Doing a New Thing
Baggage • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 73 viewsMany people are unwilling to experience the new things God is trying to do in their lives because of the baggage that keeps them longing for the past. When we wonder, “what if” or “if only,” we rob ourselves of the fresh work of God within us that can take us places we cannot imagine.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning and welcome back!
This morning if you will, start turning in your Bibles to Isaiah 43.
Today, we are going to continue on with our mini-series talking about baggage and all of the baggage that we tend to carry around with us.
But this morning we are going to look at a different aspect of the baggage than we did last week.
There are a lot of people who are unwilling to experience the new things God is trying to do in their lives because of the baggage that keeps them longing for the past.
We spend a lot of time wondering “what if’ or “if only” because of these things that hold us back.
And when we spend our time wondering, “what if” or “if only,” we rob ourselves of the fresh work of God within us that can take us places we cannot imagine.
We rob ourselves of being the people God wants us to be.
And really all we are doing is living in the past.
Always talking about the “good ole days” or talking about “when I was younger.”
The problem is we, do not live in the past, and we can’t go back and change the past either.
So, why do we do this?
Why are we always looking backwards instead of looking forward?
Why are we always wanting things to be “like they used to be?”
Why is the past so attractive to us?
Well, 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 history was horrible, at least you know what happened.
However, the problem with this mindset is, you can’t move forward while also living in the past.
So this morning, we’re going to talk about leaving the past baggage behind us and moving confidently into the present reality of God’s provision for us.
And we are going to look at what God has to say about the past and living in the past.
Isaiah 43, starting in verse 16, he writes . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
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 desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honour me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise. “Yet you have not called upon me, O Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for me, O Israel. You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honoured me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with grain offerings nor wearied you with demands for incense. You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me, or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offences.
The Pull of the Past
The Pull of the Past
Now, this passage is one that is often preached around New Years concerning the newness and the excitement of what is to come in the new year.
And I suppose that is fine, but remember, like we talked about the first Sunday of the new year, 2021 is not going to be any different than 2020, unless we choose to make it different.
Unless we choose to make different choices and do different things.
Otherwise we are going to be just repeating the same mistakes, following the same patterns of behavior as we always have.
Nothing in our lives change unless we choose make changes.
Which is exactly what God is telling Israel through the prophet Isaiah here.
But, let’s break it down just a bit.
The passage starts out with God reminding them of who He was . . .
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:
And God is reminding them here that He is the one that delivered them from Egypt.
And it is an important point for us to get.
The Israelites knew exactly what God was talking about here because it was their history, but we need a refresher sometimes.
But what God is referencing here is when, after the seven plagues Pharoah finally released the Israelites from their 400+ years of bondage and slavery.
We learning in Exodus 12:31 . . .
During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested.
Pharoah had had enough and told Moses and Aaron to take their people and go.
And this was right after all the firstborn of Egypt had died.
However, not long after that Pharoah changed his mind and gathered his chariots and was going to chase down the Israelites and either carry them back into bondage or kill them all.
And he caught up with the Israelites at the Red Sea and we all know what happened, God parted the Red Sea, the Israelites walked across on dry ground, and the Egyptians were drowned in the water as they gave chase.
So, God is saying, “I am the one that did that, remember!”
But that is not all the story here either though.
Remember that because of some bad choices the Israelites were forced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years before getting to go into the Promised Land.
And during their wandering, things were very challenging at times.
And instead of turning to God, what did the Israelites do?
They murmured and complained the whole time.
God provided for every need they had.
But yet, they lived in the past—even in the past that included bondage and slavery.
It started no sooner than when they reached the Red Sea . . .
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
And continued time and time again after that . . .
In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat round pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
And on and on and on.
It seems as if they had developed a selective memory.
Remembering their time in Egypt as “not so bad” even though they were beaten and tortured on a daily basis.
As bad as their life was though, they knew what to expect.
There were none of those surprises they were now dealing with.
They were comfortable in their old ways and their old patterns of living.
And so are we.
We are engrossed and used to the normal patterns of life.
We are used to being in bondage to sin.
And it is familiar to us.
Even when it is bad to us and bad for us.
It is what we know.
Then Jesus comes along and delivers us from that life.
And we don’t know what to do with it.
We are suddenly in unknown territory and it is very uncomfortable.
And if we are being honest it is sometimes hard.
It is hard to give up our old patterns and follow Christ.
So, we become like the Israelites when they were wandering in the desert.
Looking back at the past.
And that is also the same thing the Israelites that God is addressing through Isaiah here are doing.
Living in the past and looking backward.
But we cannot function or do anything if we continue to live in the past.
Forget the Past, It is Over
Forget the Past, It is Over
So, God tells them, and us . . .
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
The past is over and done with.
We can’t change it and we can’t go back in time.
And the world changes every single day and once the decisions for the day are made, what we remember from yesterday is over.
And even if we tried to recreate the same past as we have in our minds as the “good ole days” it will not be the same.
Because, again if we are going to be honest with each other, the “good ole days” probably weren’t so good either.
They may not have seemed so bad to us because we were all a lot younger, but we also had a much more limited understanding of the world and how the world really is also.
We had less to be concerned about because we didn’t really know.
So, we have got to stop living in the past and look forward.
Look at today and tomorrow and the next day.
In Galatians 5, Paul says . . .
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
And you may be wondering what that has to do with the past.
Well, everything.
Absolutely everything.
Because when we spend all our time looking in the rear-view mirror, we will eventually crash into the ditch.
Because we have taken our eyes off the road.
And what Paul is saying is don’t take your eyes off Jesus.
Don’t get distracted on the things of the world.
Stand firm in your salvation and don’t get sucked back into the things of the past—ie the bondage of sin.
Hebrews put it this way . . .
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We need to keep our eyes on the prize—fix our eyes on Jesus.
Who, by the way said this about those who spend all their time in the past . . .
Jesus replied, “No-one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
If we are continuously looking backward, we are not fit for the service of the Kingdom of God.
Let that sink in for a minute.
God’s New Thing
God’s New Thing
And there is a reason why God is telling us this.
A reason why He wants us looking forward and not back.
In our passage in Isaiah again . . .
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honour me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.
God wants to give us the best of everything.
But we hinder God by not trusting Him.
Always looking back at what “used to be,” and never looking at “what is” and looking forward to “what could be.”
We hinder and limit our potential for God.
We fail to recognize God and fail to honor God.
Here is the rest of that passage . . .
“Yet you have not called upon me, O Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for me, O Israel. You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honoured me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with grain offerings nor wearied you with demands for incense. You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me, or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offences.
Instead of trusting God, all we have done is burdened God with our sin, over and over and over again.
Altar/Challenge
Altar/Challenge
And God says, enough is enough.
Stop living in the past.
Start trusting Him.
And start living in the present and let God determine our future.
Can we do that this morning?
Are we willing to take that step?
If not, what’s holding you back?
What is the barrier?
Are you willing to let God remove it?
If the answer is yes, then are we willing to back up what we say with how we live?
It is one thing to say it, but an entirely different thing to actually step up and do it.
Can we take that step this morning?
Let’s pray . . .