You should take a moment to sit down and write out what God has done in your life over the past year. Let that reflection become an anchor of hope that gives you a confident expectation of good things to come.
Well, hello, my name is David John Phillips. I have the joy and honor of getting to be the pastor at Real Church. No place I'd rather be, nothing I'd rather be doing. And thank you for tuning in this moment. I was this morning kind of reflecting, you know, 12/31/2022.
And I just kind of felt like I should take a moment to reflect on all that God has done over the past year in my personal life and my family life and in the life of of the church that I lead. And so I just started out my journal with thank you, Lord, for who you are and thank you for what you are doing and what you've done. Lord God, over this past year, thank you for and just begin to make a list in every different category of my life, starting first with with my family and then with the church and then some personal things that have happened in my life and and just many different areas of my life. And it was very encouraging as I looked through 2022. I looked at 2022 through the lens of the blood of Jesus and through the lens of his goodness and his character and his nature.
And doing that gave me a cornerstone of *hope* to have a confident expectation of what God is going to do in 2023. And that's very biblical. And I want to encourage you to do the same thing either today or tomorrow in the next few days when you get some time. Take a moment to sit down and write out or type out what God has done, what Jesus has done over 2022. And let that be a cornerstone, an anchor of hope that when you see what he has done, it can give you a confident expectation of good things to come in 2023.
And I'll show you where that is in the Bible. In Revelation-19, we see John the revelator. He's caught up in this vision and this angel is taking them around showing them amazing things. And specifically in Revelation-19, you know, he sees like the end victory and the marriage of the lamb, like, you know, the Christians being caught up in this allegory of marriage to Christ the beauty of that and everybody worshiping Jesus and it's wonderful. And so then John falls down to begin worshiping this angel and the angel says, Woah, hold on.
I'm just a servant of Jesus, just like you. I'm showing you things yet to come, but it's the testimony of Jesus that is the "spirit of prophecy". Meaning the testimony of what Jesus has done is the spirit of what he wants to do. And he's going to show you what he's going to do. And it's just a beautiful thing.
So as I get you to look back on what Jesus has done in 2022, right? These stones of remembrance, these anchors of your life, knowing what the good that Jesus has done. It also shows the spirit of what he wants to do in your life and through your life to impact the world for his kingdom. It's a beautiful thing. As a matter of fact, the word testimony itself, 1 of the translations is a witness, right?
So to be a witness, you have to have a firsthand account, meaning you were there to experience what Jesus did. So when you look back in your life at what Jesus has done, like you have a firsthand account because he did it through you. And having that mindset gives you humility to know that it wasn't all you know, he gave you the grace and you stepped into it by faith, right? By grace through faith. But then also, you see him doing those things, then at the same time as the spirit of prophecy of what he wants to do, see that word testimony also has the meaning in the original language in Hebrew.
1 of the of the meanings for it is to do it again and to do it with a similar strength and veracity and power. So if you look back at what he has done, well, then you can know that he wants to do it again with a similar strength and veracity and power. But I would say New Testament, the Bible says we go from glory to glory. So not only does he want to do it again, but he wants to do it with more glory in your life and through your life so you can reflect his character, his nature and his glory even stronger in 2023. So look back at what God has done, reflect on that, let that sink deep into your soul as a cornerstone of hope in Christ, but hope in Christ that the best, even though 2022 was good in him, the best is yet to come.
Amen. Maybe you're watching this. You're like, well, 2022 wasn't that great. And maybe some really tough things happened in your life. And I get it like maybe looking naturally at 2022, it's maybe 1 of the worst years that's ever happened in your life.
You know, if maybe you're in that camp, I want to give you good news. The Bible says in Romans-8 that all things work together for good for those that love him and are called according to his purpose. So if you've been born again, then you know, you are called according to his purpose and you've declared your love for him. Well, means even the tough stuff in 2022, he wants to work it out for good because he is good. And so you can have a confident hope and expectation that that's going to happen.
But not only that, if it was really tough in 2022, I want you to shift your perspective because you can count it all joy when you're going through tough things. And that should be the perspective of every Christian. There's no yeah, but There's only **count it all joy* when you face trials of many kinds because you know the testing of your faith* produces *perseverance* and let perseverance have its finished work so that you could be mature and complete, lacking nothing. Every tough thing that you go through, God is with you, walking you through it, knowing that that resistance and that toughness going on in your life is going to mold you with deeper *character* and a deeper hope for what is yet to come. And the way that you walk through those tough things.
If you look back at 22 and you say, man, you know, it was just really tough. The way you walk through that in 2023 is with a simple pattern And the pattern is shown to us in Philippians-4:4-6. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. So let the lens that you look at the tough things that happen in your life be rejoicing because you know that God's gonna somehow work this out for good and you're gonna persevere through it.
And the persevering through the tough thing is actually gonna show his character and his nature and his glory to those around you watching you persevere. So we rejoice always. It's so important. He said it again. Rejoice.
Let your gentleness be evident to all because the Lord is near. So as you're going through tough stuff or when you look back, look and see how the Lord was near to you in the midst of it. Right? Because he's good. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God.
So that's how you how you go through tough stuff in 2023. Rejoicing. Rejoice again. Still staying gentle in the midst of the, you know, attempt on your stress and anxiety, like the attempt to steal your peace, knowing that God is near so you don't have to be anxious about anything because he's ultimately good and he's amazing. And then pray and petition the Lord, but do it with Thanksgiving, Right?
Always being thankful and me encouraging you to go back in '22 with the lens of Thanksgiving is going to prepare you for that. And the promise is that no matter what tough stuff happens in 2023, the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds. So not only is God going to do more of his goodness in 2023, but he's going to guard your heart in peace because you know how to go through the tough stuff in 2023. But then also, you've recounted the amazingness of what Jesus has done in 2022, how he's worked in your life personally and your family, how he's answered prayers. Just take a moment to go through that list.
And as you do that, it will give you a cornerstone and foundation of hope for what he's going to do in 2023. Amen. God bless you. Let me end this with a prayer. Lord God, I pray for everybody watching this that they're encouraged.
Lord God, that they have a "battle plan" for when stuff is tough, but also that they view it through the lens of rejoicing and thanksgiving. Lord God, so that they can recognize your presence in the midst of what's going on and they can reflect your character and your nature with a deep seated hope and be the reflection of that hope for the world around them because the world needs to see the hope in Christ that's in them. Lord God, I pray this isn't just a face that they put on, but it's who they are because they're so rested in a trust in your love for them. In Jesus name, Amen. God bless you.
I'm thankful for 2022 with you. And I know and I'm praying for an amazing 2023 for you in Jesus. God bless. Thank you for tuning in today to the Real Church podcast. I pray that you walk away from today encouraged with a deeper understanding of how much God loves you.
If you'd like to connect with us, we can't wait to reach out to you and pray for you. You can go to www.realchurch.us/connect. And then also, if you would like to give to what God is doing in and through our ministry, can do so at www.realchurch.us/giving, or you can text any amount to 84321 and then just search in the link that comes up search for Real Church Clearwater. God bless you and the best is yet to come.