HOW TO HAVE A GREAT YEAR – Pastor Emmanuel Iren

“HOW TO HAVE A GREAT YEAR” as the message was titled was delivered by Pastor Emmanuel Iren ,the lead pastor of Celebration Church International.
Follow carefully, open your heart to learn, unlearn and relearn.

Misconceptions (wrong mindsets) about the New Year

1. That things would be new in your life (troubles would go away) as a result of your entry into the New Year.

*What is the New Year apart from a change of date? It in itself contains no nada zippy power to do or change anything. This doesn’t deny the fact that it contains some spiritual significance, but even this significance is privately determined regardless of going for crossover service.*

2. That the prophetic words at the crossover service would- alone and in themselves- cause the new year to be better.

*I know that at least everybody that familiarize themselves with God, be it saved or unsaved go to church at least once a year and 80% of these two is on the crossover service or the new year service because they want a “prophetic word for the year”. God is no magician and the prophetic words of the year are not magical spells either.*

3. That the contagious excitement at the beginning of the year is equal to a conviction from God that things would be better.

*I am sorry to disappoint you, it’s just excitement based on a healthy or maybe a little bit above normal secretion of a kinda hormone, because of the whole celebration in the air. When the season wraps off, so also is that feeling*

The Truth: Ecclesiastes 1:4-9 (MSG)
4 One generation goes its way, the next one arrives, but nothing changes—it’s business as usual for old planet earth. 5 The sun comes up and the sun goes down, and it does that again, and again—the same old rounds. 6 The wind blows south, the wind blows north. Around and around and around it blows, blowing this way, then that—the whirling, erratic wind. 7 All the rivers flow into the sea, but the sea never gets filled up. The rivers keep flowing to the same old place, and then start all over and repeat the same process. 8 Everything’s boring, utterly boring— no one can find any meaning in it. Boring to the eye, boring to the ear. 9 What was will be again, what happened will happen again. There’s nothing new on this earth. Year after year it’s the same old thing. 

There actually isn’t a new year. There is nothing special about the sun rising and setting as it has been doing from the beginning. But there are new people! *#Selah*.

You experience a New year when you decide to be a new person *regardless of the time of the year*: to stand up to your responsibilities; to decide to be what God wants you to be; to refuse to be mediocre and do things differently or to at least go through your normal routine faster and better.

Genesis 8:22 (MSG) – For as long as Earth lasts, planting (seedtime) and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and winter, day and night will never stop.”

*But you don’t harvest anything when the harvest time comes if you planted nothing during the seed time.

You have the responsibility to make this year a productive one. As for God, He has blessed the ground; you take advantage of that and plant.*

MAKING THE MOST OF THE NEW YEAR

1. Live every day like it is your last! James 4:13-16 (Phil. 1:20)

Do the greatest good you can with your time, your money, to God and to people. Luke 12:15-20

15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” 16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ (MSG: …’Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods—who gets it?’)

2. Shine as Light where you are;

*We are the light of the world (Matt 5:14), how true? Please help me check around you, if you see darkness, then your joint identity with Jesus as light is questionable.

Be the solution, the giver, the helper, the life-giver everywhere you are. That is why Jesus left you on this dark planet; to shine. Share on X

3. Make up your mind to boldly obey God’s leading:

*Regardless of what comfort, common sense, horoscope or even intellectual prediction say, obey God, follow where He leads.*

Take Paul as an example in Acts 20:22 “And now, you see, I am going to Jerusalem, bound (irresistibly) by the [Holy] Spirit and obligated and compelled by the [convictions of my own] spirit, not knowing what will befall me there—“

4. Refuse to get into financial frustration;

Luke 12:15 (NKJV)
15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

Luke 12:15 (TLB) – 15 Beware! Don’t always be wishing for what you don’t have. For real life and real living are not related to how rich we are.” 

5. Choose intentionally to walk in Love;

The weaknesses and the excesses of people are avenues to show the God kind of love; showing mercy to the undeserving.

6. Do something BIG for God this year;

Commending Epaphroditus, Paul in Phil. 2:29-30 said, “So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him,  because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me.”

7. Live everyday with Thanksgiving and contentment;

James 1:2-4 –  2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Note: All contents between the asterisks {*…*} are my ways of breaking it down, all others are in Pastor Emmanuel Iren’s very words.

Read also;

A Better Alternative To Making New Year Resolutions

5 TIPS FOR A BETTER YEAR

Thank you for reading. I’m really looking forward to a great year and I am confident you will have the same. kindly feel free to share your thoughts along side my Pastor’s.