Half-Baked in 2012

Bible Book: Hosea 7 : 8-12

Subject: Christian Living; New Year

Introduction

What will 2012 be like for you and your family? A recent poll reported that…

62% of Americans say the New Year will be a better year for the country.

78% of Americans say the New Year will be a better year for their family.

They are basing this upon their feelings and forecasts more than facts. The question to ask yourself for 2012 is, “What does God expect from you?”

The prophet Hosea was directing this question to the nation of Israel…

The Nation was a product of God’s Promise and Protection
The Nation wanted God to act on their terms, not according to His covenant
The Nation of Israel was in a mess and didn’t know it!

The old saying, “Woulda, coulda, shoulda,” applies directly to them in this situation. Does it apply to us? Most certainly it applies to many of us. The late, great Vance Havner said, "It is too late to drain the swamp when you are up to your neck in alligators." Going off half-baked is a dangerous thing to do. But, we can change that if we will act as God directs and desires. The problem for the Nation of Israel is that they had half-baked ideas. That had not prayed through and thought out on a spiritual level the issues they were dealing with.

Have you ever acted on a half-baked idea? Everyone has done this at one time or another. But, doing so can be very dangerous and, at best, costly.

What can we learn about being “Half baked?” We can learn that we must

Be Responsible

Be Accountable

Be Faithful

Be Balanced

Be Complete

Be Thorough

To be half-baked means to have ideas that are ill conceived, and show a lack of good judgment. I want you to see what God is telling us through the Prophet Hosea.

I. Listen

In the Nation of Israel, some of the people were rich, or at least had what they thought they needed for daily life. Those people certainly didn’t feel they needed any help. Some people kept the traditions of religion, but they did not apply the Word of God to their daily lives. Some of the people felt that they could replace God’s protection with the protection of Assyria and Egypt. So, the people were depending on money, empty traditions and worldly protection in the place of being rich in faith, faithful in daily living for God and trusting the Lord to protect them for their enemies. That, dear friends, was a half-baked set of ideas about how to live in difficult times.

How do we avoid the kind of mistakes that Israel made? We have to listen to what God is saying. We need to not only believe the Word, we need to live it! A person has a half-baked idea about how to live if he or she thinks that one can decide what to accept from God's Word and what to reject. We must listen to what God says and apply. In Revelation we read, ..."he that has ears, let him hear..."

II. Look

All the ingredients any of us need are present in us right now. All you have to do is look at your life through God's eyes.

When baking bread, you must have the right ingredients. What about the idea of living the right life for God. You have all the ingredients needed to live for Him. God has given you what you need for complete any task He requires, if you are willing to do it His way. Some people say, “I would serve God better if I had more money.” Others say, “I would serve, if I could just teach or sing better.” In other words, they are saying that God has left them deficient and lacking in what they need to serve Him faithfully and properly. That is simply untrue. You have everything you need. God made you uniquely qualified to do everything He wants you to do. Your excuses will never stand before the God who made you, saved you and holds you in the palm of His hand.

Also, your location is the right place. If you simply look at where you are through God's eyes, you will see that you are in exactly the right place to serve Him.

To prepare bread you need an oven or stove on which or in which to bake it. God has put you in the right place to live out the life of service and faithfulness He desires from you. It gets hot in the kitchen, but heat is required to bake bread. Yes, it will get hot and be difficult for you to be faithful in service, but that is what God requires. Someone said, "Being a useful Christian is like being a tea bag - of little use without being placed in hot water." Some of us just want to be comfortable. We are in the right place, but we don't want to face the 'heat' of being faithful to God. Some people will say, “If I were just here or there, I would serve God better.” My friend, if you will not serve God where you are, you will not serve Him anywhere!

III. Learn

If we listen carefully at God's Word and will, and if we look at our opportunities right where we are, we can learn how to live life correctly. We want go off half-baked into 2012.

How are you going to live for God in 2012? How much time will you spend with Him each day? What ministries will you be involved in for His glory? What are you planning to do about your stewardship and giving to the Lord? How are you planning to touch people with His love? What is your plan for sharing your faith with others so they can come to know the joy of salvation through Christ? What, are you telling me that you don’t know any answers to these questions? If you don’t know, then you have a half-baked plan for the New Year!!!

The more time you dedicate to making a deep and true commitment to spend time with the Lord and find ways to serve Him, the more likely you are to avoid the half-baked life that Israel had in their day. When a person is going to bake bread, or a cake, he or she must spend time gathering the ingredients, preparing and following the recipe. God has a recipe for your life. If you don’t spend time learning how He wants us you to live – how much He desires for you to spend time in His presence – you are going to have a half-baked life in 2012!

Conclusion

The more time you spend with Jesus, the more you will be like Him. Have you ever noticed that people from a particular region of the country all sound the same when they speak? My mother-in-law, Jayne Minnix, was with my father-in-law in Kansas for a Baptist meeting a few years ago. She asked some people the directions to a particular restaurant where she and my father-in-law wanted to eat. One of the men said, “Honey, just keep talking to us and we will find you the best restaurant in the city.” They heard her North Carolina drawl and wanted to hear more of it. My mother-in-law could not hide where she was from. That is the way it is with us when we spend time with Jesus. People can sense our spiritual nature and see that we have been with the Lord.

Jesus was tender with the people who needed tenderness, Matthew 12:20. Jesus was firm with the people who needed firmness, Matthew 23:15. Jesus was in control of His emotions, 1 Peter 2:22. He can help you to be just like that in this New Year, if you will dedicate yourself to spend more time with Him.

Most importantly, Jesus is the Savior to the sinners! If we spend time with Him, we want go off half-baked into this New Year. We will honor Him and reflect His nature. We will help people find their way to the Savior.