It’s Always Time to Start Over
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
A Time for Everything
1.There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2.a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3.a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4.a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5.a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6.a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7.a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8.a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
It’s always time to start over
How many of you here this morning, “would like to Start over, or have a fresh start in your Christian life?”
Many of us here this morning have made many mistakes in our and have experienced many setbacks and failures.
Sometimes we allow these mistakes, these setbacks and failures to enslave us to the point that we never enjoy the full Christian life that God has given us to enjoy.
In John 10:10 Jesus said, “ I am come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” Then he goes on to tell us that there is an adversary, called the Devil, that seeks to still, kill and destroy that life.
The Devil will remind us of our past in order to keep us from enjoying the life that God gave us to live. The Devil does not want you to have a fresh start in life.
The good news is, God says, “ I want you to have a fresh start in life, I want you to have a new beginning, I want to do something new in your life. ”
A great truth is this: God is far more interested in our future than He is in our past.
1.If we are going to change than – Stop making excuses for your failures.
Other people can hurt us, other people can harm us, and other people can scar us. But the only person that can ruin your life is you.
Proverbs 28:13 “A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confess and forsakes them he gets another chance.”
Getting Past Your Past
Consider Charles Colson, the aide to Richard Nixon who was sent to jail for Watergate. As a result of his experience as a convicted felon, Colson founded Prison Fellowship, now the world’s largest Christian outreach to prisoners and their families. Prison Fellowship has more than 50,000 volunteers working in hundreds of prisons in 88 countries around the world.
A ministry that has blessed millions of people got started twenty-five years ago because Charles Colson committed a crime. God’s eternal purposes for that man included even the sin that sent him to prison. It was a part of God’s plan from the very beginning. But the story that matters most to you isn’t Peter’s, or Paul’s, or even Charles Colson’s. It’s yours. And what I want to say to you this morning is that the story of your life has not been ruined, not by your sin or anyone else’s. God’s good plan for your life is not buried under the mistakes of the past. God has a plan for your life, a good plan, a wise plan, a loving plan, a sovereign plan, and that plan is still in effect. You haven’t missed it. He is working out that plan in your life right now, today. Will you believe that? And will you renew your commitment this morning to seeking God, and following Him, and serving Him with your whole heart; free of the past, no longer weighed down by regret?
2.If we are going to change than – refocus your thoughts.
If you want to get going again, if you want a fresh start, you need to rethink the way that you think.
Proverbs 4:23 "Be careful how you think. Your life is shaped by your thoughts."
The way you think, determines the way you feel. And the way you feel determines the way you act. If you want to change your actions, just change the way you think and it will inevitably change the way you act.
If you are depressed, discouraged and distressed it may be because you’re thinking depressed, discouraged and distressing thoughts. That’s your choice. You don’t have to think those thoughts.
If you’re acting in fearful, worried ways it’s because you’re thinking fearful, worried thoughts.
Romans 12:2 “ Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. ”
If I have to refocus my thoughts to start over to get a fresh start, that means I have to stop thinking some old patterns. Which memories are you still rehearsing that keep you from having a fresh start in life? The Bible says let go. Let go of those things. The more you hold on to that memory, the more you rehearse it, it continues to hurt you today.
It cannot hurt you without your permission. You have to change your mind and let go and get rid of those painful, hurtful memories of shame and guilt and other things.
3.If we are going to change than - Have a good attitude about yourself
ILL. There is an old story about a happy little boy who went out into the field wearing a baseball cap. In one hand he carried a baseball, & in the other a baseball bat. His face bore a look of tremendous confidence.
Cocking his bat, he tossed the ball into the air, saying, "I’m the greatest batter in the world!" Then he swung & missed. "Strike one," he said.
He picked up the ball, examined it, & then threw it into the air again. As he swung, he repeated, "I’m the greatest batter in the world." Once again he missed. "Strike two," he said.
This time, he stopped to examine his bat to make sure there wasn’t a hole in it. Then he picked up the ball, adjusted his cap, & tossed the ball into the air for the 3rd time.
He repeated again, "I’m the greatest batter in the world," & swung with all his might - & missed for the 3rd straight time. "Wow" he cried, "What a pitcher. I’m the greatest pitcher in the world!"
Like the little boy with the bat, may I suggest that your attitude, your frame of mind, your reaction to its events will largely determine whether it is a year of victory or a year of defeat.
4.If we are going to change than - start being honest with yourself
There is nothing that turns people off to the gospel more than phony Christians. A major temptation for us is to try to cover up, to be deceptive, to act pious and religious, to pretend we are holy.
Reader’s Digest carried a story about a woman who traveled fifty miles to visit a friend. When she went to the car to go home, she discovered she had locked the keys in the car. She didn’t know what else to do, so she telephoned her husband long distance. He was exasperated with her, but he said, “You just stay there and I’ll drive out and bring my keys to you.” The woman went back to her car and found that actually one of the back doors was open. She raced back into the house and telephoned her husband, but he had already left.
“What are you going to do when your husband arrives?” her friend asked. “He’s going to be mad when he find out he came out here for no reason.” And the woman said, “I’m going to do what any red-blooded American wife would do.” And she went out and locked the door and slammed it shut!
It is hard to try not to cover up our imperfections. We are used to putting on masks that make others think we are better than we really are. But no one is perfect and we will attract the world by simply being open about who we are. The way to influence your friends who don’t know Christ is not by leaving the impression that you never fall. That you never stumble.
5.Change continues when we change our priorities
ILL. I came across some interesting statistics. Someone went to the trouble to research what people do with their time, & came up with these results:
If we live to be 75, most of us will have spent 3 solid years, 24 hours a day, acquiring an education - grade school, high school & college.
We’ll have spent 7 years eating, 24 hours a day, - some more, some less, obviously.
We’ll have spent 14 years, day & night, working.
We’ll have spent 5 years riding in automobiles or airplanes.
We’ll have spent 5 years talking with each other -again some more & some less.
We’ll have spent 1 year sick or recovering from sickness. And get this, we’ll have spent 24 years of our life sleeping!
We’ll have spent 3 years reading books, magazines & newspapers.
And 12 years amusing ourselves - watching TV, going to the movies, fishing, etc. That totals up to 75 years - & that is what the researchers say, on the average, most of us will have done with our lives.
APPL. As we looked at these statistics and begin to thinking. Let’s suppose that you spent every Sunday of your life, for 75 years - through infancy, childhood, adulthood, old age - in God’s house worshiping during the Church Service. Now if you did, how much time would you have spent worshiping God? Figure it out - the answer is less than 5 1/2 months.
But let’s double that, because you’ve always attended S.S. You’ve never missed Sunday School in all your life. That makes it 11 months.
Think about that - 5 years in an automobile & just 11 months in Church & S.S.! Twelve years amusing ourselves in front of a TV, & just 11 months in Church & S.S. And that is just if you always attended S.S. & Church, & never missed!
SUM. That tells us a little bit about our priorities in life.
6.Change continues when we Depend on God.
We don’t need depend on ourselves. We’ve already proven that we can’t do it on our own.
Zechariah 4:6 “ You will not succeed by your own strength or power but by My Spirit, says the Lord. ”
“When someone becomes a Christian, They become a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!”
God specializes in new beginnings. Jesus Christ has the power to do that. It’s called being born again, the chance to start over.
We can have fresh start with a new life as we begin this New Year. God says, “I don’t want you to turn over a new leaf. I’m going to give you a whole new life.”
Conclusion: What Do You Want to See?
Behavioral scientists have discovered that we usually see things that we are prepared to see. This is all centered in a network of nerve cells called the "Reticular Activating System." Everybody has this system. The "Reticular Activating System." works like this:
Once something has been brought to our attention, and we have been prepared to see it, we’ll see it virtually everywhere we go. For example, you decide to buy a new car. You make up your mind that you are going to buy a certain brand, a certain body style, and a certain color. Now, you’ll see those cars everywhere. You’ll see them on the roads, in TV advertisements, in newspapers and magazines. They’re everywhere. Now what has happened? They were always there, but the moment you were prepared to see them, your Reticular Activating System kicked in, and suddenly you saw them everywhere. It happens in other areas of life, too.
We see what we are prepared to see. If we are prepared to see doom & gloom this year, then that’s what we’ll see. If, on the other hand, we have prepared ourselves to see sunshine & opportunities, then that’s what we are going to see.
Application
1. Today I will recognize the excuses I make for my failures. They are:
a
b
2. I will refocus my thoughts by:
a
b
3. How will I have a good attitude about myself?
4. How can I be more honest with myself?
5. What are my priorities and how should I change them?
6. Am I doing my absolute best to live to the standards I set for myself?
7. Some ways I need to depend more on God on God are?
a
b
We all struggle with discouraging thoughts; some have to do with the past, our present and even our futures. This week, pin-point ONE particular thought that bothers you the most - Do not overwhelm yourself.
After doing so uses the list provided above and supply a personal response for each.
After you do this, you now have a supplement prayer guide for the week!!!!! With each day, take some personal time to meditate and pray over these ideas and for spiritual revelation.
At the end of this week, observe your feelings. How have they affected you this week? Have they affected your work, family, or friends?
Continue using this list for any other issues and watch God change your life for weeks and years to come!
