A New Beginning - 3 January 2021

great new start eh how many people here from another nation how many from another nation who's yourself put your hand up you come from another nation you originate from another nation but nevertheless see how many people are here here we are look at them all over the place and a whole lot of hands online because give them all a clap and welcome them [Music] you know jesus said my house should be a house of prayer of many nations in other words that it's inclusive god is inclusive so we're ready to start another year i got the privilege of being able to share something a message that i felt god put on my heart for you so i encourage you to open your bible if you have one with you or your phone if you're using that and open your heart to let god challenge you some way today and uh so i want to speak unless you want to speak i want to call on new beginnings you know everyone i come in here once this happy new year well obviously it's a new year for everyone you know and new year the old one's gone and we're glad of the old ones gone anyone glad it's gone oh yeah i was blessed in last year and i'm gonna be blessed this year so first thing is life is full of new beginnings i don't know whether you thought about that but life is full of new beginnings you know every day it's a new day he blesses us daily with his benefits you know we're to remember every day is a new day you get up you've got a new chance every week is a new week so we start the week it's a new beginning every month it's a new beginning in the at the end of the year we start another year new beginning and that's the kind of sense people have they try to make resolutions which seldom work out but yeah the thinking is there anyway the intention is there a new year it'll be different this year for me and uh so we have that way of thinking you know but uh you know again seasons we have new seasons so we're in a great season right now and uh we're only ever one decision away from something new think about that you are only one decision away from something new so we can wait for god to do stuff or we can make decisions about something new and uh god is the god of new beginnings god loves new beginnings uh the bible starts off in the beginning god so god is always connected with something new beginning i love that and so i wonder what new beginning god has planned for you that you've got to decide to step into this year and uh it's always a decision you know in isaiah 43 18 and 19 he says don't remember or focus on the former things they're gone in other words don't get preoccupied with where you've been and what you've done and the failures mistakes opportunities you missed but he says he says behold i do a new thing so god is very creative he's not limited the problem is we get used to routine and we then get boring and god wants us to enter a new year into something new how about that so we're constantly being offered an opportunity for something new even to be born again means something new has started in our life the spirit of god has entered our life we now have a new beginning so always there's opportunities for new beginning and i want to take a passage just going to take one passage in the bible it's one that pastor david's been preaching out of in that area and also one that i've spoken on a little bit and i want you to go with me into genesis 35 and read verses 1 through to 9. and this is the story in the life of a man called jacob and he has a new beginning and i want to show you some some some key things in the new beginning that we can apply to our life so let's read it genesis 35 1 god said to jacob arise go to bethel go up to bethel and dwell there and make an altar there to god who appeared to you when you fled from the face of esau your brother and jacob said to his household and to all who with him put away the foreign gods that are among you purify yourselves and change your garments notice god never said anything about that we'll come back to that later let us arise and go to bethel and i will make an altar to god there he answered me in the day of my distress and has been me in the way which i've gone so they gave jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands and the earrings in their ears and jacob hid them under the oak tree and chicken and they journeyed and the terror of god was upon the cities that were all around them and they did not pursue the sons of jacob so jacob came to bethel in the land of canaan he and all the people with them and he built an altar there and called the place el bethel the god of bethel because god appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother and then we go down to verse 13 verse 9 then god appeared to jacob again when he came from padanaram and blessed him a tremendous amount in the passage so always when you look into these passages you've got to always look what is the background or what is the context which this happened in because it's out of that you'll often see some parallels for our own life so just prior to this event jacob has gone through a colossal upheaval in his life he's had a major major upheaval that's left him in terrible fear and what has happened to him is he's been on a journey he's just gotten over the possible conflict with his brother and the possible loss of his life and everything there and now he's on his journey again and uh they come to a uh to a place and uh the place uh somewhere around the i can't remember where it's not far from where they were and uh they they there was a tribe there and uh the tribe's leader the son of the leader of the tribe was the name of his name was sheikham and uh what happened there was that she conf fell for jacob's daughter dinah when he saw her he got enamored with her and then he violently forced himself on her so she returns in great shame to her family and now jacob is suffering tremendous grief he's suffering from tremendous shame in a culture like that to have something done to their daughter that way has put him to total shame shame through the family they've lost their honor shame for him personally as a father who couldn't protect his daughter so he's in a terrible terrible place right then and it's about to get worse how many things sometimes they get worse so he's in he's in grief he's in shame and he's in terrible distress and uh so his circumstances then are like the circumstances of many people who've suffered a setback and are feeling weak or powerless feeling shame over how things have worked out what has happened and are feeling somewhat uncertain about what to do next tremendous grief and many people that's happened to last year and then it gets worse than that the guy's father comes over and he tries to make a peace treaty with jacob and he says why don't we unite as one people let your daughter marry my son and then we can trade together we can come a very big powerful tribe so what's happening is he's wanting to bring him into a place of compromise and jacob's two elder sons do the negotiating and the eldest sons names uh simeon and levi and so they are furious at what's been done to their daughter their sister rather and so what they do is they come up with a cunning plan they say oh well we follow the lord and one of the signs of following the lord is you've got to get circumcised so if you want this thing to go ahead and have this big trade deal then you've got to get circumcised so everyone gets circumcised and when they're all in pain they come in with the sword and kill them all so now jacob's problems have got larger because his sons treacherously have come in and slain all the men in the city of this town and now everyone around will hear about it and come and attack him so not only is he filled with shame and grief over what's happened to his daughter the shame on his family he's also filled with tremendous fear he's not in a good place at all and maybe some could identify in some measure with this of living in fear or feeling fear and uncertainty about what lies ahead about feeling shame about what's been in the past or even feeling grief about some kind of loss he says now you notice now we're into the story so there's the background so it's within that background that all this happens so now it says notice here a new beginning new beginnings always start when we hear from god notice here it says god spoke to him god said to jacob arise go to bethel and dwell there make an altar there to god who appeared to you when you fled from the face of esau your brother god said to jacob and notice that new initiatives come when you freshly hear from god if we don't hear from god we tend to carry on on the path that we're in but god wants to speak to you about this year he wants to speak to you and put dreams in your heart he wants to reposition you for blessing wherever you are and whatever is ahead we don't know what's ahead but what we do know is unchanging is god i think ahead this year there are many more troubles i think most of us have been thinking oh well just get the end of the year and it'll all go away and it'll be different next year i don't think so i think there's going to be many many difficulties and challenges this year and so you notice here god spoke to him and god gave him a word now we're going to look at the word that god spoke to him so whenever god wants to shift you or change you or reposition you for blessing he will speak to you and give you direction so one of the biggest things you could do at this time of the year is not just to party and celebrate and sit at the beach but to position yourself to listen for what god wants to say about your year and god spoke to him god spoke to him so whenever we're overwhelmed god wants to speak to us wherever we're feeling grief god wants to speak to us wherever we're feeling shame god wants to speak to us so whatever circumstance you're in right now you may be holding your hands and clapping and smiling and looking everything's well but in your heart be facing many many challenges god has a word for you if you'll open your ears to listen to him maybe even through this message you'll hear that word so you notice then god's directives that he gave god spoke several things to him the first word god spoke to him arise get up get up that'd be a word for many people here arise get up no one makes any changes sitting down there's no change in your life if you stay where you are sitting waiting for something to happen god always requires we do something see sitting down in the bible often meant defeat how about that king saul when he was defeated sat under a tree depressed about the size of the opposition and not knowing what to do and while he's sitting there depressed his son jonathan gets up and says well let's go and see what the lord might do and they won the day they precipitated the battle it won the day so sitting under a tree is often a sign of defeat elijah when elijah was overcome by spiritual attack by jezebel he was sitting under a tree wishing to die so so frequently in the bible sitting down or sitting under a tree or sitting it out means you're defeated you're depressed you haven't got the motivation to get going this is the year to get moving it's a year for you to rise up not just to physically stand up but to stand up in your spirit and believe you could do something different it's an arising of faith god will not do everything for you he requires you participate this is a problem many christians have they're waiting for god well you know there's a program on tv called waiting for god it's about all people sitting there and waiting to die it's nothing about faith god wants you to arise to make a decision to be proactive in your future this year whatever it is your marriage your relationships your family finances whatever it is become proactive don't wait around for someone else you make a decision to change that's the first thing arise arise wake up if you're lukewarm and apathetic and your spiritual life is dead god's word is rise up wake up amen second thing god spoke to him was this go up to bethel notice go up which refers to coming to a higher place which means he was in a lower place and god always draws us to a better thing in our life he draws us up higher whatever you've been living like god wants to lift you this year wants to lift you up but you've got to go up you can't just sit around and wait for someone to come and pray for you someone who lay hands on you some great meeting some great experience you've got to make a decision so notice here he said go up to bethel now the word or the every bible word has a meaning the name bethel means the house of god literally that beth l house god the house of god but bethel in jacob's life was very significant for him because it's where he had an encounter with god he was in fear for his life and he's running again and he has an unexpected encounter with god at a place called bethel and bethel was a place where his grandfather had built an altar to god bethel was a place where his grandfather had prayed made sacrifices encountered god and had opened a rome of the spirit for his descendants to enter it's no coincidence that the very place jacob stopped to sleep when he was running away was where god had opened an entrance through the faith of his grandfather abraham so our prayer is not just for ourselves or our children it's also for our grandchildren that what god has brought us into in experiencing him they will have their own encounter with god but someone has to make the way you are that person you are that person you're the generation to do that so what happened there was this was called uh a a uh jacob called it the house of god or the the gate of heaven so he referred to it as a place where the supernatural of heaven touched earth and something changed now how about that see so so bethel bethel then is a place of encounter so when it says arise and go up to bethel he's saying you need to arise and come back to encounters with god again so for him what happened in bethel bethel was a place of personal encounter with god the bible tells us bethel meaning the house of god you are the house of god 1 corinthians 6 verse 19 it says you are the temple of the living god so for you bethel is not some place you go to you are called to be the house of god you're called in your personal life to experience and encounter him so you can carry his presence and blessing to the community what is stopping you to come to bethel means i need to redirect my heart back towards god again but bethel the house of god is not just individual it's also corporate we together form the house of god in ephesians 2 20-22 it says it says in whom you are being built together for a dwelling place of god in the spirit so not only are we called to a personal walk with god you're called to corporate life a lot of people today are very uncommitted in the sense they don't understand the need to belong to a body jesus is building a corporate body it's not all about you if your faith is all about you you've got a western corrupted mindset it's not a biblical or kingdom mindset the kingdom mindset is about a company of people it's about a group of people it's about a community of people you say well i don't like any of them well you're not called to like them are you well now come on get it see people think that the church is full of all these great people but it's not going to be like that this is all people who are on a journey so so the church originally the word jesus used for church means those who are called out into a place of assembly or a place of governmental decrees so you're called out of the community to live and walk with god and influence the community we're called to one another that means we need to assemble and meet and worship together and hear what god is saying and we also need to be in smaller groups where we connect and fellowship and share life with one another where you become known see a lot of people today are lonely they've got all this time on social media but they're really lonely the way you resolve loneliness is lower the social media and get connected to people in a group loneliness is a huge problem we're not meant to be alone not good for man to be alone god wants us in community in community others see what you've got and encourage you to come forth in community you can contribute in community you can receive in community you begin to learn to love people you know i came out of university i was had a master's degree in physics and massive head full of knowledge heart that was very proud that's how it was and god took us to a church in denver there wasn't a single qualified person there they were just all farm labourers they didn't even understand well you've got school see ya oh you're pretty brainy they can if they don't understand that there's more than school certificate then there's no use even talking about it won't mean anything and god just stripped away the importance of all those things to teach us what it's like to be in a community where people love and connect with one another so the church is a community so he says go up to bethel so perhaps god is calling you to remember your call to house's presence and start to build a life that will do that or maybe you god is speaking to you and saying you need to break out of the pattern of neglect and start to commit and connect to build the house of god we're called as sons to be builders of the house that means we have a relationship with one another and we participate in what is happening so if the family is doing this together we're all doing this together not just something i've got a bit of a cold i'm out of here what is that what is that that's just the height of childishness and selfishness god you've got to you've got to learn we'll call to something bigger and better how does the church know about god unless the community relates in a way that reveals them come on you all got real quiet about this he says go there and then he says arise stir yourself up get your light back in order get back into the church and start walking with god again he says and then he says dwell there in other words that dwell there means to remain there in other words now listen you can't build anything if you're casual and uncommitted now listen you cannot build anything if you're casual about it oh my turn up the class may not i might turn up the exam may not now listen you can't build anything in life that way you have to build by being committed to something so all building requires you dwell that you remain committed those who are planted in the house of the lord shall flourish in the courts of god there's a planting you can't just keep plucking the plant up and replanting it all over it will wither and die god wants you planted that means you must make commitments that's the only way that you can actually build anything there so we need to dwell so we need to be committed so you can't have a casual relationship with god and expect he's going to bless you and give you all the fuzzies nothing you want the blessings of god build a committed relationship it's a marriage turn up you know you you imagine a marriage trying to make a marriage work and the husband's and or the wife says well listen you know i'll be there on one day a week but the rest of week i'm out i'm partying that's not going to build a marriage so in other words you need to see the relationship with god is about a lifestyle of connection so we dwell there we we become religious otherwise so the reason many people have no power in their life the reason many of you are sitting struggling with the same problems this year that you had last year is because you haven't learned how to connect into the source of life and change you become casual you can't be casual and expect to get anywhere no one gets anywhere being casual about it you get somewhere by being committed to it then suddenly your your fruit shows so we're called into an intimate ongoing relationship with the lord and we're called to participate corporately to belong and be part of something someone we're not part of just the church in the world god put you into a local church and you look around and there he's put you with him so i don't like him okay well now you can learn how to love well they hurt me well now you can learn how to forgive they may have been sent there just to annoy you could well be well i'm annoying me i don't like them well that's got nothing to do with anything god's called you to grow and that person you don't know why they're so annoying did you get close enough to them to find their pain their journey the shame they had the struggle they've got and why they've pulled this mara this masquerade around that covers what they're really like and they're needing someone who'll love them enough to get into that world come on this is how it works hey the the next thing he says is make an altar oh my goodness make an older how to make an ultra make something in the corner well you can do that if you want but but just think through what an altar is then you understand it so an altar is a place where people used to offer a sacrifice so an altar was a platform it was dedicated for serving or sacrificed to some spirit being but an altar was designed by god the first altar is found in heaven before the world began jesus christ was set aside crucified for all of us before there are before heaven for the throne of god there's an altar so the this thing of an altar is a way that god has established for heaven and earth to meet there's an altar a place where someone offers an offering that costs them to god how does god redeem mankind he sent jesus christ on the cross to give his life a sacrifice this is the altar of god the cross of christ so the old testament they built these fancy altars and things or altars out of stone but jesus ended all that when he died on the cross and became the offering that gives us access to every blessing it says just so you understand this always associated with uh alters are powers so people who are involved in witchcraft form altars that open the doorway to demons to access from the spirit world to come into their lives where did they get that idea from it came because they copied god god set it up that a sacrifice would open the realm of heaven for heaven to come into earth always it's the same way there's always an altar there's always a place of encountering god now the altar that we have is in our heart it's what you do with your heart and your heart affections and so we come first of all to christ and our sin is taken away and we receive the life of god but then your life walking with god is a life of altars daily altars of surrendering something so you can get something better back an altar is a place of exchange so you can hold on to your sin or you can receive the peace of god you choose you can hold on to your addiction or you can choose freedom so when you serve your addiction you're serving a demon when you let go your addiction and turn into god and receive from him freedom you now start to walk serving god so this we need to build an altar soldiers are built in our heart we make a decision that's why god wants your heart not just you doing stuff he wants your heart he wants you he wants a love relationship with you so he calls you so how did how do you need to respond when god's speaking like this see so what alter is god asking you to build we need to respond so what did what did jacob do here it is here it says he he obeyed uh in genesis 35 2 he said to his house on order with him put away the foreign gods among you purify yourselves and change your garments let us arise go to beth i'll make an altar there to god who answered me by far in the day of my distress it's been with me in all the way i've gone so they gave jacob all the foreign gods in their hands and the earrings in their ears and jacob hid them under the oak tree and check them now notice several things here number one jacob leads his household listen man you need to lead your household don't expect the woman to do it all you're called to lead leave your household in prayer leave your household and coming to god lead your household in the things of god that's your role that's your job if you're not doing it you're failing your job it's the assignment god gave every man he's a is married got a family you must lead your family in the things of god lead them in prayer lead them to the word of god leave them to the house of god lead them in the things of god and that's what he did he led his household he told his household and all her with him see so fear and compromise will cause us to draw back from your role of leadership if you're going to lead it means your influence this is the year for you to lead to become an influencer the best way to become an influencer is to start by following the lord how can you lead someone if you won't follow anyone you're just an independent rogue how do you expect your family to follow you if you don't live a life where you're following the lord oh got quiet then didn't it well we're cool everyone's called to lead and we lead best when we're following jesus that's why it says in ephesians 5 the imitators of god the imitators of god and it says it like little children and walk in love like christ walked in love so this is where to copy what god where to copy jesus okay so so that's what we're called to so the first thing is he led his household second thing is jacob put away the foreign gods now no one mentioned anything about foreign gods now how about this when god is connecting with you he's not focused on all your mistakes and failures the thing about the foreign gods was his response jacob's response to god connecting with him so notice god focuses on our new beginnings not our weaknesses and failures religious people focus on the weaknesses and failures because that's the way they're programmed to think in terms of failures god thinks about your new beginning so if you look into the heart of god and see what he's thinking he's thinking about the plans he has for you good when we come to try and pray to god we think about all the things we're done dumb and wrong something's out of kilter here something's not right you're not thinking about yourself as god sees you you come under condemnation that's not how god god never mentioned the foreign gods he didn't even mention it so people who are hassled and condemned and struggling over your faults and weaknesses and failures god not even looking at those things he sees them but that's not his focus his focus is on you because he loves you and believes in you and wants a great year for you how about that see so what had happened is jacob had for a long time like many people here tolerated foreign gods in his household i wonder in the last year how many have tolerated foreign gods in your life and therefore you need to do what he did god is speaking to you the first thing to do get rid of those foreign gods see so foreign gods refers to small idols that they worshipped they were small eyes that they carried around and idols in the bible open you to defilement by demonic spirits so the problem's not the idol it's what you connect to when you have an idol so what is an idol an idol is just anything you substitute for god and because you might be sitting there saying well i don't have little idols really really my experience is you're working to get rid of your little idols all your life because the idols we have are idols of the heart not little things you go down about to now maybe you come from a culture where they do bow down and offer food to idols it's very obvious they see but but for in the west we don't do that think we're better no no our idols are in the heart god's concern is what's in your heart how about that so so people people hold an idol in their heart because they're hurt and broken and they don't trust god or bless them i better say that one again people are hurt and broken in their heart and they don't trust god so they turn to something else that's right it's all because we don't trust god as good and really not only good he's really good he's really really good god is good all the time but we think we haven't done well god isn't that good that he'd overlook all of that and so we run away from god and what do we run to we run to the things that people run to so so what do people turn to idols people turn to idols for refuge a refuge is a place of hiding in a storm so you go to a refuge when you're in trouble and you're wanting to hide so what do you run to when you're in pressure do you run into god or do you run to something else run to tv run to social media run to relationships run to alcohol whatever you run to for your refuge to make you feel better that's your idol oh my some people run to religion they run busy busy busy surfing some people there's all kinds of things some people run into their job their job is their refuge that's why they're not at home and their home is in a chaos because the man is finding refuge in his idol which is his work we're in real quiet now okay the bible says us but god is my refuge god is a refuge and strength a very prison help in time of trouble you know so what are you going to believe this is always about what we believe and turn to see the second thing that people turn to idols for is strength things that will help us to stand up again i need a drink you're turning it into an idol something to help you cope with the day that's that's that you're turning it into an idol it's becoming your strength for some people they turn to anger and violence because in anger and violence they feel strong some people they turn to abusing others and yelling at others because of that they feel powerful no no no no you're hurting everyone and becoming an idiot you're bowing down and allowing the idol of hatred and anger to flow through you and to file your household don't do it you need to repent of that idol they say the david said the lord is the strength of my life see there's something inside him god is the strength of my life that's not an accident that took place over a lot of little decisions every day the third thing an idol is for is a source of glory makes you feel good about yourself makes you feel good about yourself a lot of things well we want people to like us there's an idol right there well we want people to be nice to us oh there's an idol right there so we've got all these little idols in the heart to make us feel better about ourself so what is it that you look to to make you feel better about yourself some people feel better because they're more educated listen all those things are just idols the bible says don't let the wise man glory in his wisdom or the rich man glory in his riches and let him the glory of glory in this that he knows me and understands me so we need to glory in god to find our strength in god to find our refuge in god that just doesn't happen so god wants to be your refuge and strength he wants to be your glory he wants to be the one he'll help you in your life this year but you have to turn to him notice seeing what he did he got rid of the the foreign gods in their hands so so notice the where were the gods the gods were in their hands the hands always is a is a picture of your work you work with your hand you do things with your hands see so the first thing you did was got rid of the gods in their hands that's you that's the things in your daily activities now it's not just the things you do it's the heart behind it notice he had to get rid of the earrings in their ears men with earrings earrings and ears but these earrings symbolize something they said they symbolized affection and loyalty they symbolize hearing so here's the question what is it you constantly are listening to that is directing your life is there some demons got a hook on that earring in your ear and every time he wants to control you just pulls on your ex see the the you could be listening to rejection talk to you all the time rejection tells you you're not wanted you're not accepted you're not good enough you could be listening to the voice of lust you could be listening to the voice of unforgiveness you could be listening to the voice of fear look at last year how many people listening to the voice of fear panicking some never came out of their house after the lockdown after one month they stayed there come out next year they said that's fear doing all of that what's going on that voice is a demonic spirit and you're listening to it you're bowing down to the idol of fear now wander he said get rid of the things that you're worshiping where the works of your hand the things in your hands and he said get rid of the things that you're listening to so so so he buried them under the oak tree the oak is always in the bible specifically uh a picture of the cross of christ whatever we've been listening to that's taking us away from god to other things bring them to the cross whatever you're doing that's taking you away from god bring it to the cross that's what he's saying he said i don't know what to do that he said you put away the what does the word put away mean to put away means to get rid of or repent and simply hear the word put away and they can all repent and they kind of kind of get all weird things about repent they get religious about repentance because they don't know what repentance is in acts chapter 3 it says repent be converted why so that something can happen for you so when we think in a religious mindset of repenting we're thinking i gotta let go of something let it go i don't want to let it go i like it so we're wrestling we don't want to let go and we think that god just wants to take stuff away from us all the time why do we think that because we don't understand god we've got a lie of god something's hooking our ear it says repent and be turned around so that at times of refreshing can come out of the presence of the lord so when god calls us to repent it's not just to let go something to repent means that i turn from what i thought was helping me but it was leaving me a mess and draining my life away and to turn and face god and begin to embrace and walk into him that's why repent and faith always go hand in hand what is it do you need to turn away from because it's not helping your life not helping your growth not helping your character and you need to turn to the living god and trust and believe him repent and believe and refreshing blessing from the presence of god it's all about you learning to live and walk in the blessing this year it's all about letting go the things that hinder obstruct you experiencing god what is it that's obstructing you experiencing god that's what you want to let go it'll be different for everyone repentance just means i'm breaking free of the stuff that's messing my life up and i'm exchanging it now for the stuff that'll help me go forward oh you all got so quiet it's not just about listen it's not just about stopping doing something because every year this time of year i must stop smoking i must cut my drinking down i must lose some weight and of course you all know what happens people say the same thing every year and it never ever changes why does it never change because their desire or their thought to change their behavior is not connected to the things of the heart god is looking at your heart that's why many people come along to call and say i'm sorry god i'm sorry please forgive me and they really mean it but then they're doing it next week they think well what happened you were up here crying last week and are you doing it again what we're not no repentance oh and that's why people live in cycles of defeat because they come up and they enjoy the experience they're being touched by god the tears have come it was genuine it was real i don't want this thing i want more of you and then they go home and then the same things keep happening why if you don't ask why you keep just in the same flow and here's the why because repentance is not just turning away from something it is turning to set your affection on god now get this your heart has to be trained to do that you can be trained in sin in other words every time you have this desire and you gave into it you begin to build a habit pattern of turning to sin to comfort you when you're in distress it's a habit you built it over a long time habits don't change quickly now you can have a massive encounter that can bring dramatic transformation but if that doesn't happen what you will need to do is to practice repentance which means setting your heart and affection on god now how do you set your heart on god that would be the good question arsenal if i asked you this question what's 4 times 3 how many can you be an answer just just like that you're smart 12 you think oh i didn't have to think about that that was so easy how did you learn that you learned it by heart you learned it by repetition so what i need to do is on a daily basis reject what i've been holding and the lie that's with it and turn and set my affection upon god i need to speak to my heart my affections upon the lord today i set my affection upon you lord i set my affection upon you this day i set my heart towards you i stand against the lie and reject it i set my heart to love you passionately it's the setting our heart in colossians 3 1 set your affection on things above well it's a process and that's why people get so discouraged so they don't understand god's way or process and i think if they just pray one prayer it'll all be over no now i need to set my affection daily to keep my heart directed until my heart is trained to hate that and love what's good it's not so complicated is it by heart learned it by heart kept repeating it speaking the word of god i better finish here then so he built an altar and god responded and god responds you notice there that god came and visited him and god blessed them so the three things that happened when god blessed him were very very simple the first thing god said to him your name will no longer be called jacob it'll be called israel the first thing that changed was god now refers to him by his destiny not by his past he said you're never going to call me j you never call yourself jacob to anyone i want you to say this is who i am i'm not a failure i'm not a loser i'm not a reject i'm not a hopeless person i'm not ignorant person no this is who i am i'm a man of god i'm a woman of god i'm a hungry for god person i'm a pursuer of god i'm a person of destiny you've got to change how you talk about yourself number one so god changes so when he sees you he doesn't see a failure he sees a person of destiny so start to agree with him the devil will keep reminding you where you came from he reminds you of your failures stop listening he's got your ear get rid of the earring repent start to meditate on the truth i am blessed every day of my life i am blessed i'm blessed with every blessing today i walk in blessing see this is how you do it see the second thing that god gave him he gave him he promised three things to him the second first thing was the name the second thing that was promised to him was that he would be blessed he would be blessed this is how he'd be blessed in his encounter with god uh the encounter that he had is uh the first thing that happened was that his name was uh was was added to him then the second thing there was a promise of being fruitful the third was a promise of land how about that the promise of a new identity in other words living differently out of your destiny this year see the promise of being fruitful that you will touch the lives of people and influence them and win souls the promise of inheritance that you'll start to grow financially you'll start to prosper in your life those are the three promises god made to him god wants to make those promises to you but he's saying arise go up to bethel and build an altar and have a fresh experience with god and start to walk with him because what he has reserved for you is that you walk in a different identity this year you walk in who you're supposed to be not living about what people think no no no i'm not worried about that why because i bought the altar of people i bought the old idol of people's opinions and brought it to the to the cross what do you need to let go of that's holding you back what is it you need to bury at the cross what is it you need to hold on to he was blessed change name fruitful inheritance and you love that another interesting thing that happens there is that after he aligned himself with god he got rid of the idols and then he built an altar this is what happens immediately his spiritual authority was restored now everyone was scared of him before he's scared of everyone now they're all scared of him the second thing is god visits him and makes promises to him god is wanting this year to restore spiritual authority to his people because of the warfare that's going on and will increase in these end times in order for authority to restore you have to break your agreement with the things that erode your authority and learn how to exercise your authority so this year god wants to restore your authority this year god wants to touch you with his presence in such a way you walk in your new identity you walk and become fruitful and god prospers you in different areas of your life arise go up to battle and dwell here and build an altar there that's a verse for everyone for this year take the message play it over it comes out of the heart of god for you repentance learn what it is it's not a big deal but it changes your life and brings you to a place of blessing the blessing god wants is a fresh encounter wants to activate you with new authority wants to activate you into a new life of blessing but it starts when you hear his voice and respond you close your eyes right now if you're watching online would you close your eyes right now this word is for you wherever you're watching it's for 2021 arise go up to bethel and dwell there and build an altar to god for every one of you that will mean something different what building an altar will mean will be different but you do need to respond because of what god has in mind for you the first thing jacob did was he recognized he was living a compromised life he commanded his household and bought all the idols things that they now were putting their hand to things that they were listening to and brought them to the cross what do you need to bring to the cross what do you need to bring to the lord today and break your agreement with it and turn your heart back to him if you've been listening to the idol of rejection people have ruled your life but god loves you and accepts you will you let go that idol and embrace the truth be listening to shame god says i carried your shame on the cross [Music] i give you the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness beauty for ashes god wants to restore your authority to freshly encounter you to cause you to live in your destiny this year to make you fruitful in your influence to add blessing physically tangibly to you but you've got to make that decision just while our eyes are closed and heads about what is the holy spirit speaking to you personally about [Music] in what way did he challenge your heart in what way have you been serving idols fear lust greed envy rejection unforgiveness fear unbelief there's so many of them they're just innumerable what is it that you have been listening to that's kept you from being passionate for the lord and serving him i'm too busy now you know i got all these things to do no no no why don't you repent right now build an altar to the lord jesus i surrendered to you i set my affection upon you and i purpose to come near to you today and this year to build a daily time with you a family time with you i purpose lord to dwell in your presence teach me how to do it today lord i hear you speaking to me that i need to put some things away gladly do it because your word says times of refreshing will come out of your presence if i just let go those things i'm believing for those times of refreshing for everyone today this will be different those watching online will be different for you but one thing remains the same god wants to encounter and bless you he wants to make 2021 a great year for you i can feel his presence here resting on everyone now perhaps there are some of you in a moment need to stand and just make your way to the front you could kneel or stand and just lift your hands to the lord and make your own altar make your own place of repentance let go things make commitment always good to respond in some tangible way [Music] let's just stand together and those who like to come forward to the front just make an altar either by kneeling or by standing and lifting your hands or by bowing your head it's just a personal thing regardless things i want to let go of these things i want to reach out to form this year lord help me would you do that as we just worship the lord in this final song [Music] every day lord today we declare a new day upon a single church [Music] over every person here [Music] into the house [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] yes [Music] tonight [Music] [Applause] is [Music] from [Music] it's a very difficult task very challenging task made more difficult not just by enemy opposition but also by the fickleness of people and maturity of people and so i want us to stand up and agree this year this year is a year for them a fresh encounter of blessing of blessing new authority in the holy ghost new spiritual authority in their preaching in their ministry [Music] that there would be walking into a whole new degree of their destiny that there would be a new degree of fruitfulness entry into the community souls being saved that there would be financial and other physical enlargement of blessing not just upon them but upon the whole house of the sin are we ready come on stretch your hand out right now stretch your hand let's begin to pray in the spirit brain times [Music] [Music] and that the blessing that came upon jacob would come upon pastor david come upon pastor k father that blessing you brought on jacob would come upon them father to die we decree fresh favor we decree friction counters we decree blessing we decree increase in spiritual and natural worry we decree increase in their stature and destiny we decree an increase in fruitfulness and soul winning we decree an increase in disciple making and leadership developing we decree an increase in prosperity the lord says my son this is a fresh season for you there's been a season of digging the ground of breaking up with the dry [Music] when the spirit of god will come upon you you stop you preaching you begin to move in the spirit you begin to move in prophetic you begin to move in words of knowledge you begin to move in healing begin to move in the realm of the spirit says the lord i'm going to put a grace bonus upon you i'm going to put a phrase authority upon you i'm going to put a free stature upon you not only here in this region but beyond in the nation and beyond says the lord i will open up the doors of media to go global in the coming year i will cause you to be heard by voices by my ears all over the world says the lord this is a year of blessing and favor for you and my daughter the lord says my hand is upon you you will arise in a greater prophetic mantle greater discernment you will arise in the anointing of deliverance you will begin to start to declare [Music] strategies [Music] this is for each of you and for the church me a day of new beginnings [Music] come on [Music] don't forget to take someone home make them welcome exercise hospitality [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] miracles [Music] miracles [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] thank you jesus thank you lord thank you lord well there's one great thing living in the country without covert you can go near somewhere next to you and hug them god bless you have a fantastic day have a good business over in the corner there and have a cup of coffee take some of the lunch today

Channel: Mike Connell

Views: 1,243

Rating: 4.9024391 out of 5

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Id: MtPCFbbtSYA

Length: 63min 33sec (3813 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 25 2021