START THE YEAR OFF RIGHT
By: Chuck Hendrix
I’m sure you are well aware the way you begin anything greatly affects the way you end.
Starting off right is so important. You have heard of things getting off to a rocky start. Though it is not impossible to have a good ending when you start off on the wrong foot, it does certainly make things more difficult.
So this morning, the first Sunday of 2001, I want to help you START THE YEAR OFF RIGHT. In fact, there are three “C’s” that will ensure you start this year off right.
This past Thursday, I went to the school to pick up Jason. There were a group of bus drivers talking. One of the them said that both her parents and her in-laws were living with her. One of the other drivers said, “As far as I’m concerned, You deserve a free ticket to heaven.”
I chuckled. Wouldn’t it be great if it were that easy? If the only thing you or I had to do to get to heaven was to convince another person on earth, that we deserved a free ticket, it would be so simple. But there is more to it than that.
The first “C” that will insure you start off the year right is…
1) CONVERSION
H. L. Hunt made millions of dollars as a Texas oilman. He was an aggressive businessman who had little regard for time. His chief confidant said he was just as apt to call in the middle of the night, as he was to call in the middle of the day. One night Hunt called at 2:00 a.m. and said, "John, I just made the greatest trade of my life. I traded the here for the hereafter." That was the night H. L. Hunt had become a Christian.
· "Bivocational Ministers," Paul Powell
THERE ARE SIX STEPS TO THE CONVERSION PROCESS..
1) Hear – Romans 10:17 “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
2) BELIEVE – Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
3) REPENT – Acts 2:38 “Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
4) CONFESS – Romans 10:9,10 “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
5) BE BAPTIZED – 1 Peter 3:18-21 “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
A certain businessman arrived at the airport 30 minutes in advance of his flight. He went to the ticket window and received his boarding pass.
Next, he checked his suitcase in plenty of time to get it on the proper flight with him, then sat down with a magazine in the lobby waiting for time to board.
Since this was his first chance to relax all day, he closed his eyes for what he thought would be a ten minute "cat nap." He rested his eyes right through the first, second, and final boarding calls on his flight.
When he awoke, a quick glance at the clock on the wall snapped him back to reality. The flight had taken off without him. He had done everything right except one. He had not gotten on board.
Some people are going to miss the plane spiritually if they do not get on board. It is fine that we have faith and Christian parents and atmospheres in our homes. But we must accept Christ to get on board.
6) LIVE – Romans 6:1-4 “RO 6:1 “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
The freezing point of water and the melting point of ice touch each other. It is the wonderful point 32 degrees Fahrenheit. A hair’s breadth lower and the water becomes ice, a hair’s breadth higher, and ice becomes water. So in every truly converted soul there was a point, whether consciously recognized or not, where its whole character and destiny were changed. Before, it was hard, cold, dead; after, it was alive, tender, with the newfound life of God.
The Second “C” is…
2) COMMITMENT
Jimmy had trouble pronouncing the letter "R" so his teacher gave him this sentence to practice at home: "Robert gave Richard a rap in the rib for roasting the rabbit so rare."
Some days later the teacher asked him to say the sentence for her. Jimmy rattled it off like this: "Bob gave Dick a poke in the side for not cooking the bunny enough."
Jimmy did all he could to avoid the letter “R”. And many of us at times do all you can do avoid the “C” word. Commitment.
The first thing we must commit to is..
1) Commitment to Christ
Col. 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,”
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
As the soldiers prepared for a front-line attack from the enemy, a young private handed his buddy a letter. "If I don’t make it back and you do, would you take this letter and see that Sally gets it? Tell her my last thoughts were of her, and her name was the last word on my lips. And here’s a letter for Helen, too. Tell her the same thing."
* Our Daily Bread, Feb. 6, 1992
Is Christ really our first love?
THE SECOND THING WE MUST…
2) Commitment to the Church Family
Late one December, an elementary school principal said to his teachers: "Let’s all write our New Year’s Resolutions about how we can be better teachers, and I’ll put them on the staff bulletin board. In that way, we can be mutually supportive in our efforts to keep those resolutions." The teachers agreed, and when the resolutions were posted, they all crowded around the bulletin board to read them. One of the young teachers in the group suddenly went into a fit of anger. She said, "He didn’t put up my resolution. It was one of the first ones in. He doesn’t care about me. That just shows what it’s like around here." On and on she ranted and raved. The principal, who overheard this from his office was mortified. He hadn’t meant to exclude her resolution. Quickly rummaging through the papers on his desk, he found it and immediately went to the bulletin board and tacked it up. The resolution read: "I resolve not to let little things upset me anymore." Resolution, but no commitment!
Col 3:13--13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
But we need to do more than put up with each other. We need to love each other.
Eph. 4:2 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
1 Peter 4:10 “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms”
Are you committed to your church family?
The Third thing we need to commit to is.
3) Commitment to Growth
This is personal Growth. Did you realize…“You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather is.”
I think you also need to be committed to helping this Church grow as we try to win this area for Christ.
"Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides." --Margaret Thatcher
We must commit to growth.
The third “C” is…
3) CARING FOR EACH OTHER
(Difference of Caring about)
A young mother was too busy to visit her elderly neighbor, who was ill. She said to her small son, "Tommy, run over and see how ’old Mrs. Smith’ is." In just a matter of minutes Tommy was back. "She says it’s none of your business how old she is."
1PE 1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.
Will you care for each other this year?
Park York has known the agony of seeing his wife suffer with Alzheimer’s disease. It first began with an occasional incoherent or irrelevant question but digressed to round-the-clock perpetual care. As she declined from 125 pounds to 86, he continuously ministered to her needs. His daily routine consisted of feeding, bathing, diapering, changing beds, cleaning house, fixing meals, dressing and undressing her, and whatever else became necessary to care for his wife. Sometimes she would mumble a word or two but never a sentence. Then one Friday morning she seemed to step outside of her illness and asked a question with perfect enunciation, "Do you want me?" These softly spoken words greatly impacted Mr. York. He cried out, "Of course I want you, Flossie," as he hugged and kissed her. Mrs. York returned to her state of oblivion just as quickly as she had momentarily escaped, but her four brief words would never be forgotten. People everywhere are asking the same question this dear woman posed, "Do you want me?" May we all respond with the same compassion Mr. York provided for his wife.Christian Reader, Jan./Feb. 1990, p. 22
If you want to start this year off right. You must start it by being sure you have the right relationship with God. Make firm your commitment to the church. And be ready to truly care for each other and you will be assured to have a great beginning to this year.
ARE YOU GOING TO START THE YEAR OFF RIGHT?
