Sermon Get Ready For Something New!
TEXT: Isaiah 43:18, 19 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
“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 desert and streams in the wasteland.”
Introduction: The nation of Judah and Jerusalem could not imagine anything beyond their present distress. Because of deep weariness, longing for normal, and a hope that all the problems go away, many leaders were trapped by their circumstance. Rather than leading the people towards what lies ahead, they were trying to bring the past back, to normalize their work, and to recreate what was lost rather than moving ahead into a new future. But the work of leaders is too important to do that. Isaiah sends this message to prepare the nation for the next season of their life. God is doing a new thing!
Isaiah’s message to the children of Israel came at a bleak period of their history. In their captivity, they have lost everything, and they were home sick for the land and the blessing God had promised them. I hope this message will motivate each of us to seek a new vision and a new interest in the things of God. If God wants to do a new thing, How we do embrace it? Isaiah says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” There is a great temptation to look longingly at the past. Our past need not be our future, nor can it be. It might have been wonderful, enjoyable, and rewarding but it is behind us. God has a bright future in store for his children. The only option for his children is to embrace it, accept it and believe there are great things ahead. “I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
There is a desire to see things return to normal like before the pandemic. That’s probably never going to happen. Suppose this new normal is a part of God’s new vision for his people. Maybe God’s church needed some changes. Israel’s homeland would never be the same. The temple would never be the same. Even the priesthood would be different. God has a new plan. We must embrace His plans and make them our plans. You can’t do that if you are always looking to your past instead of to His future. His plans for you are in His promises, and those precious promises can come alive as we seek Him and embrace His promises. He can give us the directions we need and lead us into the future. Jesus is still the way, the road to blessing and salvation. Seeking Him and listening to Him, will be key as we move forward in faith, and faith is the pathway to victory. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: even our faith.” I John 5:4
I found out that one cannot be both a fear filled, and faith filled at the same time. We must choose one or the other. Religious thinking will at times lead us down the road of indecision. Fear, guilt, and a low spiritual self-esteem will keep you in the prison-house of the past. It will keep you looking to the past instead of looking to the future. Being in Christ is being led by his Spirit, walking in faith, and moving towards His future plans for us.
As God’s children, our past is not the future God has planned for you. It is not easy to put on a new mindset, but we must. Judah and Jerusalem were still valuable in God’s eyes. Now they must embrace that fact that Babylon was not their end. Brighter days were ahead. Bondage and hard times can cause people to undervalue themselves. Isaiah calls on God’s people to embrace His Promises and recognize themselves as valuable in His eyes. This is not always easy to forget the past; nor is it easy to embrace the opportunities before us. Walking by faith is different from walking by sight, or walking by feelings, and certainly not trying to walk in the past. Treating yourself as valuable is not pride but true humility before God. To do anything less is disobedience to the God Who has great plans for you and has promised to do great things for you. Walk with Him in the light of His love and mercy. Israel’s difficulty was that they heard the promises of the Prophets before. Now after seventy years of captivity it seemed impossible. Yet Isaiah reminds them, God has not changed His mind. How can we participate? How can we believe? How can we stop looking back? The 1st step to embracing the new thing that God wants to do in your life is to…
I. Change Your Focus -- Start looking Ahead v.18 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. If you are continually looking behind you cannot see where you are going. Life is like driving a car. When you drive a car you should look through the windshield and glance at the rear view mirror. Every now and then you should glance the side view mirror because the object behind maybe closer than it appears. If you are ever going to move on to new things in Christ you must learn that ...
A. Celebrate Past Victories; Don’t Try to Relive Them - Forget the Former Things. The children of Israel had many victories in their past: (1) Leaving Egypt (2); Conquering the Land of Canaan; (3) settling in their inheritance (4) installing a king, and even surviving a divided kingdom. But now they are in captivity. All their previous victories were doing nothing to set them free. They needed a new work, a new miracle, a new victory. The question wasn’t what has God done –the question was what is God doing right now? Secondly, in order to move on to new things God was doing they must know that ...
B. Dwelling on Past Failures Can Discourage You. - do not dwell on the past. The children of Israel had failed God miserably. Every time He blessed them with good things, they turned away from Him:
1. God gave them the Temple - they gave Him idol worship
2. God gave them truth - they lived and proclaimed a lie
3. God gave them His commands - they lived like they were suggestions.
4. God gave them wealth - they used it to abuse the poor
5. God gave them Himself - they gave Him nothing except rejection.
The children of Israel did not deserve to receive anything from God. Yet He still loved them and He earnestly wanted to help them change. Notice God’s Message. Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
God was not condemning them for their past, they could do nothing to change it. Instead God was holding out the hand of hope. He is in effect saying: Forget about your past -- I am giving you an opportunity to start over.
Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
If they were going to experience God’s new thing, they must understand that...
C. Yesterday’s Faith is Not Sufficient for Today - The children of Israel had experienced great spiritual and temporal blessings throughout their history. From the first Passover, to the crossing of the Red Sea, to the conquering of the Land of Canaan, to the building of the temple, the children of Israel had seen the hand of God at work in and through their lives. Yet their faith in what God had done was doing nothing to deliver them from their present situation. Their old faith was not sufficient to deliver them from their present problems. They needed new faith, a new vision to see what God was doing now. They needed to renew their faith by remembering all their past victories, but then renew hope because of God’s promise. .
Psalm 85:6-8 “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation. I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.”
Once you Change Your Focus, the next step to embracing the new thing what God wants to do in your life is to Embrace God’s New vision.
II. Embrace God’s New Vision - “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 desert and streams in the wasteland.”
The word Perceive/yada/yaw-dah’ means to know by seeing; care, recognition, acknowledge, aware of, understand. How do you see yourself in the future? What do you see when you look ahead? Do you see possibilities or problems? All Judah and Jerusalem saw were problems, difficulties, and trials. Notice what God said: I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The children of Israel had a choice. They could dwell on their past or they could complain about the problems of their present, or they could focus upon what God wanted to do in their lives. To be honest the desert was real dry and the wasteland was barren and unfruitful. Hard places and barren lands can be overcome if God makes a way and sends stream in the wasteland. To embrace what God has in store for their future, they must see themselves properly:
A. See Yourself as God Sees You - The children of Israel knew they were getting just what they deserved because of the way they had lived. Some even believed that God would never have anything more to do with them. But they were wrong! You may feel like your past has made your life a wasteland, God can bring new life to with streams of living water. God make that new available to every believer.
Romans 8:1, 2 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Colossians 1:21-22 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled you, in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight. To experience the new life, we must embrace it personally:
B. See Your Possibilities God Has in Your Future - I am making a way in the desert. God will transform the desert areas of your life into fields of blessing and abundance. God can take a dried-up useless life and transform it into a life of purpose and grace:
2 Corinthians 3:17, 18 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. .
First, we Change our focus, Embrace God’s Vision for the Future, then we must Commit to God’s plan. The greatest step to embracing the new thing what God wants to do in your life is to commit yourself to God’s plan.
III. COMMIT YOURSELF TO GOD’S PLAN - God had already set into motion the events and people who would lead Israel out of captivity and back into the land of blessing. But it was still up to them to decide if they wanted what God was offering. If they refused God’s plan, if they refused to follow where God was leading, then they would be doomed to remain in the captivity grip of their past.
God said, “I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. God has already set into motion a new direction and a new purpose for your life -- will you follow Him?
Psalms 95:7,8 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, ...
Like Israel of old. many believe their best days are behind them, they believe the best revival are behind, the best leaders are behind them. They doubt whether the church will make it, whether the country will make it, whether the world will make it. To them everything is bleak. It seems like all the foundations are being shaken, yet there is a promise from God. What are we to believe? What do you see in your future? How do you hear this message?
God has created His church for himself to stand forever, and He has never changed His mind! There’s a great day coming; a day of increase and blessing! How? Our God is a way maker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. “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 desert and streams in the wasteland.” Most of us, know how Israel responded. After many years, temple was rebuilt and restored, yet the new temple seemed inferior to the old. It was not the same anymore. If we are not careful, we will spend all our effort trying to rebuild and restore things as it was before the pandemic.
Online media maybe a part of the new thing, God is doing. And it will never go away. It may change, develop a new platform, but it is here to stay. How do we change our focus when we enjoyed the past so much; How can we embrace God’s new vision, when we can’t see what’s ahead; and how can we commit ourselves to God’s Plan, when we are afraid? Use this time to:
1. Maximize your effectiveness by rediscovering your strengths and lead from strengths. Allowing your ministry team to do what they do best and as a leader focus on what you do best. Maximize your effectiveness to advance the mission of the Church.
2. Keep growing and learning. Allow your leaders and Church members see your willingness to learn and to grow as a leader. Keep learning how to use technology more effectively, keep reading and studying books with your staff or volunteer team. If they see leadership that is willing to learn and grow, they will be able to embrace this new season more easily!
3. Keep discovering fresh ways God is speaking today. People are seeking directions for their lives. They need to hear what God is saying through their leader. Yes, they maybe listening to many voices, but many want a clear word from someone who know them and love them. They are seeking directions, not all the answers. Tell them here is how, when, and why we will move forward! Here is what I believe God is saying to us! During this season, this is how we will minister to our seniors, children, and youth, etc. Here is how we will do outreach ministry, etc.
4. Discover the specialized gifts and talents in your congregation. Encourage the congregation to share their skills with the staff and use their expertise to advance the kingdom of God. Judah and Jerusalem returned home and experienced victory because they found skillful people to assist in the work. God placed all they needed among them. Every gift and every talent were in their mist.
God is doing a new thing, let’s Change our focus, Embrace God’s Vision for the Future, then Commit ourselves to God’s plan. The greatest step to embracing the new thing what God wants to do in your life is to commit yourself to God’s plan.
