A New
Heart for a New Year
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. Imagine
a group of Christians in the second half of the first century.
1. Like many Christians of their generation
they had Jewish roots. They were raised
in the Jewish traditions of the law,
the priesthood and sacrificial system.
2. Thankfully, they had learned a better
way. They had become followers of Christ.
They had come to know a life that was built on greater
hope and greater promises
because it was established on a better
covenant with a better sacrifice and a great
High Priest named Jesus.
3. For many years they had remained
faithful. They were diligent. They stood firm in
their convictions even when they faced
persecution. Day after day they met the
challenges that were being hurled in
their direction.
4. Some of them were beginning to grow weary.
Their faith was faltering. The flame
of conviction was fading. Some were
questioning their new way of life and longing
for the stability and comfort of their
former faith.
5. Please listen to what the writer of
Hebrews (an anonymous writer) had to say to
these individuals in Hebrews 12:1-3. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such
a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and
the sin that
so easily t us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of
faith who for the joy set
before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the
right
hand of the throne of God. 3
Consider him who endured such opposition from
sinners, so that you will not
grow weary and lose heart.”
B. We know
what it is like to grow weary in our faith. We know what it is like to face
discouragement. We know how easy it is to
drift away from our relationship with God
and the church. Our challenge, like that of
the Hebrew Christians, is to go the
distance.
C. In
the film, “Rocky,” a back street, washed up Philadelphia boxer named Rocky
Balboa is given the opportunity to fight
the Heavyweight Champion of the World,
Apollo Creed. Rocky’s training regimen
involves long runs on the streets of
Philadelphia, drinking raw eggs, doing one
armed pushups, jumping rope and
pounding away at frozen sides of beef in a
local meat locker. He subjected his body
to torturous discipline and yet the night
before the fight he realizes that his chances of
winning were slim. He says, “I just want to
go the distance. No one has ever gone the
distance with Creed.”
D.
Standing on the threshold of a new year none of us know exactly what the year
will
hold.
1. Jesus may come or we may go.
2. We are setting sail on an uncharted sea.
We have two choices.
a. We can drift with the current.
b. We can set a course that leads to a
destination.
c. May I give you a four-fold strategy
for developing a new heart in a new year?
I. DETERMINE YOUR DIRECTION.
A. Do you believe it is important to have a
goal for your life?
1. In 1953 a survey was done among
students at Yale University. Only three
percent claimed to have goals for
their life.
2. In 1975 a review of those students
determined that those 3 percent had achieved
greater productivity that the
remaining 97 percent combined!
B. Notice the phrase at the beginning of
verse 2. “Fixing our eyes on Jesus.”
1.
Take special note of that phrase. The phrase translated, “fixing your
eyes on,” is
from the Greek, “aphorontes.” It
carries the meaning of turning your eyes away
from one object towards another. We
are to turn our eyes away from all of the
distractions and gaze intently upon
Jesus.
2. In a crowd of this size it is not
unreasonable for me to make this statement.
Some of you will fall away from God
in the coming year because you will be
distracted by the things of this
world.
3.
There is a constant pull away from God. It is the pull of the old nature
(Romans
7). If you do not exert effort you
will drift. Have you ever been swimming in the
ocean with an air mattress or raft?
As you float along basking in the sunshine
you are oblivious to the fact that
you are drifting. You may end up a mile away
from where you started. Never
presume that a person who is drifting away from
God realizes it until it has happened.
4. When the artic explorer William Perry
was attempting to reach the north pole he
was very precise in his measurements and
directions. Each day he would lead his
expedition northward but each night he
realized they were heading south. The
problem was that even though they were
walking northward they were on a large
ice flow that was drifting to the south.
They weren’t keeping up. Could it be that so
many of us have been overrun by our
culture we are not even keeping up?
C. When the Bible speaks about repentance
it is talking about changing direction.
1. Acts 3:19 – “Therefore repent and
return, so that your sins may be wiped away,
in order that times of refreshing
may come from the presence of the Lord.”
2. Repentance is more than being sorry
for sin. It is not “perfection,” but it is
“direction.” This is what the writer
of Hebrews is saying. “Stop following the
distractions in your life and set your
direction on Jesus who endured the cross
with all of its shame and is now
seated at the right hand of the Father. Consider
Him who endured such suffering when
you are tempted to turn away.
II. DEVELOP DISCIPLINE
A. After admonishing his readers to
remember the “great cloud of witnesses,” the
heroes of faith mentioned in chapter 11,
he admonished them, “lay aside every
encumbrance and the sin which so easily
entangles us” (Hebrews 12:1).
B. Any progress you make in your life will
require discipline.
1. In Hebrews 2:1- the writer of Hebrews
said, “For this reason we must pay much
closer attention to what we have
heard, so that we do not drift away from it.”
2. Imagine a large ship entering the
harbor. The captain of the ship must pay close
attention to the surroundings, the
proper channel, the rocks, reefs and currents.
3. I had an uncle who was a pilot for
Pan American airlines many years ago. He
was one of the first captains of a
747 and flew a regular route from Los Angeles
to Honolulu to Tokyo. He once told
me of all the intricacies of landing the jet. It
was an exercise in discipline that
meant the difference between life and death.
C. Look at what we are to do.
1. Lay aside every encumbrance. Anything
that restricts us from attaining our goal.
2. Lay aside the sin that so easily
ensnares us. It requires discipline to keep your
eye on the road and avoid the pitfalls.
III. DISPLAY DEDICATION
A. The first verse of Hebrews 12 concludes
with the phrase, “let us run with
endurance the race that is set before
us.”
1. Sylvester Stallone’s real life has
been compared to the fictional Rocky. He grew
up with a father who abused him
physically and verbally. Attending several
different schools he struggled to
fit in socially and lacked a sense of direction and
purpose in life. A vocational
advisor at Drexel University suggested that he
become an elevator repairman based
on his aptitude tests. Stallone wanted to
act but encountered one failure
after another. After watching a boxing match
between the heavyweight champion
Mohammed-Ali and unknown Chuck
Wepner in which Wepner displayed
remarkable endurance, Stallone had an idea
that led to the first draft (89
pages) of the “Rocky” script. Against incredible odds
and with limited funds the story
eventually made it to the silver screen and the
rest is legendary. Over forty years
later Stallone is still making “Rocky” sequels.
2. You will experience disappointments
and failures this year. You must “run with
endurance!”
B. The writer of Hebrews was not the only
one to provide such admonition.
1. Paul wrote, “Be steadfast, immovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord”
(1 Corinthians 15:58).
2. In Galatians 6:9 Paul wrote, “Let is
not grow weary in doing good for in due time
we will reap if we do not faint.”
IV. DEMONSTRATE DETERMINATION
A. Jesus is our great example of
determination. Look again at verses 2 and 3 of this
text. “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the
author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set
before Him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and has sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God. 3 For
consider Him who has endured such hostility by
sinners against Himself, so that you
will not grow weary and lose heart.”
1.
Why did Jesus endure the shame and agony of the cross? He was determined
to do His Father’s will.
2. If you face hostility – consider
Jesus. If you face anger – consider Jesus. If you
face ridicule – consider Jesus, “so
that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
B. In the 1992 Summer Olympics, Gail Devers
represented the U.S. in the 100 meter
hurdles. She was clearly in the lead
when she tripped on the last hurdle. With pain
seizing her body she crawled the
remaining distance to the finish line. She finished
fifth but, most importantly, she
finished.
CONCLUSION:
A. God
wants you to have a new heart for a new year.
1. A heart of victory – not defeat.
2. A heart of faith – not fear.
3. A heart of love – not apathy.
B. The
means of attaining such a heart is to keep your focus on the one who has won
the victory for us, Jesus Christ. May I
encourage you to give your life to Him in
faithful obedience today.
