INTRO.- ILL.- One man said: Last year when I called my parents to wish them a happy New Year, my dad answered the phone. "Well, Dad, what’s your New Year’s resolution?" I asked him. "To make your mother as happy as I can all year," he answered proudly. Then mom got on, and I said, "What’s your resolution, Mom?" "To see that your dad keeps his New Year’s resolution."
What’s that saying? "If mama isn’t happy....."
ILL.- A BETTER WORLD IN THE NEW YEAR There was an article a few years ago in which a man gave his idea of a perfect world. He said, "In a perfect world you would feel as good at 60 as you did at 17. And you would be as smart at 60 as you thought you were at 17."
"In a perfect world professional basketball and baseball and football players would be complaining because school teachers were signing multi-million dollar contracts. In a perfect world potato chips would have calories, but if eaten with dip, the calories would be neutralized."
"In a perfect world, mail would always be early, and the check in the mail would always be for more than you expected it to be." The truth is: this is not a perfect world and it never will be! But it can become a lot better in this New Year for all of us.
ILL.- We have read of a college girl who, as she tacked the New Year calendar to the wall, said:
“It is going to be a beautiful year!”
“How do you know?” asked her roommate.
“Well,” she replied, “a day isn’t a long time, and I know it is going to be beautiful because I am going to take a day at a time and make it so. I will see that every one of those 365 days gets at least one beautiful thing into it through my efforts.”
Her New Year motto might be Ps. 90:12 “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
One day at time is a good way to take life. We often make big plans and sometimes those plans don’t work out.
ILL.- An ill-prepared college student taking an economics exam just before Christmas vacation wrote on his paper. “Only God knows the answers to these questions. Merry Christmas!”
The professor graded the papers and wrote this note: “God gets 100, you get 0. Happy New Year!”
Well, it’s true that only God knows the answers to the questions that we have in life and we often have plenty. Since He alone knows the answers to everything we should look to Him in this new year more than we ever have in the past.
PROP.- As we consider the new year, I believe it’s the season
to get it right. Get what right? Several things.
1- tis the season to get it right about righteousness
2- tis the season to get it right about getting right
3- tis the season to get it right about death
I. TIS THE SEASON TO GET IT RIGHT ABOUT RIGHTEOUSNESS
ILL.- Once upon a time, a perfect man and a perfect woman met. After a perfect courtship, they had a perfect wedding. Their life together was, of course, perfect.
One snowy, stormy Christmas Eve, this perfect couple was driving their perfect car (SUV) along a winding road, when they noticed someone at the side of the road in distress. Being the perfect couple, they stopped to help.
There stood Santa Claus with a huge bundle of toys. Not wanting to disappoint any children on the eve of Christmas, the perfect couple loaded Santa and his toys into their SUV. Soon they were driving along delivering the toys.
Unfortunately, the driving conditions deteriorated and the perfect couple and Santa Claus had an accident. Only one of them survived the accident.
Who was the survivor? The perfect woman survived. Everyone knows there is no Santa Claus and there is no such thing as a perfect man.
The true is there is no perfect person, woman or otherwise! The only perfection possible in this life is by the grace of God in Christ.
I Cor. 1:30 "It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption."
II Cor. 5:21 "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
It’s all about Jesus. What’s is? OUR SALVATION. There is not one thing that we can do to merit or inherit our eternal salvation in heaven even though most people think this way!
ILL.- For example, what do you think of the actor Paul Newman? He was, by most people’s thinking, a pretty good guy and an excellent actor. He died on Sept. 26, 08 at age 83. Newman was a co-founder of Newman’s Own, a food company from which Newman donated all post-tax profits and royalties to charity. As of October 2008, these donations had exceeded US $250 million.
When he passed away Actress Sally Field said of him, "Sometimes God makes perfect people and Paul Newman was one of them." NOT. As much as I liked Paul Newman, he was not perfect. No one is.
Our perfection is not in us or any human being. OUR PERFECTION IS IN CHRIST! We will not go to our graves in perfect faith but we do have a perfect Savior in Jesus who keeps His Word!
II. TIS THE SEASON TO GET IT RIGHT ABOUT GETTING RIGHT
Are you right with God? Are you doing the right thing in life? In regard to the Lord, the church, people?
ILL.- Recently Oprah Winfrey revealed that she’s gained an enormous amount of weight...AGAIN! She’s gone up and down over the years and now is back up. She stands 5’ 7" and weighs 200 lbs. She said, "I’m embarrassed."
She writes. "I can’t believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I’m still talking about my weight. I look at my thinner self and think, ’How did I let this happen again?’"
In the piece, Winfrey, 54, details her recent struggles with an out-of-balance thyroid and how the condition made her develop "a fear of working out." She says she’s added 40 pounds to her frame since she weighed 160 pounds in 2006.
Well, Oprah, I’m embarrassed for you. You’ve got all those private trainers available. You also have special cooks and chefs to prepare whatever you want. And you have the know how because you’ve been there before.
Oprah has admitted that she has fallen off the wagon when it comes to healthy living. I think Oprah needs to get it right about getting right! Of course, I’m more concerned about her spiritual nature than her 200 lb. body! She needs to get it right about getting right with Christ!
What about you? Of course, I’m not thinking in terms of what we eat or don’t eat. I’m thinking about falling off the wagon in regard to any haunting sin! We all could be embarrassed by the sin in our lives.
ILL.- What about the Governor of Illinois, just to name one? Here is how one writer put it. (CNN) -- In the great annals of "What Was He Thinking?" (political edition), the case of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich sets a new standard -- for its breathtaking stupidity, venality and illegality.
Here’s a fellow who knew he was under investigation for "pay to play" schemes, who then allegedly continued to extort campaign contributions -- and more -- without any thought that someone was actually watching.
The Illinois governor retires the stupidity trophy currently held by soon-to-be-ex-Rep. William Jefferson, who stuffed $90,000 into his freezer. At least Jefferson tried to hide his criminality. Blagojevich, it seems, figured he was a Master of the Universe, immune from the scrutiny he should have known he was under.
Of course, the feds were listening. Sad for the governor, the wiretaps that prosecutors detailed reveal a stunning and disgusting portrayal of him trying to extract personal gain from almost anyone -- whether a potential Senate candidate, a children’s hospital or a newspaper.
A preacher friend in Quincy, IL, wrote me about his governor and here is what he said: "He’s been a horrible governor. We’re 2 billion dollars in debt. We have the worst school systems in Chicago of any place in the country. He’s been corrupt since he started, but he had the machine in Chicago behind him…until now. What an illustration of what greed will do to you."
I think we all would agree that the Gov. of IL needs to get right with people and with the Lord! And what a shame that his children will suffer from his greed and corruption.
ILL.- John Rice said, "No matter what a man’s past may have been, his future is spotless." Or we know it can be in Christ. Christ can forgive us of any and all sin.
Rom. 13:11-12 "And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light."
What do you need to do to make things right in your relationship to the Lord? Are there some changes that need to be made in your life? No doubt, there are. We all need to make some changes in order to get as right as possible with the Lord.
This may mean becoming more faithful in prayer, Bible study, SS, church, and getting involved in some kind of Christian service. BUT PLEASE DO WHATEVER IT TAKES!
III. TIS THE SEASON TO GET IT RIGHT ABOUT DEATH
Heb. 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."
ILL.- Two old fellows were walking along the shoreline of a lake when a frog came hopping up to them. Creaking with age, one of the old-timers slowly bent down and scooped up the frog in his hands. As he stood there gazing at the frog, fascinated by its ugliness, the frog croaked, “Hey, mister! I’m not really a frog. If you kiss me, I’ll turn into a beautiful princess who will do anything your heart desires.”
Startled, the old man slipped the frog into his pocket and headed on down the shoreline. For a while the two continued on in silence. “Well?” his buddy finally blurted out. “You gonna kiss it?” “Naw, I guess not,” the first man replied. “At my age, I think I’ll have more fun with a talking frog.”
At my age, I think I’d like to have a talking frog as well. At my age. What does life have to do with age? JUST THIS. We’re all getting older and closer to death every day! Every day is one step closer to entering eternity.
ILL.- 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.” OH, YES YOU WILL!
Are there some things you need to do before you die? You may not accomplish those things and that’s why we all need to make hay while the sun shines in our lives. While we have life and breath we must do the Lord’s will.
Bro. Steve, aren’t you being a bit morbid when it comes to the thought of dying? No, I am being honest and truthful. I am heading toward death and so are you. All of us could be only one heartbeat away from death. Are we ready to die?
Why are we so afraid to die? After all, didn’t Jesus promise us eternal life? Jesus did for me what no one else did. And I believe that he loves me more and better than anyone else. I’d like to be with Him.
ILL.- Someone said, "Do you know what happens when you give a procrastinator a good idea? Nothing!"
Our greatest procrastination may deal with the spiritual side of life. Many people know they should become a Christian or be baptized or go to church or be involved in service, etc., but it’s so easy to put it off.
Most of us wait because we think we have plenty of time. Who said we had plenty of time? I think the devil tries to convince us that we have plenty of time.
ILL.- The founder of McDonald’s, Ray Kroc, was asked by a reporter about his order of priorities. "I believe in God, my family and McDonald’s," he said. Then he added, "When I get to the office, I reverse the order."
If that’s your order in life I would suggest that you change it. You never know when you’re going to leave this world. We dare not put the Lord on the back burner of our lives! He deserves and demands first place!
Now what about our hope in Christ? Are we playing a game or is this eternal business real? I believe it’s real. I believe it with all my heart. I am betting my life on this truth that is in Christ!
We need to get it right about death! DEATH IS NOT THE END OF LIFE! Actually, it’s the beginning of life, eternal life, where there is no sorrow, no shame, no sin, no pain, no crying, etc. These things belong to this life but not the next!
John 11:25 Jesus said to her (Martha), "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
Do you believe? You’d better. It’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
CONCLUSION----------------------
Tis the season. To get things done. What’s on your agenda, or your "to do" list? Where does Christ fit in? Someone put it this way: We are called to love God, serve people, and use money. But oftentimes, we use people, serve money, and neglect God!
What about us? We belong to the Lord. We are united with Him through blood and water. We must get it right that we are saved by Him and Him alone. We must get it right about getting right and growing in Him. We must get it about what will happen to us when we die.
