Sermon on 5 January 2020 by Pastor Justin Chia
Joshua 1:6-8 - “Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Our real citizenship is not on earth but in heaven. When we enter into a new year, there is a lot of uncertainty. There is a change in the whole atmosphere and generation. You have to enter boldly into 2020. You need to endure when you’re being tested.
If you look at the whole theme of Joshua, the battle they won was dependent on their spiritual state and degree of obedience. The chief of the battle was God Himself. 2020 will be a year of success. You will be able to conquer challenges and circumstances because you are strong and courageous. The same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the same God today. Be strong and courageous to obey, not to fight. When you hear the Holy Spirit talking to you, you must follow it. God is telling us to be strong and courageous. To discern the word of God, you need to be strong and courageous. God is telling Joshua to enter the promise land by obeying and observing. Obey whatever the Holy Spirit is telling you. Let’s not think that we are better than anyone else. Always humble yourself down as God opposed the proud. That requires courage. Hold your tongue back and pray to God. He will give you peace. You will learn unity through humility. Meditating is more than contemplation and chewing on the Word. Not only you observe the Scripture, you meditate and walk the Word out. It will truly make you a disciple of Christ. The truth will set you free. We need to abide and truly believe. You need to teach what Jesus taught and do what He did. If you want to follow Him, you have to deny yourself and take up the cross. If you want to be prosperous, you need to meditate on the Word day and night. As we enter boldly into 2020, we need to remember this verse. Your obedience is the most important. Jesus humbled himself to the point of death. We need to obey His Word.
Get ready. Make preparations. God said be strong and be courageous. Obey and observe and remind each other. We need to be strong to do that. Let’s get ready for 2020. It is not about the things we do, but the spiritual things. Even though we walk in flesh, our battle is not in flesh. The weapon we have is mighty. We need to obey.
Pointers:
1. We need to be strong and very courageous
James 4:7 - “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
Hebrews 10:22-24 - “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,”
We need to draw near to God. Only those who are humble can draw near to Him. We are called to draw near in the Spirit of true heart. We draw near to stir up love, not arguments or hatred. Some Christians don’t read carefully. In LFC, we have to read carefully and slowly. Meditate on that one verse repeatedly.
2. We need to follow Him
It is a simple but powerful tool. We need to enter 2020 by His power and following Him. If there is no evidence of us following the cross, we need to repent and pray.
3. Keep God’s word
We need to keep His word and meditate on it. People perish because of the lack of knowledge. We need the Holy Spirit to guide us. For God to lead us, we need to read the word. You feed yourself 3 hot meals but not even a cold snack to feed your spirit. In every situation that comes to you, think of how will that glorify God. How does your response glorify God? When we have temptations, we need to be strong. If the action doesn’t glorify God, we need to put a halt to it. Don’t quote Bible verses and not act on it.
Isaiah 30:1 - ““Woe to the rebellious children,” says the LORD, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin;”
Luke 6:46 - ““But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?”
Let us study the Word to know the Word
Let us meditate the Word to be renewed by the Word
Let us be a doer of Word
Let us teach the Word
4. We need to get rid of our excess baggage
Hebrews 12:1-2 - “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
1 Corinthians 9:24 - “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.”
Run with an attitude to let go. You need to enter 2020 boldly and lay aside hindrances. We need to run with that attitude to win the heavenly prize. We cannot run with your mind filled with anger. God searches our heart. In everything we do, we do it unto the Lord. Our time on earth is very short. We need to count the value of time we have to make it for eternal purposes. Let’s have Jesus back to the centre of everything we do.
Amen.
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