Hi there to all. Joshua and The Law of Influence; How did the General Expand His Reach Numbers 14; 6- 9 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. Among the twelve spies who scouted out Canaan, only Joshua and Caleb believed that the Israelites could take the land. Joshua urged the people to move forward but his influence alone couldn’t sway them. At this juncture of his life had not matured into a place of great influence. Even though he was right, he couldn’t persuade the people to follow. They didn’t look to him; the followed the other ten spies. Joshua’s success would eventually grow in proportion to his leadership, but he needed time to deepen his influence. Moses personally mentored him and eventually Joshua because the obvious leader to take the Israelites into the Promised Land. The Nature of Leadership 1. Leadership is influence. The true measure of leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. Joshua came face-to-face with the true nature of leadership when he failed to influence the people to follow his lead. His position as tribal leader did nothing to help him influence others. 2. Leaders do not possess influence in every area. Those selected to spy out the Promised Land were “everyone a leader” {Numbers 13; 2}. That means Joshua was a leader with some influence, but his influence apparently didn’t outweigh that of the other 11 leaders. 3. Our influence is either positive or negative. If all twelve spies had given a good report of the Promised Land, the people of Israel likely would have obeyed God and crossed into the land. But influence is a two-edged sword; it cuts both positive and negatively. The ten unfaithful tribal leaders used their influence to lead the people astray, a disaster for those leaders and for all of their followers. 4. Faithful leader use their influence to add value. Influences who lead out of a desire to advance their own agendas manipulate the people for their own gain. That’s what the other 10 spies did their fear prompted them to use their influence to frighten Israel. They lied; claiming the land “devours its inhabitants” (Numbers 13:32). On the other hand, Joshua and Caleb desired to motivate their countrymen to do what would benefit everyone – always the agenda of great leaders. 5. With influence comes responsibility. Maybe the ten unfaithful tribal leaders didn’t want to start a rebellion, yet that’s what they did. Following their negative report, the people sought to dispose Moses and Aaron and return to Egypt. As a result, those ten leaders died f plague, and all of their followers died in the desert. Joshua’s Growing Influence. Many individuals who at first seem ineffective as leaders give up fortunately for the nation of Israel, Joshua did not fit that mold. He determined to become a better leader. Despite his setback, Joshua continued to be faithful to God and to learn as much as he could from Moses. 1. Joshua’s influence grew because of his relationship with Moses (Deuteronomy 31:8-23). Though Moses mentorship, Joshua not only polished his skills, but the people accepted him as their leader. The bible says that as Israel prepared to enter the Promised Land,” then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel. Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give the, and you shall cause them to inherit it’” (Deuteronomy 31:7). In such a way Moses imparted authority to Joshua. 2. Joshua’s influence grew with time and maturity (Numbers 14:110; Joshua 18 1:10). Joshua gave basically the same speech in Numbers 14 that he delivered in Joshua 18. The difference? The second time, a mature Joshua spoke to a new generation. The people had seen his leadership skills in action, and his track record as a leader gave them the confidence to follow his direction. 3. Joshua’s influence grew because of timing (Joshua 1;16-18) Sometimes a leader wields a little influence until his followers want to go somewhere. Only when the Jews tired of wandering in the desert did they heed the words of Joshua in Numbers 14, the people responded to Joshua’s first exhortation to go in and take the land b loudly suggesting that he be stoned? In Joshua 1, they responded by saying “all that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go” (v.16). 4. Joshua’s influence grew because he possessed patience and integrity (Joshua 1:5-9). Joshua continued to grow patiently even after the people rejected his words in Numbers 14 while neither he nor Caleb died in the wilderness, as did all those who rebelled against God, nevertheless they both we forced to wander in the desert for 40 years through no fault of their own. Sun an “unfair” turn of events could have turned Joshua into an angry, melancholy, disgruntled, and cynical man. Yet he became none of those things. Throughout the long wilderness journey, he continued to display great consistency and credibility – until at last the people were finally ready to follow. 5. Joshua’s influence grew because he was right (Joshua 23:1-11). From the beginning, Joshua tried to do the right thing, he attempted to lead the people I the right direction. After the exodus from Egypt, most of Israel considered his words foolhardy and rash – yet Joshua’s words stood the test of time. His message never changed, and eventually everyone saw that he was right. Leadership is all about influence, and Joshua demonstrates that influence comes down to character and conviction. Be blessed to be a blessing.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 03:11:39 +0000
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