TRUTH AND LEADERSHIP

HUMILITY IS THE WAY WE RECEIVE TRUTH:
Psalm 25:9 (KJS) The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 10 All the paths of the LORD [are] mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.


THE GROUND OF ALL TRUTH IS GOD'S WORD
John 17:17 (KJS) Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.


WE MUST BE WILLING TO HUMBLE OURSELVES TO RECOGNIZE TRUTH
II Timothy 3:16 (KJS) All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.


JESUS IS THE WORD OF GOD
John 1:1 (KJS) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.


JESUS IS THE TRUTH
John 14:6 (KJS) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.


FOUR ASPECTS OF THE WORK OF GOD'S TRUTH IN OUR LIVES THAT REQUIRE HUMILITY:


1. DOCTRINE - The foundational teachings of truth. This shows us what we are to be like.
Hebrews 2:9 (KJS) But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. 10 For it became him, for whom [are] all things, and by whom [are] all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.


2. REPROOF - This shows us where we fail to live up to the ideal. It is the mirror God holds up to us -
James 1:23 (KJS) For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.


3. CORRECTION - This shows us how we can correct our failings
II Corinthians 3:18 (KJS) But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.


4. INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS - this is the practice of the correction over and over again.
Hebrews 12:1 (KJS) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.


THE WORD OF GOD DEALS WITH ALL OUR "BLIND SPOTS" BY TRUTH:
Psalm 19:7 (KJS) The law of the LORD [is] perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD [is] sure, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the LORD [are] right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD [is] pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD [is] clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD [are] true [and] righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired [are they] than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: [and] in keeping of them [there is] great reward. 12 Who can understand [his] errors? cleanse thou me from secret [faults].


Psalm 51:6 (KJS) Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden [part] thou shalt make me to know wisdom.


WHEN A LEADER REJECTS TRUTH HE SET INTO MOTION THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF HIS OWN DEFEAT:
Proverbs 29:12 (KJS) If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants [are] wicked.


THE DOCTRINE OF SUBMISSION HAS BEEN USED IN RELIGIOUS CIRCLES AS AN ESCAPE FOR THE LEADER FROM ACCOUNTABILITY OR AS A POINT OF PERSONAL DOMINION OVER OTHERS. ANY LEADER WHO WISHES TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THEIR LEADERSHIP MUST BE WILLING TO BE CORRECTED:


THE DOCTRINE OF SUBMISSION IS FOR ORDER NOT FOR DOMINATION


THE LEADERS THAT REFUSED TO BE CORRECTED LOST THEIR LEADERSHIP


ELIJAH AND AHAB
I Kings 18:17 (KJS) And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, [Art] thou he that troubleth Israel? 18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.


NATHAN AND DAVID
II Samuel 12:7 (KJS) And Nathan said to David, Thou [art] the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; 8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if [that had been] too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. 9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife [to be] thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give [them] unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For thou didst [it] secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. 14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also [that is] born unto thee shall surely die.

ABRAM AND SARAI
I Peter 3:4 (KJS) But [let it be] the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, [even the ornament] of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: 6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.


Genesis 16:3 (KJS) And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. 4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. 5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong [be] upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee. 6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid [is] in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.


THE RELATIONSHIP OF WISDOM TO MORAL FAILURE IN LEADERSHIP
Job 28:28 (KJS) And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom; and to depart from evil [is] understanding.


The primary way that a proud man is taken out of leadership is through sexual infidelity.


Proverbs 22:14 (KJS) The mouth of strange women [is] a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.


The way to keep far from moral failure is to cry out and walk in wisdom.


Proverbs 2:1 (KJS) My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; 2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding; 3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up thy voice for understanding; 4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as [for] hid treasures; 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth [cometh] knowledge and understanding. 7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: [he is] a buckler to them that walk uprightly. 8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. 9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; [yea], every good path. 10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; 11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: 12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil [man], from the man that speaketh froward things; 13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; 14 Who rejoice to do evil, [and] delight in the frowardness of the wicked; 15 Whose ways [are] crooked, and [they] froward in their paths: 16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, [even] from the stranger [which] flattereth with her words; 17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. 18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. 19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. 20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good [men], and keep the paths of the righteous. 21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. 22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.


THE FIRST THING THAT WE PUT ON AS A CHRISTIAN TO PROTECT US FROM THE ENEMY IS TRUTH:
Ephesians 6:13 (KJS) Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, . . .


THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THIS IS DESCRIBED IN SCRIPTURE AS WALKING IN THE LIGHT:
I John 1:5 (KJS) This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.


THE REJECTION OF THE LORD IN OUR LIVES COMES AS A RESULT OF NOT WALKING IN THE LIGHT:
John 3:16 (KJS) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.


THE WORK OF CLEANSING FROM SIN IS GOD'S - THE WORK OF BRINGING OUR SINS TO THE LIGHT IS OURS. THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THIS PRINCIPLE IS CONFESSION OF FAULTS (NOT JUST SINS).


Proverbs 28:13 (KJS) He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh [them] shall have mercy.


James 5:16 (KJS) Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.


ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL PROMISES CONCERNING SUCCESS IN LEADERSHIP WAS GIVEN TO JOSHUA:
Joshua 1:1 (KJS) Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, 2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, [even] to the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. 5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, [so] I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it [to] the right hand or [to] the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God [is] with thee whithersoever thou goest.


THE WISE PRAYERS OF LEADERS:


MOSES
Exodus 33:13 (ASV) Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thy sight, show me now thy ways, that I may know thee, to the end that I may find favor in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.


SOLOMON
1 Kings 3:5 (KJS) In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as [it is] this day. 7 And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I [am but] a little child: I know not [how] to go out or come in. 8 And thy servant [is] in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. 14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.


WISDOM IS TRUTH REVEALED.
Deuteronomy 4:5 (KJS) Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. 6 Keep therefore and do [them]; for this [is] your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation [is] a wise and understanding people. 7 For what nation [is there so] great, who [hath] God [so] nigh unto them, as the LORD our God [is] in all [things that] we call upon him [for]?

THE FOUNDATION OF ALL WISDOM IS UNDERSTANDING THAT GOD ALONE IS ITS SOURCE:


Job 12:12 (KJS) With the ancient [is] wisdom; and in length of days understanding. 13 With him [is] wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.


Genesis 41:15 (KJS) And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and [there is] none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, [that] thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. 16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, [It is] not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.


Daniel 2:26 (KJS) The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name [was] Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? 27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise [men], the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; 28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;