THE ABC’S TO HAVING
A GREAT YEAR
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: STATING THE OBVIOUS.
After a woman sued McDonalds because she wasn’t warned her coffee was hot, companies are changing their instruction manuals and product warning labels to cover themselves from liability. Listen to a few of these:
1. On a particular brand of soap- “Directions: Use like regular soap.”
2. On a frozen dinner – “Suggestion: Defrost before eating.”
3. A Christmas pudding – “Product will be hot after heating.”
4. On a string of Christmas lights- “For indoor or outdoor use only.”
5. A packet of peanuts warning – “May contain traces of peanuts.”
6. On a chain saw- “Do not stop chain with hand.”
7. On a motorcycle helmet mounted mirror – “Remember, objects in the mirror are actually behind you!”
B. TEXT & THOUGHTS
"An intelligent person aims at wise actions, but a fool starts off in many directions." Prov. 17:24, GNV.
1. We all can do the one of two things this year: We can waste it away by fretting about the things we failed to accomplish last year, moping and having a pity party, OR We can decide to make the most of this New Year. This could be the greatest year of our lives!
2. So what are you going to do with 2020? How will this year be any different than last year? How many of you would like 2020 to be better than 2019?
3. The bad news is there is nothing we can do to change last year. The good news is that we can change the coming year.
4. At the beginning of every year God gives each of us a clean slate to start over with. It’s like God is saying, “Let’s start over.” And that’s good news.
5. Proverbs 17:24, GNV, "An intelligent person aims at wise actions, but a fool starts off in many directions." “A fool starts off in many directions.” Does that describe any of us?
6. The beginning of this verse says, "An Intelligent person aims at wise actions." That means they have a goal, an objective, an aim, a target. Have you set any goals for 2020? Or are you just going to walk into this year and hope it’s better? You’ve got to have a plan.
C. THESIS
1. This morning I want to share with you four keys that will help us be a success in 2020. Keys can be used to start something or used to open doors. Having a good year in 2020 is as simple as “A, B, C and D.”
2. The title of this message is “THE ABC’S TO HAVING A GREAT YEAR.”
I. A–ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY LIFE
A. DON’T EXCUSE, CONFESS!
1. If we want a fresh start in life, we have to stop making excuses for our failures. That means to stop blaming other people, to stop seeing myself as the victim of my circumstances.
2. "Political correctness" says, "None of your problems are your fault. Everything bad in your life is somebody else’s fault. Blame the environment, the educator, blame your parents -- it’s not your fault."
3. If you get in an accident, it’s never your fault. If you spill some hot coffee on yourself, sue McDonalds; it’s their fault. Success in life: is to accept responsibility for our own lives.
4. Proverbs 28:13 “A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them he gets another chance.” God says, “That if we admit our mistakes and our sins, then we get another chance in life.”
B. YOU NEVER FAIL UNTIL YOU GIVE UP
1. If at first you don’t succeed, welcome to the human race; you’re normal. Very few people make it on the first try. You’re never a failure until you give up. Sometimes we give up too soon.
2. Someone said, “People who are very good at making excuses are rarely good at anything else.” So let’s quit making excuses.
3. JOKE.
a. A guy delivering an oversized load saw a sign at the entrance of a narrow road. It read: "Blocked! Do not pass! Difficult to turn back."
b. He continued anyway, only to discover that the alley was indeed blocked by a fallen tree. As predicted, it took a while to turn the truck around.
c. When he finally got back to the entrance, he noticed a second sign that read: "Told you so!"
4. Let’s say, “I choose to accept responsibility for my own life, goals and happiness. I’m not dependent upon anybody else.” Do this and we’ll jump way ahead in 2020!
II. B-BELIEVE I CAN CHANGE
A. THE DEVIL WANTS YOU TO DOUBT YOU CAN CHANGE!
1. JOKE: THE PSYCH’S DIAGNOSIS
a. A man went to a psychiatrist and said, "Doctor, I have seen two other psychiatrists. They told me I am cursed with an inferiority complex. I would like for you to examine me and tell me what you think.
b. After many tests the doctor said, "Sir, I have good news and bad. The good news is, you DON’T have a complex. The bad news is, you ARE inferior!"
2. That (illus) is exactly what the devil wants you to believe; that you are inferior to others and that others "CAN" live effectively for Jesus, but you "CAN'T."
3. Phip. 4:13 is a verse that shatters every negative or derogatory thing anyone has ever said to you: it says, "I CAN do all things through Christ which strengthens me!"
4. We all have secret fears:
a. Of what people think;
b. Of failure;
c. Of making a fool of ourselves -- and these fears can affect our lives.
B. GOD’S TRUTH: YOU CAN DO ALL THINGS
1. No matter how big or severe your trial, whatever problems or difficulties come your way -- our God is able to make you an overcomer in all of them!
2. Nothing that is placed before you to do shall be impossible for you! If like Moses, you are called to humble the greatest nation on earth, you will be able to do it.
3. If you’re called to witness to a difficult person, you SHALL BE EQUAL TO THE TASK. You say, "I'm not a good speaker." Neither was Moses, or Jeremiah, or Gideon.
4. "Whom God calls, He qualifies." He will make you sufficient for what He calls you to do.
5. The devil may have told you that you have an inherited weakness that is inescapable. No! There is not one Hittite or Jebusite in all the Promised Land you can't drive out!
6. SUPPORTING SCRIPTURES
a. 2 Cor. 5:17, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; behold all things are passed away, and behold, all things are made new."
b. 1 Cor. 10:13, "There has no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you can bear, but will with the temptation make a way of escape that you may bear up under it. "
c. Rom. 5:20, "But where sin abounds, grace does much more abound!"
7. Be encouraged, Weak Christian, You CAN do all things through Christ, who strengthens you!
III. C-CLARIFY YOUR PRIORITIES
A. SET GODLY PRIORITIES
1. You must decide what’s most important: your Priorities. You have to write them down on paper, otherwise they’re going to be pushed out of focus by the pressures of life and never get done.
2. Most people who never make up their mind what they want out of life; if we aim at nothing, we’re certain to hit it!
3. There are 3 things I’ve heard people on their deathbed wish they’d given greater priority to: their relationship with God, their relationship with their family, and their relationship with their church.
4. But I’ve never heard anyone say, “I wish I’d spent more time at the office, at work or building my career.”
B. AN ACTION PLAN
1. IT REALLY IS IMPORTANT TO MAKE RESOLUTIONS. 63% of people say they are keeping their resolutions after two months. How we start the new year will probably set the tone for our entire year.
2. PLAN AHEAD. Start with small, incremental steps to achieve your larger goal. Avoid repeating past failures.
3. DON’T BE SIDETRACKED BY A FAILURE. Since many unhealthy habits have taken a lifetime to develop, they aren't likely to change in just in a few short days, weeks or months. Expect a few setbacks.
4. Have a SUPPORT SYSTEM and RE-MOTIVATE. Most people start off highly motivated, but after weeks it begins to fade as you face challenges in changing your behavior. Remind yourself why you have set this goal, and find sources of inspiration to keep you going.
IV. D-DON’T WAIT TO BEGIN
A. DON’T PROCRASTINATE!
1. JOKE. “One thing good about procrastination is that you always have something planned for tomorrow.” —Gladys Sterm (who also observed that “both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute.”
2. Procrastination, however, is a serious spiritual problem. In Acts 24:25, the Governor Felix was confronted by the Apostle Paul and brought under serious conviction. Felix trembled and said, "Go your way for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.”
3. Eccles. 11:4, “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.”
4. “When things settle down or get better, I’m going to start having a daily quiet time and read my Bible every day,” you’re never going to do it. You learn to read your Bible and pray when things are unsettled and not so good. “When things settle down, I’m going to spend more time with my kids.” They’ll be grown and gone!
B. STEPPING OUT REQUIRES FAITH
1. JUST DO IT. If we just do it, we will go to the next level. It requires faith.
2. Some of you have to launch out into new territory. The key to changing anything is faith. If you want to change your circumstances or personality, it takes faith.
3. Jesus says this in Matthew 9. “According to your faith it will be done to you.” This means that faith opens up realms unavailable to us in the natural.
4. It may require courage for you to attempt to overcome an area where you’ve suffered a defeat before. Faith is not the absence of fear, but moving ahead in spite of your fear.
C. SUCCESS GUARANTEED BY EMPOWERMENT
1. Zechariah 4:6 says, “It’s not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.”
2. When someone becomes a Christian, they become a brand new person inside. What they could NOT do before, they now are capable of doing, because of a higher Power working within them.
3. “…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” Phip. 2:12-13.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Some years ago two 8 year old boys decided to pour kerosene in the pot bellied stove in their school room because it was cold & they wanted to warm things up.
2. Instead of kerosene, they poured in gasoline, & the stove exploded. It killed one boy & left the other with badly burned legs.
3. Doctors told his parents that they must amputate his legs right away or his whole body could become infected. The parents said, "Let’s wait a day."
4. The next day the doctors said, "His legs must be amputated." The parents said, "Let’s wait another day."
5. This went on for several weeks, until finally the doctors discovered that the legs were healing, but that the left leg would be 2 1/2 inches shorter than the right leg. The doctors said, "He will keep his legs, but he’ll never be able to walk."
6. Within a few weeks the boy was standing up & hobbling around on crutches. The doctors changed their prediction; "Well, maybe he’ll be able to walk, but he’ll never be able to walk without crutches."
7. But within a few more weeks he was walking without crutches. "Well, he may be able to walk without crutches, but he’ll never be able to run." But then he broke into a wobbly jog & soon he was running.
8. That boy was Glenn Cunningham, who won gold medals & set world records in track, & in his day was called, "The fastest human being on two feet."
9. You see, with God, everybody has that kind of potential. Don’t let the devil tell you what you can’t do; God says you CAN DO ALL THINGS! Now do them!
B. THE CALL
1. What kind of person will you be in 2020? Will you accept responsibility for your life? Will you believe you can change? Will you clarify what you want this year and what is important to you? Will you start right now?
2. Jesus Christ has the power to make you an overcomer. It’s made available by being born again. You can have a fresh start with a new life as you begin this New Year.
3. God says, “I don’t want you to turn over a new leaf. I’m going to give you a whole new life.” Will you let Him? Do you want to commit yourself today to see 2020 greater than your 2019 was? Stand.
4. Prayer for salvation, inner healing.
[The outline and a few points were from Jim Mooney’s sermon entitled, “How to make the most of your new year.”]
