The\ntitle above is not just a catchy rhyme to make you feel warm and fuzzy about\nthe future; I believe it\u2019s absolutely true and prophetic of this year. I am\npraying that 2024 will be a year of victory, breakthrough, promotion, increase,\nharvest, and divine intervention not only individually, but nationally, and\nglobally. It\u2019s an election year (don\u2019t worry, I\u2019m not going to meddle into\npolitics) so I\u2019m praying that God will raise up some strong, godly leaders to\nturn the tide of evil in our nation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
God is\nstill pouring out His Spirit globally on those who are hungry. This began on\nthe day of Pentecost and will continue until Christ returns (Ac. 2:17-21). If\nyou are satisfied where you are spiritually, then that\u2019s where you\u2019ll stay. But\nif you want to grow and go higher, then God has more in store for you in 2024.\nJesus didn\u2019t come to give us a mediocre life. He declared, \u201cI am come that\nthey might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly<\/strong>\u201d<\/em>\n(Jn. 10:10). The Message reads, \u201cI came so they can have real and eternal\nlife, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.\u201d <\/em>Christ wants us to enjoy\nlife to the fullest. So, don\u2019t settle for less than God\u2019s best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus warned the lukewarm Laodicean Church\nand casual Christians today: \u201c<\/em>I know your works, that you\nare neither cold nor hot . . . so then, because you are lukewarm, and neither\ncold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth\u201d<\/em> (Rev.\n3:15-16). Jesus used a local analogy they all\nunderstood. One commentator explains, \u201cCold water is preferred for drinking and\nhot water is preferred for bathing. Laodicea lacked its own natural water\nsupply. So, water was piped in from hot springs six miles away but it was\nlukewarm when it reached the city. Although the water could be heated, the\nlukewarmness of the local water was a common complaint of the residents, most\nof whom had an otherwise comfortable lifestyle. Jesus was saying, if you were hot\n(like bathing water) or cold (like drinking water) you would be useful; but I\nfeel toward you the way you feel toward your water supply\u2014you make me sick!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n We\nmust resist the \u201cI\u2019ve arrived\u201d mentality. It\u2019s easy to get complacent, become\npassive, and settle for the status quo. We must keep striving, reaching,\nworking, praying, learning, growing, and stretching our faith. Jesus continued, \u201cBecause you say, \u2018I am rich, have become wealthy, and have\nneed of nothing<\/strong>\u2019 and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor,\nblind, and naked\u201d<\/em> (Rev. 3:17). Then Jesus used three more local analogies to appeal to\nthem: \u201cI <\/em>counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that\nyou may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed . . . and anoint\nyour eyes with eye salve, that you may see\u201d<\/em> (Rev. 3:18). What the city of\nLaodicea offered naturally, they lacked spiritually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Buy of Me gold refined in the fire: <\/strong>Laodicea was known for its banking and commerce. It was a\nwealthy city which refused Roman disaster relief after the earthquake of AD 60\nand rebuilt with its own resources. They were rich financially but poor\nspiritually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Buy of Me white garments that you may\nbe clothed: <\/strong>Laodicea was famous for its textile\nindustry, especially their black wool. They wore fine fashion naturally but\nthey were spiritually naked. White garments symbolize imparted righteousness in\nScripture. The Bride of Christ is arrayed in fine, white linen (Rev. 19:8) but\nour own righteousness is like filthy rags (Is. 64:6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Anoint your eyes with eye salve: <\/strong>Laodicea was also known for its medical school and famous\nfor its ear medicines and eye ointments. They had doctors and medicines to help\nthem see and hear physically but they were blind and deaf spiritually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus called them and is calling us to repent. \u201cBe zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me\u201d<\/em> (Rev. 3:19-20). Preachers often quote this passage for sinners, but Jesus was talking to saints. They left Him outside and He was knocking on the door of His own church. They were running their own program and excluding Him. Then Jesus gave a promise, \u201cTo him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His\u201d<\/em> (Rev. 3:21). We can cling to the status quo, or we can reign with Him in the power of His Spirit. God has more in store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul wrote that he had not yet arrived but\nwas still passionately pursuing the prize\u2014\u201cNot that I have already attained,\nor am already perfected; but I press on . . . Brethren, I do not count myself\nto have apprehended; but one thing I do, for getting those things which are\nbehind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the\ngoal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus\u201d<\/em> (Phil.\n3:12-14). What\u2019s so remarkable is Paul wrote these words about thirty years\nafter his conversion as a seasoned veteran of the Faith. After preaching to\nthousands, establishing churches, working many miracles, and writing thirteen books\nof the New Testament, Paul still didn\u2019t feel like he had arrived. Neither\nshould we. Like Paul, we should keep striving for the goal of becoming like\nChrist and meeting Him face to face at the finish line. In\nthis passage, Paul gave us three important keys to spiritual success:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Key #1: Forget the past.<\/strong> \u201cThe past is a guidepost,\nnot a hitching post.\u201d\u201cYou cannot change the past, but the past can\nchange you, either for better or for worse . . . The past can be a rudder that\nguides you or an anchor that hinders you. Leave your past mistakes with God and\nlook to the future by faith.\u201d If we live in the past, we will forfeit our\nfuture. If we focus on our past failures, they will rob us of confidence that\nthe future can be better. If we\u2019re consumed with past successes, then we\u2019ll\nbecome complacent and never attempt to do greater things. \u201cUnless we do\nsomething beyond what we\u2019ve already mastered, we\u2019ll never grow.\u201d So, leave the\npast where it belongs\u2014in the rearview mirror. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is\na mystery, but today is a gift from God!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Key #2: Reach forward to the future. <\/strong>No matter how\nlong we\u2019ve been serving God, He still has more in store for us down the road. We\nmust learn to face the future with faith instead of fear. Holocaust survivor Corrie\nTen Boom said, \u201cNever be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.\u201d\nDon\u2019t be afraid of the future because God is already there! <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Key #3: Keep pressing toward the\nprize.<\/strong> When we realize we haven\u2019t arrived yet, it should motivate\nus to keep striving toward the finish line. Jesus said, \u201cHe who endures to\nthe end will be saved\u201d<\/em> (Mt. 10:22). The Christian race is a marathon not a\nsprint. So, keep passionately pursuing after the prize. What is the prize?\nPerfection. Christ-likeness. This will only be fully realized in the\nresurrection. We\u2019ve come a long way, but we\u2019re not there yet. Keep aiming for\nthe bullseye. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember Caleb\u2019s bold request and conquest? \u201cGive me this mountain!\u201d<\/em> (Josh. 14:12) At the ripe old age of 85, Caleb was still not ready to retire. He knew God had more in store for him. You\u2019d think he\u2019d settle down in a corner of Canaan and tell war stories to his grandkids. Not Caleb. He wasn\u2019t satisfied living in the low land, he wanted higher ground. He claimed and conquered a mountainous region inhabited by Anakims, a clan of giants. Imagine an 85-year-old man wielding his sword Zoro style against the overgrown sons of Anak (Josh. 15:14). Hebron, the area he conquered, was 3,040 feet above sea level, the highest place in Palestine. It was later designated as a city of refuge (Josh. 20:7) and became King David\u2019s capitol for seven years (2 Sam. 2:11). Hebron means \u201calliance, league, or confederacy.\u201d Caleb was victorious because he was in alliance with God\u2019s will. He wanted more and God gave it to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When there\u2019s room for nothing else, there\u2019s always room for\ngrowth and improvement. There are more giants to fight, more battles to win, more\nsongs to sing, more prayers to pray, more sermons to preach, more souls to win,\nmore lives to touch, more visions to fulfill, and more mountains to climb. Yes,\nfriends, God has much more in store in 2024!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The title above is not just a catchy rhyme to make you feel warm and fuzzy about the future; I believe it\u2019s absolutely true and prophetic of this year. I am praying that 2024 will be a year of victory, breakthrough, promotion, increase, harvest, and divine intervention not only individually, but nationally, and globally. It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=765"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":769,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765\/revisions\/769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}