Simple Steps For An Extraordinary New Year

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Psalm 22:22-28, NIV

22 I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you.

23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

24 For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.

26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him; may your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,

28 for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.

It’s the first Sunday of 2023 - a day of reflection, looking back, resolving to do better, thinking about changes that need to be made. It’s a day of looking forward, promise, hope, and celebration. It’s a day very much like this Psalm. Psalm 22 begins as a lament - a desperate plea to God from someone who knows how much he needs God. The terms are clear - without God there is no hope. With God there is always hope, and David gives us a map here, finding hope when challenges are all around us

There are many stories of people who have come back from the bottom of where sin and deceptions of the enemy take us. Peter came back from three denials. David came back from adultery and murder. Abraham came back from lies and attempting to manipulate God. John Mark came back from a fearful abandonment of the mission. One thing all of these comeback stories have in common: God brought them back when they surrendered to Him.

For 21 verses David pours out his lament before God. He doesn’t brag about being a king, or the exploits of his mighty men. He doesn’t write beautiful poetry here - he cashes it all in and declares himself bankrupt before God. (Note some of the phrases…)

Why have you forsaken me?

Why are you making me endure this anguish?

I wait for you but don’t hear you, I cry out but I don’t see you

I am a worm of a man, scorned, despised, mocked, insulted.

I am encircled by the enemy, lions are seeking to devour me

I’m exhausted and famished, close to giving up.

I NEED YOU TO HEAR ME, HELP ME, DELIVER ME, AND SAVE ME. I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. I KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE, for the world, for your people, and for me! I will praise you no matter what.

Maybe for some of you, this will be a comeback year - or a time when you remember what you’ve come from - to where you are now - to where you want to be. That won’t happen in your own power but in the power of God. And he is always there for you.

The new direction, new life, and new year principles that follow will help us rebound and restart our Christian journey and commitment.

Four actions that empower our lives in this new year:

1. TALK

Psalm 22:22-23 ESV 1“I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

Talk About your deliverance, the Lord, Jesus, with each other.

Talk about the transformation.

Saul on the road to Damascus- this event became the seed for his witness

The woman at the well- Come and see this man who saved me

Nehemiah 2:18 - the hand of my God that had been upon me for good.

This is the familiarity, the relationship, the closeness of God in our lives through His son Jesus, and in His body, the church. We pray, we spend time in the Word, and this flows from us in how we speak, and behave. We are not trying to sell it (the gospel) to others, instead, we can’t resist trying to give it to others.

It is our deliverance and self-awareness as David expresses in this Psalm. The deliverance that God has provided/promised for you- is what is most impactful. Talk about Jesus with others, but talk about what it means to you. Why do you love Jesus? Why do you commit to a body of believers? Like David in Psalm 22:19-21 (strengthen me, rescue me, deliver me) we can give an answer to those who ask the reason for our hope (1 Peter 3:15).