Godly Leadership -20:34 –

Major Points: Fear of God Prayer Teaching Others Godly Leadership

Objective: The hope is that the learner will see the simple truths and qualities of a Godly leader and will be encouraged to seek the LORD and how they can be a Leader in their “.”

Opening Questions: What is Leadership? What makes an effective Leader?

Background: After the death of King , the nation of Israel split into two kingdoms: the Southern Kingdom of Judah and the Northern Kingdom of Israel. What caused this split? In 1 Kings 11:26-28 and 34-35 we find where God tells Jeroboam that He will hand over the kingdom with ten tribes to him. In verse 40 we find that because of this Solomon sought to put Jeroboam to death. The division of Israel happens in 1 Kings 12 when Jeroboam seeks the leniency of Solomon’s son , now king of Israel. Rehoboam’s elders suggest that he does, but he also seeks the council of his friends that he grew up with. They suggest that he make life even worse for Jeroboam and his people. In 1 Kings 12:16-24, we find the division between the Israelites took place. Rehoboam fled to Jerusalem becoming the King of Judah and Jeroboam becomes the first king of Israel. Interesting note: Rehoboam finally listens to the Word of the LORD in 1 Kings 12:24. He doesn’t fight his Israelite brothers.

Overall, Israel had 19 kings and all of them are evil, whereas, Judah had 20 kings. Eight of the kings in Judah were good kings. Five of those good kings were used by God to bring revival to Judah: Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, , and .

In 2 Chronicles 17-20, we’ll find that God used King Jehoshaphat to bring about revival. Although, like , he wasn’t perfect. Jehoshaphat’s leadership was principal to the return of the people of Judah to God. Ecclesiastes 12:13 says about true wisdom is to “fear God and keep His commandments.” Jehoshaphat was a Godly leader that taught the people of Judah to fear the LORD. :4 says, “So Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem and went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers.” In 1 Chronicles 20:31-32, we find that Jehoshaphat became king of Judah when he was 35 years old and reigned in Jerusalem for 25 years. Verse 32 says that “he walked in the way of his father Asa and did not depart from it, doing right in the sight of the LORD.”

Booker richardbooker.com 1 Chapter 17 is where Jehoshaphat begins to set the stage for the revival that will take place in chapter 20. Today, we will take a look at the man that God used to bring about revival in Judah. We will see qualities that are inherent to a Godly leader and how we can apply those same qualities to ourselves.

Lesson: As Christians, we are all “called” to be leaders whether or not we are “called” to be preachers. We understand that in the very least we must lead our families. Furthermore, we must be leaders in the communities that we live. How are people to come to know Christ if we are passive in our own ministry? Acts 1:8 says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and , and even to the remotest part of the earth.” The Holy Spirit gives us power the moment we accept Christ as our LORD and Savior. He gives us authority to speak on his behalf (Matthew 28:18-20) and carry the gospel to all nations. God desires that we will be leaders in the community and be instrumental in bringing revival to our Jerusalem. In Chronicles 17-20, Jehoshaphat did just that.

What are the qualities of a Godly leader that we can distinguish from Jehoshaphat’s reign as King of Judah?

I. Godly Leaders Walk with God – Read 2 Chronicles 17:3-4 As stated earlier at the end of Ecclesiastes (Ecc. 12:13), we find what Godly wisdom entails: the fear of the LORD and keeping His commandments. Jehoshaphat sought the LORD and not the Baals of the Northern Kingdom. He followed the commandments of God. Because of his faithfulness to God, God blessed the Kingdom of Judah.

Read 2 Chronicles 17:5-6 Since Jehoshaphat had his heart devoted to God and His ways, and he had removed all the high places of idolatry from Judah, “the LORD established his kingdom” and prospered their nation. We must understand, however, that just because we are faithful, righteous, and keep God’s commandments that we will still experience trials of many kinds. We will prosper and be blessed, but not always in the way we expect. There’s too many example in Scripture and elsewhere that indicate that keeping God’s commandments doesn’t mean riches and wealth (Job is a great example). But in this particular case, God chose to bless the nation of Judah with riches, wealth, power, and prosperity; his enemies even had peace with him and brought him gifts (17:10-11). However, if we are not walking with God, we cannot reap His blessings.

II. Godly Leaders Lead Others to Walk with God – Read 2 Chronicles 17:7-9 Godly leaders do not only seek God for themselves; they encourage the people around them to seek the LORD. They want people to know the truth about Christ and His word. Jehoshaphat had a concern for the people of Judah, and he wanted to teach them the Word of God. The teaching of the Word of God was pivotal in the revival that was going to take place in chapter 20.

The teaching of the Word of God was pivotal during the reformation and the Great Awakening. During the Great Awakening, you have preachers such as John Wesley, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards that focused their ministries on the preaching of the Word of God. They were

Booker richardbooker.com 2 not alone in this mission, and the result was a revival in Protestant Europe and in the British colonies in America.

Without the teaching of the Word of God, any revival will be short lived. The Word of God teaches us to fear the LORD. Read 2 Chronicles 19:5-9. Jehoshaphat desired to see the people of Judah understand why they were worshipping Yahweh. He did not want them to worship Yahweh because as king he made them. He wanted to see a true spiritual revival and worship sweep across the land.

III. Godly Leaders are Prayer Warriors – :3-13 We are not given how many times Jehoshaphat prayed per day, but we already read that he sought God, so he must have spent time in God’s Word and in prayer. In chapter 20, we find that Jehoshaphat led by example. The kingdom of Judah was about to be under attack from the sons of and the sons of . He led his people to fast and seek the LORD together. People came from all of Judah to seek the LORD. WOW!

In verses 5-12, we find the prayer of Jehoshaphat where he’s standing before the assembly of Judah; a public prayer not hidden in a closet! He was leading by example in his prayer to God. 1) Jehoshaphat praises God: “And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.” 2) Jehoshaphat then asks for deliverance from his foes: “O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

Read 2 Chronicles 20:14-17 The nation of Judah had all come together before God and he answered their prayer. In Matthew 18:20, concerning prayer Jesus himself said that where “two or more are gathered I will be among them.” Here in 2 Chronicles 20 we find that the Spirit of the LORD was among his people because they were gathered in His name and seeking Him. The LORD told his people not to fear because he would deliver them from their enemies. He told them that they didn’t even need to fight.

The people coming before God and then seeing Him move caused great revival to break out across the land. Read 2 Chronicles 20:18-19.

Conclusion: What a way to experience God! Jehoshaphat was faithful to follow after David and seek God. He simply began by teaching his people about God. He led by example! He didn’t just involve himself and the spiritual leaders, the , in consulting God. He involved the whole nation of Judah. He wanted everyone to see the power of the Almighty God.

We have chances every day in our lives to be a leader, from parenting to how we work at our job. Will you seek to become a Godly leader?

I was at a bachelor party for a good friend of mine the other day. We were sitting around a table just talking and somehow the conversation turned to spiritual matters. This one individual,

Booker richardbooker.com 3 Christopher, who has not been saved for very long made the comment “he hopes that God has called him to just sit in the pew.” I immediately sat up in my chair and said, “God hasn’t called any of us to simply sit in a pew!”

For most of us, it is the simple things of the Christian life that we find so hard to do: Reading God’s Word, Prayer, and keeping His commandments. They are so simple and are so essential to turning us into Godly leaders, yet we neglect them. Will your life be changed? Will you see revival in your Jerusalem?

Application: Mark 10: 43-44 – “Whoever wants to great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.”

The Drive Home: Why is there a lack of Spiritual Leadership in our ‘personal’ lives? Should we be quiet or active Spiritual Leaders? How is this accomplished? How can we encourage others to be Spiritual Leaders? How can you help change a generation and bring Revival by being a Spiritual Leader?

Booker richardbooker.com 4