Grace Evangelical Free Church December 27, 2015
Supplement: New Year’s Resolution
Specifically, what sort of New Year’s resolution should a Christian make? Here are some Biblical suggestions:
- Pray to the Lord for wisdom in regards to what resolutions, if any, He would have you make (James 1:5);
- Pray for wisdom as to how to fulfill the goals God gives you (Colossians 1:9);
- Rely on God’s strength to help you (Isaiah 50:10);
- Find an accountability partner who will help you and encourage you (Psalm 27:9);
(5) Don’t become discouraged with occasional failures; instead allow them to motivate you further (Isaiah 43:1);
(6) Don’t become proud or vain, but give God the glory. Psalm 37:5-6, “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”
(7) LIKE PAUL in Phil. 3:13…. Resolve to forget those things which are behind and press forward.
(8) LIKE DAVID in Psalm 121:1…. lift up our eyes to the hills from which cometh our help. The greatest sin that we often commit against our selves, our families, and our God is to look in the wrong direction.
(9) LIKE ENOCH in Genesis 5:24…. Walk in daily fellowship with our heavenly father
That walk takes several things:
Daily reading of the Word
Daily time in prayer
Daily obedience
Daily confession
Daily service
Daily dying to self
Christianity is not a religion, not a system, not a belief, not intellectual… it is an active, growing, living, daily relationship with a person…. with God Himself. And, it is not a sprint…. it’s a marathon. So, in the New Year, work to make it “more” daily.
(10) LIKE MOSES in Hebrews 11:25…. Choose to suffer rather than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a short while.
(11). LIKE GIDEON in Judges 6&7… Advance, even when my friends are few. Usually, when we are faced with a decision on doing something or going somewhere, we make the decision based on the crowd. The truth is… In matters of righteousness and morality….THE CROWD IS USUALLY WRONG!!!!!
(12) LIKE ANDREW in John 1:42 strive to bring our brother to Christ
I’m not going to split hairs with you over Cain’s question, “Who is my brother?” Your brother may be your literal brother… or sister, or child, or parent. Your brother may be your next door neighbor your co-worker your room-mate your best friend. Andrew WENT to his brother and BROUGHT him to Jesus. You may need to invite them to church, or a bible study, or singing service. But remember there are three aspects to “go”:
GO = intentionally speaking to him about Jesus, faith, spiritual things
GO = intentionally turning the conversation, asking the tough questions
GO = intentionally living the Christian life-style as a witness
(13) Like King David’s plea: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
Today, as we face the tradition of “resolutions,” we must remember three important restrictions from Scripture:
First, whatever we promise must be genuine, truthful, and from our hearts (James 5:12).
Second, God takes these “vows” seriously (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5).
And finally, God’s requirements for our lives are both simple and profound: Do justly, and love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God (Micah 6:8).