Great Leaders or Great Talkers (Part 4)

If you have not read the previous three articles with the same title please do so before reading this one.

In the previous articles I dealt with the “Traps & Pitfalls” of leaders. One of the reasons for doing so was our need to see what causes leaders and believers in general to be great examples to follow and which examples we need to avoid lest we learn damaged values and try to emulate them.

I was so blessed to discover as a young believer that God did not cover up great believers shortcomings, but told the whole story of their lives both good and bad.   When I listen to sermons and teachings one of the things I look for is if the speaker embellishes their own journey of faith to sound too good to be true and present a picture that they only do the right thing all the time. Honest communicators don’t capitalize on their mistakes, but they also don’t gloss over them either. In teaching principles to live by we need to hear the whole story so that we can trust the speaker and the message.

In this article I want to look at the positive traits that great leaders and, for that matter, great believers embrace. These positive traits are not always easy to see, but I believe it can be broken down to simple rules of thumb that all of us can embrace no matter who we are or what position in life we find ourselves. These principles are found in one of the Old Testament heroes in the story of King Solomon. He was approaching a new phase in his life when he was becoming the king of Israel. His father David is often remembered for two major things. The first is killing the giant “Goliath”, a positive act of faith, and the second is committing adultery with Bathsheba, a foolish one. As the son of a great king like David, Solomon could have gone either way in life, good or bad. He could have started out as a terrible leader that only thought of himself, which power and position often generates, or he could have taken on the best part of his father David, which was a passionate heart after God.

Acts 13:22 

And when he (God) had removed him (Saul), he raised up David to be their king; to whom also he bare witness and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who shall do all My will. 

I want to pick up on Solomon’s life just after he becomes king. His older brother almost became the king of Israel which would have meant certain death for Solomon and his mother, but there are times when God moves “Soverignly” to accomplish his purpose in the earth. Many people have built a false belief system that says God “Always” gets what he wants which is so contrary to both scripture and real life. Even in Solomon’s advancement to becoming king certain people had to do the right thing in order for God’s will to be accomplished in his life and the life of Israel. That being said, lets just take a look at Solomon’s encounter with God that changed his life.

1 Kings 3:5 

In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, “Ask what you wish me to give you.”

Many times, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, God visits people in their dreams. The reason partly being our “Walls Of Reason” are lowered and we are more open to explore stories even if they don’t all make sense and because people in the past used to believe God spoke through dreams and they respond to dreams differently. People of all cultures used to embrace the revelations that occured in their dreams more than today, but when we open our souls to embrace such occurances God often uses them to communicate with us. We would be wise to let God speak to us any way he chooses rather than demanding he only speak the way we want and end up with silence from God.

In this dream Solomon is asked a simple question – “What Would You Like Me to Do For You”. I think in Solomon’s dream his defenses were down and his heart spoke honestly which, in most cases, is the same for us. In our dreams we tend to be more honest. Solomon asks for the following:

1 Kings 3:9 

“So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

He doesn’t ask for himself but for the people he now leads. How many times in our lives have we thought we would make the right choices in any given situation only to blow it and make the wrong choices. In his character and soul he
(Solomon) must have paid attention to both his father’s right and wrong choices. At the end of King David’s life, David gave Solomon words of both warning and promise.

1 Kings 2:1-4 

¹As David’s time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, ²“I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. ³“Keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, ⁴so that the LORD may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

Solomon took stock in David’s life and saw the wisdom of following his father’s advice. Even when given great power and wealth he held fast to his father’s words and values. How many people have we read about who won the lottery for millions of dollars and it ruined their lives because once the brakes were off they lived like a fool. We all need to remember that if we wander off the path of God there will be consequences.  If we stay true to God’s ways he promises blessing.

1 Kings 3:14 

“If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.”

In a nut shell, here are four principles that helped Solomon give God the right answer. Though I don’t have the time to go deeper into the explanation of each, they are worth considering. Seeking God in them will surely cause us to reap a harvest of blessing.

1) SEEKING FIRST THE KINGDOM –   God’s perspective in our journey (Matthew 6:33)

2) WALKING IN HUMILITY –                 Valuing ourselves correctly (James 4:6-7)

3) VALUING OTHERS –                            God & others (Matthew 22:36-40)

4) SERVANT HEART –                              Not just for show (Matthew 20:24-28)

Great believers and great leaders are those that constantly revisit these values to keep ourselves from going off the rails in our Christian life. Solomon forgot this and the end of his life did not turn out like the beginning. The choices we make today are no guarantee we will make wise choices in the future. That’s where the importance of our constant relationship with the Holy Spirit will keep us from wandering off into deception.

Questions:

1) If God were to visit you in a dream tonight should you answer Him with wisdom?  Let the Holy Spirit teach you daily.

2) Have you drifted from your original value system of seeking God’s Kingdom first?  Confess the fault and seek.

May God help us to be what we long to be……..sons and daughters that God is proud of.

Pastor Dale