Author: admin

Leaders are people who like to get things done. Once we see something that needs to be accomplished, we rush into action. This approach may have led to success in the past, but it is not always wise when walking with God. With God, it is not just what we do that matters, but also how and when.

It is not enough merely to determine what God wants us to do and then race into battle. That can lead to a swift and decisive defeat. We must linger before the Lord until He gives us specific instructions about how and when to advance.

God sent word to the Israelites that He no longer wanted them to enter the Promised Land. But they were not listening. Their eventual debacle could have been avoided, had they paid attention. But they were so eager to be advancing, that they ignored God’s clear warning. Such spiritual deafness led to a terrible setback.

Has God been speaking to you? Have you been listening? Really listening? Have you been patiently waiting on the Lord as He reveals the specifics of what He wants you to do? God could help us avoid much pain and suffering, if we would only listen.

We sin on our terms. We must repent according to God’s standard. The Israelites had failed to believe God when He commanded them to enter the Promised Land. As a result, God announced their punishment. Realizing their horrific error, the Israelites declared that they would, after all, do what God had instructed them. But it was too late. God had spoken. He had decreed their fate. God would demonstrate to all of history what happens when people refuse to trust and obey Him.

Rather than submitting to God’s new word, the Israelites disobeyed once again. They attempted to enter the Promised Land after God had told them not to. This was delayed obedience at its worst and it led to failure. God will not allow people to dictate terms to Him. We do not set the schedule for our obedience. We do not determine which day we will obey God and which ones we will not.

Perhaps most troubling: just because we are sorry for our sin, it does not mean we will now avoid its consequences. Even when God forgives our sin, there will be consequences. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). God’s people must take His instruction seriously. The consequences are serious.

Look around you. The leaders of the future may be near you. They may be young, inexperienced, and lacking certain skills at the moment. But one day they will be in your place.

Do you want to touch and impact the future? If so, invest in young leaders. They need your encouragement! It is becoming increasingly difficult to lead. Leaders of the future will face daunting tasks.

While our lives have a limit to their extent, our influence does not. If we focus entirely on our own work, our influence will end when we retire or quit leading. But when we invest in the leaders of the future, our influence continues to be felt past our lifetime. There will be people who remember our words and actions and are inspired and guided by them

Joshua must have often recalled the words of Moses. They would have guided and encouraged the young leader as he led the Israelites to places his mentor had been unable to take them. Into whom are you currently investing? Will there be anyone who continues to be encouraged by your life, long after you are gone?

God cares deeply for people. He wants them to experience His very best for their lives. One of the preferred ways God blesses people is by appointing godly leaders through whom to accomplish His work. When leaders serve God faithfully, people receive a blessing. When leaders allow pride or anger or greed or other sins to enter their lives, people inevitably suffer.

That is why God holds leaders to a higher standard than he does their followers. There is more at stake. When people accept the role as a leader, they must understand the gravity of their sin. Innocent people will be harmed if they are careless in their lifestyle and leadership responsibilities.

That is why God was so harsh with Moses. Despite the numerous good things God’s servant had accomplished, God could not allow him to treat His command lightly. Temper or not, frustrating experience or not, grumbling, ungrateful followers or not, God expected Moses to obey His commands, to the letter. He had not. God punished Moses severely, for the people’s sake. They needed to see, and to understand, that if the revered Moses could not be careless with God’s commands, then certainly they could not either.

Be careful how meticulously you follow God as a leader. There may be far more at stake than you realize.

How much does God need to prove Himself to you? How many times does He have to be faithful? How often does His word need to be verified before you accept it as true for your life? God has an amazingly consistent and reliable track record in dealing with people. Yet we continue to doubt Him, to worry, and to hesitate to obey.

Our relationship with God is based on faith. Without faith, we cannot please Him. Yet God continually stands by His word and proves time and time again that He is trustworthy. It seems that God cannot do enough for some people to finally trust Him.

No people had ever witnessed the amazing miracles that the Israelites had. God had never made such amazing promises to a people before. So much hung in the balance of their belief. Yet their faith would falter. They would hesitate to trust the God who had proven to be wholly trustworthy.

God loves us with an infinite love, but He generally will not force His will upon us. He will invite is to trust Him and to obey. For those who refuse to believe, God’s promises will remain unrealized. We will only be able to wonder what our lives might have become, had we only believed.

For some Christians, people’s voices carry more weight than God’s word. We clearly hear what God is saying and we prepare to obey. But then someone points out how much it will cost, or how inadequate we are, or how difficult it will be to implement, and we shrug our shoulders and remain where we are. We have the audacity to allow one naysayer to cancel a divine command.

The Israelites knew clearly what God intended for them. God had already proven His ability to provide for their need and to fight on their behalf. Not once had God’s word proven unreliable. Yet with the negative word of ten men, an entire nation was prepared to defy a divine command. These men were respected in their tribes. They had influence. But they could not compare to God.

The sad truth was that the people were more wiling to listen to people than they were prepared to heed the voice of God. In reality, the ten men’s opinion was incorrect. It was possible to conquer the land. Their enemies would have crumbled before them. However, the consequence of listening to people was that the Israelites spent forty unnecessary years wandering aimlessly in the desert rather than enjoying God’s promise. Who are you currently listening to: God or people? Who is it you want to base your life upon?

Certain words are extremely powerful, either for good or for ill. The word “nevertheless” is such a word. Its power comes not from its length, but in its ability to cancel all that preceded it. In this case, the twelve Israelite spies reported that the Promised Land, which they had reconnoitered, was just as lush and beautiful as God had promised. It contained all the space and vegetation the Israelites required to prosper. Their report verified everything God had claimed.

But then comes that word: Nevertheless . . . This word has been the undoing of countless Christians and churches. “We know we should expand our facility to reach more people, nevertheless . . ..” “I know God wants me to go on that mission trip, nevertheless . . .” “I know God wants me to contribute to this cause, nevertheless . . .”

Some Christians are under the misguided belief that because they encounter problems, or they have doubts, or because they do not see how they can afford it, that they are justified in setting aside God’s clear command. In truth, when God speaks, there is no justifiable “nevertheless.” It matters not what the problems are once God has told us to move forward. Too many of God’s people are standing at the edge of the Promised Land listing all the reasons why they cannot go in. It is time to set our “nevertheless” aside and begin to claim the amazing promises God has waiting for us.

Every child of God has an inheritance. Our heavenly Father has prepared it for us and wants to give it to us. However, many of our heavenly gifts come with a price tag: faith and obedience. Scripture indicates it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). We may protest that we do believe, we just are afraid, or intimidated, or we feel inadequate. But the test of faith is whether or not we go up and claim the inheritance God has for us.

Tragically, there are those who would rather spend their life in a wilderness than exercise the faith to claim a Promised Land. These people could be enjoying much, but instead they remain satisfied with little.

You may have gone to church all of your life. You may have read your Bible for years. You may have sought to live a good, Christian lifestyle for years. But at some point you will stand at the edge of your Promised Land gazing out on all that could be yours. Then you will have to decide if you are satisfied merely with talking about faith and victory, or if you truly want to experience everything God has for you.

There comes a moment in every Christian’s life where talking about faith is no longer adequate. That is the time to advance.

Life is a journey. God meets us at one place in our life and then journeys with us as He takes us to where He wants us to be. There will be trials and challenges along the way. Parts of the journey will be pleasant and other sections will be difficult. But eventually we all come to our own Kadesh Barnea. Those are the times in our lives where circumstances look impossible. It is in those moments we must place our trust in God even though we can see no way for us to succeed.

The Israelites had experienced numerous miracles before they arrived to their Kadesh Barnea. They had witnessed ten plagues. They had walked across the Red Sea.They had stood at the foot of the awesome Mount Sinai. Yet they finally came to a point where their faith was tested like it had not been before. Unfortunately they would fail the exam. Forty years later, God would lead them back to this same place to see if they were prepared to finally move beyond that point (Numbers 20:1).

Are you at a crisis point in your life? Are you struggling to believe God for something, despite all you have experienced of Him in the past? We all have those watershed moments. How you respond to them will determine much of what happens in your life for years to come.

Leadership requires far more than an attractive appearance and impressive promises. What God demands in leaders are: integrity, humility, and courage. It takes integrity to be fair and honest even when you face pressures to show partiality. Some people expect favors or to be exempted from the same standards others face. One of your greatest temptations will be to compromise in the face of pressure from dominating or intimidating colleagues and clients.

God also expects humility. That is, no job, or responsibility is beneath you if it is good for your people. Godly leaders do not merely pander to the top executives while ignoring the shop floor laborers. No one is “beneath” you! Great leaders realize that every person is someone of value and so they treat them as such.

Finally, godly leaders demonstrate courage. They fear God, not people. They refuse to be bullied into compromising their convictions. They do not allow the loudest or most intimidating people to sway their opinions. Godly leaders are driven by principle, not fear.

Today’s leaders are often motivated more by popular opinion than by inner conviction. Reflect on these qualities in your life. At what level are you functioning with integrity, humility, and courage? How might you step it up a notch in these areas in the days ahead?