New Year, New Man

A New Years Prayer

(OPENING SLIDE) READ PSALMS 31

If we are fortunate enough, once a year we wake up to a brand new year. It doesn’t matter what happened last year; there’s nothing we can do about it. What’s done is done, and life goes on. What is exciting, however, is a New Year. It is the signal of a new begining, a fresh start. (SLIDE 2) Another chance to do the right thing and start over. Time to do those things that we have been talking about doing! You know, "I’m really gonna get serious about God....soon as I get time"...this is the time of year that we realize time is slowly ticking away, and we are just along for the ride. Kinda like a canoe being swept down a river by the current. Where is it taking us? What are we doing while we’re on this trip? Time marches on whether we like it or not. When I worked a "real" job..(lol) the employer was always worried about time management...how you spent your time during the work day. Did you know that God is your employer and He is interested in how you spend your time? How’s your time management?

Some folks make resolutions...only to be broken. (SLIDE 3) I think we all have made this one...lose some weight! Every year, same resolution...and usually same results. We start out good. "I’m really gonna do it this time!"...but our zeal cools down as soon as we realize..."hey! I’m hungry!...well, I’ll just grab something to eat now and make it for it later". We know when we do it that we’re not gonna make up for it. If there is truly one resolution we all need to make this year it is to be closer to God. I think we can all agree on that we would like to draw nigh unto Him...but I think also that our zeal dissapears after a little while. Sometimes we are even afraid of what the future may hold. Let’s look at David’s prayer here in our text and see how he handles it.

David is doing what I call "Christian self-talk." You know, sometimes we have to convince ourselves that we are who we are. We are blood bought children of the King.....heirs to the very throne of God! So important to God that He sent His most precious Son to ransom us when we were yet mired in sin so we can boldly approach the throne of God with confidence! That’s who you are, and that’s what you need to keep reminding yourself of. If you have to talk yourself into it, them talk yourself into it! It’s true! Here’s how David does it. (SLIDE 4) VS 9 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. 10 My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. 11 Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends— those who see me on the street flee from me.

Boy, that sounds pitiful, doesn’t it? And you thought YOU had problems! His eyes are growing weak, his body and soul is wracked with grief; Look at vs 10...his whole life is miserabe, isn’t it? So bad that even his friends have not only deserted him, but now hold him in contempt! They don’t even want to be around him. I don’t think I would either, with that attitude! He certainly isn’t minimizing his problems, is he? He says "I have a lot of issues here"....but let’s see what he does about it. Look in (SLIDE 5) VS 14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." Here’s the self-talk. David recognizes where his help will come from.

Look at VS 15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. Do you remember the very last thing Jesus said on the cross? (SLIDE 6) LUKE 23:46Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. Listen, we all need to realize that our times are in His hands! It’s not what happens to us that determines whether we are going to be sad, mad, or glad. It is what we tell ourselves ABOUT what happens to us that determines our emotional state. And what you tell yourself about your particular situation is largely determined by how familiar you are with God’s Word. Remember, the Bible is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path. Jesus Himself set the example for us in His dying moments on the cross....He prayed PSALMS 31....and by doing so He showed that He wasn’t afraid of the future...because He had already commited it to God. Let’s read on....(SLIDE 7)