Listen to Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, June 17, 2018
“If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” These are some of the most powerful words of Scripture. God wants us to be secure—to be grounded—to be rooted in Christ. He wants us to look forward to something new—a positive change—a God-thing to happen in our lives. He wants us to understand and trust God to be at work in us—to re-create us.
Tech companies know that it’s been a whole year since you got that new phone. It’s an ancient platform, lower resolution, slow to load apps, and battery life is short. You want an upgrade. Car companies know you have passed the 100 or 200 thousand mile mark. Your check engine light comes on and never go away. It guzzles gas, the CD player doesn’t work, and the air-conditioning barely cools. You want something new. It may be our wardrobe that needs some enhancement. Or maybe our exercise routine that needs to step up. Or maybe a broken relationship needs repair. Or our circle of friends needs to include more supportive and encouraging people.
The reality is that we all long for redemption in some area. We want a positive re-direction. We long for renewal. We are eager for a new chapter. We crave a greater optimism about our situation and our future. We want something new. That is why our Scripture challenges us to walk by faith not by sight. Faith sees spiritually. Faith listens to wisdom. Faith touches the sacred. Faith smells the sweet aroma of God’s gifts. Faith tastes and sees that the Lord is good.
By faith, we understand that the old patterns of behavior need to go. By faith we identify ways of thinking are outdated. By faith, we know that Christ died for our sins. By faith, we know, as our Scripture says, that Christ died for all therefore all have died. By faith we know that old sinful nature needs to die more each day. Our old life of captivity to sin and contamination of this world has been nailed to the Cross of Christ. It is passing away—dying slowly. So why would we feed and enable something that truly has no future? We are perpetuating an old, dysfunctional way of thinking and living if we do not seek renewal. Or we have grown so cynical and jaded that we just do not believe authentic and positive life-change can happen. That’s walking by sight not by faith.
Did you notice the green color of this Pentecost season or “ordinary time”? It should remind us that God wants growth and renewal in his Church. Green is the color of nature letting us know that photosynthesis is working! The sun, rain, and soil are nurturing plants and trees. We should also be green with growth in Christ.
“If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see—look—behold—everything—everything has become new!” See with the eyes of faith. God is making all things new. His mercies are new every morning. Great is his faithfulness. When Christ died and rose from the dead, he did so to make all things new and renew the lives of all people. The old things passed away when Christ died on the cross. New things were enacted and formed when Jesus rose again from the dead. At the beginning of original creation, the world was null and void and a chaotic mess. But the Spirit of God hovered above the waters and the Word of God spoke, saying, “Let there be light” and there was light. He created everything we see by the Word. And he said it was all very good. So in Christ we are recreated. God takes the emptiness, chaos, and mess. The Spirit hovers and uses the water of Baptism and the Word to drown the old self. And with that flood of grace he makes us all new—his royal, beloved, and renewed children.
With Jesus, the whole universe gets an upgrade. We are now grounded in Christ. We are rooted in the rich soil of his Kingdom. Our faith may be as small as a mustard seed. But it doesn’t matter. Jesus says so. What matters is that God planted that faith into the soil of his Kingdom. “I planted,” the Apostle Paul said, “Apollos watered, but God causes the growth.” We walk—we move forward in life—by faith not by sight—not by outdated and dying philosophies and ways of thinking. You are God’s new sprig and young twig, our Scripture says. You are God’s new creation. God promises not just to do something new in your life. He promises that everything has become new.
This is a great Scripture to throw back up to God in prayer. This is what you promise in Scripture. “If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new.” If anyone is in Christ—anyone—that is you and me. In Christ—we are the Baptized—we trust in Jesus, his death and resurrection. There is a new creation. God help us see it with the eyes of faith. Help us experience it by your grace. Everything old has passed away. Open the eyes of our heart to see the irrelevance of that way that is decaying and passing away. And free us from whatever it is that is dragging us down and keeping us from living the life God wants for us. Everything has become new. Dear Lord, give us that hope for change in a good and godly direction. Renew our lives and spirits. You say everything has become new. That means all things are possible with you. There is no area of my life that you cannot touch and transform for the better.
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