Abounding Grace

Larry: Today on Abounding Grace, we begin a new and helpful mini-series we've called Greater. Here's a taste.

Pastor Ed Taylor: What is it that I want you to remember heading into the new year? God knows what he's doing with your life. He knows the how, and the why, and the when, and the what. I hear his voice speaking through Moses to the people, and he says, "I'm going to do this, but I'm not going to do it this way. I'm going to do this, but it's going to happen like this. Yes, you're going to face the enemies and I'm going to deal with them, but it's not going to happen in a year. Rather, it's going to happen little by little."

Larry: Glad you've joined us for Abounding Grace. As we're just beginning 2026, we've decided to break away from our study in Exodus so we can bring you a series Pastor Ed Taylor delivered not long ago. We want you to think about this word: greater. The Lord is doing a work in our lives little by little, and he has something greater to do here in 2026 by the work of his Spirit, if we're open to receive it. Here is Pastor Ed.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Exodus chapter 23, Philippians chapter 2, and I've entitled our Bible study Greater, Little by Little. Greater, little by little. As we head into a new year, it's important to remember, grasp this, write it down. It may be the banner of your year. It may be the banner of how you walked in today. But grasp this, especially as we move into a new year. As you have something fresh before you, something to anticipate, remember this: God knows what he's doing with your life.

God knows what he's doing with your life. He knows the why, and the how, the what, and the when. And whatever God allows and brings into our lives, however he leads and guides you, he knows what he's doing with you and me. I was reminded of Jeremiah chapter 29 and verse 11, so encouraging when I think of how God knows what he's doing, where he says, "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you'll call upon me and go and pray to me, and I will listen to you."

In some of your translations, it says, "I know the plans that I have for you." God knows. Heading into a new year, God is with you. You're not alone. He wants to encourage us to take this year as it comes and to use it for his glory, to shift our thinking right now, to begin to think differently. God is always wanting us to change the way we think. He wants us to exchange our ideas for his ideas. He wants us, if we're believing a lie, to lay the lie down and believe the truth.

As we're being conformed more and more and changed into the image of Christ, we have the mind of Christ. He's really wanting us to shift our thinking. If you want to see a different year, if you want to see something different, you're going to have to think differently. You're going to have to shift your thinking. You're going to have to lay down that which is holding you back in your thought life. You're going to have to take every thought into captivity to the obedience of Jesus Christ.

So as we're planning and preparing and even dreaming and just thinking about what God wants to do in my life, how will he use me, and you're just thinking that God can do exceedingly abundantly above all that you can think or ask, you want to remember that God wants to do something new in this new year. Anytime I do a new year Bible study, I always like to land on Joshua chapter 3. We're not going to use it very much here, but I want to read it to you because it's a good reminder for all of us as we look forward to a new year.

In Joshua chapter 3, verse 4, Joshua is now after Moses, leading the children of Israel into the promised land finally. It's the next generation. They're going to take what God has promised them. And he tells them to leave some space as you're following the Ark of the Covenant. Make sure you can see it. As you see it, do not come near it, he says, that you may know the way which you must go. The Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God. Keep your eyes on the Lord. Make sure you see him. Follow that box. Make sure there's a distance. Don't lose sight of it. Keep your eye on it.

And then he says, "Because you haven't passed this way before." Anything that God has for us, we have to acknowledge we haven't passed this way before. This is a great mistake that we make because we think with all of our experience and everything that we've gone through, a new year is a new thing. I've done this before, been there, done that, got the t-shirt, I know. No, no. Anything that's up ahead, you haven't passed that way before. Everything that's up ahead, I haven't passed that way before.

Now I may have some similarities, there may be some experience, but then we've memorized, have we not, Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5 and 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge him in all your ways, and he'll direct your paths. It's one of my favorite verses in the Bible for steps of faith, for moving forward, for facing something new. We started our Sunday morning services December 26, 1999. I was thinking when we were praying about moving out here and we were praying about moving anywhere.

We were narrowing it down to a few different places, and then when God finally narrowed it down to Aurora, he didn't tell us what was going to happen when we got here. He didn't lay out, "Here's the next 25 years of what you're going to experience, Ed." He didn't. He couldn't. How could I have taken that all at once? How could I have received all of that at once? Now looking back and seeing all the things that God has done, and that's just the things we've seen, not the things that we haven't seen.

God doesn't drop into our lives the story of our lives in totality. He gives it to us in pieces. I know a lot of us, we would love to know what the next 10 years would bring. Personally, I would like to know. I'd love to know what the next 10 years, but I know me, like many of you, if something bad is going to happen in the next 10 years, I'll just worry about it until it comes. I'll miss all the days up to it and I'll just think about that day.

Or if something's good going to happen in eight years, then I'm going to set my whole life up to experience that one. What day is it today? How long is it going to be? I won't live in a day-by-day faith relationship with God. I'll live by the events that he said is going to happen. God doesn't give us the whole story because he wants us to look into him day by day. He doesn't tell us how things are going to turn out. He doesn't show us the end from the beginning in relation to our own personal lives.

He's not telling us right now what 2026 is going to be or how he's going to work things out, which brings us to Exodus 23 and a very important part of our time as we prepare for the new year today. When the children of Israel were heading into the promised land from Egypt under the leadership of Moses, it was a very exciting time. It was also a very intimidating time. It was a radical life change for them. They had cried out for a deliverer year after year after year. God gave them the deliverer, and he delivered in a miraculous, mighty way.

Now they're leaving everything that they have known for generations into the unknown, into a life that they yet—we read the Bible and we kind of know what they went through—they don't know anything. They're living life just like you are today. They don't know what the future holds for them. They can't read a book and say, "Oh, I know how it's going to go, and I know what's going to happen here, and I know we're going to win." They don't have that. They're going into the unknown.

And God is with them, speaking to them. God tells them when they go into the promised land it's going to be a long process. It's not going to happen overnight. They won't get the land all at once, which brings us to this verse in verse 28, chapter 23 of Exodus, verse 28. Where God tells them, "I will send hornets before you, which will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you."

And here's the phrase: "Little by little, I will drive them out from before you until you have increased and you inherit the land." What is it that I want you to remember heading into the new year? God knows what he's doing with your life. He knows the how, and the why, and the when, and the what. I hear his voice speaking through Moses to the people, and he says, "I'm going to do this, but I'm not going to do it this way. I'm going to do this, but it's going to happen like this."

"Yes, you're going to face the enemies and I'm going to deal with them, but it's not going to happen in a year. Rather, it's going to happen little by little." There's a timing. Not only the process, but the process happens over time. But there's even a greater truth here, more important than the process and more important than the timing that you can't miss when you're reading the Bible. We get caught up in the processes and the hows and the whens. We get caught up in that.

But there's something and someone that you need to be caught up even more, and that's this: God is the one doing it. Don't ever forget that. God is the one doing it. This is the Lord's doing. You read the verbs again. He says, "I will send, I will not drive them out, little by little, I will drive them out until you have increased." When I see what is happening, I'm going to give you more. But I'm not going to give it to you all at once.

God says to them then and to us now in the 21st century, "I'm going to do the work that I want to do in your life little by little. Little by little." God's will done God's way will never lack God's supply. He's going to do what he wants to do when he wants to do it. Even more important is that he's at work in us, every single one of us right now. And as we look to a new year or a new month or a new week or even today, a new day, we must look to God first.

Circumstances, they get so big and so hard and so challenging, that's all we see. And you look at difficult circumstances long enough and you'll just be bummed out because from your perspective and your resources and all that you know, there's no way out. There's no way around this. And the cry of a heart is no longer how and when, it's why, God, why? Even God knows the whys of the circumstances and situations that have come into your life, why you're facing so many Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites.

You go, "Pastor, I've never met any of them." Oh, you have, by type and picture. The Hittites, all the -ites in the lands were the enemies of God. They were planted in the land and not willing to give it up. And you think, as an illustration in your own life, the promises of God and the future in your life, it's filled with enemies, both people but also yourself. The Hittites, the Canaanites, these also can be a picture of the flesh.

The children of Israel just left Egypt, a picture of the flesh and the world system, and they're heading into the promised land. And guess who's there? Not the Egyptians, but more problems. And God says, "I'll take care of the problems, but you have to look to me. I'm the one sending you. I'm the one driving you." We have to look to God first, and that is where I think most of us, if not all of us, make the big mistake. We look to the enemy and then try to do it ourselves.

We measure everything up, we try to figure it out, the enemy constantly bombarding us. We fail to look to the Lord. We fail to look to his strength. If you're not careful, if things aren't happening the way you want, you might even become mad at God and see God as an adversary. God says, "I'm going to drive the adversaries out," but you're not able to enjoy the work of God because you see him as an adversary when God is on your side.

He knows the thoughts that he thinks towards you. They're not evil. The evil you and I experience in this world, the source is sin, whether it's our sin, someone else's sin, just the culture that's anti-Christ. God is not your adversary. He's your friend by faith in Christ. Jesus said, "I'm not going to even call you servants anymore. You're my friends. You're my friends." Daily our flesh is being dealt with and driven out as we look to the Lord.

As the new year comes upon us in the next few weeks, we don't have to wait for the new year, but as it comes upon us, I want you to think and meditate on this word: greater. We'll get into it more and more in our studies, but God has something greater. We look to the Lord for what he is doing, the greater work of his Spirit, which brings us to this beautiful passage in Philippians. Would you turn there with me? Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2. There's so much greater awaiting you.

Greater victories, greater progress, greater peace, greater provision, greater faith. You're going to see in the series of our studies of just how much God has for you in the future and how important it is for you and me to look to him and not ourselves. And this is where Paul is writing to the church in Philippi. In verse 12, he says, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence," again much more is another derivative of greater, much more in my absence, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure."

Therefore. You see that word in verse 12? Therefore. It's a connecting word. It's a word of conclusion. When you see "therefore," you can back up a little bit from the word and see what the author wrote beforehand to bring you to this conclusion. So this word actually connects us back to the beginning of chapter 2 because this is a paragraph that's dropped in the middle of a chapter that's dropped in the middle of a book. And the Holy Spirit, as he's inspiring, as God is inspiring the writing of the Bible, there is great order and understanding that God gives.

He's not the author of confusion; there's clarity. So when you see the word "therefore," you come back and you go, "Ah, verse 5." Verse 5, notice what he says: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found, verse 8, in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."

"Therefore God has highly exalted him and given him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and those on earth, those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Therefore." Therefore. We're connecting this next truth with the great example Jesus has given us. Jesus walked in and lived in obedience. Always did what the Father's will was.

And since he was humble, and since his name is exalted above every other name, and since God's will is for you and me to let this mind be in us—it already is by the Holy Spirit—but let it be in us that you have—I know you guys know obedience, but you need to continue in obedience. Obedience is key. Truly as you move forward in a new year, it's going to be little by little in obedience. Disobedience will not get you where you want to go. It will hinder and stunt your spiritual growth.

And I'm speaking of the type of disobedience where you know that you're disobedient. Not the little stumbles and falls that we have at times, but this willing resistance to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. Paul says, "I want you to remember, let this mind that you see in Christ, let it be in you. It already is by the Holy Spirit, but let it be in you that you have—I know you guys know obedience, but you need to continue in obedience." And for me, the coming year is filled with opportunities to obey.

In all the planning and all the preparing and all the positioning and all the readiness for what God has in the future, as you abide in him by his abounding grace, he is working in you, through you in beautiful ways. It's God's work through your obedience. Isn't that what Jesus said? Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." Now I don't know how you're going to approach the new year. It doesn't really matter to me what kind of word you use. You've got new commitments, new resolutions, new directions in life.

One of them is going to be choosing to read through the Bible. I hope you choose to read through the Bible. We've got a plan up on the YouVersion app where you can follow along. It'll give you a notification and you can read along. Our reading plan goes through the Old Testament once, the New Testament twice in 365 days. I hope reading through the whole Bible will be a part of your life. And I know it'll be challenging at times and you might get behind, but you can catch up and come along with us and you'll read through the Bible.

I hope you get a devotional book downstairs and just do your daily devotions with a pastor that gives you an entry with a scripture and a thought that you can pray over. But I also hope, if you've never done this or that you have, I hope you do it again. And that is just spend time in the Gospels, following, reading, listening to Jesus. I don't believe that the Gospels are more important than the rest of the Bible. The Bible says of itself that it's all inspired of God and profitable. I believe that.

However, Jesus came very uniquely in his life, God in human form, and had a short amount of time, just three years of ministry in humanity teaching and loving and caring. And then in the Bible, what is reserved for us in the red letters are the words of Jesus. And I would love to hear the church spending time with Jesus, just following him. Like this year I did this myself. Just spending on top of everything that I do in my devotional life, I was just spending time in the Gospels.

And two things kept coming up over and over again. I kept meditating on them, and I've mentioned them a few times in Bible studies. Birds and flowers. Birds and flowers. Because the teachings of Jesus stopped me one morning when I read and I sensed that he was telling me, "Ed, look at the flowers. Look how beautiful they are. They're more beautiful than even the clothes that Solomon wore." "Yeah, very beautiful." "Well, Ed, are you of much more value than the flowers?" "Yeah." "Then stop worrying." "Okay, Lord. Thanks for that. I want to stop worrying, but the flowers remind me that I worry way too much."

And for those of you that might deal with anxiety and worry, you know what it does: it crowds out faith. It's very hard to trust God and worry about the future at the same time. And then the birds, the birds, the birds. I think they own my neighborhood, own my house. How can I not think of the birds? The birds, they're always there. They're gone now because of the winter, but they'll be back, trust me. But I look at the birds. "Ed, look at the birds." "Yeah, I see them."

They're not worried about anything, paying no mortgages or worried about insurance, they're not worried about nothing. "Yeah, I see them." "Because I provide for them. And Ed, aren't you more valuable than the birds?" "Yes, Lord, I am." "Then why are you worrying?" "Well, Lord, that's a different discussion. No, look at the birds. Look at the birds, because I'm going to take care of you, Ed, and I'm going to take care of that situation. Look at the birds and the flowers."

The Lord has something for you too. And I'm looking forward to what next thing—lately it's been new wineskins and new wine, as that passage I've been really meditating on. God wants to do something new and I need to be ready for it.

Larry: You're listening to Abounding Grace and the first of our four studies in a series from Ed Taylor called Greater. A special set of studies for the new year. Hear it again at aboundinggraceradio.com. Pastor Ed, today you challenged us to read through the Bible in a year and even start a new devotional. Speaking of devotionals, we have picked one out this month for our listeners, haven't we?

Pastor Ed Taylor: Hey, Larry, our pick this month is super helpful for those that are looking for an easy way to start the habit of daily devotions. It's a book called *Jesus Every Day: Living by God's Unshakeable Promises*, and it's only a 100-day devotional. You know how sometimes the longer devotionals or the annual devotionals can be overwhelming, especially if you miss a couple of days? But here's something where in three months you can start a brand new habit.

I've used this myself. It's a great brand new devotional by Jim Cymbala. Here's what the author says, or the publisher. It says, "What would your life look like with Jesus every day? Whether we consciously know it or not, our hearts ache for the life-giving touch of Jesus." And I just love Pastor Jim's style of exhortation and encouragement. You'll be blessed. Launch off whether you support the ministry or get the book somewhere else. That's great. But I want you to start this habit. I know God will use it in your life. *Jesus Every Day*, pick it up, let me know how it goes when you finish it.

Larry: That is *Jesus Every Day*, and we'll gladly send you a copy with our thanks for a gift of $25 or more. Remember, your gifts help us remain a biblical voice on this station and others like it. Just call us at 877-30-GRACE and ask for *Jesus Every Day*. That's 877-30-GRACE or go online to calvaryco.store.

And even if you're not in a position to be able to give to the ministry, we'd still like to hear from you. Pastor Ed loves to read listener emails and letters. It's easy to connect with us through our website at aboundinggraceradio.com. When you click on "Contact," leave a prayer request or send Pastor Ed a question. That's aboundinggraceradio.com. Abounding Grace is brought to you by Calvary Church Colorado here in Aurora.