New Year, New Opportunities (2.0)
Various Scriptures
(Renewed 2/1/09)
Introduction
This is going to be a little bit different message than what you’ve gotten used to over the past few years from me.
I’ve been sick the last three days, and wasn’t able to get into the office and work on the message as I’d like.
So rather than try to just throw something together about the Scripture passage I had planned for us to look at today, I decided to go back to the sermon vault and see if there was anything back there that I could use to encourage you today.
You know how when you go look at a used car, they’re no longer “used,” they’re “pre-owned.”
And when a show is presented a second or third time, it’s never a “re-run” anymore, it’s an “encore presentation.”
Well today, you’re getting an “encore presentation" of a message I gave back in January of 2001.
And actually it’s not just a “re-giving” of the sermon. I’ve updated and revised it a bit, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to call this message, “New Year, New Opportunities, 2.0.”
I’ve also cut out quite a bit, and maybe down the road I’ll give “New Year, New Opportunities, 2.1.”
I realize that it’s not the first week in January, but I think that you’ll find what I have to share with you timely just the same.
One of the things I am most grateful to God for is the fact that His mercies are new every morning.
How many people in here made mistakes, sinned, or otherwise fell short of perfection yesterday?
But you know what? Today’s a new day. And God’s mercies toward you are new today.
And it’s because of that I want to encourage you to take some actions that I believe will go a long way to making this year one of the best you’ve ever had.
God/You:
We’re going to be looking at a few different passages of Scripture, but the basis for my remarks today is found in Ephesians 5:15-17 and I’d ask that you read this aloud with me, please.
Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
Can anyone tell me the days are not evil? Can anyone tell me there is no need to live wisely?
Now my point is not that we need to panic about the days being evil.
The emphasis I want to make that every day, because of God’s daily renewing mercies, we have new opportunities to make a difference in our relationship with God and in the lives of those around us.
We need to make the most of every opportunity, and I want to focus on three areas in particular today:
The first is…
* A deeper walk with God.
Colossians 2:6-7 –
6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. (NLT)
It’s said a lot that the most important relationship you can have is your relationship with God through Christ.
We believe that here. We believe that if you want to have healthy relationships on earth, you need to have a healthy relationship with God.
That’s more than just coming to Christ for salvation. It’s true that at that moment you become a child of God and are part of the family.
But everyone knows that just being part of a family doesn’t mean everybody’s close all the time, right?
Anybody have brothers and sisters? And how many times a week did you fight while you were growing up?
You hated each other’s guts at times didn’t you? Please tell me it just wasn’t my brother and me…
Healthy relationships take work.
But they also require something else, and this is something I’m finding out more and more in my personal relationships:
It’s the most essential element in a relationship: TIME.
In the case of what we’re talking about here, the strengthening of your relationship with God, it means this:
Time in the Word of God. Time in prayer. Time in worship and fellowship with other believers in Christ. TIME is the all-important factor.
Taking time to be intentional about getting to know the Father better as your protector and provider, who loves you beyond measure and who forgives all your sins.
Taking time to be intentional about getting to know Jesus better as the One who laid down His life for you so those sins could be forgiven, so you could be made a child of God, so you could have access to all God has for you, and who gave you His Words and example for you to live up to.
Taking time to be intentional about getting to know the Holy Spirit better as the One who opens your heart and minds to the Scriptures and Who uses them to make us more like Jesus by putting them into our heart.
It takes time. And you need to make time for it to happen.
Folks, can I just be honest here? Most of us won’t find time to make it happen. If we really want to get serious about deepening your relationship with God, you need to make the time.
It could be in the morning before you hit the grind of work or late at night before you hit the pillow, or it could be during a break at work.
The time on the clock doesn’t matter as much as actually spending time with God.
You can also help that by taking advantage of opportunities for things like Bible study and prayer time with others.
Or by taking advantage of things like Christian radio, and with very discerning eyes and hearts, Christian television.
But become intentional this year about taking opportunities to deepen your relationship with God.
The second opportunity is for…
* Healing of relationships.
I think all of us can look back and see relationships that were once beautiful and awesome, but for some reason or another, things have come apart, and you no longer have a good relationship with those people.
And it’s easy to point the finger of blame and say, “It’s all their fault.”
And you just might be right about whose fault it is, but did you know that you are told by Jesus to do what you can to heal that breach?
Please listen as I read a couple of Scriptures that I think will illustrate what I hope to communicate here.
Matthew 5:23-24 –
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”
Matthew 18:15 –
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.”
In the first passage, the idea is that if you have sinned against someone else.
The second passage deals with those who have sinned against you.
Folks, listen to this and listen carefully.
When it comes to healing broken relationships, it’s always your turn.
In both of these passages, who is supposed to take the initiative? You are.
It doesn’t matter who’s to blame. It’s your turn to do what you can to make it right.
Ask forgiveness of those you’ve hurt, offer forgiveness to those who have hurt you.
They may not return the kindness, they may continue to hold a grudge, or whatever.
They may just decide that you’re no better than they gum they step on on the sidewalk.
But you’ve done what Jesus told you to do, and when we’ve done that, we need to trust Christ to finish the work.
The problem is that when you refuse to do this, the anger just builds into bitterness and rage, malice, slander, and all sorts of icky stuff that the Bible tells us we’re supposed to get rid of.
General Oglethorpe once said to John Wesley, "I never forgive and I never forget." To which Wesley replied, "Then, Sir, I hope you never sin." (SermonIllustrations.com)
Is it always easy to offer this kind of healing of relationships? Not on your life!
But Jesus doesn’t put a qualifier on this. He doesn’t say, “Do this unless it’s too hard.” He simply says to do it and trust Him for the results.
So as 2009 progresses, look for opportunities to heal relationships, and make the most of them.
The third opportunity we will look at this morning is the opportunity for…
* Service to the family of God.
There are a number of passages we could look at that would apply to this area, but I want to look at just one in particular, 1 John 3:18 –
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
This verse hits on something that I don’t think we talk about enough in church, and that is that words aren’t enough when it comes to loving people, especially those who belong to the family of God.
Let me read the two verses just before this:
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
This passage is saying that we show our love for Christ by showing practical love to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
And that refusing to show that kind of practical love shows that we don’t love God like we say we do.
I talk a lot about how Jesus doesn’t appreciate lip service, and that He expects us to love Him with every part of our lives.
Similarly, we are to do more than say, “Wow, I’m sorry that happened. Well, good luck!”
If we have the ability to offer real help, we need to offer it.
Look at what James, the brother of Jesus had to say about this:
James 2:15-17 –
15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
These are tough words!
It’s like James is saying, “You call yourself a Christian? Prove it. Prove it by helping your brother or sister when you can.”
John Wesley has some great words for us along these lines:
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you can.”
We: Folks, if we as a church made up of lots of individuals would get really serious about making the most of the opportunities that will surely come our way this year, can you imagine what would happen to the spiritual life of this church?
I believe that God is moving among us. And I believe that He wants to do it all the more.
But it takes open hearts. These things we’ve been talking about today are ways to gain an open heart.
And as we open our hearts to God and to others, those outside of Christ will see that Christianity really means something outside of the stereotypes they’re fed.
So I’m asking you to start today to look at these three areas and make them part of your life.
It’ll change your life, and it’ll impact the lives of those around you.
So make the most of the opportunities God brings your way this year!
Let’s pray.
