Like Joshua. He lived all out for the Lord. He lived a fruitful and successful life. There is much to be copied in a life like his.
Joshua had a Heart for God
“So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle” (Ex. 33:11).
Joshua had a commitment to God’s man (Moses) and a commitment to God’s institution (the tabernacle). He was a “young man” who clearly put the things of God first. He wanted to be where the living God was, and his life showed it. If we are to see a great work of God done in our day, it must all start with this. We must have a heart to work and a heart that loves the Lord Jesus!
I had a friend in college who came up to me with a smile on his face and said, “I have made a decision. I want to spend the rest of my life loving what the Lord Jesus loves and hating what the Lord hates!” That young man had a heart for God. Think of David’s mighty men in the cave of Adullam. They overheard the rejected king make an offhanded comment that he would enjoy a drink from the well of Bethlehem, so off they went, at risk of their own lives, and broke through enemy lines, bringing back to the rejected king that which would delight his heart.
I pray that we will have this kind of heart in the church today. I pray that we will search God’s Word looking for what we can do to delight Him, and, every time we discover something, we will do it, not thinking of ourselves but only of Him! In 1 Samuel 10:9, the Lord gave King Saul a new heart. If any one of us recognizes that his heart is not right before the Lord, I encourage him to be quick to repent, confess, and ask the Lord to give him the heart of His Son that he might be used in greater ways.
Joshua had Zeal for God
“So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, ‘Moses my lord, forbid them!’ Then Moses said to him, ‘Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!’” (Num. 11:28-29).
Please notice two vital points. First, Joshua was zealous! There is a connection between having Christ-like zeal and living fruitful lives. Joshua had an evident zeal about him, and it’s no surprise that he ended up being used greatly by God in his generation. We sometimes think of zeal as an attribute of young Christians, but we should not think this way. Our leader, Jesus Christ was, is, and ever will be zealous about the work of God, the glory of God, and the people of God! If we are not zealous, then we are not like Him. Zeal is not a young man’s attribute; it is a godly man’s attribute. If you are lukewarm about the things that Jesus Christ is zealous about, then this would be a great day to repent and ask God to make you like His Son.
Second, please notice that Joshua’s zeal had to be shaped and molded. Joshua was a bit out of balance in this passage and Moses corrected him. Young people, please take it as a blessing when the older generation molds and shapes your zeal. The Lord put these older believers in your life for your blessing. I know many men who were harshly criticized after the first time they got up to speak before God’s people. Some of them have gone on to be well-known preachers and others never preached again. Older believers, be gracious in your guidance of the young. Years ago, I heard a godly gentleman say, “It is a sin against the Holy Spirit of God to hinder the raising up of the next generation of gift.” May the Lord help us to be zealous, to care for the zealous, and to see a young generation’s zeal fanned into a flame for the glory of Jesus Christ!
Joshua was Filled with the Spirit
“And the Lord said to Moses: ‘Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit’” (Num. 27:18a).
Joshua was a Spirit-filled man. Realizing that this was a dispensation where the Spirit could come and go makes this even more significant. Our modern day admonition is found in Ephesians 5:18, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.” The opposites of being filled with the Spirit are grieving the Spirit (participating in things that we ought not) and quenching the Spirit (saying no to His leading). I didn’t even know the filling of the Spirit was a biblical concept until college, and here we are commanded to be filled with Him and, hence, live a life that is controlled by Him. It isn’t that we have more of Him but that He has more of us!
I wonder how much of the lack of power among us today is a result of believers living lives that grieve and quench the Spirit.
Joshua had Trust in God
“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you” (Josh. 1:5).
The Lord commanded Joshua to go into a land filled with giants and take it. This was no small task, and I can only imagine the pressure on this young servant of the Lord as those words were given to him. Joshua was asked to take his life, and the lives of a nation, upon his shoulders and to trust that what the Lord had said would come to pass. He was given the promise, “I will not leave you nor forsake you.” In other words, I will never stop strongly supporting you, nor will I ever walk away from you. This promise is repeated in our dispensation in Hebrews 13:5, and we can claim it just as confidently as Joshua did.
The Lord won in that day and the Lord is winning in our day! His promise is, “I will build My church.” And we have the privilege of watching Him do it and even being His co-laborers! Not everything in the local assembly is encouraging. The servant of the Lord encounters many battles and many struggles. But I have been encouraged lately with this promise: “He will not fail nor be discouraged” (Isa. 42:4a). If Jesus Christ is not discouraged about the work, perhaps we should not be discouraged either, but instead trust in Him and press on.
For sake of space, I leave the following juicy morsels for you to enjoy on you own:
• Joshua was dependent on God (Josh. 3:4)
• Joshua was holy before God (3:5)
• Joshua took a step for God (3:13-15)
I earnestly pray that this will be a day of Christians in North America living by faith before the Lord. I pray that we will go forward and see things that we have not seen in our lifetime, things that we read about, things that we hear about, but things we have not yet seen with our own eyes. May the Living God help us to be like Joshua, and may we be able to say at the end of lives well lived for Him, “Praise God for the mighty things that He has done!”