“Together Everyone Accomplishes More”
Exodus 18: 13-23
Twenty years ago a man named Neil Rudenstein was the president of Harvard University. One of the jobs of a college president is to raise funds for the school. And he was very good at it. If you can imagine for 3 years he raised an average of 1 million dollars a day. It is said that he was passionate about every area of his job. Whether it was a big item or a small item he focused on it. He worked 12 hours a day. He involved himself in every single area of University’s life, large or small and he was very successful.
But one morning he overslept and he just couldn’t manage to make himself go to work. He went to the doctor and was diagnosed with sever fatigue and exhaustion. The board at the college insisted he take a leave of absence in order to recover. So he did. And he didn’t return for the next 7 days. In fact he didn’t return for the next 7 weeks. He spent the next 7 months recovering from fatigue.
Moses was being watched as he worked by his father in law whose name was Jethro and Jethro said to him “what you are doing is not good. 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. When Moses led the people out of Egypt the Bible says there were at least 600,000 men and also their wives and children which leads us to think there were about 2 million Israelites. And all day long every day for almost two months he has been the one who is judged and made decisions about every conflict and every dispute they had. From early morning until late in the evening Moses is working. Jethro sees his fatigue. And it is obvious that the people aren’t real happy with the situation either. It’s wearing them out as well.
Ever stood in line at the grocery store….the post office/WalMart? Ever get impatient? Me too. I count items people have and try to get in the shortest line. So imagine what it would be like if you had to wait in line for not minutes or hours but for days. Here in the desert there were close to 2 million people and there was only one line to stand in. Jethro sees this and gives Moses some advice. He says hey Moses you need some help.
God did not intend for us to work alone. There was a reason that He created Eve. He said it is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. It is a principle that we find throughout God’s word. Together Everyone Accomplishes More.
When Jesus set out for His public ministry one of the first things He did was to select 12 men to work with Him. And when he sent out the 70 later to do their work he insisted that they go two by two. Never alone. Why did He do that? Simple. When you and I attempt to work for God by ourselves we will wear out. We will burn out. Solomon said “if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up. Though one may be overpowered two can defend themselves.
In science we call it synergy which put in a simple way says this…two people can get more done by working together than by working alone on the same task. You may be able to carry 50 pounds. I can carry 50 pounds. How much can we carry together? You say 100. No. probably 150.
I once heard about a horse-pulling competition, where the 1st place horse pulled roughly 5,000 lbs, and the 2nd place horse pulled approximately 4,000 lbs. After the event was over, just out of curiosity, the organizers hooked the two horses together, to see how much weight they could pull as a unit. Now we would probably expect that they would pull 9,000 lbs, right? (After all, 5,000 + 4,000 = 9,000.) What actually happened, though, was that the 2 horses pulled nearly 12,000 lbs! That is synergy. Teamwork. And I believe it is the reason that Jesus created the church. He said on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not overcome it. Why? Because there is strength when God’s people work together. We are better together.
So when Jethro sees Moses trying to do his job all by himself he says …this isn’t good – you need help. It was true for Moses and it’s true for this church. Moses was a great leader but he had what I will call a blind spot. Two actually.
1. Moses did too much of the work alone.
2. Moses wasn’t training others to do God’s work.
Businesses use organization charts to show the flow of work and to show who is in charge of each area. For Moses his organization chart would have looked something like this…PPT. Now if that happened to a great leader like Moses it can happen here also. In fact it has. And in a huge way I can hear Jethro speaking to me saying David what you are doing is not good. And I can hear Ross saying it as well!
God’s people must get involved in the ministry of Eagle’s Landing. Some as deacons, some sing or play instruments, others help feed the hungry, some run the sound, some usher, others keep our building clean, others repair it, some show hospitality, some greet at the doors each week, some assist me when we baptize. And together we are the church. Why does it need to be that way? Because the pastor and his wife cannot do it alone. It’s impossible.
One of the first things that we see in this passage is that leadership can be frustrating if our priorities are not in order. Ex. 18:13. Moses was trying to serve as judge for all the people and they stood around him from morning till evening. Remember the Israelites were used to being slaves and being told what to do; now they were free but they still wanted Moses advice on everything. Moses was very busy man and it was beginning to get the best of him.
So it causes Moses to say, “God what have I done that is so bad that you have given me the burden of all these people?” Moses was making a common mistake that many leaders make. He thought activity and busyness were how you become successful. We think that the busier we are that the more successful we will be. Busyness does not equal success. That’s a myth. Over-commitment can result in sever health problems. John Stroman wrote, “ a life out of balance is like a tire out of balance; they will both wear out quickly.
Jethro came to Moses and he gives him some advice. He asked Moses 2 very important questions that every leader must answer at some point. The first has to do with priorities and here it is…what is this that you are doing? What are you trying to accomplish? The 2nd question has to do with personnel. Why are you doing this alone? V. 15. Moses says because the people come to me to find God’s will. Another way of saying that is if you want a job well done, you have to do it yourself. We think we’re indispensable. And it’s a lie from Satan. Too many leaders try to do it all. What happened to Moses happens to leaders at every level. One historian says that Jimmy carter was so detail oriented that when he first took office as President he was involved in scheduling people who would play tennis on the white house courts.
Jethro gave Moses some advice every leader needs to follow. V. 17. Not good. You need to be the people’s representative before God and bring your disputes to Him. Your first priority as a leader is that you must be in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Leaders must find their strength in Christ and Christ alone.
v. 17. Jethro said to Moses what you’re doing is not good. The work is too heavy. You have to bring the disputes…the problems that need to be solved. You’ve got to bring them to God.
1. Being a leader is not about giving advice; being a leader is about who you are on the inside. One of the things that the disciples could not understand is why Jesus kept wanting to get away from the crowds. There wre 2 reasons. (1) He was weary…His schedule was very full. (2) He really wasn’t trying to be alone by Himself. He wanted to be alone with the Father. Because that’s where He got His answers and that’s where he got His strength.
2. A successful leader must learn the principle of delegation. Look at v. 20. Moses, train others to do your job! A large of delegation is recruiting the right people to do the job right. People need to be in positions of leadership they enjoy. The Bible says to serve the Lord with gladness. Are you doing that? If you’re not then you are in one of these two places. (1) you’re not serving the Lord at all or (2) you’re not serving in the right place.
v. 2.. the only way to control your time as a leader is to pass on your responsibilities to other capable people. Then Jethro says to Moses and now the people will go home happier. They will be satisfied.
3. Successful leaders acknowledge their limitations. Until you recognize that you cannot do everything you are headed for burnout. Learn to say yes but make sure you are saying yes to the right things.
4. Successful leaders know their area of expertise and that is where they keep their focus. Paul said this one thing I do…as a leader you cannot do everything but you must do something.
In our program this morning you can see a list of the TEAMs we are trying to fill. (go over)
Let me ask you, how will you let God use you? You’re not accountable for the people all around you. Cause I know some of you are thinking well what about that person over there? This is about you.
During World War II, a church building in Strasbourg was destroyed. After the bombing, the members surveyed the area to see what damage was done. They were pleased that a statue of Christ with outstretched hands was still standing. It had been sculpted centuries before by a great artist.
But taking a closer look, the people discovered both hands of Christ had been sheared off by a falling beam. A sculptor in the town offered to replace the broken hands as a gift to the church. The church leaders met to consider the offer and decided not to accept it. They had been seeing it this way now for several months and it gave them a fresh picture of what the Bible teaches us. They were actually called to be the hands and feet of Christ. That’s what you and I are. His hands and feet. If Christ is to minister to people, it has to be through our hands. If he is to take care of the sick, it must be through our hands. If he is to reach out to those who are lonely, it must be through our hands. If He is to do the work of this church, He will do it through you and me. Paul said, "Together you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of that body." (I Corinthians 12:27, NCV).
What will you decide to do today? This is our final day to sign up for a TEAM. Do it now.
