Hello
We are now on our HEADS UP # 5. It's been 6 days since my last "Heads Up". Enjoy reading and be blessed!
‘If God would take you home today, will people notice and miss you?
Is your life today making an impact to those around you?
Are you willing to do everything so that God can use you to bring people to Him?
What do we need to have in order to advance His Kingdom?’
God has inspired us to pursue the best life that He has prepared for us. We have seen how our God, our Great and all-wise Teacher who TEACHES us valuable lessons in life and TESTS us to make sure we learn them. He is also our loving Heavenly Father who TAKES CARE of us by providing for our needs and protecting us, and TRAINS us in the way of righteous. And He is our faithful Potter who patiently works in us to TRANSFORMS us so we can be truly prepared for the good things He has planned for us.
Today, we would be looking into the life of Joshua and the Israelites and their conquest of the Promise Land, but in a different perspective. We would see how God wants us to advance His Kingdom to our communities and influence those around us, bringing them under His rulership. Through our lives, the Lord wants us to become the ‘salt and light’ to the rest of the world. As the Israelites conquered and possessed the "Promised Land", we are also called to conquer our communities, neighborhood, work place, and schools for our Lord Jesus Christ! God has called us to ‘ADVANCE HIS KINGDOM’ until He finally comes back to rule and reign over His creation!
4 Essential things for Advancing God’s Kingdom: (Joshua 1:1-11; Matthew 28:18-20)
TEXT: Joshua 1:1-11; Matthew 28:18-20
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua+1%3A1-11
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+28%3A18-20&version=NIV
4 Essential things for Advancing God’s Kingdom:
1.) DECLARATION
God promised His power & presence to both Joshua and Jesus Christ! To Joshua, God promised His presence to go with him & that nothing can ever stand against him (v. 5). To Jesus Christ, God His Father has promised ‘ALL authority in Heaven and on the earth’ (Matt. 28:18)! When we obey God’s command to ‘Go!’, we can be assured that NOTHING can ever stand against us because His divine favor, power & presence will surely be with us! The promise ‘I will be with you’, is the same promise that Jesus gave His disciples and to us today as well, as we do His work!
2.) INSTRUCTION
(Josh 1:10; Matt. 28:19) – For Joshua, God’s clear instruction was for them to ‘Go in and possess the land!The land of Palestine was significantly located because it connects the major kingdoms & continents during that time. God carefully chose their location so that all the nations would come to know Him. In the same way, Our Lord Jesus chose 12 men so that through them, the message of the good news of His Kingdom would spread all over the world. And just before He ascended, He gave His disciples His final command to ‘Go and make disciples of all nations!’
Both of these ‘Go’s!’ are clear instructions and are not suggestions! They are commands that demands immediate obedience & unquestionable commitment! In the same way, God wants us to use our ‘Christian witness’ to influence those around us with the gospel. He is now commanding us to ‘Go and possess the land and make disciples!’ In Joshua’s time, they were to bring God’s judgment upon the people. But now, our King commands us to bring the message of hope & bring life to those around us! Friends, wherever God has placed you right now, that is your inheritance! God wants us to bring in the harvest of souls into His Kingdom! The people of all nations are our inheritance (Ps. 2:8)!
3.) VISION
Joshua 1:3 – ‘… everywhere you go, you will be on land I have given you.’For Joshua, God commanded them to possess the whole land of Canaan! Through His servants Abraham and Moses, the Lord already gave the land as their inheritance and showed them the whole land and how far it extends. And 40 years earlier, Joshua was among the spies sent to explore the land. He saw how bountiful & beautiful the land was! And now as their new leader, God had to encourage Joshua and assure Him that He would give the whole land to them. The Lord knew that as they would finally occupy Palestine, they were set to influence the whole known world of that time!
In the same way, the goal of our Jesus Christ was for‘ALL NATIONS!’ His desire was ‘WORLD CONQUEST’! He then commissioned His faithful followers to continue the work He had started. And now, He calls every believer to finish the work. This is a very huge task! *** And it takes each and every one of us to go with the message of His Word and the Power of the Holy Spirit, to take His Word to the whole world!*** Friends, we need to open our spiritual eyes and have a ‘Vision of the Multitudes’! We all need to see the multitude of people who needs to hear about Jesus and know Him – our families, friends, workmates, neighbors, classmates! It’s time that we see beyond ourselves and our Church walls, and see the need of souls to be saved & brought to God!
4.) PREPARATION
(Josh. 1:11; Acts 1:4, 8) – For Joshua, he commanded the leaders to ‘go through the whole camp of Israel and to get ready’. They had to inform EVERY ONE and to make the necessary preparations as they prepare to go in and possess their inheritance. It is the desire of God and of Joshua that not a single one of his people would be left out and unprepared! He had to mobilize and prepare them to enable them to cross over and conquer the land God gave them!
For Jesus, He also made the necessary preparations for His disciples to be ready to conquer the world. He spent most of His 3 ½ years of ministry with His 12 disciples teaching them, training them, forming them, and being with them. He gave them His Word, promised them His power and presence, and enabled them to do His ministry. As He was about to leave them and go back to Heaven, He commanded His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise power and presence of the Holy Spirit. And in less than 50 years after the ascension of Jesus Christ, the early Church saturated & influenced the entire known world of their day!
Steemit Friends, God commands us to ‘win souls and make disciples’! If we see ourselves as followers and a disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to ‘WIN SOULS and MAKE DISCIPLES!’ We have been enlisted into the ‘army of God’! And unless we are willing to obey God’s command to advance His Kingdom, we will never understand what it means to be His disciple! You and I are called to conquer!
CHALLENGE:
My dearest Steemit friends, I pray that we would take the challenge and respond willingly. May we all be reminded of our call and purpose! We are all called to conquer! We should then be ‘disturbed’ from our ‘comfort zones’ and rise up to the challenge! We have a crucial role to play in sharing the Good news of God’s Kingdom to all those around us.
Gratefully yours,
@winoxez