WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.600
So, being smart, being sharp, having a vision, all that's super important, but at some point you're

2
00:00:07.600 --> 00:00:11.440
not going to continue to grow as a leader and you're certainly not going to grow a larger

3
00:00:11.440 --> 00:00:16.880
organization or have greater influence if it's all about you.

4
00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:27.440
So, I want to be talking today about Kingdom of God Principles of Leadership

5
00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:34.240
and wanted to look at one of the most overlooked passages in all of the Bible and yet I think

6
00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:41.680
it's one of the key principle-laden passages in the Bible on leadership and that is Jethro's

7
00:00:41.680 --> 00:00:51.840
advice to Moses. And so, Jethro is the father-in-law of Moses. Moses has led the people out of Egypt.

8
00:00:52.400 --> 00:00:58.160
They're in the desert and he is the leader and because of his leadership, people are lining up

9
00:00:58.720 --> 00:01:06.080
to get advice, wisdom, and guidance from him. Then Jethro, who comes in to observe what's happening

10
00:01:06.800 --> 00:01:13.040
with his daughter's husband, Moses, makes a statement that is transformative in the

11
00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:20.240
leadership of Moses and I think it is principles here of the Kingdom of God and how leadership

12
00:01:20.240 --> 00:01:26.720
works in both the body of Christ today but also in a company. It would be very similar and

13
00:01:26.720 --> 00:01:33.120
certainly saved Moses' life at the time because he's getting worn out from his leadership. It's

14
00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:37.760
hard enough to lead people. It's hard enough to make tough decisions that some people disagree

15
00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:43.920
with but try doing it with a bunch of Israelites going through the desert who complain about

16
00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:50.880
everything. So, he's dealing with that. Jethro comes in and gives him some advice that I think

17
00:01:50.880 --> 00:01:57.280
gives us some principles. So, I'm going to call this today Jethro's principles or the five principles

18
00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:03.840
of leadership from Jethro. This is found in Exodus 18. So, if you're studying with me

19
00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:10.560
from the Bible or you have a Bible, look at Exodus 18 starting at verse 13, starting at verse 13.

20
00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:17.680
And so, it was on the next day that Moses sat to judge the people and the people stood before

21
00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:24.640
Moses from morning until evening. So, when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did for the people,

22
00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:32.400
he said, what is this thing that you're doing for the people? Why do you alone sit and all the

23
00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:39.920
people stand before you from morning until evening? So, right out of the bat, we see that Jethro is

24
00:02:39.920 --> 00:02:47.840
recognizing the fact that leadership done alone is going to wear you out. And I see this a lot

25
00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:53.520
with pastors. I see this a lot with entrepreneurs that are starting their own companies that don't

26
00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:59.440
quite have the resources yet to hire anyone to help, but they're having to carry that load. And

27
00:02:59.440 --> 00:03:05.920
so, in this case, Moses being anointed by God from the burning bush onward to be the leader over

28
00:03:05.920 --> 00:03:14.240
Israel, sees himself as the sole leader. And he is about to wear himself out because he's got

29
00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:20.080
probably thousands of people lining up to get advice from him. Verse 15, and Moses said to his

30
00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:26.080
father-in-law, because the people, they come to me to inquire of God. When they have a difficulty,

31
00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:33.280
they come to me and I judge between one and another and I make known the statutes of God

32
00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:39.600
and his law. So, here's the first principle. This is the first principle of Jethro. It's not

33
00:03:39.600 --> 00:03:46.480
about you. Number one, it's not about you as a leader. So, I want you to note back what I just

34
00:03:46.480 --> 00:04:00.080
read. We have one, two, three. Three times we have me or I that Moses brings forth to Jethro

35
00:04:00.720 --> 00:04:08.800
in a defense of him being a leader. And I was aware recently of a coach who is an NCAA coach

36
00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:18.800
in baseball sharing how any guy on the team, when they're being interviewed, if they use I or me,

37
00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:23.840
they get fined because it's about team. It's about the whole team. It's about us. It's about we. It's

38
00:04:23.840 --> 00:04:28.480
not about me. And so, that's probably the first thing we need to really camp on for a moment here

39
00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:33.840
is that leadership is not about just you as a leader. And yet, that's what Moses is focused on.

40
00:04:33.840 --> 00:04:39.600
He's focused on himself. He's focused on the fact that everybody comes to him with difficult

41
00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:45.360
questions. They come to me. I'm the answer man. I'm the guy who's got all the solutions for all

42
00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:50.560
your problems. That is so typical of me. I'm that way. And I think that's typical of a lot of

43
00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:55.280
leaders is that we feel like we kind of have a corner on the market with all the solutions.

44
00:04:55.280 --> 00:04:59.840
And that's fine for a little while because if you don't know...

45
00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:03.360
what you're doing, you're certainly not going to have anybody following you and what you're doing.

46
00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:10.720
So being smart, being sharp, having a vision, all that's super important. But at some point,

47
00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:14.800
you're not going to continue to grow as a leader, and you're certainly not going to grow a larger

48
00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:22.160
organization or have greater influence if it's all about you. And so leadership,

49
00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:29.040
kingdom principle leadership starts with, it's not about you. It's about God. It's about the

50
00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:34.640
Lord. And that's what Jethro's heart is. Jethro's heart is not to take any authority away from

51
00:05:35.200 --> 00:05:41.760
Moses to hurt his leadership in any way. He's more looking at Moses and asking the question,

52
00:05:42.320 --> 00:05:46.240
I mean, is this really going to have any longevity? Are you going to be able to continue

53
00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:51.680
to do what you're doing if you're the only one everybody comes to? And obviously the answer is

54
00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:56.640
no, but I don't think Moses even thought about it before. So Jethro comes in and makes an

55
00:05:56.640 --> 00:06:02.800
observation. And I would just say too, that for any leader out there, sometimes you need people

56
00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:09.120
who are outside your organization or outside your grouping to be able to speak into the life of

57
00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:15.120
whatever it is you're leading, because you can get tunnel vision and miss a lot that's happening

58
00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:19.920
around you. And this is what Jethro does. Jethro comes in and he says, look, Moses,

59
00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:25.680
your leadership's not about you. And if you don't make some changes, you're going to burn out.

60
00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:30.000
And we see it all the time, don't we? How many people out there are burning out

61
00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:36.080
because they don't have a team around them. So here's what happens next. Verse 17. So Moses,

62
00:06:36.080 --> 00:06:42.960
father-in-law, said to him, the thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are

63
00:06:42.960 --> 00:06:50.320
with you will surely wear you out. For this thing is too much for you. You're not able to perform

64
00:06:50.320 --> 00:06:56.800
it by yourself. Listen now to my voice and I will give you counsel and God will be with you.

65
00:06:57.520 --> 00:07:05.920
Stand before God for the people so that you may bring the difficulties to God. Verse 20. And you

66
00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:13.040
shall teach them the statutes and the law and show them the way in which they must walk and the work

67
00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:21.760
they must do. So first, it's not about you. But then second, the leader is the primary instructor,

68
00:07:21.760 --> 00:07:27.920
the primary visionary in anything. There's somebody's got to lead the vision. Somebody's

69
00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:35.920
got to open the word. Somebody's got to open the manual. There has to be a leader who's a step

70
00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:41.600
ahead of the group in intentionality, as well as wisdom, who's going to give the vision. And so

71
00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:49.040
what Jethro is saying is, Moses, instruct the people. Envision the people. Show them the direction

72
00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:55.520
that God's got us on. Guide us. That's your main responsibility. And for me as a senior pastor of

73
00:07:55.520 --> 00:08:02.640
church, me leading other things that I do in my life, I feel the full weight of the responsibility

74
00:08:02.640 --> 00:08:07.840
of hearing God's voice and then being able to communicate that to our team. That's the primary

75
00:08:07.840 --> 00:08:12.320
kingdom of God principle of leadership. Number one, it's not about you. But number two, it's

76
00:08:12.320 --> 00:08:18.240
hearing from God and guiding people. And so I've got some big decisions coming up this month that

77
00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:23.440
I've got to make at our church. And it's going to be some decisions that not everybody in the

78
00:08:23.440 --> 00:08:29.520
organization is going to be happy about. But I'm making those decisions. I'm going to instruct and

79
00:08:29.520 --> 00:08:37.440
guide based on what God has said to me in my times alone with him with certainly wise counsel.

80
00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:43.600
In other words, having others around me like my elders to guide that. Now look at verse 20.

81
00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:50.080
And you shall teach them the statutes of the laws, show them the way in which they must walk,

82
00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:57.840
and the work they must do. Verse 21. Moreover, you shall select from all the people able men

83
00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:07.040
such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them to be rulers.

84
00:09:07.040 --> 00:09:14.560
So number three is picking a team of men and women of character. You notice that all of the

85
00:09:14.560 --> 00:09:23.120
description here of the type of leaders that Moses is to choose is number one, able. Number two,

86
00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:31.840
fears God. Number three, men of truth. Number four, they hate covetousness. And then place

87
00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:39.040
those over the people. So picking a team. So building a team of men and women of character

88
00:09:39.040 --> 00:09:43.280
is the third most important thing here that Jethro is saying. He's saying, look, not just,

89
00:09:43.280 --> 00:09:52.000
you know, give away your leadership to others. No, pick a team, develop a team of trusted individuals

90
00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:56.560
that have these qualities. They are men who are able. In other words,

91
00:09:56.560 --> 00:10:00.000
they have the gifting to do it. They fear God, which means they don't

92
00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:03.060
don't fear man, they don't covet.

93
00:10:03.060 --> 00:10:04.860
And that's so important.

94
00:10:04.860 --> 00:10:07.020
When I hear covetousness in the Bible,

95
00:10:07.020 --> 00:10:09.600
I think in terms of coveting money,

96
00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:11.300
coveting other people's stuff.

97
00:10:11.300 --> 00:10:14.740
So they're people who are serving others

98
00:10:14.740 --> 00:10:17.420
rather than asking others to serve them.

99
00:10:17.420 --> 00:10:19.980
And so they're without covetousness

100
00:10:19.980 --> 00:10:22.500
and then place them over people.

101
00:10:22.500 --> 00:10:25.060
So first, it's not about you.

102
00:10:25.060 --> 00:10:28.580
Number two, envision the team.

103
00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:32.460
Number three, pick a team, develop a team, build a team.

104
00:10:32.460 --> 00:10:36.100
And now this is really important for number four.

105
00:10:36.100 --> 00:10:40.700
He says, place such leaders

106
00:10:40.700 --> 00:10:44.220
over them to be rulers of thousands,

107
00:10:44.220 --> 00:10:49.220
rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties and rulers of 10.

108
00:10:49.260 --> 00:10:52.460
So number four, you're building a team

109
00:10:52.460 --> 00:10:55.900
with an understanding of levels of gifting

110
00:10:55.900 --> 00:10:59.740
or levels of anointing, I often say.

111
00:10:59.740 --> 00:11:01.420
So you've got some that have an anointing

112
00:11:01.420 --> 00:11:03.220
to lead about 10 people.

113
00:11:03.220 --> 00:11:06.320
They're probably, in most cases,

114
00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:08.060
never gonna lead more than 10 people.

115
00:11:08.060 --> 00:11:10.340
So they're gonna be delegated,

116
00:11:10.340 --> 00:11:13.520
they're going to be instructed in how to lead 10.

117
00:11:13.520 --> 00:11:15.100
Others, it's fifties.

118
00:11:15.100 --> 00:11:17.780
For some, it's a hundreds and some it's a thousand.

119
00:11:17.780 --> 00:11:19.100
Now, let me just say this.

120
00:11:19.100 --> 00:11:23.620
Men and women who can lead thousands first led tens

121
00:11:24.460 --> 00:11:27.940
and then led fifties and then led hundreds

122
00:11:27.940 --> 00:11:29.620
and then led thousands.

123
00:11:29.620 --> 00:11:33.740
So everybody starts around 10 and goes from there.

124
00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:36.400
What Jethro's saying, though,

125
00:11:36.400 --> 00:11:39.820
is there's some that are gonna cap out at 10.

126
00:11:39.820 --> 00:11:41.700
Some are gonna cap out at 50.

127
00:11:41.700 --> 00:11:43.140
Some are gonna cap out at 100.

128
00:11:43.140 --> 00:11:46.420
Totally my experience in 40 years of ministry

129
00:11:46.420 --> 00:11:50.380
that to try to take a person who really is gifted

130
00:11:50.380 --> 00:11:54.140
with leading 10, to try to get them to lead 50

131
00:11:54.140 --> 00:11:56.640
if they're not anointed for it is a disaster.

132
00:11:56.640 --> 00:11:59.300
And the problem is they call it Murphy's Law,

133
00:11:59.300 --> 00:12:01.780
which is you elevate someone to the place

134
00:12:01.780 --> 00:12:03.460
of their least effectiveness.

135
00:12:03.460 --> 00:12:07.460
And so sometimes what happens is people who can lead 10 well

136
00:12:07.460 --> 00:12:11.220
you promote them to the 50 and they do well there.

137
00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:13.740
Then you promote them to 100

138
00:12:13.740 --> 00:12:15.340
and then they just spin out of control

139
00:12:15.340 --> 00:12:16.900
and they need to go back to the 50.

140
00:12:16.900 --> 00:12:20.380
That's such a huge part of leadership

141
00:12:20.380 --> 00:12:24.860
is being able to identify what is the ceiling

142
00:12:24.860 --> 00:12:26.140
on that individual's leadership?

143
00:12:26.140 --> 00:12:28.180
Hard to know, really is hard to know

144
00:12:28.180 --> 00:12:33.060
because some people are not good communicators,

145
00:12:33.060 --> 00:12:35.060
not necessarily good with others,

146
00:12:35.060 --> 00:12:36.620
but they're growing in that.

147
00:12:36.620 --> 00:12:39.500
And so I think looking into the eyes of an individual

148
00:12:39.500 --> 00:12:41.940
and seeing if they've got a passion to learn,

149
00:12:41.940 --> 00:12:45.140
a passion to grow tells you everything.

150
00:12:45.140 --> 00:12:47.540
And I think anybody can be a great leader.

151
00:12:47.540 --> 00:12:49.100
Anybody can be a great leader

152
00:12:49.100 --> 00:12:51.180
no matter what their background is,

153
00:12:51.180 --> 00:12:54.540
no matter how poorly they've been led in the past

154
00:12:54.540 --> 00:12:56.300
or how damaged they are.

155
00:12:56.300 --> 00:12:58.620
If they have a passion to lead,

156
00:12:58.620 --> 00:13:01.060
if they have a desire to grow as a leader, they can grow.

157
00:13:01.060 --> 00:13:03.180
And I know for the road,

158
00:13:03.180 --> 00:13:06.540
I hope that we're building a church where anybody

159
00:13:06.540 --> 00:13:10.340
from any background, any gifting or talent level,

160
00:13:10.340 --> 00:13:13.580
we will have a route for them to grow and learn

161
00:13:13.580 --> 00:13:15.500
and be the best leader that they can be.

162
00:13:15.500 --> 00:13:18.180
And then lastly, verse 22,

163
00:13:18.180 --> 00:13:20.580
and let them judge the people at all times.

164
00:13:20.580 --> 00:13:23.300
Then it will be that every great matter

165
00:13:23.300 --> 00:13:25.020
they shall bring to you,

166
00:13:25.020 --> 00:13:27.900
but every small matter they themselves shall judge.

167
00:13:27.900 --> 00:13:29.780
So it will be easier for you

168
00:13:29.780 --> 00:13:32.700
for they will bear the burden with you.

169
00:13:32.700 --> 00:13:36.380
If you do this thing and God so commands you,

170
00:13:36.380 --> 00:13:38.780
then you will be able to endure

171
00:13:38.780 --> 00:13:43.020
and all this people will also go to their place in peace.

172
00:13:43.020 --> 00:13:45.620
I would say six and last, listen to good advice.

173
00:13:45.620 --> 00:13:50.580
So Jethro is giving his son-in-law great advice

174
00:13:50.580 --> 00:13:54.620
and it's now inscripturated right here in Exodus 18.

175
00:13:54.620 --> 00:13:56.140
And so for all of us as leaders,

176
00:13:56.140 --> 00:13:58.500
we need other men and women around us

177
00:13:58.500 --> 00:14:01.780
who can give us advice and wisdom in our leadership.

178
00:14:01.780 --> 00:14:04.940
We have this thing called a 360

179
00:14:04.940 --> 00:14:09.500
where we take all those that are involved in a department

180
00:14:09.500 --> 00:14:10.740
and it's called a 360

181
00:14:10.740 --> 00:14:13.060
because it goes all the way around the department

182
00:14:13.060 --> 00:14:17.260
with four or five questions about the leader

183
00:14:17.260 --> 00:14:18.820
to find out how they're leading.

184
00:14:18.820 --> 00:14:23.300
And so a 360 is another way of getting advice from others.

185
00:14:23.300 --> 00:14:25.340
You're actually getting advice from your teammates

186
00:14:25.340 --> 00:14:28.220
and it's always anonymous so people can share.

187
00:14:28.220 --> 00:14:29.500
So let me encourage you

188
00:14:29.500 --> 00:14:33.500
that Jethro's advice works even today.

189
00:14:33.500 --> 00:14:35.700
And if you're in a leadership position,

190
00:14:35.700 --> 00:14:38.300
keep reminding yourself it's not about you.

191
00:14:38.300 --> 00:14:41.340
Number two, you gotta build a team

192
00:14:41.340 --> 00:14:43.060
and you gotta envision a team.

193
00:14:43.060 --> 00:14:45.100
Thirdly, when you're building a team,

194
00:14:45.100 --> 00:14:47.380
pick the right people.

195
00:14:47.380 --> 00:14:49.500
People of character is the most important.

196
00:14:49.500 --> 00:14:52.940
Then number four, pick those people that have the anointing

197
00:14:52.940 --> 00:14:54.220
for what you're calling them to do.

198
00:14:54.220 --> 00:14:57.260
And then lastly, listen to good advice.

199
00:14:57.260 --> 00:14:58.740
I hope this is helpful to you.

200
00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:02.000
You