How To Begin The New Year

How To Begin the New Year; Psalm 139:23-24

It’s hard to believe that another year has past. The saying, “the older we get the faster time goes by,” is becoming a definite reality in my life. I truly understand James 4:14 which says, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” I am amazed at how quickly the year has gone. It’s the beginning of a new year and it’s time to reflect on our lives and make resolutions to make certain changes in our lives.

Can you guess what the #1 resolution is every year? The #1 resolution is to loose weight, yet by the end of the most people haven’t lost weight they have actually gained weight. Most people make some pretty good resolutions but have little resolve; they make big resolutions but have little will power. It is my hope that this year’s resolutions will remember Christ and our personal relationship and worship with Him.

This morning I want to focus upon some new year’s resolutions that each of should consider for ourselves, but before we delve into our topic, I thought you might enjoy a few stories of failed resolutions:

A story is told that At the beginning of a new year, a high school principal decided to post his teachers’ new year’s resolutions on the bulletin board. As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining. "Why weren’t my resolutions posted?" She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions he was astounded. This teacher’s first resolution was not to let little things upset her in the New Year.

Or how bout this one…A son called his parents to wish them a happy new year and when his Dad answered the phone, He asked his dad,” well Dad, what’s your new year’s resolution? His dad replied, To make "To make your mother as happy as I can all year," When his mom got on the phone he asked. her the same question. His mom replied my resolution is "To see that your dad keeps his New Year’s resolution."

Or some of you may have given up on resolutions taking the same attitude as the characters in the cartoon Calvin and Hobbes:

The cartoon character Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes once said, “God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I’m so far behind I’ll never die.”

Regardless of past successes or failures… I want you to give a new year resolution one more try but this time realize that keeping this promise is a team effort. Invite the Holy Spirit to join you this year…

The disciples were faced with a new day. Their master Jesus had died. Their hopes were crushed. Their dreams shattered. As per Jesus instructions, they assembled in an upper room knowing what needed to be done but lacking both the power and the desire to carry it out. It was here in their doubt that the Holy Spirit entered the picture.

Turn with to Acts chapter 2 beginning in verse 1. The Holy Spirit powerfully entered their lives and they became bold preachers of the Gospel.

Jesus spoke of this same Holy Spirit in John chapter 14 verse 26 when he said: But when the father sends the Counselor as my representative- and by the counselor I mean the Holy Spirit- He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you.

As we contemplate a new year’s resolution, we must do so realizing that we can not be successful in keeping it apart from God. John 15:5 b says… Apart from me you can do nothing.

The New Year is upon us, and we look forward to another year filled with opportunities. To make the best use of the opportunities that God gives us is we must be sure that our hearts are right before Him.

In 1 Sam. 13:14, David is described as being a man after God’s own heart. That means that he was a man who desired to know and do the will of God. In these two verses, David asks God to do three things in his life and I believe if we would sincerely ask God to do the same things in our lives. We might also be considered as a person who seeks after God’s heart.

I. "Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart..."

The heart is the center of our life.

B. (Prov 4:23) "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."