[SPEAKER_00]: And we're going to look at this today.
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, this is kind of part two.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's been three or four weeks.
[SPEAKER_00]: I guess today would be four weeks since we were in Exodus, but we're jumping back in and last time if you remember or even if you don't, we looked at it kind of what I would call an old testament picture of the gospel.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you remember, so if you're new to church and you've never, I mean, let's just take a show hands out of you, familiar with the story of Exodus.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just in general, if you don't, that's totally fine, and that's why we're here to teach you God's Word and what He has done.
[SPEAKER_00]: So Exodus is the story of God redeeming and saving His people.
[SPEAKER_00]: Genesis is the start of a people of a nation that would be called Israel.
[SPEAKER_00]: Exodus is God redeeming and saving his people out of slavery, literal, physical slavery.
[SPEAKER_00]: There are slaves in Egypt, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And we know that God raised up a man named Moses to go to Pharaoh, told him, said, hey, tell Pharaoh to let my people go, and then there's time after time, after time, after time, Pharaoh says, no, no, I'm not going to do it, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Or he says, sure, I'll do it, and then he goes back on his word, and God brings 10 different
[SPEAKER_00]: the climax of it all play number ten which would be the the angel of death that would pass over and if the blood of the lamb wasn't put on the door frame of the house that death would come to the first born of every household in Egypt and I believe that's the Egyptians
[SPEAKER_00]: and the Israelites and anyone who's in Egypt alike.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so the Israelites, they hear this, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Moses and them, they tell them you need to go home.
[SPEAKER_00]: You need to get a lamb, you need to kill it.
[SPEAKER_00]: You need to put the blood on the door post.
[SPEAKER_00]: You need to eat the lamb, which would be the Passover meal.
[SPEAKER_00]: And you need to be ready because after this, God is going to do something so great that he's going to Pharaoh's going to drive us out of the land.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, that would have been crazy talk, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: You be like, what are you talking about Moses?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, we've been slaves for 400 years.
[SPEAKER_00]: My mom and dad were a slave.
[SPEAKER_00]: My grandma, grandpa were a slaves.
[SPEAKER_00]: My great grandma, grandpa, and all that on down the line, but God, oh man, he had something in store, didn't he?
[SPEAKER_00]: Right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And so he brought the angel of death, which, and I know sometimes, like, well, that's so messed up.
[SPEAKER_00]: I thought God was love and kind and merciful.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm like, and to me, to appeal to his mercy,
[SPEAKER_00]: Is that not merciful?
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, hey, let my people go.
[SPEAKER_00]: No, I don't want you.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let my people go.
[SPEAKER_00]: No, I don't want to see, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, on and on, it goes down the line.
[SPEAKER_00]: So when people will tell you, if you encounter him or maybe it's you here today, you're like, I just can't believe in a God who would do such terrible things and allow people to die.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, he is merciful beyond anything we can understand.
[SPEAKER_00]: He gives us an opportunity to receive him or to obey him, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not without warning that God came to Pharaoh and told him to let his people go.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so the Passover comes, which is a picture of Jesus, they're free, they're kicked out of Egypt, essentially.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then they get to the Red Sea.
[SPEAKER_00]: Red Sea is kind of this dead end, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like they're going one way.
[SPEAKER_00]: They think they're going to get out of here and they come to this,
[SPEAKER_00]: Not even a fork in the road.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just a dead end and there's the sea there and then at that point Pharaoh had changed his mind And he's like, what have we done?
[SPEAKER_00]: We just sent all the troops to go get him bring him back into the land.
[SPEAKER_00]: We've just lost our entire work force That's probably what he was thinking like we what are we gonna do?
[SPEAKER_00]: So he sends everybody after them Right the Israelites are down there by their bread sea
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think they'd look up right and they'd see this army of Pharaoh coming after them.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's probably a terrifying moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Israelites even say Moses, what did you just bring us out here to die?
[SPEAKER_00]: It would have been better if you just left us in Egypt.
[SPEAKER_00]: At least we had food, at least we had a life.
[SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't a great life, but at least we had it.
[SPEAKER_00]: They're just remembering back on the good old days of slavery.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think it's even something that we need to know.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're like, well, that's crazy, but I think if you're honest, you and I, we probably do that more often than we think.
[SPEAKER_00]: Or life with God, we come to a hard spot, a hard place, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Where we're like, why'd you bring me here, Lord?
[SPEAKER_00]: For me, coming out here to Texas, there's been multiple times over the first couple of years, where it's rough, like I'm working 60 hours a week outside of this, trying to plant a church and trying to get everything going.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I've just wondered why God, life was better and too son, like that's how I felt.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like ministry was good, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Had a roof over our heads, we had a house, all these things, why do we come out here, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: But it's like it's because God has called us.
[SPEAKER_00]: And God was calling the Israelites out, because he's like, I'm gonna show you,
[SPEAKER_00]: who I am, that's really what the book of Exodus is about.
[SPEAKER_00]: God has shown in His glory to the Israelite people and to the world of who He is, He is, who He is, I am who I am as what He says.
[SPEAKER_00]: So they get to the Red Sea, and then of course, you know the story, he says Moses take your staff, put it out upon the water, splits in half.
[SPEAKER_00]: Israelites go through on dry ground, they get to the other side, says, hey Moses, put your staff out again, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: closes up on the Egyptians who are pursuing them and it says that the Egyptians drowned and they weren't no longer.
[SPEAKER_00]: Moses says the Egyptians, who you seem to see today, you will never see again.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I love that because there's so much confidence for me where I'm like, God, the things that plague you at times are like, I'll never get out of this, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: The things that people who are attacking you, your faith, your character, whatever it may be, they're like, you can't really be a Christian.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if you've ever experienced this when I gave my life back to Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: I worked at a restaurant.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was 22 years old or so, and everyone knew me as the, I mean, I, to be honest, I was drunk and high all the time, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And that'd go to work in that state as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's what they knew of me for three years.
[SPEAKER_00]: One day I walked in with my Bible.
[SPEAKER_00]: How crazy do you think they thought I was?
[SPEAKER_00]: Nick, what are you doing with that?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, you know what I mean?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, what are you doing now?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, well, I gave my life to Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not getting drunk, I'm not getting high anymore.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to do that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm a changed person, or at least I want to be.
[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't know it all, I didn't have it all together.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's like, so I'm a changed person.
[SPEAKER_00]: And God will bring, he'll do a work in you.
[SPEAKER_00]: But you're going to look a little crazy to those around you.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I don't know where I was going with the Exodus story in that.
[SPEAKER_00]: But that's just a freebie, I guess.
[SPEAKER_00]: But they get out of Egypt and just coming back to chapter 18.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you remember, the last time, Jeff throw.
[SPEAKER_00]: So they glow through the Red Sea.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, yeah, I was talking about the Egyptians.
[SPEAKER_00]: Not ever seen them again.
[SPEAKER_00]: But chapter 18, Jethro, his father-in-law comes back with Moses' wife, his two boys.
[SPEAKER_00]: We don't know where they went and why or all that stuff.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, we could suggest some things, maybe Moses, like his two dangers, two crazy knees, stay with, you know, grandpa and stay with them.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, maybe that's the case, but Jethro comes.
[SPEAKER_00]: Jethro as much as we know as he's a pagan.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's not in Israelite.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's not a Jewish man, at least.
[SPEAKER_00]: From what we can tell, he serves other gods most likely.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he comes before Moses, and Moses tells him all that God has done, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, Moses, I mean, talk about a campfire moment, like the set must have went all night long.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so Moses tells him of the slavery, God's delivered us.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's part of the Red Sea, he's brought water out of Iraq, manna from heaven, like you wouldn't believe it.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I mean, honestly, Jethro had to have seen it.
[SPEAKER_00]: He got manna, God gave man a every day.
[SPEAKER_00]: So if Jethro was there in the morning, probably saw it, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: That would just make sense.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, what is this stuff on the ground?
[SPEAKER_00]: We don't have that where I'm from.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I say, nobody has this anywhere.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is just for us, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And so Moses tells him all that he's done, he's told him even of the chapter 17 when the Amalachites come to attack Israel, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Their first time in battle being attacked and how Moses, when he had his hands raised, they were winning, when he got weak tired, his hands would come down.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Amalachites would start to take over.
[SPEAKER_00]: And eventually they did pre-avail.
[SPEAKER_00]: And Moses would have told Jethra all these things.
[SPEAKER_00]: And Jethra was response at that point.
[SPEAKER_00]: He says, now I know.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he says he's a response, I think of joy.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now I know that the Lord, y'all wait, God Almighty, I am that I am.
[SPEAKER_00]: Moses is God, our God.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now I know that he's greater than all gods.
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, and that's such a statement, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And Jethro, he rejoiced, he worshiped, he even joined in on God's with God's people, because it's a beautiful picture, an old testament picture of the gospel, a Gentile coming in, because he heard the good news of what God has done for someone else too.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it did something in him.
[SPEAKER_00]: It drew him in him, that's what God does.
[SPEAKER_00]: It says, the Father draws us in.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so when Moses shared the good news of what God's done, what he is doing in their life, Jethro responded with joy, and then he comes in and he has a meal with Moses and some of the leaders of Israel, the more prominent ones in that sense, and you could say in this moment, it's just this, it's almost like a celebration of new life for Jethro.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's come to know and come to see and understand that Yahweh, God Almighty, Jesus, they don't know it's Jesus, but Jesus is the one true God.
[SPEAKER_00]: And when He receives that He's welcomed into the family, let's have a meal together and that's even a picture.
[SPEAKER_00]: I believe of the great banquet, the wedding feast that we'll have one day in heaven.
[SPEAKER_00]: we're all there.
[SPEAKER_00]: God welcomes everyone to the table, but not everyone will receive that invitation.
[SPEAKER_00]: And one thing I don't want to pass through this without mentioning is again, Moses just simply shared the truth, the facts of what God had done in their life, and it changed Jethro's life forever.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I want you to consider for yourself what has God done in your life that you could just simply share with someone.
[SPEAKER_00]: And you might not think it's much, well, I don't have a testimony like yours, Nick.
[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't get drunk and high.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, the teachers pet my whole life.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's fine.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a place for that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like someone in here is like, probably a teacher's pet.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe many of you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: You just got to share what God's done in your life.
[SPEAKER_00]: and who's out there waiting for you to share that if you would just share that they would come to know and see and understand that Jesus is the way the truth in the life.
[SPEAKER_00]: But maybe they will never know and Scripture says that how are they going to know if someone doesn't tell them?
[SPEAKER_00]: And maybe you're that person that needs to tell someone, have you heard of Jesus?
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, going back to my restaurant days, people thought I was crazy, a little by little.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, inch by inch day after day, I, I, hopefully, showed him, I wasn't perfect by any means, but showed him I'm a changed person, changed man many years later when we moved out to Texas.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm talking, this is easily 15 years later from when I left that restaurant.
[SPEAKER_00]: One of my friends called me up and he said, Nick, how do I give my life to Jesus?
[SPEAKER_00]: I hadn't talked to him in years.
[SPEAKER_00]: We played Rocket League on Xbox sometimes, you know what I'm... But I hadn't talked to him really like seriously.
[SPEAKER_00]: He said Nick, like, how do I get my life to Jesus?
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like I'm just under attack and I feel like I have to give my life to Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I told him a little bit, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: We talked for an hour or so on the phone and tried to encourage him, and you go find a church.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, hey, Calvary 2 sounds a great church, but if it's not near you, find a church, go to church, talk to a pastor, it's like, hopefully someone there right can take you to the next step.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna point you to Jesus and tell him, but what I think and I believe is that he's seeing God's work in my life, that has a change man.
[SPEAKER_00]: He used to be involved in drugs and alcohol and party and all that as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: And when the time came, he remembered, who's the one person he remembered is, for whatever reason was me.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think for many of you, that could be the case for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're just making a stand for Jesus telling people what God's done in your life.
[SPEAKER_00]: People are seeing a difference.
[SPEAKER_00]: You might not see it today tomorrow, next week or a year, but 10 years down the road when someone hits a wall, a trial comes that they can't, they can't endure.
[SPEAKER_00]: They're going to have questions, they're going to want something.
[SPEAKER_00]: They're going to remember you who went through similar things, trials.
[SPEAKER_00]: You went through the storm, and you're okay now, so maybe if I do what you did, maybe I could do that, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And sadly, my friend, I mean, this is a month or so later he passed away.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I felt so much comfort because I'm like, he gave his life to Jesus before that.
[SPEAKER_00]: He had texted me, I'm going to church now and he went to Calvary Tucson, went to another church and to me I think I'm like, he believes.
[SPEAKER_00]: He didn't have it all together, you know, all that stuff but like he believes and like I believe I'll see him in heaven one day and it's just again, it's a testimony of what could your story do for someone's life?
[SPEAKER_00]: Good save someone eternally.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, Jethro responds though, the joys invite to this meal, and then now we pick it up the verse 13, and it's the next day, and so it's still fresh, Jethro's still there.
[SPEAKER_00]: Same people, same setting, but this time we'll see God's gonna teach Moses something.
[SPEAKER_00]: Moses is a man who's still in process, and I hope you see and understand this today is that you and I were still in this process called sanctification.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, when you receive Jesus, we receive salvation.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's a media, like if we were to die after that, I believe we're gonna be, we're a sea lord face-to-face, we will be saved.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sanctification is a process.
[SPEAKER_00]: And what I mean by that, it's like some people are like, well, I gave my life to Jesus, but I'm still struggling with this thing, the sin, or these thoughts, or whatever it is.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a process of sanctification that we're going to be cleansed and tested, refined, day after day, week after week, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Until we go to be with Jesus, that's when we're going to get our new body, all that stuff.
[SPEAKER_00]: And there's going to be no more sin, no more tears, no more sorrow, but for now until then we're being sanctified.
[SPEAKER_00]: So Moses is still learning a lot.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's a young leader.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he's 80 years old, so I guess he's not young, but I mean, he's new to this whole thing of leading this great nation out in the wilderness.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a new thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: So God's gonna teach him something new and it's not so much about salvation at this point that we'll see, but it's wisdom.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we'll also see that today is going to be a setting up of what's to come next, which is also important.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll talk about that more later, but it's about wisdom, and so it says verse 1, the next day, Moses sat to judge the people and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening.
[SPEAKER_00]: When Moses is father and lost all that he was doing for the people, he said, what is this that's you are doing for the people?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why do you sit alone and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?
[SPEAKER_00]: Moses said to his father-in-law, because the people come to me to inquire of God when they have a dispute they come to me and I decide between one person and another and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.
[SPEAKER_00]: Moses's father-in-law said to him, what you are doing is not good.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now let me ask you a question though.
[SPEAKER_00]: Does it seem like what he's doing?
[SPEAKER_00]: is good.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, at least he's doing it with the right heart, I would hope.
[SPEAKER_00]: We don't know Moses is heart in this instance, but I feel like he's serving people and we often tend to like, well, I'm serving, so it must be good.
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, like I'm serving, I must be good but Moses' father-in-law, which we could say even, I think is like a new believer in a sense and God uses him almost instantaneously in Moses' life, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And so his father-in-law sees him, like, he's probably sitting back drinking his coffee or whatever really drank back in that day.
[SPEAKER_00]: He needs some mana and his coffee, you know?
[SPEAKER_00]: and he looks at him like what's going on here Moses like you know it's probably the first hours like well you know Moses just has some meetings he's got to get out of the way and then we can go hunting or whatever you know and then he probably noticed his man this line and he didn't any shorter it's only getting longer the more people that wake up and
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, and it's just getting longer, it's going to be all day, and then it turns out it is all day long.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so it's far and less is, what is this that you're doing and he goes on to say that this thing that you're doing is not good.
[SPEAKER_00]: He says, you and the people with you will certainly wear yourself out for the thing is too heavy for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you have your Bible or Bible app that you can highlight, I would underline that.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's too heavy for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's something we need to
[SPEAKER_00]: But here's a note, some of the jot down is you weren't made to go through this life alone.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're not made to isolate yourself, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: The Bible says he isolates himself, seeks his own desire.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Bible tells us that our heart is deceitful and wicked above all things who can understand it.
[SPEAKER_00]: So like, we isolate ourselves.
[SPEAKER_00]: We start to think we're the smartest person in the world.
[SPEAKER_00]: We know best.
[SPEAKER_00]: We don't need anybody else.
[SPEAKER_00]: We don't need their help.
[SPEAKER_00]: I can do it, but when you do that,
[SPEAKER_00]: You're just making things harder and heavier for you and it's as Moses's father-in-law, Jethro's said, is not good.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll be a little vulnerable in this moment is because I can relate.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm a kind of guy.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't have any like chill mode when it comes to work and doing things.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that made some people say, oh man, I wish I had a work ethic like you and all that and I'm sometimes like, I don't think you do.
[SPEAKER_00]: God's wired me in a way where I just want to make the most of my life and every moment and everything that I can possibly do which again I think we could be like oh well that's good Nick but I also realize in church planting is I can't do it alone it's too heavy for me
[SPEAKER_00]: I have to learn to delegate.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have to learn to entrust other people with other tasks so that we can actually do more together collectively.
[SPEAKER_00]: And this is what Moses is.
[SPEAKER_00]: Father and Law is saying, it's too heavy for you, Moses.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know you want to do it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know God's blessed you.
[SPEAKER_00]: And you got the special relationship with Yahweh, which is great and awesome, but you can't do it alone.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's too heavy for you, you're not able to do it alone.
[SPEAKER_00]: So again, you just picture the scenes out there all day long, fielding questions, maybe some of them hard ones, some of them easy ones, but he's fielding questions, and it's probably a bit, I don't know, maybe chaotic, maybe it's not, but I'd say it's exhausting for sure.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, just imagine you, if you're out there all day and that's your job, maybe some of you that is your job, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: That's, I'm a, whatever, you know, people call me and I'm the one who answers the questions all day long.
[SPEAKER_00]: and it's probably exhausting.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so again, Jeff, we're watching from the sidelines step and he says, this doesn't good, you're not able to do it alone.
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, as I've probably hopefully made clear today is that you and I were not made to go at this life alone either.
[SPEAKER_00]: Especially not the call of God has upon your life.
[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever God's calling you to do, he's calling you to do it in community with other people.
[SPEAKER_00]: In the context, I believe, of a church of some sort, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Even missionaries who go out, it's like, you need a team.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a reason why Jesus, when he sent out the disciples, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: If you remember this, he sent him out.
[SPEAKER_00]: Where did he send him out?
[SPEAKER_00]: Did he send him out all on their own?
[SPEAKER_00]: No, he sent him out in pairs, like two, but you guys go there, you go here, you're not going alone.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I feel like it's God is a heavenly father, like I can't let you go alone, because you're too stupid and foolish, you're gonna mess this thing up.
[SPEAKER_00]: You need each other, I don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just love that he sent him out two by two.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's accountability, built in, there's people right, if you get knocked down, I can pick you up, something happens to me, you can help me out.
[SPEAKER_00]: The man, if you're out there alone, you're trying to do it all by yourself.
[SPEAKER_00]: Something happens to you, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: The Bible tells us that Satan, the devil, he prowls around like a roaring lion, sinking whom he may devour.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just think about that, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Just like a word picture there, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Alliance seeking whom he can devour.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's hunting.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's on the prow.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's not just out there chasing everyone, but he's waiting.
[SPEAKER_00]: And what do you think would be more enticing for him as a group of believers or one person by themselves?
[SPEAKER_00]: Trying to go out at a loan?
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's probably obvious, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like Satan's gonna go for the isolated one.
[SPEAKER_00]: When you're isolated, when you're overloaded with work, when you're exhausted, when you're burnt out, how many of you have ever been burnt out before?
[SPEAKER_00]: I just probably cliche word nowadays, but I've been burnt out, burning out, leads off into depression, which I've also been before.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, why do I feel this way?
[SPEAKER_00]: Or I don't feel anything sometimes, or I'm just like, I'm just go, go, go.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm burnt out.
[SPEAKER_00]: Try to do it all by myself.
[SPEAKER_00]: And Satan, he's going to come in at that moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're vulnerable.
[SPEAKER_00]: Feed you lies.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can't do it.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can't keep this up, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: You guys ever felt that?
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, again, me being vulnerable.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes church plans, like, what am I doing?
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't do this.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, you know, is this really what you want, God?
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, it's isolated.
[SPEAKER_00]: But when you get in a group of community or around other believers, you can start to see.
[SPEAKER_00]: and understand that God is doing something, and He wants to do this in community.
[SPEAKER_00]: A group of us, we just went to Colorado this past week, we got back last night, and then went to this refresh conference at a friend of mine, a mentor of mine's church, Ed Taylor, in Colorado, and it was, I mean, it's cliche.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was refreshing.
[SPEAKER_00]: But it was refreshing and I found for me, I mean, teachers were great, they preached the word.
[SPEAKER_00]: Worship was great, they had some of the best worship, you know, and singers and band, all that good stuff.
[SPEAKER_00]: But for me, it was just the community, like just being with other believers, talking with some people I haven't seen a long time and just drawing like encouragement from them.
[SPEAKER_00]: there's a guy who just encouraged me about something I had said at a conference in Tucson like six, seven years ago and it's a little thing but it encouraged me so much and that's just one of those things that you could get in community.
[SPEAKER_00]: I encourage them from another, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: So anyways, what happens right?
[SPEAKER_00]: We try to go out of this thing alone.
[SPEAKER_00]: We burn out.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what happens to us.
[SPEAKER_00]: But when your burnt out is well or you're overloaded, others missed out.
[SPEAKER_00]: And another thing that happens is the mission overall, it slows down.
[SPEAKER_00]: We think we're the answer to the problem.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if I'm not here, this thing's not going to work.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not going to function.
[SPEAKER_00]: But again, ultimately, we're holding it back or slowing it down.
[SPEAKER_00]: You and I, we need help.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's not weakness.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's reality.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a wisdom, and again, it's how God's created us for community with one another.
[SPEAKER_00]: We see with Jeff Rose response, he says in verse 19, he's telling Moses what to do.
[SPEAKER_00]: He says, now obey my voice, I'm going to give you advice, he says, and God be with you.
[SPEAKER_00]: says you shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God.
[SPEAKER_00]: So he says, listen up, God be with you, and he lays out two essential steps here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Verse 20 says you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, which is interesting, because at this point, the law hasn't been given yet.
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, the 10 commandments are going to come up here in the next couple chapters and we're going to unpack that.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's going to be exciting.
[SPEAKER_00]: Don't miss out on it.
[SPEAKER_00]: God has a plan.
[SPEAKER_00]: A purpose for it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Some of you are like, ah, hate rules.
[SPEAKER_00]: Ooh, that's legalism.
[SPEAKER_00]: Nick, no, it's the Bible.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's the Bible.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's God's Word.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is how he's designed us to work.
[SPEAKER_00]: But he gives him advice.
[SPEAKER_00]: He says, you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not to handle every single thing that comes up, not to handle and figure out every dispute.
[SPEAKER_00]: But he says this, he says, your job is to teach the people how to live according to God's word.
[SPEAKER_00]: If the people know God's law, many of their issues will be resolved among themselves.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, don't steal.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hey, someone so took something from me.
[SPEAKER_00]: They took my, my manna.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, they took whatever it may be, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And Moses probably had hundreds of these cases every day.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why are you taking things?
[SPEAKER_00]: You shouldn't take things, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And then when the law comes, which is coming up soon in the 10 commandments, like we shouldn't steal from one another, well, now that Moses takes a lot of problems off his plate, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: God's already told you, don't do that, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And so your job, Moses, to teach the people God's law,
[SPEAKER_00]: But the problem again is they don't have God's law yet, but what I do love about this is that God is setting something up beforehand, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: That this is maybe just a normal day for Moses and Jeff was just giving some father-in-law and vice.
[SPEAKER_00]: But we see God working here, preparing his people for what's to come.
[SPEAKER_00]: And when we're going through things in life, it's easy to get overwhelmed.
[SPEAKER_00]: And whatever it is, and we just kind of like, forget what God about God and what He's doing.
[SPEAKER_00]: But oftentimes, like what He's doing, the trial you're facing, the difficulty, the frustration, or whatever it is that's happening, He's setting something up for what He has next.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's right here, he's setting up a system, a legal system we could say.
[SPEAKER_00]: They don't have a system yet, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And the legal system is, hey, God's word or his law, which is coming, is his standard, right, and then he's going to put people, I'm going to head to myself, but he's going to put people into place, right, Moses being at the top, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And then we got Aaron, then we got the elders of Israel who are going to be divided up
[SPEAKER_00]: and take care of us.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's setting up a system and they don't I don't think they even know it yet.
[SPEAKER_00]: The second thing that he does right number one I mean again he says teach him God's word teach him God's law.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the second thing Jethro says verse 21 says more overlook for Abelman
[SPEAKER_00]: from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy, and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, hundreds of fifties and of tens, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And what's he saying there?
[SPEAKER_00]: He's saying, a point, godly leaders, to share the burden, to share the load.
[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever it is, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And notice the qualifications though, I think this is important.
[SPEAKER_00]: Especially if any of you desire to be in some type of leadership someday or you're like, man, God's calling me out, like, what should I do?
[SPEAKER_00]: The qualifications is not talent.
[SPEAKER_00]: They must be a good speaker.
[SPEAKER_00]: Nope, that's not on the list, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: They must be, have some kind of gifting of some sort, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not talent.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not charisma, not popularity.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, who's liked the most?
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, let's vote them in.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's see my good guy, everybody likes him.
[SPEAKER_00]: The qualification says, character, he says, men who fear God, he says, men who hate of pride, they're trustworthy, and I love that, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's men who can't be bought, doesn't matter what you say, what you do, how much you offer them, they're not going to waver on the Word of God.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I mean, we need that in our country and our world more than ever.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, we need people who will just stand for the truth, no matter what.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is what God's word says.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're having a conversation the other day just about issues we see.
[SPEAKER_00]: This isn't Colorado and how do we respond?
[SPEAKER_00]: And one of the Q and A's had a lot of tough questions.
[SPEAKER_00]: This happens in your church.
[SPEAKER_00]: How do you respond to this?
[SPEAKER_00]: And I was just thinking, I'm like, the way we respond,
[SPEAKER_00]: As pastors, leaders, Christians, is with the Bible and we can't give this, well I think and I feel and I know there's times for that and when we're just discussing things, but if someone comes for counsel, what should I do in this sense is, well, the Bible says this, it's a matter of fact and it's not always nice to say, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, you know, I get drunk all the time, what does the Bible say?
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, it says don't get drunk.
[SPEAKER_00]: You might not like it, but that's what God's word says.
[SPEAKER_00]: And you know, you can be mad at me, but really you're just mad at God's word.
[SPEAKER_00]: And what he says and what he requires of you.
[SPEAKER_00]: But we need men who fear God, who honor God's word, need men who can't be bought or persuaded with money, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, if I, and I've heard stories of this,
[SPEAKER_00]: Many times, my pastor back in Tucson, he said that there's been times where people will come up with a rather large check and say, hey, I want to give this to the church, but I before I do, I want to sit down with Robert and have a discussion and Robert says, well, you can just put it in the agape box.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, no, I want to talk with you first and he says, he doesn't make those appointments because he's like, hey, I've learned, there's always strings attached.
[SPEAKER_00]: They want to try to dictate what I say or how we operate ministry and like,
[SPEAKER_00]: my faithfulness or his faithfulness to God's word can't be bought with money and I love that about my pastor.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've heard other pastors say similar stories were like well I'll give this if we can start this other ministry or change directions and again someone with integrity who fears God first and foremost they can't be bought and that's a characteristic Moses needs to look for
[SPEAKER_00]: and you need to find people who will tell the truth, even when it hurts, and even when it costs them something.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's one thing you'll notice in your life as you start to tell people, well hey, what's the Bible say about this?
[SPEAKER_00]: Probably gonna lose some friends or some street cred, because they're not gonna like what you say.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's gonna cost you something.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's been friends where I've lost some friends because of my,
[SPEAKER_00]: At that time, my new commitment to Jesus, I mean, it sucks.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hurt's the way he had to do.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're gonna go and just say, well, I'm gonna give God's second best and give my friends control my life.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, no, God, Jesus died for me.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's called me and I'm not,
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to waver from that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I lose a few friends along the way, that's fine.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have found salvation, and I pray that they find salvation.
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, you never know what'll happen.
[SPEAKER_00]: They might call you up in 10, 15 years and say, Nick, I was wrong.
[SPEAKER_00]: You were right.
[SPEAKER_00]: How do I give my life to Jesus?
[SPEAKER_00]: This is the kind of leadership that Jethro tells Moses to look for, this is the kind of leadership God honors.
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, people who fear God, people who can't be bought, people who tell the truth.
[SPEAKER_00]: Another, you could jot this down for homework, Paul writes to Timothy, first Timothy chapter three.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a very similar kind of text.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like what kind of men should we look for if we're trying to establish churches, leaders, pastors?
[SPEAKER_00]: And first Timothy chapter three, Paul gives him some qualities to look for, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Pastors, decans, elders.
[SPEAKER_00]: He says, people who are above reproach.
[SPEAKER_00]: Right?
[SPEAKER_00]: People like, like, you can't say anything bad about them.
[SPEAKER_00]: Since people who are self-controlled, they're faithful in their homes, their homes are under control.
[SPEAKER_00]: They're gentle, they're mature in the faith, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Because again, going back to the whole point like God's more concerned with your character, then your giftings or your talents or whatever it may be.
[SPEAKER_00]: He gives you giftings and talents.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's not be little that to say it's nothing.
[SPEAKER_00]: But what he cares about more is, is your character, your heart, your inward person.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know what I mean?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, what you come into church?
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, hey, good morning, God bless you, brother.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hey, good to see.
[SPEAKER_00]: How are you?
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm good, but we're not all good, are we?
[SPEAKER_00]: But like an inwardly, like, how are you?
[SPEAKER_00]: How do you handle God's word?
[SPEAKER_00]: How do you live for God?
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you live for God at all?
[SPEAKER_00]: the character matters, the heart, the inward man, the inward woman.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so, Jethro tells them these things, teach them God's word, and find Godly men, essentially, to help share the burden.
[SPEAKER_00]: And was that verse 21?
[SPEAKER_00]: Look for Abel men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy, hated, bride, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, hundreds of fifties and tens.
[SPEAKER_00]: He says in verse 22, and let them judge the people at all times.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let them share the burden, Moses, who knows what Moses thought.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe he's like, no, I'm the only one who God speaking to.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm the only one who can speak for God.
[SPEAKER_00]: Who knows what his thoughts were at that point.
[SPEAKER_00]: But he thought he needed to take it all upon himself.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so, Jeff was like, you need to let them lead.
[SPEAKER_00]: You need to give away some responsibility, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And when we delegate things, this is really what we're finding delegation, right, in a bit, is when we delegate God's way, it's healthy and good.
[SPEAKER_00]: When we forget or neglect to delegate, again, there's burnout.
[SPEAKER_00]: But another one is like, people are uncared for.
[SPEAKER_00]: If Moses doesn't learn to delegate now, like, just imagine, if you have a line of 1,000 people, and you can't get to him, all you get to 257 of them over the day, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: That leaves a large chunk uncared for, because you didn't delegate.
[SPEAKER_00]: Does that make sense?
[SPEAKER_00]: No, yes.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you guys awake?
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, I might be just preaching to myself because it's really a message that I enjoyed but felt like God was speaking a lot.
[SPEAKER_00]: But people are left uncared for when you don't delegate.
[SPEAKER_00]: When I took over the college ministry at our old church, I told our leadership team, I was like, I can't do this alone.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was like, we had 80 college age kids coming out, coming out at the height of the ministry.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm like, I can't care for every single person that comes in as much as I want to.
[SPEAKER_00]: right and even that's the same here.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like I can't care for every single person as much as I want you like we need a team.
[SPEAKER_00]: That just makes sense right and as much as you might hate me for him but I will pastor doesn't make time for me it's like I just can't do it all I'm a human just like you.
[SPEAKER_00]: The only forget or neglect to delegate, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: I, me as a leader, you as a leader, you'll burn out.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then it also, other people are left uncared for, but then a third thing that happens if we don't delegate or help spread out responsibility as other people never learn to grow.
[SPEAKER_00]: They won't grow.
[SPEAKER_00]: I work at UPS, some of you know I'm a supervisor in the hub where they sort out the packages and somebody's like, oh that's cool, it's not cool at all, it's a slave factory, it's crazy but anyways, there's this kid, he's probably 18 years old, my job is to tell him where to go and just to unload all the trucks, hey I need you to go to bay two and unload this, it's a trailer,
[SPEAKER_00]: you know and we're getting down to like the last few minutes right like wait there's a time we have to be done every single night and if we go over it the boss on the radio he gets very upset say at least what do we do and what do you anyways he's that's another story I want to grumble and complain here I'm grateful for my job but this kid right he's he's slow he doesn't care he's 18 years old you know and anyways I said
[SPEAKER_00]: Just get out, go make sure this other one's done.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll take care of it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I got in there and not this thing out like three minutes.
[SPEAKER_00]: It would took him 30 minutes, like, for real, at least.
[SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, I thought I was doing a good thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: Cause I'm like, well, we got down on time.
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, CPU down, that's the area I've run unload.
[SPEAKER_00]: And my manager comes up later.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's like, hey, that guy, this kid.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's like, he said that you told him to leave.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that you unloaded it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was like, well, yeah, I did.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because we need to be down.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's like, well, that's what makes lazy workers.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's like, he will never learn to work if you just do it all for him.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that was like a moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: I had my seam obvious to you.
[SPEAKER_00]: You guys are like, well, yeah, I'd do it, Nick.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why would you do that, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you're not.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you're like me.
[SPEAKER_00]: I thought I was doing a good thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: But what I'm doing is I'm preventing him from growing and learning to lesson.
[SPEAKER_00]: And from that moment on, I'm just like, all right.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're just gonna go down, and we go down.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, they're like, Nick, you're not down yet.
[SPEAKER_00]: No, you told me to let him do the work.
[SPEAKER_00]: Come on, Duke, go faster.
[SPEAKER_00]: No, he doesn't work.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's his only pace.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, you come try and tell him anyways.
[SPEAKER_00]: But we don't allow other people to grow.
[SPEAKER_00]: When we don't delegate, and we don't allow them to learn some lessons, they're gonna fail at times.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, with Moses delegating, I'm sure there's cases where the people didn't do well.
[SPEAKER_00]: But hopefully, they're gonna learn and they're gonna grow.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's another pastor who teaches about delegation.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's like, if someone can do something, he's like, you should do the things you have to do.
[SPEAKER_00]: That nobody else can do.
[SPEAKER_00]: But he's like, the other thing is like, if someone can do it, 70% is good as you, you should delegate it and give it to him.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because he says, even though you're gonna take like a dip in productivity or quality,
[SPEAKER_00]: or whatever for now.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's like over time they're going to be able to do it better than you because that's the only thing they're doing and you're trying to do a hundred things.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's like so delegated and give it away.
[SPEAKER_00]: Give other people a chance to grow.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so again, when we don't delegate people, they're not going to grow fully into what God has for them or called them to be.
[SPEAKER_00]: But when we do delegate, obviously it creates space for people to grow and learn.
[SPEAKER_00]: It develops new leaders, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Bible says to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, and it even creates space for the leader themselves for Moses, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: To be able to focus on the main calling, giving God's word.
[SPEAKER_00]: So delegation, it's not, I think some people think it's, oh, you're just being lazy.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I do think there's cases where people will abuse it.
[SPEAKER_00]: But delegation isn't about doing less.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's about multiplying the ministry and multiplying.
[SPEAKER_00]: And being fruitful and productive.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what God says.
[SPEAKER_00]: Go out there and be fruitful.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so when we're raising up people, delegating tasks and responsibilities, it's like other people can grow.
[SPEAKER_00]: And hopefully we can, as a church, grow even greater and impact people's lives for eternity, more than just if a few of us try to do everything.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so let me ask you a question trying to wrap this up.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know there's a lot of verses left, but you get the idea here, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: But a question is what, what are you carrying?
[SPEAKER_00]: That maybe you're not supposed to carry alone.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like what, are you carrying more than God has asked you to, maybe that's the way to put it.
[SPEAKER_00]: But who around you could you delegate some things to, or share some, maybe something like, I don't have any responsibilities to delegate, but you are carrying burdens that you weren't intended to carry alone, you're stressed, you're worried, you're anxious, you're depressed, maybe you're burnt out, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And you're like, I can't delegate these things, but one way to share the burdens is to let us pray for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's power and prayer, and maybe some of you today, that's you.
[SPEAKER_00]: What are you trying to hold, and I'm good.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll get through it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I know Jesus, I pray too.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't need you to pray for me.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, just don't be prideful in that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just humbly yourself, say, I don't got it all together.
[SPEAKER_00]: I need some help.
[SPEAKER_00]: I need some prayer.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let us pray for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you don't want me to pray for you, or know you're probably gonna find someone next to you and say, hey, could you pray for me before I leave?
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you tell them more details, maybe you don't, but just share the burden.
[SPEAKER_00]: And in that simple way, that's how we can share.
[SPEAKER_00]: And be like, hey, I'm going to carry this burden with you.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's an honor to carry each other's burdens.
[SPEAKER_00]: I help you see this or we'll see it at some point in life.
[SPEAKER_00]: One of my very good friends went through a really bad season.
[SPEAKER_00]: His son, this was back in Tucson.
[SPEAKER_00]: his son had committed suicide and this is the hardest thing for me as one of his best friends to go through with him and he asked me to do the funeral which was out of grateful to do but also terrified to do I don't want to do you know 14 year old funeral
[SPEAKER_00]: But as we got together, I mean, there were no words.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's no words in that.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you're ever in this situation, someone's mourning something, like, you don't feel like you have to say something.
[SPEAKER_00]: More often, it's just the fact that you're there, the matters.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's all I was, I didn't have any words.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what to tell you, man.
[SPEAKER_00]: He knows I'm, sorry, I'm crying with him.
[SPEAKER_00]: His painful, I felt like I lost a kid.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was an honor to carry that burden with him.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think every person that was there, are other friends who went there.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I told my friend that a while ago, I was like, you know, as odd as it sounds, I'm like, I'm honored that I got to go through that storm with you.
[SPEAKER_00]: And still going through it every year, you know, it's a text I'm saying, man, thinking and praying for you today.
[SPEAKER_00]: On that week that that happened.
[SPEAKER_00]: but it's like sharing the burden.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I know that's a really extreme case, but like, there's people around you who would take some weight off your shoulders if you just shared.
[SPEAKER_00]: You just reached out.
[SPEAKER_00]: Help us just a phone call, a text, a conversation away.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I guess that's probably a good place to land this plane today.
[SPEAKER_00]: but delegates share the burden.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe it's not a delegation leadership role for you, but share with others, don't carry that hurt alone, the weight alone.
[SPEAKER_00]: reach out to others.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so with that, though, let's pray, we'll close with some worship in Communions of Father.
[SPEAKER_00]: We thank you for your word this morning, and we thank you for what's you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, you taught Moses in the wilderness, the importance of delegation and sharing responsibility with other people who are fear you, love you, who
[SPEAKER_00]: are not going to be bought with a bribe and people who will teach the truth no matter what Lord and I just pray for us here today God that whatever season we're in right now whatever we're going through in life God you know it and we know it too I just pray that we wouldn't be too prideful to either ask for help if we need help.
[SPEAKER_00]: I pray that we wouldn't be too prideful thinking that worthy only one who can do it and nobody else can help.
[SPEAKER_00]: I pray that we would just be, we'd take a step of faith to trust other people to help us and in things.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe it is at our job or workplace and trusting people to do their job and helping them become the leaders and the men and women that you've called them to be.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I pray that we wouldn't be too prideful, selfish that we are hindering
[SPEAKER_00]: the growth of your kingdom, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Even though we might think we're doing good, just pray that you would reveal to us the truth of that or that we would humble ourselves and that you'd show us how to share responsibility or how to share burdens, trials we're going through, and that we'd find strength and people who you've put into our lives,
[SPEAKER_00]: find strength and encouragement in you and your Word.
[SPEAKER_00]: As other people encourage us with your Word.
[SPEAKER_00]: So we've got to just have this moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: I pray that we reflect upon this that we would even take a moment to respond to you, Lord, and just what you're leading us in.
[SPEAKER_00]: So we pray this in Jesus name.
[SPEAKER_00]: Amen.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so as we close up here today or have worship, we're also going to have a time of communion, which we do just about every single Sunday, but communion is a time to remember Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: And just consider this is that Jesus not only shared the burden of sin, but he took your burden upon himself.
[SPEAKER_00]: He says, come to me, my yoke is easy, my burden is light.
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's coming to me and you'll find rest.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you haven't given your life to Jesus today, I hope you do, because He will carry that burden with you.
[SPEAKER_00]: The burden of sin is great.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can't carry your own sin, it will.
[SPEAKER_00]: It'll torment you all days of your life.
[SPEAKER_00]: You try to hide it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Devil's gonna make you feel guilt and shame and condemnation and over and over again, Jesus is simply saying, give me your sin.
[SPEAKER_00]: I died for your sin, so that you could be my righteousness.
[SPEAKER_00]: So that you could have salvation in eternal life forever.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so if you're carrying that burden of sin, I've done too much.
[SPEAKER_00]: can't be saved, sell ourselves all kinds of lies like that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just today, just come to Jesus and say, here I am.
[SPEAKER_00]: I believe in you that you died for my sins, that you're buried in the grave and in on the third day, you rose again and that you're calling me to follow you.
[SPEAKER_00]: And you don't have to have it all figured out to follow Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, well, I don't know what to do after that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, nobody does at first.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's part of why it's faith.
[SPEAKER_00]: Faith is like, we don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: If we knew it wouldn't be faith.
[SPEAKER_00]: But it causes us to a life of faith.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's an exciting life, I would say.
[SPEAKER_00]: You see, God comes through and do things that you never expected.
[SPEAKER_00]: And for those of us who do believe in Jesus, we've received Him, we proclaim His name.
[SPEAKER_00]: My communion is a time for us to remember that He is carried our burden on the cross.
[SPEAKER_00]: He became sin, who knew no sin again so that we could become His righteousness.
[SPEAKER_00]: We talk about mercy, talk about grace.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, talk about love, like who does that?
[SPEAKER_00]: Right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, you owe all this debt and he's like, oh, it's fine.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll take all your debt upon me and you can have all my riches as essentially what it amounts to.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so as we go into communion, take a time to remember.
[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus says, remember me when you take this bread, remember it's my body that was broken for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: When you take off the juice, it's my blood that has spilled poured out the blood of the new covenant for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: We can rejoice in that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know communion is often a somber time, which I think is good, there's reflection, but I think there should also be a sense of this, it should be a joyful time, where we're celebrating.
[SPEAKER_00]: What Jesus has done, he's not in the grave anymore, he's risen, right, and he's calling us to live for him.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so take a moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: Remember Jesus if you haven't received Jesus into your life, and maybe you're not ready today, I just want to ask that you don't take communion.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not judging you, we're not trying to make you feel like cast out but the Bible, me telling you as a pastor of the Bible says, not to take communion in an unworthy manner.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, and you're bringing judgment upon yourself.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so me trying to love and care for you, if you're not a Christian, you don't believe in Jesus, let the tray pass, don't try to fit in.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hopefully there'll be a day as you come to know Jesus as you're Lord and Savior, and maybe today is that day.
[SPEAKER_00]: But for those of us who believe in Jesus at the time to remember, a time to reflect and I'd say a time to rejoice in what He's done taking our burdens upon the cross.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I want to pray one more time.
[SPEAKER_00]: We'll hand out communities of Father.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just pray for you to.
[SPEAKER_00]: To meet us where we're at, that we could remember that we could reflect, and that we could ultimately rejoice in the work that you have done upon the cross, through your son, Jesus, Lord shedding his blood, giving his life so that we could be forgiven and live.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I pray that you would just meet us in this moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: I pray for anyone here today or watching online or maybe listening later.
[SPEAKER_00]: If they haven't given their life to you, pray that today would be that day.
[SPEAKER_00]: And even take a pause here as well we're here if someone is here that hasn't given your life to Jesus and you want to, I just want to ask that you raise your hand.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, every head is bowed, every eyes closed or even if you're online, we want to pray for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: And today, maybe that day and Father, I pray that you're drawing many unto you, maybe drawing many of us back to you, we gave our life to you long ago, but today we're making a stance, coming back to you.
[SPEAKER_00]: So God, have your way, your will, bless this time of communion, time of worship, and Jesus' name.
[SPEAKER_00]: Amen.