Moses spent the last third of his life fulfilling God's purpose. In what we would consider his retirement years, Moses led the nation of Israel out of Egypt, through the desert, to the Promised Land. During that time, God used him to deliver His law, to appoint judges over the nation, to purify the nation and to appoint the next generation leader. During this time, we see Moses use all that God had taught him throughout his life to lead his people in a way that would lead them to maturity, lead them to lead themselves, and lead them to glorify God. There are several principles that become obvious during this phase in Moses' life that we can apply in helping us become Legacy Leaders.
The first principle that we see displayed during this period of Moses' life is God-centeredness. That is what Christ as the standard in our lives is all about. God empowers us to lead when He calls us to lead. We do not have to be the best speakers, we do not have to have a position or title, and we do not even have to be perfect people. We just have to depend on the grace of God and the strength of His might. We have to wait patiently for Him and not move out before He sends us. We must also be so ready to move that when He calls our name we are instant. Again, Blackaby says in his book Spiritual Leadership, "He (God) ask leaders to walk with Him so intimately that, when He reveals what is on His agenda, they will immediately adjust their lives to His will and the results will bring glory to God." Legacy is not about me, but God doing great things through me. God told Moses, "I will be with you." At every step of the journey, God gave Moses supernatural influence because Moses was completely dependant on God. Because Moses had established God as the center of his life, Israel heard him when He spoke in God's name, Pharaoh heard him when he acted in God's name, and the Red Sea even heard him when he moved in God's name.
Second, we see the principle of influence displayed in the life of Moses. We have already seen how God gave Moses supernatural influence because He was centered on God. However, we also see Moses use that influence to challenge Israel's old way of life. To lead implies a new direction. The people of God could not stay tethered to Egypt. They could not become free men and women without making the journey through the wilderness. Only then would they have the souls of free men and dwell in the Promised Land. Leaders must challenge the old and anticipate resistance. The journey would not be easy. There would be plagues and elemental barriers. There would be Pharaoh's army and a desert. There would be idols and giants. However, through the leadership of Moses, God would provide gold and miracles, victory and manna, a covenant and a Promised Land.
Third, we see the principle of integrity. Leadership holds people and organizations accountable to the godly standard. Moses ascended to receive the law, and the people quickly forgot the vision and regressed to their old way, corrupting themselves. When God became angry and was set to destroy the people, Moses took responsibility for the people he was leading. Then, Moses went to the people and held God's truth up before their delusion. He showed the people that they must be faithful to the one true God. Moses was responsible to impose fidelity to the original. When the people revert back and corrupt themselves, the leader must intercede, destroy the graven idols and refocus the people on the purpose of the journey—the Promised Land. As a result, God made a covenant with His people.
The fourth essential element we see displayed in the life of Moses is vision. The Hebrews prayed for liberation for hundreds of years, but it was not until God decided to initiate it that the change became a reality. Moses questioned his selection by God as a change agent, his ability to confront the old establishment and his credibility to lead the people—just like all of us do. However, God revealed to Moses what He had purposed to do. The vision, "the land of milk and honey," is the responsibility of the leadership. God showed Moses the vision, and it was up to Moses to keep the vision ever in front of the people. When they were afraid, he had to remind them of the vision. When they were tired, he had to remind them of the vision. When they fell into sin, Moses had to keep the picture God had planned for their future in front of them. By staff, by pillar of fire, by stone tablet, or by temple tent, Moses kept the picture of what God had promised in plain view. Fifth, we see the principle of imitation, as Moses demonstrates an attitude of hope, built on the promises of God. Even after many years, when they've almost achieved their vision, the children of Israel still did not have the heart of free people. The Lord told Moses to send in spies to the Promised Land. When they returned, ten among the leaders of the children of Israel had lost the vision and gave a fearful report. The people of God murmured. Spiritual leadership is always optimistic. Only Joshua and Caleb were optimist. Upon hearing the negative reports of the others, they tore their clothes. The congregation begged to stone them with stones, but God protected them. Of the founding fathers, only Joshua and Caleb ever entered the Promised Land. While the murmuring of the people kept them wandering in the wilderness and their lack of faith in God kept all but the two optimists from seeing the vision with their eyes, the future leaders of the nation were not deterred by giants and were able to savor the reality of the vision in the Promised Land.
Leaders often must challenge the realistic, or pessimistic, majority and offer an unpopular divine perspective. It took forty years for the old generation to die. It took forty years for the next generation to develop, a courageous generation with holy and free souls, men and women who honored God. Then, they were a nation of people who imitated the nature and character of God.
The sixth characteristic of Legacy Leadership we see in the life of Moses is intensity. The people of God cried out to the Lord, and cried out to Moses saying, "We should have stayed in Egypt!" In the heat of battle, the people crumbled under the intensity. They were not always equipped to deal with where God was leading them, but God's chosen leader was. Moses quieted the people, admonished them to have faith and told them the Lord would lead the way. The Lord empowered Moses to part the waters. The children of Israel did not want to let go of the old. Although they wanted to be free, it was too difficult to let go. At the first sign of difficulty, Israel began to complain—better to die in the old familiar world than in pressing on to take hold of a future hope. Of course they took the knowledge of the old with them, and reverted back to it as soon as Moses was out of sight, so Moses had to destroy the old completely.
The people of Israel so lacked an understanding of intensity, that they were willing to be slaves for a few onions and a pepper. Moses understood what was at stake and that God had burned the old bridges back to insure that the people of God would not step in the same river twice. Unless those Hebrews could walk on water, they would not return to the old. They had been led through a parted sea, and they would either receive the promise of God or die in the wilderness.
Seventh, Moses displayed maturity. He had learned the idea of wholeness. What he learned about himself and about life while tending the sheep gave him a unity of purpose in his spirit. He was a strong leader and exercised judgment over the people with great wisdom. Most of all, we see that in the end, Moses was at peace with God.
Moses also displays for us multiplication, though, like most of us, he needed a little help with this one. Moses overburdened himself with the demands of leadership, and had to be instructed to empower those around him. In Exodus 18:13–26, we see a perfect picture of why spiritual leadership is to always be engaged in delegating out both authority and responsibility to the leaders we lead.
Moses had become overwhelmed by the task of serving the people, and he needed someone else to help him see that it was not good for him or the people. His father-in-law helped him see that just because it needed to be done and he could do it, did not mean that he had to or should do it by himself. You do what God has called you to do, what only you can do, and you appoint others to handle the rest. Make them accountable to you, give them both authority and responsibility, and then set them free to serve God and grow in their maturity.
Again, Moses not only shows the value of multiplication, but also the fruit of maturity and wisdom. He shows us a humble and teachable spirit, respect of his father-in-law, and trust in God. In Numbers 11, God orders Moses to appoint elders over the people because Moses could no longer bear the burden of leadership alone. A true leader is more a teacher than a judge. The leader must select those he empowers carefully, but leaders must exist at every level. For Moses, they existed over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties, and over tens.
Finally, Moses shows us spiritual magnification. We see this in his understanding that it was never about him. Moses knew he would not live to enter the Promised Land and asked God for his replacement. Good leadership recognizes the importance of constancy of leadership and bridges his leadership with an effective succession strategy, finding a successor early and passing the mantle over time in the sight of the followers. It is often the new leader, anointed in the wilderness, who leads the people into the new vision.
Change is never easy! Transformational change is the most difficult, and great change requires great leadership. However, the glory of God for generation after generation is a great legacy to leave. As spiritual leaders, we have a unique opportunity to provide some necessary and valuable gifts for the next generation. We are at a sacred moment for transformation—urgency. God desires to do a great and mighty work in the next generation. We must provide great leadership.
Moses mentored Joshua and worked to prepare him to lead the nation into the Promised Land. He understood the folly of leaving our work to untrained hands. Moses understood that the journey was never the purpose, nor was his great leadership. The purpose was moving God's people from where they were to where He wanted them to be. The purpose of God was to move Israel from slavery to freedom, from oppression to promise, from Egypt to the Promised Land.
If our lives are to be about God's purposes and the glory of God displayed for generations to come, we must use our influence to challenge the old, impact our people by providing guidance through the process, and leave a legacy of people in our place who are better than us, born in the wilderness, who will enter the Promised Land and be leaders for the next generation.
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