Blessing - The Presence of God

We're in the second week of our 2023.

Can we say praise the Lord?

We can say it better than that.

Praise the Lord.

How many love New Year's?

How many love crossing over into January?

You look at that.

I know some of you get overwhelmed with it, but I know some of you look at it as a fresh start.

What is God gonna do this year in 2023?

Amen.

Many of us have already started to gauge the way this year is going to be.

When we get ready to cross over into the new year, our minds fill up with all these ideas of how we are going to make our lives better.

How many are like that?

We get some New Year's resolutions on our minds.

We imagine ourselves starting to live healthier in the new year.

How are we going to make this next year even better than the last?

Well, we're gonna start going to the gym.

How many have started to go to the gym this year?

I didn't think so.

I'm just kidding.

We start to go to the gym, we start to eat healthier choices, we imagine ourselves being stronger emotionally in the new year.

Some of us imagine us being kinder.

You know what?

I'm gonna be kinder this year.

I'm gonna be more thoughtful this year.

And these are all great things.

This year we are going to do it better than the last.

So we typically wait until the Monday after New Year's, right?

Because we want a fresh start.

But the good thing is this year, Monday was considered a holiday, so we all started on Tuesday.

Tuesday we said, oh, we're gonna make our lives better this year.

Tuesday, many of us began what we would call our best year yet.

Can you say that with me this morning?

Our best year yet.

We're gonna do it better this time.

And of course, our first day goes amazing.

We wake up, we do exactly what we said we were going to do.

The second day, we're pretty strong.

By the third day, we're tired.

We slip up a little bit, and by the fourth day, we realized that this year is just another year.

It's only a few days away from that year, and it's just gonna be another one of those same old years for you and me.

The same problems, the same alarm clock, the same schedule, the same old, same old.

Maybe some of us had a solid week.

How many did a good week this year?

Anybody?

Or this week had a good week?

Good.

Praise God.

But even as the weeks progress, you'll see that things can tend to stay the same.

And sometimes we find ourselves back a square one.

I watched this short video the other day, and maybe some of you had seen it.

I saw it on social media, and I believe the caption said something like this.

I wrote it down.

It said, the caption said, This is how I stepped into the new year.

It said, This is how I stepped into the new year.

And so this lady goes to step onto a moving treadmill, and then she goes and takes her first step onto the treadmill, and she ends up falling forward, grabbing onto the railing, and she's hanging on for dear life.

Yeah, I laughed unfortunately, but she was okay.

But isn't that somehow sometimes how our new years can seem like?

We go in and we think we're gonna do it right this time, and then all of a sudden we take that first step and we find ourselves hanging on to the handle for dear life, holding on for dear life, falling short of our expectation.

And it's all right if things don't always turn out the way that we planned.

Why is that?

Because we're coming out of a year where we just talked about Philippians 4 11, which said this.

Can we say it with me this morning?

Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be what?

Say whatsoever?

Whatsoever state.

To be content.

Listen, we've already learned this.

We've learned to be content even if our plans don't come to fruition like we thought they would.

So leading into this new year 2023, you have been equipped with the knowledge that whether you're striding through this new year triumphantly or you feel like you're already hanging on to the treadmill for dear life, you can be content knowing that God is still control, in control, and Jesus is still on the throne.

Can I get an amen this morning?

Praise the Lord.

This the greatest adjustment that you can do in this new year, the greatest adjustment that you can always make in your life is to grow in the Lord.

Grow in the Lord.

I know some of you will start making a schedule for your Bible reading and make sure that that's a priority.

How can you grow in the Lord this year?

You need to make Bible reading a priority.

You need to make reading the Bible a priority.

How else can you grow in the Lord this year?

Get involved in a ministry.

Get involved in a ministry.

Creating more opportunities to learn about God and surrounding yourself with people who can encourage you along the journey this year.

How about this?

Become a Sunday school teacher.

I always say that when you teach, you learn and you grow.

Become a Sunday school teacher.

Help out in another ministry involving teaching the Bible.

How about this?

Make prayer a priority.

Can you say make prayer a priority?

How about this?

Make praying for somebody else a priority.

I've given you a list here of all the good things that can help you make your life better this year in 2023.

Listen, the more you grow in your knowledge of who God is, the more you allow the Holy Spirit to transform you into the image of Christ, the more that you begin to understand your assignment and why you have been placed on this earth in 2023.

God's got a purpose, God's got a plan for you, and He wants to show you what life is truly all about.

If you find yourself hanging on a treadmill, holding on for dear life, you can be satisfied knowing that God is still working all things together for your good.

Can I get an amen this morning?

This morning we have realized that we can be content in all situations.

In all situations, we can be content, whether blindness, whether prison walls, whether shipwrecked, whether being bit by a viper of death, we can be content finding ourselves in any circumstance, knowing the goodness of God continues to follow us every single day.

His goodness follows us.

Unfortunately, when we all when we are always dissatisfied, discomfort, discontent, anxious, upset with the hand that we have been dealt, our eyes are closed off from seeing all that God has blessed us with.

I'm gonna say this again.

In our discontentment, we fail to notice that God has truly given us so much more than we can ever imagine.

This morning I want to start talking about this topic.

And the title of this topic is called Blessing.

Blessing.

I want to talk to you this morning about the blessing of 2023.

What God has in store for you this morning, and as you continue to move forward triumphantly.

You might be working to shed a few pounds this year.

You might be working on building muscles this year.

You might be working on organizing your house a little bit better this year.

You might be making choices to make your life better, but this morning I want to talk about the blessings of God that are already in store for you as you march triumphantly into this new year.

See, sometimes we need a reminder of who God is and what he has done and what he has provided for us already.

This morning I want to look at the book of Exodus and I want to look at the story of Moses.

We are all familiar with the story of Moses from a basket in the Nile to the family of Pharaoh, raising up in the household of Pharaoh.

God had big plans for Moses to deliver the Israelites from their bondage after 430 years.

So here this young man comes along, and we know that Moses flees from Egypt to Midian and finds himself pasturing in a flock.

It's during this time where the Lord appears to Moses through a burning bush.

And many of you have read this account, but it's during the burning bush encounter that Moses is commissioned to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

I want to turn this morning to Exodus 3, 1 through 6.

Follow along with me.

It says, Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire in the midst of a bush.

And he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed.

So Moses said, I must turn aside and see this marvelous sight.

Why is this bush not burning up?

When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses, and he said, Here I am.

Then he said, Do not come near here.

Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.

And he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.

Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

We see here in the book of Exodus this encounter between Moses and God, where God reveals himself to Moses in such a peculiar way.

This God who we know from the beginning, from creation, is showing Moses the power that he has now gained access to through the knowledge of who God is.

I want to tell you that this morning, when you find out who the God is that created everything, the God who that you serve today that is alive and well, you will understand that you have now gained access to everything that is in his power.

We carry on in verse 10, it says this, and now come and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.

But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?

And he said, Assuredly I will be with you, and this shall be a sign to you that it is I who have sent you, when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.

Now I want to stop right there in this story of Moses, in this special encounter between Moses and God at the burning bush.

We've talked about the character of Moses before, and Moses has this self-awareness problem.

He's very self-aware that he is unfit for the task.

He's unfit for the task, yet God makes this promise to Moses during their first encounter.

God makes a promise to Moses that you and I have been given over and over and over and over again, but yet we continue to forget this major promise that God wants to remind you of this morning.

God says to Moses this, and we just read it in the passage.

Can you say that with me this morning?

Assuredly, I will be with you.

The first blessing, men and women of God, that you have already been given this year in 2023.

The first blessing that you have been given this year is that God is with you.

And I love this term assuredly that you see on there.

In the King James, this term is substituted for certainly, certainly I am with you.

You can be confident, you can be certain, you can be assured that God is with you.

I ask you this morning, what are you certain about?

In the world that we live in this morning, in the world that we live in in 2003, especially after the past three years that we have gone through, what are you actually certain about?

Don't give the answer away.

I'm just kidding.

You can't be certain of anything.

I'm not sure.

Will we be able to start our car when we leave the church this morning?

I hope so.

Will the sun rise tomorrow?

I'm planning on it.

With all these aspects that make up our lives, there's truly only one thing that you can be certain of.

Is God with you?

Yes, he is.

Is God with you?

Yes, he is.

Done.

God's presence is with you.

The presence of God is with you this morning.

No more I think so's.

No more I hope so's.

But I'm believing that 2023 is going to be a year of blessing for the people of God.

But listen, people of God, if you desire a year of blessing, then first of all, you need to realize that God is with you everywhere that you go.

You need to realize that God is going to be with you.

You might say, well, God was with me last year, and God was with me the year before that.

And that's true.

But God's with you again this year.

And if God is with you, that means He's got good plans for you.

When you realize that God is with you, you realize that there is so much more goodness that is still in store for you this year.

Here's the thing: you try to chase the future on your own, you try to do it your way, and you're going to find yourself always coming up short.

Moses knew he couldn't accomplish anything without God's presence.

Did you see what Moses said in there?

In his self-awareness, in his realization that he was only flesh and bones.

In verse 11, he said, Who am I?

Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?

Who am I that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?

Who are you?

Moses had this awareness of his humanity.

He was aware of his shortcomings, and I know you are as well.

With God, we are only toiling, discontent humans made out of dirt.

But with God and his presence, we are capable of so much more than we could ever ask or think.

I want to go back to Moses' story at another time because there's so much more in this encounter between him and God during the burning bush.

But I turn a few books later and I want to jump to the next generation that has now carried on this realization that God is everywhere that we go.

In the book of Joshua, we see Moses has passed away, and now God has placed Joshua in command.

And I want you to meditate on this this morning.

And I want you to receive the word of God and what it's saying to you.

It says, in verse 1 through 9, now it came to pass after the death of Moses that the servant of the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' servant, saying, Moses, my servant, is dead.

So now arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.

Every place on which the sole of your foot step, I have given it to you.

Praise the Lord.

Just as I spoke to Moses from the wilderness in this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, and the land of the Hittites, and as far as the great sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory, no one will be able to oppose you all the days of your life.

Watch this.

Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you.

I will not desert you, nor abandon you.

Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to the fathers to give them.

Only be strong and very courageous.

Be careful to do according to all the law which Moses, my servant, commanded you.

Do not turn it from the from it to the right or to the left, that you may achieve success wherever you go.

The book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate it on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.

For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will achieve success.

Have I not commanded you?

Be strong and courageous, do not be terrified nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

God says to Joshua, Have I not commanded you?

Have I not said it to you time and time and time again?

Will it not come to pass in your life?

Be strong, be courageous, don't fear, don't be anxious, because the presence of God is with you.

I want to tell you this morning that wherever you walk in 2023, God is in the room.

God is in the room.

God is in the room.

And when you realize that the power of God is on your side, when you realize that God is with you, you realize that blessings upon blessings upon blessings upon blessings are still on their way because God is on your side.

It allows you to shake off the fear, to shake off the anxiety, to shake off the doubt, to move forward with the presence of the Almighty God.

Joshua receives the promise from the Lord and says this in verse 10.

Watch what Joshua says.

Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, This imagine the confidence that is now built up in Joshua, because he knows that the Lord his God is going to be with him every step of the way.

He says this pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are going to cross this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess it.

God has plans, God has promises for you to go and take hold of this year.

But you first need to realize that God is with you.

Because you, when you realize that He is with you, then you don't have to worry about anything else.

You don't have to allow the Fear to enter into the room.

What blessings does God have in store for you?

Well, I already know that this year is going to be better than the last.

This year is going to be better than the last.

Do you believe that this morning?

Because He has blessed you with His presence.

And His presence, in His presence, the psalmist says this.

In chapter 16, verse 8, it says, I have set the Lord continually before me, because He is at my right hand.

I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices.

My flesh also will dwell securely.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol.

You will not allow your holy one to undergo decay.

You will make known to me the way of your life, of the way of life.

In your presence is fullness of joy.

In your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Can I read?

Can we read that together, starting in your presence?

In your presence is fullness of joy.

Say it again.

In your presence is fullness of joy.

Close your eyes and say it.

In your presence there is fullness of joy.

Praise the Lord.

In your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Men and women of God, we are a blessed people.

A blessed people because our God is in the room right now.

I need you to realize that He is in our midst.

That He is beside you.

He is all around you.

He is preparing for you.

He is strengthening you.

If you would just allow, He is ready to instill wisdom into you.

If you would just allow, He is willing to allow His Spirit to overwhelm you this morning.

Because in His presence there is fullness.

Hallelujah, God.

Our God is in the room.

He is not in the grave.

He is not a country away.

Our God is not only to be accessed through the summoning of magic words or showy displays.

No.

Our God is in the room.

And you are a blessed people of God.

Blessed because He has a purpose for you this morning.

Blessed because He has more for you to experience.

He has more for you to accomplish during your assignment here on earth.

Lord, we acknowledge your presence in this room.

Continue to surround us every step of the way.

God, as we march forth triumphantly, victoriously into all that you have in store for us.

We give you all the praise and the glory.

In Jesus' name we say.

Amen.