New Year 2026
Turn to Proverbs 25:28, as we talk today about the coming new year. The question is, are we going to have a happy new year, or will the social, moral and political corruption, family worries, Job problems and just stuff continue to destroy our peace of mind and hopes and dreams.
I wonder what this new year is going to look like in our life. Is Jesus big enough in our life for peace and joy and rest to be dominate or is our focus going to be elsewhere?
This is from Barna research: “When it comes to the types of resolutions people make, Americans not surprisingly focus on self-oriented changes.
Among those planning to make resolutions, the top pledges (30%) relate to weight, diet and health; (15%) money, debt and finances; (13%) personal improvement; (12%) addiction; (5%) job and caree; (5%) spiritual or church-related; and (4%) educationa.
Hardly anyone polled spoke of wanting to improve relationships with others. There were virtually no mentions of volunteering or serving others; only a handful of comments about marriage or parenting; no responses focusing on being a better friend; and only a small fraction of people mentioned improving their connection with God.
David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, explained these findings: "Only 9 out of more than 1,000 survey respondents -- that's not quite one percent -- mentioned that one of their objectives for next year was getting closer to God in some way.
Even in the rare instance when people mention spiritual goals, it is often about activity undertaken for God, rather than a personal pursuit of God or an experience with God."
Can I let you in on a little secret? You may change the outward shape of your body, get healthier, change your financial bottom line, gain new hobbies or cross an item off your “bucket list,” and get into a self-help program. All of which are good, but none of those will grow your relationship with God, which is really who you are.
There are things that you must submit to the hand of God and walk confidently into the future knowing that God is with us, and everything is going to be all right.
We must stop being driven by the prophets of doom and gloom on fake news, and start being driven by the good news that God has written in this sacred text.
The Bible you hold in your hands is God's blueprint for the future. When the madness that you're presently going through is over, you win. King Jesus is going to sit on the throne of His father David, and He's going to rule this earth according to the dictates of His Word.
It's something that the mind of man finds difficult to grasp. Jesus is our present and our future. This is the Kingdom that we’re living in now. We’re to lift up our heads and rejoice. All of this madness on planet earth will vanish in our minds, today, if our focus is centered on Jesus.
Solomon, allegedly the wisest man on the earth, gives us the secret of success in Proverbs 25:28. "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls."
A city that has broken-down walls has no control over its future. In the biblical world, their defense system was the wall around the city. If it was broken down, you were most certainly going to be taken over. Whenever a city had just a crack in the wall, it was a place of weakness.
So, Solomon is saying here, "The secret for success in this coming year or any other year is controlling your spirit; have self-control. If you don't have it, you're going to self-destruct," that's the message.
As a Christian, there is one wall in our defense system that has to be maintained and protected at all times, the wall of self-control.
Father God today, let the anointing of the Holy Spirit rest upon this concept and bring us to the resolution that we are going to discover, with God's help, self-control of ourselves: that our future may be divinely and supernaturally blessed. In Jesus name, we pray.
We have learned how to control the sun to heat our homes. We have learned to control mighty rivers to produce electricity for our cities. We have satellites in space that can transmit communication signals to people on the other side of the earth in a fraction of a second.
Why have we not learned to control ourselves? Because it's easier for a man to control the universe than it is for him to control himself.
If history teaches us anything, it teaches us that we cannot control ourselves. Self-control, do you have it? You better get it, because without it, you will self-destruct. Take charge of your life or someone else will.
The Bible teaches that he who conquers a city is not nearly as strong as the person that conquers them self, because the greatest enemy that you will ever face is you.
Our doubts are traitors to our dreams. Our fears strangle our hopes and keep us from climbing the impossible mountain. Our habits born of our freewill lead us into captivity or paradise.
There's nothing in the Bible that says, "Do this when you feel like it." It says, "Do this." God didn't write the Bible to revise it when you came along. He wrote the Bible for you to do what's in the Bible right now according to the dictates of His Holy throne.
Winston Churchill said, "Responsibility is the key to greatness." Doing what you ought to do, when you ought to do it, with excellence is what God is looking for in the life of the righteous. That's self-control.
Harry Truman—In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves. . . self-discipline with all of them came first.
Harry Emerson Fosdick—No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.
Charles Dickens—I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.—Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.
Henry Ward Beecher—Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself—and be lenient to everybody else.
Daniel 1:8 KJV But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Romans 13:14 KJV Paul: But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
2 Peter 1:5-7 KJV And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; [6] And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; [7] And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
You may be brilliant, but without self-control, you're through. There are brilliant people in every penitentiary in America.
You may be wealthy, but without self-control poverty is coming. You may be powerful, but without self-control, you are weak.
In the battle for self-control the enemy is you. The war of the soul is a civil war.
The Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things." Why? Because the heart will tell you, "You've got to be you." Yes, you've got to be you as long as you don't disagree with what God has said about you. Every person has something within their nature called "The flesh" that wants to destroy them.
The Bible says, "We are at war with the world, the flesh and the devil." Say that with me. "The world, the flesh and the devil."
The world is what's outside. The flesh is what's inside us, the devil or the powers and principalities in the heavenlies whose assignment is to torment you. And they will.
Your weapon is the Word of God and the blood of the cross that gives you total victory! Paul writes, "Every man that strives for mastery is temperate in all things."
That says he has self-control, she has self-control. We're commanded by Paul to, quote, "Run the race that is set before us with endurance." "With endurance," that means stay at it.
Quit whining about the assignment God has given you. Discipline yourself to accomplish God's tasks. Stand your post and do your duty.
Jesus presented the three fundamental principles of Christianity in Matthew 6. And those three principles are: when you pray, when you fast, and when you give. That whole chapter is about those three things.
Not if you pray, not if you fast, not if you give, but when. We are commanded to give. And the person who believes that they will prosper without giving to God is simply misinformed.
The Bible says, "Give, and it shall be given unto you pressed down, shaken together, and running over." God's abundance comes to those who give, and give cheerfully, and give what God requires.
A lot of people don't read those verses for lots of reasons. Look at the boneyard of history, of history's great men who had everything but self-control.
Moses was the lawgiver of Israel. He was a poet. He was a prophet. He was a conqueror of mighty Egypt. He became so frustrated with the children of Israel, he lost his temper, and he smote the rock twice, and said, "Here is the water, you rebels."
Forty years later, when the children of Israel are getting ready to go into the Promised Land, Moses speaks to his wife. "God is not going to allow me to go into the promise land because I lost my temper 40 years ago providing water for the people of Israel.
They gave me the credit and didn't give God the credit. And I'm not going to be allowed to go because I tried to take the credit for what God was doing."
WOW, if there is a lesson in that, listen to what I'm saying. To God be the glory. To God be the glory. "For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory."
We better learn to control ourselves or we will destroy ourselves. Can you control your passion? There is love and lust. And you better know the difference. Lust demands. Love gives, and it gives, and it keeps on giving. Can you control your anger? Can you control your depression? Can you control your resentment?
There is a statement that you need to know. "No man has lived a great life until you know the way that he died." Let me say that again. "No man has lived a great life until you know the way he died."
What is self-control? When you harness and discipline your wild-horse emotions, your habits, your fears, your frustrations to produce fruit. When you master the situation, and you refuse to let the situation master you.
People often blame God for their lack of self-control. You get in control by surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Stop trying to change scriptures when it is written to change you.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the gospel of power. This book says we have the power to be saved, the power to heal, the power to transform, the power to control demon spirits, the power to speak through the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This is the only way to live. We have the power, use it, in Jesus' name!
People say, "When the circumstances get right, I'll get in contro.l" That's looking at it backwards. The apostle Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ." Say that with me. "I can do all things through Christ."
People say, "When the circumstances change, then I'll be in control." Wrong! When you change, the circumstances won't make any difference.
Christ demonstrated control at His crucifixion. He had all power in Heaven and on earth. At any second, He could have called 10,000 angels to annihilate the Roman Empire. But look at the control of the Savior.
Judas sold Him for 30 pieces of silver. Peter cursed and denied Him three times. Pilate whipped Him. Herod's men of war mocked Him. They slapped Him. They spit on Him. They put a crown of thorns on Him. Roman hands took spikes and drove them through His hands and through His feet. He that had the power to smash them to ashes, looked to the face of God and said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do".
That is self-control. The God that we serve is the God of power and patience. He's a God of might and mercy. There's a favorite verse of mine in the Bible, "The mercies of God are renewed every morning." Thank you, God. Thank you, God.
God is interested in every detail of our life. He forgave the Romans who were killing Him so that you and I could be saved from the prince of darkness and inherit eternal life. Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for your sacrifice at the cross.
Proverbs 14:17, "He that is soon angry will deal foolishly." Translation: hotheads make stupid mistakes. What chance does a man or a woman have to control their destiny when they can't control themselves?
What kind of self-control do you have when the husband comes home late for supper the third night in a row without a phone call?
I've heard young brides say, "Well, I'll change him." No you won’t.
When the children, the love of your life, flush diapers down the commode, I'm talking through experiences here. Some of you won’t even understand.
Proverbs 23, "For as a man thinketh, so is he." If you think you're defeated, you are. If you think you can't, you won't. If you think you're victorious, you can be victorious through Christ. Nothing can be impossible to you if you believe it based on the Word of God!
What are your thoughts about yourself? America's number one emotional problem is the lack of self-esteem. Do you feel defeated? Do you feel unwanted, feel rejected by your mother, your father, your husband? Do you repeatedly and desperately long for someone to love you? God loves you.
God, the Father, loves you enough that He gave His Son to die for every one of you. You are His child. You are special. You are royalty. You are sons and daughters of the Most High God. You are somebody. You are a child of the King. God says you're going to inherit the earth.
Think about it. The apostle Paul commands Christians to control your thoughts. "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, pure, lovely, of good report, think on these things." Say that with me. "Think on these things".
What kind of self-control do you have over your speech? Do you gossip? I know spirit filled folks don't gossip. But they do share.
Do you exaggerate your problems? When the children of Israel came to the border of Israel, and they sent the ten over, they came back saying, "We're like grasshoppers." That's an extreme exaggeration.
Elijah looked at God when Jezebel was killing prophets and said, "I am the only one left." And God says to Elijah, "I have 7,000 righteous men standing by to take your place. If you can't get it done, step aside. I've got somebody who's ready".
Don't ever get the idea that you're the only person God can use. Be thrilled that God has honored you with the opportunity to fight the wicked and to destroy evil.
Why not make this year a year of success? Why not decide right now based on the authority of His Word that you as a child of God have the resources of heaven: that this is going to be the most successful, most prosperous year, the year filled with the greatest accomplishment?
It is the beginning of a glorious future. Regardless of what's going on in the rest of the world, God is with me. The joy of the Lord is my strength. I have peace that surpasses all understanding. The love of God is mine. I have the Word of God. Hang on, world: here I come.
God bless ya’ll in Jesus’ Name, Amen!