"Nowadays, making resolutions has become old-fashioned. We, the smartest generation ever, have moved past that. Decades ago, people used to have New Year's resolutions. It was customary to ask someone, 'What is your resolution?' But now, nobody asks that anymore. Why? Because people have realized that resolutions don't work. And I agree.

Resolutions might not work, but repentance does. Repent for all those things you know are not in order in your life. Start the year with repentance, turning to God and committing your life. Then, you'll see 2024 as a blessed year. Amen.

Everything begins with repentance. Without repentance, there can be no change, no blessing, and no favor. Before repairing anything, you must recognize what's wrong. Similarly, before receiving God's blessings, we must repent and align ourselves with Him.

Let's begin this year with repentance. Are you ready for it? Take a few moments alone, open your heart before God, let Him search your heart, and bring things into order. If you don't, 2024 will be another year you'll miss what God wants to do in your life.

God is ready to move; He has great plans for you. But for those plans to come to pass, you need to align and position yourself to receive from the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah.

Before I share the word that the Lord has put in me for this year, let me ask you a question: How many of you think that Jesus is the first place in your life? Only a few hands? If God is truly in the first place, everything else will fall into place. But can God tell that He's first in your life just by looking at it?

Here are a few indicators: Do you give the first hour of the day to the Lord? Do you honor God by giving the first day of the week to Him? Are you giving the first portion of your income to the Lord? And is God first in all your relationships?

Think about these indicators and ponder over them. Let's come before God, not just saying that He's first in our lives but living in a way that shows it. Can we make 2024 a year where God can truly say that He's first in our lives? Let's pray and ask God to speak to us through His word this morning.

Dear God, we thank You for Your amazing presence among us. You love each one of us and have great plans for us in 2024. We pray that we may align ourselves with Your will and receive all that You have prepared for us this year. Holy Spirit, take over this time as Your word comes forth. May we humble ourselves before Your word and be willing to receive change and correction. In Jesus' mighty name, we pray. Amen.

Can we give another round of applause to Jesus? Amen.

How many of you are expecting great things in 2024? Good. There's always a category of people who don't expect anything good to happen. But remember, good things happen to those who expect them. So let's wake up every morning with the promises of God, expecting great things to happen.

Now, I'm going to share the message I shared on December 31st night. For those who heard it, it's a reminder. And for those who haven't, it'll be fresh. But this will be the important message of the year. Receive it into your spirits, pray about it, believe it, declare it, and you will see this word coming to pass in our lives. Amen.

I shared from the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 43 onwards. Let's begin."

"You might not feel like you've done well, or you might be thinking about what mistakes will be found, what faults will be uncovered, or what new responsibilities will be handed out to you. But God is not a boss; He is a loving father. He wants to meet you, and when He does, it's going to be a blessing. Amen.

God wants to meet with us this year in a new way. I want to declare and prophesy that this will be the year that God meets us in a new way. We're going to experience Him in a new way. Amen.

Moving forward, Jesus found Philip and said to him, 'Follow me.' On that day, Jesus met Philip. Even before this passage, right above it, it's mentioned that Jesus came to that place and first found Andrew. John the Baptist described Jesus as the Lamb of God who was slain for the sins of the world. As soon as he said, 'Behold the Lamb of God,' Andrew followed Jesus and experienced Him as the promised Messiah, the savior of the world. Andrew then shared the good news with his brother, Peter. Here we see Jesus finding Philip, who gets excited about meeting the Messiah. He then goes and introduces Jesus to his best friend, Nathaniel. That's what we read further.

Philip, who was from Bethsaida, found Nathaniel and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.' A couple of things I want to share from this verse. First, are you introducing Jesus to somebody? How many of you have met Jesus here? Nobody? How many of you have experienced Jesus? We have tasted His love, His miracles, His goodness. How many of us are taking the effort to introduce Jesus to others? This year, I would like to challenge each one of you to introduce Jesus to others, just like Andrew did with his brother or Philip did with his best friend, Nathaniel. We have 12 months in the year. If you prayerfully introduce Jesus to one person each month, you would have shared Jesus with 12 people in a year. Even if one person responds positively, this church will double. Are you willing to do that?

The second point I want to make is about Philip, Nathaniel, Andrew, and Peter. What do you think was the age group of all these disciples when they followed Jesus? Many Bible scholars believe that they were teenagers, probably between 13 to 19 years old. And what were they discussing? Not gossip about friends or the latest technology, but about Jesus, the Messiah, and the scriptures. I believe this year, God is going to move powerfully among the teens and youth of this church. Young people, get ready for a powerful move of God. You will experience Jesus in a new and powerful way. Of course, adults, we are not left behind. We have a responsibility to show them the way.

Then, Nathaniel said to Philip, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Philip's response was simple: 'Come and see.' When Nathaniel approached Jesus, Jesus recognized him and said, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit.' Nathaniel was surprised. He thought he was meeting a stranger, but soon he realized he was standing in the presence of the Creator who knows every thought and word. Jesus saw Nathaniel's sincerity, and He sees yours too.

So, as we enter this new year, let's remember that God meets us, knows us, and sees our sincerity. Let's introduce Jesus to others and expect great things to happen. Amen."

"I want you to see that for yourself. God wants to say that to you. Can you, for a moment, imagine Jesus looking at you and saying, 'Hey, I don't see any guile in you. You are sincere, you are honest, you are truthful.' God is saying that to you. Probably Nathaniel was a straightforward man, his words would have been very rude, piercing the heart. So, for all the people surrounding him, his closest friends, they would have seen him as a notorious man, harsh, rude, always going against the common views. That was the reputation he probably carried. So, that's why he was shocked when Jesus, seeing him for the first time, said those words. How does He know my heart?

So, I don't know how you have been understood by people around you. I don't know what people have branded you and labeled you. But God wants to look at your heart and say, 'You are a person who has no guile.' That doesn't mean that you can continue to be who you are. Some people say, 'I just speak my mind out, I just speak my heart out.' And yes, God can see your heart, but people next to you cannot see your heart. They can only see your heart through your words. The Bible not only says, 'Speak truth,' it also says, 'Speak truth in love.' Our words need to be seasoned with salt. Jesus not only walked in favor with God, but He also walked in favor with man. So, what I would like to encourage all those of you who have the very nature of bursting out your words hastily, cutting sharp, this year, make a choice to carefully use your words. Let there be grace, let there be love as you speak the truth. Amen. Hallelujah.

Isn't it amazing that God knows you? Isn't it amazing? Hallelujah. You might be misunderstood. I feel one of the greatest pains in a human being's life is this. I have gone through it at some points, and I believe you would have gone through it. The greatest pain is not your leg fracture or shoulder fracture or all of those physical ailments. The greatest pain, according to my opinion, is being misunderstood by a loved one. When you are misunderstood completely by the person whom you love the most, that is the greatest pain. All husbands would have gone through it, wives would have gone through it, children would have gone through it. That's the greatest pain, you know? But people who are the closest might misunderstand us. Your spouse might misunderstand you, your children might misunderstand you, your closest friends might misunderstand you. But you and I have a God who understands us, who never ever misunderstands us, who sees our intentions, who sees our motives, who sees our thoughts, and He understands us.

So, if we're growing in maturity, we should learn to try to grow up to understand those who misunderstand us. It's easy to misunderstand people, but we need to grow up to understand even those who misunderstand us and pray for them and bless them. Amen. Going forward..."

**Amen, Further Verse 50**

Probably Nathaniel was the very first person to confess Jesus as the Son of God and the king of Israel. Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, I saw you under the Fig Tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than this." Turn to your neighbor and say:

"Up until this point, the greatest thing Nathaniel had seen in his life is to behold the face of the Messiah, the Savior. But Jesus is saying, 'Do you think this is the greatest thing you have seen?' No, greater things are yet to come. Hallelujah! As you're sitting here, I want you to think down your memory lane. No matter your age—50, 60, 70, 20—it doesn't matter. Up until this point in your life, if I were to ask you, 'What is the peak moment of your life? What is the greatest blessing you have experienced? What is the greatest breakthrough? What is the greatest Miracle?' What would that be? There's something, something that comes to your mind. Probably the day you married, probably the day you got your first child, or promotion job, your favorite college school seat. It could be anything. But the Lord wants to tell each one of you prophetically, declare this word over you: 'You shall see greater things than this.' God is going to beat the greatest thing that you have experienced in your life thus far. Amen! If you believe it, come on, shout hallelujah and give a round of huge applause!" [Applause]

"I believe we are about to see the greatest thing that we have ever seen in our life this year. That means it also means we're going to pray the greatest prayer we have ever prayed. It also means we're going to take the greatest step of faith we have ever taken. It also means we're going to do the greatest obedience unto God than we have ever been in our life. It also means that we're going to pay the greatest price we have ever paid in our life for the ministry and the service of God. And we are going to see greater things happening in our life. I want to encourage you, cheer up, head held up high! You are a child of God. You don't have to be ashamed, humiliated, embarrassed for anything. Hold your head up high, no matter what the circumstances today. You have the promises of God, you have the word of God, you have the hand of God, you have the favor of God. With your head held high, walk and possess all that God has promised in your life. Amen! Hallelujah!"

"Going forward," he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see Heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. This is what I'm believing for. I'm believing in Open Heavens over us, over your life, families, our church. Open Heavens! Yes, Jesus did rend tore the heaven and came down. Heaven being opened when it came down, but is it open over us is a question. I want to encourage and ask you to believe that we are going to experience Open Heavens. When the heavens are opened, you're going to walk under the favor of God, the peace of God, the joy of God, the healing of God. We're going to walk with an unhindered free flow of blessings from above. Amen! We're going to see Heaven open for each one of us. I believe this year, in this church, we're going to believe. Actually, Jesus was quoting this from Jacob's experience in Genesis chapter 28."

"I want you to understand what the situation of Jacob was at that moment. He has stolen his blessings from his father that rightfully belonged to his brother, and he was fleeing from his house. It was a dark night, the darkest day in his life. Not only night was dark, his life was dark. He had no future, he was completely discouraged, lonely, empty, didn't know the next step, what's going to happen in his future, full of fear. Thoughts would have been running mad in his head. He takes up a stone as his pillow and sleeps in an open field. And then God gives him this dream. In the dream, he sees a ladder where the Angels were ascending and descending. And that ladder reached up to the heaven, and above the top of the ladder stood God Almighty himself, speaking promises over his life, confirming promises over his life. That night changed the life of Jacob. Amen! He was encouraged, he was strengthened, he was filled with hope, he was filled with faith, and his life was never the same again. So are there anybody in this place are like Jacob in your life at this moment, knowing not what your future is, you feel so dry in your life, you feel nothing happening in your life, you're fearful, there's nothing to look forward to in your life? God is going to visit you. Heavens are going to open for you, and you will see the blessings of God coming upon your life. Amen! Hallelujah!"

"Ladder talks about three things. Ladder is the person of Jesus himself. This ladder was not ordinary. This was the tallest ladder ever that connected Earth to heaven. There's only one person who can connect Earth to Heaven, who's that? Jesus! Jesus is the one who's going to connect you to heaven. You want to see what life looks like being disconnected from Heaven? Just have a look at life around us that is disconnected from Heaven. Why is there so much poverty, sickness, diseases, exploitation, injustice, poverty? Because their life is disconnected from Heaven. You want to know how a life looks with it disconnected from God? Loneliness, fear, addictions, all those kinds of things, disconnected from Heaven. You don't have to live a disconnected life. Jesus is your ladder who's going to connect you to Heaven. And you don't have to live a disconnected life. You can have a connected life. Are you connected to God? Probably, you're saved. If I ask you, are you connected to God? Will your answer be yes? Let it be yes! Connect with God. Amen!"

"Second thing ladder talks about is it connects something inferior to superior, some lower place to a highest place, alright? So, I am praying and believing that this year, we will step up, grow up, be elevated, progress from one level to another level in our spiritual life, in our prayer, in our faith, in every area of your life, your professions, your business, your finances. I'm praying that as you climb this ladder step by step, you're going to reach places that are above that God has place for you. Amen! How many of you believe that? Hallelujah! The question you might ask, Pastor, isn't ladder used to come down also? That's your choice. If you want to come down, you can come down. I'm not going to come down. And I believe most of you will take a decision not to come down. Amen! We will be climbing this ladder up and up and up and up until one day we're into the heaven, into his glorious presence, being with him and celebrating all the steps that we climbed in our lives. Amen

! Shall we all arise in God's presence?"

"I want to encourage you to receive these words into your spirit. May this not be another sermon, but may this be a word that you speak every day of your life. Speak every morning, declare this word. Tell God, 'I thank you that you've got great things in store for me this year, greatest, not just great. Tell God, 'Thank you that the heavens are open above me, all my family, our church.' I just want to receive this word right now. All I want to encourage is connect with God, even this moment. If you feel disconnected with God, I want to encourage you not to go a day forward without connecting to Jesus. He's waiting to connect with you. Yes, left heaven and came down to earth to connect with you, my dear brother, and my dear sister. Will you connect with him now? Connect with Jesus. Connect with Jesus. That's all you need to do for the greatest things to happen in your life. Simple! Just connect with Jesus by faith. Say, 'Jesus, I want to be your child. I want to follow you. I want to stay tuned to you.' Come on, just make the decision at this moment. I'm coming back. I'm connecting to you. Connecting to your ways, connecting to your plans, connecting to your purposes, connecting to your love. I'm connecting to you, Jesus. Will you make that prayer? All of you, lift up your voices and just make this prayer. Connect to Jesus at this moment. Heavens be open over you. Let this word be initiated in your life right now. And as you receive it by faith, let this word be initiated in your life. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"

"And I want none to walk in fear and doubt and disbelief, but you'll walk in confidence because you're a child of God. You have the promises of God. You have the word of God to face this year, to fight every fiery dart of the enemy. You've been given the word to fight with. You're not empty-handed. Receive it. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Dear God, we want to thank you for your presence. We thank you for your word. You love us so deeply. You have just the beginning of this year. We can see you cheering us up to move on with you and experience all that you planned for us. I pray for every person standing in this room, from the youngest to the oldest, everyone, oh God. Lord, by the end of the next year, many will come and stand and testify. Not just testimonies, but the greatest testimonies of their life. Holy Spirit, take over, seal this word in our hearts, and let this word become our anthem, our declaration, our song, our confession every day, oh God, even when we face challenges, when we face difficult circumstances, when we face trials of various kinds. We will be speaking this word, oh God, and have the greatest victories over our lives. We thank you, God, for speaking to us. We thank you for your word. We give you all the glory, honor, and praise. In Jesus' mighty name, we pray. May now the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, everlasting love of our Father, and sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with each one of us, both for now and forever. Amen! God bless you all. Wish you all a blessed week."