0950, Leadership
Leadership
#0950
Study Given by W. D. Frazee—January 15, 1980
Now, if I should ask this evening how many of you folks are leaders, not all
your hands would go up, but you all are, whether you know it or not. I take it that
you’re all interested in learning to be better leaders. A leader is someone who has
influence in getting other people to do things, and you all have that influence. It may
be very unconscious.
But usually, when we think of the term “leadership,” we’re thinking of a person
who has influence over a large number of people, like a general of an army, or a
governor of the state, or a president of the nation or prime-minister. These are
various degrees of leadership, but the principles are the same at all levels.
You remember in the parable that Jesus told about the talents, one man was
given one talent and another two and another five. They were all talents. It was a
matter of how many. And so each one of you has influence with somebody. You
parents are the leaders of your children. Teachers are leaders in classes. But older
students have an influence with younger students, whether that age is by the
calendar or by experience.
Paul says to Timothy:
“…Stir up the gift of God, which is in thee…” 2 Timothy 1:6.
Now, this evening I have been impressed to study with you how God made a
leader out of a young man thousands of years ago. His name was Joshua. He
spent much of his time getting ready for the great leadership which crowned his
career. He was the one, you remember, that God used to bring Israel into the land
of Canaan. He was a type of Christ. In fact, his name Joshua is the Hebrew word
for which our word “Jesus” is in Greek. Jesus and Joshua are the same word, just in
Greek and Hebrew.
And so, Joshua is a type of Christ. As Joshua led ancient Israel into the
earthly Canaan, so our Savior is to lead the remnant church into the heavenly
Canaan. And so, we can study the experience of Joshua.
Turn to Numbers the 27th, beginning with the 15th verse. That which we shall
notice, especially in this text, is the fact that leadership is something that God must
decide. Leadership is not something we should aspire to or have ambition for in the
political sense. None of us is running to be president of the United States. And I
hope none of us is running to be elected or appointed to any other office of position.
The kingdoms of this world, the nations of this world, run on entirely different
principles than the government of God. Now, notice how Joshua got to be appointed
a leader.
“And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying, Let the
LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over
the congregation, Which may go out before them, and
which may go in before them, and which may lead them
out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation
of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd”
Numbers 27:15–17.
Who was praying this prayer? Moses. Who was Moses at this time? He was
the leader of Israel. Who had appointed him? God, directly. Now, as he comes to
the end of his life and he knows that he must lay down the burden, he prays
earnestly, “Oh, let God set a man over the congregation which may lead them, lead
them out and bring them in.”
Did God do it? Yes. The 18th verse:
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the
son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine
hand upon him; And set him before Eleazar the priest,
and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in
their sight. And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon
him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may
be obedient. And he shall stand before Eleazar the
priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of
Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and
at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the
children of Israel with him, even all the congregation”
Numbers 27:18–21.
That’s the way Joshua got to be a leader. The man who was the leader
earnestly sought the Lord, and God heard his prayer to give him someone to take his
place. But God didn’t wait till that day to answer that prayer. You remember the
Bible says:
“…Before they call, I will answer…” Isaiah 65:24.
And God had been arranging this for many, many years. God had been
training Joshua for leadership. As a young man, he was Moses’ attendant.
I was thinking of it in that early experience on Mt. Sinai. You remember that
God called Moses up into the mount to communicate with Him. And how long was it
he was shut in there in the cloud with God? Forty days, forty days. You know who
was up there with him? Joshua. But Joshua was not shut in with that cloud. Joshua
just waited on the outside.
Moses was supernaturally sustained so that he didn’t have to eat or drink
during that time. But we’re told that Joshua ate of the manna every day and drank
from a stream or spring that was there and just waited.
Now, if you had been the attendant to somebody, and he was shut away for
forty days, and you didn’t know, of course, how long it would be, I wonder how that
would work out. I was trying to think of how I’d feel in that.
There could be a tendency to think, “What am I sitting around here for? I think
I’ll get off to the camp where something’s happening.”
No. He had been left there to wait for Moses, so he just waited for forty days.
Do you know how long forty days is? It’s almost six weeks. That’s a long time.
Some people find it difficult to wait for forty minutes, but Joshua waited forty days.
And that doesn’t mean that he was slow or lazy, or anything of that kind. He
was a man of action. Just a few weeks before this, you remember he was the one
that was selected by the Lord through Moses to lead the armies of Israel in the first
battle that they had on the way to Canaan.
You remember who he had to contend with? The Amalekites, a fierce, warlike
tribe. But with God’s help, he gained the victory. Do you remember what was taught
at that time of the power of prevailing prayer? While Joshua was leading the armies
of Israel, where was Moses? Up on the hillside. What was he doing? Holding up
his hands in prayer. And soon, it was observed that as long as his hands were lifted
up in prayer, Israel prevailed. And when he got weary, and his hands went down,
Amalek prevailed. So they caught on fast. And Aaron stood on one side and Hur on
the other and held up his hands till the going down of the sun.
What a precious experience in the power of prayer. The Bible is so full of
precious experiences that show how differently God runs things from the way people
do apart from God. And one of our greatest jobs at Wildwood, dear friends, to learn
is this—that success comes from doing what God says. This was the lesson that
was impressed upon Joshua.
Turn to the book of Joshua, the first chapter beginning with the first verse.
“Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it
came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son
of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, Moses my servant is
dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and
all this people, unto the land which I do give to them,
even to the children of Israel” Joshua 1:1–2.
Then, He told them He was going to give him the whole land like He’d
promised. Fifth verse:
“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all
the days of thy life…” Joshua 1:5.
Wasn’t that a wonderful promise? Wouldn’t you like to have that promise? To
the extent of your influence, to the extent of your responsibility, God wants it to be
true with you.
“…As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not
fail thee, nor forsake thee” Joshua 1:5.
Seventh verse, now I want you to read this seventh verse with me:
“Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou
mayest observe to do according to all the law, which
Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to
the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper
whithersoever thou goest” Joshua 1:7.
What was Joshua to study? The book of the law. This means the first five
books of the Bible. That’s what had been written by Moses: Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua had these scrolls available. And God
said to him:
“…Observe to do according to all the law, which Moses
my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right
hand or to the left…” Joshua 1:7.
And if you’ll do that, He says, if you keep going right ahead and not turn to the
right hand, or the left, you will prosper wherever you go. This is successful Christian
leadership.
Now, in order that he might have that kind of success, notice the eighth verse.
Read that with me:
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou
mayest observe to do according to all that is written
therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and
then thou shalt have good success” Joshua 1:8.
What a recipe for success in leadership! But notice that this was a
24-hour-a-day program. How do I know? What does it say here? Day and night.
What was he to be doing day and night? Meditating in what? In the book of the law:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; meditate in it day and night.
Now remember, he had lived through most of the experiences, not through
Genesis, but through Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. He’d been through
all of that. He’d been over the ground. He’d heard Moses say everything that was in
there.
But God said, “That isn’t enough, Joshua. You must keep going over it and
over it and over it and over it.”
Dear doctors in our sanitarium, thank God for the instructions in Medical
Ministry, Counsels on Health, Ministry of Healing, Counsels on Diet and Foods. God
wants our physicians to be meditating in these things day and night; so with our
nurses.
Dear parents, all of you dear ones that have children, either children of your
own or those that God has given you responsibility with. Think of the wonderful
instruction in the books Education, Christ’s Object Lessons, Ministry of Healing,
Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students, Fundamentals of Christian Education.
Meditate on these things how often? Day and night. Every one of you that’s
seeking to reach people in their homes, either in the colporteur ministry, or
house-to-house work, think of the hundreds of pages that have been given us in
Christian Service, Colporteur Ministry, in the volumes of the testimonies, in how to
reach people in their homes, what to say and what not to say, hundreds of pages.
Study these things and meditate on them, how often? Day and night.
Most of us are engaged one way or another in the Sabbath school work, as
Sabbath school officers, Sabbath school teachers, in the various departments. Have
we been given instruction on how to do it? Yes. And oh, how wonderful it is to have
inspired instruction direct from Headquarters. And we’re to observe these things,
study them and meditate in them how often? Day and night.
I could go on with other phases of our work. Let me put it very simply this
way, if there’s any phase of work in which you and I are engaged that is not covered
by this instruction, I would suggest that we get into something that is covered by it.
What do you say? I’d hate to be in something where I was out on my own, left to my
own devices. I need the chart and compass.
So, a Christian leader is not like a leader out in the world. In the world of
business, in the world of politics, a man may think of almost anything, dream up
anything, get ideas and try them out at his own expense or the expense of the public.
But a Christian leader is not like that. A Christian leader is one who is looking
earnestly to God for God’s leadership, and he recognizes that he’s a helper.
Notice this contrast, how it’s brought out in this wonderful statement from the
Lord's messenger in the Review and Herald of July 4, 1893:
“In the sight of men the self-sufficient worker may
seem to be moving the world; but in the sight of God
the humble wrestler moves heaven. The hosts of God
are interested in the humble, praying man, who dares
not make a move without first coming in prayer into the
presence of God to counsel with the Omnipotent”
Review and Herald, July 4, 1893.
That’s Christian leadership at its best, my friends. And what a contrast, I
repeat, between that and the people of this world. I’m not trying to blame the people
of this world. Some of them, I’m sure, are doing the best they know. But you and I,
for two reasons, are in an entirely different program. First, we have access to a
wisdom that they know nothing of. Second, we’re in a program where God Himself
has made the rules and given instruction.
Let me read this again:
“In the sight of men the self-sufficient worker may seem
to be moving the world; but in the sight of God the
humble wrestler moves heaven. The hosts of God are
interested in the humble, praying man, who dares not
make a move without first coming in prayer into the
presence of God to counsel with the Omnipotent” Ibid.
Now, notice how this is brought out in the experience of Joshua. You
remember that God miraculously opened up the Jordan, that river when it was at the
spring tide, when it was at its highest it was opened up by the command of God and
all Israel went over, I was going to say without getting their feet wet. Maybe the
priests got their feet wet as they opened it up. It was a wonderful experience. And
God had told them to conquer the land.
And they might have said, “Well, God has worked this miracle for us. It’s time
to get going. We’ll go right ahead and take Jericho.”
But in the 5th chapter and the 13th verse, we see Joshua out by himself, and
we are told in the book Patriarchs and Prophets by inspiration that Joshua was out in
meditation and prayer. He, the leader of Israel, felt a great longing to find out God’s
plans for the capture of Jericho.
And God rewarded his faith. And as he was out there by himself seeking God
humbly and earnestly, a man appeared who identified himself on challenge as the
Captain of the Lord’s host. It was Christ, often the invisible, now the visible Leader
of God’s people, and He revealed to Joshua a marvelous plan of action.
Do you remember what it was? They were to go around Jericho once. Then
go home, wait till the next day and do it again, and again, and again, and again for
six days. And the seventh day, what were they to do? Go around seven times and
then shout for the Lord had given them the city. Did it work? Yes. Why did it work?
Because God had told them to do it. That’s Christian leadership, to find out God’s
answer and then carry it out.
Now, that particular plan, had it ever been done that way before? No. Was it
ever done that way again? Not that I ever heard of. And so, the great lesson was
not to learn how to conquer cities by marching around them. That wasn’t the great
lesson. The great lesson was to learn to solve problems by seeking God and finding
God’s instruction and carrying it out. That was the lesson. That’s the lesson.
And so, inspiration says that obedience was what God was trying to teach
them, obedience in something in which they could see no success. Humanly
speaking, what difference would it make whether they marched around and how
many times and whether they kept quiet, or whether they shouted and all that? But
in every detail they were to find and follow God’s will. I repeat did it work? Yes.
And so, it is written:
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down…” Hebrews 11:30.
And in all this, Joshua was the great leader seeking God earnestly in faith and
carrying out His instructions. One of the greatest marks of Joshua’s leadership was
his ability, given him of God, of course, to get all the congregation to move with him
in these things. And this is one of the most important things in Christian leadership.
I want you to take from this little class this evening a very practical piece of
laboratory work. I want you to, between now and the next time we meet in this
series to ask God to help you to find somebody that has a problem that you can help
solve. If you’ve gone a whole week and haven’t found anybody, let me know, and
maybe I can help you find somebody.
I want you, I repeat, to take this little piece of laboratory assignment: find
somebody that has a problem that God will help you help solve by prayer and the
study of His Word.
Now, I brought along something tonight which to me is a little sample of the
thousands of details of instruction that God has given us in the Bible and the Spirit of
Prophecy, acquaintance with which and following which will bring success.
I’ve been studying the testimonies for 65 years, and I just discovered this one
a little while ago. It’s not in one of the published books, but it was written long before
anybody here was born. I’ll give you the reference for it. It’s Letter 85, 1888. And
I’m going to read it to you and see if there’s in it some precious instruction which will
help somebody to have good success.
Of course, it takes a heart of faith to believe it and a heart of faith to do what it
says. But there’s at least one person here tonight whose life will be changed by
listening to what I’m going to read. If you don’t want to be changed, put your fingers
in your ears.
“By studying after nine o’clock, there is nothing gained
but much lost. Teach and practice that the time can be
systematically employed, one duty after another attended
to promptly, not allowed to lag, so that midnight hours will
not have to be employed in laborious studies”
Manuscript Releases, Volume 8, pages 330–331 (See
also Letter 85, 1888).
“I know from the testimonies given me from time to time
for brain workers, that sleep is worth far more before than
after midnight. Two hours’ good sleep before twelve
o’clock is worth more than four hours after twelve o’clock”
Manuscript Releases, Volume 7, page 224 (See also
Letter 85, 1888).
Did anybody learn something?
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou
mayest observe to do according to all that is written
therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and
then thou shalt have good success” Joshua 1:8.
Now, like everything else that’s written, this one can be misapplied and used
to discourage some dear night nurse that has to stay up all night or some physician
that’s called out in the middle of the night to take care of some emergency. Let’s use
it for what it was written for. What do you say, friends? Let’s do our best to
cooperate with God in this instruction.
Christian leadership is in getting our orders from Christ, carrying them out the
very best we can in our own lives, and involving other people with us, getting them to
see the joy of following God’s beautiful way.
[Break in audio]
[Comments made by Elder Frazee during testimony service as follows:]
…Letter 85, 1888, was written to two physicians at the St. Helena Sanitarium.
Now, that’s from this letter. But how many of you are acquainted with what’s
been in the published books for many, many years on what time to turn the lights out
in our schools? When is it?
[Audience] Nine-thirty.
Does that fit in with this? Yes.
I was thinking about it. If the students quit studying at nine, they’re ready to
get in bed and have the lights turned out by nine-thirty. It all fits together.
…The best answer I’d know to that, doctor, I think, is Numbers 12:7. Let’s
take a look at Numbers 12:6-8 and see if that’ll help us.
“…If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will
make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak
unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is
faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to
mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches…”
Numbers 12:6-8.
So apparently, God spoke definitely to Moses just like you, and I speak to
each other.
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