BEHOLD, I WILL DO A NEW THING

SERMON STARTER

 

          Americans seek to relieve boredom with new things in science and technology. We're continually looking for the latest I-Phone, TV Gimick, Automobile, Electronic toys and games or Entertainment. Time could be spent attending rock concerts, football, basketball or baseball games. We could try to relieve our epidemic of boredom by going on ocean cruises, bus tours and road trips. Remember Chevy Chase in his famous family roadtrips?

          Boredom is America's number one national crime. It's as though boredom is a primary enemy of human happiness. Have you ever awakened on a dreary Saturday morning and don't know what to do with yourself? Actually it's ourselves we are bored with at times. We're out-of-gas in a same ole, same ole rut going nowhere.

          A friend asked me recently why so many of our people are killing themselves with prescription and street drugs. I believe young people are finding no purpose in the tired, worn out values of the past two and a half decades. Life for too many of our young adults has become an endurance of trying to get through another predictible day of sameness.

          Politicians have morphed into the same group of people making the same tired mistakes and promises year after year. 

Our country is full of dying churches who refuse to accept new formats of worship that could interest the younger generation.

          The Twelve Step Substance Abuse Recovery Movement is less than 90 years old. They have devoted the first Three Steps of recovery to help disillusioned, burned-out alcoholics and addicts discover something entirely new to them. There is a spiritual world beyond this physical existence. There is a God, the Power Greater than Themselves, who can help them discover real purpose in life through Jesus Christ.

          The Prophet Isaiah boldly speaks out for the Lord who exclaims, "Behold, I do a New Thing!"  The new thing is that God is recycling old lives for new lives. He can do it for you! Pastor Phil  <><<

April 30, 2017 - Sheepfold Ministries

Pastor Phil Roland

 

BEHOLD, I WILL DO A NEW THING

Isaiah 43:18-21 -  Revelation 21:2-5

 

"Spring is in the air and new life is popping up everywhere. Springtime holds the promise of newness of life. God's New Thing is irresistible. Shake off the cabin-fever dust of winter and celebrate what God is doing."

                                                                                             Pastor Phil  <><<

Isaiah 43:19

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.

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.   Ezekiel 36:26-27

HOW DOES GOD DO A NEW THING?

I.  HE RESTORES HIS PEOPLE - Joel 2:25

²⁵“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,

The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust,

My great army which I sent among you.

 

          A. God specializes in Restoration

          “RESTORE” = Hebrew = nIL = SA-LEEM = "Peace in all you do"

                       “To be whole, sound, safe. . .”  “To be completed, finished. . .”

                    1. Restoring not only physical stuff

                    2. Not personal loved ones lost to physical death

          B. God specializes on Soul Restoration

                    1. We think a person has "Lost his Soul" has lost Salvation

                    2. What the Bible refers to as "Soul" is Mind, Emotion, Will

                    3. Think: Meltdown, Breakdown, Nervous Breakdown

                    4. Think: A Catatonic State

                           Catatonia is a state of stupor or unresponsiveness in a person

                           who is awake. Symptoms that accompany catatonia can include

                                  rigidity, staring, withdrawal, immobility, posturing, and grimacing

                        5. Our Culture is filled with Spiritual Catatonics

          C. The Psalmist David reminds us of God's specialized healing

          ¹ A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He makes

              me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

           ³ He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His

              name's sake.   (Restore = Recovers / refreshes)    Psalm 23:1-3

                    1. God is in the soul refreshing, restoring business

                    2. Just because we give up on life, God doesn't give up on us

 

BEHOLD, I DO A NEW THING, cont. p.2

 

                    3. Eg. A pastor friend discovered God's Newness of Life

                    Founded an unusual, traditional church and burned himself out

                        Had sexual contact with a female church member

                        Destroyed his credibility / influence

                        Fired by his board

                        Deeply repented, restored his marriage, pioneered another ministry

                        Influenced thousands for Jesus and His Kingdom in the new setting

                        He is at peace with Himself, God and Others

                        4. God restores my soul - He is my fountain and life giver

                    5. Isaiah found the secret of finding God's New Thing

                                        ³ You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You,                               Because he trusts in You.        Isaiah 26:3

 

HOW DOES GOD DO A NEW THING?

II.  HE RE-NAMES HIS PEOPLE - Philippians 3:13-14

¹³ Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ¹⁴ I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.    Philippians 3:13-14

          A. God gives a new New Name to His Anointed Ones

                    1. In Him we find Renewed Purpose and a Redeemed Life

                    2. Our new name reflects God's Purposes

          B. The Bible is filled with Re-Named People

                    1. Eve, "Mother of all Living" - Genesis 3:20

                    2. Abraham, "Father of Many" - Genesis 17:5

                    3. Isaaic named "Laughter" - Genesis 21:6

                    4. Samuel was "Heard of God" - I Samuel 1:20

                    5. Jacob, "Heel Grabber" was re-named Israel,  - Genesis 25:26

                        "Prince with God and with Men"

                    6. Simon, "The Bruised Reed" was re-named, "Peter, the Rock"

                    7. Saul of Tarsas became Paul,

                              The one who Stops, Quits, Ceases

          C. Using Faith Imagination, What could your New Name Be?

                    1. My new name could have been Phylos - φιλέω

                             "One who loves God and who loves mankind"

                    2. I have a new Identity in Christ

                    3. I am a child of God - Romans 8:16

                              ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are

                           children of God,

                    4. I am a son of God - Romans 8:14

                                ¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

          D. Candidancy for a New Name prefaced by Brokenness

                    1. Come to the end of yourself

                    2. Confess to yourself and God you are Empty

                    3. Seek God with your whole heart

                    4. Repent of every sin, even the secret ones

BEHOLD, I DO A NEW THING, cont. p.3

 

          E. Challenge is to live up to your New Name in Christ

                    1. Living up to your new Identity in Jesus

                    2. Living up to your Re-named Purpose in Jesus

 

HOW DOES GOD DO A NEW THING?

III.  HE RESURRECTS HIS PEOPLE - Romans 8:11

¹¹ But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

 

          A. The Resurrection Promise of Jesus' Words - John 14:19

                    ¹⁹ "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see

                Me. Because I live, you will live also.

                    1. He is resurrection and life itself - John 11:25,26

                                        ²⁵ Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who

                          believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever

                          lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

                    2.  He Promises the New Name and New Life Now - John 5:24

                                        ²⁴ "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes

                          in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into

                          judgment, but has passed from death into life.

          B. Paul believed and preached Jesus' Resurrection - 1 Cor. 15:3,4

                    ³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died

              for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that

              He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

          C. Paul was fearless of death because he grasped Jesus' Promise

               ¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the

            fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his

            death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the

            dead.   Philippians 3:10-11 (NIV)
                    1. Do you truly believe Jesus' New Name

                    2. Do you Rest in His Resurrection Promise?

 

 

BEHOLD, I WILL DO A NEW THING, Texts:

Isaiah 43:18-21
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.
²⁰ The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen.
²¹ This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.

 

Revelation 21:2-5
² Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
³ And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
⁵ Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bailey’s Jesus

Author Unknown
God recently allowed me to see Jesus through the eyes of someone seeing Him for the first time. Having the advantage of knowing how the story ends, we can easily forget the cost of our redemption and the love of our Savior.
 
Every year we attend a local church pageant at Christmas time, which tells the story of Jesus from His birth through His resurrection. It is a spectacular event, with live animals and hundreds of cast members in realistic costumes. The magi enter the huge auditorium on llamas from the rear, descending the steps in pomp and majesty. Roman soldiers look huge and menacing in their costumes and makeup.
 
Of all the years we have attended, one stands out indelibly in my heart. It was the year we took our then three-year-old granddaughter, Bailey, who loves Jesus. She was mesmerized throughout the entire play, not just watching, but involved as if she were a player. She watches as Joseph and Mary travel to the Inn and is thrilled when she sees the baby Jesus in His mother's arms.
 
When Jesus, on a young donkey, descends the steps from the back of the auditorium, depicting His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Bailey was ecstatic. As he neared our aisle, Bailey began jumping up and down, screaming,

"Jesus, Jesus! There's Jesus!"

Not just saying the words but exclaiming them with every fiber of her being. She alternated between screaming his name and hugging us.

"It's Jesus. Look!"
I thought she might actually pass out. Tears filled my eyes as I
looked at Jesus through the eyes of a child in love with Him, seeing Him for the first time. How like the blind beggar screaming out in reckless abandon,

"Jesus, Jesus!",  afraid he might miss Him, not caring what others thought. (Mark 10:46-52)
This was so much fun.
 
Then came the arrest scene. On stage, the soldiers shoved and slapped Jesus as they moved Him from the Garden of Gethsemane to Pilate. Bailey responded as if she were in the crowd of women, with terror and anger. "Stop it!" she screamed. "Bad soldiers, stop it!"
As I watched her reaction, I wished we had talked to her before the play. "Bailey it's OK. They are just pretending."
 
"They are hurting Jesus! Stop it!"
 
She stood in her seat reacting to each and every move. People around us at first smiled at her reaction, thinking "How cute!". Then they quit smiling and began watching her watch Him. In a most powerful scene, the soldiers lead Jesus carrying the cross down the steps of the auditorium from the back. They were yelling, whipping, and cursing at Jesus, who was bloodied and beaten.
 
Bailey was now hysterical. "Stop it! Soldiers! Stop it," she screamed.
 
She must have been wondering why all these people did nothing. She then began to cry instead of scream.

"Jesus, Oh, Jesus!"  

People all around us began to weep as we all watch this devoted little disciple see her Jesus beaten and killed as those first century disciples had. Going back and forth between her mother's lap and mine for comfort, she was distraught. I kept saying, "Bailey, it's OK. Jesus is going to be OK."
 
These are just people pretending to be soldiers. She looked at me like I was crazy. In my lap, we talked through the cross and burial.  "Watch, Bailey, watch for Jesus!"
 
The tomb began to tremble and lightening flashed as the stone rolled away. A Super Bowl touchdown cheer couldn't come close to matching this little one's reaction to the resurrection. "Jesus! He's OK. Mommy, it's Jesus!"
 

I prayed that she wasn't going to be traumatized by this event, but that she would remember it. I shall never forget it. I shall never forget seeing Jesus' suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection through the eyes of an innocent child.
 
Following the pageant the actors all assembled in the foyer to be greeted by the audience. As we passed by some of the soldiers Bailey screamed out, "Bad soldier, don't you hurt Jesus." The actor who portrayed Jesus was some distance away surrounded by well-wishers and friends. Bailey broke away from us and ran toward him, wrapping herself around his legs, holding on for dear life. He hugged her and said,

 "Jesus loves you." He patted her to go away.
 
She wouldn't let go. She kept clinging to Him, laughing and calling His name. She wasn't about to let go of her Jesus.
 
I think God in heaven stopped what ever was going on that day and made all the angels watch Bailey. "Now, look there! You see what I meant when I said, 'Of such is the kingdom of heaven?'"
 
Bailey's reaction should be our reaction every day. When we think of Him, who He is, what He did for us, and what He offers us, we have to say, how can we do anything less than worship Him? 
 

 

 

 

 

Eg.     Robert Ingersol was a famous atheist who lived at the

first    part of the last century.  With his swift intellect (160

plus    IQ) he decided to do a tour of the United States.  His

goal   was to debunk Christianity, and prove that Jesus was

a fraud.  He was doing his lecture in rural Georgia, when

he was stopped cold.  At the end of each lecture he used a

          common public speaking technique know as the

“Rhetorical Question.”  He was not expecting a reply when

he challenged his audience, “Can anyone here tell me why          Jesus said before Lazarus tomb, “Lazarus, Come forth!”  A       little elderly gentleman at the back of the auditorium        replied, “I’ll tell you, sonny, why Jesus said, ‘Lazarus!        Come forth!’  If Jesus hadn’t called Lazarus by his name,           then the whole durned cemetery would have rose up to     meet Him!”  Ingersol told his friends later that he was     completely stopped cold by this unexpected reply.

 

Oswald Chambers writes:

When our Lord rose from the dead, He rose to an absolutely new life—a life He had never lived before He was God Incarnate. He rose to a life that had never been before. And what His resurrection means for us is that we are raised to His risen life, not to our old life. One day we will have a body like His glorious body, but we can know here and now the power and effectiveness of His resurrection and can “walk in newness of life”

Romans 6:4). Paul’s determined purpose was to “know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10).

 

 

 

 

 

I. NEW PERSONALITY

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

 

 

Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
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.

 

 

 

NEW PASSION

Genesis 32:28 (NKJV)
²⁸ And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."

 

 

NEW PRINCIPLES

 

Kingdom Principles:

          Experiencing and sharing God's Love

          Forgiving our Enemies

          Non Retaliating

          The Lordship of Christ

          Obedience / Submission to God's Authority

          New Destination / Future / Goal

         

 

Acts 11:9 (NKJV)
⁹ But the voice answered me again from heaven, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.'

Peter's Vision - Acts 11

He sees a sheet descending from heaven w/command

          Kill and eat

Creatures forbidden by Leviticus Law

          Call not unclean that which God has created

Gentiles are not Unclean/forbidden

All men are to receive the Gospel of Christ's Love

          Not just Jews

The principle of loving and accepting all mankind

 

 

NEW PURSUITS

Colossians 3:2 (NKJV)
² Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Luke 5:10 (NKJV)
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."

 

 

NEW PROVISION

Romans 8:31-32 (NKJV)
³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 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 (NKJV)
²² And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

 

 

 

NEW POPULARITY

Isaiah 62:2 (NKJV)
² 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.

 

 

 

 

NEW POWER

Acts 2:17 (NKJV)
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.

 

          THE POWER OF EXOUSIA = "Ex-ou-seeia" =

          Power that is expressed through order and structure

          Power that comes by delegated authority

 

          A. Power Over Sin - Matt. 6:1-8, esp. v.6

 

          B. Power Over Disease - Mark 3:15a

 

          C. Power Over Unclean Spirits - Mark 3:15b; Mark 6:7

 

          D. Power Over Cosmos - Luke 10:19; Matt. 28:18

 

          E. Power Over Heredity - John 1:12

 

          F. Power Over Death - John 10:18

 

New Destination / Goal / Future

 

THE MESSAGE

 

 

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