Wednesday, 31 December 2014
makarios blessing: Higher 'Resolution'.
makarios blessing: Higher 'Resolution'.: 3 keys to successful new years resolutions and they are found in seeing life in 'higher resolution'.
Higher 'Resolution'.
Here in the west we have an enduring tradition. Every new years eve people will gather together and celebrate and 'see in' the new year. 'Cometh the hour' we will sing a traditional song 'Auld Lang Syne'. We will then engage in that most well known of traditions, the new years resolution.
What better time to make a promise to change than when seeing out the old and ushering the new yet with it comes that other famous tradition, the broken resolution. You all know what I mean. That promise to lose weight or stop smoking will be lying face down in the dust before January is half way through for the majority of us. Today I want to talk to you about 'Higher resolution.' I want to talk to you about resolutions that are far greater, more profound and life changing and yet stand far greater chance of success. I want to look at why resolutions fail and why they can succeed. I am going to share with you 3 key things that reach down into the very foundation of who you are as a person. These 3 things, if you will tap into them, will see you achieve far more than losing a few pounds in weight or breaking that bad habit. Then we will look at tapping into the power to make all these things possible.
KEY ONE - Know your identity
Who are you? I mean beyond the name on your passport. Where does your identity come from? If you don't even know who you really are then how will you really succeed? Let me say this. When everything else goes wrong and you lose it all there is one thing you will hold onto even if all else slips away. It is your life. Most of us would agree than a human life is the most valuable thing on the planet right. It's more valuable than money or success or fame. Yet that is not what this world communicates and it is not how we think from day to day. What we need is a revolution in how we view our lives.
I believe every human being has a God given identity. A human life is the most valuable thing on the planet. God himself puts the most profound and awesome identity into the very heart of humanity when he said 'let us create humans in our image'. In other words we have the capacity to reflect who God is. We can reflect his goodness, kindness, integrity and moral character. We were made for him, to belong to him, to be in relationship with him. We are 'image bearers'.
O.K. Time for an honest question. How many of us see ourselves that way? If I were to ask you what your identity is how many of you would reference that from God himself? Generally we don't but this is the very reason Jesus came to earth. Jesus came to bring human beings who are far from God back to him. Not through endless religious routines but through faith in Jesus we can become what Jesus described as 'born again.' Jesus promises us a new identity, a new name. When we are honest enough with God to admit we are living for ourselves and not for him and we make that choice to commit our lives to follow Jesus something miraculous happens within us. Something changes. That original identity we have shipped far from is restored. We take on a new identity. As the bible describes we become a 'new creation'. Our identity is in Christ. We are Christians and as such there is something God has placed in our hearts that desires to reflect who God is. Jesus is the perfect example of that. He reflects who God is. That is the foundation stone to change and transformation. It is knowing who you are and who you belong to. It is knowing the person you have been born again to be. It is knowing your new identity.
KEY TWO - Know your purpose.
Your identity is a case of looking back to who you were born {or born again to be}. Your purpose takes that principle into the present and helps us define where you are going now. Most people walk through life with at best a hazy definition of purpose for their lives or they buy into a purpose which doesn't match up to the awesome people God created them to be. If you will understand your incredible identity in Christ then you can discover a profound purpose. There are few things greater that knowing you have been put on this earth for a greater purpose than your own interest. There are few things greater than serving the purpose of something far greater than yourself. This is something far, far greater than going on that diet or saving money for that holiday you wanted. This is about seeing yourself as part of a great plan which has been unfolding for thousands of years and you are a part of that. This is about bringing people to the God who made them and the God who gives life true purpose and meaning. This is about both being an agent for change and being changed and transformed yourself.
Our purpose in this earth is intimately connected to our identity. It is to reflect Jesus more and more, to lead others back to him and encourage others to reflect him more and more too. This was the purpose for which we were created. When our new years resolutions are shaped by this principle we get God's attention. This leads me to the third and final key.
KEY THREE - Know your destiny.
I want to ask one more vital question. Where are you going? Where is this all going to end up? Does life end with us being lowered into a hole in the ground or is there something beyond that? It strikes me as so contradictory that we would embrace the idea that human life is the most valuable thing on the planet yet we all end so suddenly and pointlessly. I want to state that thins life is NOT the end therefore our focus should not be primarily on this life but on the next one. Our 3 keys could be summarised like this.
1 - IDENTITY : The past / Who created you and whose identity do you carry
2 - PURPOSE : The present / Why are we here and whose purpose do we serve
3 - DESTINY : The future / Where are we going and who will we spend eternity with.
Your identity will shape your purpose and your purpose will reveal your destination.
Everyone wants to go to heaven when they die but how many find their identity in the one who came from heaven?
Once you are assured of where you are going to spend eternity your purpose becomes clear. You life for God and his purpose and not for this life and it's temporary benefits. Everything falls into it's appropriate context. With these three things in place we can now look at resolutions that not only can be kept but are divinely empowered. Resolutions that capture that attention of the one who creates us for his own purpose and cause him to support and empower us to see them come to pass.
THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS - Know your source of power.
Instead of making new years resolutions based on what we want here is a better idea. Start with the person God created you to be. Start with identity. If you are born again start with your identity in Christ. You are a child of the most high God. You carry his name. You are a son and heir of the promises of God. You are accepted and loved. You have been baptised into the death and life of Jesus Christ. You are no longer under condemnation. You have new life.
Flowing out of that is your purpose. God has called you to bring others to that place of identity. To bring others to faith in Jesus Christ, to that place of transformation. God has called us to influence others to reflect Christ more and more and has called us to reflect him more and more. As you begin to think about that you should begin to see that all you have, your assets, your finances, your time, gifting and talents are all given to serve this divine purpose for which you have been created. You will now begin to see what God wants you to do more clearly.
Now consider where you will end up. God's people are called to be with him for eternity. We will be in fellowship with God, we will reflect him, enjoy him, worship him and celebrate him forever. These three things being established in your heart will lead to the question, not what I want to resolve to do in the next year but what does God resolve that I do next year. The same God who gives us a new identity in Christ, who has a purpose for us and ushers us into a wonderful destiny helps us choose the right resolution that serves his purpose.
This is vital. Ask God what he wants you to do in this coming year. There is a fantastic promise connected with the purpose of God for your life. When you respond and RESOLVE to walk in and obey the word of God you WILL receive the power to see it happen. No more failed resolutions. God has not ordained you to failure but to success. No longer will you be falling flat on your face by mid January but will be powering on from glory to glory by next December.
Human logic says pick a nice easy resolution so that you have more chance of succeeding. God's logic is to find your identity, purpose and destiny in him then come to him to know what to do next. God will give you something far greater than you could give yourself and give you the power to bring it to pass. As I look back in 2014 I see a year of miraculous leading, provision and enabling. I have seen God establish me in a new church, give me the financial means to life beyond my natural means. He has led me to specific contacts to help me fulfil a purpose I could not fulfil myself and given me the power to life the life I could not otherwise live.
So I encourage you in this time of new years resolution to choose a higher resolution. Set your sights on the things above and not earthly temporary things. Choose a God focused resolution and you will see things you've never seen. You will experience things you've never experienced and God will take you places you've never been. All this will begin to happen when you realise there is something {someone} bigger and more important than you. When we grasp that in terms of our identity, purpose and destiny we will know what resolutions to make and we will be given the power to keep them.
...and it all starts when we see life in a higher resolution. When we see life the way God sees it.
What better time to make a promise to change than when seeing out the old and ushering the new yet with it comes that other famous tradition, the broken resolution. You all know what I mean. That promise to lose weight or stop smoking will be lying face down in the dust before January is half way through for the majority of us. Today I want to talk to you about 'Higher resolution.' I want to talk to you about resolutions that are far greater, more profound and life changing and yet stand far greater chance of success. I want to look at why resolutions fail and why they can succeed. I am going to share with you 3 key things that reach down into the very foundation of who you are as a person. These 3 things, if you will tap into them, will see you achieve far more than losing a few pounds in weight or breaking that bad habit. Then we will look at tapping into the power to make all these things possible.
KEY ONE - Know your identity
Who are you? I mean beyond the name on your passport. Where does your identity come from? If you don't even know who you really are then how will you really succeed? Let me say this. When everything else goes wrong and you lose it all there is one thing you will hold onto even if all else slips away. It is your life. Most of us would agree than a human life is the most valuable thing on the planet right. It's more valuable than money or success or fame. Yet that is not what this world communicates and it is not how we think from day to day. What we need is a revolution in how we view our lives.
I believe every human being has a God given identity. A human life is the most valuable thing on the planet. God himself puts the most profound and awesome identity into the very heart of humanity when he said 'let us create humans in our image'. In other words we have the capacity to reflect who God is. We can reflect his goodness, kindness, integrity and moral character. We were made for him, to belong to him, to be in relationship with him. We are 'image bearers'.
O.K. Time for an honest question. How many of us see ourselves that way? If I were to ask you what your identity is how many of you would reference that from God himself? Generally we don't but this is the very reason Jesus came to earth. Jesus came to bring human beings who are far from God back to him. Not through endless religious routines but through faith in Jesus we can become what Jesus described as 'born again.' Jesus promises us a new identity, a new name. When we are honest enough with God to admit we are living for ourselves and not for him and we make that choice to commit our lives to follow Jesus something miraculous happens within us. Something changes. That original identity we have shipped far from is restored. We take on a new identity. As the bible describes we become a 'new creation'. Our identity is in Christ. We are Christians and as such there is something God has placed in our hearts that desires to reflect who God is. Jesus is the perfect example of that. He reflects who God is. That is the foundation stone to change and transformation. It is knowing who you are and who you belong to. It is knowing the person you have been born again to be. It is knowing your new identity.
KEY TWO - Know your purpose.
Your identity is a case of looking back to who you were born {or born again to be}. Your purpose takes that principle into the present and helps us define where you are going now. Most people walk through life with at best a hazy definition of purpose for their lives or they buy into a purpose which doesn't match up to the awesome people God created them to be. If you will understand your incredible identity in Christ then you can discover a profound purpose. There are few things greater that knowing you have been put on this earth for a greater purpose than your own interest. There are few things greater than serving the purpose of something far greater than yourself. This is something far, far greater than going on that diet or saving money for that holiday you wanted. This is about seeing yourself as part of a great plan which has been unfolding for thousands of years and you are a part of that. This is about bringing people to the God who made them and the God who gives life true purpose and meaning. This is about both being an agent for change and being changed and transformed yourself.
Our purpose in this earth is intimately connected to our identity. It is to reflect Jesus more and more, to lead others back to him and encourage others to reflect him more and more too. This was the purpose for which we were created. When our new years resolutions are shaped by this principle we get God's attention. This leads me to the third and final key.
KEY THREE - Know your destiny.
I want to ask one more vital question. Where are you going? Where is this all going to end up? Does life end with us being lowered into a hole in the ground or is there something beyond that? It strikes me as so contradictory that we would embrace the idea that human life is the most valuable thing on the planet yet we all end so suddenly and pointlessly. I want to state that thins life is NOT the end therefore our focus should not be primarily on this life but on the next one. Our 3 keys could be summarised like this.
1 - IDENTITY : The past / Who created you and whose identity do you carry
2 - PURPOSE : The present / Why are we here and whose purpose do we serve
3 - DESTINY : The future / Where are we going and who will we spend eternity with.
Your identity will shape your purpose and your purpose will reveal your destination.
Everyone wants to go to heaven when they die but how many find their identity in the one who came from heaven?
Once you are assured of where you are going to spend eternity your purpose becomes clear. You life for God and his purpose and not for this life and it's temporary benefits. Everything falls into it's appropriate context. With these three things in place we can now look at resolutions that not only can be kept but are divinely empowered. Resolutions that capture that attention of the one who creates us for his own purpose and cause him to support and empower us to see them come to pass.
THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS - Know your source of power.
Instead of making new years resolutions based on what we want here is a better idea. Start with the person God created you to be. Start with identity. If you are born again start with your identity in Christ. You are a child of the most high God. You carry his name. You are a son and heir of the promises of God. You are accepted and loved. You have been baptised into the death and life of Jesus Christ. You are no longer under condemnation. You have new life.
Flowing out of that is your purpose. God has called you to bring others to that place of identity. To bring others to faith in Jesus Christ, to that place of transformation. God has called us to influence others to reflect Christ more and more and has called us to reflect him more and more. As you begin to think about that you should begin to see that all you have, your assets, your finances, your time, gifting and talents are all given to serve this divine purpose for which you have been created. You will now begin to see what God wants you to do more clearly.
Now consider where you will end up. God's people are called to be with him for eternity. We will be in fellowship with God, we will reflect him, enjoy him, worship him and celebrate him forever. These three things being established in your heart will lead to the question, not what I want to resolve to do in the next year but what does God resolve that I do next year. The same God who gives us a new identity in Christ, who has a purpose for us and ushers us into a wonderful destiny helps us choose the right resolution that serves his purpose.
This is vital. Ask God what he wants you to do in this coming year. There is a fantastic promise connected with the purpose of God for your life. When you respond and RESOLVE to walk in and obey the word of God you WILL receive the power to see it happen. No more failed resolutions. God has not ordained you to failure but to success. No longer will you be falling flat on your face by mid January but will be powering on from glory to glory by next December.
Human logic says pick a nice easy resolution so that you have more chance of succeeding. God's logic is to find your identity, purpose and destiny in him then come to him to know what to do next. God will give you something far greater than you could give yourself and give you the power to bring it to pass. As I look back in 2014 I see a year of miraculous leading, provision and enabling. I have seen God establish me in a new church, give me the financial means to life beyond my natural means. He has led me to specific contacts to help me fulfil a purpose I could not fulfil myself and given me the power to life the life I could not otherwise live.
So I encourage you in this time of new years resolution to choose a higher resolution. Set your sights on the things above and not earthly temporary things. Choose a God focused resolution and you will see things you've never seen. You will experience things you've never experienced and God will take you places you've never been. All this will begin to happen when you realise there is something {someone} bigger and more important than you. When we grasp that in terms of our identity, purpose and destiny we will know what resolutions to make and we will be given the power to keep them.
...and it all starts when we see life in a higher resolution. When we see life the way God sees it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)