Preparing For The Next Leader

Last week we began by talking about mentoring and how we affect other people's lives. We saw how Jethro impacted Moses’ life in his ministry. Moses’ ministry changed in his methods and I'm sure that he was grateful for Jethro's advice.

People impact our lives sometimes more than we realize. Think about who it was that influenced you as you were growing up or later in life as you became close friends. When I became involved in teaching young adult Sunday School and becoming a deacon years ago, I had a lot of questions about different things. I had a good friend, Larry, that helped me work out a lot of the details very early on in my ministry.

I'm so grateful for Larry and how his influence and his lifestyle impacted much of my life today. As I grew in the ministry and became a pastor, Larry began calling me with questions about the pastorate. We were just close friends like that. So, I guess you could say that this was a case of my mentor becoming the person I would mentor one day.

Last week we also talked about how we reach out to mentors for advice but also how others reach out to us for advice. That is what I meant when I said you are more of a mentor than you realize. In last week's message, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, mentored Moses. In our story today, it is years later and we find Moses being a mentor to his assistant Joshua. God used Moses to mentor Joshua, who became a strong leader under God's direction, and was a product of Moses’ mentorship. Can you see how important it is to think about the mentoring responsibility? Let's get into our passage today in Numbers 27, but before we do let's pray. Prayer.

Psalm 90:12 includes this prayer: “Teach us to number our days carefully

so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.”

When I read that verse. I thought that this was probably the principle that was front and center in Moses mind when God told Moses about his coming death. In that announcement, Moses got a glimpse of the future that was waiting for the nation of Israel. God told Moses to climb to the top of the Abarim mountain range to view the future location that had been prepared for the Israelites. God allowed Moses to see the Promised Land but God prohibited Moses from entering it.

Numbers 27:12 – 14 – “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range and see the land that I have given the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you will also be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was. 14 When the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against my command to demonstrate my holiness in their sight at the waters.” Those were the Waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.”

God is reminding Moses of his disobedience. Let me digress for a moment and stress how important it is to be obedient to God. Because of his disobedience, Moses was forbidden to enter the Promised Land. This was the point of the exodus of the Israelite people out of Egypt. Moses had been their leader and led in the crossing of the Red Sea and supplying the needs of the Israelite people for 40 years. Now we are at the point of crossing over into the Promised Land and Moses disobeyed God.

The people we're in need of water for themselves and their animals. Moses met with God and God told Moses to speak to the rock and water will flow from it. Moses got angry at the people and instead of speaking to the rock he struck the rock with his stick. The water still poured out of the rock but Moses exemplified his distrust in God by striking the rock instead of simply speaking to the rock. Because of this disobedience, Moses was not allowed to enter into the Promised Land.

Mountains played a significant role throughout biblical history. In the Old Testament, the garden of Eden, with the four rivers flowing down or out of Eden, appears to be on a mountain. Moses received the law from God on Mount Sinai. Elijah faced off against false prophets on a mountain top. Jesus delivered one of the most famous addresses on the Mount of Olives. Jesus also went up on the mountain tops to pray. But we need to remember that Jesus told the Samaritan woman that true worship is not bound by space but it is to be done in spirit and in truth. That is telling us that we don't need to be on a mountain top in order to worship God.