It Is Time For A New Thing

I am really excited and trusting God for great things in 2009. When we ask the Lord in faith to build an area wide church reaching hundreds for Jesus that is only something He can do. It is rooted in scripture because lost people matter to God.

That is why in Acts 1:8 Jesus last words were “Acts 1:8 (NIV) “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." That command was for the first Christians and it is still the command today for us. If we lose sight of the fact that one of the primary purpose of our faith community is to reach out we will be going nowhere fast. We need focus.”

Your relatives, friends, husbands, wives, they matter to God. The children and youth God desires to reach matter to God. They matter to others also as we have been blessed with financial contributions to the Youth Fund.

God is not limited to our resources. God is not limited to our faith. God is faithful. Since God is doing a new thing in many areas of the country He is every bit as powerful here in the north. Amen! God is speaking. God is always ready to do a new thing. Are we ready to pray and listen? That is the challenge for 2009.

Well good morning and happy New Year.

One year at the end of January there was a couple who went to a Christian counselor. The counselor asked when did all your problems start?

The couple said they started on January 1, just thirty days ago. The counselor said can you tell me more. The couple said yes. Our problems started when we decided to think up each others New Years resolutions. Not a good way to start the New Year.

So what is a good way to start the New Year? It is recognizing that God is speaking to you about a new thing He wants to do in your lives, in the area churches, and this country. God always speaks to me. He is bringing many blessings into my life. I will share more of those on a different occasion.

The Holy Spirit clearly revealed to me to bring this message to you to start the new year.

This message to Israel is a message to us today. Before God will bless this church and the vision He has given us our hearts must be renewed. Our lives need to be right with God.

When we come together in prayer and repentance God will bless the work. When our prayer summits are full and our homes are places of fervent prayer God will bless the work. King David prayed ‘create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me.’ God faithfully did that for David, and He will do that for you.

During the time of Ezekiel the nation of Israel was in exile. Israel was at a low point in their history. God says they had evil ways and detestable practices. So they shot themselves in the foot and were suffering the consequences. The concept of reaping what we sow is not just a New Testament one. It started in the Garden of Eden. When we look at God’s commands as limitations instead of opportunities we will always reap what we sow.

God had warned them that if they disobeyed Him, God himself would drive them out of their land.

SLIDE: “The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. You will become a thing of horror and an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the LORD will drive you (Deuteronomy 28:36-37 NIV).”

It happened. In 587 BC Jerusalem had fallen to the Babylonians. Those in exile said ‘It is not fair. This was our land, they said, and those people took it.” God’s response indicated the land belonged to God, not them. God had told them they would reap what they sow. They ignored his commandments and showed themselves unfit to possess the land. So God allowed them to lose it.

The people of the day ignored the warnings Ezekiel gave to them. They heard the words but they made no difference in their daily lives. They likely said ‘what a wonderful preacher’ but walked away from his messages.”

I never felt called to analyze me preachers of the past. I refuse to get into discussion about them. My prayer has always been ‘Holy Spirit reveal your truths through your Word into my life.” O God change my life. O God teach me your ways. But the people would not listen to the spoken word.