Resolutions

Pastor Phillips' Sermon

Sunday, January 7, 2007

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Please pray with me. Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us another day, another week, another year, and we pray that you bless us as we look at this year to see the full potential you have in it, for blessing us and for blessing others through us and that we can constantly remember you are with us and we can go to you with our sins at any time and receive complete forgiveness. Bless us now as we meditate on your Word. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Every time we go through this stretch of the holidays, we celebrate so many things, Thanksgiving and then shopping and then Christmas and then New Year's. And after all of that, we get through that stretch and we're kind of worn out and our emotions are all stirred up. And sometimes we have a lot of emotions that aren't real good. Some are positive but a lot of them are negative. We have this post-holiday depression sometimes because the celebrations are over and now what do we have to look forward to? Other times, we feel guilty about how much we spent or how much we ate. And sometimes, celebrating New Year's, we just look at our life and we're not real pleased with where we are or what we've accomplished.

These emotions we feel compel us to change so, with a little reflection, we think about the issues in our life and we make some resolutions, New Year's Resolutions we call them. We make promises to ourselves to change.

According to Kimberly and Albrecht Powell, writers from the Pittsburgh area, they came up with the Top Ten New Year's Resolutions. And as you listen to the list, see if you can identify with any of them.

As you look at that list, it doesn't encourage us, does it? It's kind of like, “Oh, my gosh. Half of those apply to me.” And it can be a real negative thing just to think about these resolutions that we make. But let's turn that around today. Let's think about it from a positive standpoint. Let's not make change in our lives because of guilt we feel but out of love, love for God and love for those around us who will benefit from this change.

Let's take a look at this Top Ten list again and just see how that might apply to our spiritual life. Spending more time with family and friends was the Number 1 resolution. Recent polls conducted by General Nutrition Centers , Quicken, and others show that more than 50% of Americans vow to appreciate loved ones and spend more time with family and friends this year. God's Word says in Psalm 127, “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him.” Clearly, God's Word tells us families come from God and He reminds us they are blessings from Him. As we take time out from everything else to be together with our family and friends, we reconnect and reaffirm our love for each other. Think of some fun ways you can spend time together as a family, things you can do together that will make wonderful memories you'll cherish for the rest of your life. A good way to approach this resolution is to think of your fondest memories. Think of the things that stand out from your childhood or your young adulthood or throughout your life, those wonderful golden moments, and then determine to create those for your children and your friends as well. A long time ago, I talked to a pastor friend who I knew had a problem with working a little too much, long hours at the office and just not home much, not with his wife much. And he was telling me about a wonderful memory he had. He said, “I remember my favorite memory. My dad took us, myself and my two brothers, out of school and took us on a fishing adventure to Alaska and we caught salmon. What a great trip.” I said, “Boy, that sounds wonderful.” And then knowing he struggled to balance work and family in his life, I asked him, “Do your sons have memories like that?” He said, “Ouch.” Sometimes we need to feel that ouch to know things aren't balanced, our family's being neglected. And, of course, they are a gift from God so I'm sure it's His desire we have a close and wonderful relationship with those in our family.

The second top resolution was to fit exercise into your busy lifestyle. Well, the evidence for fitness is in. Regular exercise has been associated with more health benefits than anything else known to man. Studies show it reduces the risk of some cancers, increases longevity, helps us achieve and maintain weight loss, enhances our mood, lowers our blood pressure, and even improves arthritis. In short, exercise keeps you healthy and makes you look and feel better. For me, this has come home this past year. I'm not really where I want to be as far as exercise. I'd like to be in a little bit better shape and things like that. But I've been able to put in my routine walking 3 to 4 times a week with my wife. We get out and we walk around our neighborhood and I really think the benefit goes way beyond physical benefits. I think it benefits us emotionally to get out and exercise, and I think it also benefits our marriage when I walk with my wife. We walk along and we talk about the day. We talk about yesterday. We talk about the future. We talk about our children. We talk about our work, and it's just a good thing. So I've really been blessed by including that in my life in the last year. At first, it wasn't much fun and it didn't really fit but now I really look forward to those walks. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 talks about us and our bodies. It says, “Do you not know your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. You are bought with a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.” A lot of these resolutions have to do with our health, and they have to do with the body God has given us, so this verse that our body is the temple of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit, it's the place where God has chosen to dwell in the hearts of all who believe, they apply to all these resolutions.

The third resolution has to do with weight loss. Tame the Bulge it's titled. Over 66% of adult Americans are considered overweight or obese by recent studies. So it is not surprising to find weight loss is one of the most popular New Year's Resolutions. The key is setting reasonable goals and staying focused. Those are the two most important factors in weight loss. And some of you know I've lost weight. I know it's not clear to everybody, but a lot of you didn't think I needed to lose weight. It's kind of a funny thing. But according to the doctors and the doctor's charts and everything else, I would have probably been in that obese category and I kept hearing that on the radio, in the paper, on television, how overweight America is and that really was convicting me because I knew I was in that group. So I made up my mind. I had a very good reason to do it. I said, “I want to feel better and I want to live longer and I want to enjoy my life later on when I'm retired. I want to be able to enjoy my grandchildren and be active and things like that.” So I determined I was going to lose weight and I committed myself to a diet plan that began Memorial weekend. And by early November, I had reached my goal of losing 40 pounds. And a lot of you thought I was sick. “Are you okay?” I don't know how many times I explained I was on a diet, but I feel great. And I feel like I can enjoy a lot of my activities more, so I'm really convinced that was a good resolution I made to myself. And I know God encourages us to do anything that is good for our bodies.

Another resolution has to do with quitting smoking. This is a really challenging one. In fact, on average, smokers try at least four times before they are successful and they quit for good. But focus on the benefits. Think about the long-term health risks and how that's going to affect your life and let that be your driving force. You want to avoid those negative things but also think about the benefits of being healthier and feeling better. Taking an honest look at these things and praying for God to give you His strength will help you to have a victory over this.

Another one that's very similar is to quit drinking. Again, look at the impact of this behavior on the people around you. Look at the impact on you personally. And the health risks that are involved with you and this habit. Just pray for God to give you strength. There is wonderful help out there for anyone who will seek it.

Another resolution had to do with enjoying life more. Given the hectic and stressful lifestyles of millions of Americans, it's no wonder that enjoying life more has become a popular resolution in recent years. Think about that. Why postpone the enjoyment of your life? A lot of times I was thinking, “You know, when I retire, that's when I'm going to go and do this. And that's when I'm going to go and do that.” But I got to a point where I thought, “I don't even know if I'll be around then. And I don't even know if the people I love and want to spend time with will be around then. So why postpone it?” I'm not saying just go out and blow your budget or anything like that. I'm just saying don't put it off. This time and these moments are precious, so let's enjoy life. God wants us to enjoy life. John 10:10 says, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” And a lot of people misuse this bible passage, a lot of people I've seen preaching on television. They use this to support the prosperity theology, the idea God wants every Christian to be rich. Of course, that's not true. But I do believe He wants us all to have eternal life. He wants every person to have eternal life. And that's what the context of this verse tells us. Jesus isn't talking about wealth. He's talking about the eternal life that is available through Him. By faith in Jesus, we live forever in heaven. But I also believe any life that is focused on Jesus will be more full, will be more rich, will be better in every way because we live each moment with hope and confidence that we have a loving God and a loving Savior.

The next resolution in the Top Ten was to get out of debt. Now you've heard all the information I've heard about credit card debt and all those things. Money is a stressful part of our lives. It's hard. Even if you're not in debt, it's hard because you're always trying to budget and be careful and to spend wisely and to put away for retirement and all those kinds of things. If you're concerned about your finances, you're not alone. Millions of Americans have resolved this year to get a handle on their spending. Our congregation even offers to assist people with this. We've offered in the past something called “ Financial Peace University ,” which is a ministry designed to help everyone organize and plan their finances and to get out of debt and to be prepared for the future financially. Matthew 6:24 gives us sort of a compass heading in this. It says, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” That's real clear, isn't it? When money is our God, there's no peace and no happiness. But when we believe in God and He's number one in our lives and He's in control of everything, then money just kind of falls into the appropriate places and it's all in perspective and we're not obsessed with our debts or obsessed with our possessions because God has balanced it all out.

The eighth resolution is to learn something new. A lot of people think about, “Oh, I'd like to take a class or I'd like to study and get another degree or learn a new language or something like that.” But I want to challenge you to learn something new about the Lord. I want to challenge you to grow deeper in your faith. I mean, you're pretty good now. I mean, things are good now. You have an active prayer life. You come to worship and things like that. But just think of the benefits in every aspect of your life if you would take it up a notch, if you would join a small group, if you would teach the children in Sunday School, if you would do something that would take your faith a little deeper, how would that benefit you? What kind of peace and rewards would that give you in your life?

The ninth resolution on our Top Ten list was to help others. And again, this is kind of something I always put a Christian spin on. You can do all kinds of wonderful humanitarian efforts and works but not really have the right motivation. You might be doing it for the pat on the back and things like that. But as a Christian looks at this, it's something different. We know as God has blessed us, as God sent His Son to die on the cross for us, He sends us to bless and help others, whether it's working at the local Habitat for Humanity project, teaching children in our Sunday School, serving on a ministry action team, or going on a mission trip, or even funding some of the ministries in our congregation, the rewards of serving and helping others are beyond calculation. As the saying goes, “You can't out give God.” Romans 12 urges us to serve God and others. It says, “Therefore, I urge you, Brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship.”

And finally, we come to Number 10. I don't like Number 10. Get organized. It doesn't matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, I always feel like I don't quite get to the point where I want to be as far as organization. All these different other resolutions, yeah, they apply to me, too, but this is the one that really strikes home. For some of you, this comes easy. It's natural. You think logically and everything's in its place. Look in your closets. All the shoes are in place and all the clothes are in place. Your drawers, everything's all organized. You're just that kind of person. Order comes easy for you. Organized thinking comes easy for you and that's great. That's a gift and I thank God that He has blessed me with some of you to come along side me and help me stay organized in the ministries God has called me to do. Colossians 3:23 urges me on to never give up trying to do better in this area. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men.”

As we look back over these ten resolutions, it's easy to feel discouraged. We make these resolutions with the best of intentions but often we fall short and we lose motivation. We really want to change. We desire it but in our weakness, we fail. It's not hard to feel discouraged at a time like this, but doesn't it seem foolish and precarious to let our self esteem ride on these promises we make to ourselves? Even the promises other people make to us are not guarantees. When our emotions are connected to these flimsy resolutions, we are bound to be disappointed. But with the Lord, things are different. When God makes a promise, He always keeps it. His Word is rock solid.

Take for instance, His promise to send a Son. Did He keep it? Of course he did. 2,000 years ago, He sent His Son and we just celebrated that wonderful event, the birth of the Savior of the world. And then Jesus died on the cross. He paid our debt of sin, rose from the dead, giving us a victory over sin, death, and the devil and we join with all of creation in celebrating that victory every moment, every day, every worship service we come and celebrate the victory God has given us because God didn't make a New Year's Resolution. He made a new life resolution, a new life for us. As it says in 2 Corinthians, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are yes in Christ and so through Him, the Amen is spoken by us to the glory of God.” God kept His promise in Jesus. So don't let your life be ruled by your failures or the resolutions you fail to keep. Rather, rest in the resolve of Jesus who has kept all God's promises to us. Amen? Amen.

Copyright 2006 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church