EXODUS 18 "ADVICE FOR HEROES"

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EXODUS 18:13-19A - 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.”

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. 19 Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you.

BIG IDEA: HEROES MUST LEARN THE VALUE OF TEAMWORK!

I AM CONVINCED THAT MANY OF US…FATHERS, BROTHERS, SONS, & UNCLES HAVE NOT YET REACHED OUR FULLEST POTENTIAL BECAUSE WE NEVER LEARNED TO SHARE THE LOAD!

WE BURN OUT BECAUSE WE’RE MAXED OUT: FAMILIES, JOBS, CHURCH, CHORES & HOBBIES…WE’RE MAXED OUT!

AND THIS MAXED OUT MENTALITY IS BLEEDING INTO EVERY AREA OF OUR LIVES...

WE’VE BOUGHT INTO THE FALSE NARRATIVE THAT IF IT IS TO BE DONE CORRECTLY (ACCORDING TO OUR OWN STANDARDS), THEN I MUST DO IT....AND I ALONE!

FROM CONCEPTION TO COMPLETION…I AM THE MAN!

AND WHETHER WE ADMIT IT OR NOT, THIS IS HOW MANY OF US HAVE FUNCTIONED FOR YEARS...

AND UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS WHY OUR WISDOM, SKILL, EVEN PASSIONS - MAY DIE WHEN WE DIE…BECAUSE WE HAVEN’T EMBRACED THE PHILOSOPHY OF DELEGATION OR SHARED LEADERSHIP OR DISCIPLESHIP OR MENTORSHIP OR SUCCESSION PLANNING...

HEROES MUST BE DEVELOPED OR THERE WILL CEASE TO BE HEROES....

AWWW BELOVED, HERE’S THE BIG PICTURE: FOR ALL DADS AND FATHER FIGURES: HEROES ASK FOR HELP!

REAL HEROES ASK FOR HELP!

NOT THIS FALSE IMAGE OF A HERO THAT HAS LED MANY OF US INTO LIVES OF QUIET DESPERATION.

YOU KNOW THIS FAKE STUFF: MEN DON’T SHOW WEAKNESS - MEN DON’T CRY - MEN DON’T ASK FOR DIRECTIONS OR HELP…THE DEVIL IS A LIE! HEROES ASK FOR HELP!!!

HEROES - I’M CALLIN YOU OUT! I’M CALLING YOU OUT OF ISOLATION AND SELF-DEFEATING INDEPENDENCE!

I’M CALLING YOU OUT OF MASKING YOUR PAIN, YOUR FRUSTRATION, YOUR WOUNDS, YOUR BROKENNESS, YOUR DESPAIR!

HERO: YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO CARRY ALL OF THOSE WEIGHTS BY YOURSELVES…HEROES ASK FOR HELP!!!

OUR HERO - MOSES - IS COMING OFF OF VICTORY AFTER VICTORY: HE’S SUCCESSFULLY LED THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL OUT OF CENTURIES OF BONDAGE IN EGYPT - THROUGH THE RED SEA - AND IN THE DIRECTION OF THEIR PROMISED LAND...

HE’S SUCCESSFULLY LED THEM THROUGH WILDERNESS HUNGER AND THIRST, AND MOST RECENTLY LED THEM IN VICTORY OVER THE AMALEKITES!

MOSES IS ON A ROLL....

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A ROLL? I MEAN, THINGS JUST CLICK! YOU SENSE THE LORD’S GUIDANCE AND SUSTENANCE!

YOUR DECISIONS ARE MAKING SENSE AND ARE COMING TO FRUITION...

THEN, OUT OF NOWHERE, YOU REALIZE THAT YOU MAY BE IN OVER YOUR HEAD!

YOU’RE STILL THE HERO…NOW YOU’VE GOT TO RECEIVE THE ADVICE & SUPPORT TO TAKE YOU TO THE NEXT LEVEL…((BREATHE))

OUR PASSAGE FOR TODAY OPENS AS JETHRO THE PRIEST IS INTRODUCED. JETHRO...

JETHRO IS BOTH A FATHER-IN-LAW AND A FATHER-FIGURE FOR MOSES...

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 18)
18 Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything that God had done for Moses and for God’s people Israel when the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt.2 Now Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, had taken in Zipporah, Moses’s wife, after he had sent her back, 3 along with her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom (because Moses had said, “I have been a resident alien in a foreign land”) 4 and the other Eliezer (because he had said, “The God of my father was my helper and rescued me from Pharaoh’s sword”).5 Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro, along with Moses’s wife and sons, came to him in the wilderness where he was camped at the mountain of God. 6 He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

WATCH THIS: NOT ONLY IS JETHRO A FATHER-IN-LAW & FATHER-FIGURE TO MOSES… HE IS ALSO BOTH A SUPPORTER & CELEBRATOR OF MOSES!

THIS IS THE TYPE OF PERSON WE OUGHT TO BE TO OTHERS, AND THIS IS THE TYPE OF PERSON WE NEED IN OUR LIVES...

JETHRO IS A SUPPORTER: TOOK CARE OF MOSES’ PEEPS!

JETHRO IS A CELEBRATOR: HEARD AND WENT TO CELEBRATE MOSES’ VICTORY! ((BELOVED, WE’VE GOT TOO MANY FOLKS WHO ARE GHOSTS WHEN WE WIN....AWWW, BUT THEY BRING THE KLEENEX WHEN WE LOSE))!

THEY DON’T SHOW UP FOR THE BIRTHS, BUT ARE ON THE FRONT ROWS FOR THE FUNERALS!!!

JETHRO WAS BOTH A SUPPORTER AND A CELEBRATOR!

THE TEXT IS MOVING:

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 18)
7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and then kissed him. They asked each other how they had been and went into the tent. 8 Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships that confronted them on the way, and how the LORD rescued them.9 Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the LORD had done for Israel when he rescued them from the power of the Egyptians. 10 “Blessed be the LORD,” Jethro exclaimed, “who rescued you from the power of Egypt and from the power of Pharaoh. He has rescued the people from under the power of Egypt! 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because he did wonders when the Egyptians acted arrogantly against Israel.”,12 Then Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’s father-in-law in God’s presence.

PUT SOME RESPECK ON IT! YOUNG BRUHS - TAP INTO THE HUMILITY AND RESPECK YOUR ELDERS…IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT THEY HAVE OR HAVEN’T DONE. IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW THEY MISSED THE MARK. IT’S OUR JOB TO HONOR THEM, NOT TO PUNISH THEM! MOSES IS GRATEFUL FOR THE SUPPORT OF HIS FATHER-IN-LAW, SO HE BOWS....

AND IN THIS WONDERFUL EXCHANGE:

MOSES SHARES: 8 Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships that confronted them on the way, and how the Lord rescued them.

JETHRO SHOUTS: 9 Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the Lord had done for Israel when he rescued them from the power of the Egyptians. 10 “Blessed be the Lord,” Jethro exclaimed, “who rescued you from the power of Egypt and from the power of Pharaoh. He has rescued the people from under the power of Egypt! 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because he did wonders when the Egyptians acted arrogantly against Israel.”

JETHRO SACRIFICES: 12 Then Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’s father-in-law in God’s presence.

NOW WE’RE TO THE MEAT OF THE MESSAGE:

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 18)
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.”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. 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.

JETHRO SAW AND THEN HE SAYS, “WHAT YOU’RE DOING IS NOT GOOD!”

EVERYONE SAW…BUT NO ONE SAID! WE NEED PEOPLE TO SEE & TO SAY (((BUT MORE SPECIFICALLY, SAY TO US)))! YEAH, THEY’RE SAYING, BUT NOT TO THE ONE WHO IT CAN ACTUALLY HELP…

JETHRO HAD THE CREDIBILITY WITH MOSES (THE HERO) TO SPEAK INTO HIS LIFE! MOSES TRUSTED JETHRO…MOSES LISTENED TO JETHRO!

ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS FOR GIFTED PEOPLE TO DO IS LISTEN! WE LOOK AT OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS, AND WE SOMETIMES CONCLUDE, “CAN’T NOBODY TELL ME NOTHING! I GOT HERE BECAUSE OF WHAT I KNOW AND DID! THANKS BUT NO THANKS!”

AND HERE’S THE REAL TRAGEDY: MANY OF US STOP AT BEING GOOD, BUT NEVER BECOME GREAT!

DADS, GREATNESS AWAITS THOSE WHO LISTEN TO TRUSTED ADVICE....

HEROES’ BURDEN : JETHRO ASKS A SERIES OF QUESTIONS TO DETERMINE THE “WHY?” OF MOSES’ CHOICES… IT WAS A BURDEN. MOSES FELT THAT HE ALONE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD JUDGE OR GUIDE THE PEOPLE. MOSES BORROWED A BURDEN! POINT: WHENEVER WE BELIEVE THAT WE’RE THE ONLY ONE, WE IMMEDIATELY SETTLE FOR GOOD, AND JEOPARDIZE FUTURE HEROES! (((IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT US))))!!! THE END RESULT OF THIS TYPE OF LEADERSHIP IS (((BURNOUT))). BOTH OF THE LEADER/HERO AND THE PEOPLE!

HEROES’ ADVICE (VS. 19-23)

MAINTAIN YOUR PRIMARY ROLE: PREACHER/PROPHET/PRIEST!

SHARE YOUR LOAD: FROM THOSE YOU’VE POURED INTO, IDENTIFY THE ONES....YOU KNOW THE ONES! THE ONES WHO GET IT: THEY SHOW UP WHEN THEY’RE NOT ASKED. THEY LOOK FOR WAYS TO SERVE. THEY GO THE EXTRA MILE!

FINISH YOUR RACE: WE’VE GOT TO FINISH WELL. WE’VE GOT TO FULFILL THE MISSION/CALLING! AS MEN: HUSBANDS, FATHERS, SONS, GRANDFATHERS, UNCLES - WE’VE GOT TO FINISH WELL!

HEROES’ BREAKTHROUGH (VS. 24): WHEN WE LISTEN, WE ALL WIN!

THIS IS ADVICE FOR HEROES! AND MEN, GBBC IS HERE FOR YOU! WE HAVE A WEEKLY PRAYER CALL (MEN ONLY) ON MONDAYS AT 6:30AM

Vision: to become kingdom men, who visibly and consistently submit to the comprehensive relationship and rule of God, underneath the Lordship of Jesus Christ, in every area of our lives.
Greater Men's Virtual Bible Study in July - Dr. Tony Evans's book, Kingdom Men Rising
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