First Sunday: A Year of Blessing || Be Fruitful and Multiply

Jan 10

Jan 10 First Sunday: A Year of Blessing || Be Fruitful and Multiply

I. Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving and His Courts with Praise (Call to mind and express gratitude for who He is and what He has done for us)

a. In 2022 the Lord established East Gate as the House of His Glory

i. A House of Illumination

1. He gave us a lampstand, lifted up and set on fire

ii. A House of Salvation

1. Prodigals would return to the house of the Lord

iii. A House of Provision

1. Camels, flocks, and rams

b. In 2023 the Lord lead us into the year of Aggressive Expansion

i. A year of fortifying and expanding the foundations

1. Ground Zero – Fortifying and expanding family

2. Heart for East Gate – Fortifying and expanding our physical foundation

3. The Fear of the Lord – Fortifying and expanding our hearts

4. Spiritual Warfare – Fortifying and expanding our understanding of spiritual conflict

c. In 2024 the Lord is inviting East Gate into a Year of Blessing: Be Fruitful and Multiply

Genesis 1:28 New King James Version
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

i. Bless – barak (G1288)

1. Kneel, bless, praise, salute

II. How will the Lord Bless East Gate in 2024?

a. With more of His voice – God said

i. We are a house of prayer

1. Prayer is thoughts and words exchanged with God in faith

ii. East Gate, the Lord is inviting us into greater depths of encounter, intimacy, and relationship as we faithfully steward His voice

1. Set apart more time for prayer and reading His word

2. Time to listen for His voice and respond in prayer – Matthew 6:7

3. OBEY His voice

b. With more of His presence – Be fruitful

Genesis 2:8 New King James Version
8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
Genesis 3:8-9 New King James Version
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

i. The Lord decorates His dwelling place with fruit

1. Garden Eastward in Eden – Genesis 2:16-17

2. Tabernacle – Exodus 26-28

3. Temple – 2 Chronicles 3-4

ii. His Church and Bride

1. Fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-23

2. Fruit of our Mouth/Lips – Proverbs 18:20-21, Hebrews 13:15

3. Fruit of Repentance – Matthew 3:8, Luke 3:8

4. Fruit of Righteousness – Philippians 1:11, Hebrews 12:11

5. Fruitful Works – Colossians 1:10

6. Fruit of the Light – Ephesians 5:8-14

iii. Fruit is the result of abiding in Jesus

John 15:4-5 New King James Version
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

1. If it doesn’t come from abiding in Him, its nothing

a. Followers, likes, shares, attendance, popularity, influence, etc.

2. Our lives, households and East Gate MUST be built within, for, and around, the Lord if we are to bear His fruit

a. Built within Him – purity, He is the motivation and power source

b. Built for Him – obedience, a response to His leading, for His pleasure/glory

c. Built around Him – Jesus is the center, His word is foundations to our lives, households and corporate gatherings

John 15:7-8 New King James Version
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

iv. East Gate, the Lord is inviting us into greater fruitfulness as we abide in Christ, allow His word to abide in us, and become even further established as the House of His Glory

c. With more of His purpose and prerogative – and multiply

Numbers 14:21 New King James Version
21 but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord—
Habakkuk 2:14 New King James Version
14 For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea.

i. Fruitfulness MUST precede multiplication

1. We must multiply out of the place of fruitfulness (presence) so that we multiply His fruit, not our own or others

2. If we’re not encountering His presence and connecting with His heart in the secret place we have NO BUSINESS making disciples

a. We cannot just copy, even God-given, methods and strategies of others

b. They are planted in their God-given context, with their God-given assignment

3. We must walk in obedience to the Lord’s leadership in our lives

ii. All creation reproduces after its kind

Genesis 1:24 New King James Version
24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so.

1. This is why HEALTH is a value, and will be emphasized in 2024, at East Gate.

2. We’re healthy when our thoughts, feelings, and desires, reflect Gods. When we care for ourselves spiritually, physically, and emotionally we can influence our communities for the better. Health spreads from the top down and the inside out

3. If we are not abiding in Christ and connecting with His heart, the fruit we will produce will be a hinderance to the purposes of Christ

Genesis 17:20 New King James Version
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.

a. Abraham was 75 when he received the blessing and promise, 86 when he followed Sarai’s advice, and 100 when Isaac was born

iii. East Gate, the Lord is inviting us to continue to Aggressively Expand the House of His Glory, by multiplying His glory on the Earth – John 15:8

d. With more of His authority – subdue the Earth and have dominion over

i. As we grow in intimacy, fruitfulness, and in commitment to the multiplication of His glory we will grow in His authority

1. I believe this is what Jesus modeled for us

Matthew 7:28-29 New King James Version
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes
Matthew 9:8 New King James Version
8 Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.
Matthew 9:32-33 New King James Version
32 As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. 33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”
Matthew 15:30-31 New King James Version
30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. 31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

ii. East Gate, the Lord is inviting us into greater realms of authority, where the good news is once again confirmed by signs and wonders

Mark 16:15-18 New King James Version
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

1. The Gospel is so much more than just fire insurance or a “get-out-of-hell-free” card

2. The Gospel is the restoration of what was lost in Eden, the redemption of men and women who can now be a nation of royal priests unto the Lord – 1 Peter 2:4-10

Hebrews 2:1-4 New King James Version
2 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?

III. Personal and Corporate Prophetic Words for 2024

a. What do I do with a prophet word:

i. Test it – the prophetic should always point you to Jesus and covenant faithfulness

1. Record it or write it down

2. Ask the Lord, by His word, to confirm what is from Him and to expose what is not

ii. Steward it – prophetic words are invitations that require active and faithful obedience

1. Give it back to Holy Spirit and ask Him how to partner with Him

2. God’s gives more to those who steward what they already have – Matthew 25:21

3. Future assignments are found within the obedience of present assignments

4. Go back and obey past prophetic words

b. Personal prophetic words over four areas of the lives of those in covenant with East Gate

i. God is going to bless your spiritual life as you abide in Jesus Christ moment by moment

1. Your secret place and His glory will be fruitful and multiply in your life

ii. God is going to bless your relationships as you choose to be present with your spouse, children, and friends

1. Your relationships will be fruitful and multiply

iii. God is going to bless your physically health as you relate to your body as His Temple

1. Your physical health and everything it impacts will be fruitful and multiply

iv. God is going to bless your finances as you steward your physical and financial resources

1. Your household and resources will be fruitful and multiply

c. Corporate prophetic word over East Gate

i. God is going to bless our corporate encounters as we steward the greatest commandment and the second

Matthew 22:37-40 New King James Version
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

1. This house (East Gate) and our corporate encounters will be fruitful and multiply

IV. East Gate, Will We Believe God Like Abram?

a. Abram was blessed and promised fruitfulness and multiplication - Romans 2:16-17; 23-24, Hebrews 11:8&12

Genesis 15:6 New King James Version
6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

b. Promise’s word from the Lord and the creative teams design

Haggai 2:18-19 New Living Translation
18 “Think about this eighteenth day of December, the day when the foundation of the Lord’s Temple was laid. Think carefully. 19 I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you.”