Title Keep it up
Contents
Title: Keep it up
Bible: Joshua 1:7-9
Starting Point of the Word>>
This time, we would like to share the sermon with the title of “observe and act”.
The text begins with the death of Moses, the leader of the Israelites from Egypt.
Joshua was appointed as a new leader in the place of Moses, who died after failing to accomplish the feat of conquest of Canaan.
God commanded Joshua to keep the law before the conquest of Canaan.
This is because the conquest of Canaan and keeping the word of God are inseparable from each other.
Canaan is a place you simply cannot enter.
It is not a place to enter just because there are soldiers and weapons.
Those who keep and obey God's Word can enter Canaan.
God tells us to keep all the laws that God has given us, that is, God's words, and do not turn to the left or the right.
We must be willing to obey the will of the Lord with a clear focus without being biased in any way.
In addition, we must keep the word of God from leaving our mouth, we must meditate on the word of God day and night, and we must keep and practice all the words of God.
To Joshua who was going to the Promised Land, God gave a word like a navigation system.
It is to keep all those words and do them.
Please believe in God who never disappoints us when we keep His Word and practice it.
Go to Word>>
Then, what kind of grace has God promised if we keep His word and do it?
First, if we keep God's word and do it, He promises 'the grace to prosper'.
Example>>There was a boy who was very poor but kept his faith and lived according to the Word.
He fought poverty, believing that sincerity and faith bring success.
As a result, he established a 'mobile lunch service company' that delivers lunch at the age of 30, and subsequently developed a world-class donuts brand.
He is William Rosenberg, founder of Dunkin Donuts.
At his 72nd birthday party, he said:
“I grew up in an environment of poverty and lack of education. But God has always carried my burdens. I only lived by keeping the word of God, and he made my life prosper. I believe that success lies not in knowledge, but in attitude.”
Rosenberg prospered because he lived with an active attitude in any environment or circumstance.
If we look at verse 7,
“Only be strong and very courageous, keeping and doing all the law that Moses my servant commanded you; do not turn to the left or to the right, so that you may prosper wherever you go”
Says.
‘Do not lean to the left or to the right’ here means not to be shaken.
Satan is well aware of human weaknesses, so he uses them to tempt him.
Please do not turn to the left or right because of the temptations of wealth, power, or fame that Satan gives you.
As saints, we must stand firm in the Word.
The Word should be the central axis.
If you are not based on the Word, your values and heart are easily shaken.
Since we have no choice but to follow the worldly values, we must hold onto the Word and not be shaken.
There are two Greek words for word.
They are ‘Logos’ and ‘Rema’.
‘Logos’ is the word of God recorded in the Bible.
‘Rema’ is a word that must be kept in reality.
When you listen to Lema, you will have faith and your life will prosper.
Therefore, it is more important to do the Word of God than to know a lot of the Word.
We must keep the knowledge we have learned from the Word by doing.
Most people who do not keep the Word are proud and do not listen to the advice of others.
The secret to success lies in keeping the Word and doing it.
When God made Joshua his successor, he didn't just tell him to strengthen his heart, he commanded him to keep all the words of the law and do them.
This is because the only way to live is to hold onto the Word of God and act.
Please do not lose heart in difficult times and keep all the Word of God and do it.
If you do not lean to the left or right, you can experience the grace of God that will surely make you prosper.
Second, He promises “the grace of God for smoothing out” if we keep the word of God and do it.
Example>>
When Barack H. Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States, the inauguration ceremony held while the world watched was a touching sensation.
The son of a Kenyan man who came to America from Africa to study and met a white woman became the president of the United States.
As he said in his speech, 60 years ago, black people couldn't eat together in a restaurant with white people, and they couldn't ride the bus together.
A black man who had been so despised became president and entered the White House.
At the inauguration of President Obama, he laid his hands on the Bible and took the oath.
At that time, 27 American pressure groups protested fiercely not to put their hands on the Bible.
But Obama did not yield and before the oath of office, 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land. By reading the word “Zira”, he declared that he would hold on to the word and work in the nations of the world.
Obama was well aware that the only way to get through this huge challenge was through the Word, so even though many pressure groups told him not to take an oath on the Bible, he proudly laid his hand on it.
He called on God four times during his speech.
Obama's remarks after his inaugural address are even more impressive.
“So, help me. God!” He asked God for help.
I'm afraid even the president of the United States with supreme power
And there is nothing to tremble?
The pressure is indescribable.
Knowing well what kind of ramifications each action and word can have, Obama said, “So, help Me. God- God, help me.” I had no choice but to cry.
It was because he had the belief that God would make his own path smooth when he kept the word and practiced it.
If we look at verse 8,
“Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth, but meditate on it day and night, and observe all that is written in it, so that you may make your way smooth.”
I did.
The word 'flat' here means flat.
Flat means straight.
It is not bent.
It is flat when things work out without being distorted or twisted.
Those who keep the Word do not conflict with anyone.
This is Isaiah 26:7.
“The way of the righteous is upright; the upright Lord makes straight the path of the righteous.”
In order for the road to be smooth and smooth, we must keep the word of God and do it without turning to the world.
Today, I hope that all of our members will stand on the path of righteousness and become believers who live by the Word.
And I hope that you will experience the wonderful grace of God that makes our lives smooth.
Third, if we keep God's word and do it, He promises “the grace of God that is with us.”
Example>>
The book “Do you believe in miracles” reads:
Author Ashley Smith is a 26-year-old widow who forced a court mass murderer to surrender after being held for seven hours after being released.
After receiving the title of an angel from the media, she lost her husband and left her 5-year-old daughter to her parents' house, working as a restaurant worker and living a difficult life.
On his way home that day, he was held hostage by Brian Nichols, who had run away from the parking lot the day before, killing four people, including a judge and a female sheriff, with a gun in an Atlanta courthouse the day before.
She was tied up with tape and thrown into the bathroom tub without losing her composure.
She is a widow with a five-year-old daughter, and if she does not spare her, her daughter will grow up without her parents, and it is by God's providence that Nichols takes her as a hostage, and his situation of going to prison for murder is not a good thing. In prison, I persuaded him that future evangelism activities were the purpose of life.
And Ashley read the Bible and Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life.
When the morning comes, Ashley tells her that she is going to meet her daughter, and he lets him go.
Soon after the police arrived, Nichols surrendered waving a white towel.
Ashley, who was once a drug addict, replies that she made reading the Bible and godly books a daily priority in her life.
He confessed that he believed that God would surely be with him if he drew near to the word of God even at the moment when he felt danger.
If we look at the words of verse 9,
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
I say.
These are words of encouragement to Joshua who went on to conquer Canaan.
The original word for encouragement means “to give a heart”.
To be with God means to give us the heart of God.
In other words, those who believe that God is with them are like having the heart of God implanted in them.
The reason Moses was able to become a great leader in Israel was because of his words, “Surely I will be with you.”
God gave Joshua the same promise: “No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life; just as I was with Moses, I will never leave you nor forsake you; be strong in your heart.”
At the end of the speech>>
People who are centered on the Word of God are never afraid.
It is because we believe that if we keep the word and do it, we will prosper.
It is also because we believe that it will be smooth, and we believe that God will be with us.
Today, I hope that all of our members will bear this word in their hearts and become believers who keep and practice God's word.
If you do this, God promises to grant you prosperity, peace, and grace of presence.
Through this promise, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become believers living in God's wonderful grace.