Vanguard Spirit
The “Great Harvest” is City Blessing Church’s theme for 2024. There will continue to be a harvest of souls, a harvest of resources, and answers to prayers that you have prayed for that have not come to pass. This is a new season of divine appointments and it is a kairos moment, not bound by time (chronos) as we know it.
The Word of the Lord for 2024 from the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders and the Global Prophetic Consultation stated that this Hebraic 5784 year is the year of shaking and open doors. The enemy tries to suffocate and choke you as you go through the threshold of the doors, but focus on Jesus because He is the Door.
Luke 10:2, NTFE “’There’s a great harvest out there,’ he said to them, ‘but there aren’t many workers. So plead with the harvest-master to send out workers for the harvest.’”
For the month of January, our focus is having a vanguard spirit, taken from the story of Joshua and Caleb who dared to believe in the promises of God, standing firm in their faith, practiced what they believed, and took action. As the church, we are living in the most exciting season. We need to keep on heeding the voice of our Captain, Lord and Savior, Jesus.
Vanguard: forefront, front line, cutting edge, leaders, front, spearhead, forerunners, trailblazers, advance guard, trendsetters
Week 1: God’s Promises vs. Resistance
There is a vision of Great Harvest. That is God’s promises, but some people are discouraged because of the resistance they face.
Start the new year by allowing the Holy Spirit to renew our mind with the mind of Christ.
Numbers 13:24-26, NKJV “The place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.”
God’s promises and the proof of what He has promised are real, but too many times we have too many “nevertheless” in our mindset.
We need to have a generation who is willing to carry the cross daily.
PRAYER POINTS:
Pray that as we move through 2024, we continue to focus on Jesus and declare His promises
Pray to hold on to the promises of God, to stand firm in our faith, to practice what we believe, and to take action
Pray that we enter into a new season (kairos) of opportunities and walk through open doors confidently
Pray that we do not choke or be suffocated as we move through the thresholds of those doors
Pray that we have a vanguard spirit like Joshua and Caleb
Vanguard: forefront, front-line, cutting-edge, leaders, front, spearhead, forerunners, trailblazers, advance guard, trendsetters
Pray to not be discouraged when resistance comes, but to move forward
Pray that the Holy Spirit renews our minds so that our mindset does not hinder our journey
Pray to be prepared, to be in prayer, and to have God’s perspective
Week 2: Have a Different Spirit
Ten out of the twelve spies to the Promised Land came back with bad reports. As we enter into the new season, we cannot help but have a different spirit.
Numbers 14:21-24, NKJV “but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord - because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.”
There is a spiritual warfare and there is a group of people that are going to rise up with righteous rebellion, not against the government, but against principalities and powers.
There are people in the Bible that have different spirits and they face resistance, challenges, and setbacks by focusing their eyes on God.
Numbers 13:31, NKJV “But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.’"
PRAYER POINTS:
Pray to have a different spirit like Joshua and Caleb during this new season
Pray that God helps us with the strength to swim against the current and stay true to God’s Word
Pray that we fully follow God and not be diverted by distractions and annoyances
Pray that as we face resistance, challenges, and setbacks, we can focus on Jesus
Pray to develop our relationship with the Holy Spirit so that we move in dunamis power
Pray to put on the whole armor of God and to rise up with righteousness during this spiritual warfare
Week 3: Believe Who You Believe
God is looking for a company of people (a remnant) who dares to believe.
Numbers 13:30, KJV “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it’.”
Hebrews 12:1, NKJV “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
The “sin,” not “the sins,” is the sin of unbelief.
Lack of confidence is always generated by a lack of trust.
By faith we need to remind ourselves, “Not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit.” We are able to accomplish God’s promises and assignments!
Move forward. Charge! Have a vanguard spirit.
PRAYER POINTS:
Pray that we become the remnant that God is looking for in this hour
Pray that we rise up with a fierce and righteous determination to believe in God
Pray to always put our trust in a God who is still doing extraordinary works, fulfilling His promises
Pray that we run with endurance and not be distracted
Pray that the sin of unbelief does not ensnare us
Pray to have faith knowing that it is, “Not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit”
Pray to have that vanguard spirit to move forward and charge through
Pray that God increases our faith to believe in the promises He’s made
Week 4: Remember Who You Are!
Remember the anointing and the assignment God has given you. It is for a purpose.
Joshua 14:7-8, ESV “I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God.”
Caleb saw the giants as well as the rest of the spies, but he remembers God’s promises.
“Remember” is an important word for us to always remember that God is with us. He makes the promises, He will also keep His promises.
Follow the Lord wholly, all the way, 100%
PRAYER POINTS:
Pray that you embrace and own the assignment God gave you
Pray to know who you are, whose you belong to, and to know your purpose
Pray that God’s Word and promises outweighs what you see
Pray to always remember that God is with us, we are never alone
Know that God is the great Promise-Keeper
Pray to wholeheartedly follow God and walk in His ways
Pray to be at the forefront, the front line, to be the cutting edge, to be leaders, to be at the front, to be the spearhead, to be forerunners, to be trailblazers, to be the advance guard, and to be trendsetters. Cultivate that vanguard spirit!
Let us possess a vanguard spirit!