Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20030223.htm

1 AND 2 SAMUEL: GOD'S SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS IN OVERSIGHT
Part LXIII: Solving Leadership Vacuums By Noting The Cause And Rise Of Godly Leaders
(2 Samuel 23:1-7 with 23:8-39)
  1. Introduction
    1. Anywhere you want to look in today's Christian world, the lack of effective, godly leadership is evident.
    2. King David had a host of very effective leaders around him according to 2 Samuel 23:8-39 in stark contrast to a great dearth of them in king Saul's reign or during the period of the Judges. Just why this was so, and how such leaders came to BE is presented to us in 2 Samuel 23:1-39 as follows:
  2. Solving Leadership Vacuums By Noting The Cause And Rise Of Godly Leaders, 2 Samuel 23:1-39.
    1. From the list of David's mighty men in 2 Samuel 23:8-39, we see spiritually great men surrounded him:
      1. One of David's mighty men, Adino the Eznite, slew 800 enemy soldiers with a spear in a battle, 23:8.
      2. Another great warrior, Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, stood by faith in God against the enemy Philistines when the rest of Israel fled, and killed so many Philistines with his sword that his hand clung to the sword; following his handling of the enemy, the other soldiers in Israel only had to pick up the spoil. In this way, God mightily used him to produce a great victory, 2 Samuel 23:9-10.
      3. Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite, another Hebrew soldier who stood against the Philistines when the rest of his army fled from the scene, defended a field of lentils by faith in God; accordingly, the Lord used him to produce a great victory, 2 Samuel 23:11-12.
      4. On another occasion, three of David's mighty men fought through Philistine held territory to bring David a drink of water from the well at Bethlehem; so moved was David by their courage and devotion to him, he poured out the water as a drink offering unto the Lord, 2 Samuel 23:13-17.
      5. Abishai, Joab's brother slew 300 enemy soldiers single-handedly at one time, 2 Samuel 23:18-19.
      6. Then, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a valiant man, killed two military champions from Moab and later killed a lion down in a pit filled with snow, an incredibly difficult, powerful feat, 2 Sam. 23:20. He also killed an Egyptian by taking the spear out of the man's hand and killing him with it, 23:21, 22-23.
      7. The rest of David's mighty men are listed though all their great deeds are not, 2 Sam. 23:24-39. Of interest is the fact that Uriah, the Hittite whose death David arranged so he could wed Bathsheba, was also one of David's mighty men, 2 Samuel 23:39. (This made David's sin all the more heinous!)
    2. Since this list is supplied following David's final public address in 2 Samuel 23:1-7, that address coupled with our observations of David's life and faith detail how and WHY David had so many great men:
      1. We learned in our last lesson that David's final public address of 2 Samuel 23:1-7 highlighted the fact David became blessed of God because he respected God so as to rule justly.
      2. That respect for the Lord followed by just ruling was exampled in David's life BEGINNING as his days as a warrior in front of his fellow Israeli warriors:
        1. When David first single-handedly defeated the giant Goliath, every man in Israel beheld his testimony that the Lord would give him the victory, cf. 1 Samuel 17:45-47.
        2. Then, in faith in God and His Word, David defeated Goliath, hammering home the reality of his verbal testimony to the watching men around him, 1 Samuel 17:48-52.
        3. Later, when David was put in charge of Israel's warriors under king Saul, David continue to example victory by faith over the Philistines, 1 Samuel 18:5, 13-16.
      3. Thus, with the testimony of respecting and hence trusting and obeying God, only then to example that testimony before them, David's men were encouraged to copy his lead to become what HE HIMSELF had become -- a mighty man of faith on the battlefield!
Lesson: David became surrounded by great spiritual leaders because he HIMSELF first RESPECTED God so as to HEED His Word, and then EXAMPLED that faith BEFORE other men in his LIFE.

Application: (1) The ABSENCE of great spiritual leadership is explained by the ABSENCE of men who truly RESPECT so as the BELIEVE and OBEY God before others in their LIVES. (2) The SOLUTION is for every man to START by focusing on his OWN life, to RESPECT and HEED God in his OWN life so that OTHERS will SEE and COPY his lead! (3) Will YOU be THAT MAN?