For Example: Part 3
Notes
Transcript
For Example Part 3: This is Exhausting
For Example Part 3: This is Exhausting
As we approach father’s day I want to give an early shout out to all the dad’s that are actually involved in their children’s lives.
I don’t know about you but for me, becoming a father was one of the most pivotal and meaningful moments in my life. It’s funny how a man can live day by day but the moment his wife says, “I’m pregnant” he begins to seriously think more strategic about the future.
Fatherhood has caused me to understand my father better than I did before. I can identify with his silent stares and mental breaks. I know now what he was trying to do when he told dad jokes and I understand why he walked the house in the middle of the night and stayed up until we got home.
And now that I’m a father, I find myself doing those same things. I understand now. Being a father can be stressful at times. I understand that too. When the child is first born, you recognize how small, feeble, and helpless they are. They depend on you for their survival. Your job is to protect them, nurture them, teach them, change them, clean up after them and sometimes even feed them. Taking care of babies can be exhausting.
But at some point, as the babies turn into toddlers they should start doing things for themselves. Things like, going potty and feeding. They aren’t cooking yet, but they should be able to bring a spoon to their mouth by 3 years of age.
There is a bitter sweetness to our children as they grow older. It’s bitter because we realize they won’t always let us squeeze their little faces and we won’t always be able to carry them on our shoulders. But their growth and maturation is sweet in that, as they become strong and more capable, at some point, chores can be introduced and the work that used to depend solely on you, becomes shared work. You can often tell the maturity of an individual by the level of work they dedicate themselves to.
This is good advice for those of you who are thinking about marriage. If he’s playing X-box while the grass needs to be cut, if she likes to party but brings nothing to the table, if they love the benefits of your labor, they eat from your fridge, sit on your couch and wear the clothes you bought but don’t see why they have to wash the dishes they eat from, make the bed they sleep in, or clean the house they live in, then maybe they are still childish and have some growing up to do.
Maybe they need direction. Maybe they need a little bit of training. Perhaps just a little responsibility will help them grow up. That’s if they aren’t so immature that they run away first. And I think the threat of a runaway, the fear of losing those we love keep us from developing them as we should. So we do what Moses did, not knowing that it’s burning us out.
The house is clean, but we’re tired. The grass is cut, dinner is cooked, and the car is full of gas. But we’re exhausted. We’ve worked all day and come home to work some more. Things look great, but they just don’t feel that way. But at least the kids are still here. They’re lazy but they are here. They are entitled but at least they are here. They have proven themselves worthless, but at least they are here.
Exo 18:7-11
7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent.
8 Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.
9 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.
10 He said, “Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians.
11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.”
And now, I want you all to pay particular attention to who does what in the next few verses.
Exo 18:12-13
12 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’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.
You missed it so let me break it down for you. Jethro, a guest, brings a sacrificial offering to the place of worship. While everyone else just gathered and ate.
The next day Moses positions himself to serve while everyone else just stood around all day. Now, some of us can relate to Moses in here. You work all day and on your way home you fill the car up with gas. The kids got practice or a game so before you get comfortable, you’re back out the door. If there’s still daylight when you get back the grass needs to be cut or the trash taken out and if it’s too dark to do outside work, the sink is dripping water or the toilet needs to be fixed. And don’t forget about dinner!
Do you ever feel like you’re the only one in the whole house doing everything? Then you might understand how Moses felt. You might even understand how your pastor feels. You know, the guy who works all day and prepares sermons at night? The guy who collects the offering and makes the bank deposits. The guy who calls all the first time guests. The guy who gathers content to put on the website that the church doesn’t even know exists? The guy who runs the youth ministry, plans all the church events, sets up, cleans up and tears down? The guy raising children of his own and hoping his wife understands late nights and early mornings?
You know, I’ve been told that I’m an expert at delegation but if I compared plates, I don’t know if I’m doing such a great job at convincing other people to help carry this weight. Perhaps Jethro’s advice to Moses could be useful to us as well. Let’s keep reading.
Exo 18:14-17
14 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 do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”
15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.
16 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.”
17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good.
Jethro must have misunderstood Moses because Moses is working hard for God and he’s working hard for the people so how could Jethro say that what Moses is doing is not good? If I don’t work, my kids don’t eat. If I don’t fix, things will stay broken. If I don’t clean the house will be dirty? How can this not be good? Jethro answers...
Exo 18:18
18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.
And I know you think you can because you’ve been doing it for this long, and it seemed easy at first, but let’s face it, this is starting to feel heavy. At times you wonder, is it even worth it? But you’ve been holding it up for this long, it wouldn’t make since to let it go now? Right? So Jethro says to Moses,
Exo 18:19
19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him.
That’s a non-negotiable, I get that. God has called and assigned you for a specific task. Teachers need to teach. Psalmists should sing. Pastor, you’re responsible for leading the church. Do what you’re called to do but do it smart.
Exo 18:20-22
20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.
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, fifties and tens.
22 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. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.
Now in a second I want to talk about how significant that last verse was but before I do, I have to read this next verse to you because it messed me up when I read it. Look what it says and remember this is Jethro talking to Moses.
Exo 18:23
Exodus 18:23 (NIV)
23 If you do this and God so commands...
Ladies and gentlemen, this old man just told Moses, the deliverer of Israel, the author of the famous 10 commandments, the guy who meets with God face to face on mountain tops, the guy who parted the Red Sea with a stick and commanded plagues to jack up the Egyptians, this old man just told that guy what God commands!
And then he put a wager on it.
Exo 18:23
23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
Have you ever made a decision that made other people mad? Can I tell you when the worst time to make an important decision is? It’s when you’re exhausted. Studies show that sleep deprived people are not much different than enumerated people. If you’re sleepy, don’t drive. You’ll make bad decisions on the road. If you’re tired, don’t argue with your spouse. You might say something you’ll regret later. Don’t make important decisions while you’re exhausted. If you do, you’ll have to deal with the consequences and some things are almost irreversible. And I think Moses realized this because the next verse tells us
Exo 18:24
24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
And he lived happily ever after. No, it didn’t end that way but at least he didn’t die young. But I told you that I’d talk about verse 22 so let’s go back to that for a second and then we’ll close.
Exo 18:22
22 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. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.
Now, let me ask you. What would our church look like if everyone participated in carrying the weight of ministry? We don’t all have to carry the same weight but we all should be carrying something? What if Jarin didn’t always have to be the one running the slides. It may not seem like a big deal to you but I’m sure he’d like to sit with his wife sometimes too.
Imagine if every parent or grandparent took a day to help out in children’s church. What if someone else took our guests out for dinner or called to welcome them during the week? You know, our church would double in size every week if more people took evangelism as serious as Jesus did. We’d be busting at the seams, making a real difference in this community and would even have our own property by now if everyone shared in tithes and offerings.
But for now, we’re making do with the few champions committed to making Jesus famous. But tonight my prayer is that every person under the sound of my voice or watching online will ask yourself two questions.
What are we doing here?
What part do I play in it?
Tonight I’m asking you to dig in. Tonight I’m asking you to give God more of your time. More of your talent. More of your treasure. I’m asking you to surrender to God as one body, one church, so that none of us have to carry more weight than necessary. We need you. We can’t do it without you. In the words of Jethro, I’ll close by saying
And God so commands!