Exodus II Sermon Week 5 - Biblical Leadership

Justin Ashurst

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Intro/Welcome

If I were to say to you “you are leader”

How would you respond?

“No, I’m not. Don’t call me that”

“I want to be but am afraid”

“I am a great leader”

Today we are going to be talking about leadership

Spec. Biblical Leadership

What makes a good leader?

You are a leader, the question is how will you lead?

What kind of leader will you be?

Prove it: The first person you have to lead is yourself.

Additionally...Some may be called...

Lead a family

Lead a team at work

Lead a ministry

Lead a community group

Lead a church

You are a leader, will you lead well?

Furthermore, the World desperately needs Biblical Leadership, Good leadership

Leaders who are rooted in God’s Word leading with conviction and compassion.

Leadership matters

What does it mean to lead well?

Exodus

We are going to be in Exodus 18 today as we continue our journey with God’s people from the Red Sea to the Promised Land

From freedom to fulfillment

Today, Moses will be reunited with with his wife and sons and his father-in-law Jethro

Jethro, a recent convert, but experienced business man is going to have some leadership advice for Moses.

We’ll be in Exodus 18:13-27

Go there in your Bibles.

Welcome

My name is Justin — Pastor here

Good to be with you — online

Nav Press Books and Exodus Bibles

Pray

praying

38 days of 150 days left

Health, Home and Revival

Leaders follow first

We are continuing on in our journey with the Israelites

They are camped out in Rephidim

They have defeated the Amelekites

In Exodus 18:1-12 we have this really neat story.

Moses’ father in law - Jethro brings Moses’s wife and sons out to be re-united with him.

Jethro become a believer and then we read this.

Jethro, is going to make some observations and offer some Godly Counsel.

Basically it’s a shared leadership model.

An army general would recognize it as the old military strategy of divide and conquer.

An economist would call it the division of labor.

But a business would call it business plan

Bible it’s shared leadership

Text

Exodus 18:13–16 CSB “13 The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening. 14 When Moses’s father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, “What is this you’re doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?” 15 Moses replied to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I make a decision between one man and another. I teach them God’s statutes and laws.”

This would have been common in that day.

The people come before the leader/ruler with their questions/disputes for him to make a decision.

Now Moses, is leading a huge number of people probably upwards of a million.

He’s trying to be a faithful and responsible servant

Doing what God has called him to do.

Moses is a leader, but he has first learned to follow

to follow God

he has seen God show up in big ways.

Even Jesus was a follower.

He followed God the Father his whole ministry

Biblical Leadership begins with learning how to follow

App: How are you doing at following?

Jethro’s Advice

Exodus 18:17–18 CSB 17 “What you’re doing is not good,” Moses’s father-in-law said to him. 18 “You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone.

I love Jethro’s bluntness

“what are you are doing is not good”

The language here is of deep concern.

But notice, Jethro doesn’t just tell him what he’s doing is not good, he tells him why?

App: When you give advice or counsel is this how you approach it?

Rather than just saying something is wrong, we need to get to the Why

“Why” is this not good.

Moses approaching burnout.

Moses is doing what many of us do

Perhaps especially Pastors

So Moses, is heading towards burn out

But notice, Jethro says, you will wear yourself out and the people!

Why the people?

undoubtedly they are getting frustrated and angry that their needs are not being met quickly enough.

There are too many people to care for.

So this is not good for moses, or the people he is leading.

in other words, this is not good leadership

Biblical Leaders are Humble

Now, Moses was a humble leader

He was open to advice, counsel and correction.

In my opinion,

This is the most important aspect of Biblical Leadership: Humility

A Biblical Leader is a humble leader.

Humility is ‘being poor in spirit’, It is being ‘meek’

Open to correction, feedback, change.

It is not needing to have your own way

This is really tough, but this is Moses

In fact, numbers 12:3

Numbers 12:3 CSB 3 Moses was a very humble man, more so than anyone on the face of the earth.

So a biblical leader is a humble leader.

APP: So how about you?

In your leadership, are you humble?

Husbands with your wives?

Wives with your husbands?

In whatever way you are leading,

Are you open to correction? to feedback?

Jethro’s Advice

Exodus 18:19–22 CSB 19 Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to him. 20 Instruct them about the statutes and laws, and teach them the way to live and what they must do. 21 But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating dishonest profit. Place them over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 22 They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every major case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load, and they will bear it with you.

Focussed Leadership

Jethro doesn’t diminish Moses role, rather he clarifies it.

A leader has to know his role.

what he has been called to and also what he has not been called to.

He says:

You are to bring the people’s words to God

You are to bring God’s word to the people.

Biblical Leadership is:

Under God’s Authority

You are to bring the people’s words to God

According to God’s Word

You are to bring God’s word to the people.

Moses is not to just make decisions, he is to be in constant communication with God

He is to mediate between God and God’s people.

He brings their words/problems to Him

And he brings God’s words to them.

Good leadership is focused, it has clarity

it say what to do and what not to do.

Biblical leaders have a clear focus.

Pastors are not Moses, Jesus is

Leaders need to hear this and followers

Pastors and church members

As Pastors we are not in the Role of Moses here.

We are not mediators between man and God

That role is reserved for Jesus alone.

Jesus is the better Moses

but in the next chapter we see that God’s people are to be a kingdom of Priests, this is ultimately fulfilled in the NT people of God

1 Peter 2:9 CSB

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

there is only one mediator Jesus christ

1 Timothy 2:5 CSB

5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,

In Christ, we all have access to God, we don’t need a priest.

This is the miracle of the gospel.

Yet, Pastors have a role to shepherd God’s people in similar ways

to pray for people, lead people and to teach God’s Word

Prideful Leaders

This is where leaders can run into real problems.

In some ways, we have a leadership crisis in the Church as celebrity pastor after celebrity pastor fall

the latest being Ravi Zacharias

It is too easy to give into the seductive power of leadership

to begin to feel entitled to certain things.

to begin to justify some of your actions.

We also need to be careful to think “how could he do that?”

could you honestly say given the same power and influence that you wouldn’t be susceptible?

Humility says, “but for the grace of God so go I”

This is why what Jethro’ says is so important

Basically Biblical Leadership is shared leadership.

Shared Leadership

Exodus 18:21–22 CSB 21 But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating dishonest profit. Place them over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 22 They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every major case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load, and they will bear it with you.

Shared leadership provides both accountability and empowerment

It is not good for ‘leaders’ to be alone.

Sin is too seductive

Leaders need to be in biblical community

This is why we believe in a Plurality of Eldership.

Equal Authority between 6 men.

Our Elders: Scott, Kary, John, Walt, Justin, Mike

Rich Elder Candidate.

This helps prevent against pride and isolation and to empower the different gift sets.

Shared Leadership empowers others.

These leaders are given real authority

They will judge over smaller matters

and will escalate larger matters

this is how we function as the church.

Group Leaders — Coaches — Elders

Even Jesus shared leadership

with his 12 apostles and the Church

Servant Leadership

Closely associated with that is servant leadership

Biblical Leadership is servant leadership

At One Hope we believe that if you sign up to Lead you are signing up to serve

Jesus himself taught and embodied this.

Matthew 20:25–28 CSB 25 Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. 26 It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; 28 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.”

If you sign up to lead at One Hope sign up to serve.

Our Elders are called to be the greatest servants in the church.

They sacrifice time, energy and effort to serve and lead One Hope Church.

They have led us through some difficult times the last few years.

Can we thank them for their sacrificial servant leadership?

This is true of our Coaches, our Group Leaders

Our Ministry Directors and Team leads

they lead by serving others, giving themselves for the sake of the others.

The secret to leadership is what Jesus said

“it is better to give than receive”

Qualified Leadership

The last thing we see in this text is that

Biblical leaders are qualified leaders.

able men

God fearing - proper relationship with God

trustworthy - can be trusted with little and much

with people’s stories and lives

hating dishonest gain - not susceptible to compromise

1 Timothy 6:10 CSB

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Similar lists for qualified leaders in the NT for Elders and Deacons.

(Possible) At One Hope when we look for leaders we look for the 5 C’s

Character

Calling

Competency

Capacity

Chemistry

Poss: Elected by the people

representative of the people

“select from all the people”

Deuteronomy 1:13 CSB

13 Appoint for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will make them your leaders.

(Possibly) Our eldership process

Any name can be brought forth

30 day window for any concerns

Voted into Elder Candidacy by Partners

Finalized process by Elder Vote

Jesus, our true Leader

Where do we look for biblical leadership?

ultimately we look to the person and work of Jesus.

Maybe you are feeling overwhelmed, maybe encouraged.

How can we lead well?

Look to Jesus.

Fear prevents many of us from leading well.

Fear of failure

Fear of responsibility

Fear of accountability

Fear of others expectations.

Fear that it will be difficult

Fear of pride

Jesus is both our model and our messiah

Jesus frees us

from sin, from separation from God

He reconciles to the Father

He takes all of our fears and failures upon himself

and offers us his perfection.

Jesus empowers us.

The gospel is death and resurrection

death to sin, resurrection to new power.

Jesus then sends his Holy Spirit to live inside of us

to transform us into biblical leaders

into men and women of character.

This is not something we can do by ourselves.

But it can be done with a deep abiding relationship with Jesus.

The Application of Leadership

We are all leaders of varying degrees.

You have to lead yourself

You will lead others someday

Job, class, parents, family, church

The question is how will you lead.

Lead Well

By following first

By pursuing humility

Under God Authority

According to God’s Word

Practicing Servant Leadership

Being a leader of character

Understand your role

above all, dependent on God

One Hope

As Elders, we want to equip and empower men and women for leadership in the world

biblical leadership

We have a vision for the City, nations and generations to know the Hope of Christ.

That only happens through good leadership

Some are gifted leaders — are you using your gifts?

Some have the gift of leadership

Romans 12:8 ESV 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

The rest of us will lead out of our gifts.

If you want to lead, let us know!

next steps form, come talk with me

We want to help you lead well

The world desperately needs more biblical leaders.

You are a leader, will you lead well?

What kind of a leader will you be?

Let’s Pray

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