The Preparation of a Leader, Part 4b

What is it about the episodes in Joshua's life that are recorded in the scripture that teach us about preparation for leadership? Number five. Pers. Persistence is the bottom line to productivity. Persistence is the bottom line to productivity. You know the story, Numbers 13 and 14. We spent four weeks studying those two chapters. We went through the life of Moses. But there was something about Joshua and Caleb, about their persist, that they would not give in to the multitude. They would not give in to the majority.

They would not bow to peer pressure. They were persistent. They were consistent. And they were determined to accomplish the will of God. It says over in the book of Numbers, chapter 13 or 14, these words. Verse 6: And Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephuna, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes. And they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, The land which we pass through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey.

Only do not rebel against the Lord and do not fear the people of the land, for they shall be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is. Is with us, do not fear them. But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel. They wanted to kill him. But Joshua and Caleb knew the truth, and they knew their God. They had seen their God. They had understood their God. And what God had promised to their forefathers, it was their land, and God had removed the enemy's.

Protection and God would go before them, and God would win the victory. They believed that. And they were persistent in it. A man of great persistence does not bow to the whims of the majority. A man of great persistence understands that the bottom line of productivity is to stick with God no matter what anybody else does. And we need more people like that, don't we? We need a lot of people like that. And Joshua was one of those men who realized. What it meant to be productive for his God. And you realize that it was Joshua and Caleb who were the productive ones.

They were the leaders into the promised land. Caleb was able to obtain his land. Joshua was able to obtain his land. His land. And they knew what it meant to be productive because they would not reneg on their commitment to their God. They were persistent. God's given us the land. When the other ten spies said, No, we can't do it, they said, Yes, we can and we will. We will do it. You know, folks, it's so important to grasp the fact that we need to stand with God cons. And to be so st for God that we will never back down to the opposition.

I wonder if you're like that, or if you're one of those kind of people that kind of crumbles under the pressure of your peers, under the pressure of the majority. If you want to be productive for God, you can't afford to do that. And Joshua and Caleb were the kind of men who were persistent. And they would stick with their God. And their life is a testimony to the productivity of what took place throughout their ministry. And so many times we go down in defeat because we won't stand str for God. If you want to win for the sake of God, then you will be persistent in the things of God.

You will stand true to the word of God. No matter what anybody else says or how many of them say it, because you are committed to your God. Number six, the sixth episode. Mentioned in the scripture about Joshua is in Numbers 27. And this centers around the principle of place. Placement. Let me read it to you.

It says, Verse 65 of chapter 26 of Numbers. For the Lord had said of them, they shall surely die in the wilderness, and not a man was left of them except Caleb the son of Jephun and Joshua the son of Nun. God said, all those 20 years and older are going to die. Remember our study? For all those men to die, 20 years and older, they had to die at 70. Men a day for 40 years. It's a lot of funerals. It's a lot of death. They're all dead now except for Joshua and Caleb. And God had promised you're all going to die because you rebelled against my authority.

You didn't stand strong for me, but Joshua and Caleb stood strong. They're going to live, they're going to go into the promised land. Over in verse number 15 it says, Then Moses spoke to the Lord saying, May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in. that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd. Now, I read that and I'm reminded of one prominent thought: that Moses had no idea who was going to lead after him.

And Joshua had no idea that he'd be the leader after Moses. He didn't know. It wasn't that Moses says, You know, you know, Joshua, I'm grooming you to be the next leader here. You're the man. You know, you stick next to me, you stay close to my cloak and stay underneath my arms, and I'll groom you to be the next leader of Israel. You can be the man. Moses did not know. So he goes to God and asks him. Who's going to lead? Who's the man? Because I don't know who he is. And maybe he was thinking, you, I'm not sure I want to point him out because he's going to have a hard time leading these people.

I did. He's going to have a hard time, too. Listen to what it says. So the Lord said to Moses, Take Joshua, son of none, a man in whom is the S, and lay your hand On him. He was a marked man. The Spirit of God was in him. The Spirit of God was on him. He was a spiritual man. He was a man dominated by the Spirit of God. He was a man subject to the whims of the Spirit of God. Everything God's Spirit said to do, he did. And the Lord God says, You take Joshua.

He is a man in whom is the Spirit. Lay your hands on him and have him stand before Ele. The priest and before all the congregation, and commission him in their sight, and you shall put some of your authority on him, in order that all the congregation of the sons of Israel may obey him. Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At this command they shall go out And at this command they shall come in, both he and the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation.

And Moses did just as the LORD commanded him. They took Joshua and set him before Ele the priest and before all the congregation. They laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord had spoken through Mos. There's something about spiritual leadership you need to understand. And it's this: Spiritual leadership is about spiritual authority. And spiritual authority comes through a spiritual ministry of the Spirit of God in the life of a man or the life of a woman. Because you see, it is a spiritual ministry that cannot be accomplished by the flesh.

See, we don't get that. We have brought our business into the church. We have brought our CEO mentality into the church. We have bought our organizations from the world into the church, and that's how we want to operate the church. You can't do it that way. You can't run the church like you run IBM, thank God. You can't run the church like you run our country. You can't run the church like you run the IRS. You can't run the church like you run the gas station. You can't run the church like any In the world.

Because the church is not an organization, it's an organism. And because it is, it demands spirit-controlled people. It demands people who are subject to the Spirit of God and willing to do anything the Spirit of God says.

And when you begin to leave that realm, Your church becomes just like your business. Your church becomes just another organization that runs under the flesh of man and not the Spirit of God. And you see, God says to Moses, my spirit's Joshua.

That's the one you take. You see, I think that Joshua thought Caleb was going be the next leader. Because Caleb was the first to speak back in Numbers 13.

Joshua would follow Caleb's argument. But Caleb led first. He took the initiative. He spoke first. He stood strong first.

Joshua Came behind him. And maybe Joshua thought that maybe Caleb one day would be the leader. Moses had no idea who was going to be the next leader. So he had to ask God, who's it going to be? And God says, Joshua is the man.

Here's the point. Joshua learned on this day. That placement by God is the benchmark to continuity in the ministry. If God doesn't put the next guy into leadership, then the continuity of that ministry will falter greatly. God must put the next man in or the next woman in or it will fail miserably. See, we tend to think we know the mind of God. We know what God wants. We look around and we pro per the the church. We think, well That man would be a great elder of the church. Oh, yeah, he'd be a good elder.

Yeah, I know. I've seen him work. He'd be a good deacon. Yeah, I know. I've seen him. And we begin to think that person would be good at this and that person would be good at that. Let me tell you something: if God doesn't move the next man in because the Spirit of God's on them, Then there will be no continuity from one leader to the next.

It will be broken. See, we've got to be careful about this. We have a Sunday school teacher, and that Sunday school teacher decides to step down or move away, and we think, wow, who in the church out there would be a good Sunday school? You'll be one. Why don't you come on in? You can teach the kids. You can lead the kids. Come on in and take on the responsibility. Can't do it that way. Got to seek the face of the Lord and have God show you who that next person is. And you know what? Then there's great continuity from one generation to the next generation.

Joshua learned that. And that prepares you for leadership. Helps you become the right kind of man. That's why, over in Acts 6, they choose men who are full of the Spirit of God. Choose from among you those who are full of the Spirit, those who are controlled by the Spirit of God, men who are sensitive to the Spirit's leading. I mean, that's the kind of men you got to have. That's the kind of women you to have. Why? Because you can't lead without the Spirit of God leading you. And when the Spirit of God's leading you, you are a very submissive follower to the Word of God because you want to make sure you do what God says.

And that's why you've got to be controlled and dominated by the Spirit of God, like Joshua was. You see, it's interesting to note that Joshua wasn't jockeying for leadership. He wasn't doing his own publicity here. Making his own signs and you know, going down with people following behind him with his picture on the sign saying, Joshua, the next leader of Israel, let's vote for Joshua. You know, that wasn't the case. I'm not sure really anybody was too eager to step into the leadership role. But Joshua, he was the kind of guy who just wanted to do what God said.

When God called him, he obeyed. You know, in our church, we have a bunch of elders. That never sought to lead We have elders in this church who never jockeyed for position. We have elders in this church who never Try to, through political means, gain the position. The elders of the church are in fear of their position. And they tremble at the fact of what their responsibility is before God. We have had men, men in the past, who have vied for the position of leadership as elder in the church. They wanted it so bad that they tried to maneuver their ministry and their leadership around so they can move up.

And they're not leading. And sometimes you want to lead so bad, you can taste it. That's a bad thing, not a good thing. That's a bad thing, not a good thing. The good thing is that if you believe God's called you to lead, God will place you in his timing in leadership position. Number seven, passing on. Passing on is the blessing of Christianity. person passing on to eternity and publicly passing on a legacy that is the blessing Christianity to one day to be able to go home and be with the Lord and to know that the Lord will put into position another man who will follow that legacy.

Moses had that beautiful blessing. Deuteronomy 34 tells us about the death of Moses. It says that in verse number 7 that although Moses was 120 years old when he died, his eye was not dimmed, nor his vigor abated. So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab 30 days. And the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end. Now Joshua, the son of none, was filled with the spirit of wisdom. For Moses had laid hands on him, and the sons of Israel listened to him, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Since then no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, for all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land. And for all the mighty power, and for all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. You know, Moses was going to pass on, literally. When you die, you pass on to the real life. When you die, you pass on to the destiny of eternity. And you will either pass on to be with the Lord or pass on to be with Adam.

Moses, of course, went on to be with the Lord. You know during our study of the life of Moses that God buried him there around Mount Nebo. We don't know where he's buried. We just know that God did it. Because God didn't want anybody to know where Moses was buried. But Moses went home to be with his God. He left behind a great legacy, a great legacy. And Joshua having been with him For a number of years, understood the importance of leadership. And the ultimate blessing in Christianity is to pass on to eternity and leave behind a legacy that marks the name of God.

And Joshua would learn that. He would learn that through the death of his leader, Moses. It must have been hard for Joshua to take the leadership reins, knowing that his leader had died, but knowing that his leader had gone home to be with his God. And knowing that his leader had left behind a legacy, he realized that he too would one day go home to be with his God. And what would he leave behind? What would he leave behind? It was Sir Thomas Smith, the secretary to Queen Elizabeth, who once said That it was a great pity that men knew not to what they were born into this world until they were ready to go out of it.

That's true. You see, the Bible says in Psalm 90, verse number 12, teach us to number our days that we might play our hearts into wisdom.

Moses wrote that Psalm, by the way. The Bible says in Ephesians 5 that we need to redeem the time for the days that are evil.

Buy up every opportunity for the days that are evil. Making sure that we make the most of every situation and every moment for the sake of the kingdom of God. And you know, one day you folks are going to die, and so am I. The statistics on death are quite remarkable. Everyone dies. No exception. Unless, of course, the rapture comes and God translates this into his kingdom. But we're all going to die. And you're going to pass on. And what will you leave behind for others to emulate and for others to follow?

A lot of Joshua's success came from the life of Moses, the things he learned. How God prepared him to be a great man of God, to be a man of victory. And we need to understand that in this man's life. In this man's life, he realized the work would go on. You see, the work is more important than the worker. Remember what David said over in 1 Chronicles 29 and verse number 1, then King David said to the entire assembly, My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced. And the work is great, for the temple is not for man, but for the Lord God.

David did not have the opportunity to build the temple of God because he was a man of bloodshed, a man of war. And God told David that his son Solomon would build the temple. And David said, You know, this is a great work. It's a great work. It must go on. And David knew it wasn't about the worker, it was about the work. I was telling somebody the other day, I forget who it was. I said, you know, I really believe that at Christ Community Church, if I was to die today, the work would continue on. As it has the last 11 years, we have men in leadership here that are committed to doing the things of God.

And the work at this church is not about the workers in this church. It's not about the pastor. So we don't put the name of the pastor out on the sign. Christ Community Church, pastored by Mr. Lance Sparks. Why would we do that? It's not my church. It's God's church. Next time you go to a church, you see the pastor's name and a sign. Think twice. Because you see, this is the Christ's church. And it's about the work of God for the sake of the kingdom of God. I'm very dispensable. I'm very disposable.

This church doesn't need me. And when we begin to realize that, that your ministry doesn't need you, that your family doesn't need you, that your job doesn't need you. You'll get along through life a lot better. See, we tend to think it needs us. My wife needs me. My kids need me. No, they don't. They need God. That's who they need. That's who we all need. But the moment you start thinking that you are a person who is needed, you've already begun down the road of arrogance and pride. Somehow you are better than someone else.

And that ministry or that job or that situation cannot carry on without you. I got news for you. It can and probably will carry on better without you. It's a little humbling for some of us to realize, but that truly is the case in most situations. And to be able to realize that God says it's about the work, it's about the ministry, it's about the people and how I work in their lives.

Something all of us need to grasp. You know, once you realize that you're not needed by God, now hear me out. God wants to use you. He wants to use you in magnificent ways, but God doesn't need you. He never needs Anything or anyone. He is sufficient in and of him. He 's the God of the universe. He doesn't need anything, let alone you and me. But he wants to use you. He wants to use me. He wants to use all of us for the sake of his glory and the sake of his kingdom. And I guess if I had to leave you with one thing, that would be it.

Realize that you're not needed, you're only wanted. You're only wanted. And to think of it that way, that God wants to use you, what a privilege that is, isn't it? What a privilege. Helps you keep perspective. Helps you remain humble before him and honest before others. And may God give us the grace to lead. In whatever area we lead in, for the glory and honor of God.