Great People, Great Work

Based on Joshua 16-18, Luke 2:1-24

Our great God calls us to be a great people of a great work! That doesn't mean a busy people or an overwhelmed people, but people who are willing to do the work of The Lord! No matter how much we pour ourselves into His Perfect Will, plan & purpose for our lives, He always pours into us the strength needed to keep going...and He fights for us! So, the work we do for God is never as strenuous as what we would do on our own!

"And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the Lord hath blessed me hitherto? And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee." Joshua 17:14‭-‬15.

Upon the children of Joseph's request, Joshua responded that if they wanted something greater, then they had to do a great work! The children of Joseph pointed out the fact that they were a great people, and they needed more space to dwell in. So, Joshua told them to go & cut down the trees to make more room!

"And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only: But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong." Joshua 17:17‭-‬18.

Not only would they be able to expand to a greater land by cutting down the wood, but they would be able to drive out the Canaanites (who they were not able to drive out previously)! That's because Joshua said they were a great people with great power! He encouraged them & reminded them that they had the ability to do this. They didn't need something else just handed to them, they needed to conquer what they were already given!

That's the same with us! We look for a different opportunity when our original opportunity turns into a challenge...but then we miss the lesson! The Great Power Joshua was talking about was our GREAT GOD! No matter if we feel great or small, God is always greater! He outnumbers the enemy against us, being ONLY ONE! Sometimes, it is time to look for a different door...but you should always try opening the one in front of you first, as God leads! You never know what might be behind it!

"And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:6‭-‬7.

When Mary followed the direction of God & gave birth to our God, Jesus Christ, she did one of the greatest works, being one woman! It's all about following God's lead!

"And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them."
Luke 2:20.

When the shepherds heard about the birth of Jesus, they were afraid at first, but then they went to see Him and told everyone about Him! They were also a great people who did a great work! They didn't let the magnitude of the job scare them into staying in the pasture. Again, they followed God's lead!

The greatest work we can do doesn't come from our own strength-it comes from following the lead of God's strength...and that's what makes us great!