Podcast

After the holidays everything goes back to normal… but is that really what we want for 2020?
– How has 2019 been to you?!

How you leave one season can determine how you enter into the next season

Our life consists of three things:
1. past
– the past is the most crippling thing in our minds… we spend a lot of time there
– Philippians 3:13
– Isaiah 43:25
– unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, guilt, shame, regret only keeps you in bondage & trapped in the past
– These are the things of your past you need to let go NOT for their sake but for yours
– sometimes looking back is a good thing because you can look at what God has done in your life
2. present
– being comfortable brings complacency
– THERE IS ALWAYS MORE OF GOD
– we have to keep moving forward
– Philippians 3:14
– when you want something from God you’ve got to press towards Him
– make Jesus your goal
– we have an upward call not just to barely make it
– don’t do just enough to get to the place where you need to be
3. future
– jeremiah 29:11
– the choices we make now will affect our future
– Ezekiel 46:9
– you can’t go back the same way you came in
– God wants to change you in a way that won’t allow you to go out the same way — He has a NEW way
– even though the old way is familiar, don’t get comfortable in your own captivity
Where do we start?
– We start with fasting and prayer
– Sometimes we try to put too much trust into a person, church, thing, relationship, position
– Jesus needs to be our first choice rather than the last resort
– Mark 9:23-24
– sometimes it’s not the lack of faith but the amount of unbelief we have in our hearts
– the enemy is going to talk to you no matter what, but we have to understand that He’s a liar and we need to ignore his voice and hear the voice of the Lord
– need to change the way we look at it to the way God looks at it
– Mark 9:29
– some things in your life can only come out by drastic measures
– with expectation comes preparation
– if you wanna see something happen you have to do the work to prepare for it
If we intentionally change what we give our attention to, it will change your affection

Light is a major theme of the Bible
– Genesis 1:1-4
– God used light to display what He was about to create
– everything in the physical was good, but when man fell — spiritual darkness happened
After 400 years there was a light that entered into the world
– they didn’t know it was Jesus though
– Isaiah 9:6
– they were looking for royalty — someone different than who came into the world
– God allowed the darkness so he could display the true light
– John 1:4-5
– many didn’t pay attention to this light because the light didn’t look appealing
– John 1:14
– Hebrews 4:15
the light was wrapped into humanity
– You cannot discard the light that came into the world, it was developed over a period of time
Jesus was born in the dark & it took him a period of time to develop. God had to wait for the specific time for him to come
– Jesus went through the process so we need to learn to go through the process
We can see the light if we pay attention
– God shines his light onto us
– it’s always available and it’s our choice
John 12:46

Are there areas where you’re walking into darkness?
– when Jesus’ light comes into our lives he exposes things we didn’t know we had before
Your limitations are Gods opportunity to shine
– the thing you thought was gonna kill you is the thing God is going to propel you with

Why should we shine?
– Matthew 5:16
– the world is watching us

PASTOR RICH//NO VACANCY

Luke 2:1-5
Imagine all of the doubts that Mary & Joseph felt in this time
– what the enemy meant for evil in your life, God is using for the good
    – your pain can be your platform

Micah 5:2
– written hundreds of years before the trip happened

Luke 2:7
– the inn keeper could have been famous, but he missed the opportunity because there was no vacancy for them
– we want to be welcomed but the doors are closed. Why are they closed?
    – we’re busy, this can make you miss out on who’s knocking on the door
    – our house is full of junk. We don’t want anyone to see our junk
    – we have locked the door and put up barriers. (fear, pride, bitterness, anger, etc.)
    – disobedience. we have room for Jesus when it’s convenient for us, when it fits our schedule, etc. Sometimes we just don’t want to do what God asks us to do.
You make space for what’s important to you.
We need to inventory our inn. Why does Jesus not have any room in your life? What are you will to move and remove so He can enter in? HE IS THE SPACE. God wants all of your heart.

Luke 2:12
– Jesus was born in bad conditions

You may find yourself in a low place today, but you don’t have to stay there.
– Jesus didn’t let his environment define Him
Jesus doesn’t enter your life looking for the pretty places, easy places, comfortable places, etc. He wants us to make room for Him just the way we are because He will change them and make something brand new in us

God wants to change so much in you that you won’t look the way you used to

Maybe you feel like you don’t have much to give, but give what you got