Thank you for listening to Servants for Christ. And all that we do and all that we say, we want to give glory and honor to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for tuning us in as we get into the wonderful Word of God. For the next few minutes, let's take the beautiful Word of God and share it with each and every one of you as we have a sense of anticipation to take the Word of God and to listen to its truth for each and every one. Amen. Thank you for tuning us in. I'm Darrell Bailey. Service for Christ. As we get into Wednesday in the Word, here, take your book, Bible, over to the fourth book of Moses in the book of Numbers. Numbers chapter 11, verses 4 through 34. Good bit of scripture. Amen. But here we look at things the best leaders need to forget, amen? And I'm glad that sometimes leaders, there's some things that they do that they need to unlearn. They need to learn from their mistakes and not continue to follow on in those areas, amen? And so when we read the word of God, amen, it begins to, and it tells us, in Numbers chapter 11 verse 4, amen, that it talks about, and the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting and the children of Israel also wept again and said, who shall give us flesh to eat? Verse five, we remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our soul is dried away. There's nothing at all besides this manna before our eyes. In verse seven, and the manna was a curator seed and the color thereof as the color of belladum. And the people went about and gathered it and ground it in meals and beat it in a mortar and baked it in pans and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil. And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it. Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the and the door of his tent, and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, Moses also was displeased. In verse 11, Moses said unto the Lord, wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant, and wherefore have I not found favor in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? Have I begotten them that thou shouldest say unto me, carry them in thy bosom as a nursing father, beareth the sucking child which thou swearest unto their fathers, in verse 13, whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? For they weep unto me, saying, give us flesh that we may eat. In verse 14, I am not able to bear all this people alone because it is too heavy for me. In verse 15, and if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of my mouth. hand, if I have found favor in thy sight, and let me not see my wretchedness. And verse 16, And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them, and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. And verse 17, And I will come down and talk with thee there, and I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and put it upon them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, bear it, not thyself alone. In verse 18, and say thou unto the people, sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh, for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, who shall give us flesh to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt, therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. In verse 19, ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither 10 days, nor 20 days. In verse 20, but even a whole month until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you, because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, why came ye forth out of Egypt? In verse 21, and Moses said, the people among whom I am, there are 600,000 footmen, And thou hast said, I will give them flesh that they may eat a whole month. In verse 22, shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them to suffice them, or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them to suffice them? In verse 23, And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord's hand waxed short? Thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not. and Moses went out, told the people the words of the Lord, gathered the 70 men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. Verse 25, And the Lord came down, and a cloud spake unto him, and took the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the 70 elders. And it came to pass that when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied and did not cease. And verse 26, But there remained two of the men in the camp, The name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other was Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them, and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle, and they prophesied in the camp. In verse 27, And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. In verse 28, And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My Lord Moses, forbid them. In verse 29, And Moses said unto him, envious thou for my sake would God that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them and Moses got him into the camp he and the elders of Israel and in verse 31 going down to verse 35 and last he says and there went forth a wind from the Lord oh man and brought quails from the sea and let them fall by the camp as it were a day's journey on this side and as it were a day's journey on the other side round about the camp and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth, verse 32, and the people stood up all that day and all that night and all the next day, and they gathered the quails. He that gathers the least gathers 10 homers, and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp. In verse 33, and while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was shewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague. In verse 34, and he called the name of that place because there they buried the people that lusted and the people journeyed from Kilbroth, Hathavanna, unto Hazeroth and abode at Hazeroth. That's the complete reading of Numbers chapter 11 all the way down to verse 35. Kibroth Hatovah means graves of greediness. And so, whatever the plague was, it killed some of the people. and so when we look and realize uh... that uh... what the plague was we we don't really know uh... how many were stricken which we weren't told but israel desired god's gift but had no heart for the giver and to accept the gifts of that bountiful hand and to seek to enjoy them independently of it brings death into the soul and so can you imagine some of them gave credit to one of the gods of the Egyptians for the quail instead of Jehovah. And so that's horrible because when we look at verse 33, and while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smoked the people with a very great plague. But when we look back at how that they had stood up all day to gather the quails They gathered at least 10 homers, which was about 60 bushels, and they spread them all abroad for themselves, round and about the camp. Now, you know what? When we look back up at verse 31, and there went forth a wind from the Lord. That wind was divinely sent for this purpose. It brought the quails from the sea and let them fall by the camp, in verse 31, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits. In other words, it was three feet high. upon the face of the earth. And so the quails were piled upon the ground to the height of three feet. But that flew at that height, and so it was easily captured." Wow! God knows how to send in a mess of quail, don't he? Let's pray. Father, we seek your wisdom and guidance and open the hearts and minds as we receive a lesson from your leader, Moses, about the things leaders need to forget. Teach us through the life of Moses how to lead with grace and humility and unwavering faith in your plans. Help us at the White House. Help us this coming November to make the right choice and, Lord, the leadership for the future of this country. that it could be devastating if we have the wrong leader, and a weak leader, and one that doesn't need to be the leader. I pray God for all of our leaders, for all of our pastors, and for all our men and women of God, that they will continue about with the great commission, and may we lead all of the loss that we can to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And Lord, thank you for saving us by your marvelous grace. In Jesus' marvelous mighty name, Amen. You know, I'm glad. I love reading about Moses. He was one of us. He was frail, fallible, and prone to mistakes. Nothing at all like Charlton Heston's portrayal in the Ten Commandments. But in Scripture, we meet a Moses who struggles with sin, who sometimes lacks self-confidence, and is often unsure of how to go about the task of being a leader. And so, in spite of it all, Moses was a great man, he was a great leader, and God used him in a mighty way. We can take comfort to know that leadership didn't come naturally for Moses or easily for Moses. He had to learn it one step at a time, just like us. And I'm glad that we take a look at the scene in Moses' life, and it teaches us things the best leaders need to forget. The story takes place in Numbers chapter 11. Moses had successfully led God's people out of Egypt, and they're journeying now through the wilderness. And in Egypt, they had been slaves, but Moses brought them out of captivity, and was in the process of leading them to their own land, a land floored with milk and honey, where they could live in freedom and prosperity. And so, this story takes place after Egypt and before the Promised Land. In the wilderness, God provided for them every day by raining down manna from above. Bread from heaven each morning the people of Israel would gather the manna and eat it. They made manna stew. manna cakes, probably manna burgers, manna casseroles, manna surprise cakes, and on and on, et cetera. You get my shrimp, amen? And guess what? The people got tired of manna. They began to complain and began to murmur. And when we look at complainers and murmurs, it's almost like unbelievers. The people got tired of manna. And they began to complain, if only we had some meat. In Egypt, We had cucumbers, we had garlic, we had onions, we had melons. Now we've nothing but manna. Moses became frustrated with their attitude and he went to God and he said in an effect, why are you doing this to me, God? I can't make these people happy. Nobody can make these people happy. Why don't you just kill me and put me out of my misery? And God said to Moses, Moses, You need to change your style of leadership. Amen? I'm glad that we need a change of leadership in America. We need a change in the White House. And I'm glad that Moses chose 70 men that they'll help them to carry the burdens on their own, praise God. And I'm glad that Through this, we look and see the things that the best leaders need to forget, amen. And I'm glad that as he said, choose you 70 men, they're gonna help you carry the burden. They're gonna help carry some of this. Trust me, because I'm gonna help you get through this. And so, when we look at the leaders that I'm talking to out there, When we look at the coaches, the mentors, the bosses, the parents, the pastors, the teachers, and the managers, praise God, every one of you need to listen to what I'm fixing to say. Because if you want to be an effective leader, you must, first of all, number one, forget about winning a popularity contest in spite of all of the things that you'll see. that's happening, amen, out there. Forget about winning a popularity contest, amen. And so we look and we realize that from all of the complaints and discontentment, the Israelites grumbled despite God's provisions, amen. And so all of us, when we look and we realize that we've got to be able to forget about winning a popularity contest. The Bible says in verses 4 through 6 that the rabble was with them, began to crave other food, and again the Israelites began wailing and said, if only we had meat to eat. We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt at no cost. The cucumbers, the melons, the leek, the onions, and the garlic. But now, We've lost our appetite and we never see anything but this manna. And so, I'm glad that we look. While they remembered the food from Egypt, they conveniently forgot how inhumanely they had been treated as slaves and how they were forced to do back-breaking work in the scorching sun where the Egyptians sat in the shade enjoying the benefits of slave labor. And instead of thanking Moses, they made him the target of their anger. And that's the way it is for leaders. Forget about winning a popularity contest. There will always be disgruntled people to contend with. And so I'm glad they didn't like all of the things. That's just the point. No matter how well you do your job, there will be people who will complain, and then they'll blame you, and they'll blame their so-called friends. But you know what? You ain't no friend to nobody that complains. And if in your area of leadership you begin to go through a stretch of wilderness, these people will turn up the volume and they'll do all they can to make you miserable. If you want everyone's approval, forget about being a leader. A leader can't be concerned with winning a popularity contest. And while we're on the subject of disgruntled people, listen, God said to Moses in verses 18 through 20, hey, they're tired of manna, so I'm going to give them quail to eat. Before too long, they'll be sick and tired of quail too. And so that's the way it is with disgruntled people. No matter what you do, they'll find something to gripe about. So forget about winning a popularity contest, amen. If you want to be an effective leader, you must forget about winning a popularity contest. But number two, forget about doing it on your own. When the rabble began to complain to Moses, Moses began to complain to God. And after he poured out his heart, he finally made the realization in verse 14, I cannot carry all of these people by myself. The burden is too heavy for me. And every leader must eventually understand that he or she has been called to be a leader, not a savior. Amen? Did you hear what I said? Every leader must eventually understand that he or she has been called to be a leader, not a savior. There's a difference. Jesus Christ came to the earth and single-handedly paid the price for the sins of the world. He alone carried our sins to the cross. He alone died so that we could live. He carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. He's the only one who can do that. You can't. I can't. Nobody can. You might be called to be a leader, but you're not called to be a savior. So forget about doing it on your own without anyone's help. And so leaders must learn to develop a team mentality. Only a team can get the job done right. That's why we have a church. and deacons, amen. That's why we have committees. That's why we have leadership teams. And one person can't carry it all. And the burden of whatever it is, whether it's youth ministry alone, the youth pastor provides leadership for that area. And so it needs a team of volunteers. working, amen, doing the mighty work of our Lord and Savior, praise God. And so we look and we see that from the Word of God as each and every one of us go through life, amen, we realize that we got to work and try to keep a balance of some type, amen. The Lord said to Moses in verse 16, bring me 70 of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people and I'm going to come down and speak to you there and I'm going to take care that and the spirit that's on you, I'm going to put it on them. And they'll help you carry the burden of the people so that you'll not have to carry it alone. And so a leader needs a team. Listen, forget about doing it on your own. And so if you want to be an effective leader, you must, number one, remember, forget about winning a popularity contest. Number two, forget about doing it on your own. But number three, forget about giving up. Because Moses poured out his heart and he said something interesting in verse 15. He said, if this is you, if this is you, are you going to treat me? But put me to death right now and do not let me face my own ruin. Do you see what Moses was saying? He said, Lord, I would rather die than fail. If this is how it's going to be, put me out of my misery because I don't want to give up and I don't want to witness my own And so each and every one of us go through times in our life when we want to give up, but we've got to forget about giving up. And so I'm going to tell you like all great leaders, we'd rather die than give up. Lou Holtz, the college football phenomena took Arkansas football team to a new level. He turned around the Minnesota program. He led Notre Dame to a national championship. He created a winning tradition in South Carolina. He took him to a bowl game in the second season, an impressive and unmatched accomplishment. But did you know that Lou Holtz was once the head coach of the New York Jets? And he failed miserably. And in fact, he quit his job only eight months into his contract. What made the difference in that New York job and all of his other jobs? He said that it was because he didn't go to New York with a do or die attitude. He took the job with jets thinking that failure was a possibility. And when things got rough, he bailed out. And in the process, he learned something about the need for commitment and the position of leadership. Leaders are committed to the point of saying, I would rather die than fail. And every leader eventually faces a situation in which walking away is the most attractive option. You can catch yourself thinking, hey, if I could just wash my hands of this mess and get away from it, once and for all, my life would be so easy. That may be true, but walking away isn't worth it. Listen to me. If God has called you to the task of pastor, or associate pastor, or the Sunday school teacher, or the youth minister, and you are thinking about giving up, you need to stick with it. Because it's easier to do this, because I thank God, walking away isn't worth it. If you want to be an effective leader, you must forget about winning a popularity contest. Number two, forget about doing it on your own, uh-uh. Number three, forget about giving up, no sir. But number four, Forget the meaning of the word impossible. When God told Moses that the people of Israel would be eating meat until they were more than satisfied, Moses said in verses 21 and 22, here I am among 600,000 men on foot, and you say I will give them meat to eat for a whole month? Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, as he said in verse 23? The Lord answered Moses and he said, Is the Lord's arm too short? You will not see whether or not what I say will come true for you. Moses was saying, Lord, there's not enough meat in the camp to feed these people. And it was probably a true statement, but then Moses did what many leaders do when they're stressed out and when they're going through anxiety attacks. In his mind, he began making the situation worse than it really was. And he said, there's not even enough fish in the whole sea to satisfy them. And God's response was very simple and straight to the point. My arm isn't short. God's saying, when you work for me, the word impossible doesn't exist. Hallelujah, praise this mighty name. There isn't anything I can't do. And I'm glad that the Bible tells us that God sent a great wind and he drove the quail in from the sea, that it stood up three feet high, and the people gathered all they wanted, praise his mighty name. And it's amazing that Moses had to be reminded. And after all, he witnessed the burning bush, he witnessed the plagues of Egypt, he witnessed the parting of the Red Sea, hallelujah. And he said, God, what are you saying? Listen, what you're saying is impossible. but how quickly he forgot. Instead, we need to learn to forget the meaning of impossible because when God is involved, the word doesn't exist. And this is what Jesus said to his disciples, amen, when God, all things are possible in Matthew chapter 19. And so, I'm glad. Do you remember that great line from one of the movies of Star Trek? When James Kirk says, I don't believe in the no-win scenario. And Christians can say that too. With God, there's no such a thing as a no-win scenario. With God, there's no such thing as an impossible situation. Forget the meaning of the word. And so if you want to be an effective leader, you must, number one, forget about winning a popularity contest. Number two, forget about doing it on your own. Number three, forget about giving up. Number four, forget the meaning of the word impossible. Number five, forget about settling your own scores. Things the best leaders need to forget. When the rabble rose up and they complained about the food, God became angry. They weren't merely rebelling against Moses, they were rebelling against God. And he, not Moses, got them out of Egypt. He, not Moses, led them toward the promised land. He, not Moses, provided for their needs along the way. And when they complained, they incurred his wrath. And the people of Israel went out to gather quail and began to eat. And the Bible says in verses 33 down to verse 34, amen, but while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people and he struck them with a severe plague. And therefore the place was named Kibroth Hatovah, which means graves of craving, because there they buried the people who had craved other food. And by the way, I recommend that you mark these verses and read them to your children the next time they complain about what's for dinner. Oh man, that again? Oh, what do these verses teach us about leadership? That God will kill off the complainers? No, not exactly. The important lesson is that God will settle his own scores. And when people try to undermine, God will take care of them. You don't have to do it. Moses didn't seek revenge. He let God handle him. That's why the Apostle Paul says, do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath. Because the Bible in Romans chapter 12 verse 19 says, it is mine to avenge, I will repay, says the Lord. I'm glad Paul goes on to say even more things. He said, if your enemy's hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him something to drink, praise the mighty name. He's saying that you've got to be big enough to treat your critics with kindness. And so forget about settling the score. That's God's job. He'll take care of it. So lastly, if you want to be an effective leader, remember, You must forget about winning that popularity contest. You must forget about doing it on your own. And number three, forget about giving up. Number four, forget about the meaning of the word impossible. Number five, forget about selling your own scores. And number six, lastly, forget about being a control freak. I tell you, you know what? We don't need somebody that's a control freak. Because I'm glad that we're somebody that when the Holy Spirit moves according to God's will and purpose, that's what leadership is. It's not about keeping everyone under their thumb. It's about letting the Holy Spirit move according to God's will and purpose. And when you approach leadership with that attitude, you can't always control everything that happens. Nobody can control everything that happens. Don't be a control freak. That's the way God wants it to be. A pastor uh... once said that he didn't want his church any bigger than a couple hundred and he said that was the most that they could handle to keep order he told how the congregation had decided to start a home bible study on their own and without the church's involvement he informed them that he would have to be included if they wanted to continue well he said you know what if i'm not involved there's no telling what kind of doctrine might uh... disseminate from that group and this is not the attitude of a leader It's the attitude of a dictator. Most pastors are thrilled when their members have an initiative to study the Bible on their own. Conscientious leaders strive to maintain the balance between giving direction and taking control. But on the one hand, you don't want your people to stumble without your help. On the other hand, you don't want to be a tyrant. It's a fine line, pastors. You walk it by the grace of God. And Moses faced this situation. After he had appointed the 70 leaders, he learned that there were two others named Medad and Eldad who also had received God's Spirit, and they were prophesying among the people. And Joshua came to Moses. He said, Moses, stop them. And Moses revealed his wisdom when he said in verse 29, Are you jealous for my sake? Huh, Joshua? I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit on them. Moses was saying to Joshua, my job isn't to keep these people under my thumb. My job is the lead so that they remain safely in God's hands. And so as we get ready to close out, being an effective leader comes down to recognizing that you're involved in God's project, not your own. recognizing that you have the responsibility to lead the way the Lord wants you to lead, not your way. That's why there's so many things a leader must forget. You need to forget about being popular because it is God that you're trying to please. Forget about doing it on your own because God has called you to build the team. Forget about giving up because great leaders don't quit. Forget about the impossibilities because God With God, all things are possible. Forget about getting revenge because God will defend you and He'll defend Himself. And forget about being a control freak because God is in control and He will do things His way. You see, effective leadership is a matter of forgetting those things that hold us back. and remembering that God has called us as leaders to move forward in his name, amen. And so every one of us, when we see the burden of leadership that Moses seeks relief, God appoints those 70 elders to do what needs to be done, praise God. And so, as I get ready to close out, you know what? I'm glad that every one of us, we need to ask ourself, as seen through Moses' journey that involves forgetting the desires for personal acclaim, and the illusion of self-sufficiency, and the temptation to quit in adversity, and the limits of human understanding, the urge to settle scores, and the need for absolute control. Instead, leaders are called to trust God's provision, build teams, persevere through challenges, embrace possibilities, leave justice to God, and surrender to His guidance. And I'm glad. Listen, are you seeking popularity or pleasing God in your leadership? Listen, effective leaders prioritize God's approval over human acclaim. Hey, do you rely solely on your own strength or do you build that team for support with God's help? Great leaders recognize the need for collaboration and delegation. Are you facing challenges with a sense of impossibility or trusting in God's power? Leaders who trust in God find the solution where others see barriers. And so, by forgetting these six hindrances and embracing God's wisdom and strength, leaders can fulfill their calling effectively. Father, thank you for the lessons learned from Moses' leadership. Grant us the humility and the courage to apply these principles in our own lives and churches and roles as leaders. And may your spirit continue to guide us as we strive to lead with integrity and faith in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. you