In John 14:12, Jesus declared to the disciples that they would do even great things than He did. The context of Jesus statement was His promise to send the Holy Spirit as our Helper. Jesus was speaking of us doing greater things in our own strength, but through the power of the Holy Spirit. One of the reasons New Years resolution and goals don’t last is because they are often attempts to be advance in our own strength. Greater: 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting is an opportunity for us to tap into God’s power through prayer and fasting.

Many of us may have experienced difficulties in 2018. It may have even felt like areas of our lives were attacked, such as health, finances, relationships, faith, hope, and overall motivation. The reality is we are all going through challenges together. This is why it's important that we set aside time to pray and fast together. God does great things when His people earnestly cry out to Him corporately.

What does it take to be all in! This time of the year tends to be a very joyful time but it also can be a very difficult one as well. Life can be hard and challenges can come at us and the temptation to give up or walk away from our dreams and purpose during hardship can keep us from being all in moving forward. But the key to overcome the hardship and challenges is not to give in but to be all in and our source of strength is found in Jesus and His word to help motivate us to not give up now. This week pastor Rob closes out the two-part Jesus now series as we look to Jesus as an example of what it takes to not give in but to be all in and overcome stronghold, challenges, and temptation that the enemy tries to throw at us in order to stop us from being who God has called us to be.

Have you ever lost something that meant a lot to you? Something that brought you joy and happiness and when you lost it that joy turned to disappointment and sorrow. As a result, rather than keep our faith and hope alive in finding that joy again we begin to doubt, get disappointed, and even lose faith in God in the moment. This week Pastor Rob will talk about our ability to find joy and happiness in our lives during seasons of doubt, disappointment, and hopelessness and help us understand that our only chance in finding that joy and happiness in life can only be found through one source and that source is Jesus. Walk with us as we learn to recognize and clearly see Jesus as our source of hope to help us find that joy and happiness we are looking for in the moment.

“Vision leaks.” - John Maxwell

We have to constantly revisit vision to keep us on track.

Under the leadership of Joshua, Israel finally conquered and seized the land God promised for them. Joshua even began dividing the land between the twelve tribes of Israel. However, there was one detail that needed to be addressed. Caleb needed to receive his portion of the land for him and his descendants. Even though the other Israelites were finished, Caleb was not and did not hesitate to speak up. One of the greatest fears we face is the idea of it being the end. Others decide to quite and we wonder if we should also quit. We write ourselves off. We listen to people who tell us it’s too late to accomplish something. We compare ourselves to others and come to the conclusion that we are too old and our season is up. Instead of giving in to the fear of it being “the end,” we must press through knowing that our assignment is not finished.

As much as we desire the best in our future, we are often more bound to the past than we realize. Though the future beacons us to come, we are often too bound to the past or comfortable in the present. In Exodus 14:11, shortly after leaving Egypt, the Israelites wanted to go back. Unfortunately, almost forty years later in Numbers 20:5, the Israelites still wanted to go back to Egypt. Whenever we have to choose between the past, present, and future, we must have the courage to choose the future.

Once Israel realized they missed the opportunity to seize the Promised Land, they quickly had a change of mind. They insisted on going up and seizing it. However, God had already sentenced them to forty years of wandering. Most importantly, God declared that He was not with them. They decided to go up any way and only to be devastated. One of the greatest challenges in life is living with regret. We make decisions that we later regret and live in this weird space of fear. We are afraid of missing out again. We are afraid of repeating the same mistake. We are afraid of losing, so we become possessive of what we have. There is another option to regret and that is to maximize our current season and trust God for what is ahead.