So its a new year, and a new preaching theme, Discover Your Destiny...
Is that something you desire to do this year?
Our focus last year was on being a dynamic disciple, after listening to 12 months of preaching on that theme, has there been any noticeable difference in your life and my life as followers of Christ?
Maybe for some that is an easy question to answer, perhaps for others its a little more difficult. So, let me answer the question for you:
In some lives I have seen real change in the last 12 months. There is a real fire in their hearts, an eagerness to be all that God has called them to be.
There are others where I have seen subtle differences in both speech and actions.
Also there are those where there is no visible sign that they have drawn any closer to the Lord than they were before.
Sad, but true.
So, as we enter into this new year, I wonder if our new theme will have a significant impact in my life and your life this year.
Are we prayerfully seeking to move forward into all God has planned for us?
The truth is there are many things that can hold us back and stop us from becoming the person God has called us to be.
Instead of seeking to move on and press into everything God has planned for us we can be hesitant, the prospect of change can be daunting to some, the idea of change does not come naturally to others, some people spend years living in a comfort zone of their own creation.
And often, even though it is our fault that we are where we are, we will blame circumstances, situations, other people, bad choices, it is easier for us to attribute blame to anyone or anything other than ourselves for a lack of change in our lives.
If we want to be obedient disciples of Jesus then we must choose to allow God to work in our lives, to work in us and through us, to change and transform us.
To take us from where we were, where we are to where God wants us to be.
Instead of living in the past, we need to live in the now, with an eager expectation of what God will do in each of our lives now and in this coming year.
The old has gone it is a new year, a new theme, a new opportunity for each and every one of us to experience a fresh move of God in our lives.
God wants us to move forward, to grow closer to Him, to grow in our faith and spiritual maturity, to stop dwelling on the things that have past and to embrace all He has planned for each and every one of us.
Need an encouragement from scripture? Look at Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV) ‘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? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past...
Is there something that you refuse to forget that is stopping you from moving forward?
Is there something that happened that put a bad taste in your mouth?
Or is there something that you are holding onto that you refuse to put aside?
God wants to do something new, something fresh in your life, what is it that you are holding onto that is obstructing God’s will and plan for your life?
2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
When we repent and accept Christ as our Saviour we are forgiven.
All of our sins, past, present and future are forgiven.
A new life begins as we are born again as a child of the living God.
We enter into a real relationship with the God who loves us and cares for us and has a perfect plan for each of us.
We are saved, but we are not perfect, we stumble, we make mistakes, we may choose at times to please ourselves more than please God by the way we live, but because we are in Christ God forgives us.
We know we are forgiven because of Jesus sacrifice for us and so maybe we allow ourselves a little too much lee-way when it comes to the whole area of forgiveness.
If we do something wrong, it is often easier for us to rationalise it or excuse it. Maybe we even blame others even when we are actually the ones who are at fault.
Sometime we forgive ourselves and blame others even when we are the ones that are in the wrong. Sometime, somewhere in the past most of us have probably fallen out with someone.
Someone in the family, a brother or sister or parent, maybe someone at work or at school, or a neighbour, or simply someone whose name we don’t even remember who did something so small. There have been times when we have been upset by someone, and times when we have got angry.
Maybe there have even been times when it has felt like someone has ripped your heart out.
How much easier would life be if we could follow the command of God and Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
Jesus often spoke about forgiveness,
Jesus forgave those who sinned against others,
Jesus forgave those who sinned against Him.
The Apostle Peter went to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” Jesus replied “No, not seven times, but seventy times seven!
Seventy times Seven is 490, that’s a number we are meant to take symbolically, not literally, to illustrate that we should forgive often.
Jesus did not just speak about forgiveness - Jesus has commanded us to forgive. Luke 6:37 says “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.”
Jesus words in Matthew 6:14-15 are even stronger “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
We know we are supposed to forgive, Jesus has commanded us to forgive.
All of us have needed, do need, and will need forgiveness. Just as we all need forgiveness, we also all need to forgive others.
But maybe we need a little encouragement to forgive.
How about Ephesians 4:31-32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behaviour. 32Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, slander, these are all signs that our hearts are not full of forgiveness. These are all things that can stop us from becoming the people God has called us to be.
The world may say get even. The world may say ‘do unto others as they’ve done unto you.’ God calls us, His Children, Disciples of Jesus, to be different. To get over our past and step into our future. Listen to Colossians 3:12-15 God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.
Let’s personalise the heart of these two passages: God through Christ has forgiven us, so we must forgive others.
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, when we come to Him in repentance our sins are forgiven.
In Isaiah 43:25 God says “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.”
Only God has the power to fully forgive us. God forgives, and chooses to forget our Sins. In Hebrews 8:12 God says I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.
Let me clarify this, when God forgives us, it’s not like He is pretending that nothing happened, to forgive requires an acknowledgement that something wrong has been done that requires forgiveness. Forgiveness is not Jesus’ suggestion to us it is His command. If we want to be obedient disciples of Jesus then we must choose to forgive.
What is our motivation to forgive? We are simply demonstrating what God has done, and continues to do for us.
Because of Jesus sacrifice for us, beyond our past, God looks beyond our sin, and God sees someone worth forgiving.
And that’s what we’ve been called to do as well.
Forgiven – What a word!
Sins pardoned, sins cancelled, sins Forgiven.
Ransomed, Healed, Restored, Forgiven.
The debt of sin has been released. The chains are gone, there is freedom, there is forgiveness in Jesus. Set free from slavery to sin to become a child of God.
The freedom to follow God instead of fleeing from Him. The freedom to discover our destiny in Christ.
Jesus’ death on the cross makes our forgiveness possible. He paid the price. He was the perfect sacrifice, the perfect Lamb, slain for my sins and yours.
If Jesus had stayed in the grave, we would have no forgiveness, no Saviour, no eternal life, no place in heaven. Jesus’ resurrection from the grave makes forgiveness and a real relationship with God possible.
Because we are forgiven, we are called to forgive.
The Bible says everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s standard, no matter who we are, or how good we think we are. We know the truth -
Look at Romans 3:23-26 Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He himself is fair and just, and He declares sinners to be right in His sight - forgiven - when they believe in Jesus.
All of us have sinned in some way or another. All of have missed the mark; chosen to do the wrong thing, offended someone; wronged or hurt someone; done something deliberately then tried to convince ourselves it was just a silly little mistake; we have all had sinful desires; we have not believed as we should; we have been weak; we have not trusted God when we should; we have been lewd or rude in our words and actions; we mess up; we deviate from God’s plan for our lives; we fail in the our duties to God; we break God’s commandments; all of us have fallen short.
And yet God declares sinners, us, to be right in His sight - forgiven - when we believe in Jesus.
I will close with this.
There is great peace when we know we are forgiven and when we forgive others.
Don’t let something from your past damage your present and your future.
This year be determined to forgive and be determined with God’s help to discover your destiny.
