Moses was a great man of God, the man who had been used to bring Israel out of Egypt. The time came when Moses had to die. God said to Moses to ordain Joshua to be the next leader in his place. Moses laid his hands upon Joshua and ordained him to be the next leader. Immediately God brought a word to Joshua. I want to bring the same word to you now. It is a prophetic word from the Almighty God. For this is the heart of God for those who want to serve the Lord, and for those who are already in the ministry.
The book of Joshua 1:1-2 says:
After the death of Moses the servant of the lord, the lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them - to the Israelites".
God started speaking to Joshua before Joshua began his ministry.
If you are already in the ministry or about to begin your ministry, I want to share five principles with you which are essential for a breakthrough in the ministry. As the Lord spoke these to me, I put them into practice and as a result have seen breakthrough.
1. Cut your connection with the past:
Joshua had seen the days of the glory of Moses. Joshua had a ministry before him, but instead of looking to the future, his heart was dwelling on the past and those glorious days. God had to remind Joshua: "Moses my servant is dead. " What God was telling him was: "For you to fulfill what I have in store for you, the first thing you need to do is cut your connection with the past. " If you have to go forward to do what God wants you to do, the first thing you need to do is to sever this link. After God said that Moses His servant was dead, He told Joshua: "Now you arise." God is a God of now. He is doing miracles now. He is raising people now. He is anointing people now. We are living in the days of now. Joshua had to realize that Moses was history, and he had to start living in the now.
On a visit to England, a friend of mine showed me a ,tree. He said it wasn't the tree that was important but jiomething that happened nearby. I saw a board there which [laid: "Here under this tree John Wesley, the founder of the [Methodist church, preached his last sermon at the age of 86." I gazed at the spot and thought of that mighty man of God preaching his last message right there, but then I said to myself: "John Wesley is dead; he is history." Telling people that John Wesley preached there doesn't help the world. I had to arise and fulfill my ministry. Hallelujah!
In another city in England, Bradford, I stood near the grave of Smith Wigglesworth, a man of God who had lived there and been used by God in a powerful way. I was very much inspired by his life and his faith in my early Christian life. The grave bore the epitaph: "Here lies the man of God Smith Wigglesworth". But I said to my wife: "Smith Wigglesworth is dead. It is now, I will arise". Smith Wigglesworth, John Wesley, Kathryn Kuhlman, and countless other people mightily used by God in their time, are now history, and God is telling us it is our time to do something for Him.
You may have seen the glory of God in the past. You may have seen miracles, and you may have seen failures. Today, God tells you to forget the past. Don't live in your failures, or even your past glory. There is something new waiting for you.
People ask me the secret of the anointing on my
ministry. It's very simple - I don't live in yesterday's
meetings. I look ahead to what God is going to do now to reveal His glory. Everywhere I go, I am told: "Last time when you came we saw miracles and mighty things, but this time, the anointing and miracles are even greater." The Word of God tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:18 (b):
"... are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
Don't live in the days of your "Moses". Get ready to do something now and forget those former things which arc-now history. God has promised to do a new thing. In the kingdom of God, there are no refrigerators, so He will not serve you the same biryani, or same chicken that He made yesterday again today. Every day he brings a new anointing and every day we can see the fresh glory of God. God is a God of now!
If you have seen miracles and great ministry in the-past, don't live in the reflected glory of that. Look for a new thing. I am excited to serve the Lord! Don't be someone who remembers; "Once upon a time I prayed, once upon a time I preached." Forget the past - throw away your refrigerator!
That was the attitude of apostle Paul which we read in Philippians 3:12-13:
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
"Dare to forget your past." "Dare to enter your future."
2. Press on:
After cutting your connection with the past, don't stay lere - press on. Don't allow your failures to stop you or liscourage you. Don't give up.
You must not be afraid to go forward, or allow the fear of past failures to tie you down. Courage is not the absence of fear: but it is the conquering of it. When you dare to attack, fear will then loosen it's grip on you. Opportunity does not come to those who wait, rather it comes to those attack. Those who risk nothing, gain nothing. People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they cant find them, make them.
Don't determine the will of God by circumstances. In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus said to the disciples "Let's go to the other side". The will of God was to go to the other side. Then there was a storm and circumstances were contrary to the will of God. A stormy circumstance does not communicate that a specific situation may not be the will of God. But many times, the contrary will be true. A man of faith will not determine the will of God by his circumstances, but instead will find the will of God and change the circumstance, as the Lord Jesus did when he rebuked the storm. The will of God is supreme and circumstances cannot change it.
T. L. Osborn said: "I determined long ago never to let my ambition exceed the will of God." I embrace that theology with all my heart.
Forget about the critics. Those who have done nothing are not qualified to judge those who have done some thing. Don't join the ranks of "Dr Dolittles". Don't allow your past failures to tie you down. Get up, shake off the dust and move forward with a heart ready to do the will of God. Abraham Lincoln's life personified perseverance. He failed in business in 1831. He was defeated for stall-legislation in 1832. He tried and failed with another business in 1833. His fiancee died in 1835. He had a nervous breakdown in 1836. In 1843, he ran for Congress and was defeated. In 1848 he tried again and was defeated. He tried running for the Senate in 1856 and he lost. The next year he ran for vice president and was defeated. In 1859 he ran again for the Senate and was defeated. But in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the USA.
Don't be afraid to take a calculated risk. You will never realize how great is God's favor upon your life until you venture into the impossible.
Remember - the person who risks nothing:
• Accomplishes nothing
• Has nothing
• Feels nothing
• And in the end, becomes nothing.
"Dare to press on."
3. Be focussed:
Joshua 1:7 (b) says:
"... Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go."
We've seen how you need to cut your connection with i past and press on, and the secret of doing this is to stay Cussed.
When we read the life story of every man of God who Cceeded and did exploits for God, the one characteristic It jumps out at us is that they were all focussed on the sion. God commanded even Joshua that he should not to the right or left. In other words, God was saying to )shua: stay focussed so that you can succeed.
The apostle Paul was a visionary, who knew the lirpose of God in his life. Look at his determination when stood with the believers of Ephesus in Acts 20:24
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
Look at Paul's determination as he stood before King Agrippa and declared in Acts 26:19:
"So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven."
Paul was not distracted by anything or anybody in his pursuit of doing the will of God. Not even death threats could distract him.
Look at the life of our Lord Jesus Himself. He came into this world with a purpose. There were many good things He could have done which were not necessarily evil but which could have distracted Him, but Jesus kept the purpose of His coming always before Him.
We read in Luke 12:13-14:
Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?"
The brothers wanted the Lord Jesus to get involved in the distribution of their property. There could have been none better than Jesus to do the job, but He was not willing. Even though it was a good thing to do, the Lord knew that it was not His job and that was not the purpose for which He came into the world.
Many preachers and other children of God spread themselves too thinly in getting involved in things which are not their business. Paul exhorted Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:5:
"But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry."
Keeping our head and doing the job given us by God should be the primary quality of a child of God.
Paul exhorted the Christians in Thessalonica, that they should mind their own business. 1 Thessalonians 4:11 (KJV):
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you.
In Proverbs 26:17, we are told:
"Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passerby who meddles in a quarrel not his own."
I have determined in my life that 1 will not get involved in matters that are not my concern. I am not saying that we are not supposed to help others. The Word of God exhorts us in Galatians 6:2:
Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.
But I am determined never to lose sight of the purpose if God in my life. Never get involved in matters which are not your concern and which will drain your energy and in the process hinder you from doing the will
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