Leaders must be prepared for challenges

So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots. And when all these kings had met together, they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

Joshua 11:4-5

As a leader the more successes you have the more challenges will come your way. When Joshua and the Children of Israel followed the instructions that God had given them and defeated Jericho, Ai and the five kings that came against them, it did not prevent them from further opposition. Instead, all the surrounding nations decided to come together to fight against them. This teaches us a number of important lessons about leadership:

1. The more successful you become as a leader the more challenges you can expect to face

We can see from the example of Joshua that the more Israel conquered under his leadership the more enemies were gathered against them. In your own life the more successful you are in the assignment that God has given you, the more opposition and challenges you will face. This is however not to discourage you, it is designed to build up your resilience and leadership muscle.

2. A leader must not fear challenges

When the armies came against Joshua the first thing The Lord said to Joshua was “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel”. So the challenges will come, the oppositions will come but The Lord is telling you not to be afraid because He will help you to overcome all the challenges.

As believers in Jesus Christ we must learn to rejoice in opposition because faith triumphs in trials:

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Romans 5:3-4

3. A leader must be prepared for challenges

To be prepared is to “stand ready” to meet the challenge. Therefore a leader must remember that just because God has told you to do something doesn’t mean it will run smoothly. You must be prepared for any challenges and opposition that comes, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.

Being prepared as a leader means that you have strategies and contingency plans in place in case something does not go the way you planned it to go.

Prayer

Dear Lord, please help me to be prepared to meet any challenge and opposition that I may encounter as I follow the leading of Your Spirit in Jesus name.

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How do you overcome fear?

All the kings on the west side of the Jordan heard about this, including those in the highlands, the lowlands, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea toward Lebanon. They were Hittites and Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They formed an alliance to fight Joshua and Israel.

Joshua 9:1-2 (CEB)

When the kings on the west side of Jordan heard about Israel’s successful defeat of Jericho and Ai, they formed an alliance to fight Joshua and Israel.

The Lord knew that this would happen which is why before they entered into the Promised Land, He instructed the Children of Israel to destroy the seven nations that were before them:

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you

Deuteronomy 7:1 (NKJV)

There is something in this that applies to all followers of Jesus Christ. When you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, there are evil spiritual forces that will try to fight against you, and you too must be able to overcome them before you can enter into your spiritual inheritance.

For the next few weeks, we will be looking at each one of these seven spiritual forces to see how we can overcome them.

The Hittites – spirit of fear

The first group of people who Joshua and the Children of Israel encountered and had to defeat as they entered into the Promised Land were the Hittites. The Hittites were descendants of Heth, whose name means “terror” or “fear”.

Whenever God calls you to do something, the first type of emotion that will try to creep in is fear; and fear can manifest itself in many different forms. It could be the fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of being ridiculed, fear of people, fear of public speaking, fear of the dark, fear of death etc.

God knew that fear will try to grip you and that if you allow it, it will stop you from entering into your spiritual inheritance which is why God encouraged us many times in the Bible to “fear not”:

Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)

Why should you overcome fear?

Overcoming fear is essential because Jesus tells us that the fearful shall not inherit the Kingdom of God (Revelation 21:8).

How do you overcome fear?

In order to be able to overcome fear, you have to realise that fear is a spirit, this is why the Bible says God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). The Bible also tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. Below is a list of some of those weapons we can use to overcome fear:

1. Call on the name of Jesus

The Bible says that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved or delivered (Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13). We know that Jesus is the name of the Lord because we are told that there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved but the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth (Acts 4:10-12). Therefore if you are afraid please call on Jesus to deliver you from the spirit of fear;

2. Stand on the truth of God’s Word

You can stand on the truth of God’s word and command the spirit of fear to leave you in Jesus name because the Bible says that God has not given you the spirit of fear. Then ask the Lord to give you His Spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7);

3. By the blood of Jesus

Revelation 12:11 assures us that as believers we can overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and we know the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness, therefore ask the Lord to cleanse you from the spirit of fear with the blood of Jesus Christ;

4. By the anointing of the Holy Spirit

The spirit of fear will not go away by your own power or by your might but by the Spirit of The Lord (Zechariah 4:6). Therefore ask The Lord to fill you with His Holy Spirit and remove the burden and break the yoke of fear from your life by the anointing of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 10:27);

5. Be filled with the love of God

John tells us that there is no fear in love; but perfect love drives out fear: because fear has torment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:18). Pray and ask The Lord to make you perfect in His love and that the love of Christ should dwell in your heart;

6. Fasting

Jesus said that certain kinds of spirits can only come out through prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29, Matthew 17:21). In situations where fear has become entrenched and a stronghold in your life, sometimes commanding it to go alone will not do, you will need to fast as well. The kind of fasting that God wants is one that lets the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people such as fear (Isaiah 58:6);

7. Obedience to God

When King Saul disobeyed God and His Holy Spirit departed from him, an evil spirit entered into him to torment him (1 Samuel 16:14). It is very important as Children of God that we follow and obey Him at all times because obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). However if we do fall, we should quickly confess our sins, because God is faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Prayer:

Dear Father, Your Word says that perfect love drives out fear. Please drive away the spirit of fear from me and fill me with the love of Christ in Jesus name, amen.

For more information about the Hittite spirit and how to overcome them, please visit http://shamah-elim.info/hittite.htm

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How can you become courageous?

These Levite officials must also say to the people, ‘Is there any man here who has lost his courage and is afraid? He should go back home. Then he will not cause the other soldiers to lose their courage too.’

Deuteronomy 20:8 (ERV)

 In this Scripture, Moses is giving instructions to the Israelite’s about how they were to eliminate people who were not qualified to go to war. The Levites officials (Priests) were to ask whether there were any men who had lost their courage and was afraid. Such men were ordered to go back home because if they didn’t they would cause the other soldiers to lose their courage too.

This teaches us several important principles:

1. When you are embarking on a new venture you do not need people who are not courageous around you;
2. You also do not need people who are fearful;
3. Lack of courage and fear is contagious therefore we must recognise these emotions in ourselves and cast them out through the power in the Blood of Jesus.

How can you become courageous?

The solution to lack of courage and fear is obedience to the Word of God:

Remember, I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9 (ERV)

1. Be strong – to be strong is to be alert, physically (on foot) or mentally (in courage), be steadfastly minded that no matter what happens in life you are going to make it;
2. Be brave – to be brave you must be like the lion that is the warrior of the animals and runs from nothing. Whatever God tells you to do take bold steps towards it and whatever adversity comes your way make a resolve to stand firm;
3. Don’t be afraid – it doesn’t mean fear will not try to grip you, but you should attack fear with the Word of God. Just like Jesus when He was tempted, use the Word of God and the spirit of fear will eventually have to bow at the name of Jesus: ‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind’ (2 Timothy 1:7);
4. Remember that The Lord your God is with you wherever you go – remember no matter where you are you are never alone because God is with you – Psalm 23:4 tells us that “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me”.

 So this week make a choice to be courageous, by being:

1. Strong
2. Brave
3. Not afraid and
4. Remember the Lord Your God is with you.

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God bless,

Blessing