Thank you.
If you would please find your seats now and take a hymn, I'll go to hymn number 159.
Hymn number 159.
Blessed be the name.
Hymn number 159.
We'll start together on that first verse.
All praise to him who reigns above.
Number 159.
Let's sing it out together on the floor this morning.
159.
Sing it out.
All praise to him who reigns above.
In majesty supreme.
Who gave his son for men to die.
That he might then redeem.
Blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
His name above all names shall stand.
Exalted more and more.
At God the Father's own right hand.
Where angels most adore.
Blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Redeemer, Savior, friend of men.
What's true and by the law.
Thou hast defied salvation's plan.
Thou hast died for all.
Blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
His name shall be the Councilor.
The mighty Prince of Peace.
Of all Earth's kingdoms conquered.
Whose reign shall never cease.
Blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
160, crowned in what many crowns the Lamb upon his throne.
160, lift it up on that verse now.
Round and many crowns the Lamb upon his throne.
Hark out the heavenly anthem doth all music part its own.
Awake my soul and sing of him who died for thee.
And hail him as thy matchless King through all eternity.
Rounding Lord above, behold his hands and sighs.
Praise to death with a bowl of rum, it here he glorifies.
No angel in the sky can fully bear that sigh.
The downward lens is wandering on and it's to be so bright.
Rounding Lord above, who triumphed o'er the grave.
Who rose victorious to the strife for those he came to save.
His glory now we sing.
Who died and rose on high.
Who died eternal light to bring endless death.
Death made none of the last.
Rounding Lord above, one with the Father known.
One with the Spirit through his gift from God the glorious throne.
To lead the endless praise, for thou for us has died.
He thou o'er through endless days adored and mam'ed mine.
This time we'll go through our announcements together.
If you don't have a bulletin, lift up your hand nice and high.
We'll get to you with one.
On the inside we have our service time.
Sunday mornings at 1030 is our preaching service.
Sunday nights at 6.
Wednesday nights at 7 is our Bible study.
This week we'll be in 2 Chronicles chapter number 31.
Also, just want to encourage you to come to church this Wednesday night because it is January 1st.
It would be a great way to start off the new year by being in church on the first day of the year.
At least for that one day you could have just perfect church attendance for 2025 before your life begins to spiral.
No, I'm just kidding.
Anyway, we hope you'll be here for our service this January 1st Wednesday night.
We'll be in 2 Chronicles 31.
We've got the so many times listed there below as well as salvation and baptisms.
Across the page at the bottom there's a baby shower coming up for Eileen Urban.
That's going to be on Sunday, January 5th.
So one week from today from 2 to 4 right here.
Food will be provided.
Please RSVP to Mrs. Chandler Avgulas.
We prefer that you only bring nurselings to that and leave the other kids at home.
So just ladies and teenage girls please on that.
And then on the back we've got the note about the donuts and coffee before the service as we do at the first Sunday of every month.
Keep praying for our expectant ladies that they'll have a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery.
And then other upcoming events listed there at the bottom.
We've got of course the Fur Bay wedding coming up on January 18th.
It looks like it's 4 p.m. We've got the time figured out on that.
So 4 p.m. for the wedding.
Everybody's invited of course even if you're not close to them or don't know them.
The whole church is invited so please feel welcome to show up to that.
And then we got Pastor Aaron Thompson preaching on Wednesday, January 22nd.
So that's a Wednesday night again January 22nd.
We're also going to have Pastor Jonathan Shelley coming to preach in February on the 19th of February.
And then we've got Pastor Corbin Russell coming to preach in the month of March.
So we've got a bunch of great guest preachers coming up over the next three months.
And I believe that is it for announcements. Let's go ahead and sing our next song. Come lead us.
Alright you should find the insert in front of your hymnal.
There are two songs on there but we're only singing Born to Die as the insert.
So flip it to that side. Born to Die. If you don't have an insert you can raise your hand.
And we'll lift it up on that verse together on the night Christ was born just before break of morn.
On the night Christ was born just before break of morn
As the stars in the sky were fading
O'er the place where he lay fell a shadow's golden grave
Of a cross that would humble a king
Born to Die upon Calvary
Jesus suffered my sin to forgive
Born to Die upon Calvary
He was wounded that I might live
Jesus knew when he came
He would suffer in shame
He could feel everything and sorrow
But he left paradise
With his body paid the price
My redemption to Jesus I own
Born to Die upon Calvary
Jesus suffered my sin to forgive
Born to Die upon Calvary
He was wounded that I might live
The promise of Jesus came
Laid aside Heaven's name
In exchange for the cross of Calvary
For my sin he bore a cross
He was wounded and I was set free
Born to Die upon Calvary
Jesus suffered my sin to forgive
Born to Die upon Calvary
He was wounded that I might live
Here is Lord evermore
May thy cross I adore
As I follow the path to Calvary
O'er death I partake
My admission I forsake
All my will I surrender to thee
Born to Die upon Calvary
Jesus suffered my sin to forgive
Born to Die upon Calvary
He was wounded that I might live
Born to Die upon Calvary
Jesus suffered my sin to forgive
Born to Die upon Calvary
Jesus suffered my sin to forgive
Born to Die upon Calvary
Jesus suffered my sin to forgive
Born to Die upon Calvary
Jesus suffered my sin to forgive
Tell me the story of Jesus
Write on my heart every word
Tell me the story most precious
Sweetest that ever was heard
As being alone in the desert
Tell of the days that are past
How fortunate he was standing
Yet most try not to make that last
Tell of the years of his labor
Tell of the sorrow he bore
He was despised and afflicted
Oldness rejected and poor
Tell me the story of Jesus
Write on my heart every word
Tell me the story most precious
Sweetest that ever was heard
Tell of the cross where they nailed him
Riding in anguish and pain
Tell of the grave where they laid him
Tell how they live and begin
Love made that story so tender
Nearer than ever I see
Stayed by sweet dreams while you whisper
Love made the ransom for me
Tell me the story of Jesus
Write on my heart every word
Tell me the story most precious
Sweetest that ever was heard
Can I sing this one?
Alright, this time after offering plates around, as the plates go around, let's turn our Bibles to Joshua chapter number one.
Joshua chapter number one.
As we always do, we'll read the entire chapter beginning in verse number one.
Follow along silently with brother Corbin Brock as he reads Joshua chapter one, beginning in verse number one.
Joshua chapter one.
Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,
Moses, my servant, is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people,
unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites,
and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life, as I was with Moses.
So I will be with thee, I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.
Be strong and of a good courage, for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land,
which I swear unto their fathers to give them.
Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law,
which Moses my servant commanded thee.
Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night,
that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein.
For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage.
Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you vittles,
for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan to go and to possess the land,
which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.
And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying,
Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying,
The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.
Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan.
But ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valor, and help them.
Until the Lord hath given your brethren rest, as he hath given you,
and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them,
then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it,
which Moses the Lord's servant gave you on this side Jordan, toward the sun rising.
And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do,
and whithersoever thou sendest us we will go.
According as we hearken unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee,
only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.
Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment,
and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him,
he shall be put to death, only be strong and of a good courage.
Amen.
Our Father in Heaven, we love you.
Lord, we thank you for our salvation.
Father, we ask now that you would give Pastor Anderson great boldness and utterance,
and help our hearts to be prepared to receive your word, Lord.
We pray for your blessing now.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
And the title of my sermon this morning is This Will Be Our Greatest Year.
This Will Be Our Greatest Year.
In Joshua chapter number 1 here, they are on the cusp of something new.
It's the end of an era because Moses has just died,
and now Joshua is at the helm,
and they're just about to cross over the Jordan River into the Promised Land.
They've been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years,
and so it's very new. It's exciting.
But at the same time, it's daunting because of the fact that they have major battles ahead,
and they have this conquest of the land of Israel ahead of them.
And when you're coming off of such a great leader as Moses,
then it could be kind of a tough act to follow,
or, you know, it could be hard for Joshua maybe to fill those shoes as the new leader.
But it made me think of the end of the year and the new year that's about to start, 2025.
And I personally, I always love this time of year
because I like the whole punctuation of one year ending and another year starting
because it's sort of a chance to start over, fresh start, turn the page, a new chapter.
And really, that's how God intended it because in Genesis chapter 1,
it talks about how God created the sun and the moon and the stars
in order to provide days and weeks and months and years.
Those things are ordained by God so that we can have a new start every day,
and every year, we have a chance for a new start.
And I believe that 2025 is going to be the greatest year that Faithful Word Baptist Church has ever seen.
I believe this will be our greatest year,
and I personally intend to have my greatest year in 2025 as well.
And there's no reason in the world why you cannot have your greatest year ever in 2025.
No matter what has happened in the past, no matter what failures or struggles you've been through,
there's no reason in the world why you can't decide 2025 is going to be your greatest year spiritually.
Now look what the Bible says in verse number 1 of Joshua chapter 1.
Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun,
Moses' minister, saying, Moses, my servant is dead.
Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people,
unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
First thing I want to show you here is that there's no reason to spend too much time dwelling on the past, right?
Because the past doesn't really get a lot of time here in this chapter because we're looking forward to bigger and better things.
So it's just like, Moses, my servant's dead. Anyway, all right, get up, let's go.
And so we don't want to overly dwell upon the past as we end 2024.
The Bible says forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Too many preachers, too many churches are living on their past achievements
and they keep telling you the same stories about the glory days years ago or even decades ago.
Folks, we don't want to rest on our laurels as a church. You don't want to rest on your laurels personally.
It's time to push a reset button. It's time to start over and put your score back to zero.
Your score is zero. You've just inserted the coin. It's a new game. Let's go.
Forget about the past and let's move forward and achieve something great for God in 2025.
Moses, my servant's dead. Now therefore arise. Go over this Jordan.
Thou and all these people unto the land, watch this, which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel,
every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you as I said unto Moses.
And I love the fact that this is past tense even though he's talking really about something that's about to happen in the future.
I mean they're about to go in and take over the land, but God just says, I already gave it to you.
It's already done. You already have it. Why? Because God has already given us the victory for 2025.
You know, the Bible says we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
If God be for us, who can be against us? And we already have the victory in 2025.
The only person that can stop us is just ourselves.
And that's why all throughout this chapter, what does God keep saying to Joshua over and over again?
Be strong. Be of good courage. Be strong. Be of good courage.
The only thing that's going to cause Joshua to fail is just him being weak or just him being a coward.
Him not having the guts or the fortitude or the strength to push forward and have his greatest year and achieve his greatest works.
Really, the only person who can stop us is the person that we see looking at us in the mirror every single day because we have already been given the victory by God.
I mean, God says, I've given them all the land, everywhere that their feet tread belongs to them.
Now, of course, we know sadly that human beings are flawed and that, you know, if we read the whole book of Joshua and if we read the book of Judges,
we find out that, you know, there were certain areas that they didn't end up conquering.
There were certain little pockets where they allowed the enemy to persist and they did not actually get the victory in those areas.
But it was because of their lack of faith. It was because of their lack of vision. It was because of their failures.
Look, God has given us the victory. God wants us to have our greatest year.
You think God's up in heaven saying, you know, I've ordained a mediocre year for Faithful Word Baptist.
I've ordained a mediocre year for Stephen Anderson or for, you know, insert your name here.
No, God has already ordained victory. God has given us the tools. God has given us the victory.
You know, we just need to show up, be strong, be of good courage.
And you know what? You need to make a decision that you are going to arise and go over Jordan and conquer in 2025 and have your greatest year.
You know, I was thinking about every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon.
That have I given you. As I said in a Moses from the wilderness and this Lebanon, even under the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites under the great sea toward the going down to the sun shall be your coast.
And he goes into all this great geography that God is going to allow them to conquer in the coming season.
And I was thinking about our church going into 2025 that one of the reasons why I believe that 2025 is going to be our greatest year is because of all the geographies where we are going to go soul winning this year.
Right? Because we are going to go soul winning this year, God willing, in more foreign countries than we have ever done in the history of our church.
With God's help, we are going to set our feet on more foreign soil, on more foreign countries. We are going to go soul winning in more countries in 2025 than we have ever done in the history of Faith Forward Baptist Church.
That's our vision for 2025. And not only that, but our goal is to get more of God's people, more church members out on the mission field in 2025 than we have ever done in the history of our church.
Getting more church members out there preaching the gospel, winning souls to Christ, unto the uttermost part of the earth.
And God is going to be with us. God is going to go before us. God is already preparing the hearts of the people so that when we show up there will be people that are already ready to get saved, already ready to hear the gospel.
We just need to show up and do the works. And God is going to give us the victory. I believe that.
Not only on the foreign field, but here in Arizona. You know, we want to finish that Navajo reservation and knock as many doors as we can on that Navajo reservation.
I've had a vision for reaching that Navajo reservation with the gospel for, you know, almost 20 years now.
And I remember, you know, there was a guy who went to our church a long time ago and I wanted to train him to be a pastor and I wanted him to start a church up there.
And I told him, I said, you know what, just one church, one man, one pastor, I said, I believe could reach the entire Navajo reservation with the gospel.
At least, you know, knocking every door, giving the gospel to everybody at least one time.
And unfortunately, you know, he ended up getting backslidden and not going into the ministry and getting out of church and so forth.
But you know what? Faithful Word Baptist Church is going to be that church. Even though we're in Phoenix, Arizona, we're still going to knock every door on that Navajo reservation and win souls to Christ.
Of course, we've got the day in, day out, week in, week out soul winning that's going on right here in this geography, right here, Phoenix, Tempe, Chandler, Mesa, this whole area.
Hey, why don't you decide that in 2025 you're going to get involved in soul winning that where the feet of your body tread, you know, God's going to give us that victory.
Why don't you get your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace and you get out there and tread some ground for the Lord and win some victories for the Lord in the matter of soul winning this year in 2025.
Why don't you decide you're going to win more people to Christ in 2025 than you have in the past or maybe become a soul winner for the first time.
Maybe even just get out as a silent partner and get involved in winning souls to Christ in 2025.
The harvest is plenteous but the laborers are few, right? The promised land is just there waiting to be conquered, waiting to be occupied. You just need to show up and God will give the victory.
The Bible says in verse number five, there shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life as I was with thee.
So, or excuse me, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.
And notice what he says here. Verse five, no man is ever going to be able to stand before you for your entire life.
Okay. And look, I don't believe that this chapter is here just about one person, Joshua. You know, when we read the Bible, we're supposed to be applying it to our own lives and our own situations.
Look, just as much as Joshua is not going to be defeated by any enemy, guess what? We don't have to be defeated by any enemy either.
No weapon that is formed against us shall prosper. If God be for us, who can be against us?
And so here's the thing about that is that, as I said before, the only person who can really defeat us is ourselves, right?
No external enemy is ever going to be able to destroy us. No man will ever be able to stand before us.
And you say, I don't know what, you know, what if the devil attacks me? You know, what if I, what if I get excited about serving God and I start soul winning?
Maybe I sign up for a missions trip or, you know, maybe I go on one of these Indian reservation trips or maybe I show up to a weekly soul winning time.
You know, then I get, I'm going to get attacked by the devil, you know, and the devil is going to attack me.
And then, you know, what if I can't really predict what attacks are going to come or who's going to attack me or what bad thing is going to happen in 2025.
But I'm here to tell you, it doesn't matter what bad thing happens in 2025. It doesn't matter who the enemy is.
It doesn't matter what the attack is. It doesn't matter if the devil decides to point all our, all of his guns at you and against our church and everything.
You know what? Nobody can stop us, is what God is saying here, because if God is for us, then no one can be against us.
And so he's telling Joshua, no, just be strong, just be of good courage. What about the Hittites?
What about the Hivites? What about the Jebusites? What about the Perizzites?
There are giants in the land, huge enemies with advanced equipment and iron chariots and high tech gear.
Hey, God is going to give us the victory. Doesn't matter what the enemies and the, you know, what the devil has planned or whatever.
And look, make no mistake about it, there are always going to be attacks. It's always going to be a fight. It's always going to be a battle.
Look, I don't believe for one second that 2025 is just going to be some easy, you know, I almost wanted to say I didn't think it was going to be a pleasure cruise,
but then I realized it is going to be a pleasure cruise in 2025, quite literally at times.
But what I wanted to say is that, you know, obviously it's not going to be all sweetness and light.
Okay, look, when the children of Israel are going into the promised land, they have to fight some battles.
They're going to have to get their hands dirty. They're going to have to swing the sword.
They're going to have to go through some grueling fights and battles, but they're going to win.
And so I'm not saying that 2025 might not get ugly at times in your life, in my life, in our church's life.
I'm not saying there won't be any enemies. I'm not saying that there won't be any attacks.
I'm just saying that no man is going to be able to stand before us in 2025 and get in our way of preaching the gospel of Christ and having the greatest year that our church has ever seen.
No man is going to stop me. No man is going to stop you if you're only strong and have a good courage and just keep serving God no matter what.
No one can stop you. You can only stop yourself.
He says in verse number five, there's not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. Why?
Because he says, because as I was with Moses, so I'll be with thee. I will not fail thee nor forsake.
God's not going to fail us. He's not going to forsake us.
Sometimes we might feel like we're forsaken, but we're never forsaken. He will never leave us or forsake us.
Verse six, be strong and of a good courage, for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I swear unto their fathers to give them.
Only be thou strong and very courageous. Notice the repetition there.
That thou mayest observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee.
Now the next thing I want to emphasize, the first thing was, hey, we can have our greatest year. We're going to have our greatest year.
I'm going to have my greatest year. You should decide to have your greatest year.
God's already given us the victory, okay?
Number two, we need to expand our horizons as far as, you know, they conquered the land.
We are going to win souls to Christ. We're going to push the boundaries of our geography in Phoenix, Arizona, and under the uttermost parts of the earth.
You know, we want to push our boundaries with soul winning, want to get you out soul winning, get you out on the mission field, and push ourselves to new heights in that regard.
But not only that, if we're going to have a successful year, if we're going to have the greatest year, the foundation of our year, the foundation of our success, the foundation of our lives in 2025 must be the word of God.
Right? So he's telling Joshua, look, you're going to succeed, you're going to win, you're going to fight these battles, you're going to conquer, you're going to be victorious.
But he says, look, you've got to do according to all the law which Moses, my servant, commanded thee, right?
And it goes on to really emphasize the written word of God in the next several verses, the importance of the written word of God being his foundation.
And so any success that we have in 2025 is going to be based upon a lot of Bible reading on my part and your part.
Okay, because what does the Bible say in verse 8? This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night.
Right? We've got to know what the Bible says, right? How can we walk according to God's word? How can we war a good warfare according to the word of God if we don't even know what the Bible says?
We've got to be in that book every day figuring out what the Bible says so that we can put it into practice in our lives.
Now, again, just knowing what the Bible says is half the battle because we're living in a time of universal ignorance of the Bible.
Christians don't know the Bible. You want to know why churches are so messed up? You want to know why they're so liberal and watered down?
You want to know why people get offended by actual good biblical preaching? It's because they are not knowing the Scriptures. They don't know what the Bible says.
We've got to know the Bible. And look, if you're a Christian, you need to read the Bible cover to cover.
And if you've been saved for years and years and you've never read the Bible cover to cover, wow, you need to fix that right away.
And I'd be willing to bet that 99% plus of saved Christians have never read the Bible cover to cover, probably 99.9%.
But shame on them, not in our church, not on my watch, not in my family. No, we're going to read the entire Bible cover to cover.
And so I would strongly encourage you to decide right now, I'm going to read the entire Bible cover to cover in 2025.
Now look, there's no excuse. I don't care how busy you think you are. I don't care what your excuse is. There is no excuse.
I don't care if you're blind or deaf or what's wrong with you. You can read the Bible because you can listen to audio, right?
You can do it in Braille. You can do it. You figure it out, my friend. And you say, well, look, you can get the audio going and have the physical book in front of you and be reading it with the audio.
And, you know, something's going to work, my friend. You have got to read the Bible. And you say, oh, I'm just too busy. I don't have time.
Oh, really? You don't have 15 minutes? You don't have 20 minutes? There's 24 hours in a day and you don't have 20 minutes, huh?
That's a lie. Everybody in here has 20 minutes. And here's the thing. That's how long it takes to read your whole Bible in 2025. 20 minutes a day.
It's really just people don't want to sacrifice the 20 minutes from their recreation time, their fun time, whatever time that they need to cut in order to get that timing in.
Look, if you read the Bible for less than four chapters a day, which takes about 15 to 20 minutes, you will read the whole Bible in a year.
And let me tell you something. I'm not a fast reader. I'm not into speed reading. I do a lot of reading. I love reading. I spend hours and hours every day reading, but I don't do speed reading.
People have explained it to me and tried to get me interested in it before, and I've never had an interest in it, you know, because I like to savor what I read.
I'm not just trying to just... You know, I like to actually, you know, think and process what I'm reading. I'm not into speed. And look, I don't think I'm a super fast reader. I think I'm just a pretty average reader, okay?
And I can easily get it done in 15 minutes. I think even a slow reader can get it done in 20 minutes. There are all kinds of plans out there. You can follow these kind of read through your Bible in a year plans.
Some of them just take you straight through. There are other more exotic plans that will give you, like, something from the Old Testament every day and something from the New Testament and something from Psalms and something from Proverbs.
You can get a bunch of variety, or you can just keep it simple and just read four chapters every day. Now, personally, I like the more exotic method where you're kind of reading a little bit of here, a little bit of there.
I like to jump around and go out of order. That's my style. Other people just like to plow through. But you've got to get on a plan to read the Bible cover to cover in 2025. You've got to do it.
And you say, oh, this isn't for me because I've already read it 20 times. Well, you better make it 21 this year, buddy. Because I'm telling you, I don't care how many times you've already read it, you need to read it again.
Because you will forget things. You need your heart to be stirred. You need to be reminded of what you already know. Don't get this attitude. I've already read it. I already know what it says. Read it again.
We've got to meditate in the book of God's law day and night if we want to prosper and have good success. You've got to have a Bible reading plan for 2025.
It's hilarious to me when people think, oh, I don't need a Bible reading plan because I just kind of freestyle it. I just kind of just open the Bible and just read whatever. And I don't keep track of anything.
You know, I bet you're just as successful in the gym as you are in your Bible reading. Because you know what? No one is successful in the gym who doesn't log their workouts.
I mean, maybe there's somebody out there or something that is, but I've never seen it. Everybody I know who's successful as an athlete logs their workouts. You know what I mean?
They don't just kind of go to the gym and just, oh, what do I feel like doing? You know, just kind of randomly just going. You know, that's how kids do. That's what little kids do.
You take a little kid to the gym. They jump on some machine for three minutes. They jump over here for two minutes. They jump over here for five minutes and then they're bored and leave.
Okay. Is that your Bible reading plan? It's just kind of like, you know what? That was my Bible reading plan when I was a teenager. Okay. When I was a teenager, this was my Bible reading plan.
My Bible reading plan was flip open the Bible and read a couple verses and then put it away and go play video games and go to the mall and go hang out with my friends and go waste time.
That was my Bible reading plan. And because I remember I heard a preacher say, read the Bible till you get something out of it. So I was like, okay, I'm going to go to parts of the Bible where I know I'm going to get something out of it fast.
So I would either go, I would either go to Proverbs or I would go to the red letters in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, or I would go to the pastoral epistles. You know, here I am. I'm a pastor now.
But I would, you know, I'd go to first second Timothy Titus because I knew if I go to first second Timothy Titus or Proverbs, I can read the Bible for 60 seconds and I know I'm going to get something out of it and then I can just be done and move on.
But you know what? That's not reading the Bible cover to cover. And then I just went through years and years and years and years without reading the Bible cover to cover.
And it wasn't until I was like 17 years old that I actually read the Bible cover to cover and it changed my whole life. That's when I got serious about serving God.
That changed my whole mentality. That changed my whole way of thinking. When I was 13, 14, 15, 16, my little just kind of flip open the Bible and read whatever got me pretty much nowhere when it came to actually covering serious ground in the Bible and actually knowing what the Bible said.
Because yeah, we can all get a little, our little vitamin pill, you know, our little, our little proverb, you know, statement or our little second Timothy little quip that we get.
But you know, at the end of the day, I want to sit down for a full meal and consume four chapters of the Bible and not just take a little vitamin, a little Flintstone vitamin portion of the word of God.
You need to have a plan for reading the Bible. Okay? If you're going to make real gains in the gym, there's got to be some kind of a plan. It's like, hey, there's chest day, back day, shoulder day, leg day, you know, and there's a plan.
And you're writing it down and you're logging it and you have a goal and you have a vision. It's got to be the same with your Bible. I remember talking to this guy one time and he claimed that he read the whole Bible cover to cover even though he'd never set out to read the Bible.
He just said, well, I've just been to church my whole life. I'm sure I've kind of read the whole thing cover to cover. I said, no, you didn't. I said, nobody's ever read the Bible cover to cover without making a point to read the Bible cover to cover.
He's like, well, yeah, cause I just sit down and just randomly read it. He said, for example, the other day I just kind of randomly sat down and read the book of Philemon the other day.
I'm like, really? Okay. Wow. First of all, the book of Philemon is like the shortest, one of the shortest books. It's one chapter.
So, you know, I guarantee you that a lot of people have decided, hey, I'm going to read Philemon. There are millions of people who sat down and said, hey, I'm reading Philemon.
But you know what? I wonder how many people have just sat down and said, hey, you know what? Leviticus 14, let's go.
Right? First Chronicles 5. Why not? He said, no one ever, no one ever just flipped over the Bible and said, I'm going to read First Chronicles chapter 5.
No, the only time you read First Chronicles 5 is because you read First Chronicles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, not all the way to the end.
And so I'm telling you, you've got to read your Bible cover to cover because we need all the counsel of God. Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
We need every word of God and that's Genesis to Revelation and so get serious about Bible reading if you want to be successful this year.
You want to have your greatest year spiritually? Have you ever read the Bible cover to cover? If the answer is no, then that's the number one thing I would start with is say, I'm going to make a plan to read the Bible cover to cover.
And I don't care if you've read it 100 times, you need to make it 101 this year and you need to read the Bible cover to cover in 2025.
You need a chart. I do everything with spreadsheets so I make my own elaborate spreadsheet and I geek out on spreadsheets constantly.
But the thing is, whatever your plan is, just figure out a plan and stick with it. You can print things out online. There are a million different ways to do this.
You can even buy a Bible that's called the one year Bible that literally you just turn to that date and it tells you exactly and you just read it right there.
Just get a King James Bible, one year Bible and it'll just give you the day portion and you stick a bookmark in it and it does a little from the old, a little from the new, a little bit of Psalms, a little bit of Proverbs, takes you through the whole thing in one year.
Do it. Now look, even small children, I encourage small children to get a Bible reading plan and maybe reading the full Bible is too ambitious for a small child.
Right? So what we've done in our house is we'll start out a small child with a goal like, okay, this year you're just going to read the New Testament cover to cover.
Right? And that's a good place to start for a small child. Or even when they're younger than that and they're really struggling, we would even just say, hey, you know, read the book of Psalms cover to cover.
And then we give them that one year Bible and just have them read the Psalms and they just get through the whole book of Psalms. Then next year, New Testament.
The third year, go for the Old Testament. Right? And you could break it down like that for a small child. But if you're an adult, you just need to read the whole Bible this year in 2025.
And don't say, well, I only have time for one or two chapters a day. Well, you know what? Let's talk about your schedule because I guarantee you that there's some fat that needs to be trimmed from your schedule.
And you know what? You men that go to work every day, here's an easy way to get it done as well. How about Bible audio while you're driving to and from work?
Why don't you listen to it as audio? You say, does that count? Are you superstitious or something? Count for who? Count for what? Here's the thing.
Different people take in information in different ways. Some people do better reading the physical book. Some people do better through audio. You know, I personally love audio.
And, you know, I get different, I tend to get more out of things when I listen to them. The key is that you're actually paying attention, that you just don't have it playing while you're doing something else.
But if you're in the car and it's turned on and you're 100% focused like a laser beam, then yeah, you know, that counts for you, you know.
Now look, whenever I'm reading the Bible in a foreign language, I don't do it as audio. I only do the physical book just because obviously that's something where I have to go slower and keep up and everything like that.
But when it's in English, you know, and you play the audio, I submit you might even get more out of it listening to the audio if you're actually paying attention.
Okay. And so, you know, there's always a way to get it done where there's a will, there's a way. Get Bible reading as a big part of your life this year.
And look, maybe you're more advanced. Maybe you're going to read the Bible two, three, four times this year. Even better.
But, you know, most people need to at least just make a commitment to read it one time in 2025.
Because again, how can you do what the Bible says if you don't even know what it says? Right? You got to know what the book even says.
And on that thought, look at verse seven. It says, only be thou strong and very courageous that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee.
You know what that tells me is that it takes strength to do what the Bible says. And it takes courage to do what the Bible says.
Because he says you got to be strong and courageous so that you may do according to all that's written in the law of Moses.
You see, a lot of people just don't know what the Bible says. That's their problem. But then other people, they know what the Bible says.
They just are too weak to put into practice in their lives or they just don't have the guts to put it into practice in their lives.
They don't have the guts to stand up for what's right. And so they just need the strength and courage after they've read the Bible to do what the Bible says.
And so look, in 2025, let me tell you something. Faithful Word Baptist Church is going to be a church of Bible readers.
I'm going to be reading my Bible a ton. I hope you're going to be reading your Bible a ton. We're going to be reading the Bible.
But you know what? We're also going to be a church that stands on and preaches and does what the Bible says.
Who cares what people think? I'm ready to double down on every controversial doctrine that I preach in 2025.
I'm ready to double down on all the things that have people the maddest right now. I'm ready to double down and hammer those things. Why?
Because they're in the Bible. Because they're clearly taught in Scripture. And I am ready to not back down or soften up or water it down or moderate some of these things.
No, my friend. Because these are clear teachings of the Bible. And it's this world that needs to be moderated.
It's this world that needs to stop going crazy. And we need to double down on what the Bible says. And we need to be strong enough to preach what the Bible says.
And we need to have the courage to stand up for what the Bible says. Even if it's not popular. Even if people don't like it.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night. Thou mayest observe to do all that is written therein, for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous.
Then thou should have good success. That's how you're going to have your greatest year in 2025, right? How are you going to have the greatest year? Well, you've got to read the Bible.
How are you going to have the greatest year? You've got to have the strength and the courage to do what you read. Read the Bible every day and then put it into practice. Live it.
How are you going to have your greatest year is to expand your geography. Getting out of your room, out of your house, out of your neighborhood, right? And get out there and preach the gospel to every creature.
And expand your horizons a little bit. Maybe, maybe for you that's just getting out of the house and getting out of the church house and just knocking a door, period.
Just getting out soul winning, period. Right? Or maybe that's getting involved in missions. Maybe that's getting out on a mission strip for the first time in 2025.
Or getting out on the Indian reservation for the first time in 2025. Expanding and claiming the victories that God's already preparing for us in all these places.
So that we can have our greatest year as a church. But not only that, let's jump down if you would to verse number 12. It says,
And to the Reubenites and to the Gadites and to half the tribe of Manasseh spake Joshua saying, Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you saying,
The Lord your God hath given you rest and hath given you this land. Your wives, your little ones and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side, Jordan.
But ye shall pass before your brethren armed all the mighty men of valor and help them until the Lord hath given your brethren rest as he hath given you.
And they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them. Then shall you return into the land of your possession and enjoy it which Moses the Lord's servant gave you on this side, Jordan, toward the sun rising.
And what I take from this portion is that we, if we're going to have our greatest year in 2025, cannot just live a life of selfishness where we're just only thinking about ourselves.
But we need to think about the whole team. We need to think about the church. We need to think about other people and not just think about how I can have my greatest year in 2025 financially or something.
You know, I'm just going to have so much fun in 2025 or something like that. And look, I'm not against you having fun. But let me tell you something, life's not about having fun.
And we need to live our lives in a way that is unselfish toward other people. Now let me tell you why I'm saying that about this passage.
Because the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh, they've already been given their inheritance on the other side of Jordan.
So their inheritance has already been bought and paid for. It's been fought for. The battle's won. God has already given them a rest. Their battle is over.
And here's what Joshua is saying to them. You're not just going to sit there and enjoy that while your brethren go to war.
You know, you've got to make sure that other people get their inheritance. You've got to make sure that other people get their rest.
And then you can rest. And so the idea here is we could apply this a few different ways. One way we could apply it is that, you know, yeah, we're saved and we're going to heaven.
Because rest is often associated with salvation. Why? Because salvation is not work. It's rest.
Salvation is resting in the finished work of Jesus Christ. His death, his burial and resurrection is our way to heaven. It's not us working our way to heaven.
We're resting in the finished work of Christ. And so here's the thing. We've got our rest. Okay. But what about all the people out there? Do they have salvation?
No. So we're not just going to sit here and enjoy our salvation. No, we've got to get out there and get other people saved.
And share that with other people, right? And obviously that's just one way that we could be unselfish. In other ways as well, we need to make sure that we are blessing and helping and taking care of other people and helping other people reach their goals and helping other people succeed.
And ultimately the children of Israel as a whole need to inherit the promised land. And if you look at that congregation of the children of Israel, also known as the church in the wilderness, you know, we could apply this and say, you know, instead of being selfish in 2025 and just thinking about yourself, why don't you go into 2025 saying, I want to help Faithful Word Baptist Church have its greatest year.
I'm already all set over here on the other side of the Jordan. I got my little, you know, Ruben, Gad, half tribe of Manasseh thing going on. But what about everybody else?
Why don't you get a team spirit? Why don't you get an attitude that says, you know what, I'm not in it for myself in 2025. I am in it for the team. Faithful Word Baptist Church is my team.
And not only am I going to personally have my greatest year in 2025, but I'm going to do my part to make sure that Faithful Word Baptist Church has its greatest year in 2025.
You got a lot of people, I'm sure, that have this attitude instead. Well, I wonder how things are going to turn out with Faithful Word. I wonder what 2025 holds for Faithful Word, huh?
Just kind of see which way the wind blows, see how it turns out for them. Sort of like Peter falling afar off to kind of see what the end thereof will be.
Kind of see how it's going to turn out and kind of just sit back and observe. You know, why don't you get some skin in the game?
Why don't you, instead of sitting back and wondering and getting together with all the gossipers and losers and do-nothing failures and getting together, oh, I wonder what's going to happen with Faithful Word.
I wonder if they're going to someday become as much of a loser as I am. I wonder if they'll someday, I wonder if Faithful Word will someday win as few souls as our church does.
I wonder if their attendance will ever get as low as our attendance. I wonder if they'll ever do as few exploits and missions and soul winning as we do. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Friend, instead of sitting back and waiting to see what happens with Faithful Word, why don't you get in and say, I am Faithful Word! Let's go! Let's do it! The best year! The greatest year!
Why don't you get a team spirit and get on board with a winning team and say, you know what? We're going to do great things in 2025. I'm going to help Faithful Word achieve their soul winning goals.
I'm going to help them go and preach in new countries and set our feet in new soils, more church members on the mission field, more mission fields reached, more everything.
I'm going to get involved. I'm going to read my Bible. I'm going to go soul winning and I'm going to support the church. How about this? Support the church.
Support the church. Listen, Gad. I know you have your perfect little life going over on the other side of the Jordan. Why don't you support the church?
Come on, Manasseh. Let's go. Let's go, Reuben. Why don't you support the whole church? Why don't you get involved? Why don't you pitch in? Why don't you contribute? Why don't you help? Why don't you actually help us succeed?
Well, I just want to see if, you know, if the Israelites are going to win or not. Why don't you get in and help us win? Why don't you pick up a weapon? Why don't you pick up the Word of God? Why don't you actually join the team, get involved, and be a part of the solution?
And so that's what I see with the Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh is that, you know, they need to be unselfish and they make the right choice and they are unselfish and they do help Israel win the battle.
And it says in verse 16, they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us we will go, according as we hearken unto Moses and all things.
So will we hearken unto thee, only the Lord thy God be with thee as he was with Moses. Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment and will not hearken unto thy words and all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death, only be strong and of a good courage.
Now look, I'm preaching through the chapter here this morning because I believe that this chapter, Joshua chapter 1, is so applicable for us today and I think it's a great chapter to look at at the end of a year as we look toward a new year.
Because it's a turning of a page, it's a new chapter, it's a whole new enterprise that they're undertaking with entering the promised land, they've got a new leader, they've got all these things that lay ahead of them.
And we're the same way, you know, because we're ending a great year, you know, they ended a great era with Moses, we're ending a great successful year where we've achieved, by God's grace, we've been able to achieve a lot and a lot of people have been saved and we've had great victories throughout the year.
And we're turning a page now and starting a new year. And if we look at this chapter, you know, I'm just preaching what the chapter has here because, and here's the thing, it's funny because I started out writing this sermon in a totally different chapter, but like I was seeing all the same points in a different chapter.
And then I turned to Joshua 1, I was like, whoa, these are all the same points. Why? Because the Bible teaches these principles over and over again. And these are principles that you will find hundreds of times in the Bible.
You know, as we go through this chapter, we see first of all, hey, we're not going to dwell on the past. It's time to push forward, it's time to arise and do something great for God.
And not to, hey, remember the good old days with Moses? Wasn't he great? And look, you could literally just go back a couple verses into the end of Deuteronomy and it says in verse 10 of chapter 34 of Deuteronomy, if you just look right there across the page, it says,
there arose not a prophet since in Israel, like unto Moses, you know, there, there never was a prophet after Moses that was as great as Moses. Right? So is that what we're going to do in Joshua chapter one though?
Is just kind of just talk about the glory days with Moses and how cool it was. No, it's just like Moses is dead. Get up, let's go. Yeah, we did great things in 2024.
Yeah, we did great things in 2015. You know, we, we, we did great things in 2010. I mean, we, you know, we could go down, but none of that matters. None of that matters. Okay. Because you know what? We need to do our greatest works in 2025.
It's not, it's not over yet. The battle's not over. Life isn't over. The work of God isn't over and we're not going to quit early. We are going to push forward and do something great. Don't dwell on the past. Don't live on past glory.
I don't care how many souls you won in 2024, 2023, because you know what? You're starting out 2025 with zero souls saved, just like I am. Right? I want to, I want to write a big Z. I want to wake up on January 1st, Wednesday and write down zero souls saved.
I want to take a pen. I'm going to write those words. Zero souls saved in 2025. Let's go change that. Right? Let's go do something now. Instead of talking about what we used to do, let's talk about what we're going to do right now.
And then we're going to go out and we're going to tread the soles of our feet on some virgin territory, on some virgin ground. We're going to do something new. You say, well, I've just never been into soul winning. Well, you know what? Maybe it's time for you to put your foot on some virgin territory.
Well, you know, I've just never been a big reader. I'm just not a reader. Well, it's time to maybe set your foot on that soil and start actually reading the Bible and not only reading the Bible, but having the courage and the strength to put what the Bible says into practice and to stand for the word of God in 2025 and to double down on biblical doctrine in the face of a, of a crooked and perverse nation.
That is constantly trying to get us to back down on our core principles and beliefs that are biblical. Got to get that Bible reading plan every day, reading it three, four chapters a day minimum. Get through it in a year. And you know what? There's no reason not to get a head start by starting today. That's not cheating.
You know, you can start early, get ahead. I don't know about you, but I'm a little bit obsessive about these things. Like I said, I have all these spreadsheets and I look at them like 50 times a day and stuff and I have all these things and stuff like, but I don't know about you, but I always like to stay a couple of days ahead on these things. All like on everything. When it comes to any of my Bible reading or other goals, I always like to stay a few days ahead because I find myself, it's more motivating to see how far ahead I can get and to work ahead and things like that.
There's nothing wrong with working ahead as long as you stay consistent. And even if you're ahead, you keep reading every day. You keep going, you keep moving forward. So there's nothing wrong with starting a few days early with that. You should have started years ago, some of you. No, I'm just kidding.
You're not early, you're late. Let me just say it, okay? But not only that, if we're going to have a great year, we need to make sure that we're unselfish. That we don't just look at our own personal lives, but that we look at a perspective of the church. The church. This is the team. Right? Let's help the team succeed.
And you can even expand that further and be unselfish and even help other teams succeed. Anybody who has been around here long enough knows that we really always try hard to help our fellow churches succeed.
And people that worked on my staff know that we would always spend tons of money trying to help other churches succeed. And helping them have a success. And I always told them, hey, it's not about us succeeding, it's about the cause of Christ succeeding in general.
So we can always help these people over here, help these people, you know, get this going over. But look, this is our team right here, Faithful Word. Why don't you get a vision for Faithful Word's success?
Instead of just having this narrow vision of, well, just the tribe of Gad, which is my family, I'm going to make sure they succeed. No, no, no. Why don't you expand that and say, let's get the whole church in the wilderness to succeed? Let's get Faithful Word to succeed.
I'm not going to sit and watch what happens with Pastor Anderson. I'm going to help Pastor Anderson succeed. I'm not just going to see what happens with Faithful Word. I'm going to support Faithful Word, contribute, get involved, and help them succeed.
And look, the Bible says in verse 16, they answered, Joshua was saying, all that thou commandest us we will do. Look, in order to have a successful 2025, you know what we need? Proper submission to authority in 2025.
Proper submission to authority, right? A lost art. Because we're living in a rebellious generation that cheer leads children who rebel against their parents, cheer leads wives who rebel against their husbands, or even leave their husbands and run off and just forsake their marriage, right?
We live in a day that cheer leads employees for rebelling against the company or rebelling against the boss at work, right? This is the day that we're living in. We live in a day where pastoral authority is mocked and ridiculed. Any pastor who is a strong leader is a cult leader. It's a cult.
You know what? Who cares what the gainsayers criticize? At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what the Bible says, so why don't you men rule your home in 2025?
Why don't you children obey your parents in 2025? Honor your father and mother. That's what the Bible says. There's no caveat given. It doesn't say obey your parents if.
Honor your father and mother if. Submit to your own husbands if. Husbands love your wives if. Servants obey your masters if. No, it says the opposite. It says even if your masters are froward and disobedient, it says you need to submit to your God-given authorities.
And that's why they say to Joshua, all that thou commandest us we will do. Whosoever thou sendest us, we will go. According as we hearken unto Moses and all things, so we hearken unto thee. Only the Lord thy God be with thee as he was with Moses.
Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, we will not and will not hearken unto thy words. In all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death. Only be thou strong and of a good courage.
Look, in order for the children of Israel to have success here, they have to have some unity. And so they're saying, look, if people are just going to like rebel against Joshua and try to overthrow Joshua, put him to death, they say.
Because they've already had problems with this in the book of Numbers with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, rising up and trying to overthrow the God-given authority, speaking against Moses, speaking against Aaron, rebelling against authority.
It's wicked. You're not going to have a great year in 2025 if you don't honor your father and mother. Your year is going to suck. Here, I'm a prophet. I just prophesied that. Your year is going to suck if you don't honor your father and mother in 2025.
And you know what? Churches that teach rebellion against parents and wives rebelling against their husbands, their year is going to suck in 2025.
And the churches that have a Joshua chapter 1 verses 16 through 18 mentality are going to thrive and are going to prosper and have good success because they're following what the Bible actually says.
You cannot have a successful church if you're going to overthrow God's authority structure for the family, for the church, for society. We've got to take a stand for biblical authority in 2025.
You've got to stand up for authority, right? And you know what? Part of this is getting on the right team. How about that? Because the Bible says here, they answered Joshua saying, all that thou commandest us we will do, right? The way that we followed Moses, we're going to follow you.
Look, they're getting on the right team. They're following the right leader. Here's a good way to have an apathetic, backslidden, lame 2025. Go to an apathetic, lame, backslidden church in 2025.
And listen to an apathetic, boring, lame pastor in 2025. Right? Go listen to some dead, boring, lame, watered down preaching in 2025. Go to some do nothing, be nothing, accomplish nothing, fight nothing church in 2025 if you want to have a lame, apathetic, boring year.
Just go hang around with all of the gossiping, do nothing, be nothing, accomplish nothing people. And sit around and gossip and talk about what everyone else is doing wrong and what Moses did wrong and what Aaron did wrong and what Joshua did wrong.
You know what? If you want to have a great year, if you want to have your greatest year, you need to get on a winning team. Joshua's a winning team, right? Because obviously the Lord's with Joshua and they're saying, hey look man, we're going to follow you because the Lord's with you.
But here's what we need from you Joshua. We need you Joshua to be strong and have a good courage. Right? Look at what the last word of the chapter is there. Only be strong and have a good courage. That's the people now because first God told Joshua be strong and have a good courage.
But now we have the people telling Joshua be strong and have a good courage. Right? So here's what we need. We need obviously God. We need to listen to God when God tells us be strong and have a good courage.
But we also need to be encouraged by one another. You know what I mean? We need to all be encouraging one another and building up one another. Right? And look, yeah, I'm the pastor. I get up and I preach, hey let's do this and hey let's go win souls and hey we're going to do missions and hey we're going to have a great year.
You know what? But then I hope that you will kind of mirror that same attitude back to me and say yeah let's have a great year. Let's do it. Don't back down Pastor Anderson. Keep reading your Bible. Keep preaching. Keep doubling down on the truth. Hey keep doing missions. Keep doing soul winning. Be strong. Be of good courage. Hey we need to tell that to each other as we go into 2025.
The last thing I want to say is this. Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment and will not hearken unto thy words and all that thou command is that he shall be put to death. Now obviously we're living in the New Testament. We don't put anyone to death because you know that's the job of the civil government or whatever. So we're never going to put anyone to death. But you know what? There are some people that we just need to just cut out of our lives. Just rebellious, refractory people that are dragging us down spiritually. Cut them out of your life.
I'm still trying to find this Bible verse that says hang out with everyone. I'm still trying to find this Bible verse that says be close with every relative. Does anybody know where that one is?
Be close with every relative. Hang out with everyone. Be friends with everyone. Be buddies with everyone. Spend time with everyone. You know what? Let me tell you my New Year's resolution. In 2025 I'm going to spend the most time with the people who build me up spiritually.
I'm talking about me personally, Stephen Anderson. I'm going to spend time with people who add value to my life spiritually. The people who build me up and encourage me and motivate me. The people where I spend time with them and I come away more motivated to serve God, not less motivated to serve God.
Right? And I'm going to be around the people who say that children should obey their parents and that wives should obey their husbands and that employees should obey their boss and that we should all obey God and that we should all obey the Bible and that soul winning is good.
You know, you think I'm going to hang around with some pastor for five minutes who's negative towards soul winning? I don't have time for that kind of negativity in my life. You say, oh, Pastor Anderson, you block so many people. You better know I do.
And you want to know why I block people? Because I don't want to listen to their crap. You know what I mean? Look, I don't need negativity in my life from losers. I don't need it. I don't need to hear what they have to say. I don't care what they have to say.
You know, I want to be talking to people, spending time with people and investing in people that actually add something to the conversation spiritually. Or I'll spend time with people that I can build up spiritually that are receptive.
You know, obviously I'm not saying, hey, I'm only going to hang around with people that, you know, that are super spiritual. Hey, I'll hang around with people that are super unspiritual as long as they're receptive to truth.
As long as they want to learn and want to grow, then yeah, I'll be around those people. But you know what? I'm not just going to be around people just because like, I don't know, because I've just known them for a while or something.
You know what I mean? And it's like, like some of those friends from junior high and high school and some of those people in your extended family that are just dead weight in your life, just trim that fat off of your life. Seriously.
Life's too short. Let the dead bury their dead and go preach the kingdom of God. You know, you don't have to hang around with every backslidden loser just because you went to fourth grade together.
And look, as soon as people start dragging me down spiritually, you know, people that are constantly making me angry, I don't want to be an angry person. I want to be joyful. I want to have peace.
I want to be living for God and happy and serving God and motivated. People who demotivate me, they're negative about missions or negative about soul winning or people that are just, you know, backslidden.
You know, it's just, you sometimes ask yourself, why am I here? Why am I talking to this person? Why am I spending time with these people? You know what I mean?
And it's like people that are, and especially people that hate our church, why do you want to be friends with people that hate our church? I mean, that wasn't the attitude of the people in Joshua chapter one. They're just like, these idiots who won't listen, kill them. Let's go.
Now, obviously I'm not saying anybody should be killed. And look, people that are losers today can become winners tomorrow. You know, I'm all for people getting right with God.
But at the same time though, you know, I'm not just going to sit around and entertain and sit around and indulge people that are just a bunch of bitter, cowardly, whatever they are, gossiping, whatever they are. Who cares? Nuts to them.
You say, are you sure that this is going to be our greatest year, Pastor Anderson? Absolutely. And you say, I don't know. I mean, that's kind of a bold statement. You know, how can you say this is going to be our greatest year, Pastor Anderson?
Well, you want to know why? You want to know why I believe this is going to be our greatest year? Because of the fact that it's in our control.
Like, it would be a bold statement if this were just like out of our control. And there were just all these circumstances that we can't control.
No. No. You know why I know I'm going to have my best year? Because I've already decided to have my best year. I've decided that. I've decided to step up my game spiritually. I've decided to do more work.
I've decided to push myself. I've decided that I'm going to have my greatest year. And I already know God's already in agreement. God's not like, whoa there, Tiger. You know, slow down there, buddy.
God's like, yeah, let's go. Because God's always ready to go. 100%. And you know what? I know our church. I believe that our church is going to have our greatest year because it's in our hands.
God's already gone before us. He's already given us the victory. All we have to do is show up. And you know what? I guess I just have faith in you that this is going to be our greatest year.
Father, we thank you so much for your word, Lord. We thank you for this chapter. I pray that we would apply these things to our lives, Lord. I pray that every single person here would not walk out of this building this morning without picking one of the points from the sermon and putting it into practice.
And Lord God, I pray that if that's, if anyone has not read the Bible cover to cover, then that needs to be the point. And I pray that every single person would decide to read their Bible cover to cover this year.
I pray that people would get excited about soul winning, Lord. And I pray that people would actually get emotionally invested in the church and actually get a team spirit and a team attitude.
And get some skin in the game and help us have our greatest year of all time. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Amen. All right, ladies and gentlemen, take your hymnals, please. Go to hymn number 86. Number 86.
Hymn number 86 in the garden. Number 86.
Sing this out together and be dismissed this morning. Hymn number 86. Lift it up together now.
I come to the garden alone While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear Calling on my ear The Son of God discloses
And he walks with me and he talks with me And he tells me I am his own
And the joy we share as we carry there None other has ever known
He sleeps and the sound of his voice Is so sweet the birds touch their singing
And the melody that he gave to me Within my heart is ringing
And he walks with me and he talks with me And he tells me I am his own
And the joy we share as we carry there None other has ever known
I stay in the garden within Though the night around me be falling
But he bids me go Through the voice of God His voice to me is calling
And he walks with me and he talks with me And he tells me I am his own
And the joy we share as we carry there None other has ever known
All right, we're dismissed. Also, over here to my left is a whole bunch of free food over there that was donated.
So be sure to check that out. There's a whole bunch of meat and vegetables and all kinds of good stuff.
So be sure to check that out. We're dismissed.
Thank you.