Ingredients for a Happy New Year

As promised here is a summary of the teaching from the New Years Eve event I went to. As I was making notes on my blackberry, a lot of it is in shorthand but I have tried to pad out to make coherent sentences!

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Ingredients for a Happy New Year:

Things that will remain the same in 2010:

• The bible will still have the answer
• Prayer still works
• Holy Spirit will still be moving
• God will still inhabit the praises of his people
• Jesus still loves you
• Jesus is still be in the business of saving people and blessing their life

1. Establish a cause, reason, purpose to pursue in the new year.

Why? Otherwise you will have nothing to live for. Having a dream will keep you keeping on, help bring focus to your life, define where you are now and where you are going. Without cause, you’re just a rolling stone making no impact. Boredom = absence of vision

Be aware of having vague goals as they have no impact. You need to have goals which are specific. Write them down and pursue them. Also be aware of unworthy goals. Failure = succeeding at the wrong thing. Find a cause that honours God and will make him proud.

Top ten vision? Where am I going in 2010? Where will I be? Are the things I'm living for, worth dying for?

2. Examine your situation.

Check out where you are now. What issues are you facing? Don't run away from them. You must know the steps you are taking in order to know your mission. Take inventory of your life. Don't run away! Remember that Jesus is the answer! Know what stands between you and the thing you want to achieve. They should be your prayer points.

Clarify the road block. What's between you and the breakthrough of the Lord and the situation you desire? Doors of opportunity swing on the hinges of opposition. God is about to make a way for you. Also know that your value is revealed in the problem that you solve. Facing big challenges? Inside you there is an ability for big blessings and big breakthrough. Make sure you develop a plan as there is nothing wrong with having a clearly defined plan for your life. No plan, no measure of progress. Salvation was planned. God is a master planner.

3. Strengthen your confidence.

Race is not for the swift. Take advantage when God gives you the time. We have our confidence is Christ. Phil 4:13
Can we achieve our vision in 2010?  Yes we can.
In Jesus I am a superstar. I am blessed. Strengthen your confidence with the promises of God.
If God be for us, who can be against us..
Continue with prayer.  Pray more - your battles will be your blessings.
Pray in the Holy Ghost. You by-pass logic.
Jude 1:20 - ‘build up yourself’.
If there is an issue, find time every week to pray for one hour on that matter. Solutions/breakthrough will follow you.

4. Enforce a new lifestyle.

Start a new lifestyle. Listen to the voice of the Lord. Have a discipline to your life. If you don't want business as usual, you have to do something unusual.
Allow lifestyle of God to underwrite your life. Discipline your appetite. Discipline your time. Do not waste time in 2010. Let it qualify and bless your life.
If there are areas in your life that need changing, deal with it now - Find it, face it, finish it!

5. Enlist vision helpers.

These are people who will walk the valley with you. Stand with you. Make your journey worth the while and help you make your dream a reality.
Who is in your boat? The people in your boat can wreck your life or help your life. Who have you surrounded yourself with? Can they rebuke you?  Check the names on your phone. Some need to be deleted.

Two is better than one. You stand alone you can be easily destroyed.
Who are your friends? Are they going in your direction? Take a look around at those who are prosperous, they know and invest in others. Those who have learnt to work with others, have learnt to delegate. They succeed in marriage, business, life. When God calls you to a task bigger than you, he surrounds with people who can help you. Find that person in your life.

By Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo {KICC 31.12.09}