I have good news and I have difficult news.

GOOD NEWS = Jesus is building His church and we get to be co-laborers…

DIFFICULT NEWS = the enemy hates it and is going to stop at nothing to stop you from being a part of building what God is doing in this season.

I am excited about what God has said about 2024…we are in a season that is ripe for:
DIVISION | DISCOURAGMENT | PEOPLE BURNED OUT |

10 HABITS for 2024

1. PURPOSELY, PASSIONATELY, PURSUE JESUS

Matthew 16:24 - 25 NLT
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.
25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

A FOLLOWER HAS TO PURSUE JESUS - PURPOSELY, PASSIONATELY, DAILY.

LIVING IN A WAY THAT WE ARE PURSUING JESUS WITH EVERYTHING, IS WHAT MAKES LIFE WORTH LIVING.

WHAT IS WORTH THE MOST TO YOU?

This is not a religious

…. it is

Reveal Answer

.

Is your relationship with JESUS passionate? or is it passive?

Revelation 2:4 - 5
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.

Jesus tells the pastor in Ephesus and the church in Ephesus that they are AWESOME:

• endured persecution
• perseverance
• do good deeds

But… they were missing something… they became so caught up in doing the WORK that they stopped having the

.

THIS IS an EVERY DAY, EVERY MORNING, EVERY MOMENT THING!

2.

OTHERS TO LOVE THE CHURCH. Why? Because Jesus loves it.

Ephesians 5:25 NLT
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her….

OUR FIRST PURPOSE IS TO MAKE SURE OUR FAMILIES

THE CHURCH

WE WANT OUR FAMILIES TO HAVE A HEART FOR THE CHURCH AND A DESIRE TO BE A PART OF IT.

OUR FAMILIES WILL NOT RESENT THE CHURCH IF THEY KNOW THEY ARE GETTING THE BEST OF US.

Hebrews 10:24 - 25
24 and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works
25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching

Consider = katanoeó - Think from UP to down. Carefully pay attention to.

Provoke = paroxusmos - Jab someone so they must respond.

Forsaking = leaving helpless

EXHORTING = parakaleó - encouragement, close up and personal,

MUCH MORE =
tosoutos = SOOOOO MUCH
mallon = better, more than, promoting good

WE SHOULD BE INCREASING THE AMOUNT THAT WE ARE ENCOURAGING, PROMOTING AND HELPING OTHERS LOVE THE CHURCH.

AS THE LAST DAYS COME… WE SEE THE PRIORITY OF BEING IN THE CHURCH IS NOT JUST TO GET SOMETHING OUT OF IT, BUT TO INCREASE IN HELPING OTHERS LOVE BEING A PART OF THE CHURCH.

3.

PAIN BECAUSE IT IS A PART OF THE PROCESS.

Romans 5:3 - 4 NLT
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.
4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

We all need to learn to

privately and

Reveal Answer

publicly.

PERSECUTION IS GOING TO INCREASE and BE STRONGER IN THIS UPCOMING YEAR AND BEYOND.

WE HAVE TO HAVE AN UNQUIT-ABLE ATTITUDE.
I will only quit if GOD TELLS ME TO or IF THE HOLY SPIRIT DIRECTS ME TO.

THE WAY IS THROUGH, NOT OUT.

Isaiah 43:19 KJV
19 Behold, I will do a new thing; it shall come to light quickly; shall ye not know it? I will again make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Psalm 23:4 KJV
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

• GOD DOES NOT ALWAYS STOP THE PAIN OF GROWTH
• HE ALSO DOES NOT GIVE US THE PAIN
• BUT HE PROMISES THAT HE CAN USE EVERYTHING FOR HIS PURPOSES.

4. BE HONEST ABOUT WHERE YOU ARE

.

Confess sin early - repent of sin quickly.

YOU ARE ONLY AS STRONG AS YOU ARE HONEST!

James 5:16
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

YOU CAN NOT PRAY EFFECTIVELY IF YOU ARE BLEEDING.

This is a 4-step process:

• confess
• pray for someone else
• be healed
• PRAY EFFECTIVELY AND WITH PASSION - KNOWING YOU ARE HEALED

Too many Christians are trying to play spiritual warfare who are still harboring guilt, shame from past sin.

Psalm 16:6
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance

Boundary lines are not LIMIITING - they are freeing and pleasant.

THIS IS A SAFE PLACE:

• I WILL NOT RAILROAD YOU;
• YOU CAN COME TO ME…
• BUT MORE THAN THAT, YOU NEED TO HAVE PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE THAT YOU KNOW YOU CAN GO TO AND THERE WILL BE MERCY AND THERE WILL BE GRACE TO HELP YOU GET OUT OF IT AND TO GET YOU THROUGH IT.

5. PURSUE INTENTIONAL

.
Growth and comfort do not exist together.

PUT YOURSELF IN A PLACE WHERE YOU GROW AND YOU STRETCH.

EVERY WEEK at church… do something uncomfortable that the Holy Spirit is leading you to do:

• encourage someone
• sing something
• pray for someone
• introduce yourself
• be overly optimistic and faith filled

Hebrews 6:1 - 3
1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this will we do, if God permit.

5 of the 10 Things to Thrive for in 2024
(to be continued next week)

• Purposely, Passionately Pursue Jesus daily
• Lead others to love the church.
• Embrace pain because it’s a part of the process.
• Be honest about where you are vulnerable.
• Pursue intentional discomfort.