2015: THE YEAR OF ‘NEW’!
INTRODUCTION: 2015 is not just a new year; it’s a year of new! Rev. 21:5, “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Now granted, in context God is talking about the new heavens and the new earth. However, we see that God is in the business of newness. As bible commentator William Burkitt wrote, “Behold I make all things new; a good argument to encourage us to go unto Christ by prayer for renewing grace. Surely he that makes new heavens can make new hearts, he that renews an old world, can renew us in the spirit of our minds, and make old things pass away, and cause all things to become new.” As we embark on a new year, there are three things I want to talk to you about that will help to make 2015 the year of ‘new’. Let’s see what they are.
1) New you. 2nd Cor. 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” If I am a Christian then I am not who I once was; I’m a new person. And that means the old things that don’t belong need to go and I need to incorporate new things into my life.
How am I going to do that? Do I think about how this newness is going to happen? How do you plan to improve your situation? How do you plan on improving your financial situation, your work ethic, your relationships, your surroundings?
How do you plan on improving yourself? How do you plan on improving your diet, your exercise routine, your overall health and well being?
How do you plan on improving your spiritual well-being? Do you have a bible reading plan? Are you planning on reading more Christian books, plan on doing more in-depth study, plan on improving your church attendance or involvement? Is this the year you finally get more serious about these things? Is this the year you break that habit or develop that spiritual discipline? Is this the year you take the bull by the horns and say, “Yes, I can; yes, I will”?
Rom. 6:1-4, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
Living a new life isn’t easy; is it? Sometimes it’s scary and uncomfortable. However, it’s necessary. We need to go through the molting process. What’s that? “In order to be able to grow, lobsters have to get rid of their old, hard, protective shell and grow a new, larger one. This process of shedding is called molting. They do this about twenty-five times in the first five years of life and once a year after they become adults. It’s not a pretty process. Under the pressure, the old, hard, protective shell cracks. Then the lobster lies on its side, flexes its muscles, and pulls itself from the cracked shell. For a short time—between the leaving of the old shell and the hardening of a new one—the lobster is naked, feeling vulnerable to the elements.”
That’s how growth can make us feel sometimes-exposed and vulnerable. But, as the lobster needs to do this in order to mature, so will we. Maybe you’ve been afraid of this process. Perhaps you are reluctant to allow yourself the vulnerability attached to change. You’re somewhat comfortable with your old shell. But, consider this, although the lobster is a little uncomfortable until his new shell forms, I bet that doesn’t compare to the relief he feels being free from his constricting old shell. It’s no different for us. As scary as the process of becoming new can be sometimes, it’s well worth it to be free from that old, constricting shell.
So, shall we go on living in our old shell? By no means, we were meant to break free and live in it no longer. What old shell do you need to get rid of in 2015? Old habit, old attitude? Whatever it is, break free so that 2015 can be the year of the new you.
2) New outlook. Along with this new you comes a new outlook. It’s not hard to have the wind taken out of our sails. It’s easy to think we can’t. It’s too easy to be a victim of bogged-down thinking where we are already convinced that 2015 will be more of the same-old-same-old. We need a fresh outlook; one that’s filled with optimism. Think of where our world would be if certain people listened to nay-sayers.
"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You’re crazy."--Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist in his project to drill for oil in 1859.
"This ’telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."--Western Union internal memo, 1876.
"Everything that can be invented has been invented."--Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.
"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" --David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.
"So we went to Atari and said, ’Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, what do you think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary; we’ll come work for you.’ And they said, ‘No’. So, we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, ‘Hey, we don’t need you. You haven’t got through college yet.’"--Apple founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and H-P interested in his and Steve Wozniak’s personal computer."
We need to be visionaries; we need to be thinking ahead, forward thinking Christians. I’m not talking pipe dreams; I’m talking passionate, determined minds that contemplate what can be accomplished through hard work and determination. I’m not talking about New Year’s resolutions; I’m talking about spiritually minded Christians who are ready to take an idea and run with it-not in a scattered, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants way, but in a planned, well thought out way.
Proverbs 21:5, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” To be diligent means I am hard-working but careful in how I do it. As opposed to the hasty person who may have a decent idea but doesn’t think it through and it comes to nothing. Our new outlook needs to be tempered with conscientious wisdom. It’s good to be passionate but it needs to be controlled.
So, instead of seeing 2015 through the same old lens, let’s have a new outlook; one that envisions new things on the horizon.
3) New agenda. Along with this new you and new outlook comes a new agenda. You might be thinking, “But I already have an agenda; and it’s pretty full.” Those of us who have jobs, families, appointments, meetings, after-school events, week-end projects, etc. are probably wondering how there could possibly be room for more or room for a new agenda. Obviously we can’t change certain things, work, raising a family, things like that but perhaps we can have a new agenda at work, a new agenda with our family. Perhaps we don’t add something new but we replace something that’s already there with something more conducive to God’s plan; his agenda.
Eph. 5:15-17, “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.”
Are we careful as to how we’re living? Are we spending our time wisely? And I don’t think “make the most of every opportunity” means make your busy life even busier and forego your rest and down time. But we can take what Paul said and allow ourselves to evaluate our time and agenda and see where it could be tweaked or even radically changed. What are your plans, what are your goals; do you have any? What do you want to see happen in 2015? Do you believe great and wonderful things can happen?
Phil. 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” The church ordered the shirts, people are wearing the shirts but are we living the shirts?
Don’t be skeptical; be convinced. Moses was skeptical but God showed him that he would equip him to lead a nation. Gideon was the youngest in his family and his family was the poorest in the whole tribe of Manasseh. Yet God made him into a strong warrior who delivered Israel from the hands of the Midianites.
So we need to start with believing that God can and will do great things through us. Why not you, why not Cornerstone, why not Syracuse? Where do you fit in with taking Cornerstone church to the next level? Have you given it any thought? What ideas have you been thinking about that would cause more people to be reached for Christ? Have you asked yourself questions like, “How can I bring more people to church; how can I make a difference in people’s lives?” That’s what I want us to be thinking about for 2015.
We need to live wisely; and part of living wisely is believing in, being mindful of and taking advantage of the spiritual opportunities that are in accordance with the Lord’s will and timing. It means being in tune with and in step with the Holy Spirit so that we can turn all these wonderful opportunities into successes.
Prov. 16:3, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed.” The formula for success is when the Lord’s will is at the forefront of all my ideas and passions. When what I set out to do is in accordance with The Holy Spirit’s timing and direction I will experience success.
What we have to be careful of however is falling into the trap of performance. If we get caught-up in accomplishing we can become perfectionists and lose sight of what’s most important. When we set out to do something and mess-up along the way or don’t do something exactly right or a certain project doesn’t bring overnight success we can become discouraged and want to give up as well as get down on ourselves and beat ourselves up over our set-backs. This isn’t healthy and it won’t produce the determination we need to persevere and press on towards reaching God’s goals.
From Kathy Caiello’s Fit Stop newsletter: “Let go and Ease up! In an article found in Healthy Mind Healthy Body, we found good reasons to let go of perfection. Learn and grow: Allowing ourselves to make mistakes—and keep trying— is key to gaining new skills. Enjoy the journey: There’s nothing wrong with having high standards. It means we value quality and want to do our best. But it can also cause us to fret about failure and the future. When we let go of our need to be perfect, it can help us to stay in the moment—and feel less stressed and more creative. Connect and Respect: We all make mistakes. And remembering that can help us be kinder to ourselves—and others too. Quick Tip: Do you beat yourself up over little blunders? Well give your next harmless gaffe a giggle. Laughter helps your body fight stress in a number of ways.”
We need to be serious about our new agenda but not so serious we sabotage ourselves in the process. Let’s have a new agenda for 2015 that glorifies God in every way.
4) Start now! Don’t put it off; start now. All of this might be motivating but there’s a chance we will walk out the door and the motivation will wear off. Then we will find ourselves back into our little rut and nothing changes. We have to decide we’re going to commit to making changes and then we have to commit to keeping it going.
Often times we start strong but finish weak. We not only need a game plan to start, we will need a game plan to remain consistent. Sometimes we put it off because we feel like certain things have to be in place before we can get started.
“When I get my ducks in a row then I’ll be able to start making changes.” How are your ducks going to get in a row?
“When things slow down I’ll start reading the bible more.” If I think the world around me needs to change in order for me to change then I’ve got it backwards.
Ecc. 11:4, “Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.” What this means is if you plan on waiting for conditions to be favorable before you start then nothing will be accomplished. You have to start where you’re at and trust God to get you where you need to be.
So, we need to answer the question, “how will my life be different this year”. What’s my game plan for developing the new me, the new outlook, the new agenda? Let’s make 2015 the year of ‘new’.
