Words of Life|Pastor Balan Swaminathan|HIPM

Summary of the 10 lessons we learned: 1. Make God your Priority 2. Live this life for the life yet to come 3. Teach your children to prioritize the life yet to come over this life we live today 4. Do not save more than what you need, invest in heaven, your eternal home 5. Learn the secret of being content in every situation.----more---- 6. Let what you hear, see and experience not shake your faith in God and never lose your joy in the Lord. 10 Lessens we learned: 1.Despite countless prophecies and predictions, was anyone able to predict the fire and save the people and structures? The answer is no. 2. Your pride, arrogance, and status can crumble in just a matter of hours. 3. You may have all the systems, support, and technology at your disposal, but when the moment of need arrives, they might fail to help. 4. In the end, all your accumulated wealth is nothing more than ashes. 5. In moments of true need, no one can help anyone—not even the most trusted sources. 6. You manage businesses, corporations, and institutions well, yet now find yourself without answers to your children's questions. 7. You trusted that God would protect you and all that belongs to you, yet now you have lost everything. 8. What happened to those who don't believe in God has now happened to you, who do believe. 9. Isn't this a foreshadowing of the apocalypse that is coming soon? 10. Does hearing, seeing, or experiencing such tragedies shake your faith in God, or does it make it stronger?

This year, we are going to lean on God for everything. That's why we say, -I choose to be grateful in everything because gratitude shifts my focus from my own resources to God's limitless economy, and reminds me to trust Him for all my needs.----more---- -I choose to worship God because worship shifts my focus from my frailty to His greatness. It frees me from worrying about my limitations and aligns my desires with what is eternal, reminding me that we are called to worship forever. -I choose to trust in God's faithfulness because my own nature is inconsistent and uncertain. While relying on myself leads to frustration, placing my trust in God brings peace, for He is unchanging and unwavering.

As we enter into the New Year 2025, we rejoice as, We've Hope because our God is an Unchanging God.----more---- We've Hope because our God Has a Plan. We've Hope because We Belong to an Eternal Kingdom.

It is worth looking at the Road Behind and  Be thankful to God for what He had done in the past.  Learn lessons that will help us to do things better in the next year.----more---- Set stones of remembrance or spiritual markers that are reminders of God's goodness, and motivate us to do better in the coming year  Let go of what we cannot carry forward, what is of no use, what affects our health, our progress, our relationship, etc.

How do we respond to the Hope we have in Christ? By seeking, offering our gifts and worshiping Him.----more---- By seeking and sharing the message of hope. By patiently waiting and building our lives for the eternal hope to appear.

Jesus was Born to Restore: -Restoration was promised -Restoration was fulfilled through Lord Jesus----more---- -Restoration costed His own life -God is going to restore everything back to it's original order and position at His coming.

-Jesus was born to heal relationships by building bridges through His birth. -Jesus was born to heal our brokenness by promising us to be our Immanuel, God with us.----more---- -Jesus was born to heal our sickness as he has compassion over us and authority over our sicknesses. -Jesus was born to heal us forever as His birth promises us eternal life, that means healing forever.

-Jesus was born to break the barriers that stand between us and God and discriminate people. -Jesus was born to break the strongholds that affect our mind and control our entire life.----more---- -Jesus was born to break the traditions that are just outward rituals not inward transformation. -Jesus was born to break the chains of habits, situations, and mindsets.

"Born to Die" calls us to realize, while the celebration is going on, we will not fail to realize the true Purpose of His coming. "Born to Die", helps us to realize that there was a heavy price that was paid to redeem us from our sins.----more---- "Born to Die" tells us that the Birth and the Death of Lord Jesus was not an accident, it was planned even before the foundation of the world and foretold by prophets. "Born to Die" reminds us that the eternal life promised to us is the result of the exchange took place at the cross.

"Everything seems hopeless until you step out in faith and give the final push. Breakthrough comes when you refuse to give up. So never turn back - press on and give that final push."----more---- Everything seems hopeless until you step out in faith and give the final push. You may not have the required faith, but just obey and take a step of faith. Final push is a breakthrough moment in your life, it is a turning point. Even though God has already planned your next season, the final push is required to take you into your next season

God wants to transition you into a new season even though you say Enough is Enough -God’s Timing is Different from Ours----more---- -Our Limitations Don’t Limit God’s Purpose -A New Season Requires New Strength Our Enough is not God's Enough

Today church is alive if we stay alive. The church will be vibrant if we’re vibrant.----more---- The church will be spirit-filled if we’re spirit-filled. And if we aren’t, it won’t be. Are we relying on past victories or experiencing victories everyday? If we don't grow, try to maintain what we have, our life and the church will become a monument. If we are spiritually cold, we will not even realize when the Spirit left us and we may be dead already.

-These Invisible Walls tell us, How God’s Hand Protects Behind the Scenes. -These Unseen Defenses promise, How God Protects Us Through the Little Things.----more---- -Today you and I can find safety in the arms of Jesus as He is our protector. -He sends His angels, He puts a fence around us, He sends horses and chariots of fire, when the blood is applied, stands in the middle as pillar of cloud and fire and promises safety in the midst of storms of life

Which Road you are traveling in? Are you travelling in one of the Roads Less Traveled? Are you a High Achiever? Are you a Humble Servant? Are you Tested and Proved?----more---- Summary of the sermon: God is calling you and me to make a difference in this world. Majority are going through the boarder way that leads to destruction. Only few are willing to Travel the Road Less Travelled. The road less traveled is hard, but it leads to God’s best. Are you a high achiever? Are you a humble servant? Are you tested & proved through troubles of life? Are you willing to choose obedience over convenience, faith over fear, and purpose over comfort? You may feel burned out, isolated or misunderstood by others, remember you are travelling the Road Less Traveled.

Stepping into God's timing is important as we don't know God's timing and we can't expect God to function according to our timeline. Missing God's timing can cause additional delay Missing God's timing can result in a huge loss----more---- To step into God's timing, we must sync ourselves with God To step into God's timing, we must look for signs We must be patient in the process of stepping into God's timing We must trust in God as we step into God's timing Aligning ourselves to God's timing is essential as God knows the best for His children.

The "Power of Small" reminds us that God can take our smallest steps, small contributions, and moments of faith, and turn them into something far beyond what we could imagine.----more---- What you consider as small has greater value in the kingdom of God. Your faith may be weak, but all that we need is s mustard seed of faith. Your beginning may be small, but take the first step of faith. Look for the handful of cloud, it has potential to bring down a heavy rain.

Reconciliation is also a Biblical term where we see God has reconciled with human beings through Jesus Christ. We are all called to reconcile with one another. Reconciliation involves the following stages:----more---- 1 .Betrayal - necessitates reconciliation 2. Truth Revealing - initiates reconciliation 3. Acknowledgement - Makes reconciliation possible 4. Forgiveness - Essential for reconciliation 5. Restoration - Celebrates freedom 6. Transformation - Fulfilment of a greater purpose Following questions help us to reconcile with others. Are we willing to be reconciled? Are you betrayed? Are you able to speak the truth? Are you able to acknowledge you mistakes? Are you able to forgive? Can you try to restore your relationship? If the dame is already made, can you emotionally reconcile? Are you able to reconcile for a higher purpose of your life?

Waiting is always difficult. Waiting takes away your time, your comfort, it tests your patience, it arouses your emotions, at times even ager and frustrations are expressed. Waiting is difficult, But God wants you to rest while waiting.----more---- God wants you to make the best use of your waiting It's true that you become restless and impatient, but God wants you to wait patiently While waiting build your anticipation God wants you to wait expectantly as He is going to take you to the next level. Psalm 23:2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

Identify something good in you then act on it. Those who live in the "Power of Now" are the ones who truly recognize the good within themselves and choose to act on it. When Jesus fed the 5000 plus, the "generosity" of the boy who gave the five loaves of bread and two fish made him to live in the Power of Now. ----more----The good Samaritan could live in the Power of Now, only because he had "compassion" over the one who was left half dead and decided to do something about him. Identify something good in you and choose to act on it to live in the Power of now. Don't wait for your situation to become better, live in the Power of now, Don't miss any opportunity to live in the Power of now. Live in humility and servanthood to live in the Power of now.

Freedom of letting go comes by releasing our burdens to the one who can carry it for us. Freedom of Letting go comes by obtaining forgiveness that brings healing and forgiving others and ourselves----more---- Freedom of letting go comes by letting go our plans and trusting in God's plan. Freedom of letting Go can be experienced only when we are willing to let go our past and get ready to embrace the new possibilities God brings on our way.