New Year’s Day message
Sunday 1st January 2012

God’s goals for us

No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am
focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and
looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the
race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is
calling us up to heaven.
Philippians 3:13-14

The New Year is always a good time to reflect on what we have or
have not achieved in the last one and to make goals and plans for
the one to come. We all need to swim upstream towards the Source,
the spring of the Water of Life. One thing is certian, if this year we
just allow ourselves to drift along with the current of society, we will
be carried downstream and end up in a Dead Sea where nothing can
live. Reaching and drinking from the pure water of the spring of life,
Jesus, is our goal. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the
gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter
through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,
and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13,14

Here are some quotes to start the year, with Bible verses to confirm
them:
“Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start
with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary,
or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of
January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the
front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past.”
~Henry Ward Beecher
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the
new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself
through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” 2
Corinthians 5:17,18
“The Old Year has gone. Let the dead past bury its own dead. The
New Year has taken possession of the clock of time. All hail the
duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months!” ~Edward
Payson Powell

“He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord,
first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead
bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:59,60

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It
is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new
backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made
New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man
starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.”
~G.K. Chesterton
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove
from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel
36:26

New Year’s resolutions or realistic goals?
As we make goals or resolutions for the New Year perhaps the most
important thing is to make sure they’re realistically achievable. Are
they what God wants us to do? If we are patient and set our sights in
the right direction, then we can achieve much more than we might
imagine. The famous preacher Charles Spurgeon said: “By
perseverance the snail reached the ark.” There was an inner sense
from his creator that he should enter the ark and this kept him on the
right path.

For instance, if we believe God wants us to see some fruit in our
outreach and up till now we can’t claim to have seen much, then
realistically we might start with developing closer friends with a
neighbour or work colleague and pray for them. Jesus spent much
time talking and eating with “sinners” with a view to win them.
However, take great care: we must be very clear that the Bible tells
us not to mix with the world except for this motivation – to win people
(2 Corinthians 6:14, 1 John 2:15, 1 Corinthians 9:20, etc). We need
to examine our motive and if it’s not clear in this regard then better
just to stay with close Christian friends at school, college or work.
Secondly Jesus always had many believers with him when he visited
the houses of “publicans and sinners”. Evangelism is best done in
groups of two or more. “Though one may be overpowered, two can

defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiates 4:12”

Personal goals:
Much advice on New Year’s resolutions is very self centred. Trying
to lose weight (especially after Christmas!) is a good thing to do, but
the way to achieve this is in serving others first and thinking about
ourselves last. A good goal this year is to become more “selfless”
and to think of yourself as part of a body, the body of Christ. If you
set your sights on this goal, losing weight and every other
indulgence that binds us will obediently follow as their root is in self-
centeredness. Pull out the root and the problem dies.

Let’s consider some other scriptures which should make us think
about the year to come:
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under
heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a
time to uproot...a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to
weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a
time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace
and a time to refrain...” Ecclesiates 3:1-5
- Your goals should relate to the dealings God is having with you at
this time in our life. For instance, if you’re going through great
difficulties, like Job or Jonah, then your chief goal should be to
spend more time with God and let Him prune things in your life so
you are less busy. Be careful not to get caught up in the spiral of
anxiety that you’re not achieving anything. Turn your concern into
prayer rather than frantic activity. Our achievement is much more
dependent on seeking God and being right with Him than on doing
more. Peace of heart and mind come as we seek Him and find out
what He wants us to do.

Goals as a congregation in 2012.
Our constant desire as a church should be to please the Lord more.
“Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the
earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my
glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:6,7 “God wants us first
of all to be with Him, and we would like to see us spending more

time crying out to Him, and sacrificing more of our time in prayer
together. With this in mind we propose that we make it a goal to
arrive earlier to pray before each meeting. This will serve the dual
purpose of calling on God to move in our church and in preparing us
before each meeting to be ready to contribute in praise, worship,
prayer and sharing to build up the body. Try to arrive at least
15 minutes early and join us to pray. Charles Spurgeon said
corporate prayer was the “engine room” of his church and ministry.

CONCLUSION:
“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my
sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39. Losing ourselves and seeing ourselves
as part of God’s Church is the first road to freedom and success in 2012.
God is working in those who love him to make them more like His Son
Jesus and to form them into one body. In order for this to be achieved,
we need to think of ourselves first as members of His church and
secondly as individuals. Once we get this order of priorities right, we
will advance personally and become someone loved by God and
others.

Rivers of Life Church Oxford UK leaflet No.19

Created 27st Dec 2011