Resolutions for 2016

NOTE: This is an edited manuscript from a sermon I preached last Sunday.

For many of us, this time of year marks a time of reflection and anticipation. We reflect on the past year and we anticipate a new year.

As we think about these things, we tend to think about what we could have done differently, and what we would like to do differently. This leads us to possibly come up with what we refer to as resolutions.

Resolutions are firm commitments we make to do something or to not do something. We resolve to improve our health, develop a good habit, or get rid of a bad habit. Regardless of the details of our resolutions, they are mainly meant to improve our quality of life.

There are three resolutions in Hebrews 10:19-25 that we can all receive as believers, to improve the quality of our spiritual lives. They are easy to see because they start with the words “let us…” I’ll replace the words “let us” with the words “resolve to.”

Resolve to draw near to God

Think about what it means to draw near to something or someone. What is required for this to happen? What is required to draw near to your child, to your spouse, to your friend?

What would prevent the embrace of two people who are in each others’ presence? What prevents a true closeness?

If you have done wrong to your spouse, to your child, to your friend, to your sibling, is it easy to just embrace them? What needs to happen in order to experience a nearness to them once again? Reconciliation needs to happen. An apology and offer of forgiveness needs to happen.

Restoration of fellowship requires repentance and forgiveness. James 4 says that if we want fellowship with God, we must experience sorrow and grief because of the ways we have disobeyed God. This is mostly for our own sake. God is ready to offer forgiveness and is ready to embrace us.

Stop and think about this for a bit: Do you want to draw near to God? Do you truly want fellowship with God? You will not experience fellowship with God if you don’t want it. Let that question linger as you continue to read.

The Christians at the time of the writing of Hebrews were facing persecution. The church was under heavy pressure, and fear must have gripped many of the Christians during that time.

The author wrote to remind the Christians of the hope and eternal security they have through Jesus. He reminded them to place their hope in God through Jesus, not through obedience to the law.

The author was saying to them, “there are enemies of the church seeking to destroy your faith. But the one you profess as Lord and saviour is greater than any evil you can ever face, and greater than any attempt to save ourselves.”

Now, what does this mean for us? The author reminded them to draw near to God and to trust him in the midst of their trouble. What trouble do you have?

In the face of your trouble, to what or whom are you embracing for comfort? This letter tells us that if we are not embracing God through Jesus for our comfort, for our hope and peace, we are embracing something that is inferior.

If God is not our safe place, if he is not our refuge, we are settling for something that will fail us. What have you embraced? We all know how easily people fail us, how easily substances and entertainment and distractions fail to give us hope.

For all of us, there needs to come a day when we turn from those weak substitutes and embrace God, and receive his forgiveness and enjoy his peace.

Resolve to hold fast to your faith

Once we have embraced God, once we have drawn near to him as our ultimate source of comfort and hope, I can guarantee we will not stay there. Things will come at us that will lure us away from the presence of God.

Think about your faith. What is it you believe about God? How do you know God can be trusted? Hebrews 11 is known as the Hall of Faith in Scripture. There is a list of people who were declared by God as righteous because of their faith. They believed what God said was true, and they obeyed. The nature of their faith was trust in God through active obedience.

11:1 says, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” The promises of God are not clearly visible to us. We read about them and hear about them, but we do not see them.

This is all about the fact that God has kept his promises. It is the same in our relationships. If I make a promise to my wife to take her out for dinner, but every other time I have made that promise I didn’t actually do it, she will not believe me. She will not have faith. But if it is something I have never failed to do, she will live with a certain expectation that it will happen.

That’s the faith we need to hold on to. God has never failed, never lied, never broken a promise. He will not fail you!

In 12:2 the readers are encouraged to run with endurance the race God has given us, to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. We lose sight easily when we get distracted. A marathon runner will not finish if he stops off for dinner and a movie in the middle of the race. He needs to keep his mind focused on the goal, on the finish line.

We need reminders, daily reminders that God can be trusted. We need to be reminded about what is true, what we have to look forward to, how God has been faithful in the past, and what he has promised for the future. We get distracted by the things right in front of us, and we need to be pulled back into the presence of God.

Whatever you need to do in order to be reminded of your faith, resolve to do it. Find a way to be drawn back into fellowship with God each day. Regardless of what has pulled you away from him, he is ready to receive you. He is ready to forgive you and embrace you. God can be trusted. He has proven himself faithful.

Resolve to consider one another

I’d like to share an illustration with you to demonstrate why this resolution is important. We have heard already that we need to draw near to God and hold on to our faith. There is no better way to do this than to be a part of a community of people who have the same resolutions.

Imagine a bag of marbles and a bag of grapes. The bags they are in represents the local church: the building, the ministries, the preaching, programs, etc. The grapes and the marbles represent us.

What will happen when we dump the marble and grapes out?

When the marbles leave the bag, they will separate from each other. When the grapes leave the bag, they will stay together.

Hebrews says that we should consider one another, to not give up meeting together. If we take it at face value, it would seem that we are faithful to this command by coming to church on Sunday. But I do not believe that is the full extent of the meaning of this passage.

You see, the marbles in my illustration represented a gathering of believers in the context of a worship service or ministry. But once they left that gathering, they became separated. This represents a spiritual separation.

With the grapes, however, the believers stayed together once they left the worship service. This spiritual togetherness is possible because each grape is connected to the vine.

Jesus is ultimately what joins us together. We gather together to be physically and emotionally connected, which is critical. But, we are united, gathered, by Jesus.

Let us not forsake the practice of meeting together, because in being gathered together through Jesus in worship and in services of love to others, we are demonstrating to each other and to the world what God sent Jesus to accomplish: an eternal Kingdom of peace, of love, of joy.

But our gathering together will not result in unity unless we are connected to Jesus. And our being connected to Jesus is the best way we can support and love one another.

So, I challenge you to these three resolutions in 2016: Draw near to God. Hold fast to your faith. Consider one another.