Are you prepared for 2016?
I missed out on Toure Roberts New Years Eve service at One Church LA because I’m still in Chicago, but I caught up on it online today. Below are my notes.
• God is an end-focused God
• In order to get to the good and the greatest, we have to go through the uncomfortable
• There’s a difference between progress and reward: If things haven’t been moving forward in a long time you may think it’s reward but it’s just progress
• It is possible to be down for so long and not realize you are making progress
• God has 2 ways to bless us: obviously and spiritually
• So blessed and grateful, but something was missing (joy)
• Being grateful is not enough, it’s about reciprocation
• You will not be fulfilled until you give back to what gives to us
• What do you do where all your prayers have been answered, all of your needs have been met – To whom much is given, MORE is required
• It’s not enough to just say thank you!
• When God does something for you, there is something in what He has done for you, that you are supposed to push out. If you keep it all, and never do anything, you won’t be full
• Blessed, but not happy. Blessed, but unfulfilled. Blessed, yet something is missing
• What should you give back to God?
• You are wired to respond if you get still enough and real enough to ask you what’s appropriate to give to God?
• You heard a word and knew it was for you, promised God you were going to do it (unspoken vows) “I’m going to do better here, I’m going to pray more, I’m going to give more, I’m going to do this less…”
• The vow God is concerned about is not the ones you make out of your mouth, it’s the ones you make with your heart
• Revisit the commitments you made to God when His spirit touched you
• Don’t step in 2016 looking for what God’s going to do for you, but what you’re going to reciprocate back to God for all that He did for you in 2015
• You can’t out-give God, but you can at least try
• What can you give back to God?
• His original intention for your life – You can give YOU back to God. If you are less than what you are, you are living as an imposter. Give Him who He created you to be
o The reward is going to come as you align yourself properly
• My service to others
o Ultimately what you do to others, you do to me
o God is moved when you love your neighbor as yourself
o Don’t be so wrapped up in yourself – We live in a generation of selfies and me me me
• The glory – I wouldn’t be who I am if it weren’t for God. You didn’t do it! You work hard… but you were born with it. That why is God is not moved by your talents or gifts. How can God be impressed with what He gave you? Just give Him the glory
• You can’t do anything to get more of God’s love but there’s a difference between God loving you, and God being fully gratified with you
• 2015 was the year of authenticity – you found out who you were, you found out what you aren’t. You started with people that you couldn’t end with. Everything was not exactly what it appeared to be. There were relationships/situations you were involved in because you didn’t know who you were. If you don’t know who you are, you can’t choose well – you were an imposter, and if you are imposter, you will choose an imposter. God had to shake things up because you didn’t know who you were.
• How can I know what to do if I don’t know who I am?
• How could I know who to align with if you don’t even know how to align myself with me?
• Everything that could be shaken, God shaketh… and you were crying and asking why it had to get ripped from you. It was stripped away because you had to get to the most authentic version of yourself. You’re chasing what was fake in your life.
• God knows what He is doing
• Move towards it not because it’s going to be there when you get there, but because it’s there already.
• He who comes to God in such a way is granted access
• There’s some people I won’t give access to me because they didn’t call my name right – The way you approach me, let’s me know that you don’t know me, and if you don’t me, I can’t let you stand in the midst of my presence
• The secrets of the Lord are with those who fear him – God doesn’t show everybody everything
• God is looking for people He can trust
• God can tell if you have faith if you move toward it
• Talking is easy… SHOW ME you believe by moving your feet toward that thing
• That thing you were talking about in the summer, let me see it by winter
• If you don’t believe, why would I believe?
• God says you don’t need anymore proof – He proved he will bless you, He proved his power.
• There are certain seasons in your life that the knowing God will give you, will contradict your programming
• God is going to shake everything you built that He did not. You got comfortable in what you built – was it a word from God or was it me? Was it my idea of what comfort should look like?
• Are you going to go with the programming or the knowing? That will determine if you will go into the harvest
• God is counting what it cost you
• God is keeping track of every tear you had to cry to obey me, I’m keeping track of every tough season that you had to go through in order to be shaped for my destiny for you
• You think you’ve suffered so much loss and your best days are behind you – What if what you gave up to get right are just seeds?
• Everything you thought you lost, everything you gave up, every relationship that you walked away from because you didn’t feel destiny or purpose on it – God is going to remunerate it! I’m going to bring it back to you 100 fold. I saw every tear, I saw every pain… I saw you when you were going through and you thought you were by yourself, I saw it!
• I’m a rewarder to those who diligently seek me – When you were paying the price, you never stopped seeking God.
• God is going to pay you back with interest
• Everything you spent, is coming back with harvest.
• Without faith it is impossible to please Him. You can’t get to where He’s taking you without faith.
• When God asks you to do something crazy for Him, YOU DO IT!
• He’s the only one you should bow to – man is not going to renumerate you
• God never calls you beyond your ability, He calls you according to your ability
• Right when you’re about to get his with a reward, you get his with fear, doubt, confusion and it will make you want to rush into something else because if you rush into one thing you’re unavailable for another thing. It demotivates you from moving forward
• The pain is not for nothing
• God doesn’t ask you to give up something without giving back more than what you gave up
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