New Years 2012
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 1/1/2012
Today is the first day of a new year and, according to certain prophecy pundits, it could be your last year on earth! Both soothsayers and science-fiction scribes have been predicting the end of the world in 2012 based on their interpretation of the ancient Mayan calendar. The Mayan civilization was extremely advanced in mathematics, engineering and astronomy. They also had an incredible understanding of time and space and used various calendars to track time in linear progressions within cycles. The Great Cycle of the Long Count calendar equates to 5,125 years. The current Great Cycle is due to be completed on the winter solstice of 2012, December 21. Many have interpreted the end of the Great Cycle as the end of the world. You may have even seen the blockbuster movie a couple of years ago, titled 2012, billed as an epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to nearly all life on earth.
Not to be outdone, Bible prophecy fanatics have jumped on the bandwagon with their charts and codes and you-better-believe-it prophecies. But if there is one lesson Harold Camping and his ilk have taught us, it’s that you can rest assured these so-called “prophecy experts” will be proven 100% wrong, 100% of the time. If Jesus does choose to return in 2012 it will be in spite of these doomsday predictions, not because of them.
But let’s suspend disbelief for just a moment. What if Jesus really did return in 2012? What if this really was your last year on earth? Would you live your life differently? Would people notice the changes? What alterations would this knowledge have on your stress levels? Your work schedule? Your mood swings? Your temper? Would you sleep better? Would you see sunsets differently?
Bottom-line, we don’t know when Christ will come and we don’t know when we will take our last breath. So as we stand at the threshold of a brand-new year, what are you living for? How can we make the most of the next 365 days. There is a passage of Scripture that I believe can be of help to us as we look forward to the coming year—if we’ll listen to it, that is. The passage is found in the book of James, written by Christ’s younger brother. Here’s what it says:
Pay attention to this! You’re saying, “Today or tomorrow we will go into some city, stay there a year, conduct business, and make money.” You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. What is life? You are a mist that is seen for a moment and then disappears. Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and carry out our plans.” (James 4:13-15 GWT).
James gets right to the point, doesn’t he? In this brief passage I see three lessons, codified by three simple verbs that are worth remembering as we embark on 2012. The first of those lessons is codified by the verb surrender.
• SURRENDER
Surrender your plans for 2012 to God. There’s an old adage—if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. James addresses this passage to people who seem to be doing just that. Their business plan was pretty good. They had everything figured out. They would choose when they would leave, where they would go, how long they would stay, what business would be conducted, and even how much profit they would earn.
James’ reply to them is simple: “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow?” (vs. 14 NLT).
A while back, the Associated Press ran a story about Andre-Francois Raffray. Almost fifty years ago, at the age of forty-seven, he worked out a real estate deal with Jeanne Calment, who was ninety years old. He would pay her $500 each month until her death, in order to secure ownership of her apartment in Arles, France. That might seem strange to Americans, but this is actually a common practice in France, benefiting both buyers and retirees on a fixed income. Unfortunately for Raffray, Jeanne Calment had become the world's oldest living person. She lived to be 120, outliving Raffray, who died at the age of seventy-seven. He paid $184,000 for an apartment he never lived in. According to the contract, Raffray's survivors had to continue the payments until Mrs. Calment died.
Mr. Raffray thought he was looking to the future and making a shrewd investment. But, as it turned out, he had no idea what tomorrow would bring.
Neither do you.
Does this mean shouldn’t ever make any plans, just live by the seat of our pants? No. Of course, not. That would be irresponsible. But it does mean that we must always surrender our plans to God’s purposes. In Psalm 139, David writes, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (Psalm 139:6 NLT). You see, God has his own plans. He mapped out your entire life before you born. He’s the boss. He calls the shots and he has the authority. What he says goes. In other words, God is in control—of everything!
If you want 2012 to be a success, then be prepared to surrender your plans to God’s purposes. The second lesson James teaches us is codified in the verb savor.
• SAVOR
Savor each moment of 2012. Each moment is fleeting. It’s pretty cold outside today. I’ll bet that if you were to walk outside, take a deep breath, and then let out a hefty sigh, you’d be able to see your breathe. A vapor. Visible for a little while. Then it just vanishes away. According to James, that’s your life: “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (vs. 14 NIV).
James isn’t the only one in the Bible to mention how quickly life goes by. The Psalmist wrote, “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life” (Psalm 39:4).
You know, when I was younger summer seemed to last forever and an hour-long road trip could last an eternity. But today, time just seems to fly by so fast. It’s all kind of relative, isn’t it? For example, for teenagers in love talking together in the car, an hour or two seems like a blink of an eye. But for mom and dad worrying about what’s going on out in that car, an hour or two seems like an eternity.
My son turned six a few weeks ago. It seems like just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital. This life is just a vapor. Time goes by so fast. The best thing we can do is savor each moment. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Do you love life? Then do not squander time, for time is the stuff that life is made of.”
The Apostle Paul put it this way: “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days” (Ephesians 5:15-16 NLT). Make the most of every opportunity. Don’t squander time. Number your days.
A few years ago People Magazine published an article entitled “Dead Ahead” telling about a new clock that keeps track of how much time you have left to live. It calculates an average life span of 75 years for men and 80 years for women. So you program your sex and age into the clock, and from then on it will tell you how much time you have left. I didn’t buy one. But if I live to be 75 years old, I have about 16,060 days left to live! That’s certainly one way to number your days, isn’t it?
The truth is—I don’t have a guarantee on any of those days and neither do you. We don’t even have a guarantee on all of 2012. All we have for sure is today. Let’s make the most of today. And while we’re at it, let’s seek God in everything we do this year. The last lesson I find in James 4 is codified in the verb seek.
• SEEK
Seek God’s heart and will for yourself in 2012. James tells us, “What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that’” (James 4:15 NLT). Paul says it too: “Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:17 NLT).
I know what you’re wondering—how do I know what the Lord wants me to do in 2012? Let me make a few very simple suggestions that will help guide you throughout the year. The first suggestion is to search God’s Word!
There are certain things that God wants all of us to do this year and all those things can found in God’s Word. Reading the Bible is all about understanding what the Lord wants you to do, who He wants you to be, and how he wants you to live. It’s also about knowing and experiencing God in ever-deepening ways. President Ronald Regan once said, “Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.” He was right. And not only will we find the answers we need, but we’ll become better people in the pursuit. The Bible makes the best husbands, the best moms and dads, the best employers, the best citizens… the Bible makes the best people in the world.
While Paul was traveling on his missionary journeys he came to the city of Berea. And the Bible says that the Berean Jews of more noble character than those in Thessalonica. Why is that? “For they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11 NIV). If you want to know what God’s plans for you in 2012 are, start by examining the Scriptures every day.
My next suggestion is that you seek God’s will in prayer. Many of the decisions we face in 2012 will be answered by simply applying the morals and ethics we learn from studying God Word; however, there will always be times when need a slightly more personal answer. Should we go to such-and-such a city, stay there a year, do business and make a profit? You’re not likely to find an answer by flipping through the Psalms. Instead you’ll have to seek God in prayer.
Should we expand our business this year?
Should we try having another baby?
Does God want me to change careers?
Is this the person God wants me to marry or is there some else out there?
Our questions are as numerous as the sand on seas shore. The Bible says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6 NASB). I believe that if we will bring all of our questions to God before making any life-altering decisions, that He will make the answers known for us.
So, search the Scriptures and seek God in prayer. Those are my first two suggestions. And, finally, focus on what matters most. Jesus tells us what matters most. According to Jesus, the most important command God ever gave is this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (Mark 12:30 NCV). No matter what else is going on in our lives, this has got to be what life is all about.
Of course, Jesus also tells us that the second most important command is this: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself” (Mark 12:31 NCV). When you get to the end of the 2012—or the end of your life for that matter—you won’t be thinking, I wish I spent more time at the movies, or I wish I had bought that new car, or I should have worked longer hours, or I wish I had spent more time playing spider-solitaire! No. What really matters—all that really matters—is who you love and who loves you back!
Conclusion
Surrender. Savor. Seek. Those three verbs codify the lessons James shares with us for this New Year. Surrender your plans to God, because you never know what tomorrow will bring. Savor each moment, because your life is just a vapor that’s here for a little while then vanishes away. Seek God’s heart and will for your life through reading the Bible, praying about everything, and making God’s priorities your priorities.
I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year.
And regardless of when Christ comes or how many days you have left, may all of them be filled with the love, joy and peace that only Christ cam bring.
Invitation
As our worship team comes forward to lead us in the first invitation song of the new year, if you’d like to talk with me about how to start this year off right, by beginning or restoring your relationship with Jesus, just let me know as we stand and sing.
