17.10.10 - Words To A New Leader

READ Joshua 1:1-9

God’s words to Joshua include the clause “then you will be prosperous and successful.” Do those words interest you? Do you want to accomplish something for God? Do you want to be effective for Him?

Joshua was called to take over the leadership of Israel. That was his particular ministry but what we read here could apply to anyone starting any ministry. You can be prosperous and successful in your ministry.

The story of Joshua doesn’t start in chapter 1 of this book. He wasn’t plucked out of nowhere to become the leader of Israel. God generally puts people through a long period of preparation before they can lead and we see a hint of that in the description of Joshua as “Moses’ aide”. Joshua had been Moses’ second-in-command. He had been a servant to Moses. He had been mentored by Moses.

In Exodus, Joshua is referred to as Moses’ young aide (e.g. Ex 33:11). This probably means that he was a young man when the Israelites had left Egypt.

When Moses went up Mt Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, it seems Joshua went part-way (Ex 24:13; 32:17).

When Moses went to the tent of meeting, into the presence of God, Joshua went with him and when Moses returned to the camp, Joshua stayed at the tent.

You might remember the battle against the Amalekites when Moses went up the mountain with Aaron and Hur. While Moses arms were lifted up, the Israelites were winning. When Moses’ arms drooped, the Amalekites had the ascendency – and so Aaron and Hur held up Moses arms. While Moses was up the mountain doing the spiritual warfare, it was Joshua who was leading the army down below. (Ex 17)

It is possible that Joshua had been an assistant to Moses even before they had left Egypt which would mean that for more than forty years, Joshua had been the servant.

Joshua was one of the twelve spies sent to spy out the Promised Land and only Joshua and Caleb had come back saying the people should trust God and take the land. The other ten brought back a report of the difficulties, and discouraged the people. It was because of that that God said that generation would never enter the Promised Land but was condemned to forty year of aimless wandering in the desert. Only Caleb and Joshua would enter the land.

Then when Moses was told that he would not enter the Promised Land, he asked God to appoint someone else to be the leader of the people. God told Moses to commission Joshua “a man in whom is the spirit of leadership” and to give him some of his authority “so that the whole Israelite community will obey him”. Presumably Moses gave Joshua more leadership opportunities that he exercised with the authority that Moses had delegated. And so Israel saw that Moses had approved Joshua and Israel obeyed Joshua.

Eventually Moses died and Joshua was to take over completely. That is what we read about in the first few verses from the book of Joshua but the thing to notice first is that Joshua had served his apprenticeship. For many, many years he had been the assistant but, in that role, had learnt from Moses and had developed skills as diverse as military leadership and meeting God.

It is true of many people in scripture that there were many years during which God prepared them. Jesus Himself had thirty years of preparation for three years of ministry. Moses was eighty before he began his role as leader of Israel.

If you desire to serve God effectively, be prepared to serve your apprenticeship. The better the preparation, the better will be your ministry. That preparation might include simply serving and being found faithful in the little things. It might include playing second fiddle and learning to take commands before you can be trusted to give commands. Good leaders have learnt what it means to be followers. Let God build into your character and hone your skills and extend your knowledge. People who aren’t willing to be apprentices show themselves not fit to be leaders.

Joshua had served his apprenticeship. He had been Moses’ aide. Then came the day when he would become leader. God said to him, “Moses, my servant, is dead. Now then, you...” The time came for Joshua to step up and take responsibility.

God then reiterated the call. Joshua was to lead the people into the Promised Land. That was no small task. The land was already inhabited and heavily fortified. The inhabitants were highly organised military forces. The Israelites were a wandering rabble. Joshua’s leadership task was immense. You might think that the ministry God is calling you to is also immense. However, look at what God says.

He reiterates the call: Go and take the land.

When it does get hard – and there would be battles – Joshua could look back and say, “I know God called me.” If it had been his own bright idea doubts would set in. But it wasn’t his idea. It was God’s call on his life and he could always come back to that thought.

We too need to know what ministry God has called us to. That sense of call will strengthen us when it gets hard. It is a serious mistake to seek to be effective for God in an area to which He has not called us. There is no guarantee of God’s presence and God’s help if we are simply following our own bright ideas.

On the other hand, there is a promise of God’s help if we are obedient to the call on our lives. Where God calls He also enables. Notice how God gives Joshua an assurance with many promises. “I will give you this land. I will give you every place where you set your foot. Your territory will extend from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean. No one will be able to stand against you...”

And then perhaps the greatest assurance of all: v.5, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. In the same way that I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

That is a promise God has made to person after person and one that He makes to us. For example, in the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples and I will be with you to the very end of the age.” We can make disciples with the same assurance Joshua had: God has promised to be with us.

Then four times God says “Be strong and courageous.” (vv. 6, 7, twice in v.9) Presumably God had to keep saying it because Joshua didn’t feel particularly strong and courageous.

If you are not strong and courageous, does it do any good to be told to be strong and courageous? If you are worrying and don’t know how to stop, what good is it if someone tells you not to worry. You are worrying! That is the problem. It was not that Joshua had it in himself to be strong and courageous and he just had to pluck up the courage. He could be strong and courageous because of God – because of God’s call on his life; because of the promises God had given, but primarily because God had promised to be with him. The source of his strength and courage was not his own internal fortitude. The source was God.

We might be very afraid of what God is asking of us too. God doesn’t simply say, “Be brave.” He says, “I am with you. Therefore be brave.” It is about trusting God and because we trust Him, being strong and courageous. It is the bravery that comes from faith.

We see that very clearly in v.9. God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous, not afraid, not discouraged “for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” There is the reason. This is about trust; faith.

There is a condition, or a requirement. God isn’t making a blanket promise to always be with Joshua no matter what. No, there are times when God says “I won’t be with you.” When the Israelites listened to the negative reports of the ten spies and refused to enter the land, God pronounced a punishment on them: they would wander in the desert until no one of that generation remained alive (except Caleb and Joshua). Then the people said, “OK we will go in.” But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed! Do not go up because the Lord is not with you! You will be defeated by your enemies... Because you have turned away from the Lord, He will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.”

We cannot assume that God is with us. God is not with us if we choose to sin – which leads to the next thing God said to Joshua: Be careful to obey all the Law my servant, Moses, gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (v.8-9)

If Joshua is going to lead these people successfully, he must obey all of the Law, doing everything in it. There isn’t room for a partially committed person in ministry. There isn’t room for the person who is going to pick and choose what he/she will obey; who will let Jesus be partially Lord. God is looking for dedicated people who have made Jesus Lord of their lives and desire to do what is right at all times.

To obey God’s word, one must know God’s word. And, again, not know just a little of it; not know just the stories taught in Sunday school, but know God’s word and to have heard God speak through it.

God says to Joshua, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips.” On your lips? Joshua was to speak God’s word. As a leader, he was to take His leading from God and from God alone. Even as a leader, Joshua was to be a follower. He wasn’t to teach his own ideas and philosophy. It was the word of God that was to be constantly on his lips.

To be giving out the word of God, he had to be taking in the word of God and he had to understand it. Understanding comes from meditation. Meditation is simply focused thinking. Day and night, Joshua was to be thinking about God word. As we meditate, the Holy Spirit reveals understanding. The aim of meditating is obedience. God says here, “Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

If you do aspire to have an impact for God and especially if you aspire to lead others, meditate on God’s word day and night. We live in an age when Christians spend far more time sitting in front of their TVs and computer screens and reading all sorts of other literature than they spend reading the word of God. Be a student of the word and you will end up head and shoulders ahead of your contemporaries. You will be the sort of person God chooses to use.

Joshua proved to be a great leader. He wasn’t perfect. He made mistakes, but he was, nevertheless, a great leader. Much of that greatness can be traced back to these verses. It was because he had been willing to serve his apprenticeship. It was because he had learnt from Moses. It was because the call of God was on his life and he determined to fulfil what God had called him to. It was because He had God’s promises. It was because He was a man of faith and a man of the word of God. He sought to know and do all that God had said, and he knew the presence of God.

At one stage God had said to the Israelites, “Go up and enter the Promised Land. I will send an angel but I will not go with you because you are a stiff-necked people.” (Ex 33:1-4)

Moses then said, “Lord, if you don’t go with us, don’t send us. What else would distinguish us from the other nations?” You see, the one thing that makes Christians different is the presence of God in our lives – the presence of the Holy Spirit. If you want to be effective: serve your apprenticeship; let God train you; know God’s call on your life and the promises that come with it; and let His word soak into you and come out again. And He has promised to be with you. If God is with us, there is nothing in the whole world that can prevent us being prosperous and successful in the things He is calling us to do. If God is for us, who can be against us?