"All Thing's New" New Years 2017

“All things new”

New Years day 2017

Ya’ll know I love western movies

So it should be no surprise to anyone when I quote one in a Sunday Sermon

In the movie Young Guns

“ Doc” Scurlock played by Kiefer Sutherland is talking to Yen Sun a young oriental girl who has found herself in less than perfect life circumstances

He is trying to get her to run away with him

Ashamed of her past she says

I am Unclean that is not for a young man

Doc replies

“ I used to ride with the dirty underwear gang out of Liberty Missouri

And then John Tunstel taught me that

Our pasts are like an old yellowed novel

When you are finished with it

You toss it away and start a new one”

It is very fitting to talk of new things on this brand new day of a brand new year

A new day

A new start

Of a brand new year

------Pause----

Often times in my life I can identify with the young woman Yen Sun from the movie

I often feel ashamed of my past

Ashamed of my bad decisions

Ashamed of my disobedience

My lack of self discipline

My selfishness

My pride and arrogance

I have no doubt that many of you struggle with the same problems

But

Today on this brand New Year

A year that is like a fresh blanket of snow on an early morning

One with no tracks

And when I want to beat myself up

I remember and remind myself

That Jesus paid my debt

And he made it possible for me to throw away my old life

Like that yellowed novel

And start a new one

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It is my desire and my prayer to help us

You and I

Learn though God’s word

How to throw out our old lives

Our old sins

Our old habits

And throw out our old shame

By looking at the Newness that Christ brings

I would like to start out this morning at the ending

Instead of the beginning

You know I am serious about context

So Bear with me

I will explain why I felt lead to start at the ending instead of the beginning

But

First

Please open your bibles to the book of Revelation

The last book of God’s word

Chapter 21

And let’s read verses 1-7 together

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.[a] 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

The Apostle John is writing the words that are being revealed to him by our Lord Jesus

And in the context of this verse he is writing about the newness that will begin

Following Jesus’ second coming

John shows us

That we win

The believers of Christ

Will win in the end

He shows us that

Satan has already been defeated

Jesus’ is already victorious

This is assurance of the outcome

But I can tell you

A revelation of things to come

------Pause---

But

Hang with me

I started at the ending

This verse has application for our lives today

Right here

Right now

January 1 2017

In Grand saline Texas

Look at verse 5

“Look, I am making everything new!”

Jesus says he is making everything new

New heaven

New Earth

You may say

I get that

But how does that apply to me, right now

Today

He says he will make all things new

And

It is my desire to show you how Jesus can also make

A NEW YOU

Look at verses 6-7 again

“It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.”