Introduction

Good morning!  Continuing today I want to start with Moses. 

Moses had already done great things as a leader.  He had overcome tremendous obstacles with Pharaoh; one of God’s designs for Moses was to get the people of Israel out of Egypt. This was a incredible moment for him and Moses felt he was not up to the task. This is what he said to God.

Exodus 4:10

Then Moses said to the LORD, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.

Even Moses, in all his accomplishments and the best education money and power could buy in his time, was not up to the task. He was raised with great influence in all of Egypt in Pharaoh’s palaces. Moses needed Godly counsel to give him insight into how he could use his leadership.  The important things to see in his conversation with God are he listens and uses the counsel he receives.

The  Art of Listening can be such an easy task.  However, many of us find it very difficult to sit still for a moment and simply listen. Listening is the quiet time you need to take each day and open the Bible and see what God has in store for you.  Try not to break any speed reading contests in this time.  Use the time to its fullest and allow God to speak to you, simply listen.  Moses listened to God and he led the people of Israel out of Egypt and God blessed them. 

Exodus 12:36

And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

This is what God gave the Israelites from the Egyptians even after all the plagues they had just been through and in the final plague even lost their first born to the angel of death.  Moses argued with God because he didn’t feel he was adequate to do what God was call him to do. But, even though Moses had a hard time believing God at first, he had great faith and trusted God.  He took the steps to do as God had commanded him and God used him as one of the greatest leaders of all time. He successfully met with Pharaoh and his court and finally led 2 1/2 to 3 million Israelites out of Egypt.

God will give you the wisdom to decipher His word if you use the information you are being told.  Also, God loves you and wants you to be a strategic instrument for Him to use.  God will provide you with resources.  Jethro was Moses’ father-in-law.  He was a Godly man and Moses listened to him and what he had to say.  In Exodus chapter 18, we see how God uses Jethro to instill wisdom to Moses.  Here is a portion of how God used Jethro when he was looking at what Moses was doing everyday:

Exodus 18:21 – 24

          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.  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.  If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.  Moses listened to his father in-law and did everything he said.  (NIV)

This is an example of good leadership principles as I will outline from God’s word.  This is probably the first example in the Bible of corporate leadership outlined exactly as is should occur in our daily jobs.  God noticed the burden Moses put on his own shoulders to resolve every dispute that was happening in the camp of Israel.  Can you imagine?  I think I am tired after a long day at the office.  I can’t even begin to imagine the fatigue the Moses must have felt dealing with 2 ½ to 3 million people whining about who really owned that goat! 

I will discuss how to use God’s principals to find the appropriate leaders to build your team or how to build up the personal level of leadership to direct your own personal life.  Not all of us are called to be leaders of over thousands or hundreds.  But, you are called to follow the principals that God outlined in His word.  As you do this, you will see God will direct your lives to be in control of your emotions and feelings of events around you.  You will feel better about how you handle situations that could be potentially volatile. 

I have noticed during my career that there are tremendous amounts of people reaching out to try and understand what leadership is and asking themselves “Am I a leader?  How can I become a leader”? The first place many people go to find the answer is a bookstore or the library.  These are great places to start, yet the thing that troubles me most is what you find in great volume are books telling you “It’s all about me”.  

Self- help becomes everything you ever wanted to be in spite of everyone else around you.  The trouble with this is they misguide you to believe that only you are important, don’t worry about anyone else. What we need today is for more leaders to step up and show that humility and meekness are not weakness.  Putting other people before you is not foolishness.  Trust, honor, and valor don't have to be a thing of the past like Latin. We are all called to study God’s word, pray, and be examples for others to see appropriate leadership.

Pretend you are an eagle soaring over a beautiful country side with grassy meadows, pine trees, and beautiful rocky ledges over a hilly landscape.  The sun is shining and warm as you soar through the air.  As you soar, you see something black in the distance and you start flying towards its direction to see what it is.  As you approach, you see a beautiful black stallion running on the meadows.  It is at a full gallop and you have to fly even faster to keep up with this majestic animal.  The stallion is muscle bound and very commanding in its presence.  It is obvious this horse is a leader over the meadows and the other horses.  It is the king of its domain.  Suddenly, there is a presence that appears before the stallion.  It is a light that shines with warmth of love and comfort.  As the stallion approaches the light, he immediately bows down and stands still in the presence of this light.  You now understand this presence is God his creator.  This is what being humble and meek is.  The stallion is meek in that he has honor and fear as described in the God's Word.  Jesus is our Master and I want to be a picture of meekness like that black stallion.  Ready to take on any challenge and efficiently building up those around me to lead triumphantly no matter what the odds are.

God bless you today! Stay in His word!

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 [RM1]Do we want to say this?