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Hey, seeing as if to you a light thing, and to be a king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly a king, and the service of Saul's poker. You Then the princes brought him forth, and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David behave himself more wise, and all the servants of Saul, that his name was much set by him. But Mike, we pray for you. Thank you, Lord, for bringing us here on this bright evening. I thank you, Mr. President, for having us here. I'm so pleased to be here. We ask that all of you be here. Amen. Amen. All right. Well, thank you very much for being here tonight, and I appreciate everybody coming out. I've got to stand on my tippy-toes to stand behind this thing, and Pastor Jones comes from a family of giants. All his kids are giants, and we appreciate them, and I want to say thank you for coming out tonight. I realize it's a Friday night, and it's busy. Everybody has busy schedules, but this is a great crowd for a Friday night service, and we're excited to be here. And, of course, I want to say thank you, first of all, to Pastor Jones and Miss Jessica and the family, and we really love the Jones family. And I hope you're loving on them, and I hope you're taking care of them because we want them back. And, actually, that's why I'm here. I'm here to take them back. No, I'm just kidding. But we appreciate the Jones family, and I want to say thank you for the gifts. They gave us a nice gift basket, all sorts of goodies in there. I got this Bible cover, and it was funny. I was just thinking to myself a couple days ago, I needed to get a Bible cover, and you guys gave me this gift. It says Verity Baptist Church, Pastor Jimenez, and camouflage. On the back, it's got BBC Vancouver, Manila, Boise, Fresno. On the inside, because we've got to hide it from the enemies, it says Orlando and Leviticus 2013, and it's got all those nice things. But thank you. This was in the gift basket, and there were T-shirts, and there were mugs and suckers for the kids and candles and a generous love offering and all that. Thank you so much for all of that. For dinner last night, for the hotel, everything has been wonderful, and we're glad to be here. And then, of course, I'm thankful that Pastor and Mrs. Thompson are here, and they are close friends of ours, and I appreciate it. I pretty much don't go anywhere without Pastor Thompson nowadays, and so I appreciate them being here. And we're there in First Samuel, Chapter 18. Now I'd like you to look down at Verse 5, First Samuel, Chapter 18, Verse 5. The Bible says this, And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants. And tonight, I'm preaching a sermon. And I realize it's a two-year anniversary weekend of the church, and I'm preaching a sermon on the subject of, usually when we think about churches and church growth and one-year anniversary and two-year anniversary, and by the way, we are very proud of Shield of Faith Baptist Church. We're very proud of the work that is getting done up here in this part of the country. And usually when you think of a church and an organization, and any organization, a church, a business, a family, we usually emphasize the idea of leadership. And that is definitely something that needs to be emphasized. I believe, and I've heard this all my life, a famous preacher, Lee Roberson, would often say, everything rises and falls on leadership. And I agree with that. I believe that. However, the success of an organization, whenever you look at an organization, and it's any organization, and of course we're focusing in on a church tonight, but it could be any organization where you bring people together, and whether it's a family, whether it's a church, whether it's a business, whatever it might be, whenever you see an organization that is succeeding, yes, I believe and we believe that everything rises and falls on leadership, but there's more to it than just that. Because the success of an organization is also dependent upon the people that are following that leader. And, you know, without bringing up a bunch of drama, Shield of Faith Baptist Church in the past, not now, you've had your share of pretty bad followers. And, in fact, when it comes to leadership, when it comes to the success of an organization, you need to have a good, strong leader. And I'm thankful you have that, and Pastor Jones. But it requires more than just a good, strong leader because in the Bible, we have an example of a great leader who actually did not accomplish a lot during his ministry, and he went down as a success, but his organization did not. You know, if you look at a very great leader who had lousy followers, you'll notice that he did not accomplish much. And you might ask who you're talking about. You know, the example is Moses. Moses was a great leader. I mean, Moses was a great man. Moses, the Bible says he was a friend of God. The Bible tells us that Moses was one of the few men that got to see God the Father and only his backside, and we understand that. But Moses appears in the New Testament on the Mount of Transfiguration. And Moses is one of, and I've got to be careful because Pastor Thompson is here, but he's one of the men that is not debated in regards to being one of the two witnesses in the end times. I'm just kidding, Pastor Thompson. You know, Moses, nobody would deny the fact that Moses was a great man, but yet he had a group of really lousy followers. And as a result, as a result, his organization, the Church in the Wilderness as it's called in the Book of Acts, what did they accomplish? They walked around in circles for 40 years. Now, Moses was a success, but the organization did not succeed. Though they had a great leader, he had lousy followers, and they didn't accomplish much. Then you can compare and contrast with another man, who I believe is a great man, but not as great of a leader as Moses. And this is a man by the name of Joshua. Joshua is a great man of God. There's a book in the Bible named after him. There's a reason we named our son Joshua, you know. Joshua was a great man and a great leader, but nobody would argue the fact that he was not as great as Moses. But Joshua had something that Moses did not have. He had some good followers. In fact, if you study the Book of Exodus towards the end there, when Moses is handing off the reign to Joshua, you'll notice that the congregation says to Joshua, we'll follow you in whatever you say. They even threatened to kill anyone who disobeyed Joshua, and he had some good followers behind him. And as a result, Joshua was able to take those people, cross the Jordan River, enter into the Promised Land, and began to conquer the land. They accomplished much as an organization, and though he was not as great of a leader as Moses, he had some pretty good followers. And Moses was a great leader, and yet he had some lousy followers. So tonight, I'm preaching on the subject of the art of being a good follower. Because the truth is this, if you're going to have an organization that succeeds, if you're going to have a church that succeeds, if you're going to have a family that succeeds, a business that succeeds, you need to have a good leader, but you also need to have some good followers. And as we've learned at Shield of Faith Baptist Church, sometimes being a good follower does not come naturally. It's something that needs to be taught. It's something you need to understand. Let me say this. This sermon really is for everyone, because in one way or another, we're all followers. Children must follow their parents, and wives must follow their husbands, and employees must follow their bosses, and church members should follow their pastors. And in different areas, you might be a leader in one area, and then find yourself being a follower in a different area. You might be the leader in your home, and then you go to work, and now you have a boss, and now you are a follower, even in my position. You know, I'm the pastor of Verity Baptist Church, and I'm the leader there, and I'm the head of my home. And in a lot of areas, I find myself in a leadership position, but I'll travel around, and I'll come to a place like Shield of Faith Baptist Church, or Sure Foundation Baptist Church, and when I show up there, you know, I submit myself under the authority of the pastor of that church. And you know, whatever Pastor Jones says, yes sir, you know, while I'm here, whatever you want me to do, and whatever Pastor Thompson says while I'm there, you know. So in all areas of life, we all find ourselves in positions of being a follower, from time to time. And we should strive, we should strive to be good followers. Notice there in 1 Samuel 18-5 what the Bible says about David. And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely. Notice he was a good follower. And Saul sent him over the men of war. Not only was David a follower, but at the same time, he was, excuse me, not only was David a good leader, he was a leader, he behaved himself wisely, and Saul sent him over the men of war. He was also a follower, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants. Keep your place there in 1 Samuel 18, that's going to be our text for tonight. But go with me if you would to the book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter number 5. In the New Testament you have Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1st, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians. Ephesians chapter number 5. And while you go there, let me just make this point. Whenever you see an organization that's succeeding, that's growing, that's accomplishing its goal, its tasks, don't fall into the rut of just acknowledging the leader and saying, well there must be a good leader there. Of course, if the organization is doing well, there has to be a good leader there. But don't undermine the fact that there are also some good followers there. Sometimes people look at a church like Verity Baptist Church, our church back home in Sacramento, and the Lord has allowed our church to be a very successful church in many ways. We've planted many churches. I think we've planted 5 churches, not including our own, in Sacramento. Tonight I want to make sure we get a picture with Pastor and Mrs. Jones and Pastor and Mrs. Thompson and my wife and I. I mentioned that and Ms. Sherry said, yeah you need a picture with the children. There are spiritual children that we brought forth. Verity Baptist Church planted a church in Vancouver, in Boise, in Manila, in Pampanga, in Fresno. The Lord has allowed us to be successful in that respect. The Lord has allowed us to be able to influence people all over the world and all over the country. The Lord has allowed us to have special projects and documentaries and things that have helped people. The Lord has allowed our church to make an impact in our community and the Lord has allowed us to grow. Obviously you guys are celebrating two years. This last year our church celebrated a decade of ministry. This last Sunday the Lord allowed us to have 200 in church on Sunday morning and 100 soul winners out. And I only say that to say this, that sometimes you can look at an organization and say, oh well they must have a great leader and I hope they do and I'm doing my best to be the best leader I can be. But don't forget about the fact and undermine the fact that there are some great followers at Verity Baptist Church. We've got some strong members there that have allowed us to do over the last 10 years the things that God has allowed us to do. Every organization that is growing, every organization that is succeeding has some good followers. You see, when you look at a family like Pastor Jones' family and you look at his family and you see his wife, and you see a godly wife and a submissive wife and you see a wife that works hard and is partnering with her husband in the ministry. You see these kids and these young people and teenagers and they're serving the Lord and they're playing the piano and they're working in the sound booth and they're soul winners and they love the Lord and they're working. Look at that and you might look at Pastor Jones and say, well he must be a great husband and he must be a great father and he is and praise the Lord for that. But don't undermine the fact that there's a good wife there. There's some good kids there. There's some followers there that are also good followers that have also helped in the success of that ministry. See, an organization, a church, a family, a business, whatever it might be, requires yes a good leader. Everything rises and falls on leadership, but it also requires some good followers. And let me just say this, the reason you should care to be a good follower is because in your positions of submission, in your positions as a follower, it is God, Almighty God, that placed you there. In fact, the Bible indicates this idea and I'd like to just kind of point it out for you by way of introduction. Ephesians chapter 5, if you're there, look at verse 22, the Bible says this, Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands. Now I want you to notice these four words, as unto the Lord. You're there in Ephesians 5, skip down to Ephesians chapter 6, look at verse 1. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 1, the Bible says, Children, obey your parents, notice these words, in the Lord. For this is right. Notice Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 5. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 5, the Bible says, Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters, according to the flesh, with fear and trembling in singleness of your hearts. Notice these words, as unto Christ. Why don't you notice that every time that the Bible refers to somebody submitting to their God-given earthly authority, God always highlights the fact that you say, I'm supposed to submit to my husband, yes, as unto the Lord. You submit to your husband as if you're submitting to the Lord Jesus Christ. Children should obey their parents in the Lord. Why? Because they should submit to their parents in the same way that they would submit to God the Father. Servants and employees should submit to their bosses and they should work for their bosses as unto Christ. The Bible says there in verse 6, Not with I service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. Here's what I want you to understand and here's what I want you to remember. Remember, when it comes to submitting to your God-given authority, the Bible connects, in fact, intertwines these ideas that our success, our success, I would hope, I would imagine if you're here on a Friday night to hear me preach, you know, of all people, you must consider yourself at least a Christian, I would hope. And if you're not here and you're not a Christian, you know, we can make you one. We can take care of that for you tonight. But I would imagine that you would consider yourself a disciple of Jesus Christ, a follower of Jesus Christ. Now here's why you say, you're going to come all the way over here and preach a sermon about being a follower. Here's the thing. What if I told you that your success as a Christian, not talking about being saved, but as a follower of Jesus Christ, a disciple of Jesus Christ, what if that success of how well, what if you got to the judgment seat of Christ and found out that your success as to how well you followed the Lord Jesus Christ was intertwined with how well you followed your God-given authority? Because it is. Because when God tells you to submit to your God-given authority, He says to do it as unto Christ, as unto the Lord, as it is fit in the Lord, in the Lord. The point is this, that being a good follower, being a good follower of Jesus Christ requires you to also be a good follower of your God-given earthly authority. So tonight I want to preach to you on the subject. I want to give you some thoughts and if you're able to write these down, I'd encourage you to write these down. I got five thoughts tonight and we'll move through them as quickly as I can. I want to give you some thoughts in regards to the art of being a good follower. How to be a good follower. If you would, go back to 1 Samuel 18 and look at verse number 5. 1 Samuel 18 and verse 5. Notice what the Bible says. 1 Samuel 18, 5. The Bible says this, And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. Now we read the entire chapter in its context, so I won't take the time to go back and review the whole thing. But if you remember, Saul is a bad leader. He is very insecure. He's hiding his personal agenda. He's got some things he wants to do against David. David is a good follower. And the servants of Saul come to David and they tell David, they say to David, Hey, you know, Saul wants you to be his son-in-law. And David responds in a very humble way. And he says, well look, you know, it's not a light thing to be the king's son-in-law. And he talks about the fact that he's a poor man and that he could never attain to that. Then here in verse 25 the Bible says, And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. Now we're obviously in a mixed group tonight, so I'm not going to go into detail about what he's asking here. But I'll just say this, that to get a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, those guys have to be dead. They're not just going to volunteer that. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. Here's what Saul's doing. Saul wants to get rid of David. Saul wants to be done with David. So he says, hey, you know what, I'll make you my son-in-law. I don't want any money. I just want you to go kill a hundred Philistines. And here's what Saul thinks. Saul thinks no one's going to kill a hundred Philistines. David can't kill a hundred Philistines. He'll just die in the process. They'll just kill him in his attempt to do that. Notice verse 26. And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. And the days were not expired. David thinks to himself, well, I don't got any money, but I know how to fight. I'll go, sure, I can do that. Verse 27. Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, notice these words, and slew of the Philistines, don't miss it, two hundred men. Saul only asked for one hundred. David delivers two hundred. He went above and beyond. He went the extra mile. And David brought their foreskins and they gave them in full tale to the king that he might be the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michael, his daughter, to wife. And here's the first point. If you're writing this down, I'd encourage you to, if you're taking notes, I'd encourage you to write this down. A good follower is a help to the leader. A good follower is a benefit to the leader. You're there in 1 Samuel 18, keep your place there. Go with me, if you would, to the book of Genesis. Genesis chapter 30, first book in the Bible should be fairly easy to find. Genesis chapter number 30, and look down at verse number 27. See, a good follower is an asset to the leader. He helps the leader. Genesis chapter 30, verse 27, the Bible says this, Genesis 30, 27, and Laban, this is the story of Jacob, and we're seeing Jacob with his father-in-law, who's also his boss. And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thine eyes, tarry, for I have learned. Now notice what Laban says to Jacob. Jacob is trying to quit. Jacob is trying to go home. He's basically putting in his two weeks notice and he's saying, listen Laban, it's been fun, but I'm going to head on now. And Laban said unto him, look, every young man, this should be your goal at work. And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thine eyes, tarry, for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for thy sake. I mean, Laban says to Jacob, Laban says, you know what I've learned? You know what I've learned? I've learned that since you got here, since you got here, I've actually been more successful as a leader. I've been a more successful leader as a result of your following. Is that I have learned by experience. I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for thy sake. Go to Genesis 39, Genesis 39. Look guys, it's a good sign. It's a good sign when you put in your two weeks notice and the boss is like, because Laban later on in that passage, he says, name your price. What do I got to do to keep you here? And Jacob names his price and he stays there for a while. It's a good sign when you try to put in your two weeks notice and your boss is like, what do I got to do to keep you? How much of a raise do I have to give you? When you put in your two weeks notice and your boss is like, praise the Lord. I've been trying to figure out how to get rid of you anyway. There's a reason I've been scheduling you for 30 minutes in a week. That's not a good sign. When your boss says, hey, I've learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for thy sake. Hey, that means you're an asset. That means you're a benefit. Genesis 39, look at verse 2. Here we have Joseph. Notice what the Bible says about Joseph. And the Lord was with Joseph and he was a prosperous man and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian and the master saw the Lord was with him and the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. See, good followers help the leader. A good follower is an asset to the leader, not a liability. I mean, these men, we saw two examples here where Potiphar the leader says, hey, I realize that the hand of God, the blessing of God is upon Joseph the follower and that God has prospered me and God has helped me as the leader as a result of not my leadership but my follower. Laban says, look, I've been more successful. I've been a better business owner. I've been a better boss as a result of you, Jacob the employee. See, here's what we like to do when we're followers. We like to complain about our leaders. Right? I mean, you want to go to work and talk about your boss, you know, my boss is an idiot, my boss isn't done with anything, I know more than my boss and I know this and I know that. Well, if that were true, why is he the boss? And you're not. You know, and wives will often complain about their husbands. My husband's an idiot. Look, there's no new thing under the sun. Guys, same things you say about your boss, your wife says about you. My husband's an idiot. My husband doesn't know anything. My husband's lazy. My husband this, my husband that. What if you as a follower had the power to make your leader the leader that God called him to be? I mean, isn't there a reason why God calls the wife the help meet, the help suitable, the help suitable to make... Hey, what if there was more power in the position of a follower than we realized? What if there was more power in the position of the congregation of the children of Israel than the congregation of the children of Israel realized? And what if it wasn't Moses' fault that the children of Israel were running around in circles for 40 years and we're not taking anything away from leadership? Everything rises and falls on leadership and leaders must be good leaders. But what if there's some power in the position of a follower and you can actually make your leader better by you being a good follower? What if you could make your husband better? What if you could make your boss situation better? And by the way, you do enough to make your boss succeed. You know what will happen? They'll make you the boss. I mean, what if a follower accomplished so much that he was helping the leader to prosper? See, a good follower is a help to the leader. A good follower is a help, not a liability. Go to Numbers 11 if you would. You're there in Genesis X and Leviticus 11. See, the problem is that some followers are a liability. It's like this follower might sink the ship. That's where church discipline comes in. I mean, think about that. What motivates a pastor to go through the biblical steps needed and required to throw people out of church? When you came to a town to start a church to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ, to disciple people, to grow, the whole reason you're here is you want to reach people and then that pastor says, this one's got to go. Look, when the pastor says this one's got to go, they've got to go. They're a liability. They can't even sit without making a mess of things. They can't even sit there without doing anything wrong. We've got to get rid of them because they're a liability. See, sometimes the follower is not an asset at all. They're just a liability. And look, let that not be said of you. You say, how do I do that? Followers, just get on board. Get on board with the agenda of the church. Get on board with the agenda of the pastor. Get on board and say, hey, I'm here to help. I'm here to be an asset. I'm here to do whatever you think we ought to be doing. I want to help you accomplish that. Now look, I realize that different people have different opinions. No one's going to see eye to eye 100%. You get three Baptists in a room, you'll have four opinions. I get it. We're not always going to agree. But you know what a good follower does? A good follower gets on board where they can get on board. And if there's something you can't get on board with, you just keep your mouth quiet and you don't try to make a big deal about it. Now look, there are some things that maybe they're deal breakers and you shouldn't be going to that church if that's the case. And we understand that. That's not what I'm talking about. But if they're having soup after the service and you think they should be having tacos, just get on board. Say, I don't like soup. Well, you know, then just learn to like it. I'm just saying there's some things that aren't worth fighting over. There's some things where you just say, hey, you know what? You're the leader. You're the boss. You're my God-given authority. And I want to make you succeed. See, I think what the average follower does not realize is that they have power. They have power to help their leader succeed. In fact, they've been placed there. And when your leader succeeds, when your leader succeeds, you actually can rejoice in their success because you took part of that. As a wife, what if you could help your husband succeed? What if you could be the asset that helps him to succeed and to grow and to be the person that God called him to be? Go to Numbers 11. Let me say this. Not only is a good follower an asset to a leader, but let me say this quickly. Every good leader wants a good follower. The Bible teaches this idea thoroughly, and I'll just show you a couple of verses to make the point. Numbers 11 and verse 28. The Bible says this, I want you to notice that we see here about Joshua, but we're not reading about Joshua in the book of the Bible named after him, the book of Joshua. We're reading about Joshua before that in the book of Numbers. And here, later on, Joshua is the captain. Joshua is in charge. Joshua is the leader that's leading them in victory. But before that book comes into the Bible, we have Numbers 11 where the Bible says, He was a follower before he was a leader. And every good leader was once a good follower. Go to 2 Kings 3 if you would. 2 Kings 3. You have Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings 3 and verse 11. 2 Kings 3 and verse 11, the Bible says this, That we may inquire of the Lord by him. And one of the kings of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha, the son of Shaphat. Now Elisha is a great prophet of the Lord. In fact, Elisha had a double portion of Elijah, his predecessor's spirit. He did twice as many miracles. He did twice as much as Elijah. And here we see him. He's the man. He's in charge. He's the leader. Here is Elisha, the son of Shaphat. Here's what they said about him, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. Before he was a good leader, you know what he was? He was a good follower. Every good leader was once a good follower. And good followers are an asset to their leaders. Go back to 2 Samuel, chapter 15. 2 Samuel, chapter 15. Look, it's your job. Men, when you go to work, it's your job to make your boss a success. Wives, it's your job to make your husband a success. Even kids, you're there to be raised by your parents and for them to raise you and train you up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord so that you can be adults that will serve the Lord. But while you're there, it's your job to learn to follow and to help your parents be a success. You ought not be a liability to your parents. You should be an asset to your parents. And there's actually power. There's actually power in followship. There's power in the follower to help their leader be a success. I remember hearing a story once, and I'm tempted to not even tell the story because as soon as you start naming names, people get all weird. And I'm not condoning this person or whatever. It's just a joke I heard. There's a story about George Bush, not W, but his father. And he was president, and he was with his wife, Barbara, in a limousine. And they were going through Texas, and they'd stopped at a gas station, and the Secret Service was filling up the limousine and putting gas in it. And the guy that was working at the gas station place there comes out, and Barbara Bush sees this guy, and she opens up the door, and she says, hey, you know, she knows my name, and they start talking and whatever. And she gets back in, and her husband George says, he says, who's that? And she says, oh, that was my high school sweetheart. And he starts laughing. He said, imagine if you would have married him. You wouldn't be the wife of the president of the United States. You'd be the wife of a guy that works at a gas station. And she started laughing and said, no, silly, if I would have married him, he'd be president. And the truth is this, that followers do have a power to help their leaders succeed. There is power in your position as a follower to be the help meet that your husband needs, to be the Joseph that Potiphar needs, to be the Jacob that Laban needs, to be the church member that your pastor needs to fulfill the vision that God has called for Shield of Faith Baptist Church. I said, number one, good followers help the leader. Number two, tonight I'd like you to notice that good followers are loyal to the leader. 2 Samuel 15, we fast forward a little bit in the life of David. And here we see David at a time of crisis. He has a very bad follower by the name of Absalom, his son, who has brought a rebellion against the kingdom. And David said unto all his servants, and he's speaking to this group of military soldiers known as David's mighty men. These are the elite soldiers of the ancient world. The greatest fighting force the world has known and the ancient world has known in the Bible. You can read about the exploits of the mighty men. In fact, we'll look at some of it tonight in the sermon. Without going into a lot of detail, I want to just remind you that the Bible says that when these men, when David ran for his life from Saul, he ran out as an outlaw into the wilderness, that these men came out unto him. And the Bible tells us that they were distressed and they were in debt and they were discontented. The Bible says he had a group that was in disarray and David invested in them, he loved on them, he helped them, he trained them, and he turned them into the fighting force known as David's mighty men. These men owe David and they love David. David is now here going through a difficult time in his life and he expects loyalty from them and they respond with loyalty. 2 Samuel 15 verse 14, David is not on a high here, he's on a low. He's not advancing, he's retreating. By the way, this is what the Christian life is like. Sometimes we're going forward and sometimes we're just picking ourselves up. The Bible says Paul said we're troubled on every side yet not distressed. We are perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed. Sometimes, you know, you get knocked out. Now in Christ we don't ever have to get knocked out. Sometimes you're not always going forward, sometimes you're retreating. This is where David finds himself. Notice how these men respond in verse 15, They said, David, we are with you. When you're slaying Goliath, when you're winning the battles, when you're doing well, we're with you. And when you're not doing well, we're still with you. You know, good followers are loyal to their leaders. Hey, wouldn't it God if we get back to this country to husbands and wives, leaders and followers, who remembered that they made vows before God in which they said, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, in riches and in poverty, till death do us part. Here you have these followers, they're not married to David but they said, David, we're with you for better or for worse, in riches and in poorness. I mean, we're with you when things are going well, when things are not going well. They said, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever, my Lord the King shall appoint. And praise God for some followers who are loyal. So how do you know when a follower is loyal? When you're retreating and they're still following. I remember back in 2016 at Verity Baptist Church, you know the story. We had a big protest and we had, I don't know, the news has a thousand fifteen hundred sodomites, reprobates, psychopaths outside of our church protesting. And Pastor Thompson and Ms. Cherry and their family was there. Pastor Jones and Ms. Jessica and their family was there to support us, you know. And we had a lot of our church people and we appreciate them. They're still with us who stuck with us through that time and they were loyal. And you know what they said? They said, hey we're with you. When things are going well, when things are not going well. But you know there were some people who, and there were some people who we would have expected to stay with us because they'd been with us for a long time. And they stayed with us and we appreciate it but it was expected. There were some other people you would have expected to stay with us and they turned and ran. They were disloyal. They were only there when it was easy. They were only there when things were going well. But see a good follower is not only a help to the leader but a good follower is also a loyal to the leader. A good follower says, hey I'm with you. I'm with you when things are going well. I'm with you when you're starting this church and it's exciting and it's shield of faith and we're going through it. And I'm with you during that rough year when you throw out half the church. I'm still with you. Thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my Lord the King shall appoint. That's loyalty. But then in this passage you find an extra layer of loyalty. An almost eyeing layer of loyalty. Notice verse 19. Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite. I like Ittai the Gittite because his name rhymes and it's easy to remember. Then said the king Ittai the Gittite. Notice these words. Wherefore. See that word wherefore? The word wherefore means this. For what reason? And David is not being sarcastic here. David, he just looked at his mighty men and he said hey I expect you to come with me. Let us flee he said for we shall not else escape from Absalom. Make speed to depart lest you overtake us suddenly and bring evil upon us. They responded thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my Lord the King shall appoint. But now Ittai, now he sees Ittai the Gittite packing his bags and getting ready to go. And David says he says wait a minute Ittai. Wherefore? He says what's the reason? For what reason? Goest thou also with us? Return to thy place and abide with the king. And when he says the king there in verse 19 he's referring to his son Absalom. He said why would David say that? Here's why. For thou art a stranger and also an exile. Look at verse 20. Whereas. See that word whereas? Whereas means for this reason or considering this reason or considering the fact. David says to Ittai he says why are you coming? Wherefore goest thou also with us? He says whereas. He says considering the fact thou camest by yesterday. Should I this day make thee go up and down with us seeing I go whither I may? Return thou and take back thy brethren mercy and truth be with thee. And look David's not being sarcastic here. David's not having a bad attitude. At the end of the verse there in 20 he says mercy and truth be with us. David looked at this man Ittai the Gittite and here's what he said. He said I don't expect you to come Ittai. He said you just got here just yesterday. Now I don't know if David is exaggerating a little bit or if he's being literal. Did Ittai the Gittite literally just join his army yesterday? Or is David just being exaggerating? But the point is there is this. Ittai had not been there very long. Maybe he'd been there a week. Maybe he'd been there a month. Maybe he'd been there a few months. But as far as David is concerned David says you just got here. You just got here yesterday. I'm not even invested in you. I've not helped you. These guys yes I expect them to stick with me but Ittai you just got here. I don't expect you to go up and down with me. I don't expect loyalty from you Ittai. You just got here. He said we haven't developed a relationship. Where as thou camest but yesterday should I this day make thee go up and down with us? Look at verse 21. And Ittai answered and said, Ittai answered the king and said, As the Lord liveth and as my Lord the king liveth, surely in what place my Lord the king shall be whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. Ittai looks at David and he gives us this profound lesson on fellowship. And David says look Ittai I understand. I expect these guys to fight with me, to retreat with me. You just got here. I barely even know you. I barely even invested in you. I barely even helped you out and you know I haven't even had the chance to do my part as a leader. I don't expect you to go with me. I don't expect loyalty from you. And Ittai he teaches us this lesson on fellowship where he says, He basically looks at David and says, David my fellowship is not dependent upon your leadership. Now David I hope you'll be a good leader to me. I hope you'll get to know me. I hope you'll invest in me. I hope you'll help me. But I'm going to be a good follower whether you're the leader you're supposed to be or not because that's what I'm supposed to do. See Ittai the Gittite, Ittai the Gittite, the mighty men teach us that we should not be fair. You've heard this term before, fair weather friends. Don't be a fair weather follower. We need to follow when we are advancing but we must also follow when we are retreating. But Ittai the Gittite teaches us this concept that your willingness to be a good follower should not be dependent upon your leader. It should be dependent upon your ultimate leader, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to fulfill our roles whether or not our counterpart fulfills them. David said I'm not even yet fulfilled my role as a leader and Ittai says but I'm going to be a follower. Look you can sit there and say well I'll be a good employee as soon as my boss becomes a good boss. You're no Ittai. Because you know what a good employee says? I'll be a good employee whether you are a good boss or not. I'll be a good wife as soon as my husband gets his act together and I hope your husband gets his act together but you should be a good wife anyway. Well as soon as Pastor Jones gets his act together I think he's got his act together. But you know in ministry I found we are constantly being pinned against each other. You know Pastor Jones is not as good as Pastor Thompson and Pastor Thompson is not as good as Pastor Jimenez and Pastor Jimenez is not as good as Pastor Anderson and Pastor Anderson is not as good as Pastor Hiles and Pastor Hiles is not as good as Jesus Christ. Look there's always somebody to be compared against. To pin you against. Well as soon as you become like that leader, hey why don't you just decide I'm going to be a good follower. I'm going to be with you and I'm going to be the type of follower that says surely in what place my Lord the King shall be whether in death or life. Even there also will thy servant be. See a good follower is not only a help. A good follower is loyal. They're loyal when their leader is not doing well and they are loyal whether their leader deserves it or not. It's like says I know David. I know I just got here but I chose you and I chose you. Nobody forced me to choose you and when I put my lot with you David I put my lot with you and I'm going to stick with you whether life or death I'm here to follow. Look you know what Shield of Faith needs? You know what Sure Foundation Baptist Church needs? You know what Verity Baptist Church needs? You know what every church needs? They need some members that will say hey pastor I'm with you. When things are going well and when things are not going well. When the attendances are up and when the attendances are not up. When we're succeeding and when we're retreating I'm with you. I cast my lot with you. I chose you. Hey wife you chose him. You know employment you don't have to be employed in the same job your whole life but while you're there that's the one you chose. Why don't you be a good follower? See good followers help the leader and good followers are loyal to the leader. Number 3 go to 2 Samuel 16 we're traveling through the life of David. We're watching David as a follower and David with his followers. 2 Samuel 16 and verse 5. I'm on the third point I've got 5 points and I'm at 47 minutes. So this is going to be a Pastor Thompson sermon okay? You got those you know big mistake when you put those soups on instaparts. I know they're not going to get cold. Good followers help the leader and good followers are loyal to the leader. Number 3 good followers defend the leader. 2 Samuel 16 verse 5. Here we have David running. Remember he's running from Absalom's rebellion. 2 Samuel 16 verse 5. And when King David came to Bahirim behold thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul whose name was Shemiiah the son of Gerah he came forth and cursed still as he came. Let me tell you something all leaders that are trying to accomplish something will get attacked. All leaders are going to get attacked. Don't let it scare you when you're like you know you google Pastor Jones name and there are all these you know reason files. You know you might end up dead by the way. It's a sermon for another day but you know you got all these people attacking Pastor Jones, attacking Pastor Thompson, attacking Pastor, you know men that are trying to accomplish something for God. Hey that's normal. Good leaders are always going to receive attacks and there's always going to be push back when you're trying to accomplish something. Especially when you're trying to accomplish something for God. Notice verse 6. The Lord has returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul. Now look if you know this Bible and you know the life of David you know that's not true. David did not take the kingdom by shedding the blood of Saul. Let me just remind you that not only would leaders get attacked but most of the time it's false accusations. All the blood of the house of Saul in whose stead thou has reigned and the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son and behold thou art taken to thy mischief because thou art a bloody man. Here we have David under attack. Notice verse 9. Then said Abishai. I like Abishai. One of these days I'm going to preach a whole sermon on the life of Abishai. Then said Abishai the son of Zechariah unto the king. Why should this dead dog curse my Lord the king? Let me go over I pray thee and take off his head. Now let me just explain something to you when it comes to leadership. The leader is responsible. Do you understand that? The Bible says obey them that have the rule over you. Talking about pastors, your spiritual leadership and submit yourself for they watch for your souls that they must give account. The Bible says they have to give an account. We have to give an account for what's done at church. David as the leader, the leader is always responsible so the followers can sometimes get away with things that the leader cannot get away with and sometimes the leader cannot allow the followers to do the things that the followers want to do because they are responsible. Do you understand that? That's what we're going to see here. Abishai says why should this dead dog curse my Lord the king? Let me go over I pray thee and take off his head. And the king said what have I to do with you you sons of Zechariah? So let him curse because the Lord has said unto him curse David who shall then say wherefore has thou done so? Go to 1 Timothy if you would in the New Testament. You got all the t-books. They're all clustered together. 1 Timothy Titus. 1 Timothy chapter 5. And let me just say this. David could not allow Abishai to take off the head of Shimei. That was the wrong thing to do. And David as the responsible leader says look no I can't let you do that but let me tell you something. Here's what I know about David because here's what I know about leaders. I'm sure he loved the fact that someone was willing to do it. You know what a good leader does? He defends his followers. You know what a good husband does? Defends his wife. I mean you start you know attacking somebody's wife or talking ill about somebody's wife and a husband's not just going to sit there and stand up for his wife. You know what a good father does? Stands up for his children. You know what a pastor does? He protects and defends his flock and he fights for his followers. You know leaders should defend their followers. They're expected to defend their followers. A good leader does defend their followers. But let me just flip that around for a second follower and remind you that every once in a while the leader appreciates it when the followers defend him. You know what a good follower does? They defend their leader. And you know especially in ministry the Bible says you're there in 1 Timothy chapter 5. Go to chapter 5. Look at verse 19. 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 19. The Bible says against an elder. That's a pastor. Notice this word receive. You ought to underline that word. Against an elder receive not an accusation but before two or three witnesses. Now I want you to notice what it doesn't say. It doesn't say against an elder believe not an accusation. That's not what it says. It doesn't say don't believe an accusation but before two or three. It doesn't say that. You wish it said that. Here's what it says. Against an elder receive not an accusation. Don't even receive it. Don't even hear it. Don't even let somebody say it to you unless they've got two or three witnesses. Unless there is adequate evidence that what they're saying is actually real. He says you shouldn't even listen to it. Now for an elder God puts an extra layer of protection there because obviously pastors have a target on their backs. We're constantly being you know having false accusations hurled at us and you know God says look when somebody comes to you and says let me tell you something about Miss Jessica. Let me tell you something about Pastor Jones. Let me tell you something about Kylen and Kenley. You know you say hey before you say anything do you have any evidence to prove what you're about to say? Well you know I heard that and you know my third cousin said that and you know this anonymous email I received. Well look I don't even want to hear it. Now when they when they come to you say something about Kayden it's probably true but you know probably shouldn't hear that one either. I'm kidding Kayden. We love you. Here's the point. You know what a good follower does? They defend their leader. Look I get it. People have different personalities and they don't like confrontation. I get that. When somebody starts talking crap about your pastor can you at least just not sit there and just you know. Well I mean I didn't say anything. I just sat there and listened. I didn't agree with them. Okay but you didn't not agree with them. Silence is approval. I mean look if you're not going to get up because here's what your pastor wants. Let me just let you in on a little secret. You know what your pastor wants? Your pastor wants for you to stand up and say hey listen buddy you're going to shut your mouth about my pastor. You're going to shut your mouth about my pastor's wife. I don't know where you've been but they've been there for me. They've been there for me in the hospitals. They've been there for me when things were not going well. They've helped me. They've counseled me. They've helped me and invested in my life. And I'm not going to sit here and listen to some false ideas. You know that's what we would like you to do. We understand most people aren't going to do that. Some of you are. We appreciate that. We get it. Maybe you say that's not a personality. But can you at least get up and leave? Maybe slam a door on the way out or something? I mean can you at least make it clear? And I'm not going to sit. I'm going to defend my leader. And again we're not talking about the pastor can never be touched. Look if there's evidence that there's some wrongdoing then bring the evidence. But till you got the evidence shut your mouth. Against an elder receive non-accusation but before two or three witnesses. Keep your place right there in 1 Timothy chapter 5. Go back to 2 Samuel 23 if you would. I said number 1 a good follower helps the leader. Number 2 a good follower is loyal to the leader. Number 3 a good follower defends the leader. Now look leaders may not allow you to defend them. They're not going to allow you to go and you know find that guy or whatever. But you know they appreciate the fact that you're willing to defend them. And by the way none of us have asked anybody to do anything illegal. We all have Loctite alibis. I'm Pastor Jones and Pastor Thompson's alibi. They were with me. I'm their alibi. They're my alibi. That's our story. We're sticking to it. No I'm just kidding. I'm kidding. Alright. Number 4. 2 Samuel 23. I said number 1 good followers help the leader. Number 2 good followers are loyal to the leader. Number 3 good followers defend the leader. Number 4 good followers appreciate the leader. 2 Samuel 23 look at verse 13. Here we have the story of these mighty men. Remember these mighty men? These men that were in debt and discontented and distressed and David turned them into a great fighting force of mighty warriors. Here we're reading about some of their exploits. And I want you to notice what the Bible says. 2 Samuel 23 verse 13. And three of the thirty chief went down and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam and the troops of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim. And David was then and in hold and the garrison of Philistines was then in Bethlehem. And David longed and said. You know how sometimes people do this? They're just kind of talking and they're reminiscing. David's running from Saul and he's not allowed to go back home. And David longed and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate. Remember that well? It's right by the gate. Man what I would give if someone would just get me, if I could just have a drink from the well of Bethlehem. He's from Bethlehem. He says there's no water like the water in Bethlehem. Notice verse 16. And the three mighty men break through the host of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. Now why would these three men do this? Later in the verse, we're going to read in a second, David refers to the fact that these men Jeopardated their lives to do this. Why would they put themselves in physical danger to go? David says, Man I would sure like to have a drink from the well of Bethlehem. And they go and break through the garrison. They put themselves in danger. They grab a drink of water and they come back and they give it to David. And you say, Why would they do that? To show their appreciation. Let me tell you something. When somebody's been there for you, when somebody's loved you, when somebody's given you their time, given you their energy, picks up the phone, they're there for you when you need them. They give you rides. They counsel with you. When somebody goes out of their way to minister to you, you ought to go out of your way to show your appreciation for them. You know what a good follower does? They appreciate their leaders. Let me tell you something, Shield of Faith Baptist Church, make sure you love on Pastor Jones and Ms. Jessica. They've sacrificed a lot to minister to this place. He had a good job and they put up with me for a few years and they gave up a nice house and lived very humbly and just to train for the ministry. They came here and they put up with a lot. You make sure that you love them and you love on them and you remember their special days and you remember their anniversaries and you remember their birthdays and their kids' birthdays. You just make sure you treat them right because when somebody goes out of their way to love you, you ought to go out of your way to appreciate them. You ought to go out of your way to express to them. You ought to sacrifice a little bit to say, hey, the long hours have not gone unnoticed. The work you've put in has not gone unnoticed. The sermons and the teaching and the events and the soul winning and the things you've done, it hasn't gone unnoticed. These three men were trying to tell David, David, we love you. We want to show our appreciation to you. Look at verse 17. Notice David's response. And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? They went to get this water willing to risk their own lives. Therefore, he would not drink it. And you might think, well, this is kind of rude. You know, they go and sacrifice to get this water. He asks for the water, then they bring it. He won't drink it. He pours it out. Notice these things that these three mighty men, the Bible says there in verse 16, And the three mighty men break through the host of Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David out of the well of Bethlehem. That was by the gate, excuse me. Nevertheless, he would not drink thereof. Notice that. Last part of verse 16. Nevertheless, he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord. It's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful thing. Let me explain something to you. You know what, you know, whatever relationship you are in where there's a leader and a follower and there's friction. The reason for that is because either one or both sides are just in it for themselves. It is a beautiful thing. It is a beautiful thing in a church. When the followers say, I'm not pushing my own agenda, I'm getting on board with the pastor's agenda, I appreciate the pastor, I want to help him, I want to be an asset to him. And then when the pastor turns around and he doesn't receive that glory and says, well thanks, David will say, well thanks guys, I am pretty awesome, aren't I? They took the time. These three mighty men, I mean these were no joke, these were men, mighty men on their own right. And they said, hey, we don't want to absorb the glory. We realized that we did not get here on our own. We realized that we've had help along the way. We realized that there's been a man named David who has helped us and we want to take the time to appreciate him. So you know what appreciation is? It's the humility of knowing that wherever you are in life and whatever success you have, you did not get there on your own. I remember hearing the story of a turtle on a fence post. Sometimes I feel like the turtle on the fence post. Because here's what we know about that turtle. We might not know how he got there, but we know he didn't get there on his own. And whatever success you have in life, you might say, I don't know how I got here, but I know this, I didn't get here on my own. People have helped me. People have invested in me. You want to know why it's so hard for you to appreciate someone? Because you're arrogant. These three mighty men, they said, hey, you know, we want to show David that we acknowledge and we appreciate what he has done. And then David, you know what David does? He doesn't take the glory for himself. He says, let me acknowledge God. See, it's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful thing. Your marriage, you'd be shocked how your marriage will become a beautiful relationship. When the wife wakes up every day saying, let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. And she says, I want to be here to help my husband, to be a help me to my husband, to help my husband succeed. And then the husband wakes up every day and says, let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. And yes, I am the biblical head of this home and I am the leader of this home, but I'm not going to lead for my own benefit. I'm going to lead like Christ led. I'm going to sacrifice and be selfless and I'm going to lead for the benefit of my wife and my children. Look, whenever we stop being all about us, the leader-follower relationship becomes a beautiful thing. Church life becomes a beautiful thing. When the church people say, we're here to help you pastor. God gave us to you. You're a gift from God to us. We want to help you accomplish. And the pastor says, I'm not here to lead for my own benefit. I'm here to lead for your benefit. See, good followers, good followers, they don't only help their leader. They're not only loyal to their leader. They don't only defend their leader, but they appreciate their leader. And they acknowledge the fact, they acknowledge the fact that when someone goes out of their way to invest in them, that they should go out of their way to show their appreciation. Did you keep your place there in 1 Timothy chapter 5? Look at verse 17. 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 17. 1 Timothy 5 verse 17. This is biblical. Notice what the Bible says. Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they that labor in the word and doctrine. Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor. You say, well I don't know. Is Pastor Jones doing this just because he loves us? Is it a sacrificial love? The guy works a full time job and then pastors his church full time. While still being an awesome husband and wife, excuse me, and father. He has an awesome wife. I mean you say, you know, is he doing this out of love? Well he's not doing it for money. But you know, let me just explain something to you about one day honoring your pastor. You know, a goal that this church should have, and obviously you're only two years old and you might not be there and many churches don't get to that place. I mean, I pastored a very Baptist church and worked a full time job for I think four or five years before the church paid me and that's fine and there's nothing wrong with that. But you know, it should be a goal eventually that this church does pay your pastor and that you honor him that way. Because you acknowledge the fact that he's putting a lot of work into this ministry. There's a lot that goes into being a pastor and being a pastor's wife. And you know, let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor. Especially their labor and the word and doctrine. Don't get this idea. I was just saying this to our church people back home. Don't get this idea that you pay the pastor. I pay the pastor, you know, we pay him to preach. What does that even mean? I mean, here's how I can prove to you that you don't pay us to preach. We preach whether you paid us or not. But you know, you pay him to preach. What does that mean? Like every once in a while you get a blue light special. This sermon's $29.99. This one's $39.99. Depending how good the offering is, depends what you'll get. If I preach a bad sermon then I gotta give you a discount. What does that even mean? You don't pay a pastor to preach. You don't pay a pastor to be a pastor. You know what a church does? They provide for the physical needs of the pastor and his family. To free him up to do the work that God has called him to do. You don't pay him to do anything. He'd do it for free. He's done it for free. But eventually you should provide for his needs. Eventually you should appreciate him and the work that he's done and provide for him. And by the way, let me just say this. Go back to 1 Samuel 24. You know, here's a great way for you to appreciate your pastor is to show up to hear him preach. You know, it's nice that when you show up for the special events and the guest speaker, but don't show up for the guest speaker on Friday night and then not show up for your pastor on Sunday morning. Now show up for your pastor. Appreciate him. He puts work and energy and time and effort into writing sermons and praying and asking God to speak to him to help you. So show up. Make sure you show up and appreciate him and love him. 1 Samuel 24. 1 Samuel 24. Good followers help the leader and good followers are loyal to the leader and good followers defend the leader. Good followers appreciate the leader. Here's point number 5. Good followers do not hurt the leader. 1 Samuel 24 verse 1. We have David running from Saul. Saul is a bad leader, insecure, going crazy. David's been a great follower to Saul. Verse 1 says this. And it came to pass when Saul was returned from following the Philistines that it was told him saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. And Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David. Now that seems a little overkill to me but okay. And his men upon the rocks and the wild goats. And he came to the sheep coats by the way where was the cave and Saul went in to cover his feet. Now I don't have time to develop that but that phrase cover his feet is a euphemism for he went to use the bathroom. And David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. Okay don't miss this. You got David and his men running from Saul. Saul brings three thousand men to find David because he was told that David was in this certain area. David's men go into a cave to hide and Saul happens to choose that cave to do the one thing that he would do and not bring his guards in to use the bathroom. And he goes in. Notice what happens. Verse four. And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day which the Lord said unto thee, Behold I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose to cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privately. And it came to pass afterward that David's heart smote him. This is a man after God's own heart. And he's under conviction for even cutting off a piece of the garment of Saul because he had cut off Saul's skirt. Look at verse six. And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master the Lord's anointed to stretch forth mine hand against him seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. So David stayed. That means he kept back his servants with the sword and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave and went on his way. Notice David was a great follower. How do we know that? Because he purposed in his heart not to hurt his leader. Now look, he had a bad leader. Saul was a bad guy. In fact, Saul was so bad that David had to leave the organization. David could no longer serve under Saul. But you know what David decided? David said, I'm not going to try to hurt Saul in the process. Now look, please don't misunderstand me. We're not talking about pastors who are doing things that are illegal and molesting children or stealing money from the church or whatever. Look, if a pastor is doing something that's wrong, that needs to be reported to the authorities, bring the evidence before two or three witnesses and do what you've got to do. But from time to time, you know, you might have a leader one day. It may be your father. It may be your husband. It may be your boss at work. It may, you know, not your pastor here, but maybe one day you'll be at a church and it'll be a pastor who's doing wrong. And look, a good follower says, I'm not going to try to hurt. Even if I got to go, look, are there reasons sometimes that people need to leave a church? Of course, there are sometimes reasons for that. And again, we're not talking about a pastor who's molesting children or anything like that or disqualified himself from the ministry. But look, even if you just think, oh, well, he's doing wrong, maybe he's not, but maybe he is. Maybe he's a Saul. David still said, I'm not going to put my hand against him. I'll let God deal with that. See, look, if you ever find yourself having to quit this church, why don't you do something real novel and just leave quietly? Instead of trying to hurl grenades on your way out and try to, you know, get on your little text message, you know, campaign or your email campaign, or just, you know, running down church members on the road as you see them and start yelling at them. I mean, look, you know what a good follower does? Even if they say, well, there's something wrong there, you know what they do? They say, you know what, the pastor hasn't disqualified himself, maybe I don't agree with what he did, so I'm going to be a good follower. I'm just going to leave quietly. And when people want to kill Saul in the cave, it just shows you they're not a good follower. Good followers, good followers, they don't want to hurt their leader. If you don't agree and you can't get on board, you don't have to try to hurt them. Sometimes leaders are wrong, we're humans, we make mistakes, but that doesn't mean you have to try to hurt the leader. Go to Matthew chapter number four, if you would, we're going to finish up right here. Matthew chapter four. Look at verse 19, first book in the New Testament should be fairly easy to find, Matthew chapter four. I said number one, good followers help the leader, good followers, number two, are loyal to the leader, number three, good followers defend the leader, number four, good followers appreciate the leader, number five, good followers do not hurt the leader. Matthew chapter four and verse 19 says this, and he saith unto them, follow me. This is Jesus speaking. And I will make you fishers of men. Jesus looked at his disciples and he said follow me. How do we know that Jesus was a good leader? Notice verse 20, and they straightway left their nets and followed him. You know what a leader does? A leader leads, guides the way. He says follow me, and good followers follow. Here's the question I've got for you. What if, what if your success in following the Lord Jesus Christ was intertwined with how you followed your God given earthly authority on this earth? Because here's a little secret for you, it is. So you cannot say I'm a good follower of Jesus Christ while being a lousy church member to my pastor. You cannot say well I'm a good godly wife, I'm just, you know, don't submit to my husband and you know, I rebel against my husband. You can say oh I'm a good Christian teen and while I'm giving attitude to my parents. You cannot follow the Lord Jesus Christ without also being a good follower of the earthly leadership that he's placed upon you. So here's the bottom line. I want to make sure I get a bottom line in because I want to make sure my bottom line goes on that wall. Here's the bottom line. Your success as a follower of Jesus Christ is intertwined with how successfully you follow your human leadership. So in your positions of followship, you better be a good follower. Your success as a follower of Jesus Christ, you cannot say I follow Jesus without also properly following the human leadership, the God-ordained human leadership in your life. So you better make sure you're a good follower. Because in every organization where you gather people together, in every organization where you gather people and you put a leader over them and you say this man's gonna lead you and your job is to follow, in every organization where that is done successfully, whether it's a church, whether it's a family, whether it's a business, whatever it might be, in every organization where that's done properly, you have a good leader. Everything rises and falls on leadership. But you don't only have a good leader because you could have a Moses and have a lousy congregation. In every organization where you gather people together and you expect them to accomplish something great, and especially when you expect them to accomplish something great for God. When that happens, you have a good leader, but you also have some great followers. Because your followship of Christ is intertwined with your ability to follow your human leaders upon this earth. So let's be good followers. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you Lord for these passages, these stories, these examples you've given to us in scripture. Lord, thank you for great leaders that you've given us. Lord, I thank you for great leaders you've given in my life. I thank you for the great leaders that are here. Pastor Thompson and Pastor Jones and their wives providing great leadership for the ministries they lead. But Lord, I also don't want to forget about the great followers behind them. The followers that have helped them succeed up to this point. Lord, I pray you'd help us to remember that we can be the followers, we must be the followers that help our leaders succeed. And I pray you would fill Shield of Faith Baptist Church with some awesome followers that would come alongside their human leaders, that would come alongside Pastor and Mrs. Jones and realize they're human beings, they're going to make mistakes, they're not perfect. But we're here to help. We want to love you. We want to appreciate you. We want to defend you. We don't want to hurt you. Lord, I pray you'd help all of us to be good followers in whatever position we find ourselves as followers and to always remember that it is a reflection of how we follow the Lord Jesus Christ. In the matchless name of Christ we pray. Amen.