Note: Source material for this sermon has been gleaned from many different sources. I have attempted to acknowledge these sources whenever possible.
A New Year’s Challenge, Covenant and Call to Commitment
Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Today is the first day of a new year. Though there is no real difference between it and any other day, yet in our minds and thoughts it represents a time to reset and begin anew. It is a time when we as the apostle Paul said “forget those things which are behind” (Phil. 3:13) and face the challenge of a new day and a new year.
I. The Challenges of a New Year
A. Forget the Past
1. Philippians 3:13 “...forgetting those things which are behind...”
2. Phillips Translation – “My brothers, I do not consider myself to have fully grasped it even now. But I do concentrate on this: I leave the past behind and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead.”
3. David Guzik, “We often let those things which are behind distract us, whether they be "good" things or "bad" things, we may let them keep us from what God has in front of us. Satan wants us to live either in the past or in the future; God wants us to press on in the present, because the present is where eternity touches us now. Paul knows that a race is won only in the present, not in the past or in the future.” - Guzik, David. "Commentary on Philippians 3". "David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible" 1997-2003
4. Italians, have a custom. In many communities, as midnight on New Year’s Eve approaches, the streets are dear. There is no traffic; there are no pedestrians; even the policemen take cover. Then, at the stroke of 12, the windows of the houses fly open. To the sound of laughter, music and fireworks, each member of the family pitches out old crockery, detested ornaments, hated furniture and all sorts of personal possessions which remind them of something in the past year they are determined to wipe out of their minds” (adapted from Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations).
5. The end of one year and the dawning of a new one provides an excellent opportunity to wipe the slate clean and make a fresh start. The well-known preacher Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) said: "We have passed through one more year. One more long stage in the journey of life, with its ascents and descents and dust and mud and rocks and thorns and burdens that wear the shoulders, is done. The old year is dead. Roll it away. Let it go. God, in His providence, has brought us out of it. It is gone; . . . its evil is gone; its good remains. The evil has perished, and the good survives." – Richard De Haan, Our Daily Bread, © RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI.
B. Grow Personally in Christ
1. A humorous birthday card read: “You are only young once, but you can be immature forever.”
2. The sad truth is too many Christians have made that their mantra. Paul said to the believers at Corinth, “I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:1)
3. We are challenged by God’s Word to grow...2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.”
4. We are called to come to a deeper awareness of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are called to deepen our prayer lives. We are called to study and hide God’s Word in our hearts. We are called to be more Christ-like every day of our lives.
5. Proverbs 4:18 “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day.”
6. Spiritual growth is a choice that we must make.
C. Build the Kingdom through the Body of Christ.
1. Ephesians 4:11-13 (ESV) “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God”
2. If the body of Christ is to be build up, then the saints have to do the work of the ministry.
3. We build up the body with our presence - Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
4. We build up the body with our fellowship - Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” Proverbs 18:24 “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.”
5. We build up the body with our service - Galatians 5:13 “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
6. We build up the body with our witness in the world - The church’s calling is to witness to the kingdom of God in its fullness - Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
II. The Covenant for a New Year
A. What is a Covenant
1. In Nehemiah 2:18, Nehemiah challenged the people to build for the glory of God and the establishment of the people of God. In order to encourage the people and not wanting the people to backslide he had them to sign a covenant. We read in Nehemiah 9:38 “Because of all this we make a sure covenant and write it and our princes, Levites and priests seal unto it”.
2. The Bible calls God the Covenant keeping God. - Deuteronomy 7:9 “Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations”
3. A binding mutual agreement of two or more persons, to do or to refrain from some act or thing.
4. There is a difference between a covenant and a creed. A creed is a statement of faith with absolute beliefs stated. No action is required to a creed. A covenant is a solemn agreement between the believer and God.
5. Joshua 24:14-15 “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
6. Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will. - Jonathan Edwards
B. Why a Covenant
1. A covenant establishes a goal or target to strive and reach for.
2. Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
3. Setting goals establishes priorities in life. If you don’t establish your priorities, someone else will.
4. Setting goals helps you make real changes in life. If you don’t make a decision to change for the better, it won’t happen. Too many are “Round to It” Christians – The problem they never get around to it!
5. Covenants indicate that you are serious about your relationship to God and your God-given responsibilities. When you live by goals, you are not living just for today’s fun, but you live for eternity.
6. A covenant is only words and doesn’t mean a thing if there isn’t any commitment to keep that covenant.
7. The football team of Hoquiam High School in the state of Washington, signed a “Code of Conduct.” When the players broke their code, the high school principal canceled the season. Of course the ACLU sued the school and the principal, but his decision prevailed. One of the football players said, “You sign it (the Code) because you have to — to play . . . you don’t really believe them. You sign then to get what you want.” – copied
III. The Commitment for a New Year
A. "There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstances permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results."
B. The necessity of being committed
1. You have heard, maybe even said, “Promises are made to be broken.”
2. A preacher speaking on the importance of honesty and faithfulness to one’s word, once asked in his sermon, “When is a promise not a promise.” Under his breath, a local politician muttered, “When it is a campaign promise!” (copied) A promise is not a promise when we fail to keep our word.
3. Numbers 30:2 “If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.”
4. Ecclesiastes 5:4 “When you vow a vow unto God, defer not to pay it, for He hath no pleasure in fools”.
C. The reward of commitment
1. In the book of Hebrews we are told that God is “a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6)
2. Psalm 84:11 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
3. God rewards our commitment with the opportunity of greater service to Him and to our fellow men.
One of the greatest covenants that a person can enter into is that of receiving the gift of salvation through God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ and giving to Him one’s life. If you have never taken that step the challenge to you is to begin the new year with new life provided by Jesus Christ.
