This Could Be the Start of Something Big
I Peter 1:3-5
1 Peter 1:3-5
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In his great mercy he has given us new birth
into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 and into an inheritance
that can never perish, spoil or fade—
kept in heaven for you,
5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power
until the coming of the salvation
that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
(NIV)
Are you planning some New Year’s Resolutions?
A man was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching his wife, who was looking at herself in the mirror. Since her birthday was not far off he asked what she’d like for her birthday.
“I’d like to be six again”, she replied, still looking in the mirror.
On the morning of her birthday, he arose early and brought her breakfast in bed: a nice big bowl of Fruit Loops. The they were off to the amusement park where he put her on every ride in the park.
Five hours later they staggered out of the park, her head reeling and her stomach feeling upside down. Pulling into a McDonald’s, he treated her to a Happy Meal with extra fries and a chocolate shake. Then it was off to a movie, complete with popcorn, a soda, and a big box of her favorite candy, M & M’s.
Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed, exhausted.
He leaned over his wife with a big smile, kissed her, and lovingly asked, “Well, dear, what was it like to be six again?”
She slowly opened her eyes and replied: “Size 6!”
Resolutions are a “New Year’s Wish List” with a Goal!
Philippians 3:13-16
13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.
16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
(NIV)
Author, innovation consultant, and speaker Stephen Shapiro, with the help of Opinion Corporation of Princeton, New Jersey, offers the following
Interesting statistics concerning New Year’s resolutions:
• 45 % of Americans usually set New Year’s Resolutions
17 % infrequently set resolutions
38 % never set resolutions
• 8 % are always successful in achieving their resolutions
19 % achieve their resolutions every other year
45 % have infrequent success
24 % (one in four) never succeed and have failed on every resolution every year.
• 47 % percent set resolutions related to self-improvement or education
38% percent set resolutions related to weight
34 % set resolutions related to money
31 % set resolutions related to relationships
• The younger you are, the more likely you are to achieve your resolutions
(39 % of those in their twenties achieve their resolutions every year or every other year, while less than 15 % of those over fifty achieve their resolutions every year or every other year) One of my friends said that the older he gets, the more his New Years Resolutions look like a bucket list of things he wants to do before he “kicks the bucket”.
• The less happy you are, the more likely you are to set New Year’s resolutions
(this is especially true for those who set money-related resolutions: 41 % are not happy; 34 % are moderately happy; 25 % are happy)
What is the ONE element which will turn this dream world into the start of something BIG?
HOPE!
1 Peter 1:3
3 Praise be to the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In his great mercy
he has given us new birth
INTO A LIVING HOPE
through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead,
(NIV)
Why do we need a New Birth? The same reason we pursue New Year’s Resolutions: we have to make a fresh start! Yet as John McCrone says:
"Almost anything you do today will be forgotten in just a few weeks."
John McCrone
No one can go back and make a new beginning.
But anyone can start here and make a new end!
That statement alone ought to inspire me to change my life, but I find that past attempts at real life change have been more failure than success. Remember, Mr. Shapiro says that nearly 90 % of those who make New Year’s Resolutions rarely see any real change or results.
What do we really need to see real life change? What is the key to making something big happen in my life? I need not only a new birth; I need a Hope that is alive!
A Living Hope is the Sure Foundation for Life Change
Hebrews 6:18-19
“… we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure….”
(NIV)
A Living Hope is an Ever-renewing Support for Life Change
Isaiah 40:31
31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
(NIV)
This is renewable strength for your journey toward life change in REAL TIME! No pausing to download a patch of a fix to repair or place. A Living Hope will make you better than the Energizer Bunny! You will find you can keep going and going and going and GOING! Not in your strength, but God’s ever present strength!
I was regretting the past and fearing the future. Suddenly my Lord was speaking: "My name is ’I AM.’" He paused. I waited. He continued, "When you live in the past with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not ’I WAS.’ When you live in the future with its problems and fears, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not ’I WILL BE.’ When you live in this moment, it is not hard; I am there! My name is ’I AM!’"
A Living Hope is the Structure God gives for Life Change
Jeremiah 29:11
11 “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
(NIV)
Peter’s first encounter with Jesus gave him NEW BIRTH and a LIVING HOPE!
Luke 5:1-11
1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God,
2 he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.
3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."
5 Simon answered, "Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!"
9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,
10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men."
11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
(NIV)
If you walked along the shore of that lake the next day, you’d find boats deserted and fishing tackle scattered everywhere as if the owners had just thrown these things away. No one took time to put up a “For Sale” or “Closed” sign. Whoever had worked there yesterday didn’t take time to put things away. All that is left are footprints in the sand and nets full of dying, drying fish tangled in them. Simon Peter and his fishin’buddies had latched onto something bigger and it gave them hope! Jesus said, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."
Even though Peter ached in every muscle from pitching his nets unsuccessfully, over and over again, all night long, just live we pitch our plan to change unsuccessfully, year after year, all life long, Peter took Jesus at His word! That’s always the best thing to do! "Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
Because You say so! Lord, because you say so, I will start…
If you are one of the vast majority who have failed at keeping your New Year’s Resolutions, why not anchor your resolve to a Living Hope?
Deciding to trust in Jesus is not deciding between one thing and another. It is deciding to trust ONE Thing and let go of everything else.
