INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Here we are, it is now 2013, doesn’t seem possible, 2012 went by so quickly. Last week we talked about New Year’s resolutions and the reasons we sometimes make them.
• Today we are going to build on the thought of change, growth, and self-improvement as we start this month-long series entitled, “A New Year For A New You.”
• Sometimes it does us good to take the time to look in the mirror and evaluate what we see and where we are.
• As we muster up the courage to do this sometimes we will see that some changes are in order. We tend to look at change as a bad thing, but in the appropriate setting and for the right reasons, change can be a great thing.
• Many people know that some things need to change but the changes and improvements never happen because of they do not have a plan.
• Today we are going to mine some gems from a passage in the book of Isaiah. We will be in Isaiah 54:2-5.
• Isaiah was preaching to a nation in ruins. The kingdom divided in 931 BC.
• Isaiah’s ministry started in 739 BC, it lasted until 685 BC and Isaiah dies in about 680 BC.
• Isaiah saw the fall of The Northern Kingdom of Israel at the hands of the Assyrians in 722 BC.
• The book of Isaiah consists of 66 chapters, the first 37 spoke of the coming and subsequent attack by the Assyrians. Isaiah saw this happen in 722. Then in chapters 38-66 he speaks of the future destruction at the hands of the Babylonians.
• Isaiah is the second most quoted Old Testament book by Jesus and the Apostles where 47 of the chapters are quoted from our alluded to. Psalms is the most quoted.
• Laced throughout the book of Isaiah we find references to the coming Messiah.
• Now sandwiched in between all the doom and gloom Isaiah tells the nation that they will ultimately be restored and that they would be delivered.
• In the context of what we will study together today, we will see that Isaiah is going to try to encourage the nation to make some changes, to plan for some big things God is going to do with them in the future. It is from this context that we will draw out some principles that will help us to be in a position to be able to make some Mega Changes in this New Year!
• Let’s turn to Isaiah 54
• SLIDE #2
• Isaiah 54:2–3 (ESV) 2 “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. 3 For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
In order to be able to experience some Mega Changes one must…
I. Make your plans with boldness!
• In the midst of some difficulties for the nation, Isaiah’s message from God is that things will get better and at some point the nation will grow.
• This is a reference concerning the growth of God’s family throughout the ages after the coming Messiah.
• Clear back in Genesis God promised Abraham that he would have numerous descendants and that through him the world would be blessed.
• Now here we are, things have not seemingly going to well and Isaiah is encouraging the folks to prepare for growth.
• One of the reasons we are not able to make some of the Mega Changes in life, is we look at the future with pessimism.
• Maybe things in the past have not always been great, past performance does not mean that the future is not going to be bright.
• Isaiah must have sounded crazy to his audience giving what the nation had been through.
• We fail to be able to great things because we do not plan with boldness!
• What do you want out of life and what are you doing to get there?
• I have been a no guts no glory type of person for much of my life. I have come up against a lot of obstacles but I do not like to let those things stop being bold.
• We cannot live a fulfilling life if we are short-sighted or pessimistic all the time.
• If we are not happy with the past or the present, plan boldly for the future!
• In the context Isaiah is alluding to the future blessing that would come with the Messiah.
• When we plan with boldness, we prepare for more than we expected.
• Isaiah tells the folks to Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.
• In the times this was written, when you knew you were going to have additions to the family, you would sew more panels on the tent. You would also have to get longer chords to tie it down with along with bigger stakes to hold the bigger tent down with.
• We have to make sure that when we plan that we do so with boldness.
• Our plans should be ambitious in the Lord! Our bold planning needs to include a strong foundation.
• Isaiah was telling his audience that they needed to prepare and expect growth. This is why he told them to expend the tents.
• Do you expect to grow in your walk? DO expect to be able to reach more people for Jesus? Do you expect FCC to be able to continue to grow?
• Are you preparing to enlarge your spiritual tent? Are you preparing to enlarge your friendship tent, your emotional tent, and your relational tent?
• SLIDE #4
• Luke 14:28–29 (ESV) 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
• Jesus tells us we are to plan, the question is this, are your plans boring, small and short-sighted or are they BOLD!
• Are you letting past issues stop you from dreaming big in the Lord?
• Let’s look at verse 5.
• SLIDE #5
• Isaiah 54:4 (ESV) “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
• SLIDE #6
In order to be able to experience some Mega Changes one must…
II. Be fearless in your walk!
• Here is something that will stop the ability to start some mega changes in life, the issue of FEAR!
• Too many folks are driven by fear, sometimes a touch of fear can be good, it will keep you from doing silly things that could hasten your departure from this life.
• In this passage Isaiah is dealing with a common issue that can hold us back, an issue that can keep us from trying to grow.
• The nations of Israel did a lot of things they should have and were eventually ashamed of.
• Isaiah is reminding them of this, BUT he is telling them to not allow the past failures be a crutch to hold them back from future blessings and glory.
• Isaiah encourages his audience to FEAR NOT.
• For us today, we need to heed this warning. We MUST have a FEARLESS walk in the Lord because if our walk is not fearless, it will be a weak small walk.
• We cannot allow the fear of failure to stop us in our tracks. Israel had a lot of failures in their past, yet they were not to let those failures stop them.
• How many of us have allowed past failures stop is from trying to achieve future blessings?
• I know folks who had so many failures in life they more or less quit trying. I have a good book in my library called Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell. Past “failures” are only failures if we fail to learn from them.
• Thomas Edison tried MANY different filaments for the light bulb before finally getting the correct one.
• If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward. Thomas A. Edison, Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Do not fear failure!
• We also cannot be paralyzed by the fear that God will not respond the way we need Him to.
• be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
• God always will do what is best for us and in Him we will not fail!
• We also cannot be fearful of what others say about us. When God promises something it will happen no matter what others say.
• Noah caught a lot of grief from people. That crazy Noah was building a massive boat in the middle of a field. He was mocked and made fun of, well UNTIL THE WATERS started to rise!
• be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
• We also cannot allow ourselves be paralyzed by the fear that God will not forgive our past and for that matter our PRESENT sins.
• I know folks who will not accept God’s forgiveness, only because they feel they do not deserve it.
• Well truth be known none of us deserve it, God gives it to us because of who HE is.
• God is able to rise above our issues because of who HE is instead of who we are.
• SLIDE #7
• John 3:16 (ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
• Isaiah reminds us, for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.”
• Let’s look at verse 5.
• SLIDE #8
• Isaiah 54:5 (ESV) For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.
• SLIDE #9
In order to be able to experience some Mega Changes one must…
III. Remember who you serve!
• When it is all said and done, we can make the Mega Changes in life because of the MEGA BIG GOD WE SERVE!
• Our God is all-powerful, our God is the God of all and through Him all things are possible!
• SLIDE #10
• Philippians 4:13 (ESV) I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
• Do you believe this passage? If you do then you know that God can do great things with you and through you!
• Not only is He the creator, but Isaiah shows the depth of relationship we have with Him. He knows you!
• SLIDE #11
• Jeremiah 1:5 (ESV) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
• We need to always know who we serve, knowing who we serve can give us an incredible amount of confidence and strength!
• Do your plans take into account the God you serve?
CONCLUSION
• A New Year for A New You. Are you ready, are you willing, are you trusting that God can do a great work in you?
