DAVID BECOMES THE LEADER

1 Samuel 21:1-22:23

Key Verse: 22:2

All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.

How many of you consider yourself to be a leader? There are a lot of different types of leaders, formal and informal. Formal ones may have titles like chief executive officer, president, or chairman. Informal ones don’t usually have formal titles, but are older siblings in the family, upperclassman in school, or the best player on a sports team.

At church we also have leaders, formal and informal. Formally, we have the pastor, fellowship leader, center manager, media coordinator, or team leader. But informally God is calling every one of us, all Christians, to be leaders. When Jesus tells Peter in John 21 to feed his lambs, Jesus is calling him to be a leader, a shepherd for God’s people. The root of the word “lead” means to “cause to go with one.” Isn’t that what shepherds do? They don’t walk from behind, but in front so that the sheep can follow. Leadership is a very important aspect of Christian living. A Google search of “Christian leadership” produces 4.5 million results. We have Christian leadership world, net, alliance, concepts, center, university, academy, conference, and center for Christian leadership. Seems like being a Christian and being a leader go hand in hand.

Today, we’re going to see how God shaped David into a leader after God’s own heart. I pray that as we look at David’s life we might come to see how God wants to raise us as leaders after his own heart who will lead people to Jesus.

I. David on the run (21:1-15)

There’s a great line in the movie Forrest Gump where he says, “From that day on, if I was ever going somewhere, I was running!” This line is fitting for David because starting with Chapter 21 David will be running from Saul for the next 10 chapters until Saul’s death in chapter 31. Whereas Forrest Gump’s longest run was for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours, David was about to spend the next 8 years running from Saul. Do you know how long 8 years is? Elijah Ku who is graduating from high school this week could easily be Dr. Elijah Ku in 8 years. Fredrick and Esther who just got engaged this weekend could have 4 kids by then: 6 year-old Michael, 4 year-old Miriam, 2 year-old Micah, and little Maria on the way. A lot will happen in David’s life, too. Each event and experience over the next 8 years will affect him in a deeply personal way, and shape his character to become the shepherd king of Israel.

Where does David go first? Read verse 1. David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, "Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?" When word came that Saul wanted to kill him, David ran as fast as he could to Nob. We can only guess that he went there because he knew the priests were there, and that maybe Ahimelech could inquire of the Lord for him. We also know two very clear reasons he went to Ahimelech: he had no food and he had no weapon. Remember David spent at least two nights in a field in the previous chapter waiting for Jonathan to bring him news, good or bad from Saul. When the bad news came, he had no time to pack his belongings or go back to his apartment to pick up a few things. In his desperation he turned to the priest for help. Look at verse 3. “Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.” Later in verse 8, “David asked Ahimelech, ‘Don't you have a spear or a sword here? I haven't brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king's business was urgent.’” David was forced to turn to God for even his most basic needs. This was the beginning of God’s molding David. By running away from Saul, David in his need is forced to run to God and come to know God in a deeper and more intimate way.

Up until now David has known God in very specific way. Since his days as a young shepherd to his battle with Goliath, he has known God as “El Shaddai,” the Lord Almighty. In 18:45 David says to Goliath, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled.” His victories and triumphs are mostly military ones. Killing Philistines, and chasing Philistines, and killing more Philistines. But here in his weakness David experiences God in a different way. Ahimelech provides David with consecrated bread reserved only for the priests, and ironically with the only weapon available, the sword of Goliath. I don’t think it’s coincidental that the only food available is that which was offered to the Lord, and the only weapon available is from the moment of God’s greatest deliverance of David.

In providing for David in this unusual way, I believe God reveals a different part of his character to David. He reveals to David that while I may be El Shaddai, Lord Almighty, I am also Jehovah Jireh, the Lord provides. God is saying to David, “I will be with you in battle. And I will be with you when you are hungry, or thirsty, or naked. I care about every detail of your life, great and small.” Knowing that God cares about him must have been very comforting to David because it would have been very easy for him to ask, “Why me? Why is this happening? Where is God when I need him?”

Doubting that God cares for me is the biggest temptation we face as Christians when we are going through times of adversity or hardship. As I look at David’s life, I realize that God allows us to go through adversity to reveal to us precisely that he does care. He also wants us to come into a more intimate and mature relationship with him. That happens because adversity forces us to acknowledge our own weakness and to acknowledge our deepest need for God.

A noted secular author wrote, “Adversity is like a strong wind. I don't mean just that it holds us back from places we might otherwise go. It also tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that afterward we see ourselves as we really are, and not merely as we might like to be.” God uses adversity to humble us. By breaking us down however a great thing happens. A nun put it best when she said, “What makes humility so desirable is the marvelous thing it does to us; it creates in us a capacity for the closest possible intimacy with God.” Intimacy with God makes my heart and God’s heart one in the same. Hudson Taylor said that intimacy is what made the difference. “Instead of bondage, liberty; instead of failure, quiet victories within; instead of fear and weakness, a restful sense of sufficiency in Another.” It is through adversity that David really became intimate with God, a man after God’s own heart.

The next time you face challenging life circumstances understand it’s because God wants you to know him in a deeper, more intimate way. He wants to teach you, and grow you, and love you. Adversity usually makes us want to complain or even curse God. But the Bible teaches us we should really be thanking him. Romans 5 says we should rejoice in suffering because from suffering comes perseverance, and from perseverance comes character. The KJV uses the word ‘experience’ instead of character. Which makes sense because it is when we persevere by faith that we begin to experience God. Really experience God. We experience all the different facets of his amazing nature: El Shaddai, Jehovah Jireh, Adonai (Lord), Yeshua (Savior), and Immanuel (God with us). This wonderful experience God plants hope in us, hope for our present time and hope in the kingdom of God. I don’t encourage you to go home tonight and pray for adversity. Actually you don’t need to pray for it. If you love Jesus, it’s coming. Pray that you’ll be ready to face it with absolute faith in God and trusting that he loves you and wants to use it to grow closer to you.

Read verse 10. That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. Gath is one of the five territories of the Philistines. And it may have been one of the few places David knew Saul wouldn’t come looking for him. What he didn’t expect was hostility from the people of Gath. When they did, verse 12 says, “David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath.” So David decided to act like a madman to save his life. He made marks on the doors and let saliva run down his beard.

How many times in his life do you think David was ever “very afraid?” My guess is never. Not when he faced the lion or bear, not when he faced Goliath, and not when he faced Saul. But it says in verse 12 he was very much afraid. And when he was afraid he acted crazy…literally. Yet God delivered him again. How do you think he felt? Relief. Thanksgiving. Joy. When you feel relief, what do you do? I want to scream. Just let out all the pent up anxiety and worry. When you feel thankful, what do you do? I want to express my thanks often with a card of appreciation. When you feel joy, what do you do? I want to sing and dance. It’s not surprising then that many of the Psalms have some relation to David’s time running from Saul. Because with every trial came a new experience of God. And as he experienced God, he couldn’t help putting his feelings and thoughts into words and songs. Psalm 34 seems to have written about this exact experience. He says in Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.” What did he learn from his time in Gath? He sought refuge in Gath, but his true refuge was in God. When you trust in God you will taste that the Lord is good. He feared men when he just needed to fear God.

What is arguably the greatest Psalm? Probably Psalm 23. There is so much depth and meaning and grace in that Psalm because it probably represented everything David learned while running from Saul. It’s only 6 verses but they are verses that give hope and comfort in any difficult circumstance. The Psalms tell us that David never viewed his deliverance as dumb luck or chance. He gave credit where credit was due. He knew it was God, and he made sure that God received proper honor and glory.

I’m not sure how atheists make it through each day. It must be a scary thought to believe that everything in your life is random and without purpose. That you are helpless to the whims of fate. This is not so with us. Fate does not exist apart from the will of God. God created you in his image for a purpose. So we should respond with prayer, and with thanksgiving, and ultimately with faith and obedience. In Psalm 23, God reassured David to enter the valley of the shadow of death. Not find a way around it. We will all face adversity in life, our own valley of scary life circumstances. How will you face that challenge? Let us do so with confidence and faith knowing that God is with us.

II. David becomes the leader (22:1-1-23)

What is the mark of a great leader? The smartestmanonline.com says it’s making everyone around you better. Someone on Yahoo! answers said it’s one word–charisma. Fred Smith, founder of FedEx, says, “Leadership is getting people to work for you when they are not obligated.”

What is the mark of a great Christian leader? Well, anytime I want to understand Christian leadership, I turn to 2 places. First, the Bible because in Jesus I think we see the greatest leader of all time. By his example, leaders are good shepherds. The second place I turn is John Maxwell who is an international Christian expert on leadership. He puts it very simply. “The first step to leadership is servanthood.”

Which type of leader does David become? Let’s see. Read verses 22:1-2. David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father's household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.

It wasn’t long ago that David had no food and no weapon. He could barely take care of himself. Not much has changed. He’s still running from Saul. He’s living in a cave of all places. It’s a pretty secure location for someone on the run. Somehow his family got word that David was hiding in the caves of Adullam. Unfortunately, so did at least 400 others. Imagine David’s surprise. He hears someone coming. He peaks out from his cave. He’s so happy to see his father. He’s even happy to see Eliab, Abinidab, Shammah, and the others. Then he sees the others. At first, he thinks, “Yes, my brothers have brought reinforcements. An army of strong men.” But his wishful thinking quickly turns to disappointment. Distressed, indebted, and discontented people. Probably men, women, and children, and whatever meager belongings they could bring. A sorry procession of broken people.

An efficient leader would determine which of these were strong enough to fight, and reject the others. Tell them to go back to where they came from. Or a selfish leader would send them all back because they were a burden and even more a risk to his personal safety. Their presence makes it easier for Saul to find him. But David didn’t do that.

Look at verse 2 again. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him. Jesus has a similar thing happen to him in Mark 6. Over 5000 people rush to be near him when he was just looking for a quite escape with his disciples. Did Jesus turn them away? The Bible says Jesus had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. The disciples wanted to send them away when dinnertime approached. Did Jesus turn them away? No, Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.”

Jesus teaches us and David shows us that leaders need to be sacrificial. They must be willing to put the needs of others above their own personal needs. To be willing to do what God desires instead of what I desire. This is really difficult stuff. It doesn’t come naturally. Do you want God to reveal to you just how selfish you are? Then pray for God to give you a Bible student. It’s amazing how eye-opening it is when God gives you someone to take care of.

I know I’ve told this story to many of you before. But it’s worth repeating because it was a very clear way God revealed to me my own selfishness. It was in China. My room like many teachers in the dormitory were always open to students who wanted to stop by. Sometimes for Bible study, but usually just for fellowship. To eat or talk or watch a movie. But there were times when I didn’t want anyone to bother me. Now I couldn’t hang a ‘don’t bother me’ sign on the door. So instead I just turned off the light.

David could’ve easily said don’t bother me as well. But he too had experienced distress and discontent before. How could he turn them away? God had used Ahimelech to help David. Now God was going to use David to help these people, and teach him to be a shepherd for all of God’s people.

Remember shepherds are the most sacrificial people. Jesus says it best, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” So remember at the beginning of this message I asked you if you were a leader. Did you realize then that I was really asking how many of you consider yourself to be a servant? When God raises up leaders, he’s really raising up servants. As John Maxwell accurately says again, “The first step to leadership is servanthood.” For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.

Fredrick said something in his testimony on Friday. He talked about the example those in our ministry set that made him feel at ease and made him want to keep coming back. What do you think that was? Hugs and kisses. It was service. Sacrificial service.

A quote by Roy Lessin, co-founder of Dayspring, puts it best. “A Godly Leader finds strength by realizing his weakness, finds authority by being under authority, finds direction by laying down his own plans, finds vision by seeing the needs of others, finds credibility by being an example, finds loyalty by expressing compassion, finds honor by being faithful, finds greatness by being a servant.”

We’ll see that as king David will come to embody many of these Godly leader characteristics. Even now he exhibits glimpses by accepting these 400 men. Later, he takes responsibility for Abiather the only remaining priest of Nob.

In conclusion, we see that God uses adversity to draw us into deeper relationship with him, and to prepare us for his specific purpose. Broadly he wants to raise us up as leaders in our time. We learn that to be Godly leaders means we need to be servants. Servants who set an example of love and faith for others to follow and be led ultimately to Jesus. I’ll close with the same question I asked at the beginning. How many of you consider yourself to be a leader? You should. Because God does. He’s given us his son to show us how. Let’s read the key verse.