Priorities - Pastor Robert Morris

here's one we'll share each about so if you take your notes write this down if you're not taking notes write this down all right priorities I want to talk to you today about priorities have you set priorities in your life here's another way to say it have you asked God to set priorities in your life what are what are your priorities and what are you doing about your schedule when it comes to your priorities and I'm going to share with you a little bit about my priorities but I think it's going to help you to set priorities in your own life Exodus chapter 18 let's begin in verse 13 Exodus 18 verse 13 and so it was on the next day that Moses set to judge the people and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening those should not be typical work hours by the way so when Moses his father-in-law saw all that he did for the people he said what is this thing that you're doing for the people why do you alone sit and all the people stand before you from morning until evening and Moses said to his father-in-law because the people come to me to inquire of God when they have a difficulty they come to me and I judge between one and another and I make known the statutes of God and His laws so Moses his father-in-law said to him the thing that you do is not good both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out for this thing is too much for you and you are not able to perform it by yourself now as I talk to you about priorities I'm going to talk to you about my priorities and I want you to understand that one of the reasons that gateway church has grown to help as many people as it as it does help is because years ago God told me what my priorities are and he used this passage there is an old way of doing Church that will wear the pastor out but it will also wear the people out and that's the model where the pastor actually does the ministry listen to me carefully my job is to not do the work of the ministry as a pastor as a believer I do but not as a pastor as a pastor my job is to equip you to do the work of the ministry so it's equipping so when I figured that out it changed a whole lot about the way I view ministry yet one of the reason that says it'll wear the people out also is at this time that most theologians they can't agree on the size how many people came out of Egypt but most would say between one and a half million and 3 million people so this would would have been the largest church in the earth at that time all right so Moses is the pastor there are one and a half to three million people in his congregation and people set before him from morning until evening to hear him they stood in line to talk you now what do you think about this let's say you say I'd like to meet with pastor Moses and they say great the lining is right over there and you say now about how long does the line take about three to six months see it where's the people out to when there's one person that does the ministry instead of everybody doing the ministry so let me tell you what my priorities are and and then you let the Lord speak to you about what your priorities are right here's number one pray number one is pray now we stopped at verse 18 so look at verse 19 this is Jethro talking to Moses Jethro's Moses his father-in-law Exodus 18 verse 19 listen now to my voice and I will give you counsel and God will be with you stand before God for the people so that you may bring the difficulties to God alright let's just reiterate that stand before God for the people so that you may bring the difficulties to God notice he didn't say stand before the people for God he said stand before God for the people so that you may you may bring the difficulties God okay in other words pray you should be spending time in prayer Moses now my main the way you see me normally it's about thirty five minutes a week as you see me standing like this in front of you I stand saying like this that's way about 35 minutes way okay I spend much much more time standing another way you don't see me and it's actually what causes me to be able to stand in front of you like this and teach God's Word here's how I stand during the week I stand like that because I'm representing you to God I'm praying for you and it's more important that I spend more time in prayer than is that I spend more time like this it's more important that I spend time like this I had to set this as my number one priority I pray over you I pray over seven I pray over children I pray over the youth I pray over the staff I pray over the volunteers I pray over the all the different departments and ministries that we have I pray over the elders I pray over the church but in order to do that years ago I had to learn a word it's a real simple word and it's a real short word but the only way that I could spend time in prayer was if I learned to pronounce this word here's the word no no I can't do that no I can't be there no I can't do every wedding I can't do every funeral I can't be at every graduation I can't be at every birthday party I can't be at every departmental meeting I have to spend time in prayer and I started when Gateway was very very small bending time in prayer and I'll tell you something that I found out early on I remember one one of the first times that I was not preaching that weekend we had a guest speaker and I thought I'm off I don't have to prepare a message this weekend I am off and I'm sitting there on the front row this person's up speaking who's this great pastor and it was like he wasn't connecting at all it's like there was no anointing and I just kind of just inside in my spirit I just said lord help him help him help him Lord and the Lord said nope just like that nope I said what what do you mean nope he said it's too late you should have prayed this week you were off studying you didn't have to study this we can prepare message but I didn't let you all pray you should have been praying this week for the services for the children's ministry for the worship for the message you should have been praying and I remember saying Lord I repent and as soon as I said that it's like this this pastor said something really funny and everyone started laughing and from then oh it's like the anointing was there and he was doing great I mean it was just turned everything around by the way I told him later I said pastor Jimmy Evans I forgive you I'm joking okay so number one is prey here's number two teach it's my second priority look at verse 20 and you shall teach them you shall teach them after you stand before God for them you shall teach them the statutes and the laws and show them now I want you to watch this because it's got its two phrases and you need to see this is what a pastor should teach about you shall teach them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do the way they must walk and the work they must do not see I'd like to use alliteration and my messages notice God uses alliteration - you can remember this the way and the work that's what I teach them I let me say another way the way they must walk is about character and the work they must do is about ministry every believer is called the ministry every believer but many believers never fulfill their ministry because of their character they never develop the character so if you want to ball my messages down I preached a lot on character and then what we must do the way we must walk and the work we must do I spend a lot of time preparing I schedule time to prepare our schedule time to pray a schedule time to study because I know that if I feed the Sheep the church will grow in our very first new members class very first one I taught it I wrote it and I taught it very first one of course there you know there are only 50 people in the church or whatever it was so um but this lady said to me afterwards I said does anyone have any questions she said yes do you have a strategy to reach lost people unchurched people and before I could even think it just came out of my mouth I said yes feed the sheep that's my strategy because healthy sheep reproduce I spend time preparing to feed the sheep some of my series message sir have become best-selling books some of my message series pastors preach my messages every every weekend all over the world they take my outlines and they preach them and you say was that does that bother you no not at all because a lot of pastors have to do every wedding every funeral every hospital visit and they don't have time to study like I do I am their research assistant and that doesn't bother me at all so I know every time I'm preparing a message but I'm not simply preaching to the thousands of Gateway but I'm preaching to people in the internet preaching to people all over the world people are going to listen to podcasts people are going to watch on television and maybe it's going to go in a book and go to you know one of the one of the books that I wrote is in 40 different languages now so I know it's going to reach you so I am spending time do it now let me tell you something about this because this is going to relate to whatever your priority or priorities are maybe these aren't your priorities right now okay maybe it's something else I understand but here's the point I have to schedule your priorities or they don't happen and time is like money in one way and not like money another way let me tell you how it's like money it has to be budgeted time must be budgeted now let me tell you how it's not like money you can make more money but you can't make more time you have 24 hours a day seven days a week I remember this guy sent me one time he sent me an email he's an old friend and hadn't seen him in years and he said you know can you go lunch and I sent him back and I said I can't I can't I can't and he sent me back I can't believe that you can't make time for me and I thought about his statement because you know I'm a grammarian and so for me don't don't let me lose you on this but for me as a prepositional phrase he said I can't believe that you can't make time for me okay so you can take that prepositional phrase off here's what he say he said I can't believe that you can't make time you can't make time I send him back believe it only God can make time God's the one who decided that there'd be 24 hours in the day not me so I can't no I can't you have to schedule it um for instance let's just say a missionary said to me pastor Robert would you support me at a hundred dollars a month that's okay I could probably do oh sure I can do that another missionary asking to well probably okay another missionary okay what if ten missionaries asked me to support them at a hundred a month okay what have a hundred what of a thousand see it's seven point you run out of money okay listen it's the same thing at some point you run out of time so when someone asks you to do something here's what you got to side if they ask you for money here's what you have to decide where is it coming from is it coming from the housing budget is coming from the car budget is it coming from the savings budget where is it coming from okay it's the same one thing with time if someone asks you to commit to something if you commit to it that time has to come from somewhere and you have to decide where am I going to take this time from am I going to take it from my family time and we're gonna take it from my study time that's what I think I'm gonna take it from my studying time am I gonna have to take it from my prayer time and I'm going to take it from meeting with leaders and we're gonna take it from my family do I take it from my rest I have to decide where do it so I'm just simply saying when it comes to priorities I'm helping you whatever your priorities are you have to budget your time to fulfill those priorities so pray teach and here's number three for me that's my third priority a point a point look at verse 21 moreover you shall select from all the people able men such as fear God men of truth hating covetousness and place such over them to be rulers of thousands rulers of hundreds rulers of fifties and rulers of ten another version says leaders leaders of thousands leaders of hundreds leaders of 50s leaders of tens that's what we have here gateway we have leaders that lead thousands we have leaders that lead hundreds we have leaders at leads 50 we have leaders that leads to by the way that's part of my leadership gifting as I can spot leadership gifting I'm very seldom wrong on gifting I have missed it several times on character I've appointed some leaders who had the ability to lead but I didn't realize they did not have the character to lead that's where I've missed it but I very seldom miss it on ability I can normally tell very quickly how much ability a person has that's that would be that's one of my giftings okay but I want you notice up pray teach and appoint leaders pray teach and appoint leaders just think does this remind you of a New Testament passage let me read it to you Acts chapter six verse one says in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplying there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Helenus because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution then the twelve that's the Twelve Apostles summon the multitude of the disciples and said it is not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables therefore brethren seek out from among you seven men of good reputation full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom whom we may appoint appoint over this business but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the Ministry of the word okay now look here it is x-6 New Testament the Apostle said we're going to give ourselves to prayer and the Ministry of the word and we're going to appoint leaders there it is it's the same thing these are my three priorities and by the way we these are the first deacons that were ever set into the church and we have great deacons and we have great volunteers at Gateway Church there's no way that we could do all that we do without them I mean show you where they appointed the first elders in the church numbers 11 verse 14 Moses said I am NOT able to bear all these people alone because the burden is too heavy for me by the way verse 15 is the prayer of a burned-out pastor he said if you treat me like this please kill me here and now then he says if I found favor in your sight in other words if you like me kill me now look at verse 16 so the Lord said to Moses gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them bring them to the tabernacle of meeting that they may stand there with you then I will come down and talk with you there and I will take the spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them and they shall bear the burden of the people with you that you may not bear it yourself alone I just want you to notice a couple things first of all deacons and elders are appointed by the leader they're not elected by the people in the word because many times the people can't spot gifting it's just a popularity contest a lot of churches elect their elders and that just depends on who's the most popular but they need to be appointed by the pastor of the church because he has to entrust his life to him if he's going to be truly submitted to the government of the church they so here's what he says here's how he tells them to appoint elder so he tells them do you think two things he said bring them to the tabernacle that they may stand with you Tabernacles where the presence of God came and met with him and talked to him okay here's what he say bring him into the presence of God then he said that they may stand with you here's what I think he's saying given some responsibility the way you raise up leaders is you give them some responsibility you may you might remember this but at 7:00 a few years ago we were having we were hosting the arc conference which is association of related churches we were hosting it here at Gateway Church and there was a new guy that we were raising up letting him you know make the announcements so he was supposed to say we're not going to have services next week because of the conference some of you remember this but what he actually said was we're not going to have sex next week well that happens sometimes when you have new guys and so I got up and I told the whole conference I won't you know all of our young adults are abstaining this nevermind I'm kidding Saint same with me when I started I was traveling I used to preach in in Crusades and revivals and things like that and I led this guy to the Lord in college led him to the Lord the whole church told me don't I mean not to church the students told me don't mess with him he's the worst guy there and I led him to Christ about 2:00 in the morning about 6:00 that same morning he woke me up I'd gone to bed then and he woke me up and said God wants me to sing and I said to him have you ever sung before you know that's a good question when someone tells you but God wants them to do so he said no but God wants me to sing and he said I want to go with you and sing when you preach I said okay you prepare a song and sing it just for me and then I'll tell you if you can go with me one time when I'm preaching and sing so he did on Thursday 11 the Lord on Tuesday on Thursday he sang this song and it was incredible I mean the guy was fantastic so that's Sunday night I was speaking at a real small church and it was just a Sunday night and so I called the pastor and said hey I have a guy just just one into Christ and he wants to know you know what I might not even I don't remember if I told the pastor that or not but in hindsight I should have but I said he wants to come and sing and would that be alright and the guy said you so we got there and I was talking to someone and the pastor said to this guy I'm so glad this was a church where we didn't it wasn't worship back then it was where you there was hymns hymnals and where you lead the singing you know and he said this guy he said I'm so glad that Robert brought you tonight to lead the singing so I gave our regular song leader the night off so he came to me and he said I thought I was just supposed to sing a special they want me to lead the scene and so I said okay don't worry about it I'll teach you how so I said have you ever dug postholes and he said no I said okay listen I said we were in the church at that time where people did not lift their hands but the music director had to move his hands you know so I said okay three four is pulling the dirt out and four four is breaking the dirt up I said just think about if you have postholes in your hand one two three four one two three four and that's and then that's breaking the dirt up three four one two three one two three so that's taking the dirt out he came to me right before the service started I remember with the hymnal he said is this taking the dirt out or breaking the dirt up then right before he got up I don't know why I just all sudden remember I said oh one more thing I have to tell you I was Baptist at that time I'm not making fun of Baptists at all but I just said to him I said Baptists never sing the third verse anyone remember this we would always always we would say let's stand where I'll sing hymn number 143 we're going to sing the first second and last verse I don't know why we did that the third verse was not anointed I don't know we never sang it and so he got up and he literally said he got a little confused he said you know we Baptist remember he got saved on Tuesday he said you know we Baptist never seeing the first second and last verse we only sing the third verse so that night we only sang the third verse of every hymn he the pastor came to him after and said that was great I've never even seen those verses we're going to start doing that every Sunday night this guy went on to graduate from college graduate from seminary and as a pastor today because someone taught him how to dig postholes just gave him a chance I just gave him a chance so these are three things on my job description but I told you three actually have a fourth I didn't want to tell you that because I wanted to surprise you with it surprise and this is actually number one but I wanted to cover it last this is number one on my priority list all right here it is point number four but number one be a good husband and father and now grandfather be a good husband and father I didn't start here in Exodus 18 if you're still there I started in verse 13 but if you go back this is actually where the chapter starts let me just read you verse 2 it says then Jethro Moses his father-in-law took Zipporah Moses his wife after he had sent her back then Jethro Moses his father-in-law took Zipporah Moses wife after he had sent her back here's what many people don't know on the way to Egypt Moses and his wife had a fight and Moses sent her back to live with her dad if you want if you want to go back just a few chapters Exodus chapter 4 records to fight Exodus chapter 4 verse 20 says then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey and he returned to the land of Egypt okay so he's on his way back to Egypt he's taking his family with him then in verse 24 it says and it came to pass on the way at the encampment that the Lord met him and sought to kill him now let's stop just a minute I want you to see what you just read in your Bibles because a lot of people this is shocking Moses is on his way back to Egypt his wife and kids are with him two sons and he says --fd encampment where they stopped a camp for the night the Lord met him and listened this and sought to kill him are you letting that dawn in on you Moses is now 80 years old God is ready to start all over his people are in bondage he's ready it doesn't say sought to hurt him a little it says sought to kill him why in the world would God be willing to kill Moses next verse tells us verse 25 then support oook a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses his feet and said surely you are a husband of blood to me so he capital H God let him small H Moses go then she said you're a husband of blood because of the circumcision okay why was God going to kill Moses it's very simple he was to reinstate circumcision to the children of Israel that had been in slavery 430 years and they'd stopped it circumcision represented salvation he represents the circumcision of our heart so he is supposed to reap reach that to the children Israel here's why God was going to kill him he was going to preach something that he wasn't living in his own family and God said nope you're not doing it you're not going to go preach something that you're not doing yourself and this a traumatic scene Moses and Zipporah are fighting over this she he he sends her back I mean there there's her son there there that mom and dad's fighting they're crying because they're fighting and because they've just been circumcised he I mean no man wants to be circumcised you especially don't want to be circumcised by your mom I mean this is a traumatic scene you following me have you ever thought about when God told Abraham he's the one God told Abraham I'm going to give you a sign of our covenant circumcision I personally think that Abraham said Noah got a rainbow okay here's there's the sad thing Moses's wife and kids were not with him for some of the most dramatic parsh portions of his ministry they're on the way to Egypt he sends them back they don't see the water turned into blood they don't see the tin plates they don't see Moses standing up to the leader of the world they don't see their dad they don't see their dad part the Red Sea and the Egyptian army swot Levant see any of that when we started that was all had already happened everything the Old Testament represents something spiritual in the new so is it possible his wife and kids were not with him in ministry is it possible that sometimes a spouse is sitting on the front row but not with her husband while he's standing on the platform in ministry is it possible that kids grow up and their dad's the pastor but they themselves don't enter the promised land because Moses his sons didn't enter the promised land years ago when our kids were small Debbie and I about the only luxury we had we saved up and we bought a hot tub just one that you just plug in the wall little bitty put it on the back porch wasn't very much at all and but that was about the only luxury that we had and every night we'd put the kids to bed and we would sit in that hot tub and just kind of talk about the day how was your day well you know and just we just have some us time those of you have kids you understand you know we used to have this little monitor that we you know there was in the kids room and all I remember one time the monitor fell in the hot tub it was amazing after that the kids never cried they never cried after that so but anyway it was great so um so we'd set there and talked so we were talking one night and that be said to me she's telling me about this problem as she was having and I said to her um honey you you just need to hear God you just need to hear God and she started crying and she said I don't know how to do that you talk all the time about God talking I don't know how to hear God and here I traveled all over and spoke and talked college classes and taught everybody else how to hear God and I hadn't taught my wife and I decided right then I'm never gonna do this again I'm not gonna sacrifice my family on the altar of ministry my family's gonna be my first priority I want you to bow your heads and close your eyes I want you to take a moment just like we do every weekend just ask the Holy Spirit what are you saying to me through this message I know I know I talked to you about my priorities but I know God takes his word and uses it in all of our lives I'm asking what the Holy Spirit said to you today have you set your priorities have you scheduled your priorities are you following that schedule do you know what God's call is on your life and you know how much time it takes every week to fulfill that call are you making that happen we want to pray for you at every campus if you're in an overflow room in just a moment we're going to have leaders at the front of every campus and at the front of every overflow room if you need prayer for any area of your life we want to pray for you I won't tell you don't have to be a member of Gateway Church to come for prayer and you could be a leader and need prayer because I need prayer so if you need prayer for any reason as soon as we stand I want you simply to stand up step out and come to the front of the campus or the overflow room where you are and let us pray for you Holy Spirit I pray you'll draw every person that has any need of prayer in Jesus name Amen I was 19 years old when I gave my life to the Lord and everything changed I didn't have any desire to go back to that old life I wanted to walk with the Lord and learn more about him and some people helped me to learn the Bible and to learn how to pray and to learn about my new life in Christ and that's what we want to do for you I am so excited that you've given your life to the Lord he's forgiven all of your sins and you're on your way to heaven but we need to learn some things now about the Bible about prayer about some basics of the Christian life so that you can be victorious and live for the Lord like I you want to so we've designed a class called fresh start and I want to encourage you to sign up for this class because we want to help you grow in your walk with the Lord now I love you and I'm so proud of you

Channel: gatewaychurchtv

Views: 208,244

Rating: 4.8640428 out of 5

Keywords: gatewaypeople, Gateway Church, Pastor Robert, Robert Morris, Southlake, Texas, DFW, Lord, God, Jesus, Christ, Church, Priority, Priorities

Id: xQ18A8uhm1s

Length: 35min 31sec (2131 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 25 2014