New Year!
So often during this time of year we talk about being ready for a new start, a new beginning, a new opportunity to do things differently and make things better.
What we sometimes forget is that, in a sense, that’s exactly what Jesus came to do some 2000 years ago. Except, He didn’t just come to help us hit restart. And making things better, contrary to popular belief, isn’t why He came from Heaven to Earth! In a word, Jesus came to make all things, “NEW!”
He came to usher in a new kind of Kingdom and a new way of living. He’s a different kind of King than anyone expected. But what He offers is new life, abundant life, that is only found in the Kingdom of Heaven. He’s invited you to be a part of it!
CS Lewis, a well known writer and Christian thinker, once said this…
You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” – CS Lewis
Maybe some of you today, as you look back over the story that is your life, you wish you could go back and change some things. I get it. I wish I could, too. But, we can’t. However, what we can do, and this is really good news, we can start where we are today and we can change the ending.
And with Jesus, that isn’t just possible, it’s a promise. And it’s a promise that has eternal impact. Your story and how your story ends, as long as your living you’ve got time to change the ending.
But change is hard. Transformation is hard.
Something New
One of the things I love most about this time of year is seeing all the new things people got for Christmas.
We like new things. As soon as we get something new, whatever we had before is old. It doesn’t matter how old it is, if we got the new version of it, it’s old and we don’t want it anymore.
If I got a new phone for Christmas, then I don’t want the old one anymore. The old one may be fine. It may work just fine. But it’s not new, it’s old. We like new things. We like to get new things.
But what happens when it’s not so much about getting something new as it is about becoming something new? Getting something new is easy. Becoming something new, that’s hard.
This time of year, people may say they want to become something new. We set New Years resolutions. People want to loose 10 lbs, or finally go back to school and get that degree, or start a new job, or run a 5k, or better themselves in some way.
But you know the problem. Whenever we start talking about becoming something new, that’s an entirely different conversation than getting something new.
One is about consumption — and we’ve got no problem with that. We are well trained as consumers. The other is about transformation. And that one is much harder. It’s why so many New Year’s resolutions end up in failure. We want to become something new, someone new, but change is hard, transformation is hard. Becoming something new is hard. And we often tap out before we get ten steps in.
Banjo!
A few years ago I got banjo for Christmas.
I really wanted to learn how to play the banjo. I can play a little piano. I can play a little guitar. I thought the banjo would be fun. I tried, I really did. I learned a couple of things. But, I just didn’t stay with it. It takes time. It takes practice.
I still have a beautiful banjo hanging on my wall at home and I pick it up every now and then. I watch these incredible banjo players on YouTube. And I wish I was like them. Consuming was easy. Buying the banjo was easy. Becoming a banjo player… I’m not there. Transforming was hard.
We want new things. We often get new things.
But becoming something new, that’s something entirely different.
Yet that’s exactly the invitation Jesus came to extend to all of us.
Here’s the Good News, that invitation is still extended today, it’s still open today, it’s not too late for us, it’s not too late for you, if you want Jesus to make all things new.
That’s what Jesus came to do.
All Things New
As believers in Jesus who have been baptized in His name, we are citizens of Heaven. This world is not our home. We’re blessed to live where we live when we live, YES! Absolutely. But at the end of the day we’re just passing through.
Our hope is in the King of kings and Lord of lords. And our home is with Him in His Kingdom. And in His Kingdom, Jesus has made all things right and all things new.
Jesus didn’t just make things better. He makes things NEW.
If you’re wondering what that means or what that looks like, here’s the Good News, when Jesus came from Heaven to Earth some 2000 years ago, He taught us and He showed us what life is like in His Kingdom, what life looks like when He comes and He makes all things new!
Jesus starts His ministry after He’s been baptized by His cousin John. After that He spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting, praying, and being tempted by the devil and he did that without sin! After that, Jesus begins preaching. And it’s really interesting what He’s preaching.
Matthew 4.17: “…Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
The Kingdom of Heaven is near? What is Jesus talking about?
You and I, we know a little something about Jesus. So we might have some idea about what He was talking about. But put yourself in the shoes of the people who were hearing Jesus for the first time. Who had never seen Him before, didn’t know anything about where He came from, who He was, or what He was up to. What’s He talking about… Repent of your sins, turn to God, the Kingdom of Heaven is near”?
Whatever it is He’s talking about, people are listening, crowds are gathering. Wherever Jesus goes, he preaches this message about the Kingdom.
The Gospel
Matthew writes…
Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. – Matthew 4.23
Hold on. Pause right there. What Good News is Jesus announcing? Those two words, Good News, are just one word in Greek. It’s the word euongelion. It’s literally the word Gospel! So Jesus is preaching the Gospel about the Kingdom?
You might wonder, how is that possible?
When we think about the Gospel, we think about the Good News that Jesus died and rose again so that we could receive the forgiveness of sin and go to heaven one day when we die. And that is Good News!
But Jesus clearly hasn’t died yet. So what Good News is He announcing? What’s the Good News about the Kingdom? What’s the Gospel Jesus is preaching at this time?
To answer that question, Jesus first shows us what the Gospel looks like, then He tells us what the Gospel looks like.
Matthew writes…
Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all. Large crowds followed him wherever he went—people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan River. – Matthew 4.23-25
What’s the Gospel? What’s the Good News?
This is what it looks like. Jesus has started doing something no one thought was possible. Whenever he sees someone or meets someone who is sick, he heals them! Maybe it’s a common cold or a headache, or maybe it’s something more serious. Maybe their blind, or lame, or hurt in some way. And then, Jesus heals them. Here’s the Good News, Jesus is a Healer.
What’s the Good News? What’s the Gospel? In a word, it’s Jesus.
What does the Gospel look like? It looks like those who are sick or suffering in any way being fully and completely healed by the touch of Jesus.
And that really is Good News. This is how Jesus makes all things new. He wasn’t just making people better. They didn’t stop coughing for a day, or hurting for a week. No, whatever it was they were suffering from, they were completely healed in that moment. They were made NEW! That’s the Good News about the Kingdom.
As He healed the sick, the Kingdom of God was breaking in, transforming people’s lives, and pointing to a future day when all things would fully be made new.
The Sermon on the Mount
And then, in the very next verse, this happens…
One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them. – Matthew 5.1-2
Just imagine this moment. Jesus has started His ministry. Sick people are getting fully and completely healed. All the people are hearing Jesus preach this Gospel about the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus is sitting on the side of a mountain overlooking the Sea of Galilee when He begins preaching what has become known as the Sermon On the Mount.
I’ve been to that hillside in Israel. I’ve sat there and listened to someone read the Sermon on the Mount. Some of you have probably done that, too. There’s nothing too significant about the location. Truthfully, we don’t know exactly where Jesus was sitting when He spoke these words but we know about where He was.
What’s more significant about the mountain than the geographical location is the theological implication.
For Matthew, He wants us to see Jesus in light of Moses. Moses had led the people through the water, from death to life, from bondage into the promised land. The Exodus was their baptism. In the same way, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John. In His baptism, Jesus identified Himself with His people.
Then Moses and the people of Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness wandering. In the same way, Jesus spent the next 40 days after His baptism wandering in the wilderness, being tempted by the devil, yet (unlike Israel) He never sinned.
Moses went up on the mountain to receive the 10 commandments. The word of God for the people of God. Jesus, now seated on a mountain, is giving people something NEW. He’s not canceling out the Old Law, the Old Testament, or the 10 commandments. No, He came to fulfill them, not to cancel them. And here, on this mountain, he tells the people what the Gospel is all about. What the Gospel Life, the Kingdom Life, the Baptized Life, looks like.
He begins to teach them and listen to the first thing He says…
“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” – Matthew 5.3 (NLT)
Another translation says it this way…
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (NIV)
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
This is the first in a list of statements Jesus starts with that we often call the beatitudes. Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” What does that mean? The NLT tries to get to the heart of it by translating it this way, “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him…”
Chances are, many of those who gathered on that mountain that day to hear Jesus were poor. Actually poor. Physically poor. But Jesus, here, isn’t talking about people who are physically poor.
He’s not talking about people who don’t have money in their bank accounts, much less their 401k. He’s not talking about people who don’t have money or material possessions.
He’s talking about people who are poor in spirit, who realize their need for God!
As we begin this new year, can we begin with this question?
Are you poor in spirit?
Do you realize your need for God?
One of the blessings of being a pastor is that from time to time, people come to me and ask me to pray for them.
I love to do that. Sometimes it’s before worship, sometimes it’s after. Sometimes it’s on a Wednesday night during Prayer and Care. Sometimes it’s on a Tuesday night in hospital room.
I remember one night, a young man came and found me and he shared his story with me and what he really needed was a job. Things had not worked out for him, not the way he thought it would, and he knew he had to turn to God.
Another time, a young lady came and found me and asked me to pray for her. The holidays were going to be hard and that was for a lot of different reasons. She new she had to turn to God.
Another time, a man came to me and asked me to pray for his family. They were up against some hard things and he didn’t know what to do or where to turn, but he knew he needed to turn to God.
I’ve got hundreds of stories just like that, and you probably do too, and they’re all different yet they all have one thing in common. In every story every person knew where to turn. They knew it was time to turn to God.
Why?
Because Jesus is a Healer. Jesus can make all things right and all things new. In every situation, every person was poor in spirit, they realized their need for God and they turned to Him.
What about you?
Are you ready to turn toward God? Are you ready for Him to make all things new. Not just better. New. Don’t misunderstand me, knowing Jesus will better your life. Jesus cares about your health, your growth, your family, your well being.
But Jesus didn’t come from heaven to earth, suffer and die on the cross, rise on the third day and ascend to heaven because He wanted to improve your life. No, He came to offer you NEW life.
The new life Jesus offers transcends our circumstances and situations. The hope, the joy, the peace we have living under the rule and reign of God transcends what’s happening in our lives in any given moment. And you can receive the blessing of that new life if you realize your need for Him today. And if you do that, here’s more Good News.
“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”
The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are poor in Spirit and realize their need for God!
This isn’t good advice for better living.
No! This is Good News that leads to NEW LIFE!
If you fast forward to Revelation 21:5, we find these powerful words that offer incredible hope for all of us who call Jesus Lord and Savior:
“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’” (ESV)
The Good News is…
New life begins when we realize our need for God.
Change happens…
Transformation happens…
That’s true for you when you’re poor in spirit and you realize your need for God. And I pray today, that you will realize your need for God.
“[We] can’t go back and change the beginning, but [we] can start where [we] are and change the ending.” – CS Lewis
Today, we have been invited by Jesus to turn toward God and realize our need for Him! As we do, when we do, we are blessed!
This is the same good news the Church has proclaimed for the past 2000 years: repent, trust in Christ the King, and receive new life in His Kingdom.
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