Psalm 17 The Characteristics of a Great Leader

Daily Bible Study for Thursday July 21, 2016    

By: Hanny Lynn Stearns 

Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc.

“Multiplying God’s Word Around The Globe”

Chapter Reading for Today: Please read in your Bible before proceeding. Note that most translations are considered paraphrases. The Young’s Literal Translation provides a more accurate translation since he is the one who authored a concordance. Others are helpful for seeing a different perspective, but we cannot always depend on their wording. I hope this is helpful to you. If you are studying in another version, that is fine. I am studying from the KJV, but for the purpose of this study, I will keep it with the New King James Version.

One final note: I will put the scripture in italics to differentiate from my own writing. I am adding red to the letters when it is Jesus talking – just like the Bible. Thank you.

Bible Gateway Verse of the Day

Psalm 119:30

I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me.

Psalm 100:4

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

and into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

            Song: Thy Word is a Lamp Unto My Feet    By: Amy Grant & Michael W. Smith

Psalm 17

The Characteristics of a Great Leader

If ever there was an example of a “prayer warrior”, David is certainly one! He has been used by the Lord over and over again in the Bible to show us how to inquire of the Lord. He has called on Him for help in every situation (except one- Bathsheba, but let’s forget about that because God has!) David followed hard after the ways of the Lord. He was called a man after God’s own heart for a reason. David was a leader, selected by the Lord. God knew him and he knew the Lord. He had tried and tested David. In the end, David was found innocent. He had right standing with God. And because he did, he could approach the Lord for help with his enemies and know that God would hear his cry for help. David had many characteristics of what it takes to be a great leader. Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father;

Thank You for Your wonderful lovingkindness to the sons of men who put their trust in You. Thank You for hearing our prayers Lord when we stay in right standing with You. Thank You for Your word that is our weapon, straight from Your powerful right hand to deal with all who rise up against us. Father, I ask You to speak to everyone who will ever study this lesson. Open the eyes of our hearts Father and enlighten our understanding according to Your word in Ephesians so that we can grasp the full measure of what You have in store for us. Lord, I ask that Your message today will go forth through my mind, heart and hands to bring a message of new insight and revelation to Your children. May it go forth unhindered and unchecked by any outside force or my flesh. Father, we will make it our goal to please You by being a doer of Your word and not a forgetful hearer. Thank You for always watching over Your word to perform it in our lives when we listen and obey in Jesus name. Amen.

How many times can we go to the Lord in prayer for help with our enemies? Countless times. He never grows weary of hearing us when we call on Him – hallelujah! David certainly knew this. He had numerous battles with his enemies and had to call on God time after time. He knew that he could. That was the first right step. He went to the Lord in confidence.

David had been tried and tested by the Lord and had been found to be innocent. And how could he be innocent? Because he had determined in his heart not to sin. He stayed away from the ways of the men of this world. In so doing, David was able to “sidestep” the path of the destroyer like avoiding a terrible tornado. David asked God and depended on Him to keep him in His ways so that he would not slip. Look at this verse…

Psalm 119:11

Your word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You. 

Yes, keeping God’s word in our hearts will surely keep us from sin. The Psalm goes on to tell us how David acknowledged God’s wonderful lovingkindenss. He knew that his Lord would save anyone who trusts in Him. There is always a part that we have to play. It is a big part too. We have to really trust in God for Him to be granted access into our circumstances. The Lord knows our hearts and thoughts. He knows if we are really trusting in Him to help us, or if we are just giving lip service while still trying to depend on ourselves or other people to remedy our situations.

The Psalmist’s goal was to have God keep him in the center of His view and protect him from the evil ones that were bearing down on him. He saw the oppression of the wicked surrounding him, and others. They were watching with fat hearts – hearts with no meat, no desire for God, full of themselves. They were proud boasters and they sat in wait like lions secretly waiting to pounce on their prey.

David had been selected by God to be a leader. He had been given a position in the highest office in the land. The Lord had entrusted him with a great deal of responsibility. When David asked the Lord to rise up with His sword to deal with the enemy and raise His righteous hand against the evil ones who were coming against him, he had complete faith that the Lord would help him.

We know that the “sword” of God is the word of God – sharper than any two-edged sword. When God speaks His word, the enemy is reduced to nothing. Jesus used it and David knew how to as well. Every strong leader needs a strong weapon, and king David knew where his strength was, and it wasn’t in javelin and shield, or the strength of his mighty men. Friends, it is no different for us today. We also have the word of God to use as a sword against our enemies. We have many. There is only one satan, but he has a whole lot of demon workers…

Ephesians 6:12

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Yes, we have a lot to fight against in this life, but the Lord did not leave us defenseless. In reality, God has done everything He is going to do about the devil for the time being. Satan is a defeated foe already. Jesus has already stripped him and made a public spectacle of him…

Colossians 2:13-15

¹³ And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, ¹⁴ having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Until the enemy is thrown into the pit and locked up for a thousand years, God is done dealing with the devil. Now it is up to us. Back in David’s time, he had to call on God directly because Jesus had not come and done His work yet. But we live in the new dispensation. Hallelujah! We have all authority…

Luke 10:19

Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Isn’t that good news? Saints, we have all the heavy artillery that we will ever need to fight against our enemies. Too many Christians today have “rolled over and played dead” where the enemy is concerned. Many still ask God to do what He gave us the authority to do, and they are getting nowhere and stand wondering why. The Lord cannot go against what has been set in place. Remember, He is a just Judge. He has to obey the laws that are in place like us. Otherwise, He would be an unjust judge, and that is never going to happen. Who would want to face an unjust judge on Judgment Day?

When we call on God in prayer, there are certain things we need to pray, and there are certain things we need to say. Dealing with our enemy is one of those things we need to say. We need to bind up the enemy to stop him from interfering with our lives and affairs. But in order to do that, we have to be in right standing with the Lord. What does that mean? If we look at what David was saying in this chapter today, we can see that he had been tried and tested by God and found innocent. In other words, he had no sin in him that he needed to repent of. Any repenting that had to be done was done. This gave him assurance that he could stay in the center of God’s sight and protection. Look at Psalm 91…

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
⁸ Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

⁹ Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
¹⁰ No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
¹² In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

¹⁴ “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”

Did you notice the determining factors that give God the ability to act on our behalf? The requirement is to be free of sin. He cannot help us when we are living in sin. If we do that, we are an open target for the devil to operate in our lives. God’s hands are tied behind His back, literally. Many do not like to consider this, but it is the Bible. Don’t take my word for it. Study it out and pray about it on your own. God cannot protect us perfectly when we are sinning…

Psalm 66:18

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.

There’s your proof friends. If we are carrying sin, the Lord cannot heed (acknowledge and respond to) our prayers. It is simple. We have to be free of sin in order to approach His throne with a request for help. He knows everything that goes on at all times. He knows things that are in our hearts more than even we ourselves do. The Lord will hold us accountable for the light that we have. In other words, if we know the good we should be doing and do not do it – it is sin…

James 4:17

Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

If there is something that we are doing wrong and have not yet been enlightened on it – the Lord knows that. Again, He knows all things. But He does hold us 100% responsible and accountable for that which we know. In order to have the boldness and confidence in prayer that David had, we have to approach Him with a clean heart…

Psalm 24:3-5

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? ⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. ⁵ He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Now we will look at more of the chapter in James about sin. This should shed a lot of light on what it means to be able to draw near to God in prayer and request His help…

James 4 in its entirety…

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?² You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. ⁴ Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

⁶ But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

⁷ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

¹¹ Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹² There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

¹³ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; ¹⁴ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

¹⁷ Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Many times our prayers are birthed in sinful hearts crying out for selfish reasons. God does not take any pleasure in selfish prayers. Things like this, “Oh Lord help me, help my family, my friends, my finances, my sickness, etc. Do this or that for me.” Saints, I believe the Lord wants to show us today how to pray effectively, like David did, and how to get perfect results. He wants us to see what helped king David to be a great leader. Remember, God is good and He is always trying to help us by encouraging us to do things the way His word – the Bible and His Spirit teaches us.

If we become actual doers of His word, we will reap tremendous results in our lives and be a major blessing to countless people for His glory. The Lord is looking for a people who will rise up in righteousness to do the work of a servant so that many people on the planet can be saved and set free from the bondage of the enemy. The Lord wants none to perish…

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

As His children we must be able to deal with the enemy – the right way. We must pray effectively so that we can get perfect results. And we must take on the role of a servant to all men. Many folks want to be lifted up into high positions where they will get noticed. Lots of Christians think being on the platform and traveling around the country preaching in churches is glamorous. But what they don’t know is what they cannot see. The hard work behind the scenes, the travailing in prayer, the intense study of the word of God and time spent hearing from Holy Spirit - the time that has to be spent listening to the Lord and working on what He calls these folks to do.

It is very hard work to be in ministry to others. It is not something to be viewed lightly. The few moments that we see people on the forefront preaching God’s word and ministering to His people is just a tiny glimpse of what the call of that servant is all about. Here is a great example of some people that wanted to be exalted with Jesus, not knowing what they were really asking…

Matthew 20:20-28

²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.

²¹ And He said to her, “What do you wish?”

She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”

²² But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

They said to Him, “We are able.”

²³ So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”

²⁴ And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. ²⁷ And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Jesus was the perfect example of a life that was “sold out” to the will of the Father. He was/is the Lord of lords and the King of kings, yet He laid down all His mighty weight and glory and came to earth to live in the same power as any other human – to be a servant to all. If we do not have this attitude ourselves, how can we be trusted to be leaders in ministry, or anything else? If we are not “prayer warriors” walking in a sin free life, how can we expect to see the Lord use us to work His mighty signs, wonders and miracles in the earth?  

I remember one day, I tried to watch a preacher on the internet – a strong man of God. I was eager to listen to the message. I seemed to have trouble with the browser and could not get it to come up. Then suddenly, it popped up for a brief moment. All I heard the preacher say was this, “You have not seen many miracles because of your disobedience.” And then the computer stopped the message. Hmmmm. 

I knew in my heart that the Lord was speaking to me. I was not walking in obedience with what He had told me to eat for my diet. As a result, I was not seeing the miraculous that I desired to see in my life. It cut me to the heart.

Saints, as often as I am led, I will show you examples from my own experiences to help you. I am certainly not here to point any fingers at anybody. We have all missed it. But the wonderful thing is, God is a good God, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. He is eager to forgive us when we confess our sins. He will clean us up if we do. We have to decide we are going to do what He said. So here is what the Bible says about confession…

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The amazing thing is that God not only forgives us but He is the one who cleans us up from the inside out. It seems a great mystery how He can do this with a human heart – but He can. Look at this verse… 

Zechariah 4:6-7

So he answered and said to me:

“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:
‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.
⁷ ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

By His Spirit, the Lord can work on our stony hearts and keep molding them and fashioning them until we really start to come around to Christ-likeness. Look at what this verse says…

Ezekiel 36:26

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

God can take our human hearts and make them soft toward Him and His ways. His desire is to make His children strong leaders in this world. He needs people to be willing and teachable. In fact, here are some marks of a good leader, just like we see in David in today’s Psalm…

1.    Submission to God

2.    Living by the word of God as the standard for our lives

3.    Strong prayer life

4.    A life free of sin

5.    Humility

6.    Compassion toward all people

7.    Being flexible

8.    Being teachable

9.    Having a servant heart

The people in the Matthew verses wanted a place of high position next to Jesus in glory. How little they knew about what they were asking. It was a very foolish request, and Jesus understood how little they knew about what they were actually saying. We can be sure they later realized the seriousness of it. Jesus knew who His Father in heaven was and that He could depend on Him to lead Him every step of the way. He knew that the word of God would defeat satan’s every attempt to derail Him. He had a very strong prayer life. We see that a lot in the gospel accounts.

Jesus knew the enormous sacrifice he would have to make in order to be counted worthy of the high calling that was on His life – and He didn’t miss a beat. He pressed on toward that goal and never missed it, not once. After serving the Lord faithfully on the earth, Jesus could look forward to returning to the Father in heaven with His leadership mission accomplished. He had laid down His high position to be a servant to all of mankind. 

David understood his call and also took it very seriously. Yes, he missed it with the Bathsheba incident, but after the Lord sent the man Nathan to speak to him, he quickly repented. That allowed the Lord to have access to help David fight against his enemies and come out on top. David was a humble man who loved God and depended on Him whole heartedly in his role as king of God’s people.

I have had a lot of unnecessary struggle with my former eating addiction. I was living according to the fleshly desires too much and not keeping my eyes on Jesus as much as I thought I was. But over time, the Holy Spirit of God has worked and worked on my heart until finally I came into submission to His will where the eating is concerned. There have been many other issues I have needed to work on of course, but the Lord is faithful. 

He is helping me to get where He wants me to be so I can be in a position to be used by Him to be a blessing to many – my heart’s desire – along with my sweet husband. We want to be used. So we go day by day and let God do His mighty work in our hearts. It is a work in progress for all of us.

One day, as Davis said at the end of this Psalm, we will be rejoicing greatly when we leave this life and awake in glory bearing Jesus’ likeness. We will look like our Master – hallelujah! Here is a promise from God’s word that assures us that what He started in us, He will finish…

Philippians 1:6

being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Also, look at this…

⁵⁰ Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵ “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 

We end this lesson on a very positive note. God sees us as the finished product. He doesn’t look at our past. All of that is under the blood of Jesus. He looks at us as kings and priests – strong leaders for Jesus Christ. He sees a mighty and glorious church – the one Jesus is coming back for. He sees you and me as we will be and He lovingly works out the “spots and wrinkles” along the way. The quicker we settle down about all this and trust Him, the sooner we can reach our goals of Christ-like perfection – hallelujah. 

We need to stop beating ourselves up because of our past – that is a scheme of the enemy to hold us down. But you and I are smarter than that now saints, aren’t we? No longer do we have to listen to satan’s lies and think of ourselves as unworthy of God’s love or His calling on our lives.

When we get corrected, we need to just accept it and move on past it. We don’t have to sit around and boo-hoo about it for days. What a waste of valuable time. We can repent, and then go to God. He wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives to lead and guide us to victory against the many enemies we will face in this life. He wants us to reflect the characteristics of a great leader so He can use us to get His kingdom business accomplished in the earth while there is still time. Our time here is short saints. We will be out of here in a flash. We need to redeem the time and stay on task for the Lord.

Questions:

Why was David so confident that he could go to God for help?

How did David keep his way pure?

What was David asking God to do for him?

In what way can you fight the enemy and come out on top every time?

How can we “dwell in the secret place of the Most High?”

What does it mean to be in right standing with God?

How must we approach God?

List one major reason why some prayers are not answered.

What role should Christians take on as they serve God?

What did the mother of Zebedee’s sons ask for?

What will God do for us if we confess our sins?

Describe the marks of a good leader as defined in today’s study.

What role did Jesus assume while on the earth as discussed in this lesson?

What did David rejoice about at the end of our chapter?

How does God see you and me even now?

What do you believe has helped you the most in this lesson?

Luke 12:48b

For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

There are three main points to consider from today’s study…

It is critical that we have a strong prayer life

We must know our authority to deal with the enemy properly

There are several characteristics required to make a strong leader

                        Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for showing us what it looks like to have a strong prayer life and how to fight the enemy. Father, like David who was called to be a king, I desire to be used by You in a mighty way to bless others. Show me anything that I have missed Lord and I will repent. Father, I desire to be flexible, teachable, humble and submissive to Your leading and directions. Help me to see what I need to see after studying this lesson today. I will be quick to respond to Your Holy Spirt. Thank You in advance my loving heavenly Father in Jesus name.

Are you willing to do what it takes to be a strong leader for the Lord’s work?

And God Said… You fill in the blanks.                                        

                                                           

                                                                            

1 Corinthians 9:19-22

⁹ For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; ²⁰ and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; ²¹ to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Chris^]), that I might win those who are without law; ²² to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.