This exposition of Exodus 18:13-27 by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, January 13, 2019.
Intro:
We, in our culture, have romanticized the notion of the rugged individual. We admire the man who pulls himself up by his own bootstraps, the self-made man.
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We tear up as the cowboy says goodbye to his love interest in the movie, climbs on his horse and rides off into the sunset alone. We are big on personal rights and freedoms. We idealize the notion that no one has a right to tell me what to do with my life. It even seems to dominate within the church as we focus on my personal Lord and Savior and the priesthood of the believer. We prize private interpretation, “Well, my Bible says…” as if we are not accountable to and for one another. Newsflash, no one has ever been saved in isolation from everyone else and called to live a solitary existence. God is in the business of saving a people for His own glory. He is gathering a church, a body of believers, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. We live the faith together.
The children of Israel cried out to God for deliverance. He heard the cries of His people and God graciously redeemed them. God brought them up out of Egypt by His mighty arm. He delivered them through the Red Sea. He provided them manna daily. He gave them water. He led a great multitude with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Moses wasn’t backpacking through the wilderness with a few close associates he was leading a great multitude. It was frustrating, burdensome, and messy - such is life together. Our text this morning in found in Exodus 18 beginning with verse 13.
Text: Exodus 18:13-27
We began this journey in Exodus last April. For weeks now, we’ve been trudging through the wilderness with this stubborn bunch and yet I’ve not dealt directly with the Elephant in the room. It’s obvious and does not even need to be stated - so, let me state it - the life of faith is a group effort. Like it or not. Accept it or not. We are connected. We are traveling this road together. When you come to faith in Christ you are made part of the family. When you come to faith you are intentionally, of necessity and organically connected to others. The New Testament makes clear that it is expected that believers will join with other believers in a given community in a covenant relationship. They will become part of a church. We live the faith together. With that in mind let’s look at our text.
This text makes clear the fact that…
Thesis: “The life of faith is not a solitary journey, we travel the Pilgrim Path together.”
You’ve got this large group of people (estimates are from 1 - 2.5 million people).
This is men, women, children of all ages.
You have livestock.
It’s a statistical nightmare.
Jethro, Moses father-in-law is in camp on a visit having returned with Moses’ wife and children. He witnesses the spectacle of Moses settling disputes and he concludes, “This is crazy.” He offers Moses some advice and within the advice we find some important principles that relate directly to our life together.
There are three I want to focus on this morning.
- Life together demands organizational structure. (18:13-18, 21-22, 24-25)
- Life together demands godly leadership. (18:21)
- They are to be men who fear God.
- They are to be men who are trustworthy.
- They are to be men who hate the bride.
- Life together is based upon and grounded in biblical truth. (18:19-20)
Conclusion:
If you are a child of God, you’ve turned from your sin and put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus but you are living on your own, apart from the church, you are doomed to failure. God never intended for you to go it alone. You are part of the family, the body of Christ. You need to be accountable to and for others in a covenant relationship.
Yes, life together is messy. There are struggles and disagreements, frustrations and heartaches but there is nothing like the love, support and encouragement you experience as part of the body of Christ, the church.
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