Make A New Year's Revolution
Notes
Transcript
Handout
The Problem with New Year’s Resolutions
The Problem with New Year’s Resolutions
~Why we make them
Q. What are some examples of New Year’s resolutions people make?
~ Gym memberships, “Better diet”
~Surprises—guilt
Q. Why do they fail?
~Same as “Why don’t we seek more intimacy with God?”
29 But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.
To “seek” implies diligence, as if to investigate with a great amount of focus, urgency and intensity.
Analogy: Keys
~Reward: Finding God. “All”
Two parts of the internal anatomy we use to seek God: Heart and soul
The word heart in Hebrew sounds like layvav. It refers to a person’s center which is composed of the mind with its thoughts, the emotions, and our will.
The Hebrew word for soul is Nephesh. It’s most basic meaning is throat. it is the part of a person that thinks, feels, wills, and desires.
Q. Does it seem to you like there is a lot of overlap between the two; heart and soul? What do you make of this?
Substratum: The Brown Driver Briggs Lexicon: Soul is foundational to the heart
Heart and soul: Total commitment. Ex. Jonathan and his armor-bearer
1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
Analogy: Pushed yourself physically to the point you had cotton mouth
Ex. King David when on the run
The Vitamin T principle: Make a New Year’s Revolution
From the Latin, “revolutio” to turn around. The flesh is our tyrannical monarch—Coup
Four ingredients to make your soul-revolution
Four ingredients to make your soul-revolution
1. Clearly written goals
1. Clearly written goals
14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Goals are stepping stones to change and reveal our progress
15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.
~SMART (Peter Drucker: Management by Objective Concept
~SMART (Peter Drucker: Management by Objective Concept
Ex. Weight goal of one pound
12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
2. A tracking mechanism
2. A tracking mechanism
Word document with insertable tables or Excel Spreadsheet: Boxes
Ex. 200 Prayer walks. Checking off boxes tracks your progress
3. Select an accountability partner
3. Select an accountability partner
~Perfect world, goals as good as done.
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
Ecclesiastes 4:4-
~Two components to this:
~1. The person. Choose a person who is a you trust, is head of you in growth area
~2. The structure of the relationships. Craft several questions centered on your accountability area. Choose a set time each week
Ex. Devotionals with reflections
4. Tenacity
4. Tenacity
Winston Churchill Quote: Bulldog nose is sloped backward
7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”
2 Chronicles
3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.
New Year’s resolutions fail because they lack a revolutionary mindset and the essential ingredients for a successful soul-revolution. Put what you have read here into practice and watch new life-altering possibilities unfold.