Exodus 17: 8,9, Numbers 13 - 14: 9, Joshua 6: 3, Exodus 33: 11, Matt 22: 37, Acts 6: 1-3

Sean Smith

Can you imagine being the man to follow in Moses' footsteps? The man had done things like, part the Red Sea, made water come out of a rock, led over a million people out of Egypt from the hand of Pharaoh, received the 10 commandments from God, been in God's presence to a degree that his face shone so much that he had to cover it up! Plus a whole load of other stuff that if I went on about them all you would spend all day downloading this e-mail! But enough of this stuff about Moses, let's talk about Joshua.

Joshua had an enormous responsibility on his hands. He was going to be the one to lead Israel into the Promised Land. What I would like to look at is why God chose Joshua.

The beginning
· Training - Exodus 17: 8,9. God knew what Joshua had been born for and He knew the skills he needed to complete the task ahead way before Joshua knew God was giving him the skills needed to lead Israel into many battles.

· Confidence - Numbers 13 - 14: 9. Joshua knew God and knew that He was with Israel. Although 10 of the spies brought back bad reports, Joshua was one of two that believed "We are well able if the Lord is with us" to possess the land. His confidence was in God and that gave him the vision to see Israel in the place that God had promised.

· Obedience - Joshua 6: 3. Here God tells Joshua to do something quite mad! Instead of getting all the fighting men together and laying seige to Jericho, God tells Joshua to go for a little ramble (walk) around Jericho. This I'm sure was quite a test for Joshua, it's not quite your normal battle strategy is it? But through it all Joshua had confidence in the God that held back the Red Sea and provided food for all Israel for 40 years.

· Desire - Exodus 33: 11. Joshua could have been guarding the tent, but I think it was more than just that, there was something within Joshua that loved to be in the presence of God. Even when Moses left the tent Joshua wanted to soak up all that was left of Gods glory. Out of all the other points this one is by far the most important, you can have all the training, confidence in God and be obedient to Him, but without a desire to be in His presence they are all worthless. Joshua served God faithfully, but his heart after God was the most important part of his qualification for leadership.

I'll leave you with one thought. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He replied "to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all strength and with all your mind" Matt 22: 37.
It was on these criteria that God chose Joshua, and on these criteria God has chosen you at school, college, university, work and home, to lead your friends and family to Him. Remember God weighs up our motives behind the things that we do.

In God's kingdom we are all called to works of service and no gift is greater than any of the others, look at the requirements for serving on tables in Acts 6: 1-3. We are to serve God faithfully, that is all we can do and then let God do the rest.

Love the Lord of the work first, and not the work of the Lord.