Numbers 11:29
“And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!”
Israel had once again complained about God’s treatment of them. They were tired of the manna that God gave them daily, and they complained to Moses that they wanted something else. It was after God dealt with this issue that He allowed His Spirit to rest upon the seventy elders. When God’s Spirit rested upon them, they began to prophesy in the camp.
There were two men, Eldad and Medad, who were found prophesying in the tabernacle. When two young men saw this, they ran to Moses to tell him what these men were doing. Joshua, a man who highly respected Moses, said, “My lord Moses, forbid them.” His respect for Moses caused him to believe that God could only speak through him. Moses responded to Joshua by saying, “…Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!” Moses was teaching Joshua that he was not the issue. It didn't matter that others were preaching the truth and people were following them because he was not the issue.
This story could be reiterated many times over. Every time you have a man whom God has used greatly, you will find people who will make him the issue. The respect these people have for a man whom God has used greatly can often cause them to get out of focus. Instead of staying focused on Christ, they get focused on a man and make him the issue.
For many years, I had the privilege of being under the ministry of Jack Hyles, a man whom God used to build the First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana. God blessed his ministry to the point where he became the largest independent Baptist church in the world, had the largest Sunday school of any church and built the largest independent Baptist college during his life. God’s blessings on Bro. Hyles caused thousands of people to follow his ministry, but it also caused him to acquire enemies who regularly attacked him. During these attacks, it was not uncommon for those who loved him to want to make him the issue and fight back. I can remember Bro. Hyles often reminded his people, “I’m not the issue.” He would remind those whom he led not to fight over his personality because he wasn't the issue, and he reminded them that God uses others in His service.
Be careful about making human personalities the issue over which you fight. Always remember that Christ is the personality whom we serve, and truth is the issue over which we should rally. There is nothing wrong with admiring and respecting someone whom God uses, but be careful about making them the authority on what should and should not be done. God’s Word is our final authority and Jesus Christ is the One Whom we serve. If we stay focused on Christ and His Word, we will then see that man is never the issue. Yes, there will still be battles because there will be those who stray from truth, but truth will be the issue for which we contend and not personality. You should certainly love, admire and enjoy following those whom God is using, but stay focused on the God you serve and the Book He gave.