Foundations of Leadership: Obedience, God's Presence, and Community

The Posture of Leadership

Good morning, church. My name's Randy, and I'm so glad you're here at Lakewood Ranch and to those watching online across our other campuses. We're in the middle of a series called Foundations of Leadership, and I want to start by reframing what leadership actually is.

Many of you grew up hearing that you're a leader—maybe you didn't like it. I didn't. I wanted to do what I wanted to do without worrying about others. But my mother was right: leadership is simply influence. Nothing more, nothing less. And we all have it.

Leadership is not a title, position, or personality. If you're a parent, small group leader, volunteer, employee, friend, or student—you're a leader. The question isn't "Am I a leader?" but rather: What kind of posture will you have towards God and other people as you exercise the influence He's given you?

Why Moses?

We're studying Moses because he's one of the greatest leaders in Scripture—not because of his education, personality, or talents. Actually, the opposite. Moses didn't know where he fit in life. It has everything to do with your posture—your bent, your leaning—which influences others.

Today, I'm putting on the professor's hat. You showed up, so you signed up for this leadership class. I'm going to teach you how to posture yourself to be a great leader.

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Point One: The Posture of Obedience

You have to obey God when it doesn't make sense—especially when it doesn't make sense.

Moses led Israel out of 400 years of Egyptian slavery toward the promised land. They reached the Red Sea, and suddenly Pharaoh changed his mind. The Egyptian army was closing in. Israel was trapped: mountains on either side, sea in front, army behind.

God told Moses:

"Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground." (Exodus 14:15-16)

Moses stretched out his hand. The sea divided. The people walked through on dry ground with walls of water on both sides.

This was not a military strategy. This was an obedience test.

God gives us promptings, and often they won't make sense. Great leaders posture themselves toward obedience to the Lord even when it doesn't make sense. You're going to have adversity. As a leader, your response must be: "God, I'm going to do whatever You ask, even when I don't understand."

This echoes what God told Moses in his calling: "What is that in your hand?" It was a staff—a stick. God said, "Surrender it to me. I'm going to use what you have." Moses threw it down; it became a snake. He picked it up; it became a stick again.

The value of what you have—your abilities, talents, gifts, resources—means nothing in your hand. But surrendered to God's hand, that's where leadership magnitude comes alive.

Consider this: A basketball in my hand is worth $30. In Michael Jordan's hand? Over $4 billion. A golf ball in my hand has some value. In Tiger Woods' hand? $1.5 billion. A nail in my hand? 85 cents. A nail in the hands of Jesus? Priceless.

What changes the value of something? Whose hand it's in.

God often asks leaders to obey before He explains. When my wife Amy and I moved to Florida from Louisiana, it made no sense. We left our family, our network, our security. We'd never planted a church. But God said, "Move." It was simply an obedience test. I surrendered my staff to His hands, and that's where He multiplied it.

Notice Exodus 14:15—God told Moses: "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Quit crying and move on."

God was speaking to Moses' posture, not his physical position. Instead of facing God with your problems, turn to your problems and tell them how big your God is. Get your eyes off God's face and onto your situation. Move forward and watch what He does.

When we get our posture right, our influence multiplies, and we impact the people watching us in a positive way.

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Point Two: The Posture of Being Presence-Driven

Presence-driven means led by God's presence—not just His blessings.

After Moses received the Ten Commandments on the mountain, the people grew impatient and built a golden calf. God was angry. He told Moses:

"Leave this place, you and the people you brought out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob... I will send an angel before you... But I will not go with you because you are a stiff-necked people." (Exodus 33:1-3)

It is possible for things to go right in your life and not mean you're walking in God's favor. You could see blessings, receive answers to prayers, but not walk in His presence. One thing to experience God's blessings; another to walk in His favor.

Moses' response reveals the real prize:

"If Your presence doesn't go with us, don't send us from here. How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and Your people unless You go with us? What else will distinguish us from all the other people on earth?" (Exodus 33:15-16)

Great leaders know that God's favor is found in knowing His heart, not just His hand. His hand is His blessings—doors He opens, miracles He performs. His heart is His character, His ways, His will.

Moses said: "Teach me Your ways... show me Your heart." God's favor is in seeking His heart, not His hand.

The Tent of Meeting

How do we know God's heart? Look at Exodus 33:7-11:

"Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the tent of meeting. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered... The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend." (Exodus 33:7, 11)

If you don't take anything else from this series, understand this: the tent of meeting represents a space and place just for you and God.

If you want to posture yourself toward receiving what God has for you, you must shut off the world, silence your phone, and find your own tent of meeting. It's there—in that connection with God—that He reveals things you can get nowhere else.

Without a tent of meeting, you won't hear the secrets of heaven that allow you to walk them out on earth. You won't hear His voice saying, "This is the way. Go right, not left."

In my tent of meeting, God shows me how to handle situations that don't make sense. I'm able to walk out and trust Him because I know His ways. That's how I walk in His favor.

"Your own ears will hear him right behind you, saying, 'This is the way you should go, whether to the right or to the left.'" (Isaiah 30:21)

Without a tent of meeting, you can't hear that voice. Your family could be like everyone else's. Your business like everyone else's. You could be an average employee, student, small group leader. Or you could walk and operate in God's presence so that people look at you and say: "There's something different. God's favor is on them."

Most leaders ask: "God, bless my plans." Great leaders ask: "God, show me Your plan." Rather than doing what you want and asking God to bless it, find out what God is blessing and do that.

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Point Three: The Posture of Community

A great leader realizes: you can't do it alone.

Moses was God-appointed, yet he needed other people. In Exodus 17, the Amalekites attacked Israel. Moses told Joshua:

"Choose some of our men and go out and fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand." (Exodus 17:9)

Joshua fought while Moses stood on the hill with his hands raised. Look what happened:

"As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning. But whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side and one on the other—so that his hands remained steady until sunset." (Exodus 17:11-12)

Leadership is not just organizational or structural—it's spiritual in nature. The battle was won in the valley through what happened on the mountaintop. What you do on the mountaintop affects what happens in the valley.

What happens in your valley has a lot to do with what you do on the mountaintop. I don't know what valley you're facing, but I guarantee: the reason you overcame was because of what you did on the mountaintop. This battle took place at Rephidim—which means "rest." The enemy wants to steal your peace. When he steals your peace, you become erratic. Erratic decisions take you outside God's favor.

Every Leader Has Limits

"Moses' hands grew tired." (Exodus 17:12)

These four words are incredibly encouraging: Every leader has limits.

Imagine holding a glass of water. It weighs 10 ounces—no problem. Hold it for an hour, and the weight changes. After eight hours, your fingers tingle, your hand shakes. Hold it for a day or two, and your whole arm goes numb. Eventually you drop it.

The weight itself doesn't matter. How long you carry it alone—that's what matters.

You think: "I got this. I can handle this alone." That's not the issue. The issue is how long you carry it alone. Major things happen, and we say, "I'll push through." But the weight eventually gets so heavy that you lose control.

You and I need people in our lives to support us. Life gets heavy. The measure of a great leader isn't what they can handle—it's who is around them to help carry it.

Moses was insecure. He argued with God. He felt inadequate. He made mistakes. But what made Moses great wasn't any of those things—it was his posture and lean toward the Lord.

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Altar Call

I know some of you are here today, and taking the first step of leadership means surrendering your life to Christ. We talked about obedience—not obedience to what God asks you to do, but to what He's already done. Jesus lived a perfect life and died on the cross with your sin.

Maybe you've never postured yourself toward that. You've never let Jesus be your Lord and Savior. You're still trying to manage things on your own. The first community around you isn't Aaron and Hur—it's Jesus, who lifts your sin and removes it forever.

If that's you, raise your hand and say: "Pastor Randy, I want to be included in this prayer."

Pray with me:

"Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me. Thank you, Jesus, that You positioned Yourself to take my sin so it could be removed forever. Today I recognize that, and I posture myself underneath You, Jesus. You are now my Lord. You are now my Savior. I'm following You in everything I do and in every way I do it. Jesus, You are my Lord. Amen."

Give God some praise.