FACING THE NEW YEAR

Sermon Notes, December 30, 2012

Pastor C.M. Pruitt

 

Pastor Jan was in Pennsylvania, and when the storms hit was unable to return as planned.  Rev. C.M. Pruitt agreed to come and fill our pulpit.  His message was titled “Facing the New Year,” and his text was Philippians 3:12-14.  A new year is an opportunity for new beginnings.  We make resolutions: one person’s resolution was not to get upset over little things (then she got upset because her resolution wasn’t put on the bulletin board with everyone else’s).  Jesus says “Fear not.  I am with you.”  1 Peter 5:7 tells us to “cast all your cares on the Lord, for He cares for you.”  Our attitude toward life affects the way we face it.

Paul, in Philippians, gives us advice on how to face the new year.  First, we need to RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF TIME.  How much value to we place on a year, a month, a week, a day, an hour, a minute, or even a second?  What makes something valuable?  Oftentimes it is scarcity.  Time is brief on this earth. Spend time with those you love.  Utilize time wisely.  Take advantage of the opportunities we have.  “Now is the day of salvation.”  (2 Corinthians 6:2)

Second, DON’T BE IN BONDAGE TO THE PAST.  Memory is thinking backwards.  Remember pleasant things; let go of things you have no control over.  Forgive fully, with God’s help.  Forgetting what is behind, move forward. (Philippians 3:13-14)  Being held in bondage to the past will kill you.

Third, ESTABLISH PRIORITIES in your life.  Paul says, “This one thing I do—I press on, following Jesus.”  Putting the big things first can be illustrated by the demonstration a professor gave to his class.  He put rocks in a jar, asking if the jar was full.  His class said yes.  Then he added gravel, shaking it down into the rocks, and asked again.  Again the class said yes.  He then added sand, and shook it down; the class again answered that the jar was full.  The professor then added water, filling the jar to the top.  He asked the class “What does this teach you?”  One of the students said, “No matter how full your life is, you can still find time for a little more.”  The professor said, “No.  If you don’t put the big rocks in first, they’ll never fit.”  We need to deal with the big things first. 

Do we get so caught up in our fears and anxieties that we don’t hear the Lord when He comes to help? Matthew 6:33 says to seek God first, and everything else will fit in.  Utilize the time we have. Forgive and move on. Put first things first.