1 Peter 1:22-25
In Christ Jesus, Dear Fellow-Redeemed,
Would you do it all over again? If you had the chance, would you repeat the year 2007? Boy, that’s a tough one. Sure, God’s blessings continued to be evident this past year, but there were so many things that happened that we didn’t expect, things that caught us by surprise. There were so many changes to deal with. As individuals we’ve all experienced changes this past year. It may have been a change in jobs, with your health or the health of a loved one, maybe the loss of a loved one — fill in your own life-altering event. Even as a church we’ve undergone change. We’ve undertaken the bold step of another building addition to reach out into our community. It’s another challenge for us, a change that will affect our ministry here at Messiah for years to come. It’s one of many changes that took place as we made our way through the year 2007.
We don’t have to repeat 2007, but we do have to prepare for 2008. A few more hours will find us in the new year, and with the next 365 days will come some changes. Change is inevitable, so let’s be ready. Tonight let’s talk about:
“Change in the New Year”
I. What has changed
II. What needs to change
III. What never changes
The greatest and most necessary change has already taken place in each of us as Christians (v 23), “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” Our first birth wasn’t enough. David tells us why (Ps 51:5), “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” We came into this world sinful, children of the devil, doomed to die and spend an eternity in hell. Someone had to change things. God stepped in and through the simple act of baptism, “he saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5). This rebirth with water was empowered by “the living and enduring word of God,” the word that brought about a change in each of us. It changed us from sinners to saints, from God’s enemies to God’s children, from slaves of the devil to servants of our Lord.
The change enacted by God’s imperishable Word makes all the difference in the world for us. Compare what we would be without being “reborn” to what we were by nature. Lost and condemned creatures, burdened with guilt, destined to a life of misery without God here on this earth and an eternity of suffering without him in hell. But look at us now! Now we have peace with our God. Now we have the sure hope of heaven, eternal security knowing that our salvation has been won for us by our Savior. Now we’ve got answers to all of life’s questions. We know why we’re here and we know where we’re going. We’re no longer in the dark. We’re no longer alone. We’re born again through the imperishable, living and enduring word of God!
Now we know what has changed for us — our status before God. That change brings about a chain reaction in us. As children of God, we now are empowered by the Holy Spirit to make changes in our lives. Now let’s see what needs to change.
“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart” (v 22). “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth” is just another way of describing how faith works. By God’s miracle of faith we are able to “obey the truth,” to accept what he has done for us in Christ. This is where we find our forgiveness, our “purification.” With God’s love so evident to us, we then are called upon to reflect that love to others. Jesus tells us (Jn 13:34,35), “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Christian love is our spiritual ID card. It proves our membership in God’s kingdom. It’s something we do as a result of our faith, but it’s something that we can never do perfectly. We have to work at it. Listen to what Paul says to the Thessalonians (1 Th 4:9,10), “Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.”
What needs to change in 2008 is our love for others. Not that this love isn’t already in us. It’s just that we all have room for improvement. Paul tells us (Php 2:4), “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” We live in a “me-first” world, and it’s so easy for us to adopt this self-centered philosophy for ourselves. But Peter tells us to “love one another deeply, from the heart,” to set aside our own needs and concerns and to truly care for those around us. And I will continue to proclaim to you that the greatest act of love you can show toward anyone is to share with them the message of God’s love. I’m convinced that if you truly love someone, you can’t help but be concerned about where they’re going to spend eternity. To sit idly by and do nothing — that isn’t love. To ignore the whole matter of a person’s eternal welfare isn’t love. Together we all need to pray, “Lord, forgive me for missed opportunities in the past year for when I’ve failed to share your Word.” But the good news is that in 2008 there will be more opportunities for us. We already have a building with a big tower attached to our church which gives us a number of chances to share our Savior, not only with children, but with parents as well. And now we’re going to get bigger, providing even more opportunities. As individuals, keep your eyes open! God has someone in mind for you, someone who needs what you have, someone who needs to hear about Jesus. Our love for others needs to change. It needs to grow more and more!
We’ve been changed from sinners to saints. We need to change by growing in our love for others. Now let’s see one last thing — what never changes no matter what the year may be — the Word of our God!
Peter reminds us (vv 24,25), “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” You and I eventually will fade away. We’ll leave this earth. Perhaps this will happen in 2008 — we don’t know. And yet the unknown day of our death should not strike fear in our hearts, because “the word of the Lord stands forever”! I find it extremely comforting to know that the same God I read about in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible is the same God watching over me today. The same God who made so many promises of a Messiah to the Old Testament believers, the same God who kept those promises by sending Jesus to this world, that same God has made some promises to me. He’s promised to be with me always, to never give me more than I can handle, to work all things out for my good, and to some day send Jesus back for me to take me home to him. No matter what changes from year to year in this ever-changing world, the one thing that never changes is the “imperishable, . . . living and enduring word of God”!
In a little more than four hours, we will be welcoming in another new year. As we do so, there always seems to be a little bit of apprehension. That’s because with all our planning, with all our preparation, we still don’t know for sure what the new year will bring. We know changes will come, but we don’t know if they’ll necessarily be changes for the better. But as Christians we have no reason to worry. We have no reason to fear the unknown. We can face the arrival of another new year with confidence. No, we may not know what the future holds. But we do know who holds the future — our all-loving, never-changing Lord and Savior! And Scripture tells us (Heb 13:8), “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
When it comes to ringing in another new year, bring it on! With Jesus at our side, we’re ready for whatever may come — here and hereafter!
Amen
–Rev Jonathan Rockhoff