Romans 12:2

We have been preaching verse by verse,

expositionally through the gospel according to Mark,

! But this morning we're going to take a small break from that.

And I'll ask you, I invite you to turn to Romans chapter 12 with me.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

We're going to do this for two reasons.

Firstly, I often fail at teaching very practically.

Giving you, spelling out for you the next steps that our text presents to us.

And I've recognized this for some time as a bit of a failing in my preaching,

and I'm working on it.

Because I know altogether a theoretical Christianity is really of little value.

Just knowing the doctrine isn't quite enough.

The application of the doctrine is of massive importance.

And so I kind of had that rolling around inside my heart.

And sat down to work a little bit on announcements.

There are some things that came to my mind that I think need to be addressed

that would be fitting at this end of the year.

Second reason is that as I did this and prayed about what ought to be done,

having sitting before me completed notes for Mark chapter 14 verses 12 through 25.

Mark 14:12–25

Done.

Completely done.

Ready to go.

And having to start over and create notes altogether for this morning.

In fact, my prayer was that that's not be what God would have me do.

So I didn't have to create the notes,

but I'm convinced that this is exactly what he would have me do this morning.

So for those two reasons, we're going to begin in Romans 12, the first part of verse 2.

And then we'll have some topic beyond that as well, which I'll tell you about in just a moment.

So let me read that to you.

It says,

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

Let's pray together.

Father, we do thank you for your word that we have opened before us.

It is a great gift to your church, and we have it in abundance.

Copies upon copies and tools used to understand it.

All of the application of these things is possible ultimately and finally by your spirit,

who illuminates our minds to understand, to rightly understand what your text has to say to us.

I pray today that that will be the case, that you will work a miracle amongst us in my speaking and in the hearing,

that we will be changed by your word.

You will get at the very core of who we are and that our hearts will be transformed.

And we pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

So Paul exhorts in chapter 12, after his beautiful systematic theology through the first 11 chapters of the book,

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

So there's a process by which we are transformed as Christians.

Putting off the world itself, not being conformed to it, and being changed.

And the prescription he gives here is by the renewal of our minds.

Right here at the end of the year, we've entered into a season where many people make New Year's resolutions.

They resolve to do something or another better, or to start doing something good, or to stop doing something harmful to them.

Always with this positive idea in mind, positive resolves, bent on improvement and moving forward,

putting aside the failures of the previous year and looking forward to the year ahead.

I've always found resolutions to be a little bit trite, because most people keep their resolutions for a very brief amount of time.

This effort to get in shape is one that's often thrown out there.

In fact, the survival of gyms depend on New Year's resolutions.

If you happen to know a gym owner, and if you talk to them about what they must charge to keep the place running,

the people who actually show up and work out at the rate they pay could never keep a place like that open.

What they depend upon is all the memberships they sell at the beginning of the year,

and all the people who never come as a result.

They drop their resolution.

I've always said to myself, why not make resolutions at any other time of the year?

Why must we wait until January 1st of the year?

Why can we not start at the moment we realize we should be doing something differently to move forward?

However, a lot of people do think in these terms around this time of year.

Fresh starts.

And as I know that some of this may be rolling around in your mind,

I think it's appropriate that we make some suggested resolutions to you.

And this was going to be part of my announcements,

and it suddenly turned into two and three and four and now almost five pages of notes.

So I just thought, let's do a sermon on it instead.

Let's start by talking to you a little bit about the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards.

In Jonathan Edwards' biography, he wrote 70 resolutions,

excuse me, in his diary.

In 1723, when he was just 20-year-old, 20s-year-old,

70 things that he was committing his life to,

these resolves, so to speak.

To give you an example, the first and longest one, he says,

Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory

and my own good, profit, and pleasure in the whole of my duration

without any consideration of the time, whether now or never so many myriads of ages hence.

Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good

and advantage of mankind in general.

Resolved to do this whatever difficulties I meet,

how many and how great whatsoever.

So he set forth these 70 things by which he would live his life.

And in much simpler format today, I want to give you seven suggested resolutions.

I will say to you that these are things for me that I am still working in,

that I am still growing in,

that I am still not being conformed to the world,

and I'm still being transformed by the renewal of my mind.

Paul's writing in Romans chapter 7 resonates with me so much,

Romans 7 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 21,

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right,

evil lies close at hand.

For I delight in the law of God in my inner being,

but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind

and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

Wretched man that I am,

who will deliver me from this body of death?

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So that I myself serve the law of God with my mind,

but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Chapter 8, verse 1,

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So as we devote ourselves to new things or improvement of things,

in the new year we can celebrate that we are found righteous before God,

that we've begun by grace and that we continue by grace.

So seven suggested resolutions.

Firstly, pray more.

Pray more.

I know that this is a church that prays, that values prayer,

but we can certainly pray more.

As those who hold the sovereignty of God so high

and seem to understand it so well,

I fear that we often set prayer aside as if it doesn't matter at all

because we know that God is ultimately and finally in control.

But God uses the prayers of His people to accomplish His will.

I think we often have the attitude of Job in Job 21.15

where he says,

What is the Almighty that we should serve Him?

And what profit do we get if we pray to Him?

Paul's exhortation is much different than Job's attitude in chapter 21.

1 Thessalonians 5.17

He exhorts the Thessalonian believers to pray without ceasing.

And in Philippians 4.6-7, he says,

Do not be anxious about anything,

but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,

let your requests be made known to God.

And then a promise comes with that.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I consider myself a praying person.

I lift lots of things up to God.

But I have recently been convicted of my faithless prayer.

But I often ask things of God,

not really expecting that He'll answer my prayers.

An example of a story that happened not too recently,

I serve as the chairman of the board of directors

for the Dahlonega Care Center here in town.

And after our last board meeting,

there were some issues that were particularly vexing to me.

And after our meeting,

Wes and I talked about them at length.

A couple of days later,

in fact, this was Monday on Wednesday morning,

I gave him a call with the very same issue on my mind.

It had been bothering me all of that time.

The thing that was constantly running in the background of my mind.

And I realized as I was talking with him

that I was having the exact same conversation.

Like nothing had changed from Monday evening to Wednesday morning.

Nothing had been resolved.

There was really no new thing to address concerning it.

And I realized that I had yet to really pray about it.

Mentioned it, sure.

But yet to really say to God,

God, ultimately,

you are fully and finally in control of this thing.

There's nothing I can do about it apart from you.

And I'm giving it to you.

I'm not going to be anxious about it.

I desire the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.

And so when I got off the phone with Wes,

I was driving the boys up to my mom and dad's house to spend the day.

And I mean, a 10-second prayer.

Lord, I don't know how to work this thing out.

I don't know what's going to become of this circumstance.

But I know that you have to do it.

And I set it aside.

And in the hour I was visiting with my father,

I got an email which needed a phone call in response

about an entirely different thing.

And the thing I was concerned about came up in that conversation

and was totally resolved.

Like fixed.

Set.

Forever.

This issue was.

Incredible.

And the thing that popped into my head as I'm having this conversation

is the words,

you do not have because you do not ask.

One of Edwards' resolutions,

Resolution 29,

he says,

So in plain English for you,

he says,

never to count it as a prayer unless I know that God can answer it.

And if it's a confession,

that God will accept that confession.

And I find this to be true of myself sometimes.

And I think the same would be true of you.

We ought to pray more than we do.

And we ought to be very intentional about the way in which we pray.

I think we're all guilty of saying to somebody,

somebody's sharing with you,

something going on in their life,

and you say to them,

I'll pray for you.

We've all done this.

And then we never do.

Why not stop in the moment and pray?

It doesn't have to be a lengthy prayer.

Say to somebody,

I'll pray for you.

In fact,

why don't we pray now?

Or,

set some specific time aside.

Write down the prayer.

Be sure to pray for that person.

Think about the people in your life and make lists.

We have wonderful things.

Writing utensils and digital ways that we can record things.

Why not set specific time aside

and pray through the concerns of our life

and those who are around us?

Set specific time aside.

Closet time.

Quiet time.

Where you get alone with the Lord

and offer up to Him

those things that concern you.

In addition to that,

utter prayers throughout the day.

Spend time in prayer.

Pray continually,

without ceasing,

as Paul exhorts,

as you're encountering the little things of the day,

to stay connected to the source of all good things

and offer those things up to Him.

Journal.

Is anybody in here journal?

Prayer journal?

I don't.

It's something I'd really like to do.

Good for you,

the two that do it,

I think I saw.

Right?

What a wonderful way to keep an account

of the things that you've been praying

and the way in which God answers those prayers.

There are wonderful biographies that you can read

that are essentially people's prayer journals.

The accounts of the way in which they petitioned God

and the way in which He answered.

Use these as tools.

I think that most people these days have smartphones.

I'm an iPhone user,

so speaking to those of you who have iPhones,

there's this really, really great app

that comes with it called Reminders,

and you can set reminders for yourself

to pray about things specifically.

Our church leadership doesn't know this,

but I have reminders programmed into my phone

throughout the week to be praying for them,

and it pops up a reminder,

and I'm prompted then to pray

for our church leadership.

There's wonderful tools at our disposal.

Reminders will remind you at a location.

It locates you by GPS

and tells you to pray

when you get to a place

or when you're leaving a place.

We have such wonderful things

at our disposal

to pray more in 2015.

So let me encourage you

to make that a resolution this next year.

Secondly,

be resolved to read the Bible more.

To read the Bible more.

Beloved,

our God has given to us

a book that He wrote

under the inspiration of the Spirit

by various authors,

but a book nonetheless that He wrote.

It was breathed out by Him,

and we neglect it.

We do not know the Bible

the way that we ought to.

Resolve 28 of Edwards,

resolved to study the Scripture

so steadily,

constantly,

and frequently

as that I may find

and plainly perceive myself

to grow in the knowledge

of the same.

He wanted to be able

to mark out and measure

that He understood

and He knew it

from day to day,

week to week,

month to month,

that He was coming

to a growing knowledge

of the very Word of God.

There's a promise

that comes with this.

Proverbs 3, 5, and 6.

Trust in the Lord

with all your heart,

and do not lean

on your own understanding,

in all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will make straight

your paths.

I want my paths to be straight.

I hope you do too.

There's a joy that comes

from studying and knowing

and keeping the Word of God.

Psalm 119, 9-16.

How can a young man

keep his way pure?

By guarding it

according to Your Word.

With my whole heart I seek You.

Let me not wander

from Your commandments.

I have stored up Your Word

in my heart

that I might not sin against You.

Blessed are You, O Lord.

Teach me Your statutes.

With my lips I declare

all the rules of Your mouth.

In the way of Your testimonies

I delight as much

as in all riches.

I will meditate on Your precepts

and fix my eyes on Your ways.

I will delight in Your statutes.

I will not forget Your Word.

The very essence of Christian living

is that we are fueled

by the very words of God.

There's a sanctification

and there's an equipping

that comes by it.

2 Timothy 3, 16-17.

Paul writes,

All Scripture is breathed out by God

and is profitable for teaching,

for reproof,

for correction,

and for training in righteousness.

That the man of God

or woman of God

may be complete

and equipped

for every good work.

It's the way in which

our minds are transformed

and we're no longer conformed then

to the world.

It's by the Word of God.

So practically,

you need to make a plan

for how it is

you will study

the Word of God.

Beloved, Sunday morning

is not enough.

The 30-45 to an hour

that I give you

is not enough.

You must be saturating yourself

with the Word of God.

It is the very bread of life

for you.

So here's a couple of suggestions

for you.

A new one for me,

the first one.

Choose a book of the Bible.

Start with a short one.

It's good to build habits

with achievable goals.

Start with a short one

like an epistle.

Let me suggest to you

the book of Ephesians.

Read that book

in its entirety.

Whether you do that

in one sitting

or you do it over

chapters at a time

or a couple of verses

at a time,

read that book

in its entirety.

Then repeat step two

20 times.

Repeat step two

20 times.

Read it in its entirety

in whatever format you do it

20 times

and repeat the whole process

for every book of the Bible.

You can have a great deal

of understanding

of the Scriptures

if you'll do something

like this.

You could plan to

read the Bible through

in a year.

There's lots of

Bible reading plans

for yearly Bible reading.

It's a great way to do it.

There's nothing

particularly holy about it.

It doesn't make you

a better Christian

because you cram it in

into a year.

You've got to keep up

and you've got to struggle

through some things

like Numbers

and Leviticus.

But many Christians

have never read

all of the Scriptures.

Have no idea

what it says

in some places.

And for those of us

who have

you go back sometimes

and you read and you go

what?

Like nutty stories

that happen

and we just totally

forget them.

That they even exist.

So let me encourage you

at some point in your life

to do this

and maybe to do it

periodically.

To set yourself

on a schedule.

To plan on reading it

through in a year.

We have a really

really fantastic

chronological Bible

reading plan

that helps you

lay out the Scriptures

in the way in which

they happened

in history

versus the way

they're organized

in our Bibles.

I don't know if you

know this or not

but the Old Testament

is organized

by types of books.

So it can get

a little confusing

as to when these things

actually happened.

A chronological Bible

reading plan

is a great way

to see the Scriptures

unfold before you.

There are many other

fantastic ways

to do that.

Lastly,

let me suggest to you

which has been

my typical habit

in studying the Scriptures

and that is to choose

a book of the Bible.

Again,

pick a short one.

Ephesians is a fantastic

one to work through.

And in day one,

the first time you sit down,

read the entire book.

Remember that

the book was written

as a book.

In this case of Ephesians,

it's a letter.

So it's addressed

to a particular people.

Read the whole thing.

That's the way

they would have heard it.

Not given to them

a verse at a time

but they would have

heard the entire thing.

So read the entire book

and get the context

set properly for you.

And then in the following days,

read carefully the text.

Read it carefully

until God arrests

your attention.

So read it until

something sticks out to you

and you go,

that is an interesting word

and I never noticed it before.

What does it mean?

Does something

arrest your attention

and your heart

is turned towards God?

Right?

The sleepiness of the morning,

right,

or the troubles of the day

suddenly are far and distant

in your mind

and all you want to know

is God revealed to you

in the text.

What you're reading

right there before you,

right?

Your heart is saying,

oh,

what is this new thing

that I'm now seeing

and I want to understand

in a greater degree?

And then take that thing

and meditate on it

throughout your day.

Right?

Do this

until you get to the end

of the book

and then pick a different book

and keep moving on.

Right?

A fantastic way

to study the scriptures.

There are many other ways

to do the same

but those are three

that I think are useful

in your study

of the Bible.

So,

think about,

consider making that

a resolution

in 2015.

Thirdly,

read more books.

Just in general,

read more books.

I'll say Christian

or otherwise,

although I would strongly

encourage Christian writing

upon you.

And I say read more books,

not just read more

because there's lots

of reading to be done

these days on the internet.

There are lots of articles.

We call them blogs

so readily

and they have value

but it's very,

very difficult

to totally divulge

all that there is

to say about a particular topic

in an article.

Right?

There's lots of holes

that are left

in that type of thing

but books tend

not to do that.

Good books

tend not to do that.

There are plenty

of poor books

out there.

Christian books

are fantastic.

If they're well written,

they expose to us

the Scriptures themselves.

A great way

to test this

is to look at the back

of the book

and see if it has

a Scripture index.

And if there's many,

many pages

of references,

probably a good book.

Many books

claim to be Christian books

and barely use

the Scriptures at all

or they use them

very, very poorly.

But we can come

to a better understanding.

Beloved,

we have access

to theologians

throughout history

through books.

They have written down

what they believe

to be true

on a particular topic

and we can sit down

with that person

and understand

what they would have to say.

I hope,

and this may not be true

of all of you,

but I hope

that if suddenly

Jonathan Edwards

were here,

they could sit down

with us

and we might ask

him a question

like,

what do you think

about the freedom

of the will?

And that we would

sit there

and eagerly listen

to the answer

that he would give us.

I hope that you would

jot down many,

many notes.

Guess what?

He wrote them down

for you.

He did it.

He organized it

in a way

that you can sit down

and approach

and wrestle with

and come to understand

in a greater degree.

It's a blessing.

There's too many books

out there.

I will say,

we could get rid

of probably 90%

of them

because they're junk,

but there's a lot

of really good books

to be read.

The average person

reads 300 words

per minute.

The average page

of a book

contains 300 words.

The average book length

is,

it's actually 350 pages,

but let's go with 300

so we can remember easily

across the board.

So which means

if you read

for 30 minutes a day,

five days a week,

for 50 weeks,

so we're going to give you

two weeks off

in the year

and two days a week off,

you can read 25 books

in a year.

It's pretty incredible,

right?

And it's not okay

to be a Christian

who just doesn't like

to read.

Oh, I just don't like

to read.

Well, guess what?

The way that communication

is translated

is through words.

And Sunday morning

is not enough,

so where's it going

to come from?

Got to get into books.

The book

and books that talk

about the book.

Right?

So let me challenge

you to something.

I'm not going to challenge

you to read 25 books

this year.

I wipe some sweat

off your forehead.

Let me challenge you

to read five.

Five books.

Read five books.

And let me challenge

you to specifically

read some Christian books.

Five Christian books

in this next year.

They're bountiful.

You can get PDFs

of books, right?

Free.

All over the place.

I'm going to suggest

a few to you.

So here's my short list.

Really difficult to do

for my study

to pick five books.

There are many other

really fantastic books,

but I'm going to suggest

five to you.

So if you have no idea

where to start,

here's five really

fantastic books.

The Pursuit of God

by A.W. Tozer.

I'm going to jot this down.

I'll leave them up here

after the service.

The Pursuit of God

by A.W. Tozer.

A really, really fantastic read.

Finally Alive

by John Piper.

Finally Alive

by John Piper.

The Trellis and the Vine

by Colin Marshall

and Tony Payne.

Sorry, Tony Payne.

Right?

Wonderful book.

Worship,

The Ultimate Priority

by John MacArthur.

It's not about music.

And then Good Biography

is always fantastic.

So George Mueller

of Bristol,

this particular copy,

not this particular printing.

George Mueller of Bristol

by A.T. Pearson.

Right?

Good Biography

will encourage

your Christian living.

Right?

All about

350 pages.

Okay?

Can be done

in a year.

Let me encourage you

to set yourself to that.

And you may be saying,

well, Nathan,

but you're a pastor.

Like, you've been given time.

Like, we pay you

to study

and to understand things

and to know things.

It's easier for you.

I agree.

For me to read

five books in this year

is not a difficult task.

Right?

Not a difficult task at all.

Well, let me tell you

what I'm doing

in this next year.

I'm reading 50 books

in this year.

Right?

So I've got to

chew through one a week

to be able to accomplish

this goal.

If you step down

into my study,

you'll see the big stack

on my desk,

which is that.

Those are the books

that I'm intending

on reading

in this year.

So if I can do this

by the grace of God,

the last couple of months

I've been practicing

getting to that pace

of reading a book a week.

If I can accomplish this,

you can certainly

do five.

Pick good books

that point you to

the Word of God.

So make it a resolution

to read more books

in 2015.

Fourthly,

I think I'm on the right count.

Fourthly,

eat better.

Yes,

eat better.

And most people

don't know this

by coming here

and first glance,

but we are a

Southern Baptist church

and Southern Baptists

are notoriously good

at observing some things,

some things that aren't

even law,

and really great

at neglecting others.

Proverbs 23,

1-4 says,

When you sit down

to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully

what is before you

and put a knife

to your throat

if you are given

to appetite.

Do not desire

his delicacies

for they are

deceptive food.

And to understand

a little bit more

what's being written here,

do not toil

to acquire wealth,

be discerning enough

to desist,

to stop,

to recognize

that there is

an abundance

in our consumption,

that we go above

and beyond

what we ought

to consume.

Paul says

in 1 Corinthians 10-31,

So whether you eat

or drink

or whatever you do,

do all

to the glory of God.

And the major point

that I would make

to you

is that

we as a people,

as an American people,

are relatively unhealthy

in the way

we eat.

And it seems to me

that if I want to

fit myself for service,

if I want to be active

in kingdom building,

that the less

I struggle

with physical ailment,

the better off

I am

to serve the Lord

in the things

I'm doing.

Now certainly

sin exists in this world,

just eating well

and exercising

does not accomplish

that in its entirety.

Sin still runs rampant.

There are going to be

people who eat

the strictest of diets

and avoid everything

that everybody says

causes cancer.

They're going to stay

completely away

from all of that

and they're still

going to get cancer

and die.

It's going to happen.

But,

the knowledge

is at our fingertips.

We know what is

and isn't good

for the most part

for us.

It seems to be changing

kind of from week

to week too,

doesn't it?

But we ought

to strive,

we ought to endeavor

to be as healthy

as we can be

for the sake

of serving

the kingdom.

Again,

listen to Edwards.

Resolve 20,

resolved to maintain

the strictest temperance

in eating

and drinking.

Resolve 40,

resolved to inquire

every night

before I go to bed

whether I have acted

in the best way

I possibly could

with respect

to eating

and drinking.

And elsewhere

in his diary

he wrote,

By a sparingness

in diet

and eating

as much as may be

what is light

and easy

of digestion,

I shall doubtless

be able to think

more clearly

and shall gain time,

number one,

by lengthening

out my life,

number two,

shall need less time

for digestion

after meals,

number three,

shall be able

to study more closely

without injury

to my health,

number four,

shall need less time

for sleep,

and number five,

shall more seldom

be troubled

with the headache.

Edwards had actually

systematically

really paid attention

to what he ate

and how it affected

his ability

to serve

in the kingdom.

Edwards,

on most days,

studied for 16 hours.

A phenomenal application

of his mind,

and he tailored

his diet

in such a way

that he could achieve

that very thing,

like an athlete,

training his body

so that he could

understand the word

of God

and then rightly

tell it

to his people.

As a side note,

Edwards primarily

ate vegetables

with little bits

of meat,

so just a little note

for you there.

We have,

again,

resourced,

our church

has a lot

of families in it

that eat

very,

very healthy,

so if you're

interested

in changing

the way you eat,

please do.

I will tell you again

a little personal story.

I have for over a decade,

since I was about 21,

I'm now 34,

about to be 35,

experienced lots

of muscle

and tendon pain,

been in quite a lot

of pain.

Like most days,

I just didn't want

to get up

and get going.

And this last year,

through a massive change

of diet,

which is how I discovered

I'm allergic to couscous

because I never would

have eaten couscous

previously,

have found that

much of my pain

and discomfort

is tied to diet.

I feel phenomenally better.

Still experience it,

still struggling with it,

I think I'm still

in a bit of a healing process,

but feel way better.

Sugar,

being the primary thing

that seems to cause me

to ache.

In fact,

when I stopped

consuming sugar altogether,

started drinking

primarily water,

I felt like

I had been kind of

living in a fog.

It was really hard

to keep focus.

And it's like

the fog lifted

and I could think

more clearly.

I could apply my mind

more readily.

And I have,

in the meantime,

cheated a few times

and immediately,

I mean immediately,

I feel like I'm back

in that fog again.

Difficult to think,

just want to go to sleep.

Right?

It's killing us.

All this refined sugar

and corn syrup

and things

that we're eating.

Right?

Some people process it better.

We all know people

who are going to live

really, really

to old ages

and eat horribly.

Right?

But let me encourage,

generally,

for you to do some research,

ask some folks

in our church,

and eat more healthy

in 2015.

All right.

Fifthly,

lead your family

better.

Lead your family

better.

And I mean,

specifically,

by leading in

family worship.

There are a lot of things

that we need to be doing,

men,

women as well,

in the leading

of our family better.

But specifically,

let me think about,

talk to you about,

by leading in family worship

this next year.

And I will tell you up front

that I struggle

with this one.

The schedule of our house,

trying to deal with

a four-year-old

and a two-year-old,

trying to get them

to sit still

in our home.

It's a little bit easier

here, in fact,

but trying to get them

to sit still

and try to pay attention.

Speaking to them

at their different levels

is really challenging.

Sam and I ebb and flow

out of success

in leading family worship

well.

But the Scripture says to us,

Deuteronomy 6,

6 and 7,

And these words

that I command you today

shall be on your heart.

You shall teach them

diligently to your children

and shall talk of them

when you sit in your house

and when you walk by the way

and when you lie down

and when you rise.

Many Christian homes

are altogether devoid

of the Word of God.

We spend lots of time

doing lots of other things,

lots of energy,

but yet we don't teach

our children

the most important thing,

the only thing

that's going to have

eternal significance

for them.

If Christians would spend

even half the time

teaching their children

the Word of God

that they do,

running around

teaching them

to be good ballerinas

and football players

and baseball players,

etc.,

our children would be

so much better off.

God has a multi-generational

idea in mind

in the presentation

of the Gospel.

Psalm 78, 5-7 says,

God established

a testimony in Jacob

and appointed a law

in Israel

which He commanded

to our fathers

to teach their children

that the next generation

might know them,

the children yet unborn,

and arise

and tell them

to their children

so they should set

their hope in God

and not forget

the works of God

but keep His commandments.

I don't know for sure

but I think Paul

has this in mind

in Ephesians 6-4

when he says,

Fathers,

do not provoke

your children to anger

but bring them up

in the discipline

and instruction

of the Lord.

We need to be

leading our families.

Fathers in this room,

you are the pastors

of your families.

I'm your pastor,

you pastor,

your family.

And the things

that I think are necessary

in family worship,

it's going to vary

dramatically from age to age

but we need to be reading

the Scriptures

to our children

or something that speaks

of the Scriptures

to the little ones,

discussing it,

asking them questions,

making sure they understand,

praying with them,

singing with them,

and memorizing with them,

memorizing Scripture

or working them

through a catechism.

The reason Aletheia Way

is so simple

is that it's not my job

to teach your kids.

I'm hoping to give them

something that will get

some energy out of them

that gives you some support.

So you can go home

and sing the songs

that we sing on Sunday mornings.

We've got a Scripture

memory verse

that we're doing

approximately one per month.

You can pick up

your favorite version

of a catechism

and work on that with them

that we build the truth

into our children.

Some people call it

brainwashing.

I don't care.

I want their brains

to have access

to really, really good,

solid information

so that their hearts

will be changed.

Pump the information

into them.

We'll say to you

that when you do this

isn't all that important.

The Puritans,

which value family worship

very highly,

did it both in the morning

and in the evening

of every single day.

There is no way

I could pull that off

in my home.

I have really seriously

considered getting it done.

There's just no way

that we could pull it off.

We typically do really well

doing it once a week

at dinner time.

We pick a dinner time,

a day of the week

that we're going to do it.

Consistency, I think,

is the most important thing

that we're spending

a very consistent amount

of time with our kids.

There are wonderful resources

for the young ones.

The Jesus Storybook Bible,

many of you are familiar with.

I have this read with me

which actually is not

really great theologically,

but this same guy,

Dennis Jones,

has a see with me Bible

that's just pictures

and they're awesome.

This is Sam's favorite

illustrator.

So just to give you

an example,

there's John the Baptist.

You guys can see

from far away.

Really good, right?

Like, totally shifted

the way I thought

of John the Baptist,

but pretty awesome.

He's got a big split

between his front teeth.

It's cool.

So really,

but the see with me

is really, really fantastic

if you want to just tell

your children the story.

I read this morning,

intentionally,

read this morning from you

from the Big Picture

Storybook Bible.

Very Christocentric

as well as the

Jesus Storybook Bible.

fantastic ones

for the little ones

to tell the stories

to them.

If any of you are

friends with us on Facebook,

you'll note the one thing

I asked for for Christmas

was a felt board set,

which I found out

to my great pleasure

that it was copyrighted

in 1966,

which means it's the exact

same felt board set

that I would have seen

as a child.

Unfortunately,

I have to cut out

every one of the pieces

myself,

which I'm not looking

forward to,

but I'm going to start

doing some storyboarding

at home with the kids

to help them engage

in the story.

So,

set aside a time,

make it a resolve

for you for 2015

to lead your family

better in the act

of family worship.

Number six,

resolve in 2015

to give

more

generously.

To give more generously.

Luke 12,

turn to Luke 12

with me.

Get a drink of water.

Get a drink of water.

Luke 12,

it's one of my favorite

parables that Jesus told.

Luke 12,

beginning in verse 13.

Someone in the crowd

said to him,

Teacher,

tell my brothers

to divide the inheritance

with me.

But he said to him,

Man,

who made me a judge

or arbitrator over you?

And he said to them,

Take care

and be on your guard

against all covetousness

for one's life

does not consist

in the abundance

of his possessions.

Now,

let me stop for a minute

and note there,

he says,

be on guard

against all covetousness.

Not just having stuff

and coveting it,

but also wanting things,

right,

that you don't have,

thinking that the abundance

of possessions

will bring you joy.

Verse 16,

And he told them

a parable saying,

The land of a rich man

produced plentifully.

And he thought to himself,

What shall I do?

For I have nowhere

to store my crops.

And he said,

I will do this.

I will tear down my barns

and build larger ones.

And there I will store

all my grain and my goods.

And I will say to my soul,

Soul,

you have ample goods

laid up for many years.

Relax,

eat,

drink,

be merry.

But God said to him,

Fool,

this night your soul

is required of you.

In the things you have prepared,

whose will they be?

So is the one

who lays up treasure

for himself

and is not rich

towards God.

Right?

Let that sink

for a moment.

Now,

this parable is not

a warning against

saving.

It's a warning against

storing up for yourself

to the degree

that that is

the consistency

of your life.

Like we said before

in verse 15,

life does not consist

in the abundance

of possessions.

The Proverbs tell us

to observe the ant

who stores up

for the time

when there is no food.

It is okay

that we do these types

of preparatory things.

In fact,

year before last,

Sam and I were very

carefully saving,

getting ahead.

We had gotten ourselves

a month ahead

in our savings.

We had money

sitting aside

in the savings.

If we somehow

didn't have an income,

the guys decided

to get rid of me,

we would have had a month

stored up.

It was really fantastic

and I felt so very good

about that,

but I wasn't really sure

exactly why

we were being led

to save

in this way.

And then,

we got our taxes

all taken care of

and discovered

that the accountant

that was taking care

of our deductions

here for the church

had done it wrong

and I owed

quite a bit more

than I thought

that I had anticipated

owing.

And in fact,

it came up within,

once I paid the accountant

the fees to sort it all out,

within about $20

of what we had saved

in that year previous.

So,

as Sam and I

kind of lamented

that our savings

was gone,

I said,

well,

at least we know now

what God was having us

save it for,

right?

He was very aware

of what was going

to happen.

But we ought to give

generously to the kingdom

of all of our resources,

our money,

our time,

and our talents.

I know many people

in this room are young

and they don't really

have money,

but you have time

and you have talents

and we must

prioritize giving

to the kingdom of God.

The example

in the Old Testament

of giving

is the tithe

that it was meant

to be done

off the top,

the very first,

the first fruits,

right?

Not what's left over

at the end.

Let me take care

of these obligations

and then I'll give

by setting first

and foremost

an obligation

to the Lord

to say,

this is ultimately

and finally His.

I will give

to kingdom work.

And the other,

and I will say to you

that if you have a home

and you have a car,

which is okay to own,

you own those things,

you also need to see

those things as belonging

to the Lord

and use them in ways

that serve His purposes

as well.

You've got to prioritize it.

Let me encourage upon you

envelope budgeting.

Set money aside

specifically for the expenses

that you know

you have coming up.

I would include

kingdom giving

in that.

Sam and I plan

every single month

exactly what we budgeted out

for the year,

exactly what we're going to give

as a standard,

and then we try to go

above and beyond that

at times

to prayerfully consider

if we should give more.

We consider that

as an overflow

when God is very,

very good to us

in our finances.

Envelope budgeting

ensures that you'll have

what you need

for your necessities

as well as being able

to give.

The average family

that uses envelope budgeting,

some kind of a system,

saves 10%

of their household income.

So,

you're having difficult time

giving to the church?

Well, guess what?

Start paying attention

to your budget

and the statistic holds

that you're going to have

10% free up.

Wouldn't that be

a wonderful,

wonderful thing?

The average evangelical

only gives 2%

of their income,

which means

a lot of evangelicals

don't give anything

at all,

and a lot give

much, much more

than that,

but 2%

is a sad,

sad number.

Prioritize.

As far as giving

your time

and talents

young people,

use a calendar.

It is a fantastic tool.

A day planner

if you would like to.

Once again,

technology serves us

so well in this way.

You have tools

at your disposal.

Plan time

to study.

Plan some time

to hang out

with your friends.

And if it's not that time,

then do something good

with your time.

I know you feel

very busy,

right?

I sympathize with you.

I was there

once upon a time

quite a while ago.

I know you feel

very, very busy,

but you have

so much time.

Go ahead and start

being a good planner

of time

and using your time well

because if you don't

start doing it now,

you're going to find

that once you get married

and have a job

and a family,

you're never going

to make time

to do things

for the kingdom.

Jesus gives this warning

in Matthew 6,

Matthew 6:19–21

verse 19-21,

Do not lay up for yourselves

treasures on earth

where moth and rust

destroy and where thieves

break in and steal.

But lay up for yourselves

treasures in heaven

where neither moth

nor rust destroys

and where thieves

do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is,

there your heart

will be also.

The way in which

we spend our resources

says something

about what we care about.

I hope

that you'll be resolved

in this next year

to give more generously.

2 Corinthians 12-15,

I want this to be

something that sticks

in your mind

that we could

repeat these words

that Paul writes

to the Corinthians.

I will most gladly

spend

and be spent

for your souls.

Seventh,

and lastly,

be resolved in 2015

to make

more

disciples.

Most of us

are familiar

with Matthew 28,

19-20.

It's called

the Great Commission.

Go, therefore,

and make disciples

of all nations,

baptizing in the name

of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them

to observe

all that I have

commanded you.

And behold,

I am with you

always

to the end

of the age.

Beloved,

it is our job

as disciples

of Jesus Christ

to make disciples

of Jesus Christ.

If we were to follow Him,

we're to be about

His work.

The Great Commission

is a commission

to go.

It's a in your going,

as you're going.

The Great Commission

is not just for

the foreign missionary,

but it is for

all of us

who claim

the name

of Christ.

And it's go.

It's not invite

to come.

And it's okay

if you invite people

to come,

but it's take

the gospel

with you.

It's not lean on

a trained professional,

and I have no training

by the way.

But,

the professional

to present the gospel,

but it's you

going and sharing,

passionately loving people

with the truth

of Jesus Christ.

There's an old

nomiker

that is thrown out

all the time

in mission circles.

You have three options.

Go,

send,

or be disobedient.

I think that's been

incredibly damaging

to us.

You have two options.

Go,

or be disobedient.

The sending

can be part of the going.

Certainly,

the way in which

we go and love

and serve

can certainly mean

that we support

those who are going

further,

who are going beyond,

those who may need

to make a full-time

living in the advancement

of the gospel.

But rightly,

we should all

be going.

And the question

always gets asked,

though,

but am I equipped

to do this?

I don't know.

I don't know

that I know how

to go and make

disciples.

And there are some

practical things

to learn and to do

to gain knowledge

in,

to be sure.

I hope if you're

sticking with resolution

number two

to read your scriptures

more,

you're gaining

all of those things

that you need.

But I'll say to you

very simply,

if you want to know

if you're equipped,

if you're a Christian,

yes.

You've responded

to the gospel

so you understand it

enough to share it

with somebody else

and you have

the Spirit

of God.

In our study of Mark

Mark 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13,

remember what Jesus said

to the apostles?

He's talking about

all the things

that are going to happen

to them,

the places that they're

going to go,

all the stuff

that's coming

their way.

Ephesians 7,

verse 11,

and when they bring

you to trial

and deliver you over,

do not be anxious

beforehand what you

are to say,

but say whatever

is given you

in that hour,

for it is not you

who speak,

but the Holy Spirit.

We have a helper.

The Great Commission

says,

and lo,

I'm with you

even to the end

of the age.

We have a helper,

one who even goes

before us.

Prepare the hearts

of people to hear

the gospel message.

Once again,

this is a thing

in which we need

to be deliberate.

I have walked into,

happened upon,

gospel conversations,

but more often than not,