Introduction:

Another year (2005) has passed. A new year lies ahead of us. What has the new year in store for us? What is going to happen this year?

A few Questions:

3. Your relationship to other people:

Did you express and show love towards your enemies, towards your neighbours, towards people of other languages, races, beliefs, etc.?
Matt. 5 v 44 / Mark 12 v 31 / Rom. 12 v 20

YOU AND GOD'S AUTHORITIES

Have you accepted, respected and obeyed the authorities that God has instituted? What authorities? Authorities like the Government and your work boss Rom. 13 v 1 - 7 / Eph. 6 v 5 - 8 / Col. 3 v 22 / 1 Tim 6 v 1 - 2 / Titus 2 v 9 - 10; 3 v 1 / 1 Peter 2 v 13 - 14, 17d - 18
Have you prayed for the authorities in your country or have you been complaining and criticising them all the time? 1 Tim. 2 v 1 - 2

YOUR LIFE BEFORE GOD AND OTHERS

Have you submitted yourself to the Authority of God and His Word in your life or not James 4 v 7a / John 14 v 23?
Have you obeyed God whenever He has commanded you to do something by the instructions of His Word James 1 v 22 / Luke 6 v 46 and the voice of the Holy Spirit or have you followed your own way and done your own thing?
Did you allow God's Word to take hold of your life or not? Col. 3 v 16a / Ps. 119 v 11
Have you obeyed God more than you obeyed people or did you obey people more than you obeyed God? Acts 5 v 29
Have you lived a holy, sanctified, spiritual, separated, prayerful and carefree, resurrected life unto God or not? Matt. 26 v 41 / Rom 6 v 4 - 6, 22; 8 v 12 - 13 / Gal 5 v 16 / 2 Cor. 6 v 14 - 18; 7 v 1 / Eph. 5 v 1 / Phil 4 v 6 / 1 Thess. 4 v 3 - 5 / 1 Tim. 5 v 22b - c / 1 Peter 1 v 15 - 16; 2 v 12a
Have you been an example of Jesus Christ's lifestyle to others or not? Matt. 5 v 16 / Col. 3 v 12 / 1 Tim. 4 v 12 / Titus 2 v 9
Have you resisted and rejected satan, sin, a fleshly and lukewarm lifestyle in your life or did you give in to satanic temptations to carry on with sin in your life? Rom. 6 v 12 - 13; 8 v 5 - 8 / Eph. 4 v 22, 27; 5 v 11 / Col. 3 v 5, 8 - 9 / 1 Tim. 6 v 11 / 2 Tim. 2 v 19d, 22 / Titus 2 v 11 - 12a / Heb. 12 v 1, 4 / James 4 v 4, 7b - c, 11- b / 1 Peter 3 v 11a - b; 4 v 2 / 3 John 11
Did you get rid of idols in your life or not? Idols like what? Anything that comes before God. Anything that takes the first place in your life that belongs to God. Anything that is more important to you than God Himself. 1 Cor. 10 v 14, 19 - 20
Have you lived to please people or to please God. Col. 3 v 23

YOU AND THE SERVICE (WORK) OF GOD

Serving the Lord and others. Doing the Will and Works of God:

Have you served the Lord during 2005? Have you served and ministered to others during 2005? Did you do the Will and Works of God during 2005? Have you been obedient to Jesus Christ's call and command Matt. 28 v 19 / 2 Tim. 4 v 2, 5c - d to go out into the world to preach the Gospel to other Deaf people? Have you made disciples of young Deaf Believers? Have you taught others what you have learned from older Believers? 2 Tim. 2 v 1Have you baptised those who have become born-again Believers?
Have you ministered to the needs of other Believers? Acts 2 v 45 / Rom 12 v 13 / 1 Cor. 10 v 24 / 2 Cor. 9 v 12 / Heb. 13 v 2, 16 / 1 Peter 4 v 9 / 1 John 4 v 17
Have you been involved in doing the works that God gave you to do in order to build up the Body of Christ? Eph. 4 v 11 - 12 / 2 Tim. 2 v 15 / 1 Peter 4 v 10
As a spiritual leader, how did you perform? Have you been an example to / for others? Acts 20 v 28 / 1 Peter 5 v 2 - 3 Whenever you have preached or taught God's Word, have you proclaimed the whole (full) counsel (truth) of God (not leaving out from or adding to God's Word) Acts 20 v 27 or did you proclaim what you wanted people to hear or what people wanted you to speak on? (Not letting people hear the full Truth of God's Word).

* Again, if your answer is “no” , then the next question once again: Why? Why didn't or couldn't you do what you have been expected to do? What were your problems? What are your excuses for failing to do what God has commanded you to do?

* If your answer is “yes”, then praise the Lord! Keep on with what you are doing and to be an example to others.

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I can go on and on and add many more and other type of questions to confront you with the Truth and with reality (what really is happening in your life). The fact is: If you (and all other Believers as well, including myself) think very carefully and honestly about all these questions, then we have to admit that we failed the Lord. We have failed the test! What test? The test of obedience to God's Will. The test of commitment to God, His Kingdom, His Cause (His Business) and His Culture (The way we are supposed to live: as new creations. How and what we should think, speak, behave, act, respond. Being an example like Jesus Christ).

If we failed the test, then it means that we have wasted another year for the Lord! We have wasted a year during which we could have grown and developed spiritually more than before. We have wasted a year during which God could have used us as His instruments (tools) to bring many lost people to saving faith! We have wasted a year during which we could have sorted out our problems! How will we ever make up for this loss?

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord. We have to get down on our knees, call out to our merciful God and Father and ask for forgiveness, we have to repent from our spiritual laziness, we have to repent from our disobedience and unwillingness to do God's Will. We have to get right with God! We have to let God take control of our lives and allow Him to live His Life in / through us through the indwelling Holy Spirit and let His Power flow from us.

Your decision

We must make a decision. What decision? What and how is the year 2006 going to be? Will 2006 be another wasteful year or will 2006 be the best year in all of my life? Will it be a year during which I choose to live to the Glory of God? Will it be a year during which I will obey and do God's Will and Word? Will it be a year during which I will listen to and follow the Voice and guidance of God's Holy Spirit? Will it be a year during which I will show and prove that I am a true Born-again child of God? God will forgive you. God will set you free. God will start anew with you. Come on, let's go and serve the Lord with our whole hearts, minds and everything we've got and glorify Him in everything! Amen.

Heinrich Kutzner (HoH) of Pretoria