"All Things New"
Revelation 21:1-6
I searched and searched the internet through hundreds of predictions for the coming New Year and here is a top-ten list of what is predicted to happen in the year 2015:
# 10. Language Differences will Disappear.
* according to what I found, through "some kind of universal translating machine" this development will lead to the end of separate nations.
#9. The Dead will Resurrect
* The reason for this is that there will be no more room in hell.
# 8. The World Economy will Collapse.
#7. There will be a Major Eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
#6. People will live to be Over 200 years old.
* according to this prediction, due to advances in medicine an 80 year-old person will soon look just like a 50 year-old person.
#5. Radiation will Scorch our World.
#4. There will be a Major Earthquake in the Western United States.
#3. Humans will learn to Talk to Pets and Farm Animals
* This will lead to an upsurge in vegetarianism: "The hog will become a brother to man."
#2. All Taxes will be Abolished in the Western World
#1. Would-Be Parents will need Licenses.
* The days when just anyone can have a baby will be a thing of the past.
Here we are only 3 days away from a New Year.
What are your hopes and dreams for 2015?
Have you thought about New Year's Resolutions?
Do you plan to quit smoking...
...go on diet...
...start an exercise regimen?
What do you hope for your family in the New Year?
Health?
Prosperity?
What do you want for yourself?
What difficulties are you dealing with that you pray will be resolved?
What do you think will happen in our world?
And what about our little church?
What ministries will take place?
Who will we be privileged to serve?
Will existing ministries grow or fade away?
What new people will show up in our pews?
Will we make an impact for Christ in our community and in our world?
As individuals, will we grow in our relationship with God?
Will we read our Bibles?
Will we participate more in the extremely important work God is doing through this church?
Will we come to Bible study, Sunday school, worship?
Will we start a new ministry, a new outreach?
Will lives be changed?
Will souls be saved?
In a year's time, will we be closer to God than we are right now?
There is no way of knowing the answers to many if not most of these questions.
But one thing is sure--our calling.
We are called by God, to give our lives fully to Jesus Christ.
We are called by God to love God and other people with all our hearts, minds and strength.
And we are called by God to "run the race that is laid out in front of us...
...to throw off...
...to get rid of...
...the sin that trips us up, and fix our eyes on Jesus...
...so that [we] won't be discouraged and [we] won't give up."
God has great plans for us this year.
This church is being used in mighty ways to effect changes in our surrounding community.
This is what we prayed would happen; our prayers are being answered.
And they will continue to be answered so long as we stay the course, continue to "run the race that is laid out in front of us."
One thing, though, I am pretty confident of, is that we will still have plenty of problems when 2015 comes to an end.
That is, unless, Jesus returns this year.
Another thing I am confident of is this: there will come a day when all problems will be a thing of the past.
In our Scripture Lesson for this morning from Revelation, John on the Island of Patmos, is given a vision from God.
He sees a new heaven and a new earth.
He sees the "New Jerusalem" coming down out of heaven from God, ready as a bride.
He hears a voice.
It declares, "Look! God's dwelling is here with humankind.
He will dwell with them, and they will be his peoples.
God himself will be with them as their God."
When all is said and done we will not be left, simply with a new heaven, but a new heaven and a new earth.
They will be joined together completely and forever.
And notice the word "dwell" in verse 3...
...as in "God will dwell with them..."
This is what the Gospel of John says about Jesus: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us..."
What God did in Jesus Christ, coming to an unknowing world, an unwelcoming world--He will do on a cosmic scale!!!
God is coming to live in our midst forever.
Heaven and earth will be joined together; they will be exactly the same thing.
There will be no divide between God and creation.
We will have an utter transformation and the horrible, disgusting and tragic effects of human sin will be no more!!!
Death, tears and everything that causes them will no longer exist.
"God himself will be with [us] as [our] God.
He will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes.
Death will be no more.
There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore, for the former things have passed way.'
Then the one seated on the throne said, 'Look! I'm making all things new.'"
And the dreams of the ancient prophets will finally have come to pass.
The prophet Isaiah heard God say: "Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing."
And the Apostle Paul said, "if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation.
The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!"
God can take people and re-create them.
And someday, God will create a new universe for the people whose lives have been recreated through faith in Christ.
Do you believe this?
Are you part of the new creation?
In Revelation 21:6 God says: "All is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end."
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and omega is the last.
In other words, all life begins in God and ends in God.
And God will dwell with those who believe.
"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes...
...There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore..."
We have a brand New Year ahead of us.
And outwardly speaking, it's possible that not much will change.
The Ebola outbreak may continue.
We might continue to fight against the gruesome atrocities of terrorism and genocide.
People may still not be able to get along.
And I certainly doubt that all language differences will disappear through some kind of universal translating machine...
...or that radiation will scorch the earth...
...or that humans will learn to talk to pets and farm animals...
...but I do believe with all my heart that through faith in Christ, all of us can become new creations, reconciled to God and given the ministry of reconciliation.
And through this ministry of reconciliation, children who lack sufficient food, clothing and good role models, and face a dim future will be brought, by God working through you, into a new realm of understanding and seeing the world and their place in it.
Through God's ministry of reconciliation, entrusted by God to you, persons will come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, people living in darkness will see the Light, those living without hope will become hopeful, and the old will indeed become new!!!
May it be so.
Will you allow God to use you to create miracles in this coming year?
Will you give your heart, your life, your all to Jesus?
Will you fix your eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter or your faith?
Will you be an ambassador who represents Christ to a lost and dying world?
Will you make a commitment to God that you will do this in the coming year?
Let us pray silently.
The chancel rails are open for prayer during this time.
