Sermon: Something New, Extraordinary Is On The Way
Text: Isaiah 43:14- 21“This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sakes I will send an army against Babylon, forcing the Babylonians to flee in those ships they are so proud of. I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator and King. I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick. “But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and owls, too, for giving them water in the desert. Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed. I have made Israel for myself, and they will someday honor me before the whole world.”
Introduction: Don't you just love the word new! It conjures up images of something just discovered or uncovered; something that has never been used before; starting over; rejuvenate.... and the list can go on and on! The Bible is full of new things- here's a few times the word new comes up: A new season is here, along with new desires and new aspirations. Everyone looks forward to a fresh new start, moving from the present and looking to the future. Here are a few things the Bible says about New Beginnings: First, new beginnings happen in seasons. Life can be so wonderfully measured by seasons and stages. Fall begins with the shedding of colorful leaves; winter begins with a cold bed of snow; spring begins with the sprouting of new life; and summer begins with warm sunny days. Ecclesiastes 3:1-5 says, “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;”
There’s a time for everything in life. What a great confidence this brings us to know that we can expect a warmer season after a colder one. God allows seasons to change and new beginnings to ascend.
Often times, the end of a thing is more valuable than the beginning of it. Ecclesiastes 7:8 says, “The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.”
Isaiah 43 reminds us that God has promised that the former things will pass away and all things are made new. God doesn’t remember our past with regret, He offers us a fresh new start. Isaiah 43:18-19 says, “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.”
Selective memory and perseverance are the path to new beginnings. Perseverance is the pathway to a new start because a new beginning often requires patience. James 5:11 says, “As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the LORD finally brought about. The LORD is full of compassion and mercy.”
A new beginning can start right where you are, in this present moment. A new beginning awaits anyone who is willing and wanting to make Jesus Christ the Lord of their life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” In Revelation 21:5 reads, He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" You see, God is about doing new things. The creation screams of new: every year as it changes from winter to spring or spring to summer or summer to fall or fall to winter. The leaves change, the flowers bloom, even the sunshine and the new moon all point to something new. It's all new! God loves new and He created us new when we became followers of Jesus. We are brand new – we are called babes in Christ. He gives us a new heart and a desire to follow Him - to live, love and lead as Jesus did. God, who is excellent in everything, will end it all by making it all new - back to the original design; completely rejuvenated; like it was never used before! Don't you just love the word new! It is my prayer that this new season will be the best New season you have ever experienced.
There are several things I would like to lift up from this Scripture from Isaiah 43, You can be sure something new is on the way because of Who God Is, Because of What God has already done and because of what God Promises to do. Israel was facing obstacles, still in Babylon and uncertain about their future, when God said, something new is on the way for you.
1. Something New Is On The Way Because of Who God Is To Them- “This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sakes I will send an army against Babylon, forcing the Babylonians to flee in those ships they are so proud of. I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator and King. I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea.”
God is the Lord your Redeemer, not only he will redeem you, not only has he redeemed you in the past, and has taken it upon himself as his office and make it his business to do so again and again. Your redeemer God has forces that you are not aware of. God knows how to overcome your greatest challenge and conquer your greatest enemy. Besides that, your redeemer God is the Holy One of Israel who cannot lie or deceive; therefore, He will make good every word he has spoken. He is also the Creator God that made you His people and claims you as His own. Something new is on the way because of who God is!
2. Something New Is On The Way Because of What God Has Done - “ I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick. But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.”
God reminds Israel and us, that we have a history with God. Babylon with its high walls and invincible army is not our first challenge. Egypt and Pharoah were mighty and powerful. You were slaves and in bondage, yet I, God chose you, redeemed you and delivered you. You have a rich history with a holy, powerful, redeeming God who loves you as His People, restored and reformed you for His Purpose. For your sake and God’s purpose, God will do a new thing. Count on what he can do because of what he has done! Something new is on the way because our God has a history of doing new things. God reminds them of the great things he did for their fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt; yet those things cannot be compared to what God has in mind for them.
3. Something New Is On The Way Because of God Has Made a Promise. 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.”
There are some challenges as we prepare to receive God’s new thing. First, we must not dwell on the former things. Celebrate them, thank God for them, but don’t try to go back to them. To strengthen our faith in this promise we are cautioned only to look back upon the Lord's wonders of the past with thanksgiving and then we are look to the future with great expectation. There are greater things on the way. God has not changed His mind about you, His promises are sure, the fountains of his resources are plentiful, His love and grace are full and free.
Then we must not dwell on the former methods of the past. I love the old-time way. I love the old-time singing, shouting, preaching and praying. God is not limited by the methods he used in the past, the style of music, the praise patterns and other things we are comfortable with. The deliverance from Egypt was wonderful and glorious; the deliverance from Babylon will be more spectacular; but both were temporal deliverances from natural bondages. It gave new life to the nation. God raised up a pagan king named Cyrus, who He used to conquer Babylon, its King, all their nobles, and the Chaldean nation in a single night. God makes ways where there is no way. Just as He made a way through the Red Sea, parted the mighty waters; then drown the armies, horses and chariots, after much fear and struggle, God defeated Babylon in a single night. The night began with a celebration, wine, women and golden goblets, but ended with a text message written on the wall.
Finally, we must live in the present with our gaze towards the future. God would not only send deliverance, but God would also send the deliverer, the Messiah. The coming Messiah would be sent in response to the incredible love and mercy of God that would transcend every former deliverance to the extent that all former deliverances are barely worth their remembrance and consideration. In the present, let’s embrace and celebrate God’s goodness along with all creation. God makes a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. God brings life where there was no life. God will provide resources from unusual places and unusual ways. God give drink to His people, His chosen. God will give abundance even to the beast of the field. We must take advantage of every opportunity in the present season, being a blessing to all. The blessings of others may be connected to our families, others in the body of Christ and even to those out in the field who do not know God yet.
That is why we need to celebrate and praise God. God through Jesus Christ can change any people into His people and claim them for himself. Isaiah 43:21 reads, “This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.” God has created and called us into His church, that He might have glory and praise from His creation. We celebrate his love, his goodness and his great mercy. Glory be to God who cause us to triumph over our enemies; we bear witness that we have received a fresh supply of grace today. No good thing hath God withheld from us. His praise shall continually be in our mouths.
Some theologians say, “We may apply this (beast in the text) to the Gentiles, fitly compared in their unbelieving state to the beasts of the field, embracing the Gospel, with joy and thankfulness to God for the means of conversion.”
When the unbelieving world witnesses transformed lives in believers, Believers become transforming agents of refreshment, or an oasis of blessing in a dry and thirsty land. The word “oasis” has a refreshing sound to it, doesn’t it? It means a retreat, a haven, or a sanctuary. Read and meditate on these verses from Isaiah 32:2-3, "And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a shelter from the tempest, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of those who see shall not be dim, and the ears of those who hear shall listen."
It sounds like Isaiah was describing a true servant of God. A true child of God is like the shadow of a great projecting rock as the most refreshing spot that is possible in a hot country, not only blocking the rays of the sun, but also as having in itself a natural coolness, which it reflects and communicates to everything about it. That’s the way our Christian walk should be in this dry and thirsty land called planet earth. Someone once said that you and I might be the only Bible some people ever read, so we need to be something worth reading.
The prophet Isaiah who previously rebuked the people of Israel for their blindness and deafness; here in Isaiah 43:8 he calls for "the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears" to hear the proclamation of God and behold what God is doing. God’s promise that something new is on the way. Yes, God's people will face many trials, but we have the promises of God's presence and salvation. So I just want you to just let these words fall on your heart, to hear God saying to you, fear not, I have redeemed you. I have saved you from your sin. I have made you my son or daughter. Something new is on the way because of who God is to his people; who we are to God; what God has done in our past; and what God promises in the future. It’s a time to celebrate God and praise His holy Name! Something new is on the way! Something good and better than you ever imagined! Something new is on the way. Amen.
