Caring For Godly Leadership - Pastor's Appreciation

Sermon – Caring for Godly Leadership

Scripture Lesson: 2 Samuel 23:8 -17 “These are the names of David’s mightiest warriors. The first was Jashobeam (people will return) the Hacmonite, who was leader of the Three—the three mightiest warriors among David’s men. He once used his spear to kill 800 enemy warriors in a single battle. 9 Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar(God is helper) son of Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah. Once Eleazar and David stood together against the Philistines when the entire Israelite army had fled. 10 He killed Philistines until his hand was too tired to lift his sword, and the Lord gave him a great victory that day. The rest of the army did not return until it was time to collect the plunder!

11 Next in rank was Shammah son of Agee from Harar. One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled, 12 but Shammah[e] held his ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory. 13 Once during the harvest, when David was at the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty—an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there. 14 David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem.

16 So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the Lord. 17 “The Lord forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So, David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three.

Introduction: Do you know how leadership should be treated? Do you know what all godly leaders need? How can you be a better follower? In this text we discovered two things, First we see what people can become with the right leadership and second, we will see the kind of support that causes leaders to soar! We are need love, sensitivity, and celebration.

What do you do when It feels like everything, and everyone is against you. Every leader, me included, knows what we need to change. But most of us get stuck on how to bring about needed change without offending others. Between the opposition, self-doubt, and unknowns, change freezes so many leaders. How do you know which risks are worth taking? What do you do when you’re faced with opposition? Who do you tell? How do you develop the strength to keep pushing, even when it feels like everything is working against you? David would become Israel’s greatest king, but now he tired.

David the sweet psalmist of Israel, a man after God own heart, who considered His service of King Saul and of Israel as a high honor. This event occurred early in the life of David unto this point had been almost a fairytale. David’s story is very familiar to most of us. We remember him as a shepherd tending his father’s sheep. This son of Jessie, earned a great reputation as a great protector of the sheep, killing and bear and a lion. We are familiar with his musical skills and extraordinary anointing. Probably, nothing pushed David to the forefront as did his noted battle with Goliath. After defeat Goliath, His reputation soared, he was moved to the palace of king Saul, given the king’s daughter in marriage and his family was tax exempt. The privilege to serve in Saul’s and defend his nation must have been simply awesome. Can you imagine, being promote from shepherd with no military training to become the son-in-law of the king, and a commander in the king’s army.

David has almost forgotten being overlooked by his father and mistreated by his brothers who failed recognize his greatness. David looked to king Saul as his mentor. He admired his stature, his vision and wisdom. David served king Saul with all his might. Whatever task, David was assigned, He excelled. With every successful deed, His popularity grew. David became the subject of legends. Psalmist sang his praise, the people celebrated him, the soldiers admired him, and the Generals highly respected him. David was living the dream. Little did he know that his newly found popularity would stir up so much envy, jealousy, and opposition. King Saul, his mentor, and friend would become his chief enemy. Saul who had been known for his humble beginnings, honesty and just acts was now trying to take David’s life. David goes from friend to fugitive, from riches to rags, and from palace to a pit.