WHAT SHOULD YOU DO NEXT YEAR?

TEXT: PHILIPPIANS 3:12-14

In Philippians 3:13-14, the Apostle Paul tells three things you should do next year.

I. FORGET (FORGIVE) THE PAST

• Forget the past of faults, failures and misfortune.
• Philippians 3:13- “forgetting those things which are behind.”
• Let the New Year be a time of new beginning in your life.
• I John 1:9, confess your sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
• Do not sit around a mope or have a pity party because things did not go your own way, but make most of the New Year ahead of you.
• Forget the failures, the hurts, disappointments, stupid decisions.

II. PRESS FORWARD

• Let us let go of strongholds, hindrances and bad habits.
• Reach out to those things which are ahead. Live for Christ.
• Let the things that hold you back go away.
• Get on the move because time is moving on. There is nothing you can do to change this year that is ending now.
• Press toward the finish line, the end of the race.
• Stay focused (Heb. 12:2), don’t get distracted or discouraged and don’t quit.
• Forget sin, walk closer to God the days of your life.

III. FOCUS ON CHRIST

• You should focus on Christ, letting Him be Lord in your life, home, habits
• Press towards the goal, fight a good fight of faith, finish the race set before you, keep the faith.
• Forget the past, press forward, and focus on Christ.
• Proverbs 17:24, “An intelligent person aims at wise actions, but a fool starts off in many directions”
• Wise men and women have a goal, an objective, an aim, a target, they have a plan.
• To start off in the right direction, there are four keys to open doors of opportunity that God places before you;

A – Accept responsibility for my life.

• Some people would rather blame someone else for their problems and difficulties in their lives.
• Do not go around looking for someone who will accept responsibility.
• Some people want someone to think for them, make decisions for them, and make choices for them. When things don’t turn out the way they hope, they have someone they can blame.
• “Political correctness” is a concept common in our culture today. It says “none of your problems is your own fault, everything bad in your life is somebody else’s fault.
• Blame the environment, blame the education, and blame your parents, but not your fault.
• When we get into an accident, it is never your fault.
• We will never be a success in life and we will never make our lives count if we have an attitude that it’s someone else fault.
• We must accept responsibility for our own lives.
• Galatians 6:4-5, each person must be responsible for himself, “for every man shall bear his own burden.”
• There are three kinds of people in life.

1. There are accusers – they always have an excuse for making a decision or doing something. A lazy man is full of excuses.
2. There are choosers – they choose to accept responsibility for their own life, goals and happiness. They don’t depend on the crowd.

B – Believe I can change.

• Stop saying “I can’t” and start saying ‘I can’
• You can change with the help of God (Phil. 4:13)
• Many people don’t succeed in life because they believe they can’t change.
• They face the New Year with regret rather than the joy of knowing that God has given them an opportunity to make a difference in their own lives with God’s help.
• God can use you and God can use me.

C – Clarify what you really want

• We all have been given freedom of choice.
• Choose what is really important to you. Your values determine your vision, your desires determine your direction your roles determine your goals.
• Your relationship with God, your relationship with family, your relationship with the church etc.

D – Don’t wait to begin.

• Do it now, don’t wait for the right circumstances.
• There are no ideal times to do what you must do, don’t wait to begin (Ecclesiastic 11:4)
• The dust never settles – don’t waste time waiting for the ideal time.
• When we are young – we are revolutionary, our prayer is “Lord give me the power to change the world”
• When we are middle age our prayer is “Lord give me the grace to change those around me”
• When we are old our prayer is “Lord give me the grace to change myself”
• If we prayed this last prayer first, maybe we would now have changed the world.

CONCLUSION

• What kind of person will you be in 2020? An accuser? An excuser? Or a chooser.
• Choose this day who you will serve, the God of Heaven or the gods of this world.

As for me, I would rather have Jesus – Amen.