How The Holy Spirit Can Lead You As He Led Moses (Heb. 11:24-30)
Illustration:In order to be a leader a man must have followers. And to have followers, a man must have their confidence. Hence the supreme quality of a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, on a football field, in an army, or in an office. If a man’s associates find him guilty of phoniness, if they find that he lacks forthright integrity, he will fail. His teachings and actions must square with each other. The first great need, therefore, is integrity and high purpose.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bits & Pieces, September 15, 1994, p. 4.
1. The Holy Spirit wants to help develop in you similar outstanding leadership qualities as He did with Moses. Paul wrote, For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and do of His good pleasure." (Phil. 2:13) Ask the Lord to help you develop some of following Godly leadership characteristics of Moses:
A. UNSELFISH - When Moses was leading the people of Israel through the desert, he had the right attitude toward passing on his control to a successor. Moses remained teachable, humble and unselfish about the responsibilities God had given to him. A great leader refuses to fall into the trap of becoming a paternal leader. Moses asked the Lord to give the Israelites a Godly successor. He refused to wallow in self-pity. Moses knew that he would not lead the people into the promised land so he humbly allowed God to prepare the people for a new leader. A great leader is more concerned about the best interests of his people than his own legacies.
B. UNFLAPPABLE - Moses refused to get bent out of shape when the Israelites failed to understand his new leadership role. Dr. Luke wrote about Moses, "Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not... The man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?" (Acts 7:25-27) Ask the Lord to help you remain steadfastness, unmoveable and always abounding in the work God has called you to do.
C. OBJECTIVE - Many leaders allow complaints about their leadership to be taken personally - not so with Moses. When Moses heard the bitter complaints from his people as they feared annihilation from the Egyptians, he said, "Fear not." Ask the Lord to give you strong objective beliefs, thinking and reactions to all the troubling circumstances that surround you.
D. CONFLICT RESOLVER - Great leaders have an ability to resolve major and minor conflicts using God’s power, principles and Spirit’s leading. Moses said to his father-in-law, ‘When the people have a dispute, they come to me and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God and His laws." (Ex. 18:16) Ask the Lord to give you the wisdom and patience to resolve conflicts.
E. STRONG BELIEF - The writer of Hebrews wrote of Moses, "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter." (Heb. 11:24) Ask the Lord to help you to exhibit strong faith in the face of overwhelming difficulties, uncertainties, and problems.
F. HONESTY - Moses remained blessed of God because of his sterling integrity even when others encouraged him that the ‘ends justify the means’. The Bible says of Moses, "He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time." (Heb. 11:25) Ask the Lord to help you remain honest in all your relationships, thinking and ministries.
G. PURPOSEFULNESS - Moses knew how to keep God’s purposes, priorities and perspectives in the forefront of his thinking. The Bible says, "He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." (Heb. 11:26) Ask the Lord to help you keep God’s purposes, priorities and perspectives in the forefront of your thinking and actions.
H. DECISIVENESS - Moses knew how to make correct decisions in the face of great pressures. The Bible says, "By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible." (Heb. 11:27) Ask the Lord to help you make correct decisions when faced with heavy pressures.
I. OBEDIENT - Moses knew how to trust and obey because he knew there was no other way to be happy in the Lord. The Bible says, "By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the first born of Israel." (Heb. 11:28) Ask the Lord to help you to remain obedient to the Lord in all situations, in all your relationships and in all your ministries.
J. RESPONSIBLE - Moses knew how to remain faithful, accountable, and true to what God had called him to do. The Bible says, "By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned." (Heb 11:29) Ask the Lord to help you to remain faithful, accountable and true to God and to what He has called you to accomplish.
K. WORSHIPFUL - Moses led the Israelites in a jubilant song to the Lord that is recorded in Exodus 15:2-21. He wrote, "I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and rider he has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God and I will praise him, my father’s God and I will exalt him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name." (Ex. 15:2,3) Ask the Lord to allow you to lead your people to a greater intimate worship of God. Be an example of the kind of person who knows, loves and praises the Lord in all your relationships and ministries.
Conclusion:Peter Drucker offers insightful guidance to the church when he calls leadership a peak performance by one who is "the trumpet that sounds a clear sound of the organizations’ goals." His five requirements for this task are amazingly reliable and useful for those who dare to lead churches:
(1) a leader works;
(2) a leader sees his assignment as responsibility rather than rank or privilege;
(3) a leader wants strong, capable, self-assured, independent associates;
(4) a leader creates human energies and vision;
(5) a leader develops followers’ trust by his own consistency and integrity.
H.B. London, Jr. and Neil B. Wiseman, Pastors at Risk, Victor Books, 1993, pp. 227-228.
