Leadership

Let no one despise you

What is a leader?

“the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country”

John Piper, “I would define leadership as acting and speaking so as to create a following toward a goal.”

The bible doesn’t give us a timetable or window for when you should become a leader.

There are principles throughout the bible about older teaching younger, fathers raising up their children but there is no where, where it says you can’t be a leader until this age.

This summer we are going to go through a series on biblical leadership with specific examples from young leaders in the bible.

I hope this is a challenge to you—we are failing as a group and as a church. I am not saying there is no leadership in here. I am not saying there is bad leadership in here. I am saying that as a group everyone in here doesn’t have a proper understanding of our calling.

Because I would guess we believe that our role is to come, have fun, talk to our friends, and go home. And our responsibility picks back up next time we get together. And the adults in here are the ones that should be telling us and showing us what to do and we get to have all the fun.

But Timothy tells us other wise.

1 Timothy 4:12 ESV

12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

Do not let people look down on you for your youth. Your age should not be a reason for people to discredit you.

We will get into this this summer, but you need to ask yourself—am I giving them a reason to look down on me. Am I letting my youthfulness be an excuse. I don’t do X Y or Z because I am young.

We are going to get into the myth of adolescence. Teenager wasn’t even a word or a phrase until America invented it. You were a boy and then you were a man. 1 Corinthians 13 says when I was a child I thought like a child, I spoke like a child, I reasoned like a child—when I became a man I gave up childish ways.

We have embraced this idea that your a child and then your a man later one but somewhere in the middle is this gray area where its okay to be childish and mature. Each and every one of us has been called to maturity. The problem with this by the way is the slide is shifting and now you have 20 and even 30 year olds who are still in this “transition” window. Grow up!

Set an example!

Set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

You have a problem with what the church and with what your fellow brothers and sisters are doing Timothy? Set an example for them!

Talk like you are supposed to, act like you are supposed to, love like you are supposed to, believe as you are supposed to, stay pure as you are supposed to.

We are going to look at four examples of what this looks like regardless of their age. Turn to Daniel.

Daniel takes place during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. We see that in chapter 1.

Daniel 1:1–7 ESV

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, 4 youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7 And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

There is a lot going on here but Nebuchadnezzar took over Jerusalem, and they made nobility and young men leave the city and go back to the kings palace so they can train them.

Daniel was renamed Belteshazzar, Hananiah was called Shadrach, Mishael was called Meshach and Azariah was called Abednego.

This was done to strip them of any sense of purpose or meaning. These young men were retrained and everything they once knew was reset. There heritage and culture was taken out of them.

Daniel 1:8–16 ESV

8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. 16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

Daniel appeals to not eat the kings food for it would defile him. And the chief said I can’t do that, you will get weak and then I will be killed for letting that happened. But Daniel appealed—let us do it for 10 days, then compare us to the others and make your choice. After ten days they were stronger and fatter and so they kept giving them vegetables.

Daniel 1:17–21 ESV

17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18 At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. 21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Daniel is put into a position where he is to interpert the kings dream and he does, and he does it really well.

Daniel 2:46–49 ESV

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. 47 The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.

The king loved Daniel and put him in positions of power.

He was a faithful and good leader and was rewarded for that.

We are focused on Daniel but the other three have tremndous leadership here. Nebuchadnezzar made a statue and declared when the music started everyone should fall down to it or be burned. And these three didn’t do it—Daniel is not mentioned but if he was there I am sure he would have been right there with them. Listen to their response,

Daniel 3:16–25 ESV

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

Daniel continues in leadership. We get to chapter 6 which we will read together. I want to read through chapter 6 and share a couple quick thoughts and then we are going to go into groups and work through it together.

Daniel 6 ESV

1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; 2 and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.” 6 Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7 All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction. 10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. 11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. 12 Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 13 Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” 14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. 15 Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.” 16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 17 And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. 19 Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces. 25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you. 26 I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. 27 He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.” 28 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Daniel was a true leader who was widely respected v.3. It said they couldn’t find grounds for complaint or fault because he was faithful.

Now I dont think he was perfect or sinless, but in his leadership he was true to what he was called to do.

Notice when the king has to throw him in, what does he say?

Daniel 6:16 ESV

16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”

Daniel lived out his faith so much that the king cries out to this God he doesnt believe in to save his friend.

The King couldn’t sleep and in the morning ran to check on Daniel—who was alive and well.

Lets pray.