Write Your Story

Why don’t kangaroos visit Times Square on New Year’s Eve?

They’re afraid of pickpockets.

___________

2 Corinthians 5:17 (CEV)

17 Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.

It’s the beginning of a new year and I’ve had a couple of weeks to think about what I’d like to say to you today. Now, most Pastors are so full of wisdom and knowledge they can come up with a great new years message without any help. Me - I’m not like those pastors. I need help. When I need help, I turn to my good ol’ friend Charlie Brown. He has wisdom beyond his cartoon years that always seem to inspire me.

Here’s a quote from him that I think will sum up what I hope to communicate to you today:

“Life has no remote, get up and change it yourself” - Charlie Brown

2023 is an opportunity for something new.

In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul tell us that Christ’s death for sin has changed humanity. We are no longer lost in sin with no hope, but is we “belong to Christ” then we can be changed.

Those who belong to Christ are those who have faith in Him. When you have faith in Christ then you are credited with Christ’s righteous life and your sin is forgiven because the debt of that sin has been paid by the shed blood of Jesus.

If you belong to Christ then you’ve been changed from the sinful lost person you were to a person with the righteousness of Christ.

In fact, the old you is not recoverable. It’s just gone. The new you has come. All your old dreams and ideas and agendas and purposes have ceased to exist and have been replaced by Christ’s ideas and agendas and purposes.

Here’s the problem with most of us: We don’t live in our new life. We are stuck in the old sin nature.

Why? Well, I already told you: “Life has no remote, you’ve got to get up and change it yourself” - Charlie Brown.

What does that mean? Technically speaking, when you come to Christ in faith, God counts Christ’s righteousness as your own and you are forgiven. You become new, and from His perspective you are just a clean as His perfect Son Jesus.

You are good to go in God’s eyes.

BUT - Here’s the thing, we aren’t perfect. The reality is that if you give your heart and life to Christ today, you’re not walking out of here never to make a mistake again.

So, how do we deal with the truth that we are made righteous through Christ and yet we are still sinful? That we are a new creation in Christ, but in our physical body and mind are still struggling to do what’s right?

Here’s the answer: We need to write our own story.

Up until the point that we came to Christ, whether you know it or not, Sin has been writing your story. Rebellion from God has been writing your story.

In other more plain terms, addiction has been writing your story, anger has been writing your story, bitterness has been writing your story, hurt, pain, suffering, unforgiveness, pride, lying, conflict, wickedness have all been writing your story.

But, here’s the absolute truth, they don’t have to write your story anymore. Christ has delivered us spiritually and physically from the bonds of sin that lead to destruction.

The question is whether or not we are willing to get up and change the channel.

Here’s what I want to do today: I want all of us to pull out a metaphorical piece of paper, and start writing a new story for this year. A story of victory, growth, and health when it comes to our walk with Christ.

How do we write this new story?

God has Done it All

2 Corinthians 5:18 CEV

18 God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others.

To often we don’t write our own story because we use excuses. We say we aren’t able to do anything for Christ because of our past or our education or experience. But once we come to Jesus for our salvation, those excuses are out the window because all things have become new.

When you get a new start in life, the you have to take advantage of that new start.

What did Paul say to the corinthian church? He said, “God has done it all!”. He tells us that Christ has come to bring peace and now that we have come to Christ, we have the job of bringing peace to others.

Part of our story for this year is attempting big things because we have no excuses.

Romans 8:31 CEV

31 What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us?

Now, people are going to try to get you from trying to live in a new way, but ultimately they won’t be successful. We have the truth on our side. You can write your story and no one will be able to stop you because God is with you.

I used to love watching Matlock. Remember the TV show with Andy Griffith? He was a defense lawyer who’d always get these impossible cases. Maybe his defendant would be accused of murder and there was no evidence to clear their name. Well, Matlock would sneak around crime scenes, he’d interrogate witnesses, he’d get shot at, or someone would try to run him over with their car, but in the end Matlock would win because he had the truth on his side. The evidence didn’t lie even if the most sinister person was framing the defendant.

Not to diminish our situation, but it’s like we are in an episode of Matlock sometimes. We’ve been accused and it seems like we aren’t going to make it, we are going to be locked up forever. We don’t have a Matlock on our side snooping through offices or dumpsters to find something that will set us free.

No, we have something much better than Matlock. We have been set free by the greatest advocate of all time Jesus Himself is standing up to testify on our behalf. He is the one who takes on the prosecution and tells them that we are not guilty.

Listen friends, we have been set free. God has done it all. We have no excuses anymore. We are compelled to live our lives for Him as ambassadors of His grace, mercy, and love.

This year can be just like all the others or it can be a year that you write your own story. You have hope because Christ has redeemed you. You can walk in faith because He is with you. You can change because the chains have been released.

But in order to change the channel in your life you’re going to have to get up and change it yourself. That’s the condition.

To write your own story, you’re going to have to pick up a pen. God has done it all so that you can be empowered to do your all for Him!

Let 2023 be a year of NO EXCUSES.

Make Use of What God has Done

2 Corinthians 6:1 CEV

1 We work together with God, and we beg you to make good use of God’s kindness to you.

Paul was writing to the Corinthian church begging them not to forget what God had done. He wanted them to understand that he was not crazy for continuing to preach the gospel, even though it led him to suffering. Christ’s love compelled Paul to continue to tell all people that they could be reconciled to God through faith in Christ just as he himself had been saved.

He couldn’t stop telling people that God was not counting people’s sins against them, but instead giving the credit for Christ’s righteous life.

He wanted them to walk in Faith!

When I read the words written, it reminds me of trying to get my kids to eat something that they just won’t even though I know that they will absolutely love it. I want them to experience the good thing that I’ve made for them, but I can’t make they open their mouths and take a bit. They can smell it, see it, and I can tell them how good it is, but they have to decide to take that first bite.

When you read the words from Paul’s letter I feel like he’s writing to them as a frustrated parent trying to get his children to experience the good thing he has found in Christ.

Yes, he was suffering, but it was worth it because Jesus had set him free! He was forgiven and in communion with the Lord of all creation.

We need to walk in faith this year. Part of your unwritten story needs to include trusting in the Name of Jesus.

Joseph was given the name of Jesus by an angel. The name means, “God Saves,” which was entirely appropriate because that was exactly Jesus’ purpose for living a human life. He was born to free humanity from the sin and destruction they chose by rebelling against God. He saved people from eternal destruction by receiving the punishment of that rebellion through an unjustified death. And He still saves people to this day when they confess Him as the Lord, and believe that He was raised to life as proof that the punishment was acceptable to God the Father.

Jesus is how God saves lost people.

But, what about His name? Does it have some type of supernatural power? We hear songs about speaking the name of Jesus, and people pray in the name of Jesus, but does His name have some authority in the life of a believer?

If we look at the early church, we see that the name of Jesus had a special significance. In the book of Acts, people did things in the name of Jesus that Jesus himself would do while he was still physically here on earth. They would teach, perform signs and wonders, expel demons, and heal the sick, all in the name of Jesus. As they spoke his name, they were operating as representatives of Jesus. Take a quick look at Peter using the name of Jesus for healing:

Acts 3:16 CEV

16 You see this man, and you know him. He put his faith in the name of Jesus and was made strong. Faith in Jesus made this man completely well while everyone was watching.

The faith in the name of Jesus is another way of saying that the man believed Peter was walking with the authority of Christ as his representative. The name of Jesus is the authority we as believers have because we are connected directly to Christ himself. If we are walking in the will of God, we can expect that his authority is with us when we speak his name.

Jesus is alive! He is working in the world just as he was working when he was physically present. The way he is working is different; he is working through his people!

Acts 9:34 CEV

34 Peter said to Aeneas, “Jesus Christ has healed you! Get up and make up your bed.” Right away he stood up.

How could Peter say, “Jesus Christ has healed you”? It’s because Peter understood that Jesus was alive and doing the same works he had done while he was walking with the disciples.

We need to speak the name of Jesus because it releases our faith. The pressure is taken off of our authority and places it rightly on the authority of the risen Lord Jesus!

The key to walking in this kind of faith is understanding the will of God. Remember, Jesus, rebuked his followers when they acted against the will of God. We can only know the will of God as we daily seek Him. As we spend more time in the Word, Prayer, and Worship, then the will of God becomes clear, and we will operate in the power of the Name of Jesus.

We need to make use of what God has done. This year what will you write? What will you change?

I encourage you to add to your list that you will make the most of what God has done.

We have the God of all creation on our side. What can we do for him this year? I’d say we can do way more than we could ever imagine.

Now, I need to tell you something else that should be in your story this year.

I believe we need to lay down the weights of sin in our lives. There are things that hold us back. We need to get into alignment with God in all areas of our lives.

Basically, repentance needs to happen in some area of our lives because none of us are perfect.

When we recognize that God has done it all, and we want to make use all all he’s done then you will:

Change How you Live

2 Corinthians 6:14–15 CEV

14 Stay away from people who are not followers of the Lord! Can someone who is good get along with someone who is evil? Are light and darkness the same? 15 Is Christ a friend of Satan? Can people who follow the Lord have anything in common with those who don’t?

Now, these words are powerful. If you’re sensitive to the Holy Spirit then you will immediately recognize that we are being called to a higher way of living than the people who do not believe that Christ is the redeemer of the world.

This year, writing your own story means that we draw a line in the sand when it comes to living like the lost world. We can’t continue in our sinful nature willingly if we are going to follow christ.

How can we? Hasn’t he done enough for us? Isn’t He worthy?

Romans 12:1–2 CEV

1 Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God. 2 Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.

Are we saved by living a perfect life? No. But we prove that we are saved by wanted to live a transformed life that is a living sacrifice of worship to the Lord. He’s worth our lives.

We need to seriously think about what needs to change for this year.

I know of a man who smoked from the time that he was 13 years old. His family begged him to quite. He just couldn’t make it happen. It was too hard to let the habit go. It makes sense, the tobacco companies put addictive drugs into cigarettes. The cards were stacked against him. He wanted to quit, but everything he tried didn’t work.

Well, one day, this man decided it was over and he wasn’t going to smoke anymore. In his heart and mind he decided that the battle was over and he wasn’t going to do it anymore.

And guess what? He hasn’t smoked in over a year! Miracle? No. It really wasn’t. The victory was already provided in Christ. But it never came because he didn’t decided to walk in that victory.

There are thing in our lives right now that need to be stopped. The victory has been provided through Christ. They only thing stopping us is our CHOICE not to walk in that victory.

Listen, God is worthy of our lives. Our story needs to be written with victories. We need to face the enemy head on and trust the Lord to help us win the battles.

Remember, it’s not just for us! People are counting on our testimony. Paul was trying to get the church to understand why the suffering was worth the cost.

Hebrews 12:1–2 CEV

1 Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. 2 We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew that later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side of God’s throne!

It’s not going to be easy to let go of some of the things that hold us back, but it’s worth the effort.

Jesus suffered for us! Why? Because we were worth the suffering.

Today is a good day. It’s a good day because it’s the start of something new. It’s the first day of a new year. This year could be filled with ups and downs. Really, it could be worse than last year financially, healthy wise, or in a number of ways. But in the way we live it can be better because God has done it all, we can make use of what He’s done, and we can live a changed life in Him.

What is your story going to be this year?

Here’s my challenge to you: Life has no remote, get up and change it yourself!

Salvation call. Repentance Call.