Protection For Leadership and Relationships
Principles of Leadership • Sermon • Submitted
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Saul the first king of Israel
Saul, not too long after
Partial Obedience is disobedience
I’m doing some of what God told me
Saul began to be fill with jealosy
Don’t compare yourself with others and start to measure your success
Saul could not be patient and let God work
Saul became selfwilled and went against his leadership
Don’t frustrate the grace of God
I can disobey, be jealous and thank God for God’s grace
Pride was present in Saul’s life
God will not put up with pride in anyones life
Pride will take God’s grace off your life
Pride will take away the respect of others off your life
The Perils Of Leadership and Relationships
Pride and self will - arrogance
Doing what you want to do without regard of those around you, not considering the relationships, God has given you, not considering the affects that your life has on others
The Protection for Leadership and Relationships
I think it is very interesting that even though Saul had some very deep problems early in his kingdom and his leadership was taken away from him, Jonathan was able to be valiant and very useful in the kingdom.
We tend to blame others for the way we are
20 We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: For we have sinned against thee.
There are parental influences in our life that make us develop into who we are, there is still a personal responsibility to be accountable to God and repentant to him about our failures.
Jonathan was a true knight of God. He was the Hebrew Galahad, a soldier without fear and without reproach. His life was pure, his word was true, he was faithful to the high claims of human love, and followed the Christ, though Christ had not been manifested in the flesh.
Just because someone doesn’t have a good heritage doesn’t mean that God can’t allow their children to have a good heritage.
First generation Christians, like me, can allow God to give them a family that serves the Lord
Marriage that pleases the Lord
Success = Believing God and attempting the impossible
Success is not defined by the world -
2Co 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
Jesus by the world’s standards was not successful
Betrayed
Beaten
Alone
3 He is despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: And we hid as it were our faces from him; He was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Jesus became a failure so that you could be accepted
Success is living and dying in God’s will
That person has more than me
That person seems happier than me
Garrison = camp
6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.
Happy are they who can rise above depression and misfortune into the clear heaven of fellowship with God, allying their weakness with His might, their ignorance with His wisdom! “It may be that the Lord will work for us,” said Jonathan; “for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.” Then he offered himself as the humble instrument of God’s will.
If you are on the Lord’s side, there is no number of people that can stop
If God is for us then who can stand against us
This was David’s spirit = is there not a cause
David and Jonathan had the same type of Spirit
Be an encouragement to people around you
24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Good friends encourage you in your walk with the Lord
Be a bold enough Christians that when someone starts to discourage you spiritually you say I love you but you are discouraging me and I will not allow you to hurt me spiritually.
Jonathan didn’t have to do this
David didn’t have to fight Goliath
There are many needs in the ministry of the church - people can look at needs and say that’s not my job
We all have gifts, have you stepped out
There are always reasons why we can’t
If you wait till you have everything in order, or everything is perfect to start serving the Lord
The battle
David talked about how big God is
The victory is not in how much support we have
The victory is not found in how many people we have on our side - The victory is found in how big God is
If we just do what God has told us to do, it may look impossible but with God all things are possible.
The battle is the Lord’s and He give the victory
2. Criticism - Those who discourage and judge those who are attempting the impossible.
The longer I’m in the ministry the more I understand that people will criticize.
There will be those who judge and discourage while at the same time not being willing to lend a helping hand.
If you are warring
Giving
Serving
Loving
Using your talents to advance and help the Body of Christ here
If you are not warring, does your opinion carry any weight
You will never accomplish the impossible unless you are willing to fail
Can you imagine the disciples discouraging Peter from getting out of the boat when Jesus called him?
An older missionary was coming back to the United States after 30 years on the mission field, and a newly ordained missionary was headed out for his first assignment. The young missionary asked, “Do you have any advice for me?” The veteran missionary replied, “Remember that fire has a tendency to go out. No matter how hot the flame of one’s faith is, it will go out if it is not tended.” People can’t live on stale grace. They can’t live off of the faith they had ten or twenty years ago. The old missionary was challenging the new one to teach people to keep rekindling their faith because…fire has a tendency to go out!
What God has called us to do, humanly speaking, is impossible.
But God has defied the laws of nature before
1 Samuel 14:6–7 (KJV 1900)
6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.
Psa 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
Isa 31:1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills
difficulty, battles, fears
God doesn’t need
3. Dedication - The Power and Encouragement of Teamwork
7 And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
Are we in this together - helping each other
10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
Praying for one another
Praying for the lost
Praying for the hurting
Encouraging others
Coming alongside others
4. Serving Without Recognition
3 And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.
Elijah hid himself because God told him
Then God said go show yourself
Leadership requires a private time at Jesus feet before a public time of service
Private Service is a requirement for public service
Jonathan desired to serve and lead even if no one knew
Private prayer
Private fasting
Private giving
Private works will be rewarded by God
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Mat 6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
I need God’s help right now
We have God sized needs - only He can do
5. Those that Trust God, provide a way for others to be encouraged and their faith increased.
There will always be those that never learn the joy of
Giving
Loving
Serving
David encouraged those that were without faith after killing
Jonathan and his armor bearer slew 20 men
The affect of Jonathan and his armor bearer allowed others to be encouraged to fight and win
If I will do my part, there will be ripple affects that will help the kingdom of God
1Sa 14:13 And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him.
1Sa 14:14 And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow.
1Sa 14:15 And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.
The earth quaked
16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.
I Know my half acre
I’m a husband, I fight for my wife
I’m a father, I fight for my children
I’m a pastor, I fight for you in my prayer time for you
My wife and I were talking about the burdens in the lives of others
We prayed together, it was a sweet and blessed time
What is your half acre?
God has called you to pray
God has called you to encourage
God has called you to win
Don’t give up on the half acre that God has given you
Everyone needs to know there is a God that saves
Answers prayer
Blesses with joy and confidence