Moses. Not Just for OT Survey Anymore!

So here's one for the church planters and anyone called to start a new thing for the Lord. It's a good one because you will most definitely find yourself in a few seasons of discouragement due to extreme waiting ...and waiting ...and opposition of all sorts from those who should know better and be grateful for your sacrifice. chuckle chuckle snort You'll feel certain that what you toil and labor over (mostly in your mind and prayers at the beginning) amounts to nothing to your supporters and critics alike. And you'll be tempted to doubt your awesomeness and take a ride on the Fear Train. Don't. At least not until you consider Moses.

Moses. God love him. He was precious.

He had a go of it as a leader.

He was chosen and set up quite nicely with that whole basket in the Nile op to complete his calling. He botched it by killing a guy.

He gets another chance but cries about his ability to do what God's telling him to do through a burning bush... Have I prayed for a burning bush set of instructions? Yes, I have. Have I received them? No, I have not. I'm just saying, Mo...

He finally gets an Associate Pastor in charge of community relations and he's not so well received by the big guy in charge of his target demographic. Bummer. He fights on. Things get much worse. He's misunderstood and unappreciated. If at first you don't succeed... He gets his people and God shows up in big ways just to say, "Hey! I got your back on this one. Let's go!"

His people grumble. A lot. So much so that he loses his temper. Repeatedly. And spends most of his free time settling their disputes over...the flakes? ...the sand?

Not much to show for his extreme call that was going to change the world. I'll bet he didn't look in the mirror every morning and pray for humility while he fielded offers to write a book and speak at How to Set Your People Free conferences. My guess is he wondered often why the heck he left his family for this! I'll bet he was glad they were in the desert where no one could see what a disaster his "church" had become. I mean, sure, there were miracles and confirmations but a few of those can only go so far. Right?

Then we get to Exodus 18. The church planter's/ new thing starter's Perspective Chapter.
18:1 Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, heard about everything God had done for Moses and his people. He heard especially about how God had rescued them from Egypt. v5 Jethro came to visit Moses in the wilderness. He brought Moses' wife and two sons with him. v8 ff Moses told his father-in-law everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and Egypt on behalf of Israel. He also told him about the hardships they had experienced along the way and how the Lord had rescued his people from their troubles. Jethro was delighted when he heard about all the good things the Lord had done.

"Praise the Lord," Jethro said, "for he has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. I now know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, because he rescued his people from the oppression of the proud Egyptians."

Then Jethro brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came out and joined him in a sacrificial meal in God's presence.

The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people's disputes. Jethro asked, "What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone?"

Moses replied, "Because these people are a giant pain in my donkey!"

"This is not good," Jethro exclaimed. And he proceeded to give Moses the advice that changed his strategy, empowered his small group leaders, and made him available to answer when God called him up to the mountain to meet with him and get those stone tablets we still use today.  A pretty stellar moment for a lame church planter/new thing starter, if you ask me.

So here it is. Moses would not have planned Exodus the way it happened. Not at all. Moses was tired, frustrated, angry, lonely and generally weary of his call. But he had a long term vision and he knew that he knew that God had told him to do this thing.

Some days all you can do is put one foot on the ground and pray for God to shove the rest of you out of bed. So he did.

And along came Jethro. Into the wilderness. Wife and kids in tow! He was inspired by Moses' miserable experience to the point of saying, "I know now that the Lord is greater than all other gods." Why? Because Moses had been through things most people wouldn't dream of even considering and he was still standing, telling the tale.

If Moses hadn't pressed on through all the junk, he'd have had no testimony to bring Jethro to the realization of who God is and would be in his own life. Need I say, that's the only reason we do this!

Now the good stuff happens! Jethro blesses and encourages Moses and his staff, gets involved, starts using his gifts to further the Kingdom and helps Moses get ready for what comes next. That's church, people! That's the church at its finest! Showing people who our God is and letting them get involved in the awesome mess...I mean awesomeness with us!

So be of good cheer...what's that mean?? Get happy for your circumstances. For the choices you made to get you here - even when here is a miserable place surrounded by miserable people. We're church planters! We ain't afraid... well... we aren't quitters.

We're living someone's salvation message. When they tell how they came to be convinced the the Lord is greater than all other gods, you will be mentioned by name and miserable struggle! Perspective is a wonderful thing.

To further prove this, I offer our most exciting update yet...
We are getting ready for pre-launch services to begin in late May! We will officially launch weekly services at Stand church this August when our students come back for fall term!

We have been encouraged and blessed by strangers and friends who simply listened to our story and, when it seemed to amount to nothing to us, they were convinced that our God is greater and worth their time, prayers, talents and dollars.

This is another beginning. Another middle. Another end to our story. I love how big God is!