Draw a picture for the title (January 1)
Content span id="writeContents">◆ Main text: Joshua 18:8
We will be blessed with good praise throughout the year, but the choir, the string orchestra, and today are the first time we start anew, so I'm sorry, but let's all stand up and give a strong applause. Thank you. Sit down. I sincerely pray that God's grace will be with you in this new year of 2006 as well, so that the blessing that you will never forget in your life will be better than the many times you have lived so far.
When I was in elementary school, when I was playing with my friends, there were times when things didn't go well. At that time, I had a friend with quite strong fists, and he came to me and let go of all the games he had played so far. And when they say what they say, "Hey, let's nullify everything we've done so far. Let’s start over from now on.” Strangely, when that friend comes and shakes it up and starts over, it works great. So whenever the game didn't go well, I used to think that it would be nice if that friend showed up.
Gentlemen, no matter how you have lived up to this day, the Holy Spirit speaks this way. “Let’s do something that we never had before, and do something that we didn’t buy wrong until now…” Don’t say “Amen”, but do “YES” like God. “Please make sure that nothing has gone wrong until now…” “YES” The voice of God is really good. “Forgive us for our mistakes again, and please join us as we start over.” New time. It's not just about repeating time. So, what we call a new year is a time of new beginnings. They say “NEW START”. It must be a fresh start. Please change your mind during this year as well. Changing your mind is a blessing. If you change your mind, you will be blessed.
In today's text, the people of Israel occupy the promised land of God and the welfare of Canaan one by one, and as God promised, five of the twelve tribes will now receive the land. As they occupy each one, they begin to become sluggish. The five tribes, who had already been allocated the land, had such a thought, “It is now,” and the remaining seven tribes also had the ease of thinking, “It should be as good as this.” At that time, Joshua came forward and said, “Why do you not receive what God has promised? Why do you not receive what God has promised to give you by faith?”
I say this to all of you who are making a fresh start today. As Joshua said to the seven tribes, God promises to make you well, and God promises to give you. If there is something God has promised you, and if there is something that you have not yet received in your life, I sincerely pray that this year will be a blessed year in which you will receive what God has promised. Then he picks up representatives of the other seven tribes and says: “Now, go and spy out the remaining land, the land that God has promised you to occupy in the future among the land of Canaan, and you should draw a picture. So, as I draw the picture, I will distribute it, so as you draw, God will give it to you as it is.” So, among these 12 tribes, the seven tribes that have not yet been allocated land are now scattered to different places.
I hope that this New Year today you will receive these words of the Holy Spirit as a command. Folks, God clearly gives what He promised. Now, with faith, we are told to go out and draw a picture of faith to make it mine. Even if it is a small piece of paper, if a master paints on it, the paper can become a treasure of great value.
So I had the seven tribes go out and draw pictures. However, when they say that they are instructed to draw a picture and bring it there, they tell us to build the tent of meeting and the temple of God in a place called Shiloh and bring it there. People live with many dreams. I live with a wish. The most important thing for a person of faith is that the dream does not end in a dream, but that if you entrust the dream of faith to God, God will make it come true. It is not just painted in my heart, but when you leave the things you long for in your heart before God and go to the temple to pray, the picture will come true.
Today, the representatives of the seven tribes brought the painted picture to the temple and the tent of meeting in Shiloh, put it down in front of Joshua, and the seven tribes knelt before God and said, “God, we have painted a picture of faith. I believe you will give it this way.” As I prayed, I hope that you, above all else, will be successful in your life of faith during this year. I sincerely wish you all success in your worship life. The most important thing for those who have faith, who believe and wait for God's promises, is the success of worship. “Bring it to Shiloh.” You say.
That's right. God is the one who makes us well. What is the Holy Spirit? By helping us, being with us makes us better. Gentlemen, the Spirit of God does not disappoint, grieve, or mislead us. God wants us who are children to do well. That is why, through the Holy Spirit, He fills our shortcomings and makes us prosperous. Draw a good picture of your faith in this first worship service today. draw a picture I hope that you will be able to paint a good picture of faith like the command that tells you to throw away all that is not enough at this starting point of this new start and to draw again like a person who has already received God's promise.
At the time when the first Jewish village was established in LA, a Jewish old woman walked around the main streets of LA every morning. At first I thought everyone was crazy. It was only later that I found out that he was a praying man. As he walked around downtown LA, he said, “God, give this precious land to us Jews. God, we suffered hardships because our ancestors lived wrong, but aren't we God's chosen people? Aren't we God's beloved people? So, God, make this land the land of the Jews wherever I tread.” At first, everyone laughed. You said you were a crazy old woman. Said it was nonsense. But, mysteriously, who would have known that the place where the grandmother walked would become LA's Jewish village right now? Although the beginning is small, the beginning is small, but I believe that God is a God who makes things well.
This morning, you picked out the words of the Bible. I received it as a word of the year. These are all words of blessing. A young man plucked out the Word and was troubled. “He who sows seeds with tears…” He said that he was embarrassed by the words. “No, why is it that he who sows seeds with tears… is this saying?” But why worry? “He who sows with tears will reap with tears.” That's not it. “He who sows with tears will reap with joy.” That's right. All the words of the Bible are blessings. Ladies and gentlemen, the Bible has a first half and a second half. The first half is duty and the second half is a blessing. That is why, everyone, hold onto the word of blessing given to you this year and pray. Knowing that this is also a picture of faith, hold onto this Word and pray every morning. I believe that the word given to you will be a word of blessing.
Now we have a fresh start. It is not a lonely and difficult start, but a start where the Holy Spirit helps you. The love that always accompanies you is the love of God. So go with him. Talk to him. Leave everything to him. So, let's live this year, a blessed year that we will never forget for the rest of our lives. Have you not yet fulfilled what God promised you? Everyone, through Joshua today, “Draw a picture. Draw a picture and bring it straight to the temple of God. I will do it according to the picture of faith you drew.” You say. We will pray with you.
“Thank you, Father God, we want to start anew, just like Joshua said. I want to paint a picture of faith. God, in the new year, draw faith and bring them to your temple, and give them a blessing according to the picture. May the wishes of your faith come true. God, help us to have a blessed year in which we can achieve what you have promised us, even those that have not yet been fulfilled. I earnestly pray in Jesus name. Amen."