DON’T LET YOUR MEMORIES BECOME BIGGER THAN YOUR DREAMS
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. A woman walked into her bathroom at home. As she did, she saw her husband weighing himself on the bathroom scales, sucking in his stomach.
2. The woman thought to herself, "He thinks that he will weigh less by sucking in his stomach." So, the woman rather sarcastically said to her husband, "That’s not going to help."
3. Her husband said, "Sure it will. It’s the only way I can see the numbers."
B. BIG IDEA
1. The beginning of a new year is unusual in that, more than any other time of the year, most people will take a few minutes to evaluate their lives.
2. They ask themselves: “Have I reached my goals?” “Do I need to change some things?” “Can I do better?” “Are there some things I need to stop doing?”
3. But many Christians haven’t set any goals in a long time, because we’re content with where we are, we feel we can’t get any better, or we feel like our best days are behind us.
4. GOD IS NOT PLEASED WITH THIS ATTITUDE! God is saying to you today, “DON’T LET YOUR MEMORIES BECOME BIGGER THAN YOUR DREAMS!”
I. 1st GOD SAYS, “FORGET…THE PAST!” Isa. 43:18
A. WHY DO PEOPLE START LIVING IN THE PAST?
1. A REALLY GOOD PAST. Some of you have had a great life and above-average accomplishments. You may feel that there’s no way your future is going to equal your past, so you settle for reminiscing about your past.
2. A REALLY BAD PAST. Others of you suffered through tragic events that personally devastated you or publicly humiliated you; you may feel that a positive future isn’t possible for you.
3. YOU’RE OLDER. The fact that your life seems almost over or that you have serious physical limitations may make you assume that looking to the past is the only option for you.
But many people have accomplished great things in spite of old age and bad pasts!
B. EX. OF OLDER PEOPLE ACHIEVING GREAT THINGS
1. At 71, Katsusuke Yanagisawa, a retired Japanese schoolteacher, became the oldest person to climb Mt. Everest.
2. At 72, Margaret Ringenberg ?ew around the world.
3. At 75, cancer survivor Barbara Hillary became one of the oldest people, and the ?rst black woman, to reach the North Pole.
4. At 77, John Glenn became the oldest person to go into space.
5. At 82, William Ivy Baldwin tightrope walked across a 320 foot canyon in Colorado!
5. At 88, Michelangelo designed a massive cathedral.
6. At 91, Allan Stewart received a Law degree from the Univ. of New England.
7. At 92, Paul Spangler ?nished his 14th marathon.
8. At 93, P.G. Wodehouse worked on his 97th novel and was knighted.
9. At 100, Frank Schearer still water skied regularly.
C. BIBLICAL HEROES AT ADVANCED AGES
1. Moses led Israel until he was 120 years old.
2. John wrote the book of Revelation after he was 90 years.
3. Abraham offered Isaac when he was 110+ years old
4. Anna prophesied over baby Jesus when she was 104 years.
5. ALL THESE PEOPLE DIDN’T LET THEIR MEMORIES GET BIGGER THAN THEIR DREAMS! Others overcame bad pasts – like Rahab, David, Mary Magdalene, and Peter – they didn’t let their defects set them back.
II. DO YOU FOCUS ON YOUR PAST OR FUTURE?
A. MEMORIES SHAPE WHO WE ARE TODAY; DREAMS SHAPE WHO WE’LL BE TOMORROW
1. Never make the mistake of letting your memories be greater than your dreams. Memories represent your past; dreams represent your future. Our past shaped who we are today, but our dreams expand & shape us into what we can become.
2. Dreams are a gift because they impact your life as you try to achieve them. A memory won’t change your life today, but a dream will. Your dream is why you’re in the gym; your dream is why you set goals.
3. You could easily waste a decade of your life just
reminiscing on the past, but once you envision your dream and set goals to reach it, then you can begin to direct your future. Your future is determined by your dreams.
4. So enjoy reflecting and celebrating the things you’ve accomplished for Christ in the past, but then move on to dream and plan what you will do for Christ in the future!
B. PAUL’S VIEW IS BEST
1. “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” Phip. 3:12-14
2. The Apostle Paul told us that at this stage of his life, he was forgetting what he’d already done for Christ and was only looking for what he might still do in the days ahead!
3. What had Paul done by this time?
a. He’d headed up 3 missionary crusades in many countries.
b. Brought revival to most of the Roman world.
c. Stood before slave & emperor alike.
d. Been terribly persecuted/ suffered.
e. Seen outstanding visions of Christ & heaven.
f. Yet “I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of” what God wants me to accomplish! If Paul hadn’t, the WE certainly haven’t!
III. BEGIN TO LIVE THE DREAM!
A. LEAVE SOME THINGS BEHIND
1. LEAVE YOUR RESENTMENTS BEHIND. We all have someone who has hurt us or mistreated us. The unforgiving heart continues to live in the past. We cannot erase our memories, but we can let the offence go.
2. LEAVE YOUR WORRIES BEHIND. Worries are very much like rocking chairs; they give you something to do, but they never take you anywhere. Habitual worrying is life-controlling and damages our health and relationships – Give it up!
3. LEAVE YOUR FAILURES BEHIND. We get discouraged because we have failed. But have we failed in God’s eyes? God is the God of new beginnings. If we ask he will give us a clean slate to begin 2021 with. Would you like to start over? You can!
4. LEAVE YOUR GUILT BEHIND. You never have to feel unworthy again; you never need to feel inadequate again! Christ in you is the hope of glory – the key to God’s glorious future for you. Take Jesus’ hand and walk into a new future!
5. ILLUS.: “THE VALUE OF THE VIOLIN”
a. A violinist announced he would play a concert on a $1 Million Stradivarius violin. The hall was filled & the violinist began to play.
b. The music was sweet. The violin cried like a baby, sang like a bird, laughed like a child. The crowd was enraptured. “Did you ever hear such music! What a priceless violin!”
c. When the thunderous applause died down, the violinist took the violin and broke it to pieces on a chair. They said, “He is crazy! He is mad! He’s breaking a $1 Million violin!”
d. But the violinist reached behind him, and pulled out another violin, smiled and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, you thought I was playing on a $1 Million violin, but it was really only a $50 fiddle. This is how a $1 Million violin sounds. He played, but the music wasn’t any sweeter!
e. “Do you know why it’s no better? Because it’s not the violin, but the person who draws the bow that makes the music!”
f. It’s the same with us & God; it’s not what gifts you have but allowing God to use His talents through you! [Bob Jones]
B. SEIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES
1. Each new year God gives us new opportunities to work for Him, to advance the Kingdom, to win souls, to move the church forward in revival. The question is, are we ready to run with our opportunities?
2. FIVE GODLY GOALS TO SET FOR YOURSELF FOR 2021:
a. Determine to be a better witness for Jesus. Set goals. Penetrate some group of people and share the Gospel with them.
b. Develop a more Christlike nature. Fruit of the Spirit.
c. Gain knowledge of God’s Word. Memorize verses.
d. Increase your Prayer-life & prayer-ministry. Improve your personal relationship with God. Get closer to God this year than you’ve ever been with Him before. Let this be your “burning bush” year!
3. HERE’S 7 THINGS YOU COULD DO EVERY DAY:
a. Focus on a Passion, Not the Way You Look.
b. Stop gossiping. Don’t be that person. Spread positivity.
c. Give one compliment a day.
d. Do Random Acts of Kindness.
e. Volunteer.
f. Name one thing you’re grateful for every night.
g. Call a lonely friend.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: DECIDING TO JUMP
1. A boy told his father, "Dad, if three frogs were sitting on a limb that hung over a pool, and one frog decided to jump off into the pool, how many frogs would be left on the limb?" The dad replied, "Two."
2."No," the son replied. "There’s three frogs and one decides to jump, how many are left?" The dad said, "Oh, I get it, if one decides to jump, the others would too. So there are none left."
3. The boy said, "No dad, the answer is three. The frog only DECIDED to jump."
4. Does that sound like last year’s resolution? Great inspiration and great resolutions, but often times we only decide, and months later we are still on the same limb of do-nothing. [SOURCE: http://irsweb.com/ Citation: Help4Sunday, January, 1999.]
B. THE ALTAR
1. BREAK OLD PLATES. In Denmark they save all of their unused dishes until the 31st of December when they shatter them against the doors of all their friends and family.
2. BURN SCARECROWS. In Ecuador they celebrate the New Year by burning paper scarecrows and photographs of things that they want to forget about.
3. HIGH JUMP. In another country people climb on top of chairs and literally “jump” into the New Year. They hope it will bring them good luck.
4. Maybe last year didn’t turn out the way you’d have liked. Let’s start today and put the past behind us and make a positive jump into this new year of 2021!
5. PRAYER. I want to encourage you that God knows what He’s doing! Let’s pray and ask God to make 2021 the greatest year of our lives! This truth should motivate us to run with endurance the race that is set before us.
