1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,480
Day 48 or February 17. Grow your own.

2
00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:15,080
Our thoughts today are from Numbers chapter 27 verse 18. So the Lord said to Moses, Take

3
00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:23,440
Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him.

4
00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:28,680
First the big picture surrounding this verse. After the Israelites have wandered in the

5
00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:35,920
wilderness for forty years, God tells Moses to count them all again. The older generation

6
00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:41,860
that left Egypt, but wouldn't trust God when the spies reported back, and so didn't go

7
00:00:41,860 --> 00:00:48,960
into the promised land, are all dead now. All that is except the two faithful ones,

8
00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:57,320
Joshua and Caleb, and of course Moses. This census counted all the current adult generation

9
00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:03,840
who have not had the opportunity to enter the land yet. As before, only the men who

10
00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:08,560
are twenty years old and over are counted. In other words, they were not counting the

11
00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:14,240
people but the men who would make up the army. This method of counting had not changed by

12
00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:20,760
the time Jesus came, because if you remember, when they counted the crowd after a miraculous

13
00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:28,880
feeding, Matthew 14 verse 21 tells us, about five thousand men were fed that day, in addition

14
00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:35,480
to all the women and children. Finally, Joshua the faithful assistant to Moses becomes the

15
00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:42,280
new leader. He is the man who will lead them into the promised land.

16
00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:49,160
And now today's action step. During his lifetime, Moses was preparing his successor by training

17
00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:57,360
a suitable person, Joshua. Today we would call this mentoring or apprenticeship. In

18
00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:04,720
Exodus chapter 24 verse 13, Joshua is described as Moses' assistant, but Moses doesn't

19
00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:11,960
assume that God will confirm him as leader. He specifically asks God to appoint someone,

20
00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:19,720
and God chooses Joshua. Here we have two vital aspects of leadership. Firstly, train them

21
00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:25,600
and mentor them yourself wherever this is possible. This means you are able to know

22
00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:32,960
them and confirm their call much more confidently. Secondly, never assume God's approval. Be

23
00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:41,120
sure to ask him and then listen, and respond to his leading, just as Moses did.

24
00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:43,120
Thank you.