FAITH-FILLED LEADERSHIP

Scribe our bibles. Scrabe our bibles, and turn to First Samuel chapter seven,

First Samuel chapter seven. We're gonna be in verses three through seventeen this

morning. If you don't have a Bible with you, just raise your hand

and we're passing those out right now. Also, if you didn't get a

bulletin, that's gonna be helpful to you because there's a place for sermon notes.

So just raise your hand if you need a Bible or a bulletin,

and turn with me to First Samuel chapter seven. And while you turn there,

I just want to give a greeting and a shout out to Hope Church,

Ireland. They're in Nace, right outside of Dublin. Hope Church.

We are with you, we continue to pray for you. We hope that

this message from God's Word will be a blessing to you and will feed you

there like it feeds us here. And everybody said, amen, did you

hear that Hope Church before you? First Samuel chapter seven, First Samuel chapter

seven, Versus three through seventeen. Sister, would you come and read our

text for us? And we will jump in First Samuel seven, starting in

verse three, and Samuel said to all the house of Israel. If you

are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign

gods and the astroth from among you, and direct your heart to the Lord,

and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand

of the Philistines. So the people of Israel put away the bales and the

astroth, and they served the Lord only. Then Samuel said, gather all

Israel at Mispah, and I will pray to the Lord for you. So

they gathered at Mispah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord,

and fasted on that day, and said, there we have sinned against the

Lord. And see Amuel judged the people of Israel at Mispah. Now,

when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mispah, the

lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel

heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. And the people of

Israel said to Samuel, do not cease to cry out to the Lord,

our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the

Philistines. So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt

offering to the Lord. And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel,

and the Lord answered him. As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering,

the Philistines drew near to attack with Israel. But the Lord thundered with a

mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they

were routed before Israel. And the men of Israel went out from Mispah and

pursued the Philistines and struck them as far as below beth Carr. Then Samuel

took a stone and set it up between Mispah and Shin, and called its

name Ebenezer, for he said, till now the Lord has helped us.

So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel.

And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel,

from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the

Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites. Samuel judged Israel

all the days of his life. And he went on a circuit year by

year to Bethel, Gilgau, and Mispah, and he judged Israel in all

these places. Then he would return to Rama, for his home was there,

and there he also judged Israel, and he built there and altar to

the Lord. This is the word of the Lord. Amen. So much

is written and discussed these days about leadership, about leadership. I read about

leadership, I talk about leadership. I'm a leader. You are also leaders.

Many of you. You lead in families, you lead in communities,

You lead maybe in small group, or help lead in small group. You

lead in all kinds of ways. And certainly you follow leadership, the leadership

in the elder team here, maybe in your small group. Maybe you're following

the leadership of mentors or authors. Leadership is important. What does the Bible

have to say about leadership? It says a lot, actually, and I'm

not just talking about little snippets of verses that have their world leader in them.

I'm talking about Actually, what I'm talking about is First Samuel. First

Samuel of the book is probably the Bible's greatest focus on the topic of leadership.

Good leadership, bad leadership, godly leadership, not so godly leadership.

And here in our passage what we have are sort of the golden days of

Israel under the leadership of Samuel, the prophet and judge. I mean,

Samuel calls them to serve the Lord only, and they do. Samuel calls

them together and he says, I'm gonna pray for you, and they come

together. They fast, they confess. When they get afraid, they ask

Samuel to keep praying for them. Now, when the people get afraid and

their first response is to go to leadership and say, please, don't stop

praying for us, that's a leadership win right there. What's going on?

I submit to you this. Here's what's going on. God's leader is leading

God's people to rely on God's ways and God's promises. God's leader is leading

God's people to rely on God's ways and God's promises. And that's the leader

you want, and that's the leader you want to be. I want you

to imagine that you are reading this account, not while it's happening. I

want you to imagine that you're reading this account as the original audience would have

received it. That is to say, after the kingdom is already established,

after the kingdom is already divided. The people of God received this account.

First Samuel and Second Samuel were compiled and published, not during the Golden Age,

compiled and published in the dark times, when the kingdom was divided,

when there was disunity and discord and wickedness, such that the people would read

this and go, I wish I wish we had this kind of leadership.

I wish I was this kind of leader, or maybe to put a finer

point on it, I wish we had this kind of leadership so I could

likewise lead in this. That is the kind of longing that this account from

First Samuel is meant to evoke. We want this for Israel. It would

be we want this back and we want to look forward to it. What

you could say about this, this example, this ideal is that faith filled

leadership was pointing to God's ways and God's promises. That's that. That's how

I would put it in a sentence, faith faith filled leadership points to God's

ways and to God's promises. I got a slide for that. Since it's

not printed in your bulletin, and pop that up and you can write it

down if you want. We're gonna walk through this passage in exactly this way

that faith filled leadership points of God's ways in God's promises. Number one,

as a matter of the heart, we'll see that. Number two in the

face of fear, we'll see that, and number three for the long haul.

For the long haul. So let's jump into it as a matter of

the heart, faith filled leadership, as a matter of the heart. In

verses three and four, you see that Samuel says to all the house of

Israel, if you're returning to the Lord with all your say it for me

heart, then put away the foreign gods and the astros from among you,

and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only. And they do,

and they do. In one fell swoop. In two verses, we

see that the prophet Samuel deals with Israel's Big three, Israel's Big three.

Here's what I mean by the big three. Throughout this part of Israel's history,

their faith in the Lord God was tripped up by three big things consistently.

One trusting in false gods, and saman just says, get rid of

them, and they do. Okay, that's a win. Two trust in

their military force, trust in their military force. In fact, we see

an example of this throughout the whole book of First Samuel. You see the

king Saul is constantly trying to fight the enemies of the people of God with

the same weapons that the enemies have. You see him regularly pictured holding a

spear. This is what he's clinging to, is their military force. But

how does David respond to threat? Right, you come to me with sword

and spear. Come to you in the name of the Lord, our God.

Right, there's that contrast, and so consistently what the prophet teaches the

people and what God has teach the people's don't trust in your skills, your

ways, your implements, trust in me. And Samuel deals with that right

here by saying, Hey, if if you will trust in the Lord your

God with all your heart, he will deliver you. He will deliver you.

So he deals with the trust and false gods. He deals with trust

in military force, but he also deals in he also deals with this this

thing that tripped up Israel continually trust in religious forms, trust in religious forms,

trust that we had the ark of the covenant with us. Oh,

as long as we've got the arc, then all is good. Are you

kidding me? The arc kills as many Israelites as it does others. It's

one thing to hold the ark of God. It's another thing to have faith

in God. And we see again the negative example of King Saul. King

Saul is big on bowing before the Lord. He's just really light on obeying

the Lord. Where's the heart? Where is your heart? And Samuel,

Samuel calls it right right on the bull's eye. If you will return to

the Lord your God with all your heart, if you will direct your heart

to him. I love that phrase. You know you can direct your heart,

contrary to popular belief, contrary to most songs these days, contrary to

most movies these days. Let me tell you the church, you can direct

your heart. And in fact, Samuel is just picking up from Deuteronomy six

and saying, we have already been instructed love the Lord your God with all

your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength.

Are we going to follow God's instructions? Are not? Are we going to

keep this law? Covenant? Man, that's a leader I can follow.

That's a leader I can follow. I long to follow, and long to

be such a leader. And hope that you will be the kind of leader

that calls people to direct their hearts to the Lord. Faith filled leadership calls

on people's hearts to rely on the Lord. It's not just a matter of

religious forms, it's not just a matter of going through the motions. Do

you value that kind of leadership? Do you value that kind of leadership to

follow? Do you value that kind of leadership to be that kind of leader

pointing people to God's ways and promises from the heart, Direct your heart to

the Lord? Do you long to be the kind of friend that has no

qualms about just looking your your your friends in the eye and saying, direct

your heart to the Lord. Let's it together, direct your heart to the

Lord. I'm sure Israel noticed throughout this Golden period that it's way easier to

be this kind of leader when you're following this kind of leader. Isn't that

kind of the way? And now you and I aren't Samuel, nor are

we the people who are following Samuel. But even though that's the case,

I can tell you this, loving the Lord with all your heart, soul,

mind and strength is for us. That's not just for that's not just

from the people that were following Moses. And that's not just for the people

who are following Samuel. Yes, for us and the blessings from it,

they're not those blessing aren't just victory over the philistines God has. This is

a different time. This is a different occasion. The blessings that He has

for us, as we love the Lord your God with all your heart's soul

and mind and strength. Sometimes they don't even look like external victory, right,

different occasions. In fact, the promises you've received are much greater,

much greater. And by way of promises, do you notice that these promises

are conditional? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul,

mind and strength, and he will deliver you. That always seems to come

up whenever we see the promises in the Bible, and immediately we think,

okay, so are the promises that God have have given to us also conditional?

Are they likewise conditional? That God would would would conditionally grant us his

forgiveness, that he would conditionally grant us his love, that he would conditionally

grant us his favor, that he would conditionally grant us his spirit. And

the answer is yes. It's just that Jesus Christ has fulfilled all the conditions.

The question is are you trusting him? The question is are you trusting

him the one who fulfills all the conditions. Leadership as a matter of the

heart. Well, not only is faith filled leadership a matter of the heart.

Faithful leadership points to God's ways in God's promises, in the face of

fear. In the face of fear, look at it. In verse five

through eleven, Samuel says, gather all Israel, and I will pray to

the Lord for you. So they gather, and they pour out water,

and they fast and they confess. All of these are expressions of remorse and

repentance. And as they are there having this repentance worship service before the Lord,

the Philistines noticed that they've gathered, and they draw up an attack.

And the people are afraid. We're surrounded by our enemies. Of course we're

afraid. So Samuel takes a lamb, offers a burnt offering, and cries

out to the Lord. And the Lord delivers as only he can. What

happens. The Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and

threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before the Lord. Before Israel.

Now, this, however, is exactly exactly how it was predicted by

Samuel's mom. Do you realize that flipped a chapter two, just back a

couple of pages. Do you see Hannah's prayer? Hannah praised this poem at

the beginning of First Samuel, and it actually serves at as a sort of

prophetic table of contents for the entire book. And what does you say in

verse nine? For not by might shall a man prevail. The adversaries of

the Lord shall be broken to pieces against them, he will thunder in heaven

right. Not by might shall a man prevail. So Samuel doesn't gather the

people for battle. He gathers the people for prayer. He doesn't pick up

a spear, He picks up a lamb. When it was scary, Samuel

pointed to God's ways in God's promises, not to the might of a man.

This is just the opposite example that we see from King Saul. King

Saul is consistently motivated by fear, and regularly, as he's motivated by fear,

he is always grasping to meet the enemy with the same weapons the enemy

has. Not Samuel, he says, you're afraid you're afraid. If reason

to be afraid, what are you gonna do with your fear? Are you

going to grasp at the weapons of the world? Are you going to trust

in the Lord your God when you're afraid, when the threats come, when

it seems as though everything has been amassed against you, are you gonna grasp

for the same weapons the enemy has? Take note Church, how leaders handle

your fear. Take note how leaders handle your fear. Because leaders know when

you're afraid, you're motivated. And do they point your fearful motivation to trust

God's ways and God's promises, or they they point you to rely on their

ways and their promises and their plans. How do you lead in the face

of fear? How do you lead when everybody is losing their head and blaming

it on you? Isn't that how the poem goes? He said, Well,

look that that kind of that kind of reliance is fine for Samuel.

It's fine for Samuel to gather for prayer instead of battle and pick up a

lamb instead of a spear, to show that kind of reliance that almost looks

like weakness. But that's a long time ago. Is that for us?

Is that for God's people now. And here's what a New Testament would say,

so much more so, so much more so, we know Jesus,

we have seen how God himself made himself a lamb, and open not his

mouth except for to pray, and then the watch God provide the deliverance only

he could. And first Peter says that we're called to share in that kind

of suffering, with that same kind of reliance on the one who judges justly.

Yes, we are actually called to the kind of reliance that sometimes looked

like weakness, as first Peter said, entrusting ourselves to the one who judges

justly, just like Christ did. He said, well, how do we

do that? What does that look like? Well, again, a different

occasion. I don't think it's going to involve a charred lamb, but I'll

tell you what it's going to involve. At least at least, it means,

when you are afraid, prayer comes first, When you are afraid,

confession comes first. Whatever tools or weapons or strategies that you will employ,

your reliance is on the Lord. Your trust is in him. And we

call those who follow us, who are following our leadership, we call on

them to rely on God's ways and God's promises in the face of fear.

That's faithfilled leadership. Well, not only in the face of fear, but

also for the long haul. For the long haul. Faith filled leadership points

to God's ways and promises for the long haul. Look at verses twelve through

seventeen. Samuel takes up a stone and he sets it up, and he

calls its name Ebenezer. Have you ever wondered where the name Ebenezer came from?

There you go. So he sets up a stone. He's like,

this stone is going to outlast me. This is a monument to the Lord's

help. And he names the monument till now the Lord has helped us.

It's kind of ominous name, don't you think, right, Samuel. He's

always instructing. He's like, don't slack off people. When I'm gone,

this stone will be here to say, until now the Lord has helped us,

will you continue to rely on him? That's the question Samuel raises with

this stone, and then Samuel for all the days of Samuel, the Lord

delivered Israel from the Philistines, and Samuel went and judged in all of the

towns of Israel. By that judging here just means going and explaining God's word

and applying it. Explaining and teaching God's word and applying it. And he

goes throughout the country explaining God's word and applying it to the people and seeing

to it that they live it out. That's what the judges did. And

he built an altar for the Lord. He finished, Well, we've seen

people start well and then veer off, haven't we seen that? We've seen

it in scripture. Think Gideon, remember Gideon man. He started well.

He started recognizing the weakness that he had as a man and the strength that

God had as his deliverer, and he relied completely on the Lord. But

as the Lord continued to deliver and the Lord continued to save, Gideon started

thinking of himself as a strong man and in fact began to call call the

people of God to trust in him instead of the Lord. Started, well,

we've seen people start well in our contemporary age as well. There have

been many a leader. It's disappointing, But the leadership Samuel was practicing.

The leadership these people followed was what Eugene Peterson calls a long obedience in the

same direction. And that's what I pray for That's what I pray for for

me, for our elder team, for our small group leaders, for you,

for our mothers, for our fathers. A long obedience in the same

direction. That's the hard stuff. It's the hard stuff. It's not foxy,

but it's what I think I want more than anything, A long obedience

in the same direction. That's my prayer. I hope it's your prayer for

you, as a leader, as a husband, as a father, as

a mentor, as a friend. That the people who who kind of walk

in your footsteps or look to you for guidance or or or or or listen

to what you say, what they would observe in you, what you would

continually call them too, is a long obedience in the same direction that you

would call them to rely on God's ways, to rely on God's promises for

the long haul. That's my prayer for you. I hope it would be

your prayer for me. I don't know that there's a prayer I would want

more from you. Two concluding questions, and then we'll go to the Lord's

supper. Question number one, where are we going to find with this kind

of leader? Where will we find this kind of leader. I mean,

the Bible says that God gives leaders to his people, So we should continue

to search for and hope for, and pray for and expect faith filled leadership

in all kinds of places. But ultimately we have the fullest expression of this

kind of leadership in Christ himself. We follow him. That's who we follow,

right Jesus. Christ knows that reliance on God's ways and God's promises are

a matter of the heart. He has always called his followers to genuine faith,

authentic obedience sincere worship. It has always been a matter of the heart

for the followers of Christ. Certainly in the face of fear, right Christ

entrusted himself to God's own plans of deliverance, and his enemies encircled him.

Certainly, for the long haul, Christ will always be the leader who points

us to God's ways in God's promises for eternity. He will do this.

Yes, there will be times, there will be plenty of times when the

leaders that we look to fall short of this example, but Jesus never will.

In fact, Jesus surpasses it to the uttermost. We follow him.

But the second question is this, how will you be this kind of leader,

How will you be this kind of leader? I mean, that's that's

a holy ambition, and I think there's a gospel answer to that, actually,

and I think the gospel answer is this, just as is a real

found it was way easier to be this kind of people and this kind of

leader when they were following this kind of leader. We will learn the same,

we will see the same. We're not fighting for faithfulness on our own.

Christ is calling your heart to fidelity. Christ is with you facing these

truly fearful things. Christ will be with you forever and ever to the end

of the age. You will be this kind of leader because you are following

this kind of leader. And now as you lead others, do it as

one who's following him, united to him, even by faith. That's where

your leadership will come from. Your leadership will come from following and as you

follow, as you follow him, it will be faith filled leadership.