COVENANT COMMUNITY CHURCH
PASTOR: TERRY VAUGHAN
AUGUST 12, 2002
KJV
SERMON TITLE: WHAT’S NEW ABOUT YOU?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
If you have your bibles, turn to 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Let me start off by saying that there are a lot of people that are trying to be new creatures or trying to be new people. I’ve often heard the saying that, “I’m going to turn over a new leaf this year.” Maybe they want to be a better husband or better wife. A better father or better mother. But I want to emphasize today that we can not be new unless we’re in Christ according to what the word of God says.
We sang the son, “In the sweet Forever.” I want you to realize that as Christians that one day there is going to come a change one day after a while. Thank God the Bible says that the incorruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality. Recently we lost our sister and we thank God for all those that prayed for her but we asked her several times when she was sick if she knew the Lord as her Savior and she said she did. She told me the time that she got saved. Even though it’s a great loss for us, it was a great gain for her. According to the word of God, the change at the end, when he calls us up, the Bible says and talks many times about how we’ll be translated. The bible says we’ll never die. We’ll just be promoted. We’ll go home with him and serve and worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth throughout eternity. The bible talks in Revelations that there will be no more tears or sorrow or pain. It also says there will be no more death. So we know and realize that we’re going to have a new body one day after a while. When that times comes and the change comes at the end..1 John 3:2 says “We know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him for we shall see him for ourselves.” Thank God today that when the Lord calls my name the Bible says that this old body will return to the dust from whence it came. Adam was made out of the dust of the ground but he was made out of the image and the likeness of God.
1 Corinthians 15:49 says “And as we have born the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” That’s so glorious to know that even though we live in this world which we are so used to, one day we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. We’ll have a new name, a new home, a new body and a new life. I’m glad this old world is not my home. It’s just a place we’re passing through. The Bible said Abraham looked for city whose builder and maker was God. I not only want us to look at the new things that are coming at the end but I want to concentrate on the new things at the beginning when we knelt down at that old fashioned altar when God saved our souls. If you’ve been saved you can go back to that time when he saved you. It doesn’t matter if you knelt down at an altar, in you pew, at your bedside..what matters is that you got saved. The most special place on this earth is where the Lord saved you. I want you to concentrate on the new things that you already have and not the ones that you have to wait for when you get to eternity.
Now here’s two new things God showed me in his word when we got saved.
Turn to Ezekiel 36:26 “A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you.” Even though we’re going to get some new things one day after a while, right now God has given us two new things. He gave us a new heart and a new spirit. I’m glad Paul knew what he was writing about when he wrote down 2 Corinthians 5:17.
I want to preach to you today on: What’s new about you? There’s a lot of Christians in the world today that don’t act like they are Christians. They don’t live like they are Christians. We have to concentrate on the two new things God gave us. That’s what makes up our whole entire Christian life. People say that it is hard to live for the Lord. No it’s not. The easiest thing I ever did was give my heart and my life to Christ. It’s not hard living a Christian life if you’ll just concentrate on those two things that he gave us. Let me kind of explain what these two things do in our lives. He didn’t give us new flesh. I heard Brother Joel once say that these are the same hands that he once used to take drugs with and drink alcohol with. He didn’t give us a new body. He gave us a new heart and a new spirit. That’s so we can understand Him and his will and be able to share him with others. It represents how faithful we are because of what we have in the heart. It also represents how fruitful we are because of how we affect other people. If you’re one of those Christians who isolates themselves and never wants to do anything for God and never wants to be around any other people; then you’re backslid. The Bible says we’re supposed to accept what God has for us and share it with others.
I thought about 1 Samuel 16:7 “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth: for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” Two fold things in that verse. God deals with us in our heart and others deal with us in what they see. The Bible says that our Spirit will bear witness with his spirit that we are the children of God. Our spirit is supposed to be fruitful to other people. That’s not what’s supposed to be fruitful to God. Our worship and our praise is but we’re supposed to have the kind of spirit where we want to affect other people in their lives. We want to be Christ like to others. Then our new heart is how we deal with our relationship to an almighty God. If you’re heart is not right with God then your Spirit is not going to be right with others. Paul said if I’m going to preach the gospel, I must first learn to live the gospel.
I like what job said. “If a man die, shall he live again.” He died in the Lord. We were dead in the Lord. We got anew heart and new spirit when we got saved. It represents the way we live and the way we give. That’s all it takes to be a good Christian. How we live for the Lord and how we give for the Lord. There’s nothing else added to it. We couldn’t live for the Lord with our old heart. There’s no way. He had to change us. He had to transform us. We feel things differently now. We view things differently now. We see things differently now. We’re more effective now before we were saved. He took that old stoney heart out and gave us a new heart.
Romans 6:4 “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” How can we do that? With the heart that he gave us. The bible says in once place that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The bible also says that David was a man after God’s own heart. He had a new heart and wanted to be more like God. It’s not hard being a Christian. What’s hard is being a Christian in the world that we’re living in.
Colossians 2:6 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.” There’s people out there today that have no earthly clue how to live for God. They think that because they come to the house on Sunday that they can live like the devil the rest of the week. It doesn’t work that way. I’m talking about a life long process. He saved us for eternity and not just for Sundays. The only time you can serve the Lord is while you are here. We’re not going to serve him when we get home. We’re going to worship him and praise him and live with him. But while we’re here we have to serve him. That’s the problem today, there’s not enough Christians serving him. I spoke with my brother last night and he told me that him and his wife we’re going to start spending more time visiting people. That encouraged me and my wife to do the same. You know why we don’t have time? Because we allow the devil to take all our time. We let the devil tie us up doing things for the world instead of things for God. We need to make a difference. That’s why I’m preaching about what’s new about you? What’s so great about you being a Christian? How effective are you? What are we doing for God? We have a new heart and a new spirit. How are we using them? We have to learn to live and to give it for the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 4:1 “..that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.” I’m not here to please anybody else. You’re not here to please anybody else. There’s many false prophets gone out into the world and false doctrine. I imagine you could go on to say there are false teachers and false preachers. They are deceiving. They will deceive even the very elect. It’s not possible but it says (if) it were possible they would. The Bible says the devil himself was transformed as an angel of light. It also says his ministers shall be transformed as angels of light. The devil has ministers just like the Lord has ministers. I wonder who we’re allowing to be effective in our life. The Lord or the devil. What’s new about you? Are you really living that new heart and that new spirit?
Romans 7:6 “But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.”
Notice that Romans 6:4 says that we’re supposed to walk in the newness of life and Romans 7:6 says we’re to serve in the newness of Spirit. I’ve never done any real bad things like murder somebody or committed rape or robbery. But I’ve been the very worst person in my eyes because we’ve got sin in our lives. But thank God he’s able to wash our sins away and cleanse us from all unrighteousness so we can live for him. We’re not supposed to like sin or enjoy it. In Hebrews it says that when Moses grew up he refused to be called the son of Pharoh’s daughter. He chose rather suffer affliction with the people of God than to choose pleasure for a season. He made a decision in his life. I thank God for Christians that will stand up for the Lord and say they are making a decision in their life that they aren’t going to live for the devil. Just because somebody else is doing…it does not mean that I’m going to do it. Christ gave me a new heart and a new spirit. You be a better husband, wife, mother, father, son, daughter if you’ll according to that new heart God gave you and that new spirit.
1 Corinthians 9:19 “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.” He didn’t owe any man anything. But look what a blessing he was in peoples lives. We preach and teach about Paul a lot. Why? Because he said he made his self servant unto all. It didn’t matter who he was around he wanted to tell them about Christ. That’s what we need to do. I think you’ll agree with me that in the world we’re living in today, there isn’t enough of that going on. Most churches confine themselves to the walls of their church. I’m not saying all of them. There’s a lot of them though. Don’t get your maintenance mixed up with your ministry. Everyone of us should be ministering to somebody. We’re supposed to live according to the gospel and we’re supposed to share the gospel.
Galatians 6;10 “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” I believe we’ll be more effective if we’ll just realize 2 Corinthians 5:17 “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” What’s new about me? I’ve got a new heart and a new spirit and that’s enough for the Lord to work with to get some things done in this life.
You don’t have to be a big bible Scholar. All you need to know is how to live it, how to give it and how to teach it and to preach it.
A churches health is not measured by it’s seating capacity. A churches health is measured by it’s sending capacity. What are you doing with those that are there? What am I doing for the Lord is what it’s all about.
Hebrews 13:16 “But to do good (that’s our heart) and to communicate (that’s our spirit) forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” He’s pleased with us when we live the gospel and he’s pleased with us when we give the gospel.
Our closing prayer: Father, we give thanks for your word. We ask that if we aren’t being effective as Christians that you renew in us a new heart. One that is worthy of you. One that has the desire to turn from the devil and share your gospel with others.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen
