All Things New
This message is based on this verse from 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (ESV)
Think about it. Most parents will vividly remember the birth of their children with utmost fondness, because a new arrival brings so much of joy and pride to the parents and the entire family. However, there is another birth that Jesus spoke about, and that birth is as important as our birth into this world.
The New Birth
In John Chapter 3 we read about a man named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jewish counsel who came to Jesus by night. As Nicodemus saw and heard about the signs and wonders that Jesus performed, he knew that Jesus was a teacher sent from God, and that He was someone extraordinary. When Jesus met Nicodemus He said something very interesting to him in John 3:3, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (ESV)
Nicodemus was perplexed and could not understand how someone who was old, like he was, could enter again into his mother’s womb to be born again. What Jesus was trying to tell Nicodemus was that it was not enough for one to be born into an earthly family, but it was more important for everyone to be born again into the family of God, so they could enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that one had to be born of water of the Spirit, meaning that when one believes in the Lord Jesus they also have to take the step to be baptized with water and that the Holy Spirit of God will fill them so that they can become children of God.
It’s interesting to note that it was in this context that Jesus said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (ESV)
Once a person experiences this new birth everything that is old passes away and the Lord replaces it all with everything that’s new. Here are some things that God will make new in our lives when we are born again.
1. A new heart
When we speak about the heart we are not talking about the human organ, but about the heart as the seat from which every desire stems. When one experiences the new birth the Lord gives us a new heart. We read in Ezekiel 36:26, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (ESV)
Our hearts are hardened by sin, worldly desires and deceitfulness of riches. The Lord alone can change our hearts to desire things that God desires. God changes our hearts of stone to become hearts of flesh that desire and do those things that are pleasing to God.
In Matthew Chapter 15 the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were annoyed with Jesus because His disciples ate with unwashed hands, which was against their traditions. Jesus was explicit to tell them that nothing that goes into a man defiles him. But here’s what Jesus highlighted to them concerning the things that come from within a man’s heart.
Jesus replied them in Matthew 15:18, “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” (ESV)
Basically Jesus was teaching them that every thought, word and action stems from the heart of man. No wonder then that God’s word cautions us in Proverbs 4:23, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (NLT)
When David sinned against the Lord, this was his prayer in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (ESV) The Lord Jesus shed His blood for us on the cross and if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (ESV) God is holy, and only the pure in heart can gain entry into the Kingdom of God and can behold the face of God.
2. A New Mind
The second thing that God does is, He begins to renew our minds. Today we live in a time when we are bombarded by technology, all of which is right at our finger tips. If we want to have a new mind, we need to be cautious about what we feed our minds with. Our mind is like a sponge and everything we watch, hear and read fills our mind, and these eventually begin to control our minds, which then affects our everyday lives.
It is no wonder then that the world is filled with violence, murder, hate, rape and all sorts of heinous crimes - all because there is no control on the mind. We are totally responsible for what we feed our minds with, and God does not control this. The more we fill our minds with God’s word and things pertaining to God, the more we will experience the renewal of our minds that Paul talks about in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”(ESV)
We must discipline ourselves to constantly feed our minds with things that are useful, and those that are edifying to us and to others. There’s so much good that is available to us, and it is up to us to make a choice daily to desire those things that will constantly edify our minds.
Paul mentions the kind of things that we should think about in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (ESV)
3. A New Family
Those who have experienced this new birth also belong to a new family. Many of us have earthly families that we are born into, and there are also those who have no family to call their own. The best news is that all of us, irrespective of what our family background is, can belong to the family of God.
We read in John 1:12, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” (ESV) What a blessed privilege that we are adopted by God who becomes our Father, and all of us become His children.
Paul says in Ephesians 2:19 we are members of the household of God and Romans 12:5 says we are one body in Christ. As children of God we are also part of the church, which is the family of God and the body of Christ.
It is really crucial that we stay in fellowship with other believers. We must make the best use of every opportunity to be together, be it in church, Sunday school, youth groups, bible studies or prayer fellowships. A great illustration that demonstrates the need for fellowship is in the illustration of several logs burning together to make a huge bonfire. Just take one log and keep it out for a while. It won’t be long before the log dies out. That’s exactly what happens when we isolate ourselves. We gradually lose out on our zeal, enthusiasm, love for the Lord, and will not grow in spiritual maturity. May we always remember that the church was ordained by God, so every child of God can be part of the family of God.
4. A New Identity
Think about the things that people derive their identity from - education, status, family background, position, looks, popularity, accomplishments, and so many other things. Sometimes these things will make us proud, or contrarily may even make us feel insecure. If our identity is based on what we do, we will be devastated when it is taken away from us.
Our identity should come from who God says we are, and if this is so we are on the right track. Here are some ways in which God defines us for who we are. John 1:12 says we are ‘Children of God.’ Peter refers to our identity in 1 Peter 2:9 as “A chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.” Paul refers to us in Ephesians 2:10 as ‘God’s workmanship,’ in 1 Corinthians 6:19 as ‘the temple of the Holy Spirit’ and in 2 Corinthians 5:20 as ‘ambassadors for Christ.’ Jesus refers to us as ‘friends of God’ in John 15:15. These are only a few, and we are so much more when we enter into this new birth.
5. A New purpose
Each of us was created for a purpose, and the earlier we discover it the better our lives become. Sadly, many have come to the end of their lives and have not understood God’s purpose for their lives, and have thereby ended up leading empty lives.
The overall purpose of God for us is that we be conformed to, and transformed into the image of His Son our Lord Jesus. (Ephesians 2:1-10)
In John 15:16, these are the words of Jesus, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.” John 15:16 (ESV) God’s purpose is that we be fruitful which means that our lives are a witness for Christ and a blessing to others. It also means that the fruit of the Spirit should be evident in our lives every day.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:16-17 that we are salt and light which means that we are to be those who make a difference and influence others in a godly way.
Before Jesus ascended up into heaven He gave His disciples the ‘great commission’ in Matthew 28:18-20, where we are commanded to go and preach the gospel to everyone, baptize and make disciples. This is God’s purpose and mandate for every believer irrespective of how young or how old we are. We are called to be witnesses for the Lord wherever we are, be it at home, at school, at university, at work or wherever else.
Think about people in the bible Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Ruth, Esther, Mary, The disciples of Jesus, Paul or anyone else. Every one of them understood and fulfilled God’s purpose for their lives.
The purpose of our lives is not to make money and get caught up with the mundane. Every day we should ask God to help us understand what His specific purpose is for our lives, and fulfill the same. Myles Munroe who was an evangelist to the Bahamas said it so aptly. I quote, “The greatest tragedy is not death, but a life without a purpose.”
6. New Values and priorities
Something else that happens is that God helps us re-arrange our values and priorities. It is a fact that the values of this world are so often in complete contradiction to God and His Word. While God says truth, the world says falsehood and deceit. When God says love, the world promotes hate. God calls us to holiness when the world encourages immorality and every form of evil. The Lord teaches us to be generous when the world dictates us to be greedy and selfish.
Here are some values and priorities that God desires that we should have and live by;
• Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself.. Luke 10:27, which actually sums up all of the law and the prophets.
• We must learn to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness Matthew 6:33. This means that God must be our number One priority in our lives, which also means that we devote more time to daily reading of God’s word and to prayer. – our daily bible reading and prayer are important disciplines
• Our minds must be set on heavenly things, and not just the earthly and mundane Colossians 3:2
• Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:22, to flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace,…
• Setting our values and priorities right means we lay up treasures in heaven and not just here on earth Matthew 6:19
We live in a world where priorities and values are all mixed up. When we come into Christ He helps us set our values and priorities in order.
7. New attitudes
Have you noticed how, when we meet someone for the first time, the one thing that stands out about them is not who they are or how they look, but their attitude. When we come to this new life in Christ He begins to change our attitude so that we become godly in every way.
Firstly, God helps us have a joyful and positive attitude. It’s always easy to complain and see the negative in everything. But the joy of the Lord should be our strength and Solomon said it so wisely in Proverbs 17:22 that a joyful heart is good medicine, which means it is actually good for our health too.
Secondly, a godly attitude means to do everything without grumbling or questioning (Philippians 2:14). The people of Israel grumbled, and were punished by the Lord.
Thirdly, a good attitude means that, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,” Colossians 3:23. This means that anything we do, from chores at home, to huge tasks at our workplace everything should be done heartily as being done for the Lord.
Fourthly, Paul says in Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,” (ESV) Nothing we do should be done for selfish reasons or to promote ourselves, but rather with true humility.
Here are some more good attitudes that we need to develop; be teachable, willing to learn, being forgiving, bearing with one another, being patient, obedient, respectful, selfless, thinking of others, being kind, prayerful and thankful.
Someone said it so beautifully, “Your attitude not your aptitude will determine your altitude.” We can have all the education, skills and wealth, but if we don’t have a godly attitude it will take us nowhere.
8. New Destination
As children of God we must bear in mind that we have a new destination. Our life here on earth is only temporary. Jesus reminded His disciples in John 14:2-3 “In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (ESV)
The Lord Jesus has gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us, and He is also coming back again to take us with Him. Also we read in Revelation 21:1, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” (ESV)
Here’s another important verse to take note of, from Philippians 3:20 “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;” There are so many who are so proud when they get their citizenship in an affluent country. Our greatest honor and joy should not to be that of our citizenship of a country here on earth, but that of our citizenship in heaven, where our names are written in the Book of Life.
Abraham is a great example of one who had an eternal perspective. Though God called Abraham and gave him a great promise, all of his life Abraham spent living in tents and he didn’t really get to see all that God had promised him. Abraham’s outlook is best explained in Hebrews 11:8-10 “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” (ESV).
Every day we need to ask God for grace to let our eternal destiny drive all our decisions.
9. A New Helper
This new life that we enter into cannot be accomplished by our own strength. Before Jesus ascended into heaven He asked His disciples to tarry until the Holy Spirit came upon them to grant them power from on high. Without the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit we cannot lead this holy life that God has called us to live.
Let’s remember that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit 1 Corinthians 6:19. God no longer lives in buildings or temples made with hands. The Holy Spirit of God dwells inside of us, and hence what we do with our bodies is of utmost importance. We need to treat our bodies with sanctity and also bear in mind that wherever we go, we are representing God because the Spirit of God lives within us.
The Holy Spirit is also our teacher, counselor, intercessor, wisdom-giver, and He gives us power to live this Christian life. Also, it is only the Holy Spirit of God who produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, as listed in Galatians 5:22-23, .. love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (ESV)
In conclusion, let us be reminded that those who have entered into this new birth have a most wonderful and exciting life. A life where we have a new heart, a new mind, we are part of a new family, we have a new identity, we live with a new purpose, our values and priorities are renewed, we develop godly attitudes, we move towards a new destination, and we live this holy life with the help of the Holy Spirit of God.
