http://bible.com/events/48870340
All Things New: The New Road
“If you are in Christ, whatever is next is better.”
Have we ever, as a people, more desperately needed to trade the old for the new than right now?
This season has brought to light some real pain & some real brokenness in all of us.
Our new series, All Things New, is based on the truth that we desperately need something new.
We have incredible hope in this reality: Today God wants to awaken something new in you
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” Isaiah 43:18-19
-This is a powerful promise, written to people in deep despair: to those in exile, to those who would feel totally hopeless. “I am doing a new thing”
-What’s most fascinating about this promise, is that when we see it in its context, it is way more challenging and way more powerful than you might think.
Isaiah 43:16-19
This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
-The Lord is reminding His people of the Exodus from Egypt, one of the greatest displays of His power and provision.
-We expect the promise (“forget the former things”) to apply to former moments of pain and frustration, but that’s not the complete context here.
-The message is this: “remember God’s faithfulness, but trust that He has something new ahead. “
-Both implications are true: we can’t be looking for yesterday’s blessings and we can’t be held captive by yesterday’s failures.
If you are in Christ,
whatever is next is better.
Revelation 21:1-5
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
The promise of new is not just a promise for the here and now. It’s a promise for what is to come.
“All things new”
Verses for further study/reflection:
Lamentations 3:22-23
Philippians 3:13-14
Ephesians 2:4-5
John 3:3
John 3:5
Romans 10:9
2 Corinthians 5:16-17