• Lose some weight,
• Learn a language,
• Focus on learning a new skill or hobby,
• Some feel stifled in a career and looking for a new opportunity,
• Some recognize their spiritual emptiness and resolve to attempt to “know God” or “become more spiritual” in the coming year.
As we will enter into a new year, we find that this is indeed an exciting time of the year.
WHY IS IT SO EXCITING FOR US?
Because of three reasons:
(1) By nature we always like new things, it is exciting when we get:
• A new car
• A new suit of clothing
• A new home
• A new child or grandchild
But it is also exciting as we anticipate entering a New Year.
WHAT MAKES THE NEW YEAR SO EXCITING?
(2)The old year we have had has brought some very difficult times in our lives, such as:
• Some have lost loved ones this year
• Some have had to endure great sickness throughout the year
• Some have lost jobs this year
• Some have lost friends through death or betrayal
• Some have had financial setbacks
Those who have had to endure these things look forward to a New Year, and they are more than happy to close out the Old Year and send it to the history books.
Some look forward to a New Year…
(3) WHEN IT COMES TO FACING THEIR PROBLEMS, THEY ARE OUT OF SOLUTIONS!
Illus: These remind us of the woman who walked into a convenience store.
• She walks straight to the manager and asks, "Do you have any small notebooks?"
"Sorry," says the manager. "We're all out."
• The woman shrugs, and asks, "Well, do you have any mechanical pencils?"
"Nope, don't have those either," says the manager.
• The woman feels her stomach rumbling and asks, "Do you have Doritos? Nachos?"
The manager shrugs, "Sorry."
• "How about Chapstick?" says the woman.
"Nope. Don't have that."
• "Well" the woman says, "If you don't have anything, why don't you close the store?"
• The manager shrugs, "Can't. Don't have the key."
For many, life seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place. They cannot find the key to the problems they face.
Sometimes in dealing with problems MANY of us cannot find the solution to our problems and the best thing for us to do is start all over from the beginning. That is exactly what we do in a New Year.
As we enter a New Year, we never know what things will be like during the next 365 days.
Illus: This time of the year is supposed to be the busiest time of the year for fortunetellers, because people want to know what the future holds for them this coming year.
But the Bible makes it clear; NO MAN KNOWS THE FUTURE. NO MAN!
Look at James 4:14, we read, “ “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.”
If I can’t tell you what will take place in the next five minutes, how can I tell you what is going to take place over the next 365 days?
If anyone knew what the future held, they could become rich overnight by investing in the stock market.
If you ask these fortunate tellers about why aren’t they rich if they know the future, they will tell you this gift does not work for their own needs.
THIS IS A COP OUT!!!
Illus: For example, suppose a man comes to a fortune teller wanting to know what the stock market is going to do tomorrow, so he will know how to invest his money.
And suppose this fortuneteller looks into this crystal ball and tells him that the WALMART STOCK is going to double tomorrow.
If this information was true, don’t you think the fortune teller would invest everything they have in the Walmart Stock also?
Fortunetellers prey on the ignorance of man. Only God knows what this coming year will hold for us.
There are three areas I want us to look at today as we consider a NEW YOU FOR A NEW YEAR!!!
I. WE NEED TO RENEW OUR MINDS
Rom. 12:1 2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but BE YE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Look at the word “RENEWING”.
This word means to restore.
Illus: We all know that with the daily wear and tear of things, we have to RESTORE some things in our homes from time to time.
Also, as Christians, a lot of damage is done to our mind through the wear and tear of daily activities.
Illus: The THIRD LAW OF THERMODYNAMIC TEACHES US NOTHING STAYS THE SAME.
Illus: You can buy a brand-new home, and it looks great.
But over a period of time…
• Sun damages our homes
• Rainwater damages our homes.
• Cold weather damages our homes.
• Insects damage our homes.
NOTHING NEVER STAYS THE SAME!!! IT HAS TO BE RESTORED OVER A PERIOD OF TIME.
THE SAME THING WITH OUR MINDS.
Illus: When we first get saved OUR MIND IS ON THE LORD a 100%.
But over a period of time the devil will start to slide thoughts in our minds that become destructive to our Christian life.
This happens so easy.
Illus: It is just like you ladies know in housekeeping, it is so easy to lay this down and that down and soon your house is a mess!
And you have to do some housekeeping get rid of somethings and put good things in their place.
One of the things that we need today is to have our minds “renewed”.
Illus: This makes me think of a family became very sick and they did not know what was causing the problem. They were shocked to later find out that their pump was too close to the septic tank and that it was running into their well water.
They had no idea that they had been drinking sewage. This was taking place each day as they drank from their well.
Many Christians today are not conscious of the fact that, every day, the devil is pumping all this garbage into people’s minds daily.
• THIS IS HOW DIVORCES GET STARTED! They allow the wrong kind of thoughts enter their thinking.
• THIS IS HOW A PERSON BECOMES BACKSLIDDEN! They allow the devil to plant thoughts in their mind that should not be there.
• THIS IS HOW PEOPLE BECOME RUDE IN THEIR TALKING. It used to be that men would see a woman or a child walk into a room, and one of the men, out of respect for women and children, would say, “Watch your mouth, here comes a child or a lady.”
• THIS IS HOW PEOPLE BECOME DISRESPECTFUL. It is used to be that men and women would not talk about body parts and certain things that were private matters in their life, but now there is nothing they will not talk about publicly. I MEAN NOTHING!!!
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
The problem is that men, women and children listen to all the garbage that flows from television programs, internet, and telephones they watch each day.
Listen, our minds are like computers, that is, "if garbage goes in, garbage come out".
The mind is incredible. We can store and retrieve information in our minds that far exceeds the most advanced computer.
Illus: Someone said:
• The mind is a garden that could be cultivated to produce the harvest that we desire
• The mind is a workshop where the important decisions of life and eternity are made
• The mind is an armory where we forge the weapons for our victory or our destruction
• The mind is a battlefield where all the decisive battles of life are won or lost
The Bible warns us in Prov. 23:7a, "For AS HE THINKETH in his heart, so is he:..."
If you do not get your mind under control, you will not get your life under control.
This is why the apostle Paul says, in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
This old world in which we live is corrupted because the minds of people are corrupted.
We need to RENEW OUR MINDS so that good things will come forth from our life when we think on things whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Let this year be the year we renew our minds in Christ Jesus.
But also-
II. WE NEED TO RENEW OUR STRENGTH
We do not need to ASK the Lord to RENEW OUR MINDS.
Why?
This is something God expects us to do. We have control over what goes into our mind.
But notice, when it comes to STRENGTH, this is something God must do.
Only God can place STRENGTH IN THESE BODIES.
Strength comes from three places as we do three things we can do.
For example, if you want physical strength, there are three things you must do.
(1) EXERCISE DAILY---(Something you can do)
Did you know you can sit in a chair day after day and dry up like a prune?
Illus: One of the reasons people are so weak when they come out of the hospital is because they have been lying in bed for days.
When they finally start to do something, they began to feel stronger.
One of the reasons that we have so many weak Christians in the pews today is because that is all they do, THEY JUST SIT IN A PEW WEEK AFTER WEEK!
• They cannot tell you the last time they got up out of that lazy-boy chair and went to someone home and talked to them about the Lord!
• They cannot tell you the last time they talked to someone about the Lord on the telephone to encourage them in the lord!
• They cannot tell you the last time they walk across the street and invited their neighbor to attend church with them.
God expects us to take the talents we have and exercise them.
Illus: I asked our song leader, Bro. Kenny how does he hold the notes he sing for so long without squealing. He said, “Preacher, you have to practice.”
Illus: Someone asked Dean Martin how did he prepare to cut a record and sing some of the songs he sung. He said, he practiced those songs eight hours a day.
God’s Word tells us in, Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
If we are going to do something for the Lord, we need to exercise with all our might.
• If you are going to teach a Sunday school exercise and do it with all thy might.
• If you are going to be a deacon exercise that position an do it with all thy might.
• If you are going to be an usher exercise that position and do it with all thy might.
It is a wonderful thing to see people whatever they are doing with PRIDE!!!
Illus: I went into a waffle house restaurant the other day for a quick meal.
• The music was not five times too loud it was ten times too loud.
When the waitress asked me what I wanted I wanted to tell her some ear plugs but I decided she could not have heard me.
• The waitress that waited on me let me sit a long time before she decided she was going to wait on me. She was busy painting her finger nails.
• Finally the cook hollered and told her my meal was prepared and she brought it to my table and slid my food across the table like she was throwing a bowling ball.
I left that Waffle House and I thought I will continue to eat at the Waffle House restaurants but not that Waffle House!!!
I have never seen such a bunch of unqualified clowns running a restaurant.
This is the way some folks feel when they leave some churches, they will go to some church again but they will never come back to that church again because of the unqualified clowns in charge.
WHERE IS THE PRIDE IN SERVING THE LORD!!!
Whatever we do for the Lord it should be that we HAVE SPENT TIME WITH THE LORD BEFORE WE EVER GOT HERE.
Where is the PRIDE into trying to be good at what you are doing!!!
You will never grow strong just sitting in a pew. We need to exercise the talents we have to be the best we can be for the Lord Jesus!!!
Also, to be strong in the Lord we must…
(2) EAT NUTRITIOUSLY…(Something you can do)
A person can get by with eating junk food for a little while, but eventually it will catch up with them.
A person can build their Christian life around recreation, entertainment and activities. But listen, they are never going to grow in the Lord until they get under the preaching and teaching of God’s Word.
It is good on the Lord ’s Day that a believer will be found in the house of God.
It is good for believers to attend church, but it is also good that they go where GOD’S WORD IS SERVED EVEN IF THEY HAVE TO GO 50 FIFTY MILES TO FIND SUCH A CHURCH.
Another thing for a child of God to grow spiritually…
(3) GET PROPER REST….(Something you can do)
Sometimes we get so busy that we do not have time to REST.
If you do not have time to rest at the feet of Jesus daily, you are not going to be a STRONG Christian.
Look at Isa. 40:28 31, “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But THEY THAT WAIT UPON THE LORD SHALL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
The Bible says we can live the Christian life in the strength of the Lord if we are willing to wait upon the Lord AT THE FEET OF JESUS!!!
He said in verse 31, “But THEY THAT WAIT UPON THE LORD SHALL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Never think you are wasting time sitting at the feet of Jesus.
In Luke 10, Martha thought Mary was wasting time at the feet of Jesus, but the Lord set her straight and said, in verse 42, “But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
When we are sitting at the feet of Jesus, something very mysterious begins to happen. God’s strength begins to flow into us.
The reason we have so many weak Christians today is because we have so few Christians sitting at the feet of Jesus.
Let this year be the year we will:
• RENEW OUR MINDS,
• RENEW OUR STRENGTH, sitting at the feet of Jesus.
But also-
III. WE NEED TO RENEW OUR STEADFASTNESS
Col. 2:5, “For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the STEDFASTNESS of your faith in Christ.”
Illus: A small boy was standing by a horse that was tied to a post. A stranger asked him, "Can that horse run fast?" "I don't know," said the boy, "but he can sure stand fast."
Paul rejoiced at seeing Christians steadfast fast in their faith in Christ.
We are CERTAIN that we can rely upon God, but the question is -- can God rely on us?
Paul said in 1 Cor. 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye STEDFAST, UNMOVEABLE, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
The STEDFAST Christian will be UNMOVEABLE in a changing world.
We are living in a changing world. But in the light of all these changes, we as Christians are to remain STEDFAST in Christ!
Heb. 12:1 2, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
The renewing of a steadfast lifestyle comes when we faithfully run the course that is set before us.
• Anyone who has ever done any track racing knows that when you run the course, you cannot decide to take short cuts.
• The same thing is true in this spiritual race that we are in, you cannot take short cuts and maintain a good testimony.
Notice the Bible says, ”…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us…”
Look at the word “beset” this is the word “Euperistatos” (Pronouned as “Yoo-per-is'-tat-os”) It means “in every direction.”
God cannot use a Christian that is going in every direction. He can only use a steadfast Christian that stays on course, day after day.
Let this year be the year we become more faithful, a year when we stand steadfast:
• In Christ
• In His Church
• And in His Word
Conclusion:
We as Christians have the opportunity and ability through Christ, to make this year A YEAR OF THE RENEWING of-
I. Our minds,
II. Our strength
III. Our steadfastness.
If God is gracious enough to give you a NEW YEAR, WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH IT.
You can waste it but remember that at the judgment you will have to give account to God for wasting it.
You can take every precious day that God gives you and use it for His glory, and He will reward you for it.
I hope you will have a “NEW YOU FOR A NEW YEAR!”
I. WE NEED TO RENEW OUR MINDS
II. WE NEED TO RENEW OUR STRENGTH
III. WE NEED TO RENEW OUR STEADFASTNESS
