Sunday, 8th January 2023
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Isaiah 60:2-5 says, “For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.”
Darkness will come, God already told us in the Bible. 2023 is not going to be an easy year will all of us, with all the predicted risks, the wars, economy crisis, energy shortage, water stress… but God also said that the Light will come. The Lord will arise and He will come to our aid.
1. The Lord Will Arise
Malachi 4:2 says, “But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.” God will not lie to us, His promises will always come true. When He says He will arise, then we must know that He will and we don’t need to be afraid.
2. In Us
When God arise, He shines on us, and we will have the Light in us. We must believe the Light is already in us, not only in the people next to us, but in us. We must fear the Name of the Lord, to put God’s Word first and foremost. God first, people next, then the earth. God should always be our first priority. When we put God first, then everything will fall in its right place. Everything we have is from God, so without God, everything we love and everything we care about will one day also disappear.
Children are the inheritance from God, it’s not by accident that God give us our children. We must be serious and know our children are our blessings.
3. Lift Up Our Eyes
God is doing miracles and wonders around us all the time. When we hear a testimony, do we also see God working in our lives? Or do we continue to stay in our complaints and bitterness? We must be humble and obedient, to know that every blessing we have in our lives is not by our hard work but by the Grace of God.
Let God open our eyes, see the truth, no one can escape the risks coming to this world, but when we stay in God, He will heal us. Do we believe God is with us right now? God said those who fear His Name will be healed. God’s Name is full of healing, this is the season of overcoming, God wants us to experience abundance in everything we do.