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LEADERSHIP QUALITIES
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#1 · August 7, 2002, 5:24 am
Quote from Forum Archives on August 7, 2002, 5:24 amPosted by: henkf <henkf@...>
Henk Frijters
- 9 North Park Street
Belleville,- Ontario, Canada K8P 2Y1
Phone: 613 966 9094Our ministry pages http://folsom.sk.ca/gohere.html
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"THE LEADERSHIP QUALITIES OF JOSHUA"
- INTRODUCTION
- 1. It is impressive to note the great influence that Joshua had with
- those of his generation - cf. Josh 24:29-31
- a. Of course, much of that influence was due to God being with him
- and doing many "great works"
- b. Such as the parting of the Jordan River, the fall of Jericho, the
- day the sun and moon stood still
- 2. But credit must also be given to Joshua, for from the very beginning
- the promise of God's support was based upon Joshua's faithful
- obedience to the Word of God - Josh 1:1-9
- 3. Joshua therefore stands before us as an example of what it takes to
- be a great leader...
- a. Every generation needs good leadership, especially in times of
- struggle and doubt
- b. For those who lead, or who might one day serve as leaders, Joshua
- serves as a role model
- c. For those who follow, he serves as an example of what we should
- look for in our leaders
- [In this lesson, we shall consider more closely those qualities of
- Joshua that served to make him the great leader that he was, so that we
- know what to expect in those who would lead today.
- We begin by noticing that Joshua was...]
- I. A MAN OF HUMILITY
- A. BEFORE HE WAS A LEADER, HE WAS WILLING TO SERVE...
- 1. For forty years he served under Moses in the Wilderness
- 2. He was known as "Moses' assistant", "his servant" - Exo 24:13;
- 33:11
- -- Great leaders are people who have no problem with serving
- others if that is their lot in life; indeed, it helps prepare
- to them to lead
- B. EVEN AS A LEADER, HE WAS WILLING TO SERVE...
- 1. Though having been magnified by the Lord himself - Josh 3:7;
- 4:14
- 2. He was still willing to serve One greater than himself - Josh
- 5:13-15
- -- Great leaders do not let praise go to their head; they are
- humble enough to know when it is time to serve once again
- [Joshua's humility is also demonstrated as we consider another quality
- that we find in him...]
- II. A MAN OF FAITH AND TRUST IN GOD
- A. AS DEMONSTRATED WHEN SENT TO SPY OUT THE LAND...
- 1. Ten of the twelve spies demonstrated their lack of faith in
- God by their report - Num 13:25-28
- 2. But despite the "peer pressure" he must have felt, Joshua
- (along with Caleb) demonstrated his faith in God by his report
- - cf. Nu 14:6-9
- B. AS DEMONSTRATED IN THE FALL OF JERICHO...
- 1. The Lord gave him the instructions to take the city - Josh
- 6:1-5
- 2. Only full trust and faith in the Lord could have led Joshua to
- follow such instructions, but he did! - cf. He 11:30
- [Great leaders realize they cannot place their faith in men (including
- themselves); they must look to God!
- Closely related to this is another quality of Joshua that made him a
- great leader: he was...]
- III. A MAN OF GOD'S WORD
- A. HIS SUCCESS WAS DIRECTLY RELATED TO HIS ADHERENCE TO THE WORD
- OFGOD
- 1. To ensure success, he had to fulfill all the Law as given by
- Moses - Josh 1:7
- 2. To ensure that he did, he was to meditate upon the Law day and
- night - Josh 1:8
- B. TIME AND AGAIN, WE SEE THAT JOSHUA WAS TRUE TO THE WORD...
- 1. In reminding the two and half tribes of their responsibility
- - Josh 1:12-15
- 2. In renewing the covenant at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim -
- Josh 8:30-35
- 3. A summary of Joshua's devotion is found in Josh 11:15
- 4. Even at the end of his life, he encouraged the nation to heed
- God's Word - Josh 23:6,14-16
- [Faith comes from the Word of God (Ro 10:17), so we really can't
- expect one to be a man of faith without being a man of God's Word.
- For those who would lead, they need to heed the charge God gave Joshua
- (Josh 1:8), which is similar to the charge Paul gave Timothy (1 Ti
- 4:13-16).
- Closely related to being a man of faith and trust is being...]
- IV. A MAN OF PRAYER
- A. WE SEE HIM PRAYING FOR HIS PEOPLE'S FAILURES...
- 1. Following the defeat at Ai - Josh 7:6-9
- 2. In which he and the elders pleaded with God in behalf of
- Israel
- B. WE SEE HIM PRAYING IN THE MIDST OF WARFARE...
- 1. As Israel is routing the kings of the south - Josh 10:9-14
- 2. Trusting not in their own strength, he looks to the Lord for
- help, Who causes the sun and moon to stand still
- [If Joshua had not been a man of prayer, the aid of the Lord would not
- have been provided. When leaders need all the help they can get, they
- need to be men of prayer!
- Finally, it should be clear from what we have already seen that another
- quality of leadership found in Joshua is that he was...]
- V. A MAN WHO PUT GOD FIRST
- A. BEFORE THE BUSINESS AT HAND...
- 1. Even in the middle of a military campaign - Josh 8:30-35; cf.
- Deut 27-28
- 2. Though it gave their enemies time to join together in
- opposition (Josh 9:1-2), Joshua still put God first and kept
- His commandment concerning the blessings and cursings
- B. BEFORE OTHERS...
- 1. He cared not what others might do or think, he would serve the
- Lord! - Josh 24:14-15
- 2. His strong stand influenced others for good - Josh 24:16
- CONCLUSION
- 1. It was qualities such as these that made Joshua the strong leader
- that he was...
- a. He was a man of humility
- b. He was a man of faith and trust in God
- c. He was a man of God's Word
- d. He was a man of prayer
- e. He was a man who put God first
- 2. But he was not alone in these things, as it appears that others of
- his generation were much the same - cf. Josh 24:31
- a. As long as the elders who had been contemporary with Joshua
- survived, the nation as a whole served the Lord
- b. So we are not talking about supernatural qualities, but those
- which each and every person is capable of possessing!
- Finally, consider some similarities between Joshua and Jesus...
- 1) Their names are the same (Joshua is Hebrew, Jesus is Greek),
- which means "savior"
- 2) Joshua was the leader of the Israelites into the promised land of
- Canaan; Jesus is our leader into the promised land of heaven -
- cf. Jn 14:1
- 3) As Joshua pointed the people to the Word of God, so did Jesus -
- Mt 7:21
- 4) As Joshua was an agent of both grace (cf. Rahab) and damnation
- (cf. nations of Canaan), so Jesus is both savior and judge of all
- men, who metes out death as well as life - Mt 25:34,41
- Have you humbly submitted to the One who should be the Commander and
- Leader of your life...?
Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>
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