PHIL. 3:13-14 “AN OLD RECIPE FOR THE NEW YEAR”
A) God is the giver of many wonderful new things! * For instance .......
* We come to Him by faith in Christ and He gives us the new birth!
* Then He gives us a new nature ... A new heart ... A new life ... A new hope ... And a new task!
* Finally, at the end of the way He will give us a new body in a new home called heaven!
* Nothing up there will ever be old or worn out! * God says, “Behold, I make all things new.”
B) Now to you and me God is giving a new year ... This means a new start for some of us!
* We have not done so well in the old year ... We have not lived for God as we should!
* Now we have a chance to make a new start ... And this means a new hope for some!
* We have dreamed that certain things would happen in the old year, but these dreams have not
come true, so we’ll hold on to the hope that they will come true during this new year!
C) This may mean new obligations for some! * Maybe it means a new job .......
* Maybe it means new family responsibilities or maybe a new position to maintain.
* You are resolving to carry these responsibilities more successfully in the coming year!
* Maybe it means a new life to live! * This past year you were not saved, but now you love the
Lord and you want this new year to count for Him!
* Well, it’s time for all of us to turn over a new leaf and to write a new story on a clean page!
* And God help us to write the story well!
D) In our text we see Paul looking two ways!
* He looked backward and thought of all that he had suffered for Christ and all that he had
accomplished for Christ.
* Then he said, “I am going to turn my back upon all of that, for there is something more important
ahead.” * Then looking forward he said .......
* “I am going to rededicate my life to Christ and redouble my efforts for Him ... I am pressing
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
E) In like manner, it behooves us to look back over the past for a time .......
* We are to turn all of that over to God and leave it with Him!
* Then we are to look toward the new year, resolving in our hearts that with God’s help we will
make it a better year for Him!
* We wish each other a happy new year, but we must do more than that!
* Let me give you an old recipe for the new year ... It consists of three “R’s.”
(1) WE ARE TO REPENT! * Now we know that repentance is the first step to God!
* A man is never saved and can never get to God until first of all, he has repented of his sin!
* Then in connection with repentance he puts his trust in Christ and is saved!
A) Every man who comes to God through Christ has repented of his sin!
* But there is also a repentance for the Christian! * Repentance has first brought the Christian into
good standing with God ... We have become a child of God and that relationship will continue.
* However, our enjoyment of that relationship can be altered!
* We can sin and lose that close, sweet fellowship with the Lord!
* We sin in some manner every day ... In deed, word or thought!
B) We all need to come to God and repent of our sins and ask God for forgiveness!
* We should never go to sleep at night until we have looked up to God, confessed our sins, and
gotten everything right with Him! (Don’t start the new year with sins on your record – Repent!)
C) I don’t have to name your sins for you ... You already know what they are!
* Here’s the good part ... It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been!
* Jesus still loves you and He will forgive you if you ask Him to (1 John 1:9)!
* Then He promises to put all our sins behind His back never to remember them (Heb. 8:12)!
* And God says, “I will cast your sins behind my back and never bring them up to you again!”
D) Not only are there sins to be repented of ... There is neglect to be repented of!
* You may have not indulged in open sin, but you have neglected your Christian duties!
* When you first came to Christ you promised Him that you would be faithful!
* You kept that promise for a while ... Then you let other things crowd Christ and His church out
of your life, and you started being unfaithful!
E) Christ calls for us to be faithful! * Every believer can be faithful to Christ and His church!
* It is a shame that we give to Christ less than our best!
* How shameful that week after week we neglect to give our time and our lives to the things for
which Jesus gave His life! * But there is something else .......
F) There is a wrong spirit toward others that needs to be repented of!
* More Christians are guilty of this sin than any other!
* They would not dare go to a wrong place ... They would not even think of taking a drink ...
* They would be furious if you accused them of stealing!
* Their lives are morally clean, but their hearts are filled with hatred, jealousy, malice and envy!
* The one who has such a spirit is just as guilty of sin as any immoral man or thief or murderer!
G) When there is something between you and someone else, there is something between you and
God! * How can a Christian go on with such a feeling in his heart?
* If you leave that feeling there, it will eat away the happiness of your heart!
* Not only that ... But it will steal away the power from your spiritual life!
* This feeling should never remain in your heart ... Get rid of it quick!
(2) WE ARE TO RESOLVE! * It’s a good thing to say, “I resolve in my heart.”
* You may not keep this resolution all during the year, but it is better to make this resolution and
keep it for a while than never to say, “I want to be a better person ... A better Christian!”
* Let’s look at some Bible characters and the resolutions they made .......
A) Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself – Dan. 1:8!
* And God blessed him because he resolved to live a holy life and he stuck to his resolution!
* In this new year He will bless you if you make the same resolution!
* Vow to God this morning that you are going to live right before Him!
B) David made two resolutions! * First, he resolved to read the Bible and adopt it as a standard
of life! * Some Christians read Life Magazine every week .......
* They read “The Readers Digest” from cover to cover every month!
* But they never read the Bible ... They are guilty of neglect in the matter of reading the bible!
* David said in Psa. 119:15-16 “I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.”
* Psa. 119:34 “... and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.”
C) Then David made a resolution about prayer – Psa. 116:2 .......
* “Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.”
* David had many experiences with God and he knew that God answered prayer!
* So he said that he was going to keep calling on God as long as he lived!
* Every Christian knows that God answers prayer, but we worry and fret instead of taking our
burdens to the Lord and leaving them there!
D) What are we to pray for? * Pray for our own lives ... For our family and friends .......
* Pray for God’s help in our jobs or business or profession! * Pray for the lost .......
* Pray for our church and those who are leaders in the church ... For our country and its leaders!
* So like David, let us resolve to read the Bible more and pray more!
E) Paul made a resolution to win souls! * Rom. 1:14 “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the
Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.”
* Rom. 10:1 “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be ...”
* What a marvelous thing if every member of our church resolved to win someone to Jesus in the
coming year ... Win one family to Christ in 2005!
* You don’t have to be a preacher to win someone to Christ! * A simple word, spoken in love to a
lost person, may be the means of turning that person to Christ! * (Just try to win them)!
* At the end of 2005 may we all be able to say, “This year I have led ___ people to the Lord.”
(3) WE ARE TO REMEMBER! * Remember means: To bring to mind or think of again.
A) We must remember that we can never repay Christ for all that He has done for us!
* What has He done? * He went to the cross and took your place and died in your stead!
* He saw you sinking into hell ... He reached down and lifted you up ... Put a song in your mouth
and planted your feet upon the Rock of Ages! * He has given you everything that you have!
* All your hope is in Him ... You will spend eternity in heaven, not in hell because of Him!
* If you had a thousand lives and lived every one of them for Christ every minute, you could never
repay Him for all that He has done for you! * So won’t you give your best for Him in 2005?
B) We must remember that the greatest happiness and the richest rewards come to those who are
faithful! * This cannot be a happy new year for you unless you are living for Christ!
* The trouble with people today is that they are looking for happiness in the wrong place!
* True happiness can only be found in Christ! * If we will keep Christ first and foremost in our
lives, it will be a great year in every way!
C) Last: We must remember that this may be our last year!
* Every day of this past year, somebody died and went out into eternity!
* They are right now either in heaven or hell spending their eternal destiny!
* Heb. 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men ...” * Prov.27:1 “Boast not thyself of ...”
* If you died before this service was over, where would your soul be for eternity?
* If Jesus came back today in the rapture, would you be confident or would you be ashamed?
* 1 John 2:28 “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have
confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”
D) What will you do differently this year for God? * Or will you do nothing different?
* What will you change as you start your new journey into a new year, or will you change nothing?
* Are you willing to start changing today? * Can you do better this coming year, or was your life
perfect this past year and you could do no better? * Obey Jesus today!
