“May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord will not be like sheep which have no shepherd.” (Numbers 27:15)
Do you ever remember being a child at the grocery store loosing track of your mom or dad? I’ve done it. At first, your goal is to run away from them to hind or play. But never do you really intend on loosing them. In that moment of separation trepidation (I found that with the Thesaurus… cool word) sets in. Being lost is a scary thing. Wandering aimlessly, confusion sets in. Questions start popping into your mind. Fear creates panic and panic more fear… But then, out of the corner of your eye, you spot your dad and all the anxiety dissolves away. Your shepherd is back, you can hear his voice, and you have his presence.
A church can find itself experiencing all the same things when its shepherd leaves. So we at my church are about to find ourselves. Though the reality has not sank in yet for most, the stark truth remains that come March 4th we will enter a new era and our pastor of thirteen years will not be there to preach the message. What are we going to do? Who will come after such a wonderful man of God? What will happen to our church throughout all this? Will people leave? Will we chose the wrong guy? Can the church get “better” than what it was while he was here?
No doubt these questions are popping up in our minds. They are being discussed over dinner, at basketball games, over lunch hours. It is an anxious time. But I love what God’s word has to say to us today in Numbers 27. Moses knows his time to die is near and so he prays the prayer above to God asking for a successor. And God doesn’t skip a beat… “Take Joshua.”
God had been preparing Joshua for this very thing all along. If you remember the opportunities that Joshua was afforded as he ministered to Moses; he had seen the inner workings of the ministry and the responsibilities of leadership. God had placed in him His Spirit and the abilities necessary to lead the people forward. God already had Joshua in mind and had been directing his steps to prepare him for what he would be called to do.
And following Moses was to be no easy task. The people of Israel had seen spectacular things under the direction of Moses… deliverance from Egypt, Mt Sinai, God’s provision in the wanderings… manna from dew, quail from the east, and even water from rocks. Who could follow a man with whom God spoke face to face, a man whose face shown with God’s own glory?!
But God had that man ready in the wings, Joshua. As we consider the future of our church, we need only to seek God, just as Moses did for the nation of Israel. God is in control. He has already been preparing such a one for this very moment in the life and ministry of our church.
Moses had done great things for and with Israel, but it would be Joshua who would carry them into the next phase of their nation. It was Joshua that led them through the conquest of Canaan. Greater things are yet to be done through our church too, and God has that man in mind already to take us there.
Whether you are a member of our church or not, would you please take a moment to pray Moses’ prayer over our ministry. We trust that God is listening and leading our church and we covet all your prayers as we seek out God’s Joshua for this time in our ministry. Pray also that we are not like the child who has lost his parent scared and apprehensive, but that we would ever remember that we can never be lost from our Heavenly Father who is always with us, even in moments like these… Praise God for His peace.
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