The New Thing

Two weeks ago I talk to you on how I did some soul searching on my life. I looked at my relationship with God, family and friends.

I ponder what is essential in my life and what should be eliminated.

As I gave thought to things God began to speak with me about things I needed to Reset in my life. As well as things I needed to go in order to deepen my relationship with Him.

I gave you the reset acronym

R-rethink, reimagine, refresh, redo, re-introduce

E-essential and eliminate

S-strategy

E-expand and evolve

T-team

I want to be clear I didn’t come up with this acronym on the word reset this came from Dr. RA Vernon teaching on resetting his church in a global pandemic. God told me to take these principles and apply them to my life.

The word reset again means

1 To set again

2 to set, adjust, or fix in a new or different way: to reset priorities;

How He gave me Isaiah 43:18-19

18 “Forget what happened in the past, and do not dwell on events from long ago.

19 I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Don’t you recognize it? I will clear a way in the desert. I will make rivers on dry land.”

Well today I’m here to talk about The New Thing

Many of you spoke to me after the message about how the message resonated with you

I believe because many of you are at a season in your life where you are tired of the same old same old and. You’ve been asking God what’s next? What do You want me to do? Where do You want me to go?

And I believe just like the revival that has started in me God wants to start in you.

This is a season of victory!

A season of New!

For your your health

family

business

children

marriage

finances

And most importantly your relationship with The Father

But many of us are unwilling to experience the new thing God is trying to do in our lives because the baggage keeps us longing for the past.

We wonder what if or if only, we rob ourselves of the new work God wants to do within us that can take us places we can only imagine.

Have you ever seen a movie where someone is constantly talks about the past. The high school football quarterback who relives his state championship winning touchdown pass every Friday night at the local bar. Or the high school basketball star who relives his game winning shot every Saturday at a park telling all who would listen how great he was.

And to be fair haven’t we all talked about at some point about wanting to go back to how things used to be. What about the good old days when things seem simpler in life didn’t seem so chaotic.

Matter of fact Stevie Wonder wrote a song about it. He wrote

I wish those days would come back once more

Why did those days ever have to go

Cause I love them so

Maybe the past is attractive because it’s safer than the present. There aren’t going to be any painful surprises as we look backwards. Even if your story was horrible at least you know what happened. Obviously the problem with this mindset is you can’t move forward while also living in the past.

LEAVE THE PAST IN THE PAST

In Isaiah 43 the former things refer to could very well be the exodus from Egypt or some other point in Israel’s history.

In Exodus 12:31 pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron and says up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go worship the Lord as you have requested.

At this point in history the Israelites would being granted freedom from over 400 years of slavery to the Egyptians. It’s hard to imagine what people were feeling as they packed up their homes, families, livestock and started walking off into the wilderness towards the promised land.

It’s even harder to imagine they wanted to go back to their lives of slaves but as we know that is exactly what they wanted to do.

Wandering through the wilderness was hard. It was different from what they were used to. And many of them simply wanted to return to the way things used to be.

Sounds familiar?

Listen to the words of the apostle Paul in Galatians 5:1

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourself to be a burden again by the yoke of slavery.

Paul is saying, leave the past in the past and stand firm in your new found freedom. Don’t go back to the way things used to be. What if God has something new for you going forward? What if the new thing is right in front of you but you’re still staring in the past.

Jesus address this in Luke 9:62 when he said no one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.

Jesus is saying, looking over your shoulder while plowing, making it impossible to plow a straight furrow. Christians cannot follow Christ by looking back. We must focus on serving him as we move ahead at his command.

Well God is not a God that stands still yes He is the God of yesterday today and forever and today He wants to talk about your today and forever

God wants you to let go of the past so that he can launch you into the new

When I came to Liberty in 2004 you would not have seen me up here preaching no no no that wasn’t a thought in my body

Mark 5 we don’t know what this old boy was like before he was invaded by

Are you ready for the new sound in this place God wants to do the new thing are you ready for the new sound in this place it is the sound of revival and it starts with you

That’s why God is saying let things go repent and turn from whatever is weighing you down because He wants to release something new in your life

I have a question for you are you ready for the new?

The new sound

The new way of talking and walking

A new way of thinking

The new dance

The new ministry

The new