We are in a time of the year when it’s common to make New Year’s resolutions. These resolutions normally include trying to do something new or change something we are already doing. Before we decide what those resolutions could be, I recommend we hear the heart of Jesus to make some “Un-Resolutions” and let some things go first.
Jesus wants to lighten your load.
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV), “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Side note: When Jesus was calling people to Himself and said He could give them rest He was implying that He was God. Exodus 33:14, “The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”This would have been an easy connection for this Jewish community.
Emmanuel, God with us, wants to lighten our load. When our load is lighter we can follow Him easier. With that in mind I suggest the following Un-Resolution List. These are thing to NOT bring into the New Year.
1. Ourselves. Matthew 16:24 records Jesus saying that those who want to follow Him need to deny themselves. We are not the Lord and never will be. There is only one King and Lord and His name is Jesus the Messiah. We must humble ourselves.We are not to be on the throne of our own hearts. We want God’s agenda and all glory to go to Him. Take a moment and step off the throne of your heart before Him.
Matthew 16:24, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”
2. Self-comfort: Someone once told Jesus that he wanted to follow Jesus, to which he got the reply that foxes have holes but Jesus did not have a place to lay His head. If we are going to follow Jesus we must not have self-comfort as our goal. This calls for sacrifice. If we bring self-comfort as an underlying goal into the New Year we may not be able to follow Jesus where He wants us to go.
Matthew 8:20, “And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
3. Sinful sexual lifestyles: With the help of the Holy Spirit we can put off the weight of persistent sins that easily entangle us. God calls for holiness and purity in our lives. The Bible tells us that there should not be a hint of sexual immorality in the Church. Sexual immorality is sin. It is sin against God and is less than God’s best for us. Living together outside of marriage is a sin even if our society portrays it as normal. Having sex outside of marriage is sin. Viewing pornography is sin. Practicing homosexuality is sin. Having an affair is sin. Molesting a child is sin. Lewd conversation is sin. Using your spouse to fulfill a sexual fantasy is sin. In light of all of this, I want to make something clear. There is a difference between struggling with something and rebellion. However, if we are struggling with sexual temptations and keep that private without seeking any help, then it will become rebellion. Don’t bring that into the New Year.
Hebrews12:1, “Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
4. Greed: The Bible teaches that greed is idol worship. The balance in our bank account does not determine whether we are walking in greed or not. Greed is about self-preservation and self-promotion. If all we can think about is money, then we are probably wrestling with greed. Jesus gave the answer to greed when He said to look at how the Father takes care of the flowers. We have to know that we have a good Father. Greed takes thesource of provision out of God’s hands and puts into ours. Giving is a byproduct of breaking greed. We do not give so God notices us. We give because He has noticed us and is good. If wedon’t know God is good then we will not trust Him to take care of us more than He takes care of the flowers of the field. Do not take greed into the New Year.
Colossians 3:5, “Therefore, treat the parts of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”
5. Grief: This is a difficult one for me to highlight, because there is a healthy kind of grief and yet, there is no set time limit for grieving. We find an example of grieving in Deuteronomy 34:8 where God allowed Israelto grieve Moses’ death for 30 days. This is not to say anything longer than that is unhealthy, but when grieving goes on too long (however long that is) it will be like we are carrying that person or past season on our back. It is a heavy weight. I cannot tell you to just let grief go. Healing of grief does not work that way. I encourage you to bring your grief to God. Lay it down before Him. Ask for the Holy Spirit to comfort you in a way only He can. Do not bring unhealthy grief into the New Year.
Deuteronomy 34:8, “So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.”
6. Insecurity: Jesus said to not fear man who can kill us, but fear God who can not only kill us but also throw us into Hell. He quickly goes on to say to not be afraid because the Father loves you. His point was not to engender fright regarding the Father. Jesus was dismantling the fear of man. The fear of man (what others think about us and can do to us) will lead us to think about ourselves. The fear of God will lead us to think about the greatness of God. We will not be able to follow Jesus appropriately in the New Year if we are carrying insecurity. Insecurity is the fear of man. Seeing the greatness of God and receiving His love for us will free us from the fear of man.
Matthew 10:28-31, “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are two sparrows not sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.”
7. Pride: In the book of James, the author quotes Proverbs and tells us that God resists the proud. Have you felt the resistance of water as you walked through it? That is what it feels like to have a weight holdingyou back. The last thing we want is for God to be a weight of resistance in the New Year. Pride is when we are self-focused, self-reliant and look down on others. God does not want to humble us. He wants us to humble ourselves. Come before God, hand Him any hint of pride and ask for the gift of repentance. Do not bring pride into your New Year.
James 4:6, “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
8. Unforgiveness: Matthew 5 records Jesus telling those still under the Law, that if there is a need for forgiveness in any of their relationships, they should lay down their sacrificial offering and attempt to make it right before continuing with their worship of God. How much more for those of us who are on this side of the law being fulfilled,who walk in forgiveness through Christ! We forgive because we have been forgiven. It is clear in the Bible that we will not be forgiven if we hold onto unforgiveness. This is not to belittle what you have gone through. It does not mean that how you were treated was justified or that there will be restored relationship. There is a difference between forgiveness and trust. Jesus gives us insight on how He forgave. On the Cross He said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”He was speaking about people that should have known better but they truly did not know what they were doing. I suggest to you that those needing forgiveness maybe should have known better, but they did not really understand what they were doing to you. When we know the truth, the truth sets us free. Where the enemy has blinded people from understanding, there will be those who should know better, but do not know. One way to more easily give forgiveness is to remember the price paid for your forgiveness. The Bible is clear that our forgiveness was costly and therefore God expects us to forgive others as we have been forgiven. Spend time thanking God for forgiving you. This will help motivate you to forgive those that sinned against you. That being said, perhaps the person you need to forgive is yourself. This can be the hardest thing to do. Present this to God. Do not bring unforgiveness into your New Year. It is a heavy burden.
Matthew 5:23-24, “Therefore, if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”
9. Personal: Maybe there is a heavy weight on your life that was not mentioned in this list of Un-Resolutions. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you. Let go of whatever He tells you to let go of. He is helping you. It may not be fun, but it will be good.
John 16:13, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
Did something stand out to you? Are you carrying something that Jesus does not want you to bring into the New Year? Talk to Him now and find someone else to pray with you. This is a new day for you as you make some Un-Resolutions with the Lord.
blessings,
Ben Williams
Co-Lead Pastor, The Church @ New Bern
The Church at New Bern
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