The Preparation of a Leader, Part 2

You know, it's always hard to lead. It's never easy. It's harder to lead after somebody who is a great leader, like Moses. Sometimes when you follow in the footsteps of somebody who's really great, you kind of become the sacrificial lamb because you never measure up to the previous fella or the previous lady. And so you've got to realize that Joshua was stepping into some pretty huge sandals when it came to leading the nation of Israel. And yet, how is it he was the man to lead? What made Joshua so special?

Why not a guy like Caleb? Why not somebody else? Why specifically Joshua? What made him The next leader. Now we know that God appointed him. We know that God chose him. And we know that no man leads anywhere unless God puts him there. So we understand the sovereignty of God in orchestrating the events of life and putting people into leadership positions. And that's a good thing to grasp. If you haven't grasped that yet, you need to understand it. God's in complete control, and God puts people into leadership.

And yet there were some certain events in the life of Joshua that made him what he was. And the seven times he's mentioned before the book of Joshua, provide for us a framework. Provide for us an understand of what it takes to become a great leader. But we began last week by looking at the very first time Joshua is mentioned, and that is in Exodus chapter 17, when they went to battle against the Amalekites at Raphidim.

We told you that prayer was the backbone of ministry. That's the lesson Joshua learned that day. When he went down into the valley to fight against the Amalekites, and Moses was up on top of the mountain, holding his hands up high. Aaron and her were under his hands. And Joshua learned that very first time that his victory would be won through dependence upon God.

And then we took you to Exodus chapter 24. And we told you that this is the second time that Joshua was mentioned.

And what we have is God saying in verse 1, he said to Moses, Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, And A, and 70 of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. You know, when God gives you the divine invitation to come up, you go. And you know what? You don't get there late either. You get there on time. You don't get there late, you get there early because you want to make sure you don't miss anything. And God said, come up to the mountain. We talked about how Aaron and Nadab and Abih and Moses and the 70 elders of which Joshua was one of, we told you that, how they went up partway up the mountain.

And there they had communion with God. It says that verse 9, then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, and Abi, and 70 of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. And under his feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire as clear as the sky itself. Yet he did not stretch out his hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel. And they beheld God, and they ate and they drank. Now, we can even begin to imagine what that must have been like, as the glory of the Lord would come down around them and they would experience a sweet communion with the God of the universe.

And then we know, as we noted last week, that God calls Moses further up the mountain. So he and Joshua make their journey a little further up the mountain, the Bible says, and they stayed there for six days.

And then God called Moses up on top of Mount Sinai, and Joshua stayed where he was. Before they embarked a little further up the hill, Moses said to Aaron, You wait. Right here. Verse number 14. Wait here for us until we return. To you. Aaron, you wait. Don't go anywhere until me and Joshua return. And of course, we know that Moses was on top of Mount Sinai. And he received those tablets of stone from God Almighty, and it was a remarkable thing. Joshua didn't leave. And we told you that Joshua gained a perception of God.

And that perception would be the basis of his victory. If prayer is the backbone of ministry, per becomes the basis for victory. And we told you that as he was able to behold the glory of the Lord and have that sweet communion with him and go a little further up the mountain as he sat there and waited for Moses, what did he do for 40 days? We don't know. The Bible doesn't say. But we know that he gained some perception because in Exodus 32, when he and Moses come down the mountain, he hears the dancing and the singing down below where the Israelites had built the golden calf.

Under the direction of Aaron, because Aaron didn't wait. Aaron didn't stay. And you know, as I read that, it really boggles my mind. Why is it Joshua was able to st in place, stay put, until Moses came down and then they were able to make their way down the mountain together? Why is it Joshua would stay and Aaron would not stay? Before I tell you that, let me go to point number three.

If prayer is the backbone for ministry and perception is the basis for ministry, then point number three.

Deals with passion. And passion is the bridge to intimacy. Passion is the bridge to intimacy. Because after the idolatrous event in Exodus chapter 32, in Exodus 33, Moses moves the tent of meeting outside the camp. And this is the third time Joshua is mentioned.

Listen to what it says. Verse number 7, Exodus 33. Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp. A good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And it came about that everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which is outside the camp. It came about whenever Moses went out to the tent that all the people would arise and stand each at the entrance of the tent and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. And it came about, whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses.

When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of none, a young man, Would not depart from the tent. That's the third time the name of Joshua was mentioned.

See the passion there? He would not depart from the tent. Having gained a perception of God. He grew in his passion for God. You see that? Having been on the mount for those 40 days and gaining a clear perception of Almighty God, and now when he comes down, he's able to worship as God at the 10th of. Meeting. He goes and Moses speaks to God face to face, and he leaves, but Joshua, the son of none, stays right there. When was the last time you went to the tent of meeting? Or when was the last time you went to the tent of the church?

Or when was the last time you went to worship your God and you didn't want to l You just wanted to stay right there. Joshua didn't want to leave. So quickly we find ourselves, you know, got to get home. We to go here. We got to go there. We got this appointment. We've got this traveling expenditure. We got to go over here. We've got to And we don't stay to let it all soak in. Joshua somehow wasn't bored with the presence of Almighty God. You know, we need to be men and women who love to stay in the presence of God.

That's the way Joshua was. And that perception. Became the basis for his victory. But that perception led to passion. And that passion was his bridge to intimacy with Almighty God. And so I began to think, you know, there was something about Joshua he saw in his God that most of us don't see. We don't get. Aaron evidently didn't get it very well. Aaron didn't see God nearly as well as Joshua did, let alone as well as Moses did. Because you see, the key to the victory for Joshua was that he could see his God in everything.

And that gave him a great passion to be with his God. And that would be the bridge to intimacy for him. He just wanted to be with God. He wanted to know Him. He wanted to soak in as much of God as he possibly could. See, that's why He was such a great leader. And you know, sometimes we forget that in the spiritual realm, our leadership depends a lot on our passion for God. So I asked myself the question: why is it that when people come to church, they don't see what others see? They don't get what others get.

What is it about their coming that hinders their vision, their perception of God? So if you allow me, I'd like to spend the next few minutes talking to you about that. Because I think it's very important for all of us to grasp. Verse is this. Turn with me in your Bible to John chapter 12.

The Bible says in verse number 20, now there were certain Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast.

These therefore came to Philip, who was from Betsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. We want to see Jesus. You know, that should be the question we all ask, right? I still think that we need to put that outside the door of our church. Sir, we wish to see Jesus. So that when we come in here, we are reminded that we've come to see the Lord. We haven't come to do anything else but see our God. Listen, if you want to see Jesus, it begins with an affirmation. Or an acclamation of who he truly is.

That's where it begins. And what he came to do. It all begins with that. You see, you must accept him for who he is and what he came to do. You must see him as he wants to be seen. So, at that great confession. In Mark chapter 8 or in the corresponding chapter Gospel of Matthew 16, when Peter makes that great confession and Christ says, listen, I know that's a great confession, but don't tell anybody.

Instead, this is what you tell them, that the Son of Man came to suffer for the sins of the world. And the die and rise again the third day.

That's what you tell them. Because you see, they don't get that. But you've got to tell them that. Because there needs to be a sacrifice for their sins, because man needs to be saved. And I have come to seek and save that which is lost. And unfortunately, listen carefully, listen carefully, a lot of people never see Jesus because they don't affirm him as Lord and Savior of their lives. The Bible says, if we confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, you'll be saved.

But you got to believe that Jesus is Lord. And you got to believe that he came to die for your sins and rose again the third day.

Unless you see the Savior, you'll never see your sin. And if you never see your sin, you never see your need for a Savior, and you'll never be sa. That's why in order to see God there must be an admission by him to allow you to see him So that you might affirm him in all of his glory that he is the Lord of the universe who died for your sins. So important. Begins with an affirmation: Jesus is Lord. He died for my sins. He rose again the third day.

He's coming back again. Number two, it goes from affirmation to number two att. Affirmation of God to attention toward God. Attention toward God. You know, for so many verses in the Bible, we realize that for the most part, we're not a tenant to God. Joshua was. Aaron was not. Joshua would spend 40 days on the side of a mountain beholding the cloud as it encompassed Moses on top of Sin. Moses would come down to the tent of meeting and the cloud would come down and Joshua would go out to the tent of meeting to worship the Lord and Moses would lead and Joshua would stay.

Because he was attentive to his God. He had undivided, God had his undivided attention. You know, our attention is so divided. Maybe yours is divided right now.

Maybe you're thinking about, boy, I sure hope he gets done so I can get home tonight to watch my favorite TV program. Or maybe if I just get home enough time, I can catch the end of the game. You know? Our attention. is so easily divided from the thing we need to be focused on. Hebrews 12, fixing your eyes on Jesus. The author and perfecter of our faith. Listen, if you don't fix your eyes on Jesus, if you don't give him your undivided attention, you will grow weary and you will faint. You will. But if you fix your eyes upon Jesus, who is an author and perfecter of your faith, you will understand the joy that was set before him.

You will understand how it is to consider him, who he is, his glory, and you will not grow weary. You will not faint. You will be able to endure to the end. We have so many Christians going down to defeat. Why? Well, it begins with an affirmation of who God is. It begins with an attention toward the God of the universe. Undivided attention toward him. Number three, an affection toward God.

And affection toward God. Mark 12, remember when the man came to Christ and said, What's the foremost commandment? It's this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. Remember that? What did the man say? He said, Teacher You have truly stated. Lord, you're right. And the Bible says this.

And when Jesus saw they had answered intelligently, he said to him, You are not far. From the kingdom of God. He wasn't there yet. He wasn't there. You see, he understood. The law of God. But he was unwilling to love the Lord of that law. The Bible goes on to say in Mark the 12 that no one dare ask him any more quest. That 's it. There's no more questions to ask because that's the end-all-be of Christianity. You've got to be affectionate toward him. You've got to commit your life to him. There's an intense passion about being with your God.

You know, we just walk through life thinking, you know, we can just show up at church and, you know, read a few Bible verses, sing a few choruses, and that's enough to get me through the week. It's not. It's not what it's about. It's about having an affectionate love with your God. So we have to ask ourselves, if I'm not seeing God, Then it deals with number one have a wrong affirmation, a wrong acclamation.

Or, number two, I must realize that there is something wrong with my attention span. Or, there's something wrong with my affections. They're misdirected. They're misguided. Number four. Deals with, listen, app. That's the fourth word. Application. That is applying the Word of God to your life. If you want to see God, then you do the Word of God. How do we know that? John 14. How many times have we read this verse to you? John 14, I'll read it to you one more time, verse number 21, to make sure you get it.

And it's this. He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me, and he who loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will disclose myself to him. The only person I'm going to disclose myself to is the one who keeps my commandments. That's it. Nobody else. So, there needs to be an application of the Word of God in my life. That is, when I hear the Word of God, I now become not a forgetful hearer, but an actual doer, as James says in James chapter 2. The more you do what God says, the clearer He becomes to you.

And the more He reveals Himself to you, the more He discloses Himself, the more He manifests Himself. That's important. Number five: association. Association. That is, association with the people of God. Over in Psalm 16, verse number 3, it says, As for the saints who are in the earth, they are majestic ones, in whom is all my delight. Let me tell you something.

There's something about associating with the people of God that helps you see the character and nature of God. That's why the body has what is called spiritual gifts. Why? Because Jesus Christ Himself embodied all the gifts. No one person embodies all the gifts in scripture. But when the church comes together and everybody begins to exercise their gift, then we get a composite picture of what Jesus Christ looks like. And so, when you begin to associate with the body of Christ, with the family of God, then you begin to see God.

When you stop associating yourself with the people of God, stop going to church, stop being with people, stop exercising your gifted, then you don't see God. So there's affirmation, there's attention, affirmation of God, attention to God, affection for God, application of the word of God, association with the people of God, and listen.

An aversion, an aversion of the things God hates. That is, there's a complete rejection. of the things that God hates. Psalm 15, verse number 4, in whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord. Psalm 15 is about who can dwell with God, who can dwell on his holy mountain. Who can do that? With those who walk with integrity, who work righteousness, who speak the truth, who don't slander with their tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend, and in whose eyes a reprobate is des, but he honors those who fear the Lord.

Let me tell you something. If you want to see God, then there needs to be an aversion of those things that God hates. You reject everything God hates. You hate what God hates. You despise what God despises. And the more you do, the more you'll see God. And then there is ambition. Ambition. There needs to be an ambition for the things of God. We all have ambitions. We all want to do things right. We all want to go places. We all want to be places. We have these ambitions in our lives. But we must, as Paul said, We make it our ambition to please him who is invisible.

2 Corinthians 5, verses 9 and 10. Paul says that's my ambition. Romans 15, 20 says, my ambition is to preach the word of God. Over in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 9, I think it is 9 to 12, it talks about my ambition to lead a a quiet life and to live a holy and righteous life. You see, our ambitions must be centered around the things that God wants us to be ambitious about. But we find ourselves ambitious about things that just don't matter. And then anticipation. Anticipation of the Lord's return.

There's something about long for his appearing. You see, you will always Catch a glimpse of God if you're always looking for Him to return. And that's why the Bible says in Titus 2 that we are always looking for that glorious hope and that great appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

He is our hope. And the more you look for him, the more you're going to see him. And lastly, ad. Adoration, a complete ad of God where he becomes more than the sole object of my affection. He becomes everything to me. That he is the only one I worship. I worship nothing else. I worship no one else. I worship my God. I adore him. And when you are committed to adoring your God, you will see him for who he is. Joshua was. Joshua was. With great passion, he refused to leave the tent of meeting. Joshua, he took nothing for granted.

He wanted to be prepared to lead, and God prepared him. And God would begin to use each and every incident in his life to make him more like him, in order that on the day it came for Joshua to step in the sandals of Moses. He'd be ready to go. I wonder if God came to you today and said, You know what? It's your time to step into the sandals. It's your time to lead. Would you be prepared? Because you know that prayer is the backbone of your ministry and you know that perception of God is the basis for victory?

And that your passion for God is the bridge to intimacy.