Theme: I am doing a new deed
Text: Is. 43:16-21; Phil. 3:8-14; Jn. 8:1-11
Read Isaiah 43:18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing!”
God is doing a new thing and this is evident all around us. We see it in the changed lives of many people who have received God’s forgiveness and have been freed from captivity to sin. One such man was born to a godly mother who died when he was only a child. He was brought up by his sea captain father and taken to sea when he was just eleven. He grew up and earned a reputation for drinking and using foul language. He was involved in every sin imaginable and ended up trading in slaves. One day during a storm, when everything appeared hopeless, he desperately called out to God for forgiveness and deliverance. God answered his prayer and he emerged from that ship a completely different person. He later became the chaplain of the English parliament. His name was John Newton. His changed life led him to write an inspired song with the words ‘Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.’ BL God is doing a new thing. He forgave John Newton and freed him from captivity to sin to become a completely new person.
Just like John Newton we all are sinners who need God’s forgiveness. Not too long ago it was widely believed that human nature was fundamentally good and that evil was largely the result of ignorance and poverty. It was also believed that through education and social reforms people would be able to overcome evil and live happily together in peace and harmony. But history has proved this theory to be false. Even in welfare states where educational standards are very high there is still a lot of evil in the form of violence, crime and murder. This points to the fact that the problem of evil is found in man himself, and not merely in the society. The problem stems from our separation from God. When Adam and Eve sinned they were expelled from God’s presence, the source of all goodness. This meant that all their descendants were born without access to His presence.
Sin does not only separate us from God; it also brings us into captivity. We have all sinned and need God’s forgiveness and deliverance. Consciously or unconsciously, our inner being longs for it. There are times when we actually cry out for it, even though in our restlessness, confusion, loneliness, and fear we may not know what we are crying for. To receive God’s forgiveness we need to acknowledge and repent of our sin. The woman caught committing adultery is no different from any of us. She needed to repent to receive God’s forgiveness just as we all do. Jesus forgave her with the words “go and sin no more” which could only mean that she had repented in her heart. The Pharisees and Scribes, on the other hand, were unable to repent because they mistakenly believed they obeyed the Law and therefore were without sin. But they had even sinned by failing to bring both parties involved in the act of adultery as requested by the Law. Their real concern in this matter was not obedience to the Law but trapping Jesus to contradict the Law. If Jesus had answered their question by saying it was not right to stone the woman they would have accused Him of contradicting the Law of Moses. If He had said she should be stoned, He would not only be accused of not being merciful and forgiving but also of breaking the Roman law which did not allow Jews to sentence people to death. Jesus, however, knew their plan and suggested that those who were without sin carry out the penalty of the Law. Jesus was trying to reveal to them the sinful nature of their hearts, which were filled with lies, hatred, and murder. He was showing them that they were no better than the woman. He was not only concerned about the woman but also about her accusers and gave them also the opportunity to repent. However, they turned down His offer and went away. This is the same way we often behave. We believe we are righteous and condemn others for the very sins we are guilty of ourselves. Let us not leave God’s presence without acknowledging and repenting of our own sins.
God is doing a new thing by taking the initiative in Jesus Christ to deliver us from sin and its consequences. Jesus Christ, who Himself was without sin, not only forgives and delivers from captivity to sin; He also gives us power over sin. Christ does not want us to come to Him and continue to lead a life of defeat and discouragement. He wants us to live a life that glorifies His name. After all, His crucifixion dealt with every problem related to our rebellion against God. It restored the divine authority and dominion that God had given to man. Jesus took our place and endured all the evil consequences that were due by divine justice to our sin. It was the only way for God to offer us forgiveness without compromising His own eternal justice.
God is doing a new thing and is always ready to forgive, deliver and restore those who come to Him in repentance. Those who are a little older must have heard a song about tying a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree. This song was about a young man who led a wayward life causing his parents much grief. When his parents tried to correct him he angrily left home saying he would never return. He ended up in prison and many years later, after serving his sentence he decided to return home and start a new life. But he was not sure whether his parents would still welcome him home. He wrote them a letter asking for forgiveness and whether he could return home. He informed them that he had bought a ticket for a more distant place and that the train would pass through their village. He asked them to arrange a signal he could see from the passing train, a yellow ribbon tied to a branch of an old oak tree in front of their house, a short distance before the station. If when the train passed by he should see a yellow ribbon on the tree, he would know he was wanted. If not he would understand and not get off at the station but continue with his journey. . As the train neared his home he was scared to look himself so he asked a fellow traveller to look out and tell him whether he saw anything unusual. The fellow traveller began to talk about many things he found unusual till he could wait no longer. He looked in the direction of his home and when he did he saw yellow ribbons tied to every branch of the old oak tree. God has used every possible means to let us all know about the new thing He is doing. There is, as it were, a yellow ribbon waving on every branch of the tree of life telling us " Whosoever will, let him come and take of the waters of life freely."
The best way to respond to God’s forgiveness and deliverance from sin is to forsake sin. We do not only sin when we commit adultery and fornication, we also sin when we gossip, receive bribes, lie and steal whether from a household, the office, or the government. We need to forsake sin because when God forgives us He also wipes out the sinful record of our lives. This is to enable us begin a new life - a life that is heavenly minded – a life with the goal of fulfilling the purpose for which God has called us.
This new life involves a lot of discipline and training and we need to take time and trouble to keep ourselves spiritually fit. Many people are concerned about bodily fitness which has only limited value but are not concerned about spiritual fitness which has unlimited value, both for this present life and for the life to come. Paul drew many parallels between the training and performance of athletes in the Olympic games and the duties and privileges of the Christian. Every serious entrant to the games then, as now, was determined to excel and to win the prize in his particular event. In order to realize his ambition, he was prepared to pay any price in training, denying himself in many areas, and all for a medal. The athlete unless he conforms to the rules of the contest cannot win. In the Christian race there are many distractions to lure us from the track, and those who do not conform to the rules will be running outside the track and will be disqualified. In our sports conscious world the great majority are only TV athletes, and too few are participants. Many Ghanaians are better footballers watching TV than the footballers themselves. Unfortunately, in a large measure, the same is true in the Church. While people will applaud and admire the sacrifice, discipline and self-control of the athlete, they are turned off when it is suggested that there should be a comparable dedication on the part of the disciple of Christ. God’s forgiveness and deliverance is to allow us fulfil His divine will as His faithful stewards. We can only do this when we forsake sin and keep our focus on Christ as we run the race that has been set before us.
God’s forgiveness is what makes Christianity so unique and it is available to everyone. If someone puts a million dollars in the bank for you, it won’t do you any good unless, first of all you know about it and secondly you draw upon it. The facts are simply that no matter how sinful our lives have been when we repent and trust Christ as Saviour He forgives us so that we die to the old life and are born again to a new one. The problem is that many people do not think of themselves as sinners. Like the Pharisees and Scribes they consider themselves righteous. But the greatest sin is not murder, theft, or committing adultery, wicked as these sins are. The greatest sin is rejecting Jesus Christ as Saviour. Christ forgave the woman caught in adultery; He forgave the murderer; He forgave the prostitute, He forgave the thief and He will forgive you. God is doing a new thing. He is inviting us to partake of a very precious gift – the gift of eternal life. God made His offer when He gave His Son, Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our sin. However, His offer is not legally a gift until it is accepted. This offer is to everyone. How can you reject or neglect so wonderful a gift? Accept His offer and He will make you a new person. Amen!
