The Road Less Traveled...April 2009

Greetings from Antigua! The warm weather is here soon to be followed by 6 months of rain so I am enjoying all the sunshine I can get. We are presently hosting a YWAM team from Chico, CA who have come to Guatemala for the final 2 months of their Discipleship Training School. They have ministered in a variety of places and have been a blessing to everyone. Yesterday we visited a feeding program run by a church about an hour from the base. They feed 46 kids two days each week and have a Bible program for them before they serve the meal. Many of the children are from single parent homes in which the father has either abandoned them or died. The team ministered to the children through songs, stories and dramas. Afterward we play soccer with the boys: Gringos vs Guatemaltecos. The field was on the side of a hill which made for an interesting and challenging game. The boys thoroughly enjoyed playing against us. I hope we will be able to bring more teams there in the future and provide help for them as they reach out to the needy children of the community. The team will be leaving for Lake Atitlan on Saturday for a week of ministry with a couple of churches in San Pablo.

Semana Santa, Holy Week, brought in a lot of people to the city. We passed out tracks and did evangelism during the week with several people making decisions to follow Christ. During this week the people are very open to hearing the gospel message. We celebrated Easter with a sunrise service at the Cross on the hill overlooking Antigua. We had about 50 people join us as we worshipped the Risen Savior. This service has been ongoing for at least 8 years and is one of those memorable events for the tourists and students who are in Antigua for a short term.

We are looking forward to new staff joining us soon as well as some volunteer help for the summer months. June and July have typically been our busiest months of the year and it is nice to have the extra help when we need it. We have fewer teams scheduled to come to Antigua to work with us this summer which can be attributed to the economic crisis most of the world is experiencing. The rental agreement for Higher Grounds Coffee House will expire at the end of October. The future of the shop is unknown at the present time and I ask for your prayers for guidance and direction. The proposed rent increase is beyond our ability and desire to pay each month so we are looking at other options.

During May we will be conducting a one day seminar on prayer for a large group of women and pastors in the Lake Atitlan area. We will be conducting sessions for the women, children and pastors. We also will be hosting a seminar at the Coffee House on personal support raising for missionaries. We have a guest speaker who has worked with YWAM for 30 years and raised 7 children on the mission field. He has a lot of good information to share with the missionary community as they face the challenges of living by faith.

We continue to get inquiries about our September DTS. I will be meeting with several pastors to solicit their help in selecting Guatemalan students who will participate in the 5 month program. This will be a great opportunity for them but will also be a challenge for them being away from family and being around people of different cultures. Please pray that we will be able to recruit the right students and be able to help them with the expenses of the school.


I will be going back to India May 26-June 16 to help with Evangelistic Crusades and Pastor's conferences. I am looking forward to the trip and am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the ministry to the world's second most populated country. During my last trip God did amazing things to make Himself real to the people and demonstrate His love for them. I plan to visit a YWAM base in Chennai when I arrive to explore opportunities to bring student there for outreach. I ask for your prayers for this trip, that God will provide everything I need both financially, physically and spiritually to minister to the people.

A local missionary has developed a website to help missionaries raise funds throught the purchase of Guatemalan coffee. The coffee is grown in Antigua and is high quality. You can purchase the coffee via the internet and have it shipped to your door. Each pound of coffee sells for $10 plus shipping costs which are calculated when you make the purchase. The missionary will receive $4 of each purchase. The website for my personal support is:http://www.hishousecoffee.com/ywam-bruce-ahlberg.php
The website gives information about the ministry I am involved in and there is a short video interview. Whether you contribute through the coffee purchase or through your sacrificial giving I am very grateful to receive your prayers and support. Many mission agencies are reporting greatly reduced support for their missionaries but so far I have only had a couple of supporters that have had to reduce the contributions. Thank you for your continued partnership in the ministry.

For Him,
Bruce

Correspondence Address:
Bruce Ahlberg
YWAM Antigua
6ta Av. Norte #33
Antigua, Guatemala

Contribution address:
YWAM Chico
15850 Richardson Springs Road
Chico, CA 95973
(Please attach a note to designate your contribution)



Personal blog: http://guatemalaministry.blogspot.com/
YWAM Antigua Blog: http://ywamantiguanews.blogspot.com/

He is risen!

I am the resurrection and the life
We gather together this early morning to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus! Much of the world will spend this day as they spend every day, oblivious to or denying of the claims of Jesus when he announced that he was the resurrection and the life. Newsweek’s April 13 magazine had on its cover the following headline, "The Decline and Fall of Christian America". Written by Newsweek editor Jon Meacham, the story is based on last month's highly reported American Religious Identification Survey which revealed that the percentage of Americans claiming no religion rose to 15 percent while that of Christians declined to 76 percent. It also found that the non-religious population, or "Nones," has shifted away from the Pacific Northwest to Northern New England.
The survey reflects to a great extent what is happening in many countries of the world as people doubt Christianity’s claim of exclusivism and have more confidence in their own beliefs. Last week we talked with several people in the park in Antigua about their beliefs. One of young men from Guatemala stated that it really did not matter what you believed as all beliefs were different ways to get to God. One could not claim one belief was better than another. He struggled to be able to answer my question as to how two opposite beliefs could both be true. This is the dilemma of modern man who does not want to exclude anyone or believe that there is absolute truth. Another young man when trying to explain what he believed stumbled over his own words and could not logically explain what he believed. It is as though it does not really matter what you believe because there is no absolute truth by which we can judge things. We live in a time when many people have never really thought through what they believe. They have not asked the hard questions about what they believe but seem content to live in a state of ignorance and do not seem to care about the consequences of their belief system.
It was very different talking to an elderly man who was sitting on the bench by himself. He had been to a full gospel businessman’s meeting that morning and was sitting on the bench thinking about God and what God was saying to him. He knew there was a God yet he acknowledged that his relationship with God was not one of closeness, he was lukewarm. However, he was sensing that God was trying to speak to him. Several things had happened to him during the week that had gotten his attention to the reality of God in his life. He was mulling over these things as he sat on the bench. When we approached him to talk with him, he thought we were going to ask him for directions. He was pleasantly surprised when we began talking to him about God and his relationship with him. He received what we said and got direction for his pursuit of God.
We live in a world of many contrasting belief systems but you and I are gathered here today because we have placed our confidence in a risen Savior Jesus Christ who fulfilled the claims that he made about himself .25Jesus told her, “I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. 26He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish. Do you believe this, Martha?” (John 11:26-28)
Every other religious leader has been buried in a grave and never returned to life. They did not possess resurrection power and they did not promise any of the followers they would one day be raised from the dead.
Without Christ’s resurrection we are no different than the animals that die and return to the earth. We have the evidence of the resurrection through the eye witness accounts that have been recorded and given to us in the Scriptures and in historical documents. Jesus did not keep his resurrection a secret. The Jewish leaders had heard Jesus declare that he would rise from the dead and they were afraid that it could possibly be true so they made sure the tomb was sealed tightly and guarded by soldiers. Jesus had already upset the leaders with his statements regarding his origin, purpose and his destiny. When he rose from the dead the Jews had to create a story to cover themselves and try to keep the people in the dark. His resurrection proved that what he claimed about himself really was true and this was more than the Jewish leaders could bear. They were afraid of the truth just like many people today. They really do not want to believe in Jesus because that would mean they are wrong and that they need to change their ways. One of the prime ways they try to undermine the truth is to deny the inspiration of the Scriptures. If you can destroy the written evidence by invalidating its credibility then you are free to believe what you want.
God’s Word is the foundation of our beliefs but beyond this we have our own personal experiences with Christ and how he has changed our lives. Your personal testimony has great impact on people and testifies of the reality of the resurrection power of Christ working in your life. It is hard for someone to deny a changed life although they may question how Christ changed it.
Another evidence that we have of the resurrection of Christ is the power of his Name. If Christ were simply a man who died how could his name have power over demonic forces and physical conditions such as sickness, disease and abnormal bodies? When believers pray in his Name there is power released and people are healed and set free from demonic bondages. The Name of Jesus is powerful and everything must bow to its authority. Last night in the park I talked to a Guatemalan lady who shared her testimony of being healed of cancer through the prayers of a believer from the USA. Demons must leave when they are commanded to go in the Name of Jesus. I have personally witnessed people who were demon possessed for years but were set free when the demons were commanded to leave in the Name of Jesus. If Jesus’ name meant nothing more than just a human name then the demons would not have to leave. But behind his name is all authority in heaven and on earth. At his name the demons tremble, at his name sickness leaves, at his name people are miraculously healed. I have never heard of someone being healed by declaring the name of Mohammed, or Buddha, or any other leader of a religion.
We have reason to celebrate today because we serve a risen Savior who is actively working on our behalf through the intercessory prayers he is praying for us today. Jesus is praying for you and I right now!
He is the head of his church, those who have been called out of the world to become part of his Body on earth. He is in control and he is actively working in his people who have submitted themselves to his Lordship. The intimacy that Jesus shared with his disciples is now possible for all believers through the gift of the Holy Spirit who Jesus sent to be the Teacher, Counselor, Guide, and Helper. The Holy Spirit is our other witness of the truth of the resurrection. Jesus promised his disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit and in order to do this he had to ascend and go to the Father in order for the Holy Spirit to be sent to the earth. As much as the disciples enjoyed Jesus’ presence with them each day, Jesus told them it was better for them as well as for future believers that he go to the Father and send the Spirit. Our spirit bears witness to the reality of the Holy Spirit dwelling in each one of us.
We have the witness of the eye witnesses, the witness of the written Word of God, the witness of the power of the Name of Jesus, the witness of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to prove the resurrection of Christ being true.
We have been given this message and its reality to share with a lost world. The first disciples after they were empowered by the Holy Spirit shared this message with their Jewish friends and enemies as well as with the Gentiles. They did not remain silent, the message was too important to not share and the stakes were too high for those who never had the opportunity to hear the message. We have an urgent message to share because it is a true message. It is a message that changes the outcome of the verdict that the world is facing which is a sentence of death. When I grew up there was a tv show called Perry Mason. Perry Mason was a lawyer who always defended someone who was falsely accused of a certain crime or he was called on to present evidence that would convict the person guilty of the crime. Many times the key evidence that had the power to change the verdict that seemed inevitable was not presented until the last minute. Once the evidence was presented the case was closed. The evidence of the resurrection is that piece of evidence that we all need to change the verdict on our lives. Believing in Jesus’ resurrection changes everything. It is the most liberating event that has ever occurred and it is the message that we have been given to share with the world.
Today we have the opportunity to both be the message and share the message of the truth of the resurrection with the world. We cannot hold back, we cannot be ashamed or timid about sharing this message even though we may be ridiculed or rejected the message is the truth that God wants the world to know. There are many who will receive a verdict of guilty unless they hear and believe the message God has given us. Our privilege is to share the truth with them and live the truth before them so that they can see its reality and be drawn by the Holy Spirit to surrender their lives to Christ and receive his gift of eternal life made possible through the resurrection of Jesus.
May we leave this place filled with the Holy Spirit, filled with the joy of knowing that we know the truth, filled with the hope that one day we too will rise from the dead and forever be in the presence of Jesus where we will rule and reign with Him.
The early church celebrated the resurrection by confirming with one another the truth of the resurrection. As they greeted each other one would say,”He is risen!” and the other person would respond, “He is risen indeed!” There was both certainty and joy in their confession. Let’s leave today with that same certainty and joy.

Leadership principles from the life of Joshua

As Israel was set to enter the Promised Land a new leader had to be commissioned to bring them into the land and lead them into battle. Moses was disqualified from leadership because of his outburst of anger and disrespect he showed toward God when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it as God had commanded. Moses had some anger issues that led him to actions that he regretted and kept him from crossing the Jordan. Moses saw the Promised Land from Mt. Nebo but never set foot in it. The new leader of the million plus people of Israel had to be someone who was well prepared and qualified as it would be a daunting task for anyone. God had a man prepared for the task, Joshua the son of Nun. Tonight I want to look at his life and how God prepared him and developed him into a great leader. The principles of successful leadership identified in his life are principles that all of us can apply to our lives as we seek to serve the Lord in whatever role has placed us in.
Mentored by Moses
Joshua was part of the mass exodus from Egypt. We are not sure of the exact age when he left, the only age we know for certain is that he was 110 years old when he died and that 40 of those years were spent in the wilderness. I am guessing he was between 30-40 years old when he left Egypt which is considered to be young when you live to be over 100. He witnessed the powerful hand of God in the judgments on Egypt and the miraculous deliverance. He witnessed the miracles of provision in the desert as well as the judgments on the people for their disobedience. All of these experiences helped to shape his life, his understanding of God and his faith in God. The first mention of Joshua finds him leading the men under his charge in the battle against Amalek (Ex. 17:8-16). He witnessed the power of God at work to defeat the enemy. Joshua served alongside of Moses as his assistant. There was obviously leadership potential in him and Moses took him under his wing to mentor him. In Exodus 24:13 Joshua was with Moses when the Lord told him to come to meet with him on Mt. Sinai where he would receive the commandments of God. Mentoring is a powerful tool that helps prepare leaders for positions of great responsibility. The Bible is filled with examples of people who were mentors and were mentored. Joshua was privileged to have a great mentor in Moses. He shadowed Moses, and served him. Leadership is service and Joshua had the opportunity to serve one the greatest leaders in history. Mentoring is important at any age. Studies from the Barna group indicate that after the age of 13 only 5% of youth in the USA will make decisions for Christ. It is vitally important to reach and begin training and discipling youth at an early age. Joshua had the advantage of an excellent mentor. He learned through observation of Moses’ life how important it was to be obedient to the Lord and have faith in the word of God. As believers we need to be engaged in the training of young people or in making it possible for them to be trained. If we fail to invest in our children and the youth of our churches we will continue to lose future leaders of the church. Youth With A Mission has had from its inception the vision of training young people to be disciples of Christ who will impact the world. The Discipleship Training School is designed to lay a foundation of Knowing God and making Him known. YWAM champions youth and gives them opportunities to grow in leadership while they are young. There are many other organizations that are attempting to accomplish the same things with young people and we need to be encouraging youth to take advantage of the opportunities to be a part of this training. Our base will be conducting a DTS this September and I want to see at least 5 Guatemalan youth attending it. We will need to raise funds to help them attend and I ask that you pray that God will help us select the people He wants in the school. Joshua had the advantage of being mentored by Moses to prepare him for the leadership role he would one day have. Mentoring is not just for young people, all of us need a mentor who will help us develop our faith and grow in our maturity in the Lord. We need to learn from others by placing ourselves under them and invite them to speak into our lives. I want to encourage each of us to find a mentor and be a mentor to someone. Invest yourself in another life to train them and help them live out their faith. We are living in a time when many young people are growing up in single parent homes and they need a mentor to help them learn how to be a true disciple of Christ.
Faith and obedience
Joshua’s leadership ability was recognized by Moses and he was chosen to be one of the spies sent to inspect the Promised Land and bring back a report to the people. Joshua had already seen how God defeated the Amalekites. God had been faithful to his word and it was with this same confidence in God that he along with Caleb saw the tremendous potential that lay before them in the Promised Land. Numbers 14:6-10 records their conversation with the people. They communicated as strongly and as encouragingly as they could that God would give them the land and defeat the enemy. Joshua had eyes of faith to see what was available and confidence in God’s ability to give them what he had promised. Great leaders in God’s kingdom have to have eyes of faith to see the potential and dependence upon God to do what he has declared he will do. Their enthusiasm was met with hostility and rejection. Fear had gripped the heart of the people and they missed out on what God had for them. Joshua and Caleb had to wait many years for the rebellious generation to die before they could enter the Promised Land. They lived with the memory of the fertile land that was promised to them but unattainable because of the disobedience of the people. Disappointment is part of leadership. As a leader you can see the potential in people and opportunities but when you see people make wrong choices that are destructive or see them not take advantage of opportunities that God has given them to grow you can be very disappointed. This is an aspect of leadership that is very difficult to go through. Your influence on others is limited by their choices which you cannot control. Joshua did what he could but ultimately people will make their own choices and with those choices there is often disappointment and delays.
Filled with the Spirit
Joshua’s faithfulness to the Lord was rewarded. When the time came for Moses to step down from leadership, Joshua was God’s choice to lead the next generation into the Promised Land. Joshua was given an impartation of the Spirit which set him apart for leadership. Numbers 27:18-23 describes the public transfer of authority and recognition of the new leadership role that Joshua would assume. Leaders must be filled and led of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit the leader will lack the wisdom necessary to make decisions that will affect many lives. The wisdom of the Holy Spirit is supernatural wisdom. It is not wisdom that is gained through experience; it is supernatural wisdom that the Spirit imparts when there is a need. As we are filled with the Spirit and learn to hear His voice as He imparts wisdom and understanding that is beyond our human understanding we receive the guidance and instruction that will give us success. Joshua had the Spirit of God at work in him and Moses gave public recognition that he would be the next leader. God had prepared Joshua for this moment and He placed him in the position when he was ready. God must be the one who places us in positions of leadership. If we try to force our way or strive after a position of leadership it will not work. When God is ready to put you in a new position it will be recognized by the other leaders and the people. It was obvious to the people that Joshua was the one to lead them and they pledged faithfulness to him.
Strength and Courage
As the new leader of Israel Joshua needed to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:6-9) Leadership will always be faced with challenges that at times seem extremely difficult. A leader who is weak and afraid will only lead the people to be fearful. Their strength is not in their own abilities but in their relationship to the Lord and his ability to work through them. God promised he would be with Joshua just as he was with Moses. He would never abandon him. Joshua had seen God work through him, he knew all things were possible with God because God was faithful to fulfill his word. There would be many enemies that Israel would have to defeat. They would be outnumbered and not have the same weapons of warfare but they had God as their banner leading them into the battle and fighting for them as they walked in obedience to his commands.
Priority of God’s Word
Joshua’s success would be dependent upon his fulfillment of the laws and commands of God. He was to saturate himself in God’s Word, meditate upon it and teach to the people because their success was dependent upon their obedience to the Lord. This is another critical aspect of leadership and that is studying, applying and teaching the Word of God to the people. Our success will be determined by our obedience to live out the Word of God in our lives. When leaders begin to live lives outside of the Word of God, trouble immediately follows. We have all witnessed great leaders be removed from leadership because of failure to live out the principles of God’s word. God will not be mocked, He will remove leaders who are walking in disobedience to him. Most of us are aware of what happened with Todd Bently whom God was using in Lakeland, Florida, to bring salvation and healing. His ministry was stripped away from him overnight when it was revealed that he was separating from his wife and was involved in inappropriate relationships. He has since remarried and has subjected himself to a restoration process with other leaders. Leaders will be attacked more strongly by the enemy and we need to hold them up in prayer as well as hold them accountable for their actions. Joshua’s life was marked by obedience to the Lord. The only exception was when the Gibeonites deceived him and he made a covenant with them without consulting the Lord. As a leader we must always go to the Lord for wisdom and discernment. Joshua kept his covenant with the Gibeonites. In our court of law the covenant could be broken because of the deception that was involved. In a marriage covenant there is a provision for annulment if there was deception on the part of one person. If the person you are marrying kept hidden the fact that he or she was still married to another person, the marriage would be null and void. When Joshua made the covenant with the Gibeonites, there was no clause for deception. Once the covenant was made, he had to honor it. Joshua was responsible to check things out before entering into an agreement. We would all be much wiser if we did more checking before we agreed to bind ourselves to an contract with someone we really don’t know. Joshua failed to do any checking and he failed to seek the Lord for discernment. It is easy for us to rely on our own wisdom and understanding and fail to seek the Lord in our decisions. Godly leaders know how to seek the Lord and are not quick to enter into covenant unless they have consulted the Lord and done their research.
Encouragement and Motivation
Another aspect of Joshua’s leadership was his ability to encourage and motivate others. Tom Landry was a very successful coach of the Dallas Cowboy football team. He was quoted to say, “The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do, in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to be.” As a leader Joshua had to confront the people with their failures and encourage them to pursue everything that was theirs. The conquering of the Promise Land took several years to achieve. There came a time when the people just gave up on possessing all the land. The enemies had been conquered but they did not move into the land to settle in it. They had reached a point where they were satisfied with where they were at. Joshua 18:1-10 relates the situation and how Joshua handled it. He was not content to have 7 of the tribes not move into the land that was theirs. He said to them, “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you? (18:3). Leaders at times need to provide a push to those who can easily settle for less than what they are capable of doing or desire to do. Leaders have to be willing to challenge the status quo and encourage their followers to pursue excellence and develop their gifts and talents to their maximum potential. It is human nature to find a place of contentment and just hunker down and not pursue what you could really achieve. I have great admiration for people who are seeking to become better at what they do, more knowledgeable about their field of study and are willing to invest in training or take steps of faith to pursue their goals and dreams. When you stop dreaming you stop living. Leaders are risk takers and they encourage others to take risks to become everything they can be. They are not content to settle for something less than what could be and they encourage others to press on and do what needs to be done to pursue their dream. Joshua put a little fire under the feet of the Israelites to motivate them to take possession of everything that God had given them and they responded. The people may not have appreciated what he said at that moment but after they moved into their new land I am sure they were grateful that they had not settled for something less than they could have had.
A Legacy worth remembering
The final aspect of Joshua’s leadership was the legacy he left with the people. In Joshua 24, he gives his farewell address to the people and leaders of the nation. He publicly challenged them to choose whom they would serve and stated that he and his house would serve the Lord and not the gods of the other nations. During his lifetime, Joshua did everything the Lord asked him to do. He accomplished his mission and God fulfilled every promise that he made to Joshua and the people because of Joshua’s obedience. Joshua finished strong, he was not a backslidden unfaithful man but one who lived his entire life in obedience to the Lord. He left a legacy for Israel and for us as well that I pray will be said of each one of us at the end of our lives. Judges 2:7-9 describe the legacy of Joshua.’
7-9Joshua, the man of God, died at the age of 110 and was buried at the edge of his property in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. The people had remained true to the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime, and as long afterward as the old men of his generation were still living—those who had seen the mighty miracles the Lord had done for Israel.
He was revered as a “man of God” and I can’t think of a better title to describe any of us when we die. He was a man who knew God, loved God, served God and lived each day for the glory of God. His teaching and influence affected the people in his lifetime as well as the people who lived long after him. May our lives have an eternal impact on the people we serve and inspire them to live godly lives that will bring glory and honor to the Lord.

God Delights in Our Well Being

God delights in our well being
We are living in times of great stress for many people as the economic crisis in the USA has radically impacted millions of lives. Some have literally become victims of a system gone wrong and others have made poor decisions that have placed them in a bad situation. In times as these it is comforting to know that for those whose faith and trust is in God can be reassured that He cares for the well being of his people. David experienced this throughout his life and wrote the following in Psalms 35.
Psalms 35:27, 28 May those who want to see me acquitted shout for joy and say again and again, “How great is the LORD! He is pleased with the success of his servant.” 28 Then I will proclaim your righteousness, and I will praise you all day long.
Other versions of the Bible translate, “the success of his servants” as follows:
“who loves to see his servants do well.” New Century Version
“who delights in blessing his servants with peace.” NLT
“who hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.” ASV
“who delights in the welfare of his servant!” NRSV
“who delights in the well-being of his servant..” NIV
“who enjoys helping his child!” Living Bible

I read this Psalm the other day and reflected upon it as I have been reading through the book of Deuteronomy. Moses was preparing a new generation of Israelites to enter the Promised Land. He recounted the journey from Egypt to where they were at. Moses did not want the new generation to forget where they had come from and what God had done for them, nor did he want them to forget what had hindered their fathers from entering into the Promised Land. The words of Moses were to be passed on to future generations to help them remember who they were as a people and nation but more importantly who God is and what He has done for them and how much he cares for them.
Second and third generation Christians often lose sight of what God has done in the past and many do not have the same experiences with God because they have lost the true vision and understanding of who God is. I think all of us have seen this happen in the church today where the parents are strong believers but their children do not have the same passion and some even leave the faith because they have lost sight of who God is and wants to be in their lives. The vital connection their parents had is not the same as the experience of their children and they wander from the pathway that leads to God in pursuit of their own gods. Moses did not want this to happen to the new generation thus he made a written record that would be passed on to them that would remind them of God’s choosing of their nation as his special people, his miraculous deeds and his constant love for them.
Moses as he was giving final instruction to the nation of Israel and its new leaders wanted to leave them with a history that was undeniable and unforgettable so that they would place their confidence in God and seek him and serve him with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. Moses had firsthand experience with God as did all the Israelites who wandered for 40 years in the desert. They saw God do miraculous things among them. Moses was captured by the awe of God and he did not want the next generation to lose this sense of awe. In Deut. 4:1-5, Moses reminds Israel of the Laws God had given to them. These laws set them apart from all the nations around them. God was interested in the well being, the welfare, and the prosperity of his people and it was through the obedience to his laws that he would bless them and set them apart from all the nations on earth. His laws were necessary because the heart of man is easily drawn away into seeking other gods and practicing wickedness that is an abomination to God. The nations that Israel would destroy when they conquered the Promised Land were wicked nations involved in sexual sin that included incest, bestiality, and homosexuality. The nations they would destroy were even sacrificing their children to foreign gods. They were a perverted people that needed to be judged and completely destroyed. God did not want them to spare any life; everyone was to be destroyed because of the corruption of the people. God was looking out for the well being of his people. He saw and they saw what happens when people serve other gods. Israel experienced this in Egypt. They saw the corruption and oppression of the people. The gods of Egypt were judged by God in the plagues that he sent. God is a God of judgment. He does not stand idly by or turn his eyes away from evil. He waits for man to repent but there comes a day when he must judge sin and pour out his wrath against it. God waited until it was time to judge Egypt for their worship of false gods and he waited for the nations that inhabited the Promised Land to turn away but their day of judgment had now come. His first commandment he gave to Israel was that they should have no other gods before Him. He is God and He is a jealous God. He does not want his creation to serve other gods they have created in their minds and made images to represent. He created us to worship Him alone and anything else will only serve to diminish us as people and cause us to fall into sin that is an abomination to him. God gave Israel his laws for their own good. His laws would preserve them as a nation and allow them to enjoy life, prosper, be at peace and be well. God’s laws are designed to keep us free from things that will destroy our lives and enable us to enjoy life as he intended it. God is a God of pleasure, He wants what is best for us, what will bring us the most joy and ensure our well being. He delights in our well-being!
Moses told the new generation to obey the laws of God and he explained what would happen if they obeyed.
 
Deut 4:6-8 6If you obey them, they will give you a reputation for wisdom and intelligence. When the surrounding nations hear these laws, they will exclaim, ‘What other nation is as wise and prudent as Israel!’ 7For what other nation, great or small, has God among them, as the Lord our God is here among us whenever we call upon him? 8And what nation, no matter how great, has laws as fair as these I am giving you today?
Wisdom, intelligence, prudence were the reputation they would have among the other nations. The laws God gave them were to set them apart and act as a magnet to the other nations. The wisdom and justice of their laws were designed to make an impression on the neighboring nations. This is why God always made provision for the foreigners to be a part of Israel. Foreigners were drawn to Israel because they witnessed the justice, rightness, wisdom and intelligence of the laws and how they transformed the nation.
God is still concerned for the well being of his people. He wants us to be successful, he wants to prosperous us, he wants us to be at peace and he has given us His word and his promises that show us what He wants us to do in order to receive all that he wants to give to us as his children. God wants to set us apart from the people of the earth who are following after manmade, demonic inspired gods. He wants to demonstrate through our lives how intelligent, how wise, how just He truly is. We are to reflect his character and nature to the world. And to those who are observant and honest with themselves, they will see the greatness and goodness of God in our lives as they witness our well-being.
Is your life demonstrating God’s blessing of well-being? This does not mean that you are living in a state of complete bliss and have no battles to fight but it does mean that God is with you and your life is experiencing success in the terms that God defines success. Many try to define success in terms of finances and possession. This is not real success. Real success is being at peace with God and peace with one another. Life is all about relationships, with God and one another. If you are not at peace you have no well being, no real prosperity. When we are not walking according to God’s laws we will not experience peace and well being. We may accumulate great wealth and appear successful but we truly have failed if that is our measure of success. When we are in right relationship with God, He will give us the wisdom, intelligence, knowledge and justice to help us make decisions that will prosper our lives and bring us peace and well-being. If your life is chaotic, full of troubles and misery, always lacking in what you need, marked by broken relationships and anguish then you need to evaluate your relationship with God because something is missing.
Moses continues his discourse by recounting some of the things that God had done for Israel (Deut. 4:11-14; 32-40) He reminded them of the miracles God performed and how they were to have a permanent effect upon their lives and the lives of their children and grandchildren. Our testimony of God’s work in our lives is meant to have a permanent effect upon our children. Our relationship with God has to be in the present tense, God has to be working in us daily and the testimonies of what he has done are to serve as a stimulus to our children and grandchildren to become seekers and followers of God. The Israelites saw the glory of God, they heard the voice of God, they saw the commandments of God written by his finger, they saw the fire of God and the pillar of his presence, the miracle of water being provided and daily manna. It seems as though all these experiences would be more than enough to convince someone that God is real and that he is powerful and that he cares. Unfortunately, the memory of all that God did was still not sufficient nor would it bring permanent change in the hearts of the children of the next generation.
Moses predicted a bleak future in verses 25-28 25“In the future, when your children and grandchildren are born and you have been in the land a long time, and you have defiled yourselves by making idols, and the Lord your God is very angry because of your sin, 26heaven and earth are witnesses that you shall be quickly destroyed from the land. Soon now you will cross the Jordan River and conquer that land. But your days there will be brief; you will then be utterly destroyed. 27For the Lord will scatter you among the nations, and you will be but few in number. 28There, far away, you will worship idols made from wood and stone, idols that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.
God knew the heart of the people. They, like their fathers would rebel and be punished for worshipping idols that were nothing but manmade materials. It is scary to think how quickly one can lose faith and allegiance to God. I think all of us know people who at one time were in a relationship with God but have now left their faith and some are even opposed to belief in God. Our relationship with God must be first hand, it cannot be the faith of our parents, it has to be our own that we develop and nurture each day. Our faith must be real, active, and meaningful; it must be able to stand against all other belief systems because it will be challenged. The Israelites daily collected the manna which was a constant reminder of God’s love and provision for them. Their lives depended upon God providing for them daily. We too must daily be reminded of God’s care and desire to enter into relationship with us. The basis of our relationship always must be God’s immense love for us. It was God’s love that caused him to choose Israel, rescue them from Egypt and daily provide for their needs. This is the first mention in the O.T. about God’s love for his people.
God predicted the falling away yet he also predicted the return of the people after they realized the purpose of his discipline and sought for him with all their heart and returned to obedience to his laws. God’s love was always present in spite of their disobedience and his discipline; he still loved them and wanted to bless them. This is the heart of God for his people. Though we may fall away, he never changes his love for us. It does not diminish. We are the ones who suffer because we choose to believe that life without God is better than life with God who always acts in love and in our best interests. I don’t know about you but this is very encouraging to me. God is always ready for us to return to him. He always wants to reestablish the relationship and fulfill his part of the covenant he has made with us. He wants to demonstrate his love and provision for us. He wants to bless our lives and see us prosper. He delights in the well-being of his people. Later on in Deuteronomy 20:5-8, Moses gives instructions about choosing men to go to war. He gave four exemptions. If you fell into one of these four categories you did not have to go to war. One was for anyone who was fearful. A fearful person will pull down the courage of others and will be a detriment to the army. It would be better for them to stay back than infect the troops with fear. A second exemption was for anyone who had just planted a vineyard and had not been able to enjoy the fruit of his labor. A third was for a man who had just got engaged and would miss out on enjoying the future married relationship with his new bride. A fourth was for the man who had just built a new home and had not dedicated it. God knew that men would be killed in the battle but he did not want men in these last three exemptions to miss out on the blessing of a new home dedication, the harvest of a newly planted vineyard nor the opportunity to enjoy a married relationship with one he loved. This is the heart of God and how much he delights in the well being of his people. These may seem like pretty simple things in life yet they are things that bring pleasure to man and pleasure to God. They were important enough for God that he gave these exemptions. God wants us to reciprocate his love for us. He desires that we love him with all of our heart because he is worthy of all that we can give him. He is a jealous God because there are no other gods that can compare with him. He is so far removed from the gods man creates and serves. It is hard to make an analogy that would even come close to the comparison but one that I can think of is the difference between choosing a Lamborghini or a Yugo. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would choose the Yugo over the Lamborghini. There is no comparison regarding style, ride, value, and comfort. Yet man chooses to serve gods so inferior to God. It is insulting to God. He has a right to be jealous for our devotion because no other god cares and loves his people like he does.
God’s presence, his power and miraculous intervention, his holiness and righteousness, his love and provision, his protection and guidance are all aspects of his nature that draw us to him as we experience these things in our daily walk with him. These are the things that he wants us to experience and testify of him to bring glory and honor to him. These are the things that will create a desire in others to know him and realize how far we have fallen from him and need to seek him with all of our heart.
Our obedience to God is a product of our understanding of who He is and what He desire for our lives. God is love and all that he has done for us is based in his love for us. When we see God as he truly is we can only fall down in his presence and say how wrong we have been in our thinking and actions and how much we need to be forgiven. When we see God for who He truly is we will readily acknowledge our poverty of spirit, our lack of humility and meekness, our lack of purity and pursuit of righteousness and come to the realization that we need to surrender our lives and live in obedience to Him. King David saw himself in the light of the revelation of God and said, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” Pharaoh had a totally different perception of himself and God and he said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey Him?” This is the reality of the world today. There are those who recognize God and man as they truly are and those who have no place for God in their lives and are unwilling to submit to Him and never will enjoy the relationship and blessing of knowing God who delights in the well-being of his people.
Tonight I want to end by challenging each one of us to ask ourselves if we are truly enjoying a relationship of well being with the Lord. Do our lives truly reflect a life that enjoys God’s peace or are we struggling because we have not walked in obedience to what he has asked of us for our own good?
Secondly, are we actively pursuing God in our daily relationship with him? Are we seeking Him daily and can truthfully say that we are doing it with all heart? Are we holding back, distracted and diverted in our pursuit of intimacy with him?
Thirdly, are we experiencing God’s presence, power, provision, purity, and passionate love on a daily basis such that we can testify of it to our children and grandchildren in such way as to inspire their faith in God through our example?

The Road Less Traveled..March 2009

Greetings from Guatemala! There is a little chill in the air as I write, sort of unusual for this time of year as we approach much warmer weather. It reminds me of Minnesota Spring weather that brings hope that the snow and cold will soon be gone. I am a little under the weather today, fighting a cold and congestion and I would appreciate your prayers for good health.
Antigua has entered into the annual Lent season that is marked by numerous processions and thousands of tourists coming to town. It is an opportunity to share Christ with people and we plan to take advantage of the season to make an eternal impact on people's lives. We have a couple of teams coming for about a week of ministry in mid March and another group coming in April/May. We look forward to working with them to facilitate ministry experiences and help them grow in their faith and understanding of how God can use them on the mission field. Please keep these teams in your prayers that God will protect them as they travel and minister and direct their steps each day as they set out to accomplish the ministry that is planned for the day.
During the first week of February I went to San Pablo La Laguna to work with a team from Canada who came to help with the construction of the health clinic at Pastor Efrain's home. We started at 3 a.m. on Sunday morning pouring the roof with the help of about 40 men from the church. By 3 p.m. we were done, a long day of manual labor but very rewarding to see how much was accomplished. The sponsoring church from near Toronto raised the funds to be able to do the work and also left money to be able to finish the interior work. I will be heading back to San Pablo this weekend to visit with Pastor Efrain and see the progress on the project. I will also be connecting with a nurse who is working in a city nearby to see if she can help staff the health clinic when it officially opens. A couple of doctors have committed to donate their time each week and month to help meet the medical needs of the people. Please pray that God will put it in the hearts of medical people to help with the clinic and that the medical supplies needed will also be available. Health care is a major need in this city.
After we finished the roof project we then focused on building a home for a family of 7. The father, Francisco, is a block layer so he and his sons were working with us during the 4 days of construction. It was a pleasure to get to know him and his family. Francisco has been a believer for 2 years. Prior to coming to faith in Christ, he was a drunk who often slept on the streets and lived in filthy clothes. When he returned home he was abusive to his wife and children. His wife began attending Pastor Efrain's church and they prayed for Francisco. Their prayers were answered and Francisco is a completely different person. His love for his wife and his children is very evident in the way he treats them. His sons are hardworkers and very respectful to their father and mother. The family was living in an adobe style home that had only 2 rooms. The four boys slept in a very small room that had one bed that was essentially 3 planks of wood with no mattress. Only 2 of the boys could fit on the bed so the other 2 slept on the ground and they traded places every other night. The boys were delighted when we built them a 3 level bunk bed with mattresses on each bed. Two of the boys will share a bed as it is big enough for both of them. The family was very thankful to have a home of their own with more space than they presently have. It was a blessing for me to be able to talk with the family and encourage them in their faith.
The team also brought clothing to give away and I was able to get a large amount of clothing from a company nearby. Pastor Efrain's wife and a couple of ladies in our group assembled 160 bags of clothing to give away in the community.
Two of our neighbors, Gladys and Nelson are now attending school with the financial help of supporters connected to our ministry. Gladys is 13 and Nelson is 8 years old and they are enjoying each day at school. Often I give them a ride into Antigua and take them home at night when I am in town. They are both doing very well and are very appreciative of the opportunity to go to school. Their dad is living in the USA and was sending money to the family but Gladys said he stopped sending it recently. I don't know why but nonetheless the family like many families has needs and because of your support they are able to go to school. Four other children are also able to attend school through the scholarship money provided. Thank you for your support, it really does make a difference.
We are praying for a few more teams to come to Guatemala to work with us this summer. We have 2 potential groups coming in June and July but we would like to have at least 2 more by the end of July or early August. Please pray that God will connect us with the groups that are interested in coming to do ministry.
Our other on-going ministries are doing well: Kid's Bible Club, ESL classes, worship and prayer services at Higher Grounds and Soul Patrol evangelism. We are planning to conduct a Leadership seminar in May with Pastor Efrain and then will be hosting a 4 day workshop May 18-21 on support raising for people in faith based ministries. Please continue to pray that God will guide us and use us in these ministries.
I am blessed to be able to work with dedicated staff and ask that you hold them up in prayer as well as they raise financial support and carry out the ministries God has given them. I would love to have more staff join us to provide more support for what we are already undertaking.
Our Fall Discipleship Training Program will begin September 6, 2009. We have several students inquiring about attending and I would like to be able to see 5 Guatemalan youth be a part of the program. They will need financial assistance to be able to come. If you would like to help sponsor a student please let me know.
Thank you for your prayers for the ministry and for me personally. James said, "You have not because you ask not." Prayer is our life line with God and your prayers are what make possible the ministry in Guatemala. Thanks also for the gifts of support that you faithfully and sacrificially give. I am grateful for the financial provision to meet our needs.

For Him,
Bruce

Correspondence address:
Bruce Ahlberg
6ta Av. N. #33
Antigua, Guatemala

Contribution address:
YWAM Chico
15850 Richardson Springs Road
Chico, CA 95973
(please attach a note to designate your gift)

David the Leader

David the Leader
Tonight we will look at the last part of our series on the life of David and will address David as a leader. As we look back on his life we see how God formed David into the great leader that he was through many difficult situations. Leaders are not born, they are formed and godly leaders are formed under the direction of God’s hand. Leaders go through many stages of brokenness as God chisels away at their character to make them into the person he can trust and use to lead his people. Bill Lawrence was our speaker at the Intermissions conference this past weekend and he told the story of the making of the statue of David and made an analogy of how God makes us into leaders. The slab of marble that had been commissioned to be used to make a statue of David had been attempted to be carved into David by two sculptors. Both of them got discouraged in their efforts and left it unfinished yet covered with many marks as they chipped away at it. Forty years passed since the first sculptor began his work and Leonardo DaVinci was asked to take it over and complete it but he had taken on another project and was not able to do it. The 18 foot piece of marble with all of its flaws was given to Michael Angelo who was 26 years old at the time. He built walls around the marble and spent the next 2 years forming the now famous statue of David. The scars of the previous sculptors are still visible in the masterpiece Michael Angelo created. God like Michael Angelo takes flawed human being, perhaps people that many have given up on and saw no potential and transforms them into his masterpiece. He takes us as we are with all of our weaknesses and scars. Through his loving process that is often marked with pain and suffering he chips away the things in our life that are a hindrance to his goal to transform us into his image.
King David was not a perfect man by any means. As we saw last week he committed sins that even today would put you in jail for life or send you to your death. David was a flawed man but the aspect of David’s life that made him a great leader was that he had a heart that pursued God. This is the quality that God looks for in his leaders, a heart that seeks after Him. God is not looking for perfection because he would never be able to find anyone he could use. What he looks at is the bend of our heart, a heart that is always returning to God and is pointed toward him. David was a great leader because of his heart condition. Many leaders today are evaluated by their performance, what they have accomplished or achieved. God is not concerned about what we do but who we are. A leader who accumulates great wealth but loses his family and friends in the process may be applauded by man but in the eyes of God they have not become a true leader because they have not had a transformation of their heart.
David’s heart was set on seeking God and that is why he became a great leader. When his heart began to seek after pleasure and power he fell and committed sins that plagued him, his family and his nation. His secret sin with Bathsheba produced a whirlwind of devastation when David pursued his fleshly desires and disregarded his relationship with God. When David set his eyes on power he was brought down. This incident occurred when David decided to conduct a census of the people. A census was commonly done by other kings when they wanted to draft men into the military or forced labor. This was never practiced in Israel’s life. Why David decided at this point in his life to take a census is not completely known. Perhaps David had gotten proud of his vast empire and wanted a number count of all the people so he could feel really important and take pride in his accomplishment. Some have suggested that David wanted a count so he could rely on the size of his army rather than depend upon God to take care of the nation. The military commander in charge of the census, Joab, knew from the beginning that it was a bad idea but he reluctantly obeyed the King and only surveyed part of the people as it was a bad idea. God confronted David regarding his pride and quest for power and David acknowledged that he had sinned against God and had acted foolishly (2 Samuel 24:10) God let David choose his punishment; 7 years of famine, 3 months of fleeing from his enemies or 3 days of plague. David did not want to fall into the hands of the enemy and he placed himself at the mercy of God to let God do whatever He wanted. David again was a broken man and he took his punishment as God directed. His heart had not become hardened toward God, it remained tender and when confronted with his failures he had a contrite heart and sought forgiveness. This is the type of leader God is looking for today, one whose heart seeks after him and one whose heart is broken and contrite when faced with his failures. David led from his heart and this is the mark of a great leader in the eyes of God.
David’s love for God dominated his life, he truly had a heart for God. His communion and fellowship with God set him apart from other leaders. Out of this love for God a leader was formed who was loved by the people. David’s love for God and his love for his people was returned to him through the loyalty the people demonstrated to him. The story of David’s life that exemplifies this best is when the three soldiers broke through the enemy lines to bring David a drink of water 1 Chron. 11:15-19. 15Another time, three of the Thirtyb went to David while he was hiding in the cave of Adullam. The Philistines were camped in the valley of Rephaim, 16and David was in the stronghold at the time; an outpost of the Philistines had occupied Bethlehem. 17David wanted a drink from the Bethlehem well beside the gate, and when he mentioned this to his men, 18-19these three broke through to the Philistine camp, drew some water from the well, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it! Instead he poured it out as an offering to the Lord and said, “God forbid that I should drink it! It is the very blood of these men who risked their lives to get it.”
David did not demand they get him the water which he certainly could have done but he simply expressed a desire for a drink and that was all his loyal men needed to hear. David’s men loved him and were willing to lay down their lives for him. This is a far cry from what I have witnessed in some relationships between husbands and wives or bosses and employees where there seems to be little love but a lot of commands and demands. I have seen husbands and wives make demands of their spouses as though they were their slaves. The spouse is not responding out of love but out of fear of what may happen if they do not do what they are told. In this story of David’s life he did not demand anything be done for him, he just expressed a desire. The men voluntarily risked their lives to please their king. Love produces loyalty. Leaders who lead from the heart produce followers who will love them and be loyal to them even to the point of taking risks for them.
The heart of the leader is by far the most important quality. To be an effective leader there must also be skills that enable the leader to work with the people and accomplish what God has given to them as their mission. As we look at the life of David we can identify several things about David that made him a great leader.
1. Courage
David had great courage in the face of adversity. His battle with Goliath when he was just a young boy demonstrated the courage he had to face an enemy as intimidating as Goliath (1 Samuel 17:48). David did not run away but ran toward Goliath. Leaders who have courage do the same, they tackle problems head on, run to them rather than cower away from them.
Corporate Manager Survey
A study was recently completed on corporate managers. In it they were asked if they voiced positions that (1) focused on the good of the company, rather than personal benefit; and (2) jeopardized their own careers. Emerging from this study were the four leader-types which are found in all organizations.
• Type #1—courageous. These people expressed ideas to help the company improve, in spite of personal risk or opposition.
• Type #2—confronting. These people spoke up, but only because of a personal vendetta against the company.
• Type #3—calloused. These people didn’t know, or care, whether they could do anything for the company; they felt helpless and hopeless, so they kept quiet.
• Type #4—conforming. These people also remained quiet, but only because they loathed confrontation and loved approval.
The researchers discovered that the courageous managers accomplished the most, reported the highest job satisfaction, and eventually were commended by superiors. Their commitment had certainly improved the quality of their lives.
Courage - You Can Stand Strong in the Face of Fear, Jon Johnston, 1990, SP Publications, pp. 138-139
David as a leader had to lead his men into battles that required great courage. His courage inspired his followers to respond as he did to adversity.
2. Ability to work with difficult people
David learned how to work with difficult people. When he fled from Saul who was trying to kill him, he was joined by 400 men who were in trouble, in debt, discouraged (1 Sam 22:1-2). So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam, where his brothers and other relatives soon joined him. 2Then others began coming—those who were in any kind of trouble, such as being in debt, or merely discontented—until David was the leader of about four hundred men.
They were not a group of happy campers but were men who were distraught by what had happened. Perhaps they were men with attitudes but David took them into his camp and led them from place to place. We never read of his men turning against him or creating problems for him. David earned their respect and he learned how to work with people who had difficulties to overcome. Difficult people are often God’s instrument of character development in the life of a leader. They have a way of revealing what is really in our heart whether we act on it or not we see ourselves in a new light. “The more I get to know people, the more I love my dog”. - Frederick the Great. As hard as it may be to work with them, we must realize that God has placed them with you for a purpose. Our focus must be “God what are you trying to teach me!”
3. Sought godly counsel
David was a great leader because he surrounded himself with men who sought God. David knew that the priests were men who sought the face of God for answers to difficult situations. When David was in battle he called upon the priests to seek for God’s guidance before he made a decision about attacking his enemies. (1 Samuel 23:6; 30:7) He did not want to presume he had the answers and then find out he was wrong and jeopardized the life of his soldiers. Great leaders seek counsel of others who are in touch with God.
David had a counselor named Ahithophel whom he trusted to tell him the truth. 33 Ahithophel was the royal adviser. Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend (1Chron. 17:33).
He evidently was a man who was gifted with wisdom and understanding and David sought his counsel. When Absalom usurped the throne he also sought the counsel of Ahithophel and had he followed his advice the story line would have changed dramatically. Ahithophel knew that Absalom was doomed if he did not follow his advice and after his advice was rejected he went home and committed suicide.
David also had a man named Hushai, who was simply referred to as the friend of David. 1 Chron. 17:33 33 Ahithophel was the royal adviser. Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend. Hushai saved David’s life when he counseled Absalom to not pursue David after he had usurped the throne. He was known as one of David’s advisors as well as his friend. Hushai was able to convince Absalom that the advice of Ahithophel would not work and Absalom believed him with the result being that David’s life was spared.
Most leaders have few friends they can really trust and like most men they do not have many friends period. David needed a friend like Hushai as he faced the many situations he had to address as King of Israel. Every leader needs a Hushai or two in his life!
4. Organizational ability
David had great organizational ability and he was willing to delegate authority to those he trusted. Israel had several million people at this time and for one person to govern the nation they had to have great organizational skills along with people they could trust to carry out the tasks. David’s military was highly organized as were the priests and singers who worshipped in the tabernacle (1 Chron. 16). David assigned duties and directed those he placed in leadership (1 Chron 18:15-17). 15Joab (son of Zeruiah) was commander-in-chief of the army; Jehoshaphat (son of Ahilud) was the historian; 16Zadok (son of Ahitub) and Ahimelech (son of Abiathar) were the head priests; Shavsha was the king’s special assistant;a 17Benaiah (son of Jehoiada) was in charge of the king’s bodyguard—the Cherethites and Pelethites—and David’s sons were his chief aides.
David surrounded himself with capable and trustworthy people whom he could rely upon to help him rule over the people. A leader without a good support system and a support team will not make it. David had both and was able to establish a solid kingdom.
5. Valued Unity
David also had the ability to draw divisive groups together. When David became King, the kingdom was divided, not all of the tribes of Israel came under his leadership. There were still several tribes who expressed loyalty to Saul and his family. He made a generous offer to Saul’s army immediately after Saul was killed to have them join his army without any repercussions. His offer was rejected as Abner, Saul’s military commander came to support Ishbosheth, Saul’s son as the King of Israel. Eventually David was able to bring all of the tribes together under his leadership over a period of 7 ½ years. 2 Samuel 5:1 Representatives of all the tribes of Israel now came to David at Hebron and gave him their pledge of loyalty.
“We are your blood brothers,” they said. 2“And even when Saul was our king you were our real leader. The Lord has said that you should be the shepherd and leader of his people.”
3So David made a contract before the Lord with the leaders of Israel there at Hebron, and they crowned him king of Israel.
It takes a special skill to be able to work with people who have divided loyalties. David was able to do this by working with the people who had the greatest influence and that was the elders of the tribes. Good leaders place a high value on unity and they know who they need to go to in order to bring unity.
6. Fulfilled his word
David was a man of his word. When he made a promise to Jonathon, Saul’s son that he would take care of his family should anything happen, he was faithful to do it (1 Samuel 20:14-17). 14And remember, you must demonstrate the love and kindness of the Lord not only to me during my own lifetime, 15but also to my children after the Lord has destroyed all of your enemies.”
16So Jonathan made a covenant with the family of David, and David swore to it with a terrible curse against himself and his descendants, should he be unfaithful to his promise. 17But Jonathan made David swear to it again, this time by his love for him, for he loved him as much as he loved himself.
Mephibosheth who was crippled from a fall when he was young came into the care of David as fulfillment of his promise to Jonathon. David kept his promise and at his own expense made sure that Mephibosheth was taken care of. He restored the land that was rightfully his and allowed him to eat at his table. (2 Samuel 9:5-13)

7. Gave honor to those who helped him.
As a leader David gave honor to those who helped him along the way. 1 Samuel 30: 26 26When he arrived at Ziklag, he sent part of the loot to the elders of Judah. “Here is a present for you, taken from the Lord’s enemies,” he wrote them. 27-31The gifts were sent to the elders in the following cities where David and his men had been: Bethel, South Ramoth, Jattir, Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, Racal, the cities of the Jerahmeelites, the cities of the Kenites, Hormah, Borashan, Athach, Hebron.
When Ziklag was raided and David and his men lost everything including their wives and children, David sought the Lord and was told to pursue and recover everything. David recovered much more than was lost, the spoils were great and instead of keeping it all to himself and his band, he sent gifts to all the people who had assisted him during his time of flight from Saul. Great leaders have a heart of gratefulness and show appreciation to those who have helped them in their journey of faith.
8. Prepared for the future
David prepared for the future by training Solomon to take over as King of Israel. Leaders who want their organization or mission to continue prepare future leaders to take over. The kingship of Israel would always follow the ancestral lineage of David and Solomon was chosen to be the succeeding King.
The book of 1 Kings reveals David’s focus as he, a great leader, worked to develop Solomon into another great leader:
When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son.
“I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go, and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’” 1 Kings 2:1-4
How’s that for the first day on the job? The scope of the work itself was enormous, and David was a tough act to follow. Solomon was ready; David had developed him as a leader. The charge above is based upon the assumption that Solomon knew and honored God’s “ways…his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements.” There is no greater preparation for leadership than that. Leadership takes on many forms as an organization grows or downsizes, as its climate and environment change. What remains constant is the moral base of the leader, and this was the first issue that David addressed. Solomon was ethically ready.
Only at this point did David reveal to Solomon some of the specifics of his new role as king of Israel:
“Now you yourself know what Joab…did to me – what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies…. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle…. Deal with him according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.
“But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table. They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
“And remember, you have with you Shimei...who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord: ‘I will not put you to death by the sword.’ But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood. 1 Kings 2:5-9
Makes you wonder whether Solomon might have wished that the job of royal dishwasher was available! David left Solomon with some thorny, unresolved leadership situations, but notice that twice in these five verses David referred to his successor’s wisdom. He asserted, “You will know what to do” (v. 9). David had invested himself in preparing Israel’s next leader. Solomon had acquired a deep knowledge of God’s Word and wisdom. In view of this foundation, it was in essence immaterial what further preparation was needed. The new leader already possessed the basic credentials and stood prepared to learn.” Ken Boa “Leadership Development” www.bible.org
David was truly one of the greatest leaders of Israel. Though far from perfect he had what God was looking for in a leader and that was a heart that sought after him. The other skills a leader needs can be developed or other people with those skills can be brought in to help. God looks upon the condition of our heart as the most important aspect of a leader he chooses and will bless. David had a deep love for God, a love for God’s Word marked by obedience, a love for worship and a desire to be in the presence of the Lord. Many leaders in the world are evaluate first by their performance and financial success but in God’s economy the state of our heart and our love for him are the most important things he desires. If you want to be a leader in God’s kingdom, you have to first and always have a heart that seeks after God.
David’s success as a leader also involved personal character traits along with relational and managerial skills. We have looked at a few of these aspects of David’s leadership which include:
Courage, the ability to work with difficult people, seeking godly counsel, organizational ability, valuing unity, fulfilling your word, honoring people and preparing for the future.
Many of you are leaders or will be leaders in the future. I pray that the example of David will be a model you can follow and track with as you carry out your leadership assignments throughout life. I encourage you to study his life more deeply than we have been able tonight and glean more principles that will aid you in your development. Being a leader is not an easy task and it seems that in the church today there is a lack of leadership. Surveys from organizations such as Barna, Maranatha Life and Focus on the Family report that 1500 pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout or contention in their churches. At this rate how much longer can the church last? Another statistic that reflects poorly on the leadership of the church is that 50% of the pastors would leave their position if they could find another way to make a living. We have a leadership crisis in the church. Something has gone wrong and there is a need to return to the characteristics we have looked at tonight in the life of David that made him a great leader. We must pray for our leaders and support them in the difficult tasks they are faced with each day. As the time draws near for the return of Christ we know that evil will increase and the tasks of being a leader will be that much more difficult. If God has placed you in a position of leadership or is preparing you for leadership keep your relationship with God your greatest priority and trust God to develop the other skills you will need to accomplish the task he has given you. It will not be easy but God will work through you and develop your character and bless many people lives through your commitment to leadership in his Kingdom.

David the Fallen

David the Fallen
King David was a great shepherd, a great warrior, a great worshipper but he was also a great sinner. His life was forever marred with a single act of adultery that led to a chain of problems personally and with his family. Tonight I want to look at his failures not to point fingers at him but to learn from him and hopefully help each one of us overcome the temptations we face.
David had risen to the top. He was in a position of power and had many wives at least 10 at the time of his affair, who bore him children. Everything seemed to be going well for him, God had blessed his life beyond his dreams and it appeared that David had everything a man in midlife (estimated to be 50-60 years old) could ever want. But David like all of us have a chink in our armor. We have a weak spot that can easily be attacked if we are not careful to guard it. David’s weakness was exposed when he put himself in a vulnerable situation that we read about in 2 Samuel 11.
For some reason not explained, David did not go out to war with his troops. He had placed Abner in charge of the military and when the Spring of the new year rolled around, David made a decision to stay back at the palace. It could be argued that had he gone out with his military he would not have been in the situation that he found himself but I think David would have been confronted with a similar situation in the future that would have tested his heart and moral character. We all will face similar situations perhaps not with the same type of sin but nonetheless we will be attacked with temptations. David seems to have been bored. He had gotten up from a nap in the late afternoon and then went up on his rooftop to look around. This often is a time when all of us are exposed to temptation. We are perhaps bored or are not doing what we need to be doing. It is easy for us to be confronted with temptation when we find ourselves looking for something to do instead of doing what we know we should be doing.
While David was on his rooftop one evening he noticed a beautiful woman, Bathsheba, bathing. We do not know how discriminate Bathsheba was but she most likely did not think anyone would see her and especially David since he normally was out with his troops. David was not on the roof top trying to be a peeping Tom, it was not as though David was looking for trouble. He saw Bathsheba and made a decision at this point to pursue her rather than turn away and go back inside his home. We all have those moments when things are presented to us that we are not looking for and we have a choice to make and we must make it quickly or we can be drawn into sin. Rather than turn away David decided to make an inquiry about the women. He had plans that were not moral. His sexual desires had been aroused and he was determined to act upon them. David’s downfall began when he allowed his eyes to look upon Bathsheba and then began to let his imagination run toward evil. David lusted after Bathsheba and his next step was to make inquiry and invite her to his home. David had no business pursuing Bathsheba. He had several wives to meet his needs yet he allowed the image to incite his imagination that led to the inquiry and the invitation. David was plotting his own demise and was making decisions that would destroy his life. We are all like David in that we can easily allow our imaginations to run wild and lead us down a pathway that will destroy our lives. We read of many great men and women of God who make decisions that destroy their lives. I read some statistics on adultery from a couple of sources and discovered that 22% of married men and 14% of married women have had an affair (womensavers.com). The accuracy of the statistics are hard to determine and they are probably higher than stated, some have quoted 55-65%.
David was not forced to do what he did, he wanted it and was willing to set aside his character, reputation and relationship with God to fulfill his lust. Bathsheba was the wife of one of his most trusted and courageous soldiers. She was also related to Ahithophel, David’s most trusted counselor. None of these relational ties mattered to him. He obviously did not consider the ramifications of what he was about to do, he was only concerned for the moment and the pleasure that he would experience. Just last week I read of two ministers who had to step down from their positions of leadership in the church because of moral failures that were exposed. I am sure that when they committed them they did not think that it would lead to them losing their positions and being subject to humiliation in public when it was announced in the media what they did. 90% of churches that have pastor’s fall into adultery go through problems of division and church splitting.
David did not consider how this would play out in his life and was set on fulfilling his lust and took actions to bring it to pass. David could have stopped even after Bathsheba came to his home. He had opportunity to change his plans and avoid his sin yet he continued and slept with her. At times it seems that sin tries to sabotage us, blind side us and surprise us. We can be exposed to things quickly but we still have opportunity to respond in a way that will keep us from falling into sin and disgrace. Yet too often we like David, entertain thoughts and take actions in the wrong direction that lead to moral failure. Bathsheba was not completely innocent in this affair. As a subject of the king she really had no choice in accepting his invitation. Certainly David was the initiator and the aggressor yet Bathsheba did not resist. David was in a position of power and he misused it to take advantage of Bathsheba. We do not know what was going through the mind of Bathsheba at this time. Perhaps she was afraid, perhaps she was lonely, perhaps she also willing to violate her marriage vows. Nevertheless, David carried the blame for what he did and had he responded properly, none of what followed would have been a part of his life.
We see the progress of David’s fall which began with an image that led to imagination that led to inquiry and then to invitation and finally to immorality. It all happened very quickly but the damage had been done and now the consequences of his actions would be revealed. Bathsheba’s news of testing positive to the pregnancy test a month or two later propelled David to take his next step which I call insanity. Now he had to cover up his sin and try to make himself look innocent. His plan to get Uriah to sleep with his wife totally backfired. Uriah was too loyal a soldier to even consider having a privilege that none of the other soldiers would have. Uriah had more self control and honor than David. David must have been beside himself when he found out that Uriah did not go back home to be with his wife. Even in a drunken state Uriah had more dignity that David did when he was sober.
When I was in the U.S. Army stationed in Germany our company would spend a couple of months during the year practicing war maneuvers in an area far from our base. A few people would be left back at the base to keep things going. Many of the soldier’s wives were staying in the base family housing and they were not able to go to the field. It was a trying time for them and unfortunately many of them began affairs with the men who were at the base. These men were not like Uriah but were more like David, looking for an opportunity to enjoy themselves while destroying someone’s wife as well as their own lives. Many marriages failed because of the men who lacked moral character to show honor and respect for these women and their husbands.
Percentage of cheating men who get caught▪ 80%
Percentage of couple who preserve their marriage after an affair▪ 64%
Of those couples who remain married despite an affair, what percentage later describe the marriage as unhappy or empty?▪ 78%
From Divorcpeers.com

David got desperate and desperate times call for desperate measures. His plan failed, he could not hide the fact that Uriah was not the father of this child so this led to another insane action on his part. David was not going to be held guilty by Uriah for sleeping with his wife. In the law this was a sin punishable by death and so in David’s mind the answer was to kill Uriah so he could not press charges. David could simply lie about sleeping with her and accuse Bathsheba of sleeping with another man who got her pregnant. Uriah returns to the military with his death notice in his hand, instructions to Abner regarding what he should do to make it look like Uriah was a victim of war and not one who was intentionally murdered. David’s plan worked, Uriah along with several other men were killed in battle and when he receive the report from the messenger set by Abner, David must have thought his troubles were over. Dean Sherman, a teacher with YWAM, has stated that sin is insanity and it is easy to see in David’s situation how insane his sin had been and how insane his actions to cover it up had been. God was fully aware of everything that had happened, nothing is hidden from His eyes and He will bring about justice in every situation. We can try to hide our sin from people but it is never hidden from God and eventually we will pay a price for what we have done. David managed to keep it hidden for perhaps 9-11 months but the day of reckoning came when God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David with his sin. Though David had hid his sin, the scriptures (Psalms 32 &51) tell us that he was suffering physically and mentally. David had refused to admit his error (99.9 percent deny they are having an affair and hide the truth! The exception is when they confess without being forced into it.), confess his sin and seek forgiveness. He thought it would eventually go away but it was not working. God in his mercy sent Nathan to confront David. David needed to stop hiding his sin, he needed to be held accountable and responsible for his adultery, murder and lies. God sent Nathan with a story that he knew would be a direct hit on David’s heart. David had spent years caring for his father’s sheep. He knew the attachment the little lambs could have with the shepherd. He knew how vulnerable they were to attack and how much special care and protection they needed to survive. Nathan tells the story of a man who only had one lamb, not a whole flock of them in which if you lose one you can survive. His story was one of the attachment of the man with his only lamb and how much he cared for it almost as though it was one of his children contrasted with a man of wealth and power who could use his power to take whatever he wanted even though he did not need it. When David heard how the man of power misused his power and stole the prized lamb of the needy man it outraged David. David had not lost his sense of justice and he immediately wanted to respond to bring justice to the man who had been robbed as well as to the man who did the robbing. David totally understood the story and he responded appropriately in demanding the man be found and brought to justice. Nathan then turned the tables on David when he said, “You are the man!” I think David felt a sword go through his heart when he heard these words. The true application of the parable hit home and it hit hard. The mighty David had been exposed and he saw himself as he really was in the eyes of God, guilty and deserving of death.
7Then Nathan said to David, “You are that rich man! The Lord God of Israel says, ‘I made you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. 8I gave you his palace and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah; and if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. 9Why, then, have you despised the laws of God and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah and stolen his wife. 10Therefore murder shall be a constant threat in your family from this time on because you have insulted me by taking Uriah’s wife. 11I vow that because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man, and he will go to bed with them in public view.a 12You did it secretly, but I will do this to you openly, in the sight of all Israel.’ As you read Nathan’s response notice how many times God says “I”
I made you king…
I gave you his palace..
I would have…
Then the focus is directly on David:
You despised my law
You have murdered Uriah
You have insulted me
David did not make excuses for his sin, he did not try to bargain with God, he simply acknowledged that he had sinned against God. This was what God was looking for in David, a heart of repentance, a contrite and broken heart. Nathan quickly responded that God had forgiven David. Penance was not required nor was a period of mourning or feeling really guilty. God was quick to forgive a heart that was truly repentance. God was waiting for David to humble himself so he could be restored. It seems that David from this point on in his life developed a greater intimacy with God. David though forgiven still suffered the consequences of his moral failures. His kingdom reign would go downhill from this point. His newborn son would die to spare God from being mocked by the story that would go out among Israel’s enemy. God will not be mocked by our behavior. The death of David’s son would be for the benefit of everyone even though it would be hard for both David and Bathsheba to live with the memory of the death of their child. God was being merciful to them. The other consequence of David’s sin can been seen in the effects that it had on his family. Though David had sinned against God the ripple effect of his actions would be seen among his children culminating in Absalom’s coup and violation of all of David’s concubines in view of everyone. David’s daughter Tamar was raped by her half brother Ammon, Solomon fulfilled the saying, “What parent’s do in moderation, their children do in excess.” We see this in his multitude of wives and concubines that led his heart from God. The ramifications of David’s sins were severe and I am sure that David lived with the pain of his poor choices.
Sin is deceitful and our hearts are easily deceived by the power of sin. Ravi Zacharias said there are three severe test for authentic ministry that every minister and by extension every believer must face. The first is thinking that God does not see. In David’s failure this was obvious that he thought what he was doing was not seen by God. The second test is thinking that God does not care, that God let’s us get away with sin because he knows we are sinners and cannot stop sinning. Sin does effect God, he grieves over sin and its effects on our lives as well as how it has affected the world. Sin breaks God’s heart because it is a rejection of his holiness. God confronted David with his sin, he held him accountable for his actions. If it did not matter to God he would never have sent the prophet Nathan to confront him. The third test is thinking that God will not bring justice. God lets people off the hook and they will never receive or experience the consequences of their sin. David definitely reaped the consequences of his sin. God brought justice to David and he suffered the consequences of his actions. God may delay his justice but he is just and every man will give an account for his life and be sentence justly. God sees all, he knows the intentions of our hearts and the lives that we have ruined because of our sin. His judgment will be based on the cold hard facts and no one will be able to say anything in their defense.
David’s fall has been repeated many times by people who are leaders in the church. Leadership does not get an exemption but seems to have a bigger target placed on them. Paul warned that any one who thinks he can stand better take heed lest he fall. God told Cain after he killed his brother Abel that sin was crouching at the door, waiting for him but that he must master it. When we think we are at our strongest is the time the enemy doubles his efforts to get us to fall. We must always be sober and alert and make sure that we have protection over our weaknesses. Each of us has areas that are easier targets for the enemy to attack and do damage. We have to identify these areas and take precautions that we do not deliberately place ourselves in situations where we will be tempted to fall and get sucked into sinful behavior. We need to guard our hearts and minds with the truth of God’s word so we can effectively use it to counter the lies of the enemy. We need the support of others, their prayers to act as a shield for us and their encouragement when we share our struggles. We need to stay busy in the work God has given us and not idle our time away giving the devil opportunity to take advantage of us. David did not put any of these things into practice in his life when he was tempted and he fell quickly and he fall hard. We will not do any better and we are deceived if we think we will.
David learned from his fall and we do not read of another episode like this in his life. When we truly repent we do not return to our sin. We may be remorseful because of what we have suffered but true repentance means we have turned away and gone the opposite direction. If we continue in our sin then we have not truly repented, there is still something within us that wants to experience the sin and we have not come to the point where we truly hate it. God is merciful and patient with us when we continue to fall into the same sins but his grace is extended in order for us to learn to get the victory over it and develop a true hatred of the sin so we do not return to it. I believe we all want to live holy lives and the way to live a holy life is not be keeping a list of do’s and don’ts and making our best effort to keep the list clear of violations. Holiness comes by having Jesus and the Spirit of holiness take control of our lives. The more we have of Jesus operating in our lives the less sin will have control. The more Christ dominates our lives the less we will find ourselves falling to sinful ways. It is all about surrendering control to him and letting him live his life in us. God by his nature is holy and His nature in us will make us holy like him. He will give us the grace, his ability, to stand against temptation and be victorious over each attack.
Perhaps you are here tonight and you have failed and continue to fail in certain areas of your life. There is a big gap in your armor and the enemy has been ruthless in his attacks on your weakness. No matter how many times you have fallen, God is ready to bring restoration to your life if you are willing to do what David did, humble yourself, admit your sin, truly repent from it, seek forgiveness and receive God’s grace to overcome as you allow Christ to be formed in you. I want to end the service tonight by reading Psalms 51 and let this be the cry of our heart tonight.
O loving and kind God, have mercy. Have pity upon me and take away the awful stain of my transgressions. 2Oh, wash me, cleanse me from this guilt. Let me be pure again. 3For I admit my shameful deed—it haunts me day and night. 4It is against you and you alone I sinned and did this terrible thing. You saw it all, and your sentence against me is just. 5But I was born a sinner, yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. 6You deserve honesty from the heart; yes, utter sincerity and truthfulness. Oh, give me this wisdom.
7Sprinkle me with the cleansing blooda and I shall be clean again. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. 8And after you have punished me, give me back my joy again. 9Don’t keep looking at my sins—erase them from your sight. 10Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires. 11Don’t toss me aside, banished forever from your presence. Don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. 12Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. 13Then I will teach your ways to other sinners, and they—guilty like me—will repent and return to you. 14-15Don’t sentence me to death. O my God, you alone can rescue me. Then I will sing of your forgiveness,b for my lips will be unsealed—oh, how I will praise you.
16You don’t want penance;c if you did, how gladly I would do it! You aren’t interested in offerings burned before you on the altar. 17It is a broken spirit you want—remorse and penitence. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not ignore.
18And Lord, don’t punish Israel for my sins—help your people and protect Jerusalem.d
19And when my heart is right,e then you will rejoice in the good that I do and in the bullocks I bring to sacrifice upon your altar.