A New But Old Message Series

INTRO.- New but old. How can that be? How can anything be new and yet old at the same time?

ILL.- Elaine and I have new neighbors next door. I had never met them until one day I was outside and noticed that a truck was delivering a pickup truck to their driveway. I went to investigate because it was an older model truck and yet appeared to be in very good condition. It is a 1967 GMC pickup truck, yellow in color (new paint) and newly chromed bumpers. OLD BUT NEW! Old but has a somewhat new look to it!

People often opt for a used car over a brand new car because of the price. It may be somewhat old or older but it’s new to them!

How about some old sayings but new to some people? See if you can finish these says?

- You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.

- A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. (who wants a bird?)

- A friend in need is a friend indeed.

- Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

- Better late than never. (not for me. I don’t like late)

- Better to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35)

- Birds of a feather, flock together.

- Clothes don’t make the man.

- Confession is good for the soul. (also I John 1:9)

- Curiosity killed the cat. (after 9 tries)

- Don’t bite off more than you can chew.

- Don’t cry over spilt milk.

- Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.

- Don’t sweat the small stuff. (it’s all small stuff)

- Eat to live, don’t live to eat.

- Half a loaf is better than none. (especially if you’re hungry)

- Home is where the heart is. (Matthew 6:21)

- Let sleeping dogs lie.

- Monkey see, monkey do. (but are you a monkey?)

- Never say never.

- Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

- Make hay while the sun shines. (work while you can)

In our text, we also have an old but a new message. It’s an eternal message. It’s the old truth that people need to believe in and the old path that people need to follow!

PROP.- What is this new but old message?

1- The truth is in Christ

2- The light is in loving others

3- The darkness is in hating others

I. THE TRUTH IS IN CHRIST

7Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

This is an old message. It’s been preached for two thousand years and yet, it’s a new message to some people!

ILL.- Two men had an argument. To settle the matter, they went to a judge for arbitration. The plaintiff made his case. He was very eloquent and persuasive in his reasoning. When he finished, the judge nodded in approval and said, "That’s right, that’s right."

On hearing this, the defendant jumped up and said, "Wait a second, judge, you haven’t even heard my side of the case yet."

So the judge told the defendant to state his case. And he, too, was very persuasive and eloquent. When he finished, the judge said, "That’s right, that’s right." When the clerk of court heard this, he jumped up and said, "Judge, they both can’t be right." The judge looked at the clerk of court and said, "That’s right, that’s right."

Brothers and sisters, this is the way it often is in our world. Everything is right to someone. The world is quick to excuse any kind of evil as being right. It all depends on who you are talking about.

ILL.- Take, for example, the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping that occurred on June 5, 2002, when she was abducted from her Salt Lake City, Utah, bedroom at the age of 14. She was found nine months later on March 12, 2003, in Sandy, Utah, about 18 miles from her home, in the company of Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Ileen Barzee, who were indicted for her kidnapping but ruled unfit to stand trial.

On Oct. 1, 2009, this case went back to court and Elizabeth Smart who is 21 years old, testified about what took place. Elizabeth Smart was held at the mercy of a sex-crazed man and his jealous wife, and was raped many times a day.

Asked to describe her abductor, Ms. Smart replied, “Evil, wicked, manipulative, stinky, slimy, greedy, selfish, not spiritual, not religious, not close to God.” She said, "Anything I showed resistance or hesitance to, he would turn to me and say, "The Lord has commanded you to do this, you have to experience the lowest form of humanity to experience the highest." Tolman: Did he think highly of himself? Smart: "Yes. He was the king. He was the Lord’s servant and was doing the Lord’s work."