Being a "Prepared Person" for 2022

BEING A "PREPARED PERSON" FOR 2022 January 2, 2022; Spring Valley Church; Ephesians 2:5-6; John 10:27-30; Phil. 3:7-8: 1 John 5:14 At the beginning of each year I enjoy skimming the news sites to bring back to mind what has happened over the last 12 months; what are considered the top news stories of the year. How quickly I forget all that has happened in the last 12 months. These are some of the Top news stories of 2021: The year began with the storming of the U.S. Capital by those dissatisfied with the Presidential election results; Covid continues to surge up and down with the emergence of variants; the first operational spaceflight by a private company took place (Captain Kirk finally made it into space!) ; the collapse of a condo in Surfside FL killed 98 residents; The Tokyo Olympics were held a year late, but were labeled the strangest Olympics ever with no spectators allowed; the US withdrawal from Afghanistan with immediate takeover by the Taliban; A Strict Texas abortion law was passed and then was upheld by the Supreme Court; Deadly December tornadoes over five states killed 90. As always, the world churns right along, changing rapidly around us. Each of us has had a long list of personal issues, perhaps major life-changing issues of family, work and health. And because the future is hidden and unpredictable, it would be easy to face the next year with fear and dread instead of optimism and hope. In spite of the difficulties of the past two years and the continued uncertainty and unpredictability surrounding us, I believe we should face the next 12 months and beyond with optimism and confidence. Why? Because I am certain Jesus is in control. His Word will continue to guide and direct us. God's plan of the ages is moving forward at His pace. His Spirit will continue to sustain us. His angels will watch over us, and nothing can separate us from His love and care. I believe God wishes for us to face this next year with optimism and hope. I believe Christians should be the most optimistic and positive people on the planet! This is because God has made provision for His children to be prepared for whatever comes, and to live joyful and confident lives regardless of circumstances. I believe that we of the family of faith should be able to face the future in a significantly different manner that those who do not know the Lord. I hold that believers should be known for our ability to handle any situation that might come. We of all people should be the optimists of the world. We can be a "prepared people", prepared for whatever comes in 2022. Being prepared begins with a proper perspective of .... I. WHO ARE IN CHRIST "Perspective" is how we view things in our minds. There are some photographs posted on the bulletin board of the church taken by Sterling and his drone. The church certainly looks different from the perspective of several hundred feet in the air. When we see things from a drone or an airplane, it changes our perception. Do you realize that God has done the same thing for us? We Christians have a wonderful advantage available in how we may view reality. It is like God has lifted us up and set us high above the everyday happenings of our lives, enabling us to see them in a new way. As it's been said, "Keep looking down; you are seated with Christ in the heavenlies!" Turn to Ephesians 2:5-6 (read): Here God tells us that He, in His great mercy has "raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus..." Our position in Christ offers us a new perspective on life. This is what Theologians call "positional truth." We don't have to fully understand it to believe it! What does God want us to see as we look down with a heavenly perspective? As we begin this New Year, what perspective does our position in Christ give us? How should this heavenly perspective change how we look at life? First, this lofty seat gives us a proper perspective on ourselves. Look where we are sitting: we are sitting with Christ. This makes all the difference, if we think about it. If we have trusted Christ as our Savior, our future is secure. We are "in Christ" and nothing can remove us from that position. In John 10:27-30 Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch then out of the Father's hand. I and My Father are One." There is wonderful peace and security in that fact. As we look back on this last year, perhaps you made some poor choices. Perhaps your walk with God was not very consistent. Perhaps there were moral failures, or broken relationships, or times of dishonesty. Yet what is God's perspective on these things? Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that salvation is by grace, not by works. Failures do not negate our salvation. Yes, sin does have consequences, and those consequences can be profound, especially if we continue in sin. But as God's child, as one who has accepted Christ as Savior and Lord, we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. When we sin, we are to simply confess it, forsake it and once again walk in power and newness of life. Don't let the failures of the past rob you of joy and victory in the present and future. We are seated securely with Christ in the heavenlies. Secondly, A heavenly perspective on life also gives us the ability to "ride out" the tough times of life. At the beginning of this New Year, we might have the tendency to fear the unknown. Life does have its difficulties, and we Christians are not immune to such things. We all face time where our road is obstructed by the potholes of illness or injury, the boulders of financial difficulty, the switchbacks of relationship issues, the mountains of temptation when the grade is so steep that we wonder if we will make it. Yet, from our high vantage point, our heavenly perspective, we know by faith that the road levels out ahead. We know the end of the story! The worst that can happen is we might die, and for the Christian, to die is gain. To change the metaphor a bit, as the song goes "With Christ in the boat we can laugh at the storm." We know that Jesus is in the boat with us, so all potential problems we might face will be manageable. The future is in God's hands, and we can know that our loving Heavenly Father will give us the power and ability to endure whatever comes our way. Like climbing a mountain, while the path is difficult, the view from the top is worth all the effort. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus. Being seated with Christ gives us an overcoming victorious perspective on the road we walk. A heavenly perspective not only gives us a proper view of ourselves, and of the events of our lives, but a heavenly perspective enables us (Thirdly) to see people in a different light. People make life complicated. People are unpredictable, and often they disappoint us. It was Fredrick the Great who said, "The more I get to know people, the more I love my dog!" It is tempting to withdraw from close relationships or avoid new relationships and thereby avoid possible problems. Yet the greatest joys in life are found in relationships with people. Ministry with people is potentially messy. People and problems go together! But a heavenly perspective, God's perspective, sees every sinner as potential believer; immature Christians as mature; every person broken down by sin and circumstances as mended and whole through Christ. A heavenly perspective sees the potential in people and never gives up on anyone or any relationship. That really should change how we relate to one another! In addition to having a proper perspective, a prepared person needs a: II. A PASSIONATE PIETY "Piety" is an old-fashioned word that means "godly." What we are talking about in piety is "holiness." Basically, piety describes a person who is walking closely with God. Such a believer understands life is not all about him, but about God and living in the center of God's will for life. Notice that I added the world "Passionate" to piety. We might say such a one is "on fire for the Lord." Not a "ho-hum, isn't it (yawn) great to be a Christian?" Passion means that there is an growing excitement about knowing and relating to the Creator of the Universe Who is my personal Savior and Friend. Such a passion is far more profound than just emotion, although there is nothing wrong with emotion. Such things depend more on personality than spirituality. I'm talking about a holy passion for God that infiltrates every area of the life. We observe such a holy passion in the Apostle Paul in Phil. 3:7-8: But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ... Everything in Paul's life was weighed in light of knowing and serving Christ. How will a passionate piety enable us to be prepared for whatever 2022 throws at us? It will give us the confidence that with God at our side, filtering all that comes into our lives, all things will truly work out for our ultimate good. We will be able to weigh each circumstance in light of God's purposes for our lives, as did the Apostle. Perhaps looking at the opposite approach to the Christian life will clarify the value of a passionate piety. The opposite would be a believer who is living for himself, seldom giving a thought to the things of God; someone who might even gather with other believers in a worship service like this one, but spends the time daydreaming or ignoring what is being said. This approach to the Christian life describes one who feels no desire or need to read God's Word; who consequently operates on his own power and resources, and thus has little protection against the influences and strategies of our enemy. 1 Corinthians 3 describes such believers as "carnal" or fleshly. This probably is one who is living under the disciplining hand of a loving Heavenly Father and wondering why things are not going well in his life. He asks, "Why doesn't God answer my prayers? Why do I feel so unhappy with life? Why do I feel dissatisfied and confused about life?" Such is the lot of a person without a passionate piety. Such a one will have problems facing the circumstances of the next year. We become a prepared person by having a proper perspective, a passionate piety, and thirdly, a III. A PRACTICAL PLAN In our culture many people celebrate the New Year and new beginnings by the making of New Year's Resolutions. Now I know all the excuses we make for not doing so. Someone said, "If I don't make 'em, I don't break 'em!" I prefer the philosophy of "I have kept every resolution I have ever made; some I kept for an hour, some longer!" The reason we break most of our resolutions are that they are not very practical. First, Spiritual resolutions are of great value, but they must be both practical and realistic. We have seen that a person who is prepared must have a proper perspective and a passionate piety. From what source do such things flow? They flow from the heart of God to those who desire such things for themselves. The first step toward perspective and piety is a desire. Consider this as you contemplate your life at the beginning of this New Year: Since God is the source of every good and perfect gift, is there any doubt that God desires that we have His perspective on life? That we have a passionate piety for Him? Are these not the very things that Jesus came to earth to give us? Is not the function of the Holy Spirit in our lives to conform us to the likeness of Christ? Listen to this promise from God: I John 5:14: This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of Him. God desires that we have these things even more than we desire them ourselves! What then stands in our way? The answer is simply our own willfulness. For each person there exists only two wills in the universe: God's will, and our own will. Who is going to rule in our heart this year? Is it to be God, or ourselves? That issue must be settled first of all, and today is the best day to settle it! Who is on the throne of your life right now? If, as you honestly think about it, you are in control instead of God, then confess that willful attitude, and allow God to once again to take control. Once that issue is settled, we need to ASK God to give us a Godly perspective on each circumstance of our life. This we must do continually, for we tend to forget in the middle of a crisis. By the way, this is one primary function of reading and meditating on God's word: we gain God's perspective on life. We then agree with God through our submission to His word and talk it over with Him in prayer, asking God to give us the willingness to make the necessary changes. A practical plan for gaining a proper perspective and a passionate piety must include disciplining ourselves in reading and study of God's Word and prayer. We also discipline ourselves to expose ourselves to others who love and follow God-that is one reason we gather together in settings like this one, to gather encouragement and support in living like we know we need to. Fellowship with God's people is crucial to keeping perspective and developing godliness (piety). We forsake gathering with other believers at great peril to our spiritual well-being. Service to one another, using the gifts God has given, is also vital to spiritual growth. I would add another discipline that will prove invaluable in keeping a proper perspective and a passionate piety: as we speak of our personal faith to those outside the family of God, deep convictions develop within us. We find that we really do have a deep confidence in God's adequacy to face all that life might hold. Often God places specific challenges in our lives, so that when we overcome them it gives us opportunity to share how God gave us strength. Life is uncertain for all of us, but there is nothing uncertain about God's ability to hold us closely and preserve us through whatever comes. Others outside the faith, or those who have drifted away from the Lord and His church, long for answers to their problems and issues. Look to "speak Christ" into situations of crisis. It is a lie of Satan that people will be offended if we bring up spiritual matters. At the beginning of this New Year, I desire for you the confidence that comes from full dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ. He desires to give you a proper perspective, a passionate piety, and a practical plan of walking closely with Him. With these three things, we can face 2022 with optimism and confidence. This is the year that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! 6