3. Moses A Lesson in Leadership February 26 th, 2012 Church of Christ at Medina

4. Faithful 1.Matthew 7:24-27: A Good Foundation is always the best start. The best foundation for a good leader is faith in God.

5. Faithful “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. [28] By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. (Hebrews 11:23-29 ESV)

6. Faithful 1.Matthew 7:24-27: A Good Foundation is always the best start. The best foundation for a good leader is faith in God. (Hebrews 11:23-29) 2.Faith is more than just belief. It is choosing to obey God. 3.Moses showed his faith because he refused the position and pleasures of Egypt. 4.Moses led a faithful life of service, despite the difficult beginning. (Acts 7:23-29, Exodus 3-4) Application: We must also have a commitment to serve God by faith if we expect to lead others.

7. Dependence Upon God 1.Moses showed great leadership by understanding that he did not have all the answers. He depended upon the help of God. (Exodus 14:13-14)

8. Dependence Upon God “When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (Exodus 14:10-14, ESV)

9. Dependence Upon God 1.Moses showed great leadership by understanding that he did not have all the answers. He depended upon the help of God. (Exodus 14:13-14) Application: We also need to understand our dependence upon God and seek Him for answers by studying His word. (1 Peter 5:7, Proverbs 3:5)

10. Love and Patience 1.Moses began showing his love for God and the children of Israel when he chose to “suffer affliction” for their cause. (Hebrews 11:25) 2.Consider how many occasions that Moses was rejected and that the children of Israel complained and grumbled against him. Yet, he did not give up on them.

11. Love and Patience “And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.” But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, “O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.” (Exodus 32:9-14, ESV)

12. Love and Patience “But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people. For you, O LORD, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” (Numbers 14:13-19.ESV)

13. Love and Patience 1.Moses began showing his love for God and the children of Israel when he chose to “suffer affliction” for their cause. (Hebrews 11:25) 2.Consider how many occasions that Moses was rejected and that the children of Israel complained and grumbled against him. Yet, he did not give up on them. Application: We must love God and God’s children (1 John 4:20-21). We must remember to show patience and be long-suffering with others because we are all prone to weakness. (Galatians 6:1-5)

14. Courage 1.God did not give Moses and easy task. He had some trying – even scary – times ahead. Moses, though, showed the courage to complete the task. 2.He had to stand before Pharaoh. 3.He had to stand before unbelieving and an ungrateful nation. 4.He had to continue to lead a dying congregation in the wilderness for 40 years. Application: We must have the courage to stand and do the will of God in our homes, workplace, community and nation today. (Ps. 27:14)

15. Moses A Lesson in Leadership February 26 th, 2012 Church of Christ at Medina