NEW BEGINNINGS
By: Chuck Henrix
I think most of us like January first. Celebrations have been planned for tonight all over the place. Why? So we can celebrate, and if you will bring in the New Year. We look forward to the beginning of the New Year. We look forward with great anticipation to see what things will be better in the year 2001. It gives us a chance to forget the past and look forward to the future.
This morning I would venture to guess that all of us are ready for a new beginning. A new start in at least one area of our lives. We make New Year’s resolutions. We think about how next year will be better than last. We could use a fresh look at things. So in anticipation of the coming year, I want to look at four people who needed a new beginning. They all needed a new beginning for a different reason. I hope you will be able to relate to at least one of them.
1) ELIJAH
The first person I want to talk to you about is one who suffered burnout. Elijah had just had a great victory. He proved that the prophets of Baal were serving a false god. He had the 450 prophets of Baal slaughtered at the Kishon Valley. Ahab reported to Jezebel everything Elijah had done. Needless to say Jezebel wasn’t very happy about this and put a price on his head.
1 Kings 19:3 ff says, 1KI 19:3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba (BE-ER-SHE´BA ) in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.”
Then Elijah was really “touched by an angel”. The angel told him to get up and eat. Then Elijah traveled for 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mountains of God.
The Lord spoke to Elijah and said, “What are you doing here?” Listen to what Elijah says and see if you think it sounds as if he was burned-out.
1KI 19:10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." – WOE IS ME, RIGHT.
Elijah was then like some of you are today. He was tired and burned out.
Elijah, like you needed a new beginning.
At a workshop I went to in Ft. Wayne, a counselor said burnout was a natural result of not being fed spiritually. In other words the only people who experience burnout are people who are not in a proper relationship with God. They have lost their God perspective.
When he first said that, I had a hard time believing it, but the more I evaluate my own life and study the scriptures I think he is onto something.
It is true here of Elijah too. How do I know that? After an encounter with God, by being encouraged of God’s presence Elijah was able to go one.
This morning if you need a new beginning because you are burned out, God is ready to help you have a close relationship with Him.
The second person I want to talk to you about is one who needed a new beginning because of failure.
2) Peter
We all know Peter by name. In fact, I will be starting a series through 1st Peter tonight. Peter new about second chances. He knew about new beginnings. On more than one occasion he need to start over, if you will.
This morning, you might need a new beginning because of some failure you had this last year. You might feel like a failure as a parent. You might be concerned that you messed up as a spouse. You could have blown your finances this year. No matter what you feel your failure is, there is still a new beginning for you.
When we talk about Pete’s failure we could mention the time Christ looked at him and said, “Get behind me, Satan.” (Mark 8:33).
We could speak of the time when Jesus was washing the disciples feet. When he got to Simon Peter, he said to Jesus, “JN 13:8 "No, you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." JN 13:9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
Or perhaps we could mention his most famous failure of denying Christ three times.
Then there is the Time Paul had to rebuke peter.
If you think for one moment that God is going to give Peter all those second chances and then not give you any, you are wrong.
It doesn’t matter what area of your life you think you have failed in, God is just waiting to give you a new beginning.
The third person I wish to share with you is David.
3) David
Again David is no stranger to us. He needed a new beginning because of sin.
You know the story. David was on his roof. He noticed a woman bathing and had her brought to the palace. Then he slept with her and committed adultery.
It didn’t take David too long to get caught in a sticky situation as Bathsheba reports to David that she is pregnant. As sin often does, one sin led to another. He invited Uriah to come home from the battle so he could sleep in his own bet. This of course would cover up David’s sin. When that attempt didn’t work, he had Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah killed.
In the 12th chapter of 2 Samuel Nate comes and rebukes him. Nathan the prophet tells David a story about two men. One was rich and the other was poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep, but the poor man only had one little ewe lamb. Nathan goes on to say the rich one had some friends over and instead of killing and eating one of his own sheep, the rich man chose to kill the poor man’s lamb.
I’m sure you know the story well. David was ticked. He said the rich man should repay to the poor man 4 times the amount he took. Then Nathan said, “You are the man!” David was caught up in sin, and he needed a new beginning.
You see like David, some of you are caught up in sin, and you need a new beginning.
Listen to what David writes in Psalm 51:
PS 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.PS 51:11 Do not cast me from your presenceor take your Holy Spirit from me. PS 51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. PS 51:13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
If you need a new beginning because of sin, God to wants to help you have a new beginning.
The fourth and final person I want to talk to you about is found in Luke 15.
4) PRODIGAL SON
This man had two sons. One day the younger of the two went to his father and in so many words whished him to be dead. He was asking for his inheritance which he shouldn’t have until his father death. In any event the father gave his younger son his share. Then he took the money and ran. He ran away to a distant country. The scriptures aren’t clear on why he ran away. It might have been that he didn’t like his father’s rules. He could have been tired of being picked on by his big brother. We really don’t know. You see his reason for running away isn’t the point of the story.
The younger son chose to spend all he had on worldly pleasures. It seems that it didn’t take him long to blow his inheritance. As times became tough, he decided to look for a job. The young man finds himself feeding the pigs and desiring to eat the pig slop.
Verse (says) LK 15:17 "When he came to his senses, he said, `How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
So he decided to go home and beg his father for forgiveness. As he was approaching the familure place that once had been his home his father saw him. His father was overjoyed and excited and he ran to his son threw his arms around him and kissed. He received him with arms open wide.
This morning you might relate to this younger son. Oh, you probably haven’t wished your father dead, but you have run away. Maybe not physically, but you have ran away. You might have run away from a situation at work. You could be avoiding that talk with your spouse that will be hard, but you know it will improve your marriage. Perhaps you find yourself running away from God. He has tried to reach out to you, but you are doing all you can to avoid Him.
What ever you might have been running away from this year. You probably need a new beginning.
I’m sure it’s hard to believe but God is there with arms open, ready to give you a new beginning.
