A Good Resolution

Lord we thank you for this day. We thank you for bringing us hear this morning to receive your word. Please prepare us God. Please mold us into willing vessels to receive your instruction. Lord our aim is to have a better relationship with you. To serve you better. All glory be to you God our Father. Amen.

Is everyone happy that Christmas is over? Does it feel like you can breath? And is everyone ready and looking forward for the New Year? Let me ask a question. How many of us are planning on making some sort of New Year’s Resolution this year?

Why do we do this? Why do we engage in this tradition? Why do we feel that the beginning of the year brings on a new opportunity for change; a fresh start? Its our desire to want to improve. We want to be better or do better at something. And I personally don’t think there is nothing wrong with that. I think it is a very good idea to set goals and work hard at achieving them. But the goals we set have to be Kingdom Oriented goals not Earthly Oriented goals. God glorifying goals not self glorifying goals.

Let’s see what Americans will be setting as goals for 2025. I was surprised that according to this study only 31% of American’s are making a new years resolution this year. I always thought this number would be a lot higher. I don’t know what to think of that number? Have the majority of Americans just given up on self improvement?

Americans’ New Year’s Resolutions for 2025

A study from YouGov.com

Saving more money - 26% Improving physical health - 22% Exercising more - 22% Being happy - 22% Eating healthier - 20% Losing weight - 17% Improving mental health - 17% Learning something new - 15% Reading more - 15% Improving relationships with friends or family - 14% Spending more time with family - 14% Paying down debts - 13% Focusing on spiritual matters - 12% Traveling - 12% Quitting a bad habit - 11% Pursuing a career goal - 11% Getting a new job - 9% Spending more time with friends - 9% Pursuing a new hobby - 8% Moving - 6%

What do you think about these goals? Kingdom oriented or Earthly oriented. Earthly oriented! And that is the sad truth. Most of us Americans have Earthly oriented goals. Our lives are occupied with Earthy things.

So as Christians, do our resolutions look different? What should be our resolution? If someone were to come up and ask you, what is your resolution for 2025? What would you answer? Anyone?

My resolution is to follow Christ! Good answer, but what if they ask for more? What does that mean to follow Christ? How would you expand on that? How do you follow Christ? When do you follow Christ? How much do you follow Christ? Is it just calling yourself a Christian? Is is just going to Church?

To answer that, we must go to scripture! So glad God gave us a book!

But first let’s ask ourselves a few questions. Why should we care about what it means to follow Jesus? Is there a right way and a wrong way to follow Jesus? I claim His name and I try to do good when I can. That’s all that is required right? Well let’s see. There is a story in the bible that does an excellent job telling what is expected from us as followers of Christ. It is the Parable of the Talents. This is what I’m going to do. We’ll read the parable. We’ll summarize to the key points and then we’ll connect the dots back to us.

Let’s Read Matthew 25:14–30 The Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:14–30 LSB

“For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and handed over his possessions to them. “And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. “Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. “In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. “But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. “And the one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed five talents over to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you handed two talents over to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. ‘Therefore, you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. ‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. “And throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The master had (3) servants/slaves. He entrusted each servant with talents (money) according to their own ability. A talent was worth about 57 lbs of silver or several years wages for a laborer. A significant amount of funds. 8 talents 456 lbs of silver. The master entrusted the money for them to put to work, to multiply. Be fruitful with what I have given you while I am away. And the master knew that these servants were capable of doing this. He gave each of them based on their own ability. The first 2 servants did well. They put their master’s money to work. They had to stay engaged, stay working to see their master’s investment grow. They never stopped working for their master. Good servants!

Now the 3rd one. Well he took a different approach. He decided to bury the money. He did not steal it or spend it or invest it unwisely. He did nothing with it. He just buried it. With no money to oversee, to be responsible for, he did not have to work for his master. He might go check on the money every Sunday for about an hour to make sure it was still buried but that is it. He still was his master’s servant by name but not by servitude. He knew what his master expected, he knew what the other servants were doing but decided not to do it.

Well the day of reckoning has come. The master is back. Time to settle accounts. The first 2 did great! They doubled the master’s investment! The master said to them, ‘Well done, good and faithful servants. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ What a wonderful thing to hear from your master. You are being praised and recognized for your good work. Your character is being praised by being called a good and faithful servant. There is also a promise of growth, a promotion. And the best part is that the master wants you to join Him in His joy for the good work you have done for Him and the good and faithful servant that you have been to Him! God delights in our good work. God delights in our faithfulness to Him and He wants us to join Him in His delight for us.

Now let’s look at the last servant. The servant who was capable of doing what his master asked but chose not to. The one that buried the talent. Still was a his master’s servant but only by name not by service. Well he starts by back pedaling right away. “I knew you to be a hard man… reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. I was afraid and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.” Again, this man did not steal the talent, he did not spend the talent or invest it unwisely. He did nothing with it and he returned it to his master. How did the master react? Did the master praise his work and his character. Did he master promise him more work and ask him to join him in his joy? Not at all! “You wicked lazy slave!” Ouch! “You know how I work and you know that I expected you to be fruitful with what I left you!” “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!”

You probably have already connected the dots and see the picture that is revealed.

Jesus is the Master. He went away but will be back. We are the Servants. The good and faithful servants know what is expected of them and do His will. They never stop working for Jesus. These are servants by name and service. They are true followers of Jesus. The wicked and lazy servants know what is expected of them but choose not to do His will; they do what they want. These are servants by name but not by service. These are not true followers of Jesus.

The talents can be a range of things. It can be the gospel that we have. That Jesus has entrusted to us to share to the World. It can be things that we have been blessed with. It is whatever we have that we can use to be fruitful in our service to Jesus. And it can vary between person to person.

When Jesus returns, the true followers of Jesus will rejoice with Him eternally. Jesus will praise them for their work and their faithfulness. There is a promise of more good works. More opportunity to serve faithfully. Jesus will delight over His faithful servants for their faithfulness and the work that they have done and He will ask them to enter in His joy. The false followers of Jesus will be called out for their transgression. For being wicked and lazy and worthless and they will be cast out to eternal damnation. Eternal separation from God.

It’s fairly black and white. Those dots are fairly easy to connect. And it’s scary…if you are the 3rd servant. It’s wonderful if you are the first two.

I used to believe that Salvation was the finish line. More specifically, my salvation was the finish line. Once you were saved, then kick back and wait for Jesus to return. I honestly believed that if you claimed Jesus as your Lord and Savior and did good if you could and avoided bad if you could, that it was alright. I was closer aligned to the 3rd servant. I did not realize that Salvation was just the beginning. Ephesians 2:10

Ephesians 2:10 LSB

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

We are saved so that we can do good works. Good works that God has carefully and lovingly prepared for us and expects us to do. This goes hand in hand with the parable we just read. Another verse Mat 7:21-23 and this one should be an eye opener as well.

Matthew 7:21–23 LSB

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

Who enters the Kingdom of Heaven? Only those who do the will of the Father. No one else. Those who don’t, even if they claim His name, even if they claim wondrous works in His name will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who do the Father’s will.

Let’s do a quick recap here. Followers of Jesus are Servants of Jesus. And as Servants we are expected to do the will of the Master. There really is no way around this.

Now let’s talk about work schedule because I have my own things to do. Are we talking being servants 9-5 with weekends off? What about vacation? It sounds silly right to put serving God in this context. We know the answer to that. We serve God 24/7/365 until we die. As Paul famously puts it in Philippians 1:21

Philippians 1:21 LSB

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

As long as we draw breath, we are living for Christ. As long as the blood is pumping, we are living for Christ. This has been the hardest thing for me to do and I suspect it is also hard for many others. We still have the desire to do what we want. God I can give you this and that but let me keep this… its not much. And we pout and try to justify keeping it when the Holy Spirt tells us let it go. And what is God doing? He is freeing us from the things that separate us from Him. The things that divide us from Him. Mark 12:30 tells us:

Mark 12:30 LSB

and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

There is not much left to love anything else. We wish it would be like a 50/50 split. Maybe a 80/20 but 100 percent? God wants all of us for Him. He wants us to serve Him with everything we have.

Do we have a better understanding on what it means to follow Christ? That when we call Jesus Lord that we are placing Him as our Master and us as Servants. It is not a Master/Master relationship. It is a Master/Servant relationship. And Servants do the will of the Master. But our Master is a good master. The Servants will receive praise from their Master. That the Servants will be a delight to their Master and that the Master will ask the Servants to join Him in His delight!

Now, like my friend Rodney says, It’s time to land that plane! We started by talking about New Year’s Resolutions. How most Americans who will make a resolution this year will be an Earthly resolution. A better Resolution would be a Godly Resolution. Let’s make it a resolution to follow Christ. Follow Christ the way He wants us to follow Him not the way we want to follow Him. We must turn to the Good and Faithful servants who did their master’s will as an example to follow and the promise to come. That if we serve God with everything we have, that one day we will be asked by our Master to enter in His Joy and what a wonderful time that will be.

Lets Pray

Lord we thank you for your love. We thank you for your word. We thank you for the plans that you have for us. God we pray that we do not grow tired of the work you have for us. We pray that we always serve you with Joy and Hope. That our desire is always to give more not less. We thank you God. Amen.