Covenant Sermon: What Are We Really Accomplishing? 1/12/2025 by Nate Williamson

Moses can be such a larger than life individual. I mean, he was born and

rescued from the Nile River. He grew up in Pharaoh’s palace. He killed a man trying

to deliver God’s people at 40. Failed miserably. Fled to the desert, married, and

worked as a shepherd for the next 40 years. At 80, God called him back to Egypt to

deliver his people. He boldly delivered God’s messages to Pharaoh and was God’s

vehicle for bringing judgment on Egypt through the ten plagues. He saw God face to

face as he received the Law on Mt. Sinai. And then proceeded to bring God’s people

to the Promised Land for another 40 years in the desert.

When I think about Moses, I can’t help but put him on a pedestal like George

Washington, Abraham Lincoln, or Billy Graham. The problem with this is we know

these individual’s stories and their accomplishments not realizing or remembering

that they had to go through a process to become the great men they were. What is

even worse is when we begin to compare our lives and accomplishments to theirs

not recognizing that their lives were rare and exclusive callings designed by God.

But today, I want to look at a passage of Scripture where Moses was

corrected because his daily pattern and form of leadership was detrimental. Moses

almost burned out right at the beginning of is time in leadership. So what we can

learn from Moses’ mistakes to be the men and women that God designed us to be?

Exodus 18:1-3, 5-12

Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything God had

done for Moses and his people, the Israelites. He heard especially about how

the Lord had rescued them from Egypt.

2  Earlier, Moses had sent his wife, Zipporah, and his two sons back to Jethro, who had

taken them in… 

5  Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, now came to visit Moses in the

wilderness. He brought Moses’ wife and two sons with him, and they arrived while

Moses and the people were camped near the mountain of God. 

6  Jethro had sent a

message to Moses, saying, “I, Jethro, your father-in-law, am coming to see you with

your wife and your two sons.”

7  So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. He bowed low and kissed him. They

asked about each other’s welfare and then went into Moses’ tent. 

8  Moses told his

father-in-law everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and Egypt on behalf of Israel.

He also told about all the hardships they had experienced along the way and how

the Lord had rescued his people from all their troubles. 

9  Jethro was delighted when

he heard about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel as he rescued them

from the hand of the Egyptians.

10  “Praise the Lord,” Jethro said, “for he has rescued you from the Egyptians and from

Pharaoh. Yes, he has rescued Israel from the powerful hand of Egypt! 

11  I know now

that the Lord is greater than all other gods, because he rescued his people from the

oppression of the proud Egyptians.”

12  Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, 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.

So we get introduced to Moses’ extended family: Jethro his father-in-law. He

has heard about what God has done with his son-in-law and wants to go see him.

Huge things! Things that have never been done before! Slaves freed supernaturally

from the greatest nation in the world. Unheard of! Jethro wants to hear the stories

for himself. Now, Jethro is no slouch. His role in life is a priest in Midian. So he

understands leadership and responsibility.

A couple things that I want you to notice about the character of Moses here:

1. The accomplishments have not gone to his head. He still honors and reveres

his father in law by bowing low before him and kissing him.

2. He shares of his accomplishments and struggles. He is transparent with one

that he honors and respects. So often the danger is to share only of our

accomplishments and hide our failures. Now, it is hard to be completely

transparent with everyone. Moses knows he can trust his father in law with

this information.

3. This allowed Jethro to share in Moses’ joy. Instead of immediate correction or

instruction to Moses’ challenges, Jethro praises God and encourages Moses. A

good teacher or life instructor will do that for you and will celebrate with you

as God gets the glory for the things he does in us.

4. This type of accountability and community can lead to greater fellowship and

an experience in God’s presence. As they worship and sacrifice to God

together with the elders.

I think most of us can agree that we want mentors in our business, life, and

ministry. Accountability can be difficult, but it does lead to greater growth. Every

athlete needs a coach to get better and peers/teammates to challenge them. This

is true in all spheres of life as well.

Exodus 18:13-16

13  The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other.

They waited before him from morning till evening.

14  When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked,

“What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone

while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”

15  Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God. 

16  When a

dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the

quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his

instructions.”

The benefit of having mentors in our lives is that they can evaluate what we

are doing with a critical eye from a perspective we don’t have. It is only natural that

Moses would step into leadership as God had called him to lead his people out of

slavery. The problem was he was leading in too many different areas. And the

nature of most people is that if someone else is willing to do the hard jobs, they

won’t volunteer to help. Jethro sees clearly that Moses is taking on too much. And so Jethro asks him the best question: What are you really accomplishing here? It’s a great question.

Moses is meeting a few people’s needs. But the needs are greater than his time or availability.

So it as almost as if he is trying to dig a pit with a teaspoon when in

reality he is digging his own grave. Have you been there before? You are working

your tail off and feeling like you are getting nowhere. The reality is, you may be

going nowhere! Sometimes we need good mentors in our lives to tell us that.

The next question Jethro asks is just as important: why are you trying to do

all this alone?

Why do any of us take on huge challenges by ourselves?

Why would Moses carry all this responsibility unnecessarily?

“Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God.”

1. I am chasing expectations. Whether the people have said this or not, Moses

feels this way. It is an honor for other people to see the value of your advice

and council and seek it out. But chasing other’s expectation is always

detrimental to our physical and emotional health. Why? Because people

don’t understand what it is to be you. They don’t understand how you

handle stress or the other responsibilities you carry besides the one they

desire from you. They don’t have your health concerns or sleep patterns.

That is not a good enough response.

2. God speaks to me. Those of us who are in leadership, especially spiritual

leadership, often think that God can only use us uniquely. Yes, God has a

special relationship with us, but to assume that others have to come to Jesus

through us is a dangerous assumption. This is what is often called a “messiah

complex.” There is only one savior of the world, and we ain’t him.

3. It can be an issue of pride if we aren’t careful. We all want to feel important

and needed. But that feeling can be just as addictive as cocaine. I have seen it

and experienced it. Pastors are very susceptible to this as we are often more

insecure than most. To feel needed and important has caused many a pastor

to become an isolated lone ranger on a collision course for burnout. If you

lead that way, you are hurting yourself and a poor example to those

entrusted to you. Parents, husbands, wives, business workers, teachers, this

is true of all of us.

4. Sometimes we fall into responsibility because we feel there is no one else. It

isn’t pride, arrogance, or control. It is simply a belief that there is no one else

that can do what we can do. We are fully aware of the burnout and the failure

to meet everyone’s needs, but who else is there. I have been here before too.

Part of this comes from having a certain standard or way of doing things and

other people don’t do it our way or as effectively (we believe). We become

burned out islands because we think we are truly an island.

Exodus 18:17-23

17  “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. 

18  “You’re going to wear

yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle

all by yourself. 

19  Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may

God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God,

bringing their disputes to him.

20  Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his

instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives. 

21  But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.  22  They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you. 

23  If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.”

I love the truth flowing out of Jethro in this passage. Those who are mentors

to others, take note. Jethro is not starstruck with the amazing things God has done

through his son in law. He has given God the glory for that because he knows his

son-in-law. He couldn’t do all that on his own! Jethro speaks to the truth to Moses

no matter how hard the message because the best leaders are teachable. Let’s

look at the insights he shares:

1. You are going to wear yourself out. Maybe it is too many superhero movies,

but we all believe we can handle more than we can. And sometimes we can

sustain a crazy work schedule or extra responsibility more than most. But

God did not make us with a never-ending battery. A better pattern is a daily

one that equally fills you as you pour yourself out.

2. You are going to wear out the people too. Most of us don’t acknowledge this

fact. A crazy standard for work burns out those around us. As a shepherd of

God’s people, I have had seasons (some of you can attest to) that I was

driving the sheep of the church rather than leading. I had a goal and I wanted

to get us there fast. What happens when a shepherd drives his sheep? He

loses some who can’t keep up and causes others to be sick or die from lack of

rest. Your lack of balance in your work life and personal expectations is

adversely affecting your friends and family. Just pause and consider: do you

have time for them? And when you do, is it quality? Are you truly available

and engaged? Are you irritable and angry more often than naught?

3. Do what God calls you to do. Jethro doesn’t challenge Moses to quit what he is

doing. Much of what he is doing is his calling. 1) Keep representing the

people before God. 2) Keep hearing the disputes. 3) Keep clarifying for them

what God’s word says. 4) Show them how to conduct their lives…but don’t do

it alone. So often when we are burned out we want to make a drastic change.

Occasionally we need to if we are so far off of center. But many times, it is

simple limiting what you do to what God expects from you and not what

you assume others expect of you.

4. Share the responsibility with capable, honest God-fearing leaders. Are there

men and women like that? Yes. Sometimes it takes some searching based on

where you find yourself, but it is worth the exercise to discover them around

you. I didn’t add men who hate bribes, but given the role these men would fill

that was truly important. Justice cannot be self-serving. Would Moses be able

to find someone who would judge exactly like he would? No. But he could

find capable, honest and God-fearing individuals. Those are the requirements

God seeks for those called to leadership.

5. Create a structure. When we are taking on too much in life, we are usually

rushing to put out fires rather than coming up with a plan or approach.

Taking the time to not only find key leaders, but also creating a structure is

more work on the front end, but creates something lasting out of your life

into someomthing much more effective. How do you get better about your

spending? You create the structure of a budget and you stick to it. How do

you get healthy? You develop a plan of daily diet and exercise and you

follow it. The same is true for work. Create a team. Develop a structure and

follow it. For the passage, Jethro suggested a tier system for dealing with

people’s issues. That way, each leader handled a similar amount of work

without being overwhelmed. Moses still helped, but only deals with the most

critical issues.

6. Develop new leaders. One of the greatest legacies you can leave is other

leaders to carry on your work. The people would have been lost once they

reached the Promised Land without Moses if he hadn’t developed strong

leaders like Joshua and Caleb. Not only will you live a longer and more

fulfilled life if you follow Jethro’s plan, but you will be changing people

beyond your life if you do.

Exodus 18:24-27

24  Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions. 

25  He chose capable men from all over Israel and appointed them as leaders over the

people. He put them in charge of groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and

ten. 

26  These men were always available to solve the people’s common disputes.

They brought the major cases to Moses, but they took care of the smaller matters

themselves.

27  Soon after this, Moses said good-bye to his father-in-law, who returned to his own

land.

Moses did what was recommended to him. This may be the hardest thing to

do. We forget that Moses is now in his 80s. He could say, “I am old enough that may

way is the best way. No one can teach me anything. This old dog doesn’t want to

learn any new tricks.” But he was humble and teachable enough to listen and

took the time to implement what was recommended to him.

You are never too old to learn. Everyone needs mentors and peers who will

look at our lives with fresh eyes and help us in what God is calling us to do. And look

at the end result. What was accomplished?

-The people’s needs were met

- Moses was more rested and fulfilled in his work.

- He didn’t work alone but surrounded himself with godly men.

- He developed a pattern that lasted beyond his life and created a legacy.

- God was praised and glorified.

For those of you who feel like Moses today: worn and burned out…this can be

your legacy too. What your feeling does not mean doom and gloom for your life and

calling. In fact, it is simply a chance to change what you are doing into something

more lasting and forever fulfilling for you and others. Are you willing to get help?