LET’S DO BETTER THIS YEAR – SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE WITH PASTOR (DR) MENSA OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER, INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) CHRIST TEMPLE, ACCRA GHANA):7TH JANUARY 2024

SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE WITH PASTOR (DR) MENSA OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER, INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) CHRIST TEMPLE, ACCRA GHANA)

TOPIC: LET’S DO BETTER THIS YEAR

DATE: 7TH JANUARY 2024

BIBLE TEXT: ECCLESIASTES 7:10

Today, I just want to encourage each one of us to aim at doing better for ourselves this Year (2024)!

My Message today is simply Titled: “Let’s do Better this Year (2024)

And what I will share with you today is Premised on the writings from the Book of Ecclesiastes 7:10 – I will read that because that is the Premise on which I am Preaching my Message today:

Ecclesiastes 7:10 (NKJV) – Do not say, Why were the former days better than these? For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.

It is the Message of Rebuke!

And the Passages in the Book of Ecclesiastes and Proverbs, are Wisdom Books in the Bible. And it tells us the Commonsensical Wise ways we can live our lives so as to Please God,

This is one of those Wise Things that we learnt from the Book of Ecclesiastes.

That you don’t say: Why was it better Last Year? Why was it better 10 years ago? Why was it better 20 years ago?

And it says that if you make that enquiries, if you ask that Question; then you are not being Wise – It is a nice way of saying that you are being Foolish in the Bible.

So it says that don’t make that the Question that you ask – Particularly my very self, I have never being fond of the Phrase: “The Good Old Days”.

And of course, we can look at the Past and call it “The Good Old Days” when there was Coloured TV, No Coloured TV (White and Black TV). When we used to go and stand behind People’s windows to watch TV.

We can talk all about these, in terms of how far God has brought us.

So, if you say “Good Old Days” to see the Progress you have made, then that is fine!

But if you are going to say the “Good Old Days” to say that the Past is better than your Present and your Future; then you are saying that your Life is not improving!

So, I don’t want to look early in the 60’s and 70’s and say that in the “Good Old Days”; it was better – All of your living is better.

If you say that the 90’s is the Greatest of your Life; if you are trying to say that your Life has been Stagnated; then you haven’t made Progress.

But God designed our lives to make Progress – So that our “Best Years” are always ahead of us!

You may have had some Great Years in the Past but what you are in now is better than your Past and what you are going to go to in the future is better than what you are going in.

Somebody said that: “My Best is yet to come!

Don’t stop your Life on Yesterday, don’t freeze your Life on the Past, don’t look especially those of you who are a bit older (In the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s) – And it is so easy when you are in those Ages to freeze your Life.

When your Best Days is in the Past.

Well, the Bible Passage that we read that it is not how we are supposed to look at Life.

So, I just feel that as we begin the Year, I need to bring a “Word of Encouragement” to you that will move you from Nostalgia to Reality; that will move you from the Past to the Present.

So, I’m going to focus on three (3) Main things to do if we want to make our lives better in Year 2024:

1. The 1st thing is that if we want to make Year 2024 better, then: We must know God better.

Knowing God better is the Foundation for us as Christians!

If you are an Unbeliever, may be that will not be a Priority – To know God better.

And knowing God better involves so many things – But I will focus on three (3) Actions you must take if you want to know God better:

I. To know God better, we must gain better Knowledge of the Scriptures.

This is so much at the Heart of our Christian Life – We must know the Scriptures better.

I am not simply talking about Memorising Scriptures or Memorising Passages of the Bible or being able to quote the Bible.

And it is Great to memorise the Bible and to be able to quote the Bible but that does not mean that you know the Scriptures – It simply means that you know the Phrases.

And knowing the Scriptures goes beyond just doing your Quiet Time in the Morning or even reading through the Bible – Knowing the Scriptures is Understanding what the Scriptures are saying.

What is God Communicating when I read the Bible? – When I read the Books of Leviticus, Genesis, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes; what is God telling me?

How do I manage all the Passages in the Bible – The things I understand, the things I don’t understand that seems to contradict each other, things that seems to say things that for now does not make sense to me. How do I understand them?

So, Understanding the Scriptures is very, very critical and we must endeavour to do it.

This Year, I’m hoping that in addition to all the things that we do, that I will really be able to do a Series during the week on how to Study the Bible!

I know that you all Study the Bible and I appreciate your efforts at Studying the Bible but sometimes, it is just like me taking a Book of Physics or Chemistry, I can read the Book because I know my Alphabets and I know how to Pronounce words and so I can read a whole Book and I know what the words are saying but I may have no clue what it is saying,

Just because I can read something doesn’t mean that I can understand it because every Documents has rule for Interpreting it.

So, if a lazy Person read these Books, they will gain some Knowledge and Understanding. But if Somebody guides you to Understand Particularly how to Technically handle the stuffs there, you will get a better Appreciation of it.

II. In addition to that, we have to Understand what God is doing in our lives.

Ask yourself:

• What is God doing in my Life at this time?
• Where am I now in my Relationship with God?
• What is God saying to me through my Experiences and my Encounters?
• Where does God want me to be? Or where is He taking me to?
• What kind of Season am I in my Life? Is it a Season of Preparation or a Season of Manifestation?
• Who is God bringing into my Life and who is God taking out of my Life?

These are important things that you need to know because at every Point in time; you have to figure out: What is God doing in your Life?

• Am I in a Season when God wants me to be Quiet or a Season when He wants me to shout from the Mountain Top?
• Am I in a Season where God is Preparing me for something Great or He has brought me to something Great?

Because God is always dealing with us at one Point or the other:

• One time, you are on the Mountain Top because He is Preparing you for the Valley.
• And the next time, you are in the Valley because He is Preparing you for the Mountain Top.

Because:

• Life is not Mountain Top all the time and Life is not Valley all the time.
• Life is not Sorrow all the time and it is not Laughter all the time.

At every Point in time, you have to know what Times and what Seasons am Ii in on God’s Calendar – What exactly is God doing with me?

What does Year 2024 mean for me? – What is my Journey and where is God taking me.

… You have to understand what God is doing in your Life.

And I hope that some of the things that I will Preach this Year 2024, will help you to discover what God is doing in your Life and you can tell it yourself.

III. We have to Experience the Holy Spirit at work in us.

Each one of us must have a Personal Encounter with the Holy Spirit.

Beyond coming to Church and receiving my Ministry or any Pastor’s Ministry; you must have a Relationship with the Holy Spirit because that is what Jesus Christ said – He said that I am going away but I’m going to give you the Holy Spirit and He is going to lead you into all Truths.

Everything that we do as Christian is directed by the Holy Spirit – He is our Guide, He is the One who does the works as it were, He is the Miracle Worker in us, He is the One who hears our Prayers because He is the One who resides in us.

The Good Thing is that the Holy Spirit wants to have an Encounter with you too.

So, it is not like the Person you want to know and the Person doesn’t want to know you – You want to know Him and He wants to know you too.

… That is the Good Thing about the Holy Spirit.

Because you know that it can be very tough if you want to know Somebody and the Person doesn’t want to know you.

He wants to get you to the Point whereby you minimise your mistakes in Life.

All of us makes mistake in Life but the Closer you get to the Holy Spirit, the Smarter your Decision Makimg Process becomes and so your mistakes are minimised.

You will make mistakes as Human Beings but you won’t make “Senseless Mistakes” because the Holy Spirit is our Guide – And He is going to Guide you and lead you.

So Please, you need to experience God’s Power in us through the Holy Spirit.

2. The 2nd Thing that we want to focus on if we want Year 2024 to be a “Better Year” is: Build Better Relationships!

Relationship links us to the Experiences of our Life

Almost every Experiences you have in Life is based on a certain kind of Relationships – Good Relationship is going to give you Good Experiences while Bad Relationship is going to give you Bad Experiences.

Relationships are the links that we build in our lives to connect us to everything that is available to us.

So the Quality of my Relationship will determine the things that I have access to and the things that are denied me – So, we have to invest in building “Better Relationships”.

There are three (3) ways that we can build “Better Relationships”:

I. Wisely Manage your Circles or Influence.

Your Circles of Influence are determined by the People who occupy different Places in your Life.

Now, if you look at the Old Testament’s Temple – When God gave Moses and later David the Pattern to build the Tabernacle and Temple; the construction was on the same Premise.

And the Temple the Tabernacle have three (3) Circles:

• There is what they called the Outer Court; where anybody comes to.
• There is the Inner Court; where the Priest goes to make Sacrifices.
• There is the Innermost Court; where the High Priest goes.

In dealing with the Temple, God created three (3) Circles of Influences:

• The Holy of Holies or The Innermost.
• The Inner.
• The Outer.

The same way with your Life – Think of your Life as a Temple: You yourself as a Temple and you have to determine three (3) Levels of Relationships!

• Who is in your Outer Court?
• Who is in your Inner Court?
• Who is in the Innermost Court (Your Holy of Holies)?

Because if you have the wrong People in the wrong Place, you are going to mess up big time.

So For Example:

• Your Innermost Court (Your Holy of Holies) is going to be for your Spouse and children. That’s it.

If you are married, your husband, your wife and your children.

If you are going to add anybody to that Place, then you need to be very careful because whoever is in your Holy of Holies can hurt you.

Jesus Christ too has His Holy of Holies – Peter, James and John.

Then He (That is Jesus Christ) has the rest of the Club, then He has the Masses – His Outer Court.

So, you are going to have few People in your Holy of Holies – If you are married, then that should be your Spouses. If you marry someone who cannot be in your Holy of Holies, then don’t marry them.

• Then in your Inner Court are your very Good friends, Confidants, Mentors. They are People whose Advise are important to you.
• Your Outer Court includes your work mates, school mates. Your “Hi Five” People.

Now the danger is when we bring Outer Court People to the Holy of Holies – Especially, if you tell an Outer Court Person that I’m going to tell you something that I haven’t told anybody. Then you are crazy because it will be Broadcasted to the whole world.

And don’t be impressed by the People who wants to Push into Circles they don’t belong to – It is like someone who just sees you and say: I want to be your Best Friend.

Best Friend is not by application – We know that Naturally you determine who is your Best Friend and who can be in your Inner or Innermost Court.

But if Somebody is Pushing and forcing to be your Best Friend; remember that Friendship is not by Force but by Choice.

So, sometimes you look at who is in my Innermost Court by Accident – Maybe at a time I was Vulnerable: Going through Difficulties and Life was hard for me.

And you know that this Person started by Paying attention to me and you pour out all your hearts to the Person before you realised that the Person has become tight.

People that you bring close to you who are not supposed to be; you are going to regret it – You are going to bring Pain and Sorrow to yourself that is Self Inflicted and you can’t blame God for it.

Why? Because I have told you and because it is Plain in the Bible.

… So, manage your Circles of Influence!

II. Invest in Significant People that God has given to you.

God brings People our way and we have to Note that this Person has been brought into my Life.

Some People come into our Life for a Season and then move on.

And in the Season when they are in our Life, they can make Significant Deposits into our lives – So, Pay attention to those People.

And this Year 2024, Pay attention to “Special People” that God makes them cross your Path.

And maybe all you will meet them is to meet them for just a week, or two (2) weeks or a Month – But within that Period, they can Significantly make Great Inputs into your Life

And God has given you Somebody who must be your “Lifter Up” – Pay attention to them and nurture that Relationship carefully.

III. Repair Beneficial but Broken Relationships!

… This is very important.

Sometimes, we destroy the Relationships that God gave us in order to benefit us.

And sometimes, we don’t destroy them but it is just that we don’t use the Communication well and now there is breakdown in Communication.

And there is Somebody that you know that is Beneficial in your Life but has become distant – Either something happened and you are distant or you just left it and the Relationship just fell apart.

If you believed that Person is still Beneficial to your Journey in Life, I Counsel you to rebuild that Relationship because there are certain things such People can do in your Life that no other Person can do it in your Life.

And if you say: “You Go”; God will give me another one!

God doesn’t do things like that – He doesn’t waste Resources. If He gives you Somebody and you waste that Person, He is not going to give you another one.

He gives you a Destiny Helper; nurture that Relationship!

Maybe you lied and you are dishonest and you broke the Relationship – Go and tell the Truth, apologise and try to rebuild the Trust!

3. Live a Better Life.

… That is what all of us want in Year 2024!

And how do we do that? – Three (3) Active Steps:

I. Improve on your Financial Stewardship.

Money is one of the critical factors that determines the Quality of Life.

It is rightly sang about that Money is Blood.

Money is not everything but it is a lot of things and it influences so much what goes around in our Life and we must improve on how we manage Money – What goes Out and what comes In.

Financial Stewardship basically is managing well what God gives you and what you give to God – What comes In and what goes Out.

And each one of us must be Masters of that.

Sometimes, a year becomes better not because you have Financial Breakthrough or you receive more Money but simply because you managed what you had better.

And you realised that the Money you thought was not a lot was actually Significant if you managed it well.

So, let us Pray to God to give us Guidance to Financial Stewardship so that we will manage what He has given to us very well.

We managed the Wealth received and don’t take for granted where you work and what they Pay you.

If you are Privileged to work in a Place where you are Paid at the end of the Month; every Morning Pray for that Place that gives you a Salary at the end of the Month.

Because to hussle in Life without any “Guaranteed Income” is one of the most Painful Thing.

Show Appreciations if you are Paid – It may not be all you need but at least you get something from it.

II. We must Explore New Areas of Career Interest.

Is there something more that you can do in addition to what you are already doing?

• Can you take Extra Course?
• Can you learn a New Skill?
• Can you Expand your Operations?
• Can you take a New Assignment?

Because sometimes, what you need to do in Life to just make your Life better; is not much.

One more thing that I have come to realised is that Improvement is always in Small Quantities!

I mean there might come a time when “Boom” your Life Changes and we all hear the Testimonies whose Life Change “Boom”!

But has “Boom” happened to you?

Once in a while, People have this radical dramatic something that Changes your Life in a Mind Blowing Way once in a while.

But a Regular Human Being like you and I – It is here a little, Precept upon Precepts, Line upon Lines – It just comes!

And it is Aggregation – The adding together of “The Little” that make things “Big”.

So, take Note of the “Little Improvements” that you have to make – And sometimes, it is not a “Big Thing” but taking an “Extra Course”, Learning an “Extra Skill”, adding something Small to what you do, Expanding to “New Area”.

It may not be Exponential but it is Increamental but if you add it together; it will be Exponential!

And we have to learn to value “Little Things”.

In some of my sayings in Life, I say: “Small, Small” as we will get there.

Because that is how we will go – If you are walking Small, Small; you will cover Miles.

So, don’t despise “Small Things” – Appreciate “Little Things” because if you appreciate “Little Things”; you will not take anything for granted!

III. Follow more Healthier Routines.

I won’t say run 10 Miles everyday, or walk Long Distance; I’m just saying, do “Little Things” – Eat better, Exercise better, Rest better, do regular Health Check Up’s, and take your Medications if you are on Medication consistently.

The God of Signs and Wonders is the same God of Science as well.

Let’s improve our lives and do things that will make our Life better Quality so that at the end of the Year 2024, you can say: I think that I managed my Health better and my Finances are better.

All I am saying is that the “Big Thing” you want to see happening in Life may not be happening in a Big Way – They may just happen because you did some things consistently and over a long Period of time.

And let us all have the Discipline of doing it over and over and over.

And I believed that at the end of the Year 2024, we should all be able to say: This Year 2024 is better than Year 2023 – That should be our Testimony!

At the end of Year 2024, I should be able to say: Wao, what a Year? It was better than Year 2023 because I take these Steps and I can see Improvements in my Life!

God Bless You all – Amen!!!

Thank you so much for staying all through to read.

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