Revolutionary Resolutions
The Power to Change
1/7/04
I. Introduction
With the beginning of a new year, people all around the world are making new year’s resolutions, meaning that they resolve or come to a firm decision about something in their life. When you came in tonight I asked you to list one of your new year’s resolutions (have some kids share what they wrote).
Most new year’s resolutions include things like losing weight or exercising. Maybe changing some bad habits like nose-picking or farting in public. But most of these resolutions would involve someone improving in any given area, it would involve a person trying to get better at something or changing in some way, shape, or form.
Now, what happens with most of these resolutions is that the resoluter, or one who resolves, starts strong, he joins the Omni Health and Fitness Center or the Powerhouse gym, she stocks up her purse with Kleenex to use instead of her finger, and every time those gaseous forces start to rumble, he excuses himself to the restroom for a little relief. But after the weeks and months pass by, the resoluter begins to slow down a little. He misses a workout with his personal trainer, she finds that she just can’t get that clean feeling by using a Kleenex, and he lets one slip every now and then. And then one missed workout turns into ten, one picked booger turns to one hundred, and one slipped poot becomes FartFest ’04. I know, I know, it’s gross, but it genuinely illustrates the fact that over time, that new leaf that was turned over is blown every which way by the wind of complacency.
Tonight, we’re talking about Revolutionary Resolutions: The Power to Change, because I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of resolutions slowly becoming a boring routine. I want my decision to change to have a lasting effect, so much so that it becomes a way of life. And for that to happen, we’re going to have to understand first of all, that it can happen.
II. Change Can Happen
In order for change to take place, you have to know that it can take place. Your resolution must shift from “I resolve to try to lose weight and read my Bible more” to “I resolve to lose weight and read my Bible more.” This world is full of people telling you that you can’t lose weight or that you can’t stop drinking out of the milk carton or that you can’t do the thing that you’re wanting to do. But the only way you’ll be able to do that thing that you want to do is to know that you can.
Philippians 4:13 “13I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will. You have to believe that you have the power to change. You have to know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you can change and achieve that thing that you want to achieve.
I’m reminded of the story of a little choo-choo train. We’ve all heard the story of The Little Engine That Could:
We begin with the chugging of a little train on the tracks, attempting to deliver her goodies to all the little good boys and girls.
Chug, chug, chug. Puff, puff, puff. Ding-dong, ding-dong. The little train rumbled over the tracks. She was a happy little train for she had such a jolly load to carry.
She was a cute little red locomotive, happy to be doing her deliveries. We are introduced to all the little toys that she happily carries to the little children on the other side of the mountain. Unfortunately, she gets hung up and simply cannot pull her load up the mountains. The little red engine and the toys are so upset that the children won’t be getting their goodies.
That is, until a shiny new engine comes along. But the passenger engine has no intention of helping the little toy filled train. And he goes on. A freight engine comes next, still another refusing to help. Until the little blue engine comes along. She is happy to help, but is so small that she may not be able to. But she is determined to help.
I think I can – I think I can – I think I can
And she does! All the little toys are ecstatic and thank the little blue engine profusely.
The little engine that could certainly couldn’t if she didn’t think she could, but because she knew that she could, she did.
But what we have is so much more than just this thing called positive thinking, it’s In Christ Thinking. It’s the thinking that says, “Because I’m in Christ and He’s in me, I can do absolutely anything!”
When I was in college, I took a Solo Performance Theater class, and for our final grade, we had to write an eight to ten minute monologue on any subject we wanted to choose. And so I chose this subject of “Anything is possible if you believe.” In this monologue, I played several characters, one of which was a teenager that wanted to become a rock star. After his first guitar lesson, he’s pretty discouraged, and as he walks home, he meets Benny, a very curious 5 year old, and this is what happens…
(dramatic piece about Benny and his mind)
Benny: (enters singing, until he runs into teenager) Sorry, Mr.
(pointing to guitar case) Hey, Mr., what’s that?
A guitar? What does it do?
Oh, I like music. I can sing, too, you wanna hear a song, Mr.?
Oh, ok, maybe some other time.
Are you sad? I get sad especially when my mommy doesn’t let me have any cookies before supper.
Yeah, it does suck.
So, will you play me a song?
You can’t? Sure you can. My grandma says that you can do anything you set your mind to, so I said, grandma, I wanna be a tree, and I’d think really really hard, and it hasn’t happened yet, but I’m still working on it.
But, Mr., you can play a song if you think really really hard.
Ok, maybe some other time. (exits singing)
So, the point is, you can. Everybody repeat after me in the famous words of Professor Klump, “YES I CAN! YES…I CAN!”
That’s where it starts, you have to believe you can.
And next, act on what you believe.
III. Change Requires Action
James 2:14-18 “14What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
You can believe that you’ll lose weight all you want to, but if you sit on the couch watching TV and eating potato chips all day, you’ll never lose a pound. That’s what the Bible means when it says that faith without works is dead. You have to put feet to your faith, meaning that you have to act on what you believe. If your goal is to lose weight, you may have to diet and you may have to exercise. Chances are, you’ll have to do both. If your goal is to make better grades, you can believe that you can make better grades, but if you never pick up your History book to study, you’ll never make better grades. You have to believe that you can, and that you have to do something. Well, Pastor Nate, I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how to study. Well, here’s a tip, ask somebody for help. Ask your teacher if she knows a tutor. Find out who the class brain is and offer him or her money for answers…I mean, ask him if he’d let you study with him. Look up study tips on the Internet. There are answers available, but you can’t just expect them to come to you, you have to do something.
If your goal is to learn to play an instrument, find somebody who’ll give lessons. Listen, it may cost you, everything in life isn’t free, but if you want to achieve your goal, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes. If it means dieting and exercise, if it means asking for help, if it means paying for Tuba lessons, you have to decide that you’ll do it, and then take Nike’s advice and JUST DO IT!
You know what, there are plenty of things that I want to do this year, but if all I do is talk about how cool it’d be to speak at a different high school three times a week, I’ll never do it. If all I do is talk about how great it would feel to lose 25 pounds and get a six pack, I’ll never do it. If all I do is talk about how different I’d look with longer hair or maybe a mullet, I’ll never let it grow. But if I step out in faith, believing that I can accomplish whatever I want to do, then I’m on the right track and I’ll be fulfilling my dreams in no time.
Ok, Pastor Nate, I think I can, I think I can, and I’ll start acting on it the first chance I get. Now what?! I’m glad you asked, because there’s more.
IV. Full Speed Ahead
Once you’ve decided that you can do something and you embark on doing that something, you’ll be faced head on with obstacles and opposition because the forces of the enemy are at work, stopping at nothing to try to stop you from achieving your dreams.
1 Peter 5:8 “8Keep awake! Watch at all times. The devil is working against you. He is walking around like a hungry lion with his mouth open. He is looking for someone to eat. 9Stand against him and be strong in your faith.”
The devil does not want you to succeed at anything, so he’ll throw everything from distractions to doubt your way to try to get you to give up and throw in the towel.
Once upon a time a farmer’s mule fell into a dry well. When the farmer heard the mule’s braying and realized what had happened, he determined that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving.
Instead, he called his neighbors together and enlisted their help in burying the old mule in the well and putting him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule was very upset. You would be, too, if you were in a deep hole and people started throwing dirt in on top of you! But as the dirt rained down on his back, the old mule had a thought. He decided that every time a shovel of dirt landed on his back, he would shake it off and step up. And that’s what he did.
As the dirt cascaded down the well, the old mule kept shaking it off and stepping up.
Hours later, the exhausted mule finally stepped over the wall of the well. What was meant to bury him actually helped him!
Romans 8:28 28And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
God is at work in every detail of our life, readily willing and able to change our circumstances and work things out for our good.
If you remember that the toothless wonder has already been defeated, you will succeed, and you’ll have no problem achieving your resolutions. And once you achieve those resolutions, you can make revolutionary resolutions to change your world and everyone in it. If you accomplish one thing, it gives you the confidence to go after something else, so keep striving to do new things, and I promise that you’ll do ‘em. Let’s pray.
