TEXT: ACTS 16:1-15
TITLE: “FACING THE NEW YEAR IN A NEW WAY” (updated for 2008)
OPEN: A. It’s almost February. Why are talking about the New Year?
--Isn’t the newness of the new year kind of wearing off?
1. I’ve found that talking about the new year when it starts is kind of cliché and doesn’t do much
good
2. Now that we’re into the new year and have a better handle on what we really want to do and
want to accomplish, we can legitimately talk about what we need to do
B. Here is a concept that we can be sure of as live out the year 2008 A.D.
1. We’ve got 24 more hours this year than we’ve had in the previous three years
--most years have 8,760 hours but this year we have 8,784 hours available to us
2. If you work 40 hours each week and sleep 8 hours a night, you will use up 5,008 hours
3. Take away another760 or so hours spent eating
4. That leaves us a balance of discretionary time of just a little under 3,000 hours
5. It’s important to recognize that those hours are a gift from God
--It’s even more important to consider how you will use those hours for God
6. You can count on two things this year of 2008:
a. God will be present in each one of those hours
b. God wants to do a “new thing” in you in this new year
C. The Bible speaks many times concerning “new things” and “new ways”
1. Mt. 9:16-17 – “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull
away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old
wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.
No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
--warns about putting the new and the old together
2. People were astounded to hear that the Gospel message is something new and fresh
a. Mk. 1:27 – “The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, ‘What is this? A new
teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.’”
b. Acts 17:19 – “Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where
they said to him, ‘May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?’”
3. God promised a new testament or covenant
a. Jer. 31:31 – “‘The time is coming, declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.’”
b. Jesus instituted this new covenant
--Mt. 26:27-28 – “Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink
from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the
forgiveness of sins.’”
4. We become a new self and a new attitude in Christ
--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.”
5. We also become a new creation
a. 2 Cor. 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the
new has come!”
b. Gal. 6:15 – “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new
creation.”
6. The Bible mentions other “new”things
a. new song
b. new job (ambassador for Christ)
c. new family (the church)
d. new heart and a new spirit
7. Jesus implicitly states that everything under His control is supposed to become new
--Rev. 21:5 – “He who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new!’”
D. What does the Bible mean when it speaks of things becoming new?
1. In both the Hebrew and the Greek, it means new in regard to freshness
--in the sense that God has rebuilt or renewed the subject of that descriptive wor
2. How do we get to be new?
--The Bible tells us that we become new by putting aside the old
a. Is. 43:18-19a – (God speaking) “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am
doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
b. Phil 3:13b-14 – “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on
toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus..”
3. When we commit our hearts and lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ, He will do something new
in us
--as Christians, we need to anticipate and be prepared for the “new things” God will do in us
I. WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR NEW RELATIONSHIPS
--Acts 16;1-5 – “He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother
was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well
of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who
lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from town to town, they
delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the
churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.”
A. Paul develops several new relationships in this chapter
1. Silas
a. One of the two men sent from Jerusalem to help strengthen and encourage the church at Antioch
b. Now Paul’s new travel companion and new partner in this second missionary journey
2. Timothy
a. from Lystra
--one of the last places (along with Derbe) visited by Paul and Barnabas at the close of the first
missionary journey
b. This was the town where the people wanted to worship and sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas because
they thought they were “gods”
1). Paul had healed a lame man
2). Some Jewish visitors came to town and stirred up trouble
--they tried to stone Paul here in this town
c. Timothy was a young Christian who had a great reputation among all the believers in the area
1). Mother was Jewish and also a believer.
2). We read later in Scripture that his grandmother, Lois, was also a believer
3). Timothy became on of Paul’s most trusted associates
3. Luke
a. Luke is a physician Paul met in Troas (after receiving a vision about going into Europe with the
Gospel through way of Macedonia)
--some scholars believe that Luke was the man Paul saw in his vision
b. Troas was a major center for the study of medicine
--two famous Greek physicians went to school there: Hippocrates and Galen
c. Luke also became a traveling companion of Paul as well as a helper in the work
--wrote two major works in the New Testament: Luke and Acts
d. Luke describes some of Paul’s 2nd and 3rd missionary journeys from a first person perspective
B. What would have happened if Paul had said, “We didn’t do it like this on the first missionary journey.
That first journey meant a lot to me and I want to do this one the same way.”
1. He probably would never have met some of these co-workers who were faithful to him and to the
work of Christ
2. These were people who greatly enhanced his ministry
--they were helpful and encouraging and strengthened Paul’s walk with Christ
3. Prov. 27:17 – “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
C. You need to evaluate your relationships this evening. Ask yourself, “How do these relationships impact
my walk with Christ?”
--Gordan MacDonald, Restoring Your Spiritual Passion, tells us to think about people we have
relationships with as being a “+” or a “-” to our spiritual batteries
1. VRP’s – The Very Resourceful People
a. They can always be depended on to be a resource in your Christian walk
--they’re always helpful, encouraging, and a source of inspiration on your spiritual journey
b. Could be: a preacher, a teacher, youth worker, friend, etc
--literally anybody
c. They help to ignite your spiritual passion
d. + + +
2. VIP”s – The Very Important People
a. They are contributors in helping you to accomplish what God wants
b. These are the people that help to shape our spiritual passion
--the apostle Paul called them “yokefellows” in his letters
c. + +
3. VTP’s – Very Trainable People
a. We are their VRP’s
b. They catch our spiritual passion
c. + (You give them a lot of your spiritual energy but you also receive a lot of spiritual energy in
return
**all three of these groups of people are essential to igniting , fanning the flame, and fueling your
spiritual passion
4. VNP’s – The Very Nice People
a. Come in large numbers and we like to have them around
b. They enjoy our passion
c. They don’t seriously take awy from our spiritual passion but they don’t add to it, either
d. MacDonald: “One is reminded of a childhood spoof on various breakfast cereals.. They don’t snap,
crackle, and pop; they don’t turn colors; they’re not coated with sugar; and they’re not shot from
guns. What do they do? They simply lie in the bowl and sop up the milk.”
e. However, VNP’s can become VTP’s and even VIP’s
f. - (a minus to our spiritual passion)
--they don’t take away much but they don’t replace what they do take
5. The VDP’s – The Very Draining People
a. They do nothing but zap our spiritual passion
b. If they’re non-Christians, their lifestyle and influence tend to take you where you don’t want or need
to go
--or they are always trying to ridicule or persecute
c. If they’re carnal Christians, they’re always causing trouble, always complaining, always setting
fires; they’re always upset over everything and they’re never pleased with anything
--they are what could be called “high maintenance” people
6. It doesn’t take much brainpower to figure out that if your relationship all take away from your spiritual
passion, it’s not going to take very long until you’re trying to operate on an empty tank
a. Who do you spend the majority of your time with?
--People who add to your spiritual passion or people who deplete your spiritual passion?
b. Which one are you?
--How do you impact the lives of other Christians?
II. WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR A NEW MINISTRY (a work of service)
--Acts 16:6-10 – “Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having
been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the
border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they
passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia
standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got
ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”
A. Paul had a plan for his ministry
--He was going to go back into Asia Minor with the gospel – the area where he had already been
1. It was a good plan but it wasn’t God’s plan
2. Sometimes we need to stop doing good things and concentrate on doing the best things
a. Tim Storey, Good Idea or God Idea?
b. Is it just a good idea or is it a God idea?
3. We need to stop listening to our own voice and listen to God’s
B. God led Paul through His Holy Spirit
--Typically, God led His people in several ways:
1. Prophet
--someone who came to deliver a message from God
2. Inner and irresistible conviction
3. Visions and dreams
4. Circumstances
a. When God closes a door, He always opens another (or at least a window).
b. Sometimes, God uses all of the above to indicate where He is trying to get us to go
**which leads us directly into the next section
III. WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR A NEW DIRECTION
A. Before we get new relationship and a new ministry, God has to get us to go in a new direction
1. Paul’s plan was to continue on in Asia Minor
--Paul saw some good areas there to work in
2. What happened?
--The Holy Spirit stopped him
3. Why?
--Because they needed to go in a new direction
B. Why is change so difficult for us?
1. We feel safe and secure in places we’ve already been
2. It takes hard work to change our attitudes and actions
3. We’d rather face something we’ve faced before and are familiar with rather than step into new
territory
--Seven Last Word of the Church: “We’ve never done it that way before.”
4. If we’ll be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit (no matter what our common sense and logic tells us
to do), God will bless our efforts
5. We need to be willing to do to areas of service that God wants us to go
--God doesn’t want our capability. He simply wants our availability.
IV. WE NEED TO BE PREPARED TO PROCLAIM THE SAME OLD MESSAGE
--Acts 16:11-15 – “From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to
Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of
Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the
river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who
had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the
city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. ‘If you consider
me a believer in the Lord,; she said, ‘come and stay at my house.’ And she persuaded us.”
A. Description of conversion of Lydia
1. Message proclaimed was still Jesus
2. No matter what methodology we use, no matter what area of ministry God has called us into, the
message is still the same – Jesus saves
3. “Methods are many; principles are few. Methods always change but principles never do.”
B. Why does the church exist?
a. We exist for the purpose of evangelizing the lost
b. We exist for edifying the saved
c. We exist to honor Christ and worship Him
C. Each of those purposes work hand in hand with one another
1. Honoring Christ and worshipping Him leads us to telling others about Him
2. Honoring Christ and worshipping Him leads us to lifting up one another, supporting one another, and
encouraging one another
3. When we reach out to the lost and strengthen the saved, Christ is honored and worshipped
4. Each purpose perpetuates the other
--It all centers around Jesus Christ and Him crucified
D. We proclaim that same message today
1. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
2. Peter said, “There is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved.”
3. No matter what your situation, your status in life, your job, or your problems, Jesus is still the
answer for you to find peace, contentment, joy, and fulfillment.
CLOSE: A. Bob Benson, Laughter in the Walls, in a chapter entitled, “The Sunday School Picnic”:
…They said, “We’ll meet at Sycamore Lodge in Shelby Park at 4:30 on Saturday. You bring
your supper and we’ll furnish the tea. But you come home at the last minute and when you get
ready to pack your lunch, all you could find in the refrigerator was one dried up piece of baloney
and just enough mustard in the bottom of the jar so that you got it all over your knuckles when
you tried to get it out. In other words, just two stale pieces of bread. So, you made your baloney
sandwich and wrapped it in some brown bag and went to the picnic.
When it came time to eat, you sat at the end of the table and spread out your sandwich. But
the folks next to you, the lady was a good cook, and she’d worked all day and she had fried
chicken and baked beans, potato salad, and home-made rolls, sliced tomatoes, and pickles, and
olives, and celery. And to top it off, two great big home-made chocolate pies. And they spread it
all out beside you. And there you were with your baloney sandwich.
But they said to you, “Why don’t we put it all together?” “Uh, well,, um, no… I c-c-couldn’t
do that. I couldn’t even think of it!” you murmur embarrassed. “Aw, c’mon. There’s plenty of
chicken, plenty of pie, plenty of everything. And we just love baloney sandwiches! Let’s just put
it all together.” So you did … and there you sat; eating like a king when you came like a pauper.
And I get to thinking. I think of me sharing in the very being of God. When I think of how
little I bring how much he brings, and that he invites me to share. I know I should be shouting to
the rooftops but I’m so filled with awe and wonder, that I can hardly be heard. I know I don’t
have enough love and faith or grace or mercy or wisdom, but he has. He has all those things in
abundance and he says, “Let’s just put it all together. Everything that I possess is available to
you. Everything that I am and can be to a person, I will be to you.”
And when I think about it like that, it really amuses me to see somebody running around
through life hanging onto their dumb bag with their stale baloney sandwich saying, “God’s not
gonna get my sandwich! No siree! Not mine!” Did you ever see anyone like that? Just so
needy, just about half-starved to death, hanging on for dear life. It’s not that he needs your
sandwich. The fact is, you need his chicken.
B. Are you sick and tire of the same ol’ same old?
1. The same stale baloney sandwich of life
2. The same old stale relationships, or ministry, or direction in your life?
3. Just lay down that old stale thing and take what jesus offers to you tonight
--Let Him make it all fresh and new.
