Making The Right New Year's Resolutions

With me in prayer. Our Father in heaven, your word is more precious than gold. And as David said,.

Through your spirit, they.

Than much pure gold sweeter than honey than the honey from the honeycomb. And Lord, you said by your word, your servant is warned. And Lord, you also said in keeping them,.

There is great reward.

Father, my prayer this morning is made these words of my mouth.

As I speak your word.

This meditation in my heart be pleasing in your sight. My Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. We ask this for your glory in Jesus name.

Amen.

Biblical Goals for the New Year and Holding Fast to God

I titled this message making the right New Year's resolutions. This is a New Year's 2025 message and I do this annually. Now, I believe it's a good tradition. All traditions are not good if you notice in Scripture.

Even the reading of Scripture is a tradition. It's the traditions of men that.

Are false.

But if they're appointed by God, I believe they could be good things for us.

But.

I titled this making the New Year's resolution or better yet, I should say maybe I should have titled it setting the right biblical goals for 2025 and keeping them. Because really as a Christian, that's what we do.

We set goals. Especially when we go into a new fresh year. As you well know, a resolution is defined as a firm decision to do and that's not bad or not to do something. Whereas setting a goal would be the end toward which the effort in which we put into it is directed.

I have selected Scriptures this morning. So I'm going to go quickly. So stay with me. You can follow with me in the Scriptures and or you can write jot these down in your notes to remember you to remember what is being said.

Let me begin by saying and beginning with this launching pad Scripture from Psalm 63a. My soul followeth hard after thee thy right hand upholdeth me. I believe is we set many goals before us. I believe the one great goal and that we may all keep by God's grace in which David a man after God's own heart.

Follows hard after God.

That we would do the same that in response to God's repeated invitation that we would hold fast to God. Now, we know that he holds fast to us, right? But by God's grace, we should hold fast to God. Deuteronomy 4 .4.

But you who hold fast to the Lord your God are alive today. Every one of you we must hold fast to God. Paul even said it in his new his last will and testament in 2nd Timothy chapter 4.

Hold.

On grab a hold of eternal life. It's almost like don't let it go. Analogy would be like Jacob wrestling with the angel of the Lord, which is really the before the pre-incarnate of Jesus Christ. He wrestled with him all night.

May we hold on tightly to God. But you who are hold fast to the Lord your God are alive today. Every one of you Deuteronomy 10 .20 you shall fear the Lord your God you shall serve him and to him you shall hold fast and take oaths in his name.

Deuteronomy 13 .4 you shall walk or another word to follow after the Lord your God and fear him keep his commandments and obey his voice and you shall serve him and notice what he says and hold fast to him.

Hold fast hold fast. It's not how you start that's important, but it's how you finish throughout this year. May we pray and be in prayer.

Before the Lord.

But also to keep the commandments of the Lord and that we would hold fast to the Lord and obey his commandments. The Apostle Paul says it best in Philippians chapter 3 verse 13 and 14.

Forgetting.

What is behind 2024 is over with yesterday's gone right last year's gone. We forget what is behind and then he said this and straining as another word for that agonizing striving striving toward what is ahead.

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus my Lord. So our focus on our goal is verse 14 as it should be as Paul's I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

This beloved is our goal is a believer in Jesus Christ. And what is that goal? Who is that goal? I would say God himself. Chapter and verse. Sure. I got this plenty of them Jenna. I think one of my favorite is Genesis 15 one Moses writes of Abraham through the Spirit of God and he says after these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision saying and this is God speaking to Abram do not be afraid Abram do not be afraid.

What a word of encouragement God gives.

Abram.

I am that's God's name really I am that I am he revealed to Moses, but he says I am your shield and you're exceedingly great reward. You see this God himself is our great reward just as it was our father Abraham the father of our faith.

Great exceedingly.

Reward.

Our goal is God himself.

As the.

I believe Owen put it and it was put in him. There's a full him on this. My goal is God not blessing not joy, but God himself by any cause by any road. God himself our goal, but there's also another goal that goes along with the person of God and that is being like Jesus.

Christ is Christ likeness. It is the here and now that we are to be like Christ until we come into heaven. And by the way, here is something else that we should be praying.

For for.

The new year for redeeming grace Church is as the Lord would see fit to add to us just not numerically but believers. Converts. As we reach out to evangelize the lost we desire to see converts come to Jesus Christ.

And this is how the kingdom this is. How's God's kingdom come. It's through the church. The church is being built and it's built by one soul at a time. We pray die will be done. That kingdom come that will be done in earth as it is in heaven God's will.

God's kingdom is always done in heaven, but we pray that it be done on earth and that is done as God Christ builds the church. Another scripture. I think of is Romans 8 28 through 30. Romans 8 28 is a great scripture.

We almost can cite it by heart. And we know believers we know the elect that all things not some things but all things work together for good. Now who is this for to those who love God. That's who the promise is for.

Is to those who love God that all the promises of God are yes and amen.

So.

Keep this in mind no matter what you're going through at the moment and at present. We know we know that all things work together for good to those who love God. We may not be able to see how it's working together for the good but God sees it because God is orchestrated.

God has ordained it. God has planned it for our good. Because he's a good God he does nothing bad if there's bad. It's on our part. It's to those who love God to those who are the called according to his purpose.

It's God's purpose. Keep this before the forefronts of your eyes that it's God's.

Purpose.

And here it is what is God's purpose. Verse 29. For whom he for you he also predestined. That means he marked out to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Verse 30. Here's the golden chain of redemption folks moreover whom he predestined. Whom he marked out these he also called. Whom he called these he also justified. And whom he justified these he also glorified.

In other words it's going to happen. Your sanctification in Jesus Christ will happen if you're born again believer today. Sanctification will happen if you're justified by God if you're called by God sanctification will happen in your life and in my life.

And God has many means to sanctify us. And he's planned it and that's why it begins. Paul says we know that all things work together for the good and he's talking about crosses and losses and affliction and sufferings as we follow Jesus Christ those things that keep us humble.

You know God kept the Apostle Paul humble so that he would not boast and what he was doing in Jesus Christ and all that he labored in for Christ and the labor was good but God knew he had to keep him humble so he was called to suffer and God allowed affliction upon him to keep him humble.

A thorn in the flesh. The scripture says now there's a lot of debate what that thorn of flesh is. Some people think it was an affliction. Some people don't think it is poor eyesight. Some people think commentators say it was maybe a person within the church maybe it was an enemy but nevertheless it was a thorn in the flesh.

It was something painful in Paul's life and it kept him humble. And we're talking about the Apostle Paul to be. Is this your goal for 2025 is to be more like Jesus. There's a simple song. I love it. It's a prayer Jesus be Jesus in me no longer me but the resurrection power fill me this hour.

Jesus be Jesus in me. May we may we pray that daily. May this be our goal daily until we reach heaven as our home Romans 8 29 to be conformed to the image of his son. That is God's goal by the way that God has predestined his purpose for his very own and that they would be made like Jesus Christ that would be more like Jesus Christ made this be our goal daily as we follow Christ.

This is the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. That's the prize. I don't think there's any greater prize. Someone once came to Hudson Taylor and when he was a missionary in China by the way, he was in China as a missionary for 54 years and someone said of him many of the people that has come to Christ and as you have reached out to them and and they've been converted to Jesus Christ.

They said you are so much like the Apostle Paul. What do you think about that? What does somebody said that you were like the Apostle Paul? You know what Hudson Taylor said? He said that really disappoints me.

He said I would hope and pray that they would see Jesus that I'll be more like Jesus.

Wow.

Somebody was thinking they were complimenting him like the Apostle Paul and you know Paul it was a valiant in the faith and a godly man. But Hudson Taylor took that very personal. He says I want them to see Jesus in me.

Jesus said let your light so shine before men. That they may see what? Your good works. You know what those works are? Our obedience. As we obey the Lord love the Lord. Jesus says if you love me keep my commandments.

And then that sum everything up in the Christian life.

How much do we love Jesus? How much do you love Jesus? You know how that's shown?

By how we serve. How we love one another. Unfeigned love. Love that's demonstrated and you notice Jesus demonstrated this. His great love to others. He loved his own to the very end. Unfeigned love. May this be our goal to be more like Jesus and beloved.

This should be our primary goal. May this be our goal every day.

Now.

There are three words for us. And I'm going to break this down in sections. I would like to set before you for this upcoming year at 2025. That's my introduction. So we're getting to the meat of the of the text now.

By and far this is not an exhaustive these three words. I'd like to keep them all in R's but I was I failed to do this. But I do have some R's here to help us remember. And I'd like to set three before you and stir you up to love and good works as fellow believers in Jesus Christ.

The first word is speaking of remember is remember.

Remember.

That's that's our first word. I like for us to look at. There's many scriptures and many more by the way that you can look at and look up in Scripture. But there's many there. Let's remember the word remember.

Amen.

Deuteronomy 8 18 and 20. Listen to the word of the Lord. Don't you love Deuteronomy. Jesus quoted probably more from Deuteronomy than any other book of the Old Testament. And you shall remember notice the first thing he says you shall remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you power to get well.

That.

That he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers as it is this day when then it shall be if you by any means.

Forget.

The Lord your God and follow other gods and serve them and worship them. I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish as the nations which the Lord did destroys before you so you shall perish because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.

What a.

Powerful warning for us faithfulness on God's part in the covenant here to Israel was to be met by corresponding. Faithfulness on the part of Israel makes me think also that God God is always faithful.

He never fails to be faithful, right? It is the failure on our part Paul said he says even when God is faithful even even when we're not faithful God is faithful. God is always a covenant keeping God with and he shows this to the patriarchs in verse 18.

Now the people needed to keep their word to God and return.

If.

The people forgot God's mighty axe on their behalf and attributed their wealth to their own power. In other words, all that I get is something that I have done and forget God. God would destroy them as he destroyed the Gentile nations of Canaan and he brought judgment.

So how important it is to remember the Lord our God to remember God and not to forget our Lord. Ecclesiastes 12 1. And so exciting to see these these young youth here taking notes listening attentively but this is a real good one for you girls here that's taking notes.

Listen to Ecclesiastes 12 1. Remember now your creator in the days of your youth before the difficult days before the evil days come and that the years draw near when you say I have no pleasure in them.

Did you hear that?

God desires you to give all of your life, especially when you're young, you know, why. Because God loves you and he doesn't want you to waste your life. Don't waste your time in your life on.

Vanity.

Foolishness.

Give it all to the Lord. Because there will be a rich reward for you.

In heaven.

As you come to believe him.

Remember.

You.

Are God's property. You and I have been bought with a price. He has ransomed us beloved. He has redeemed us by the precious blood of his son. So beloved serve him from the start of all of your years from your youth to the very end of your days until you get gray and gray headed and old.

If God so wills that.

In other words, give God your best give God your all. Give God everything you have because we actually owe it all to him and I say this quite often to folks in my family. Really everything that we have is on loan to us.

Just not only the possessions that we have but our wives and our husbands and our children are gifts from God. Let us remember the Lord in that it's on loan to us as stewards of his that he has graciously given and everything that God has given whether it's talents.

May we not bury those talents but be faithful in being stewards.

To him.

Let us remember that the jobs he gave us we are to be stewards to him and we owe it to him to do our very best to him giving glory. Paul even says even if you drink water I needed a drink of water do it to the glory of God even to the to the smallest and the menial task do it to the glory of God.

Well, we are to remember the Lord our God. Second, we are to remember what God has done for you. Remember what God has done for you. Psalm 77 10 and 12 says and I said and this is David but this is my anguish my infirmity but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High even in infirmity even in anguish I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.

I will remember the works of the Lord. Surely I will remember. Notice how many times he says remember I will remember your wonders of old. I will also meditate. He wants you to meditate. Think about it.

Think about how good he is on all your work and talk of your deeds. That's to tell others about it. Tell others about Christ what he's done for you and after introspection had plunged him into the depths of despondency Asaph actually the psalmist here I said David earlier that's my fault that was Asaph he turns his eyes heavenward and he determines to reflect on God's past interventions for his people when they were in hard times in the hardest of times he turned to the Lord God.

This is what Jeremiah did in Lamentations. He says the wormwood the gall the bitter times the hard times and by the way, that was after a devastation of judgment and Jerusalem was demolished and buildings everywhere and yet he looks up to God and says God is my hope great is his faithfulness.

His mercies are new each and every morning.

Hallelujah.

Even in the hardest of times we can praise God.

For who he is.

Meditate, meditate meditate, think about it dwell on it as brother Keith has said chew the cud like the cows chew it and think about it and meditate on it. I'll think about you know, something you like to eat something that really is tasty don't you like to chew on that and taste the sweetness of it and the Bible says taste and see that the Lord's good taste and see.

Meditate on who God is and what he's done for you. The meditation on God's power on his mercy on his works leads him at Asaph here wants to the acknowledgement. Where does it lead him? It leads him to God's holiness.

It leads everything that he does in his perfections his aseity his righteousness his goodness his all of his attributes of who he is and God is sovereign. He's in control. Make no mistake about that because he makes no mistake.

Psalm 105 verse 5. Remember his marvelous works which he has done his wonders and the judgments of his mouth. Remember those things. I think about Psalm. Psalm 103. Don't you love Psalm 103. Bless the Lord.

Oh my soul. Oh and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the.

Lord.

Oh my soul. Notice what he's doing. He's blessing God. He's praising God. He's worshiping God and and he says and forget not all his benefits. Look at what he's done for you. Don't forget that. What did he do?

Verse 3. Who forgives all your iniquity iniquities. Who heals all your diseases. Who redeems your life from destruction. Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies. Who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the Eagles.

The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses his acts to the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious and he's slow to anger and abounding and mercy.

Notice what he says. He will not always strive with us nor will he keep his anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins. Aren't you glad? We would all be in hell. What you think about that?

We would all be perished right now in which we do deserve by the way. But because of God's mercy his compassions and his grace, he has not dealt with us according to our sins nor punished us according to our iniquities.

For is the as the heavens are high above the earth that listen.

To this folks.

So great is his mercy his compassions toward those who fear.

Him.

Do you fear the Lord as far as the East is from the West so far has he removed our transgressions from us? Aren't you glad? He's done this through Jesus Christ his one and only son that took the wrath of his wrath upon himself and he he didn't he then you know sin became a sin offering for us that we might be the righteousness of God in him.

So when he looks down, he doesn't see us and our dirtiness.

He sees Jesus.

He sees a clean robe of righteousness. Well, we're to remember the Lord remember what God has done.

For us.

We also need to remember God's commandments. Don't forget his commandments. Numbers 15 39 through 41 and you shall have the tassel the tassel that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them and that you may not follow the heart tree to which your own heart listen to this to which your own heart in your own eyes are inclined.

We are inclined to sin army. And to forget God and to forget his commandments and that you may remember to do God wants you to be obedient. Not partially but fully obedient all to do all my commandments and be holy.

What does that mean be set apart? You are to be different. It's okay to be different from the world. In matter of fact, if you're not different from the world, there's questions there that whether you have the world or you have God you're to be holy you're to be set apart for your God would to be set apart for God.

Why are to be? Well, why are we to be holy because God's holy God desires as the creator and you the creature and me the creature and as his children to reflect his image. That's how we know what part of the family of God we reflect the image of God.

Now everybody's made in the image of God. We know this but we're talking about family resemblance here as a believer in Jesus Christ that we are to be like Christ. And when people see us they should see Jesus just like Hudson Taylor said I don't want them to see the Apostle Paul.

I want them to see Jesus. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. That's why God brought us out of the land of Egypt. Egypt is the world. Okay, because he is the Lord our God and we belong to him.

He brought us out by his mercy by his love by his compassion to be his to serve him to love him to worship him. Don't forget that tassel here. Let's look at that tassel. You shall have the tassel. He says that's a blue tassel that was a form of a flower like a petal and they were attached to the garments of the Israelites and why were they attached?

To help them to remember to help them to remember and to remind them of God's mercies to remind them of who God is to remind them of their trust and that they need to obey the Lord. We're to remember the Lord with a remember his great works as mighty wax will also to remember next what you were before God.

Saved you.

God desires for us to remember who we were before we saved him. Exodus 13 3 Moses sent said to the people remember this day in which you went out of Egypt and out of the house of bondage of slaves for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place.

No leavened bread shall be eaten. No leavened bread shall be eaten. And Deuteronomy 5 15 and remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. And the Lord your God brought you out from these from there by a mighty hand in an outstretched arm.

Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath and it interesting mentions about keeping the Sabbath there. Deuteronomy 15 15 you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you.

Therefore.

I command you this day this thing today. Now keep in mind here in this context of verse 12 and 15 of Deuteronomy 15 a Hebrew slave was also to be released during the seventh year verse 12 and through 18 if you study that but he was not to be sent away without provisions.

He was he was to be released with provisions for him liberally. You know what that says. God loves God loves them so much. And keep this.

In mind.

We were all slaves to sin before our and in our latter latter days when we did not serve the Lord and did what before our conversion that's we were enslaved in bondage to sin practice and sin loving our sin and Jesus set us free.

He redeemed us as the Lord brought out the children of Israel out of Egypt the Lord brought us out of the world out of the slavery the hardness stuff of a hard taskmaster and yet he now he has redeemed us that we're now changed slaves in a sense.

We'll slave the righteousness as Paul says we're not a slave to sin. We'll slave to righteousness. So God provided abundantly for his people when he brought them out of slavery in Egypt. So here he's saying when you free a slave and you let them go they are not to go empty-handed because if you remember when God brought out Israel from the land of Egypt, they went with loot.

They went with all the belongings God provided for them. God will provide for us. God's desire is for his people in other words to follow his example to rephrase the golden rule do unto your brother as the Lord has done unto.

You.

In other words, we Christians should behave like Christians.

Amen.

Where is that in the Bible? Well, it's all over the Bible. But specifically I like for you to see this in Romans chapter 12. It's very plain how Paul the apostle brings this out in chapter 12 and now he's bringing out the practical side the practical application of all that doctrine from Romans 1 to Romans 11.

Now chapter 12 is a transition of practical application to the believers in Romans and he starts off by saying in verse 1, Therefore I urge you brothers and sisters in the view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God.

This is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test to prove what is God's will which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Then if you notice love is an action. Love is in practical application. This is the way the Christian is to behave. Here it is. He is to behave in verse 9 to verse 21. Love must be sincere, hate what is evil, clean to what is good, be devoted to one another in love, honor one another above yourselves, never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, I say that right, serving the Lord, be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer, share with the Lord's people who are in need, practice hospitality, bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse.

You see what he gets that from, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus our Lord. Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn, live in harmony with one another, do not be proud, but be willing to associate with the people of low position, do not be conceited, do not repay anyone evil for evil, be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone, if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone, do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, it is mine to avenge, I will repay, says the Lord, on the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he's thirsty, give him something to drink, in doing this, you will heat burning coals on his head, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

There you have it, the how to, practical, very simple practicality of how we are to behave as a Christian, remember these things, beloved, remember. Well, I'm going to change gears a little bit here and go to the next word, it's very important, the word is look, let us look at look, Malachi look, Malachi chapter 7 verse 7, therefore I will look to the Lord and I will wait for the God of my salvation, my God will hear me, my God will hear me, why do we look to the Lord?

Because he alone is our salvation, isn't that wonderful? Salvation is a wonderful word here, you know what that means? It means deliverance, God, aren't you so glad in your heart today that God is a God of deliverance, he delivers us, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but God delivers them from out of us, out of them all, God is our salvation, he has become our salvation, not only does he provide salvation, God alone is our salvation, the person of God, he is a God of deliverance, Isaiah 45, 22, and this is the scripture, by the way, Charles Spurgeon was converted by hearing a simple layman preaching in a little small church, look to me and be saved in all you ends of the earth for I am God and there is no other, look to God, look to God, be saved, look to him in the eyes of faith, look to him in faith, John the Baptist told it to people, he told it to the disciples of Jesus, his own disciples as well, in John 1, 29, what did he say?

Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, S-I-N, not sins, plural, but the sin of the world, Jesus said it in John 3, 14, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, that's the good news, for God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved, condemnation is already abiding on everyone, Christ comes to lift that, he comes to bring, take it off us, because he brings eternal salvation, but the point here is, Jesus is basically telling this to Nicodemus, a very religious Pharisee, he says, you are to look to him, Jesus is saying basically, you look to me, you look to Jesus Christ, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness that was bitten by snakes, the murmuring, hard-hearted children of Israel that tested God for 40 years, going in circles in the desert, Jesus says, as Moses lifted up that serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up on a cross, and Jesus is saying, you look to him, there's another look we need to take, the look of faith, excuse me, the look of faith, Hebrews 12 1 through 3, therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us, let us lay every side, every weight in the sin which so easily besets us, that so easily trips us up, that so easily ensnares us, isn't that so true?

Sin so easily trips us up and ensnares us, besets us, and let us run with endurance, like an athlete, we're to run with endurance, with patience, the race that is set before us, we are in the race of life to the other side, folks, we're in a race, again, it's not how well you and I start, it's how well we finish, how faithful we are to the other end, looking unto Jesus, that's who we're to look unto, not a deacon, not a preacher, not even a godly person, even though they are to set examples, but Jesus is the great example, folks, looking unto Jesus.