Leaders are Linear - 2

Exodus 3:1–10 KJV 1900

1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

Last week, we started our series on “Leadership Lessons from the life of Moses”

Week 1 - “Leaders are born, but leadership is learned”

If you were unable to be here for that Bible study, let me encourage you to take time to listen to that message.

Tonight, we are going teach the second of the lessons from the life of Moses, and we will see that;

Leaders are Linear -

Linear:

progressing from one stage to another in a single series of steps; sequential.

This is a math term, and it applies to leadership because leadership is not static - it is linear - it is moving...

Now there may be seasons when movement is slow, methodical and deliberate - but if we are stagnant - we are managing and not leading...

Several thing about these leaders...

1. Leaders are Active

Exodus 3:1 KJV 1900

1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

The Lord is looking for leaders to lead...

The Lord is looking for people who are doing something to do something...

god never takes someone who is doing nothing and puts them doing somewhere else so they can do nothing

Moses: Shepherd

Saul: Saul of Tarsus -

persecutor of the church...

Apostle Paul:

intense

driven

Peter / Andrew

James & John

Matthew - tax collector

Active -

linear - moving -

steps forward

2. Leaders are Available

Exodus 3:2–3 KJV 1900

2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

looking for opportunities

looking for purposes:

why?

how?

Here we find the event leading up to and the call of God on Moses’ life...

Moses - a shepherd - working for his father-in-law…

on a journey, and leading these sheep to the backside of the desert...

We cannot forget that Moses was raised in Egypt - as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter - as a prince...

He was born to an oppressed people - under great persecution - even to the killing of little babies...

But Moses - in this instance - was on his way to a determined destination...

He was in route…

But there was a moment of decision before there was a decision...

A choice was made before a choice was offered...

in verse 3, Moses stated - “I will now turn aside...”

He wasn’t just floating along:

illust.

3. Leaders are Approachable

Exodus 3:4–5 KJV 1900

4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.