When God is at the centre of our lives
everything connected to us has a kingdom perspective to it. We are living for His
glory and purpose. There is an eternal significance to all that we do. We are
part of a bigger picture than just living our individual lives year in year
out. We touch two generations in our
lives. There is a God Story that we are living out. As we step into another ministry year God is
inviting us to step into a new season of faith, striding out with confidence in
what He is yet unfold. Our faith grows as we are open to new opportunities with
its accompanying challenges. We can’t sit back passively and wait for something
to happen. We need to position ourselves
to move with a fresh expectation. Step
into new things.
Joshua was one such person. He stepped into things God called him to with a sense of expectation.
Joshua 1. After the death of Moses the
LORD ’s servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He
said, “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead
these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving
them. I promise you what I promised
Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you. No one will be able to stand
against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I
will not fail you or abandon you. Be strong and courageous, because you
will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give
them. Three things we can learn from the
mandate God gave Joshua. Let these become an encouragement for our own personal
journey of faith.
1. Solidity of footingJoshua every place where you set your
foot i.e. stepping toward something, stepping into new expectations God has
given you. There will be solidity of footing because God has prepared the
atmosphere and the soil. Ephesians
2:10 says ... for we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to
do good works, which God prepared that we should walk in them. Just as Joshua was moving into a prepared
place, God has prepared the soil, set the atmosphere for us to step into new
things and new experiences and assures us of solidity of footing. This could be
different for everyone. It could be a
physical or geographical move. A positional move at workplace where
responsibilities change or increase.
Vocational move. New job. Taking on new ventures, acquiring new projects,
enterprises. Deploying new gifts or talents for a start-up project.
Wherever you set your foot, I will give
you. Solidity of footing, as you step into new things, a new experience God
assures you that you won’t go backwards, you will make progress and keep on
make steady gains. You will secure ground as
you go forward. It is not because the anointing is on the place or the given circumstance
but it’s on YOU. Therefore be fully confident that when He leads us into it, he will
secure our footing.
2. Clarity of mission
/ purpose for the journey aheadJoshua, the time has come for you to
lead these people. Moses has brought you
this far but now you have a mission. You
have a clear purpose. Clarity of purpose
or mission comes when we know what to let go and what to lay hold of. As Joshua
let go of Moses and laid hold of his mission there was clarity of purpose for the
journey. When God wants to move us forward with clarity
of mind and purpose, to come into new experiences and divine-set ups, we need
to be open to what He wants us to let go and what he wants us to embrace. We need to make room for the new. In fact, for God to show up in
a fresh way we have to create the space for his emergence to be
recognised. He may want to surprise us
with new possibilities but we won’t recognise it if we don’t make room for the
new experiences.
- For some of you God wants increase your people capacity. He wants to add new
relationships to your life that will not only house the next agenda God has for
you, it will also bring the best out of you yet.
As you step out of your comfort zone, build new friendships, join
serving teams, get into life groups, you will make room for new experiences
that will further advance God’s purpose over your life. Your gifts, talents which are dormant within
you will start to surface.
- For some you need to lay hold of God with a fresh passion. You may have become a little jaded, tired in your
spiritual walk and wonder why there is no vision and drive to move forward. Lay
hold of his word. God told Joshua in v 8. Keep
this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that
you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous
and successful. It means you will achieve what you set out to do.
- Pull out your prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled. I sense some of you have put them away due to a weariness and that nothing is shifting or happening. I see this in the spirit that as you take hold of them again and begin to pray
over the words you have received and start to bring it before God, there will
be movement and shifts. This is a season
of fulfilment of some of those words over your lives. Remember Joshua had heard of the promises of
God to possess land 40 years before and NOW he was going to taste it. Stir up that faith within.
- To let go of hurts, disappointments, feelings of inferiority or
inadequacy. We cannot make a lifelong project of getting fixed. At times we may
need to move with the imperfections we have got. Paul said God's strength is
made perfect in my weaknesses. Clear out the cobwebs of negative thinking
instead build an expectation for new experiences.
- For others you need to discover your own voice. Let go this need to be people pleasers. Let
go of that constant need for approval from people. You have within you the
ability to start up something, a desire to pursue something but you are always
concerned with what people will think or what they will say. You need to step out with fresh confidence
and allow those desires to take shape and find your own voice. Clarity of
purpose comes when we know what to let go and what to lay hold of.
3. Place of our confidence
in the Lord.Not only God assures Joshua of solidity of
footing, He gives him clarity of purpose and now he invites Joshua to place his confidence in Him for all these to unfold in
his life. No one will be able to stand against Joshua as long as you live. For I
will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. 3 times God says to him.
Be strong and
courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be
discouraged. Why does God say this repeatedly and in
fact commands him to stay strong even after reassuring him of Presence all the
way. I believe God wanted Joshua to know
that a very important element of this journey ahead of him was one of
morale. When you go into battle Joshua
& possess new places. Strategy is important. Tactics are important but the
thing that will win the battle is morale.
Meaning the emotional or mental condition with respect to confidence, zeal, especially
in the face of opposition, hardship.
"I am commanding you to be strong and Courageous. Don’t wilt in the face of challenges. Don’t
be intimidated. Don’t shrink back in doubt. Don’t lose confidence. Don’t let
your morale plummet. Your morale will help you forge ahead."
It
is said that during World war 2. General Montgomery who led the battle of El
Alamain, North Africa, won it as he raised a new voice of morale amongst the
Britain’s 8th army in the desert. The
turning point of the battle was largely on morale.
The moral effect of air action [on the enemy] is very great and out of all
proportion to the material damage inflicted. In the reverse direction, the
sight and sound of our own air forces operating against the enemy have an
equally satisfactory effect on our own troops. A combination of the two has a
profound influence on the most important single factor in war—morale. — Montgomery[73]"Joshua don’t let your morale plummet,
keep strong because I am with you. I am committed to you. Just as I was with
Moses, so will I be with you." No new ventures or opportunities in our lives
will come without some challenges. However, God invites us to put our
confidence in Him. V 5. I will not leave
you nor forsake you.
We are on the cusp of greater
things. God desires to lead us on a
divinely ordered spiral, an upward spiral. He wants build another tier, layer
of his purpose over our lives. He will give us solidity of footing as we follow
His leading into new things. He will bring clarity of purpose/ mission as we
let go of certain things and lay hold of others. He invites us to place our confidence in Him and
position ourselves in firmness of faith.
Discussion
Questions- How does this message speak to you in your faith journey now?
- Is there a new thing or expectation God is inviting you to
step into?(i.e.
within the church or vocational or family situation)
- What do you need to let
go and lay hold of for greater
clarity to move forward?
- What will undermine your morale and confidence in God as you
embrace the next step?
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