From Fear to Faith: Trusting God in Leadership Transition

``fortunately, Moses had better sense than the people he was leading. And he tells them, don't be afraid. It's interesting to me here that Moses doesn't go back and say, don't be so angry or don't be so faithless. He goes back to the root of the problem and says, don't be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord's salvation. In other words, don't fear. Look to God. God is capable of overcoming every difficulty and every problem. God has a plan. God is putting things in place. Don't be afraid. Look to God. [01:09:59] (54 seconds)  #DontFearLookToGod

Now what happens when Moses finally goes to Egypt, finally goes there to begin to lead the people, is not what we want might expect. The the the the in most cases, if a people is gonna be freed from oppression, it's gonna be freed from oppression in war or civil wars or or difficult transitions. You know, there's gonna be fighting that goes into that. And I suppose in a sense, we do see fighting in all of that. But it's not that Moses is leading a revolt or a revolution. It's that God is fighting for the people. [00:51:59] (47 seconds)  #GodFightsForUs

I don't really mean that as an indictment of our church, but our church watermark is in a very interesting season. We're we're in a very wild time right now. Our pastor, who's the only pastor that this church has ever had, is failing physically. And he's asked us to begin to look for the next pastor at Watermark. This is a difficult place for us to be. We love pastor Allen. For most of us, we came to to this church at least in part because of the ministry, because of the teaching, because of the love of pastor Allen. We love pastor Allen. But he's told us, it's time for you to start looking for a new pastor. [01:11:45] (72 seconds)  #WatermarkTransition

Now, please don't misunderstand. God is capable of doing anything he wants to do. And should god decide that he's going to totally, powerfully heal pastor Allen and bring him to full health and restore him as our pastor, we can quit everything that we're doing in terms of looking for a second pastor. That God is able to do whatever he wants to do. But on pastor Allen's recommendation, pastor Allen's request, we've begun the search for another pastor. It may be more difficult for us when we find a new pastor than as we're looking. [01:12:58] (57 seconds)  #TrustGodsSovereignty

See, no pastor we're going to bring to the church is going to be pastor Allen. My guess is he won't be like pastor Allen at all. And in the same way that pastor Allen's leadership has determined direction and place and the teaching of this church, a new pastor is going to change things in ways that guys honestly are gonna be uncomfortable for us. [01:13:55] (37 seconds)  #EmbraceChangeInLeadership

I gotta say they didn't get around and have election and and vote on who the leader was gonna be. God raised up that leader. You know, we see that kind of start with with Moses as he's faced with a burning bush and he comes face to face with god. God tells him, you're gonna lead my people. And he was actually kind of a reluctant leader. And I don't mean to suggest that Moses was a perfect leader because he was the leader of God the leader that God had tapped, but he was God's leader to make up an impact, to make a difference, to lead them out of out of Egypt. [00:51:25] (34 seconds)  #GodRaisesLeaders

Guys, yes, god saves his people out of it, but but how difficult is this that they're watching just the death and destruction of the people all around them, not by their hands, not by revolution, but by the movement and the power of God. Finally, because of this horrible kind of situation, even Pharaoh's own son is is dead. Finally, because of this whole situation, Pharaoh agrees to let the people go. [00:54:22] (38 seconds)  #GodDeliversThroughJudgment

because the man that we're looking for to be the next pastor of this church is not who we would vote for. It's who god would choose to give us. And we are praying, and I would ask you to pray as hard as you can that God brings us face to face, not with the man that we would most love to have, but with a Moses who God has already told you're to go and pastor this church. The man that God has called out to be your next pastor, not the man that we would pick. Do I understand what I'm saying? That that that that calling a pastor is less about us having an election of a pastor than it is of us listening to god and responding to his movement. [01:15:55] (59 seconds)  #PrayForGodsChoice