INTRO.- ILL.- Here’s what one guy wrote about a resolution he made:
1999: I will get my weight down below 180.
2000: I will watch my calories until I get below 190.
2001: I will follow my new diet religiously until I get below 200.
2002: I will try to develop a realistic attitude about my weight.
2003: I will work out 5 days a week.
2004: I will work out 3 days a week.
2005: I will try to drive past a gym at least once a week.
Every year people resolve to do this or that. To stop eating so much food. To exercise more. To enjoy life more. But what about our relationship to God? Shouldn’t we also be thinking about some resolutions in regard to God in order to grow in faith?
II Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”
Are you growing in His grace and knowledge of Him? If not, why not? And have you made any plans to grow? Someone said, “The plan will work if we work the plan.” But what if you have no plan? No planning equals no growth in Christ.
ILL.- Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was the preacher who preached that famous sermon, “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” in 1741 in Enfield, CT. It was said that Edwards was interrupted many times during that sermon with people saying, “What shall I do to be saved?” Edwards took his faith seriously, much more than people and many preachers do today.
He said, “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humble entreat Him, by His grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ’s sake.” (In other words, with God’s help I will keep my word!)
- Resolved, I will do whatsoever I can to the glory of God. (He wanted to live for God’s glory, not his own. I Cor. 10:31)
- Resolved, Never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life. (Wow! How powerful is this. There are some things we wouldn’t even think of doing the last hour of our lives nor we should do them at any time! If it’s not pleasing at our last hour then it isn’t pleasing to God at any time in our lives.)
- Resolved, Never to do anything out of revenge. (Someone wrote, “I don’t get mad, I get even.” No, here is what is better: DON’T GET EVEN, GET AHEAD. Be the better person. Let God handle the situation and take revenge if He desires)
- Resolved, To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently. (II Timothy 2:15)
- Resolved, Never to count that a prayer, that I cannot hope that God will answer it. (Believe in prayer. Believe that God will answer your prayers)
If we are going to do better in any way in the new year then we must start it with every day. A new year is no different than starting a new day. We do it one day at a time, but if you don’t make it a good habit one day at a time your year will turn out lousy. What are you going to do to grow in His grace?
PROP.- Paul’s writing to the Ephesians gives us some sound spiritual resolves for the next year.
1- Be more God-like
2- Shun the evil of this world
3- Use your time wisely
I. BE MORE GOD-LIKE
1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
ILL.- A mother said: While my young son Doug was looking at a full moon, he asked, "Mom, is God in the moon?" I explained that God is everywhere. "Is he in my tummy?" Doug wanted to know. "Well, sort of," I responded, not sure where these questions wee leading. Then Doug declared, "God wants a banana."
God does live in us. He lives in us through His Holy Spirit.
Philippians 2:12-13 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”
God is in us and is at work in us through His Spirit. This should mean that we are different and better people than most. Not always. It all depends on how much we surrender to God’s will.
Even though God and Christ are in us through the Holy Spirit our human nature (or our sinful flesh) wants to run the show, wants to be “king of the hill.”
If we are honest, we must admit that we don’t always do the right thing. We don’t always the Biblical thing even though we may know what God’s word says. But we need to strive to do better, to be more like our God in heaven!
Some people would like to be more God-like in the sense of wielding more power over people, but that’s not the idea of the text. It’s certainly not God’s idea for our lives!
ILL.- When I was a kind I loved to watch Superman on TV. I thought it would be great to be like Superman: be able to fly by spreading my arms, have X-ray vision, be a man of steel, be strong, and fight the evil in this world. Deep in my heart, I knew it was impossible.
I Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”
I have gotten over most of my childish ways. I don’t want to be like Superman any more, but it would sure be great to be more like God. And if God is love, and He is, then we should desire to be more like Him.
1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love.
ILL.- A kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they drew. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s artwork. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied, "I’m drawing God." The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God looks like." Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the little girl replied, "They will in a minute."
We all are drawing a picture of God with our lives and the world is watching to see what God looks like.
Acts 4:13 “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
Do you remind people of Jesus? Is the love of God evident in your life? Does His love pour forth from your life to others in various ways? If so, people will see Jesus in you. First, resolve to become more like God who is love.
II. SHUN THE EVIL OF THIS WORLD
3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible...
The evil that men do is very evident in this world: sexual immorality, all kinds of impurity, greed, obscenity, idolatry, etc. You name it and people do it. Always has been. Always will be.
Genesis 6:5 “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”
And God was grieved that He’d made man so then came the flood. Now if God saw that man’s thoughts were only evil all the time back then, doesn’t it make you wonder what God thinks of our world today?
Genesis 18:20-21 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” Sin so great and grievous.
ILL.- Someone said a long time ago that if God doesn’t do something the wickedness in our world today then He should apologize to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. I don’t think God has to apologize to anyone for His actions, but He will eventually do something about the evil of our world. He restrains evil somewhat now but will eventually call a halt to it.
ILL.- December 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting. 20 children ages 6 and 7 and 6 school teachers dead.
Evil things like this and a whole lot more take place in our world and in America every day.
7 Therefore do not be partners with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.
We must shun the evil in our world. We must avoid it and not participate in it. In fact, we must combat evil and we do this by living as children of light, that is, by letting our light shine for the Lord. We fill our lives with good so we won’t have room for evil.
ILL.- A Missouri man posed as "Secret Santa" and gave away $100,000 this past holiday season and spent a day in New Jersey and New York giving money to people robbed of their belongings or homes by Superstorm Sandy. But the Kansas City businessman says money is not the issue. It’s about random acts of kindness.
That man was letting his light shine in this dark world. He was doing what a wealthy Christian man might do and perhaps he is a Christian.
ILL.- Here’s another great story: That NYPD officer’s act of charity. Jennifer Foster, of Florence, Ariz., was strolling near Times Square with her boyfriend on Nov. 14 when the couple came upon a shoeless man asking for change. But just before Foster approached the man, she said Officer Larry DePrimo gave the man a pair of all-weather boots and thermal socks. Foster captured DePrimo’s generosity on her cellphone.
“It was extremely cold that night,” DePrimo told Fox News on Friday. “I just knew I had to help him.” DePrimo, 25, said the man initially declined his offer of a pair of socks. “He said, ‘No thank you officer, God bless you,” said DePrimo, who then entered a nearby Sketchers store and was given an employee discount for the purchase. “He just said, ‘Thank you officer, God bless you and stay safe,’” DePrimo said.
Again, that’s an example of letting your light shine in this dark world. We combat and shun evil by doing good in this world. We live the life, that is, we live faithful Christian lives, serving the Lord, worshiping the Lord, and helping others wherever we can. By doing these things we will shun evil and our light will shine for Christ.
III. USE YOUR TIME WISELY
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
ILL.- Arnold had reached the age of 105 and suddenly stopped going to synagogue. Worried by Arnold’s absence after so many years of faithful attendance, his Rabbi went to see him. He found him in excellent health, so the Rabbi asked, "How come after all these years we don’t see you at services anymore?" Arnold looked around and lowered his voice. "I’ll tell you, Rabbi," he whispered. "When I got to be 90, I expected God to take me any day. But then I got to be 95, then 100, then 105. So I figured that God is very busy and must have forgotten about me and I don’t want to remind him.”
Will you live to be 90, 95, 100, etc.? Only God knows. The important thing is for you to use what time you have each day wisely because you might not be here tomorrow. And God is not too busy to remember us all. He keeps watch over everyone. Everyone is important and everyone counts.
Someone well said: “You cannot kill time without injuring eternity.” And many people are killing time and injuring their chances in eternity.
ILL.- Benjamin Franklin said: “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for it is the stuff life is made of.”
What happened to Time?
When as a child I laughed and wept, time crept.
When as a youth I dreamed and talked, time walked.
When I became a full grown man, time ran.
And later as I older grew, time flew.
Soon I shall find while traveling on, time gone.
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
Make the most of every opportunity. Opportunity to do good and to serve the Lord. Are you doing any good to others in this world? Are you doing any good things for others outside your own family? And are you serving the Lord? And how much time do you spend on your faith? I don’t think God expects you to spend a certain amount of hours each week serving Him, but He does expect something!
Matthew 12:35-37 35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
If God holds us accountable for our speaking, our words, then what about how we use our time?
Hebrews 4:13 “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
CONCLUSION-------------------
There are many things that we can do better in 2013 and here are just a few:
1- Be more God-like (live a life of love)
2- Shun the evil of this world (and let your light shine)
3- Use your time wisely (do more for the Lord)
Will you make a commitment to God and Christ to do better, to do more?
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
