New Beginnings - Rev 21:5

New Beginnings
December 30, 2012
Rev 21:5

Introduction

• As people gathered in churches on the night of Dec. 31, 1862, they held hope against hope that their prayers finally would be answered.
• When midnight struck, congregations caught their collective breath, and it wasn’t until a man ran into the church waving the awaited telegram, that the crowd erupted into cheers: President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in the Confederacy, had become law.
 
• A fatal blow against slavery, it led to the 13th and 15th Amendments, which outlawed slavery, and granted blacks American citizenship, respectively.
• Blacks were given freedom and equality with whites and they now had a new beginning in life
• This is how the practice of watch-night services on New Years Eve, started
• We all need new beginnings
• This is the start of a new year and an opportunity to make a fresh start in life

When Jesus came into our life something changed

• Eph 2:1-10
• Suddenly, we became alive!
• Lifesavers story
• Something happened inside, the dead became alive
• But more than that, we became a new creation!
• That new creation happened in our spirit. That which was dead, now became a new creation
• Unfortunately, our mind was not yet recreated
• That happens over a period of time, as we follow the Holy Spirit and are obedient to Jesus
• Paul tells us in Romans 7 about the battle that goes on in his mind, between his spirit which is now under Jesus' control, and his carnal mind which pulls him down
• It is because of this struggle between good and evil, that we need new beginnings

We need periodic new beginnings

• The first thing is to recognize that we need a fresh start
• Very few of us have it all together, and don't need to exclaim with Paul, "Who will rescue me from this body of death!"
• We need periodic new beginnings
• On a daily basis we need to refresh our commitment to our Lord Jesus, because on a daily basis, we sin and fall short of God's intention for us
• Derek Prince wrote an excellent short book titled "Surrender"
• After I read that book, I surrendered all to Jesus
• It changed my life, and I periodically consciously surrender everything to Him
• A ship sailing through the ocean gathers barnacles and seaweed, which slow it down in the water.
• Periodically, it needs to go into dry dock and have these impediments scraped away
• We too need to ask Jesus to clean us up
• Exodus 12:2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
• The month God was speaking of was the Hebrew month Nisan, which means green ears. In other words it was around Passover or Easter time
• At that time, the Hebrews commemorated the Passover lamb that was slain so the Israelite firstborn could escape death in Egypt.
• At Easter time we commemorate the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is referred to in Revelation as the lamb slain from the foundation of the world

We ask God to show us where to change

• There are many areas in our life that need changing, it is a lifelong process
• But where does God want us to focus?
• That is the important question
• This requires hearing from God and knowing what His answer is to that question
• The most important thing to God is not how many verses we have memorized, how many meals we have served to the homeless, how much we have donated to charities, how many people we have visited in hospital
• The most important thing is our relationship with Him
• Prayer is obviously a key in this
• If we don't pray we do not have much of a relationship
• Listening to Him speak to us is just as important
• He speaks to us in many ways, but one important way, is through the pages of the Bible

Reading through the Bible together

• This is why I have placed a bookmark in each bulletin
• These bookmarks will be handed out each month, giving the scripture verses we will be reading each day
• On the other side I have listed the books of the Bible so we can easier find things in God's Word
• I encourage us to journal each day about what the Lord says to you from these passages
• This will become a precious time for each of us as we spend this time in close communion with God

Conclusion

• At the start of this year, let's make a fresh start, a new beginning
• When we reach December 31, we can look back and say, I did it! I have drawn closer to God in my relationship
• It is not about having read right through the bible, that can be legalistic
• But it is about a fresh surrender, a new beginning in our walk with God