Mensa Otabil - Magnify Your Name (10/30/2025)
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 have 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 over the Jordan into the Promised Land, learning lessons from it for our own lives as we cross over this year into the New Year. There are lessons to learn from Joshua, so we go back to the Book of Joshua, chapter 3, and verse 7. The Lord said to Joshua, «This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of Israel so that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.»
The Lord promised that the day Israel crossed over the Jordan into the Promised Land would also be a day when He would exalt Joshua. Joshua is the leader of the team that is crossing over. Why did God say that? Because earlier, Moses had been the leader of Israel. Moses 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’s an untested leader. Nothing significant has happened with him, and 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’m going to use this event to give credibility to you, establish you, and make something unique of your life.
The lesson we can learn is that crossing over is not just a physical event; behind the scenes, God is using it to establish Joshua for something great 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 do mighty works with you.
As we go into 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 the New Year with timidity or fear. Yes, people say, «Well, you don’t know what lies behind; you don’t know how the future looks.» We don’t know the future, but God knows the future. So we enter the New Year without fear. We don’t enter with timidity, sadness, or uncertainty; we enter confidently for God to do mighty works with us.
I want to speak directly to everyone 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, in areas where you haven’t found your footing, the Lord will establish you. He will exalt you and 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. That means that for everything God does for us, His glory is paramount. God acts for us so that He will be glorified, so that His name will be glorified.
We don’t want people to look at us and say, «Oh, you are so wonderful; you’re so great.» We want people to say, «Oh, God is so wonderful! Look 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. Our achievements must always point to the glory of God. Yes, we prepare and work hard, but to God be the glory.
So I pray for each one of you: not only will God do mighty works through you, but His name will be glorified through you. Men and women will see you and testify of your God who is taking you through the wilderness into the Promised Land, 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 Jesus' name, amen and amen.»