One of my favorite Old Testament characters is Moses.  The reason I like him so much is because he was completely human, frail and fallible, yet he was used by God in a great way.  Leading God's chosen people did not come easily to him, yet by God's grace, he was able to do it.

If our knowledge of Moses was limited to Charlton Hesston's portrayal of Moses in the Ten Commandments, we would be at a loss to learn any lessons from his life.  In that movie, he is more than a man!  He's bigger than life....he doesn't even talk like a normal man;  he bellows out everything he says in his big spiritual voice!

But that's not the Moses we read about in the Bible.  In the Bible, we meet a Moses who struggles with sin, struggles with self-confidence, and struggles with the task of being a leader. And yet we see how God uses him in a tremendous way.  Moses was a great man and a great leader.  When we examine his life, there is much for us to learn.  Today, I want to take a look at one scene in Moses' life that teaches us 6 things that every leader must forget.

The story takes place in Numbers 11.  Moses has successfully led God's people out of Egypt, and they were now journeying through the wilderness on their way to the promised land.  Now remember, in Egypt they had been slaves.  Moses  brought them out of captivity and was in the process of leading them to their own land - a land flowing with milk and honey - where they could live in freedom and prosperity.  This story takes place between Egypt and the Promised Land.

As they traveled through the wilderness, God provided for them every day by raining down Manna, literally, "bread from heaven", and every morning, the people would go out and pick up the Manna and eat it.  They made Manna Stew, and Manna Cakes, and probably Manna Burgers and Manna Casserole and Manna Surprise and on and on and on!  And guess what, the people got tired of Manna and began to complain:  "if only we had meat!  In Egypt we had cucumbers and garlic and onions and melons, and now we get nothing but Manna!"  So, Moses gets frustrated with their attitude and goes to God and says, in effect, "Why are you doing this to me?  I can't possibly make these people happy!  Why don't you just kill me and put me out of my misery?"

So God says, "Moses, you need to change your style of leadership.  Choose 70 men and they will help you carry these burdens you're trying to carry on your own....and trust me, I will help you get through this!"  Through the course of this story, Moses learned to forget six things that every effective leader, coach, boss, parent, pastor, teacher, or manager must forget.  Let's take a look at each one. 

First of all, if you want to be an effective leader you must...

1.  Forget About Winning Popularity Contests.

Hey, in spite of all the great things Moses had done, there were still disgruntled people in the camp.  They were mad because they had to eat manna every day.  They suddenly became nostalgic for the fish and the vegetables they had enjoyed in Egypt!  The Bible says...

(v. 4-6) The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites began wailing and said, "if only we had meat to eat!  We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost - also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"

These people remembered fondly all the food they ate in Egypt, however, they conveniently forgot one little thing.....that they were slaves in Egypt!  They forgot how inhumanely they were treated as slaves...how they were forced to do back-breaking work in the scorching sun while the Egyptians sat in the shade enjoying the benefits of slave labor.  These people should have been thrilled with what Moses had done for them, but instead he was the target of their anger.  That's the way it goes sometimes for leaders.  Forget about winning popularity contests, because no matter what you do there will always be disgruntled people to deal with.  No matter how well you do your job, there will always be people who complain.  And if, in your area of leadership, you happen on a stretch of wilderness, then hold on, because these folks will really turn up the volume and do all they can to make your life miserable.  Hey my friend, If you're hoping to be liked by everyone, or if you need everyone's approval, forget about being a leader.  A leader can't be concerned with winning popularity contests.

2.  Forget About Doing It On Your Own.

Every leader must come to the point where he realizes that he ( or she ) has been called to be a leader, not a savior.  There's a difference.  Jesus came into our world and single-handedly paid the price for the sins of the world.  He alone carried our sins to the cross and He alone died so that we could live.  He could carry the weight of the world on His shoulders, but He's the only one who will ever be able to do that.  You and I can't.  You may be called to be a leader, but you're not called to be the Savior, so forget about doing it on your own without anyone's help.  If you want to be a leader, you have to develop a team mentality.  It takes a group of people to get the job done effectively.  That's why we have leadership teams.

(v. 16) The Lord said to Moses: "Bring me 70 of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and   officials among the people...I will come down and speak to you there and I will take of the spirit that is on you and put the spirit on them.  They will help you carry the burden of the people sp that you will not have to carry it alone."

If you want to be a leader, you'll need others on your team; forget about doing it on your own.  Thirdly...

3.  Forget About Giving Up.

As Moses was pouring out his heart to God, he said something I find very interesting...

(v. 15) "If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now...and do not let me face my own ruin."

Do you understand what Moses was saying?  He's saying, "Lord, I would rather die than fail.  If this is the way it's going to be, then put me out of my misery, because I don't want to give up.  I don't want to witness my own ruin."

Lou Holtz is a college football coaching phenomenon.  He took the Arkansas football program to a new level; he turned around the Minnesota program; he led Notre Dame to a National Championship.  But do you know that Lou Holtz was once the head coach of the New York Jets, and he failed miserably?  In fact, he quit his job only eight months into his contract.  What made the difference in the New York job and all his other jobs?  He says it's because he didn't go to New York with a "do or die" attitude.  He took the job with the Jets thinking that failure was a possibility.  And when things got tough, he bailed.  In the process, he learned a valuable lesson about the need for total commitment in any leadership position.

If you want to be a leader, you have to remain committed to the task.  You have to be able to say, "I would rather die than quit."  This is because every leader eventually faces a situation in which walking away is the most attractive option.  You'll catch yourself thinking, 'If I could just wash my hands of this mess and get away from it once and for all, my life would be so easy."  Friend, walking away isn't worth it.  If God has called you to a task, forget about giving up.  Stick with it...and remember, it's easier to do it when you "remember to forget" number 4...

4.  Forget The Meaning Of The Word Impossible.

When God told Moses that the people of Israel would be eating meat until hey were more than satisfied, Moses said..

(v. 21-22) "Here I am with 600,000 men on foot, and you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for the whole month!"  Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them?  Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?" (v.23) The Lord answered Moses, "Is the Lord's arm too short?  You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you."

Moses was saying, " Lord, there's not enough meat in the camp to feed all these people."  Folks, this was a true statement, but then Moses did what many leaders do when they're stressed out.  In his mind, he began making the situation worse than it really was.  He said, "There's not even enough fish in the whole sea to feed these people!"  Not true!

God's response was simple and straight to the point: "My arm isn't short!"  God is saying, "When you work for me, the word impossible doesn't exist.  There is nothing I can't do."  A few verses later, the Bible tells us that God sent a great wind and drove Quail from the sea, and the people went out and gathered all they wanted and more.  Isn't it amazing that Moses had to be reminded...after all, he witnessed the burning bush, he witnessed the plagues of Egypt, he witnessed the parting of the Red Sea.  And now he was saying, "God, what you're saying is impossible!"

How quickly we forget what God has done in our lives.  Instead of forgetting what God has done for us, we need to forget the meaning of the word "impossible" because when God is involved, no situation is impossible.  Jesus meant it when He said to His disciples: "With God, all things are possible." With God, there is no such thing as a "no win scenario."  With God, there is no such thing as an impossible situation.  Forget the meaning of the word!  Fifthly...

5. Forget About Settling Your Own Scores.

This is a good one.  When the people rose up against Moses and complained about the food, they made God angry.  They were not just rebelling against the leadership of Moses, they were rebelling against God.  He, not Moses, was responsible for getting them out of Egypt.  He, not Moses, was directing them toward the Promised Land.  He, not Moses, was providing for their needs during the journey.  When they complained, they incurred His wrath.  The people of Israel went out to gather Quail, and began to eat, and the Bible says...

(v. 33-34 )  But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.  Therefore, the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah ( which means 'graves of craving' ), because there they buried the people who craved other food.

By the way, every parent ought to mark these verses in your Bible and read them to your children next time they complain about what's for dinner.   Just kidding!!  The question is, what do these verses teach us in our roles as leaders?  That God will kill off all the complainers?  No, not really (sorry!).  The real lesson for us to learn here is that God will settle His own scores, and it's never a leader's job to get revenge.  If there are people trying to undermine your role as a leader, God will take care of it, you don't have to.  Moses didn't seek revenge; he let God take care of the situation.  That's still good advice for today.  This is why the Apostle Paul says...

"Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written,
'It is mine to avenge; I will repay, " says the Lord.  Rom. 12:19

Paul goes on to say, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink."  Rom. 12:20  He's saying as a leader, you've got to be big enough to treat your critics with kindness, to forget about settling the score.  That's God's job, and He'll take care of it.  Lastly...

6.  Forget About Being a Control Freak.

I can still remember the time when a very disgruntled person came to me and with a lot of venom said, "Pastor, I just want you to know, I don't agree with everything that's going on here at Harvest!"  The poor guy was completely shocked when I responded "Oh, that's OK....to tell you the truth, I don't agree with everything that goes on at Harvest either!!"  Harvest was a big church, and I never felt it was my job to keep everyone under my thumb.  My responsibility was to let the Holy Spirit move according to God's will and purpose, while providing some solid governmental boundaries.  When you approach leadership with that attitude, you can't always control everything that happens.  But I believe that that's the way God wants it to be. 

Conscientious leaders have to walk the fine line between giving direction and taking control.  On the one hand, you don't want to let those you lead stumble without any help on your part; on the other hand, you don't want to become a control freak!  It's a fine line, and you walk it by God's grace.

Moses faced this situation.  After he had appointed the 70 leaders, he learned that there were two others ( unappointed ), named Medad and Eldad, who were just out there, prophesying among the people!  Joshua came to Moses and said, "Moses, stop them!"  Moses revealed his wisdom when he said...

(v. 29)  "Are you jealous for my sake?  I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would  put His spirit on them."

Moses was saying, " My job isn't to keep these people under my thumb, my job is to lead so they remain safely in God's hands."  Are we always able to do that perfectly?  I don't think so, but we must always keep trying to resist the temptation to control.

So, there it is my friend, that's what being an effective leader comes down to: It's recognizing that this is God's project, not mine, and as a leader I have the responsibility to lead things His way.  That's why when it comes to leadership there are so many things we have to forget.  We have to forget about being popular, because this is God's project, not our own.  We have to forget about doing it on our own...we have to forget about giving up...we have to forget about thinking things are impossible...we have to forget about getting revenge...and we have to forget about being a control freak.  Effective leadership is a matter of forgetting those things that hold us back, and moving ever forward in Jesus' name.