Last Sunday I commented that it was the last Sunday of the year and a time to look back and give thanks to God for all that he has done for us during the year.

Today is the first Sunday of the new year. Some people say that the start of a new year is a time for new beginnings - a time to set goals, make plans and to make New Year resolutions. I don't make New Year resolutions these days because I've found that I usually break them fairly quickly. But it is a good time to take a look at our lifestyle - the way we do things - and to see if there's any way we can improve.

As Christians, we need to be constantly looking at ways we can please our Lord in response to his goodness to us - not just at the New Year.

The Ephesians passage that was read earlier told us that the purpose of our being accepted as God's children is 'in order that the glory of his gift might go back to him in the form of praise.' The things that please God are those that cause him to be praised.

In Ephesians 1 vs. 5 & 6 the NEB says, "…and he destined us..to be accepted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in order that the glory of his gracious gift, so graciously bestowed on us in his Beloved, might redound to his praise."

It occurred to me some time ago that Christians are a bit like Rolls Royces. So today I decided to talk about being Rolls Royce Christians.

What have Christians got to do with Rolls Royce cars?

Well I think there's some similarities.

1. A Rolls Royce is a fairly distinctive car. The grill and the emblem on the front make it easily recognisable. We sometimes hear people describe someone they admire as being a 'good Christian person'. There's a certain standard of values and living that are recognised in the community as being 'Christian'. Our lives should in some way reflect God's goodness.
2. What does a Rolls Royce cost? I don't know exactly, but I know it's much more than I could afford. If, for some reason I decided to buy a new Rolls Royce, it would probably take all of my assets and probably put me into debt. I would have to make a big sacrifice.

1. I heard a story about a man who bought a new Rolls Royce car and, not long after, something went wrong.  He took the car back to the dealer who told him that he was very surprised at this most unusual ocurrence and that they didn't keep Rolls Royce spare parts because they were so rarely needed.  They would have to send to England for a replacement part.  So the email was sent and the part ordered.  A few days later, the replacement part arrived by plane, accompanied by two mechanics from Rolls Royce to install it.  The owner wondered what it was going to cost him to pay for not only the part, but for fares of the two mechanics, but shrugged his shoulders, thinking that's what goes with owning a Rolls Royce.  The part was duly installed and the car checked, and the two mechanics returned to England.  The owner asked the dealer for the account, and the dealer told him he'd have to wait till the account was sent from England.  Some weeks later, no account had arrived.  When the owner inquired again he wqas assured that the account ahd not yet arrived.  After some months and continued inquiries, the owner decided to write to Rolls Royce, explaining the situation and asking for his account as he wished to settle the matter.  Shortly afterwards, a reply came: Rolls Royce assured him that there must have been a mistake. There was no account to be paid.  The events he described - the break-down and the arrival of the part with two mechanics from England - could not possibly have happened as nothing ever goes wrong with Rolls Royce cars!

•  that in the eyes of the manufacturer, the Rolls Royce was perfect. They said that 'Nothing ever goes wrong with a RR.'  Ephesians 1:4 tells us that God chose us.. to be holy and blameless in his sight.  Because Jesus took on his own   shoulders all the world's sin and accepted the punishment for it, that means that in the eyes of God, our slates are wiped   clean. God doesn't even remember that we ever sinned. 1 John 5: 18 says that "no child of God is a sinner" Does that mean we never do anything wrong? Of course not. It means that when we confess the wrong that we do and are sorry,  and when we accept the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf and put our trust in him, that cancels out our wrongdoing in  God's eyes.

1. The second point in the RR story: like the RR, our manufacturer is always available to fix anything that goes wrong. I found so many verses in the Bible which tell us that he gives us salvation from sin, healing, wisdom, joy, peace of mind and on and on. If I read them all out, we'd be here much longer.

c) All this help and care he gives us is absolutely free of charge (like in the RR story) There is nothing we can do to earn it. In the Ephesians passage this is mentioned three times. V.5 calls them God's gracious gift. V 8 talks of God's free grace. V 11 says we have been given our share. Nothing here about our having to earn anything.

So there's 5 things that make Christians like Rolls Royces:

1. Recognisable
2. Expensive
3. Perfect in the eyes of the maker
4. Repairs available
5. All repairs free of charge. - if we go back to the maker.

There is a manufacturer - God the Father/Creator

There is a steering wheel. What happens if we don't use the steering wheel? We follow Jesus to keep us on track. In the Keswick and Koorong catalogues there are often T-shirts, mugs, key rings put out for young people with the slogan WWJD? (What would Jesus do?)

There is an engine - hidden inside the car that gets it going and keeps it going. How far will we go if we don't start the engine? We have the Holy Spirit deep within who motivates, guides, strengthens - keeps us going in our Christian life.

Galatians 5: 25 says: (NEB) If the Spirit is the source of our life. let the Spirit also direct our course. The Holy Spirit lives within each Christian. Let's learn to recognise him and allow him to work in us.

The car has four wheels. What kind of ride will we have if any of the wheels are buckled or any of the tyres are flat? Well our Christian 'ride' is the same if any of our 'wheels ' or 'tyres' are not used properly - our ride is bumpy and we are less effective in our walk with God.

What do the wheels represent? We learned at one of our Sunday morning Bible Studies a few years ago that God has set up four 'tools' within the Church to help us mature as Christians. They are:

1. Worship. We worship in response to our experience of God. Worship can be private or corporate (in the body of the church - together with others). It reminds us of the greatness of God. It focuses our minds on God. We need to worship daily (maybe hourly, by the minute sometimes). Worship can take many forms - singing, thinking about God's qualities, talking to God, telling others about God, serving him in our daily life. We need to use all of those forms at different times.
2. Fellowship. A corporate activity. (Without others we can only fellowship with God) It's purpose is for us to encourage each other spiritually, to care for each other pastorally and in practical ways, to nurture each other in our faith - teach each other, share our experiences, to enjoy each other's company, to work together for a purpose, to be accountable to and for each other.
3. Prayer. Both corporate and private. It is conversation with our 'Daddy' or our best friend. It involves both talking and listening, using ordinary everyday language, can be about any old topic that interests us, and can be done at any old time of day or night. Just like when we're building relationships with spouses, friends, children, quality time is important when we're building our relationship with God. Our prayer time needs to be regular.
4. Study. Can be private and corporate. We can read - the Bible, Christian books, magazines - , watch videos or Christian TV programmes, take part in group discussions. Ideally, we need to do some kind of study regularly and often. It's a good idea to set aside a planned time - make an appointment with yourself. There are many aids to help our study - study Bibles, commentaries, prepared study notes/guidelines/study books. Study groups are great for sharing and learning with others and they keep us accountable. There are also many easy-to-read books we can learn from. We have some on our library shelves at the back of this room.

While none of these tools are going to earn us God's love, they are tools he has given us to help us grow. Like any good parent, he makes provision for our nurture. It's up to us to take advantage of them.

So, it's important, if we want to be 'quality' Christians - Rolls Royce Christians - that we make sure we keep our 'car' in good order, using the steering wheel properly, keeping the engine running and all the tyres pumped up and in good order.

Paul said something of the same in Ephesians 6: 10 - 20, but he talked about putting on the full Armour of God.

NOTE:  After this sermon, one of the young people in the congregation came to me and commented that there is a sixth way in which Christians are like Rolls Royces.  He told me that each Rolls Royce car is built individually - not on a factory assembly line - so each car is unique.  Each Christian is unique.  God has made each one of us different and special.