New Year, New Things, Pressing Forward

Isaiah 43:16, 18-19 (ESV) “Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters. Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 

 

2023-It's a new year. It's time for a new things.   Revelation 21:5-7 (NLT) “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.’ 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. All who are victorious [overcomes] will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.’" 

For many of us 2022 held trials and struggles. Many struggled under heavy financial loads. Many faced crises of faith.  Others fought physical battles for health and healing. Still others were burdened with emotional trials. 

I am here to tell you that 2023 doesn't have to look like 2022. Jesus' promise to make all things new can be applied to whatever struggle or battle you faced in 2022 

Revelation 21:5-7 gives us two keys to receiving the “new things.” 

1. We must be thirsty.  Psalm 42:1-2a tells us how we should thirst for The Lord. "As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God." Pastor Ed Vasicek writes: “When we are in the spiritual desert, we need to keep in close touch with God or we will shrivel up with spiritual dehydration. The Psalmist explains his experience in the spiritual desert and points us in the right direction.”i 

David wrote this Psalm when he was in exile hiding from his enemies. He longed for the presence of God.  Whether we are in a desert time or not, our hearts must long for God above all else. 

A deer will not stop and drop its head to drink unless it feels perfectly safe.  The environment must be quiet, free of foreign scent, no sounds of a predator or sounds and scents reminiscent of danger.  Only then will a deer stop, expose its neck and drink of the water available.  It is also interesting that the Creator supplied the deer with large eyes that are still able to view the surroundings for well over 180 degrees of its surroundings while feeding or drinking.  Water is also vital to a deer in another way.  Not only does water satisfy the thirst of the deer it also provides a way of escape as the deer seeks a stream or source of water that erases the scent trail. ii 
 

It is interesting to note that just as the deer finds a way of escape from predators by finding a quiet stream to erase the scent trail, we find escape from our enemy by finding our place of refreshing and peace in Christ.  The closer we get to Christ the harder it is for the enemy to hold us hostage in the ugly snare of sin and lies. 

2.   We must overcome.  1 John 5:1-5 (NIV) “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.

This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”   

Here we see the vital element to overcoming: FAITH!  When we place our faith firmly in Christ, we will overcome.  It is not our strength that wins the victory, but Christ’s.  

Missey Butler writes: I already have victory over every obstacle, every problem, and every situation. I have discovered a “treasure in the field,” a “priceless pearl”. I have found the redemptive truth of what Christ did for us when He uttered the words, “It is finished.”  The next step is where our faith must kick into gear. But first, a clarification has to be made. Faith is not a power that we exert in order to change our circumstances. It is the assurance we have inwardly even if our circumstances do not change. Living independently of our circumstances is what makes us overcomers. I think that’s worth repeating: Living independently of our circumstances is what makes us overcomers! It’s a matter of putting legs and feet to the promise that we find in Romans 4:17, which says, “Calling those things that are not, as though they were.”iii 

Living independently of our circumstances doesn't mean we ignore them; however, it does mean we believe the report of the Lord which says: 

a. We are healed - 1 Peter 2:24 “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” 

b.  We are free - Galatians 5:1 “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” 

c. We have all we need (provision) - Philippians 4:19 “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” 

d. We are overcomers - Romans 8:37 “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” 

The promise in Revelation 21:5-7, “…To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious [overcomes] will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children" is ours today.   

 
We can have the “new things” God promises if we thirst for God more than for anything else and put our faith in Christ by living independently of our circumstances.  

"Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. " Isaiah 43:19 (MSG)  

If 2022 was a great year and you had a record number of successes, then you definitely have something to be thankful for.  However, you cannot begin this year basking in last year’s victories.  We must continue to press forward. We must run our race with endurance. Any athlete will tell you that a winning season doesn’t mean less hard work and practice in the next season, if anything it means more. 

 

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV) 

William McDonald writes: This man who had learned to be content with whatever material things he had (4:11) never could be content with his spiritual attainments. He did not count himself to have “arrived,” as we would say today. What then did he do? 

But one thing I do. He was a man of single purpose. He had one aim and ambition. In this he resembled David, who said, “One thing have I desired of the Lord.” 

Forgetting those things which are behind would mean not only his sins and failures but also his natural privileges, attainments, and successes which he had described earlier in this chapter, and even his spiritual triumphs. 

And reaching forward to those things which are ahead: namely, the privileges and responsibilities of the Christian life, whether worship, service, or the personal development of Christian character.iv 

What does this look like for us? 

From a spiritual perspective this might mean a commitment to deeper intimacy with Christ, a more consistent prayer life, a deeper hunger for the Word, daily crucifying our flesh and its desires and walking in obedience to the Word.  

From a physical perspective it might mean eating less or healthier foods, committing to exercise, spending more time outside and less on the couch watching T.V.   

From an emotional perspective it might mean investing more in relationships and/or forming new ones; spending more time enjoying life rather than constantly worrying about how to survive life.  It might mean breaking off some relationships that are causing more harm than good in our lives.  

“I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.” Phil. 4:14 (MSG) 

 

No matter what 2022 held for us, 2023 is the year of New Things and Pressing Forward!

Works Cited:

i https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/as-the-deer-panteth-for-the-water-ed-vasicek-sermon-on-commandments-general-149324?page=1 

ii https://sunnysidefarmblog.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/a-deer-panting-for-the-water/ 

iii http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/devotions/butler_overcomer.aspx 

iv Believer's Bible Commentary Copyright © 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2016 by William MacDonald.