New Year 2025

Introduction

in 2024 3 in 10 Americans made an official New Year’s Resolution

Saving more money

Exercising more

Losing weight‌

And Being Happier then they were the year before were among the top ones

80% of people who make a resolution feel confident they can achieve their goal

But only 9% actually do

23% of people even give up one week in

That means out of a longing world to be happier and have hope only 9% of people who are desperately in search of it actually find it

And usually almost all of them don’t make it year 2 the same

Underneath our desire to be thinner or wealthier or more in shape is the longing we have to be happy

To cure an ache inside all of us

often underneath the goal to lose weight is the longing to be loved more accepted more affirmed more by that person who’s voice matters most to us

This is the first challenge of the bible and I want to set it before us today

To attentive and retrospective with our own hearts about what is underneath what we say we long for

Proverbs 4:23 calls us to this attentiveness

Proverbs 4:23 CSB

Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.

What is the longing of your heart and how are you looking and who are you looking too to fulfill it

Think about one change that you’re currently looking to make in your life.

Can you identify the deeper issue at the heart of this challenge—whether it’s something rooted in your mind, heart, or soul?

What’s behind that goal?

We are going to be in Psalm 1 and alot of scripture this morning and see this path to happiness flows through our heart

We will see 5 things in this worldview shaping walk through the bible

What’s Underneath It All

Nothing is Neutral (1-2)

He Moves His Children From Death to Life (3)

We Are All One or Another (4-6)

Planning for Perseverance

What’s Underneath It All

“Blessed Is the Man....” Psalm 1 starts with

It may surprise you but God cares about your happiness

The word here for blessed or happy doesn’t mean like Oprah blessing the audience with a new car

It means so much more

It means flourishing, wholeness, anchored joy that cannot be shaken

That ache for things to be happy is what he is talking about

It is what is underneath all our resolutions

Those longings for wholeness, hope in the face of suffering, afirmation we long for

Blessed means Happy is the one who has the right world view to interpert life and long in the right ways for the right things

We all have a worldview

Here is a good definition of worldview for us, It comes from James Olthuis:

‘Ones worldview is perhaps best reflected by ones answers to the ultimate questions of life: Who am I?, Why am I here?, Where am I going? What is life about?, Is there a god?, How can I be happy?, What are good and evil? What is wrong with the world? How can things be made right?”

God is saying in word one of this Psalm - that if you learn to see the world, who you are, what you long for, and how to find it through the Gospel you can have the anchor you long for this year

Like I said we all have one even if we have never thought about it

We all do because nothing is neutral

Nothing Is Neutral

Psalm 1:1–2 CSB

How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.

While the stats say only 3 in 10 people made an official resolution- 10/10 long for wholeness, and happiness, and hope in the face of suffering

Something or someone is influencing your hearts definition of how to be happy…and how to get there

Question - who or what has been the biggest influence in your life?

Tim Keller says: “In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshiping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.”― Timothy Keller

This passage makes us be attentive and ask

What people did you spend the most time with last year?

Who invested in you the most last year?

Who did you invest in last year?

And did they point you to the Gospel or another way to be happy and whole

That is what these verses challenge us with

Nothing is Neutral

The question is what is influencing you and what voices are you going to listen too this year

What or who is shaping your heart

And are you active in shaping someone elses heart?

And this Psalm is saying no one is not being shaped by something or someone

He is shouting to us that We should let him be our good shepherd because nothing and no one else has done for us what he has

He Purchased Your Happiness

He Purchased Your Happiness

Psalm 1:3–6 CSB

He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

Look at the power of this language

The word used here is intentional

the term planted by streams actually means Taken from somewhere else and replanted here

It means that when we have looked to other things and other people and we are left busted up He doesn’t say I told you so

He holds out the hand of the gospel picks you up and places you back where you can flourish

His ways never fail when we hold fast to Him

The Gospel proves it

Even when we can’t see a way to happiness He is making a way

Charles Spurgeon famously says in His commentary on Psalm 1 titled "By the rivers of water;" so that even if one river should fail, he hath another. The rivers of pardon and the rivers of grace, the rivers of the promise and the rivers of communion with Christ, are never-failing sources of supply.

We have an unbeatable stream because He gave His life to purchase your happiness

Paul picks up this same terminology when he writes to remind the Colossian Church

Colossians 1:13 CSB

He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

The word for rescue here can also mean transferred

we are transfered to life from death because he gave his life and took death in our place

The survival of a plant that is transfered to another place depends on its source of nutrients

And the challenge again here is to do the hard introspective work to be attentive to what is feeding us

Is it life giving or will it leave us empty when we need it the most

We are all listening to something …and we are all either living with hope or we are wandering looking for other things or other people or other circumstances to give us life that they never can

We are all one or the other

This is where our choices lead

Do we do the hard work day by day to take our interpretations of life to the Gospel?

Do we make the choice no matter how the worldly look to be winning to remain faithful to the Way?

Do we make the choice to prioritize learning the Revealed character of God in His word?

Do we choose to be among God’s people so that we have help when he cannot see?

Do we teach others the only way to the Flourishing every heart longs for?

There is a choice

Here is the humbling part

Maybe you read this and as a christian you read yourself into the righteous

Right, I mean I have not killed anyone today so surely I am the good guy here

You see we are instructed to see we are not the hero of the story

There was a movie called the 6th sense that was a must see in the 90’s

No one watched 6th sense once

Because at the end you realize the main character was dead the whole time

You had to watch it again with the new lens

Psalm 1 is the 6th sense of the bible

We are the foolish and wicked of Psalm 1

But God being rich in mercy....

The only one who was ever righteous stepped down to sit in the place of the wicked

To stand in their place at judgment

So that we may be given new life

So that we can be transplanted from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of the Son

So that we can have perseverance in our pursuit of happiness that he made us to have

Planning for Perseverance

I was listening to Jen Wilkin teach through Revelation and at the end of the whole thing she was asked to summarize the book of Revelation in one sentence

She began to cry and said in one sentence Revelation says Jesus is coming back so endure

That is the message of the bible and the message of Psalm 1

It is about the worldview that says the Gospel is true

So endure because it is the only way to be happy and whole and have hope

Paul says in Philippians 1:6

Philippians 1:6 CSB

I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 12 says in light of the story of reality playing out around you hold fast Jesus is coming back

Hebrews 12:1–2 CSB

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

So here is how to plan to persevere in 2025

Hebrews says to lay aside every weight of sin that holds you back

At the heart of our running from God is unbelief…how is unbelief hindering your hope?

What weight do you need to lay aside to run well this new year?

What are you asking God For this New Year?

What people or things help you look to Jesus?

What people or places or things fill you back up?

What are you looking too for hope this year?

And when we fail at keeping our resolutions to hope the right way there is grace

Anchor yourself in this

In Psalms and Proverbs we are told to let God and truth guide us

The Hebrew word is fa-rope

It means the ropes that guided sailors

It was always there to go back too when they had turned the wrong way

We return to Him because of the Gospel to hope rightly again

When you let yourself down as a Christian, it's natural to feel discouraged, frustrated, or even lost.

But even in those moments, your hope is not based on your own performance, success, or perfection.

Your hope is found in God's grace, His unchanging love, and His ability to work through your weaknesses. Here’s where your hope is as a believer when you feel like you’ve let yourself down:

1. Hope in God's Grace

The beauty of the Christian faith is that our hope is rooted in grace, not in our ability to measure up.

Not in our ability to keep our resolutions

The Apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

When you fall short or let yourself down, God's grace is sufficient to cover your mistakes.

It's in those moments of weakness that God’s strength is most evident.

It is his unmerited Grace to show us how are hearts are off

Then make us attentive to how to get back to who we were made to be

2. Hope in Christ’s Finished Work

Your hope as a Christian is not in your own ability to “fix” yourself but in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He paid the price for all of your sins—past, present, and future.

This means that even when you fail, your standing before God is not based on your success or perfection but on His perfect sacrifice.

Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

This is the hope you have: that even when you fail, you are still secure in Christ.

3. Hope in God’s Faithfulness

Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

God doesn’t give up on you when you fall short. He meets you in your brokenness and offers you His love, compassion, and fresh mercy every day. No matter how many times you let yourself down, God remains constant and unshaken in His love for you.

4. Hope in the Holy Spirit’s Empowerment

As a Christian, you are not left to navigate life on your own.

The Holy Spirit is with you, empowering you to live in accordance with God's will.

He is the one who makes you attentive too your heart and retunes it

When you feel discouraged after letting yourself down, you can rely on the Spirit to help you grow, change, and overcome. Philippians 1:6 assures you, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

The Holy Spirit is at work in you, shaping you, teaching you, and equipping you to become more like Christ and be fully happy in Him

5. Hope in Redemption and Growth

Romans 8:28 promises, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

God can take the moments where we fall short and turn them into opportunities for greater dependence on Him.

He doesn’t waste your struggles; He uses them to draw you closer to Himself and to develop Christ-like character in you.

Your mistakes and failures can lead to greater humility, deeper repentance, and a more vibrant relationship with God.

6. Hope in the Future Promise

One day, you will be fully restored and made perfect in Christ.

Until that day, the Christian life is a journey of becoming more like Jesus. In Philippians 3:12-14, Paul shares his own struggle, saying, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.”

Even when you fail, remember that your future is secure in Christ. God is transforming you day by day, and one day you will stand before Him, perfect and complete in His presence (1 John 3:2).

Happy is the one who follows Him to Hope in this New Year

Lets Pray