~Wikipedia defines A New Year resolution as a commitment that an individual makes to a personal goal, project, or the reforming of a habit.~
It is said that only half of the people in the United States made New Year’s Resolutions (NYR’s) this past weekend. I was quite surprised by this number. However, when I polled my congregation on New Year’s Eve I found these numbers to be true. So as I prepared for my first message of the year, which was on NYR's, I found myself changing direction for this series. I had to ask myself why do so many people not make NYR’s? Two words came to mind: our past. What is it about our past that causes half of Americans not to make NYR’s? This question consumed me Friday night. As I asked myself this question over and over, the answer hit me. I realized that our past keeps us from moving forward in life. I thought about how my past has influenced me in making NYR’s. I believe that there are two areas of our past that have kept us from making commitments such as NYR’s. These two things are guilt of past mistakes and the fear of failing.
The mistakes from our past sometimes bring on a wave of guilt which prevents us from moving on in our lives. Guilt will stop a person dead in their tracks when it comes time to make a commitment in life. William Wordsworth once said: “From the body of one guilty deed a thousand ghostly fears and haunting thoughts proceed.” How true are those words! I know that the guilt of mistakes in my past have stopped me from committing to something. However, if there is any one in history that could have let the guilt of his past mistake prevent him from committing his life to God, it was Paul. By his own declaration, he said: “I am the worst of all sinners” 1 Tim 1:15 (NLT). Paul was commissioned to hunt down and kill the people who followed Christ Jesus. He even stood over Stephen as he was being stoned. If Paul walked around the rest of his life with his head hung in shame because of the guilt of his mistakes, then there is a good chance that he would have never became the missionary God wanted him to be. Not only that, but we would not have half of the New Testament.
The guilt of our past mistakes is not the only thing that stops us from making NYR’s. The fear of failing is another part of our past that stops from making NYR's. We look to our past and say to ourselves: "I’ve already failed at this once, I don’t want to fail again!” So we don’t want to commit to anything, therefor we don’t make a NYR’s. The presence of fear is a great disabler in our lives and in our ability to make commitments. Peter is a great example of a person who did not let the fear of failing stop him from committing his life to Christ. He was a hot head who often spoke without thinking. He even denied Jesus Christ not once but three times! What if Peter did not standing up in Acts 2 and preaching that power message because of his past failures? The answer could be that the church might not be what it is today. Remember it was his profession,which is found in Matt. 16:15-19, that Jesus said He would build His church. On that day, the church started with a bold message from Peter that would start a chain of events that would turn the world upside down!
American journalist Fulton Oursler said: “Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves – regret of the past (guilt) and the fear of the future (fear of failing).” These two factors have stopped many people from committing their lives to something great or even making NYR’s. So what is secret to overcoming the past? The answer is found in Paul’s letter to the church of Philippi. It is found in Philippians 3:13, Paul writes: “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead”. Paul said we must forget our past! Our past is our past! There is nothing we can do to change our past. We must attack our past with verses such as Jeremiah 31:34: “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” If our Heavenly Father forgives and forgets our sins, that means you and I don’t have to live with the guilt of those sins the rest of our lives. And as far as dealing with the fear of failing we must remember that God has said Fear Not over 365 times in His word. That is one for everyday of the year! He knew we would fear things. So He inspired Paul to write in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
So if you have things in your past that has brought guilt into your life or if you have a fear of failing, come to the one who can remove both of them. That person is Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can fully take care of your past so that you can make NYR’s and commitments that will help you become the person that He called you to be in the future. It is my prayer that you don’t let your past stop you from becoming the man or woman that God wants you to be!
It is said that only half of the people in the United States made New Year’s Resolutions (NYR’s) this past weekend. I was quite surprised by this number. However, when I polled my congregation on New Year’s Eve I found these numbers to be true. So as I prepared for my first message of the year, which was on NYR's, I found myself changing direction for this series. I had to ask myself why do so many people not make NYR’s? Two words came to mind: our past. What is it about our past that causes half of Americans not to make NYR’s? This question consumed me Friday night. As I asked myself this question over and over, the answer hit me. I realized that our past keeps us from moving forward in life. I thought about how my past has influenced me in making NYR’s. I believe that there are two areas of our past that have kept us from making commitments such as NYR’s. These two things are guilt of past mistakes and the fear of failing.
The mistakes from our past sometimes bring on a wave of guilt which prevents us from moving on in our lives. Guilt will stop a person dead in their tracks when it comes time to make a commitment in life. William Wordsworth once said: “From the body of one guilty deed a thousand ghostly fears and haunting thoughts proceed.” How true are those words! I know that the guilt of mistakes in my past have stopped me from committing to something. However, if there is any one in history that could have let the guilt of his past mistake prevent him from committing his life to God, it was Paul. By his own declaration, he said: “I am the worst of all sinners” 1 Tim 1:15 (NLT). Paul was commissioned to hunt down and kill the people who followed Christ Jesus. He even stood over Stephen as he was being stoned. If Paul walked around the rest of his life with his head hung in shame because of the guilt of his mistakes, then there is a good chance that he would have never became the missionary God wanted him to be. Not only that, but we would not have half of the New Testament.
The guilt of our past mistakes is not the only thing that stops us from making NYR’s. The fear of failing is another part of our past that stops from making NYR's. We look to our past and say to ourselves: "I’ve already failed at this once, I don’t want to fail again!” So we don’t want to commit to anything, therefor we don’t make a NYR’s. The presence of fear is a great disabler in our lives and in our ability to make commitments. Peter is a great example of a person who did not let the fear of failing stop him from committing his life to Christ. He was a hot head who often spoke without thinking. He even denied Jesus Christ not once but three times! What if Peter did not standing up in Acts 2 and preaching that power message because of his past failures? The answer could be that the church might not be what it is today. Remember it was his profession,which is found in Matt. 16:15-19, that Jesus said He would build His church. On that day, the church started with a bold message from Peter that would start a chain of events that would turn the world upside down!
American journalist Fulton Oursler said: “Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves – regret of the past (guilt) and the fear of the future (fear of failing).” These two factors have stopped many people from committing their lives to something great or even making NYR’s. So what is secret to overcoming the past? The answer is found in Paul’s letter to the church of Philippi. It is found in Philippians 3:13, Paul writes: “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead”. Paul said we must forget our past! Our past is our past! There is nothing we can do to change our past. We must attack our past with verses such as Jeremiah 31:34: “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” If our Heavenly Father forgives and forgets our sins, that means you and I don’t have to live with the guilt of those sins the rest of our lives. And as far as dealing with the fear of failing we must remember that God has said Fear Not over 365 times in His word. That is one for everyday of the year! He knew we would fear things. So He inspired Paul to write in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
So if you have things in your past that has brought guilt into your life or if you have a fear of failing, come to the one who can remove both of them. That person is Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can fully take care of your past so that you can make NYR’s and commitments that will help you become the person that He called you to be in the future. It is my prayer that you don’t let your past stop you from becoming the man or woman that God wants you to be!
No comments:
Post a Comment