Five R’s for a Great New Year

2 Corinthians 13:5

Introduction.

  1. This is our last Sunday before the new year.

    1. As our planet orbits around the Sun, we have arbitrarily chosen a specific moment by which we mark time.

    2. There really isn’t much significance to it, except whatever significance we assign to it.

    3. One of the bits of significance we have assigned it is a sense of renewal.

    4. We reflect upon the old year as we begin a new one.

    5. We make plans for the new year and we start it anew.

    6. We leave behind what we want, take up what new things we have always wanted to.

    7. And let me tell you, I’m sure many people want to leave this year behind.

    8. There is still plenty of terrible things we have to look forward to in 2021, but we can choose to be optimistic, not to worry about what the year has in store, but to put it all in God’s hands.

    9. One of the Christmas gifts Victoria got was a coffee mug that says: “God morning, Victoria. I’ll handle all your problems today. Love, God.”

    10. And that’s true: we should all give it up to Him!

  2. There are five things we can do that can help us with that:

    1. Reflect.

    2. Reform.

    3. Restore.

    4. Renew.

    5. Rejoice.

Body.

  1. Reflect (2 Cor. 13:5).

    1. One statement that Socrates is famous for saying is: “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

      1. He said this not long before he died.

      2. He had the option of exile or death, and realized that, in exile, he wouldn’t be able to practice his form of investigation.

      3. He needed people around him to ask questions to get to a point, also known as the Socratic method.

      4. Without people around him, he would be unable to pursue wisdom, to examine his life through the life of others.

      5. This is something Solomon knew, too, as he states in the book of Ecclesiastes (1:13).

        And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.

      6. Socrates stumbled upon something that Solomon knew (perhaps by divine inspiration) over 500 years earlier.

    2. And here, Paul is telling the Christians in Corinth to examine themselves.

      1. How might we examine ourselves today?

      2. We can take this opportunity to look at ourselves, see how we have grown this year.

      3. Maybe we haven’t grown, maybe we have fallen back.

      4. This is certainly a year where it might be hard to have the accountability that we might normally expect from our Christian family.

      5. Let’s examine our lives, look at what we’ve accomplished and where we have failed this year.

      6. We can take this opportunity to resolve to do better in the new year—amazingly that’s not one of the R’s today.

      7. I’m not much for New Years Resolutions, especially since the attitude that, if you break it, there’s no point in continuing.

      8. That’s certainly not the attitude a Christian should have.

      9. In fact, we might resolve to do better today than we did yesterday, make that resolution every morning when we wake up.

      10. The only way we can know to do that is to examine ourselves, maybe even write some of these things down so we can have a starting point, a baseline on which we might improve.

      11. We may find that we need to reform something.

  2. Reform (Lev. 26:23-24).

    1. The great reformer Martin Luther did not set out to start a new church.

      1. His desire was to reform the Catholic Church.

      2. This gave birth to the Protestant Reformation, and eventually to tens of thousands of various denominations out there, all with their own spin and pet doctrines.

      3. Again, this was not Luther’s intention, but this was the result.

      4. When we seek to reform ourselves, our efforts must be more effective than Luther’s.

    2. In Lev. 26, the Lord gives the Israelites many potential blessings and cursings.

      1. As we go through it, the curses often seem like a foretelling of the future of the Israelite nation.

      2. That’s of course because they failed time and again, and the Lord warned them ahead of time what would happen.

      3. Sometimes they got better—we see the efforts and reforms of Asa, Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah in the southern kingdom of Judah.

      4. But many times they got worse, and sometimes worse and worse—we see the failures of Ahaz, Manasseh, and the kings who followed Josiah, not to mention the many failures of the kings to the north.

    3. Inherent to this particular R is another R-word: repent.

      1. When we reform ourselves to be in line with what our Lord wants and expects, well, isn’t that repentance?

      2. As we say often in our invitations, that means to turn from our wicked ways and do as the Lord wills for us.

      3. That means following the Scriptures, obeying them as if they are the very words of God, because, of course, they are.

      4. It is true, the passage we are using here is from the OT, but the same God inspired those words as the God we worship today.

      5. While there may be some blessings and cursings that are physical, for us as Christians we ought to pay special attention to the spiritual blessings and cursings that apply to us.

      6. Let reflect upon this year and reform ourselves into the image of our dear Lord.

      7. And if we need to, let us be restored.

  3. Restore (Gal. 6:1).

    1. While Martin Luther failed at reforming the Catholic Church, some centuries later, a group of people worked to restore the NT Church.

      1. There had been many attempts before, and some since.

      2. And while restoration is important, it is a bit of a misnomer.

      3. Restoration implies the church had disappeared completely, and these people were trying to bring it back.

      4. But Jesus promised the church would remain (Matt. 16:18).

      5. What ended up happening is the church did disappear from the pages of history.

      6. While there were many faithful Christians before the so-called Restoration Movement, they failed to make the history books.

    2. While the church cannot be restored (since it never truly disappeared), there can still be personal restoration.

      1. If we are “spiritual,” one might understand that to be spiritually mature, then we ought to be in the business of restoring those “overtaken in any trespass.”

      2. This is not something we can force, but it is something we ought to encourage.

      3. In order for something to be restored, however, it must have been lost after having previously been in a good state.

      4. In fact, just a few verses earlier (5:4), Paul talks about those who are estranged from Christ and have fallen from grace.

      5. We ought to encourage our fellow Christians who have fallen from grace to be restored to His good graces.

      6. This needs to be done in a spirit of gentleness. Other versions say to do so gently and humbly. The KJV says to do so in a spirit of meekness.

      7. Meekness, we understand, is strength under control.

      8. This does not imply weakness, but a firm yet gentle hand—something that takes a great deal of skill and time to perfect. Though as with any talent, some have a natural affinity for it.

      9. We ought to be involved in helping to restore others, gently and humbly, and making sure we don’t fall into the same sins that we are trying to pull someone out of.

      10. I think of the dramatic scene where a former drug addict goes into a drug den pulling someone he cares about who is strung out.

      11. That former drug addict may be tempted when he goes in there, so he must “consider himself” as he enters to rescue his buddy.

      12. In order to do so, you need a firm but gentle hand—particularly since it’s unlikely the one who is strung out will come willingly at first.

      13. Of course, it need not be as dramatic as all that, but there are situations like that happening with brethren in need of restoration all the time.

    3. And perhaps you are the one in need of restoration.

      1. It’s unlikely that one in need of restoration will be hearing this right now, but in the event that you are, please listen.

      2. Be patient with those trying to restore you.

      3. They do so out of love for you and for your soul.

      4. In this new year, seek out one who might need to be restored, but make sure you examine yourself first and reform your life and being restored yourself if needed.

      5. Once that is done, we must seek to renew ourselves every day.

  4. Renew (Rom. 12:1-2).

    1. Every few years, we must renew our drivers licenses.

      1. The requirements are different in each state, but there are certain things we must do before our licenses can be renewed.

      2. We have already obtained a license, and hopefully we haven’t let it lapse or expire.

      3. But we need to make sure it’s still valid.

    2. As for our Christian faith, we need to make sure it’s still valid.

      1. That’s what Paul meant in 2 Cor. 13:5 when he said that we need to examine ourselves lest we become disqualified.

      2. And here in Romans 12, we are told what to do with that information.

      3. We only know to what extent we need to renew ourselves if we have examined ourselves.

      4. After this, we have reformed and been restored, having made major changes, then we can keep it up with a continual renewing of our minds.

      5. We are not told how often we need to do this here, so it is implied it is a continual endeavor.

      6. I recommend doing so daily, not just yearly as this lesson might imply.

      7. If we wait to the beginning of the year, we will falter and fail.

      8. It’s similar to that New Years Resolution we mentioned earlier.

      9. Did you know that the gyms will be flooded with people in January, and the attendance will drop off by February? At least that’s normally the case without a global pandemic.

      10. It’s because people often make their Resolutions to exercise regularly and get fit.

      11. But if they wait until January to do this, and not resolve to make it a regular part of their lives, they will never get fit!

      12. No, this is a resolution that you must make between yourself and God every day.

      13. Otherwise, there will be a day when you fail and miss it.

      14. When Victoria and I first started reading the Bible every day together, there were days that we missed—especially around the time of Seth’s birth.

      15. But we set up a method for catching up without overloading us, and that has allowed us to read through the Bible together every year for several years.

      16. We double up until we’re caught up. That year Seth was born, we had to double up for the whole book of Jeremiah!

      17. But it worked! Don’t let little hiccups get in the way of your spiritual success (or any success really).

      18. Renew yourselves daily, and it will give you cause to rejoice.

  5. Rejoice (Phil. 4:4).

    1. We did talk about rejoicing always several weeks ago, so I won’t spend too much time here.

      1. We know that we are told to rejoice, but in this new year, let us resolve to rejoice!

      2. Yes, this world has thrown us curve ball after curve ball this year, but surely we can find some cause to rejoice in our Lord.

      3. There will be sad days, but there will be happy ones.

      4. Let’s not so much focus on the terrible ones, but also focus on the great ones!

    2. In any event, no matter how terrible things get, and they may get terribler, the Lord has always given us cause to rejoice.

      1. We can rejoice in our church family who loves us and cares for us.

      2. We can rejoice that the Lord loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us.

      3. We can rejoice in our salvation, that the Lord has taken our sins away when He sacrificed Himself on that cross.

      4. These things can only really apply after we have reflected upon our lives, reformed it to fit His will, restored our souls if needed, and have renewed our minds.

      5. Only then can we truly rejoice in the Lord!

Conclusion.

  1. As many of us have noted, it’s been a tough year for us all.

    1. Despite what happens to us, let us remember these five R’s so that we might make 2021 a great year.

    2. Our happiness must not be wholly contingent on outside influences, but on the steady and loving hand of our Lord.

    3. Whatever difficult things happen, our Lord is in control!

    4. He is our God, and because He is in control, we should rejoice!

    5. Let us do what we can to make 2021 a great year for us.

  2. Hopefully you have a cause to rejoice this morning.

    1. If not, I encourage you to get right with God today!

    2. If you have examined yourself and found yourself wanting, reform, restore, renew, so you can rejoice!