All Things New
II Cor. 5:17
The concept of reincarnation imagines the dead being born again as someone else or something else, making a new start from a new perspective.
Poem by Wallace McRae:
"What does reincarnation mean?"
A cowpoke asked his friend.
His pal replied, "It happens when
yer life has reached its end.
They comb yer hair, and warsh yer neck,
And clean yer fingernails,
And lay you in a padded box
Away from life’s travails.
The box and you goes in a hole,
That’s dug into the ground.
Reincarnation starts in when
Yore planted ’neath a mound.
Them clods melt down, just like yer box,
and you who is inside.
And then yore just beginnin’ on
Yer transformation ride.
In a while the grass’ll grow
Upon yer rendered mound.
Till some day on yer moldered grave
A lonely flower is found.
And say a hoss should wander by
And graze upon this flower
That once wuz you, but now’s yer in
Yer vegatative hour.
The posey that the hoss done ate
Up, with his other feed,
Makes bone, and fat, and muscle
Essential to the steed.
But some is left that he can’t use
And so it passes through,
And finally lays upon the ground.
This thing that once wuz you.
Then say, by chance, I wanders by
And sees this on the ground,
And I ponders and I wonders at
This object that I found.
I thinks of reincarnation,
Of life, and death, and such,
And come away concludin’: Slim,
You ain’t changed, all that much."
Well, we all hope for a better new start than that someday, but it won’t be in this world.
Joke--the pastor trying to console the person on his way to the electric chair, knowing he would wake up in a new place no matter where he went. What do you say? “Good luck,” etc. were not appropriate. He finally said “more power to you.”
Someday we’ll have a new home, a new body, and a new start, but our text says we don’t have to wait…that all things are become new for the Christian.
We can be made new through the work of God in our life. Listen as I point out these facts about the work of God.
1. He Makes a NEW CREATION.
2. He Makes a NEW COVENANT.
3. He Makes a NEW COMMAND.
4. He Makes a NEW KINGDOM.
1. He Makes a NEW CREATION. 2 Cor 5:17
A. New Creation with a new Self.
Ephes. 4:24
And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Col. 3:10
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
B. New Creation with a new Song.
Rev 14:3 And they sang a new song before the throne…
That’s in heaven. And so is…
Rev. 5:9
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
But the Bible says much more about our new song on earth…
OT David was a musician, and loved to sing songs, and comforted the heart of Saul as he did. But times were not always that rosy…God sent David thru some major heartaches and storms to prepare Him to be His man one day.
King David says in Psalm 40:1-3, “I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God; many shall see it and fear and shall trust in the Lord.”
To have a personal relationship with God is to have a new song in your heart. You see, salvation and song are inseparable because the joy of the Lord generates music in the soul. When a person is in fellowship with the Lord through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that person has a new song to praise the Lord.
Psalm 33:3 say to, “Sing unto him a new song: play skillfully with a loud noise.”
Psalm 96:1 says, “O sing unto the Lord a new
song; sing unto the Lord all the earth.”
Psalm 98:1 says, “O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvelous things: his right hand,, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
Psalm 144:9 says, “I will sing a new song unto thee O God; upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.”
Psalm 149:1 says, “Praise ye the Lord, sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praises in the congregation of saints.”
Isaiah 42:10 says, “Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea and all that is therein; the isle and the inhabitants thereof.”
We don’t want to get stuck in a rut in our singing, and so we are always learning some new songs…and in much the same way, we never want to get into a spiritual rut, but keep things fresh and new…mix it up a little…change the routine around, make improvements, etc.
The balance: The same Bible that commands us to sing a new song tells us not to fosake the old paths and landmarks, and so we strive to keep alive the faith of the ages, and to learn from the past, and allow it to help keep the future in check!
ILLUSTRATION
Stuart Hamlin wrote country and western songs. Before he got saved he wrote a song titled "I won’t go hunting with you Jake but I’ll go chasing women"
Stuart got saved and John Wayne made a bet Stuart wouldn’t last six months. Sometime after the six months Stuart saw Wayne who said "you cost me some money, Stuart--I bet you wouldn’t last six months". Stuart said "It’s no secret what God can do". John Wayne said, that sounds like a good song title and so Stuart went home that night and wrote the song "It is no secret what God can do."
APPLICATION
You see his life was changed and made new by the power of God.
We can have a new song every day because of…
Lament. 3:22-23
It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. [23] They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
God makes a new creation…our new self and our new song…
2. He Makes a NEW COVENANT.
A. The New Covenant is a Blood Covenant. Like in the OT, there had to be a blood sacrifice…
Luke 22:20
Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament [covenant] in my blood, which is shed for you.
1 Cor. 11:25
After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
A Blood Covenant…
B. The New Covenant is a Better Covenant.
1. Better because of the Spirit.
2 Cor. 3:6
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
2. Better because of the Savior. (Mediator)
Hebrews 9:15
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions [that were] under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
APPLICATION
We have the privilege of participating in this new covenant. In fact a covenant requires the involvement of at least two parties. We have the opportunity of entering into a new covenant with God.
A new creation, a new covenant…
3. He Makes a NEW COMMAND.
John 13:34
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
A. The Command Imparted. V. 34a
"A new commandment I give to you, that ye love one another…"
B. The Command Illustrated. V. 34b
". . . even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. "
ILLUSTRATION
General Robert E. Lee was asked what he thought of a fellow officer in the Confederate Army who had made some derogatory remarks about him. Lee rated him as being very satisfactory. The person who asked the question seemed perplexed.
"General," he said, "I guess you don’t know what he’s been saying about you." "I know," answered Lee. "But I was asked my opinion of him, not his opinion of me!"
4. He Makes a NEW KINGDOM.
2 Pet 3:13
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
A. We are Looking for that New Heaven.
B. We are Longing for that New Heaven.
Because it’s the perfect place of righteousness.
ILLUSTRATION
In his book Dare to Believe, Dan Baumann illustrates the unique experience of knowing that something is ours, yet longing to enjoy it more fully. He explained that at Christmas time he would always do a lot of snooping, trying to find the gift --wrapped presents and figure out what was in them.
One year he discovered a package with his name on it that was easy to identify. There was no way to disguise the golf clubs inside. Baumann then made this observation: "When Mom wasn’t around, I would go and feel the package, shake it, and pretend that I was on the golf course. The point is, I was already enjoying the pleasures of a future event; namely, the unveiling. It had my name on it. I knew what it was." But only "Christmas would reveal it in its fullness."
APPLICATION
The glories that await the Christian defy our comprehension. What we can grasp about them, however, fills us with great anticipation. We look longingly to that day when we shall enjoy heaven in all its fullness.
In many ways God has made here at Grace a new church. Thank God for many new people, and also for those who have been here for a long time and their willingness to try new things in new ways to reach out to a new generation. Like the Apostle Paul, we should strive to ‘by all means save some’.
Let’s not get stuck in a rut…let’s go out of here as the new creation that we are, w/ that new song on our lips!
1. He Makes a NEW CREATION.
2. He Makes a NEW COVENANT.
3. He Makes a NEW COMMAND.
4. He Makes a NEW KINGDOM.
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