END OF YEAR STUFF
Romans 13:11-12
INTRO.- End of year stuff.
ILL.- A young wife said to her husband, "Don’t forget to bring home another mousetrap." Her husband said, "What’s the matter with the one I bought yesterday?" She said, "IT’S FULL."
End of year stuff. Get rid of full mousetraps. No, end of year stuff deals with more than mousetraps.
For many of us it’s a matter of taking down Christmas decorations and Christmas lights and packing them away. My wife has and our neighbor, Bill Lenkner, who has about 10 million lights hasn’t!
End of year stuff deals with taking down, packing away, and cleaning up. And some other things.
ILL.- 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. 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." Her husband said, "Sure it will. It’s the only way I can see the numbers."
End of year stuff. It could mean making a commitment to shape up the old bod. Most of us realize that we’ve lost some ground in regard to our health, gained weight, and we’d like to regain that ground and lose that weight!
So what do we about this? We make a decision to eat right or eat better and get some exercise. We drink more water. Eat less fat and more fiber. We walk. Jog. Ride stationary bikes. Do the stairstepper. Do pushups, deep knee bends, and situps. We do "Curves" or "Jazzer-cise."
End of year stuff. Take down. Pack up. Clean house. Shape up. Eat better. Exercise more. Do better. Be better.
Prov. 23:7 KJV "As a man thinketh, so is he."
Our first line of action is thinking. If we don’t think, we won’t do. We must think in the right direction in order to do in the right direction. Our thinking has brought us to where we are today and our thinking will take us where we are going tomorrow.
Think about what you would like to do in order to improve your life. Make a list. Sit down and think about it. Make a plan of action and go for it.
Clean your house. Shape up your body. These things will make you feel better about yourself and you’ll be better for doing them.
End of year stuff should also deal with the spiritual side of life. We are not just flesh and blood beings. We are also spirit. The eternal part of man and woman is spirit. Spirit lives forever. This means we should attend to our spirits. We should attend to the spiritual side of life even more than the physical.
I Tim. 4:8 "For physical training (exercise, etc.) is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."
Godliness or attending to spiritual matters will do more for us than any exercise program or diet! Godliness can help us in this life and give us the promise of the life to come!
The healthiest people in the world can’t go to heaven without Christ! The richest people in the world can’t go to heaven without Christ! The cleanest people in the world can’t go to heaven without Christ! The neatest people in the world can’t go to heaven without Christ! WE MUST ATTEND TO THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF LIFE MORE THAN THE PHYSICAL!
ILL.- A marriage counselor asked a housewife, "Do you feel that your role as a mother and homemaker is beneath you?" "No," she replied, "I FEEL IT’S BEYOND ME."
Sometimes we feel like certain things are beyond us in life. We feel like they are unobtainable. Like spiritual progress.
ILL.- Preacher/author Charles Swindoll wrote a book entitled, "Three Steps Forward - Two Steps Back." I think he could be wrong. For some of us, it’s more like "two steps forward and three steps back." About the time we think we are making some spiritual progress something happens to knock us down or take us backwards.
Somehow we need to forge ahead! We need to make some spiritual progress! We need to climb the mountain and stop sliding downhill!
Phil. 3:14 "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
I press on. Isn’t that what you want in your Christian life?
PROP.- Let me give you some spiritual end of year stuff to do.
1- Clean up
2- Shape up
3- Spruce up
I. CLEAN UP
Nothing like a hot shower or a hot bath to clean up the body. Gotta get clean and wear clean duds before we can go anywhere. Not so with some people. They wear the same old clothes, the day before clothes, the dirty clothes and it shows.
ILL.- A blonde woman went to an appliance store sale and found a real bargain. She told the salesman, "I would like to buy this TV that’s on sale." He replied, "Sorry, we don’t sell to blondes."
She hurried home and dyed her hair, went back to the store and again told the salesman, "I would like to buy this TV that’s on sale." He replied, "Sorry, maam, but we don’t sell to blondes."
She thought, "How in the world did he know that I was a blonde?" She went back home and disguised herself completely. This time she wore a brown curly wig, big baggy clothes, and big sunglasses. She waited a day and then went back to that store. She said to the salesman, "I would like to buy this TV that’s on sale."
He replied, "I’m sorry, but we don’t sell to blondes." In utter frustration, she exclaimed, "How do you know that I’m a blonde?" He said, "BECAUSE THIS IS A MICROWAVE, NOT A TV!"
Brothers and sisters, I am not against blondes, but I am against spiritual ignorance and spiritual blindness. A microwave is not a TV, and filth is not cleanliness!
Rom. 13:11 "And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed."
Our salvation is nearer now. I thought we were already saved. We are, but Paul is talking about the grand finale of salvation in heaven. It’s getting closer and closer for all of us. This is why he is saying, "Wake up." Don’t be ignorant or spiritually asleep.
We’re all ignorant or asleep about some things, but when it comes to spiritual matters we need to awake, alert, and wise. When we recognize we’re dirty we need to do something about it.
Rom. 13:12 "The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. SO LET US PUT ASIDE THE DEEDS OF DARKNESS..."
Put aside the deeds of darkness. In other words, we need to "clean up." What do you need to do in order to clean up your life?
You may need to be baptized.
ILL.- Popular radio news commentator, Paul Harvey tells about the time when he was baptized in a small country church while on vacation. He described his baptism as "the experience which made his life complete."
He said, "The preacher had said there was nothing magic in the water. Yet as I descended into its depth and rose again, I knew something life-changing had happened. A cleansing inside out. No longer did there seem to be two uncertain contradictory Paul Harveys - just one immensely happy one. I felt a fulfilling surge of the Holy Spirit.
"Afterward I cried like a baby, a kind of release I suppose.... The evolving joy has been escalating... The change this simple act has made in my life is so immense as to be indescribable. Since totally yielding to Christ through baptism, my heart can’t stop singing. I’ve shaken off a lifelong habit of fretting over small things..."
It took Paul Harvey a long time to discover what a lot of people discovered early in life. I’m confident that he wished he would have made that decision a lot earlier in his life.
Acts 2:38 The apostle Peter said "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." (or you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift)
This Scripture is not hard to understand. If it had been then those 3,000 people spoken of in v. 41 would never have been baptized! To be cleansed of sin everybody needs to be baptized into Christ! It’s a command of God! It’s a command to be done in the name of the Godhead! Don’t ever argue about it, just do it!
Acts 22:16 Ananias said to Saul of Tarsus, "And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name." That is, calling on the name of Christ.
Obey Christ in baptism if you want to be clean. That’s an initial step that you need to take. An act of obedience you need to yield to. A command of Scripture to be obeyed.
Do we still to be cleaned up after we have been baptized? Yes, occasionally. The sad truth is: we don’t stay clean after we’ve been washed clean! We need a continual cleansing, a continual baptism of God’s gracious forgiveness!
I John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
For continual cleansing we need to confess our sins to the Lord and ask for mercy and forgiveness.
But what if we’ve been baptized and we’ve confessed our sins over and over and we still have a battle with certain things, certain sins? What are we to do?
Col. 3:5 "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly (or sinful) nature..."
Some things just keep on giving us trouble. Some bad habits are hard to break. Some sins are hard to conquer. Some stains are deep and hard to clean. What can we do about them?
ILL.- I must make a confession. I HAVE A WART! I didn’t say "I am a wart." I said, "I have a wart."
I have wart on the inside of my middle finger of my left hand. And it keeps giving me trouble. Occasionally, it really irritates me. Know what I do about it? I take out my pocket knife and cut it off.
The only problem is this: IT KEEPS COMING BACK! So I just keep on cutting it off. And I think it has nearly decided to quit coming back. I’ve cut it off so many times that I think it thinks, "Hey! This old boy ain’t giving up, so I guess I’ll have to quit pestering him and die."
And this is exactly what we have to do with certain things that make us dirty in the Christian life. WE MUST KEEP CUTTING AWAY AT THEM! Keep on hacking at them. Keep on working at them. Keep on praying about them. Keep on fighting them. And eventually they will die.
End of year stuff. Clean up. Do whatever it takes to get clean: be baptized into Christ. Repent. Confess your sins to the Lord. Keep fighting the filth of the flesh.
II. SHAPE UP
Even though we may be "cleaned up" we still need to "shape up" the old bod. That generally means some kind of exercise program.
ILL.- One man said, "I always do my exercises regularly in the morning. As soon as I wake up I say sternly to myself, "Ready now. Up. Down. Up. Down!"
And after two strenuous minutes I tell myself, "Okay, boy, now try the other eyelid."
That’s about all the exercise some people get and about all some people want. Sometimes we don’t want to do much in order to shape up.
Some people go for a 10-minute and hope they’ll lose a few pounds from that walk. It doesn’t work that way. It takes hard work to shape up physically.
ILL.- One time I lost 25 lbs. in only two months. The weight just seemed to melt away. Want to know how I did it? I’m going to tell you anyway. I ran 5 miles a day for 5 days a week. It took that much work to lose weight and shape up. I eventually lost more weight by running more miles and by running harder or faster.
I don’t necessarily encourage people to run, but it worked for me. The point is: it takes hard work to shape up both physically and spiritually.
ILL.- One time a little girl was asked why she went to church. She replied, "I go to church every Sunday so that when they carry me in one day, the Lord won’t ask, ‘Who is it?’"
Many people don’t go to church every Sunday. The percentage of people who go to church every Sunday is small.
ILL.- According to USA TODAY, 1994, 48% of church-goers in the U.S. attend an average of only once a month. Going to church once a month will never shape up anybody spiritually.
Acts 20:7 "On the first day of the week, we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people...."
The early Christians gathered every first day of the week to remember the Lord in the breaking of the bread or the Lord’s Supper. It was their regular, common practice. And it should be ours.
The Lord’s Day fellowship and worship is something we should never miss! People do miss, but they are the losers. We will never "shape up" spiritually when we are spasmodic attenders!
Matt. 6:33 "Seek first the kingdom of God..."
Many people "seek first the kingdom" only if it fits into their plans. In other words, they don’t really "seek first the kingdom" and they are the losers, not God!
And the same principle applies to other spiritual matters such as: going to Bible study groups, personal Bible reading and prayer time. When we miss them, we miss out in many ways. When we participate, we gain in many ways. We gain spiritually. We shape up spiritually.
ILL.- The news article was entitled, "Giuliani Delivers Farewell Address." It went on to read: From a church altar a block away from the World Trade Center ruins, Rudolph Giuliani bid farewell as mayor Thursday, saying New Yorkers gave him the courage to lead the city beyond the fear and anguish of Sept. 11. He said, "My strength and energy comes entirely from the people of the city of New York."
Brothers and sisters, I have a great deal of respect Rudy Giuliani after what he did for the people of New York City. And I admit that I, too, get some strength from positive, spiritual-minded people. But I get my greatest strength and spiritual gain from the Lord himself! From His Word! And from His Spirit!
II Tim. 3:16-17 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
Acts 20:32 Paul said to the elders at Ephesus, "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up...."
The Word of God can train us, equip us and build is up if we will let it. IT CAN SHAPE US UP!
ILL.- When the missionaries in Nanking gave New Testaments to the Japanese soldiers, one Japanese official went to the missionaries and said, "Please don’t give our men any more New Testaments. When they read this book it takes the fight out of them - they don’t want to fight any more."
There is power in the Word of God! It can change us. It can convert us. It can correct us. IT CAN SHAPE US UP!
Col. 4:2 "Devote yourselves to prayer...." Devoting ourselves to prayer will make a difference in us spiritually.
ILL.- Preacher Henry Ward Beecher once said, "I pray on the principle that wine knocks the cork out of the bottle. If there is an inward fermentation, there must be a vent."
That inward fermentation is time spent in private prayer. When this takes place there will be a vent. That venting will be a change in our lives.
ILL.- Do you know what is the quickest way to lose weight and become healthier? It is by drinking more water and eating more fiber. This is almost too simple to be true, but it is true. LIKEWISE, CHURCH, PERSONAL BIBLE STUDY AND PRAYER WILL SHAPE YOU UP QUICKER THAN ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN DO. Simple but true.
1- Clean up
2- Shape up
III. SPRUCE UP
We’re clean and we look good, but isn’t there something else? We could do a little sprucing up. Like putting frosting on the cake. You need some frosting and so do I!
ILL.- One husband said, "My wife is just as beautiful today as when I married her twenty years ago. Of course, it takes her longer."
ILL.- One lady said to another, "I wonder if my husband will love me when my hair is gray?" The other lady replied, "Why not? He’s loved you through three shades already."
Most of us do certain things to spruce up our looks: comb, shape or style our hair. Use makeup, eye shadow, hair color. Buy stylish clothing. Some add a dash of cologne or perfume. Elaine uses "Cherry Vanilla." I use either "Obsession" or "Eternity."
I am obsessed with eternity or eternity is an obsession with me. And that isn’t bad! Heaven should be on our minds!
Let’s face it. WE ALL COULD USE SOME SPRUCING UP NOW AND THEN. But the important question is this: HOW CAN WE SPRUCE UP OUR CHRISTIAN LIVES? We can do more. Go farther. Extend ourselves. Do something we’ve never done before. What’s that?
Phil. 2:14-16 "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life..."
If you want to spruce up your Christian life then you must hold out the word of life to others!
The frosting on the cake in a Christian....the shine in a Christian’s life is when they witness for Christ, speak up for Christ, or when they invite people to church.
ILL.- Let me tell about a conversation I had with Randy, 38 years old, at the Motomart last Thursday morning. Randy knows that I am a preacher. We’ve talked before and I’ve invited him to church and to our Bible studies. But last Thursday morning when I walked in I was dressed differently. I was dressed in my sport coat, tie and dress slacks.
I said, "I am speaking at a memorial service today. John Vaultonburg’s. Did you know him?" Yes, he said he knew John. He quickly proceeded to tell me about a friend of his, 48 years old, who shot himself recently. I asked Randy, "Are you ready?" He said, "Ready for what?" "Ready to be laid out."
He looked a bit shocked since he’s only 38 years old. I then told him a story about a young man who was only 34 years old, but suddenly dropped dead with a massive heart attack. By now, he was getting the idea of what I meant. I talked to him a bit more about Christ and said, "The Lord bless you" when I left him.
I felt really good when I left his presence. Do you know why? Because I had just given him the best I had to offer. I had just done my part to fulfill the Great Commission. I had just sown some good gospel seed.
Brothers and sisters, we shine when we witness for Christ! We shine within and without when we speak for the Lord. We get a glow on the inside and God glows when we speak about Him and His son Jesus.
That’s the way to spruce up your Christian life! Be quick to speak for the Lord. It doesn’t have to be much. A word or two, spoken with heartfelt conviction. Even a "God bless you" can be a great witness for Christ.
Don’t you feel good inside when you go around blessing people?! How can you not feel good inside and all over? Besides, I’d much rather bless somebody than blister them.
CONCLUSION------------------------------------
ILL.- Our John Vaultonburg has left this world at the age of 53. Karen Beason’s mother dropped dead with a massive heart attack on Christmas morning at the age of 66. Another young man, Mike James, 46 years old, was moving furniture on Saturday and had a sudden heart attack and died.
I don’t mean to scare you by telling you about these deaths, I mean for you to search you! In the light of the end of the year and more importantly, in the light of the end of life, which can come at any time for anybody, we all need to search our lives and see what needs to be done to clean up, shape up and spruce up. What do you need to do?
