Leadership Principles For Successful Living

Leadership Principles for Successful Living

-Integrity of the Heart-

Joshua 1:1-8

From the life of Joshua we find leadership principles for successful living. From Joshua’s life and character we can learn helpful lessons on spiritual leadership for families, parents and individuals.

Are leaders born or made? Most leaders are made and not born. It’s also interesting that many leaders have gown through challenging times and struggles in life.

Henry and Richard Blackaby in their book “Called to be God’s Leader,” tell about a young man forced to abandon his military career in disgrace. For seven years he failed in several business attempts. He faced bankruptcy on several occasions. He even was forced to sell his pocket watch, his only remaining valuable, to provide Christmas gifts for his impoverished family.

He had to sell firewood on street corners to make ends meet. When a friend who knew him in better days asked him why he was selling firewood, he replied, “I am solving the problem of poverty.”

When war broke out his application to join the army was rejected. He finally took a job of selling bread to the army as a way to serve the army.

The young man was an unlikely candidate to actually become the leader to lead the Union army to victory during the Civil War and at the age of 46 became the youngest man to be elected president of the United States. His name was Ulysses S. Grant.

Joshua was a young man who grew up under difficult circumstances. His parents were slaves living under the bondage of the Egyptians. Yet Joshua became a dynamic spiritual leader. The key to his leadership was found in God.

Our hope today is the fact that God uses people regardless of their past experiences. Regardless of your past, God can still use you.

Joshua witnessed heart ache and suffering. As a child he saw his family being beaten and suffering under the strong hand of the Egyptians.

Let’s look at some leadership principles from the life of Joshua.

I. A Servant heart is the key to success.

According to God’s plan for leadership the key is not upward mobility, but downward mobility. God said to Joshua, “My servant Moses is dead, now you are my servant and will take his place and lead my people to the promise land.” (Joshua 1:1- 2)

Just as Moses had been a servant of the Lord now Joshua was going to be a servant of the Lord. Just as Moses listened to the Lord now Joshua was to listen to the Lord for instructions.

A person with a servant’s heart is teachable. He/she doesn’t have all the answers to life’s problems. They don’t have the final answer on all subjects. A servant looks to his master and listens to his master for assignments and instructions.

Jesus practiced downward mobility when he entered into his public ministry. He said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve , and give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28

If you want to experience success in life, in your family and at work; have a servant’s heart. Practice serving others more than expecting others to serve you.

Servant leadership is the key to successful relationships in the home and family. Ephesians 5:21 speaks to husbands and wives, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Marriage is a partnership. True partners serve one another and seek to meet each other’s needs.

Do you want your home and family to be successful? Then love as Jesus loved.

# A couple came to see their pastor as the last stop before making an appointment to see their respective lawyers about getting a divorce. When they came into the Pastor’s office the air was filled with tension. The husband sat on one side of the room hurling accusations. The wife sat on the other side, cold as ice, but occasionally blasting away with bitter fireball-type epithets at him.

The Pastor suggested they try to start over and go back to the point of time in their lives when they were in love. The man replied, “But I don’t love her anymore.” The Pastor said to him, “You respect the Bible, don’t you?” “Yes,” the man replied. “Well scripture says, “Love Your Wife.” “Yes,” said the man, “but we’re not living together as husband and wife. We have separate bedrooms.”

“Oh, you’re living in rooms next to each other?” The Pastor asked. “That’s right,” said the man. “Well, scripture has a word for you,” the Pastor said. “Love your neighbor.”