1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 We have handed out thousands of road tours about this. 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:12,000 I hope that you have already registered, but if not, then still can. 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:18,000 And it will be well worth the Friday night and Saturday that you invest 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:25,000 to equip yourself to be able to deal with the issues in this great cultural civil war 5 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,000 that's been described on the video this morning. 6 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:36,000 And next weekend here at our church, we also have a key seminar called Understanding Homosexuality. 7 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,000 And we've got a tremendous response to this. 8 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,000 There's still time for you to register for that weekend also. 9 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:46,000 And I think you can get to it on Bethlehem, as well, in the lobby today. 10 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:51,000 I have a question for you. 11 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:59,000 Who in the Bible, besides Adam and Eve, had no children? 12 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,000 I think someone said about that. 13 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:08,000 The answer is Dracula, because he was the son of men. 14 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,000 I know it's a good one. 15 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,000 Funny joke, but for all, they become new after a while. 16 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,000 You ever notice that? 17 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,000 Today we're going to talk about Dracula. 18 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:26,000 And the answer, excuse me, when we think about change in life, 19 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:31,000 and particularly today we're thinking about change in leadership. 20 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,000 Without a stone in the face of trouble, 21 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:38,000 I thought this would be a good message for the 25 election day. 22 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:43,000 The leadership of our nation has experienced some change in the last week, 23 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:47,000 although not as much as some of us might have liked some change. 24 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,000 But under what the nation has experienced, 25 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:55,000 change will maybe have some new leaders who are coming to us. 26 00:01:55,000 --> 00:02:00,000 And that change will be felt over the next two and four years. 27 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:08,000 Leadership is an opportunity to influence others, to go in a particular direction. 28 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,000 This morning I'd like to share this brief with a couple of observations 29 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:14,000 regarding leadership from a biblical perspective. 30 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:16,000 First, leadership is a privilege. 31 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,000 Leadership is a privilege. 32 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:24,000 God entrusts this privilege to those who need it. 33 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,000 None rises to leadership, none falls to leadership, 34 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:32,000 but God is not involved in that process. 35 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,000 So if we like the leadership and we don't like the leadership, 36 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,000 God is the one who provides it. 37 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,000 Leadership is a privilege that God entrusts to those who need it. 38 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:46,000 Secondly, leadership is a gift. 39 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:55,000 Leadership is a gift that God bestows upon us in our human institutions. 40 00:02:55,000 --> 00:03:01,000 God gives leaders to us in the realm of government and politics. 41 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:05,000 God gives leaders to us in the church. 42 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:09,000 God gives leaders to us in the family. 43 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:14,000 And God gives leaders to us in human organizations. 44 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,000 So, however God is providing leadership, 45 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:22,000 we need to feed our leadership of a gift from God to us. 46 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,000 Now, leadership may be a blessing or it may be a curse, 47 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:30,000 depending upon the character of the leader. 48 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:36,000 So, like Eisenhower, who was, of course, president of the United States, said, 49 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:44,000 the supreme quality for leadership is, unquestionably, integrity. 50 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,000 Without it, no real success is possible, 51 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:57,000 no matter whether it's on the section game, a football field, in an army, or in an office. 52 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:04,000 Unquestionably, the one characteristic that's necessary for good leadership is integrity. 53 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,000 So, that is, present leadership can be a blessing, 54 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:13,000 whereas absent leadership can be a curse upon a people. 55 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:21,000 And we should know in passing, too, that God gives spiritual leadership as a gift to some in the church. 56 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:29,000 As you look at the list, you know, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, leadership, is one of them. 57 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:34,000 God gives us as a body of people those who are gifted to lead, 58 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:38,000 and the thing we need to do is let the leaders lead. 59 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:42,000 That's what God has called them to do. 60 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:49,000 God has also, within the church, given an office of leadership called elder. 61 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:57,000 An elder is an agency, an elder is one who is to contend, who manages, who stands before others. 62 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,000 And that's what leadership really means, one who stands before others. 63 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:06,000 And the God of the church has not only given to men and women the gift of leadership, 64 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:12,000 but he has called some men to the office of elder, to lead in the church. 65 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:17,000 Now, by dancing a little bit, just knowing to talk about that, to tell them the concern that I have, 66 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:24,000 and it is this, that some of us are using some material called experience in God. 67 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,000 And there is material that I know, I let them in. 68 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:34,000 I think it's a tremendous workbook of helping people to come into a more intimate relationship with God. 69 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:40,000 The Dr. B. Irving book has what I think is a misconception of leadership in the church. 70 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:45,000 He is coming out of the Baptist background, he is in the Baptist congregational climate parable, 71 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:49,000 which is different from our understanding of scripture. 72 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:55,000 Our understanding is that the election is derived from conclusions of everybody in the church, 73 00:05:55,000 --> 00:06:02,000 and he uses the analogy of the body in the New Testament to try to put it in point. 74 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:09,000 It is interesting that the analogy of the body in the New Testament is used in the church, of course, 75 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,000 but it's never used for leadership. 76 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:16,000 It's used for relationship. 77 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:20,000 It's used to show how we relate them together, and relate it to Jesus Christ. 78 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:27,000 The analogy of leadership in the New Testament is the analogy of the shepherd and the sheep. 79 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:31,000 And there is a point of argument or shepherd for the sheep. 80 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,000 That's the analogy of the New Testament of leadership. 81 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:40,000 And so I wanted to bring that to you because I know some of our cell groups and others are about personally 82 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:45,000 are using that very fine book, but like any book, we want to examine it in light of the scriptures 83 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,560 we've heard from our 84 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:53,000 And that's a way of showing a little bit of caution for you regarding the book. 85 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:59,000 Now to come back to my main theme this morning, from time to time, God orders leadership change. 86 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:06,000 I was the case with Joshua in Joshua chapter 1, and I invite you to turn to it. 87 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:13,000 And as it comes to Joshua chapter 1, let me remind you of Daniel's prayer in the second chapter of this book. 88 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:18,000 He says, Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever. 89 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:23,000 Wisdom and power are his, he changes times and seasons. 90 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:31,000 Listen, he sets up kings and deposes them. 91 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:41,000 God sets up kings and presidents, and he deposes them. 92 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:46,000 The context of that prayer, Daniel, is the revelation that was given. 93 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:49,000 And really, to now to now, the king. 94 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:56,000 And the image, that giant image of different middles. 95 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:08,000 And you may remember that the middles in that image represented the transfer of power in the Middle East over a 500 year period. 96 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:14,000 Here was the gold, but then there were other powers that were in the image. 97 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:20,000 And in fact, if I understand this correctly, it reaches right down to the latter days. 98 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:26,000 I think the days we're living in, talking about the powers that were in the latter days. 99 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:35,000 The day we're praying about this, that's the day the God of the One brings about transitions of power, transitions into them. 100 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:43,000 The king made it to never an angel proclaimed in Daniel chapter four, but no power was sovereign over the kingdoms of man. 101 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:54,000 He gave them to only one universal, and set over them the lordship of man. 102 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:59,000 I only thought it was interesting to comment. 103 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:03,000 Now in whatever dimension, you don't think I'm going to make it, huh? 104 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:10,000 I'm going to comment on what my wings are sitting down here, regarding my thoughts. 105 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,000 I appreciate that. 106 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:21,000 In whatever dimension, we're talking about, whether it be in government, or in the church, or if it be in society, in some organization. 107 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:29,000 The thing I want you to grasp this morning is this, that God's sovereign who arranges leaders to achieve his ends. 108 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:33,000 We are not the victims of chance. 109 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:40,000 Chance cannot coexist in the universe of a sovereign God. 110 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:44,000 It cannot coexist with providence. 111 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:54,000 Please remember that God's providence of many things will outcome of all change, including change of leadership. 112 00:09:54,000 --> 00:10:03,000 And there will come a threat to leadership change, testing God to do his will. 113 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,000 So what does leadership change mean? 114 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,000 What does it mean? 115 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,000 Well, I have two answers to that question. 116 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:16,000 First of all, leadership change means that God's work to pass leadership is concluded. 117 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,000 Verse one. 118 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:24,000 I saw the gates of Moses, the servant of the Lord. 119 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:28,000 The Lord said to Joshua, the son of man, Moses, Ode. 120 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:37,000 Moses, my servant is dead, now you and all these people get laid across the Jordan River in the land. 121 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:45,000 The first thing I noted from leadership change means is that God is still with his work when the pain is leadership. 122 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:57,000 And I say this about Christ because Moses, the God who was the servant of the Lord, God who laid him up for a particular purpose. 123 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:00,000 Moses accomplished that purpose. 124 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:07,000 A few of God had intended for Moses to be into the land with the people, but Moses sinned, as you may recall. 125 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:13,000 As a result of that, God said, you will not be into the land, though you may think. 126 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:23,000 And there's this thing that's been said before in the Bible, in the book of Deuteronomy, where the navy stays up to Mount Nebo, a God's command. 127 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:33,000 And from that point, that people who overlook the Jordan Valley, some of us were there a couple of years ago and stayed in Mount Nebo, where we were. 128 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:45,000 And some day we could look across the Jordan Valley, miles and miles, and see the city of Jerusalem today on the hill of Judea. 129 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:54,000 And the day of every day was a sunny day and the sun was basing off that golden dome there on the tip of site. 130 00:11:54,000 --> 00:12:06,000 And the mosque of Omar is there to both, and Nebram built it, so that you could see that golden dome, just glistening like a tin head in the distance. 131 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:18,000 And as you look down at the north and south, into the Jordan Valley, you'll see the Dead Sea, and then you'll see the face of the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, as it comes down from the north and the sea's gallery. 132 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:35,000 And just like the Book of Deuteronomy describes, you look across the Jordan River, which is a green line going up this brown valley, you look across and you see a green spot, an oasis, in this very dry valley, and that is Jericho. 133 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:48,000 Now the oldest cities in the world were in the very place that Moses stood and the Father sighted his son, and put it over into the promised land. 134 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:58,000 And then there in the mountains of Moab he died, and God buried him, and no one knows where he was buried. 135 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:05,000 He said God's work was done, God had completed his work for Moses. 136 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:19,000 God raises up leaders for specific purposes, and for certain times, and then when the work is accomplished, he moves them on, and then Moses takes his breath, and takes him on. 137 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:31,000 That's the first answer to what leadership change means. It means that God has completed his work with the leaders of the past. 138 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:39,000 But the second answer to the question is that God's work in the new leadership is consolidated. 139 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:50,000 We see that in Joshua, who's got a bit of it, let's go ahead and read some more. Across the Jordan River is the land, I am about to give them to the Israelites. 140 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:56,000 I will give you, says God, every place that you set your foot, of our planet Moses. 141 00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:05,000 Their territory will expand to the desert of Lebanon and from the great river you sighted, all the hithoved countries, to the great sea on the west. 142 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:10,000 No one will be able to stand up against you, all the dears of your life. 143 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:15,000 As I will be collated, so I will be with you. I will never leave you, nor forsake you. 144 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:22,000 Be strong and collated, because we will lead these people to the north of the land on the floor to their forefathers to give them. 145 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:28,000 Be strong and be collated, because if you bow all the way, my servant Moses will save you. 146 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:34,000 Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, or you may be successful wherever you go. 147 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:42,000 Do not let this breath of the law depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything that is in it. 148 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,000 And then you will be fastened to successful. 149 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:55,000 Have I not commanded you, be strong and collated, do not be terrified, do not be deceived, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. 150 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,000 And so I say that God has your leadership. 151 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:04,000 We are all prepared to step in to the vacuum of the parieta by Moses' death. 152 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:12,000 God's tribe to Joshua was built upon the ways of preparation in the name of God. 153 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:21,000 He says that we should, for a moment, regarding Joshua's preparation and his rise among the people of Israel. 154 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:26,000 The very first nation of Joshua was in Exodus chapter 17 verse 9. 155 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:32,000 The Lord said to Joshua, choose him as our man and go out to fight the Amalekites. 156 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:37,000 For now I will stand on the hill with the staff of God in my hand. 157 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:39,000 You remember that, Barbara, don't you? 158 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:48,000 Now, to the people of man, and to those in his flesh, Joshua and Uali met this trust. 159 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:52,000 And his hands were lower than they were pushed back. 160 00:15:52,000 --> 00:16:01,000 And so he had two come beside him to hold up his hands, and Joshua and Uali ran down all the day. 161 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:10,000 In Exodus chapter 3, 24, verse 13, verse 12, 20, that Joshua was an ode to Moses. 162 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:17,000 He was Moses' right-hand man, so to speak, other than his brother, Aaron. 163 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:22,000 Exodus 33 says that he sought after God, listen to these words. 164 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:27,000 Whenever the paper saw the tree of clad standing at the entrance of the tent, 165 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:32,000 or all stayed in worship, each at the entrance of his tent, 166 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:37,000 the Lord would speak to Moses face to face as the man speaks with his friend. 167 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:41,000 Then Moses would return to the camp. 168 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:50,000 But listen to this, his one ode, Joshua, did not leave the tent. 169 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,000 Joshua had a heart for God, and he would bring the tent with Moses, 170 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:57,000 as Moses and God would convert it, and Moses would go back to the people, 171 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:05,000 and Joshua would linger in the presence of the Lord. 172 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:11,000 Joshua was a man with bowels sent into the promised land, wasn't he? 173 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:17,000 And he would return the land with Caleb to give the minority report, 174 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:20,000 saying, we can do it, we can take their land. 175 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:24,000 God will help us, God will enable us. 176 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:35,000 The first of the members of 1456, Joshua, son of Man, and Caleb, son of Justina, they are number, they have explored the land, and they have cleared their clothes. 177 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:46,000 They were so very stupid, they were upset that the people of Israel were refusing to believe God that they cleared their own clothes. 178 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,000 Here's the man of faith. 179 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:59,000 And because of that, he was one of only two of that whole generation that did not die in the wilderness. 180 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:11,000 Speak of it, over a period of some 38 years, as the people wandered through the wilderness, that wilderness became a giant cemetery. 181 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:21,000 Hundreds of thousands of people died there because of their failure to believe God, of Judas Barnea. 182 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:24,000 But Joshua was not one of them. 183 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:39,000 It says that the Lord had called those Israelites to the truly barren desert, and not one of them was left, except Caleb, son of Justina, and Joshua, son of Man, number 2665. 184 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:45,000 And then, he was commissioned to take Moses' place of leadership. 185 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:49,000 But nothing from Joshua was not a surprise. 186 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:53,000 There was a commission for this and a dance for this. 187 00:18:53,000 --> 00:19:11,000 And then, there's 27. It says, For the Lord said to Moses, Take Joshua, the son of man, and man who is the Spirit, and lay him on him, let him stand before all the leaders of the priest, and the entire assembly commissioned him in their presence. 188 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:26,000 Let him stand before the whole community and obey him. He was to stand before all the leaders of the priest, and he would obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Lord. 189 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:32,000 By his command, he would have communicated to the Israelites the right that his commander would command. 190 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:47,000 And then, as good as the Lord commanded him, he took Joshua and let him stand before all the leaders of the priest, and the whole assembly, then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed Moses. 191 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:53,000 Then it says regarding him, in Numbers 32, 192 00:19:53,000 --> 00:20:03,000 Caleb, son of Japheth the Kenazite, and Joshua the son of Nun, they followed the Lord wholeheartedly. 193 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:24,000 Listen to my point here. My point here is that God was giving away the old leaders, Moses. What he said was purpose, and God was bringing a new leader, and the new leader was Joshua. 194 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:35,000 The consolidator, all the ways of experience and preparation, the time in God's presence, the time watching Moses, and the time leading the army, 195 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:44,000 would all of that together so that God's purpose for his people would be unhindered in this transfer of leadership. 196 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:55,000 I think that's what they're sure all of us. They need to bring the lives of the leaders, so God will never forsake his people. 197 00:20:55,000 --> 00:21:17,000 Many nations pass away. They are left in the wake of time moving onward. But God remains. I just sat with this last summary, I watched Billy Graham's place, and he's getting older and more frail. 198 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:28,000 And there's going to come a day, the Lord told us, that we're going to get the new flag for Billy Graham and God. 199 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:38,000 It makes them a good place, a lot of us, and for some of us, we've grown up with the name and all of our lives as a great spokesman for the faith in our nations. 200 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:52,000 It can be a shock. If God has ways of transferring leadership and preparing others to step in, I suppose that everybody has got to say, 201 00:21:52,000 --> 00:22:08,000 Lord, Billy Graham died back in the 40s. Somebody could tell us about it. And if we'd been taught that there was a last minute of time, there would never be a day when it's like this again. 202 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:22,000 Billy Graham is on the scene. I remember when I was still studying out of ministry, and we'd come to Covington, Kentucky to work with Professor Wielby and to the teachers. 203 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:41,000 And I remember seeing the sudden news as we drove one day in the car coming back from the hospital that we had been passing through the leadership of the committee church in Chicago and was planning to obstruct the car to go there as a monster. 204 00:22:41,000 --> 00:23:01,000 I remember how grief-stricken I was and how shocked I was that we were going to be losing our leader. I remember how vulnerable I felt that my balance in the past year was going to move on to another place. 205 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:13,000 The God who created this work was going to take him on to a place where he was prepared to manage this. And then I did not want that place, or I had been told to secrete him. That was the one thing I didn't want to do. 206 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:22,000 I did not want to be a pastor, and I thought if I was a former pastor, I don't want to be a pastor. I'm just going to be a pastor. 207 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:34,000 I don't have any questions like that. The God who created the transfer of leadership, what is that kind of change? 208 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:56,000 But it means that he created his work in one, but his work now has been completely cured in somebody else. It's been consolidated. What does that mean in terms of what leadership means? It means that God's work among the followers, the followers, is continued. 209 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:07,000 It's continued. As we see here, the last we kept in mind. God has taken the transfer of the work we've done back in those days, and asked for the order of the offices of the people. 210 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:26,000 Go through the people. What's happening? God's work is going on. And God has made it clear to us, then we will enter into transfer. Whatever you command us, we will do. And however you send us, we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, we will obey you. 211 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:40,000 Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever he bears against their word and does not obey your word, whatever you command them when we pick the dust, only be strong and courageous. 212 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:56,000 And those are the words that we are told here, we will obey you, because these are the words of Moses. I'm not sure that gives him a lot of confidence. Because they say that they will pray against the leading of people. 213 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:10,000 And I've heard here before, both, the leadership of God has raised up. God has been blessing to his people. Moses indeed may be gone, but God's promises remain to be claimed. 214 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:31,000 And everything is still there. The land needs to be taken and presented to the glory of God. And God will bear with Moses and the people's responsibility that they will follow their leader. I'm sure that God's words have been prayed by their response to him. 215 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:52,000 I remember when John Ponce wrote to me on another occasion, when we talked about the death of another pastor, he said to me, God bears his workmen, but his work goes on. 216 00:25:52,000 --> 00:26:01,000 He said to me, God bears his workmen, but his work goes on. And even leadership change, God's work goes on among his people. 217 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:22,000 You see my bottom line this morning, as I raced to the finish line, is this. Leadership change is God at work. Leadership change is God at work, preaching to bear his work. 218 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:36,000 And I say, why do you bring leadership change when I don't need it? I was really expecting to be talking about more leadership change this morning than I am in my nation, frankly. 219 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:52,000 I guess I start with God to get into the final part. But you know, rather than look tomorrow and find out you've got a new boss coming in the month. 220 00:26:52,000 --> 00:27:09,000 I remember what we learned this morning. Instead of being panic as I was, and I was looking at my first leadership change, instead of feeling vulnerable and anxious about it, we can show him God has his work. 221 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:28,000 And I say, what's the trust in you? God is going to give you the will in you. I mean, I mean, we all need trust too. You know, it says that we may prove what is the good and the tough, acceptable and perfect will of God. 222 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:42,000 God is working on his will. We have told him, and he said, it's good. Now we may not see at the moment that it is good, because it may hurt a little bit, but it is good. 223 00:27:42,000 --> 00:28:00,000 I have noticed that I have a little spot on my face this morning. I've had a spot there a long time, but it's a little darker to go. And because I went to the doctor, he took a little piece of it off, he looked at me and he knew that I needed to get this thing off of my face. 224 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:14,000 Well, it was not cancer, it was pre-cancer. He said, make an appointment for me and we'll remove it. So I waited until I got my phone up, and finally made the appointment and went in, this last week. 225 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:30,000 And he took some nitro, what is that thing? Not nitro-green, maybe. He said, a year ago, we had a future, we're going to make a mouse vision, and then we're going to try it on my face. 226 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:45,000 And I said, no, it feels like anyway in Minnesota, that's all. And so he began to do the work there and burned my skin. It wasn't a little thing, it wasn't bad. It wasn't as bad as I had imagined it was going to be. 227 00:28:45,000 --> 00:29:03,000 It was good. And then I thought, that's gone, and now I'm going to be okay. God knows. But you see, God's doing the other things that we want to be good at. It may burn or freeze, or move our skin in its garden. 228 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:16,000 And it may not always be pleasing at the moment for us, but it's always more pleasing to God, and it will please us, as we bring God's perspective on it. 229 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:31,000 And it's perfect. God's doing it always perfect. It can't be improved upon. God doesn't want it to be and be and be, because then it can't be. 230 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:38,000 And the impoverished is going to make God a work. He's going to do the work. 231 00:29:38,000 --> 00:30:05,000 And that's why we're having a little bit of a change in our lives. We need to trust God in change. We need to do other kinds of change in our lives. I find that this series on change has resonated with a lot of people harder than I would have anticipated before I got into this series. 232 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:17,000 But we don't change. God is the work, and we can trust Him in such a way. 233 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:42,000 Some of us are facing changes in leadership in our lives in some dimension. We've also had some change because of the election this last week. And we were reminded that we put in the power of people and we've made them in the time come. 234 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:51,000 Some of us really face changes we don't even know about yet. We think that we're in a band, but change means we're at work. 235 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:57,000 And here we are tempted to go to be anxious. 236 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:13,000 We may be fearful or feel vulnerable, but we don't talk about the truth or the past of understanding. I just want to tell you Lord, in truth, like a river, I turn my way. 237 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:32,000 May we be in that river and enjoy what it means to us. May we know that this river of peace in our spirit is the result of your providence at work and in life. 238 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:47,000 And so we do trust you. And we so be glorified Lord in our lives. I don't know what the issue may be, but will you give that anxious spirit, that worry that you've brought to God, will you ask Him to work in your team to prove His will, to bear the 239 00:31:47,000 --> 00:32:12,000 acceptable and perfect will, and some what not? Let's stand together. 240 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:15,720 Father, you are the God who does not change. You are in 241 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:44,720 with me. You are forever the same, yesterday, today, and forever. Oh Jesus Christ, we thank you that you, the King of One, are with us in this changing world. 242 00:32:44,720 --> 00:33:12,720 And I would be pleased to see you working out your will in your life. And to some of us who are struggling today to just give it to you, to give that team to you, and working fast and fresh with our hearts, we trust you. Amen.