How To Have A Successful Year In Your Christian Life

HOW TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL YEAR IN YOUR CHRISTIAN LIFE!

Psalms 1:1-3.

Ps 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (KJV)

INTRODUCTION: I am going to give you something tonight that is very basic, yet so profound. As a matter of fact most all of Christianity misses this one lesson totally in their Christian life. If every born again person would fulfil what I am going to give you tonight, we would live in a world of utopia. Politics would be a thing forgotten. Abortion would be gone. Divorce would be at zero. The secular society would have nothing to write about in their newspaper columns except things that the local Baptist churches were doing. To do what I am saying tonight would be to relive the life in the Garden of Eden. By the way this is the way it will be in the Millennium for the Christian.

Please write the outline down and then maybe get the tape so you can have a permanent record of this lesson. It is so important. I am not trying to toot my own horn, but rather to motivate each of you to enrich your Christian life into another realm or reality.

How is all of this done? I am going to give you seven things that you must do to classify a successful year in 2004.

I. DAILY RENEWING OF THE INNER MAN 2 Cor. 4:16.

2Co 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. (KJV)

How do we do that? We will define that in the next three points. But to say a little about this renewing, to fail to do so is the number one reason for Christian failure.

The inner man is the new person that was born inside you when you got saved.

Too many attempt to make the renewing a once and for all matter, and that can’t be done. Some even attempt this as a New Year’s Resolution and then forget it the remainder of the year. It doesn’t work like that.

A. Feed The Inner Man. The inner man is not interested in the least with the happenings of the world. We try to feed the inner man a diet that he cannot digest.

We want the inner man to be interested in fashions, feastings, and frolics and he isn’t. He is interested only in the things of God. He is spiritually motivated – he cares not for the things of the world.

B. Starve The Flesh. Ro 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. (KJV)

Ro 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (KJV)

Mortify means to kill or slay. If you don’t feed the inner man you will automatically feed the flesh.

C. Exercise The Spiritual Man.

This will keep the inner man in control of your commitments and convictions. It would mean that you do only those things which please the Lord.

It means to walk with God. I have been trying to walk more than normal since I had knee surgery. That same principle will be of great benefit for the Christian.

II. DAILY READING OF THE WORD OF GOD Neh. 8:18

Ne 8:18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner. (KJV)

We try to challenge the membership to read the Bible through each year. That is so that you will be actively involved in reading the Bible. We had several accomplish that in 2003.

We talk about this a lot yet this one part of your life is the most basic. The secular system has become so concerned with the physical health. Everything we see is in some way connected with our health. We are instructed to eat right, breathe right, set right, walk right, sleep right. But what about the spiritual man? The word of God is much more important than physical exercise.

Read it daily – memorize it – obey it – love it – talk about it – spread it. Make it part of your everyday practice.