Mark 10:17-27
December 30, 2007
Duct Tape Resolutions
This week and next have to be some of the most depressing of the entire year! The holidays are over, the family and friends are gone, there are no more presents to open, the Christmas candy has dwindled and has left a mark on our mid-sections, and now it’s time to go back to work and school! What a drag!
While all of those things are very depressing, there is one thing more depressing and that is what will occur in about 36 hours. The most depressing part of the first week in January has to be starting those New Years resolutions! You see up to December 31st, you can tell yourself, ‘next year I will be more active in church, next year I’m going to get my finances in order, next year I’ll start getting in better shape,’ next year, next year, next year. . .
But after December 31st, there are no more excuses! Once the clock strikes midnight and we begin writing 2008 we have no more excuses. It is next year, this is where the rubber meets the road! Where we find out if we are talking the talk, but are we willing to walk the walk!
I read about a man who decided to make 2 very basic new year’s resolutions - - lose weight, and become a more patient person! He was just going to tackle his resolutions and be victorious. So on January 1, he put on sweat pants and worked out. Lunch was a nice big salad and steamed vegetables and a grilled chicken breast for dinner. The next day he woke up and worked out, ate a salad for lunch and salmon and veggies for dinner. The next day when he woke up, he hurried into the bathroom stepped on the scale, but hadn’t lost any weight.
He was so depressed, he put on sweat clothes, got into the car and drove to Dunkin Donuts and got a large Cappuccino and 3 creme filled Donuts. Then, while he was driving home eating donuts and drinking cappuccino, some guy pulled out in front of him, and he slammed on the brakes and the cappuccino went sailing onto the seat. He laid on the horn and nicely yelled at the guy, “watch where you’re going!”
So within ½ hour, and less than 3 days into the new year he had broken both New Years Resolutions! And he thought, how depressing!
But from broken new year’s resolutions we learn a couple of things - the main item being duct tape resolutions never last.
So, what must I do to inherit eternal life? The man today’s gospel story came to Jesus with sincerity. He fell to his knees before Jesus, but this man was only looking for one thing, he was looking for a quick fix.
There has always been one thing that gives us a quick fix . . . duct tape. You can duct tape just about anything. In fact, I received the book you are seeing on the screen for a Christmas present a couple of years ago.
I remember when I was younger, there was always duct tape laying around. It could fix about anything. The cracked seat on a bicycle, a broken tennis racquet, and a leaky pipe. It was good for rolling into a ball when your baseball busted. And it’s got 1001 other uses. If you could name it, duct tape could probably fix it!
However there was one small problem with Duct Tape, after a while it would start to tear and rip. If it got too wet it would begin to loosen and after a while your bike seat, tennis racquet, leaky pipe, or ball would be broken again! Duct Tape was only a quick fix! It was a temporary solution! This morning there are people out there who are living lives covered with Duct Tape! People who are looking for the quick fix.
You can’t say yes I want to take control over my finances and continue spending your money on useless stuff.
You can’t say yeah I want to have a better relationship with my kids and continue to work 80 hours at the office.
You can’t say Yes Lord I want to have a dynamic and growing relationship with you, and continue to give Him an hour out of your week!
You can’t say yes I want to see great, awesome and powerful things happen here at FBC and continually refuse to get involved.
You see New Years Resolutions require more than Duct Tape! It requires more than just a quick fix! The man in the story came to Jesus and said teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said keep the commandments, Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, honor your father and mother!
You can almost hear the man can’t you? Yeah, yeah, yeah I’ve done all that! Hurry up and tell me what I can do to inherit eternal life? So what did Jesus say to him? One thing you lack, go and sell everything you have and give it to the poor, then come and follow me! The man went away sad, because he had great wealth.
When Jesus challenges us to make a change in our lives, He doesn’t ask us to change things we are already doing well! Maybe you spend a lot of time with your kids, and maybe you have control over your finances, and maybe you are involved in serving in the church and community. Jesus isn’t asking you to give up those areas! Maybe He is asking you give Him your pride, your greed, your envy, your jealousy, your bitterness, your joylessness! Maybe He is asking you to give Him your life! When Jesus challenges us to change our lives, He calls us to lay down difficult areas of our lives! And it requires more than Duct Tape! They require more than a quick fix! They require the power of Jesus to help us succeed.
So, what is the lasting fix?
If you have ever fixed your roof, you know what is going to happen. After the old roof gets torn off and a beautiful new one gets put on, the new one begins to weather and wither away. After a period of time this new roof will need to be replaced. Things don’t last forever.
It is almost impossible to find anything that will last, isn’t it? I can’t tell you how many batteries I have purchased in my life. It does not matter if we buy expensive our cheap batteries, they wear out. You can go to the store and buy Energizer Batteries. They keep going and going and going! But there are also Duracell batteries, and Everready batteries. And the list can go on and on.
So go buy some batteries, but know they will eventually wear out, even the rechargeable batteries wear out on you, don’t they?
It’s almost impossible to find anything that will last! Not all friendships lasts, job security doesn’t last, houses don’t last, our health won’t last! It’s almost impossible to find anything that will last! Did you catch the key word? Almost! You see there is one sure and certain thing that will last.
1 Peter 1:24-25 says, 24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 BUT the word of the Lord stands forever.”
Jesus talking to His disciples in Matthew 24:35 says, that heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will last forever! In a world filled with people who are empty and broken. People who have their lives held together with Duct Tape, we still find hope for a lasting solution! The only thing to do now, is to put the lasting fix into effect in your life! But how do we accomplish that? How do we put the lasting fix into effect in our lives!
We are reminded to follow the words from Hebrews 12:1-3 which tells us in part ~
“. . . let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles . . .
. . . let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
It gives us strength to finish the race marked out for us. Because New Year’s resolutions require more than Duct Tape!
CONCLUSION
Try this experiment.
Write down any 3 digit number. (The number can’t mirror itself like 979 or 454)
Reverse the number you just wrote down.
Now subtract the lower/smaller number from the higher/larger number. [If the subtraction yielded a 2-digit number (99), add zero in front of it (099).
Let me show you . . . I asked Ernie for a 3 digit number. He gave me
317. If you reverse 317, you end up with 713. So you take
713
- 317
396
Reverse 396 and you get 693. Add
693
+396
1089
317 - - - 713 = 396 + 693 = 1089
Now, reverse the result and add it to the preceding answer/result.
If you followed the instructions carefully, everyone will have the same answer: 1089.
Wherever you started, with whatever number, you all end up at the same place: 1089. THE POINT - - - -
We all start at different places when we decide to follow Jesus, who is our North star, our final destination will always be the same. It does not matter where we start out. Some of us start out in mansions; other begin in public housing.
Some of us start in the warm arms of a loving family. Other begin in a barren childhood of absentee parents and outright rejection or abuse.
Some of us start with a heritage of faith and a solid church family; other begin without any spiritual direction whatsoever.
Some of us start early in life, seeking faith and fulfillment in childhood; others begin late in life, looking for spiritual solace only when wrinkles and grey hairs have contoured and colored our perspective.
But no matter where your journey begins, if we faithfully follow Jesus, then our destination is determined. We will come into the light, His light. We will experience the One who is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. We will come to the Christ child, lying in his mother’s arms, we will come to the rabbi who is preaching about the Great News, we will come to the One who is teaching and healing all over the countryside, we will come to the Son of God as He hangs on the cross, and we will come to the risen Savior standing by our side and calling us to Him.
Concluding Litany (picked up from the Internet):
On this last Sunday of the year, let’s change the word "day" to "year?"
Today, when I awoke, I suddenly realized that this is the best day of my life, ever!
There were times when I wondered if I would make it to today; but I did! And because I did I’m going to celebrate!
In 2007, I’m going to celebrate what an unbelievable life I have had so far: the accomplishments, the many blessings, and, yes, even the hardships because they have served to make me stronger.
I will go through 2008 with my head held high, and a happy heart.
I will marvel at God’s seemingly simple gifts: the morning dew, the sun, the clouds, the trees, the flowers, the birds. In 2008, none of these miraculous creations will escape my notice.
In 2008, I will share my excitement for life with other people. I’ll make someone smile. I’ll go out of my way to perform an unexpected act of kindness for someone I don’t even know.
In 2008, I’ll give a sincere compliment to someone who seems down. I’ll tell a child how special they are, and I’ll tell someone I love just how deeply I care for them and how much they mean to me.
2008 is the year I quit worrying about what I don’t have and start being grateful for all the wonderful things God has already given me.
I’ll remember that to worry is just a waste of time because my faith in God and his Divine Plan ensures everything will be just fine.
Tonight, before I go to bed, I’ll go outside and raise my eyes to the heavens. I will stand in awe at the beauty of the stars and the moon, and I will praise God for these magnificent treasures.
As the day ends and I lay my head down on my pillow, I will thank the Almighty for the best year of my life. And I will sleep the sleep of a contented child, excited with expectation because I know tomorrow is going to be...
The Best Year Of My Life!
