Introduction: We could all name some of the more popular New Year resolutions that people often make: to lose weight, to quit smoking, to spend more time with the children, and so on. We often break our resolutions, but still it is good to resolve to do a good thing, even if we fail. The word "resolved" is found only once in the KJV, but four times in the NIV translation of the Bible. These four passages of scripture are good guidelines for our New Year resolutions this year:
I. 2 Chronicles 20:2-3
2 Chr 20:2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi).
2 Chr 20:3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
Jehoshaphat was one of the five good kings in the history of Judah. He put idolatry out of the land, and encouraged the Jews to know the laws of God. He often inquired of the Lord before beginning important undertakings.
According to the rest of the story of 2 Chronicles, God told Jehoshaphat not to worry, that God would do the fighting. When Jehoshaphat's army finally went to the place where the battle was to have been fought, they found that the enemy soldiers had turned against each other, and every last one was dead.
There are problems in every pew. We have financial problems. We have marriage problems. We have illnesses and deaths to contend with. We have children to rear. Where do we look for help? Let's resolve to be like king Jehoshaphat, to pray and look to God. God loves you, and He will help.
II. Psalm 17:3
Psa 17:3 Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.
This Psalm was written by David, and without a doubt David failed in his resolution. Why do I think David failed?
James 3:7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,
James 3:8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
James 3:9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.
James 3:10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
We will never control our tongues 100% of the time. But still, it is a fine resolution. We are commanded by God to at least try to get control of what we say. We are commanded to tell the truth, and to stop lieing. We are commanded to speak that which edifies, not that which tears down. We are commanded to preach the Good News of the Gospel. May God help us to use our tongues always for good!
James 1:26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
III. Daniel 1:8
Dan 1:8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.
In 586 BC the Babylonians conquered Judah and Jerusalem, and carried captive to Babylon many of the most intelligent young Jews. Such was the case with Daniel. He was being groomed for the court of the King of Babylon, to be an interpreter and an advisor. He was given the best food from the king's table, but he refused, because he was determined to be obedient to the dietary regulations that God had given to the Jews in the Law of Moses.
The pressure to conform to the standards and beliefs of the world is very strong in our time. God wants us to resist this pressure.
Rom 12:1 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.
Rom 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
If we study the Bible, and live by what it says, our minds will be renewed. We will be able to resist the pressure of secular culture, even as Daniel was able to resist the pressure to eat the food of the king of Babylon. Daniel is an example to us. We should be resolved to know what the Bible teaches, and to live by what it says. Daniel was supported and blessed by God, and so shall we be, if we have Daniel's resolve.
IV. I Corinthians 2:2
1 Cor 2:1 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
1 Cor 2:2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1 Cor 2:3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
1 Cor 2:4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,
1 Cor 2:5 so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
Today we are being told on every side that we must market the Gospel. We must appeal to the wants of the world if we are to win the world to Christ. We must learn to think like Pagans. We must adjust our Gospel to appeal to Pagan thinking. We must change our music to appeal to Pagan tastes. We must become less like a church and more like a shopping mall, or we will never reach Pagans with the Gospel.
Someone forgot to tell this to Paul. He did not speak with eloquence. He did not speak with appealing wisdom. He presented the Gospel in weakness, and in fear, and in trembling. His words were not persuasive. But the Holy Spirit used Paul's words, and people were won to Christ, and Paul founded the church in Corinth.
Church can do all kinds of programs and outreaches. And we should do our best with these things. But we must always remember that it is the CONTENT of our message, and not our techinique that is vital. We must be like Paul, and tell the old story of Jesus, and His atoning death on the cross to pay for our sins. Challenge people to believe and follow Christ, and LEAVE THE RESULTS WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Jesus said to Nicodemus: "You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (John 3:7-8)
We don't know where the wind will blow. Just preach the Gospel, and stand back. Do the best you can, but always realize that the results are from God's power, not our hard work, or our persuasiveness.
Conclusion: Four resolutions for the New Year: