Guidance from God: A Prophetic Year

Intro:

2 Peter 1:19–21 NKJV

19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Today, I want to conclude our series on the topic of [Guidance from God], the subject of my message is, [A Prophetic Year].

As with Christmas falling on a Sunday, New Years Day does not often fall on a Sunday. In fact, it will not be for another eleven years that we start the new year on the first day of the week.

I told Bekah, in 2034, I will be 42, she will be 39, and Davis will be 12. How will life look then?

New Years is a great day! It is an opportunity to see the old year out and the new year in with hope and confidence that this upcoming year will be our best one yet!

Last night and into today, people celebrated in different ways all over the world.

Many in our country watched the ball drop in New York City!

After midnight Brazil, people went to the beach to jump seven waves while making seven wishes.

The Spanish start off their new year by eating 12 grapes, which symbolize each strike of the clock.

In Bombay, India they make an statue of an ‘old man’ that symbolized the old year and burn it at midnight

In Haiti, they eat pumpkin soup to bring in the New Year.

In Greece, people hang an onion outside of their door.

In Denmark, people throw plates at their friends. The idea is that if you have more broken plates at our doorstep you will have a new year!

In Ireland, they throw and bang loaves of Christmas bread against the walls and doors throughout the home.

(Some in hear have probably thrown plates and loaves of bread at home, but did not do it to celebrate the New Year!)

For over 100 years on January first, this is just some of the ways different cultures have celebrated the New Year.

But over the past 122 years, this is the 18th time New Year’s fell on a Sunday. What a better way to start the year off than in God’s house!

This is the final message in our series on Guidance from God. I remember sitting in my office in August praying, and asking the Lord what He wanted me to preach.

I felt led to the book of Isaiah. I did not plan it out by date, just the chapters I felt led to study. I did not intend to end this series on New Year’s Day, but I feel it is fitting and led by God.

NONE of us know what this year holds. I remember the beginning 2020, thinking this will be the best year yet!

Then in 2021, I thought, 2020 is over, surely everything will get better!

Now it is 2023, life is better, but I do not have a declaration that explains what all this year will entail.

BUT, I do know that if we will continue to seek guidance from God and draw closer to Him, He will speak His prophetic words and show us what He has for us.

And with this in mind, I do believe that God has a prophetic year for us! So turn with me to Isaiah 64 and let’s see what God spoke to the prophet. For I believe that his words are relevant and applicable to us today.

If we believe God for a prophetic new year, here is what we have ahead of us, [Expect the Supernatural], [Experience Surprises], and [Enjoy Submission].

Let’s begin

1. Expect the Supernatural

Isaiah 64:1–2 NKJV

1 Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence— 2 As fire burns brushwood, As fire causes water to boil— To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence!

When we hear the word supernatural, many different images come to mind. I remember once doing a little research on the supernatural and to my surprise, almost every article focused on scary movies, fearful or paranormal activity.

Almost everything I saw centered on the demonic nature of the supernatural.

And we can concede that there is a real adversary named Satan, who has real demons. BUT, Satan’s power can never and will never rival or come close to the supernatural power of God.

Isaiah understood the supernatural. First, he lived in a time in history where every nation had multiple gods that they believed would help them.

That is, every nation but ONE— Israel. He realized that of all the false opinions and false deities, He served the only one true and living God.

He also believed that His God was the one who held the monopoly on supernatural power. The fact that he was a prophet reveals this truth.

He heard the voice of God, He spoke for God, and it all began when he had a supernatural encounter with God in the throne room where he heard the angels crying out holy and He saw God sitting upon the throne!

Since he encountered the depths of God’s supernatural ability and power, He prayed, God REND THE HEAVENS!

To read means to tear open. We just got through Christmas. There were a lot of kids that rended the wrapping paper. They did not sweetly open it up as to use it again.

No, they ripped it the gift open to receive what their parents got them.

That is what I see in my head when Isaiah asked God to rend from the heavens. One version wants God to BURST from the heavens!

Why?

Because when God comes down, NOTHING is impossible. Isaiah wanted the mountains to shake at the presence of God.

Notice that word mountains. Mountains are huge, immovable, and often impassible. But for Isaiah, when God comes down, even the mountains will shake at His presence.

The Psalmist explained it this way:

Psalm 97:5–6 NKJV

5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. 6 The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples see His glory.

The mountains MELT LIKE WAX.

I can say that in this coming year, there are times we will face mountains. There will be situations where we will not know what to do. There will be circumstances that will be difficult to bear.

BUT, we can expect the supernatural. We can believe that the presence of God will come. And when His presence is there, NOTHNG IS IMPOSSIBLE, even mountains will shake and melt in the presence of the Lord.

In this prophetic year, let’s expect the supernatural.

2. Experience Surprises

Isaiah 64:3–4 NKJV

3 When You did awesome things for which we did not look, You came down, The mountains shook at Your presence. 4 For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.

Isaiah moves from asking God to do something in the future, rend the heavens, to reminding God of what He did in the past. He explained, when you came down long ago, you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations.

He did awesome things for which they did not look. That is an important phrase to consider. When we read the bible, we have the whole picture of what God did, that was not the case for those who lived through some of our favorite bible events.

We know that God gave Abraham and Sarah and son named Isaac, but that was a surprise to them!

We know that a drought hit Egypt and how God used Jospeh, but that was a surprise to him.

We know that Moses parted the Red Sea with his rod, but it was a surprise to the Israelites and him.

We know that the walls of Jericho fell down flat when the people shouted, but imagine how surprising it was when they raised their voices and the wall began to fall.

We know that David took a slingshot and stone and killed the giant Goliath, but it surprised those who watched the dual.

We know that Elijah called down fire from heaven, openly showing God’s superiority over Baal, but it surprised the crowds.

Isaiah reminds us that when God comes down, He does awesome things that surprise us.

Why?

When the presence God is present, there is no obstacle that can stand in our way. That has been God’s track record since the beginning.

When people wait on Him and trust Him, He will work on their behalf.

If we will continue to trust and believe that God can and will fulfill HIs will for us, THEN, we can experience surprises.

I call them surprises, but are they really surprises?

If we pray every day, read our Bible every day, willing to fast every day and live for the Lord every day, should we be surprised when God honor our commitment and comes through for us?

We should not be, but for some reason we are. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. Because sometimes we become so inundated and consumed with our situation, when we do receive relief and help from Him, it almost shocks us.

My prayer this year is that as we continue to expect the supernatural we can experience surprises that come from His presence.

Through all of this, we will also find that we will begin to...

3. Enjoy Submission

Isaiah 64:8 NKJV

8 But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.

Submission is defined, the action or fact of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person.

surrender

yielding

giving in

cave-in

At first, it might seem that the word enjoy and submission do not go together.

How can we enjoy surrendering or yielding to someone else?

Most people balk at the idea of submitting, I know very few who could say, I ENJOY SUBMITTING!

But, when we read the words of the prophet— We are the clay and you are the potter, that gives a different idea to submission.

Paul wrote it this way:

Ephesians 2:10 NKJV

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

When a potter or craftsman begins a project, they generally have an idea as to how they want the finished product to look. But, as THE Potter and THE Crafter, God does not guess how He wants us to look.

He has our lives prepared beforehand. He knows everything He wants from us. From the moment we are conceived God knows:

our name

our personality

our future

our calling

He knows:

who He wants us to marry

what He wants us to do

where He wants us to work

He knows EVERYTHING. All we have to do is submit.

James 4:7 NKJV

7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

What hope and help for us as we navigate the unknown. When we choose to submit to God, He will lead, guide, and protect us from the enemy.

How do we submit to God?

Every time we pray, read the word, fast, trust, praise, worship, and obey God, we are submitting to Him. When we do so, we will discover that when God forms Himself within us, every part of our lives are better.

Submission to God will enable us to enjoy:

life

marriage

parenthood

work

friendships

Let me say it again, EVERY AREA OF OUR LIVES IS BETTER WHEN WE SUBMIT TO THE LORD.

Because submitting to God will give us victory over the enemy.

Does this mean submission is an easy process?

No. There are times we will have to submit even when we do not understand. But the more we submit, the more we will discover the benefits of submission.

Then, we will begin to notice how enjoyable life really is when we submit.

Close:

What does this next year hold?

It is impossible to know every detail over the next 365 days. But, we can rest assured that God’s prophetic hand will guide us through this year.

And my prayer is as we begin 2023, let this be a prophetic year. I desire that we will have the word from God that will become like a light that will shine in the dark places.

What can we expect from this year?

For me, I am expecting the supernatural. I believe that through our choice to begin the year with prayer and fasting and our commitment to continue to pray and fast throughout the year, God is going to rend the heavens!

I believe that the presence of God is going to continue to flow in our lives, our homes, and our church.

I have confidence that the Holy Spirit will continue to have His way among us.

I trust that we will experience revival in a new and profound way.

What else do I think will happen in 2023?

I am ready to experience awesome things for which I did not look.

When we come upon a circumstance or situation that shocks us, I think we will experience God surprise by His supernatural power.

What else will I do in 2023?

I am ready to submit EVERY DAY TO HIM and watch as He forms Himself in my life.

I believe we are in for a prophetic year. And when I say that, I mean I am trusting God to speak to us throughout this year, both corporately and personally!

Who is ready for this type of year?

Then let’s call on Him to open the heavens over our lives and our church!