Where do you go to meet with God and experience sweet fellowship?

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1 Introduction Joshua was Moses servant before he became Moses successor. We have been taking brief looks at Joshua in the Old Testament. In the first session we saw that Joshua was a man of prayer (Exodus 17:8-9) and vision (Exodus 24). Now we will explore the character qualities of devotion (Exodus 33) and loyalty (Numbers 11:26-30). The Man Of Devotion (Exodus 33) Here we find the third mention of Joshua. The chapter begins with Moses serving in the role of mediator (vv.1-17) and then Moses as worshipper (vv.18 to chapter 34:35). As intercessor Moses stood between Israel and her past sins. As mediator Moses stood between the nation and its future blessings before God (see Wiersbe s Old Testament Outlines; pp ). One of the interesting things about Exodus chapter 33 is that Moses is not content that the people simply experience the forgiveness of sins but that God would desire to be with them on their journey to the Promised Land. When the people discovered that God would not go with them because of their rebellion and disobedience they humbled themselves and mourned their sin. As a symbolic gesture of hatred and abhorrence of their sin Moses moved the tent of meeting outside the camp (he put distance between the place of fellowship and the people in their sin). Some of the people went out to meet with God others simply watched. But Joshua was the one who stayed with Moses and kept vigil at the tent of meeting. Every one of us is as close to God as he has chosen to be (J. Oswald Sanders). Joshua continues his training for service and leadership. In this section we see a picture of Joshua s growing devotion to the Lord. Joshua was serving in the tent this tent is not the Tabernacle in the Wilderness because that Tabernacle has not yet been built! This tent was the place where God met with Moses and shared His plans with Moses (see Numbers 22:6-8; Deuteronomy 34:10). Where do you go to meet with God and experience sweet fellowship? God Himself meets with Moses at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and speaks to Him as one friend to another. At Moses request God agrees to continue with Israel on her journey (see Exodus 33:7-17). In this place (the tent of meeting) Moses asked for God s grace to bless the people with God s presence and to go with the people and the Lord grants Moses request. Think about this for a moment it was the presence of God and the grace of God which made Israel different from every nation in the world. And it is the presence of God and the grace of God in your life that makes you different from the unbeliever. 1

2 Exodus 33:11; So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle. Joshua did not share all of Moses privileges (face to face conversation with God). But Joshua longed for the presence of the Lord in his life and the grace of God in his life. Joshua did not base his decisions on the advantages and privileges of Moses but rather on his own opportunities and privileges to serve the Lord. Joshua did not depart or leave the tabernacle of meeting (the place of worship conversation presence of the Lord). Joshua wants to be in the place of meeting (think church). Joshua loved the Lord and enjoyed His presence and refused to leave His presence! Later in the chapter we see Moses in his worship of the Lord. How like Mary in the NT! She simply wanted to sit at the feet of Jesus. While Martha was busy serving, Mary was spending time in devotion to Jesus. The servant-leader wants to spend time in devotion to the Lord. Like the woman in Proverbs 31 we see the characteristics of saintliness, service and sacrifice. The Proverbs 31 woman pictures a person who is trustworthy (he safely trusts her v.11). Her diligence (she works willingly vv.13-15; 19, 22). Her thoughtfulness (v. 16) and helpfulness (v.20) and influence and wisdom (vv.28-29). And what does the future hold for the Proverbs 31 woman? She shall rejoice in time to come (v.25). What about your devotion to the Lord? Are you setting aside time for you in the Lord? Do you have a private place of worship and devotion as well as a public place of fellowship and prayer? How would you describe your devotional life in Christ? Servant leadership requires prayer which leads to vision and devotion. Over a hundred years ago C.J. Vaughn said, If I wish to humble anyone, I should question him about his prayers. I know nothing to compare with the topic for its sorrowful confessions (quoted from R. Kent Hughes; Disciplines of a Godly Man; p. 165). Our goal is not to shame or embarrass but to encourage and admonish you to make time on a daily basis to pray and read your Bible and worship the Lord. When will you make devotions a permanent part of your life? Passionate prayer and a real vision of God will lead to a deep desire to devote oneself to the things of God and the people of God and the will of God. J. Oswald Sanders wrote; The real qualities of leadership are to be found in those who are willing to suffer for the sake of objectives great enough to demand their whole-hearted obedience. What occupies your attention, affection, devotion? Devotions include things like personal prayer, and Bible reading. People who expose themselves to the Lord and the things of God are like photographic paper -Jesus is the light that exposes us. The more we expose ourselves to Jesus 10 minutes 15 minutes, an hour, days, years, the 2

3 more we become like Him. Or at least that is the goal! We want to be like Jesus! We are not content to simply see the evil in ourselves (see Romans 7:23) but to see His worth and His Majesty and His work (Hebrews 2:9). We see Jesus in the manger of His humility the workshop of His business in the Jordan of His submission and the wilderness of His temptation. Jesus prays Jesus is full of compassion, Jesus submits to His Father s will. Jesus experiences sorrow, but also triumph and joy. We take on His love, we share His compassion, we value His truth, His integrity, His humility. Personal prayer and devotion changes our character and then bends our will to God s will. E. Stanley Jones the famed missionary to India and a man of deep devotion wrote; If I throw out a boathook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God. I read long ago a note from George Barca in his book; Growing True Disciples. When Christian adults were asked to identify their most important goal for their life, not a single person said it was to be a committed follower of Jesus Christ or to make disciples of Christ. What a shock! Paul wrote; For me to live is Christ (Phil.1:21). The famous Pastor of Moody Church H.A. Ironside said, No one ever lost out by excessive devotion to Christ. Our life is from Christ (John 5:25); in Christ (Rom.8:2); with Christ (1 Cor.1:9); by Christ (John 6:57); to Christ (2 Corinthians 5:15) and for Christ (Philippians 2:16). Jesus Christ living in the believer is the secret of all things I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20). Devotion to the Lord is for the purpose of knowing Him, experiencing His presence and provoking maturation in the believer. We depend on the Lord and believe the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives. Peter wrote (2 Peter 1:3; 5-8); His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness...;...for this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Devotions serve the purposes of fellowship and growth. Devotions are not for self-improvement or self realization or self sufficiency. We look for the fruit of the Spirit and dependence on God interdependence with other believers. 3

4 Devotions include Bible reading and study, prayer, fasting, worship, service to others, sometimes solitude, exercising discernment and engaging in meaningful evangelism. God has given us the Spiritual Disciplines as a means of receiving His grace and growing in Godliness. By them we place ourselves before God for Him to work in us (Donald S. Whitnes; Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life). The Man Who Is Loyal Numbers 11:26 30 (NKJV) 26But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. 27And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp. 28So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, Moses my lord, forbid them! 29Then Moses said to him, Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them! 30And Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel. Here we have our fourth mention of Joshua in the Books of Moses. Joshua the son of Nun hailed from the tribe of Ephraim (see numbers 13:1-25). While Joshua was serving as Moses assistant he received some unsettling news. Eldad and Medad were prophesying (read preaching) in the camp of Israel. To Joshua this was an affront to Moses leadership. After all Moses was God s man! Alarmed and jealous, Joshua said, forbid them or make them stop. To Joshua s surprise Moses wisely said; Are you jealous for my sake? Oh that all the Lord s people were prophets (hear from God tell the truth) and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them! Moses is in effect saying, I wish everyone told the truth about God and wish everyone experienced the anointing presences of God s Holy Spirit. Do you remember the context of our story? In the chapter fire falls from heaven on some of the people of Israel for their bitter complaints (11:1-9). Foreigners who accompany them complain; we remember all the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. But now our appetites are gone. We have nothing to eat except this manna. God sends quail to eat but also a plague! In despair Moses tells God the task of leading a sinful and rebellious people is too great and that Moses prefers death. God tells Moses to summon 70 elders of Israel to the Tabernacle. There God anoints 70 elders with His Spirit to assist Moses in leading the people. The leaders prophecy at this time but this is 4

5 the only time it happens to them. Two of the elders Eldad and Medad were absent when the others met together but they began to prophecy in the Camp. Thank God Moses was there for Joshua. Do you remember when the disciples were upset that someone who was not in their immediate fellowship was casting out demons in Jesus name (see Luke 9:49-50 and Mark 9:38-41)? Do you remember the response of Jesus? Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is on our side. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward (see Mark 9:39-41). Both Moses and Jesus were gracious and self-less. Loyalty is good. But misguided loyalty can be tragic, petty, small, even vicious. We have no record of Joshua acting in a small or petty fashion later and in the book of Joshua. When people in churches or ministries push and shove for leadership or influence it can sometimes mushroom into accusations or backbiting or insinuations. True servant leadership knows nothing of the self-promoting spirit. No wonder Joshua is called the servant of Moses. Joshua remains Moses servant until the day Moses dies. People who are generous, gracious, supportive and loyal make excellent servants. Loyalty is so fierce and contagious an energy that is safe only when the object of it is something that we can love or worship when we are alone (William L. Sullivan). Can you be trusted with the things of God? Are you loyal? Does your loyalty sometimes become petty and small? Years ago I read the story of a 17 year old named Carol Frazer. She wanted a street named after Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll. Elvis died in The city fathers of suburban Whitehaven have assigned the name of a subdivision lane as Elvis Place. Miss Frazer said she was so excited she didn t know what to do. Probably go to an Elvis movie. But she has seen them all: Love Me Tender, 107 times; Loving You, 110 times; King Creole 91 times and Jailhouse Rock 79 times. Carol moved from New Orleans to be near Elvis, lived in a tiny Memphis flat with her mother, plus 12 scrapbooks about Elivs, 40,000 pictures of him and mansized cardboard replica of him overlooking her bed. What does it mean to be loyal? In Psalm 78:37 we read, Their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant (NIV). Are you loyal to Jesus? If you confess me before men I will confess you before My Father in heaven. But if you deny me before men I will deny you before My Father in heaven. 5

6 Francis Schaeffer warned; Loyalty to organizations and movements has always tended over time to take the place of loyalty to the person of Christ. Loyalty that will do anything, that will endure anything, that will make the whole being consecrate to Him, is what Christ wants. Anything else is not worthy of Him. Burdett Hart Don t be angry with the people who have left. Do love the people who remain in your life. Conclusion Loyalty means not that I am you, or that I agree with everything you say or that I believe you are always right. Loyalty means that I share a common ideal with you and that regardless of minor differences we fight for it, shoulder to shoulder, confidant in one another s good faith, trust, constancy and affection. Karl (Augustus) Menniger What happens when we pray? Vision. What happens when we see God? Devotion. What happens when we devote ourselves to things of God? Loyalty but not the kind of loyalty that leads to pettiness or ignores truth. These characteristics and more will be necessary for the unique call that God placed on Joshua s life. In the end you will be judged not by your notions or ideas about Christ but rather your likeness to Christ. You will become like the thing you love the most. You tell the whole world what you really believe about Jesus by what you say and what you do. What is the Gospel according to you? 6