RESOLUTIONS AND REVOLUTIONS!
Scripture reading:
Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with you wherever you go!
Ephesians 4:32 And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.
Psalm 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
Ephesians 1:4 God has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love!
2 Corinthians 13:7 Now I pray to God that you do no evil; so that that you should do that which is honest!
Proverbs 16:19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Rev 2:10 Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.
How many of you have ever heard of a boobee bug? Anyone? Well, a boobee bug is a little guy that lives on the underside of flower petals. Whenever a bee lands on a flower to get his daily fare, the boobee bug crawls to the edge of the underside of the petal, and shouts ...BOO! BEE!
Well, OK ....maybe that wasn't the most brilliant little story you've ever heard .... but, you can share that one with your grand children, knowing they have NEVER EVER heard it before!
Today, though, we won't say anything else about boobee bugs ... but we do want to talk about DO BEEs! How many of you recall ROMPER ROOM .... that TV show that featured DO BEES? Sure, you do! Remember how the DO BEE character would fly around the studio, and the little boys and girls would flap their arms and fly around with him?
Today, we want to look at some New Year's Resolutions on the SPIRITUAL side of life ... After all, this is the time when we make resolutions ..... I think one of my favorite resolutions is about the man who said he was making only ONE resolution, and that was to do everything in his power to make his wife happy! When his wife was asked her resolution, she said, "I'm making only ONE resolution, too! My resolution is to see that my husband keeps HIS Resolution!"
Resolution # 1 Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with you wherever you go!
The first DO BE is this: DO BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE!
There are so very many things we won't even attempt to do, simply because we are afraid ...and if asked about what, and we are honest, we will say something along these lines .....
I am afraid I will fail, or perform poorly ... and it may be the most common fear we have of trying something different.
We fear the unknown...and so very often, fail to even start, because we don't know how things will turn out!
We fear the uncomfortable ... it's so much easier to do things that we are comfortable doing ....but, there's no challenge in doing something you have done for years, and do well!
A DO BEE will just go ahead and try! So, friends, BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE!
Resolution # 2 Ephesians 4:32 And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.
One of the great truisms of life is that we don't even have to agree about anything, to be kind to one another! A DO BEE is ALWAYS kind, no matter the circumstances. You see, in the words of William Barrett, in his excellent book, A WOMAN IN THE HOUSE, "No one knows what devils drive a man."
Everyone you meet is fighting a battle that you know nothing about, and has stresses and strains that would break a lesser person. The kindness you show may be the ONLY KINDNESS that person will receive today ... and it may very well make a life and death difference in that person.
So... DO BE KIND to one another!
Resolution # 3 Psalm 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
In the coming year, DO BE THANKFUL! We don't know what devils drive a man, to be sure ... and it is just as true that many folks would simply LOVE to have your BAD days!
I don't know what is the worst day of your life ... but if one readily comes to mind, and it probably does, someone, somewhere has had an infinitely worse day than that, and would gladly trade days with you.
When I think of bad days, I think of a man who came to my desk in Morgantown back in 1967. His wife was working in their greenhouse, tending flowers in mid- November, and even though from all appearances and to their knowledge, she was is good health, but just dropped dead of a heart attack. That's a bad day for the man, without doubt. But that wasn't the worst of it .... On November 20, 1967, TWA Flight 128 crashed on final approach to Greater Cincinnati Airport. Aboard the plane, coming home for the funeral, his only child and her husband, along with their little daughter, were killed. He lost his whole family within the space of 24 hours. I have never had a bad day like that.
While it is true we ought to be thankful for the good things that happen along life's way, we ought to be thankful, too, for the bad things that do NOT happen to us.
Have you ever prayed, 'Lord, thank You that I did NOT go hungry today, nor did I have any bad accidents?'
Resolution # 4 Ephesians 1:4 God has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love!
Holy is not a popular word in the world, today. It seems to carry the connotation of a sour faced curmudgeon, a sanctimonious grouch who seems to think the world would end if he were to smile.
But, that picture is simply not true. From the URBAN DICTIONARY, we find these words, defining HOLY.
"To be holy is to be pure—innocent in all you say and do, having no hidden motives, wronging no one. It is to be as openhearted as a little child and transparent in spirit as the crystal sea before the throne.
"To be holy is to be a keeper of all promises and a restorer of all good things.
"Holiness is the foundation of all right relationships and the standard for all actions of all people at all times.
"Holiness does not grant a different standard for anyone at any level of knowledge, age or capability.
"All people and all nations are accountable for living in a spirit of holiness at all times and in all ways."
We can, and do use the word, HOLY, as in holy cow! holy smoke! holy terror! holier than thou!
The DO BEE, however, is one who strives to be right, true, and honest; upright in every thought, word, action, deliberation; and constantly striving to do a better job of it today, than he or she might have been done, yesterday.
Resolution # 5 2 Corinthians 13:7 Now I pray to God that you do no evil; so that that you should do that which is honest!
Honesty refers to that part of moral character that connotes positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness. It includes the absence of lying, cheating, theft, and such the like. Honesty also involves being trustworthy, loyal, fair, and sincere.
We value honesty in all areas of life. cultures. "Honesty is the best policy" is a proverb of Benjamin Franklin, while the quote "Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom" is attributed to Thomas Jefferson, as used in a letter to Nathaniel Macon.
William Shakespeare famously describes honesty as an attribute people leave behind when he wrote that "no legacy is so rich as honesty" in his play"All's Well that Ends Well."
A good recent example involves an Ethiopian immigrant, Adam Woldemarim. He discharged a passenger at the Las Vegas airport. A little later, he was cleaning his cab when he found a black laptop case in the backseat. He opened it, and it was full of money – $221,510 to be exact.
As for me, I would’ve slyly taken it home like Llewelyn Moss in “No Country for Old Men.” But Woldemarim wields a bit more integrity, so he went to the security company that owned his taxi service and dropped off the case, saying an unknown man left it. He then went back to work.
An hour later, Frias Transportation Management called him and told him to come back to the office immediately. A young man in his late twenties called, claiming he won the money at a casino.
When Woldemarim arrived, the man was effusively appreciative. He thanked him for his honesty and left him a $2,000 tip. Quite the payday for one small gesture.
Resolution # 6 Proverbs 16:19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
A DO BEE is an humble bee! So, do be humble! Mike Austin, Ph.D., professor of philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University says, “Many people think of humility as thinking very little of yourself, but I don’t think that’s right.” It’s more about a proper or accurate assessment. A big part of humility is knowing our own limits, our strengths and weaknesses, morally or otherwise.”
Austin says that humble people focus their energy on others, that they are conscientious, that they see happiness as a journey. He says that humble people know there are good things ahead, but are OK in waiting for them.
And, he concludes his remarks with this lovely sentence: “When there’s that kind of harmony, that’s when the better angles of our nature come out.”
Resolution # 7 Rev 2:10 Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.
An internet quote from a source I could not identify is this:
A FAITHFUL PERSON is trustworthy and reliable. Some people make faithfulness a hallmark of their human relationships, but the faithfulness that matters most is the faithfulness we show towards God.
God is faithful. He does what He promises to do. Moreover, because God is faithful, we dare have courage to trust Him and His promises. "He is faithful that promised" (Heb. 10:23). "Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens: and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds" (Psa. 36:5). "Your faithfulness is to all generations..."--Psa. 119:90
In truth, all of God's creation depend on His faithfulness. Animals begin their annual migrations and periodic breeding cycles at certain times because nature's laws are firm. Plants send forth seed and sapling according to His faithfulness. Only human-kind has a hard time knowing whether or not to exercise faith in God.
If we are full of faith we will believe God's word and expect Him to fulfill His promises. That means we will actually live according to what we think. We judge that God, who delivered His word, is faithful (Heb. 11:11). Therefore, we commit ourselves to our heavenly Father in spite of unfair or evil circumstances. We do God's will the best we can because we trust our faithful Creator to set all things right in His time and way. "Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right."--1 Pet. 4:19
We find strength to be faithful to God because God is faithful in dealing with us. And, my friends, that crown of life is our ultimate DESTINY!
The sermon title is RESOLUTIONS AND REVOLUTIONS! We have our resolutions, now, let's make REVOLUTIONS! When something revolves, it turns! Let us, therefore, turn to BE STRONG, BE KIND, BE THANKFUL, HOLY, HONEST, HUMBLE, and FAITHFUL. Amen!
