Encouragement Caution!

I love Joshua chapter one.  It is about a young man who has been the apprentice of a “seasoned” prophet and leader.   You know all about this one.  It’s Moses the “journeyman” and Joshua the apprentice.   What a team!  They have been together for some time now.  Joshua watched as Moses lead God’s people…forward…and in circles.   Rebellion and disobedience were the key elements to prolonged deliverance.  Wow!  There’s another story line for another blog!  I digress!

Joshua is a young leader who has to have a massive dose of encouragement to accomplish the will of God for his calling – and that’s just within the first few days!  He has been anointed and appointed to lead nearly one million people (popular estimates without a real Obama census of course) to the promised land.  Ahhh! The promised land.  You would think taking God’s people to a promised place of prosperity and provision would excite them towards obedience.  One would think that – but in this case, not so.

There are no less than six times Joshua receives encouragement from someone.  Here we go:

• Twice by Moses – Deuteronomy 31.7,23
• Three times by God – Joshua 1.6,7,9
• Once by Israel as a nation – Joshua 1.18

Now don’t misunderstand me.  I like the idea of encouragement.  No matter how much of it we need or how much it takes to get the job done – there is something spiritually and psychologically motivating to receive it.  We all like to be encouraged.  I mean think about it.  The first five times Joshua is getting some encouragement is by Moses and God Himself.  What an awesome pair to receive encouragement from.  Moses!  He’s been around the block (no pun intended) more than once with Israel.  If anybody ought to know how hard-headed, obstinate, disobedient, trying and frustrating leading God’s people can be – it would be Moses.  My goodness gracious!   He wandered in one big circle for what seemed to be eternity.  Yep!  Ol’ Moses would know that Joshua would have to be told, “Be perpetually strong willed.  Be courageous!”  What a powerful line of leadership advice.

Then there is the voice of God speaking to Joshua.  This booming voice thunders out of the heavens with leadership advice that only John Maxwell could mimic!   Two points are all that’s included in God’s leadership advice blog for Joshua.   Be strong.  Be courageous.  God didn’t want this leadership thing to be complicated for this young leader.  Strength and courage…and knowing His presence would be Joshua were all God gave to him.  Riiiiiiight!   I got ya!  When Father God speaks only two words and the two words are strength and courage – you have to know something is behind this advice.  Add to it that God speak the same thing to Joshua three times makes it even more evident.  Joshua son….you’re really gonna have your hands full.

Last but not least – the people of God.  How spiritual that sounds…”the people of God.”  Makes it sound like the folk getting ready to follow Joshua’s leadership are something special.  I’ll say special alright!   God’s people giving advice, affirmation and encouragement to their leader is awesome.  I have pastored for nearly 25 years and there is nothing like the people you have been charged to lead offering you good, sound advice and encouragement.  Absolutely nothing like it.  But there is just a small glitch to what Israel offers to Joshua.  I’m not so sure I would not have personally sat down and covered myself with sack-cloth and ashes after hearing Israel try and give me this line of encouragement.  Let me explain.

In Joshua 1.16-18 Israel responds to Joshua first line of instruction.  It is awesome.  Here is the good part of what they said:

• Whatever you tell us to do – we will do.
• Wherever you send us -we will go.
• God be with you as He was with Moses.
• Anyone who disobeys – will be put to death. This is martial law at it’s best!
• Be strong and courageous.

What words of encouragement!  Any leader would have loved to hear those words!  What is the problem you ask?  Simple.  It’s that little troubling phrase in verse 17: “Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so will we obey you!”   Really?  Oh my God!  What a bucket of cold water they just threw on Joshua.   “As we obeyed Moses we’re gonna obey you big guy!”  No…no…a thousand times “no!”   Please, take that statement back!  Drop it out of the context.  Are you kidding me?  You’re pledging loyalty to Joshua based on your loyalty to Moses?  Joshua knew right then and there that he was in serious trouble.   No wonder he was encouraged and affirmed so many times.  No wonder Moses spoke into his spirit twice.  No wonder God spoke to him three times.  Moses and God knew something Joshua was about to experience in a new and memorable experience.

I could have handled all of the encouragement Israel gave Joshua except this one part.  They rebelled against Moses.  They cried and whined and wanted to go back where they came from.  They caused Moses to lose his temper….repeatedly.    They moved toward mutiny and wanted to appoint a new leader and head back to the way things used to be (Numbers 14.4).   Joshua himself came close to being stoned to death for being an assistant leader…and now he has the entire torch.   Tough place to be.   They were a difficult tribe to manage.  And now they were giving Joshua the same level of commitment.  Wow! What was wrong with that picture?

I can only imagine that this was the second generation of followers who didn’t want to make the same mistakes their forefathers had made.  I can only imagine that there was a group of followers who wanted to commit a new level of what I call “followership” to this newly appointed leader.  They had seen first hand what rebellion and disobedience could cause.  They knew by experience what rejecting leadership could do to the group as a whole.  They didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes.

There is without a doubt a new move of God taking place in our western culture of faith.  The faith community as a whole is evaluating their existence both personally and congregationally.  We do not want to commit the same mistakes as previous generations have.  We don’t have a lot of time to move forward and engage in winning the lost to Christ.  Time is slipping by.  “We’re burning daylight!” as John Wayne would so aptly yell to his followers. 

I don’t know about you but I don’t want to miss this move of God.  I want to hear from Him.  I want to successfully lead my congregation forward.   It will be a season of sacrifice.  It will be a costly season.  It will be a hard season.  But it will also be a season of reward.   Buckle up and let’s put ourselves in drive and take the cities God has given us responsibility for.  Let’s not look at past “followership” models except to learn from them.  Let’s create a model of church that God has called us to both congregationally and personally.  Come on.  Let’s do it!