Birds tend to have- limited vision- Eagle can see up to five miles and beyond. While many birds migrate- eagle stays in their territory, year after year. They are very dependable- will remain in their territory even when a storm approaches. Other birds fly in fear while the eagle catches the wind and rises above the storm. God is looking for people of vision who can see w/their spiritual eyes, catch the wind of God’s Spirit, rise above their fears/unbelief. He is looking for men/women, like the eagle, who are dependable, focused, fearless when it comes to their God given purpose. From Eagle Vision and Dependability by Christi Harken, Contributed by: Paul Fritz
Introduction
2008 is now history and 2009 is opening up before us.
How would you rate 2008 on a scale from 1 to 10?
What would be your criteria for determining whether it was a good year of a bad year?
For many- 2008- a difficult year- filled w/adversities.
One thing we can say …
God is good and God is real regardless of our difficulties or the circumstances in our lives.
You and I serve a great God and a good God.
Jas 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. NASU
Thoughts on 2009- God is saying/doing/expecting.
2009: A year of purpose
Living with purpose
Living with forethought
Living thoughtfully, not haphazardly where we are pushed along in the river of everyday life
Purpose- something that one hopes or intends to accomplish.
Thesaurus- other words w/similar meaning- determination, resolve, intent, aim.
Three thoughts for 2009
1. Live purposefully
Life is not an accident.
Man did not evolve from some series of events.
Man was created by God, an intelligent Creator.
God created man to have significance and purpose.
It is important that we learn to live with a sense of the eternal in our hearts.
Live thoughtfully, mindful that we are significant to God and He has a purpose for each of us to fulfill.
Eph 5:15-16 AMP
15 Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people),
16 Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil.
It is time for the church to allow God to bring us into a much deeper level of spiritual maturity/stability.
This will happen as we live with a sense that we have been created by God for great things.
Viktor Frankl- Austrian psychologist- survived death camps of Nazi Germany. Frankl was determined to know why some survived and some did not. Looked at several factors- health, vitality, family, survival skills, intelligence. He concluded- none of these factors was primarily responsible. Single most significant factor- was a sense of future vision- the conviction that they had a mission to perform, some important work left to do. Survivors of POW camps- Vietnam reported similar experiences: a compelling, future-oriented vision was the primary force that kept many of them alive." (Stephen Covey, First Things First, Contributed by: Joel Smith)
We are familiar w/Biblical concept that for a people to survive they need a vision/purpose to live for.
Pr 29:18, KJV Where there is no vision, the people perish …
Pr 29:18, NIV Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint …
Pr 29:18, MSG If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.
Pr 29:18, GNT A nation without God’s guidance is a nation without order …
Man was created for two purposes …
1. RELATIONSHIP
Westminster Shorter Catechism (1674) ...
Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.
2. SERVICE
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them
(Gal 2:20, NASU)
Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven
(Matt 2:10, NASU).
2. God’s Word is true TODAY!
It is not just for then, but for now as well.
Miracles/supernatural occurrences are for us today- never passed away or abated.
Expect them!
Do not live for miracles- live for God, but expect miracles.
Do not run after the supernatural, run after God- but expect the supernatural.
If we are not busy building God’s Kingdom, if we are not stepping out spiritually, taking chances …
Why would we need a miracle?
God wants to do more for me than just meet my needs for daily existence and comfort.
What are we doing to build His Kingdom, fulfill His purpose for our lives?
As we put our hand to the plow, God will support our efforts with His supernatural power and wisdom.
3. Expect Increase
2009- expect- increase in God’s presence in our lives.
There will be no lack of hearing God for those who …
look to obey Him and take time to listen for His voice.
Be prepared for the dynamics of life to change.
As we step out in faith/allow God to work through us, we will see the impossible become possible.
There is no one too insignificant to hear God speak and to be used by God to build His Kingdom.
One of the most popular aquarium fish is the shark. If you catch a small shark and confine it, it will stay a size proportionate to the aquarium you put it in. Sharks can be six inches long yet fully matured. But if you turn them loose in the ocean, they grow to their normal length of eight feet. That is what happens to some Christians. There are some cute little six-inch Christians who swim around in a little puddle. You can look at them and they see them to be doing well. But if you were to put them out into a larger arena- into the broad view of God’s incredible creation and His eternal purposes for man- they might become great. God help us not to be confined to a little puddle out of insecurity, fear, lack of vision, but instead to see that we serve a great big God that is Lord of everything. Contributed by: Guy Glass
3. Advance in Adversity
There may be many difficulties ahead in 2009.
2008 has been a difficult year for my wife and I.
Though our lives have been turned upside down for almost 5 months- we have seen God’s favor.
I learned many lessons, but many more I could have learned if I had been more pliable in God’s hands.
There was spiritual growth and yet spiritual loss in the sense that there was more I could have learned.
God is calling His Church to new levels of spiritual maturity.
A dense fog covering seven city blocks to a depth of 100 feet is composed of less than one glass of water. That amount of water is divided into 60 billion tiny droplets. Yet when those minute particles settle over a city/countryside, they can almost blot out everything from your sight. Many Christians live their lives in a fog. They allow a cupful of problems to cloud their vision and dampen their spirit. A sense of defeat strangle their thoughts. From National Bureas of Standards, contributed by: Lou Nicholes
It is in times of adversity that we must turn to God and learn to live in His grace for that season.
Jas 5:16 … The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. NLT
What is God saying today and for 2009?
Asked Elders two questions …
1. What is God saying to you personally?
Lean to cope w/adversity and trust God in all things.
Remove distractions so I can focus on evangelization.
Stay the course, get closer to God.
Trust God, step out in faith, be diligent, seek God for specific direction.
Reorganize, minimize, be ready to change direction.
WHAT IS GOD SAYING TO YOU PERSONALLY?
2. What message/theme should we go into 2009 with?
Learn to life with purpose.
Understand how much God loves us and that He created us for a purpose.
Evangelize more.
Increased emphasis on prayer and making ourselves available for God to work through us.
Learn to be humble for the purpose of seeking God.
Put your hand to the plow and do not look back.
Persevere- be ready to move.
Hebrews 6- step into spiritual maturity.
Rick Joyner …
President-elect Obama won the election because he seized the high ground of hope for the future. The hope he gave was mostly undefined and superficial, which only goes to show the power of hope, especially in difficult times … One of the most tragic mistakes of Christianity has been to focus on the prophecies of judgment about the end of the age instead of fulfilling the commandment to preach the gospel of the kingdom. Gospel means “good news,” and it is the greatest news the world has ever or will ever hear. When that greatest hope of all is articulated, no message on earth will have ever had a greater impact. It is time to take up this charge.
This does not mean we ignore the prophecies in the Bible about difficult times ahead.
However, the world often sees the church as a prophet of doom rather than a source of good news.
People are looking for hope.
As the world grows darker, the light of the church should grow brighter with our message of hope.
Heb 12:26-29
Make no mistake about it- difficult days are ahead.
All that can be shaken will be, but we can build our lives on the kingdom which cannot be shaken.
If we obey the Lord we have nothing to fear in these times, but rather the promise of increasing glory.
The gospel of the kingdom is the greatest hope for the future this world has ever heard.
God’s Kingdom is coming and His will is going to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Conclusion
Sometimes people/churches look at themselves and say, “Oh, we can’t do this and we can’t do that because we are too small. We don’t have the resources.” As a result their vision gets limited by their circumstances. Instead of taking giant steps of faith, they take baby steps.
There is a story about a man who had done something wonderful and the king called him in and told him he could mark off as much of the kingdom as he wanted and it would be his. The man took his staff and traced a line in the dirt around himself. The king watched as he finished and said, “Is that all you want? Just what’s in that circle?” The man said, “NO. I want everything OUTSIDE the circle.” What if we, as a church, drew a line around this building and said we want to claim all the territory beyond this place for God? Look at a man named Jabez …
1Ch 4:10 Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!" And God granted him what he requested. NASU
Jabez looked beyond where he was and what he could do to where God was and what God could do. Contributed by: Wes Richard
It is time to give more credit to God than we do to circumstances or the resistance of the enemy.
Psa 111:1-6
What are you believing God for today?
What is God saying to you today?
