Leadership in the Home

Will Your Family Serve the Lord Because of Your Leadership Or in Spite of It?

By Bro. Michael L. Klikas

04 November 2006
Men’s Prayer Breakfast
2 Kings 21-23

Introduction:  When Pastor Black asked me to teach the lesson for the men’s breakfast I prayed and thought about what I should teach. The reoccurring theme that kept coming back to me is leadership and heritage. What types of leadership do we show in our home, at church and at work? Do we show any leadership at all? This morning we are going to look at young boy who despite his heritage of men who forsook the Lord, served the Lord. The boy that I am referring to is Josiah. Looking at his family history one might be inclined to say this child stood no chance because of his father and grandfather.

Here’s just a little bio on Josiah’s grandfather and father.

Grandfather:

2 Kings 21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah.

2 Kings 21:2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

2 Kings 21:3 For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them.

2 Kings 21:6 And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

Father:

2 Kings 21:18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

2 Kings 21:19 Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.

2 Kings 21:20 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh did.

2 Kings 21:21 And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshiped them:

2 Kings 21:22 And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the LORD.

Just by looking at these portions of scripture one could easily conclude that Josiah didn’t stand a chance of turning out any better then his father and grandfather. My father did not get saved until he was much older in life. In fact as some of you know, I was already an adult. I never knew my grandfather on my dad’s side. I don’t know if he was saved or not. But I can tell you this, growing up in my house, the only time God’s name was mentioned was when someone cussed. There was no godly influence in my home. Now I do not hold that against my parents and neither am I bitter. What I am is I am even more determined to set a godly example for my son and daughter. My wife and I didn’t grow up in Christian homes. I understand God’s sovereignty and that he saved me at the exact time that he predetermined. However, I am not so foolish to think that I can live my life anyway that I want to and that my children are going to turn out the way God wants them to. That takes all the responsibility and accountability away from me. That is unbiblical and sinful thinking.

So we have established that Josiah did not have a godly influence in his life from the men in his life, yet he became one the greatest kings Israel has ever had. Look in verse one of chapter twenty two of 2 kings.

2 Kings 22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.

2 Kings 22:2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.

Notice the interesting part of verse two. The Bible says that he walked in all the way of David his father. But I thought Amon was his father. His spiritual father was David because he served the Lord all the days of his life! Do your children have two fathers, one spiritual and one biological, or are you, as it should be, one and the same? This is really the opposite of what I see today on Christianity. I see men putting their entire lives into their work, either secular or the ministry and their children are falling away because dad was never there. Everyone else was more important because it was for the ministry. Abandoning your family is just as sinful and serious as serving false gods! What we need to do is build strong leadership skills with a balance of family life and ministry. We are going to attempt to start building that this morning by looking at the life of Josiah. That was just the introduction, so let’s get into the meat of our study.

At first I was just going to cover chapter twenty three but as I studied for this I found that I just couldn’t do that. I had to talk about Josiah’s heritage, regardless of that fact that it was horrible, and I have to talk about his influences and leadership skills. So now, turn back over to chapter twenty two again.

2 Kings 22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.

2 Kings 22:2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.

Josiah didn’t have what we have here at Tabernacle. He didn’t have men who are bringing their sons and daughters to church to help them grow and change and become more like the Lord Jesus Christ. Josiah didn’t have a father to really guide him or teach him how to be a godly son and a godly man because at eight years old his father died. Even if his father didn’t die, he still wouldn’t have had that godly influence from his father.

Yet he still did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. Someone had an influence on him and guided him from a very young age. Not only that but that guidance continued for some time. We read in verses three through six about how Josiah had a desire to have the house of the Lord rebuilt. Now the Bible doesn’t outright say who was an influence in his life but we know that there was a godly influence in the life of this young boy, turned young man.

Who here have you influenced for the Lord? I have my own family to take care of and it’s just too hard to really commit any extra time. Besides, I am already away from my family for a majority of the day. Or, on the flip side of that coin is the argument that I am really not interested in getting involved in anyone else’s life. Besides, what difference could I make in someone else’s life? You will never know that answer until you get involved. There may be a Josiah in our congregation who needs that godly influence from a godly man. There may be some young boy here who could be the future pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church. What kind of influence are you having on them, if any? I am just as guilty. There are young boys and yes, even men who need to have that godly influence in their lives. There are older men in the Lord who also need that godly influence in their life. But our young boys especially need that influence.

What will they say about our children when we are dead and gone? Will they say that our children walked in the way of their fathers and served the Lord all of their lives or will they say that they turned aside? I understand that there is no guarantee that just because we teach our children the things of the Lord, bring them to church, pray with them and do everything else that we are commanded to that they will not forsake the Lord and go in their own direction. What I am saying is that no matter how our young boys and our young girls turn out, let it not be said that they didn’t serve the Lord because the men of this church didn’t do everything they could to be a godly example to them and try to have a godly influence on them.

How did this godly influence affect Josiah? Well we know that he walked in the way of his father David from a very young age, but what did Josiah do that we could learn from and use to teach the young men of this church as our future leaders? First of all, he had a desire to see the house of God cleaned and rebuilt. We see this in verses five through seven. What type of godly desires have we tried to instill in our young men? There are some moms who could use that kind of help that comes from a godly man. We need to show these young boys what it means to be a godly leader and not just a leader of men. But in order to do that you have to be the right kind of leader yourself.

Let’s talk about that for just a minute. What is a leader? A leader is a person who leads by directing people to go in a certain direction. That would be a very raw definition of what a leader is. What is a godly leader? A godly leader is one who doesn’t push people or intimidate people into serving the Lord but gently and sometimes sternly when necessary directs them in how to serve the Lord and is right there beside them to guide them. He leads by guiding and helping you. Sometimes that help is letting you make mistakes so that you can learn from them. That doesn’t mean that he let’s you sin, because sin is not a mistake, sin is deliberate.

A godly leader also holds you accountable. Are you doing right? The reason that he does this is because he has been so affected by the word of God that his desire to see you serve the Lord is almost overwhelming. Before a man who is a leader leads others, he himself is lead by the word of God in how to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. Now as we continue through chapter twenty two of 2 Kings we find that Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law and gave it to Shaphan the scribe. Shaphan then opens the word of God and reads it to Josiah. Notice verse eleven and Josiah’s reaction.

2 Kings 22:11 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.

Long before Josiah heard the word of God his heart was tender towards the things of the Lord. Now I understand that the Holy Spirit makes the heart tender when he draws and calls his elect. However, that in now way diminishes our responsibilities to open the word of God to read it and teach it to our children. Josiah’s heart was being cultivated for the service of the Lord so that when he finally heard the word of God, it struck so deep in his heart that it immediately moved him to repent and cause him act upon what he heard.

The word of God affected him in several ways. We are going to look at these ways and ask some hard questions in order to make this applicable so that we can grow and change. First of all as we have already seen Josiah was convicted of his sin personally and also corporately. How do I know he was convicted corporately? We will see that in just a little while. Secondly Josiah realized the enormous responsibility as the king of his country to restore the people to a right relationship with the Lord. Then lastly, he saw the need to do some spiritual house cleaning to prove that this wasn’t just smoke and mirrors.

After Josiah saw his sin, he realized that even though he was repairing the temple, the repairs really needed to take place in the hearts of the people. Then the repairs of the building would come naturally because of God’s grace which is His divine influence upon the heart. First we saw Josiah rend his clothes and then he tells this to “Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king's,” in verse thirteen.

2 Kings 22:13 Go ye, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.

A lot of times when we think about what it means to be a man we think that we have to be hard, rugged, leaders that use military tactics of rank to lead, and be coarse. The reality of the fact is that we need to be hard on sin, especially our own and full of compassion for others enough to lovingly guide to the Lord so that he can lead them in the paths of righteousness. A true leader is one who has compassion on the souls around him that he has the opportunity to influence.

Who have you influenced around you for the Lord? How are you right now influencing these young boys for the things of the Lord? Do you have a desire to see them saved and serve the Lord so much so that you are inquiring of the Lord for them? Does their sin anger you or burden you?

These are hard questions to ask, but they are much harder to answer because some of the answers that I have given to myself are not the right answers. Men what are we going to do not only for the next generation but for this generation right now?

Josiah was moved with concern and compassion for the people, but that didn’t mean that he tolerated their sin. When he found out the terrible wrath of God to come he did not say, well everything is alright with me, but rather lead his people in a godly fashion. What moved him to respond this way? Notice verses sixteen and seventeen of Chapter twenty two.

2 Kings 22:16 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read:

2 Kings 22:17 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.

Here is where we move into our second point. Josiah realized the enormous responsibility as the king of his country to restore the people to a right relationship with the Lord.

He heard from the Lord just exactly what was going to happen. Another point which is really a sub point is that long before he tried to deal with the sin of his people he dealt with his own sin first. Men before we can deal with the sin of those around us we must first deal with our own sin because we will never be the leaders we need to be if we do not handle our sin first. After dealing with his own sin, Josiah was now in the position to deal with the sins of his people.

He heard what his people had done and how they had sinned against the Lord. Josiah now understood the Lord’s righteous anger and his response believe it or not was compassionate. If we looked at Josiah’s response by today’s standards of Christianity, he would be labeled a rebel and an extremist. Do you know what the best thing about a label is? No matter what label you put on something, when you peel it of the truth is revealed underneath it. Josiah wasn’t concerned about any labels or about what his countrymen thought of him. He was concerned with the spiritual well being and spiritual integrity of his people.

What does a leader do when he is trying to repair the spiritual integrity of the people he is leading? The first thing that he does as we have seen is he enquires of lord for his people. Who do you pray for? Do you pray for the young boys and girls here who may not have the influence of a godly man in their house? Just because there is a man in the house doesn’t always mean that there is a godly influence. Manasseh and Amon weren’t exactly godly influences where they? Do not confuse male influence with godly influence. Josiah as well as anyone knew that. Because of that, his desire was not just to save his own life but to save the lives of those whom he had rule over. Do you know that your pastor desires you to serve the Lord not because he will have to give an account to the Lord but because he loves the Lord and greatly desires to see each of us do right?

How then did Josiah go about getting those whom he ruled to turn back to serving the Lord? Look in chapter twenty three of 2 Kings verse one.

2 Kings 23:1 And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.

Helping people to serve the Lord in sincerity and truth starts with the leadership and how they are to approach their ministry to the people. It has to start at the top and work its way down. We have seen all too many times what happens when you have corrupt men as leaders. There is corruption, apathy, despair and hopelessness among the people. If the one in charge is godly and commits to praying for those that serve under him, challenging them from the word of God to be all that God wants them to be, and setting the example before the rest of the people then we will see change. Now let’s take that into the home men. We who are the leaders of our home need to set the example for mom who in turn passes that on to the children of the home. If you are lethargic, apathetic, and insincere then the way you carry yourself will spread to your wife who needs to be lead in exactly the opposite way. Those ungodly traits will then affect your children.

We really are not that much different from computers. Garbage in, garbage out! Godliness in, godliness out! What you do at home that affects your spiritual condition will affect the corporate worship of this church. Josiah knew this is what happened so he first addresses the leadership. Then he moves into confronting his people about their sin out of concern for them. The question I have is are you concerned enough about your family to confront them about their sin and be confronted about your sin?

Then as we move into this last point think about what needs to be done when sin is confronted. Josiah saw the need to do some spiritual house cleaning to prove that this wasn’t as I said just smoke and mirrors.

First he brings all of his people together and reads the word of God to them. He then makes a covenant with them concerning the law of the Lord. This isn’t for show because we have seen nothing but integrity on the part of Josiah. Do the people around us see integrity or hypocrisy? He then put’s his words to actions. This is important because we can say a lot about what we are going to do for the Lord but in actuality we have done very little or nothing. What did James say? Show me your faith by your works. Look in verses four through twenty five and then we will close.

2 Kings 23:4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.

2 Kings 23:5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.

2 Kings 23:6 And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.

2 Kings 23:7 And he broke down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.

2 Kings 23:8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beer-sheba, and broke down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the city.

2 Kings 23:9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren.

2 Kings 23:10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.

2 Kings 23:11 And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

2 Kings 23:12 And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, did the king beat down, and broke them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.

2 Kings 23:13 And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.

2 Kings 23:14 And he broke in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.

2 Kings 23:15 Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.

2 Kings 23:16 And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchers that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchers, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.

2 Kings 23:17 Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulcher of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.

2 Kings 23:18 And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.

2 Kings 23:19 And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.

2 Kings 23:20 And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.

2 Kings 23:21 And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant.

2 Kings 23:22 Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;

2 Kings 23:23 But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the LORD in Jerusalem.

2 Kings 23:24 Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.

2 Kings 23:25 And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.

Conclusion:  Your actions speak volumes about your spiritual integrity in the home, at church and at work. Has the word of God affected you as a man to the point where you are going to lead your family and do everything you can to influence them for the Lord? Has the word of God affected you to the point that you are going to reach beyond your family and try to influence some of these young boys and girls in church who need that godly influence? Could verse twenty five be our epitaph also?