A NEW THING FROM GOD
Isiah 43:18-19
Isaiah 43:18-20
18 \”Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
Before we get into the text. Let\’s get prepared for the text.
This text is written to God’s chosen people. To receive the
blessing God intends for us, we must present ourselves
agreeable to Him.
WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU
Genesis 27:28-29
May God give you of heaven\’s dew
and of earth\’s richness —
an abundance of grain and new wine.
THE PRAISE GOD REQUIRES OF YOU
Psalms 33:3-5
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
THE ATTITUDE GOD REQUIRES
Ephesians 4:23-24
23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
REQUIREMENTS TO REALIZE THE BLESSINGS OF GOD
1. OBEDIENCE
2 FAITH
3 PATIENCE
4. ENDURANCE
5. SERVICE
In this chapter, God expresses His love for His Chosen people which includes us.
He reviewed what He did for Israel. He rescued them from Egypt. He redeemed
them from Babylon. He made a way through the Red Sea. He made a way through
the desert.
God was with Israel through all their troubles. Even when they were
disobedient, He still blessed and protected them.
Israel was their own worst enemy. It was their disobedience to God\’s commands
that caused their troubles. Yet God gave them as He gives to us a word of
Encouragement.
When we look over our past, we ought to recognize that it was God that brought us
through. He brought us through two years of the pandemic. He brought through two
years of constantly rising prices. He protected us from the rising and increasing
violence.
Look at yourself and see if you have been completely obedient to the Lord.
The wages of one sin is death. Yet, you are still here. I know I have been
bad, I know I have been rotten, yet I am still here.
God encourages us to move forward.
He gives us two commands.
THE TEXT
Isaiah 43:18-20
\”Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
1. Forget the former things.
Don’t bring your problems into 2023.
Don’t bring your fears.
Don’t bring your doubts
Don’t bring your unbelief\’s in God’s Word
Don’t bring your hurts.
Don’t bring your anger
Don’t bring your failures
Don’t bring your unforgiveness
Don’t bring your hates
Don’t bring your sadness
Don’t bring your envies
Don’t bring you jealousies
Don’t bring the guilt of your sins into 2023
Don’t bring your baggage into 2023.
It is a new year. Leave that stuff at the back door of December 31, 2022.
It is the past. You can\’t change what happens in the past.
You can change what you do today and tomorrow. We have a testimony of
God’s goodness. All we have to do is look at what God has already done for
us.
God encourages us to let go of the past and consider a glorious future.
He commands you to forget the former things.
It is a choice you have to make. You can choose not to make your life
miserable by reliving past failures.
God wants you to start with a fresh plate of possibilities. God wants you
to start with new optimism based on your faith in Him.
1st Command: Forget the former things
2nd Command: Do not dwell on the past
Don’t consider the things of the past.
Don’t think about the things of the past.
Don’t meditate on the things of the past.
If you were angry about something that happen in the past, the
the moment you think about it you will get angry again.
If someone or something hurt you in the past, the moment your
think about it, you will renew the hurt.
God is commanding us to let go of the past.
If your heart is open to the past, it will be closed to the future.
For example. If you hold on to hurts from a relationship in the
past you will be skeptical of relationships in the future.
If you know what a bad relationship is, you will be able to choose good relationships.
If you have been hurt by something in the past, you know how to avoid
that in the future.
You cannot erase what happened in the past. Just don\’t dwell on it.
Don’t keep revisiting it.
Find a way to let the past be growth information for the future
The Apostle James said it this way;
James 1:2-5
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
You can’t let the past damage your future. Let the past be a stepping stone to
your future.
You never know how God has built you up in the past for the blessing of
the future. 2022 might have been the maturity you needed for the blessing
of 2023.
THE PROMISE
In verse 19, God said, \”See I am doing a new thing.\”
God is prepared to do a new thing for you in 2023.
You got to let go of the junk of 2022 to accept the blessing of
2023.
Don’t let 2022 put a damper on 2023.
Don’t expect the blessing of 2023 to look like 2022.
God said I Am doing “A NEW THING”.
The new thing is already taking place, you just don’t realize it.
Before my first wife passed away, I never wanted an SUV. God blessed me
with a second wife, and all we have is an SUV. God did a NEW THING.
I get more use out of the SUV than I ever got out of a car.
At the start of 2023, we don\’t know what God is going to do for us.
What we do know it is going to be a NEW THING.
Don’t limit what God is going to do for you by what He has done in the
past.
you got to let go of the past, so you can accept God’s
future blessing. It may be staring you in the face and you don\’t
recognize it. He did say it is a NEW THING.
God has a history of doing new things. He created everything out of
nothing. That was new. He caused dry land through the Red Sea, which was new.
He caused bread to fall from the sky for the Israelites, which was new.
He formed you in the womb of your mother unique to everyone else, that was new.
God’s mode of operation is doing something new. Today is new, tomorrow will be
new too. He is doing something new for you at this moment.
It may be a new relationship
It may be a new job
It may be a new career.
It may be new financing
It may be new satisfaction with where you are
It may be just a new way of looking at life.
We don’t know what, we just know it is going to be NEW.
Verse 19 says “NOW IT SPRINGS UP”.
The blessing may show up when you least expect it.
The blessing may show up from a place you wouldn\’t expect.
The blessing may show up from a person you wouldn\’t expect it from.
The blessing may show up from a place or person you don’t
know.
Have you ever seen a plant spring up in a crack in the concrete?
God allows dust to accumulate in the crack. A seed from the
air drops in a small amount of dirt and a new plant is born.
It takes root in the crack and springs up. It all happens without
your knowledge.
God may be using something small that is already in you to
grow up something new.
God asks the question, \”Do You Perceive it\”?
In other words, the blessing may be beyond your perception.
God can do exceedingly abundantly more than you can ask or
conceive.
The question is, can you believe God is doing something new?
God said, \”I AM MAKING A WAY IN THE DESERT\”.
God can make a way for you through something barren.
God can make a way for you in places you wouldn’t
normally go.
God can make a way for you in places where people have discarded.
God can turn trash into gold.
God can give you an idea that will be very profitable that nobody
ever thought of.
The Apostle Paul saw God making a way through all His troubles.
2 Corinthians 4:8-11
8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
He did say “HE IS DOING A NEW THING”.
The “NEW THING” will come with challenges. There will be some
difficulties, but God will make a way.
THREE QUESTIONS
1. WHAT WILL YOU DO NEW FOR YOURSELF IN
2023
2. WHAT WILL YOU DO NEW FOR SOMEONE ELSE
IN 2023
