MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER
TEXT: Philippians 3:10-14 (Phillips); Romans 12:4-5 (Msg)
ILL. Years ago, a man hired an experienced guide to lead him on a hike into the Swiss Alps. After some hours of climbing they came to a high mountain pass. To the man’s dismay, he saw the path had almost been washed away.
What could he do? On the left was a sheer rock cliff, to his right, a precipice that dropped nearly 1000 feet. Looking down, he felt his head growing faint & his knees beginning to buckle.
At that moment his guide shouted, "Don’t look down or you’re a dead man. Keep your eyes on me. And where I put my feet, put yours there as well." The man did as he was told & soon passed out of danger to safety.
That is good advice for the beginning of a new year. No one knows what lies ahead for any of us. We all have plans & dreams but the times & seasons of our life are in God’s hands.
Sooner or later we will find ourselves in a place where the way ahead will seem almost impossible. When that happens, we can panic & fall, or we can fix our eyes on Jesus & mark carefully his steps before us. If we will follow him, we’ll find at the end of this year that we have been kept safe by His amazing grace. (Adapted from Joel Santos on Sermon Central)
ILL. Louisa Fletcher wrote:
I wish that there were some wonderful place called the land of Beginning Again,
Where all our mistakes, & all our heartaches, & all of our poor selfish grief
Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door, & never be put on again.
Sometimes I feel that way about New Year's resolutions. I tell myself, "This year I'm going to exercise regularly & lose weight. I'm going to do all kinds of things to improve myself physically & spiritually." But then somehow I forget. Maybe you have that problem, too.
So I have a suggestion for a New Year's resolution that we ought to be able to remember. It is kind of broad & very general, but here it is let's promise ourselves & God that we will make a change for the better. In 2020, as God's people, let's make this one simple resolution we're going to make a change for the better.
PROP. And to help us do that, let me suggest some ways in which we can make a change for the better.
I. DEVELOP A BETTER ATTITUDE TOWARD LIFE
A. First of all, each of us can make a change for the better by developing a better attitude toward life.
ILL. A few years ago a lady committed suicide, leaving behind this note: "I decided that unless life was worth living I would just quit living."
ILL. Now in contrast to that, I'm told that there was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, & noticed she had only three hairs left on her head. "Well," she said, "I think I’ll braid my hair today." So she did, & she had a wonderful day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror & saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "H-m-m, " she said, "I think I’ll part my hair down the middle today." So she did, & she had a grand day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror & noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "today I’m going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did, & she had a fun day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror & noticed that there wasn’t a single hair on her head. "YEA" she exclaimed, "I don’t have to fix my hair today"
(Copied from Sermon Central)
That story is ridiculous, but how do you feel about your life? Is it worthwhile? Or, let's change the question. What would it take for you to feel that your life is worthwhile? What would it take for you to feel better about your life?
B. That is the reason I have selected Philippians 3:12 14 (Ph) as our text this morning. But before I read it to you, you need to realize that Paul is in prison, chained to a Roman guard, under horrible conditions.
Yet despite that, he writes these words, “I do not consider myself to have ”arrived” spiritually, nor do I consider myself already perfect. But I keep going on, grasping ever more firmly that purpose for which Christ Jesus grasped me.
“My brothers, I do not consider myself to have fully grasped it even now. But I do concentrate on this: I leave the past behind and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal…”
Now ask yourself, "What is Paul’s goal?" He answered that in vs’s 10-11, “Now I long to know Christ and the power shown by His resurrection: now I long to share His sufferings, even to die as He died, so that I may perhaps attain as He did, the resurrection from the dead.”
What is Paul’s goal? His goal is "the resurrection from the dead." His goal is eternal life with Jesus. That is what he is striving for every day. His goal is heaven.
APPL. Now here is the point. If our goal in life is heaven, then all these setbacks are but step¬ping stones getting us closer to the time when we will be with Him.
There will be trials & disappointments, but every day that passes is one day closer to when we will be with Jesus. If that is our goal, then Romans 8:28 is true. "All things" do "work together for good to those who love God & are called according to his purpose."
C. The world says that the way to feel good about yourself is by climbing the ladder of success by making a lot of money by having influential friends by belonging to the right circles. Those are the things that we are told make you feel good about yourself.
But the Bible teaches that we should feel good about ourselves because God loves us. You are such a treasured person in God's sight that He gave His only Begotten Son for you. That makes you valuable, & you can feel good about yourself.
ILL. Frank Peretti said, "It's no wonder that our young people today have poor self images when they go to school & read books that tell them that they are the products of blind chance that they are just accidents of nature un¬planned, unloved, & unwanted.”
Yet the Bible tells us that we are wanted & loved & cared for by God Himself.
II. BE A FRUITFUL PART OF THE FAMILY OF GOD, HIS CHURCH
Secondly, we are to be a fruitful part of the family of God, His church. Paul tells Timothy, "God's family is the church of the living God. . ." 1 Timothy 3:15b (GWT)
And again, he says to the Christians in Ephesus, "You are members of God's very own family, citizens of God's country, and you belong in God's household with every other Christian." Ephesians 2:19b (LB)
The Bible does not speak of solitary saints or spiritual hermits isolated from other believers. In God's family we are connected to every other believer. Romans 12:5 (NIV) says, "In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."
As Christians, the Bible says that we are “put together, joined together, built together, members together, heirs together, fitted together, held together" & also that we "will be caught up together in the air."
The Bible calls the church "The body of Christ," & to Paul, being a "member" of the church meant being a part, a vital organ of a living body, the Body of Christ.
Romans 12:4-5 (Msg) tells us, "Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people.
"Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of His body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we?"
If an organ is severed from its body, it will shrivel & die. Cut off & disconnected from the life of a local church, the spiritual life of most people will wither & eventually cease to exist.
That is why the first symptom of spiritual decline is usually inconsistent attendance at worship services & other gatherings of believers. Whenever we become careless about fellowship, everything else spiritual begins to slide, too.
ILL. Rick Warren wrote: "A Christian without a church home is like an organ without a body, a sheep without a flock, or a child without a family. It is an unnatural state."
Membership in the family of God is neither unimportant nor something to be casually ignored. Jesus said, "I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." Matthew 16:18 (NLT)
The person who says, "I don't need the church," is either arrogant or ignorant. The church itself is so significant that Jesus died on the cross for it. In fact, Ephesians 5:25 (GWT) says, "Christ loved the church and gave His life for it.”
So do you want to have a better life in 2020? Then become more active in the church - which Jesus loved & for which He gave His life.
Realize too, that as Christians, it is not good enough for us just to lift our voices in praise & prayer to God above. And that brings us to our third point:
III. DISPLAY A PATIENT & LOVING SPIRIT TOWARD OTHERS
A. As Christians, we must display a more patient & loving spirit toward others.
ILL. Robert Schuler wrote, "It would amaze us how many people we could influence for Christ if we would just treat people nicely." I think he was right.
This is a hard world, a world that doesn't always exercise courtesy. Sometimes it's a dog eat dog world. People are jockeying for positions on the highways & in their companies, & they're filled with all kinds of stress & anxiety.
But the church must be a place where we can come & be accepted & loved & encouraged & built up a place where everyone feels welcome & there are those who will help us carry our burdens.
You see, if we treat each other with love then wonderful things will happen for the kingdom of God. So this new year let's make sure that we display a more patient & loving spirit toward others.
CONC. Maybe that more than any other ought to be a part of our new year's resolution. "I'm going to develop a better attitude toward life. I'll be a more fruitful part of the family of God - His church. And I'll display a more patient & loving spirit toward others."
ILL. Bill & Gloria Gaither have written many wonderful Christian songs. One was written in the late 1960’s while Gloria was expecting a child. At the time, the Gaithers were working through some difficult problems.
Bill was recovering from a serious illness. Gloria was pregnant & experiencing prenatal difficulties. And there were those who were criticizing them, saying that their music was not spiritual enough.
Well, on that New Year’s eve Gloria was sitting in a darkened room, not well physically, feeling the grip of depression & fear.
She said, “I sat alone in the darkness thinking about what was happening in the world, & of our own problems - & about our baby yet unborn. I was thinking, who in their right mind would bring a child into a world like this?”
As she was feeling almost overwhelmed by fear of what the future might hold, something happened. She said, “I can’t quite explain what happened, but in that next moment, suddenly I felt released from it all."
"The panic that had built up inside me was gently dispelled by a reassuring presence, & a soft voice that kept saying to me, ‘Don’t forget the empty tomb, don’t forget the empty tomb.’
Suddenly "I knew I could have the baby & face the future with optimism & trust, for I had been reminded that it was worth it all just because He lives." And that is when she began writing the words of what is now the 2nd verse of that hymn we sang earlier in our service - "Because He Lives!"
She wrote, “How sweet to hold a newborn baby, & feel the pride & joy he gives; but greater still the calm assurance, this child can face uncertain days because He lives.” (Adapted from Timothy Smith on Sermon Central)
May I remind you that we are a year closer to heaven than we were this time last year? Every¬thing is on course, folks. We need to trust the Lord & love Him to place our lives in His hands & allow Him to use us to His glory.
If you are here without Jesus as your Savior, then you have an opportunity to make a change for the better right away. On this first Sunday of the new year, come & accept Him into your life, & follow His example & command in baptism.
We present His invitation & pray that you will respond as we stand & sing together.
INVITATION:
(Some of the ideas and wording of my second point were derived from chapter 17 of Rick Warren’s book, “The Purpose Driven Life”.)
