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Everyone is called to be a leader, a positive influence in the world. To answer that call is Leadership. To not answer the call is Leader Slip.

Rehoboam should have been a great leader for Israel. He had a impressive family, he had the position of King, he was the leader of a strong & wealthy nation. He had it made!
But King Rehoboam had Leader Slip. He rejected Wise Counsel.
A good leader must receive wise counsel. We must recognize wisdom and embrace truth. Rehoboam’s decision to reject wisdom deemed his reign a failure before it even started.
There are 3 continual stages that we all experience
1 Know
2 Grow
3 Show
What stage are you in?

Leader Slip 3 – Wise Counsel from Redemption Church on Vimeo.
 

Leader Slip 3 – Wise Counsel

Sermon notes by Chris Fluitt

Redemption Church Plano

**Vid bumper
Hello Redemption Church!
Happy Palm Sunday everyone. Today is remembered as the day of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. They cried Hosanna!  Hosanna holds 2 meanings. #1 it means The savior has arrived.  #2 Save us.  We cry Hosanna today because the Savior has arrived and because we invite Him to save us.
Next Sunday is Resurrection Sunday. I want to invite you to celebrate the risen Lord with us.
 
Leader Slip
We are in the final week of our Leader Slip series.
Quick review
Influence Leadership is influence. 
Leadership Calling Everyone is called to be a leader in some area of life. You are called to be a positive influence.  
Week 1 We talked about Jonah’s Leader Slip.  He focused on the wrong things
Week 2 We talked King Saul. He was called but he was not present.
Today in the final week of Leader Slip we are going to talk about someone in your Bible you might not really be that familiar with.  If you have been in church all your life you have probably heard his name but are still a little foggy on his story.
His name is Rehoboam and His story is important.   (Go ahead and turn to 1 Kings 11. We will be doing some reading today)
Rehoboam is a King of Israel and he should have been a great leader. He came from a line of great leaders. His father was the wise King Solomon. His Grand Father the brave King David. How is that for pedigree!
During King David’s rule, Israel had some very threatening rival nations. Israel overcame and defeated those enemies. David handed a victorious & promising nation to his son King Solomon.
During King Solomon’s reign Israel grew into a world power. Solomon was known as the wisest man to have ever lived. Israel built the Temple of God and it was known as a wonder of the world. Israel was wealthy, strong & distinguished. Unlike David’s rule, Solomon faced very few enemies. The enemies Israel had were so much smaller than the armies of the Philistines that King David faced and defeated. Solomon was not perfect and had some issues, but growing Israel to prominence was not one of those issues.
King Solomon handed this power, this wealth, this dominance over to his son Rehoboam. Rehoboam had it made. He came from a lineage of great kings. He had examples of great leadership in his family tree. He was surely going to build on the success of David & Solomon. With no powerful rivals present, Rehoboam was positioned to have greater success than any king of Israel.
Today we ought to be proclaiming the leadership success of the great King of Israel Rehoboam.  But we aren’t… because Rehoboam had Leader Slip.
Rehoboam rejected Wise Counsel
1 Kings 11:43 Then Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.(NIV)
1 Kings 12:1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king.(NIV)
So we see Rehoboam has just become king and is about to be crowned in the city of Shechem.  So this is close to day 1 of his reign.  He is new to the position of King.. in fact he has not yet been made king.
1 Kings 12:3 (b)…Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: (NIV)
1 Kings 12:4 “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”(NIV)
1 Kings 12:5 Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.(NIV)
So Rehoboam says I need some time to think this through.
When possible… take time to make important decisions
This is a smart thing to do. That is not a leader slip. It is good to take time to measure your response. Take time research. Take time to ask others.  When life allows, you should take time to think.. Rehoboam took 3 days.
People will always try to hurry your decision. They are usually salesmen and want to take your money.
The next thing that Rehoboam does is also good.
1 Kings 12:6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.(NIV)
1 Kings 12:7 They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”(NIV)
Rehoboam sought Wise Counsel
Rehoboam looked to the counselors that served his father. They suggest that Rehoboam serve the people.
Leaders Serve! If you ever want to be a good leader, to be a positive influence, then you need to learn how to serve. You need to recognize the opportunities to serve. We often mistake the leadership position as a place to be served and honored.. a position of do what I say or else. Jesus told us that the greatest of all would be the servant of all. (Matthew 23:11)
Jeroboam and the people of Israel came to the person they were about to crown king with concerns.
“Listen Rehoboam.. we have a problem..” The problem was not Rehoboam. They did not hate Rehoboam. They don’t say anything bad about Rehoboam. They do not reject him as king…  What they tell Rehoboam is, the condition of our life is not acceptable. “We can’t go on living this way.”
Leaders often slip when people bring problems to them.  They think the problems threaten their position.. but actually it is the opposite. The fact that someone brings a problem to you means that they SEE YOU AS A LEADER and that they TRUST YOU.
Rehoboam’s elders suggested that if he would serve the people that they would serve him. We often miss opportunities to serve. We let those moments slip by..
Rehoboam received great counsel. So obviously he received the good counsel and the kingdom flourished…
1 Kings 12:8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.(NIV)
1 Kings 12:10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, “Tell these people who have said to you, `Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter’–tell them, `My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.(NIV)
1 Kings 12:11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.'”(NIV)
This is the counsel that Rehoboam embraced. It is great to seek advice, but here is the slip… Often people will seek advice until they hear what they want to hear.
Rehoboam wasn’t looking for wisdom as much as he was looking for someone to tell him what he wanted to here. That is not counsel… That is not wisdom…   He rejected servant humility but embraced pride.
 
We need good counsel
Perhaps Rehoboam should have read his father, solomon’s, writings… Here are some of the things he said..
Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.(NIV)
Proverbs 11:14 For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure.(NIV)
Proverbs 3:13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding,(NIV)
 
We need wisdom. We need good counsel. NOW KNOW THIS… Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders and embraced the advice of the youth… but it is not AGE that makes good advice.  There are elders who can give bad advice just like there are youth you may give good advice.
If you want good counsel I suggest that you look into the life of the person who gave the advice. Do they have wisdom? Do they live wisely?
Find wise people and listen to their wisdom. Learn to recognize wisdom when it shows up.
Wisdom is better than Experience
Experience is useful. We have all learned a lot through experience. But experience is a cruel teacher.
This is how experience works in a school classroom metaphor. Experience gives you the final exam test, and once you have taken the test, experience gives you the lessons filled with answers.  Learning from experience is never as good as learning from wisdom. Wisdom gives you the lesson first. Wisdom gives you answers first. Then you take the test. You walk into the test prepared because of wisdom.
Young people, I want to see you learn by wisdom, not by experience.
Young married couple..
Parents…
Your financial decisions… career decisions… health decisions…
You need wisdom!
James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.(NIV)
Wait a moment… Did Rehoboam ever ask God?
I want you to feel free to ask your pastor, ask your parents, ask trusted advisors… But can I remind us to ask God first and foremost.
 
Decisions are huge
Your decisions hold the power to change your life.  Your decisions can change your family… change your church… change your city… change a nation…
Rhehoboam’s decision changed the lives of millions of people.
1 Kings 12:16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, O Israel! Look after your own house, O David!” So the Israelites went home.(NIV)
His decision to not be a servant. His decision to reject good counsel. His decision deemed his reign a failure BEFORE it ever started.
Israel is made up of 12 tribal territories.  10 of those tribes refused to call Rehoboam king. They instead crowned Jeroboam (I know confusing rhyming names). Rehoboam became king of 2 tribes, Judah & Benjamin.
At a moment where Israel was positioned for greatness, an immature leader made a decision that ripped the nation in half. 1 decision lead to the downfall of a great nation.
You have decisions in front of you today. Will you step into Leadership or Leader Slip? Will you seek wisdom or will you reject wise counsel?
 
3 Continual Stages of Leadership
There are 3 continual stages of Leadership. You will constantly find yourself in different stages over the different areas of life that you will face.
#1 Know
You must grow in knowledge.  There are things you don’t know yet.
There are areas of life where your success depends on the KNOWING something new. Problems that you are facing that you will never solve without knowledge.
Maybe the struggle you are in right now is an opportunity to grow in knowledge.  Maybe instead of praying – GOD TAKE THIS PROBLEM AWAY – You pray for knowledge, understanding, & wisdom. Maybe you seek good counsel.  Maybe you read a book.
Too often we beg God to remove the problem, when it is God’s purpose to improve us.
…Whatever it the situation, there are areas in life that require you to KNOW.
 
#2 Grow
It is not enough to know. You have to put that knowledge into action. This requires work and determination. This requires patience.
There comes a moment where you graduate from the University and have that shiny new degree, but that is just the beginning. You have to go get that job and put all that learning into action. You need to go out and start that business or community organization, write that book, invent that product, start that ministry…  Don’t just sit there with knowledge… Grow. Put that knowledge to use.
#3 Show
Then there is a moment that happens in everyone where they need to share their knowledge with someone else.  To be the Leader you are called to be, you need more than knowledge, growth, & success. You also need to be mentor to others.
You need to show someone else how to achieve. Show someone else how to win in business.
 
3 Continual Stages of Leadership
Right now as you listen to me, there are areas of your life where you are in need of knowing. There are at the same time other areas where you need some growing. And yet there are then areas that right now you could be showing someone else the way to success.
Life is always interesting and never boring.  You may have a successful marriage – You need to SHOW that knowledge with someone.  But at the same time you are a disaster in your finances – You need to get some KNOWING. And then there are areas where you are trying to grow.
Where are you in these stages? You should never sit around like you have it all figured out..
Decisions are huge
Rehoboam thought he knew already.
Rehoboam thought he didn’t need any more growth.
Rehoboam was not interested in serving others.
But what about you?  As we enter into time of prayer I want you to talk to God about KNOWING GROWING & SHOWING.