Sunday, January 8, 2012

Leadership that is Out of this world. この世界以外のリーダーシップ

 
Exodus 3:1-15   出エジプト 3:1-15

Last year, we started a series that will cover all of Biblical History.  We will not touch EVERY story or person, but it is my intent to highlight certain people and events so as to clearly give a full account of what God was and is doing.  Remember that this is His Story. The Bible tells us What He said and What He did.  Alongside all of that, we have seen that Man is doing his own thing—sometimes against the wishes and commands of God, but we can also see God’s response to Man’s actions.

We looked at the early call of Abraham アブラハム, his offering his son—a foreshadow of what God will do with His only Son---for the Salvation of all mankind.  We looked at the life of Joseph ヨセフ. A life of trusting in the God he had heard about at his father’s feet—as a boy in his family’s tent. We saw how his older brothers hated him and sold him into slavery in Egypt エジプト. We saw how Joseph’s Heavenly Father held him close even when he went through some pretty hard times—mistreatment by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused of sexual attack, jail time & at last freedom & being lifted up to become the #2 man in Egypt.

Then we had Christmas and now we will return to the Old Testament and to our story. Last week, we even took some of Moses’ モーセ experience with our New Year’s talk.  That God knew his name and that God had some good rest for him and for us.

Which brings us to today’s lesson, Leadership that is out of this world.                       
What is Leadership?            リーダーシップとは
Charts, lists, books, the ability to lead, or guide?
Are there examples of Leadership? リーダーシップの例 Good and bad and silly.  
What makes someone a good leader?何がリーダーを作るのか


From our passage, we will learn that the Hebrews were in trouble.  The leader of Egypt did not have a relationship with the Hebrews like the Pharaohs in the past.  This new leader was a cruel man. He became nervous when he saw that the Hebrews were populating the Goshen area. He feared that they would side in with their enemies should they be attacked. His plan- enslave them.  Then when that did not work, kill the male children. A real case of Genocide.             

On the sides of some of the walls in Egypt today, you can see the drawing of such an event—or did that come from the movie…? In any case, you can read about it in the Bible.  It is the truth.

God was still at work and helped the Hebrew families deal with this new decree.  One family tried to hide their little guy for up until three months.  But as a child would do, he was making some noise.  (We need to accept noise from children.  It does not bother me. In fact, it shows we are a family church and we can get over that.  In the past, some families were asked not to return because of the child’s noise.  I do not condone that! Let the children come. If the noise bothers you, move to another seat but do not refused them in the service.)

A number of years after Abraham, God was still active in the lives of His People, The Hebrews.  He heard the cries of His People as they were being suppressed.  They called out to God and He heard them.  A couple had a baby—a boy child.  The mother of this baby did something that may seem strange to many of us.  She made a small basket of reeds, packed it with tar and pitch and placed the boy child into it and put it in among the reeds.  THAT does not seem like a rational thing to do. If that is done today, the mother would be arrested of child endangerment.  “The sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him…” 2:4

Well, you may know the story, the Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bath, saw the child, moved to adopt the boy and had his own mother nurse the child until he got older and then became the son of the daughter of the Pharaoh.  Once in the court of Egypt, Moses learned all the stuff a child of the Pharaoh would learn and became a prince. 

Moses was aware of his Hebrew connection, and went out to see ‘his people’. Once out there, he found an Egyptian beating one of the Hebrews and steps in and kills the Egyptian after being sure no one saw the deed.  But it was known and he finds himself on the lam and runs for his life to the East to Midian.  When he is there, he comes in contact with a priest of Midian with his seven daughter. One became his wife. Her name is Zipporah.  (Little bird)

It is here, during the next 40 years of his life, which the Lord draws on to tune this soon-to-be leader into the man God would use. The Lord caused him to be a shepherd of flocks of sheep. A despised vocation of the Egyptians but one that God has used before and will use again (as in King David). His role as a shepherd, in just a few years from then, will help him as the leader of a stiff-necked people group.

In the world of Leadership training words/ terms they come up with:
9 Qualities Integrity- Uprightness
Dedication- Perseverance
Magnanimity- fairness
Humility- Modesty

Creativity and
Openness
Fairness
Assertiveness
Sense of 
humor
Ten Basic Integrity
Vision/strategy
Communication and Relationships


Adaptability and
Persuasion
Teamwork and
Planning
Coaching and Development
Decision-making


Maybe there are certain skills of Outstanding Leadership. Those are marks of a leader from the world of business and government.  Other words and traits could be added or even subtracted.  The kind of leader God was looking for was found in this 80-year-old has-been who lived in exile away from society for 40 years. God needed to break him first, & rebuild him. How? God’s Way! 神の道!
The burning Bush will do it every time.
Turn with me to Exodus 3:1-15 出エジプト 3:1-15

Here I Am! わたしはここにおります:
Willing to be used. “Here I am to worship”  (Isa 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”) Willing and obedient/a winning combo.

Moses had a hard time with this one. He said he could not speak but he was well educated in Egypt! But for the last 40 years, he only spoke to sheep.  The Jews did not accept him last time he was in Egypt.  BUT this time God was in it.  Not by my might but by the Power of the Lord.  Once Moses accepted this, he was a great leader. Obedience to be where God wanted him to be. And he got better as he lead. Still had problems with the role during the next 40 years but he worked it out with his Father and God did His best in Moses. In short, Moses was there for the People of God as God’s Man.
Moses had a call of God on him and the Lord affirmed it with signs, encouragement from his father-in-law and with God’s Hand.

Who Am I?わたしは何者なのでしょうか We need to have a realistic understanding of who you are.  Based on what is revealed to us in His Word, we are lost without Him. He calls us into a living relationship with Him through His Son. We become a child of the King. (John 1:12) John 15:15 says that as a disciple of Jesus, I am His friend. I have been justified (Romans 5:1). I am free of condemnation (Romans 8:1-2). I am complete in Christ (Col 2:9-10). I have been forgiven of all my sins (Col 1:14). I am sealed by God-keep for Him (2 Cor. 1:21-22). I am a citizen of Heaven (Phil 3:20). And that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13). Realize that the call of God is from Him on you and not the other way around. We are to do HIS WILL not demanding Him to support your needs and desires. This is the way it was with Moses! It was God’s Way and it came thru a burning bush: very different. Not that way with anyone else.    Col 1:27 “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this Mystery, which is Christ in you, the Hope of Glory.”

Who Are You?あなたはどなたですか Moses is asking God—or the voice talking with him, A very good question. But not my first question.  What is going on? Why this voice? I’m out of here! This voice had not come out of just any other burning bush in Midian.  It was God’s way of making the call special.

And God told Moses just who He was. God identified Himself this way: verse 14:    “I Am that I Am.”          Verse 18: “The elders of Israel will listen to you.” —God gave assurances to His person.
But what if they don’t?  4:2  What do you have in your hand?  “A staff.”   I’m going to use that stick for my Glory.  I am going to show you even what I can do with a walking stick! And you will see what I can do with you along the way…

Application:
1. Be available to Him.

2. Know who you are.  You are a Child of God IF you have Jesus as your Lord and Savior!

3. Know who HE is and that He will use even your sticks. What do you have in your hand? What is close to your heart? Understand that the staff was regular appliance for a shepherd.  What do you have on hand? Teaching ability? Let Him have it! You like to cook? Use that for His Glory. You have an interest in music?—use that to bring Him the attention. You enjoy talking to people? Talk to them about His Love. You are good at organizational things? Use that which is in your hand for His Purpose. AND IF HE IS IN IT-YOU WILL LEAD!

Exodus 15:2 Moses sang this with the people: “The LORD is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.” And He leads the People of God, God’s way!
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The verse for this month is:

Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
ローマ15:4 これまでに書かれた事がらは、すべてわたしたちの教のために書かれたのであって、それは聖書の与える忍耐と慰めとによって、望みをいだかせるためである。