A New Years Outlook

A woman walked into her bathroom at home.

As she did, she saw her husband weighing himself on the bathroom scales, sucking in his stomach. The woman thought to herself,

 "He thinks that he will weigh less by sucking in his stomach." So, the woman rather sarcastically said to her husband,

 "That’s not going to help."

 Her husband said, "Sure it will. It’s the only way I can see the numbers."

This is the time of year folks always look back on the holiday onslaught of eating and realize that they have to loose weight.

Common New Year’s resolutions always include loosing weight, exercise, or eating right.

I like times like New Years because it affords us the opportunity to take inventory.

It is a great time to take a spiritual inventory of our lives.

The end of the year always gives us opportunity to stop and reflect on our past as well as look at our future.

Sometimes that future is brighter and sometimes that future is bleak.

The good news is that Christianity and our life in Christ is about renewal.

We belong to a faith that is all about renewing and starting fresh and giving life a fresh start.

As a matter of fact at theme that runs all throughout the Bible is death and renewal.

Or better explained – darkness and resurrection. 

When things look the bleakest that is when God comes in and revives and brings back to life.

Adam in the Garden was lonely and had not counter part – it was not good for the man to be alone. God puts Adam into a type of death sleep, rips flesh from his side and makes a new being a woman his help meet Eve.

Adam goes to deep sleep is opened up or divided and now new life comes

The world looks like in the day of Noah like there is no hope with the evil and violence – God brings a flood and Noah and his family start a new creation – a new humanity – a new start.

From death – a new covenant with mankind and the rainbow.

Israel is in despair in Egypt and cries out to God – God hears – God rescues Israel from slavery and sends a deliverer.

In the Exile Ezekiel sees a valley of dry bones which represents Israel, a wind comes into the valley – we need to remember that the word Ezekiel uses for wind is Ruah which is the same word for the Holy Spirit.

IN Ezekiel’s vision found in Ezekiel chapter 37 these dry bones – very very dead bones in other words, are brought back to life by God’s life giving Spirit.

That same Spirit that breathed the breath of life into Adam is now breathing life back into the nation of Israel.

So you see that the Bible continually paints a picture of hope – when all is lost – when it seems like the worst is happening and things cant get much worse – God steps in and new and wonderful things occur.

God always surprises us when we least expect it. 

Why does God do things this way?

2 Corinthians 1: 9

"But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead"

God doesn’t want us to trust in ourselves – but we should trust in God who raises the dead. 

We can look at this past year nationally as a country and say man it looks bleak.

So is this why our country is coming apart in our hands?

Is this why popular entertainment is so corrupt?

Is this why our justices despise the gift of life?

 Is this why our laws cannot make out the reason God gave us boys and girls?

Is this why Congress does not understand the concept of red ink?

 Yes -- so that we would stop trusting in ourselves.

 Is this why our fathers devise various means to run out on their families?

Is this why wives are terminally disrespectful to them, doing what they can to chase them out early?

Is this why our children are so sullen and unhappy?

 Yes -- so that we would stop trusting in ourselves.

Is this why pulpits are treated as bunkers to hide in, instead of cockpits to fight from?

 Is this why we call theologians conservative if they condescend to believe most of the Bible?

Yes -- so that we would stop trusting in ourselves.

 All hope is lost? Good.

Because it is at those moments that God steps in.

Today I want to share with you some hope full messages from the New Testament as we look forward.

We will see a beginning and an ending – a look back and a look forward.

And I think there is no other time better than now to look at these themes of starting and looking forward.

Today I want to share two themes that we need to take into this new year. 

1)   Courage or absence of Fear

 

2)   Joy

 

3)   Worship

A new year marked by our church that is marked by great courage among our members, great joy in our salvation, and an attitude of worship that marks our Church.

These three themes find their way into Luke’s Gospel and Matthew’s Gospel.

Luke’s Gospel begins with the idea of not being afraid but to have courage and it ends with the same idea.

It is the bookends of Luke’s Gospel and it is intentional – Luke is telling a story and is telling us to not be afraid but take courage.

Matthew’s Gospel is bookended with two concepts, and they are joy and worship.

Matthew begins with the idea of Joy and ends with the idea of Joy

Matthew begins his Gospel with the idea of worship and ends with the idea of worship.

1)   COURAGE

It is a natural state for people in a fallen world to be fearful. 

The natural order of things has been turned upside down.

Death has entered the equation – we have to fear physical breakdown of the body.

We have to fear violence and bloodshed.

We have to fear falsehoods –we live in a time when just plain ole telling the truth to each other is not very common.

But God comes into this situation and cuts through all of this.

We see it in the birth of Christ – when Jesus is born we see a new situation – a time to stop being fearful.

To take courage.

When the Angel comes to Joseph in a dream we see that obviously Joseph was fearful of what to do with Mary his betroved who had been found to be with child.

In Matthew 1:20 we see:

20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife ; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit

When the angel appeared to Zacharias to announce the coming of the great prophet John the Baptist we read in Luke 1: 13

13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.

When the angel appears to Mary to tell her that she will have a son he tells her

Luke 1:30

30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary ; for you have found favor with God

When Jesus calls his first disciples he tells them

Luke 5:10

"Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men."

In the old way of doing things we would be fearful of what is to come – our lives would be like a fog bank not knowing what will happen.

But things have changed in Christ and we know our destiny.

After the crucifixion of Jesus the disciples represent how we look at the world.

John 20: 19-21

19So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for 29fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "30Peace be with you."20 And when He had said this, 31He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then 32rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21So Jesus said to them again, "33Peace be with you; 34as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."

True peace came when the realized that Jesus had risen from the dead.

That is where we live today – we live on the other side of the resurrection.

Now we have become the ones sent.

Now there is no longer room for fear because God has commissioned us to go out and to know that we have a future with Him.

IF we get sick or die we will be resurrected- if we have lost our loved ones we will be reunited to them and this life will be like a blip compared to eternity.

Things have changed in Christ. 

There are reasons that we are fearful today – as we stand post-resurrection – there are reasons that we still have fear in our condition.

The one reason that we don’t have courage is that Satan stands and accuses us and tells us that we are not good enough.

He reminds us of our weakness and never lets you see what you are in Christ.

Courage comes from two realizations.

1)   your life is hidden in Christ.

Colossians 3: 2-3

2Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When you have repented and died to your self – you are a dead man – and now your identity is in Christ.

You are in Christ – God no longer sees the rags of sin that once beset us but God sees Christ.

We are literally in Christ.

That is why we can offer our lives as a spiritual sacrifice to God.

The only reason our lives are acceptable to God is because we are in Christ – if we are not in Christ then no works that we do will ever be acceptable to God.

So we have a new identity in Christ.

When we realize that then we can be courageous – we are hidden in Christ and He will sustain us.

2)   God can take your greatest weaknesses and turn them into a strength through His power.

We are still fearful because we see our own weaknesses. 

The Apostle Paul understood this better than anyone.

He had some type of physical problem that held him back – it hindered his preaching of the Gospel.

He wanted God to remove this thorn in the flesh.

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10

7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me-to keep me from exalting myself! 8Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul explains to us that in weakness God is glorified.

God can take what we think is our weakness and use it to His glory.

I read recently the story of a 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

 The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master.

 The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.

 "Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?"

 "This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know," the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

 Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament.

Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches.

 The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match.

 Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced.

 For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched.

 Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out.

He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. "No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue."

 Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament.

He was the champion.

 On the way home, the boy and the sensei reviewed every move in each and every match.

Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind: "Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"

 "You won for two reasons," the sensei answered.

"First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo.

And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."

 The boy’s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

3)   JOY

Another thing that we need to realize as we look at a new year – Christians are to be people of great joy.

We should be joyful people in  the Lord. 

The theme of Joy brackets Luke’s Gospel. 

Zacharias is told in the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist in Luke 1:14 that great joy will come with the birth of John.

When Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth the baby in Elizabeth’s womb – John the Baptist leaps for joy in the womb at the announcement of Mary. Luke 1:44

When the Angel announced to the Shepherds in the field about the birth of Jesus he said the following:

Luke 2:10

10 But the angel said to them, "8Do not be afraid ; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people

We see the very end of Luke’s Gospel When the risen Christ ascends back into Heaven the joy and happiness among the disciples.

They realize things have changed. 

Luke 24: 51-53

51While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising God.

Heaven has opened up for business, when Christ ascended into Heaven the doors of Heaven are open to us.

The Hebrew writer will elaborate on this by telling us that by the flesh of Christ we can enter the most Holy Place in Heaven.

In everyday human terms – God wants a relationship with you.

A living breathing –vibrant relationship with us.

To have true joy that is what we must understand and have a relationship with Christ.

“A miserable looking woman recognized F.B. Meyer (preacher and teacher) on the train and ventured to share her burden with him.

For years she had cared for a crippled daughter who brought great joy to her life.

She made tea for her each morning, then left for work, knowing that in the evening the daughter would be there when she arrived home.

But the daughter had died, and the grieving mother was alone and miserable.

Home was not "home" anymore.

Meyer gave her wise counsel.

"When you get home and put the key in the door, say aloud, ’Jesus, I know You are here!’ and be ready to greet Him directly when you open the door.

And as you light the fire tell Him what has happened during the day; if anybody has been kind, tell Him; if anybody has been unkind, tell Him, just as you would have told your daughter.

 At night stretch out your hand in the darkness and say, ’Jesus, I know You are here!’"

 Some months later, Meyer was back in that neighborhood and met the woman again, but he did not recognize her. Her face radiated joy instead of announcing misery.

"I did as you told me," she said, "and it has made all the difference in my life, and now I feel I know Him."

That is the way to true joy is to have a living relationship with God through Christ.

When Christ died, was resurrected and ascended into Heaven it opened up the possibility for us to be children of  God –to be part of God’s family.

When God’s Spirit was sent into the world He was given to us as a downpayment as to what is coming in our future – the resurrection from the dead.

2)   WORSHIP

This new year needs to be a year of worship.

A year that we commit ourselves to corporate worship as a body of believers but also individual worship.

I see worship happening on three levels – the corporate – ecclesia – Church level, the family level, and the individual level.

I believe that a healthy spiritual life will stem from regular Church corporate worship with the body of believers on Sunday,

Also within the family unit,

And individually in your prayer life, study and devotional time.

Why do we worship?

Francois Fenelon was the court clergy for King Louis XIV of France in the 17th century.

One Sunday when the king and his attendants arrived at the chapel for the regular service, no one else was there but the preacher.

King Louis demanded, "What does this mean?"

Fenelon replied, "I had published that you would not come to church today, in order that your Majesty might see who serves God in truth and who flatters the king."

This theme is found in the Gospel of Matthew –

This the reaction we see to Jesus all through the Gospel of Matthew and Matthew is really asking you a question in His Gospel.

In Matthew 2:10-11

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11After coming into the house they saw the Child with 9Mary His mother ; and they fell to the ground and 10worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

They fell down before Jesus, Jesus is just and infant- God become flesh, Immanuel.

But these men from the East these Wise men – worship Jesus

What is Matthew telling us – if you are wise like these men- if you have true wisdom, if you have true knowledge you will worship Jesus.

Matthew 14: 32-33

32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly 25God's Son !"

Jesus stills the storm and His followers worship Him.

The realize WHO Jesus is because they are with Him everyday.

Jesus is the very incarnate God – He is Yahweh Jehovah God that we read about in the Old Testament and now he is enfleshed in Jesus of Nazareth.

He is worthy of our worship.

Matthew leaves the end of his Gospel with a question for us.

We see at the end of Matthew’s Gospel just before Jesus ascends back to the Father, he is about to give last minute instructions to His followers:

Matthew 28: 16-17

16 But the eleven disciples proceeded 16to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but 17some were doubtful.

The question is today – do we worship Jesus – Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God – do you believe that HE is who he claimed to be.

He is the Son of God – and because of that our attitude should be one of worship.

We fall into one of two categories today – either we worship or we doubt. 

Some even at this point of Jesus ministry even after the resurrection were doubtful – that is how it has always been.

Some believe and some doubt – some worship and some doubt.

Who are you today?

Do you doubt or do you worship?

Today as you look at this new year I want to challenge all of us to look forward in Courage knowing that God has gained the victory in Christ – we all have a future.

Also to have great joy in your relationship with Christ – walking daily with him talking to Him, communing with Him

And let us mark the year of 2013 as a year that we worship – we worship the King- we worship individually, as a family, as a church.