THE LEADERSHIP

Speaker: Rich Gartman

Series: THE RECAP

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1:9-18

Main Idea: God never intended one person to carry the work of ministry alone. He calls His people to serve, lead, and faithfully do their part.

INTRO

Last week we started our new series, THE RECAP. We learned that Deuteronomy means “second law.” Moses is not giving Israel a different law; he is reviewing, explaining, and applying what God has already given His people. A recap is simply a summary or restatement of the main points, and that is exactly what Moses is doing for a new generation preparing to enter the Promised Land.

Last week we learned that before we move forward, we have to remember what God has already done. This week Moses reminds Israel of another lesson they had learned along the way: one person cannot do everything by himself. God’s people need leaders, and God’s leaders need God’s people.

So if you have your Bible, open to Deuteronomy chapter 1. While you are turning there, I have a little joke for you.

Hank and Lana’s pastor was preaching on leadership one Sunday. He quoted Proverbs 16:24: “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” Then he added, “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” Hank’s wife leaned over, put her head on his shoulder, and whispered, “I just love to watch your muscles ripple when you take out the garbage.”

Now that is leadership through encouragement! But there is actually something there we need to remember: people are usually much more willing to serve when they know they are valued. Today Moses is going to remind us that the work of God was never designed to rest on one person. God calls all of His people to take part.

BIBLE VERSE

Deuteronomy 1:9-18 (ESV) “At that time I said to you, ‘I am not able to bear you by myself. The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. May the LORD, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you! How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife? Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ And you answered me, ‘The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.’ So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes. And I charged your judges at that time, ‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him. You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God’s. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’ And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.”

BIBLE VERSE EXPLANATION

Moses is recapping an event that is told more fully in Exodus 18. Israel had grown into a huge nation, and Moses was trying to carry every problem, every disagreement, and every decision himself. His father-in-law, Jethro, watched him from morning until evening and finally told him, “What you are doing is not good.”

That is interesting because Moses was doing good work. He was helping people. He was judging disputes. He was trying to lead God’s people faithfully. The problem was not that the work was bad. The problem was that Moses was trying to do good work in a bad way. He was trying to do alone what God intended to be shared.

Deuteronomy 1 reminds the next generation of the solution: choose wise, understanding, experienced people and let them share the responsibility. This passage is about leadership, but it is also about service. In God’s kingdom, leadership is never about having a title so people will serve you. Biblical leadership is using what God has given you to serve others.

1. YOU CAN’T DO IT ALL BY YOURSELF

A. EXPLANATION – POINT 1

To understand Moses’ words fully, listen to Jethro’s warning in Exodus 18:17-18: “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.”

Moses had reached the point where his strength could not keep up with the need. I understand that temptation. Leaders sometimes think, “It will be quicker if I just do it myself,” or, “I don’t want to bother anybody,” or even, “Nobody will do it exactly the way I do it.” But if one person has to do everything, eventually two things happen: the leader wears out and the people never learn to serve.

Jethro told Moses to find able people who feared God, were trustworthy, and would serve with integrity. Then Moses could continue doing what God had specifically called him to do while other faithful people carried the burden with him.

Notice the kind of leadership God establishes. These are not little kings. They are servant leaders. Jesus gives us the perfect picture in Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” If Jesus could pick up the towel, wash feet, and serve others, none of us are too important to serve.

B. ILLUSTRATION – POINT 1

Someone once said there are four kinds of bones in the world: WISH BONES, who spend their time wishing somebody else would do the work; JAW BONES, who do a lot of talking but very little else; KNUCKLE BONES, who knock everything everybody else is trying to do; and BACK BONES, who shoulder the load and help get the work done.

Every church has a choice about which kind of people it will be filled with.

C. APPLICATION – POINT 1

So what kind of bone are you? We are at a place as a church where we need servant leaders to step up. Some may teach. Some may help with children or students. Some may organize. Some may maintain the property. Some may encourage. Some may pray. Some may begin a ministry God has placed on their heart.

The point is not that everybody does everything. The point is that everybody does something. A healthy church cannot be a few people doing all the ministry while everyone else watches. We need backbones—people willing to say, “Pastor, where can I help?”

2. THERE IS NO RETIREMENT

A. EXPLANATION – POINT 2

Verse 13 says, “Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men.” I love that word experienced. Moses did not say, “Find only the youngest and strongest people.” He wanted people who had lived long enough to gain wisdom and who had demonstrated faithfulness.

There is nothing wrong with retiring from a career. There may come a time when your health or season of life changes what you are able to do. But there is no retirement from following Jesus. We may change assignments, but we never stop being servants.

God wanted Israel to understand their relationship with Him was not like punching a time clock until retirement. They belonged to Him. In the New Testament, Paul says we are members of one body. As long as God gives us breath, He can still use us.

And this applies on both ends of life. Being older is not a reason to believe God is finished with you, and being younger is not a reason to believe you have nothing to offer. Paul told Timothy, “Let no one despise you for your youth.” God uses young believers who are willing and older believers who are wise. The church needs both.

B. ILLUSTRATION – POINT 2

Think about a relay race. One runner carries the baton for a portion of the race, but the goal is not to run forever. The goal is to run your part faithfully and then help the next runner take the baton without dropping it.

That is what Deuteronomy itself is about. Moses is nearing the end of his race. Joshua is preparing to run his. Moses does not take the baton home with him. He prepares the next generation.

C. APPLICATION – POINT 2

Some of our older believers have years of prayer, Bible knowledge, life experience, and wisdom that younger Christians desperately need. Your ministry may look different than it did twenty years ago, but different does not mean finished. You can pray. You can encourage. You can mentor. You can call somebody who is hurting. You can help younger believers avoid mistakes you already learned from.

And to our younger families and younger believers: do not wait until life becomes easy to serve Jesus, because life rarely becomes easy. Small children, jobs, schedules, and responsibilities are real, but God can still use you in this season. The church works best when generations serve together.

There is no retirement from being a disciple. Until God calls us home, there is still something we can do for His kingdom.

3. GET-R-DONE

A. EXPLANATION – POINT 3

Now look at verses 16-18. Moses does not merely appoint leaders and give them titles. He gives them work to do.

First, don’t be partial. Moses says, “Judge righteously.” Biblical leaders do what is right whether the person is important or unknown, wealthy or poor, close friend or stranger. We serve people because they matter to God, not because of what they can do for us.

Second, there are no small jobs. Moses appointed leaders over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. Some had larger responsibilities and some smaller, but all of them mattered. Kingdom faithfulness is not measured by how many people know your name. It is measured by whether you are faithful with what God placed in your hands.

Third, get-r-done. Verse 18 says Moses commanded them “all the things that you should do.” Eventually leadership has to move from talking to doing. We can discuss ministry, plan ministry, make lists about ministry, and pray about ministry—but eventually somebody has to pick up the towel and serve.

James 1:22 says, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” God is not looking only for people who know what ought to be done. He is looking for people willing to do it.

B. ILLUSTRATION – POINT 3

John Henry Jowett said, “Ministry that costs nothing, accomplishes nothing.” Real ministry will cost us something. It may cost time. It may cost convenience. It may mean arriving early, staying late, preparing during the week, making a phone call when we are tired, or serving when nobody applauds.

But look at Jesus. Our salvation did not come cheaply. Christ served us all the way to the cross. He did not merely tell us He loved us. He demonstrated His love.

C. APPLICATION – POINT 3

We need people willing to help with the ministries God has given this church. We already have faithful people doing a lot, and I am thankful for them. But an all-hands-on-deck church cannot depend on the same handful of people forever.

Maybe God is calling you to step into an existing ministry. Maybe He is calling you to take greater responsibility in one you already serve in. Maybe He has put a new ministry on your heart. If He has, come talk with me. Not every idea will become a ministry, but I would rather have a church full of people asking, “How can we reach somebody?” than a church asking, “Who is going to do that for us?”

Do not worry about whether your job looks big. There were leaders of thousands and leaders of tens. Just be faithful with your ten. Do what God has put in front of you—and get-r-done.

CONCLUSION

Moses learned something every church has to learn: the work of God is too important to be carried by one person.

Moses could not do it alone. I cannot do it alone. You cannot do it alone. And Journey Church cannot fulfill its mission if ministry belongs only to a handful of people.

God designed the church as a body. Some teach. Some lead. Some encourage. Some organize. Some pray. Some serve where almost nobody sees them. But every part matters.

So here is today’s recap: You can’t do it all by yourself. There is no retirement from serving Jesus. And when God gives you something to do—GET-R-DONE.

Jesus is our greatest example. He had every right to be served, yet He came to serve. He washed feet. He touched lepers. He welcomed children. He fed the hungry. And ultimately He went to the cross and gave His life as a ransom for many.

We do not serve so Jesus will love us. We serve because Jesus already loved us and gave Himself for us.

One day I do not want to stand before Christ and say, “Lord, I meant to do something. I thought about doing something. I hoped somebody would do something.” I want to hear the words Jesus gives in Matthew 25: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Notice He does not say, “Well thought.” He does not say, “Well intended.” He says, “Well done.”

Church, there is work to do. There are people to reach. There are children to teach. There are hurting people to encourage. There are lost people who need Jesus. There is a next generation that needs somebody to hand them the baton.

So ask God one simple question this week: “Lord, where do You want me to serve?” Then when He shows you—let’s get-r-done.