God's Undeniable Leadership-2 Series

GOD's UNDENIABLE LEADERSHIP-II—Joshua 3:7-17

Attention:

We are faced with a lack of integrity in the world today.

We shouldn’t tolerate it in Christian circles.

Need:

Exaltation/Magnification

God began to magnify Joshua’s ministry among Israel.

God magnified Joshua’s ministry.

God began to make His leader known among the children of Israel.

God began to make His leadership thru Joshua undeniable among His people.

God initiated His undeniable leadership thru Joshua among His people Israel.

*God makes His leadership undeniable among His people.

How does God endear leadership to His people?

*When/Where is God’s leadership undeniable?

We’ve found previously that God’s leadership is Undeniable in...

1. CONTINUITY(:7)

2—God’s leadership is Undeniable in...

DIRECTION(:8-9)

Explanation:(:8-9)

:8—“You shall, moreover, command the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, 'When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'"”

Joshua was instructed to give the priests(who were carrying the ark) a command from God.

As the priests approached the edge of the Jordan they were to continue into the water & stand in it.

Direction must come from God! Direction to do what you cannot do!

Expects/Demands all leadership to be on same level.

Priests empowered(thru personal cleansing & desire & ordination) for special contact/communication/service with God.

Christians are all priests & saints—No ‘clerical order.’

“Moreover”—added in NIV—

“Command”—hwu tsaw-vaw’—Piel(Intensive/intentional/repeated/extended) Imperfect—1) To command, charge, give orders, lay charge, give charge to, order. Strong—a primitive root; intensively--To constitute, enjoin(instruct/urge).

“Priests”(See :3,6)—Nhk kohen'—

“Bear/Carrying”—asn naw-saw’—Qal Participle Active—

“Ark”—Nwra aw-rowne’—Noun Masc.—1) Chest, ark—1a) Money chest, 1b) Ark of the Covenant; 2) (TWOT)--Coffin. Strong—from hra aw-raw’[a primitive root; to pluck](in the sense of gathering); A box.

“Covenant”—tyrb ber-eeyth’—Noun Fem.—1) Covenant, alliance, pledge; 2) (phrases)—2a) Covenant making, 2b) Covenant keeping, 2c) Covenant violation. Strong—A compact(because made by passing between pieces of flesh).

“Edge”(See :15)—huq kaw-tseh’—Noun Masc.—1) End, extremity—1a) End, mouth, extremity, 1b) Border, outskirts, 1c) The whole(condensed term for what is included within extremities), 1d) At the end of(a certain time). Strong—from huq kaw-tsaw’[To cut off, destroy, scrape off]: An extremity(used in a great variety of applications & idioms; compare Uq kets[An extremity, After]).

“Waters”—Mym mah’-yim—Noun Masc.—

“Stand”—dme aw-mad’—Qal Imperfect—1) To stand, remain, endure, take one's stand. Strong—a primitive root; To stand, in various relations (literal & figurative, intransitive & transitive).

:9—“Then Joshua said to the sons of Israel, "Come here, & hear the words of the LORD your God."”

Joshua directed his address to the people...And the people to the LORD.

Joshua called them to come to himself, BUT ONLY as they would to listen to the “words of YaHWeH” their God!

All Christians are to ‘lead’ others to God. But more than that, they will always lead others to God thru Jesus! And still more than that, they will always lead others to God thru Jesus, as they allow that empowerment of the Holy Spirit!

God’s leader will never direct you toward naked/bare secular ‘self-help.’ Such self-help is always & only a stepping-stone which ends at Christ. Christian leadership will lead you to God who helps the ‘self’ come to a realization of personal sinfulness & dependency upon God’s forgiveness.

Likewise, God’s man/woman will never lead others to themselves, but rather will always lead others to the Lord God.

God’s desire is for congregational unity, but for the sake of enabling God’s Direction. Therefore His leaders must not have mere ‘charismatic’ personalities—in the sense that they draw people to themselves—but rather they must have that which attracts people to Jesus, making Him appealing!

“Sons/Children”—Nb ben—Noun Masc.—1) Son, grandson, child, member of a group. Strong—from hnb baw-naw’;[a primitive root; to build (literally & figuratively);] A son(as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal & figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., [like 01, 0251, etc.]).

“Come here/Come hither”—vgn naw-gash’—Qal Imperative—1) To draw near, approach—1a) (Qal) To draw or come near—1a1) Of humans—1a1a) Of sexual intercourse, 1a2) Of inanimate subject—1a2a) To approach one another. Strong—a primitive root; To be or come(causatively, bring) near(for any purpose); euphemistically--To lie with a woman; as an enemy--To attack; religiously--To worship; causatively--To present; figuratively--To adduce an argument; by reversal--To stand back.

“Hear”—emv shaw-mah’—Qal Imperative—1) To hear, listen to, obey. Strong—a primitive root; To hear intelligently(often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.).

“Words”—rbd daw-baw’—Noun Masc.—1) Speech, word, speaking, thing—1a) Speech, 1b) Saying, utterance, 1c) Word, words, 1d) Business, occupation, acts, matter, case, something, manner--by extension. Strong—from rbd[To arrange, speak, subdue]; A word; by implication--A matter(as spoken of) or thing; adverbially--A cause.

“The LORD”—hwhy Yeh-ho-vaw’—Noun Proper Deity—Jehovah = “the existing One”—1) The proper name of the one true God—1a) unpronounced except with the vowel pointings of ynda Ad-o-noy’. Strong—from hyh[To exist, be, become, come to pass]; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God.