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A Review of Joshua's Life

When God wants to do something, he prepares a servant for the task and prepares the task for His servant.
Joshua's Preparation:
The Lord invested 17 years preparing Joseph for his work in Egypt and 80 years getting Moses ready for 40 years of ministry.

"A prepared servant for a prepared place is God's approach to ministry."

Some tools God used to prepare him for service:
  1. He used the tool of suffering:
    • He was born into Egyptian slavery and knew what it was to suffer. Exodus 3:7-9.
    • God gave them three encouragement's as they suffered:
      1. He promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit the land. Genesis 12:7
      2. God prophecy concerning their deliverance from bondage. Genesis 15:12-17; Deut. 4:20
      3. Joseph's words concerning Israel's deliverance and possession of the promised land. God does the same with us: II Cor. 1:3-4
    • Suffering always comes before glory. It was true of our Saviour and it is true of us.
    • Suffering of itself doesn't make people better. Sometimes it them bitter.
      1. It is when suffering is mixed with faith anf God's grace that it is used as a tool for building godly character. II Cor. 12:1-10
      2. When we accept our suffering as a gift from God and use it for His glory, then it can work in us and for us to accomplish the will of God.

  2. Another tool was Submission:
    • Joshua was able to give orders, because he had learned how to take orders.
    • To become a good leader, you must first learn how to be a good follower. Mt. 25:21
      1. He was first obedient to the orders he received from Moses Joshua 1:7
      2. He was obedient to the order he received from the Lord. Joshua 11:15
  3. Another tool was Delay:
    • It is through faith and patience that we inherit what God has promised. Hebrews 6:12
    • It is the vision of future victory that motivates a true leader; but, like Israel, too often the people are looking back.

  4. He walked with God:
    • He was a servant of the Lord.
    • He was obedient to the will of God.
    • He was a man of the Word. Joshua 1:8
    • He was a man of prayer.Joshua 7:6-9
Joshua's Leadership.
 Are leaders made or born?
  1. His leadership style:
    • He enlisted others and commanded their respect.
      1. We only know the names of Achan the traitor, and Caleb the man of faith, we don't know the names of any of the soldiers that served with Joshua.
      2. True leaders don't demand respect, they command it.
      3. Real leaders don't use people to build their authority; they use authority to build people.
  2. He didn't quit:
    • When defeated at Ai he sought the face of the Lord, went back and won the battle.
    • Successful leaders are people who make the best decisions they can and keep on going when they make mistakes.
  3. He glorified God.
    • When they crossed Jordan, it was God who receives the glory. Joshua 3:10
    • When that miracle march was over and a monument was erected, note what was said, Joshua 4:24
    • He repeatedly gave God the glory for all that happened. Joshua 6:16; 8:1; 10:14; 11:6-8; 13:6; 18:3; 21:43-45
    • A leader is one who takes twice as much blame and half as much credit, and Joshua qualifies on both counts.
  4. He was concerned about the future.
    • Joshua's farewell speeches chapters 23-24 give ample evidence that he was a true leader.
Joshua's Message
  1. God keeps his promises and enables his servants to succeed if they will trust Him and obey His word.
  2. Some people never enter into the land of blessing because of disobedience.
  3. Crossing Jordan and entering the land of promise is not a picture of going to heaven, it is a picture of dying to self and the old life and entering into our spiritual inheritance here and now.
  4. The greatest need today is for God's people to see how much they are missing by wandering in unbelief, or by living on the borderline of the blessing, and then to claim God's promises and enter into their spiritual inheritance.
Conclusion
Conflict among God's people is as old as Genesis: But far greater than our failure to get along is God's overpowering grace and His faithful, pursuing love. He will work through us sometimes and in spite of us at other times, but he will always accomplish His work. God commanded us to work out our conflicts with each other because of the opportunity it brings us to experience greater intimacy with Him and with those whom we love.
"Healing from hostile conflict requires seeing the underlying reasons for the friction and learning new ways to trust God through change."


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