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The number “7” is the number for completion,
and the number “8” is the number for new beginnings. As we start another new
year, I want to talk a little about how we should leave the old and how we
should enter the new.
So, what are you planning on leaving behind as you enter the new year? As we
leave 2007, I think we should make sure and leave behind the sins that have
been weighing us down…God wants us to keep short accounts with Him, and get
right w/ Him on a daily basis. He wants this New Year to be a new beginning
for us to make a fresh start. There’s no better way to make such a change
than thru observing Communion, for the Bible warns us not to partake today
w/ any known sin in our lives.
ill.--What is the one thing most people have in common at the New Year? Most
of us make resolutions, don’t we? One young boy asked his father what his
New Year’s resolution was, and his father said he was going to do everything
possible in the New Year to make his mother very happy.
The boy asked his mother what hers was, and she said, “To do everything
possible to make sure your father keeps his resolution.”
The number one resolution in America is always this: to lose weight.
A wife came into the bathroom to see her husband standing on the scales with
his stomach sucked in. She told him that sucking in his stomach wouldn’t
make it any better. He said it would, because if he didn’t suck it in, he
couldn’t read the numbers.
I say you need to make a resolution to be
F.A.T.:
You must be FAITHFUL. How faithful are you to
Jesus Christ? Are you faithful just when it is convenient to do so, or are
you faithful even when it isn’t? Do you make up your offerings when you miss
church? I have talked about giving your offering from a sacrificial
standpoint. If I have a lot of money and give it from comfort, it doesn’t
mean as much as if somebody else can barely afford to give, but gives as
much as they can plus a little extra. Why? Because they had to sacrifice
something for the Lord when they gave, and I didn’t.
That is being faithful to Jesus. You focus on Him and do things for His
glory, even when it is an inconvenience to you to do so.
You must be AVAILABLE. How available are you? Do you go to church when it is
convenient to do so or just when you aren’t tired? Or, do you go to church
even when you are tired and would rather be doing something else? Do you
reach out to others only if you know them, or even when you don’t know them?
In other words, are you really available to do what God wants you to do?
And you must be TEACHABLE. Are you willing to listen to me or some other
person in authority tell you what you should be doing for Jesus, or do you
get irritated and quit listening?
That is Satan using your self-will and pride to keep you away from the Lord.
Listen to all advice you can get. Then, analyze it and study it. Discard
what will not help you and hang on to dear life to that which will help you.
To be a Christian who is walking forward for the Lord and not just sitting
in one spot, claiming the miracles of Christ, we need to be F.A.T.
(Faithful, Available, and Teachable.) Are you?
To have a clean slate in ’08 we must:
1. LEAVE THE PAST BEHIND
When we pray, we often take our needs to the Lord and ask His help in
dealing with them. But then what do we often do? Instead of leaving them
with Him, we take them back with us as we finish praying.
We need to learn to leave things where they belong. God wants us looking
forward, the devil would rather we look back. But we must ‘press toward the
mark’! [verse on screen]
We talk about our walk in life; our walk of faith; and walk with the Lord.
By its very nature, walking means moving forward. And as we move forward, we
are always doing two things: We leave one place and go into another.
- - LEAVE YOUR RESENTMENT BEHIND
Luke 9:62
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Each of us resent something. We might resent
something we have said and done, or we might resent what someone else has
said and done. But along with resentment comes unforgiveness. And
unforgiveness is a very dangerous thing to keep in our lives.
Jesus said that if we forgive, God will forgive us. But if we do not
forgive, God will not forgive us. Now, we must understand that to forgive
does not mean the same thing as to forget. We cannot erase our memories, but
we can erase our resentment.
So forget those things which hurt you. And forgive those people who did or
said them. I like the old saying: “Look lovingly upon your enemies, for it
is you who have made them.”
Also, if you stoop low enough to begrudge others - - THEY COME OUT ON TOP!
So make a decision to leave your resentment behind.
- - LEAVE YOUR WORRIES BEHIND
Worries are very much like rocking chairs. They give you something to do,
but they never take you anywhere while you’re doing it. We only worry about
two things: Things we can change and things we cannot change. Why waste time
doing something that only hurts us and never helps us?
When we worry, it becomes the predominate thought of our lives. It also
causes some mental illness, much stress, and many other things that destroy
our lives. Worry has killed more people than hard work ever did. Worry is
the cause of fear.
So, leave your worries behind as you enter the New Year, too.
- - LEAVE YOUR FAILURES BEHIND
We try so hard to be the best we can be, but we don’t always succeed. And it
is in those times when we don’t succeed, that we get discouraged because we
have failed. But what have we failed in? We may not have achieved just what
we originally set out to achieve, but we haven’t failed.
The only time you fail is when you don’t try to do anything! We need to
understand that God has called us to have faith long before He ever called
us to achieve. We are called to be in Christ, and as long as we are in Him,
we are successful.
When we as a nation, or as individuals, have strayed from our Lord, we will
find failure in our lives. But when we turn back once again to Him, He will
hear our pleas and He will restore us, for He is a God of restoration.
Part of going forward is leaving the past behind.
Imagine a trapeze artist swinging from one swing to another, high above the
ground with no net under him. As he reaches out to the next swing, what must
he do? He must let go of the one he is on. If he refuses to let go of the
swing he is on, will he ever be able to go to the next swing? Absolutely
not.
I said the number “7” is the number for completion. You may still
accidentally write it on your checks for a while, but let 2007 be fully
completed. Let it take its rightful place in the hallway of the past.
- - LEAVE YOUR SINS BEHIND
If you’ve never been saved, consider the
clean slate available to you now:
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Christians, God in His longsuffering love for
us gives us 2nd chances...He’ll allow us a do over now!
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
That’s a clean slate! The Bible tells us
that communion is intended to be a new beginning for us in a way, as we
examine ourselves, and let the Lord examine us, truly seeking to be right
w/ Him and ‘in communion’ with Him! [see I Cor. 11:27-31]
PM:
And after you let go of the past, you must learn to …
2. GRAB HOLD OF THE FUTURE
The past has passed, but your future is an unwritten book! Each new year is
a representative thing. It represents to us that there is a whole range of
new opportunities for us; an unlimited chance to have a better life. At the
start of every year, we see magazines publishing predictions on how they
think the world will be in the upcoming year. Some of these predictions have
been accurate, but most have fallen way short of being true.
One such prediction a few years ago was that in the 21st century, technology
would be so advanced that the world would not work more than about 20 hours
a week. I think we can all agree that prediction missed the mark by a mile.
It seems that, no matter how far advanced technology gets, we just keep
getting busier and busier. Someone said that the merry-go-round of life has
gotten so fast that we now have no chance of stepping off.
How do you think we will fare in the new year? Will it actually be a year of
new beginnings for us? Will we have the wherewithal to analyze ourselves
honestly, so that we will know what areas to leave behind and what things to
bring with us? We need to be very wise as we step through the doorway of
time.
One of the best suggestions along this line is found in –
Ephesians 5:15-17 15 See then that ye walk
circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but
understanding what the will of the Lord is.
If we are going to make the best of the future, we need to understand a few
things. The first thing we need to really get a grip on is that ….
- - OUR TIME ON THIS EARTH IS LIMITED
Psalms 90:10
The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason
of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength
labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Our lives seem so long – to us. I’ve been alive as long as I can remember!
Some of you must be bored stiff! But in reality, our lives are very short.
Considering that, wouldn’t it do us good to make sure that we use 2008 as a
time to really get right with the Lord? I am talking about getting totally
sold out for Jesus, and stop worrying about what our friends, neighbors, and
co-workers might say to us for doing so!
What seems like forever to us is only a blink of an eye. The psalmist writes
that our life lasts no longer than the vapor of our breath; it is here and
then it is gone.
ill--Two teenagers who are in love can sit in a car talking and an hour only
seems like a minute to them. However, that same hour seems like an eternity
to their parents.
A magazine ran an article about a new clock they have that keeps track of
how much time we have left to live. It calculates an average life span of 75
years for men and 80 years for women. So, for a mere $100 you can program
your gender and age into the clock and it will tell you how much time you
have left.
That is going to the extreme, but we are told in the Bible to keep track of
our days. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean to know when you are going to
die, but to know your time is limited and it is your responsibility to make
the most of it for the Lord.
If I live to the ripe old age of 75 [halfway there now...does that mean I’m
over the hill?!], I have nearly 13,300 days left. That seems like a lot, but
you see it in its real context when you consider I have already lived that
many days. So, in the limited time I have left, what I should be looking at
more than anything else is what – what can I do for the Lord while I am
still here?
We have such a short time here in this life, and eternity awaits. Therefore,
I think any sane person would choose to take personal analysis of themselves
and figure out what areas of their lives do them more harm than good; make a
choice to leave them behind as they step forward into a new year of
opportunities the Lord has given us; and to grab hold of this future with
all the gusto we have, knowing it, too, shall pass and come to a “quicker
than we are ready for” end. Maybe a lot quicker than we take for granted.
We must also prioritize so that we …
- - DO NOT LOSE WHAT WE HAVE TO OVERLOAD
It is estimated that the average doctor must read over 200 medical articles
each month, just to keep up with all the new changes and procedures? That
comes out to an average of nearly 70 articles a week. Of course, there is no
doctor who has that kind of time, and because they don’t, many doctors feel
absolutely overloaded. They feel this way because they are expected to do
something they cannot do.
How many times do we hear that, because somebody was so stressed from
overload, they snapped or had a melt down? Have you ever heard of anyone
having mental or emotional problems because they had everything under
control?
We must be sure that we have our priorities set in order and that we realize
which things must be done when, so we don’t get overloaded in 2008.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 1 To every thing there is
a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to
die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
Translation: ‘There is a time to plant, and
a time to be planted.’
Time management is not as difficult as it first appears. List all the things
you have to do. Then, go back over them, assigning a number to each thing on
your list, with #1 being the most important and on down the line from there.
Then make another list, listing each of the prior items in their numerical
order, starting with #1. Now you have the most important things in your life
already written down before you, and all you have to do is to figure out
about when you will do them and how long you will spend doing them. For
instance, if prayer is on your list (and I surely hope it is), write down
daily, and either a time period, or a total amount of time that you are
going to spend in prayer.
So, let me recap what we have so far...
As we go into the new year, we should leave those things we consider
failures in our lives.
We must go into our new year with our eyes wide open so we can grab hold of
everything God is giving us. And that means to pay attention to Him, not
just giving Him that occasional thought in passing. We can only do that if
we realize our time is limited, so we have to prioritize to keep from
getting bogged down in overload.
We must also…
3. KNOW WHAT THE LORD’S WILL IS FOR US
Again, quoting the Apostle Paul, he says for us "...to not be foolish, but
understand what the Lord’s will is."
I am assuming that since you are in church today, you realize that you need
the Lord in your life. And I am hoping that you really believe that your
relationship with Jesus is more important than anything else in your life.
Know that the Lord never says for you to be comfortable. He does, however,
expect you to focus on Him and not things of this world.
You now have a choice. You can go into the New Year, taking everything with
you, being dulled to the need of changing some things, or you can go into
the New Year trying your best to make sure the past is past and the future
is for God.
God wants to give you a “do-over” for 2007. Will you accept it?
[based on sermon by Bruce Ball]
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