Community Fellowship Church, Valdosta, GA
7 January 2018
I. Introduction
-- if you
have your Bibles, please go ahead and turn over to Matthew 28:18-20
-- while
you’re doing that, I want to open by the story of Larry Walters
-- at the
time this happened, Larry Walters was a 33-year old truck driver from Los
Angeles who really didn’t have a lot going on in his life
-- he’d get
up and go to work and then eventually make his way back home after his long
haul -- but he really didn’t do a whole lot -- even on the weekends when he
wasn’t working
-- typically,
Larry spent his weekends sitting in his backyard, eating lunch and staring at
the houses around him in the subdivision where he lived -- not a very exciting
life at all
-- one day,
Larry was sitting there and he just got so bored that he decided to do
something -- he went out and bought 45 big weather balloons and a tank of
helium -- his plan was to tie the balloons to his lawn chair, fill them with
helium, and float up for an aerial view of his neighborhood
-- he
figured he would only go up about 100 feet, but just in case, he got his BB gun
and loaded it and put it in his lap -- if he got up too high, he figured he
could regulate his altitude by just shooting out a couple of balloons
-- so first
he secured his lawn chair to the ground, then he filled the balloons with
helium -- one by one he tied them to his chair -- before lift-off he went back
in the house and got a sandwich and something to drink to carry with him on his
trip
-- then he
went out and sat in his lawn chair -- he told his neighbors to cut the rope
when he was ready -- he yelled "Let's go!" and the neighbors cut the
rope
-- but he
didn't go up 100 feet -- he went up 11,000 feet! Shot straight up in the air! -- and you might be thinking, what about the
BB gun? -- that turned out to be useless because he using both hands to hang on
to the chair for dear life
-- Larry
zoomed straight up into the landing pattern for the Los Angeles Airport --
pilots were reporting that they saw a man in a lawn chair flying past their
planes -- eventually, they sent up helicopters to rescue Larry
-- after
they got him down, the news reporters asked Larry if he was going to do it
again -- Larry said "No." -- Then they asked him, "What in the
world made you do it the first time?" -- Larry thought about it for a
moment and said, "Well, you can't just sit there."
-- so, what
does this true story have to do with us this evening? -- Well, Larry Walters is
right -- we can't just sit here -- God has something exciting for us to do with
our lives -- He doesn't want us to just sit by on the sidelines and watch the
world go by -- He wants us to be a participant -- to live and to let Christ
live through us
-- and I
can't think of a better time to reflect on this call to action than right here
at the start of a new year -- the time when we put the past behind us and look
to the future -- the time when we resolve to change things in our lives or to
do something different in the next year
-- as Jesus
tells us in John 10:10, "I have come that you may have life, and have it
to the full" or as the King James version says, "have life more
abundantly"
-- the way
we do this is to live out the commandments of God -- to be obedient to His
instructions
-- since we
are at the start of the new year, it might be helpful to think of these as New
Year's Resolutions suggested by God -- let's look at some of them right now
II. God's Resolutions
-- this
will require us to look at several passages of scripture -- but I've gotten
them arranged so they start in Matthew and go in consecutive order
A. Matthew 28:18-20
-- look with me now at this
familiar passage from Matthew 28:18-20
Matthew 28:18-20 New International Version (NIV)
18 Then Jesus came to them and
said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore
go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything
I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age.”
-- you know
this passage -- you’ve heard it many times before -- we know it as the Great
Commission from Christ -- the final words of the gospel of Matthew -- the final
instructions from Jesus before He ascended to heaven
-- you know
about it -- but have you ever done anything with it? -- as Bob Goff said, “No
one is remembered because of what they planned to do” -- you’re only remembered
by what you actually did do
-- in this
passage, Jesus gives us several commandments that we can take and turn into
resolutions for this new year -- things that we are going to commit to go out
and actually do
-- the
first resolution God gives us for this next year is to "Go and make
disciples of all the nations" -- this is the call to missions -- it is the
call to spreading Christianity -- to spreading the good news of Christ to all those
we come into contact with
-- we tend
to think that missions means we go to a far off country and minister to people
in those places -- the call to missions does not mean we have to leave the
United States -- it does not mean we have to leave Georgia -- we can fulfill
this call to missions by simply telling others we meet about Christ
-- do you
know what country receives more missionaries than any other country in the
world? -- we personally know missionaries who have left here and gone to Mexico
and to Guatemala and to Papua, New Guinea, to tell people about Jesus -- so,
what country does God send more missionaries to than any other country?
-- would it
surprise you to find out it’s the United States? -- we receive more
missionaries than any other country in the world -- this means that the
Christians in the other nations in the world are so concerned about the
spiritual state of America that they send more missionaries here than anywhere
else
-- back
when Mother Teresa was still alive, a couple from the US went to visit her in
India and offered to minister with her there -- they wanted to get involved
with what she was doing, so they asked her, “What can we do for Christ?” -- she
told them, “Go home and minister there”
-- so, the
first resolution we can make for God is to simply tell the people you meet here
about Jesus
-- the
second resolution that we see in this passage is that we are to teach these new
disciples everything God has commanded us to do -- in order to grow, these new
disciples must be taught -- they must be instructed through Bible study --
through teaching of the Word -- where are the Commandments of God? In the Bible
-- so we must help our disciples to
get in the word and to learn to study and apply all that they read, as led by
the Holy Spirit -- since none of us are Bible scholars, this means that we must
also be in the Word so we can help those we are teaching -- if we are going to
help teach the Bible, then we have to know what it says ourselves -- what you
might just find out is what I learned while teaching Sunday School -- I learned
more from the Bible preparing for the Sunday School lesson than those I taught
-- this resolution to teach new disciples will also help us to learn
-- this goes along well with what
we see in Philemon 6 -- Paul wrote there: “I pray that you may be active in
sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good
thing we have in Christ”
-- as we read and study -- as we
share our faith -- we grow in our understanding and knowledge of Christ -- we
move from knowing about God to knowing Him personally -- to experiencing Him in
our lives
B.
Hebrews 10:22-25
-- turn in Bibles to Hebrews
10:22-25 -- there are several commands in this passage that we can turn into
New Year’s resolutions in this passage
-- look at verse 22
22 let us draw near to God with a
sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts
sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed
with pure water.
-- first
resolution is to draw near to God -- what greater action can we take in this
next year than to draw near to God -- to seek His face and His blessings and
His grace in our lives -- the Bible tells us that when we draw near to God, He
draws near to us
-- let me
ask you, are you where you want to be with God in your life right now?
-- do you
want to be closer to God in this new year?
-- the way
you do that is given to us right here -- we have to take the first step -- we
have to draw near to Him -- in prayer -- by reading the Bible -- by sharing our
faith -- by meeting with other Christians
-- and, if
we do that, He will draw near to us
-- so, if
you’re not happy with where you are with God right now, then commit to drawing
near to Him in the new year
-- verse 23
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised
is faithful.
-- this verse is basically just telling us to resolve to
trust God -- it says that since God is faithful, we can trust Him -- because
God is faithful, we can hold fast to the hope and the truth that He has given
us
-- I can
tell you this as a fact -- you can’t trust other people in the same way you can
trust God -- this year, someone is going to betray your trust -- they’re going
to make a promise to you and then break it -- they’re going to turn away from
you in your time of need -- they’re going to hurt you -- it’s just who we are
-- we are flawed beings -- we not God
-- but God
promises to be faithful to you -- He will never leave you or forsake you --
even if you turn away from Him, He’s still going to be there waiting for you to
come back -- you can trust Him -- you can put your faith in Him -- you can put
your hope in Him
-- so, this
new year, resolve to trust God -- there’s an easy way for you to remember this
resolution in the new year -- just pull out a coin from your pocket and read
and do what it says: "In God We Trust" -- and, every time you read
that -- every time you see a coin -- make a commitment to trust God again
-- verse 24
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and
good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of
doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
-- these
verses are about strengthening each other -- about holding each other up as we
journey along together in this new year
-- the
author of Hebrews tells us here to resolve to encourage others in their lives
-- to build them up -- to help them grow -- to pick them up when they fall
-- that
means you are there for them -- that means there are people in your life who
have your back, no matter what
-- what we
are really talking about is being the church -- not a building -- not a sign --
not a denomination -- not a creed
-- just
people who love God loving others
-- the
writer here says, “Don’t give up meeting together” -- do you know why? --
because we need each other -- there are times in all of our lives when we’re
weak or we’re tired or we have fallen down, and we need someone there to pull
us back up -- to encourage us -- to walk with us
-- there
are times when we need to do the same to someone else -- to give them a hand
when they need it -- to help them back up when they fall
-- don’t give
up meeting together -- be the church this year -- don’t just come together on a
Sunday or a Wednesday, but be the church 24/7
-- I like
what Bob Goff said about church:
"Church [is] a vibrant community of
people consisting of two or more [people] of varied backgrounds gathering
around Jesus. Sometimes they are at a place that might have a steeple or
auditorium seating. But it's just as likely that church happens elsewhere, like
coffee shops or on the edge of a glacier or in the bush in Uganda. All of these
places work just fine, I suppose. When it's a matter of the heart, the place
doesn't matter. For me, it's Jesus plus nothing, not even a building."
-- who is the church? -- we are --
and we can be the church to someone else by just meeting with them this year --
as Jesus said, “When two or three are gathered in My Name, I am there”
V. Closing
-- so, let
me close this
-- new
years are times for new beginnings -- there are times to commit to making a
change -- to doing something different in your life
-- like
Larry Walters said, “We just can’t sit there” -- we need to be doing something
with Jesus in our lives every day of this new year
-- God gave
us these commands in His word -- not to force us to do anything -- not because
our salvation depended on them -- but He gave us these commands because through
them, we would know life -- we would know Him -- and we would experience all
that He has for us
-- so, I
want to challenge you to commit to new life with Him this year -- trust God --
remember that every time you see a coin -- trust Him -- draw near to Him --
read His word -- pray to Him -- invite Him into your life everyday
-- tell
others about Jesus -- walk with them in their lives -- share with them God’s
commands and His plan for an abundant life with Him -- encourage them to do
good things -- and be the church -- just be there for someone else this year
-- will you
commit to doing these things this year?
-- let’s
pray
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