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E-pistle
Dr. Curt Scarborough, President
FreeWay Foundation February 2, 2007

"Legitimate Leaders and Faithful Followers"
(Judges 6:7)
Dr. Curt Scarborough

It was the Twelfth Century B.C. Midianite and Amalekite desert
nomads repeatedly
raided the nation of Israel. Their use of camels allowed them to ride in,
destroy crops, take
plunder, and then escape back into the desert with such speed the Israelites
could not
catch them.
Judges 6 begins with a description of this situation and the call of
Gideon to do
something about it. Although his name means "one who cuts to pieces,"
Gideon was not
a "sharp" willing volunteer. But his 40 year career as a leader in Israel
and his inclusion
in the Faith Hall of Fame (Hebrews 11:32) make a study of his example
profitable to us today.
TEN THINGS WHICH IDENTIFY LEGITMATE LEADERS
1. Gideon's call to fulfill his life's destiny was based on a solid
"Thus says the Lord God," (6:8). Although
the prophet here
is unidentified, the message clearly is
authentic. A legitimate
spiritual leader must base his life on God's
word.
2. As Gideon, no doubt, relived in his memory the original call of God,
so we should revisit (in memory, if not
literally) the spot when God
called us out to serve Him. Perhaps your
call, like Gideon's included
dealing with doubts, questions, and
arguments, and perhaps it also
included prophecy, signs, and revelations,
6:11-24.
3. A legitimate leader must start by cleaning up his own life, through
confession and repentance. Like Gideon, he
may have some sinful
idols which need to be cast down and
destroyed, 6:25-33.
4. Gideon tarried for Spirit-anointing before leading God's people into
battle, 6:34, 35. Jesus instructed His
disciples, and us, to do the
same, Acts 1:4-8.
5. God understands and responds to our prayer for additional assurance
of His power and presence, 6:36-40. The
fleece episode was not to
determine what God's will was - Gideon
already had heard that word
clearly. Rather, this timid leader was like
many of us: needing just a
bit more evidence to bolster his weak and
wavering faith.
6. Don't worry about the numbers or the odds against success, 7:1-8.
Frequently, human wisdom is in direct
contrast to the plan and program
of God.
7. Listen and learn from what your enemies say about you, 7:9-14.
Often there
is an element of truth in what they say.
8. Gideon, out of a private worship experience, spoke prophetic words
of
encouragement and victory to the people,
7:15. This verse reveals a
remarkable personal transformation in
Gideon's life. Legitimate leaders
must have such a "close encounter" with God.

9. Gideon organized, equipped, and trained his troops for the battle,
7:16-18.
We modern-day spiritual leaders also need to
equip our people with
trumpets and torches: instruments to sound
"charge" - calling others
into warfare, and lights of clear testimony
shining in a dark and perverse
world, Philippians 2:15. Our troops must be
trained to shout in unity,
speaking loudly and clearly a single message
of deliverance.
10. Gideon led by example. "Watch me, follow my lead, do exactly as I
do,"
he said, 7:17. What a statement! Can we
also accept the leadership
responsibility of being the role model for
our people to follow? Paul
did in I Corinthians 4:16.
No one can be a legitimate leader without faithful followers!
TEN THINGS WHICH IDENTIFY FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS
1. Faithful followers recognize the truth that spiritual defeat often
is a result
of spiritual disobedience, 6:10.
2. Faithful followers seek spiritual perception to know who are the
true,
God-called leaders. They recognize that
sometimes those legitimate
leaders may arouse opposition and upset the
status quo, 6:28-30.
3. Faithful followers respond to the trumpet call of a Spirit-filled
leader, 6:34, 35.
4. Faithful followers are courageous. They do not forsake the leader,
out
of fear or discouragement, as 22,000 did,
7:3.
5. Faithful followers are alert. They keep their eyes peeled looking
for
the enemy, 7:4-6.
6. Faithful followers are teachable. They follow instructions even if
the
plan seems strange, because they have
confidence that their leader
has heard from God, 7:15, 16.
7. Faithful followers watch their leaders, follow his lead, and do
exactly
as he does, 7:17. A disciple who is fully
trained is like his teacher,
Jesus taught in Luke 6:40.
8. Faithful followers are good team players. They do their part on
signal
in cooperation with everyone else, 7:19, 20.
9. Faithful followers exalt the name of the Lord. They also honor the
name
of the leader! They shouted "sword of the
Lord and of Gideon!" 7:20.
10. Faithful followers stand in their assigned places, carry out their
assigned tasks, and watch while God brings
the victory, 7:21-25.
"Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?" I'm not sure of the
answer to that old
conundrum. But I am sure of the answer to this question: "Which comes
first, a legitimate
leader or faithful followers?" The Lord always begins fulfilling His
purpose by calling out a
legitimate leader.
"Father, help me to be a legitimate leader of others by being a
follower of you. AMEN."

Boaz Redeems Ruth
(Ruth 4:1-22)
Dr. Curt Scarborough

I. Concentration: on the contents of this chapter
1. Boaz negotiated with another kinsman, before ten elders of the
city
as official witnesses, about the property of Elimelech and his

inheritance being passed on to Ruth, the widow of his son, vv.
1-6.
2. The business transaction was officially witnessed and completed,
with Boaz purchasing all the property that had been
Elimelech's
and sold by Naomi (v. 3), including his receiving of
Ruth as his wife,
vv. 7-12.
3. Boaz and Ruth were married and a child was born (Obed, meaning
"Servant"), who was registered as the son of Mahlon
and as the
grandson of Elimelech and Naomi; the community
rejoiced, vv. 13-17.
4. The official genealogy was recorded from Perez (one of the sons of
Judah, the son of Jacob, Numbers 26:19-21), through
several
generations to Boaz, Obed, Jesse, and David (a total
of over 600 years),
vv. 17-22.
II. Meditation and Revelation: on the spiritual significance of these
events
1. The unnamed relative took off his shoe and gave it to Boaz as a sign

that he was surrendering all of his rights
pertaining to the matter
under consideration, vv. 7-8. The use of a shoe or
foot was commonly
understood to demonstrate possession or authority,
Genesis 13:14-17.
2. The ten witnesses offered their congratulations and blessing to
Boaz,
mentioning Tamar, another disadvantaged woman whom
God
blessed and placed in the bloodline of the Messiah,
Matthew 1:3, 5.
3. The women of Bethlehem rejoiced that God had given Naomi a
redeemer ("close relative," v. 14), and that the
newborn child would
be a "restorer of life" and a "nourisher," v. 15.
4. The neighbor women also blessed and accepted into their fellowship
Ruth, the Moabitess, as one who genuinely loved
Namoi and who
was better to her, "than seven sons," v. 15.
III. Applications: as a Christian, I need to . . .
1. "Take off my shoes" . . . surrendering all my rights to the Lord
God.
2. Realize that God can and does use people of all races and
backgrounds
to accomplish His divine purposes.
3. Rejoice in the OTHER Child who was born in Bethlehem . . . the
Redeemer, the Life-giver, the Spiritual Nourisher of
my soul.
4. Be open to lovingly accept into my circle of friends, and to bless
in the
name of the Lord, all persons who love and worship
God.

MERE BIBLE STUDY
MERE Bible Study is intensely, in fact, exclusively, personal
and practical. This is
the reason Dr. Scarborough has entitled the five basic textbooks, are used
as examples of
the MERE Bible Study system, Personal & Practical.
The books in the series are:
* Personal & Practical: The 27 Books of the New Testament
Preaching and teaching outlines and notes on
all 260
chapters of the New Testament.
* Personal & Practical: The 5 Books of Moses
Preaching and teaching outlines and notes on
all 187
chapters of Genesis through Deuteronomy.
* Personal & Practical: The 12 Books of History
Preaching and teaching outlines and notes on
all 249
chapters of Joshua through Esther.
* Personal & Practical: The 5 Books of Poetry
Preaching and teaching outlines and notes on
all 243
chapters of Job through Song of Solomon.
* Personal & Practical: The 17 Books of Prophecy
Preaching and teaching outlines and notes on
all 250
chapters of Isaiah through Malachi.
What the Mere Spiritual Mentoring Bible Study program DOES NOT do:
1. It does not teach Biblical languages or expository
interpretation.
2. It does not involve denominational doctrine or systematic
theology.
3. It does not substitute for a minister's necessary on-going
preparations
to preach or teach.
4. It does not evaluate the written work on the
basis of "content" as much
as on the basis of "process."
What the MERE Spiritual mentoring Bible study program DOES:
1. It establishes a strict routine of daily
devotional exercises.
2. It disciplines committed Bible students to
meditate and to
listen for the voice of God.
3. It trains serious students of the Bible to seek,
find, and record
(Journal) "revelations" from the Holy Spirit as
He applies God's
Word in a practical way to their lives and
ministries.
4. It maintains accountability with a mentor, who
also is engaged in
doing the same daily spiritual exercises . . .
sharing insights with
each other at the monthly private tutoring
sessions.
For more information contact Dr. Curt Scarborough at drcurt@pillsburycs.org
or
call us at 314-739-1121.