All of us have played the
”
resolutions game
”
with ourselves, with everything from diets to New Year’s
resolutions. Yet, most of these vows are broken soon after they are
made. The good news is that there is a way to move beyond the
frustrating cycle of making and breaking resolutions … a way you
can change your life for good.
All of us have played the “resolutions game” with ourselves, with everything from diets to New Year’s resolutions. Yet, most of these vows are broken soon after they are made. The good news is that there is a way to move beyond the frustrating cycle of making and breaking resolutions … a way you can change your life for good.
Long-lasting change will come down to this: your response to three amazing resources God has provided for you. Last week, we looked at the first resource, the Bible, which will change you by changing the way you think. Since our life is shaped by our thoughts (Proverbs 4:23), we must heed the words of Philippians 4:8, “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
This is easier said than done. That is where God’s second resource, the Holy Spirit, comes in. How God uses this resource depends on whether you are a Christian or not.
If you are not a Christian, the Holy Spirit will make you aware that all your own efforts to attain the things you want (security, peace of mind, lasting happiness, etc.) are falling short. He will tell you that, ultimately, fulfillment is only found in a relationship with Christ.
If you take that step and ask Jesus to become your Savior, you will then (and only then) begin to fully utilize the power of the Holy Spirit: “Once the Spirit lives within you, he will bring new strength and vitality into your life” (Romans 8:11). God will take up residence in your life and cause you to change from the inside out.
Jesus gave a beautiful illustration of this in John 15:4-5 where he tells us, “Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear fruit by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing.”
Why is it so important that we be connected to Jesus in order to have a fruitful life? Well, suppose my wife told me she wanted an apple tree in the back yard and I, in order to save money, went out and found an old dead one to plant. Then when the fall came I sneaked out and tied some apples on the old dead branches. When I brought her out to show her the apples she would look at me and say, “You’ve got to be kidding! Those apples are tied on with string!”
That’s a silly illustration, but it highlights a sad truth in our world today. Many of us are trying to tie good works onto our life to make it look like God is inside us, while in reality we are dead inside.
Sooner or later, we learn that just making external changes never works. We learn that change is an inside job, as 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us, “As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him …”
If you get nothing else out of the point I am trying to make, I hope you will get this: God’s No. 1 purpose in your life is not to make you happy … God’s No. 1 purpose in your life is not to make you rich … God’s No. 1 purpose in your life is to make you like Jesus. That is God’s ultimate goal.
How will he do this? Well, the Lord has a “plan A” and a “plan B.” His first choice, his plan A, would be that we would take the resource of his Word, read it, and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to change from the inside out.
Unfortunately, many of us reject God’s plan A and choose to go our own way. That’s where plan B comes in … when we refuse to use the resources of God’s Word and his Spirit, we will always get the opportunity to respond to a third resource, one that no one can ignore for very long. But more on that next week.
Henry Harris is senior pastor of Rolling Hills Community Church, 330 Tres Pinos Road, Hollister. If you have questions or comments, please visit the church’s Web site at rollinghillsfamily.com, e-mail [email protected] or phone 636-5353.
