FOUR MAJESTIC WORDS
Genesis 1:1: ¡°In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.¡±
Psalm 102:25: ¡°In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands.¡±
John 1:1: ¡°In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.¡±
Illus.: ¡°Apollo 8 Astronauts Read From Genesis 1"
Around Christmas of 1968 there were 3 astronauts aboard Apollo 8, making their 9th orbit around the moon. At one point they turned their space craft into a chapel. As their cameras were turned on the moon, and 50 million people watched on TV, they took turns reading select passages from the first chapter of Genesis. It opens with four majestic words: ¡°In the beginning, God...
Yesterday marked the time of a new beginning as well¨Ca New Year! These four words (In the beginning, God) are loaded with meaning and tell us more than we might understand at first glance.
They¡¯re there to remind us that there is no way to explain our existence, to learn the truth, or to know who we are without placing God where He belongs¨Cin the beginning of things!
Just think of all the new things that are happening all around us today:
¡õ New marriages are beginning
¡õ New babies are being born
¡õ New friendships are being established
¡õ New converts are finding forgiveness
¡õ New churches are being built
¡õ New goals are being set
¡õ New jobs are being undertaken
Well, the list is endless because life itself is made up of countless new experiences. I¡¯m looking forward to 2005. Are you? Are you spiritually ready to meet the challenges of the New Year? Let me suggest a four things you can do to make 2005 you best year ever!
1. REMEMBER GOD¡¯S PRESENCE
Ex.33:14: ¡°My presence shall go with you and I will give you rest.¡± This promise was made to Moses who was trying to lead the Israelites through the wilderness. He needed a word of assurance from the Lord and he got it!
I don¡¯t think its unspiritual to have some feelings of apprehension as we enter a New Year. No doubt there will be some challenging times ahead for most of us. But the important thing to remember is that whatever happens, God will be there!
As the poet put it,
There is an eye that never sleeps, beneath the wing of night;
There is an ear that never shuts, when sink the beams of light;
There is an arm that never tires, when human strength gives way;
There is a love that never fails, when earthly loves decay.
Illus.: ¡°A Retreating Figure in the Snow¡±
A little boy was eagerly looking forward to the birthday party of a friend who lived only a few blocks away. When the day finally arrived, a blizzard made the sidewalks and roads nearly impassable. The lad¡¯s father, sensing the danger, hesitated to let his son go. The youngster reacted tearfully. "But Dad," he pleaded, "all the other kids will be there. Their parents are letting them go." The father thought for a moment, then replied softly, "All right, you may go." Surprised but overjoyed, the boy bundled up and plunged into the raging storm. The driving snow made visibility almost impossible, and it took him more than half an hour to trudge the short distance to the party. As he rang the doorbell, he turned briefly to look out into the storm.
His eye caught the shadow of a retreating figure. It was his father. He had followed his son¡¯s every step to make sure he arrived safely.
2. MAKE PRAYER A PRIORITY
It¡¯s a pretty good rule of thumb to never begin anything new without first seeking God¡¯s blessing and wisdom.
Prayer is to the soul what oxygen is to the body. There¡¯s no life without it. There¡¯s no work apart from it. So, be on your guard! The devil will do all in his power to keep you from it.
Remember what the disciples asked Jesus to teach them? They didn¡¯t ask Him to teach them to preach, or teach, or sing. They asked Him to teach them how to pray. In other words, they saw that His power, strength, love, and steadfastness was because He kept in touch with His Father.
So, never begin anything new without first consulting God!
Oswald Chambers: ¡°If in the first waking moment of the day you learn to fling the door back and let God in, every public thing will be stamped with the presence of God.¡±
J. Sidlow Baxter: ¡°Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our person, but they are helpless against our prayers.¡±
So, in the new year, make prayer a priority.
3. BE OPTIMISTIC
Andrew Carnegie raised up 43 millionaires. How did he do it? This was his answer: ¡°The same way one mines for gold. You have to move several tons of dirt for one ounce of gold. But you don¡¯t go into the mine looking for dirt!¡±
Face each new experience with optimism and enthusiasm.
Optimism is what the teak kettle has. Its up to its neck in hot water, but it keeps on whistling anyway.
Illus.: ¡°Two Real Estate Agents: Two Attitudes¡±
A speaker in Colorado was about to address a gathering of businessmen and women. Sitting a the head table, he turned to the real estate salesman on his left and said, ¡°So, how are things going for you?¡± ¡°Terrible,¡± he answered. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard about the strikes? 80% of the people in this town are employed by just 2 firms and they are both on strike! Business is horrible. I haven¡¯t sold a piece of property since the strike. I don¡¯t even have any listings. I¡¯ve had to lay off 3 salespeople and if things don¡¯t turn around soon, I¡¯ll go bankrupt.¡±
He turned to the saleslady on his right and asked the same question. She said, ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard about the strike?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he answered. Then she went on. ¡°Business couldn¡¯t be better. Since the strike I¡¯ve sold more houses than ever. And if the strike continues for a while, I¡¯ll be rich!¡± ¡°How¡¯s that,¡± the speaker said. ¡°Well, you see, I figured that since the folks were on strike, that they would have lots of time to search for their dreamhouse. And I reasoned with them that when the strike is settled, they¡¯re going to get a nice raise¨Cenough to purchase the house they¡¯ve always wanted.¡±
God is very optimistic with regard to the human race. After all, He invested His life for us! We ought to imitate Him.
Illus.: ¡°Empty Bottles¡±
A woman went to her doctor with a whole catalog of complaints about her health. He examined her thoroughly and came to the conclusion that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her physically. He was convinced that her problem was due to her negative attitude toward life. She had become filled with bitterness and resentment because some things had gone sour in the past. He took her into a back room where he kept most of his medicine. He showed her a shelf filled with empty bottles. He said to her, ¡°See those bottles. Notice that they are all empty. They are shaped differently from one another, but basically they are all the same. But the most important thing I want you to notice is that they have nothing in them. Now I can take one of these bottles and fill it with enough poison to kill or I can fill one with medicine to heal. I am the one who makes that choice. I can fill it with whatever I want. Each day that God gives us is like one of those empty bottles. We can choose to fill it with love and life-affirming thoughts or we can fill it with destructive thoughts. The choice is ours.¡±
I have one more piece of advice for 2005.
4. DETERMINE TO PERSEVERE
Never accept any failure or disappointment as being permanent. Look at them as being character builders, stepping stones, stop signs.
James 1:2-4
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Einstein: Couldn¡¯t speak until he was 4; didn¡¯t read until he was 7.
Beethoven: His music teacher said he was hopeless as a composer.
Edison: Teachers said he was so stupid he would never amount to anything.
Walt Disney: once fired by a newspaper editor because he was not creative.
President John Quincy Adams once said, "Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." It’s true!
Look what happened recently to a North Carolina church that wanted to purchase some property. The church regularly suffered from high tide flooding. But when the church was built over a hundred years ago, they couldn’t afford better property. They finally decided to relocate to higher ground. An ideal piece of property was empty - actually the highest ground in town. It belonged to a man named Sam. Officials from the church went to see Sam about selling the property. He politely told them it wasn’t for sale; that he had other plans for the land. The church looked elsewhere, but nothing satisfactory could be found. So they went back to Sam and made another offer. Again they were
refused. Then an unusual thing happened. One of the worst coastal floods in memory struck the town. As water rose, the church began to float. It left its coastal lot and started inward. It floated down the main street, turned a corner and eventually landed right on Sam’s empty property. Sam gave in. He allowed the building to stay and, if you ask the members of North Carolina’s Swanquarter United Methodist Church how they came to acquire their land, they may relate what Sam said about the transaction: "I guess if the good Lord couldn’t move me to give the land to the church, he would move the church to the land."
The member’s persistence, combined with a little outside help, paid off. Persevere - you may by surprised at how your obstacles vanish!
Steve Goodier
So there you have it. Four things you can do to make this the best year ever¨C(1) Remember God¡¯s Presence, (2) Make Prayer a Priority, (3) Be Optimistic, and (4) Determine to Persevere.
Someone once said that if you believe the first 4 words of the Bible, you¡¯ll never have any problems with the rest: IN THE BEGINNING, GOD.
Let¡¯s believe that God¡¯s anointing is going to rest upon 2005. Let¡¯s expect Him to pour out His blessings upon us as we journey through a brand new year.
