5 Questions to Prepare for 2025

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Introduction

As we close of this Old Year and go into the New Year I wanted to do things a little different this time
I want to share with you all 5 questions that you can ponder on over the coming weeks as we start 2025.
These 5 questions are aimed at helping you reflect on 2024 and plan for 2025
These questions are aimed at helping you review where you are spiritually in your life and it is aimed at helping you to grow spiritually in 2025.
Your spiritual life is not the only important part of your life but it is the most important part of your life!
These are very simple questions that you can ask yourself and you need to be truthful to get the most out of these questions if you want to grow spiritually.
The first two questions are Reflection questions, the third question is an inspection question and the last 2 question are Direction questions for 2025.

Question 1 - What made me proud

This speaks about accomplishments
Philippians 3:13–14 NIV
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Paul knew that his life wasn’t so much about accomplishing things on this earth but it was about making strides every day to accomplish things for God.
If you knew the life of Paul you would know he was an apostle to the Gentiles and was all about winning them to the Lord
did you accomplish anything spiritually in 2024?
Did you break any new ground this past 2024?
We start each year having lots of goals that benefits us in all areas but we rarely set goals to benefit us spiritually.
What made you proud in 2024 ?
Maybe it could be you made it to all 52 Sunday morning Services? If so that is something to be proud of.
Sometimes we christians can end the year with a lot of worldly accomplishments and nothing spiritual to show for the year
Sometimes it could be well my business boomed in 2024, I passed my exams, I got my degree, I got a promotion in work.
Did we achieve anything for God?

Question 2 - What did I learn

This speaks about growth
Proverbs 9:9–10 NIV
9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning. 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
As a Christian over the past year - what did you learn throughout the year and how did you grow
Sanjay was saying it have people who only growing bigger in their stomach
All this food we eating
We getting wider but are we getting wiser?
Week after week we hearing sermon after sermon - attending service after service
But are we learning anything
Have we grown as a result of this year
Have we grown spiritually
If this entire year passed us by without learning anything or without growing spiritually we have wasted this entire year
Pastor was sharing recently - forget appetizers and desserts - we need the main course
He is speaking about the Word of God
There is no substitute to it
Books are no substitute
Youtube videos in no substitute
Spend time in the Word of God and hear God speak to you directly
Some of you already doing that
But have you grown from it - Did you learn anything
Or are we just doing it religiously
Did you learn something this year that helped you to be a better Christian
These are the kinds of questions we need to ask ourselves
Wisdom doesn’t always come with age - sometimes age comes alone
Don’t let this be you
Did God show you something about people that you can take with you in 2025
One thing I learnt is what we portrayed in that skit
We need to be part of the church - at a time when lots of people left - this remnant needs to remain and strengthen each other
Not only do we need to see ourselves as part of this local church but we are also part of an organization called IPA
The organization needs your help and you need their help as well. E.g Valdo
Our lives are drier when we away from the fire of God’s people
So those were the two Reflection questions.
Now we move to Inspection

Question 3 - Who is my Champion/Cheerleader

This speaks about inspiration
Proverbs 27:17 NIV
17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
You are not an island into your yourself- who is your guide who is leading you to a more hopeful future in Christ -
who is your mentor - who is drawing the best out of you - who is the person who helps you to believe in you when you can’t believe in you - we all need a champion who is inspiring us to greatness in Christ and a cheerleader who is inspiring you to continue serving God-
This church business can be very lonely at times and we need people to help shape us and draw out the best in us.
I am seeing a very disturbing trend lately and that is a lot of church people who grew up in church are no longer in church
Some who remain are questioning whether they should remain or not
They are actually having second thoughts are about following the Lord
1 Thessalonians 5:11 - "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
We need people to spur us on in this race we are on
What you started in 2024, needs to continue in 2025
For those of you in the Youth Department that champion/ Cheerleader can be Pastor Diandra
For those in the Sunday School it could be Neisha
For others it could maybe be Pastor Mario or Pastor Hannipha
For others it could probably be your spouse
Paul would have said Barnabas
We need good and Godly people around us to help us be whom God has called us to be
a Few years ago i was close to giving up and the pastor had to come and encourage me
This is why the Church is so important
Who do you have in your life right now who does this for you on a Spiritual basis
here is an exercise to try.
look at people who gets more than an hour of your time a week and ask are they lifting me or are they dragging me down spiritually. It called a relationship inventory
If you have no champions/cheerleader like this in your life - then you need to get someone.
If you are a leader who always cheering other people on - then who is cheering you on
Even leaders needs champions/ cheerleaders
You cant be your best self by yourself.
Now we move to the last 2 questions which are Direction questions.
Direction for 2025

Question 4 - What is Most Important in 2025

This speaks of priorities
Colossians 3:2 ESV
2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
I am talking about spiritual priorities in your life
a lot of times our priorities can be based on things on this earth and not on heavenly things
This question asks what is a major priority for you in your spiritual development in 2025
Steven Covey says things that matters most should not be at the mercy of things that matters least
What is something that for you - you feel God is calling you to focus on this for 2025
I remember it was an old years night and I believe the year was 1996 and the slogan for the year was prepare for heaven in ‘97.
And it was there I determined what was most important to me and that was I wanted to start to be in the house of the Lord - every Sunday morning
It is easy to come to church on a Sunday but it is not easy to come EVERY Sunday.
Because for me that was not a priority in my life
I loved my Sunday's for myself
It became a priority for me and ever since I have been in church almost every Sunday basically and that 1 decision played a major role in my spiritual development.
So maybe that can be what is most important for you in 2025
But you need to spend time with God and ask him
What does God want for your life in 2025?
What is an area that he is asking you to focus on in 2025?
I want to commend 1 family for something I noticed that they did in 2024 that shows it was a priority for them
I saw Bro Nandave and almost his entire family sometimes coming to the Prayer meeting almost every Thursday
It seems they made this a very important thing for them in 2024 and that is commendable
They made prayer a priority and I think by making prayer a priority they have seen the hand of God on their live this past year
So what is most important to you in 2025.

Question 5 - Am I willing to pay the price next year

This speaks of commitment
Mark 8:34–35 ESV
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.
To really be who God has called you to be - is gonna cost you something
Jesus was not interested in having plenty fans - he was concerned with committed followers
He would speak the truth even if the crowds didn't like it
To be who God wants you to be in 2025 - gonna cost you something
For me when I now started and wanted to come to church it cost me my sleep and cost me buying church clothes
I didn’t have much church clothes
If Sunday morning is going to be a priority for some of you it may cost you some over time money
Are you willing to give up that
There is a price to be paid
The pan man Joshua
Maybe you feel led to serve more in church in 2025
That is gonna cost you your time - it have a huge price to be paid
You want to be a student of the Word in 2025
It gonna cost you your time
It gonna cost you money by getting tools - such as a study bible
It gonna cost you in terms of training to learn how to use the tools
There is a price to be paid if you want to grow spiritually
Are we willing to pay the price next year
everything worthwhile in life is uphill all the way - we all have uphill dreams but downhill habits - John Maxwell
Sunday Tabitha was talking about How Anna is a future worship leader in our church
She has started to pay the price by singing every time in Youth Service
She is the new Camara - just now she go be leading and doing specials etc once she continues to pay the Price
She moved up to singing in DCC and they say they want to hear her again
It cost her - her comfort zone
There is a price

Conclusion

So just to recap the 5 questions
What made me proud in 2024 - accomplishments
What did I learn in 2024. - growth
Who is my champion/cheerleader? - inspiration
What is most important in 2025? - priorities
Am I willing to pay the price in 2025? - commitment
These 5 simple questions if you take time to think it through and apply it to your spiritual life - it can make an impact in your life in 2025
Your spiritual life is not the only important part of your life but it is the most important part of your life!
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