Next Level Season (1)
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 6 viewsNotes
Transcript
PREPARING FOR MORE IN 2024!
Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
I. YESTERDAY must be ACKNOWLEDGED!
Joshua 1:1 Now it came about AFTER the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua . . . Moses servant, saying
Joshua 1:2 Moses My servant is dead, now therefore ARISE, cross this Jordan, you and all this people . . .
What is your YESTERDAY? Anything in your past that you do not want to let go of, or will not let go of you!
Moses represented Joshua and Israel’s YESTERDAY. It was hard for Joshua to let go of his respect for his relationship with Moses.
What did the Lord say Joshua AFTER Moses had been dead for a period of time?
Joshua 1:2 Moses, My servant is DEAD, now therefore ARISE, cross the un-crossable Jordan river, you and all this people!
What happens when we fail, or refuse to transition from a season or a relationship that is DEAD?
If we remain in a season that is OVER—we become IRRELEVANT in that season. Things that previously flowed smoothly, we now have to work to try and create life and momentum.
This is different than normal hills and valleys in life and ministry. In fact, God tells us in His word there will be hills and valleys in our journey to receive our inheritance:
“But the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven,
If we change the word “land” into the word “year” it would read like this: But the YEAR into which you are about to enter into, is a YEAR that will be filled with HILLS and VALLEYS (ups and downs, highs and lows).
Just because we experience opposition or struggles does not mean the season is over, but when a season is DEAD, we must do like Joshua and ACKNOWLEDGE that Moses, the Lord’s servant is DEAD!
In the city of She-Boy-Gan, Wisconsin there is a law from 1876 that is still on the books. It says that if your horse dies while you are riding it, you must stay with your dead horse until it has been removed or buried.
Most Churches are notorious for continuing to “beat a dead horse” trying to get better results from it!
Instead of dismounting the dead horse Churches will try to do any number of things other than dismounting the dead horse and giving it a proper burial!
For example, many churches would rather:
Buy a stronger whip (more discipline)! Buy a new saddle (try newer technology)! Tighten the cinch (more control)! Switch riders (new leadership)! Stay loyal (we have always ridden this horse)! Wright a new policy manual for riding a dead horse (Improve your technique)! Arrange a visit to other cities where they ride dead horses more effectively! Buy some air fresheners to remove the obvious smell of the dead horse!
Or, how about this, why not dismount the dead horse, acknowledge that it was a good horse until it died and get ready to ride the next horse that isn’t dead!
I believe God has more in store for us in 2024 but for us, YESTERDAY (anything that we do not want to let go of, or will not let go of us), must be ACKNOWLEDGED and if it is DEAD (has not kingdom life), we must give it a proper burial!
This is often easier said than done, but if we want the MORE in 2024 it is essential!
II. TOMORROW must be ENTERED!
Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
What is your TOMORROW? A new dimension of Super on your Natural you have never experienced before!
How do we prepare for our TOMORROW?
III. TODAY must be CONSECRATED!
Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
Joshua said it this way: Consecrate (Sanctify) yourselves . . .
When did Joshua say they were to Consecrate themselves? You can’t consecrate yourself YESTERDAY, so it was necessary for them to consecrate themselves TODAY!
Why did they need to be consecrated TODAY?
Joshua 3:5 for TOMORROW the Lord will DO wonders (miracles, signs that make you wonder), among you!
Every year we extend an invitation to be part of 21 days of fasting and prayer for spiritual purposes! This year, we are setting aside January 7th-28th for corporate fasting and praying for spiritual purposes!
If you are new to biblical fasting, and 21 days seems impossible, we are offering you the option of fasting for 3 days or 7 days.
If 21 days does not seem like it is enough time for your purposes, we are offering you 30 days.
There are so many things that have been part of our YESTERDAY but don’t seem to have the Lord’s favor any longer.
We need to hear from the Lord on these things and I believe now is the time for us to seek Him during this season of fasting! Will you ask the Lord if HE is inviting you into a season of intimacy with Him for spiritual purposes?
Why did God invite them to Enter into their Tomorrow when the Jordan River was full and overflowing from the earlier rains and snow melting from the mountains?
In three weeks, the River would have subsided and they would not have needed a miracle to cross it. So, why does God invite us to Cross Un-Crossable Rivers TODAY?
A. To PRESS you beyond the MEMORY of Yesterday!
Joshua 1:2 Moses My servant is dead, NOW therefore arise, cross this Jordan . . . enter the land which I am giving you!
B. To REVEAL God’s PRESENCE to you Today!
and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.
What was the importance of the Ark of the Covenant? It represented the manifest Presence of God on the earth!
C. To SECURE a TESTIMONY for Tomorrow’s Generation!
“Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
What are the two main requirements for Entering Into More In 2024?
A willingness to OBEY!
A willingness to TRANSITION!