NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS
Rev. John Haverland
Text: Ecclesiastes 5:1-7
Readings: Prov 10:8-14, 18-21; Matt 5:33-37
Theme: Our words and promises before God must be considered and kept.
Purpose: To urge you to be careful and thoughtful in what you say and promise to God, and to keep your promises.
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This coming week/this past week we will pass/ we have passed from one year to another. Many of us will stay up/stayed up to see in the New Year.
This transition from one year to another often causes people to reflect on the past year and to think about what they will be doing in the year to come.
Some people use this time to make New Year resolutions. They want to do better in some area of their life. They resolve they will get more exercise, lose weight, stop smoking, save money.
This practice goes back to 153 BC, to a mythical god of early Rome named Janus. He was supposed to have two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. That meant he could look backwards and forwards at the same time. He was known as the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors, locks and entrances. The month of January was named after him.
As Christians looking ahead to a New Year we are more interested in what the Bible has to say about the past and the future. Today we want to reflect on our lives and to think about what has happened and what we want to do this year.
It has been said; “Aim at nothing and you will hit it every time.” In view of that it is good to have aims and goals. Of course, we make all our plans subject to the Lord’s will. We make them, DV, Deo Volente, the Lord willing; but we are still allowed to plan ahead.
In this book Solomon, writing towards the end of his life, reflected back over what he had done during his long reign.
In chapters 1 to 4 he described how he had tried to find satisfaction in many things. He sought fulfillment in wisdom, in pleasure, in projects, and in work. But he came to the conclusion that all of these things, in and of themselves, were meaningless. All of them, pursued apart from God, were empty and vain and had no purpose.
The vanity of all these things caused him to think about God. So in chapter 5:1 he wrote, “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.” Here he urges us to think carefully about what we say and promise to the Lord in worship.
In the Old Testament the “house of God” referred to the temple that Solomon had built, a beautiful and impressive building for worship and sacrifice. It was the focal point of their religious life. It represented the presence of God and his holiness.
In the New Testament we sometimes refer to our church building as “the house of God”. Strictly speaking this is incorrect because we don’t have a central place of worship any more. The temple of God in the New Testament is the people of God, us, the body of Christ and God is present among us as his people.
1. When we come together for worship Solomon urges us to CONSIDER WHAT WE SAY .
a. “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.”
The people of Israel did not always do that. Through the prophets God accused them of trampling his courts. We face that danger too – of approaching God too casually, lightly, without thinking.
In the middle of verse 2 Solomon explains that this is a wrong approach because “God is in heaven and you are on earth.” God is in heaven and he is majestic and powerful and glorious, and we are on earth and we are small, weak and finite. God is holy and we are sinful. God is wise and we are foolish.
That means we must “stand in awe of God” as it says in verse 7. We need to recognize who he is, his greatness and his majesty. Worship must be reverent and honoring to the Lord.
Thankfully we can approach such a great God in worship, and we can do that through the Lord Jesus Christ.
That was true in the Old Covenant where Christ was represented in the offerings and sacrifices and in the priests.
In the New Covenant we have a “new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body.” Because of the work of Jesus we have confidence to enter the presence of God; we can “draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.” (Heb 10:20, 22)
Even though we can come to God with confidence we still need to guard our steps. That implies preparation for worship.
It is not always easy to do that. You might have the best of intentions to be well prepared, but on Sunday morning your teenage children are hard to get out of bed and you end up rushing to church, or, just as you are about to leave for church your baby needs a nappy change and you end up being late.
There are, however, some things you can do to prepare for worship.
Begin on Saturday night by getting things organized for Sunday, by thinking about the Sunday, by praying for the service, by getting to bed on time.
On Sunday morning get up on time, read the Scriptures, put your mind on what you will be doing, consider who God is, and come thinking about him. “Guard your steps.”
b. And “Go near to listen.”
In worship God is speaking to you through the reading of the Scriptures, through the preaching of his Word, through the psalms and the hymns and songs we sing.
Do you come ready to listen to him?
Or do you come with a closed mind, expecting to hear the same old thing, with the idea that it is going to be boring anyway, and unprepared to listen?
Come expecting to hear the voice of God addressed to you. Come ready to be refreshed and renewed, to be comforted and challenged. Come ready to be a hearer and a doer of God’s word.
c. And “Do not be quick with your mouth.”
Those who come to worship unprepared to listen “offer the sacrifice of fools”. They are too busy thinking of what they want to say rather than being willing to listen to God.
The book of Proverbs describes the person who is quick to speak as a fool. Those that know the least are often those who talk the most; and when they talk they don’t think about what they are saying.
In verse 3 Solomon compared this to the many dreams we have at night after a busy day with much on our minds; so is “the speech of a fool when there are many words.”
Carpenters have a rule that they must measure twice and cut once; we would do well to think twice and speak once.
Someone else has pointed out that God gave us two ears and only one mouth so that we could listen twice as much as we speak.
This applies to those of us who are leading the worship service. Sometimes worship leaders fill the spaces in services with chatter and prattle, with jokes and frivolous commentary. Those of us leading worship need to guard our words and think about what we are saying and be well prepared in all our words and prayers.
But this applies to all of us in our worship of God. It is all too easy to sit here without thinking; to let the readings, prayers and the songs go through your mind without really taking them in. One writer described this as “verbal doodling” – when we are not concentrating but rather day dreaming in worship.
This also applies to our personal and family devotions . There too it is easy to let the words go past you. Jesus said; “When you pray do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” (Matt 6:7) Better to pray a short prayer with your mind engaged than to pray a long prayer when you are not really thinking about what you are saying.
All this takes effort and mental energy and concentration. Keep your mind on what you are doing in public and in private worship. Guard your steps, come near to listen, and think about what you are saying.
2. Secondly , CONSIDER WHAT YOU PROMISE TO GOD .
a. Verse 4 speaks about a “ vow ”. A vow is a solemn promise to God to do something specific; a promise to serve the Lord in some area or to obey him with some action. Because vows are so specific there are no commands in the Scriptures to make these particular promises; rather they are made out of a person’s own freewill, by their own choice.
Jacob made a vow at Bethel when he asked the Lord to bring him back to his father’s house and promised to serve the Lord and give him a tenth of everything. (Gen 28:20)
Jephthah made an infamous vow to offer God a sacrifice if he defeated the Ammonites.
b. The Lord wants us to be careful about what we promise.
Think of the one son in the parable whose father asked him to go and work in the vineyard. He said he would go, but he did not. (Matt 21:28) Jesus aimed that parable at the chief priests and elders who vowed to keep God’s commands but did not.
Think of the many New Year Resolutions that people make. People may not make them to God but the Lord hears every promise we make and we need to make them seriously.
Think also of the promises people make to God when they get into some difficulty, whether that be war, or trouble, or sickness. Many then call out to him and they say; “If you get me out of this mess then I will turn my life around.” Or, “If you heal me then I’ll start going to church.” Sadly, many of these promises are broken.
Solomon warns us (vs 5); “It is better not to make a vow than to make it and not fulfill it.” Vs 6: “Do not let your mouth lead you into sin.”
Better to make fewer promises and keep them than to make many promises and not keep them.
This is a warning not to spread yourself too thin; don’t take on too much; don’t promise more than you can deliver. Better to do one task well than five tasks half-finished and half-done.
This is why Jesus warned us against swearing oaths; “Simply let your yes be yes and your no, no.” (Matt 5:37)
c. “Fulfill your vow.” Keep your promises.
Verse 4: “When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.”
Don’t delay, don’t procrastinate, don’t put it off, don’t wait for tomorrow. Do it now, today, this week.
We make promises all the time: “Yes, I’ll look after that. I’ll do that job. I’ll phone you back. We will get you over sometime.”
Do you keep your promises?
Are you a man, a woman, of your word?
Can people trust you and rely on you?
Do you do what you promise, in small matters and in large ones?
In verse 6 Solomon pictures a man who made a vow at the temple. Later on the priest sent a messenger to him to ask if he has fulfilled his vow, but the man replied; “My vow was a mistake!” Be warned; God is angry at such a response. (vs 6b)
d. Consider the vows you have made.
Many of you have made vows in profession of faith , some of your recently, others of you a long time ago. You promised to serve Jesus as Lord of your life, to share faithfully in the life of the church, and to join in doing the work of the Lord. Are you keeping your promises?
Many of you have made promises when your children were baptized . You promised to do all in your power to instruct your child in the Christian faith and to lead him by your example in a life of Christian discipleship. Are you keeping your promise?
Some of you have made promises as elders and deacons . You promised to faithfully discharge your office in this church. Are you fulfilling your promise in home visits, in caring for the members of the church, in looking out for the needs of others, in keeping the church true to the Scriptures?
Many of you have made, and are preparing to make, promises in marriage . Are you keeping, and will you keep, your promise to love and cherish your spouse and to be faithful in marriage as long as you both shall live?
We are looking back over the past year and forward into the year that lies ahead. All of us have some plans, goals, and hopes for this year. Some of you may make/have made New Year Resolutions.
Remember that the Lord knows every thought in your mind and every motive in your heart.
He hears every word you say and every promise you make.
Pray for wisdom to consider carefully what you say and the promises you make.
Pray for strength to fulfill your vows and look to the Lord Jesus Christ for the strength and guidance you need. The words of this hymn express this well:
O Jesus I have promised
To serve thee to the end;
Be thou forever near me,
My Master and my Friend;
I shall not fear the battle
If thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the path way
If thou wilt be my Guide. (Psalter Hymnal 480)
Amen