The Promise - April 1, 2014

Scripture:

3 ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you— 4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ 5 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.6 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. - Joshua 1

Message:

The Promise that comes with a blessing.

Observation/Promise:
In order for us to receive the Promises of GOD, we also have to heed His instructions and obey them. We cannot conquer and win our battles if we are fearing and scared all the time. We cannot hear GOD speak to us, when we are complaining most of the time. We do not give GOD an opportunity to act on our behalf when we are always taking matters into our own hands. We have to give space and a huge one for GOD to execute His power. If we do not believe that He is GOD in the first place, then there's no room to exercise faith. We cannot know GOD unless we have faith because we cannot see HIM, we can only feel and sense Him if our hearts are open.

Command/Application:

Be strong and courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions of GOD in His word. Study the book of the Law of GOD, meditate on it, do not deviate from it. Obey everything written on it, only then you will be prosperous and successful. Believe that HE is who He said He is. Get to know Him even more by reading His word. Let Him be your only agenda, let Him be your greatest purpose, to love and worship Your creator, to know and testify about His goodness and grace. Experience Him day by day, because He may be invisible but HE is never absent from everything you go through in life. From the moment you wake up until the moment you close your eyes to sleep, He is watching over you thinking always of you, let your thoughts be about Him too.

The Secret

6 This Ezra was a scribe who was well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given to the people of Israel. He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because the gracious hand of the Lord his God was on him. 7 Some of the people of Israel, as well as some of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and Temple servants, traveled up to Jerusalem with him in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes’ reign.
8 Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in August of that year. 9 He had arranged to leave Babylon on April 8, the first day of the new year, and he arrived at Jerusalem on August 4, for the gracious hand of his God was on him.10 This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the Lord and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel.

- Ezra 7:5-10

A scribe is a person who copies out documents, esp. one employed to do this before printing was invented. But Ezra wasn't just another scribe. He must have read the things he copied and studied them. It may be why Ezra was well versed in the law of Moses or the Torah. Ezra used his work to know GOD better, he didn't just copy, he studied what he wrote. But how could an ordinary scribe have such great favor from the king of the Land, that when he asked for the king the things he needed, the king gave everything he asked for! What was Ezra's secret? Well, he didn't find favor with the king because he was a man of influence or because he had power in this king's kingdom. He found favor first with the greatest King, the GOD of Israel, the true and living GOD of all the Universe. This is where Ezra first found favor and because GOD favored him, GOD caused the king of a pagan nation to favor him too. This is the secret to his success.

Ezra didn't just have all that he needed, in fact Ezra had planned everything that year to leave for Jerusalem on a certain date but he arrived in Jerusalem 4 days earlier than he planned to leave for Jerusalem. How is that??? I'm sure Ezra wanted to be there earlier than planned, and GOD gave him what he wanted not because he asked for it, but just because it delights GOD to make Ezra happy. Do you want to have that kind of relationship with GOD? Do you want to have that gracious hand of the LORD on you just as it was with Ezra? Then do as Ezra did, determine to study the word of GOD and apply, obey the law of the LORD which is the Bible, with all your heart and make sure you are able to teach others what you know has blessed you with GOD's gracious hand in your life. Determine to study GOD's ways and HE will certainly bless you more than you can ask or imagine. Whatever work you do in life, you can always apply GOD's word, use what you do to bring others to know GOD, seek GOD, study His word and apply it. This is the secret to success.