Only God Can Fix It

When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country, saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised. Surely we have sinned!”

Numbers 14:39-40

This is a bit of a warning to start of the work week. I want to point out two things  about their reaction to God dealing with their unbelief, which is sin and then remind us that God is still Sovereign and gracious.

First, notice that the Israelites didn't deal with their sin as he commanded. Yes, they admitted that they sinned, but, they didn't go to the tabernacle and offer the proper sacrifice. That's what God had commanded them to do with regards to their sin.

Second, they did what we do, tried to fix it by themselves. They just decided that they would go ahead and take the land. Well, no. They needed to deal with their sin. And just like us, if we don't deal with it God's way, we will face defeat.

Now, it isn't that God didn't want to forgive them, because he did. God always wants to restore us, to bring us back to himself. But, it must be on his terms. When I read the Old Testament it's easy to say they didn't have the Holy Spirit indwelling them like we do, or to just write off their stubborn refusal to trust God and obey his commandments as and Old Testament issue. But, quite frankly, what's my excuse? I have the Holy Spirit, the New Testament, access to great teaching, the Bible in a myriad of translations including the original, and yet... I sometimes still struggle to believe God is able and seek to do things my own way. 

What I have, what we have, is access to the throne of grace where Christ, our Lord and Savior, sits at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf. So, as we go into battle with the world around us and we fight the good fight within ourselves and around us, let us seek the Lord for his strength, grace, forgiveness and love. 

It's Time to Rally Together

   Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

Exodus 32:25-26 NIV

The situation was out of control. There was no time for a committee, the time for instruction was long past. Moses assessed things and saw that it was time to draw a line and call out to see who was for the Lord. 

It's time to assess our lives. It's time to listen to the Spirit's call. The world is out of control, calling evil good and good evil. If you are for the Lord, come to Him. We're not coming to a leader, unless the leader is calling us to follow Christ. Like the Levites we must cross that line and decide to be for the Lord. 

Now, I have no desire to start an in house church witch hunt or stir up dissension by saying that "some Christians" or "some churches" or "some pastors" water down the gospel. The truth is some do. The truth is, sometimes I do. Sometimes my actions speak louder than my words and I and standing on the wrong side of that line.  There are times when we must assess our lives, assess our churches, assess our beliefs and actions. What side of the line are we on? 

This is not a call to point out what everyone else is doing wrong. This is an admonition to check yourself and see if you are loving like Christ loved you. Are we worshipping the god of "I got to have it now" (debt, credit cards), the god of "self" or the god of "desire"? Christ is about giving not spending, serving others not your own needs, and seeking to protect and help someone else not use them for your own pleasure or benefit. And this is not about being alone, it's about rallying together as the time draws closer for our Savior to come again. Together we worship the Lord. Together we serve and reach out into the darkness of this dying world with the light of the truth in Christ. 

Good Leaders Listen and Empower

   "But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied." 

   Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 

Exodus 18:21-24 NIV

Moses did a couple of things here that anyone in leadership should pay attention to. First, he listened and second he empowered. Two characteristics you will find in good leaders and notice they are lacking in poor leaders.

First of all, Moses listened to his father-in-law. He could of ignored him or resisted the advice on grounds that Jethro wasn't a "prophet" or didn't say something like "thus saith the Lord". Moses listened to his father-in-law's advice and discerned that it was from God, so he listened and did everything Jethro said. 

Secondly, by taking Jethro's advice he empowered others. Notice that he didn't just delegate responsibility, he delegated authority. This is really where great leaders set themselves apart from simple dumping delegators. Many leaders delegate, then try to micro-manage those they delegate. Then they get frustrated because things don't work out or that they have to manage what they "delegated" so much. I call that dumping, not delegating. Think about Jesus, he didn't just delegated jobs to the disciples, he empowered them with authority to drive out demons, heal in His Name, and proclaim the Kingdom of God (Matthew10:1, Luke 9:1-2). Moses learned to not just delegate but to empower capable men to make decisions. That's empowering leadership.

Final thoughts: Listen and empower. Who do you need to listen to? Who can you empower? Also, how is Christ empowering you?

God Sees

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

Exodus 3:7-8 NIV

I don't know what you are going through or how you got there. I do know that God has seen your misery. He hears you crying out and he is concerned about your suffering. 

I won't tell you that if you pray a certain way all your troubles will go away. Because God's timing is different than mine, or yours. We think God must help us now, yet, he is working in someone else to prepare the way. Or, he may be working in us to prepare the way. Like Moses who had to get his BSD (Back Side of the Desert) Degree before God could use him. But, God saw, he heard and he is concerned. 

Now God spoke to Moses from the burning bush and told Moses that he was concerned about the Israelites. God didn't tell Moses this because he wanted to give him a warm fuzzy. The Lord spoke to Moses because he wanted to use Moses to help deliver the Israelites and give them their promised land. So, maybe God isn't allowing you to go through whatever you are going through just for your sake, maybe, he wants to use you to help deliver someone else?