New Things
By Pastor Jim May
As we enter this New Year of 2007 I thought it would be good for us to think about having some new things. Don’t you just love being able to have something new? I love the fresh smell of a new car, before the aroma of French fries and hamburgers lost under the seat become overpowering. When you walk into a brand new home, the senses are treated to the smell of new carpet and fresh paint before the dust, mildew, mold and all of the scents from the occupants fill the air. There’s just something about new clothes that makes you feel better.
One thing that we all look forward to is the New Year. At midnight tonight we will begin the New Year. We look forward to its coming because we know that it is a year and a time that has been untouched by evil and that this year may usher in a spiritual awakening and if mankind would seize the opportunity, he could make a real difference in his history.
Everything about us grows old, wears out and must be replaced with something new from time to time. Replacement of a car, a suit of clothes or some other possession is costly but it’s something that must be done.
But there is something else that needs to be renewed and its far more important than possessions, it’s YOU!
I’ve often heard people say that they needed to repair a car, but there was just so much wrong with it that the best way to repair it was to jack it up and put a new one under it. Is that the way you feel about Yourself? There’s just so much wrong with you that it seems impossible to fix it all. Sometimes you even begin to wonder if you’re even worth fixing anymore. There just needs to be a whole new you!
It is impossible to have a new You in the flesh. You can’t rebuild yourself completely, getting rid of every old habit, changing your heart and life completely, and start out fresh again with a clean slate. You can’t erase every sin you’ve ever committed. You can’t forget your past. You can’t be someone other than the person you are. None of these things can be accomplished in your own power.
But the fact is that you can have all of that and you don’t have to wait until a New Year to have that fresh start. Every minute of every day is a brand new minute in the time of our lives. It’s what we do with those minutes that add up into days, weeks, months and years that will make up the result of what we have spent our lifetime accomplishing.
Jesus offers us so many new things and unlike the things that the devil has to offer, the good things of God do not deteriorate in time or grow old, and worthless and corrupted through the years. Instead, it just gets better and better all the time.
Let me give you some comparisons of what the devil and the world offers compared to what Jesus has for you right now if you will only serve Him.
--Satan offers death through sin – Jesus offers New life.
Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
John 10:10, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
This old body of flesh, that belongs to this earth, begins to die from the moment we are born. It wasn’t created that way in the beginning, but because of the “gift” of sin that mankind so quickly received from Satan in the Garden of Eden, death reigns in this mortal flesh. Satan came along, and through deception and temptation to our own desires, he stole your eternal life, he killed your eternal soul, and he destroyed all hope of ever making Heaven your home.
But Jesus offers you all of those things back if you will only live for Him and accept him. He will give you a glorified body that will live forever. He gives you a life that is eternal and will never know death.
--The devil and the world offer the love of the world that is more lust and greed, or selfishness than true love – Jesus offers perfect love and a New Love that the world can’t offer.
Love in the world has so many meanings that you often can’t tell what someone means when they say they love you. Do they love you like they love their car? Do they love you like they love their pet cat? Do they love you like they love their job? Do they love you like they love their chocolate ice cream? Do they love you like they love their Mother-in-Law? Do they love you like they love themselves? All of their love is conditional. The moment you don’t meet their needs anymore, the definition of love becomes more clearer.
But God’s love is different. When we speak of the Love of God, there is a definite understanding that it is a love that never fails. Let’s read about His love so you can see the difference. God’s love is spoken of as “Charity”. That’s because it is something that is given to you even though you don’t deserve it, you can’t pay for it and nothing you can do makes you worthy of it. But God gives it to you freely and calls it charity, the great Love of God, given as a gift of charity to an undeserving man.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7, "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."
Let me read that to you in contemporary words.
“Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude. Love isn’t selfish or quick tempered. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do. Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil. Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting. Love never fails!
1 John 4:18 also tells us that, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."
Are you afraid of the future? Do you fear what mankind faces in the days to come? Are you fearful of things happening around you? Do you worry all the time about what your life will be like as inflation continues to rise? If you will allow the Love of God to rule your life, those kinds of fears can be relieved because you will know that Jesus has control of your life and that He is responsible for your life and won’t fail to supply your needs.
--Satan offers the power to bind your soul and heart in sin – Jesus offers a New Spirit, the Holy Spirit, that enters your heart and life to lead you into the paths of righteousness in God.
Ezekiel 11:19, "And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:"
Ezekiel 18:31, "Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?"
This isn’t a fleshly heart that we are talking about. I’m not going to promise you that God will create a new muscle in your chest to pump blood through your body and make you live longer in this world. God can do that of course, but that’s not the heart I’m speaking of.
I’m talking about the real you, that inner person that you are; the very essence of your being. That part of you that gives you life, the ability to think and determines your personality.
Your heart has been infected with a deadly disease called sin. You have transgressed against Holy God, and that has resulted in a death sentence. All it took was one curse word, one lie, one time of stealing a penny, one time of stealing from your boss, one time of doing something, going somewhere or reading something that you shouldn’t have, and the sentence is passed. None of us are innocent of the charges against us. The Bible says that we have all sinned and come short of God’s holiness. Therefore, every man, woman and child over the age of accountability is condemned to eternal death.
We need that new spirit and that new heart that only Jesus can give.
--Satan and the power of sin continue to drag you down, destroying your soul and crushing your heart – Jesus gives a New Heart, cleansed from sin and whiter than snow.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
1 John 1:7, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
--The devil wants to destroy your ability to think and to reason. In fact, the powers of hell are so strong that they will destroy your mind and keep you deceived to believe the lies of Satan – but Jesus offers a New Mind, the mind of Christ, and the ability to think and see things more clearly, and the power to focus your thoughts on the good things of life instead of the sin of the world.
2 Timothy 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
Isaiah 55:8, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD."
Philippians 2:4-11, "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
The mind of the world, and of Satan, is ever focused on self. What makes me happy? What do I want? I want what I want and I’m going to do whatever it takes to have what I want and I don’t care what it costs anyone else for me to have it! - That’s the mindset of the world.
But the mind of Christ is opposite to that. Jesus’ mind says what can I do for you? How can I be a blessing to someone else? I will serve God, I will serve man and I will give myself fully in ministry to others and just trust in Jesus to supply my needs and to give me those things that will bless my life as well.
--The devil wants you to continue to curse other men, to blaspheme against God and to curse God and die – Jesus cleans up our Language and gives us a whole new vocabulary.
Mark 16:17, "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;"
Zephaniah 3:9, "For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent."
Have you been around people who can’t say one sentence without using curse words or slang? That’s often because they just don’t know how to express their thoughts any other way. Through lack of education, influence of their environment and what they have learned from other people, all they can think to say is what has been ingrained in their mind.
But since Jesus gives us a new mind, there will come with it a new way of talking. We will no longer enjoy cursing. We will develop a whole new way of talking.
One young couple who got saved made a promise that whenever they would say a curse word that they would have to put a quarter in a jar to give in the offering at church. At first there were a lot of quarters going into that jar, but over the course of a few weeks, the jar was staying empty. That’s because God gave them a whole new language.
Of course we all know of the new tongues that come when we are baptized in the Holy Ghost, but we will talk about those tongues at another time.
--There is no hope in the world. There is no hope in serving the devil. Every passing day and hour only tends to drive you deeper and deeper into the depths of hopelessness. – but in Jesus, you can have a New Hope, a hope for a bright future and a better tomorrow, blessed by God.
Romans 15:13, "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."
Ephesians 1:18, "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,"
1 Thessalonians 2:19, "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?"
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
Hopelessness is a terrible thing. Hopelessness drives us inward and makes us cynical. Hopelessness convinces us that there is only a dark cloud and no silver lining. Hopelessness destroys our future, infects our present and forces us to remember only the bad things of the past, so that we expect only more of the same for the future.
Jesus replaces hopelessness with hope. Now we see the world in a whole different way. Where it seemed that there was no way, the road suddenly appears. When the clouds grow dark and gloomy, a ray of light breaks through as Jesus opens a window of hope into Heaven where we can remember the promises of God to see us through.
To the world, the situation is hopeless. But through faith, we see every situation where we don’t know the answer, as just one more time when God can receive glory by bringing us into victory.
The great Hope is made alive in us – that Hope that says, you will live forever. Death is no more something that is dreadful and fearful, but nothing more than a stepping stone into a new life in Christ.
The moment of physical death will be no more to a Christian than the moment of our new birth in Christ. Just as quickly and easily as you stepped from being a lost sinner into a born again saint of God, you will step across death into eternal life. There is no sting in death nor is the grave the victor, for you aren’t there. You are with Jesus.
--One thing that the world and devil cannot offer is real peace. The peace that the world tries to give is so easily shattered. – But Jesus gives us a New Peace; a peace that the world can’t understand. In Jesus you can have peace in the midst of the storm; you can have peace when the world is raging; you can have peace in every circumstance. That peace comes only from the Prince of Peace.
John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
-- The devil can only offer momentary happiness that is destroyed at the first sign of adversity. But Jesus offers you a New Joy, a joy that unspeakable and full of glory and a joy that no man can take away. Your joy won’t be based on your circumstances, but it will be based on the knowledge of where you are going and to whom you belong. You are a child of god and you are bound for Heaven, so why can you be downtrodden?
John 16:24, "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."
1 Peter 1:8, "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:"
--Satan often uses physical prowess and strength as part of his system of temptations. After all, every sin originates in our desire to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. But Jesus offers a New Strength, strength to overcome all sin, any obstacles and strength to stand in spite of every stumbling block.
Ephesians 3:16-21, "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."
--Satan will surround you with people who claim to be friends, but most are fair weather friends at best. When the going gets tough, most of your worldly friends won’t be there for you. When the money runs out, they will abandon you. When they can get no more from you and now you need something from them, where will they be?
There is a commercial that says, “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” All I can say is that friends should stop you from being drunk in the first place. A friend that allows you to self-destruct, and encourages you to live in sin, is no friend at all. In fact, I believe that many of those who encourage you and help you to sin could easily be demons in human form, sent to lead you to destruction.
Jesus offers you a New family & friends.
Romans 8:14-17, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."
One of the greatest questions of all mankind is simply, “Why am I here?” They have no true purpose other than to fulfill the desires of the flesh.
But Jesus gives you New Ambitions and a Purpose for living.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8, "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:"
What are your ambition and your purpose in Jesus?
They are to sow bountifully into serving the Lord. Not just in giving of your finances, but in sowing your talents, your time and your life into the lives of others and in serving the Lord with all your heart. God loves that man or woman who will cheerfully give of themselves in unselfish service. And He is able to make you strong enough, multiply your resources and your time so that your good work may be something great for all to see.
All of these New things begin with a single decision, a single moment in time, when you decide to allow Jesus to rule and reign in your life.
Where else can you find so many new things but in Christ? Who else has the answer to all of your questions?
Are there things in your life that you want to see change? Are there some old things in your life that you would like to see flushed away? All of that can be accomplished through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Jesus wants to make you a new creation today. He wants to change your life forever for the better. As you enter this New Year, why not enter it as a whole new being.
Before that can happen, you must be born again by the Holy Spirit of God. You have to lay that old man down, that old person that you are right now, that only lives for self, and allow Jesus to make you a new man in Him.
2 Corinthians 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."
Why does Jesus make you into a New You? He does so because the old man, that man who only fulfilled the desires of the flesh, can’t understand or handle the things of the Spirit. It must be a new man, born of the Spirit, to handle the things of the Spirit.
Matthew 9:16-17, "No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved."
In the end, it is not the only the new hope, the new mind, the new language or any of those new things that we have mentioned that will be greatest new things of all. What will be the greatest thing of all? It will be that eternal life, in that new home, where Jesus dwells.
2 Peter 3:13, "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
Are you tired of the old you? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired of your life? Why not allow Jesus to take the old you, and make you into something brand new?
That would be a great way to begin a New Year, and a new Life for the rest of your life.
