Sermon Tone Analysis

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

They’re afraid of pickpockets.

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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All your old dreams and ideas and agendas and purposes have ceased to exist and have been replaced by Christ’s ideas and agendas and purposes.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

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.

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

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.