New Message Series -- Hitting the Reset Button

You know, I was thinking about these old commercials they used to do years ago. I think initially it was for a laundry detergent, where if a company really believed in what they were selling, they would actually offer a challenge. They would come up to folks, generally women in those days, and take whatever laundry detergent was in their grocery cart out of the cart and then put their brand in and say

"We're going to give you a challenge. For a limited period of time we want you to test our product. We want you to try things our way. We know there's a resistance. Maybe you're afraid. Maybe you're kind of stuck in a rut, so don't take our word for it. Think about this as kind of an experiment. You try this yourself. You judge the results. You decide, and if you do this, your life is going to be different. Your laundry is going to be better. Your whites are going to be whiter. Your reds will be redder. Your blues will be bluer. You will smell better. People will want to date you more. It will change your life."

Then this idea, kind of, spread, and not just for Tide. I was online earlier this week and they have all kinds of these challenges. There is a Purina 30-day challenge…switch your cat's food for 30 days and see if your cat is not happier. Quaker Oats 30-day challenge…switch breakfasts for 30 days, and see if your cholesterol doesn't go down and you're not happier. One organization online has the husband 30-day challenge…which I guess is, you know, switch husbands for 30 days and see if your marriage doesn't work better or something.

So today we want to offer you a 30 day challenge. These past six months have been rough. I was trying to think of a great theme song for this series and this one song would not leave my brain…from the BeeGees…Ah Ah Ah Ah staying alive, staying alive. Sing with me….for these past six months or more everyone has just been trying to stay alive. Just survive. Like we said last week you have the choice to panic or pray and most people have chosen to panic, well almost everyone. One Sunday morning, everyone in one bright, beautiful, tiny town got up early and went to the local church. Before the services started, the townspeople were sitting in their pews and talking about their lives, their families, etc. Suddenly, Satan appeared at the front of the church. Everyone started screaming and running for the front entrance, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from evil incarnate. In a panic …Soon everyone was evacuated from the church, except for one elderly gentleman who sat calmly in his pew, not moving... seemingly oblivious to the fact that God's ultimate enemy was in his presence. Now this confused Satan a bit, so he walked up to the man and said, "Don't you know who I am?" The man replied, "Yep, sure do." Satan asked, "Aren't you afraid of me?" "Nope, sure ain't," said the man. Satan was a little perturbed at this and queried, "Why aren't you afraid of me?" The man calmly replied, "Been married to your sister for over 48 years." But for most of us, we have been pushing the panic button. Well, here is what we want you to do for the next 30 days. Instead of hitting the panic button, we want you to hit the reset button.

These economic times are causing all of us to Press the “RESET” button. Not the EASY button but the RESET button. So, for the next 30 days…

RESET what is important in your life:

Time to get off the acquisition treadmill - ‘Things’ do not equal happiness. People with few worldly possession are just as happy (or happier) than people that have loads of ‘things’. He who dies with the most toys, still dies.

Instead of spending money, spend time with the people you love and the things you are passionate about.

Get back to basics. Simple is better. The less you have, the less you have to lose/worry about.

And then…

RESET your definition of security:

When you’ve lost everything you thought you had, or half of everything you thought you had, where do you turn for that sense of security? Is money really security? The ultra-wealthy guy who lost his health couldn’t buy one more day with all his money. Life is full of uncertainty; uncertainty is part of God’s plan. Our security comes from our relationship with God.

RESET what you thought your future/retirement years would be like:

They may be different than you thought, not better or worse, just different. There are opportunities in the change that we would not have considered otherwise. Grieve the loss, then start being grateful and filled with joy for what you do have. If you have friends, or family, and God, you have everything you need for a fulfilling future/retirement.

So, we will give this a 30 day free trial…things, money, jobs, and retirement. Your whites will be whiter, reds redder, smell better…all those things.

(Thanks to Valerie Pike for suggesting and researching this topic).