MY TOP 7 PREDICTIONS FOR 2024
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Many times people will let their own cat out of the bag!
2. Alan Abercrombie was driving back to Virginia, when he saw flashing blue lights in his rearview mirror. “I handed the officer my license and made small talk while my wife dug through the glove compartment for the proof insurance.”
3. "I’m usually very careful about my speed," I told him as my wife handed me the paperwork. The officer studied it and then gave it back.
4. "Sir," he said gruffly, "this is not your proof of insurance; this is a warning ticket for speeding in South Carolina!”
B. THESIS
1. All kinds of people try to predict the future. How many of you know – that ONLY GOD CAN PREDICT THE FUTURE!
2. Yet, non-Christian prophets have tried to predict what they think will happen in 2024. Here’s some of their ideas:*
a. Extraterrestrials will make contact with Earth.
b. 2024 will be a Year of Calamity, with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
c. Vladimir Putin will be assassinated by one of his associates.
d. A nation once viewed as an emerging nation will rise to world power.
e. National currencies will begin to go down while cryptocurrencies will begin to replace them.
f. One of the world’s great cities will suffer an earthquake and will be decimated.
g. There will be a cosmic storm that will disrupt the atmosphere and destroy some of the technological infrastructure.
3. Now I’M GOING TO PREDICT 7 THINGS THAT I BELIEVE WILL HAPPEN IN 2024: “I believe...
I. THE BIBLE WILL STILL HAVE THE ANSWERS
1. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” Matt. 24:35. Time is irrelevant to the Bible. It's God's eternal, unchanging Word.
2. People here change their minds, their laws, and their moral standards, but God doesn't! If God said something was sin a 1000 years ago, it’s still a sin today!
3. ILLUSTRATION.
a. A friend of an atheist left a Bible in the infidel’s home, in the hope that he might begin to read it and get converted. The sight of the book made the infidel furious. He tore off the covers, ripped out the pages and flung it into the fireplace.
b. A leaf from the burning Bible flew out of the flames and landed at his feet. He picked it up as though it was poisonous, intending to throw it back into the fire. But a few words on the page went like a dagger through his heart: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Word shall not pass away."
c. He read those words and was unable to escape its message. It wasn't long before he bowed before the Author of the Bible and became a born-again believer.
4. The Bible is God's roadmap to positive inward change and the life worth living. “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” Ps. 119:105.
5. Thank God, the Bible will still have the answers in 2024! “NEXT, I PREDICT THAT...
II. PRAYER WILL STILL WORK
1. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man or woman will still avail much." God will "hear all prayer."
2. We can still come boldly to the throne of grace and receive help in time of need. God's ears and eyes will be open to our prayers and Christ is interceding for us.
3. Since prayer has been working since the beginning of time, there’s no danger it’s going to quit tomorrow. The only failure is our lack of praying!
4. ILLUSTRATION.
a. A farmer once dug a well. His cattle drank from it for a long time, but one summer the well went dry. The farmer had to drive his stock to far watering holes.
b. A visitor stopped by and, hearing about his well, said "Why not dig the well deeper?" "But," declared the farmer, "the next digging must be done through a layer of rock."
c. The visitor said, "Even so, if you blast that rock, just a few more feet may give you a steady stream of water that will never stop flowing."
d. This was done and to the farmer’s amazement, a gushing stream of water not only filled the well but overflowed it -- a veritable gold mine to his homestead.
5. Isn't this true with many who may be experiencing a spiritual drought? We’ve prayed only so far, but we’ve never pressed through the obstacle. Too many Christians pray superficially.
6. Dig deeper, church! Blast through the hindrances and there will be a stream of water that will fill your hearts and lives and overflow to everyone around you! “THIRD, I BELIEVE THE...
III. HOLY SPIRIT WILL STILL MOVE in 2024
1. Just like you can’t stop the wind and you can’t stop the thundering cataracts of Niagara Falls, you can’t stop the moving of the Holy Spirit!
2. He was moving at the creation, hovering over the primordial Waters. He pushed back the Red Sea before Moses.
3. He moved through the judges, David, and the prophets to bring the Word and deliver Israel. The Spirit moved in John the Baptist and finally in Christ; and then he came down on the Early Church in power and great glory.
4. The prophet Joel said; “‘And it shall come to pass in the last days’, says God, ‘That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy …. I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy’” Acts 2:17-18.
5. Peter said at Pentecost, “For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God will call” Acts 2:39.
6. All the centuries since, the Spirit has been moving to stir revival and bring new life, so I confidently predict that the Holy Spirit is going to move in 2024. The only question is, "Will you be a part of that move?"
7. NEXT, I PREDICT THAT...
IV. GOD WILL STILL INHABIT THE PRAISES OF HIS PEOPLE
1. David said, “But You are holy, You Who inhabits the praises of Israel!” Ps. 22:3. Jesus told us, “the Father is seeking [true worshippers] to worship Him” John 4:23.
2. It's a wonderful truth that when we begin to praise Him with sincere hearts, God shows up and inhabits our praises. Paul and Silas began to praise Him in the jail, and God shook the place and their chains fell off.
3. Jehoshaphat and the praisers praised Him and God set ambushes against their enemies. In Acts 4:31 when the believers began to praise Him the place was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.
4. Nothing has changed from that day to this; God still inhabits the praises of His people and He will all the coming year. Hallelujah!
V. THERE WILL STILL BE GOD-ANOINTED PREACHING
1. The Bible tells us that "God has not left Himself without witness" (Acts 14:17).
2. Even if men and women refused to preach the Gospel, God would still use His other creatures to get the job done; like...
a. Peter’s rooster,
b. Noah’s Dove
c. Balaam’s donkey,
d. Jonah’s great fish,
e. Elijah's ravens, or
f. all the stars and constellations which nightly "declare the glory of God" and "proclaim the work of his hands" Psalm 19:1.
3. But don't worry, God will always have a heroic man or women who’ll brave all the threats and persecutions to declare God’s Word!
4. I remember the old hillbilly preacher's prayer for God's anointing when he got up to preach; "O Lawd, give thy servant dis mawning de eyes of de Eagle, and de wisdom of de owl; connect his soul wid de Gospel telephone in the Central skies; luminate his brow wid de sun of Heaven, turpentine his imagination, grease his lips wid possum oil, loosen his tongue wid de sledgehammer of thy power, lectrify his brain with the lightning of thy Word, put perpetual motion in his arms, fill him plum full of de dynamite of thy power, ‘noint him all over with the kerosene of thy salvation, and then Lawd, set him on fire!"
5. One thing is for sure; that preacher had high expectations! May God raise our expectations to reach a generation who don’t know God!
6. The SIXTH PREDICTION I MAKE IS...
VI. THERE WILL STILL BE ROOM AT THE CROSS FOR YOU!
1. No matter how many come to Christ, there will always be room for one more. Some might think that the grace of God would run low after billions of souls, or that the sacrifice of Christ might become exhausted.
2. But the hands of Jesus reached as far as the East is from the West. And the height of His cross bridges the gap between Heaven and earth.
3. One drop of His blood would be enough for all creation to be atoned for. There's room at the cross for you. God still has plenty of places at His table. There is one reserved for you; will you claim it?
4. ILLUSTRATION.
a. Back in the 1800s, the Prince of Wales visited India, which was part of the British Commonwealth. Formidable barriers were erected to keep back the masses of the poor and illiterate.
b. The Prince was being escorted at some distance from the masses and he could feel their longing to associate with him. He called out, "Take down the barriers!"
c. He strolled out into the masses and shook their hands and give them hugs -- the first acceptance they ever had from the Royalty.
d. At his next visit, 10,000 outcasts came out with a banner to meet him, "Prince of the outcasts." He had identified with them! That's exactly what Jesus did for us, and more!
5. And my SEVENTH PREDICTION FOR 2024...
VII. JESUS WILL STILL SAVE THE LOST
1. I can confidently predict that Jesus will still love you with an everlasting love in 2024 and want you to be part of His kingdom. John 3:16 says, "God so loved the world...."
2. Paul said, 35 “[What] shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rm. 8:35,38-39.
3. The Good Shepherd is still saving His sheep today and will be all of 2024. The Great Commission still stands; we're still supposed to go into "the highways and byways."
4. We're still supposed to be "fishers of men." Jesus’ mission hasn't changed. He still saves to the uttermost those who come to God through Him!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: GETTING INTO HEAVEN
1. A man toured England. He wanted to see Buckingham Palace. His guide took him to the gate. “Oh, I don’t mean here. I want inside.”
2. “I’m sorry sir,” replied the guide, “I don’t have authority to take you inside. Only members of the Royal Family can get inside.”
3. A lot of people think they’re going to heaven, but when they get there, they will hear the same words that the travel-guide told the American, “Only members of the Royal family can get into heaven!”
4. How shocked millions will be to find they’re excluded from God’s family and heaven! How can you change your status? Jesus said, “If any man would come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”
5. What does that mean? First, that you must admit that you’re a sinner going to hell and that only Jesus Christ can save you. Second, you must trust in His sacrificial death on the cross to atone for your sins. Third you must repent/ turn from your sins and ask Jesus’ forgiveness. Lastly, you need Christ living in your heart through His Spirit, so you ask Him to come live in your body and transform you from the inside out!
B. ALTAR CALL
1. If you want to make Christ your Lord and Savior, stand and come to the front.
2. Prayer.
3. Let’s make a new consecration of ourselves to the Lord.
[*https://www.thechinesezodiac.org/nostradamus-predictions/]
