Trinity Baptist Church

What Kind of Leader Do We Need?

Proverbs 29:2

 

William Patterson, one of the signers of the United States Constitution, and a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, said that juries should always be reminded of the text I'm preaching on today:  "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan." (v.2) 

 

I would go on to add that not only should juries be reminded of it, but also judges, lawyers, doctors, ministers, teachers; in fact, the entire nation should remember it.

 

There is a crisis in America, I believe the greatest she has faced in her entire history.  It is a crisis of leadership.  There is a leadership crisis because there is a character crisis.

 

If you were parking your car and scraped the side of a Porsche, and no one was looking, and the damage was very minor, but noticeable, would you leave a note?

 

Well, I read a true story of a man who really did just that, except some people were watching.  As they looked on, he took out a piece of paper, wrote a note, carefully folded it, stuck it under the car's windshield wiper, smiled at those watching and then drove away.  When the owner of the Porsche came and saw the damage done to his car, he noticed the note under the windshield.  He opened it, and here is what the man had written:

 

"A number of people around me think I'm leaving you a note that includes my name and address, but I'm not."

 

To me that is a picture of what is wrong with much of the leadership we have in this nation.  Publicly this man gave the impression of decency, goodness, and honesty. 

Privately he was a liar, a cheat, and a coward.  Increasingly we are hearing many people running for political office who say, "What matters is not the private life, but the bottom line." 

 

But there is an even greater problem than the leadership in this nation, and that is the people who put these people into leadership.  Now if this verse is true, then how I vote, and how you vote, can determine whether God is moved to bless us, or break us.

 

In a republic a vote is both a vision and a reflection.  It is a vision of what we want in a leader, and it is a reflection of who we are as a nation.  The quality of government depends far more on good leaders than it does on good laws.

 

Laws, statutes, and constitutions are as worthless as a cruise ship on Mount Everest without godly, reliable leaders.  That is why Noah Webster once instructed his students:

 

When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers just men who will rule in the fear of God.  The preservation of a republican government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty. 

If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the law; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded.(1)

 

He went on to say:

 

When a citizen gives his suffrage to a man of known immorality, he abuses his trust [civic responsibility]; he sacrifices not only his own interest, but that of his neighbor; he betrays the interest of his country.

 

Now I am not going to tell you how to vote, nor am I going to tell you for whom to vote.  But I can tell you how to take the guesswork out of deciding for whom to vote, and how to determine the proper vote in regard to key issues. 

 

And in reality, it is a very simple procedure.  I want to show you two truths that will lead you to turn the ballot box into a blessing box.

 

Now as we have already discovered, the book of Proverbs is a very practical book with help for daily living.  Already we have seen two key proverbs in regard to national life.  First,

 

Proverbs 14:34:  Righteousness exalts a nation;, but sin is a reproach to any people.

 

Then we looked at Proverbs 22:28:  Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set.

 

Today I want to return us the book of Proverbs to add another thought

 

Proverbs 29:2

 

Again, we have here a proverb of contrast.  On the one hand, here is a truth, but on the other hand, here is a contrasting truth. 

 

Two basic observations this verse brings to us. 

 

First of all:

 

I.  Godly Leadership Brings Rejoicing to a Nation

 

From a New Testament perspective, we learn that Christians are citizens of two realms.  And we have a responsibility in both realms. 

 

We are citizens, of course, in the country in which we live, the United States.  And we are to be good citizens.

 

But also, we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom, the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.  And we are to be a good citizen of His kingdom as well. 

 

And there is no conflict between the two.  We are to be good citizens and exercise our privileges in the kingdom of man and in the kingdom of God.

 

About four years ago, back in 2004, USA Today ran an article that asked the question:  where will you spend Sunday morning?  Will you go to Home Depot or to church?  Would you sing in the choir or play golf? 

(Now some of you will be aggravated with me for sharing this, but I’m just reporting what the story said)  Voters who say they go to church every Sunday usually vote for Republicans and conservative candidates.  Those who go to church less often, or not at all, tend to vote for Democrats and more liberal candidate. 

 

Now obviously, religion is not the only contributor to our voting choices, but it is also apparent that our faith plays a major part in our voting decisions. 

 

Consider how issues of faith have become the center of attention in this campaign.  The evening news, talk shows, newspapers, everywhere you tune, the issue of faith is being bandied about. 

 

First it was Obama’s Muslim connections.  Then it was Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s controversial statements.  Then it was Rick Warren and Saddleback’s forum.  Most recently it is the faith of Sarah Palin and her conservative views about war and abortion and God’s involvement in decision making. 

 

Now if you think your vote is unimportant, then against the backdrop of presidential polls this year that show the two candidates in a dead heat, the vote of Christian people is more important than it has ever been in the history of our country. 

 

As best I could determine, over 5,000,000 evangelical Christians did not vote at all in the last presidential election. Only one out of four believers voted in the last presidential election. 

 

 

Listen:  much of the time candidates who take Biblical stands are often defeated, not by the activists and the radicals, but they are defeated by Christian people who are too lazy and who care too little about their citizenship to go to the polls and vote for the candidate who best represents the values of the Bible and of Christian people. 

 

Plus we have to throw into the mix those in the church who vote party politics over their Christian values!

 

Christians committed to supporting Biblical positions have to get back into the voting booths.  And we have to choose candidates according to Biblical standards if we want to follow the principles of the Word of God.  I would not presume to tell you who to vote for, I would not presume to tell you what party to vote for, but I would tell you today that God has already outlined principles by which we can judge a candidate.

 

And these principles are very clear in many places in God's Word.  Take just a moment to dwell on that little phrase in Proverbs 29:2

 

Godly leadership brings rejoicing to a nation. 

 

I remember reading about what Charles Finney said.  Charles Finney was a great revivalist and evangelist of the Second and Third Great Awakenings in America.  He was born in 1792, died in 1875.  He was one of the most well known evangelists of his time.  It was not uncommon for Finney to public call names in his sermons and prayers. 

 

 

Charles Finney said this:

 

“The time has come when the Christians must vote for honest men, and take consistent ground in politics.  God cannot sustain this free and blessed country that we love and pray for unless the church will take the right ground.  God will bless or curse this nation according to the course Christians take in politics.”

 

Now if you think that politics do not belong in the church, then you haven’t been studying your Bible, because the Word of God teaches otherwise.  I will not use this pulpit to tell you for whom to vote, this is not the place to endorse a candidate and I will never do that.  By the way, visit with me privately and I will be happy to counsel you about your vote. 

 

I will be happy to share with you copies of the Republican and Democratic platforms, and I will tell you this, if you have any desire to follow the Word of God, you won’t need anybody to tell you how to vote.  It will become abundantly clear to you. 

 

And while it is not the purpose of this pulpit to tell you how to vote, I will tell you that Godly leadership brings rejoicing to the nation and the Bible tells us how to recognize Godly leadership.

 

I want you to notice some characteristics that God's word gives us this morning. 

 

First of all, a Godly leader is a person of faith.

 

The Bible says, “When the righteous are in authority the people rejoice.”  Who are “the righteous”? 

 

We are not righteous because of the good deeds that we do.  In fact the Bible says in Isaiah, all our righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of God. 

 

He is not talking about who has given the most to charity or who has done the most or who has gone to church the most, but he is talking about being righteous. 

 

How are we made righteous?  What is the Biblical definition of righteousness?  We are made righteous when God declares us righteous according to our faith in Jesus Christ.

 

The Bible teaches us that the only righteousness that exists is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which is by faith.  And if we depend on our own righteousness we will die and go to hell and spend eternity without God.  But God has provided for us a righteousness that we can receive as a free gift of God.  And it tells us that when we believe God's Word and receive Christ and confess Him as Savior, in that moment God declares us righteous and He looks at us as though we had never sinned.

 

So when I say a Godly leader is a man of faith, I am saying that he is a man who has received Christ as his Savior; a man who has had a personal experience of faith in Jesus Christ resulting in salvation. 

 

That is righteousness on the positional side.  We are declared righteous in Christ.  But there is also a practical side.  In other words, that relationship with Christ is evidenced in the life we live; the decisions that we make; our positions in regard to moral issues, etc. 

Is there anyone here today foolish enough to believe that it  doesn't make any difference whether or not the leader of this nation or other elected officials are Christians or not?

 

 John Jay is an often overlooked founding father of America.  He was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Supreme Court Chief Justice and served in the Continental Congress and was elected President of that body. During and after the American Revolution, he was an ambassador to Spain and France.  He helped to fashion American foreign policy and to secure favorable peace terms from the British and French. He co-wrote the Federalist Papers with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.

 

Jay served on the U.S. Supreme Court as the first Chief Justice of the United States from 1789 to 1795. 

 

Listen to this quote from him:  “Whether our religion prevents Christians to vote for infidel rulers is a question which merits more consideration than it seems yet to have generally received from the clergy or laity. 

 

It appears to me that what the prophets said to Jehosaphat about his attachment to Ahab affords a salutary lesson.  “Shouldest thou hate the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord?” 

 

Now that phrase really captured my attention.  Shouldest thou love the ungodly and help those who hate the Lord? 

 

In fact the verse is found in 2 Chronicles 19:2.  And with due respect to Chief Justice Jay, he should have finished the verse.  The verse in its entirety says: 

 

And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD.”

 

Now bring that all the way up-to-date.  You could put vote there if you want to.  Should you vote for those who hate righteousness and hate Christ?  Can you be a Christian and really exercise your duty before God and do this?  Don’t you understand why God’s wrath is upon you? 

 

You see a Godly leader is a person of faith.

 

And then, a Godly leader is a person who is faultless. 

 

You say, well nobody is faultless.  Sure they are.  You see the phrase doesn’t mean without sin.  It means purity of character; a faultless man has purity of character. 

 

Proverbs 11:5 says this, "The righteousness of the blameless makes a straight way for them, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness." 

 

The word blameless is a word also used in the New Testament about the qualification for pastors.  It says that a pastor must be blameless.  That doesn't mean he is perfect or sinless, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 

 

Pastors sin just as much as anybody else sins.  But he must be blameless.  To be blameless means that as far as can be determined, he has

 

- Purity of character. 

 

His outward life is to have nothing in it that brings reproach on the kingdom of God or embarrassment to those that he leads.  And the same thing applies to those who lead in our government.  

 

Proverbs 11:20, "The LORD detests men of perverse heart but he delights in those whose ways are blameless."  

 

Sometimes people get excited and they let charisma, popularity, crowds, and peer pressure take the place of seeking a man who is faultless. 

 

See if you can identify this world leader.  Times were never better.  The national economy was strong during his tenure.  Inflation, which had plagued the country for twenty years, was under control.  Peace and prosperity characterized the nation.  Many consider him to be one of the most gifted politicians to come on the national stage.  One journalist wrote of him, although there was uneasiness about his character and the allegations of corruption and immorality swirled around him, none of his political opponents could touch him.  He was too slick for his accusations to stick.  So charming and personable was this leader that the religious leaders overlooked his lack of integrity.

 

 Do you think you know whom I am talking about?  Well, if you think it is Bill Clinton you are wrong!  It is Adolph Hitler. 

These words were written about Adolph Hitler in 1940.  Just a few centuries before Hitler came to power, Germany was the bastion of spiritual faith.  It was the place where Protestantism was born.  It was the sight of the Great Reformation and Great Revival in Europe.  What was it that brought this nation from being such a great spiritual power to being a nation who committed the Holocaust?   Well, the people began to overlook the flaws in their leader's character and began to overlook the obvious immorality and lack of integrity and instead they were charmed by a fanatic's deceitful words.   And a whole nation bought it, hook, line, and sinker.

 

So what does it mean to be flawless?

 

It means purity of character. 

 

Secondly it means principles of conviction.

 

Look at Proverbs 11:3, "The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity."

 

There are some politicians who say one thing and do another.  There are some politicians who when they are with a church crowd they talk the way the church crowd does and when they are with Hollywood, they talk the way Hollywood does.  That is what he is talking about when he says; the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity, that is hypocrisy.

 

I heard about a little boy that was in Sunday School.  And the teacher had told the story of the rich man and Lazarus.  You remember the story, how the rich man enjoyed his life and poor old Lazarus was a beggar who was full of sores and sat at his gate. 

But the rich man didn't know God.  So when he died he went to hell.  But you know, when Lazarus died, his worries were over and he went to heaven.  So the teacher said, now children who would you rather be, the rich man or Lazarus? 

 

The little boy stuck up his hand and he said, I know.  I would rather be the rich man while I am alive and Lazarus when I die!  That is the way a lot of people are in this country.  They want it both ways and you can't have it both ways. 

 

David Barton suggests at least three ways that you can test the principles of conviction about a man's character and leadership. 

 

 

Now ladies and gentlemen, that narrows the field considerably.  Principles of convictions

 

Number three he has purpose of compassion. 

 

Look at Proverbs 29:7; 14, "The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern. If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure." 

 

Compassion for the poor doesn't mean doling out more and more and more money for welfare to people who won't work but can work. 

 

God never intended for people who are healthy and can work to live on the backs of those of us who do work and pay taxes. 

 

The "tax and spend" liberals say they are compassionate for the poor but they think by what they say they have proven their compassion.  When you study the reality of a situation they never do anything for them.  Why the minorities continue to vote the way they do I will never know because their situation has not changed in all these years but they still keep voting the same way, for people who truly do not care about them, who only care about their vote! 

 

One of the greatest things I have ever seen is people in government admitting that church groups can do more to rehabilitate the alcoholic, the drug addict, the person who is in the continual cycle of the welfare program, recognizing that churches can do more for that person than any other kind of group.  And the President says it is because to change a person you must change his heart.  And he said government cannot change anybody's heart, only faith can change their heart!  Build them a nice apartment; it will be a slum next year unless you change their heart.

 

It is compassionate to let people have an opportunity to be in a faith based organization to meet their needs where they will not only get their needs met, but they will hear about Christ and be saved. 

 

You feed a man a meal you have only met his need for a few hours.  When you give him Christ, you have met his need for all eternity. 

 

So in choosing a leader, we need

 

a man of faith,

a man who is faultless (purity of character, convictions and compassion)

 

Then, number three, a Godly leader is a person who is fearless.

 

Listen to Proverbs 28:1, "The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion." 

 

I want to tell you that in the shape we are in, in what we face, we don't need any weak kneed, vacillating, syrupy, smooth talking politician leading America in these days. 

 

I am reminded of a World War II American Air Force pilot who was vacationing in Hong Kong, and he met a Japanese man who claimed he had been a Kami Kaze pilot in World War II.  The Japanese man said, "War all over now--we be friends.  My name Chow Mein." 

 

The American said, "Wait a minute.  Kami Kaze fliers were suicide pilots.  If you are a Kami Kaze pilot why aren't you dead?"

 

The Kami Kaze pilot smiled and said, "Me chicken Chow Mein."

 

We need boldness as a lion.  In many ways, our country is in greater danger than we were in the Cold War because now people have access to nuclear weapons that do not care when and where they use it, who do not negotiate at anybody's table. 

And they may use it anywhere, any time; they are a nameless, faceless enemy who work under no flag, who wear no uniform. 

 

And we are facing a crisis in this world.  And at the same time, we are fighting a culture war in the United States.  And I have never seen a greater situation on the domestic front and on the foreign affairs front than we have today.  And it is going to take people as bold as a lion.

 

Proverbs 20:26 says, "A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel over them." 

 

Sometimes that is what is necessary.  Sometimes it costs to defend freedom.  For too long we have had leadership in America who did nothing.  The battleship Cole was attacked, we did nothing.  Our embassies in Africa, Tanzania were attacked we did nothing.  The terrorists attacked us again and again and again and we did nothing.  So they said, they are going to do nothing we might as well attack them in their own country, and they did!  They came to the World Trade Center in 1993.  We did nothing.  Then President Clinton didn’t even visit the site of the bombing. 

 

So they returned.  But this time they found out that the chariot wheels would get driven over them. And we will fight them over there or we will fight them here, but we will fight them! 

 

We need leaders who will be fearless.  This country is a sovereign nation.  We don't have to ask anybody other than God almighty what to do or where to go.    

 

Last of all, a Godly leader is a person who is faithful.

 

The Bible says in Proverbs 11:3, "The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity." 

 

We need to know that when he puts his hand on that Bible that he believes in the Bible on which his hand rests.  And he knows that it is the Word of God and believes it is the Word of God.  And he looks to it for guidance. 

 

We need to know that when a man puts his hand on the Bible and he swears to uphold and defend the law of the Constitution of the United States of America, he will faithfully carry out that promise. 

 

That’s one of the reasons I’m so thankful for our current president.  I am told there are Bible studies all over the White House every day.  Even Congress, even the Senate and the House, there are Bible studies everyday by Godly leaders.  It is a blessing to have Godly leaders in this land. 

 

We need leaders who will be faithful, who will persist at all costs, who will carry all the way to the end, who will never say die, who will never give up. 

 

I like what William Penn said, right is always right, even if everybody says it is wrong.  And wrong is always wrong, even if everybody says it is right.   And that is the kind of leader that we need.

 

There is another thought here in our original text:

 

II.  Wicked Leadership Brings Burdens to a Nation

 

"But when a wicked man rules, the people groan." (v.2b)

 

The word "groan" literally means "to mourn at a funeral."  When a nation knowingly and willingly chooses a wicked leader, they are weeping at their own funeral. 

 

Now just as there are marks of a godly leader, there are marks of a wicked leader. 

 

You can always tell a wicked leader by three things. 

 

First of all, wicked actions.  "It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established by righteousness." (Prov. 16:12) 

 

If you want to know a man's true character, don't read his lips, read his life; don't listen to what he says in a press conference, see what he does in the Oval Office. 

 

Pro. 20:11 reminds us, "Even a child is known by his deeds, by whether what he does is pure and right." 

 

The second mark is wicked advisers.  "Take away the dross from silver, and it will go to the silversmith for jewelry.  Take away the wicked from before the king and his throne will be established in righteousness." (Prov. 25:4-5) 

 

Dross is the scum and the filth that must be melted away before the metal can become precious jewelry. 

 

Wicked advisers are compared here to molten scum.  Put simply, a wicked leader surrounds himself with wicked advisers, while a righteous man surrounds himself with righteous advisers. 

 

When you have a leader who appoints homosexuals to ambassadorships and high positions in government, then his administration cannot be established in righteousness. 

 

The final mark is wicked appeasement.  "The king establishes the land by justice, but he who receives bribes overthrows it." (Prov. 29:4) 

 

Gouverneur Morris, one of the signers of the Constitution of the United States, once said:

 

"Vicious rulers, chosen by vicious people, turn back the current of corruption to its source.  Placed in a situation where they can exercise authority for their own emolument, they betray their trust.  They take bribes, they sell statutes and decrees, they sell honor and office, they sell their conscience, they sell their country.  By this vile traffic they become odious and contemptible..."(7)

 

 Well, I want to tell you there are some things that should not be for sale at any price, and they include honor, character, name, decency, and country.

 

Billy Graham once said, "When wealth is lost nothing is lost; when health is lost something is lost; when character is lost all is lost."(8) 

 

What is true for an individual is true for a nation.

 

In ancient China the people wanted security against the barbaric hordes to the north, so they built what is called The Great Wall of China.  It was so high they believed no one could climb over it, and so thick nothing could break through it.  They settled back to enjoy their security. 

 

Well, during the first hundred years of the wall's existence, China was successfully invaded three times.  Not once did the barbaric hordes break down the wall or climb over it.  Each time they just simply bribed a gatekeeper and marched right through the gates.

 

We had better learn in America how to vote for leaders. 

 

We do it by being a righteous people, voting for righteous leaders.     

 

We need a leader like Moses who is determined to obey God no matter what.  We need generals like Joshua who knew God and could pray and shout down walls.  We need politicians like Joseph who walked with God and fashioned policy after His will. 

 

We need preachers like Peter who had the courage to look people in the eye and say repent or perish.  We need mothers like Hannah who will pray for their children and when God gives them children they will give them back to God.  We need children like Samuel who will talk to God in the hours of the night and honor their parents in the hours of the day. 

 

We need physicians like Luke who not only cared for the physical needs but also cared for the spiritual needs of his patients and introduced them to the Lord Jesus Christ.  We need a God like Israel's God, not the man upstairs but the thrice-Holy God of Israel.  We need a Savior like Jesus who can save anyone at anytime, anywhere that people will call upon Him.

 

Thank God today we have a Savior like Jesus.  And this morning if you have never come to know Him, if you have never personally prayed and invited Jesus Christ in to your heart, oh what a peace you are missing.  Oh what an emptiness there is in your life because you do not know what your ultimate purpose is or where you are going to be a hundred years from now. 

 

You do not know your ultimate destiny that Jesus died on the cross for your sin and rose again that you might have eternal life.

 

The Bible says he who has the Son has life, but he who has not the Son of God has not life but the wrath of God abideth on him.  The Scripture says it is a choice. Today we are not voting, we are talking about the kind of leader America needs now.  And I will tell you this, just as you come to the marriage altar and you say I do, every person has to make a choice about Jesus Christ.  You have to vote who will control your life.  Will you control it or will Christ control it?  And the decision you make determines not only your life now, but also your life in eternity someday.

 

Today will you vote for Jesus?  Will you vote for Jesus to be the Lord of your life?  Will you vote for Jesus to be your personal Savior?  Will you vote for Jesus to come in and take control of your family, take control of your home, take control of your decisions?  If you will, then you will rejoice because He indeed is a Godly leader.  Everything that Proverbs talks about, Jesus is.  Whenever the word wisdom is used you can substitute the word Christ and it will work just beautifully.  I hope today that you will do that, that you will vote yes to Jesus and no to Satan by committing your life to Christ.