Dynamics of Leadership

Scripture

2 Samuel 2:1–7 CSB

Some time later, David inquired of the Lord: “Should I go to one of the towns of Judah?” The Lord answered him, “Go.” Then David asked, “Where should I go?” “To Hebron,” the Lord replied. So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. In addition, David brought the men who were with him, each one with his family, and they settled in the towns near Hebron. Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David: “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.” David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “The Lord bless you, because you have shown this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him. Now, may the Lord show kindness and faithfulness to you, and I will also show the same goodness to you because you have done this deed. Therefore, be strong and valiant, for though Saul your lord is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Introduction

Leadership is a great challenge. The world today is filled with followers and few real leaders. Too much leadership today is based on surveys, opinion polls, political correctness, popularity, etc., but what we really need are leaders who are gifted and guided by God's Word and Spirit.

The Bible teaches us that leadership is a call from God, not the opinion or call of man. Those called are prepared by God for leadership, recognized as leaders by others, and proved as leaders by their character and legacy.

today I want to share some Leadership Principles from the life of David.

Timing

2 Samuel 2:1–3 CSB

Some time later, David inquired of the Lord: “Should I go to one of the towns of Judah?” The Lord answered him, “Go.” Then David asked, “Where should I go?” “To Hebron,” the Lord replied. So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. In addition, David brought the men who were with him, each one with his family, and they settled in the towns near Hebron.

1. Years now have passed by and King Saul has finally died.

a. The kingdom however is not united, but David is publicly anointed King of Judah.

b. David does not presume to lead the entire nation, he is willing to lead those who were willing to follow at this time, which was his own tribe.

(1. This is an important principle of leadership development, you can't lead others later if you don't demonstrate the ability to lead others now.

(2. Leadership begins in smaller ways first.

Too much people want to rule over the whole of Israel but not willing to rule over just Judah.

Too much people want to be the Prime Minisister but not willing to start of by being the Counsilor or the MP.

Too Much People want to be the Pastor but they not willing to be the Usher or Sunday School Teacher.

Too much people dont want to be a sunday school teacher but they want to be superintendent....

Timing is everything and in the case of David and every leader is they start of by being a follower.

If someone cannot follow, they not fit to lead.

If someone refuses to start off in small things you cant trust them to do big things.

David never tried to rush the brush.

He allowed God to raise him up in his timing.

You may feel you should be the Pastor but let God has his timing in your life.

2. He is willing to act like a king, but he allows God to decide on the timing of his full rule over all Israel.

a. What does he do in the meantime? He faithfully serves where he is at.

b. Real leaders don't need "positions" to lead; they simply serve even if they don't have a "title."

c. David accepted the rule over one tribe for now and fought for ALL Israel anyway.

Learn to serve where you are at instead of studying position

Be the faithful person in cleaning, or ushering or operating the projector etc.

You dont need to have a title to do great things.

3. David trusted God's timing for ruling the whole kingdom … his concern was serving well even if it only meant over one tribe for now.

a. There is a biblical principle here about leadership … being faithful in little leads to being trusted with much later.

b. We need to serve well in small ways before expecting to be trusted to lead well in larger contexts.

If you cannot lead an outpost what makes you think you can lead an entire church.

Start in smaller ways.

If you cant lead a department you cant lead an entire church.

WAIT ON GOD’S TIMING

HIS TIMING IS LONGER

HIS TIMING IS BEST

Teamwork

1. Notice that when David had a chance to speak badly about the former King he instead chose to thank those who had buried the former king Saul.

a. He showed honor for the previous king, though the previous king had tried to kill him on several occasions!!!

b. David was concerned to preserve the office of the king, they would all need to work together to defeat their enemies, they couldn't afford to make an enemy of each other!

c. This is still good advice for the church today!

Many times we may find ourselves gossiping about a Leader. We may not like what they did, or how they handled a certain situation.

Brother Keith was sharing about sitting down and ironing out these issues on Friday.....

Sometimes we may be right in what we are saying but the best thing is offer some help in the situation.

We dont like the way Saul is leading so we want to overthrow him and become King

We dont like how Danny handling Duff Trace so we call up Elizabeth to gossip about him.

We need to offer some solutions and not just talk about problems....

We learning in the book of Jude that this bad talking people was prevalent in Jude’s time and it still is today.

People like this will try to gather other people around them......

Let’s be careful we dont end up like Korah and have the earth swallowing us up.....

You probably find we should not be using Zoom but something else so you decide not to show up at all.

Why not suggest some thing that we may not know about and show us how to use it.......

It’s all about us working together.

2. David kept his focus on working together … good leaders always do this.

ILLUS:A boss creates fear; a leader creates confidence. Bossism creates resentment; leadership breeds enthusiasm. A boss says, "I"; a leader says, "We." A boss fixes blame; a leader fixes mistakes. A boss knows how; a leader shows how. Bossism makes work drudgery; leadership makes work interesting. A boss relies on authority; a leader relies on cooperation. A boss drives; a leader leads. -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 312.

3.

Though David's rule was limited his service and attitude were not!

4. David didn't wait to minister and serve until after he had full title as King of Israel, he fought hard, worked hard, served well, long before any title had come.

5. This consistency in David's life to be a servant at all stages of authority is what earmarked him for leadership in God's book.

a. Past behavior is the greatest predictor of future success!

b. We would do well to look for leaders today that have proven track records of servant-like attitude and actions … this is biblical!

c. Paul told a young pastor by the name of Timothy these words: 2 Tim 2:2 "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." (Emphasis mine)

David was such a team player that he didnt wait to get a position to serve. He was a man serving in the background and didnt mind. Today we have too much people want the spotlight. They want to be on the stage where they can be seen. Some people may only come to church on days they get to shine.

Let us not be a me player but a team player

Rasta Man joke for taxi

Your track record when it comes to a team could determine if you ever become a Leader.

If you have a record of not being a team player then you are disqualifed .

It have plenty gifted Chrisitains who have great potential but their lack of team spirit holds them back.

WE should not use all the brains we have, but all that we can borrow – Woodrow Wilson

Trustworthy

2 Samuel 5:1–2 CSB

All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood. Even while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led us out to battle and brought us back. The Lord also said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be ruler over Israel.’ ”

1. All Israel now comes together and recognizes David's past contributions to the entire nation's wellbeing.

a. David's past was catching up with him … what about yours? It always does you know, and when our past is proven service it leads to proven leadership.

b. In the past when Saul was king it was David who fought many of the battles, he served the king, now it was time for David to be king over the entire nation!

2. David's proven record led to his rule as king over all Israel.

3. David was the same no matter what position he held, he was a king before he had a kingdom … his heart was for all Israel and for the God of Israel.

ILLUS:An English one-liner that has always amused me is: "A gentleman is one who uses the butter knife when he is alone."

In other words, it's what someone does when no one's watching that indicates the true person. -- J. I. Packer in Your Father Loves You. Christianity Today, Vol. 31, no.

4. The Lord had said that David would be a shepherd, not the people … but the people did recognize it and affirm it later. (See 5:2b)

Our past behavior could determine our future success as a leader.

If you are a person who in the past was constantly ducking helping out it in any way now you cant be vex if you get bypassed in the future for leadership.

Your track records should be good...

You should be someone says is trustworhty

Dont wait till you get a position and then want to look trustoworthy.

David now got the rule of King over Israel because he had shown trust in the past

David’s heart was always the same when he was King and before he became King.

He loved the whole of Israel and wanted the best for it....

Some people want to jump from church to church and wondering why they cant get the Pastorate.....

There is no perfect church and when you enter it it will stop being perfect......

Learn to demonstrate that you are trustworthy....

Be careful who you trust the Devil was once an angel 

Conclusion

Leadership is often misunderstood. Many people think that they can be a leader simply because they want to be, but true leadership is a gift and calling of God.

I borrow that from Keith. Leadership is not for everybody. Especially in the church.

Don’t be sad if you never get to be a leader. If you do then you also need to realise that you not there forever and their will be a time when God will be telling you to pass on the mantle......Don’t try to hold on to position

E.g rev hakim hosein and bishop hosein . Don’t take leadership lightly.

Those called are prepared and developed by the Lord, then recognized by man in time, and their leadership established by the actual performance and legacy of their character. Godly leadership is a blessing, and is a gift from God to move forward His people for His causes.

To recap remember the 3 T’s

Timing

Learn to wait don’t rush

David wont have defeated Goliath if he just rushed.....

God was preparing David in the fields being a shepherd

I remember using Zoom plenty years now

I never thought our church and the entire world will be doing this

don’t take your past experiences for granted

Teamwork

Be a team player now and prove yourself to be a future leader.

No one has all the gifts. Some only willing to assist when their is monetary gain or something for them. Learning that in Jude....

David has his mighty men around him

Trustworthy

You cant be a leader if a shady type of person. You could be the best treasurer but if your name is Judas we cant give you that role.....

You might use the offerings to play play whe and pick 2 .......

Prove yourself as a trustworthy person...