Who will you be in 2025?

2025 , WOW here we are again. Another year gone. 

Did you accomplish in 2024 what you set out to accomplish? Did you become who you set out to become?  It doesn't matter now.  No matter what we do ,we can not change anything that happened in 2024. In Israel they celebrate Shabbat on friday every week. Shabbat is the celebration of the weeks end and the beginning of a new. When I was there in 2023 I had the pleasure of attending one of these celebrations. The son in the family who was hosting it made this statement in his explanation of Shabbat . “This week is over, as you sent your last email or completed your last task at work today, you have finished this week. There is nothing you can add to this week, there is nothing you can take away. We can only take what we have learned and grow from it. So let us celebrate this time of rest as we prepare for a new week.”  As 2024 is coming to an end, let me say it to you all we can do is take what we have learned and grow from it.  As we begin looking into 2025 let me ask you , Who will you be in 2025?

This morning I'd like to ask you to consider the following: when you read a story, which character are you?  Do you find yourself playing the main character ? Do you find yourself feeling the emotions the character would feel? 

Are you David facing the giant?  I don't know about you but I like to think I would be the hero in the story when in reality I would probably have been one of the scared Israelites hiding in the tent.

Or Moses splitting the red sea? Again I probably would have been one of the scared Israelites  thinking God brought us out just to die.  

In Mark 5:21-43 21 When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowdgathered around Him while He was by the sea. 22 One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet 23 and kept begging Him, “My little daughter is at death’s door.[a] Come and lay Your hands on her so she can get well and live.”

24 So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against Him. 25 A woman suffering from bleeding for 12 years 26 had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. 27 Having heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His robe. 28 For she said, “If I can just touch His robes, I’ll be made well!”29 Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was cured of her affliction.

30 At once Jesus realized in Himself that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My robes?”

31 His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing against You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”

32 So He was looking around to see who had done this. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came with fear and trembling, fell down before Him, and told Him the whole truth. 34 “Daughter,” He said to her, “your faith has made you well.[b]Go in peace and be free[c] from your affliction.”

35 While He was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher anymore?”

36 But when Jesus overheard what was said, He told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.” 37 He did not let anyone accompany Him except Peter, James, and John, James’s brother. 38 They came to the leader’s house, and He saw a commotion—people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.”

40 They started laughing at Him, but He put them all outside. He took the child’s father,mother, and those who were with Him, and entered the place where the child was. 41 Then He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!”[d] (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was 12 years old.) At this they were utterly astounded. 43 Then He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this and said that she should be given something to eat.

So I ask you: Which person in this story will you be?

• Are we The Doctors trying to fix others' problems? Fixing others issues Based on our understanding? Even the women had tried everything she knew to do, to no avail. I don't know about you but my natural instinct is to try to fix it. Whatever “it” is. I'm ashamed to admit that far too often my first response is not pointing people to Jesus. Instead I immediately begin trying to connect the dots. I begin sorting through resources and connections that I have to try and solve the problem. When my first response should be Jesus.  I attended a missions conference a few months back and one of the things that was said was not to try to fix every problem but rather listen to the need. More often than not we try to find solutions to things that are not the real issue. You may be asking “ so Bo are you saying Jesus can fix my finances?’’... to which I say , YES HE CAN. Can he fix my marriage ? … Yes HE can! Can He fix my car trouble? YES HE CAN!  

You guys know by now I do not preach a prosperity gospel. But what I do believe when you seek Jesus first in all things you are left with a whole lot less of the hopeless situations.

James 2:14-16  tells us that we are to help people with physical needs and not to just tell people to “Go in peace”  but if we only focus on issues of the flesh and dont direct them to Jesus ,who can fix ALL things from finances to matters of the heart, then we are merely offering temporary suggestions.

• Are we The people in the crowd standing in the way?  It doesn't say this but I can just imagine the father trying to push through the crowd , trying in his own power to hurry to get Jesus to his daughter before she died, believing Jesus could heal her but wanting it done in his time. And I can just imagine when the woman came and touched Jesus’ robe , was the father encouraged by the miracle that he just witnessed or was he upset by the delay. Sometimes I wonder if we can get lost in our feeling of self pity when we see God doing something in someone else's life and wonder why He's not done what we asked. Why am I still hurting? Why am I still sick? Why are my finances in a mess? Why is my life all upside down, and theirs is not? To all this I would have to say , I do not know.  I heard a song the other day that said “if you knew the plans I had then maybe you wouldn't go” . We are not guaranteed an easy life for following Christ. In fact we are told exactly opposite. John 16:33 Jesus tells His disciples that they will have suffering in this world but to be courageous for He has conquered the world. I don't know what the Lord has planned for your life , but I know that Romans 8:28 says that "all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose". It does not say that all things are good but that He works all things for the good. 

I do have to point out that there is nothing you can do to stop God. However our actions and our representation of Christ can cause people to question or to reject Christ. 

Paul writes in Romans 14 that we are not to argue about things that are not matters of salvation. He actually calls it Doubtful issues. We as the body of Christ have allowed the enemy to drive a wedge into our relationships, based on differences of opinion, to the point that sometimes we cant even worship the same God together. 

So are we the people standing in the way? Are we playing into that division causing non believers to question why would they want to be a part of something or believe in something when those that proclaim it can't even agree on what they believe to be true?

• Are we The person who inflicts doubts: Doubts when God is moving in others lives? Even the  disciple tried to rationalize with Jesus that He probably just felt the crowd pressing against Him. And again we see the people in verse35 starting to sow the seeds of doubt, telling him not to bother Jesus because his daughter had died. To which we see Jesus, knowing the heart of the man , reassures him to not be afraid. Only Believe. I don't know if you have ever experienced this but when you know God has called you in a certain direction, have you ever had someone immediately begin telling you that it wasn't God? Or what you  experienced wasn't real?   

Now, I'm not saying that we shouldn't be open to wise counsel. But when God makes something clear to you , don't let others talk you out of it. Noah stood as the only person on earth for what scholars believe  between 50 -120 years being ridiculed for building the ark. But he knew what God had called him to do. And so he remained faithful. Likewise we see how Jesus handled those who were spreading doubt and fear. He kept those closest to him with him and put the rest out. Sometimes we have to be willing to separate ourselves from those who speak doubt into our lives. Which in the same vain, don't be the one trying to disqualify what God is doing in someone else's life just because it doesn't line up with what you think God should, could or would do. By no means am I trying to say that we should act reckless but I do know that The God who is able to do far more than we can ask or think is not limited by our rationalities. 

In Leviticus 15:25  we can read the law that was put in place for issues of blood. The jews of that day of course still followed the Levitical law  so it would have been custom of that day that when a woman had an issue of blood , they were considered “unclean” and were to separate themselves and remain secluded until a time had passed. 

  Mark 5:27 we see that the woman “having heard” about Jesus , she came to be healed. This woman had been secluded for 12 years , Meaning someone had to have gone to tell her about Jesus and His coming.

• Are we The person who shares Jesus? We all know or have that one person that pops in our mind  when we think about sharing Jesus. And if you're like me it makes you a little or a lot uncomfortable when I think about reaching out with that in mind.  This year will we continue to put our confort above their eternal life? Or will we be willing to go into the “unclean” to break through the uncomfortable in effort to plant that seed? Are we willing to break tradition? Are we willing to step outside the norm to be the one in the crowd not afraid to talk about Jesus?

• Are we the Father of the little girl or Woman with the issue? We all come to Jesus unclean needing to be cleansed by Him. She didn't let shame or tradition prevent her from seeking healing. Are we willing to not be afraid as Jesus said but only believe? In the face of death, in the face of sickness , in the face of those who would speak doubt and confusion into your lives. Will we be willing to put our pride, our shame, our feelings of hurt, maybe even hurt from other people "in the name of God". Are we willing to lay that all down? And say if I can just get to Jesus , If I can just touch the hem of his robe I know He can heal me. I know He can remove the hurt. Let me remind you in case you have forgotten , People will fail you, Jesus never did. Jesus didn't hurt you, people did.   Jesus came to break Traditions. He came to change it all , Jesus came to set you free, Jesus came to heal the hurt, Jesus came to bring joy to your life. You ask why does God allow bad things to happen in our lives? I know that it is partly the result of the gift of free will that He gave to all mankind. But  why do some things happen? Ultimately I do not know. But what I do know is that even though the sorrow may last for a night , the Joy comes in the morning. You see happiness and joy are not the same thing. Happiness is an emotion that is derived from circumstances. But Joy is a gift of God. You see Joy will guard your heart. Joy will bring you strength when you can't see a way out of a circumstance. The word does not say that you shall have happiness all the days of your life but Nehemiah 8:10 says that the Joy of the Lord is our strength.  Jesus came to heal your hurt. Jesus came to set you free.  He came to bring you salvation which allows you to have joy in every circumstance on this earth.

Jesus says in Luke 4:18-19

18 The Spirit of the Lord is on Me,because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Today I bring you a proclamation that 2025 will be the Year of the Lord's favor. That Jesus came to set you free. And He will do it for you today.