An open door for 2024

Vision for 2024

As I was praying about 2024 God told me He was providing an open door for His plans to come into being

That there would still be struggles

but these struggles would be an opportunity for His people to grow in faith so they can enter the Abundant Life He paid such a hight price for.

2 Corinthians 9:8–12 NASB95

8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 9 as it is written, “He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.

let’s pray

I enjoy getting confirmations of what God tells me.

I was watching Shawn Bolz and he repeated what God was saying to me.

I want to share a portion of that with you now

Shawn Bolz vision for 2024

I. Introduction

A. The Desire for Blessings

We all desire blessing

lets admit But many of us have experienced many struggles over the last many years

No one enjoys going through struggles

and the Bible is full of God desire to bless His people

verses like

Philippians 4:19 NASB95

19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

James 1:17 NASB95

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.

Numbers 6:24–26 NASB95

24 The Lord bless you, and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’

Isaiah 41:10–12 NASB95

10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ 11 “Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish. 12 “You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.

The Bible is full of promises

but sometimes in Life those promises can seem very far away

I believe in 2024 many of you will go through the open door to receive your promises

whether is for a more stable income

a release into ministry

lost loved ones coming to Christ

Whatever you have been trusting God for will come to fuision if you are able to walk through the door He has opened for you this year.

Notice there is a part for us to play....

God opens the door, but we have to walk through.

You don’t just sit there waiting for thing to change.

instead when God open the door, you gotta walk through it.

You see As Shawn Bolz said.

God has been preparing and positioning His people to dramatically change this world.

I have found myself repeating a phrase over and over again.

“Idiots in control”

now I know the Bible tells us not to call anyone a idiot.

but what I referring to is a system that make no sense.

where leaders make decisions that hurt the people they are supposed to serve.

eg. You heard the term going green

but when they want to reduce the food source of every green living thing on earth

you really have to wonder?

it really should be called going brown

enough about that....

I believe one of the reason why God has allowed us to go through such difficulties

is that God has been testing us.

testing our character.

James 1:12 NASB95

12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

1 Peter 1:6–7 NASB95

6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

B. The Connection between Tests and Blessings

God will always test you before He blesses you

Its to see if your character and withstand the Blessing

Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:14–30 NASB95

14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 “To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 “Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 “In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 “But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 “The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 ‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 ‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ 29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Remember last time I preached I said

Its Not about the Destination, rather its about the journey

I know many of you have dreams of Who God is wanting you to become

Some of you have had dreams, others God has spoken directly to you.

The problem is when you focus on who you are to become, it leaves alot of room for disappointment, when you see how you are now.

Instead I encourage you to focus on the journey that God will lead you on, that will eventually bring you to become who God has revealed to you

Great sand dunes Colorado

Illustration: Climbing Great sand dunes

104F 40 deg C

Can you make it to the next dune

If you focus on the end result, you are setting yourself up for dissapointment

but if you allow God to walk with you along the journey you will see the fulfilled promises

3 Tests You Must Pass to Walk though God’s open door to receive Your Blessings

the next promotion the next blessing the next breakthrough the next level of ministry fruitfulness

it's all waiting for you on the other side of a the open door

I want to show you three ways that God will test you before He will bless you

You may discover, that some of these areas are what have contributed to your struggles for the last season

you may say, I’ve been going through this in my life

Well that’s God testing you so He can Bless you

James 1:2–3 NASB95

2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

Test 1: Stewardship

Stewardship is about taking care of something that belongs to someone else

Deuteronomy 10:14 NASB95

14 “Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.

everything you have belongs to God, He is just allowing you to manage it for Him .

This principle is called Stewardship

1 Corinthians 4:2 NASB95

2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.

Luke 16:10–12 NASB95

10 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. 11 “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? 12 “And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?

Trustworthy with Little and Much

Jesus is addressing material wealth but the Stewardship principle applies universally

Spiritually He's talking about stewardship

He's talking about taking care of what God has already given to you

that you might see an increase in your responsibilities

and remember this is more about responsibility than it is reward

because when God blesses you He gives you something to carry that you might be a blessing to others

this is about increase this is about greater levels of responsibility this is about greater levels of fruitfulness

Can God entrust to you the blessings of the next season?

many of us go through Cycles in life again and again and then we complain about how long it's taking in order for us to receive the blessing

but have you ever considered this fact that if you fail the test you have to take it again

so when faced with trials

when faced with obstacles

when faced with frustrating circumstances

instead of trying to end the process

instead of saying God get me out of here.... I want to be past this already

ask Him

Lord what are you trying to teach me during this trial?

what are you trying to shapen me during this test?

because if you keep failing the test you'll have to go through again and again and again

these cycles of frustration

how do you treat what He's given to you now?

how do you treat what God has already entrusted to you

do you give your best or are you you waiting for some ideal situation in the future

this is the Trap that many fall into

in their minds picture this situation off in the distance

where they are, where they want to be

where they're the person they want to be in Christ

where they're accomplishing the will of God in their lives

where they're maybe flowing in the ministry that God has called them to

and they picture it off in the distance and then they wait until that ideal circumstance presents itself for them to begin giving their best

well if you don't give your best right here and now

if you don't apply yourself with diligence to what God has called you to do right now if you don't take care of

what God has given you in this season how can you expect increase for the next season

how can you expect God to take you to higher places give you promotions in the Spirit ?

Place upon you a greater mantle if you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing right here and now

and again this is something that I think that we as Believers have to take into consideration

this is a test of stewardship and this is by no means a message of condemnation

this is one of Correction and hopefully it causes you to think soberly about what God has entrusted to you remember

Excellence is not having the best of everything

Excellence is doing the best with everything that you have

Luke 16:10 NASB95

10 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.

Let’s do a pointed example

Haggai 1:5–7 NASB95

5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways! 6 “You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.” 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways!

God goes on to say here, their suffering because they are not doing what He told them to do.

In Malachi were given a simliar situation

Malachi 3:8–11 NASB95

8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. 11 “Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the Lord of hosts.

Some people may say this is old testament and tithing is no longer required.

but God Challenges this with

“Test me now in this” says the Lord

But its not just what you give....Jesus also made it about How you give.

2 Corinthians 9:6–7 NASB95

6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

In 2 Cor chp 9 Paul is preparing the church of Corinth to prepare a financial offering for the Christians in Jerusalem, who were going through a very difficult time.

the principle still holds true today

Luke 6:38 NASB95

38 “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

Remember God blesses you so you can be a blessing to others!

If you want more responsibility, you must be found to be a good steward of what God has already given you.

Test 2: Integrity

Integrity is doing the right thing when know one is watching

Can God trust you to do the right thing?

Psalm 26:2 NASB95

2 Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.

Psalm 139:23–24 NASB95

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

Deuteronomy 8:2 NASB95

2 “You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

Exodus 16:4 NASB95

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.

Proverbs 17:3 NASB95

3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests hearts.

Our motives are purified by God

if you're able to serve God during the difficult times

this is proof that you're not just in it for what you can get out of it

this is proof that your motives are true

remember this sincerity is tested in struggle

James 4:2–3 NASB95

2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Look at your prayers.

I would surmise many of our prayers focus on removing the struggles we face.

But more so what is your motivation?

When you prayer, what is your motivation

God care about these things.

1 cor 15:58

1 Corinthians 15:58 NASB95

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

Matthew 6:1–4 NASB95

1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Test 3: Fellowship

Philippians 2:3–11 NASB95

3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Hebrews 10:25 NASB95

25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

We’re all in this together

stop thinking you’re all alone in this

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 NASB95

9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. 10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

We need to learn how to work together

then and only then will we see the fulfillment

Test 4: Rest

Matthew 11:28–30 NASB95

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Hebrews 4:9–11 NASB95

9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. 11 Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.

V. Conclusion