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Intro
My hope for this morning is to launch us into the new year and get us thinking a bit.
The beginning of a new year provides for us opportunities to evaluate the previous year, as well as to look forward to what is to come.
We come in with a sense of freshness.
The opportunity to change
It doesn’t really matter what age we are.
Our time is running short.
Scripture reminds us that our time on this earth is short.
Every year, we’re closer than ever to the end of our lives.
That’s why, at the start of the new year, many people are looking for an opportunity to make the most of the time ahead of them.
They want to change the year ahead for the better.
Where do we begin though.
Last week if you were here Patrick brought up resolutions.
Often times we start of strong, but then the business of life sets in and those changes just don’t keep up.
The desire for change though is not a bad thing.
Newness and change, when directed and for a purpose is often a good thing.
Expectation of something new.
Newness is not something new.
When we think about it, the hope fore something new was introduced by God and can be traced back to the Garden of Eden.
Immediately after the fall, God speaks a new word of redemption.
He points to the time when the offspring of woman shall bruise the head serpent.
All of the Old Testament excitement is expressed in terms of future expectation of a new condition.
A time when nation will no longer lift up sword against nation, when the lion shall lie down with the lamb.
The idea of the new involves more than Israel, it involves God’s whole creative purpose for all that he has created.
Isaiah and Jeremiah both speak of the new thing to be done in the nations history.
The Psalms and Isaiah speak of a new song to be given to the people to sing.
Jeremiah speaks of the day when God will make a new covenant with the house of Israel.
The new covenant will be written upon the heart, internalized.
Ezekiel tells of the day when God, as an expression of His own holiness, will cleanse his people and in place of the heart of stone will give a heart of flesh.
To usher in the age of the Spirit, bringing a new existence.
Joel speaks also of the day when the Spirit of God will be poured out on all flesh.
This is all pointing to newness.
Something different than what is currently happening.
Something that is not chained by the effects of sin.
Today, the newness has come.
The newness we know and enjoy today.
The newness that Jesus brought into the world.
Jesus comes that we might be made new.
That our hearts of stone be replaced with soft malleable flesh.
I want us to look at 3 things that we as Christians have because of Christ.
New Position
New Purpose
New Promise
New Position
[Position of Child]
Previously we were children of the Devil and enemies with God.
We were enslaved to sin, wandering, lost, seeking our own way.
But we have been granted a new position, that of a child.
We have been adopted into God’s family, by faith, through placing our trust in Jesus.
1. Through our adoption we have a position of stability;
Think of the words here, pit of destruction - death, chaos, brokenness.
The picture that comes to mind for me when I read miry bog is that of from the LOTR, when Frodo, Sam, and Gollum are traveling through the dead marshes.
A terrible unforgiving place.
But our feet are set upon a rock, our steps secure.
We always have someone we can turn to, our heavenly father.
2. Through our adoption we have a position of acceptance;
In a good relationship between a parent and a child, the child has unlimited access to the parent.
The parent loves at all cost, seeking what is best for the child.
Adoption - ownership - acceptance Family
3. Through our adoption we have a position of no condemnation;
Physical standing - No longer under wrath and condemnation.
Emotional standing - No need to fear.
Spiritual standing - When God looks at us, He sees His son, not our imperfections.
That is our New Position in Christ
New Purpose
Through our relationship with Christ we are given a new purpose.
[Service]
Previously we were serving no-one but ourselves...
But that is not the example that Jesus set.
1.
A life of service is a self denying life.
The new purpose of service is not something easy.
It requires a whole new way of thinking, reorienting our lives.
Denying oneself means different things in different contexts.
To a parent, it means not just seeking one’s own desires, but serving the child in their best interests in terms of the investment of time and energy.
To a spouse, it means not just asking what can be done for you, but considering how one can be of help to his or her partner.
To a neighbor, it means considering how one can be of service and show concern in the affairs of life
To a colleague at work, it may mean not seeing how you can advance the responsibilities you have to undertake, but how you can be of service to them.
Most importantly to God, it means seeking his will and spending time before him so he can lead and guide you in the way you should go.
2. A life of service is a cross-bearing life;
That is a pretty hefty calling.
What did it mean that Jesus bore His cross?
CROSS-BEARING IS A powerful ancient image.
Rejection stood at the center of that image, as well as accountability to the state.2
The cross-bearer had committed a severe crime and needed elimination.
Criminals bore their own crosses as they journeyed to their death.
Thus for a Christian to bear a cross is to be prepared to face rejection and death, even as one remains accountable to God for the path one walks.
It means that one has died to the world, separated from its values and lifestyle
The follower of Jesus must deny himself (not just his sins, himself; he cannot be self-centred).
There is nothing self-indulgent about being a Christian.
The disciples had probably seen a man take up his cross, and they knew what it meant.
When a man from one of their villages took up a cross and went off with a little band of Roman soldiers, he was on a one-way journey.
He would not be back.
Taking up the cross meant the utmost in self-denial.
this is not something that can be finished and got out of the way: it must be done daily
Jesus set the example, performing even the most lowly tasks for His disciples.
To be a spiritual servant is not always easy.
It is not always fun.
But most importantly it is not negotiable.
3. A life of service is a Christ-following life;
We must remember the context of Jesus words here as well, this was following his rebuke of Peter, when Peter had pulled Jesus aside to rebuke Him for teaching of His death.
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