So, being smart, being sharp, having a vision, all that's super important, but at some point you're
not going to continue to grow as a leader and you're certainly not going to grow a larger
organization or have greater influence if it's all about you.
So, I want to be talking today about Kingdom of God Principles of Leadership
and wanted to look at one of the most overlooked passages in all of the Bible and yet I think
it's one of the key principle-laden passages in the Bible on leadership and that is Jethro's
advice to Moses. And so, Jethro is the father-in-law of Moses. Moses has led the people out of Egypt.
They're in the desert and he is the leader and because of his leadership, people are lining up
to get advice, wisdom, and guidance from him. Then Jethro, who comes in to observe what's happening
with his daughter's husband, Moses, makes a statement that is transformative in the
leadership of Moses and I think it is principles here of the Kingdom of God and how leadership
works in both the body of Christ today but also in a company. It would be very similar and
certainly saved Moses' life at the time because he's getting worn out from his leadership. It's
hard enough to lead people. It's hard enough to make tough decisions that some people disagree
with but try doing it with a bunch of Israelites going through the desert who complain about
everything. So, he's dealing with that. Jethro comes in and gives him some advice that I think
gives us some principles. So, I'm going to call this today Jethro's principles or the five principles
of leadership from Jethro. This is found in Exodus 18. So, if you're studying with me
from the Bible or you have a Bible, look at Exodus 18 starting at verse 13, starting at verse 13.
And so, it was on the next day that Moses sat to judge the people and the people stood before
Moses from morning until evening. So, when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did for the people,
he said, what is this thing that you're doing for the people? Why do you alone sit and all the
people stand before you from morning until evening? So, right out of the bat, we see that Jethro is
recognizing the fact that leadership done alone is going to wear you out. And I see this a lot
with pastors. I see this a lot with entrepreneurs that are starting their own companies that don't
quite have the resources yet to hire anyone to help, but they're having to carry that load. And
so, in this case, Moses being anointed by God from the burning bush onward to be the leader over
Israel, sees himself as the sole leader. And he is about to wear himself out because he's got
probably thousands of people lining up to get advice from him. Verse 15, and Moses said to his
father-in-law, because the people, they come to me to inquire of God. When they have a difficulty,
they come to me and I judge between one and another and I make known the statutes of God
and his law. So, here's the first principle. This is the first principle of Jethro. It's not
about you. Number one, it's not about you as a leader. So, I want you to note back what I just
read. We have one, two, three. Three times we have me or I that Moses brings forth to Jethro
in a defense of him being a leader. And I was aware recently of a coach who is an NCAA coach
in baseball sharing how any guy on the team, when they're being interviewed, if they use I or me,
they get fined because it's about team. It's about the whole team. It's about us. It's about we. It's
not about me. And so, that's probably the first thing we need to really camp on for a moment here
is that leadership is not about just you as a leader. And yet, that's what Moses is focused on.
He's focused on himself. He's focused on the fact that everybody comes to him with difficult
questions. They come to me. I'm the answer man. I'm the guy who's got all the solutions for all
your problems. That is so typical of me. I'm that way. And I think that's typical of a lot of
leaders is that we feel like we kind of have a corner on the market with all the solutions.
And that's fine for a little while because if you don't know...
what you're doing, you're certainly not going to have anybody following you and what you're doing.
So being smart, being sharp, having a vision, all that's super important. But at some point,
you're not going to continue to grow as a leader, and you're certainly not going to grow a larger
organization or have greater influence if it's all about you. And so leadership,
kingdom principle leadership starts with, it's not about you. It's about God. It's about the
Lord. And that's what Jethro's heart is. Jethro's heart is not to take any authority away from
Moses to hurt his leadership in any way. He's more looking at Moses and asking the question,
I mean, is this really going to have any longevity? Are you going to be able to continue
to do what you're doing if you're the only one everybody comes to? And obviously the answer is
no, but I don't think Moses even thought about it before. So Jethro comes in and makes an
observation. And I would just say too, that for any leader out there, sometimes you need people
who are outside your organization or outside your grouping to be able to speak into the life of
whatever it is you're leading, because you can get tunnel vision and miss a lot that's happening
around you. And this is what Jethro does. Jethro comes in and he says, look, Moses,
your leadership's not about you. And if you don't make some changes, you're going to burn out.
And we see it all the time, don't we? How many people out there are burning out
because they don't have a team around them. So here's what happens next. Verse 17. So Moses,
father-in-law, said to him, the thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are
with you will surely wear you out. For this thing is too much for you. You're not able to perform
it by yourself. Listen now to my voice and I will give you counsel and God will be with you.
Stand before God for the people so that you may bring the difficulties to God. Verse 20. And you
shall teach them the statutes and the law and show them the way in which they must walk and the work
they must do. So first, it's not about you. But then second, the leader is the primary instructor,
the primary visionary in anything. There's somebody's got to lead the vision. Somebody's
got to open the word. Somebody's got to open the manual. There has to be a leader who's a step
ahead of the group in intentionality, as well as wisdom, who's going to give the vision. And so
what Jethro is saying is, Moses, instruct the people. Envision the people. Show them the direction
that God's got us on. Guide us. That's your main responsibility. And for me as a senior pastor of
church, me leading other things that I do in my life, I feel the full weight of the responsibility
of hearing God's voice and then being able to communicate that to our team. That's the primary
kingdom of God principle of leadership. Number one, it's not about you. But number two, it's
hearing from God and guiding people. And so I've got some big decisions coming up this month that
I've got to make at our church. And it's going to be some decisions that not everybody in the
organization is going to be happy about. But I'm making those decisions. I'm going to instruct and
guide based on what God has said to me in my times alone with him with certainly wise counsel.
In other words, having others around me like my elders to guide that. Now look at verse 20.
And you shall teach them the statutes of the laws, show them the way in which they must walk,
and the work they must do. Verse 21. Moreover, you shall select from all the people able men
such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them to be rulers.
So number three is picking a team of men and women of character. You notice that all of the
description here of the type of leaders that Moses is to choose is number one, able. Number two,
fears God. Number three, men of truth. Number four, they hate covetousness. And then place
those over the people. So picking a team. So building a team of men and women of character
is the third most important thing here that Jethro is saying. He's saying, look, not just,
you know, give away your leadership to others. No, pick a team, develop a team of trusted individuals
that have these qualities. They are men who are able. In other words,
they have the gifting to do it. They fear God, which means they don't
don't fear man, they don't covet.
And that's so important.
When I hear covetousness in the Bible,
I think in terms of coveting money,
coveting other people's stuff.
So they're people who are serving others
rather than asking others to serve them.
And so they're without covetousness
and then place them over people.
So first, it's not about you.
Number two, envision the team.
Number three, pick a team, develop a team, build a team.
And now this is really important for number four.
He says, place such leaders
over them to be rulers of thousands,
rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties and rulers of 10.
So number four, you're building a team
with an understanding of levels of gifting
or levels of anointing, I often say.
So you've got some that have an anointing
to lead about 10 people.
They're probably, in most cases,
never gonna lead more than 10 people.
So they're gonna be delegated,
they're going to be instructed in how to lead 10.
Others, it's fifties.
For some, it's a hundreds and some it's a thousand.
Now, let me just say this.
Men and women who can lead thousands first led tens
and then led fifties and then led hundreds
and then led thousands.
So everybody starts around 10 and goes from there.
What Jethro's saying, though,
is there's some that are gonna cap out at 10.
Some are gonna cap out at 50.
Some are gonna cap out at 100.
Totally my experience in 40 years of ministry
that to try to take a person who really is gifted
with leading 10, to try to get them to lead 50
if they're not anointed for it is a disaster.
And the problem is they call it Murphy's Law,
which is you elevate someone to the place
of their least effectiveness.
And so sometimes what happens is people who can lead 10 well
you promote them to the 50 and they do well there.
Then you promote them to 100
and then they just spin out of control
and they need to go back to the 50.
That's such a huge part of leadership
is being able to identify what is the ceiling
on that individual's leadership?
Hard to know, really is hard to know
because some people are not good communicators,
not necessarily good with others,
but they're growing in that.
And so I think looking into the eyes of an individual
and seeing if they've got a passion to learn,
a passion to grow tells you everything.
And I think anybody can be a great leader.
Anybody can be a great leader
no matter what their background is,
no matter how poorly they've been led in the past
or how damaged they are.
If they have a passion to lead,
if they have a desire to grow as a leader, they can grow.
And I know for the road,
I hope that we're building a church where anybody
from any background, any gifting or talent level,
we will have a route for them to grow and learn
and be the best leader that they can be.
And then lastly, verse 22,
and let them judge the people at all times.
Then it will be that every great matter
they shall bring to you,
but every small matter they themselves shall judge.
So it will be easier for you
for they will bear the burden with you.
If you do this thing and God so commands you,
then you will be able to endure
and all this people will also go to their place in peace.
I would say six and last, listen to good advice.
So Jethro is giving his son-in-law great advice
and it's now inscripturated right here in Exodus 18.
And so for all of us as leaders,
we need other men and women around us
who can give us advice and wisdom in our leadership.
We have this thing called a 360
where we take all those that are involved in a department
and it's called a 360
because it goes all the way around the department
with four or five questions about the leader
to find out how they're leading.
And so a 360 is another way of getting advice from others.
You're actually getting advice from your teammates
and it's always anonymous so people can share.
So let me encourage you
that Jethro's advice works even today.
And if you're in a leadership position,
keep reminding yourself it's not about you.
Number two, you gotta build a team
and you gotta envision a team.
Thirdly, when you're building a team,
pick the right people.
People of character is the most important.
Then number four, pick those people that have the anointing
for what you're calling them to do.
And then lastly, listen to good advice.
I hope this is helpful to you.
You