Preparation: God's Foundation for Leadership

Following Before Leading

Let's look at Exodus 24:12-13. God said to Moses, "Climb higher up the mountain and wait there for me. I'll give you the tablets." Moses got up, accompanied by Joshua, his aide.

I'm not sure Joshua knew what God was going to do with him at that point. I'm not sure he knew he was going to be the successor of Moses. Some of us know that God has great plans for us, but we don't know the pathway—we don't fully understand what we're actually being prepared for.

But Joshua stayed as a follower. It looks like sometimes we want many leaders but few followers. Many people don't want to stay because of submitting to authority. But a man who will be prepared by God must be ready to follow.

Do you know how many years Joshua followed Moses? It must have been for years—maybe 40, maybe 50 years. Yet he was one of the strongest soldiers of Israel. But he submitted himself to just being a follower. In the eyes of God, He was simply saying, "Just follow me. Don't be in a hurry to attain to something that you already are. You're already a leader, you're already strong. But follow this process."

It's like a mother carrying a child—it takes a full nine months, actually ten months (the 40th week is the 10th month). You must stay the course that God is saying. Joshua followed Moses even all the way to Mount Sinai. Climbing Mount Sinai takes about four or five hours, and it's a slippery slope. It's cold all the way. Joshua stayed with Moses for 40 days and 40 nights in the cold, in stress, in discomfort.

I know there is stress and discomfort that we don't want in life. But I'm saying that sometimes God uses this to make you strong, to make you truly ready for your destiny.

The Standard of Prepared Leaders

We are in an age where there are so many voices speaking, so many preachers coming up. But the ones that God has ordained—the prepared men—they have their history with God. They have their dealings with God.

If you are a leader in the body of Christ, and you can't show me your dealings with God, then I'm not sure of the standards. Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain, and in every passage of chapter 25, you will keep hearing: "God spoke. God spoke. God spoke."

Before we commit to leading anything, it must be found that we are people who can hear God speak. We must be people who can hear what God has for His people. Those are the standards. You must have known the Lord for a long time. Knowing the Lord takes time. We don't know God in one day. It takes years—because the more we know Him, the more we become like Him.

Let's be people who will stay, so that we can know God before we are sent out. It's good to be sent—everybody wants to be sent. But it's good that you stay and let God work in us. Amen.

What Happens in the Place of Preparation

First: It's Okay to Be a Follower

In the place of preparation, the first thing is that it's okay to be a follower. Joshua was a follower, and God used him.

Second: You Gain Courage

The second thing that happens in the place of preparation is that this is where we get courage. There is no better person to talk about courage than Joshua. He has every right, because he has seen many reasons to stand up and be courageous.

When you go to Mount Sinai and you hear God, you will not say, "Don't be courageous." When you see the Red Sea parted, you won't say, "Don't be courageous." When you see Jericho falling down, you won't say, "Don't be courageous." All these things that he had seen—that God had helped him walk through—developed courage in him.

Because he was dealing with big things, he could tell us in Joshua 1:9: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

You don't prepare for battle in battle. No, you prepare for battle before battle. You go and get all the courage before battle. Otherwise, how would you approach an enemy while you're shaking?

David always marvels me. He saw Goliath and said, "Who are you, you uncircumcised Philistine? I will give your head to the birds." What courage! Because he had killed a bear. He had killed lions. He had developed courage. Let God use preparation to develop courage in us, so that when the enemy comes against us, we will not be jumping as if he has thrown a mountain at us.

I remember when I was in fellowship many years ago, and I was privileged to lead the fellowship. I knew it was my preparation journey. Whenever they would call me to preach—at retreats or other events—I would say I was traveling to Lagos, so I wouldn't be around. I didn't have courage to stand and preach. I would always look for an excuse and say no. But God knew that this lady couldn't run forever.

One day God said, "Madame, you have to stay. You have to stand up and preach." And we would preach to almost 10,000 members. I said, "God, what do I want to do? Small me? I don't even look like all these people." But God knew what was ahead. He knew where He was taking me. He was developing courage in me.

Let's give preparation. Let God build things in you—public speaking, confidence, standing, relating with people. Don't resist it. Let's give ourselves to it.

Third: You Gain Conviction

The second thing that happens in a preparation journey is that you get conviction. Conviction is knowing that God is for you, that God is with you, and that all that there is to God is true.

It's only preparation that unveils this in us. There is something about undergoing God's process: afterwards, nobody can stand and tell you that God is not real. If there are people who just put one line and say that God is fake—I know it, I knew it, this God thing is not real—no. But when you've been on a journey with God, you can never think God is not real. That is what preparation and the journey does with us.

Look at Numbers 13:1-2. God spoke to Moses: "Send men to scout out the country of Canaan that I am giving to the people of Israel. Send one man from each tribe—each one tried and true, a tried and true leader." This means God told Moses that the people you want to send must have undergone a process with Me. They can represent My covenant.

Now look at Numbers 13:26-28. They came back from scouting the promised land and reported to the whole congregation. They said: "We went to the land to which you sent us, and oh, it does flow with milk and honey. The only thing is that the people who live there are fierce. Their cities are huge. They are well fortified. Yet we saw descendants of the giants—Anakim."

They listed all the things that should discourage them on this journey.

But then Caleb interrupted. He said: "Let's go up and take the land now. We can do it." Remember, these were 12 spies. But the others said, "We can't. We can't attack these people. They are way stronger than we are."

These guys had courage—but did they have conviction? No. You can have courage, but God needs to prepare conviction in you.

Now look at Numbers 14:6-10. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, members of the scouting party, ripped their clothes and addressed the people of Israel: "The land we walked through and scouted out is very, very good indeed. If God is pleased with us, He will lead us into that land—a land that flows with milk and honey. And He will give it to us."

They said: "Don't rebel against God. Don't be afraid of those people. Why should we be afraid? We will have them for lunch. They have no protection, and God is on our side. Don't be afraid of them."

There is conviction. They stood firm and said, "Don't you know who is on your side? Don't you know who you have? Don't you know who you serve? We will have them for lunch."

Joshua could only say that because he's been a prepared man. He could stand firm. But if you've not been through the journey, you will just be like the other ones who said, "They are too big for us."

There are things that come against you in physical or spiritual form. Be afraid—you are going through a process now. The enemy is looking like he's zapping away your trust in God, your knowledge of God, your ability in God. Kill it! Let conviction rise with your courage.

Stay faithful when others are doubting you. That's conviction. Stay faithful, stay focused, even when you are in the struggle and when you are alone. Stay focused. Stay on fire. Because what God starts in you will outlive you—because you are given to preparation.

If all we have is Jesus, it's enough. Jesus is something more than gold. If all I have is Jesus, I've got something more than gold.

Fourth: You Are Set on a Path of Consecration

Thirdly, when you're going on your preparation journey, it sets you on a path of consecration.

Joshua 3 said: "Sanctify yourselves. Separate yourselves for a purpose." Israel understood that every time matters—every time to do what is right. You understood early enough what consecration means. Consecration is about the state of our heart.

Consecration in this sense is not just about how we look. Sometimes people have said they've consecrated their eyes—they don't watch anything anymore, which is good. But there's also a consecration where you choose purpose over human acceptance.

This acceptance issue. We want validation from everybody. We want to be in everybody's books. We want to do what others think we should do. But peace with all men doesn't mean please all men. It means that if I look through your life, I must find God's presence in it. I must find God's will in that relationship. I must find God's desire in it.

When Jesus told the disciples, He said: If you go somewhere and they don't welcome you, you should dust your feet off. That doesn't mean God is not at peace with them. God is at peace with them. But when they reject the message, God says the level is not there for now. I'm not going to force you to accept Christ.

But ask yourself: If it is just you and God alone, will you be okay? If this room passes a paper around and says, "Do you like Sister [name]?" and everybody says no, but God says yes—will you be okay to still stand? Or will you now begin to beg and say, "Please like me. Please like me"?

That is what you must always chase after: just the acceptance of God.

We are in an age where the mind is needing more validation. But we've left purpose for acceptance. Look at Matthew 7:21-23. On the last day, the Bible says that many will call and say, "Lord, Lord, Lord, we did XYZ in your name." And He will say, "I don't know you. I don't know you. We didn't have the fellowship. We didn't toil together."

But that should be our fear in Jesus' name.

Look at John 6:14-15. When people saw the sign—the miracle that Jesus had performed after feeding the 5,000—they began saying, "Surely this is the Prophet who has come into the world." Then Jesus, knowing that they meant to come and seize Him to make Him King, went up the side. He didn't chase acceptance. He didn't say, "Okay, now give me the throne of King." He is already King. He doesn't need your validation to make Him King.

He went away to be alone. He chose to chase purpose. He knew what He came for. He didn't come for enrollment. He knew what He came for. Let's see a life somebody who did the reverse.

Exodus 32:1-5. A bit of context: Moses had gone to the mountain and received the Commandments. People realized that Moses was forever there. They didn't know what was happening. They cried out, "Aaron, do something. Make a god for us. Who will lead us now? What happened to Moses—the man who got us out of Egypt?"

Aaron told them: "Take off the gold rings from the ears. Take them from your wives and sons." Remember, Moses, Aaron, and some people had gone to see God. This is brother Aaron who has just seen God and eaten with God! Do you know what it means to eat with God and see God and deal with God? And then you go, take off the gold rings, and say, "These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from Egypt"?

Aaron took the gold. The people responded with enthusiasm. And Aaron took the situation—he liked what he was receiving. He liked that the people were for him, that the people were on his side.

You just saw God. You ate with God. When you meant to bring them back and say, "Let's wait for Moses. Let's hear what God will say to us," you went and did this.

David said it best: "It's better for me to be in Your court than to be thousand elsewhere." Why? Because I just want—I don't want people to determine how I live. I don't want that. I want to find my purpose always with You and in You, God.

That's what preparation does to us. It makes us a people consecrated to God only.

I'll give a bit of an example. I went to a conference, and fasting was going on at church. It was supposed to be a conference with food. I thought, "I'll breakfast, and God said no." Purpose in that sense—acceptance is that I'm able to meet with people, sit down, eat with them because everybody is eating. I also do that. But purpose is when you set yourself apart.

It didn't stop me from still mixing with people during those days, because I know what purpose is. But ask yourself: What is acceptance making me do? Is it derailing me off purpose?

Let's just think about it and ask ourselves what is right.

The Heart of Worship

Let me end here. On the last day, the Bible says that many will call and say, "Lord, Lord, Lord, we did XYZ in Your name," and He will say, "I don't know you. We didn't have fellowship. We didn't toil together."

Let that be our fear in Jesus' name. The heart of worship is about You. It's all about You, Jesus.

Prayer

Father, prepare me for my prepared places. Prepare me for my prepared places. Lord, I say yes to Your preparation in the name of Jesus.

If you're here and you have lost conviction, say: "Father, restore my conviction in You. Restore my belief in You. Restore my strength in You in the name of Jesus."

"I want to have courage. I want to have conviction. I want to live a consecrated life in the name of Jesus—where I live for Your purpose alone in the name of Jesus."

Lord, we are sorry for what we've made it. We are sorry for what we've made it. Please have mercy, Lord. Bring us back to the place of preparation, where our communion is strong for You, in the name of Jesus. Amen.