Mensa Otabil - The Lord Will Exalt Us (10/07/2025)
We’re getting there, and pretty soon we’ll hit the last day of the year. Then we’ll have our crossover event in the evening, and we will welcome a new year. I wish you God’s blessing in all that you do as you encounter the coming year. We are looking at how the children of Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, and we are learning lessons from it for our own lives as we cross over into the new year of 2022. There are lessons to learn from Joshua, so we go back to the book of Joshua, chapter 3, verse 7.
The Lord said to Joshua, «This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.» The Lord promised that the day Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land would also be a day when He would exalt Joshua. Joshua is the leader of the team crossing over. Why did God say that? Earlier on, Moses had been the leader of Israel, and he was the one who took them through the Red Sea; that was the first crossing. On that day, the Lord exalted Moses before the people. In other words, the people saw Moses, respected him, honored him, and accepted him as the leader of the nation. For the next 40 years, Moses was their leader.
Now Moses is dead, and Joshua has taken over, but he is an untested leader. Nothing has happened with him, so this is the first major leadership decision he is making to take the people to the Promised Land. God says to Joshua, «This day I will also exalt you.» In other words, I am going to use this event to give credibility to you. I am going to use this event to establish you. I am going to use this event to create something unique in your life.
The lesson we can learn is that crossing over is not just a physical event; behind the scenes, God uses it to establish Joshua for something in his life. This also means that there are moments when God uses events to establish us. So as we cross over into the new year, you may not be called Joshua, but the same God can also establish you. He can do something great in your life. He will exalt you, and He will perform mighty works with your life.
As we enter the new year, there are two things I want you to focus your prayer on. Let us trust God to do mighty works with us. We don’t enter a new year with timidity. We don’t enter with fear. Yes, people say, «Well, you don’t know what lies ahead. You don’t know the future.» But God knows the future. So we enter the new year without fear. We don’t enter with timidity; we don’t enter with sadness or uncertainty. We enter confidently, expecting God to do mighty works with us.
I want to speak directly to everyone who is listening to me: God will do mighty works with you and through you in the coming year-in areas of your life where you have struggled, in areas where it has been difficult, and in areas where you haven’t found your footing. The Lord will establish you, He will exalt you, and He will do mighty works with you. That’s the first thing we want to trust God for. Secondly, let us trust God to exalt His name through us. This means that for everything God does for us, His glory is paramount. God does things for us so that He will be glorified and His name honored. We don’t want people to look at us and say, «Oh, you are so wonderful; you are so great.»
Instead, we want people to say, «Oh, God is so wonderful, and God is so great! Look at what God has done with your life!» Our lives must always point to the glory of God. Our testimony must always point to the glory of God, and our achievements must always point to His glory. Yes, we play a role; we prepare and work hard, but to God be the glory. So, I pray for each one of you that not only will God do mighty works through you, but His name will also be glorified through you. People will see you and testify of your God, who is guiding you through the wilderness of 2021 into the Promised Land of 2022, and it will be well with you. The Lord will do wonders with you and magnify His name in your life.
Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, do mighty things through me. Magnify Your name in my life in the year 2022. In Jesus' name, Amen.» Well, my friends, tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, crossover day, and the Lord will take us over in His victory. Pastor Mensa Otabil, shalom, peace, and life to you.