PREACHED:OL,
“NEW BEGINNINGS”
INTRODUCTION:
I. IN
PASSING, I RAN ACROSS THE WORDS WE PUT ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE FIRST BULLETIN
OF THE YEAR SEVERAL YEARS AGO IN
A. “Begin the year with God,”
1. Underneath: Rev.
21:5. “Then He who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’”
II. I
WAS REMINDED THAT WE ALL NEED TO REMEMBER THAT CHRISTIANITY IS A RELIGION OF
NEW BEGINNINGS:
A. Our
conversion came by a new birth and meant a commitment to new directions for our
lives.
1. John 3:3, 5
2 Cor.
III. NEW YEARS ARE SPECIAL BECAUSE THEY ENCOURAGE EACH OF US TO REFLECT
ON OUR PAST AND OUR DESIRE FOR RENEWAL:
A. Often
we will hear people critically say, “What
this church needs is...” (And you can fill in the blank)
1. But
what this church is or what this
church can be is
determined by what each one of
us is right now, and, more
importantly, is becoming!!
IV. AS
WE FACE 2005, WHAT NEW BEGINNINGS DO WE NEED INDIVIDUALLY TO
DISCUSSION:
A RENEWED RESOLVE TO HAVE A MORE CHRIST-LIKE
SPIRIT:
A.
Gal. 5:22, 23
Phil. 2:5-7
Rom. 12:2
2 Cor. 3:18
Gal. 2:20.
B. Let’s
resolve that we will always ask: “Is this
the way that Jesus would react? Is this the way that Jesus would speak? Is this
the place that Jesus would go? Is this what Jesus would do in this situation?”
k A
GENUINE RECOGNITION AND REPENTANCE FOR SINFUL ATTITUDES IN MY LIFE:
A. Of
course, the whole matter would be taken care of if we simply manifested the
spirit of Christ, but maybe for some of us, the adjustment needs to be more
pointed:
1. An attitude adjustment toward
ourselves:
a. Smugness to humility - 1 Pet. 5:5b.
b. Stubbornness
to submission - Matt. 26:39
1) submission - “humble
obedience to another’s will.”
c. Selfishness
to service – Phil 2:14. “Do all things without grumbling or
questioning, that you may be…children of God without blemish…” 1 Pet. 4:9. “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.”
1) Will
affect the spirit of our giving -
a) 2 Cor. 9:7. “…God loves a cheerful giver…”
d. Criticism
of others to self-examination - 2 Cor. 13:5. “Examine
yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.
Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Christ is in
you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”
2. An
attitude adjustment toward the church:
a. Negativism
& cynicism to optimism & whole-hearted support -
1) If
you look for something to criticize, you can find it,
because the church is perfect only in
Divine plan, not in human compliance.
a) But
instead of majoring on the weak points, let’s focus on encouragement and making
everything stronger!
2) Let’s
not allow those who look at the church through “morose-colored” glasses, and
insist that their desires must constantly be met or else!
3) If
we do, we’ll find ourselves like the parents of a spoiled toddler whose mother
and father were struggling to get him to eat his food, but he abjectly refused.
a) Finally,
in a tone of surrender, she asked, “Well, Billy, what do you want to eat?” To which he pouted and replied, “I want a big, juicy worm!”
Feeling she had to pacify the kid at all cost, she talked
her husband into find a worm, which he did.
But then he further objected: “It has
to be cooked!” She dutifully warmed
it, and placed it on his plate.
But once again he refused to eat, and Howled, screamed and shouted, “I want Daddy to eat half the worm
first.”
Daddy, swallowed, offered up a half-hearted grin, and
timidly placed half the worm in his mouth, to which the spoiled brat bawled and
squalled…
“You ate the half I wanted!”
a. Lukewarm
reluctance to zealous participation!
1) Paul said that, “Jesus our Savior…gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness
and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for
good works…” (Titus 2:14)
ƒ A RENEWED COMMITMENT TO MY SPIRITUAL HEALTH
AND VITALITY:
A. Study,
prayer, attendance, involvement...
B. It may mean for some a public renewal...
1. Maybe some need to walk the aisle...
C. Maybe
you haven’t been the kind of husband or wife or son or daughter you should have
been...
D. Maybe
you have slipped back morally in ‘04 and you need to renew your commitment to
live for Jesus and in a way that brings honor to Him...
1. Phil.
1:27.
CONCLUSION:
I. I’m
invigorated by the new year, but something we need to
keep in mind:
A. It
was put beautifully in the words of HELEN STEINER RICE:
“It
doesn’t take a new year,
to begin our lives
anew ---
God grants us new beginnings
each day the whole
year through
So never be discouraged,
for there comes
daily to all men,
The chance to make another
start,
and begin all over
again.”