| God Makes Things New |
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GOD MAKES THINGS NEW Ephesians 4:17-34 (2 Corin. Philippians 3:7-14 (13-14) The last time New Year’s Day was on a Sunday was in 1995. This week I went back and read my sermon from that morning. We were still meeting in the gym as we began 1995, but this room was under construction. And we were anticipating the day when we would get to move in here. That seems like such a long time ago. On this New Year’s Day 11 years later, we are anticipating the completion of our expanded sanctuary and moving in there in a couple of months. Things will again change for us, as we go back to 2 morning services, with many more of us gathering together at the same time. I’m looking forward to that, even though the change will bring with it some new difficulties and new challenges. This is the day when people make New Year’s resolutions – how they are going to be different this year than they were last year. And while some people think these resolutions are useless, I’m not sure they such a bad idea. It’s a new year, and why not resolve to do some things differently this year than you did last year? Just know that most of the things you resolve, you cannot do on your own. You will need God’s help. But when your resolution is to do what God has been wanting you to do all along, then you can count on His help. He will help you to be and to do what He would have you to be and do. Your resolution is simply to cooperate with Him rather than to fight against Him. As I thought and prayed about this morning, I thought about some of the new things the Bible talks about. Let’s look at 3 of them. A New Covenant. When Jesus came to this earth, things changed. With His death on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead, God was doing something new. He had a covenant with The old covenant was based on the blood of animals; the new covenant was based on the blood of Jesus. The old covenant was based in the Jewish Temple; the new covenant would be one written in people’s hearts. Here’s how 1 Corin. 11 talks about it: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 1 Corin. 11:23-25 Jesus came to fulfill the old covenant, which only looked forward to His coming. Hebrews 10 says The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. (1-4) The old covenant was not sufficient. It was only temporary. Something better, something permanent was coming, and that something was a Someone. Jesus made possible a new covenant. Heb. 10 continues… Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (19-23) On this New Year’s Day, 2006, God would have us remember that we are no longer under the old covenant, the covenant of Law with its animal sacrifices. We are now under the new covenant, the covenant based on the blood of Jesus. God, in His grace, sent Jesus to be the eternal sacrifice for our sins. He did for us what we would otherwise have to do for ourselves – He took the punishment for your sins and for mine when He died on the cross. And He did it so that we could come humbly to God and ask His forgiveness, and be made holy in His sight. A new covenant – of grace. A New Creature. 2 Along with the new covenant, God has made it possible for us as individuals to be made new, to undergo a spiritual transformation. This is not just praying a little prayer and hoping things will be better. This is undergoing a radical change in your life. 1 Peter 1:3 calls it “a new birth”, born into God’s family. Romans 6:4 says We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. A new birth, a new life, a new way, a new self! Eph.4:22-24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. The putting off of the old self and the putting on of the new self is a process we go through our entire lifetime. In Colossians where we read just a few moments ago, it says that the new self is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Being renewed-that’s an ongoing process. You are in the process of being renewed, and so am I Put off your old self. Your old self is the part of you that has sinful desires. It’s the part that leads you away from holiness. The verses that follow in Ephesians 4 give us some examples: lying, stealing, losing your temper, speaking words that put other people down, bitterness, sexual immorality, greed. God wants you to deal with your sinful nature. That would be a great new year’s resolution: “this year with God’s help, I am going to deal with my sinful nature. I am not going to let it control me. I am going to put off my old self.” Then it says as new creatures in Christ Jesus, we are “to be made new in the attitude of your mind.” Romans 12:2 says: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Made new in the attitude of your mind – transformed by the renewing of your mind. What would life be like for you if your mind were renewed? Do any of the rest of you ever have any unwanted thoughts or is it just me? Our life is transformed when our mind is renewed. We need to understand that the book of Romans was not written to pagans; it was written to Christians. It is to Christians that these words were written: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Even as Christians, our minds need to be renewed so that we can be transformed. The transformation of our conduct is preceded by a new set of convictions, the renewal of our mind. If you just change your conduct and you don’t change your convictions, your change will be short lived. It won’t last. Conduct flows out of character, and character flows out of convictions. The issue is not whether we should go to movies or not. The issue is why are we allowing so much sin, so much worldliness, so much that grieves the heart of God into our minds – in movies, or videos, or on television, or in magazines and books. Probably everyone in this room knows what this is (TV changer). This device can turn the TV on or off, it can raise or lower the volume, but my favorite is that it can change channels. Some of us older folks remember when we had to get up from our chair and go across the room to change channels. And then somebody invented the remote control, and now we have to join health clubs to get our exercise. When something comes on TV that we don’t like, we can change channels. Did you know you can do that with your mind as well? You can change channels. Philippians 4:8 says whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. We may not be able to control whether or not certain thoughts come to our mind, but we can control what we let our mind dwell on. We can change channels. God says: “let your mind dwell on certain things and not dwell on other things.” Let your mind dwell on what you are reading in the Bible. You do read your Bible everyday don’t you? Let your mind dwell on those verses you have memorized. You are memorizing Scripture regularly, aren’t you? Let your mind dwell on Jesus, and on what He has done for you, and what He is currently doing in your life, and in the lives of those around you. What you let your mind dwell on will renew your mind, and your character, and your conduct. Put off the old self; be made new in the attitude of your mind; put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. When it says in 2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new, I’m not sure that everything becomes new all at once. The putting on of this new self that is created to be like God may happen the moment we are born again, but the holiness comes as we live for God throughout our entire lifetime. It’s a process. Heb. A new covenant; a new creature. A New Commandment. Shortly before His death, Jesus gathered with His disciples one last time. He had a lot He yet wanted to say to them, a lot He needed to remind them of. John 13-17 is a record of some of those things. He says to them in John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Love one another! We all know that’s in the Bible, but how much love is there in our daily lives, in our relationships with one another. Does the world know we are Christians by the quality of love we have for each other? Probably not. I heard this week of a church where people began to take sides on a certain issue, & they began to sit on different sides of the church. The issue eventually got so heated that they physically fought with each other. And the world watches & shakes their heads. A new command: love each other as I have loved you. We know that’s what it says, but how does that love look in the 21st century American culture of which we are a part? I was reading John 13 this week in my devotions and I read v.1 Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love. And I wondered, if I were to show Since In Jesus’ day, foot-washing was done by the lowest of the servants. And no such servant had been present that night as Jesus and His disciples had gathered for the Passover Supper. Their sandaled feet were dirty from the dust and grime of the street, and no one had been willing to take the place of the servant that night. So Jesus showed them His love by becoming a servant to them. But I’m not sure that foot-washing is what Jesus would have done in our culture to show the full extent of His love. He would, however, have found some culturally relevant way of serving – because this was not about ceremony. It was about showing love. Loving as Jesus loved means serving one another. How that works out specifically for you may look different than how it works out specifically for me. But the bottom line is in Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. Through love, serve one another. How can I best serve my wife? More husbands need to be asking themselves that question, and then following through in serving their wife in love. How can I best serve my husband? More wives need to be asking that question. How can I best serve my children? How can I best serve my parents? It needs to start in our homes. How can I best serve my neighbor? How can I best serve my brother, my sister in the Lord? Most of the world cannot identify us as Christians because we have stopped asking ourselves that question: how can I serve those around me? We seek to be served rather than to serve, and that’s not the kind of love Jesus commands of us. Loving as Jesus loved also means speaking truth to one another. That’s what Ephesians But sometimes what benefits us is correction, or rebuke. Sometimes the truth we need to speak to each other in love is not pleasant to our ears and can be painful. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do for someone is to lovingly tell them the truth they don’t want to hear. It may be difficult for the speaker to say and for the hearer to hear, but love speaks even hard-to-hear truth. Yes, speak words of encouragement. Refrain from unwholesome talk. But be also willing to speak truth in a loving way even when it may be painful for both you and the other person. Another new year begins today, and we live under a new covenant, as new creatures in Christ Jesus, with a new command. Jesus is the mediator of that new covenant; it is He Who has made us new people, and it is He Who commands us to love each other as He has loved us. Here are two things I believe God would have us consider as we close. Will you commit yourself as we begin this new year to obey Jesus’ command to love those around you in practical ways, just as He did? If you will make the commitment, He will give you the power to do it. Are you willing to make that commitment? Here’s the second thing for us to consider: If you have not allowed Jesus to sit on the throne of your life, will you invite Him to do so? It will change your life. You will be made a new creation in Him. You will be born into the family of God. He will forgive you of your sins and give you eternal life. Have you done that? If not, will you today? |
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