Something Old, Something New
Sermon
From This Day Forward
First Lesson Sermons For Lent/Easter
It's amazing how fast things change. I can remember when I was a teenager how excited I was to purchase a used 8-track tape player to play my favorite music. No sooner had I reveled in that than I needed a cassette recorder to enjoy the newest artists because everything was changing to that format. Today tapes seem so noisy and cumbersome compared to the compact discs that are available. And I know there is newer technology out there that will someday replace my nicely stacked CDs. And all this while two crates of record albums are getting warped in the attic. My, how things change.
And though I am a novice on the computer compared to most people, even I have chronicled in my mind the changes the last few years. I can listen to my CDs through the computer. The computer now tells you when your grammar is bad and even suggests changes. I can not only e-mail someone and "talk" to him and receive a message from him simultaneously, but with the correct equipment, I can also see him across the miles while I type on the keyboard. What other new things will increase my incredulity even more tomorrow?
God is into new things too! Not music or computers, but new relationships with people.
But wait! Why something new? What's wrong with the LPs and the room-size computers? They don't work anymore. Nor does the old relationship. That relationship with God "broke" just like a scratched, dusty Frank Sinatra album, and it has become obsolete like the parts and pieces of computers that end up in the city dump every day. Why?
" 'Because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,' declares the Lord."
So many people come to pastors in today's world (thank God they do come to us and not always directly to the lawyer) and tell us they have lost their love for their spouse. "I just don't love him anymore!" "I don't see any way out except divorce if I'm ever going to be happy again!" "We just need to start afresh and get on with our lives separately!" The record was broken and the computer crashed for good!
Now imagine that one of these spurned husbands whose wife has been admittedly unfaithful numerous times comes back to the pastor after the divorce settlement and says, "Forget it." Not forget her, but forget all that sin and pain; I want her back. If she is willing to start fresh -- together -- I want to remarry her. We want you to perform the reconciliation ceremony and write up a new marriage certificate. We'll redo our vows and re-pledge our faithfulness. All is forgiven and in the past.
That's hard to imagine in this "tit-for-tat" world of hard hearts and unforgiveness. But it happens. And it happened in the relationship between the children of Israel and their husband, God! He created a new covenant (marriage commitment) with them, and we are a part of that new covenant today. Why was there the need for a new marriage? Not because God didn't keep his wedding vows, but because his bride was continually unfaithful to God. The Old Testament community loved other men constantly more than her childhood sweetheart and that broke God's heart. The covenant with Noah wasn't enough for the wayward wife. Abraham's covenant wasn't honored for very long. The other covenants were ignored after a while and the people of Israel didn't even go to a lawyer. They just deserted their first love. This was the only marriage in trouble that didn't have two sides to the story. God was totally innocent; the people defiantly guilty.
Yet God wouldn't give up. He didn't find another wife. He just kept wooing the adulterous one. His love and commitment finally convinced his wife to come back and repledge her faithfulness. God made a new covenant with Israel.
What was new about this agreement? "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people" (v. 33). The newness was that no longer would God let her out of his sight, but would forever be with her so she couldn't stray. She'd never be alone to be tempted and his love and adoration of her would always be her companion. In other words, he would live inside her and empower her. God did that when he sent Jesus not only to be one of us, but to reside in us by his Holy Spirit! That's what the Holy Spirit's desire and job is.
No longer did the Children of Israel need the Ark of the Covenant, which held the tablets of God's law, because that law had no power to help the people obey. But the Spirit within us not only tells us what is right and wrong, but also gives us the ability to choose right! No longer is the law inscribed in stone, but on every heart that knows Jesus! We don't hear only prophets' stark words but have our minds set on things above. Our love for God is an impulse and inspiration from within, not something difficult to follow like an external dictator. No, he is our friend!
Why did God promise this and then fulfill it with Jesus and his Spirit? Because God is patient. Another word is long-suffering. He "suffers long" in our unfaithfulness and our looking for love in all the wrong places. He cherishes his creation even though they spurn him. He never lost his love -- either his feelings of love or his commitment to love us. How different from us!
God not only says he still loves us and wants us, but proves it by doing what only he can do: forgiving and wiping away our sins and not remembering them anymore (v. 34). He suffers long and his memory is short. When we confess our sins to God and repent of them, he "treads our sins underfoot and hurls all our iniquities into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19). We're the ones that remember them. The day after we bare our soul to God in confession, we often say to him, "Lord, remember that sin I confessed yesterday that I felt so bad about? Well, I still feel bad." What does God say back? "What sin? I've forgotten it all. It's buried and gone. Don't you remember it either!"
God's not like us or the businessman who was famous for saving everything (and we're not talking about computers). His file drawers were bulging. One day his exasperated secretary asked if she could dispose of all the old, useless material. The boss hesitated, but she was insistent. "All right," he finally agreed, "but be sure to make a copy of everything before you throw it away!"
God remembers his covenants and all the promises he makes. He remembers what the rainbow stands for. He knows and remembers your name. He counts and remembers the number of hairs on your head. He "remembers that we are dust" (Psalm 103:14). Because he is God his memory compares to no one else. He won't forget the anniversary when you were married to him in faith. He doesn't forget any of the good things you do for him. He won't forget how many trials and trouble you can handle. Does God forget anything? Yes, God has Alzheimer's in one area: our sins.
Are there any marriages here today which could use a new infusion of long-suffering and short memories? Who here need to be more like God to their spouse either in patience or in forgiveness? You might be in a horrible marriage of unfaithfulness and pain. God's been through it with his people and he loves to provide new relationships.
A Zulu chieftain's wife was converted at a missionary revival in Africa. She came home a changed person but her husband didn't like it. He told her he'd kill her if she ever went back to the missionary compound.
The new Christian wife didn't know what to do. She wanted to obey God as well as she could. She chose to visit with the missionaries again. When her husband found out that she had disobeyed him, he beat her so savagely that she lost her vision and the use of one arm completely. He left her on the path to the missionaries' house for the night.
In the morning, he felt remorseful enough to look for her. He found her where he had dragged her the night before. "What's your Jesus going to do for you now?" he scorned.
His wife said weakly, "He's going to help me forgive you."
God's mercies for all relationships here on earth and with him are new every morning. And that surely beats any upgrade on Windows 98.
And though I am a novice on the computer compared to most people, even I have chronicled in my mind the changes the last few years. I can listen to my CDs through the computer. The computer now tells you when your grammar is bad and even suggests changes. I can not only e-mail someone and "talk" to him and receive a message from him simultaneously, but with the correct equipment, I can also see him across the miles while I type on the keyboard. What other new things will increase my incredulity even more tomorrow?
God is into new things too! Not music or computers, but new relationships with people.
But wait! Why something new? What's wrong with the LPs and the room-size computers? They don't work anymore. Nor does the old relationship. That relationship with God "broke" just like a scratched, dusty Frank Sinatra album, and it has become obsolete like the parts and pieces of computers that end up in the city dump every day. Why?
" 'Because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,' declares the Lord."
So many people come to pastors in today's world (thank God they do come to us and not always directly to the lawyer) and tell us they have lost their love for their spouse. "I just don't love him anymore!" "I don't see any way out except divorce if I'm ever going to be happy again!" "We just need to start afresh and get on with our lives separately!" The record was broken and the computer crashed for good!
Now imagine that one of these spurned husbands whose wife has been admittedly unfaithful numerous times comes back to the pastor after the divorce settlement and says, "Forget it." Not forget her, but forget all that sin and pain; I want her back. If she is willing to start fresh -- together -- I want to remarry her. We want you to perform the reconciliation ceremony and write up a new marriage certificate. We'll redo our vows and re-pledge our faithfulness. All is forgiven and in the past.
That's hard to imagine in this "tit-for-tat" world of hard hearts and unforgiveness. But it happens. And it happened in the relationship between the children of Israel and their husband, God! He created a new covenant (marriage commitment) with them, and we are a part of that new covenant today. Why was there the need for a new marriage? Not because God didn't keep his wedding vows, but because his bride was continually unfaithful to God. The Old Testament community loved other men constantly more than her childhood sweetheart and that broke God's heart. The covenant with Noah wasn't enough for the wayward wife. Abraham's covenant wasn't honored for very long. The other covenants were ignored after a while and the people of Israel didn't even go to a lawyer. They just deserted their first love. This was the only marriage in trouble that didn't have two sides to the story. God was totally innocent; the people defiantly guilty.
Yet God wouldn't give up. He didn't find another wife. He just kept wooing the adulterous one. His love and commitment finally convinced his wife to come back and repledge her faithfulness. God made a new covenant with Israel.
What was new about this agreement? "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people" (v. 33). The newness was that no longer would God let her out of his sight, but would forever be with her so she couldn't stray. She'd never be alone to be tempted and his love and adoration of her would always be her companion. In other words, he would live inside her and empower her. God did that when he sent Jesus not only to be one of us, but to reside in us by his Holy Spirit! That's what the Holy Spirit's desire and job is.
No longer did the Children of Israel need the Ark of the Covenant, which held the tablets of God's law, because that law had no power to help the people obey. But the Spirit within us not only tells us what is right and wrong, but also gives us the ability to choose right! No longer is the law inscribed in stone, but on every heart that knows Jesus! We don't hear only prophets' stark words but have our minds set on things above. Our love for God is an impulse and inspiration from within, not something difficult to follow like an external dictator. No, he is our friend!
Why did God promise this and then fulfill it with Jesus and his Spirit? Because God is patient. Another word is long-suffering. He "suffers long" in our unfaithfulness and our looking for love in all the wrong places. He cherishes his creation even though they spurn him. He never lost his love -- either his feelings of love or his commitment to love us. How different from us!
God not only says he still loves us and wants us, but proves it by doing what only he can do: forgiving and wiping away our sins and not remembering them anymore (v. 34). He suffers long and his memory is short. When we confess our sins to God and repent of them, he "treads our sins underfoot and hurls all our iniquities into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19). We're the ones that remember them. The day after we bare our soul to God in confession, we often say to him, "Lord, remember that sin I confessed yesterday that I felt so bad about? Well, I still feel bad." What does God say back? "What sin? I've forgotten it all. It's buried and gone. Don't you remember it either!"
God's not like us or the businessman who was famous for saving everything (and we're not talking about computers). His file drawers were bulging. One day his exasperated secretary asked if she could dispose of all the old, useless material. The boss hesitated, but she was insistent. "All right," he finally agreed, "but be sure to make a copy of everything before you throw it away!"
God remembers his covenants and all the promises he makes. He remembers what the rainbow stands for. He knows and remembers your name. He counts and remembers the number of hairs on your head. He "remembers that we are dust" (Psalm 103:14). Because he is God his memory compares to no one else. He won't forget the anniversary when you were married to him in faith. He doesn't forget any of the good things you do for him. He won't forget how many trials and trouble you can handle. Does God forget anything? Yes, God has Alzheimer's in one area: our sins.
Are there any marriages here today which could use a new infusion of long-suffering and short memories? Who here need to be more like God to their spouse either in patience or in forgiveness? You might be in a horrible marriage of unfaithfulness and pain. God's been through it with his people and he loves to provide new relationships.
A Zulu chieftain's wife was converted at a missionary revival in Africa. She came home a changed person but her husband didn't like it. He told her he'd kill her if she ever went back to the missionary compound.
The new Christian wife didn't know what to do. She wanted to obey God as well as she could. She chose to visit with the missionaries again. When her husband found out that she had disobeyed him, he beat her so savagely that she lost her vision and the use of one arm completely. He left her on the path to the missionaries' house for the night.
In the morning, he felt remorseful enough to look for her. He found her where he had dragged her the night before. "What's your Jesus going to do for you now?" he scorned.
His wife said weakly, "He's going to help me forgive you."
God's mercies for all relationships here on earth and with him are new every morning. And that surely beats any upgrade on Windows 98.
