All Things New

All Things New

This message is based on this verse from 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (ESV)

Think about it. Most parents will vividly remember the birth of their children with utmost fondness, because a new arrival brings so much of joy and pride to the parents and the entire family. However, there is another birth that Jesus spoke about, and that birth is as important as our birth into this world.

The New Birth

In John Chapter 3 we read about a man named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jewish counsel who came to Jesus by night. As Nicodemus saw and heard about the signs and wonders that Jesus performed, he knew that Jesus was a teacher sent from God, and that He was someone extraordinary. When Jesus met Nicodemus He said something very interesting to him in John 3:3, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (ESV)

Nicodemus was perplexed and could not understand how someone who was old, like he was, could enter again into his mother’s womb to be born again. What Jesus was trying to tell Nicodemus was that it was not enough for one to be born into an earthly family, but it was more important for everyone to be born again into the family of God, so they could enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that one had to be born of water of the Spirit, meaning that when one believes in the Lord Jesus they also have to take the step to be baptized with water and that the Holy Spirit of God will fill them so that they can become children of God.

It’s interesting to note that it was in this context that Jesus said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (ESV)

Once a person experiences this new birth everything that is old passes away and the Lord replaces it all with everything that’s new. Here are some things that God will make new in our lives when we are born again.

1. A new heart

When we speak about the heart we are not talking about the human organ, but about the heart as the seat from which every desire stems. When one experiences the new birth the Lord gives us a new heart. We read in Ezekiel 36:26, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (ESV)

Our hearts are hardened by sin, worldly desires and deceitfulness of riches. The Lord alone can change our hearts to desire things that God desires. God changes our hearts of stone to become hearts of flesh that desire and do those things that are pleasing to God.

In Matthew Chapter 15 the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were annoyed with Jesus because His disciples ate with unwashed hands, which was against their traditions. Jesus was explicit to tell them that nothing that goes into a man defiles him. But here’s what Jesus highlighted to them concerning the things that come from within a man’s heart.

Jesus replied them in Matthew 15:18, “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” (ESV)

Basically Jesus was teaching them that every thought, word and action stems from the heart of man. No wonder then that God’s word cautions us in Proverbs 4:23, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (NLT)

When David sinned against the Lord, this was his prayer in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (ESV) The Lord Jesus shed His blood for us on the cross and if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (ESV) God is holy, and only the pure in heart can gain entry into the Kingdom of God and can behold the face of God.

2. A New Mind

The second thing that God does is, He begins to renew our minds. Today we live in a time when we are bombarded by technology, all of which is right at our finger tips. If we want to have a new mind, we need to be cautious about what we feed our minds with. Our mind is like a sponge and everything we watch, hear and read fills our mind, and these eventually begin to control our minds, which then affects our everyday lives.