Hopefully, all of us will learn from both our success and our failure. But by the grace and goodness of God, we must not flounder in the abyss of yesterday. Bury those hurts! Get over the disappointment! In failure, remember the God of the second chance is still on the throne!
Here is a challenge for a fresh start in the New Year. “Get Up; Get Going; Run the Race that is set before us.” The challenge is given to us in Hebrews 12:1,2, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (2) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Having digested those words, may these goals serve all of us in the days ahead during 2010.
1. Have Faith in God! Faith is the basis for our relationship with God. It pleases the Lord when we trust Him. Remember often Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” So by faith lift your eyes toward Heaven. Make every day a walk of faith where you listen to the Lord's instructions in His Word and then, trusting Him, set out to carry out His orders.
2. Be Faithful! Let your faith be on full display and demonstrate it fully. Faith that matures yields itself in obedience. In your service to the Lord, be faithful. In all things, moral and spiritual, stay true.
3. Be Clean! The grace of God that saves us, Ephesians 2:8, is also available to us in our Christian life Hebrew 4:16. When we sin, we should deal with it quickly. We have the privilege of "washing up" I John 1:9 and thus keeping ourselves clean.
4. Be Kind and Gracious! A harsh, crass, disagreeable demeanor in a Christian's lifestyle is just plain, old, everyday carnality. Whatever position you hold, you can be in charge, you can be firm, you can lead, but you can be bold and still be kind and gracious. It is a New Testament concept found for us in Colossians 3:12-13, “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; (13) Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” Whatever carnal alternatives you may have employed last year, I strongly advise that you go the Bible way this year.
5. Seek Wisdom! In James 1:5-6 we read, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (6) But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” Do not confuse being smart with being wise. If you are smart, you will go after the wisdom of God. "Wisdom is the principal thing." Proverbs 4:7.
6. Die Daily! Quit nursing your hurts! Stop feeding your "pet" emotions! Remove the chip from your shoulder. Stop the "poor me" whining. Get a grip on reality and stop making plans for your next hurt-feelings moment!
7. Refuse Offense! When you see offense or sense an offense, refuse to give it place in your heart. I Psalms.119:165, “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.”
8. Pray Big Prayers! In the simplest of human language, you and I can lift our prayers Heavenward without intimidation and without fear, for in Hebrews 4:16 we read, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” On matters large and small, we need to pray. Instead of less, we need to pray more. Instead of small prayers, we can go ahead and pray big. Amen!
9. Dig Into the Word of God! The Bible, God's blessed Book, awaits reading, study, meditation and memorizing. Its pages are loaded with solid, straightforward instruction. It is a banquet table of truth and wisdom. If you will simply "dig in" every day, it will change your life.
10. Cheer Up! Several prominent practices need to be removed promptly – specifically the grunting, growling, groaning, whining, and complaining. The ungrateful attitude needs burying! A spirit that says, "I'm-entitled-to-this." needs an adjustment. Forgo the storm cloud hovering over your head and let the joy of God's sunshine radiate in you and upon you. Cheer up!
11. Get Yourself Motivated! Drop the lazy boy attitude. Go to bed at a decent hour; get your rest; then rise early and give yourself to your scripturally mandated tasks. The "welcome all" sign in the front of the church will not get it done. Some folks, namely you and I, need to get ourselves stirred up about the Lord's business and give it our very best every day!
12. Surrender Yourself! After salvation, we should surrender repeatedly to the Lord's will and way for our life. A surrendered life will not cave in to criticism, disappointment and failure. Surrender means that our agenda, our dreams, have been set aside in deference to what the Lord has designed for our lives. Service is not a painful chore when the surrender of the heart has first been made. Renew your heart in Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
13. Win Souls! It is our business to witness to unsaved folks daily (Acts 5:42) with the intent of bringing them to Christ. So, don't wait, get on with it today. However, you will need to get these other items in line if you expect to have a fruitful witness. Keep the Lord’s command daily before you from Mark 16:15, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
14. Give Generously! Giving is a staple in the Christian life. It challenges your pride and your selfishness. It enables you to get beyond yourself so that your life has goals bigger than you are. The Lord has a plan for us that includes giving and doing so generously. You can start with your tithe (Matt. 23:23) and then find ways to do more (I Corinthians 16:2) and cheerfully (II Corinthians 9:7).
15. Be Forgiving! Grudges have no place in the life of a Christian. Something so simple may be the difference between carnality and spirituality in you. Forgive it freely and get started on forgetting it too.
16. Be Friendly! Get a smile on your face. Speak to everybody every time. Show an interest in others. When you chat, talk about them (instead of you).
17. Show Compassion! Along with strong convictions, which are necessary, there must also be strong compassion. You need to care about other people and show it, Psalm 142:4; Mark 6:34; Jude 22. You can say you care, but nobody knows for sure until you show it.
18. Be Steadfast! Be Unmovable! Troubles will come! Intimidators will press you. Persuaders will be compelling. But do not go there! Remember I Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” In a world where push and shove is commonplace, don't you budge an inch!
19. Stay Excited! Remember whose you are. Recall what you have. Rejoice in the goodness of God so fully and freely available to you. Don't let some crank or critic pull you down, don't let a sourpuss control your countenance. Don't be deterred from a godly vision and your biblically mandated task. Just stay excited, Amen!
I trust those above goals will serve you in the days ahead during 2010. So:
If you are a Christian, tie yourself to your local church. Be there Sunday morning, Sunday evening and at the midweek service. Go soul winning sometime every week. Tithe! Enjoy the fellowship! Pay attention to what's coming from the pulpit!
If you are a Husband or a Wife tie yourself to your spouse. Love! Give! Be tender! Serve each other! "For better or for worse," pull together. Remember the words found in Ephesians 5, “(22) Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. (25) Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;”
If you are a Young Person, love your family. Yield yourself in obedience to your parents and to your pastor and teachers. Don't wait until you are grown to do right; do it now!
If you are a Pastor, give it your best today. Preach! Love your people! Win souls! Take "the oversight" I Pet. 5:2, and be the best pastor they've ever had.
If you are a Missionary, stay close to the Lord. Being so far from home, it is even more necessary for you. Give yourself lovingly and compassionately to the people in the place where the Lord has sent you. Keep the scriptural mandates ahead of relating to the culture. Remember why you are there!
If you are a Christian Educator, a Sunday School Teacher, a children or youth worker, you are training young people, many of whom will be future leaders in the Lord’s work. Remember, it is not just the subject matter that is to be taught. You are training your students. Your demeanor, your attitude, your spirit, your relation to the authorities over you, your dress, will shape and mold many of your students. You are a major player in their lives. Please give it your best!
If you are a Prayer Warrior give yourself to praying, praying for those in your circle of family, friends, and ministry. We need God’s people who will take up the challenge of what Paul said in Colossians 4:2-4, “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; (3) Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:”
So, what is to be done? I do hope you will rewind the clock, recharge your batteries and turn yourself loose with renewed dedication and fervent energy. There’s much to be done, and somehow I can’t find anything legitimate about a halfhearted effort or a pessimistic approach.
As we draw this first letter from the Bible Baptist Ministry Weekly SERMON to a close, I call your attention to I Corinthians 16:22 where we read, “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.” Let me remind you that the real issue is not coming to church and singing hymns or doing volunteer work. It isn’t even knowing the Bible. IT IS KNOWING JESUS CHRIST. It is having a personal relationship to Him who said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
In His Amazing Grace
Pastor David Miklas
PS: During 2010 if possible would you consider helping us in this faith ministry? Even though we do not charge for the Weekly SERMON, there are expenses. Your donation will help us to continue to “stand in the gap” in “teaching others also.” After you have given your tithes to your church and taken care of your pastor, would you consider giving either a yearly gift, or a monthly offering? Remember, for the purposes of financial accountability, we have placed this ministry under the Green Street Baptist Chapel of Edwardsville, PA Checks made out to Green Street Baptist Chapel, memo to the Bible Baptist ministry and mailed to Bible Baptist Ministry 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706 will be applied to this ministry.