Music
Good evening, welcome to the Shur Foundation Baptist Church Sunday evening service.
Let's go ahead and turn our songbooks to song number 263
Verily Verily, hymn number 263
Song number 263, In Your Hymnals
Oh what a Savior that He died for me, let's sing it out strong
On that first verse, verily verily
On the first verse
Oh what a Savior that He died for me
From condemnation He hath made me
He that believeth of the Son
Saved me, hath everlasting life
Verily, verily
I say unto you
Verily, verily, message of the new
He that believeth of the Son
Tis true, hath everlasting life
Good, on the second verse
Oh my iniquities, He did amble and lame
Oh my indentedness, my limb was pain
Oh who believeth on Him, the Lord had said
Let them, Alasting Life
Verily, verily
I say unto you
Verily, message of the new
He that believeth of the Son
Tis true, hath everlasting life
On the first verse
Though poor and needy, I can trust my Lord
Though inconceivable, I believe His word
Of the message every child
Is a everlasting life
Verily, verily
I say unto you
Verily, verily, message of the new
He that believeth of the Son
Tis true, hath everlasting life
On the last verse, don't forget to shout it out
Oh who believeth on Him, the Lord had told
For Him to come, if He will not cast out
He that believeth of the good
To shout, hath everlasting life
Verily, verily
I say unto you
Verily, verily, message of the new
He that believeth of the Son
Tis true, hath everlasting life
Amen. Great singing. Let's go ahead and open in a word of prayer this evening.
Dear Lord, thank you for this church. Thank you for the opportunity to be gathered together here
on a Sunday evening. I pray you bless the rest of the singing and the preaching to come.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Alright, let's turn to song number 304.
Song number 304, in your hymnals
Nothing between
Song number 304, nothing between
my soul and my Savior
Song number 304. Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first verse.
Nothing between my soul and
my Savior
Out of His world, deluded, free
Nothing between, like worldly pleasure, That is a life how armlessly seen.
Was not my ultra-dermal to see, He is my all, there's nothing between,
Nothing between, I've swollen the Savior, So that His blessed face may be seen,
Locking, preventing the least of his faith, Keep the way clear, let nothing between,
Nothing between, like primal relaxation, Self or friend shall not intervene,
No, it may cost me much to get completion, I am resolved, there's nothing between,
Nothing between, my soul and the Savior, So that His blessed face may be seen,
Nothing preventing the least of his faith, Keep the way clear, let nothing between,
Nothing between, in many hard trials on the last verse, Nothing between, in many hard trials,
Now the whole world mightn't speak again, Watching what friend and what self did he,
Try a phallus with nothing between, Nothing between, long soul and the Savior,
So that His blessed face may be seen, Locking, preventing the least of his faith,
Keep the way clear, let nothing between.
Pastor Pizarnsky's son Garrett, I don't know if you all got a chance to meet him,
But thank you brother Garrett for stepping in, and we are decimated with illness right now,
And all of our song leaders are out, and you definitely, if people don't like my happy birthday,
They're not going to like the rest of the hymns that I sing, so.
Anyway, welcome to Sure Foundation Baptist Church, even though we're the few, we're still chosen, right?
So we're going to make it through the service here.
Our verse, does anybody need a bulletin? Real quick, if you need a bulletin, just lift up your hand,
Brother Ramon will bring you one, on our front cover we have our verse of the week,
It says, Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew chapter 11 verse 28, and our service times are 10 30 a.m. for our morning preaching service,
And Sunday evening 3 30 p.m. We're in Exodus chapter 18 tonight,
Thursday evening Bible study 6 30 p.m. And we'll be starting a new book this Thursday,
But you have to show up to find out which book it is, because I don't even know.
No, I do know, but I'm not going to tell you, I just want you to show up.
Anyway, so many times are listed below, and we did have so many today,
And I believe we had one salvation, is that correct?
Brother Josh, yeah.
So Alex prayed with a couple guys, but he wasn't wanting to count them,
But a couple Russian guys, there was some communication issues,
But pray that they, do you remember their names, Brother Alex?
Alex and Ivan.
Alex and Ivan, okay, so just pray that they did get saved, and if they didn't, that they would, right?
So below you can see the praise report there, the salvation totals,
And we had a good month of salvations in May even, we had 155 the month before that,
But that's good numbers there, and then salvation so far for the years there, the baptisms,
And those conference numbers are records at this building for sure,
But out of all the attendances, let's see, Pastor Shelley's night was 176,
Then we had 191 for Pastor Anderson's service on Friday, which is a lot,
And then Pastor Menes claimed the title of the most attendance,
And that was on a Saturday morning, so that's even more impressive,
So yeah, we had a great conference, I just wanted to say once again to everybody,
Thank you so much for all the hard work that you put in, you know who you are,
And you know what you did, and we appreciate it so much,
It was like one of the hardest ministry weeks of my life,
I mean as far as just like how many irons were in the fire,
And protests going on, having to talk to our landlord about stuff,
And just trying to make sure everybody had enough food,
My biggest, craziest moment was when we had the nacho feast going on,
And I saw the line going out the door, and my wife's like,
We're out, we're out, I see the last little scrapes of hamburger meat going on,
I was like, no!
But we made it through, we had some Angus burgers and hot dogs from the other,
And I ordered some Domino's pizza so it all ended up working out,
But did you guys have fun on the bowl?
Yeah it was pretty fun, and then the bounce house,
So it was a good week, you know even with the protest on Sunday,
It was like you know whatever, I was at Verity in 2016,
That's all I got to say, so that was where we earned our major medals there,
But anyway thank you again for everybody's help,
And some good news coming from South Africa,
My brother Ian, our evangelist from the UK, went down to South Africa,
And they did a couple days of soul winning,
And it was like a day and a half of soul winning in the church service,
And they had 86 salvations, so he says very receptive,
And he's excited to share the fact that we're starting a soul winning group there,
So it's not quite ready for a church,
But a soul winning group is where they're going to meet up for soul winning on a regular basis,
And then get together for preaching and different events,
And maybe if we get some more people attending and things like that,
Then we are thinking about making that a satellite church in Africa,
So praise God for that,
This Tuesday men is a men's leadership class, it's at 6pm,
I've said it from the pulpit, I'm not going to call you,
I'm not going to text you,
If you don't show up, then you're going to get a tongue lashing from me,
Unless you tell me why you're not there,
So I hope you're there,
Last time there were some people that missed,
I think they just didn't know what was going on,
But I say it in the announcements,
Plenty of time in advance,
So anyway, make sure you're here guys,
Let me know if you're not going to be here,
So June 9th through 12th is the Sturt Foundation Baptist Church official launch,
This is our Winnipeg satellite church up in Manitoba,
And we're going to have a Sony marathon on Saturday,
We're going to ordain brother Jim,
He was here for the conference if you didn't get a chance to meet him,
Super nice guy, very meek and humble,
And he's been preaching for a long time,
And he's going to be the evangelist there,
I'll be preaching both services on Sunday there,
And I think the service time is going to be changed on Sunday afternoon,
So if you're trying to catch it live,
It'll be at 3pm,
I think it's eastern time, I'm pretty sure,
No, I think it's central time,
Anyway, June 17th is the annual men's shooting event in Stevenson, Washington,
And so everybody knows kind of what that's all about,
But I'm pretty sure it's going to be at noon,
I'm not 100% sure, but I've got to get with Sean about that,
Father's Day, of course,
Invite your father if they're willing to come,
If they're not, then we'll always have our Heavenly Father here, right?
So, but there'll be a gift for each father in attendance,
And lunch will be provided after the morning service,
June 30th through July 2nd is,
It's kind of going to be like a relaunch of Bible Believers Baptist Church,
So I met with the people there on Friday night,
And they wanted me to be their pastor,
So that's going to be a temporary thing,
Until I can get somebody to take it over,
But anyway, so yeah, lots of stuff going on, lots of churches,
But praise God, I mean, that church is fired up right now,
And a lot of them came to the conference,
So there was a lot of people that were there that weren't at the conference,
That are excited about it,
So we're going to do a relaunch there,
And we're going to do a Sony marathon,
It's not going to be a Sony marathon,
It's going to be like just a time of Sony,
But Friday night, June 30th,
Deacon Corbin Russell is going to be preaching for us at 7pm,
Up at the building there,
And then the Sony will be Saturday,
And it will be on the rez,
Probably going to be in Wapato, 11am to 2pm,
And then we'll have a meal fellowship at the church building at 3pm,
Sunday, 10.30am, 3.30pm,
I'll be preaching about services.
July 20th, Pastor Steven Anderson from Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona,
Will be preaching for us here on Thursday night,
So that's also the first night of the Red Hot Preaching Conference,
So if you can't go to the Red Hot Preaching Conference,
There will still be Red Hot Preaching here at home,
We're trying to just make everything work out for everybody, right?
So, but you're not going to miss Pastor Anderson preaching,
Because he's going to be preaching here,
And that is part of his tour that he's doing to all the new IFB churches,
And so it's going to be good to have him here,
I won't be here, I'll be preaching at the Red Hot Preaching Conference,
I think on Friday,
But I'll be at his church on Wednesday,
So, kind of swapping places,
But anyway, July 20th through the 23rd is the 7th annual,
I can't believe it's 7 years already,
7th annual Red Hot Preaching Conference at Verde Baptist Church in Sacramento, California,
So if you haven't already made plans to go,
And you want to go,
I would suggest getting your hotel as soon as possible,
And your way of travel also,
And it's going to be a great conference, it always is,
Looking forward to that,
And then there's going to be a soul wanting trip to Toronto,
That's going to be during the week though,
So it's not going to be, I mean it'll bleed into the weekend,
I'm going to be there from Wednesday I think to Saturday,
But Deacon Russell is putting that on with some people in Toronto,
So, from what I've heard it's pretty receptive over there,
So, excited about that too,
All the other stuff for a family integrated church,
Please utilize the Mother Baby Rooms and Debbie Rooms for your convenience,
And all the other stuff that you already know,
Silence your cell phones,
And if you need to escort to your vehicle by the ushers,
They're available,
We're on a short staff usher crew tonight,
But we'd be happy to still make sure that you get walked out to your car,
All the tithes and offering information is at the bottom of the page,
And yesterday was Remy's 25th birthday,
I was 25 when I got saved,
I was thinking, man I was that young,
He looks really young,
He looks really young still,
So, but happy birthday Rem,
Happy birthday Sean Conlon,
He tried to weasel out of the birthdays,
But some little weasel put them on there named Rylan,
So, thank you Rylan,
And then we got Hazel's birthday was today,
And then Naomi Alcorta the 7th,
So, lots of birthdays coming up,
And then Robert and Crystal's anniversary is on the 6th,
And they are already in Winnipeg,
I think Robert's preaching,
He's either preaching right now,
Or he's preaching soon,
But he's preaching at our church plant up there in Winnipeg,
So, that's all I have for announcements,
Let's go ahead and sing another song,
Come on up brother Garrett,
Alright, let's go ahead and turn to song number 411,
Song number 411,
Hold the fort,
Song number 411,
Gotta sing this one out with some excitement,
Song number 411,
Hold my comrades,
See the signal,
Let's sing it out strong on the first verse,
Oh my comrades,
See the signal,
Waving in the sky,
Reinforcements now appearing,
Victory is nigh,
Hold the fort,
For I am coming,
Gives the signal soon,
Wave the answer back to heaven,
By thy face we will,
On the second verse,
See the mighty,
Roast and dancing,
Satan leading on,
The mighty man around,
Is crawling,
Courage almost gone,
Hold the fort,
For I am coming,
Gives the signal soon,
Wave the answer back to heaven,
By thy face we will,
See the glorious,
Better raven year,
The trumping blue,
In our leader's name,
We'll triumph over every fire,
Hold the fort,
For I am coming,
Gives the signal soon,
Wave the answer back to heaven,
By thy face we will,
See the last verse,
Fierce and long,
The cattle range is bare,
Our elders clear,
On comes the great commander cheer,
The comrades cheer,
Hold the fort,
For I am coming,
Gives the signal soon,
Wave the answer back to heaven,
By thy face we will,
Amen. Great singing.
As the ushers come forward to receive the offering this evening,
let's go ahead and pray.
Dear Lord, thank you for this offering they're about to take.
I pray you would bless this offering to this ministry
and also bless those who have faithfully given tithe to support it.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Thank you.
Turn to your Bibles, to Exodus, to Exodus.
Turn to your Bibles, to Exodus.
Turn to your Bibles, to Exodus, chapter 18, please.
If you don't have a Bible, there's a Bible under the chair.
Exodus, chapter 18.
Exodus, chapter 18, God's word reads,
When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law,
heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people,
and that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt,
then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife,
after he had sent her back,
and her two sons, of which the name of one was Gershom,
for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land,
and the name of the other was Eleazar,
for the God of my father said he was mine help,
and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.
And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife
unto Moses into the wilderness where he encamped at the mount of God.
And he said unto Moses, I thy father-in-law,
Jethro, am come unto thee and thy wife and her two sons with her.
And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law,
and did obeisance, and kissed him.
And they asked each other of their welfare,
and they came into the tent.
And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord hath done unto Pharaoh
and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake,
and all the travail that had come upon them by the way,
and how the Lord delivered them.
And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel,
whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians,
and out of the hand of Pharaoh,
who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods,
for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly, he was above them.
And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God,
and Aaron came and all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.
And it came to pass on the morrow that Moses sat to judge the people,
and the people stood by Moses from morning unto the evening.
And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he had did to the people, he said,
What is this thing that thou doest to the people?
Why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
And Moses said unto his father-in-law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God,
when they have a matter, they come unto me, and I judge between one and another,
and I do make them to know the statutes of God and his laws.
And Moses' father-in-law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
Thou wilt surely wear away both thou and this people that is with thee,
for this thing is too heavy for thee, that thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
Hearken now unto my voice, and I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee.
Be thou for the people to Godward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God,
and thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk,
and the work that they must do.
Moreover, thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God,
men of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them to be rulers of thousands,
and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
And let them judge the people at all seasons.
And it shall be that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge.
So shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure,
and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
So Moses hearkened unto the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.
And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people,
rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
And they judged the people at all seasons.
And hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
And Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way into his own land.
Brother Tammel, can you pray for us please?
Amen.
All right, well the last time we were in the book of Exodus was a couple weeks ago,
and there was the surprise attack from Amalek.
So we kind of had a study about Amalek, and how God had a hatred for them.
And now we're going into, we're getting close to the giving of the Ten Commandments.
We're a couple chapters away, and here we have in verse number one it says,
When Jethro the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard all that God had done for Moses,
and for Israel his people, and that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
So, of course, this is the same guy that he married his daughter Zipporah,
and it mentions her in here also, and his sons.
And when he fled from Pharaoh the first time, when he murdered that guy and buried him in the sand,
that's where he went to the land of Midian.
And so this is Moses' father-in-law, Jethro.
But it says he's a priest of Midian, so it's very interesting that he is called the priest of Midian.
And it doesn't seem like he's a bad guy. It doesn't seem like he's a false prophet.
And I would probably say that at least after this chapter, for sure, he's probably saved.
But he doesn't have, like, some opposition to Moses,
and I'm not exactly sure at what point, you know, or what that means exactly that he's a priest,
but, I mean, obviously he's some sort of a religious priest, right?
I'm not 100% sure what that exactly means, but there are some clues in here later on about what he believes.
So look at verse 2. It says,
Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back and her two sons,
of which the name of one was Gershom, for he had, or for he said, I had been an alien in a strange land.
Apparently his name means alien, so it's not the kind of alien you guys think it is, all right?
It's not an illegal alien. He's just a person that was from another place.
Okay, so that's what the Bible means by alien.
And it says,
And the name of the other was Eleazar, for the God of my father said he was mine help.
So apparently that means, Eleazar means mine help, or just help, or something along those lines.
And delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.
So he's talking about the first time that he delivered him is what I'm guessing,
because remember Moses fled from Pharaoh the first time.
So it says,
And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses in the wilderness,
where he encamped at the mount of God.
So they are encamped there, right?
Where the mount is, where we're going to see the Ten Commandments are going to come.
But God's leading the children of Israel to these places,
and I don't think that this is a coincidental thing that Moses' family comes back to be reunited with him.
And there's some lessons that Moses needs to learn in this chapter,
and it's the lessons that leaders need to understand about this chapter also.
It's a very good teaching for people that are in leadership,
because a lot of times leaders will just try to do too much.
And they'll try to do so much and work so hard that they work themselves to death and burn themselves out.
And today we have pastors that sometimes,
and there's a saying that says 10% of people do 100% of the work at churches.
And I don't know if that's true about our church.
I don't think it is.
And most of our church goes soul-wanting.
And so everybody does something here, for the most part.
But Moses, as we see in this chapter a little bit later,
he's trying to do everything himself, and it's not a good thing.
So delegation is key when you're in leadership.
And some leaders just don't know how to delegate,
or they don't want to delegate because they think,
well, I can't let this fail. This is mine.
And I was a little bit that way when I first started the church,
and I was afraid to give certain tasks, not to certain people, but just to anybody,
because I was afraid it wasn't going to get done right,
or I was afraid it was going to get done less,
or I was afraid something was going to happen.
I was afraid to let somebody else take the offerings to the bank,
because I just thought, well, sometimes there's thousands of dollars going in someone's hand.
And when we first started, Pastor Jimenez said,
hey, I want you to take the money to the bank,
because it's on me if something happens to it, right?
But eventually he said, you're going to have to let that go.
But I think I probably let it go later than I should have,
but there's just things, like even the bulletin.
Like the bulletin, I was like, yeah, that's my bulletin.
But one thing that Pastor Jimenez told me,
and I think this is a good thing for men that want to go into the ministry to understand,
that if you can delegate to somebody,
and they're going to do the job 80 percent as good as you can,
then you should let them do it.
That's one of the things I never, I mean, Pastor Jimenez is a wealth of knowledge to me,
and I remember a lot of the things that he taught me,
and that was a good lesson,
because if someone can do it pretty good,
and maybe it's not as good as you, but it's pretty good,
then that should be good enough,
because you can't just keep everything stacked on your plate when you're in leadership.
So anyway, I'm kind of getting ahead of myself,
but look at verse six, excuse me.
And he said unto Moses,
I thy father-in-law, Jethro,
it's kind of a weird way to say that,
am come unto thee and thy wife and her two sons with her.
And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and did obeisance,
so he kind of just like, you know, we talked about saluting on last Thursday a little bit,
so he basically, he's giving his father-in-law respect,
and I don't know if that's like kind of like a little bow or something.
I'm sure he didn't get on his hands and knees,
but he did give him honor,
and it says, and he kissed him,
and that's kind of a custom of the Middle East or places and other,
you know, it's not a custom here,
so don't kiss me on the face ever if you're a man,
but, you know, that's just not a custom we have here,
but in other countries, like have you ever seen like Italians,
you know, they kind of do that kind of thing.
That's kind of what it's talking about there,
and it says, and they asked each other of their welfare,
and they came into the tent.
Now, one thing that you could notice about Moses' life
is that he kind of had a rocky marriage,
and like his wife is throwing foreskin at him later on,
and I mean, it just, or earlier on,
and, you know, it's just, that's kind of a bad,
that might have been the last time that they were together,
I'm not sure, but like, you notice it doesn't say,
and Moses hugged his wife and kissed his wife and said,
hey, how you doing, honey?
He goes, and he's just like, hey, I'll talk to my father-in-law.
I get along better with him than I do with her, basically.
You know, it's like, I don't know.
I'm sure he did hug them or whatever and give them a kiss too,
but it doesn't say that, so, but you'll see that Moses
does have kind of a rocky marriage a little bit,
and it says that Moses told his father-in-law,
verse 8, all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh
and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake,
and all the travail that had come upon them by the way,
and how the Lord delivered them.
So, how they escaped from Egypt, obviously,
the Red Sea crossing, I'm sure he told them about,
and then the battle that they just had with Amalek
where someone had to hold up his arms
and he had to sit on a rock,
and so that's a pretty great story to tell somebody,
and Jethro, it says that Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness
which the Lord had done to Israel.
So, he's happy about the fact that God's people were protected,
and it said he rejoiced.
That means he's exceedingly joyful, exceedingly happy,
whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord,
who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians
and out of the hand of Pharaoh,
who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
So, does it sound like he's for God or against God?
It sounds like he's for God, doesn't it?
He's blessing the Lord, he's blessing the name of the Lord,
he's rejoicing about the fact that God delivered the people,
and it kind of almost makes me feel like
maybe he was like a Gentile priest of the Lord or something?
I don't know. I mean, I don't know for sure.
It says he's a priest of Midian,
and I'll get to that in just a second,
but it says, Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods.
So, it sounds like maybe he's a little bit confused about,
you know, maybe that there's other gods or something?
But he says, For sure now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods.
And maybe he's just saying that, I don't know,
but it's just interesting.
It says, For in the thing wherein they dealt proudly,
he was above them.
So, he recognizes, you know, the wickedness of the Egyptians.
It says, And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law,
took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God.
So, again, he's a priest, and what do priests do?
They offer sacrifices, don't they?
But this sacrifice was a burnt sacrifice for God.
And notice this, and it says, And Aaron came.
So, who's Aaron?
He's going to be the high priest of the Lord.
He's the one that was chosen to be the high priest and his sons.
But, see, we haven't got to the part where God gives the law, yet.
But, in this chapter, you know, it's talking about how Moses is going to give them laws,
and when he's counseling the people and he's giving them counsel and judging between them,
he's telling them the things that God has already revealed to them.
But, notice how, so there's this guy, he's not one of the children of Israel,
he's from Minyan, and here he is doing the duties of a priest,
Aaron is coming to come to the barbecue or whatever,
and all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.
Now, you see that term before God.
A lot of times the Bible will say, and he did it, you know, before the Lord.
Like, Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord.
And so, to me, when it says something like that, God is watching the situation.
And you don't see God get angry that Jethro is offering these sacrifices.
To me, it seems like, you know, God isn't saying anything about blessings about it either,
but he's not stopping them.
And it's obviously not wrong, and whatever he did was the right thing, it seems to me.
So, this Jethro, the priest of Midian, is offering sacrifices to the one true God,
and the children of Israel, and the guy that's actually going to be in charge
of all the burnt offerings from here on out,
and he's going to be the one that walks in to the most holy place for years to come,
you know, and all the elders of Israel are eating with Moses' father-in-law and Moses before God.
But, one thing you might not realize about Midian, and maybe you don't know this,
but go ahead and turn to Genesis 25, verse 1.
Midian is actually a son of Abraham.
So, obviously there's been hundreds of years of past since Abraham married another wife,
but when Sarah died, Abraham took another wife.
He took the wife, in verse 1 it says, in Genesis 25 it says,
Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
So, after Sarah died, then he took this other wife, named Keturah.
And it says, and so it's going to give us this genealogy of people.
It says,
You know, some baby names for you if you're looking for some.
Midian and Ishbak and Shua.
So, Midian was one of Abraham's true-born sons from his wife.
It doesn't say concubine there, it says wife, right?
So, and maybe it was a concubine, but it says he took a wife.
So, that's what I take it to mean.
So, Midian is, you know, when it talks about Midian, you know, he's the priest of Midian,
he's in that line of Abraham's sons.
So, you know, what did God promise Abraham?
God promised Abraham that he would bless him,
and that all nations of the earth would be blessed because of him.
So, he is truly a son of Abraham.
He's, you know, obviously with Keturah.
But it says in verse 3,
And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac,
but unto the sons of the concubines which Abraham had,
Abraham gave gifts and sent them away from Isaac his son,
while he yet lived eastward into the east country.
So, Isaac is the one that was supposed to inherit the promises and the blessings
because his seed would be the line of Christ.
But Midian is still a son of Abraham, you know.
And so, I guess you wouldn't really consider him a Gentile, would you?
He's not necessarily a Gentile, so he is a child of Abraham.
I just think it's really interesting that he's a priest,
and he's doing these sacrifices,
but it's also before the law and the covenant is actually formed with the children of Israel.
So, God brings them out of the land of Egypt.
He rescues them from Pharaoh.
He fights off the enemies, and he's leading them to this place.
In chapter 19, we're going to see, you know,
God is preparing the children of Israel to receive the law,
and then they receive the law, and they bind themselves to that covenant.
And in the book of Hebrews, it talks about God speaking with this voice,
and the people are afraid and tell Moses,
stop, have him stop talking to us because it's freaking them out.
They're really scared. We'll see that in the next chapters.
But, you know, I just think it's really interesting that Midian comes,
and then he's a blessing to Moses.
He's a blessing to the children of Israel.
So, I mean, and I believe that he was probably saved.
So, I just think that's really cool.
But, anyway, let's go back to our text in Exodus chapter 18 verse 13.
And, by the way, Midian was killed in a field at some point.
So, obviously, when he was older, but that's another sermon for another time.
But, Midian, the actual person, Midian, was killed, I think,
by one of Esau's family members or something.
But, anyway, Exodus 18, 13, it says,
And it came to pass on the morrow that Moses set to judge the people,
and the people stood by Moses from morning unto evening.
And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people,
he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people?
Why sittest thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto evening?
And Moses said unto his father-in-law,
Because the people come unto me to inquire of God.
So, I mean, is Moses doing a good thing or a bad thing?
It seems, on the surface, that he's doing a good thing.
But what he's doing is, from morning until evening,
he's just listening to people's requests, their gripes, and judging between them.
He is teaching the Word of God, but here's what Midian says in verse 16.
I mean, excuse me, Moses is saying here,
When they have a matter, they come unto me, and I judge between one and another,
and I do make them know the statutes of God and his laws.
So he is obviously teaching the laws here, but again, they haven't come into the covenant yet.
But here, we're about to see someone do something that I think is only to be done in dire circumstances.
He's about to give Moses some unsolicited advice.
Now, I don't think that you should just willy-nilly give people unsolicited advice all the time,
because you can make them really angry.
And if they didn't ask for it, you know, when I want your opinion, I'll ask you for it.
Have you ever heard that saying before?
To Ryland, when we used to work together, I'd say,
When I want something out of you, I'll beat it out of you.
But, anyway.
So, but we don't want to give people unsolicited advice,
and there's a lot of things that people give unsolicited advice about today,
because everybody wants them to see how knowledgeable they are about stuff.
And sometimes it's, you know, obviously a lot of times I'm sure you're generally trying to help somebody out.
But what happens when you're constantly giving your opinion to someone when they didn't ask you for it?
It's going to upset them.
But there is instances like this, I believe, as an instance, where it's the right thing to do.
And think about this. Jethro is Moses' father-in-law.
They've known each other for quite a long time.
He spent 40 years with them before he went and was called by God to go back to Egypt.
So they know each other really well.
And, you know, I always tell people to leave and cleave.
And I try not to give even my kids unsolicited advice about their marriage, about how they raise their children.
But, you know, every once in a while I will say something, you know, if I feel like there's a need to.
But I try not to do that all the time, because then I'm meddling in their lives.
Because when my children left my home, they have their own family now.
And, you know, I know that they respect me and they respect the things I say.
But if I was always just telling them how to parent their kids, always telling them how, well, you should be doing this.
And it's just really weird. I've seen a lot of people act like that even in Baptist churches, even in the new IFB churches.
I've seen people go crazy with this.
It's just like, just shut up and let your kids live their lives.
They left you for a reason. Shut up and let them live their own life.
But, again, every once in a while it's important to actually give unsolicited advice.
You know, if it's something that you think is really harmful that's happening, you know, and even then you should be like,
well, you know, could I give you some unsolicited advice?
And I will ask people in that way, because I just have learned, you know, especially if it's a fight, all right.
Look, most people are going to get the side of their blood relative.
So if you're, you know, if you're going to your mom and dad about, you know, well, so my spouse is doing this or whatever,
that's a bad idea too. Don't go to your parents for advice and talk bad about your spouse.
That's also wrong.
But, you know, so anyway, here's what he says. Verse 17,
And Moses' father-in-law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
Thou will surely wear away both you and this people that is with thee.
For this thing is too heavy for thee. Thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
So what's he saying? You can't do all this alone.
Remember, his church in the wilderness is millions of people.
It's not just a small 80, you know, person church. We're talking millions of people.
And so, yeah, if you have millions of people, you know, you're going to be there all day and all night.
And, you know, he just said, hey, you're not, this isn't good. You're going to wear away.
And this is good advice. And what he's about to tell him is he's going to tell him about delegation.
You know, the word's not in here, but delegation is when you're a leader,
when you give other people responsibility so that you don't have to bear the burden alone.
Because if I had to do everything at this church, it would fail.
I would burn out. I'd be done. I'd probably quit.
But there's a lot of people that I can count on here to pick up the areas that I can't get to, you know.
And so, and I appreciate that. And, you know, if you want to be a pastor someday,
you have to learn to delegate things or you will wear away.
Look at verse 19, harken now unto my voice and I will give thee counsel.
So he's like, listen up, young pup. I'm about to tell you something that you need to know.
You know, he didn't really ask it the way I would ask, but he's just like, you're going to listen to me, son.
And God shall be with thee. Be thou for the people to Godward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God.
So, you know, what is his real duty to, you know, the real hard things is what he needs to, you know,
if people ask a really hard question or they need something that the other leaders can't give them,
then he's supposed to be to them Godward. He's like their judge.
So, like, there's a system of judges that's given out and when the law is given,
they're going to give, God's going to set up this government and it's run by judges.
So Moses is essentially, he's a judge. It says he's judging the people, right?
And telling people this and that. And he sets up everything in the tabernacle.
He sets everything in order, but then he's not the high priest.
So, there's specific jobs that Moses is supposed to do.
So, what if Moses, what if everybody's like, well, Moses wants to get paid, he's the full-time leader here,
so he should be doing all the sacrifices, he should be doing everything, cleaning all the animals,
lighting them on fire or whatever, and then, you know, going in.
You can only do so much. And so, God obviously understands that.
And so, he chooses other people to be helpers with him. He chose the tribe of Levi for a reason.
But it says,
So, and listen, even great leaders should be wise enough to listen to good counsel.
I don't know everything and, you know, there's times when people bring things to me and they're like,
well, what do you think about this? And that's the right way to approach me.
And that's the right way to, if you want someone to listen to you, it's not going to be this snotty attitude
or why are you doing it like this? And that's, you know, for a guy, just a little advice, ladies,
if you come at a man like that, they're going to shut you off just like that.
So, if you're like, why don't you just do this? Or why don't you just, it's like,
it's just like, who are you to be telling me what to do, right?
So, just, you know, the way you approach it, you're like, well, he still acts like that when I approach him.
Well, I mean, work on it. You know, maybe the last ten times that you did it and then you're like,
well, I was nice that one time. It's just like, they're just, they're already on the fence as soon as you're,
you know, what did I not do this time, you know? But anyway, so, look at what it says in verse 20.
Now shall teach them ordinances and laws and shall show them the way wherein thou must walk
and the work that they must do. So, what's he saying? He's supposed, Moses is supposed to be to the people God-ward
and that he's supposed to show them the ordinances, the laws and show them the way wherein they must walk.
And this is like what a pastor does. This is what a pastor essentially is there to do,
the overseeing of the church. And it says, and the work that they must do. So, the ministry is work
and you all know that. I mean, from last week, I think everybody was pretty tuckered out.
Look, this place is empty almost right now. We worked everybody to death, worked them to sickness or whatever,
but sometimes the ministry is like that though. Sometimes the ministry is tough and so that's the other thing.
If you're going to be a pastor someday, just realize you're going to have some hard times.
You're going to have some hard weeks and some weeks where you just really work harder than you thought you were going to have to.
You know, always just think it's going to be harder and then when it's easier, it's like it's not a letdown.
It makes you feel better. But anyway, it says, moreover, thou shalt provide out of all the people able men,
such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them to be rulers of thousands
and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. So, it seems like he probably just sat around
and watched what was going on and Jethro came up with this plan to help him. But, it's almost like he's saying,
hey, you need to hire some deacons. It's kind of similar to what the deacons are supposed to be doing, right?
So, he says, you know, get some able men. Men are the ones that are supposed to be in leadership, in church work.
He says, get some able men and then fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness.
Those are some good qualities to look for and that was the qualifications for Moses to pick.
He said, pick these guys. So, Jethro's very wise, isn't he? And so, there's some verses in here that will help.
You know, if you're a man and you want some extra responsibility, well, these are some of the things that God requires.
These are some of the things that God looks for in a man because if you're doing these types of things,
then God is going to look to you and you're going to get your time to shine.
You're going to get your time to be a leader in one way or another.
And obviously, you know, hopefully you have the right motives for wanting to be in leadership in the first place.
The motive is to serve God. The motive is to help with the ministry.
Moses needed it. Churches today need the same thing. They need, you know, not only men but also women that are willing to work.
Women that are women of truth that hate all these things too, that hate covetousness, that fear God
and are willing to help and teach the other women in the church and the new women that get saved and come to our church the things of God.
That's what the New Testament has that set up for us. But let's look at a couple of verses here. Let's look at Ecclesiastes 9 and 10.
So, what are some things that can set you apart as a leader that God would be looking for? What is he looking for?
Well, when he called the apostle Paul and Barnabas to the work, why did he separate them?
Well, because they were already doing the preaching. They were already doing the...
It says that they were ministering unto the Lord in the church of Antioch.
And then the Spirit said, separate unto me Saul and Barnabas for the work that I called them to.
So, he sent them out. Why? Because... And what do we know about Paul after this?
That he worked harder than everybody. He outworked everyone.
So, one of the things that the apostle Paul was was a very hard worker. He was very zealous.
He was zealous when he was anti-Christian and he was zealous as a Christian.
Look at Ecclesiastes 9 and 10. It says, Whatsoever thy hand find to do, do it with thy might.
So, when we are looking for something to do, you're like, well, I'd like to do something for the church.
Do it with thy might. When a task is given to you, get the task done.
Complete the task. And work hard and try to do the best job you can to make it right.
You know? There's a saying, and I guess I don't really want to say it necessarily,
that half, you know what, work.
Pastor Anderson said the word. Pastor Shelley knows if you want to talk to him about it.
But anyway, I'm just kidding.
Well, people say don't do things half.
And you want to do a job well done. You don't want to just be like, well, I did it.
It's like halfway done. You don't want to do that. That's not how God wants us to be.
Look at Hebrews chapter 6, verse 12. Actually, go ahead and turn to Ephesians chapter 4, 28, and I'm going to read Hebrews 6, 12.
And this has to do with being slothful. Hebrews 6, 12 says,
That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
So, God commands us, don't be slothful. What is slothful? Lazy.
But followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
God wants us to do it with our might, not be slothful. Ephesians 4, 28 says,
Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the things which is good,
that he may have to give to him that needeth.
So, God wants us as men and as ladies also to be hard workers.
Be hard workers. That should be, when people list your good qualities, do you think that they list that you're a hard worker?
Because if not, then that's something for you to work on.
You know when people give you evaluations at work? Who's gotten an eval at work?
And then they're like, don't they always leave you something to work on?
Well, you almost got that 5 score, you almost got that 10 score, but here's a couple things you need to work on.
Because if you tell someone they're just the greatest things in sliced bread and they don't have anything else to work on,
then what do they have to achieve?
So, as Christians, there should be things in our list of things that we need to get better at.
And if working hard is one of those things, you can overcome not being a hard worker.
You can be a hard worker. You just have to put your mind to it.
You have to pray and have God help you with that.
You know, maybe you are lazy and you want to not be lazy.
Well, ask God to help you. We have the Spirit for a reason.
We can overcome sin. I think it is a sin to be slothful. It's a sin to be lazy.
You know, God said not to work with our hands the things that is good.
Turn to Proverbs, chapter 1, 7. Proverbs, chapter 1, 7.
What were the things that Jethro listed?
Able men. Able to what? Get it done, right? Work.
I think when Joseph brought his... I think didn't Pharaoh ask Joseph to find him men of...
What was it? Men of... Good night, Biden moment.
Anyway, I forgot. Men of activity. That's what it is. Thank you.
I knew somebody would get it. But able men, men of activity.
Men that are going to do stuff, not men that are just sitting around doing nothing.
But anyway, and it says people that fear God. Men of truth, hating covetousness.
Look at Proverbs 1, 7. It says,
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
God wants us to fear him and that is the beginning of knowledge.
In Proverbs, chapter 15, verse 16, it says,
Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.
That's Proverbs 15, 16. Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.
That's a great scripture because it kind of knocks covetousness out at the same time and adds that fear of the Lord.
It's better to have a little bit of things. It's better to not be rich.
It's better to just have what you need and fear the Lord than to have all this money and all this wealth.
And what comes from that? A lot of trouble.
And especially for a Christian, if you have all that stuff.
Say you're just poor all your life and all of a sudden you come into this big inheritance and you've never had money before.
That could be a big trouble because what happens when people win the lottery?
Most of those people die broke and poor and they don't know what to do with such a huge amount of money.
I think that's why God wants us to just have what we need.
And we need to be able to count on him and not be covetous and just wanting all the things.
We're going to have all the things we could possibly want in heaven.
And while we're here on this earth, obviously amassing things that are just going to burn up anyway.
What's the point?
I mean, how many ATVs do you need? How many tea cups do you need? Or coffee cups? Or whatever it is you collect.
Whatever it is that you really like and want more of, those things are going to burn up.
And they're going to be gone.
And it's like, why did I work so hard to get all that when I could have just worked a little harder for the Lord and had a lot more stuff in heaven?
So Hebrews chapter 13 verse 5, Hebrews 13 verse 5, Hebrews 13 verse 5 says,
Let your conversation, that means your lifestyle, be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have.
For he has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.
So don't have a covetous lifestyle.
And I kind of mention this about people that like to trade their vehicles in all the time.
To me, that's a big sign that someone is covetous because they're not happy with the car that they have.
And if you're trading your car in six months later and going ten thousand dollars more into debt,
and you just owe the bank all this money because you just don't like the color of this,
or you don't like how the stereo sounds, or whatever it is,
that's just a weird mentality in its covetousness. It really is.
All it really is is a tool that God gives you to get from A to B.
I mean, are you cutting in the crib and bling bling down the road with your car that goes like this?
Who cares about that stuff? That's what the world wants.
They want the fast race cars and stuff, and they're like, look, there's nothing wrong with it.
But if that's your life, then it just shows that you're covetous.
If all you care about is the things that you have in life, and you're not happy with your house,
you're not happy with your spouse, you're not happy with your children, you're not happy with your friends,
you have a covetous attitude.
And the Bible says it's a thing that would get us kicked out of church
when people are coveting other people's stuff.
And I think that spills over into wanting what other people have at church.
You know, trying to grift people at church.
It's really a bad thing to get into.
And, you know, Moses said, or excuse me, Jethro told Moses that these are the people that he should avoid.
You know, he should avoid covetous. He wants people that hate covetousness.
You know, hating something, you know, I know that people are pretty sensitive these days about hatred in the Bible,
but it does say that you're supposed to hate this covetousness.
So, and that's the type of people that God is looking for in men to serve.
But I would also say the same thing applies to women.
You know, if you're cleaning the church, clean it with your might.
If you're, you know, if you're folding bulletins, fold them in half perfectly.
I mean, do things, not only do things for the church, but do them good.
You know, because if you're just sloppily, you know, doing things, then it looks bad.
If every bulletin's crooked, then it's kind of embarrassing a little bit.
You might not think it is, but when people walk in and it's like, you know, all like this,
then it's like, well, do they even care? Like, they don't care enough to fold the bulletins right?
Like, what else don't they care about?
To me, I think that we should try to do things as excellently as we can.
And I think God is well pleased with those types of things.
So, look at verse number 18, or 19 back in our text, it says,
Harken now, oh, no, I'm sorry, I'm in the wrong group here.
So, anyway, let me just sum this up about the leadership.
So, if you want to become a leader, number one, work hard.
Number two, fear God.
Number three, be content with the things that you have and don't be covetous.
And, you know, as kids and teenagers, we just want more toys, more fun,
and if we let our kids just always have, it always has to be about fun.
It always has to be about the next fun thing that you're going to do.
You know, kids need to learn how to work, too, because if you just let them grow up
and it's always fun, it's always candy, it's always ice cream, it's always theme parks,
it's always this, you know, those things are nice,
but if that's all that they're living for is their next thrill ride,
then it's not going to be good for them when they grow up.
Because, you know what, adulting is not always fun.
Just FYI, kids and teenagers, adulting is not always fun.
You're like, I can't wait until I can move out.
Yeah, you like paying them bills, too.
And you know what it takes to pay bills? Money.
You know how you get money? Work.
Or panhandle.
People seem to be letting that happen, but you want to be one of those people
holding the sign that just come up with any excuse to not work.
You know, my grandma's sick and she needs to be life flighted.
I need $50 by the end of the day or whatever.
You know, why lie? I need a beer.
I'd rather give that money to anybody else than somebody that says something like that.
Anyway, let's look at verse 22.
It says, and let them judge the people.
So the people that Jethro's telling Moses to pick, he says,
let them judge the people at all seasons.
And it shall be that every great matter they shall bring unto thee,
but every small matter they shall judge.
So shall it be easier for thyself.
And some people will be like, well, it shouldn't be easy for the pastor.
The pastor should have to work really hard.
And yeah, the pastor should work really hard.
But is there anything wrong with making it easier?
This is the whole point of what Jethro's saying.
He's saying, let other people take some of this weight off you so it's easier for thyself.
And they shall bear the burden with thee.
See, a church should be a working church.
Everybody should have tasks that they do.
And if you don't have something that you're doing for the Lord, then find something to do.
You know, I'm sure there's something around here that you could do that it might not even be that hard.
Maybe just straightening the rows of chairs that always seem to go like this every time we're here or whatever.
And then they would just kind of stay like that.
Well, maybe that could be your job.
Whatever it is, just do it.
And if you're looking for pats on the back all the time about everything,
I mean, I try to thank people as much as I possibly can.
But if that's your motivation, then please don't do it.
Because it might be a long time before you ever hear an attaboy or an attagirl from me.
But I do try to thank people for the things they do.
Because I care about our people.
And I'm happy that they like to work for our church.
And I want them to feel appreciated.
You know, nobody likes the boss that never compliments them.
You know, it's nice to get a compliment every once in a while, isn't it?
Like, hey, there's bosses I've worked for, and no matter what, they will never compliment anything you do.
That's one extreme.
But then there's also the boss that's always like, hey, you guys did so great.
And everything you did was great today.
And then, like, people don't respect that boss either.
But the boss that every once in a while is just like, hey, well done today.
You know, we needed you to step up today, and you really kicked butt or whatever.
Those are the kind of bosses that I like.
You know, to me, when they're overly suck-ups, you know what I'm talking about?
The bosses that are like these corporate bosses or whatever.
And they're like, they're told to be like that.
And then you know the compliment doesn't really mean anything, does it?
Like at Walmart, when I used to work at Walmart a long time ago, they'd always say this.
Thanks for all you do.
And it's just like, you mean, so you're basically just saying, you know, that you did nothing special.
Just every, you know, just put it in a big, giant umbrella.
Thanks for all you do.
Do they still say that?
Yeah.
And what does that really mean?
How about thanks for straightening up, you know, thanks for stepping up when someone was gone or whatever.
It's nice to hear compliments, but not fakeness.
And so if you're a boss, compliment your people every once in a while.
Tell them thank you.
But if you get crazy with it, they're going to be like, yeah, he don't really mean that.
I didn't even do anything today and he's thanking me, you know?
But anyway, so let's see.
Then verse 23 says,
If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall go to their place in peace.
So notice that it's not just for Moses to have an easier time.
It's also for the people.
Because if the people aren't engaged in the work of God, then it's not going to be a blessing to them.
Because where are their blessings going to be? Where are their rewards going to be?
So God wants us all on the same team, for the same purpose, striving together for the Gospel, and trying to win this world of Christ.
And some of the things that we do are just menial tasks.
I mean, me and Brother Drew, we didn't even hardly get anybody to talk to us today.
But we did a lot of walking.
We knocked a lot of doors. Brother Bill and Brother Sean, same thing, hardly anybody talked to us.
But then we had other people that were out with us and they talked the whole time.
It was like you had two doors, really?
We were just like walking and weaving through these neighborhoods.
It's like I got my black suit on. I was like, why did I wear this coat out there?
But anyway, that was my own stupid fault.
But, you know, I mean, some days are going to just be harder than others.
And it says, if thou shalt do this thing, God command thee so, thou shalt be able to endure all this people.
Sometimes, you know, sometimes we have hard days and sometimes they're easier.
But when people are helping, you know, the task is still getting done.
And yeah, we walked a lot of miles and got nothing done.
But, you know, what we did do is we got all the bad doors so that they could get all the good ones.
You know, and whatever, that's cool.
You know, we still get rewarded for the things that we do.
You know, I still get rewards for walking around doing nothing, basically.
Just knocking on people's doors and putting cards in the door.
Every once in a while getting a rejection.
Not interested? No, you know.
But some days are, that's just how it is, you know.
So, but I also want you to notice this.
It says, so Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he said.
So Moses listened to what his father-in-law said.
Now, who is leading Moses?
God is leading Moses.
Isn't God, you know, later on you'll see that Miriam and Aaron come against Moses and he's just like,
you know, when I have a prophet they dream dreams and I speak to them in dreams and things like that.
But Moses is different.
God is different.
Moses, we speak face to face, like a friend to a friend.
And so God is leading Moses.
There's no doubt about that.
God is telling Moses what to say.
God is telling Moses what to do, how to lead the people.
So why is this guy coming here and God's just kind of being quiet right now?
I think it's because God puts people in our life to come to us to give us good counsel when we need it.
And so not all counsel comes straight from God.
Sometimes God uses other people to instruct leaders.
And I think that as a leader you should be willing to listen to other people like Moses.
I mean, Moses is one of the greatest men in the whole Bible and he's listening to his father-in-law,
who gave him a wife that's kind of cranky.
But anyway, and you know, God spoke to Moses as a friend.
Didn't David, a man after God's own heart, seek the counsel at the mouths of other men?
He did. He would go to Gad, the prophet, and he would go to Nathan and inquire of the Lord.
Why did David have to do that?
I mean, wasn't David the man after God's own heart?
And here's the thing, God does put people in our lives to help us and to help give us counsel.
And I think it's good to go to people for counsel.
Turn to Proverbs chapter 15.
It's good to go to people for counsel, but you should go to the right people for the right kind of counsel.
Now, the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 15 verse 21, it says,
Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom, but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.
Without counsel, purposes are disappointed, but in the multitude of counselors they are established.
So, the book of Proverbs says it's wise to have a multitude of counselors,
and sometimes it's, you know, obviously you go to the people that you trust,
you go to the people that are good examples, you go to the people that have experience in those areas.
I mean, you're not going to go to a toddler and ask them how they should read the Bible.
I mean, that would be stupid, right? Because they don't even know how to read.
They don't even know how to, barely can talk.
So, that's not someone you go to for counsel. You've got to go to the right people for the right purposes.
Look at verse 23, it says,
A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season. How good is it?
And so, I believe that Jethro is this man that has spoken a word in due season,
and God wants us to be blessed by our friends and to be counseled by other people,
and I think that God just stays silent here.
But do you think God agreed with Jethro, with what Jethro's plan was?
I think he did.
I think God probably, in some way, kind of let that happen organically so that he would counsel him,
and so that to see, will you listen to someone else?
Because sometimes leaders are weird, and they don't want to listen to what anybody else has to say about anything.
They're like the total type A that thinks that they're right about everything,
and nobody else has anything else to offer them.
I'm the boss because of how great and intelligent I am,
and I'm sure you've been around bosses like that.
They're know-it-alls. They just came out of college.
They've never done anything that you've done, but yet they're going to tell you how to run your job.
It's weird, right?
It's like, and Walmart was like that a lot.
They'd get these people. They just trained straight out of Bentonville,
and they're like, they got like three months experience, you know, working at some warehouse or something,
and they're going to come in and we're going to change everything, how we do every, you know.
They want to put their management style on you, and sometimes that's the wrong way to go.
I think it is. I think you should maybe just kick back and see how things are going,
and maybe the things you need to fix you kind of, you know, fix slowly,
but some managers are just like, here comes the hammer. I'm changing it all.
And, you know, sometimes reinventing the wheel isn't the way to go.
I remember when I started working at the city, and I would be like, I would ask a question.
I'd be like, well, why do we do it like this?
And then someone just said to me something really wise.
They're like, people have been doing this same kind of work for over 100 years,
and do you think that you're the first one to ever think of that idea?
It doesn't work, and that's why we don't do it.
And I'm like, humbled, and I took the correction, you know.
Or when you're doing a certain task, and then you see something wrong that's in the scope of your work,
but that's not the work you're doing.
The city was really weird about stuff like that, you know,
but it's not weird. Are you going to stop the task that you're doing to look at the squirrel on the side of the road?
I mean, so if a sign was messed up and you're doing something on the road,
that's not the time to stop and take a picture of the sign and send it to dispatch or whatever.
It's time to do something on the road, and if you remember that, come back to it later.
But those are things that you have to learn in the workforce.
Those are things you have to learn in ministry also.
You know, don't try to reinvent the wheel.
You know, if you're new at a church, just, you know, come fit in and see how things are working.
And obviously, if you have ideas, I'm not opposed to people giving me ideas, not at all.
And I appreciate people bringing me ideas, but again, if you have a problem, make sure you have a solution,
because I ain't solving it for you.
You're like, oh yeah, that'd be a great idea for you to do.
But I'm kidding, but kind of, but not.
Anyway, passive aggressive.
All right, let's see.
So Proverbs 11 verse 14 says,
Where no counsel is, the people fall, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
So it is good to get counsel from other people.
Moses is obviously a man of wisdom and truth and recognized the wise counsel of his father-in-law.
And he took it, and he did it.
It says, Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.
And just remember this also, young people, that older people do know stuff.
You know, you think that we're just some old, all that old fart can't tell me what to do.
You know, he doesn't understand what it's like in the 2020s or whatever.
But, you know, just think about this for a second.
We've lived longer than you have.
So do you think that there's a possibility in the years that we've lived longer than you have
that we might know more than you about some things?
Now, you know, there's no fool like an old fool. I understand that.
But don't throw out everything that older people say.
Like, oh, the boomers.
I saw this video the other day. It was really funny.
And it was about the Generation Z.
It was like, they can't go anywhere without GPS.
They can't write in cursive.
You know, and it was just listing all these things that they don't know how to do.
Like, you know, and these are the people that are taking over,
but it will be easy for us to take back over because all we have to do is write out our plan in cursive,
and then they won't understand the plan when we overthrow them again or something.
I was just like, wow, that's actually funny.
Sorry, Zoomers. I'm sorry about that.
But it is kind of true.
Like, most people write in block letters, but could you read cursive?
Is it like an ancient language to you?
I don't know because I read cursive and I wrote in cursive.
But anyway, I'm just making the point that sometimes older people do know stuff.
And I notice that when people turn about 12 or 13, that's when they start to know everything.
And then they ask questions.
But why? But why? But why?
And I was one of those kids.
I wanted to know the reason why things, everything.
And I remember one time my grandpa, he was just like, you know, you're asking way too many questions.
Okay, sorry, grandpa.
And believe it or not, your parents might know a little bit about raising children.
I mean, believe it or not, you're still alive, and we got you through it somehow.
We have the remedies that help, too.
And obviously, people learn different things. I get that.
But, you know, who are you going to go to for counsel?
People that raised children or people that didn't raise children?
It's like you go to someone that has no children and say, well, what do you think about this?
And that's the wrong counsel to get.
How about you look at a family that has raised a bunch of kids and then be like, well, how did you do this?
Or how did you do that? That's good counsel to ask for.
But, you know, just make sure that when you go to others for counsel that that person has more than just book knowledge or practical,
you know, make sure they have practical hands-on knowledge.
They're experienced in it.
Like, if you're an engineer, you're not going to go to someone at McDonald's and ask them how to build something.
I mean, not that people at McDonald's are bad.
I'm just saying that if their career has been McDonald's for ten years and you're an engineer,
why would you go to ask somebody how to build a bridge that worked for McDonald's?
It just doesn't make sense.
So go to people that have the right counsel.
And Moses, his father-in-law, he had the right counsel.
He was a priest. He understood how things work in leadership.
And he was passing that knowledge on to his son-in-law who saw that it was wise, understood that it was true, and followed it.
But also, if you're going to get counsel from somebody, make sure that you do what the counsel says,
because this is also a problem in our modern-day society.
Sometimes people are just shopping for advice.
They're asking for what your opinion is so they can choose.
Whatever opinion gave them the advice that they wanted, then that's what they go with.
That's not how counsel works.
Counsel works where you hear what the wisest counsel is, and then you do what that is.
And with God's help, we can go for that great knowledge.
Obviously, the Bible is a book of knowledge for us, and it's got a lot of great counsel in it already.
But when you're going to other people for knowledge, the Bible doesn't say how to swaddle your child, does it?
Does it say that?
It says people were swaddled in the Bible, but does it say how you're supposed to do it?
How do you know how to do that?
Well, you go to someone that knows how to do it.
And so I see babies swaddled in our church.
I've seen our own grandchildren swaddled.
How do they know how to do that?
Well, someone had to teach them, right?
They had to go to counsel to get knowledge from somebody.
So don't just think you know everything.
If you're a teenager, you think you know everything, but you really don't.
Just be wise, kids, teenagers.
Be wise when you're going to your friends for counsel, because they're going to tell you stupid things,
because you're already thinking something stupid.
And so if you're going to somebody equally stupid for advice, then you're just going to be an idiot.
Go to someone that knows what they're talking about.
Go to someone that's grown up and is wise, like your career path or whatever it is.
I know that sounds mean, but it's true.
And I love the teenagers in our church. I love the kids in our church.
But if you're going to serious counsel with your friend, then make sure that friend has experience.
Make sure that friend has their head on straight.
If they're the worst kid in the school, don't go to them for counsel, because you know what they're going to tell you?
The wrong thing.
Look at verse 25.
It says,
Now, he had to do it because of how big the nation of Israel was.
But you know, when you're talking about a church of 80 or a church of 100, you don't need that many other men to help lead the church.
I believe in having the usher system that we have.
We have captains for sowning.
We have what we need.
And when we need more, we recruit more.
And you know what I'm going to be looking for?
The people that have these categories in their lives right.
That they do fear God.
They do seek truth.
They do hate covetousness.
They fear the Lord.
And they're hard workers.
That's who I'm looking for.
And people I can count on, it says,
And so really, delegation is key to a healthy church.
And I think that that's the main lesson it's trying to help us understand for 2023.
Is that even the great leaders in the Bible had to have some help.
And so if the greatest leaders in the Bible had to have help, then regular, normal, everyday pastors need help also.
And you know, do you have the heart to help though?
That is something that's important.
Because look, you can look at it like, well, I'm not going to do it for pastor because he's paid to do it and blah, blah, blah, blah.
Well, that's a bad attitude to have because who are you ultimately working for when you're doing things for the church?
It's not really, I mean, is it for me?
It is for me to help things be easier for me, right?
But it's also the ultimately for God.
That's who's really, that's who's going to pay you.
I'm not going to pay, you know, if you're a volunteer, I'm not paying you.
But God's going to pay you.
So you're still earning.
You're still burning. You're still earning.
You know, you're making, you're stacking up paychecks in heaven that you get to cash when you get there.
I guess, you know, it's not necessarily checks, but you know what I'm saying.
Rewards in heaven.
So, last verse I'll have you turn to and we'll be done.
First Corinthians chapter four, verse number one.
So not only is delegation key to a healthy church, but choosing the right leaders and who to delegate to is important also.
Because if you delegate to someone that won't do the job, that never does it right, then you chose the wrong person.
And I'm looking for people that I can count on.
And so usually when I give somebody a job to do or a task to do at this church, they'll be there for all eternity doing that job.
Because why? Because I'm not going to replace a person that is faithful at something.
I've already burned myself on that a couple times and I've learned my lesson.
You know, if somebody's willing to do a task and they're doing it already.
And what I've thought is like, well, this person's doing so much, like, I don't want to ask them to do anything else.
Maybe I could just lighten the load for them.
But that upsets people sometimes.
You're like, well, why did you take that away from me or whatever?
It's like, that wasn't the intention.
But it says in 1 Corinthians 4, 1, it says,
Let a man sow account of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.
So what am I looking for?
All those things that Moses already decided, you know, that was given to him by Jethro to do.
But I'm also looking for someone that's faithful.
Are you three to thrive?
Are you here when the church needs you to be here?
Those are the things I'm looking for.
Are you able to be counted on?
Can I count on you to do the job?
Can I count on you to be on time?
Can I count on you to complete the tasks that are given to you and to do it right?
At least 80%, right, okay?
But, you know, obviously I'm not looking for perfection.
I'm not perfect. I forget things.
I mess things up all the time.
But, you know, what I'm looking for is all those things,
all those great qualities, the hard worker and all that stuff,
but also someone that I can count on,
someone that is going to be faithful in the tasks.
And so when someone's faithful, I'm going to stick with that person.
And you might think, well, I could do it better or, you know,
so and so could do a better job at this.
Maybe we should give it to them.
And I know that people think that way sometimes.
And, you know, I understand what you're saying.
But, again, I've been burned a couple times
where I'm just like, man, that was a big mistake.
I should have never done that.
And so that's my policy.
So if, like, if someone's already doing something, I'm generally,
unless they want to give it up,
because a lot of times when people get trained on new stuff,
they're like, okay, well, bye-bye, it's your job now.
And that's the way church work works with the volunteer stuff.
It's like, well, I trained this person and now, ha ha, I'm out of it.
I don't have to do it anymore.
You can do that if you want.
But, you know, I would prefer that you would just keep doing what you're doing.
You still need to work doing something.
Everybody here needs to work.
And the more we all work together, the better off our church is going to be.
Let's pray.
Lord, we thank you so much for this great lesson in the Bible
about delegation and leadership and, Lord, how we can be better workers.
I pray, Lord, that you would just help us at this church
to realize that one person does matter
and everything that each individual does does matter.
And even if it's the smallest thing in the church, Lord,
it's something that needs to be done.
There's always things that need to be done.
Lord, I pray that you would help our people
to have a love for the things in this church
and love for the people
and that we would be diligent in our work
and not slothful, not covetous.
And, Lord, that we would have a mind to do the work
like it's said in the book of Nehemiah.
And, Lord, I thank you so much for this chapter
and I pray that you would just bless each and every person
as they go home on their separate ways.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
We have been to worship him
for the Lord our God.
When you pray with all your power
while we try to reach the word,
all this may nonetheless the spirit
of the Holy One come down.
Holy man of God,
showing all around,
gathering steep for sinners the new sun,
from the brink of war,
when this coming hell is moving,
can you please let them go
and see your fullness
and all of it
that your children singing go?
When we pray,
oh, we pray that you would show
all around, on the third verse,
Sisters, will you join in
and help us
the places you've waited in?
Help the trembling orders
who are strong in heart and soul.
Tell them all about us we know.
Tell them that he will be found.
Pray and only let us
reach out all around.
Let us love our God supremely
on the last verse.
Let us love our God supremely
on the last verse.
Let us love our God supremely
on the last verse.
Let us love our God supremely
on the last verse.
Let us love our God supremely
on the last verse.
Let us love our God supremely
on the last verse.
Let us love our God supremely
on the last verse.
Let us love our God supremely
on the last verse.
Let us love our God supremely
on the last verse.
Let us love our God supremely
on the last verse.
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