BEHOLD I WILL DO A NEW THING
Isaiah 43:18-19
18 “Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.
OUTLINE
1.NEW PERSONALITY
2.NEW PIETY
3.NEW PRINCIPLES
4.NEW PURSUITS
5.NEW PROVISION
6.NEW POPULARITY
7.NEW POWER
THE MESSAGE
BEHOLD I WILL DO A NEW THING
1.NEW PERSONALITY
The Lord wants to give us a new personality to enable to be all that He wants us to be. Samuel told Saul that he would be changed into a another man when the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him.Jacob the deceiver was changed into Israel a prince with God and man.God wants us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.Often we want God to change others and to change circumstances.But God wants to change us first and then we will experience a corresponding change in others and in our circumstances.A little child may find it difficult to lift a big chair .But the same child when it grows and becomes an adult will find it easy to lift the same chair because it has now grown bigger and stronger than the chair.Similarly when God transforms us and strengthens us we become bigger than our problems and can tackle it easily.
I Samuel 10:6
6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.
Genesis 32:28
28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but [i]Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Romans 12:2
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
2.NEW PIETY
The Lord wants to lift us to a new level of piety .He wants to remove the stony heart from us and give us a new heart and put a new spirit within us.The stony heart prevents the seed of the word of God from producing fruit in our life. The new heart and new spirit helps us to obey the commandments of God and do His will.
Ezekiel 36:26-27
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
3.NEW PRINCIPLES
The Lord wants to give us new principles to follow in line with the new things He wants to do. Apostle Peter was told not to consider things unclean when God has cleansed them.Peter had to change his principles in obedience to the ways of God.This helped the spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles.Jesus belonged to the tribe of Judah and according to the Law of Moses he could not be a priest which was reserved for the tribe of Levi.But Jesus became a priest according to the will of God which superseded the laws of Moses.Jesus warned us that we can make the word of God of none effect by our tradition.When God does a new thing He may supersede our traditions and practices and principles and we should be prepared to sacrifice our cherished principles if they contradict what God wants to do.
Acts 11:9
9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’
Hebrews 7:12-14
12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.
13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.
14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.
Matthew 15:6
6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.
4.NEW PURSUITS
The Lord wants to give us new pursuits.He wants us to seek and pursue the heavenly blessings and eternal rewards.Often we seek only the things of this world and the desires and the longings of our heart are only after earthly blessings.God wants to put new longings and pursuits in our hearts.The disciples tried all night to catch fish and caught nothing.But Jesus told them to cast their net again and immediately they caught a multitude of fishes.The disciples were amazed at this miracle and probably started dreaming about a very prosperous career in fishing with the blessings of Jesus.But Jesus changed their pursuits and told them that they would now start catching men.God wants to do a new thing in our lives and give us new pursuits in our lives.
Colossians 3:2
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
Luke 5:10
10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”
5.NEW PROVISION
The Lord wants us to experience new provisions in our life.He wants us to have a strong unwavering faith that we will receive what we petition Him.He wants us to realize that if God would love us so much that He would sacrifice His Son for us surely He would provide everything else that we need.God wants us to reach a new level of faith that would cause us to receive His provisions .
Romans 8:32
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Matthew 21:22
22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
6.NEW POPULARITY
The Lord wants to give us a new popularity and a new reputation. Especially in the lives of those who have faced much shame and ridicule and humiliation God wants to bring new blessings and honour in their lives. He will change their reputation from being known as forsaken and desolate people. Instead they will be called people whom God has blessed. They will be called by a new name which reflects their new elevation.
Isaiah 62:2-4
The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory.
You shall be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
3 You shall also be a crown of glory
In the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem
In the hand of your God.
4 You shall no longer be termed Forsaken,
Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate;
But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah;
For the Lord delights in you,
And your land shall be married.
7.NEW POWER
The Lord wants to fill us with new power.He wants His children to live a life of divine power.He wants to fill us with new wine .But we must become a new wineskin before God would pour out His new wine into our lives. He will not pour out His new wine if we remain an old wineskin because it would destroy our life.Let us become new wineskins and receive the new wine that God wants to pour out in our lives.
Matthew 9:17
17 Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Acts 2:17-18
17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
