Sermon Transcript

Take out your Bible; open it to the sixth book in your Bible. It’s the book of Joshua. If you were here last week, you know that we started a brand-new series—verse-by-verse-through the twenty-four chapters of the book of Joshua. We’ve entitled that series Onward: Don’t Stop Now! The idea is this: no matter how far you’ve come, God always has something else in front of you he wants you to reach for.

I’m talking to some people right now who, quite honestly, you haven’t come all that far. This is all brand-new to you, even thinking about Jesus. Maybe you’re like some of these in the baptismal waters—you kind of had an experience as a child but you kind of wandered away from that and, quite honestly, the last forty years of your life may have looked more like a wilderness than a Promised Land. The promise for you is this: no matter how far you’ve wandered, it’s time for you to go onward. There is something that God has for you to reach for.

The big idea of last week’s message was simply this: The direction of the Christian life is onward! And we’ve tried to create a symbol to help you never forget this. By the end of this series, this will be burned indelibly on your eyes. You will close your eyes at night and you will see the Onward direction—that’s the idea here. So the big idea for this message, related to that truth from last week is this:

 

Big idea: God prepares leaders to propel His people onward.

 

Do you know the direction of a leaderless people? That direction is stagnant. That direction is stopped. So God uses leaders to stir people to get moving in the right direction. No matter who you are, here this morning, you are a leader. You are! Turn to your neighbor and let them know! “You are a leader. Did you know that?”

Some of you are looking at somebody like, “I’m not quite sure they realize they’re a leader!” Turn back to them and say, “You need to hear this message this morning!” Okay? You’re a leader! And guess what? Everybody here is also a follower. How many of you have a boss? If you’re living with parents, you have a boss, right? If you have a job, you have a boss. If you’re a member of the church, you’ve got a spiritual leader—it’s a team called the Elder Team and the leadership team of the church. We’re all followers, at some level, and we’re all leaders at some level.

The reason we’re talking about leadership is because Joshua was a leader! He wasn’t always a leader—at one point, he was simply a follower. So we’re going to look at the backstory of what he was and what he became and how he led.

Let me say this about leaders: Any time you have a population of more than one, you need a leader! If you are married…how many of you are married? Raise your hands! How many of you want to stay married? You need a leader in the marriage. It’s the job of the leader in the marriage to say, “We’re going onward! We’re going to lock arms together and we’re going to face the challenges!”

Do you know what a leader does? A leader defines reality. No matter how chaotic it looks, no matter how troublesome—no matter how strong the enemies are, do you know what the leader says? “We can do this!” A leader steps into chaos and says, “Stop freaking out! Follow me; I can get us out of this!” That’s what a leader does—he defines reality.

A leader does this…he creates a compelling state of affairs that engenders followership. He says, “This is what the reality is; here is the solution, and here’s how we’re going to go.” That’s what a leader does. Every marriage needs a leader. Do you know who, in the marriage, God has designated as the leader? The husband is the leader of the marriage.

Now, men can I just talk to you? Ladies, you can just check out here for a second. Guys, I am quite sure that God did not designate me as the leader in my marriage because of my superior intellect. I am quite sure it was not because of my winsome personality that God made me the leader. I am quite sure it is not my financial management skills, my ability to discern what’s going on in the lives of the children. It is not my communication ability that determined God’s designation of me as the leader. . .or you.

Do you know why God wants me to be the leader? Because he is painting a picture that he wants the world to see! It’s called “the gospel”—what it looks like for Jesus to lead the church. God said that in marriage, the husband is the picture of Christ in the marriage: he’s the Bridegroom. As Christ lovingly leads his Bride, the Church, that sends a message to the world of what our relationship with God should be like. So, men, if you are not leading, you are not properly reflecting the picture God wants to paint in the marriage.

And here’s the thing: your wife wants you to lead! Now, ladies, I know I told you to check out, but that was the time to check back in, because I was expecting a round of “Amens” at that point, okay? Would you like me to back up and give you another run at that? Men! Your wives want you to lead!

And when you don’t lead, you force her to take leadership and put pressure on herself that God designed you to carry. Men function best under pressure and responsibility—not from the wife, but from God—to carry the weight in the marriage, to be the leader. Every place you have a population of more than one, you need a leader—so we mention the marriage.

But schools need leaders, and churches need leaders, and small groups need leaders. Communities need leaders, and six grade math classes need leaders! I’m not talking about the teacher. I’m talking about Christian students that walk into the classroom and say, “I am not just being forced to walk in here; I’m being sent by God to lead the culture and the environment and the conversation and the attitude, because I know the way God wants us to go.” So everybody here is a leader.

A nation needs a leader. Right now, our nation is kind of in a conversation about who’s going to be the next leader. Can I just say this? The leader that thinks that the problems are political will come up with political solutions, but the leader that understands the problems are, at their root, spiritual will lean into God for spiritual solutions. So we need to be very careful. (I don’t know why people clap when I get on to political topics; when I talk about the gospel all the time you just sit there. . .but, I say something political. . . “Let’s go vote!” You should vote.

But here’s the thing! Do you know what the big mistake of the people of Israel was in the Old Testament after Joshua actually got them into the Promised Land? That’s the next book in the Bible. The problem is they cried out for a political leader—and God gave them some horrible political leaders—and he said, “You know what? You might want to look to Me as the ultimate Leader.” Here’s the principle: Leadership is good…we’re going to make a big deal about leadership here this morning…but leadership is not God.

Back in 1998 there was a book that came out that completely revolutionized a genre of publishing. The book was called The Twenty-one Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell. Great book! I benefitted from that book. It launched book after book after book. If you go to Barnes and Noble or on Amazon.com, there’s a whole section of leadership books. If you come back in six months, all those books will be gone and there will be a whole new other section of books, because everybody has thoughts on leadership.

Everybody wants to be a leader! Everybody wants to learn to lead. But if you’re not careful, you can actually make leadership an idol in your life and stop short of allowing God to—not only be Leader—but to be Lord of every area.

Everywhere there’s a population of more than one, you need a leader! And God provided a leader named Joshua to His people that were aimlessly wandering in the wilderness, so we’re kind of see this. Let’s get into the Bible. I’ve talked ‘way too long before we have read some Scripture, so let’s do that right now.

Look at Joshua 1. I’m just going to read the first five verses. Scripture says this: “After the death of Moses…” Moses was the leader for forty years, getting the people out of Egypt. He got them into the wilderness, they’re wandering around. Moses sins and so it cuts short his leadership. Side note—sin will cut short your leadership. Moses was not able to take them to the place God wanted them to go. God was going to raise up another leader named Joshua to take them to the place Moses couldn’t take them.

“…the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun,

Moses’ assistant…” everybody underline the word “assistant” there in verse 1; very important word, we’ll come back to it.

“Moses my servant is dead. Not a whole lot of compassion in God’s voice as He says that. “How’s Moses today?” “He’s dead!” He’s having a great day in Heaven, but he’s not going to be a whole lot of use on earth anymore because, Moses is. . .dead! Just turn to your neighbor and say, “One day you’re going to be dead.” Aren’t you glad you came to Harvest Bible Chapel this morning? We’re just here to encourage you to have a wonderful week! But, that is a very important principle for leadership—to understand, one day they will say about me what God said about Moses. He’s dead! You are loved!

“Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.” Do you see what God is saying? Moses was dead, but God was not dead. Moses was dead, but the movement was not dead. Any movement that dies when the leader dies proves there was a failure in the leadership. “Moses is dead!” “Great! Next! Joshua, arise! Go into this land!”

“Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous. . .” Let’s stop right there.

Here are four principles that we’re going to learn this morning about onward leadership. First of all,

 

1. Onward leaders are committed to multiplying other onward leaders. (Joshua 1:1-2, Deut. 34:9-12; 1:37-38; 3:28)

 

Why? Because onward leaders know, soon, they will be dead. Every leader has a terminal condition. Every leader has an expiration date. Every leader knows he is eventually going to pass the baton of leadership.

So, onward leaders are always thinking beyond their lifetimes. They’re thinking about their legacy. They’re thinking about, “Who in the younger generation – that I am quite sure is going to outlive me! – can I open my hand and give the leadership to so that when I die, the movement doesn’t die?” They’re always thinking about, “What happens when I drop dead?” I know that you think I’m making fun of this, but I’m not.

One day, I will preach your funeral…if I’m younger than you…and we’ll cry and we’ll say some nice things about you, but eventually we’ll just all end up back at the church eating potato salad, and we’re going to have to think about what’s next. And so, if you’re a good leader, you are always looking for someone younger than you to infect with the mission that you want them to carry on after you. That’s what Moses did. Moses was an onward leader.

God told Moses that he was going to die: “You’re not going into the Promised Land.” And God told Moses who to pass the baton to. In Deuteronomy 3:28, we read this verse, God is talking to Moses. He says: “Charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see.”

Moses was able to see the land, he just wasn’t able to possess the land. Joshua was going to take God’s people onward to a place Moses couldn’t get them.

There were three things God told Moses to do. First of all, charge him. Do you know what an onward leader does? He finds a faithful follower, who is usually undeveloped, timid—but hanging close enough to the leader that he sees potential. The leader charges him, as a follower, to come into leadership. He reaches down into the heart of the follower and calls out the leader! That’s what an onward leader does.

Secondly, he encourages him. Not only does he call something out of a follower, he puts something into the follower. What is it? Courage! We’re going to find that one of the greatest characteristics of Joshua is courage. Where did that courage come from? ‘Way back in Deuteronomy 3, Moses got an assignment: “Do you know what you’re going to do for forty years? You’re going to be pumping courage into this faith follower!”

Then, the third thing, Moses was supposed to strengthen him. He was supposed to give him core competencies he was going to need to lead. Maybe there were some skills that needed to be developed, some equipping that needed to be done, and certainly there was some spiritual muscle that needed to be developed so that he could carry the weight required by a leader!

So, if you are an onward leader, you are always looking for someone younger than you to charge, encourage and strengthen. That’s exactly what Moses did! Moses was a contagious leader! He was always looking for someone to “infect” with the “virus” he was carrying.

What’s that new virus that’s happening right now in Central America? What’s that called? The Zika virus? Does anybody here have that? If you have that. . .you are loved. . .but you are dismissed. We are not interested in getting what you have, alright? But an onward leader is always looking for someone to whom he can transmit the “virus,” so that someone else can be a carrier of what he’s been infected with.

And if you’re a Christian you’re a carrier of the “virus” of the gospel! And the great thing about this “virus?” It doesn’t kill. It cures—the sin, and the virus of sin that we already have. And so that’s why I say, if you’re a Christian, you’re a leader.

You’re always looking for someone who you can charge with the gospel—you can encourage with the gospel, strengthen with the gospel. . .so that we can—and they can—go onward into the land God wants them to possess, a land that you heard so great a description of by those who were baptized. They were like, “I’m happier than I’ve ever been! It’s hard, it’s tough, you get beat up on social media.” By the way, if you’re looking to social media for affirmation, you might want to look in a different place. . .this might be a good place to look for affirmation of what God is doing! And that’s what a leader does. He is looking for someone that he can open his hand to and infect with the gospel.

It reminds me of this verse over in the New Testament. Paul was the greatest carrier of the gospel that ever lived. He found a younger leader, and in the last book that he wrote before Paul died, he writes this: “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

Notice in this verse how many generations are mentioned. Paul was not just interested in handing off the baton to the next generation, Timothy. He wanted Timothy to know, “Timothy, one day you’re going to be dead! You need to find some guys, hand that off and one day, they’re going to be dead. Find some guys, hand that off. . .” And because there have been faithful leaders handing off the gospel for over two thousand years, we’re all here today.

And do you know what we’re trying to do? We’re trying to hand it off to you so that you can go hand it off to somebody else, and we can continue the movement that is a relationship with Jesus by faith and repentance, through the power of the cross. We’ve sung about it here this morning. Are you a faithful carrier of the gospel?

My friend, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, shares the story about how—when she was a twenty-one year old girl—she got a phone call and learned that her fifty-three-year-old father had suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack, totally unexpected. He left her forty-year-old mother with seven children between the ages of eight and twenty-one. And she describes the story. She remembers the memorial service, how her mom lined up her children on the front row at the memorial service, with her father there in the casket.

Dr. Jerry Falwell gave the memorial service sermon and this is what he said in his opening prayer: “Our Heavenly Father, we are reminded of those inspired words, ‘Moses, your servant is dead. Now, therefore, arise and go over this Jordan, thou and all this people.’ That is what we wish to do, but we need Your help. Help us then, even tonight, to hear what we need to hear, to feel what we need to feel, in order that we may go out of here this evening and over this Jordan—and those Jordans yet to come. . .that the work of our Lord, manifested through this Thy servant, Arthur DeMoss, might be extended through us! May many ‘Joshuas’ be raised up here tonight—men and women who would have not been raised up, had Art not fallen. And cause that the greater day of fruitfulness and evangelism and expansion of the kingdom of God be affected because—contrary to our logic—Your ways are far above our ways, and they have prevailed! In Jesus’ Name, asking for this dear family to have grace beyond anything we can imagine. Amen!”

And as a result, I believe God has answered that prayer, and the gospel has gone on through that family—and even through the ministry that Nancy has had, that has even touched more lives than Art ever touched. So, are you an onward leader, always looking to multiply the next generation of onward leaders?

 

2. Onward leaders are made from faithful followers. (v. 5)

 

Do you see it there in Joshua 1:1? The simple description that God gives to Joshua in relation to Moses was “assistant.” Can you imagine Moses and Joshua introducing themselves to maybe some new people in Israel: “Hi, I’m Moses; I’m the leader.” “Nice to meet you. Who are you?” “I’m his assistant.” “Is that all?” “Yeah, for now, that’s all.” Do you know for how long Joshua was Moses’ assistant? Forty years!

“Hi, I’m his assistant.” “What do you do?” “I just assist him. That’s what I do. That’s what I was created to do. I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna do it happily, because I believe in the leader—and I want to go onward. And the best use of me right now is not to be the leader; it is to be the assistant to the leader!”

What do you think Joshua saw in Moses that created the kind of contentment it takes to be an assistant for forty years? I believe that Joshua saw greatness in Moses. That’s what a great follower does: he finds someone in whom he sees greatness.

I thought about my former youth pastor this week. I still follow him on Facebook. He’s now a fifty-seven-year-old man. It’s weird to think of your youth pastor as being a fifty-seven-year-old man, but then again it’s kind of hard to think of me being a forty-eight-year old-man, so I can kind of digest that a little bit.

I saw a Facebook post. He’s now a pastor in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, and he proudly announced on Facebook that he had finished his Bachelor’s Degree in biblical studies this week! And I thought, “I didn’t know you didn’t have one!” because I sure learned a lot of Bible from the guy who didn’t officially have the education that he now has pursued and obtained.

I’ve thought about. . .I learned to study the Bible from watching my youth pastor teach us the Bible on Wednesday nights—I just kept showing up. And do you know what I became? I became his assistant! Which means. . .being an assistant to the youth pastor. . .youth pastor is pretty low on the totem pole anyway. I don’t know where Tyler is, but he knows! And I was just going to be that guy’s assistant.

What does that mean? Yeah, I know—I get to hand out basketballs in the gym! And inflate the rubber duckies that we’re using for the youth game, or whatever, on Wednesday night. But that’s what I loved to do! I didn’t have any idea I would be doing today what I was doing then, but I was just an assistant. Are you content to be the assistant of a great leader? Have you found someone that you believe has greatness, and you’ve tucked yourself under their leadership?

Another thing that it takes is patience, incredible patience to wait, understanding that in the waiting, God is preparing another leader. Another thing is takes is incredible humility, to say, “You know what? I am in a position that God has appointed me to. I’m not going to pursue a position—I’m going to value influence.

Do you understand the difference between a position of leadership and a position of influence? It’s usually just a line on the organizational chart, but it’s very possible that the assistant has more influence than the guy that has the position! And, as the guy who has the position watches the guy who is the assistant influence those under him, guess what the leader is likely to do? Grab the follower and elevate his position!

You know, in the church, and as I’ve grown in leadership and tried to figure out how to lead this growing church, I’ve learned some things and I’m burdened by some things as it relates to leadership. Can I just share two leadership principles that are interesting? I’ll set it up with this verse and this thought: We’ve looked at how God has called Joshua into a position of leadership. “Moses is dead. Arise and go!” That’s a call, right?

But before God called Joshua, the follower, God told Moses, the leader – we read that back in Deuteronomy chapter 3 – and that’s a principle that you find in Scripture, over and over.

Before Jesus chose His disciples, not only his followers, that would become the leaders of the church, Jesus spent an entire night in prayer asking God to show him who to choose as the leaders. So, before Jesus called the disciples, God told the leader who the disciples would be.

And then we get over to Acts chapter 13. The gospel had arrived in a new city called Antioch. It finally got out of Jerusalem, and there was a church planted in this place called Antioch, and new leaders were raised. We get a little snapshot of a leadership meeting that happened at “Harvest Bible Chapel Antioch,” here in Acts 13.

Notice what it says: “Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers…” Who were they? Those are the leaders right? This is a leadership meeting: prophets and teachers; and we get a little roll call of who’s at the meeting. We’ve got, “Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and [this unknown guy named] Saul.” Here you have these five leaders.

Notice how eclectic this group is, by the way. Notice how multicultural this group is, by the way. There were many different colors in the room, for that leadership team. They’re having a great time, they’re rejoicing in how God’s growing His church. And guess what happens? God speaks!

“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting…” I don’t know what that says about our elder meetings. Usually in our elder meetings, we’re talking and eating. In their elder meetings, they were worshipping and fasting. Maybe that’s a better track than the one we’ve been on! But, Scripture says, “the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me [that guy!] Barnabas and [that guy!] Saul for the work to which I have called them.”  

Now, I want you to notice the relationship between the call and the confirmation. The next verse says, “After fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” This is the reason I say that. . .because the one who insists that he has the call of God on his life, and he’s pounding the table and he’s begging for a leadership position—and “You guys are idiots, and you don’t know what you are talking about! You need to elevate me into leadership; I’m so awesome! You just haven’t seen my ‘awesome’ leaking out yet!”

If that guy is unwilling to go to the current leadership and say, “Does anybody agree with me—that I have a call, that I am qualified, that I am equipped and that I’m ready to make the transition from follower—assistant—into the role of leader?” If nobody agrees with that guy, he may think he has a call. . .but if he doesn’t have the confirmation from the current leaders, he needs to rethink the call.

Here are the two challenges to leadership, especially around here. One, dealing with the one who desires the position of leadership but isn’t qualified, gifted or equipped. It’s a good thing to examine, “Are you leading at any level? Is anybody following you? Are you leading your family—is it healthy? Are you making disciples at home? Have you even attempted to lead someone to Christ, or disciple someone one-on-one? Have you attempted leading a small group? That’s hard enough! And all the small group leaders say. . . “Amen!”

Do you want to try that for a while? Instead of bypassing all the other positions and going to the head of the line, you might want to learn how to become a faithful follower and get equipped and qualified before you attempt to lead at the highest level.

You say, “Okay, okay, I want to learn.”  How do you become a great follower? Let me give you some thoughts, just five quick thoughts. By the way, I was reading a blog this week by Michael Hiatt, and I was preparing this message, and I thought, “That is perfect!” . . .so I just ripped them right out and stuck them in the sermon; so here they are.

Michael Hiatt says great followers are clear. Clear about what? They’re clear about their role, they’re clear about their skill set, and they’re clear about who they’re following.

You know, I sometimes meet that people that are kind of in our church and then kind of out of our church, and then they’ll say, “Well, I was going to to this church over here for awhile—and by the way, I subscribe to three other podcasts—and I heard this guy preach over there that message, and this one here, and I was reading that particular book…”

There is so much information available in our age! You need to be clear who you’re following! If you’re following everyone and everything, you are not following anyone. You’re just picking and choosing what you like and you’re being your own leader. You’re a self-led person.

But if you plug into things around here, we have some things that are very important. They’re convictional principles about the way we think we should make disciples. So that’s why we value membership. We want you to come and find out how we do things. Here’s a doctrinal statement, and “we believe this about some controversial things,” and “here’s four pillars of what we’re going to value around here.” And here’s and Uncommon Leadership class, about how we make disciples and apply biblical principles. Those are convictional things for us. And if you are not clear about where you fit in the onward direction of the church, you’re not going to be clear about who you’re following.

Let me use an illustration, okay? This is a risky illustration. I may lose all respect from everyone but one friend down here on the front row. I am a Nascar fan. Am I the only one? Are there closet Nascar fans out there? Some of you say, “Yeah, I tune in to see the crashes.” Yeah, you are not a Nascar fan! If you don’t endure all one-thousand turns to the left in the race—if you’ve never done that—you’re not a Nascar fan.

Let me tell you the secret to Nascar. There are two tracks that are unlike all the other tracks on the circuit: Daytona and Talladega. They’re the biggest tracks, they’re the fastest tracks, and the cars have to race in a particular way that’s different from any other track.

The only way you can win the race is if you understand the principle of drafting. The way it works is, the lead car cuts a hole in the wind, and the cars behind him can draft—if they get as close as they can to his back bumper and are content to wait, patiently following, until the strategic moment when the car in second place pulls out, slingshots past the leader, and wins the race!

In theory, that works. The problem is, most of these guys are not patient enough to follow. And so, they start bumping the leader, and if you bump the leader at a bad moment, this is what can occur, okay? This is what most churches look like. [Screen displays a picture of a Nascar crash.]

By God’s grace, we are not going to be that church, okay? If we are going to win, if we’re all going to go onward together, then we need some good leaders and we need some great followers. The thing is, if you’re follower, understand this: the leaders get old and slow down, and that’s your moment to take the leadership that’s handed off to you, because great leaders are always looking to multiply themselves in other great leaders. Be clear who you’re following and what your role is, and serve in that role.

Secondly, great followers are obedient. That’s not a politically correct term, but listen. . .it’s not enough to affirm your boss. It’s not enough just to compliment your boss. It’s not enough to just talk great about your boss! If you’re not doing what you’re told to do, you’re not a great follower! Nobody should be able to give orders who has not learned to follow orders. So be obedient! “Do what you’re told to do, when you’re told to do it, with the right heart attitude,” and you’ll be a great follower.

Thirdly, great followers are servants. Do you know what servants do? They do the jobs that nobody else wants to do. Servants do the jobs that nobody else even sees need to be done. They do the jobs that won’t get recognition or praise or gratefulness. They just do them because they are looking for a way to make the leader a success. They shine the light on others around them and above them because great leaders are humble.

Jesus said, in Matthew 23:11-12, “The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself [he’s always climbing the ladder, always wants the top box, always wants the leadership position—that’s the guy who, Jesus said] will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself [Jesus said, that’s that guy that] will be exalted,” and elevated to the place of leadership.

Finally, great followers are loyal. They never speak negatively about their boss publicly. That doesn’t mean they always agree. A great follower is a raving fan publicly, and an honest critic privately, because he understands, “I need to make my leader a success! If I am quiet—there’s a huge hole right now that needs to be addressed; my leader doesn’t see it—I’m going to come around and help him see things he can’t see.” That’s what a loyal follower does.

Now, I told you there are two challenges here. Here’s the second challenge, especially in our church. Quite honestly, if we have a problem, this is it. Two, it’s dealing with the one who’s qualified, gifted and equipped…but won’t lead! There are so many qualified, awesome people here who should be in positions of leadership, but you won’t lead! And the reason is probably because you’re too busy leading trivial things. You don’t have any time left over from your softball team, your canasta group, your dog-training small group—I don’t know.

But, do you understand that the Church needs great leaders, and we can’t be content to sit back and say, “Yeah, I think we have, like, five pastors.” How many people did you have in church today? “Like fifteen-hundred.” Yeah, they’re going to do a great job leading those people!

We have positions of leadership that are available. Some of you are waiting for something that’s like a “right fit” or something. Listen, just step into a leadership role when you hear about it—and lead! And God will put you in the right place.

Here’s the third thing. We’re going to take two quick snapshots of the backstory of Joshua, and we’ll be done. First of all:

 

3. Onward leaders find courage for the battle. (Exodus 17)

 

Open your Bible to Exodus 17. We are blazing through this story in about two seconds, okay, pastor-ly speaking? Let me tell you what’s happening: Moses is the leader, Joshua is his assistant, and the nation of Israel comes under attack from a foreign enemy. They are enemies of God’s people, they are enemies of God, and in Exodus chapter 17, beginning in verse 8, we find that, “Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua [I love this!], ‘Choose for us men…” I know this is the way he said this; I just know—and I think he was looking for men with facial hair—I just do. Not guys where it hadn’t quite grown in yet, but men! He didn’t choose boys, he chose some men! “Choose some men” and—second assignment, “and go out and fight with Amalek.’ “Alright, Moses, I’m ready to do that! I’m your assistant; I’m loyal, I’m faithful. What are you going to be doing?” “Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.’ “I’m going to stand on top of the hill—wa-a-a-a-y over there! And I’m going to be praying for you!”

Have you ever had somebody say that to you? You’re going through a really spiritual battle and you’re like, “Man, I’m just getting crushed! I’m just getting killed by this spiritual battle!”—and someone is like, “I’ll pray for you.” You think, “Tha-a-a-a-a-nks! Not!”

Can you imagine Joshua? Now, if I was Joshua, this is probably what I would say—in a very sarcastic tone—“Hey, Moses, I’ve got a new battle plan! How ‘bout you go fight Amalek, and I’ll go pray for y-o-o-u!” But that’s not what Joshua said; he was loyal and he was faithful. I want you to notice first of all, Joshua did not go out looking for a fight. Christians do not go out looking for a fight. If you are a Christian, do not be surprised when the fight comes looking for you. . .and God allows it!

Because, do you know what God does in the battle? He prepares the leader! There were three things that God was doing, as Joshua went out to fight that battle against Amalek. He was testing his strength, He was forging his courage, and He was growing his confidence for future battles. We’re going to get into the book of Joshua, and do you know what the book of Joshua is all about? It is all about battle after battle after battle. This battle with Amalek was the first battle, and he needed the battle to prepare him for future battles. If you’re in a battle right now, don’t despise the battle! Understand that God is preparing you for battles to come in the future. You can rely upon God in the battle.

Look at Joshua 1:10, “So Joshua did as Moses told him…” Obedience! “…And fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.” So, we’ve got a team; we’ve got a leader, Moses, and we’ve got three assistants—we’ve got Joshua, who’s in the battle, and we’ve got Aaron and Hur who are standing next to Moses.

Now, look at verse 11: “Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.” Can you imagine Joshua down there? I mean, at times he’s winning the battle and the other times he’s getting crushed, and he looks up there and says, “Moses, get your hands up! I need a little help, okay?” So, he tries harder.

It says in verse 12, “But Moses’ hands grew weary…” He was getting old!  “…so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands…” That is a great description of great followers! They hold up the hands of weary leaders, and they get beside them and they get close enough to know, “How can we lift up your hands?”

Verse 12 continues, “. . .one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.”  What do you think the message was to Joshua? “Every time you’re fighting, and Moses’ hands are down, you’re losing. But when you’re fighting and Moses’ hands are up, as he’s praying and getting vertical, you win.” What’s the message? “The battle belongs to the Lord!”

If you try to fight in your own strength, you’re going to lose every time! Onward leaders find courage for the battle, and they understand that the battle is won vertically.

Here’s the last snapshot, and we’ll be done. Get your Bible open to Exodus 33. As you’re turning, I will remind you that the very first sermon that was ever preached in this church, on February 8, 2009, was preached from this text of Scripture, Exodus 33. The very first sermon that was ever preached in this room, on February 12, 2012, was preached from this text. This is an important text for Harvest Bible Chapel! I want you to see it.

Here’s the fourth point:

 

4. Onward leaders will not go onward without the presence of God.

 

They refuse to take a step where God is not going.

Look at Exodus 33:1: “The Lord said to Moses, “‘Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’ I will send an angel before you. . .” How many of you would like to sign up for that program? “Sign me up for that program; I’ll take two. I am in a spiritual battle; I would like two angels to go with me.” Are you interested in that? Great! So, that’s a perk.

God says, “. . .and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” How many of you would like God to start driving out some of your spiritual enemies? You like that program? Great. . .great!

“Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey…” How many of you would like some Krispy Kreme doughnuts on the way, okay? Like, “Man, this is awesome! There are perks to following God!” “. . .but I will not go up among you. . .” “Really, God, You’re not going to come? Hmmm. We can have Your promise, we can have your protection, and we can have your provision, but you’re not going to go? Well, three out of four’s not bad. We’d like to have you, but that’s kind of an accessory. I guess we can make it with your provision, your protection and your promise.”

Is that what Moses said? No! Moses said, “Stop! We are not going!” Look at Exodus 33:15: Moses went into the tent to have a conversation with God, “And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. “I’m not going onward without You!”

“Moses said, ‘Please show me your glory.’” The glory of God was the manifest presence of God; it was the only way they could be assured of victory, to know that it was not about some horizontal experience—enjoying the amenities of the land flowing with milk and honey—but it was about being with God – on the journey, in the land, with Him! Moses said, “Show me Your glory. That’s what I want! I’m not interested in a land that’s not occupied by You!”

And, finally…you say, “What does that have to do with Joshua? Look back up at Exodus 33:11, “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” Do you see the intimate relationship that this great leader had with God? And then, “When Moses turned again [left the tent, went] into the camp…” Notice, “his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.”

Joshua had the same appetite for the presence of God that Moses did. He had gotten so close to the leader that he had absorbed his values, his mission, his love and his desperation for the presence of God.

So, Joshua was in there, probably praying the same prayer: “Show me Your glory! Moses saw it. I want to see it the way you see it! Show me your glory!” Are you content to live without the presence of God, enjoying his promise, his protection and his provision? Don’t be content to live without the glory!

Would you bow your heads for a moment? I want to give you just a second to ask the Lord to answer the same prayer that Moses prayed. Would you ask God to restore His presence, His glory in your marriage? In your prayer life? Whatever spiritual battle you’re facing? Leadership is good, but leadership is not God. Jesus Christ perfectly embodied servanthood as a follower, obediently obeying, obediently following every command God gave.

He’s our model, but He’s also the model of leadership. He is our Ultimate Leader, He is our Lord. Is He your Lord this morning? Have you made the choice who you’re following? Is it clear? Are you following Jesus Christ? If you’ve never done that, some of you need to have the same testimony that we’ve heard in these baptistery waters. Some of you need to come at the end of the service and say, “You know what? For the first time in my life I’m ready to make it public. I’m ready to go on record. I am follower of Jesus Christ!”

You’ll never be the leader God wants you to be if you don’t become the follower—of Jesus—He wants you to be.

Lord, I pray that You would be glorified in our midst, even as we close the service today. God, hear the heart’s cry of people that are in the midst of the battle. Remind them that You are building courage, You’re testing strength, and You’re preparing them for the battle to come. God, would you shake someone out of a following position into a leadership position, that needs to be strong and courageous? Would help us to value what it means to be a great follower? Show us Your glory as You do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.