A New Year, A New You. Part I
Well Christmas came upon us so fast and now it has passed. And now comes the season of Deck the Halls with piles and piles of bills to help us remember what we did this Christmas season. Maybe you heard the story of the young college student and she came running in tears to her father. She said to her father “Dad you gave me some terrible financial advice!” I did?” What did I tell you said the puzzled father? The girl responded and said “You told me to put my money in that big bank, and not that big bank is in trouble.” What are you talking about? That is one of the largest banks in the state.” He said. There must be some mistake.” Well I don’t think so she cried.” They just returned one of my checks with a note on it saying “Insufficient funds.”
You may never have experienced insufficient funds in your life, but Christmas time can easily share with us low funds. If only we could replace that with lower weight we would be doing okay. Well the New Year is only a few days away. Soon we will be struggling to remember to write 2008 instead of 2007 on those checks. And as we enter into this part of the year, we ask ourselves what will the New Year bring?
A poet once wrote:
Life is a book of volumes three
The past the present and the yet to be.
The first is written and laid away
The second we are writing day by day.
The next and the last of the volumes three
Is locked from sight. God holds the key.
New Years is always the perfect opportunity for us to reflect on the past to recommit to the present and to plan for the future. The great intellectual giant Socrates once said “an unexamined life is not worth living.” And so at the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 I want to invite you to journey into a period of self-examination as we examine our lives and place under the microscope our relationship to God.
I remember hearing adults tell me how fast time flies the older you get and while I am still young I have discovered that as I put on years and pounds I am cognizant of the fact that time does seem to speed up. And so it is important that I focus on how I am living my life and to keen in on the relationship that I have with God. In James 4:14 we find out how quickly time does go by. James 4:14 says “
“Why, you don’t even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James 4:14
James is describing to us that while it is important to have a form of planning for the future that we also need to be realistic and know that we don’t know what the future holds. And because the future is so uncertain it is imperative that you and I completely depend on God. Life is short no matter how long we live. We shouldn’t be deceived into thinking we have plenty of time left to live for Christ, to enjoy our loved ones, or to do what we know we should. Today is the day to live for God! Then, no matter when our lives end, we will have fulfilled God’s plans for us.
Yet if we truly examine ourselves we will see that it is really completely insane for us to waste part of our lives focused on stupid things such as really wondering what people think about us, harboring grudges and being mad at someone that extend for years, and walking in life constantly fearful of doing something wrong.
And so today I am convinced that the power of God is with us here on December 30, 2007 and if we will do a self examination and be willing to make changes God can create for you and for me an opportunity to live a changed and empowered life. So today let’s look at five common products and examine our lives and our relationship with God and be willing to make the changes that are necessary in life.
The First thing that we should look at:
I. A Mirror—A Reflection of Our Life
Turn with me to James 1: 23-25. We know what a mirror does. It provides us with a detailed look at something mainly our bodies. For many of us, New Years is the least favorite time for us to look into a mirror. But a mirror is an important object for us to look at as it shows us a clear reflection of our life. For instance if we do not take care of ourselves properly then the mirror is one that will not hide our problem areas. It is an honest straight forward look at who we are and what we are made of.
Now let’s look at James 1:23-25. “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
The problem with the mirror is sometimes we look so quickly at the mirror that we don’t really see what is being reflected back at us. A quick glance shows us that everything okay but under close examination we discover that there are some defects in our lives and upon closer examination we realize that there are things that must be changed. In this passage we are encouraged to allow God’s Word to be a mirror to our lives. To not just take a casual look at it but to take a deep look at it.
If we quickly look at God’s Word but don’t apply it to our lives then nothing is changed. Rather we are to take the mirror of God’s Word and approach it deeply and intently and allow it to show us the flaws in our lives and to change our lives. The kind of “mirror” that God’s word provides is unique. It shows us our inner nature in the same way that a regular mirror shows our exterior features. Both mirrors reflect what is there. When God’s word points out something in us that needs correction, we had better listen and act.
Several months ago Chrysta and I went to see the Broadway musical “The Lion King.” I must say that it was impressive not just in the brilliant costumes in which humans are made to look and respond like elephants and tigers and antelope and etc. But the story line was impressive as well. The movie the Lion King focuses on a young lion named Simba and Simba has examined his life and realized that he has made mistakes in the past and he has looked in the mirror and examined his life and decided that he is ready to make some changes which is the essence of the song Hakuna Matata. What got Simba to change was not a warthog but a realization that Simba had changed. And in a dream one night Simba recalls a conversation in which Simba’s father says “Simba you have forgotten who you are, and you have forgotten me. Look inside yourself Simba you are more than what you have become. Simba says well I examine myself and realize that I have done wrong but I can’t go back to which Simba’s father responds You can go back if you remember who you are.
And so today I want to encourage all of us to take a good look in the mirror to realize who we are. And that is that you and I are children of God. It does not matter the failures you have made, the bad choices you have committed or even the warthogs that you have in your life. Friends God loves you and wants the very best for you and that is why he has created his Word as a mirror so that we can examine ourselves and can change so that we can be like Him.
For in God’s eyes you are His child, the one that He loves, the one that even though we have flaws and failures we are still worthy of His grace. And he encourages us to step back and look in that mirror and after examining ourselves turn away from our desires and turn towards God’s desires.
So we must examine ourselves through a mirror but also through a leaf.
II. A Leaf Compels Us To Stay Connected to God
Turn with me to John 15 verses 4-8. Even though I am not a flower person I have always been amazed at the beauty of leaves. This year one did not have to go to the mountains to observe the beautiful color of the trees. All throughout the surrounding area you could drive for miles and miles and stare in awe at the beautiful colors of the leaves.
Well leaves are beautiful until they fall of the tree and then they become a nuisance. They die and fall to the ground and then instead of spending time looking at their beauty one spends time looking over a rake trying to remove their ugliness from the ground. Why is this? It’s because they leaf is no longer connected to its power source.
Go back to John 15:4-8: Let me read this to you in the Message paraphrase: "Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. 5 "I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. 6 Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. 7 But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. 8 This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
Though we could spend the rest of our time on these verses let me just point out the importance of staying connected to God. Verse 4 says that we are to remain in me (Christ) and I (Christ) will remain in you. Now notice that this requires willingness on our part. Go back to the leaves. When a leaf falls to the ground it can still survive and produce color for a while after it has fallen off the tree but it cannot continue to produce fruit if it is no longer attached to the root.
I love the word Remain that John uses here. John uses this word 11 times in this chapter alone, 40 times in the entire gospel and it is used 27 other times in the other epistles of John. So it is evident that this word remain is to remain inside of us. Why is it so important? Because the word means to make a constant, moment-by-moment decision to follow Christ. We must not be passive believers where we just sit around and “remain” until we die. No we must be active. When we choose to remain in Jesus and he remains in us it means that we choose moment by moment to follow His will. It is a constant decision to follow Christ. Jesus encourages us to remain on the vine and according to verse 5 if we do that then we will bear much fruit which means that by choosing moment by moment to follow Jesus then our lives will attract people to Jesus and they will become members of God’s vine. Yet if we choose to go at it alone then we will be like the leaf and will fall away and miss out on participating in the life-giving flow of the vine.
Now as we look at this leaf and as we look at this passage of Scripture I want to make it clear that Jesus is not wanting to focus on our inadequacies, but he wants to remind us of the great things that we can do and be with a relationship with Him. For simply apart from him, we can do nothing. The fruit of the Spirit displayed in our lives should attract people to Jesus and thereby make them new members of God’s vine. Jesus’ emphasis here was not to dwell on our glaring inadequacies, but to remind us of the incomparable adequacy that comes from our relationship with him. Apart from him, we can do nothing.
It is important to see that a leaf does not just remain on a tree and do nothing. Rather when a leaf is on a tree, it is at work producing fruit and sharing in the life-giving work of the tree or vine. And so it should be with you and I as Christians. If we truly examine our lifestyle we should ask the question. Are we true disciples or are we just hanging on. For verse 8 shares with us the difference. A true disciple is one who does more than just believe what Jesus says; rather they let Jesus words remain in them. Moment by moment they allow Jesus words and life to permeate their entire beings as they submit themselves to His will.
As we examine ourselves we must ask ourselves which leaf are we in our walk with God. Are we dried up withered without water fallen away from following His will. Or are we like this beautiful leaf that has remained attached to the life giving root and are determined to bear much fruit and to show ourselves to be His disciples?
I wish that I could tell you that 2008 was going to be a perfect year filled with perfect blessings and no problems at all. Yet to say that would be sheer foolishness on my part. There is no doubt that we will face challenges in the upcoming year. Yet what I can promise is that if we will stay connected to God it will make a huge difference.
Well how can we stay connected? It’s actually easier than we might think. It involves us staying connected to God through His word, through prayer, through worshipping through being actively involved in His church, through savoring His creation, and hanging out and enjoying life with His people.
Every time you see a branch – connected, green and alive or disconnected withered and dead let it remind you… of your need to be connected to God. A connection that will feed the cravings of soul, making it come alive.
So we must examine our lives through a mirror and realize who we are and what we have been created to do and we must examine our lives through a leaf and discover that to be alive we must remain in Christ and be connected to Him. The final thing I want to share with you this morning in the first part of this series of messages is to examine our selves through a glass of water:
III. Water—We must pour more of God in.
Now I have here a glass of water. Now thanks to the fine water operator of Castalia this water looks clear. Now when you and I accept Jesus as our personal savior what he does is he gives us a clean pure life. Now what happens is you and I have problems and struggles and what we do is we dirty the water per se. For instance we allow Anger to come in and (drop dirt into the water) we allow envy bitterness, lies, greed and on and on it goes (drop dirt) and pretty soon what we have is a glass that was clear of water is now dirtied because of our actions. And then we get upset because of our dirty water and we want to remove it from our lives and then we get frustrated when we try to remove it and we are not successful. And the reason that we can’t get this dirty water out is because we must allow God to remove the sin and the dirt from our lives. John 7: 37-38 reminds us of the cleaning agent that has been given to us to remove this dirty water from our lives and clean us out. Now which water do you want to drink? The dirty water I think not. No we want the clean water. We want the water that is purified and full of minerals. Yet friends the only way that we can have that clean pure water is by drinking living water. In John 7:37-38 we hear these words
“If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the scripture has said streams of living water will flow within him.”
Friends if we are truly thirsty and wanting to have clean lives then we must examine where the dirt is coming from and be willing to listen to the Holy Spirit and pour more of Him in and let him filter the dirt out. Ephesians 5:18 reminds us to let the Holy Spirit fill and control us. And as we allow Him to pour more in then he will help us purge more dirt out.
