Title: No One Can Be Against You
Contents
No one can be against you all the days of your life (Joshua 1:1-9)
In the new year, I pray in the name of the Lord that God's grace and peace will fill your home and life.
In today's text, Moses, the leader of Israel, who led the people of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, died. "Moses, the great leader, is dead! The death of Moses who spoke face to face with God! There will be many enemies and hardships on the way to the land of Canaan. How will we solve them!"
Moses' successor, Joshua, must have had a heavy heart. Then God appeared to Joshua and said, "Joshua! My servant Moses is dead. Arise, cross the Jordan River with this people, and go to the land I promise to give you."
The word 'rising' means hope, courage and boldness. God exhorts Joshua to have courage and hope. The same is true today. There will be many difficulties and obstacles before us this year. A grim reality may come before us. But what is certain is that just as there is a blue sky above the clouds and a bright sun, behind the gloomy reality still shines the light of God's grace and blessing.
You must have courage. You have to be bold. We must stand up again with hope. God is preparing a year of blessings for you in 2010. This year too, God's beautiful plan of blessing will come true for you. So, don't be discouraged and move forward with hope.
1. What kind of promise is it?
1) It is a promise to become an absolute winner without an adversary.
Verse 5 “No one will be able to oppose you all the days of your life.” Joshua held on to these words and went forward. Even if I am weak, lacking, and incompetent, if I hold on to God's promises, there is true victory. The enemy retreats. God's grace and blessings follow. “No one can stand against you all the days of your life.” There is no one who can withstand it. We Christians are all absolute winners. Jeremiah 1:18-19 "Behold, today I have made you a fortified city, iron pillars, and bronze walls before all the land, the kings of Judah, its leaders, its priests, and the people of the land; I will be with you to save you, saith the LORD."
He promised to make it a strong city, iron pillars, and bronze walls. God has given you the promise of giving you victory in the face of any adversary. I hope you hold fast to this promise. As promised, you will be victorious this year.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 “We are afflicted on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” Whatever you do, don't forget that this year will be a winner.
2) I promise to be with you.
If you look at the Bible, you can see that God is together and prospering is always together like two wings. But the amazing thing is that experiencing God is not a comfortable time. A time of tribulation, a time of trial, is a time to experience the presence of God.
Guys, don't be discouraged. Don't despair. Not only Joseph but David also won every war because God was with them. I pray in the name of the Lord that this year will be a prosperous year for you as God is with you.
2. With what kind of heart should we live in a difficult world?
1) Be strong and bold.
Verse 6 “Be strong and courageous.” Joshua would not have been able to compare himself to Moses when he thought of himself. His abilities, knowledge, and leadership are incomparable. His heart must have been oppressed, heavy, and stuffy. Anxiety must have come. But God said, "Be strong and extremely courageous."
The mind we should have for a year is not a mind that is crushed by the environment, but a strong and courageous mind. How can you have what you call a strong and courageous heart? It's about changing your mind. An anxious mind, a negative mind, a mind that something bad has happened. To change these minds, you have to change your thinking. If you change your negative thoughts, anxious thoughts, or thoughts that something is going to happen, you will change your mind.
There was a contractor in Dallas, USA. Sometimes rocks would appear when digging for piles, and each time he thought. "I must be stronger than this rock." When the tribulation approaches, have a heart that says, "I must have a stronger heart than the tribulation." Do not back down from tribulation. Do not fall in tribulation. Tribulation will never destroy you. Proverbs 28:1 says, "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion." When we sin, we become weak and anxious. The more you suffer, the more you can live as a lion as if you live according to God's word more clearly and upright. Proverbs 24:3 "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." In order to prevent Satan from tormenting you, you must guard your anxious and weak mind so that you can have a strong and courageous mind in any situation. 2 Timothy 1:7 "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound mind." God does not want us to fear. Therefore, we must win with strong and courageous faith.
2) How can you not be afraid?
Verse 7 "Keep all the laws and do them. Do not turn to the right or to the left, and you will prosper." When you obey God's Word, fear disappears.
Psalm 119:92 “If your law had not been my delight, I would perish in my afflictions.” Psalm 1:2-3 “If you rejoice in your law and meditate on it, all things will prosper like a tree by streams of water.”
Let me finish my speech.
There is hope for you this year. I hope you are strong and courageous. The source of hope is the Word.
"No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life, for I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will never leave you nor forsake you." I bless you in the name of the Lord to have a blessed year.