Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Amen.
Amen. Good morning.
It's good to be with you again this morning.
And I don't know, I think most of you know that Pastor Josh and his wife Caitlin this last May gave birth to a daughter, Meilee. And in the second service here, we're going to have an opportunity for a parent child dedication where parents commit as best they can to, to honor God by raising their children to love him as well. So we're looking forward to sharing that with Caitlin and Josh. Next service his family, her family will be in town, so it'll be a great celebration for them. But it's always good to celebrate these times with parents but as parents, especially if you're a first time parent.
For Josh, you know, this is his first firstborn.
But raising those two kids that they have together, Caius and Mele, inevitably they're going to get some unsolicited parenting advice, right?
I mean I've received that, I've given that.
I still give it sometimes to my daughter and son in law, but it's always great to be able to do that. Today though, as we look at Exodus chapter 18, Moses in this story is going to receive some unsolicited feedback himself.
The question isn't if we're ever going to get that unsolicited feedback, but it's how are we going to respond to it?
What are we going to do with the information whether we ask for it or not, how are we going to respond? And so we're going to look at Moses in Exodus chapter 18. Now this morning, Pastor Lori and I are going to kind of team teach through this passage this morning.
But Pastor Laurie and I have had kind of a relationship where we've been learning some things together over these last few years. Because several years ago as Pastor Lori was preparing for her ordination into our denomination's family as an elder in the Church of the Nazarene, we were meeting, meeting regularly in order to discuss what it's like as a pastor. Now Pastor Laurie serves as the recovery pastor. She co leads the Celebrate Recovery with Becky Fink. And over the years I've been meeting with Laurie and having conversations about how we do the things we do as pastors, how we handle situations and how we handle people. Sometimes difficult situations with difficult people like you, but also how to lead with purpose and humility, always being mindful of the decisions that we make impact people. And our goal in our leadership should always be how do we bring out the best, the best that God wants in people. We don't always get it. Right.
But we're learning and we're growing as pastors.
So even as we look at Exodus chapter 18, we're going to peek behind the curtain, so to say, at what leading 2 million people might look like, and then the unsolicited feedback that he's going to receive.
Now, Moses, as it says on the screen, is a faithful. He's a prayerful, he's a servant of God. But, friends, he doesn't know everything there is to know about leading in this passage. This morning, we're going to help see that Moses is still becoming a wise leader.
See Pastor Laurie and I, the rest of the pastors on our staff, Pastors Bryant and Josh and Aaron and Pastor Diane and Beth and Jerry, Joshua Lindley, not to mention some of the other ministry folks, including our nine board members. None of us have it all figured out, but we're all in the process still of learning and growing in our love for God, how to live that out, but even how to exercise wise leadership in our lives. And I suggest you're probably a lot like us.
But having it all figured out isn't the measure.
It's being humble, teachable enough to continue to hear from God and to grow. Even though we might receive sometimes unsolicited feedback. Let me pray for us, and we'll get into God's word. Father. God, we say thank you for who you are. I pray you continue to show up in this service. I pray you continue to speak to our hearts, maybe be something that Pastor Laurie and I share, that you use to encourage, to affirm, maybe even to bring some challenge into our lives.
But, God, I pray even as we have sung some beautiful words of praise to you, I pray, God, you use all of this to continue to shape us, those who know you and walk with you, God, continue to shape our lives. For those who are still exploring, perhaps, or returning to God, I pray, God, you continue to speak to their heart, draw them to yourself, God, that we might continue to grow up as people with a deep, deep faith in who you are. So, God, use your word this morning. Use our words if you must, to teach us. In Jesus name, I say amen.
That works better.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: Minor detail.
All right, we are going to jump into Exodus 18, following along in the study that we've been doing on Moses life through the book of Exodus, Exodus 18, 1:6 is where we're going to start. Now, Jethro, the priest of Midian and father in law of Moses, heard everything God had done for Moses and for his people, Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
Jethro, Moses, father in law, was the priest of Midian and a descendant of Abraham through Keturah, who was his second wife. Through the death of Sarah, Moses spent 40 years. 40 years in Midian tending Jethro's flocks. So for 40 years he was a shepherd out there in the messiness before God spoke to him at the burning bush in Mount Sinai.
Their relationship was not a superficial one.
It was based on shared land, shared lineage, trust, and time. There were a lot of years put into that relationship.
Moses undoubtedly learned how to be a shepherd as he witnessed wisdom and leadership from Jethro.
Verse 2.
After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, and his father in law, Jethro received her and her two sons. One son was named Gershon, for Moses said, I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.
And the other was named Eleazar, for he said, my father's God was my helper. He saved me from the sword of Pharaoh. Jethro, Moses, father in law, together with Moses, Moses sons and wife came to him in the wilderness where he was camped near the Mountain of God. Jethro had sent word to him. I, your father in law, Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and your two sons.
At some point, Moses sent his wife and sons to be with his father in law. It could have been for safety. It could have been during the plagues. Information we really don't know. But we can suppose.
The fact was that Moses had been a foreigner in a foreign land and had indeed known God is his helper. Can you think of times when you've known God as your helper? Have you recognized the names of his children?
In Zephyr's Children, Jethro let Moses know that he was coming for a visit.
[00:08:12] Speaker A: So Moses went out to meet his father in law, and it says, and he bowed down and he kissed him.
They greeted each other and then went into Moses's tent.
See, though Moses was a leader of a nation, at least a birthing nation of 2 million people, Moses honored Jethro, his father in law. One because he is his father in law, but also as a priest of Midian and as the leader of 2 million people, Moses didn't think that, hey, you know, I'm a leader of 2 million people. Maybe you ought to be the one who honors me.
No, Moses is the first hint at the character that he had and the humility that he had. Even though as a leader of such a large nation, he had to be a strong Leader, verse eight goes on and says, so Moses told his father in law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way. These last two months, maybe even the months prior with all the plagues, as God was preparing for the Exodus, they had met that.
All the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them. I love this about Moses.
It tells us that he testified to Jethro about everything the Lord had done, the good and the bad. He didn't just camp on all the hardships that they had, but he kept repeating how God kept showing up. We went through this, but God showed up. We went through that and God showed up.
It seems sometimes in our lives, I'm guilty of this. Sometimes as I think about my life and as I'm talking with people about my lives, I tend to testify, or should I better say, maybe you do.
We tend to complain about how hard life is.
Man. There is something life giving. When we remember, we can remember back, whether it's a recent past or a distant past. Remembering how God has showed up. There's something life giving about that. And if you need a good day, maybe we start sharing about how God has showed up in our lives. Amen.
Verse 9 goes on to say, Jethro was delighted to hear about the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. He said, praise to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and Pharaoh and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians.
Man, as friends and family, we should always, even though we might be going through a difficult time, anytime, friends and family talking about the good that God is doing in our lives, we ought to be delighted. We ought to be able to celebrate with them, even though we might be in a challenging time. Because there's something about celebrating the goodness of God that is so life giving. Verse 11 says, Now I know. Here's what Jethro says. Now I know.
Now I know that the Lord, I.e. yahweh, is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.
Then Jethro, Moses, father in law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God.
And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses, his father in law in the presence of God.
Interesting phrase, because Jethro was not Hebrew.
Jethro was from a different family tree, from the tree of Midian, Abraham and Keturah. And their son Midian. That's why he lived in. He was the priest of the Midianites, so he was not a Hebrew.
But when he heard the God of his great granddad, what his God of his great granddad had done with all these incredible deeds over the gods of Egypt, I think maybe it brought to Jethro's attention more clearly, maybe than ever before.
See, as a descendant of Abraham, he had some concept of God, but he wasn't Hebrew.
But now he hears about what God is doing through the Israelites clear more than any other time. And this truth of his granddad's God became real to him in a different way. And so he worshiped Yahweh that day.
My friends, there are probably people in your life now who don't know God.
But whenever we are able to talk about what God is doing in our lives, perhaps God uses those testimonies to help people connect different dots in their own life. Dots that lead them to God, that draw them to God more than any other time before.
And maybe through our testimony and the work of the Holy Spirit, connecting dots for people, maybe they also come, like Jethro, to a clear understanding of who God is and come to believe your God and your Yahweh as well.
[00:13:48] Speaker B: Moving on to verse 13.
The next day, Moses took a seat to serve as judge for the people. And they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father in law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, what is this you are doing for the people? Why?
Why do you sit alone as a judge while all these people stand around you from morning till evening? He was out there a long time.
Moses undoubtedly had his hands full the morning following his wife and son's reunion. We find him sitting as a judge for thousands of people.
I don't know if you spent time in the courtroom I have working at another organization.
But when you sit in the courtroom for all day, it can be tedious, it can be daunting. And to be out there, they were outside, they didn't have air conditioning, they didn't have comfort. He was out there judging thousands of people from morning till evening. The people needed someone who would listen to their disputes and give direction in how they should handle them. Again, Moses spent hours listening, listening to them and answering their questions and concerns.
Jethro questions Moses, what are you doing?
And why are you sitting alone as a judge?
Verse 14 shows genuine concern for Moses. Jethro was not seeking to discourage Moses, but instead he was seeing the damage that would come if Moses didn't make changes and continued to do all of this himself.
Moses was going to burn out, and so would the people.
Verse 15.
Moses answered him, because the people need me to come.
People come to me to seek God's will.
Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and instructions.
Moses was emphatic. He, he was bold and he was confident and he knew there was a need among the people, but he knew what they needed. And he expressed that he was there for the people as they were seeking to understand God's perspective in disputes needed to be settled. Moses felt justified. He believed he had a reason for doing what he was doing in helping people navigate everything that was going on, the differences and the disputes. But he, he almost became defensive in when he responded to Jethro, what and why.
Moses knew that people needed help understanding how Yahweh would want them to act. And he, as a leader, he thought this was the way he could help them.
But let's watch and see how Moses responds to what seems to be criticism.
Moses, father in law, replied, what are you doing? It's not good.
You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy. You cannot handle it alone. Jethro stepped in and boldly, boldly told Moses that what he was doing was not good. Jethro had also been a leader, and he saw that Moses was taking on way too much.
Jethro was not criticizing Moses, but he was expressing deep concern that he was going to burn himself out, that he was going to become emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually exhausted. And the same would happen to the people in the community.
Jethro let Moses know that he needed to make some changes in the way that he was leading. He needed more people to help him or there was going to be a lot of frustration.
Moses was going to be frustrated. The people were going to be frustrated.
I don't know about you, but I'm wondering, does Moses have a teachable spirit?
[00:17:51] Speaker A: Amen. So Jethro says to Moses in verse 19, Listen to me, listen to me.
Unsolicited feedback.
Listen to me and I will give you some advice.
And may God be with you.
Really, as you contemplate on whether or not what I'm saying is of value, maybe that's a hint, what we ought to do whenever we get unsolicited feedback, rather than writing it off because we don't like the person or we like their attitude, maybe we ought to Consult God about whether there is any truth in this advice. Listen to me and I will give you some advice and, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring the disputes to Him.
Verse 20. Teach them his decrees and instructions and, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.
In these verses, I think Jethro is challenging Moses regarding a few priorities in the role that he is to have as a leader. Again, Jethro is a leader, has been a leader for years. Moses sat with him, lived with him, saw his leadership.
And so Jethro says to Moses three things. I think the first one is this, that Moses priority be the people's representative before God. The first essential step as a leader, as a spiritual leader, is you've got to be before God.
You've got to be your heart set right. You need to be in prayer and in the Word, not just for himself, but for the people that he was leading.
See, as a leader, no leader can guarantee that the people, no leader can guarantee that the people will stay before God.
But the leader, Moses, for me, myself, I can ensure that I stay before God. And that's imperative for my own life and walk with him, but also for my leadership and influence in my role, be the people's representative before God.
Seeking God is a privilege for all of us, and it's an honor for each of us to seek God.
My encouragement is for you prioritize your time with God.
The second thing he says here is teach them his decrees and show them the way they are to live. This is Moses second role. I think the challenge is, Moses, you need to be the teacher.
You need to be a teacher of God's will, God's word, God's values, God's instructions for the people.
See, because when you teach God's word to people, his word and his ways, not only are those who are currently in a dispute, but those who you teach, who may potentially be in a dispute later when you teach them. It certainly could be reasoned, when people know God's decrees, His values, his teachings for themselves.
Many disputes could be settled or eliminated because they would increasingly be growing in their own understanding of God.
And many things could be avoided as they live out what is right. Amen.
Important for teaching, to sit under teaching the question for us. And you're here today. You're here sitting under teaching. You're here week after week sitting under teaching. You join into groups, you have conversations with other people who are on a similar spiritual journey, and you're sitting with them and you're learning.
All of these are ways for us to be sitting and understanding God's word so that we grow in the wisdom and the application of it. And in those cases, in this case, for Moses, the. The encouragement was man. If you just focus on teaching, teaching, a lot of disputes can be worked out themselves. And you wouldn't have to sit from daylight till sunset judging. The third thing, or the third role for priority is going to be in the next verse, in verse 21. And it's this, to identify and to raise up leaders.
So Moses, you got to be the representative. You got to stay before God yourself. And then you need to devote yourself, I think, to the teaching of the decrees and the values of God.
The third thing is Moses. You need to identify and raise up some leaders. He says this verse 21. But select capable men from all the people, men who fear God.
Trustworthy men who hate, dishonest, gain and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, 50s and tens.
Have them serve as judges for the people at all times.
But have them bring every difficult case to you.
The simple cases, they can decide themselves. You see, the key thought here isn't the structure. The key thought isn't the tens, the fifties, the hundreds, the thousands, and breaking that down. Sure, structure has its place and it can matter, but it's not the key point here. The encouragement that Moses is receiving is that he needs to share the burden, share the burden, because the work is too heavy and he cannot handle it alone.
So Jethro says to him, identify some leaders, not just those who are popular among the people, but choose leaders, those who have three characteristics, and as I mentioned them, and I show them to you in a minute, they're not just for leaders.
I think these are three things for every follower of Christ, all three things that we all should strive for in our own spiritual journey.
They are this first fear God.
This is to have a deep awareness of the watchful presence of Yahweh, of God. It's not about being afraid or fearful of God. There is a part where you stand in awe of his authority and of his majesty.
But there's also the heart response of being wholeheartedly devoted to Him. This is to fear God. Choose leaders who fear God. The second thing is people who are trustworthy.
That means those who are not deceitful in their ways, they can be relied upon, relied upon, regardless of the circumstance, to be truthful in all their words and ways.
Man, talk about a person of character who is trustworthy in all Their words and ways.
Choose leaders who are. Who fear God, who are trustworthy.
And I break out the last part of that. Who hates dishonest gain. I think this has to be people who are fully integrated in their character. They have great integrity in their lives.
They are the type of person who will do the right thing even when no one is looking.
Right.
This is a person of integrity.
They will not be inclined. This type of person will not be inclined to, to take bribes, to settle disputes.
Right. Too much of that we even see in sometimes our own culture. Right. It feels like. Right. Maybe it doesn't come in the terms of bribes, but maybe it comes in political donations in order to vote a certain way.
Choose leaders who fear God, who are trustworthy and who hate dishonest gain. See, Jethro encouraged Moses to identify leaders from among the people, to raise them up.
That means to mentor them, to disciple them, to personally invest in them. I think this is the way not only for leaders today, even leaders in our church, but even for you and I. We have a privilege to sometimes pour into another person to teach them the word and the way of God so that their life can be richer as well. Amen. Then Jethro says to Moses, when you do all this, that will make your load lighter because they will share it with you.
If you do this, and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain and all these people will go home satisfied.
And this is good.
It's good news.
Good news for Moses, good news for the people.
My question in looking at these points is, is it your desire to be a God fearing, a trustworthy, a person who does the right thing even when no one is looking?
[00:27:10] Speaker B: Moving on to verse 24. Moses listened to his father in law and did everything he said. He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people.
Officials over thousands, hundreds, 50s and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided for themselves.
Moses chose to listen to his father in law. Moses chose humility over anger, over defensiveness. Like Moses, we can come up against criticism and. And we will need to be able to discern if that criticism is constructive or whether it's not. We must choose how we are going to respond.
Are we going to respond in a reactionary manner, meaning we are impulsive, we respond abruptly in letting emotions control the situation?
Or are we going to use self control, which happens to be a fruit of the spirit, or dismiss what is being said? Are we going to Blame others, become defensive, or are we going to deny there is a problem?
Remember, denial is not just a river in Egypt. We too must choose. Will you choose anger or will you choose humility?
To choose humility, we need to take a step back and we must remember where we have come from.
What was your life like before you made the Exodus from your previous way of living without Christ?
Proverbs 19:20 tells us, get all the advice and instruction you can so you will be wise the rest of your life.
Don't be afraid to seek wise godly advice in all that you are doing. We need to invest in the lives of others as well as having people who can and will speak into our lives.
Because as Scripture tells us, iron sharpens iron.
When we are living in alignment with the Lord, it's easier to listen without becoming defensive.
It is wise and it is healthier to pause, take a step back, take a deep breath and not be reactionary.
You need to pray about what is being said to you.
Being teachable demands humility.
Moses responded with humility and was teachable. And he made the necessary changes which caused him to be a better person as well as a better leader.
Moses chose capable men to be leaders.
Moses was still involved, but his primary focus was to stay before God and teach the community and to handle the difficult cases.
Verse 27.
Then Moses sent his father in law on his way and Jethro returned to his own country.
[00:30:14] Speaker A: Moses probably couldn't wait to send his father in law away.
Budding into my business.
But that happens in life, right? People do.
Whether it's solicited, many times unsolicited, they give advice.
It may be done in the wrong attitude, wrong tone, may not even. They might have own self serving reasons for the advice.
But it's going to come. But we need to respond in our own heart to what God is doing in us.
Because sometimes good advice can come from an unsuspecting, unlikely source.
Always to be a teachable and a humble person, always be willing to take it and just take it to God.
One of the things that sometimes a struggle is somebody will call the church office or catch me after service and say, hey, can we have a meeting this week?
And I'm always going, oh no, what's coming?
You know what kind of advice?
Well, I've learned over the years there's nothing to fear in taking a meeting or taking a call because you never know what God might want to say.
Sometimes we need to be heard, right? But sometimes God will use the feedback that comes our way to continue to shape us as individuals and sometimes for me, as a leader.
But as we've walked through, Lori and I, Pastor Lori has walked through this passage of this unsolicited feedback that Moses got, we learned a few things and it really caused us to ask this question.
What kind of person do you want to be really, as you develop, as you grow in your understanding, your deeper understanding?
Because I know some of you have been walking with God longer than I have, and I'm just telling you, you don't have it all figured out.
A lot figured out, hopefully, as you walk with God. Because I know I'm not the man that I was when I gave my life to Christ at age of 22.
Right?
You're not the same. But we don't have it all figured out.
See, Moses as a younger man in Egypt, he might be full of a bit of pride, right? But after being chased out of Egypt into Midian and then spending 40 years there working for the man who would become his father in law, God, preparing and developing here him to go back into that. Now, in the story, in the story, he's fulfilling what God is, has purposed him to do.
He. He's doing what God called him to do.
But even now, Moses doesn't have it all figured out.
So God sends him, I think, a gift of some advice that will help him continue to become a wise leader.
But Moses didn't have it figured out. Your pastor, staff and board, we don't have it all figured out, and neither do you.
So the question is, what kind of person do you want to be? Do you want to be a person who is teachable, who has a modest view of themselves and their own importance, that have a clear dependence on God?
This is what it is to be teachable is like, I don't have to be threatened by the feedback because I know who my God is and I'm going to pursue my God. And if feedback comes, it might actually be a gift to me.
But being a teachable spirit requires humility and an honest belief that you don't have it figured out and a willingness to still learn and to grow. Do you want to be a person who is teachable? Do you want to be a person who fears God? Again, not about being afraid of God, but rather have a deep respect that fosters a loving relationship? Do you have that kind of wholehearted devotion to God? Do you want to be that kind of person? And do you want to be a person of integrity, someone who is honest, upright, trustworthy, who. Who will do and Say the right thing even when no one is looking.
You see, we all are still learning and growing, and none of us has it all figured out, but we're still learning how to love God, how to live for God and still how to be wise people. Amen.
So this morning as we close in prayer, I'm going to invite Pastor Lloyd to come down front and John center will join us as well. We're going to have an opportunity for prayer now. Certainly, if you'd like to pray, you can sit for a moment where you're at and you can just have a conversation with God, just affirming or even confessing some area that you want to grow. You want to be a better person, a person who is teachable, who fears God and is full of integrity. But if you'd like for one of us to pray with you, we'd be glad to do that as well. If you have some other burden or weight that you're carrying, man, we'd love to pray with you regarding that before you leave campus today. But God bless you. Let me pray for us as we go. Father God, I say thank you for your word this morning.
I pray that we would be teachable.
We have a spirit of humility that when you provide feedback, however it comes, God, that we have enough confidence in who you are that we can hear it, we can consult you about it, God and then God. We can continue to grow.
However, whatever the source of the feedback is, God, ultimately you want to continue to do a work in us. So I pray God that you continue to do that. In Jesus name, Amen. God bless you. Have a good day. Love to have you come and pray.
