(Message by Pastor Joseph. Happy reading!)
I am so glad to be again in God’s presence.
Change must continue in us as long as we live. And change is happening not just
in us, but also in the world around us. And just as in the natural world, if we
do not allow God to change us, we too will be left behind. As I keep saying,
you are old when you stop learning!
I do not know how many of you made
decisions and resolutions of ‘change’, when we heard God’s promise for this
year 2012 as the year of change-from glory to glory according to 2 Cor. 3:18.
But now, 2 months are past and how many of you can say that there is some
change in you? Maybe you had bitterness, anger, a short-temper, or was
inconsiderate towards your spouses in the past; and now, is there any change
yet? How do you now treat your wife-as an angel or demon? How is your
relationship with your children, or parents? Has it improved? If your answer is
“Yes”, this becomes our testimony; it is always the change in us that is a testimony
to the world, and to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Every seed produces its own kind, and the
seed of God’s word produces the fruit of the Spirit-love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. You
cannot sow brinjal seeds and expect tomatoes to grow-no matter how often you
pray or fast! We are all learners, and Jesus said: …learn from Me, for I am
gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [Matt. 11:
29]
And today, I want to continue on the title:
My Presence Shall Go with You. Last time I began with an introduction, about
Moses and how God buries His workers and carries on His work. But it turned out
to be the major part of the message itself, as I ministered in the Presence of
God. Two things that we can learn from the life of Moses is that: (i) We cannot
take credit for anything that we do- and that is why it is inappropriate to say
‘my ministry’, ‘my church’… and (ii) it is our privilege to work for the
Lord-because after we go (after God buries us), our works will follow us.
God calls us to Himself, commands us to do
His will, communes with us in His presence and accompanies us in all that we do
for Him. As in the Old Covenant, even in the New, as disciples and heavenly
people of Jesus Christ, God promised His Presence according to Matt. 28: 18-20.
Jesus said:
“All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them
to observe all things that I
have commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the
end of the age.”
(a)
All authority-Jesus has taken
the redemption authority upon Himself on
our behalf. And that is why he commands us-His disciples, to go.
(b)
All the nations-are included in
God’s plan; not a single one is left out. Rich, poor, high, low, black, white,
east, west… out of every tongue and tribe, will you hear the cry, “Jesus is
Lord”.
(c)
All things that Jesus taught us
we must also teach others to observe. We have an example in Paul who in Acts
20: 20 says: “…I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you,
and taught you {publicly | in the marketplace} and from house to house.”
(d)
Always-God with us. If you
notice, God has not promised money and material things, possessions and
provisions while we are on the way to talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He
has promised His presence; because where His presence is, provision will
follow. Silver is Mine, Gold is Mine, says the LORD.
This redemption authority is given to us as
we go according to His command. On our behalf Jesus has all redemption
authority, and on His behalf we go to make disciples. Also, notice the two
mono-syllabic words: GO, in the beginning and LO, at the end. These two words
are inter-connected and therefore cannot be separated; if there is no GO, there
is no LO! Therefore ponder these words:
- Therefore GO and make disciples of all the nations…
- And LO, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
If you are not involved in the great
commission, how can you imagine having God’s presence with you always? Therefore,
go preach and prove God’s presence.
Now, does it sound radical to you? But I am
telling the truth; do you imagine, some 7 billion people in the face of this
earth, that all will somehow go to heaven one way or the other? NO. Jesus said,
“I am the way…” If these verses are true, then the question is what are you
doing about your responsibility towards the great commission of Jesus Christ?
What are you doing sitting here? Nowhere is it written in the Bible, that you
give first place to your family, or children or work…but rather “Seek first the
kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you.” [Matt. 6: 33]
Now let me come back to Exodus 33:14 and
God’s promise to Moses: My Presence shall go with you and I will give you rest.
Beloved, it is God’s presence that makes a
world of difference in our lives. As in the time of Moses, even today, the distinguishing
factor that separates us-His disciples, from the rest of the world is God’s
presence. Moses knew this and acknowledges in Exo. 33:16. David knew it and
brought in the Ark of the Covenant to the city of David. Noah knew it and built an ark-separate
from the rest of the world-the world that perished in that great flood. Do you
say, “Hey, that’s not fair; what about those who do not know”? But Noah did
preach many, many years, but people refused to listen and instead mocked him.
God raised up Joshua in the place of Moses,
to lead the children into the Promised Land. In Joshua 1:2, God says to Joshua:
Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and
all this people, to the land which I am giving to them-the children of Israel.
Joshua, Moses’ assistant-the timid, fearful
man living in the shadow of Moses, is suddenly thrust into the thick of things;
and he has to make a choice-either to obey God’s command to cross over Jordan
and go possess the entire land, or to sit back and relax on this side of
Jordan, satisfied with partial inheritance. And he said “Yes” to God’s command.
And if you say yes, God says, My Presence shall go with you.
1.
Every place you walk-My
Presence shall go with you.
Joshua 1:3 “Every place that the sole of
your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.”
Where you walk, matters! An interesting
choice was set before a man and his nephew in Genesis 13. Yes, Abram and Lot
had to separate from each other, and Abram let Lot
make the first choice. In retrospect, it tells me that Abram left the choice to
God. And the Bible says, “Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.”
[Gen. 13:11] Remember that it is God’s presence that makes us separate from the
rest of the world. And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot
had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you
are-northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you
see I give to you and your descendants forever.” [Gen. 13: 14, 15] “Arise, walk
in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.” [Gen. 13:
17]
What an amazing God we serve! Abram had to
just stand-up and see, and God will give it to him-this was His promise to
Abram. What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG)! Not only that, Abram also had to
walk the land-its length and width to inherit what God has promised.
And it was the same with Moses and Joshua:
walk and inherit the Promised Land. What is your
goal for this year 2012?
2.
Every person you meet-My
Presence shall go with you.
Joshua 1: 5 “No man shall be able to stand
before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with
you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.”
In your walk, you will meet people and the
favour of God will rest upon you. What a wonderful God we serve? Has it
happened to you, that you had this special favour when you had to go and meet
someone, somewhere? Someone said that “it is better to have a day of God’s
favour, than a lifetime of hard labour” -I agree.
Once in Navi Mumbai, I was called to speak
in a conference that was orgainised in a big hall of some hotel. I was
ministering and talking about Jabez, and suddenly saw this well-built Sardarji
entering the door, and standing by it. I continued my message, and he continued
standing by the door, not making any attempt to come in and sit, but stood
there till the message was finished. The next day, the co-ordinator of the
conference calls me and informed that a certain Sardarji-the owner of the
hotel, refused not just to take the rent for the conference hall, but also
returned the advance he had collected earlier. The co-ordinator confirmed what
I had in mind, that this was the same Sardarji who said that somehow he wanted
to see what was going on and entered that door and heard the words the
‘suit-wallah’ was talking; and stood there shell-shocked, not knowing what to
do, during the entire message, … I tell you, it is not the suit or coat, but
the favour of God!
Moses knew it – about God’s favour and
God’s grace. Hannah knew it and sang of God’s favour. Mary knew it, when she conceived
by the power of the Holy Ghost, and she too sang about God’s favour.
3.
Every plan you make-My Presence
shall go with you.
Joshua 1:6 “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.”
Now the question is, do you want to fit
into God’s plan? God has a plan-a blueprint, a well thought-out layout of what
your future holds for you. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,
says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a
hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to
you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your
heart. [Jer. 29: 11-13]
If we plan to fit, we plan to succeed, for
we will find Him with us. His Presence shall go with us. If you are hungry, a feast
will be spread before you-yes, I have experienced this. If you think you are
poor, God will show you the riches that He has stored for you, right here on
earth. If you think you will be defeated in your plan, God will open your eyes
to see the armies of God around you.
4.
Every precept you follow-My
Presence shall go with you.
Joshua 1: 7-9 “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. Have I not commanded
you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the
LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
God’s word must not depart from our mouth.
That is why I never cease to say these five points: (i) Read God’s word (ii)
Study God’s word (iii) Meditate God’s word (iv) Memorize God’s word and (v)
Obey God’s word.
It is our mouth that will lead us to the
Promised Land, when it is filled with God’s word. Why do I say this? Because
Promised Land is a land of milk and honey and if you read Song of Solomon 4: 11
it says: “Honey and milk are under your tongue” Don’t we know that death and
life are in the power of the tongue. Choose life! Isn’t it interesting that the
Promised Land is under your tongue-hidden together with the word of God’s
commands?
The Psalmist says “Your word I have hidden
in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119: 11). If you have
kept His words in your heart, you will have a revelation for every tough
situation in your life; and you will be well on your way to the Promised Land,
with your mouth confession of God’s word.
He has plans for you and me-plans of peace
and future and hope; plans to prosper. There is overflowing joy in His presence.
And He has promised His Presence-in every place we walk, every person we meet,
every plan we make and every precept we keep. Be strong and very courageous;
for you God is with you wherever you go.
