Wait for the Lord, Walk with the Holy Spirit

8 min read

Introduction

A new year opens before you. The news from around the world isn't reassuring: conflicts that drag on, international tensions, economic uncertainty. And yet, the darker the world's shadows grow, the more room Jesus' glory has to shine. Pastor Wataru Sugawara, in this message delivered on January 4, 2026 at the Glory of Christ Church in Kobe, invites you to step into this year with three simple convictions: wait for the Lord, walk with the Holy Spirit every day, and let the gospel spread through you. This isn't an ambitious program, it's a posture of the heart.

Sermon Outline

1. Looking Together in the Same Direction

Christian unity doesn't mean moving at the same pace, it means fixing your eyes on the same horizon. Some are young in the faith, others have walked with the Lord for decades; some are running, others are moving forward slowly. It doesn't matter. What matters is that everyone looks toward Jesus Christ and toward the glory he wants to display through his church.

But here's the thing: that glory isn't limited to the building, the meetings, or the collective projects. It also unfolds in your personal life, in your family, your health, your work, your finances. A church that grows while its members burn out isn't a healthy church. Pastor Sugawara insists on this: the peace, security, and prosperity of each individual matter just as much as those of the whole. God wants to bless you, personally, in every area of your life.

2. An Immense Privilege: Praying to the Living God

All around you, many people go to shrines and temples to pray to gods who cannot answer. They ask for the same things you do, deep down: family safety, health, peace, protection on the road, prosperity. The difference is that you pray to a living, all powerful God who hears and who can answer. "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" (Genesis 18:14).

This privilege is immense. Don't let it become routine. This year, bring him everything: your safety on the road, your finances, your relationships, and above all the salvation of every family member who is still far from him.

3. Walking with the Holy Spirit Every Day

The Holy Spirit isn't a theological idea, he is a Person truly present with you. Pastor Sugawara suggests a very simple practice: welcome him each morning, and say out loud, "Holy Spirit, you are with me today. Let's go to work together. Let's do the chores together. Let's drive together."

This daily confession changes how you see things. The small thoughts that come at just the right moment, the timely reminders, the right words that come out of your mouth at just the right time are no longer coincidences: they are signs that the Spirit is here. You don't need a great miracle every day, you need to sense, in the ordinary moments, that God is walking with you.

4. Not by Might, Nor by Power, But by My Spirit

The church's verse for the year comes from Zechariah 4:6-7: "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts." Facing your mountain (whatever it may be, in your health, your family, your work), proclaim in faith: "Mountain, become a plain." It isn't your own efforts that level the mountain, it's the Spirit of God at work in you.

5. Your Mouth Shapes Your Life

Job was a man of near perfect character. God himself describes him as "blameless and upright, one who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8). And yet something in his heart carried fear. He admits it himself: "What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me" (Job 3:25). His children perished, his possessions were destroyed, his wife turned against him.

Proverbs 18:21 puts it plainly: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." And Jesus confirms it: "Let it be done to you according to your faith" (Matthew 9:29). In other words, it will be done to you according to what you confess, day after day.

This year, refuse to feed a negative faith. "I'm going to fail because my parents failed." "I'll never make it." "It will never work." These words are seeds. Choose instead to proclaim what God says about you: victory, blessing, peace, prosperity. Whatever hardships come your way, your victory is guaranteed in Jesus.

6. Becoming a Peacemaker

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" (Matthew 5:9). If you are a child of God, you are called to be a peacemaker, in your family, your church, your workplace, everywhere around you. "The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). "Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house full of feasting, with quarreling" (Proverbs 17:1).

Here's a very practical principle for this year: don't let problems grow bigger than they are. A problem of size 1 should be resolved at size 1. A problem between two people should stay between those two people. Don't spread it around, don't pull five or ten other people into a disagreement that should have stayed contained. Don't be someone who stirs up trouble: be a peacemaker.

7. Spreading the Gospel Where You Are

"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15). You may never travel the globe, but your own "world" already exists: your family, your neighbors, your coworkers, the people you cross paths with every week. That's where God is sending you.

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" (Romans 10:13-14). This is the passage that, more than sixty years ago, set Pastor Sugawara's heart on fire. May that same call find you ready this year.

And remember: what radically sets the gospel apart from other spiritualities isn't a code of ethics or a set of rules, it's the Holy Spirit. Without him, biblical obedience becomes legalism and exhaustion. With him, the Word comes alive and witnessing feels natural.

8. Bearing the Fruit of the Spirit

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control" (Galatians 5:22-23). These aren't nine qualities to produce through sheer effort, they are a single fruit that grows wherever the Spirit is free to dwell. This year, let it ripen in you. "Since we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in step with the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25).

Key Takeaways

  1. Unity means looking in the same direction, not running at the same speed.
  2. Welcome the Holy Spirit every morning with a simple word: "Be with me today."
  3. Your mouth shapes your life, confess what God says about you, not your fears.
  4. Don't let problems grow bigger than they are: resolve them at their real size, without spreading them around.
  5. Your "world" to reach with the gospel is the people around you, family, neighbors, coworkers.

Personal Application

  1. What negative words do you regularly speak over yourself, your family, or your future? What biblical promise could you confess instead this week?
  2. At what point in your day could you build the habit of saying, "Holy Spirit, you are with me right now"?
  3. Is there a conflict you've pulled too many people into? How could you bring it back down to its real size?
  4. Who among the people close to you needs to hear the gospel this year? What concrete first step could you take?
  5. Which of the nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit needs the most growth in your life right now?

Verses Cited

FAQ

How can I know, in practical terms, that the Holy Spirit is with me each day?

By confessing it out loud and by paying attention to the small signs of everyday life: a thought that arrives at just the right moment, an unexpected peace in a stressful situation, the right words coming out at just the right time. These things aren't coincidences, they are quiet marks of his presence. You don't need a spectacular miracle every day; you need to recognize God in the ordinary.

Isn't confessing positive words just positive thinking in disguise?

No, as long as your confession is grounded in the Word of God rather than in your own wishes. The difference is fundamental: positive thinking relies on your own strength; a confession of faith relies on what God has said. You aren't creating reality with your words, you are aligning yourself with what God has already declared to be true for you in Jesus.

How can I be a peacemaker when the conflict comes from the other person?

Start by not making it bigger. Don't tell everyone about the disagreement. Keep it at its real size. Pray for the person involved, seek direct conversation when possible, and refuse to align yourself with a spirit of division. Peace doesn't require you to agree on everything, it requires you to refuse to feed the quarrel.

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