of Meeting needs cleaning up a bit, so I’ll just
stay to clean up.” The cloud of glory that settled over the entrance
of the tent would lift as Moses walked back to the camp, and Joshua
would fall on his face in worship, not wanting to leave this place
where the tangible presence of God had been. To remain in that place
was enough for Joshua. God
must have been pleased that this young man loved His presence so
much that he was happy to be where God had been! He was a young man
who had the makings of a leader God could trust. Joshua loved the
presence of God!
Moses was alone on top of a mountain, overlooking the Promised Land,
when God told him he was going to die. Moses' first response was to
ask the Lord, on behalf of the people, for a leader to succeed him.
The Lord already had selected His man to lead
Numbers 27:18
says, So the LORD said to
Moses, ‘Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and
lay your hand on him’... It would be impossible for Joshua to
not be designated by God as a “man of the spirit” when
“…he would not depart from
the tent.” God notices this kind of thing in our lives!
Times and seasons of history
have changed, but God’s qualifications for leadership have been a
constant. If you are going to be the kind of leader that is anointed
and inspired to do great things for Him, you have to carry this
designation.
The Secret
So how does this apply to people like us today? The secret of Moses’
success was what happened in the “Tent of Meeting.” Kingdom
leadership, whether it is in government, business, education, or
ministry requires that we spend time with the King. The Kingdom
Economy is an economic system that operates by the rules of Heaven.
It is a supernatural economy that will have tangible benefits in our
lives. It is by spending time “outside the camp” that we will be
distinguished from all other people on the earth. Therefore, it is
natural that the enemy of our souls will contend with us for this
time. He will try to oppose everything that God wants to do, whether
it is establishing a church, sending a missionary, starting a
Kingdom business, or educating children. He will try to tear at
covenant relationships, and he will come to distract you from your
quiet time.
Men and women who think they are “called” to a position of
leadership, in any capacity, must find time to go “outside the
camp.” It does not matter how busy you are, go “outside the camp”
and draw from the same well of resource that Moses and so many
others have found essential. If you are a leader in government,
ministry or business, it is important to realize that a well of
expertise is available for you to draw living water from on a daily
basis. This well is filled with practical insight, protection,
supernatural understanding of complex issues, and a path to victory
that may look like certain defeat to you. You have a “Consultant”
available to you who understands everything about everything.
Knowing that the commitment to go “outside the camp” has the
potential to transform your business, government, family or
marriage, the real question becomes, “Why would you not spend time
outside the camp?”
Tangible Effects
Marketplace leaders are usually busy people with high levels of
expertise in their given area. Time is at a premium. As you take
time to “go outside the camp,” there will be clear, tangible effects
on all aspects of your life, including the work place. You will make
fewer mistakes. You will exhibit better judgment. You will have
greater insight into future events. You will hear God’s voice better
and more frequently. When crisis comes, and it comes to all of us,
you will have a greater confidence to make decisions when you spend
time “outside the camp.” The reason is that the Lord wants to
provide you with the resources at His disposal. His resources are
not just theoretical, but practical and tangible.
Proverbs 16:3
says, Commit your works to
the LORD, and your plans will be established. The Hebrew word
for “works” means “a transaction, a product, a thing made, business,
occupation, workmanship.”1
These are the things we do on a daily basis to make a living.
The houses we build, the products we sell, the decisions we make as
government leaders, the things we produce with our hands or minds.
The Hebrew word here for “plans” means “cunning (work), curious
work, imagination, means, purpose, thought.”2
Thoughts and imaginations
referred to in this verse are creative and they come from God. When
we commit our business, occupation, and workmanship to Him, God’s
creativity becomes available to us.
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