A New You For A New Year!

• Lose some weight,

• Learn a language,

• Focus on learning a new skill or hobby,

• Some feel stifled in a career and looking for a new opportunity,

• Some recognize their spiritual emptiness and resolve to attempt to “know God” or “become more spiritual” in the coming year.

As we will enter into a new year, we find that this is indeed an exciting time of the year.

WHY IS IT SO EXCITING FOR US?

Because of three reasons:

(1) By nature we always like new things, it is exciting when we get:

• A new car

• A new suit of clothing

• A new home

• A new child or grandchild

But it is also exciting as we anticipate entering a New Year.

WHAT MAKES THE NEW YEAR SO EXCITING?

(2)The old year we have had has brought some very difficult times in our lives, such as:

• Some have lost loved ones this year

• Some have had to endure great sickness throughout the year

• Some have lost jobs this year

• Some have lost friends through death or betrayal

• Some have had financial setbacks

Those who have had to endure these things look forward to a New Year, and they are more than happy to close out the Old Year and send it to the history books.

Some look forward to a New Year…

(3) WHEN IT COMES TO FACING THEIR PROBLEMS, THEY ARE OUT OF SOLUTIONS!

Illus: These remind us of the woman who walked into a convenience store.

• She walks straight to the manager and asks, "Do you have any small notebooks?"

"Sorry," says the manager. "We're all out."

• The woman shrugs, and asks, "Well, do you have any mechanical pencils?"

"Nope, don't have those either," says the manager.

• The woman feels her stomach rumbling and asks, "Do you have Doritos? Nachos?"

The manager shrugs, "Sorry."

• "How about Chapstick?" says the woman.

"Nope. Don't have that."

• "Well" the woman says, "If you don't have anything, why don't you close the store?"

• The manager shrugs, "Can't. Don't have the key."

For many, life seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place. They cannot find the key to the problems they face.

Sometimes in dealing with problems MANY of us cannot find the solution to our problems and the best thing for us to do is start all over from the beginning. That is exactly what we do in a New Year.

As we enter a New Year, we never know what things will be like during the next 365 days.

Illus: This time of the year is supposed to be the busiest time of the year for fortunetellers, because people want to know what the future holds for them this coming year.

But the Bible makes it clear; NO MAN KNOWS THE FUTURE. NO MAN!

Look at James 4:14, we read, “ “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.”

If I can’t tell you what will take place in the next five minutes, how can I tell you what is going to take place over the next 365 days?

If anyone knew what the future held, they could become rich overnight by investing in the stock market.

If you ask these fortunate tellers about why aren’t they rich if they know the future, they will tell you this gift does not work for their own needs.

THIS IS A COP OUT!!!

Illus: For example, suppose a man comes to a fortune teller wanting to know what the stock market is going to do tomorrow, so he will know how to invest his money.

And suppose this fortuneteller looks into this crystal ball and tells him that the WALMART STOCK is going to double tomorrow.

If this information was true, don’t you think the fortune teller would invest everything they have in the Walmart Stock also?

Fortunetellers prey on the ignorance of man. Only God knows what this coming year will hold for us.

There are three areas I want us to look at today as we consider a NEW YOU FOR A NEW YEAR!!!

I. WE NEED TO RENEW OUR MINDS

Rom. 12:1 2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but BE YE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Look at the word “RENEWING”.

This word means to restore.

Illus: We all know that with the daily wear and tear of things, we have to RESTORE some things in our homes from time to time.