WHAT ALL TEAM PLAYERS SHOULD KNOW

WHAT ALL TEAM PLAYERS SHOULD KNOW

02 January 2019

The Life Church of Lincoln

#423

(KJV 1900)

8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

I. THE POWER OF TEAMWORK

1. Everybody wins when the people of God win.

A. A Winning Team

1. Moses served as commander in chief, while Joshua led the army. Notice that Joshua did not ask, “Moses, why are you up there on the mountain where it is safe?”

“Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands” ().

2. A winning team will include many assistants and associates.

The Key to a winning, growing, going church is WE ALL PLAY OUR PARTS!

“Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body” ().

3. Assistants are to be armrests for the pastor. 4. Churches cannot grow if the pastor has no time for prayer and study of the Word.

5. Churches cannot grow if the pastor is continually distracted by busywork. 6. The pastor should be doing the things only he can do.

B. Jethro Taught the Need for Delegation

1. There had been a great move of God under the leadership of Moses.

“Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians” ().

2. But something happened: Moses’ leadership was stymied by his determination to handle all the work himself.

3. Moses was so busy he had no time for his wife and children.

“Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the desert, where he was camped near the mountain of God” ().

4. His father-in-law, Jethro, pulled him aside and advised him to delegate the workload.

“The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other. They waited before him from morning till evening.

When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, ‘What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?’

Moses replied, ‘Because the people come to get a ruling from God. When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions.’

‘This is not good!’ Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. ‘You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives.

But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you. If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.’

Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions. He chose capable men from all over Israel and appointed them as leaders over the people. He put them in charge of groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. These men were always available to solve the people’s common disputes. They brought the major cases to Moses, but they took care of the smaller matters themselves” (, NLT).

5. With every great move of God the workload must be distributed.

C. The Early Church

1. The Book of Acts recorded the rapid growth of the early church.

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day” ().

“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” ().

“But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand” ().

“Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number” ().

2. Since the church experienced such phenomenal growth, it became difficult for the apostles to minister to everyone.

3. In Jewish society, widows were particularly needy and dependent. 4. A natural division already existed within the church because on the Day of Pentecost, thousands of Jews

who were born in Israel came into the church along with Grecian Jews (those born outside of Palestine). 5. As wonderful as the new-birth experience was, it did not erase all their earlier prejudices, and the Grecian

widows soon began feeling ignored in the daily distribution of food.

WHAT ALL TEAM PLAYERS SHOULD KNOW

“In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food” ().

6. They needed a Jethro solution to a Moses problem.

“So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables’” ().

7. If the pastor is not careful, Bible study and preparation for teaching can give way to menial tasks. 8. Necessary tasks can become distractions that potentially inhibit the church’s spiritual progress. 9. The apostles did not regard waiting on tables as beneath their dignity, but it was outside their primary calling.

“When I do your job, I am not doing my job, and we both are denied a blessing” (Johnson, Winter 2008, 44).

10. The apostles delegated the daily physical needs of the church to others.

II. THE POWER OF SERVITUDE

“Jesus called them together and said . . . whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (, ).

A. The Way to Greatness

1. The way to greatness is ministering and doing what one can do to help others. 2. Serving is doing what needs to be done, at the time it needs to be done, no matter what else needs to be done. 3. If you will deepen your service, God will broaden your ministry.

“You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things” ().

4. The key to all servanthood is doing what you do unto the Lord.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” ().

B. Serving within Your Capacity

1. Work should usually be distributed according to individuals’ abilities.

“To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability” ().

“God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be” ().

“You were born an original, do not live and die a copy. Do not become the clone of somebody else. Understand who you are. Are you called to a pulpit ministry? Are you called to a teaching ministry? Many have been ruined by a preacher’s license” (Shock, n.d.).

2. Second place does not mean second-rate. 3. Pharaoh was number one in Egypt, but consider how valuable Joseph was to the greatness of Egypt.

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C. Keep Your Ego in Check

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” ().

1. When we give in to pride, we create a barrier between God and us. 2. While humility in itself cannot purchase the blessing of God, it opens the way to receive His blessings.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” ().

3. God places a high premium on humility. 4. A Roman centurion understood that concept and humbly approached Jesus.

“The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, “Go,” and he goes; and that one, “Come,” and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it’” ().

5. That centurion’s prayer was answered. “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would” ()

CONCLUSION

1. The first essential step toward a person’s leadership development is to be willing to submit to the authority of another.

The specifics of how God develops individuals vary, but in every case the common threads of submission, learning, and testing are always present. a. Moses molded Joshua. b. Jesse and Saul helped to develop David. c. Eli trained Samuel. d. Elijah developed Elisha. e. Paul fathered Timothy. f. Jesus taught the apostles. Even in the life of Jesus we see this principle of submission to appropriate authority. “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. . . . And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (). “Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk him out of it. ‘I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,’ he said, ‘so why are you coming to me?’ But Jesus said, ‘It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires’” (, NLT). God uses this plan of submitting to the authorities in our lives to unfold His purpose in us. Many people desire the will of God for their lives, but fail to follow God’s plan for finding it.

WHAT ALL TEAM PLAYERS SHOULD KNOW

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” ().

6. You can never become a great leader until you learn to be a good follower. 7. Submitting to God begins in the home.

“But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ” (, NLT).

“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. . . . Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything” ().

“Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord” (, NLT). “Submit yourselves therefore to God” (, KJV).