Take It To The Limit - Time
Exodus 18:1-27
January 27, 2008
Last week we begin a series of talks that I’m calling - "Take it to the Limit." The idea behind these 3 talks is that each of us has limits.
You and I have boundaries.
Fences
Borders
Lines of demarcation
When it comes to having children, husbands and wives decide on how many they want - no more than 2.
2’s their limit.
In our driving we have limits or boundaries that we do our best not to cross. For some of you it’s the speed limit - what the sign says - you do.
Others of us push past that limit during
Consistently going faster
Having a curfew is a limit. My parents told me that I had to be home by 11 - don’t push it.
You and I have limits. Either someone has chosen these for us or we have instinctively chosen boundaries that we will not cross.
Even though we do this, even though we know where our limits are, we have a culture that continually tells us to "Push these limits."
To test those limits.
To go beyond what we have chosen or been taught.
Culture says - buy a bigger house.
Drive a nicer car.
Dress in new clothes even if you can’t afford it.
That’s what a credit card is for.
Culture says - you’ll miss out on all the fun you can have if you keep your standards high. Come on join us - you won’t regret it.
Culture says - pack more into your schedule - you can do more - in fact you need to do more to keep up with everyone else.
So we are in this battle. This battle regarding limits. A battle between culture and what it pushes us toward and between our God and what he wants to lead us toward.
Culture pushes us Christ leads us.
Prods us Christ invites us.
Today we are going to talk about time. Time limits. After last Sunday’s marathon some of you are hoping that I’ll put a limit on how long I talk - we’ll se.
Before we jump into our text, let me remind you of 3 facts/rules about time. We talked in length about these in the fall; so let me simply remind you.
1. Your time is limited.
Each of us 24 hours.
No more - no less.
Though our time is limited we schedule like it is unlimited.
2. All of our time will be spent.
There is no such thing as leftover time.
We cannot bank time - accumulating.
- Stockpiling it.
On our deathbeds we can’t tell the doctor -I’ve "banked" 6 more months.
No - all of our time each day will be spent.
3. Someone or something determines how we use our time.
We like to think that we determine what happens in our days.
Sometimes -yes - sometimes -no
But families influence and use our time.
Clubs and organizations, Churches, sports these all compete for the limited time that we have.
Moses the man we are going to be looking at this morning could have related well to all 3 of these truths.
In our text, Exodus 18, we discover a Moses pressed for time, stressed, drained, near-exhaustion.
His work life, his responsibilities were pushing him to his limit.
I want to pick up his story in chapter 13 of Exodus on page 107. Let’s look verse 17. What is the heading above verse 17?
"Crossing the Sea" - This is the story that Charleton Heston acted out for us. Pharaoh and his army are chasing down Moses - the Israelites. Moses and the Israelites seemed to be trapped - yet God tells Moses in verse 16 of chapter 14 to raise his staff and stretch out his hand and you know what happens. The waters part and the people walk through on dry land.
It is a highpoint.
A victory.
A reason for celebration.
God used Moses to make a way for his people.
In chapter 15 - the people celebrate this. They sing one long song of thanksgiving.
But true to human nature, the people turn from celebrating into complaining.
See 15:24. After God parts the Red Sea for them the people journey for 3 days without find water and so in verse24 we read, "So the people grumbled against Moses, saying what are we to drink?"
They approach their leader complaining.
Skip down to chapter 16 verse 2 - It reads "In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron."
This time they want food.
And in verses 7, 8, 9, and 11 they continue to grumble for a total 8 times in this one chapter.
They do it one last time in chapter 17:3, They’ve traveled to a new spot, but they are acting like they did before,
V. 3, "But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses." What is Moses’ response?
Verse 7 of chapter 17, tells us that Moses named that spot Massah and Meribah which means testing and quarrelling.
Moses didn’t name it "Gratefulness."
He didn’t name that spot, "Thankful Heart."
Moses didn’t summarize the people’s hearts as being
Pleasant
Pleased
Content
-with God’s miraculous actions of the Red Sea.
-God’s provision of water in chapter 15:27 and 17:6.
-God’s gift of manna and quail.
Instead the people are grumpy.
Testy
Unhappy
Ungrateful
"I name this spot Massah and Meribah.
Testing and quarreling."
If Moses had hair at this point - he was pulling it out. Just 2 chapters ago people praised him, now 17:4 says they want to stone him.
Moses’ opinion polls are more like a rollercoaster than a steady line.
How does this affect him?
We begin to see the affects in verses 8-15 in chapter 17.
This man who formerly raised his hand with a staff, does not have the strength to keep it raised.
This man who formerly had the strength to lift up his staff, cannot keep up his arms.
The Israelites are engaged in a battle. Verse 11 says, "As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning."
Moses is not the man he once was.
All the quarrelling, grumbling, testing has gotten to him.
The stress of being leader was affecting him.
In this instance the people recognized it -v. 12.
People came to his aid.
Moses couldn’t do it alone.
What he had on his plate was too much.
It was taxing him.
Burdening him.
I don’t think it is a stretch to say Moses was being adversely affected emotionally, physically, psychologically.
Most of the time when we think about Moses we don’t see him this way. We have images of a young, handsome, strong Charleton Heston like man climbing Mt. Sinai to meet with God. We see him carrying the 2 stone tablets with the 10 commandments effortlessly. We se Moses confident before Pharaoh, faithful before his God - we don’t think about the testing and complaining that were eating away at him.
I’m not sure much is different between the image we have of Moses and the image many of us project about our lives.
"Nah, I’m fine."
"I’m a stallion - life doesn’t affect me."
Stress - not stress.
Worry - not worry.
My grumbling kid.
Or co-workers
Or neighbors - it all rolls off my back.
Marriage - just fine - never been better.
School - a plusses.
I feel good - really. Yet - inside we are deteriorating.
Moses is being affected by the Israelites.
Their words and actions are affecting him.
Though God chose him and used him - he is still human and is affected by the people’s thoughts, words and actions.
Friends - You and I can be obedient to God and be pushed by others to points of exhaustion and stress.
Fortunately for him an outsider came and saw Moses situation for what it really was.
Chapter 18 - p. 115
Verses 1-12 are about Moses’ reunion with his father-in-law Jethro. Moses didn’t view his father-in-law as an outlaw but as a friend. Jethro is a priest - he’s a fine man. He takes an interest in people and in God’s work in their lives.
Verse 1 tells us that Jethro, "heard of everything God had done for Moses . . ." so he wanted to see his son-in-law.
In verse 7, Moses meets Jethro - they bowed to each other and kiss. A greeting.
And then Moses begins to talk (v. 8) read.
Notice Moses’ honesty with Jethro - his trusted friend.
He both praises God and is grateful for God but he also tells him about the "hardships they had met along the way."
Moses is opening up his heart.
Here is a confidant to share the triumphant and the stressful
What a relief that must have been for Moses. To get some of the stress, heartache, pain, anger off his chest. Moses could unload all that stuff - but that only lasted for 1 day. In verse 13 we learn of Moses’ normal day.
Verse 13-
Verse 14-
Jethro asks Moses 2 questions about the use of his time and talents.
Question #1-
"What is this you are doing for the people?"
Is this a priority?
Is this the best use of your time?
Is what you are doing here that important?
Question #2-
"Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?"
If the first question is about priorities, what’s most important, critical, and vital.
This question is about personnel - People can’t someone else help?
Is there anybody else out there?
Verse 15 + 16,
Verse 17 + 18
Jethro sees Moses’ situation for what it is. With an outsiders eyes and with his Godly wisdom he realizes that God doesn’t want Moses busy all day long
With matters that should not be priorities to him
With matters that others could help out with.
"What you are doing isn’t good. You and these people will only wear yourselves out." (v. 17)
The Hebrew word for wear out means "to be withered with exhaustion"
"to sink/drop down/languish/wither and fall"
This was the path Moses was on.
This was the path he was leading all of Israel on.
He was modeling this way of life, this unboundaried life.
This "push the limits" - "I can do more life." and Jethro says, "You are going to wither away in exhaustion."
Friends, when we don’t know
Don’t do
Don’t limit
Or restrict ourselves from doing the priorities God has gifted us for.
When we begin to add additionally tasks
Roles
Clubs, committees
Responsibilities
To our primary roles of being dad
Mom
Grandpa or grandma
Worker
Friend
We end up living a diluted and not a distinctive life.
We lose a sense of our priorities.
When we take on too much.
Try to be more and more
Our focus and direction is lost. Our energies are drained - we become weary - we wear ourselves out.
Do you want to do and be someone God can use?
-Don’t spread yourself too thin.
-Do less for greater results.
Mother Theresa was never ridiculed for not being a good cook - it wasn’t her primary focus.
Chuck Swindoll, Robert Schuller, Billy Graham or any other favorite/famous preacher never got picked on for not visiting the sick.
Others can do that - Their priority was to preach.
Focus - Focus - Focus. Focusing is about making choices and that means deciding what to leave out.
Do less for greater results.
One person has said, "The secret of concentration is elimination."
Each of us has the tendency to pack our days with so many distractions that we never get done what we are good at.
What we have been gifted and called to do.
We end up with a stack of papers.
Phone calls
Responsibilities that our spouse/parents
Kids
Co-workers
Friends could help us with.
And if they can’t - do they really need to be done?
Moses is at this point. Sure he took off a day to welcome, talk and eat with his father-in-law, but bright and early the next - from morning until evening he - he alone was the one being judge for the entire Israelite nation.
He was wearing himself out.
What he was doing wasn’t good.
In verses 19-22, Jethro gives Moses a new way to use his time - a way to bring other people into help in order that he focus on other matters. And then he says -verse 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."
The people - all the people will be satisfied.
Will be pleased.
Part of my reasoning for spreading myself thin. Behind my struggle to listen to these words myself is this desire to satisfy all the people. I don’t want to disappoint.
I don’t want to let people down.
So I do and do and do more.
And yet Jethro says - when we identify and live our priorities - point others to people who can truly help them. They will go home satisfied.
God will take care of them.
Their needs will be met.
Let me close with 3 summary statements.
1. God’s Servants - God’s people are not exempt from natural laws.
If we cut corners.
Take on too much.
Push the boundaries
We will wear out.
We will be burdened and weary.
And as Jethro says - This isn’t good.
2. Separate the essential from the additional.
Priorities from the distractions.
Decide what to leave out.
Eliminate
Leave behind.
Example - As you do when you are trying to pack for a vacation in 1 suitcase - do the same with your time.
Separate the essential from the additional.
3. Restrain yourself more - involve yourself less.
It isn’t unspiritual to do less.
It takes greater faith to do less than to do more.
Prayer - Lord I give back to you all this that is pushing me over my limits.
Handout Notice - Jesus did this
Paul did this.
Moses learned to this.
And with God’s help so can you and me.
Let’s Pray.
The 3 points about time are from Andy Stanley.
The closing summary points are from Chuck Swindoll Moses, p. 260.
