Start Right
Matt Redstone
Holiday Season 2020 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 35:31
1 rating
· 153 viewsAs we head into 2021, everyone wants this year to be better then last year. However, that won't just happen on it's own. What can we do to ensure 2021 starts and finishes well?
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Intro
Intro
this isn’t a beginning of a new series, this is a one off message. To kick off, I’m going to start with our first question!
Question #1: What New Year’s Resolution have you made this year?
Question #1: What New Year’s Resolution have you made this year?
I’m sure some of you have got some good new year’s resolutions. I look forward to going online and reading some of the ones you post.
I hope that you have made some new year’s resolutions. If you haven’t, its not too late. The year is still new and fresh and plans can still be made. I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage, if you fail to plan you plan to fail. If you got to the end of the 2020 and you find yourself in the same place as you were at the beginning of the year, you really only have yourself to blame. I think we can all agree we want 2021 to be better, and we have a part to play to ensure that it is better.
As we come into this New Year, I am reminded of the story of Israel. If you want to turn in your bible to Joshua 24, I lay some of the context for this story. Israel has been saved from Egypt, has invaded and conquered the land promised to them by God, and now Joshua is standing before them.
The land has been divided among the 12 tribes, some on the east side of the Jordan, most on the West. Joshua has just gone over their history leading up to this moment. He reminded the people that their forefather Abraham came from a land that served other gods, that their fathers were saved from Egypt, and nation that served a multitude of gods. Now they have just taken over a land whose people served false gods and lived lives that were detestable to God. This is what Joshua says to the people
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Choose this day whom you will serve. As Joshua was listing off the nations and refered to their gods, the people would have been able to picture the idols. They would have tore down Asherah poles and altars to Baal. They would have walked by huge monuments to the gods of Egypt on a regular basis. So Joshua asks, before you begin this next part, as you settle into this land and build your homes and your cities. As you begin to write the next chapter of your lives, start here. Choose this day whom you will serve.
As we embark on this new year, eagerly trying to leave last year behind us, we need to decide who we are going to serve. Because we have false gods all around us that are trying to steal our attention away from god.
Kyle Idleman, an author whose material we have used in the past at OneChurch and a personal hero of mine. Love that guy and everything he writes. He wrote a book called gods at war, and he talks about the gods that compete for our attention. These are not things we typically think about as gods. So here is the list:
in the temple of pleasure, we find food, sex, and entertainment
in the temple of power, we find success, money, and achievement
in the temple of love, we find romance, family, and me. Not me, but ourselves.
Not the usual list of gods, but if we are honest with ourselves, at one point of another we have entered these temples and worshipped these gods in some capacity. Or we have seen these gods at work in other people’s lives and we can see their temples on the horizon of this New Year.
I want to point out that if one of those things struck a cord, and you are offended that I said it is a false god, you may want to do a heart check and see why it stirred a strong reaction in you.
Also, highly recommend you check this book out. Very good stuff here
Question #2: Which of the 9 ‘gods’ competes most for your attention?
Question #2: Which of the 9 ‘gods’ competes most for your attention?
Bridge the Gap:
Bridge the Gap:
This brings me back to the idea of New Year’s resolutions. With so many things competing for our attention, what can we do to ensure that we are choosing to serve God above all else? What can we do to make sure there are no leaks in the boat?
In all my years of ministry and with everything I’ve read in those years, I have found that the best analogy for life is that of a bike tire. The tire represents our life, and the spokes are the things that ensure that life continues to work in way that is healthy and honors God.
On our tire there are five spokes, and as long as the spokes are tight and strong, life will work better.
The first spoke is Faith
What is something you can do in your personal life that is going to maintain a healthy relationship between you and your heavenly Father
If you don’t have this spoke established, then I guarantee that you are going to go through life and feel like something is missing. Without the faith spoke and relationship with God, life doesn’t quite spin right and every bump hits a little bit harder. I know that the bumps in my life are softened by God’s grace and wisdom. My life does not work without God in it, and I’m telling you that you may think life is working now, but Jesus offers a way better life, all you have to do is accept it. Allow the Spirit of God to fill you and lead you into the abundant life that Jesus talks about in John 10:10.
But what can you do this year to maitain the spoke of Faith. For me, I’m committing to reading my Bible every single day. Now that might sound like an odd one from you pastor but hear me out. There is a very real temptation for a pastor to read this book like a text book, only pulling things out of it for the purpose of preaching. So I may look at my bible, but I can go days without really getting into this word and letting it speak to me personally. So this year, I want to read my bible devotionally every day so that God can continue to do a good work in me.
That’s me. What can you do?
The second spoke is Family
Joshua tells the people of Israel, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. My house means my family, the one that is with me now, and the generations that will follow.
So what can you do to make sure that your family is growing in the Lord and not being torn apart by distractions?
For me, I’m committing this year to put my phone down at 5pm every day and focusing on my family. It is way too easy to get looking at social media or playing some dumb mobile game and suddenly it is bed time and I haven’t given any of my attention to my kids or my wife. So starting at 5, the phone is going on the counter and I’m walking away. Doesn’t mean I won’t answer if you call, but I want my phone to just be a phone, and I want my family to have my undivided attention when they need it.
What can you do to ensure that your family is healthy and that spoke of life is being maintained?
The third spoke is Finances
The Apostle Paul in Romans says:
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
It is hard to be generous when you don’t have control of your finances. In fact, it is hard to do anything and enjoy it when your financial situation is not what it should be. You’ve got to control your finances, don’t let your finances control you.
One of the things I want to do this year is a financial seminar. I know I’m not the only one who struggles with their finances, but I also know I don’t have to stay in the struggle. If we are going to be a church that equips our people for an effective life, money is going to be a big part of that. I’m not talking about a get rich scheme, but there is ways to live within our means and still enjoy life.
What do your finances look like? Is that spoke helping you live the life God has called you to, or is it holding you back and it is time to get it rectified?
the fourth spoke is Fitness
Corinthians talks about how our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. There is a lot of material out there that shows that a healthy body contributes directly to a health mind and a healthy spirit. We are three part beings and we need to take care of all three parts.
This is the one area that every year I commit to do better, and a start strong and some how at the end of the year I’m heavier then I started. This is a consistent struggle for me, but I know that I bite off more then I can chew. So this year, I’m taking it slow. I’ve got my goal, I’ve got the tools that I need to achieve my goal, and I’m going to take it slow. And unlike other years, I’m going to give myself a little more grace. We all need to be gracious with ourselves. If God’s mercies are new every morning for each of us, why can’t our mercy be new for ourselves and our neighbours?
What are you going to do to ensure you are healthier at the end of the year then when you started?
the final spoke I’m going to call Focus
Everything I’ve read, the first four are pretty universal, but the fifth one is all over the place. Some say work, some say goals, some call it the OBT; One Big Thing. None of those words start with ‘F’, so we are going to say focus.
What is something that you want to accomplish this year? Maybe you want to finally clean up the backyard. Maybe you want to learn a new skill for work or you want to get to know your neighbour a bit better.
In all honesty, this is the one spoke I don’t know what I want to do yet. I kind of feel like I’m going to be so busy with the other four that I won’t have time for the fifth, but I will. I don’t know what my One Big Thing will be, but I’ll figure it out, and when I do, I’m going to be really excited to start working on it.
What can you focus on this year, that by accomplishing it, it will set this year apart from all others?
As a little plug, I’m planning on doing my Vision seminar soon, and not only will these five things help you get more out of life, we’re going to talk about how these five things will help you get the most out of God’s vision and calling on your life. Can’t wait to do that workshop with you!
Question #3: What is One Big Thing you are going to accomplish this year?
Question #3: What is One Big Thing you are going to accomplish this year?
Let’s Pray!