From our Sunday service on January 7, 2024, a look at renewal in Christ from Isaiah 43, Lamentations 3, 2 Corinthians 5, Ephesians 4, Revelation 21, and Philippians 3. Watch the full message: Embracing New Beginnings on YouTube.
How Was Your 2023?
Well, everybody, we did it. We made it through 2023. I don’t know how you all are feeling about it, but as I was writing this message, I sat down and thought, “Okay, 2023, what are some things that happened?” and it was all a blur. There was so much going on, and now it’s just over. So I stopped and looked back. In 2023 we had new wars, conspiracies about spy balloons that turned out to be real, a banking crisis, an imploding submarine, crashing trains, and a massive expansion of AI technologies that make some people very, very worried. But the good news is we made it to the end.
While all of those things were significant, what about the things that hit close to home? How was your 2023 personally? Was it good? Was it bad? Did you accomplish your goals? Do you feel closer to success than you did the year before? When the clock struck midnight, did 2023 end with a satisfactory conclusion?
More importantly, how was your spiritual walk in 2023? Did you draw closer to God and build up your relationship with Him, or do you feel farther from Him than you did at the beginning of the year? Did you spend more time in the Bible in 2023, or less?
The end of a year is a bittersweet moment. It makes a delineation in one’s life, a boundary line that marks a point for reevaluation. A new year may simply mark an arbitrary rotation point around the sun, but to us as individuals it has become so much more. It becomes an opportunity for a new beginning. With that in mind, God invites us to have new beginnings with Him: to renew ourselves with Christ’s righteousness and to renew our relationship with Him.
Today we’ll be looking at renewal in Christ, embracing new beginnings, and how we can have a fresh new beginning for 2024. First, we’re going to look at how God desires for us to let go of the past. Then we’ll look through Scripture at how God is a source of renewal for us. We’ll conclude with a charge to embrace this new beginning in our lives.
I don’t know if you know this, but we’re already 2% of the way through 2024. When I saw that statistic, it scared me. Have I accomplished 2% of my goals for this year already? I’m afraid I have to say no. 2024 has just started, but it is quickly moving ahead, so it’s important for us to make the most of it.
Let Go of the Past
We’ll start in Isaiah 43, verses 1 through 3.
But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
Isaiah 43:1–3
These verses were written to the people of Israel. Isaiah was written during a time of exile, when the threat of Babylon was always there and the people of Israel were being persecuted. But here God is drawing them back. He says, “I am redeeming you. I’m bringing you out of this bondage once again.”
While this was written to Israel, there is still application for us, and we see some parallels. In verse 1 it says, “Fear not.” Do not be afraid. “I have redeemed thee.” I have bought you back. Christ calls Himself our Redeemer, and like Israel, we have been redeemed. He calls you by your name, individually: “Thou art mine.” As believers we can say that too. God has called us by name individually. We have made a relationship with Him through the calling of His Spirit for our salvation, and we are His. Not every promise to Israel is a promise to us, but I believe the promises in this passage do apply to us as believers in the New Testament era.
Verse 3 says, “For I am the Lord thy God.” Why? When you pass through the waters, He will be with you. The rivers will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, it will not burn you. Why? Because “I am the Lord thy God.” God is our protector. God is our director in our lives, and He can save us from the dangers.
Now let’s jump down to verse 15.
I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:15–19
Here we’re in the context of Israel being redeemed out of the threat of Babylon. God says, “In the past you have suffered under Babylon. Don’t worry. I am the Lord who makes a way.” He’s making a road in the sea, a pathway through the mighty waters. Even today the oceans are a very dangerous place. If you ever watched the old show on the Discovery Channel about the crab fishermen out in the Alaskan sea, you know how dangerous those waters are. To navigate the oceans in a storm is a very dangerous thing to do, and God is giving comfort by saying, “I make pathways in the sea.” You can trust Him because He’s the one who can direct you through the most dangerous waters. He has taken the chariots and the horses, the armies and their powers, and caused them to lie down.
Here is good news. If 2023 brought us closer to God, praise the Lord. But if we got further away, God is the one who can bring you back. He says in verse 18, to those who have been far from Him, “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.”
There’s a truth here. Think about the apostle Paul, who will be our concluding example today. Before he was a believer, Paul was a persecutor of the Christians. He really would be one who had to struggle with letting go of his past. His past wasn’t disconnected from Christianity. It was completely tied to it, but not in a good way. He was putting Christians to death, persecuting them, throwing them into jail, and hunting them down like a bounty hunter. And yet he was called by God for a greater purpose. He became one of the writers of the New Testament and one of the greatest soul winners in history. Had Paul not learned not to consider the former things of old, he would never have been able to move forward.
I’m not saying that the beginning of the new year is the only time you can let go of the old. We can do that at any moment. But in our culture, the new year is a great time to let go of the old and embrace the new. God says, “Don’t remember the old things. Don’t consider the things of old, because I’m doing something new for you.” The first step to letting God renew you is to let go of your past.
God Is the Source of Renewal
His Mercies Are New Each Day
Our next step is to learn how God can renew us. God is a God of renewal, and His mercies are renewed each day. Let’s turn to Lamentations 3, beginning at verse 21.
This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
Lamentations 3:21–24
Here we see a beautiful truth. Lamentations follows the book of Jeremiah, and it is literally Jeremiah mourning the capture of Israel by its enemies. Jeremiah had called out for Israel to repent of their sins, with the warning that God would judge them if they continued to live that life of sin as a nation. They would be taken captive, and Lamentations is the mourning of Israel going captive because they didn’t repent. They were suffering the consequences of their actions.
But here Jeremiah says, “There’s something I recall to mind.” When I find myself on the bad side, when I’ve made mistakes and I see myself far from God, this is what I remember: I have a reason to have hope. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.”
God’s judgment is real. He does judge us, and He will allow us to face consequences for our actions. But He is still merciful, and it is because of His mercy that we are not consumed. His compassions don’t fail. Every morning they are new. That means every day when you get up, you have a new opportunity to renew your relationship with God. Amen.
In the midst of this mourning, Jeremiah says, “The Lord is my portion,” the idea of my inheritance or my part in life. “Therefore will I hope in him.” God’s mercy is consistent every day, and it is always available to us. Therefore we always have a reason to hope for spiritual renewal. At any point in our lives, we can call on God to renew our relationship with Him.
His Renewal Is Life
We’ve seen that God is the source of renewal and that His mercies are renewed each day. Now let’s look at how God’s renewal is life. Turn to 2 Corinthians 5, beginning at verse 14.
The Corinthians were a great group of people, but they were Christians who really struggled with sin. Here Paul is writing to encourage them in how to get their lives back on track. You’ll see the theme: if in 2023 we didn’t live up to what God wants us to be, 2024 is a new year, and we can change.
For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:14–17
The Corinthians had struggled with putting on the new man. They had become saved, but their culture was very wicked. Corinth was a very wicked place, with lots of temple prostitution, lots of idolatry, and immorality all around. They had had this for hundreds and hundreds of years as part of their culture. So these believers got saved, but they never really got rid of the old habits of their old religion. They still did all the immoral things.
So Paul says, “You need to know something. If Christ died for you, it’s because you were dead. That old lifestyle you had is just death. It’s meaningless, it’s empty, and there’s nothing for you in it. If you want to live, something has to change.” Christ died so that we could live. That’s what verse 15 says. But we don’t live for ourselves. We live for the One who died and rose again, and that’s Jesus. “Therefore,” for this reason, “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” It’s time to put off the old. You’ve been saved, and you’re a new creature.
Now, did just being saved automatically make them the new creature? Why would Paul be telling them this if it were just an automatic thing that happened? No. Christ died to make the new creature live, but it still has to be put on. When Christ died on the cross, He granted us freedom to be renewed in Him and to have life in Him.
Paul says this idea of the old passing away is a daily thing. Here is 1 Corinthians 15:31, written to the same people a couple of years before:
I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
1 Corinthians 15:31
This idea that Christ died for all means that we should put away the old. Paul says he has to put away the old every single day and put on the new every single day. If we’re going to be a new creature, it has to be a daily decision to die to self and live for Christ.
Is dying to self a terrible thing? Is it a sad thing? No, it’s a joyous thing. Christ came to give us life, and life more abundantly. If we want to live fulfilled in 2024, if we want to accomplish great things for Christ in 2024, if we want to feel renewed in 2024, we must choose to die daily. Die daily to our pride. Die daily to our greed. Die daily by making ourselves humble and calling on Christ to renew us each day, to show us where in our life we are lacking and to help us change it. We should purposely allow the old to pass away so we can embrace spiritual renewal in our lives.
We Must Choose Renewal
We’ve seen that God is a God of renewal. His mercies are renewed each day, and His renewal is our life. Last in this section, we must also choose renewal. Let’s look at Ephesians 4, beginning in verse 1.
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Ephesians 4:1–6
That will provide the context for the passage we’re looking at. What is Paul doing? He’s encouraging believers not just to be saved but to act like they are believers. He says, “You’ve been called by a calling. It’s time that you walk worthy of the calling you have.” The word “vocation” there means a calling, literally the calling by which you are called, which is the calling to salvation. He wants lowliness and meekness, which are traits of humility, and longsuffering and forbearing, which means being patient and tolerant of other people when they annoy you. He says to do that in love and to keep unity in the church. Why? Because there’s one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. The church needs to have unity. These are the things you need to do because you are called.
He invites us, as the called, to do something. Beginning in verse 22:
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Ephesians 4:22–24
The word “conversation” here carries the idea of lifestyle, the way you carry yourself in your day-to-day business. So we need to put off the old conversation, that attitude and lifestyle of the flesh, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts.
I learned something new this week about the word “lust.” In the Greek it is literally just the word for desire. It’s often translated differently depending on the context. Desires can be good. Here it says “deceitful lusts,” so those are bad desires. Our old man, our flesh, is corrupt through wrongful desires. If we have wrongful desires, what do we need to do? Replace them with right desires, right attributes of God, like the ones Paul listed above: humility, patience, unity, and many more.
And what will these attributes do? Verse 23 says, “be renewed in the spirit of your mind,” have a new beginning. “Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Notice that God is the one who creates the new man, not us. The new man is in us, waiting for us to put him on. God has created a new man so that we could have this new beginning in Christ, but every day we have to choose to put him on. It is our responsibility to be renewed in the spirit of Christ.
So we’ve looked at how God is a God of renewal and that His mercies are new each day. That means every day we have an opportunity to have a right relationship with God. We saw that God’s renewal is life. If we want to live well, we must daily put on renewal. And last, we must choose to put on that renewal ourselves.
Ultimately, We Will Be Renewed
Now let’s look at our ultimate renewal in Revelation 21. As Christians, our journey doesn’t end with salvation. It doesn’t even end in this life. We have something ultimate to look forward to, and that is the resurrection or the second coming of Christ, whichever comes first for us. So our third point is that ultimately we are going to be renewed.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Revelation 21:1–5
I have a comfort for you today if you’ve struggled with renewal: one day we will ultimately have the victory. No matter how we succeed or fail in this life, we can look forward to a full renewal in the kingdom.
Is that to tell us we shouldn’t try here because ultimately we will succeed? No. This was written to be a hope for us, a hope to inspire us to persevere and have faith in the face of the challenges we have in this life. That comes back into play as we look at our final passage, Philippians 3:8–15, where Paul uses this idea of the resurrection as an encouragement for us to persevere in our day-to-day lives.
Forgetting Those Things Which Are Behind
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
Philippians 3:8–15
Paul says there’s something here for us today. “I want to know him in the power of Christ’s resurrection.” Christ died on the cross and rose again, and one day He is going to resurrect us, and we will experience the full power of His death and resurrection. Paul says he is going to attain the resurrection of the dead. He’s going to be transformed, and he’s going to be made perfect in the resurrection. But he says, “I’m not going to act as if I’ve already been there, as if I’ve already achieved this or I’m already perfect. I want to follow after Christ, that I might obtain what I can from Jesus Christ.”
To do this, Paul had to count everything as loss. He says, “I’ve got to let go of those things.” Paul had all that pride as a Pharisee. He was considered one of the most intelligent people in his community at the time, and a very powerful person. But when he knew Jesus, he learned that not everything was right. He had been a lot more flawed than he thought. He thought he was doing the work of God while really he was fighting God. He says, “I’ve got to set all that aside and walk away from it. Why? Because it’s lost for me compared to the excellency of the knowledge of Christ.” To understand what Christ is truly about is greater than all of these things. Paul is willing to lose everything so he can know Christ. He’s willing to lose the status of being the smartest person in Jerusalem. He’s willing to lose the status of being a man of political power if it means he can have a new relationship in Christ. He says, “I want to know the power of that resurrection,” and there’s only one way to do that: “I’ve got to forget those things which are behind and reach forth unto those things which are before.”
So Paul is encouraging believers not just to look forward to renewal in the next life but to embrace the concept of renewal in this life, and he gives us two basic things to do.
Forget What Is Behind
First, we must forget the things behind us. We talked about that in Isaiah. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament, and it all connects. But what’s interesting is that there’s more than one thing we need to leave behind. We don’t just need to forget our faults. Paul had to forget his faults. He had to forget how he persecuted the church so that he could minister to the church. But Paul also couldn’t let pride get in his way. He had to leave behind his success just as much as he left behind his failures.
As we move into 2024, we can’t live in the past. What we did for Christ in the past is gone. Today is a new day, and mercies are new every morning. Maybe we did something for Christ in 2023, but that was 2023. We can’t let our victories in the past stop us from having victories in the future. It is just as easy to get held up by the past in our successes as it is in our failures.
Reach Forth
Second, we must reach out for the things ahead of us. Notice that it says “reaching forth unto those things which are before.” You’re not just running this race toward the finish line. You’re running the race with your hand extended. Why? Because if you want to grab the baton in a relay, your hand has to be extended. You have to be ready. It’s not good enough to just run. You’ve got to save every little inch you can. I’m talking about the Olympic games here. They pass the baton from person to person, and if you didn’t have your arm out, you would lose a fraction of time. Paul says running the race for Christ is so important that we need to have our hand extended, ready to go at a moment’s notice. It’s not a passive act to reach forward to the things which are before. It’s an extremely active pursuit, trying to get there sooner.
The Prize Is the Journey
One more thing in verse 14: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” A lot of times we talk about heavenly rewards, and yes, God does have rewards for us, but I think it’s really interesting what Paul says the reward is. Notice again that it says, “I press toward the mark for the prize of” what? What is Paul’s prize? The high calling of God. For Paul the prize was not in heaven. The prize was not the destination. The prize was the journey of doing the ministry of Christ. The relationship with Christ and the walk with Christ were the prize. Paul says, “I can look forward to that resurrection. I know I’ll be redeemed in that resurrection. I have hope because of that resurrection that I will find success in my walk with God.” The prize isn’t the destination. The prize is the journey of walking with God each day.
So he says in verse 15, “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect,” that idea being complete in God, “be thus minded,” or think in this way. If you want your relationship with God to be complete, think this way: the prize is that God has called me and wants to have a relationship with me and wants to use me. “And if in any thing ye be otherwise minded,” if anybody among you disagrees, “God shall reveal even this unto you.” Our prize is our relationship with God.
In 2023, maybe we weren’t where we wanted to be in our relationship with God. Maybe there are some things we could have done differently. Well, God today is encouraging you: forget those things which are behind. We can get caught up on what-ifs every day, all day. There’s an infinite number of them. What if I had done this differently? What if they hadn’t done that? The truth is, it can’t be changed. But what we can do is forget those things which are behind and move forward into 2024, hands extended, ready to have our relationship with God renewed.
What Will Your 2024 Look Like?
So, in conclusion, what is your 2024 going to look like? It’s not too late for a new beginning. We’re 2% of the way through 2024 already, but we’ve still got plenty of percentages to go. What are you actively doing to ensure your 2024 is better than the year before? Will you choose now to start habits that can lead to your spiritual success?
It doesn’t just happen. You don’t just say, “One day I’m going to be right with God. I’m going to wake up Monday, and starting then I’m going to be right with God, and it’s going to be easy.” You have to be intentional. If I want to really have a relationship with God, I have to think, “How am I going to ensure this happens? If I’ve got bad habits from 2023, what am I going to do to replace those habits in 2024?” Instead of just saying, “Yeah, it’s going to happen,” sit down and think how you can improve your 2024. How will you choose to start new habits that can lead to your spiritual success? How can you find ways to ensure you get time in the Bible? What are you going to do to ensure you get time in prayer? Free time doesn’t just show up. Free time has to be planned. How are you going to ensure that your new year comes with a renewed spirit?
Paul and Jeremiah gave us some good examples. We saw that God’s mercies are new every day, that God’s renewal is our life, and that we must choose renewal. So my question today is, what are you going to do in 2024 to ensure that your life is renewed?
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