Characteristics of a Godly Leader | 1 Samuel

Good morning, Watermark. How are we doing today? Awesome. Glad you made it. I hope you've had a great weekend. If this is your first time ever with us on a Sunday, thanks for trusting us with your Sunday. I really do hope this place can feel like home for you very quickly. I want to start by inviting you to pray and ask God to speak to you during this time.

If you've been with us at all this year, then you know we are journeying from cover to cover through God's Word. Today, we land in 1 Samuel. I'm really excited about where God has us today. I want to invite you right now to pray and say, "God, as we open up your Word, would you speak clearly to me today?" Then, would you pray for the people around you and say, "God, speak clearly to them as well." Then, would you pray for me and ask God to speak clearly through me to you.

Lord, we acknowledge this moment as a gift from you, and we don't take it lightly that we can publicly come together as a church family, we can sing out loud, we can open up your Bible, and we can hear from you. I just want to ask, God, that right now, you would wake us up by the power of your Spirit. Holy Spirit, would you awaken us to everything the Lord has for us today? God, give us eyes to see you. Give us ears to hear from you and hearts to receive all that you have for us. God, would you do a very defining work in our lives today? We love you. We give this time to you. In Jesus' name, amen.

Yesterday afternoon, I had the privilege of officiating the wedding of a girl on our staff. They asked me to be at the church at 4:00 p.m. I had already looked at Google Maps, and I knew my drive from my house to the church was 31 minutes, so I knew I needed to leave my house a couple minutes before 3:30. They asked me to wear a black suit. I have one black suit. I don't know how many suits you think I have, but judging on how many different shirts I wear on this stage on a Sunday, you can guess the wardrobe is pretty limited.

So, I have on my one black suit, and before I'm about to leave… It's like 3:25. I'm going to leave at 3:29. I go over to the printer to pick up my backup notes, and as I bend down, let me show you what happened. This is the front of my pants. This is the back of the pants. That's the hole in the pants. That's what happened at about 3:25 before I needed to leave my house to be at the church at 4:00 p.m. to officiate a wedding in a black suit.

In that moment… I'm standing in the room. Kat is in the room, and I literally am like, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Kat, I just split my pants. Oh my gosh! What do I do?" I'm like, "Kat, can you sew it?" I don't know if you saw the size of that hole. This is not a sewable situation. It's not like a button fell off. I'm like, "What do I do?" I'm like, "Anything that would be in my closet is 15 years old. It's going to look like MC Hammer pants. What do I do?"

But I go into my closet, and there is a pair of black dress pants that are a size smaller than what I wear, from a skinnier time. I put them on, and they fit perfectly. I'm like, "You see me, and I see you." It was crazy. I go to the wedding. It all worked out. Why do I tell you that? I tell you that because, today, as we step into 1 Samuel, we're being introduced to the season or the period in Israel's history where the kingship begins.

First Samuel is basically a book that focuses on two people primarily, Saul and David. First Samuel kind of chronicles the rejection of Saul as king and the rise of David as king. In the midst of 1 Samuel, there's actually a story about fabric being torn, which has everything to do with the story of 1 Samuel. Listen to what it says in 1 Samuel 15:27-28.

"As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, 'The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.'"

As we look at 1 Samuel, you have to realize that Saul had a problem, and his problem wasn't that he had a hole in his pants; his problem was that he had a hole in his character. It was a massive issue. We actually know what that hole in his character was. It tells us just a few verses earlier in 1 Samuel 15. Samuel says to Saul, "Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king."

This is not a sewable situation for King Saul. This is a really unique period of time. This is the nation of Israel. Saul is the first king of the nation of Israel. This is not a sewable situation. Saul had a really hard time understanding that partial obedience to God is actually full disobedience to God, and God decided, "I will not move forward with Saul." He's just not going to move forward. He doesn't have to move forward.

Now, if you had seen me in my room at 3:25 yesterday, you would have seen panic. You would have seen stress, because I was like, "I don't know what I'm going to do." But when God sees the hole in Saul's character, there's no stress for God. God isn't fazed by it. He isn't rattled by it, because he already had a better pair of pants waiting in the closet in the person of David.

In fact, as you're going to see if you're on the reading plan with us, we're entering the time where you're going to read 2 Samuel this week, which is going to unpack David's kingship, and then you're going to get into 1 and 2 Kings, and what you're going to notice is that God always has another pair of pants in the closet. God does not have to settle for compromised kings.

Ultimately, as we've been reading through the Bible, our eyes are looking for the Serpent crusher, the one who would come to crush the head of the Serpent and reverse the effects of the fall. And God will not just use a good king; he will wait for a perfect king to accomplish all of his purposes.

Today, I want to have a very practical message. I want to talk about what godly leadership truly looks like. When you look at 1 Samuel, it's all about leadership. You see the leadership failures of Saul. You see the success David has. So, I want to talk about godly leadership. One of the reasons I feel like God is steering us this direction today is this is a church that's full of leaders. There are so many high-capacity, strategic-thinking, driven, successful people in this church.

So, just think really quickly. Do you consider yourself a leader? There are so many people here… Maybe you're leading your own company. Others of you are leading an organization. Others of you are Bible study leaders. Maybe you are leaders of small children in your home. There are so many different leaders here. The question is…Are you a leader worth following? As we unpack 1 Samuel today, you're going to see what it looks like to be a leader worth following.

If you were at Watermark back in 2023, then you remember we did a whole series on the life of David. During that time, we said the life of David is really helpful, but there are two ways to read the life of David, and we want to do both today. We want to learn from David. David's life is an amazing life. David was a great leader, but it's important to realize David was not a perfect leader. So, we don't want to just learn from David; we ultimately want to look through David to the greater David, the perfect King, Jesus Christ. We're going to seek to accomplish both today. So, this message is a combination of practical applications and gospel realities.

If you're reading with us, you need to know 1 and 2 Samuel were originally just one book that has been split into two. They unpack about 150 years of Israel's history. If you've been tracking with us, then just think about how the book of Judges ended. Israel has been on a slow drift, a long drift from God, and the very last verse of the book of Judges says, "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."

So, at the end of the book of Judges, Israel is in this dark place. We get this sense that someone even greater will have to come to break the cycle of sin among God's people. They don't just need a judge; they, in fact, need a king. Then you turn to the book of Ruth, and the book of Ruth ends with a genealogy, culminating in David.

We find out that God uses Naomi, Boaz, and Ruth to produce the grandfather of King David, so now our eyes are looking for King David, and 1 Samuel is where he is on the rise. We pick it up in 1 Samuel 16, verse 1. "The Lord said to Samuel, 'How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.'"

When the text says that God says he will provide for himself a king, that is the Hebrew word from the root word ra'ah. It literally means to see. So, when God says, "I have provided a king for myself," God is saying, "I see a king for myself." Right here, in 1 Samuel 16, God's sight is a theme, because if you look down in verse 6, it says:

"When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, 'Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.' But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees [ra'ah]: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.'"

What this tells us is that God sees what we can't. While the hole in my pants was very visible, sometimes a hole in someone's character can be hidden by an attractive or persuasive exterior. But God never has to settle for someone with a lot of talent but little character. I love what 2 Chronicles 16:9 says. This is probably my favorite verse in the Bible on leadership. This is a verse that a pastor shared with me when I was at seminary at Dallas Theological Seminary.

He was speaking in chapel, and he read 2 Chronicles 16:9. This verse has been rattling around in my head since I was 23 years old. It says, "For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His." Do you see that? It uses anthropomorphic language to give you this idea of God scanning the earth. His eyes are moving every which way across the earth, and he's looking for a few men or a few women whom he can strongly support; he can put all of his wind in their sails.

But there's a condition. His strong support is for those whose heart is completely his. The rest of the book of 1 Samuel is just snapshots of David, whose heart is completely God's. So, as we look at different snapshots throughout the book, I want you to see snapshots of what a godly leader looks like.

1. A godly leader trusts in God's power, provision, and protection. This morning, I'm inviting you to evaluate where your trust is. This is seen in the story in 1 Samuel 17. It's the famous story of David and Goliath. This is a story about trust. Goliath and Saul put their trust in what they had; David put his trust in who had him. Those are two different types of trust. Two men put their trust in what they had; one guy put his trust in who had him.

If you were to go and study the story closely, you would see the author places an emphasis on the armor the people use. Him drawing our attention to the armor is actually speaking to us about these different men's trust. If you think about it, toward the beginning of the story we hear about Goliath's armor. There's a long description of Goliath's armor, and we are meant to hear it and come to the conclusion, "That's really impressive. That's why Saul and his men fled in fear."

Then David shows up, and he shows this remarkable faith. He gets brought before Saul, and what does Saul try to do? He tries to put his armor on David. He tries to give him his armor. He tries to give him his sword. And what does David do? He takes all the armor off. It's as if David is saying, "I refuse to lead like you lead. You put your trust in what you have. I'm going to put my trust in who has me." Then David goes out to battle against Goliath. This is the climax of the story in verse 45. Watch the attention to the armor.

"Then David said to the Philistine, 'You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.'"

Then watch how verse 50 ends. It's so interesting that the author provides this detail. It says, "So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David." It's like the author wants to… "Hey, let's just be clear. He killed him with a sling and a stone. There was no sword in his hand."

Why is he drawing that distinction? Because who carried a sword? Goliath carried a sword. Saul tried to give David his sword, yet what was David's choice of weapon? It was a stick and some stones. These were things God had fashioned. Swords were fashioned by men. A stick and some stones were fashioned by God. There's a distinction. You either put your trust in what you have or you put your trust in who has you.

So, my question to you this morning is…Where is your trust? Where is your confidence today? Are you putting your trust in what you have or in who has you? The reason I'm asking you this is because every person is going to experience times where what they have is not enough. It's just reality. Everyone is going to experience times in life where what they have is not enough. Like, you're not strategic enough. You're not powerful enough. You're not in control enough.

I would imagine that there are people in this room right now who are in crisis. You're in crisis at your work. You can't see how things are going to turn out. You're the leader, and you don't know if you're going to be able to make payroll. Maybe you're navigating a lawsuit. Maybe there's the looming threat of downsizing. Maybe you work for yourself, and you've gone months now with no paycheck because no deals are closing. Maybe there's a disagreement at the highest level, and it's such a major disagreement that there is this threat of your organization, your company, fracturing and breaking everything.

Maybe it's not a crisis at work. Maybe it's a crisis at home. Maybe you're in a spot where marriage is just too tough. It doesn't matter what you try. It's just too tough. You don't have what it takes. Maybe one of your kids just isn't turning the corner, and you feel hopeless, you feel helpless, because you don't have what it takes to help your child flourish.

It's a problem when we find ourselves in places where we don't have enough. The reason it's such a problem is that we are people who love control. No one is saying, "Amen" to that, but if I were to ask you, "Hey, is anyone here a control freak?" the reason you wouldn't raise your hand is because you're trying to control our perception of you. That's control. We love control.

It's the moments when we have the least control that we find out the most about our faith. How do you handle moments where you do not have control? I want to do with you something that a pastor did with me when I was back in college. I want everyone to put their hands out like this. If you don't do it, you're the odd person out and I see you. I just want you to do this. Now do this. Now do this. Now do this. Now do this. Now do this.

I just wanted to see if I could control you, because I feel a need to be in control right now. Okay, what are those the motions of? A roller coaster. Right? Those are the motions of a roller coaster. If you ride a roller coaster like this, you are the person on the roller coaster who is most in touch with reality. You have no control, so you might as well lean into it. Those of you who get on a ride and grip things, I'm like, "Why did you get on the ride in the first place?"

I went to a theme park with my son a few weeks ago, and we got on one of the "for real" rides. I was like, "Hey, man. I'm going to hold you during the ride." He was like, "No." Do you know what that was? That was just my attempt to control. It's like putting a seat belt on in an airplane. If that sucker is going down, do you think I'm going to be like, "But I'm sure glad I've got this belt around my waist; that thing is really going to help"? No. But we love control.

When we have to be in control, do you know what happens? We lose sleep for nights at a time, weeks at a time. We start trying to make things work. We try to force things to work. Do you know what that is? That's putting your trust in what you have instead of who has you. I was talking to a friend not long ago, and he's in one of those seasons… He works for himself, and a paycheck hasn't come in in months because deals aren't closing.

When we talked, he was like, "I just don't want to lose our house. That's the one thing. I just want to keep our house. I don't want us to have to move. I just want to keep the house." I'm like, "I get it. I understand." But here's what I told him to do. I said, "Every morning, I want you to wake up, and I want you to open up your hands like you're putting your house before the Lord and just ask him, 'God, do you want us to sell our house? Do you want us to get rid of our house? It's yours.'"

He's putting his trust ever-so-slightly in what he has. Like, "This is what we need to be happy. This is what we need to be safe." The reality is to lose your house but to be held by God is the safest place you can be. What we have to remember is the way we're saved is also the way we are sanctified. How are we saved? We are saved by not putting our trust in what we have but in who has us. Our faith is in the greater David.

Just as David went out to battle on behalf of all of Israel, Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, left heaven and went to battle on behalf of all of humanity against Satan, sin, and death. Just as David conquered the giant Goliath, Jesus Christ has conquered the giant of sin. We aren't made right with God because of what we have, because we have good church attendance, because we live good lives to present to him.

No, we are saved because of who has us, that Jesus Christ has taken our sin, that Jesus Christ has given us his righteousness, that he calls us his own, that he brings us into the family of God. That's how we were saved. That's also how we're sanctified. That is the Christian life. It is a daily reminder that it's not about who we are or what we have; it's about who he is and the fact that he has us. Godly leaders trust in God's power, provision, and protection.

2. Godly leaders have a passion for God's glory. Did you see it? Chapter 17, verse 46: "This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel…"

Do you know how old David is when he goes to battle against Goliath? He's somewhere between 17 and 19. He's not even old enough to be in Israel's army, yet, at the age of 17 or 18 years old, his greatest desire is the fame of God. It's for the Philistines not to know his name but to know the one true God's name. It's to know that there is a God in Israel and no one compares to him and no one rivals him. That's what was beating in his heart at the age of 17 or 18.

My fear is that so many of us are in our 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, or 60s, and we're still trying to answer the question that was in our heart as a 17- or 18-year-old. Do you know what that question was that fueled insecurity? It's the question of "Am I enough? Do I matter? Am I significant?" So, we still find ourselves, later in life, needing to see and hear our name praised. We need the recognition as a top producer. We need the mentions on social media. We need people to tell us how great we are and how great we did. Why? To make sure we're really enough.

That keeps us from godly leadership, which is to have a passion for God's glory. A former president once said, "It's amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." I've used that quote a lot, and I'm like, "Oh, man, that's so good. 'It's amazing what you can accomplish if you don't care who gets the credit.'" I've used that quote to emphasize humility, but do you know what the problem with that quote is? We should absolutely care who gets the credit.

We should absolutely care about Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, getting the credit. Here's why. Philippians, chapter 2, tells us because Christ was obedient to death, even death on a cross for your sins and mine, he has been highly exalted by God, and the name that is above every name has been bestowed upon him. It's the name of Jesus by which every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he, in fact, is Lord.

What we have to understand is true significance is knowing and making known the one who has the name that is above every name. That's true significance. It's not about your name being made great. It's about you realizing that the spot has already been claimed for the top. Jesus takes first place, so the best thing you can do is spend the rest of your life pointing to him. The more you realize that, the more John the Baptist's words in John 3:30 will make sense. "He must increase, but I must decrease."

I've shared this before, but years ago, I used to enjoy watching the Tour de France. It's a team sport. You can't win the tour on your own. Each team will pick a leader who has the highest probability of winning, and the rest of the team will help that leader win. There's a role in cycling. It's a French term. It's known as the domestique. The domestique rides solely for the leader to win. That's their whole responsibility.

So, if the leader gets a flat tire, the domestique will ride up and just give the leader his bike. If the leader is thirsty and needs water and doesn't have any, the domestique will ride up and give the leader some water. The domestique will ride in front of the leader so the leader can draft off of him and conserve his energy. That domestique is clear: "I ride for him."

Years ago (this was a long time ago, though), Team Astana wasn't clear who their leader was going to be. It was either going to be Lance Armstrong or Alberto Contador. When both people got interviewed, Lance Armstrong was like, "Well, I've won the tour this many times, so I should be the leader." Alberto Contador was like, "Well, I should be the leader." So there were these commercials that were like, "Contador. Armstrong. Who's it going to be?" It's a question of who gets to lead, who rides for who.

That's not a question for us, yet when we wake up in the morning, there's this pull. "I want to ride for my name's sake." You have to settle the question. Jesus has already won. He has already won. He already has the name that's above every name. We're the domestiques. We're the people who just say, "I ride so that your victory can be realized throughout our neighborhood, throughout Dallas, throughout the world. That's why I exist. You don't exist for me; I exist for you. I live to make you great." See, godly leaders have a passion for God's glory.

3. Godly leaders place a priority on God's plans. Let me show you what I'm talking about. Turn over a few chapters to 1 Samuel, chapter 23. "Now they told David, 'Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors.' Therefore David inquired of the Lord, 'Shall I go and attack these Philistines?'

And the Lord said to David, 'Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.' But David's men said to him, 'Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?' Then David inquired of the Lord again. And the Lord answered him, 'Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.'"

Do you see David? What's he doing? He's asking. He is coming before God. He's asking him, "What do you want me to do? What are your plans?" Just a few verses later, Saul enters the picture. Listen to what it says about Saul. "Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, 'God has given him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.'"

Saul tried to kill David about 16 different times. Saul spent the majority of his later years trying to use God's army to kill God's appointed king. Here's a story where we have two leaders functioning in two totally different ways. What's David doing? David is the one who has all of God's wind in his sails, yet what is he doing? He's asking. Saul has been told, "I am tearing the kingdom from your hands," and what's he doing? He's assuming.

Those are two different ways to lead. You're either going to ask or you're going to assume when it comes to God's plans. I'm just telling you, if you want to be a godly leader, then wherever you're leading this week, ask. Ask God. Don't just assume. Ask him. "Is this what you want me doing? Are these your plans? Am I in line with you?"

If you're leading a Bible study this week… If you're a women's Bible study leader, here's my encouragement. Don't just assume God's plan is for you to power through every single question of the study. You should ask him and be like, "Hey, God, what's your plan for us this week? I've completed the study. I've done the work, but I just want to be sensitive. What are you calling me…? What are you inviting us to do this week? What do you have for us?"

If you're leading a meeting this week at work, ask God what your posture should be. Is there anything he wants to put in your mind or heart that he wants you to share? If you're leading a family devotional this week, don't just stick to the plan. That's good, but ask God, "God, is there anything else you want me to know?" I don't know what decisions you need to make. I don't know what dreams you're processing, but my encouragement to you is to ask; don't assume.

The reason I tell you that is because sometimes God's plans make perfect sense and sometimes they make no sense at all. Sometimes God's plans are the most strategic plans, and sometimes they don't seem like they have strategy to them. Do you know what we do a lot of times? I see this at Watermark. We always assume God's plans are the hardest thing to do. God's plans are never the easiest thing. It's always the hardest thing. The hardest thing must be the godliest thing.

But God is good. Sometimes God's plans are the hardest thing to do, but sometimes God in his kindness is like, "Look. I'm going to make this really easy on you today, because I'm a God of grace. Let me just make this very simple for you today." We're the ones who make it hard. I tell you that to say, "Don't assume. Ask."

I think about years ago. I've shared this with you guys before. We were living in Austin at the time. I had a very comfortable job at a church. I was paid a good salary. We were wrestling with what God wanted us to do. We had an opportunity on the table there. We also had an opportunity to go back to Aggieland to invest in some Aggies, but then there was this opportunity in Waco to work with students at Baylor University.

The catch about this job was that there was no money in the bank at this ministry. They literally had one dollar, and they gave me an offer that was like, "We are pleased to invite you to be the executive director of this ministry. Please keep in mind we can't pay you unless you raise your own money." I was like, "Okay. I love telling my father-in-law, 'I'm going to live off love with your daughter.'" It didn't make sense. Do you know what made sense? A comfortable salary, something that was predictable, yet God asked us to go to Waco.

We're so thankful for what God did during that time. I'm so thankful for what God is doing now at Baylor University. There's a sweet work going on. But then, when we were at Baylor, we got a call to go back to A&M, and the conversation that led to that… It seemed like a no-brainer, almost to the point where I almost didn't feel like I needed to ask God. That would have been dangerous. Don't ever assume. In the end, God led us to College Station, but it wasn't until we asked. Ask. Don't assume.

Think about Jesus praying before he went into battle. David prays before he goes to battle against the Philistines…asking God, inquiring of God. What do we find the greater David doing? He's inquiring of God. "If this cup can pass from me, let it be, but not my will but your will be done." What's he doing? He's asking, but his greatest desire is God's plans. His priority is on God's will. He went to the cross faithfully, because it was the plans of the triune God for the eternal Son to come to crush the head of the Serpent through his own death, and then his resurrection.

4. Godly leaders have patience for God's timing. David is anointed king in chapter 16. Do you know how many chapters it takes for him to actually become king? Nineteen. Do you know how many years passed between David being anointed king and actually becoming king over all of Israel? About 15 years passed by. During those 15 years, do you know what he does? He spends a short season basically being the harpist for the current king, he serves as a commander of a smaller army for the king, and then he spends the bulk of the time on the run from the king trying to kill him.

Then you have this really funny story in 1 Samuel 24 where David is hiding in a cave, and King Saul comes into the cave to take care of some business, if you know the story. The text says he went in to relieve himself. There has never been a more vulnerable moment. David's friends, who are hiding in the cave with him… Listen to what they say in verse 4.

"And the men of David said to him, 'Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, "Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you."'" They're like, "It doesn't get much better than this. This dude is using the bathroom and has no clue. This is God just smiling on you, like, 'Today's the day, David.'" Verse 4:

"Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's robe. And afterward David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe. He said to his men, 'The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord's anointed.'"

Do you know that this is the fifteenth time Saul has tried to kill David? Instead of it being an opportunity for Saul to kill David, it becomes an opportunity for David to kill Saul. But here's the contrast: Saul is trying to kill David but can't, and David has the opportunity to kill Saul but won't. Saul refuses to give up the throne, and David here refuses to take it. Why? Because he insists on God's timing. Just think. David could have taken Saul's life here and been king in a matter of days, yet his decision led to years more of waiting.

I just want to give you some really practical applications when it comes to God's timing. One of the things we see right here with David is that there is a what and a when to God's will. It's important to realize sometimes God will clarify the what long before when it is supposed to happen. Often, we think that when we get clarity on the what from God, it needs to happen immediately, and that's not always how God works.

The second thing we see here is you aren't always entitled to be in your dream job or your dream stage of life. David knew he was going to be king. Can you imagine finding out at about 15 or 16 years old you're going to rule the country? That's dangerous information in the life of a teenager. He had to basically wait the same amount of time he had been living to actually become king.

It's just good to realize you're not always entitled to be fully using your gifting and fully flourishing in the role you have. It's just not always a given. You don't always get your dream job. Sometimes you just have a job, and that's okay. That's where God has taken me. There was a season of my life where I thought, "I'm not using all my gifting. I need to always be in the place where I'm fully thriving."

God stepped into my life in a very clear way, where he was like, "Man, I need to prune some things from your life." He was showing me he needed to do a further work in me before he wanted to do a further work through me. So, there are going to be seasons where God allows you to be what feels like an incorrect fit. He won't keep you there forever. I don't know what he's going to do, but a lot of times, God is preparing you for something else he's going to do.

I want to speak to the young people in the room. One of the things I love about young adults, about high school students and college students, is that you have passion. You have urgency. You have zeal. Sometimes I'm like, "When do we lose that?" I wish some 40-year-olds still had that zeal, that passion. There's this urgency to get to the place of influence. It's just good for you to remember sometimes preparation in private is better than figuring it out in public.

David was faithful in the small things. He went from leading sheep to leading people. He led smaller groups before he led larger groups, and ultimately, he led the country. Here's a good equation to remember: faithfulness plus the Spirit equals impact. Wherever God has you, whether it's leading one person, 100 people, or 1,000 people, just be faithful in that role. Faithfulness plus the Spirit equals impact.

The last thing I'll say about this point about God's timing is one of the biggest lies people wrestle with is the lie, "I'm not where I should be at this point in my life." Have you ever dealt with that? It's like, "I thought I would be making more money at this point. I thought I would have had a better job title at this point. I would have climbed higher on the ladder. I just would have done more. I would have been married by this point. We would have had these many kids at this point." It's a lie.

That's a lie that is fed from a culture that's saying, "This is who you have to be if you truly want to be enough." But here's the thing. If you're where God has called you to be, you're right on time. Period. If you are where God has called you to be, you are right on time. Just see how David points us to the greater David in this moment.

David could have killed Saul in that moment and stopped his suffering and taken the throne. Jesus was offered the opportunity… When he was tempted by the Devil, the Devil offered him power to rule all of the kingdoms of the world without suffering. Even when he hung on the cross, people said, "Hey, come down from the cross right now," but Jesus stayed on the cross until he was able to declare, "It is finished."

That's how much he trusted God's timing. "I'm going to stay here until it is finished." Until what's finished? "Until I have made payment for all sin; until I have made provision and made a way for sinful humanity into a right relationship with a holy God." Godly leaders have patience for God's timing.

5. Godly leaders have a sensitivity to God's conviction. We see this in him cutting off just the corner of Saul's robe. It's a bigger deal than we understand. Saul's robe was the most obvious and visible symbol of his kingship. By cutting off a corner, David brought Saul's robe into a state of nonconformity with legal standards in Israel. David made Saul's robe unwearable. It was like David was invalidating Saul's right to rule.

At the same time, it was just a corner. If David's men had had their way, David would have killed him, but the Hebrew word here means to be struck dead-like. The conviction David feels… It's like he is struck dead. That's a godly conscience, contrasted with Saul who made his life about thwarting God's plans.

See, if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God lives in you, and one of the roles of the Spirit is to convict. A godly leader has a sensitivity to the conviction of the Spirit. Let me encourage you. Beware of the day when your conscience doesn't strike you when you lie or exaggerate or say something that isn't completely true.

Beware the day when your conscience doesn't strike you when you use company funds for personal matters. Beware of the day when your conscience doesn't strike you when you're flirtatious with someone who isn't your spouse. Beware the day when your conscience doesn't strike you when you lead someone else on. Beware the day when your conscience doesn't strike you when you lose it on your employees or roommates or spouse or kids.

A mentor of mine used to say, "Small holes sink big ships." There are some holes in your character. Just wait. It'll bring the house crumbling to the ground. May we be people who sweat the small sins. May we sweat the small sins. It's not legalism. Legalism is trying to earn God's approval through good behavior, but sweating the small sins, responding to the Spirit's conviction… That's the Christian life. That's godly living. Sweat the small sins. If the Spirit convicts you, walk it back to the fork in the road where you made that decision, and then seek to make it right.

A few weeks ago, there was a small group of leaders up here at Watermark who had the opportunity to sit down with Chuck Swindoll. If you don't know who Chuck Swindoll is, he's a preaching hero of mine. He's one of the best preachers of the last century. He's 90 years old now. We got to sit with Chuck Swindoll, and he just shared about his life. After he finished sharing, David Penuel got on ChatGPT, and here's what he asked ChatGPT: "Has Chuck Swindoll been involved in any scandals or controversies?"

It's an appropriate question to ask in light of everything in the news about churches and pastors. This was ChatGPT's response: "No. Chuck Swindoll has not been involved in any major scandals or controversies. He is widely respected for his integrity, Bible teaching, and leadership in evangelical circles. Throughout his decades-long ministry, including his roles as a pastor, author, and founder of Insight for Living, he has maintained a reputation for sound doctrine and personal character." Ninety years old.

Wouldn't it be great for ChatGPT to say that about you? Better yet, wouldn't it be great, when you cross into eternity, to hear those words, "Well done, good and faithful servant"? That's my goal. When I get to my deathbed, my hope is that my closest family and friends can look and say, "You know what? Timothy Ateek was very imperfect, but he was faithful." Imperfect but faithful. Why? "Because he had a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit that God had put in him." The Spirit of God makes us more and more like Jesus.

See, God has revealed himself in Christ so we can know God's character, but then God puts his Spirit in us when we trust in Christ so we can become like him. Unfortunately, David was a good king, but he wasn't a perfect king. In fact, he wasn't the Serpent crusher. The schemes of the Serpent even got to David. Just as Saul was seeking to take David's life, David reached a point where he was seeking to take someone else's life and committed adultery.

Jesus is the greater David, because Jesus didn't come to take life; he came to lay his life down. He didn't come to take life; he came to save our lives. So, do you know what godly leaders do? Godly leaders are, first, great followers. Godly leaders are great followers who recognize that Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

When you put your trust in him, it's like Jesus Christ goes into the closet and replaces the holes of your life apart from him with new clothes. He makes you new. He clothes you in his righteousness. Do you know him? If you've never surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, that's where you start. Good leaders are first great followers. May that be true of us here at Watermark. Let's pray together.

Lord, I pray that you would do a work in our hearts right now. "The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that he may strongly support those whose hearts are fully his." Lord, would you reveal the holes that are in our character? I pray that we would have hearts that are fully yours.

I pray that we would put our trust in you who has us, Lord, that we would have a passion for your glory, that we would prioritize your plans, that we would have patience for your timing, God, that we would have a sensitivity to your convicting work in our lives. Have your way. We need you. We love you. If there's anyone here who doesn't know you, I pray that today would be the day that they turn to you in faith. In Jesus' name, amen.